Mom & JB Visit Parker

I am beginning to feel like the proud parent of a kid who takes way too many photos. Well, if you don't want to see them, you can go visit other sites. At any rate, above are some pictures of my Mom and JB visiting Kari and I while in the hospital. I will try to get some pictures of Parker without his hat on.

Toodooloo for now!

Parker Part 3

Of course, the whole family is interested in seeing what's going on. The above are pictures from Kari's family on their afternoon visit.

Parker Part 2

Kari and I had to go to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon per the doctors request. Kari was a little anxious, wasn't getting any sleep and couldn't decide when she wanted doctors to induce her pregnancy.

Above are some pictures from before her Cesaerian (sp?) and include some amusing photos of me posing in scrubs.

The procedure went well and I even got to help give the little man his first bath.

Welcome Parker Liam into this world

On yesterday afternoon, 12:01 p.m. to be precise, our son, Parker Liam was born into this world, weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 19 inches long. Above are some phots we took on the first day of his life.

My Life in June 2006

As both of you who read this know, my life is about to take a dramatic shift. In what is due to be 9 days (give or take), my wife will be giving birth to our first child; a boy.

For the sake of posterity, it is important that I attempt to tell my son what today is like in Milwaukie, Oregon this June 11th, 2006.

First, today is your Grandfather, I mean Uncle's birthday. He is 55 this year. For the rest of my life, I will never forget his birthday, because one year, he gave my sister (your Aunt) a briefcase, which had one of those cool combination thingies, and the combination was his birthday: 6/11/55. That must have been 20 years ago, but I still remember that to this day.

Today it is going to be 78 degrees. That is a little warmer that the average this time of year (about 72 degrees), but far below the highs we have seen. I got most of my yard work done yesterday (on Saturday) and am having your Uncle Mat (not biologically related, so far as I know) over, probably for a barbecue.

The dogwood in our front yard is long past bloom. It is now full of green leaves and provides a lot of shade, which is very helpful during the hotter Summer months.

Your Mother is resting as we speak. The pregnancy has been pretty problem free for her, but she is having a difficult time using her hands, due to swelling associated with carrying you. She also is having difficulty sleeping, but that is SOP (standard operating procedure) with pregnancy. Worrying about bringing you into this world can be pretty stressful.

As you will probably be aware by the time you are old enough to read this, you are very fortunate to have been born in this nation. While young, we have an extremely interesting history, and we live in a country in which even poor people might be considered wealthy by some other countries standards.

Locally, the biggest stories in the news are the Rose Festival, which is supposed to coincide with the blooming of the roses in this part of the world, for which our nearest metropolitan neighbor is named (the Rose City). There was the Starlight Parade last night (your Father hates parades) and a carnival downtown to celebrate this event.

Nationally, most news relates to the war in Iraq, politics and the economy. By the time you read this, most people will still dislike politicians, the economy will be viewed positively (4.6% unemployment and 3.5% GDP growth; come on, people), and hopefully, the war in Iraq will have turned the corner with the death of the terrorist insurgent leader, Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi.

Of course, all that matters to your Mother and me is that you are born safely and soon. We look forward to seeing you!

Rest in Anguish, Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi

The recent killing of al-Zarqawi in Iraq highlights some of the brave and tedious work that our military is doing, risking their lives to improve Iraqi society. Zarqawi (as he is most commonly known) was a polarizing figure in Iraq. If you believe in the United States, his death can only be a good thing. It is best he wasn't tried or killed in some kind of gun battle. Further, propaganda or not, it is even better than one of his own allegedly gave him up.

What is somewhat disturbing, however, is the thought that his death may lead to more violence. Oh really? More than what: trying to start a genocide? The good news is that al-Qaeda in Iraq may be on its last legs. Task Force 145 (special operators that have followed him for 3 years) was patient and taught the world, "it doesn't matter who you are or how well you are hid; so long as we want to get you, we are coming and you better keep looking back for us."

There are alot of people still on that list, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin-Laden and apparently, Imad Mugniyah, who was recently spotted working with Syria to overthrow the Qatari royal family.

Hey guys, we are coming. What was tha......... (boom).

The Killing of Civilians and the Fog of War

I was having a discussion with an acquaintance of mine. She asked me if I had seen the coverage of the most recently released military investigation regarding Haditha in Iraq. I told her I had. She then started talking about unjust wars, psychopaths, massacre's, Bush, etc.

In this morning's Washington Post, Major Peter Kilner of the US Army describes a very real problem in this country today. There is one group of people who are looking for any excuse to show that this is an illicit war and everything about it is wrong, including the behavior of our troops. There is another group of people who look to excuse all soldiers behavior because they are our soldiers. Major Kilner then went on to say that neither group is correct. Some soldiers are not bad people, they are just given poor leadership.

Although I have never been in battle, I would presume that being shot at and returning fire can tweak your mind a little. It is at this time that seasoned officers and Non-commissioned officers must guide younger, more inexperienced soldiers to do the right thing.

I couldn't agree more. Further, my response to my acquaintance was that 1) war is hell, and 2) before believing every claim of atrocity by Iraqis and other foreigners living in Iraq, allow an investigation to take place. If these troops are guilty, they will be tried, convicted and sentenced, just as if they had committed crimes in civil society.

The truth of the matter, however, is that atrocities happen in every war. They happened in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Punic Wars, the Crusades. Atrocities are not a function of what makes a war "just." Only history can make that determination.