Scott Allan’s World

I took a few weeks off from blogging to enjoy the holidays and spend time with my father who flew in from Thailand for a visit last week. We watched a lot of football, played with his grandchildren, fixed his computer and did some shopping. He got to enjoy Fox News which he does not have a available in Bankgok anymore. They replaced it with the Wine Channel.

While my father was here, there were bombings in Bangkok that no one has claimed responsibility for. The government(military) has blamed the deposed Prime Minister Thaksin, but it is probably convenient to blame him since he is not around to defend himself and it helps to reinforce support for the coup. Let’s hope these bombings do not become commonplace since Thailand is a beautiful and peaceful country.

Last time my father came to visit me, Thailand was hit with a tsunami. He was supposed to visit that part of the country the following week for business. He certainly picks opportune times to visit me. So hello and goodbye to my dad. Or as he would say, “Au Revoir, Until we meet again.” Please be safe back in Bangkok. It was great having you around.

Hello to Nick Saban formerly of the Miami Dolphins. Alabama has been re-energized. I had given up on Alabama a few months but I finally can proudly wear my Alabama shirt again. I was torn between who to root for recently since Auburn has done quite well since I moved down here, but I have decided there is no harm in pulling for both Auburn and Alabama. I’ll worry about that more when the Iron Bowl rolls around next year.

Goodbye to President Gerald Ford. President Ford is the first President I have a memory of. He lost to Jimmy Carter when I was 8 years old. He was a fine and decent man.

Contrast that with Saddam Hussein. He doesn’t get a goodbye, he gets a good riddance. He looked so pathetic on his last day. I sometimes struggle with the ethics of executing somebody, but every time I contemplate it, I end up finding it justified. Cases like Saddam Hussein make it easy to support. Sadly, he had the ability to prevent this day and stay in power all by himself, but chose to thumb his nose at the world instead. Chavez, Ahmadinejad, and Jong-il please take note.

Speaking of Carter and Hussein, Jimmy Carter signed the executive order to ban the assasination of foreign leaders. That works out really well. Now we have to send thousands of troops into harm’s way instead. It’s time to bring that back. I bet it has a nice deterrent effect. I’m sure our enemies have no such ban in place.

How about a goodbye to James Brown? As I always tell my son about many performers, you don’t have to admire the man, but you can always admire the music. We just saw all the Rocky movies last week including number 6. James Brown singing “Living in America” is one of my all time favorite songs. By the way, Rocky Balboa (VI) is a great movie. I just have to hear the theme music and I get pumped up. I am totally inspired and have been working out for a few weeks straight now. If a 60 year old Stallone can do it, I have no excuse. I’m gonna “build some hurting bombs!”

Technorati Tags Saddam Hussein,James Brown, President Gerald Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa, Bangkok, Thailand, Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il