Little Kenny's first train ride

Kenny Boyle Jr.’s first train ride

My oldest son Michael John Boyle came up with the idea first to take his nephew Kenneth John Boyle Jr who was the son of my youngest son Kenneth John Boyle Sr. to the “City” (meaning Manhattan of course) for Fleet week. I first thought it would be too crowded, but after Mike got Kenny Sr. to go I decided that I wanted to see my Grandson’s first train ride so I told Mike that I would go after all. Adele Grace Eiermann Boyle my Wife and Grandmother to Kenny Jr and Richard William Boyle said that she would stay home with little Richie who was just three years old and would have been a hand full (Kenny Jr was five years old). Josephine Dorothy Coyle Boyle Kenny Jr and Richie’s Mom decided that she want to go too so now we had four adults plus Kenny Jr. going so Mike and I checked the internet and found that some US Navy ships were going to be at the 48th street and 12th Ave (West side drive) pier.
So on Saturday May 24th we all piled into Kenny Sr. and Josephine’s car for it was the only car we have that we all would fit into and Kenny Sr. drove us to Patchogue Railroad station. First I bought my senior ticket which was $13.95 as compared with the others $19.95 for an Off Peak round trips from Patchogue to Penn Station. The Metro-card of which we brought two both with $20.00 on them which was more than we needed, but what the hell they are good for a year. So we got onto the platform and waited for the train where little Kenny’s Uncle Mike started taking his picture I think he actually likes to get his picture taken which both his Uncle Mike and his Grandpa did a lot during this trip to the city.
The train came and we got on to find it was crowded, but at least we did find seats in the same area. Kenny Jr loved looking out the window and after a while said “are we going around in a circle” he was obviously relating the real train to a toy train so if toy trains go around in a circle why not a real trains? Kenny Jr started getting bored looking out the window and said “I have to go to the bathroom” so his Dad took him to look for the “bathroom” actually lavatory first going in one direction only to find of course it was in the other direction. (He did go before we left) We had to change at Jamaica Queens for the train we were riding in was a diesel and are not allowed through the tunnel to Penn Station so we changed to an electric train that is allowed. Fortunately we found seats on that train too even if it was more crowded yet and sure enough Kenny Jr said “I have to go to the bathroom” yet again and his Dad took him again to find the Lavatory and had better luck this time. We finally got into Penn Station and Kenny Jr.’s first train was over, but his first Subway was about to begin.
After coming out of LIRR platform we took the E Train to 50th Street which was just two stops from Penn Station it just stopped at 42nd Street before 50th. Little Kenny loved it the train that wasn’t too crowded and he played with the pole in the middle of the car floor. We must have taken pictures of him like every five minutes, but he didn’t mind it.
When we got out of the Subway Station at 50th St. and 8th Ave we naturally started walking in the wrong direction for some reason the Subway always turns me around direction wise. When we ended up at Broadway and 50th St. I knew we had walked the wrong way and we first showed little Kenny Time Square telling him that now he can say he saw Time Square if only for a second. We walked in the other direction up the 10th Ave then crossed to 48th street and while walking down 48th showing little Kenny all the sites we came upon two Mounted Policeman, I pointed them out to little Kenny and one of the Policeman crossed the street to come close to little Kenny then waved at him and he waved back at the Policeman. Right after that we saw the ships straight across the West side highway.
Access was free, but we did have to go through metal detectors they weren’t as sensitive as the ones at the Airports so you could walk through with your belt on. There were two soldiers with M-16’s as if terrorist are going to attack through their front gates, I wonder if their M-16’s are even loaded or were just for show. One was a female soldier, I think they impressed little Kenny anyway. One of the ships appeared to be a Coast Guard Ship and the other (I forget the names) a Helicopter carrier so we decided to go for the Helicopter Carrier and the lines were not bad a all, when we went to Fleet week a few years ago there were line was long just to get on the pier to get on the JFK that is what I was afraid of, but the crowds were small in comparison. The ship was not that big and they tried to crowd a lot of weapon systems into a small area and that made for a bit of a crowd. Little Kenny want to go on anything that had guns on it. One had a bit of a line because they were only letting a couple of kids at a time on the Vehicle which had two machine guns on it. So we told him to sit in a Hummer type Vehicle with an electronic Machine Gun on it. Then he got upon a Tank and even got into it. I don’t think he has any pro-war toys, but I am sure he at least seen them on TV and some of his friend might have them so I am sure they impressed him. After that we went up on to the flight deck to see the Helicopters. Little Kenny’s Mom brought him through one and his Dad brought him through another. He also liked the view of the city from the flight deck.
Then we left the flight deck and the ship, on the pier we came on some booths and one had what they called the US Navy Seal challenge that is if a kid could do six pull ups or fifty push ups they would win a recruiting poster. Little Kenny wanted to do the pull ups, he did them and got his poster.
Then we walked back up 48th Street looking for someplace to eat lunch as little Kenny kept reminding us that he was hungry. We found a place called Social’s a Bar and Grill with specials of $7.95 each and it was empty so we sat in a back booth. Little Kenny’s Uncle Mike took him to the lavatory for of course he had to go. The men ordered Heineken beers and Josephine and little Kenny had sodas while we played I spied with my little eye with little Kenny on until the food was served. Josephine gave little Kenny half of her Hamburger of which he ate very little. After lunch we decided to go the New York Museum of Natural History to show little Kenny the Dinosaurs.
I had thought that the number 1 or 2 train went to the Natural History Museum which I knew was on Central Park West somewhere in the 80’s. So at the 50th street station we took the number 1 train uptown and got off at 86th Street station because I knew the museum was somewhere in the 80’s when we got out on 86th street I looked up and down and thought I saw more tree in one direction than the other looking for Central Park so we started walking and of course we were walking in the wrong direction again I asked a passer by in which direction was Central Park West and he pointed to the direction we just came from saying it was about four blocks. So we started walking the other way and sure enough we did get to Central Park West, but I wasn’t sure if the museum was above or lower than 86th street so I asked a doorman that was nearby and he said it was on 81st street and when we walked down to 81st street there it was with painted horses in front of it. After taken some more pictures of little Kenny we followed a crazy dressed lady in.
The first thing we saw when we went in was some dinosaurs on display in the lobby. We went up to buy tickets and the casher said the “suggested donation” was 54 dollars do you want to pay that, well Mike wanted to say no I’ll pay a lower amount, but of course we paid the “suggested” amount and we know they need to make money to keep the museum going. We then went in to the room with the stuffed elephants in the middle of the room and displays of stuffed animals that I think are the same ones that were there when I was little Kenny’s age some sixty years ago when my parents brought me to the New York Museum of Natural History.
Little Kenny seemed very interested in the displays looking at each one and asking questions. We wanted to find an elevator and after a little bit of looking we found one and took it to the fourth floor where the big dinosaur display was. When we got there he looked at all the displays and a short movie on how animals evolved. He seemed to like the museum which encourages us to bring him to more museums in the future.
We decided it was time to go home and we went down to the Subway Station that connects to the museum and found a notice saying that the C train was not running this weekend and everyone had to use the A train which we did and it was crowd for the only time during the trip we had to stand, but we got to Penn Station and guess what getting off the subway we first went in the wrong direction.
We got the 4:12 train to Patchogue and little Kenny fell asleep before we got to Babylon where we had to change from our electric train to a diesel train to Patchogue. Little Kenny was very good and I am sure this was only his first trip to the city.

Cluster Bombs

CONTACT CONGRESS TO BAN CLUSTER BOMBS, WAR’S DEADLY DEBRIS
Three young Cambodian boys were playing near their village when they found four small steel
objects that they picked up and used to play an impromptu game of marbles. Their newfound
toys, however, were actually "bomblets" left from a cluster bomb that had been dropped years
before. In the middle of their game, one of the balls was struck by another, triggering an
explosion. One boy died from massive abdominal wounds. The other two boys survived with
serious injuries.
A cluster bomb consists of a canister designed to open in midair
and disperse smaller
submunitions – bomblets that
can kill all living creatures within an area as large as several
football fields. Though designed to explode on impact, many bomblets initially fail to detonate,
leaving behind large numbers of hazardous explosive “duds” that are de facto landmines,
injuring and killing civilians and contaminating the land long after conflicts.
This April is the 33 rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, yet millions of unexploded
cluster bomblets litter the countries of Southeast Asia the
deadly garbage left from U.S.
bombing campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s. In Laos alone, more than 11,000 civilians, many of
whom were not born when the bombs were dropped, have been killed or injured by these cluster
bomblets. Stories like the one above are all too common in wartorn
areas countries
affected by
cluster bombs include:
Afghanistan
Albania
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Cambodia
Chad
Croatia
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Iraq
Israel
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Montenegro
Pakistan
Russia (Chechnya)
Saudi Arabia
Serbia (including Kosovo)
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
Vietnam
Western Sahara
Cluster bomblet duds are killing and maiming civilians and US troops in Iraq; Lynn Bradach, the
mother of a U.S. marine who was killed in Iraq by a U.S. cluster bomb, has asked Congress to
honor the memory of her son by passing a ban on the weapon that killed him
Like landmines, cluster bomblets must be located and destroyed one by one, a dangerous, costly,
and timeconsuming
process they
have proven to be a serious and longlasting
threat to
civilians, soldiers, peacekeepers, and clearance experts.
B1
Lancer releasing cluster bombs
The United States has the largest stockpile of cluster munitions in the world and is a major user,
exporter, and producer of the weapon. The U.S. has a stockpile of about 5.5 million cluster
bombs that’s
728 million bomblets Aerojet, Alliant TechSystems, General Dynamics, L3
Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Textron Defense
Systems are all associated with the production of cluster bombs
Cluster bomblet.
The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (Senate Bill 594, House Bill 1755) is a step
towards mitigating the death and destruction caused by cluster bombs, one step towards ending
the horror of war. This legislation would:
(a) Immediately prohibit the use of cluster bombs in or near populated or urban areas.
(b) Require governments using U.S.made
cluster bombs to quickly clean up unexploded
bomblets.
(c) Prohibit the use, sale, and transfer of U.S. made cluster bombs containing bomblets
with a failure rate of more than one percent; as nearly all cluster bombs in the US arsenal
have a failure rate of more than one percent, this would essentially ban the use and sale of
cluster bombs.
Below are members of Congress who are considered potential ‘swing’ votes in supporting the
Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act. As veterans for peace we draw on our own personal
experiences to raise awareness of the true costs and consequences of war. We must raise our
voices and tell these members of Congress to support the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection
Act.
Senator Norm Coleman—MN
Senator Chuck Hagel*—NE
Senator George Voinovich—OH
Senator Gordon Smith—OR
Senator Arlen Specter—PA
Senator Susan Collins ME
Representative Jeff Flake—AZ
Representative Chris Shays—CT
Representative Jim Saxton—NJ
Representative Chris SmithNJ
Representative James Walsh—NY
Representative Walter Jones—NC
Representative Ralph Regula*—OH
Representative Steven LaTourette—OH
Representative Phil EnglishPA
Representative Joe Pitts*PA
Representative Ron Paul*TX
*Veterans
Offices, phone numbers, & email addresses can be found at www.senate.gov and
www.house.gov.
The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act is a step towards the US joining the more
than eighty countries which support a treaty banning cluster bombs. The Cluster
Munitions Civilian Protection Act is a step towards ending one horror of war, one step
towards peace.
Cluster bomb victim
RESOURCES & INFORMATION
Human Rights Watch http://hrw.org/doc/?t=arms_clusterbombs
US Campaign to Ban Landmines http://www.banminesusa.org/
Friends Committee on National Legislation
http://www.fcnl.org/weapons/clusterlanding/clusters_landing9.htm
Article
compiled by Mike Felker, VFP Chap. 31 member, who served as a hospital
corpsman with the 1 st Marine Division in Vietnam in 1970 and cared for the victims of
landmines and other weapons, mfelker@cis.upenn.edu

Spitzer, Paterson and oh yeah the election

"I did not live up to what was expected of me"

A prominent politician, especially one known for a certain righteousness, is alleged to be a customer of high-priced call girls.

As Spitzer resigns, David Paterson becomes New York's governor and a pioneer. But can he end the state's gridlock?

Reverend Wright an Obama supporter said:

"Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single parent home. Barack was," Wright says in a video of the sermon posted on YouTube. "Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary! Hillary ain't never been called a 'nigger!' Hillary has never had her people defined as a non-person."

Ferraro stirred controversy with her recent remarks that Obama's campaign was successful because he was black.

Castro Retires and Obama wins the Cheese and Pineapple states

Raul Castro bring "Change to Cuba"

The Baseball cap instead of the

Block Cap of his brother Fidel

Obama may change things in Cuba, but McCain will blow another chance to

improve things for the Cubian people

Looks like Obama vs McCain

McCain = spent taxpayer's money on other countries.

Obama = spent taxpayer's money on America.

Presidental Election as of 30 Jan 2008

Obama wins South Carolina

Hillary and McCain win Florida

Edwards drops out

What is a debate anyway?

Hillary and Barack point out each other’s weakness and try to put fourth their strong points, now I am just a common old working man, but isn’t that what debates are all about?

Nevada and the Republican South Carolina Primaries

McCain wins South Carolina and Mitt Romney picks up Nevada for the Republicans

Hillary Clinton wins in Nevada, but race with Barack Obama is still close for the Democrats.

The Michigan Vote of Jan 15 2008

Michigan Vote:

Mitt Romney 40%

John McCain 30%

Mike Huckabee 16%

Ron Paul 6%

Frederick Thompson 4%

Rudy Giuliani 3%

Hillary Clinton 55%

Dennis Kucinich 4%

Hillary and Meet the Press

Hillary was on Meet the Press with Tim Russert plowing over very old ground, it was more Histroy than News.

Lets elect a President 2008 as of Jan 10

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/action/conversation/conversation.aspx?sc=1100

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/semr?source=SEM-register-google-obama-search-national

http://www.johnedwards.com/

Lets elect a President 2008 as of Jan 5

Terrorist our new enemy

Symbols and Attitudes

People seem to think that Symbols like flags and the Swastika is what makes people like the Nazi, Fascists or American patriots think the way they do. It is not the Symbols it is the Attitude of the people that “We are better than anyone else” We are Rich and “they” are poor so we must be smarter and better bred than they were therefore better. We are German, Japanese, Roman, or Americans etc. so we must be better than anyone else. If Attitudes don’t change it won’t matter if you change Symbols.
The Christians found when the Bible was finally printed and available to anyone that can read that it was the words of Christ that shapes one’s attitude toward the poor and less fortunate and not the symbols like the cross. It is an attitude of bring people together Rich and poor that makes a real Christian.
The world is under going another great change as a Global culture is starting to grow, but people don’t like to see their local culture become museum peaces for tourists. It can be a good thing if this brings understanding between people and fewer differences. There were many cultural changes in the past some good and some bad, but people had to change with them and so will we, hopefully with a better Attitude toward one another.

Immigrants Access to Driver’s Licenses

Immigrants Access to Driver’s Licenses

Even as a common old working man I can see that giving Driver’s Licenses to immigrants is good the security of the United States as it documents the before undocumented. Governor Spitzer of New York announced that New Yorkers can obtain a driver’s license without regard to their immigration status. The new policy will benefit millions of New York residents, as hundreds of thousands of motorists who used to be uninsured will be able to obtain a driver’s license and automobile insurance making our roads safer.
Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 in an attempt to federalize state driver’s licenses by imposing a broad array of regulations on how they are issued and verified. Should the Real ID Act become law in New York, it will force the Department of Motor Vehicles into the business of enforcing federal immigration law by again requiring that all driver’s license applicants prove their lawful immigration status.
States are not required to implement the Real ID Act, and seventeen states already passed legislation rejecting it. Governor Spitzer to protect the important progress made should express his opposition to the federal Real ID Act.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks, anybody Listening?

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks,
But is anybody listening.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran was invited to talk and answer some questions at Columbia University on September 24, 2007. Columbia University President talked before Ahmadinejad and told the students not to listen to him that all he is going to say are lies. Lee Bolinger the University President is called a expert on freedom of speech, but he seems to say you can talk, but I’ll have cotton in my ears (some expert), instead of let him speak then telling the students where he was wrong and why, but Lee instead insulted not only Ahmadinjad, his university, but both Iran and the United States of America. A lot of what he said was obviously untruths like more children dieing in Iran than anywhere else, what about Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan which of course calls into question the rest of his “facts”.
Ahmadinejad actually answered all the questions given to him before they were even asked, but not with the answers the professors wanted to hear. Nuclear power Ahmadinejad said that they were using it for peaceful purposes and international agencies have confirmed this. This should be easily checked out the fact we have not heard that he is wrong does this mean he is right?
What should have been the main topic Human Right inside Iran got only a little time most of which was about a Columbia University intellectual that got in trouble with the law in Iran? Like most Islamic countries Iran does not live up to Western standards for Human Rights.
What was the most talked about topic was the Holocaust and Israel which seem to be the most important to the professors and students. He said there is a need for more research from a different prospective, but many seem to fear what more research would find out after all there is a lot under that rug. He said there should be elections in Palestine to see what kind of country “they want”. He said “You know quite well that Palestine is and old wound. For 60 years these people are being displaced, for 60 years these people are being killed, for 60 years on a daily basis there’s conflict and terror, for 60 years innocent women and children are destroyed by helicopter and airplanes”
When asked about homosexuals he made a joke in an effort not to answer the question. Iran is ruled by Islamic clerks who watch over everything the government of Iran does and like most religious groups they don’t like homosexuals.
What happen in New York that day tells us more that freedom of search has a long way to go in both countries than anything about Iran.

Sicko

I thought Sicko was Michael Moore’s best film so far because he covered all his facts with sources, which he did not always do in his other films leaving it up the movie going public to check the facts by reading books on the issues. There are two reasons that I can think of for this, one is the subject matter there are more sources on health care than any other subject and two it would have made his other movies less entertaining it is easer to list sources in books than in films unless you put them in the credits that no one reads.
The big difference between Michael Moore’s Critics and Michael Moore is his backs his facts with sources and his critics don’t. Michael Moore made CNN back down from many of their criticisms. A lot of what the supporters of the American Medical system say about the other systems around the world are either lies, BS, half truths, or true about one system, but not about others and many are also true about the American system sometimes worst in America. The thing that Americans hate most is Taxes which would go up a lot if we went to a one payer system, but that would be made up for in the fact that we or our employers would pay less for Medical Insurance making America more competitive in the world job market. The fact that we are 37th in health care does not mean there are not good things about the American system and the fact that France is number one does not mean that they don’t have problems, but medical care for profit have problems built into it that other systems don’t

Fireworks for the Fourth or the Fourth for Fireworks

Fireworks for the Fourth or the Fourth for Fireworks

The fourth of July 1776, the day John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence (the others signed much later) was the date set a side has the date the United States of America started. Actually independence didn’t come until 1789 when the treaty of London was signed. Since I was a kid the fourth has been celebrated with Fireworks, but I always thought that the important thing was that it is Independence Day not the Fireworks themselves. Fireworks are nice, but they shouldn’t be the important thing. They are not freedom as some have said they are dangerous and should only be in the hands of Professionals

First Democratic Debate

The first Democratic debate on April 26, 2007 in SC in my humble opinion helped me to get to know the positions of some of the candidates.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel; I did not know him before and even if they did treat him like a potted plant, when he did get to talk he was very good and I liked him a lot, but they will probably make him look like a nut. I don’t know what his position on other issues than Iraq like health care and education.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich; I like his position on Iraq, but I would have to hear more about his positions on health care and education.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards; I think he has the most detailed position on health care, education and how he would pay for it. He has to work of his Iraq position a little more other than saying he is sorry for his vote on the war.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; she has a good position on the war in Iraq if she gets elected, she has had a great position on health care since she was first lady. I would like to hear more about education, but her husband was good on education when he was president.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden; he has the best position on Iraq of any of the candidates, but I need to hear more about health care and education.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd; another potted plant they didn’t call on him much, but he sounds like a run of the mill politician. I didn’t hear his position on Iraq, Health care or education.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama; he said he is against the war, but when asked how he would respond he sounded more pro-war than anti-war and he had very poor response to health care and I am still waiting for his position on education

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Poor on Iraq, Gun control, health care and education. He fell more than anyone in my opinion as a result of this debate

Military Lies

Since the first recorded military report thousands of years ago there probably has not been one account of military action that has told the whole truth. Which is why they say that history is written by the victors and today’s military is no different.
The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch stories illustrate how easily the military lies without even thinking about it. Pat Tillman was said by the military to have been killed the enemy in a firefight with al-Qaida and Taliban troops as he led his unit to assist a group of ambushed soldiers. Actually Tillman was killed by a group of US Soldiers that were itching for a firefight and mistook him for the enemy. The military also said that they took him to a hospital where they continued medical care. Actually his head was half blown off and he was dead on the battlefield. The question for congress is how far up does the cover up go.
Jessica Lynch an Army truck driver who was captured in an ambush during the early days of the Iraq war. The military put out the story of the little girl Rambo from the hills that went down fighting. This was not true she was wounded with broken legs and a cut to her head and she had pasted out. She said that she thought this might not be bad because “it would inspire our troops and rally a nation”. What she wants to inspire our troops to do what is the question is it to take unnecessary risks trying to be another Rambo and endangering their lives and that of their follow troops.
So when you hear stories from a War Zone take them with a lot of salt.