| SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION CHAPTER LXIX NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2007 BERNIE FISHER CHAPTER THE NEXT MEETING IS ON MARCH 4TH AT NOODLES AT 1900 HOURS. |
President: Jack Frost 208-454-8361
Vice President: Bob Shuster 541-372-5222
Treasurer: Bob Robertson 208-459-4798
Chaplain: Vahan Sipantzi 208-482-7495
Editor: ted@SFA-ChapterLXIX.com
Vice President: Bob Shuster 541-372-5222
Treasurer: Bob Robertson 208-459-4798
Chaplain: Vahan Sipantzi 208-482-7495
Editor: ted@SFA-ChapterLXIX.com
The next meeting will be on the 4th of March at Noodles at the usual time 1900hrs, We will be discussing our
first outing of the year at the team house which will be the later part of March and before spring break for the
school kids, I would like to see a big turnout for this meeting. The building fund tickets are out so bring your tickets
to Bob and make sure you put chapterLXIX on them.
We found out that Mike Edwards has contracted some kind of fungus or spores from working on cutting granite
it has effected his lungs so they are trying to find out how to get rid of this stuff, hope to find out more at the next
meeting. I went in last Friday and had a new stunt put in as I had some big blockage I didn't know about and it
didn't show up on the stress test, so they decided to go in and look from the inside, good thing they did, I can
breath better know and do not get indigestion any more.
Vahan and Zoe are doing well in Haiti but riding around on some rough roads to get things built, it will be
interesting to hear his stories this time around, at least they won't have to hurry up and escape from the place this
time. They are supposed to be in a safer place this year. We hope Rex's eye is healed up and he's healed up,
we don't need a lot of sick and crippled members as we have had this month.
Remember the meeting and the building fund tickets. A tip of the Beret to Dana two meetings in a row keep it up.
Jack
first outing of the year at the team house which will be the later part of March and before spring break for the
school kids, I would like to see a big turnout for this meeting. The building fund tickets are out so bring your tickets
to Bob and make sure you put chapterLXIX on them.
We found out that Mike Edwards has contracted some kind of fungus or spores from working on cutting granite
it has effected his lungs so they are trying to find out how to get rid of this stuff, hope to find out more at the next
meeting. I went in last Friday and had a new stunt put in as I had some big blockage I didn't know about and it
didn't show up on the stress test, so they decided to go in and look from the inside, good thing they did, I can
breath better know and do not get indigestion any more.
Vahan and Zoe are doing well in Haiti but riding around on some rough roads to get things built, it will be
interesting to hear his stories this time around, at least they won't have to hurry up and escape from the place this
time. They are supposed to be in a safer place this year. We hope Rex's eye is healed up and he's healed up,
we don't need a lot of sick and crippled members as we have had this month.
Remember the meeting and the building fund tickets. A tip of the Beret to Dana two meetings in a row keep it up.
Jack
| WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHAPTER |
| THE CHAPLAIN’S CORNER |
LETTING DOWN – RECIPE FOR FAILURE
When WWll began we had a standing army of only 175,000 that was poorly equipped and low in morale. By
the end of the war four years later it was the best-equipped army in the world and stood proudly at 8,000,000 strong
and drawn from ALL levels of society.
By the time the Korean war (a police action with no “police”) began, the army was once again, after only five
short years, low in numbers, poorly trained, poorly equipped, and soft. The army, and the Congress responsible for
it’s support, had become complacent and lulled to sleep by the false notion that no one would dare start a war and if
they did a single weapon, the A-bomb or H-Bomb, could and would guarantee peace or a quick victory-so funds
would be better spent on vote getting, popular social programs or pork barrel projects at home than on a ready
army.
Jesus, the wandering healer and proclaimer of “Good News” began a revolution in relationships, thinking and
behavior with a standing army of only twelve with probably a couple hundred camp following wannabies. It grew into
an army of hundreds of thousands. As people became more accepting or tolerant of it they began to slide into a
divided force, poorly trained and equipped for the battle it faced, and lulled into a false sense of peace with no unity
or esprit de corps. The result was a weak church with weak faith that allowed for the rise and conquest by Islam. It
was too weak and divided to fight and win so many simply gave up or gave in. They had been Christians, followers
of Jesus Christ in name only or by the accident of birth. Their faith in Christ was not deep enough to face
persecution or to fight for.
Today we face similar enemies: complacency, lack of depth in our faith (sure I believe in “the Great
Jumpmaster In the Sky”), “New Age” philosophies, division and lack of unity within the body of Christ (the church),
the worship of materialism, focus on oneself and a revived radical Islam that won’t be satisfied until we either convert
or die just as it was in it’s expansive years.
Like our volunteer army today, the best equipped and trained fighting force in the world, Jesus Christ continues
to recruit volunteers whose primary desire is to “Be All They Can Be”, to fight the good fight against the world’s evil
(if you don’t believe in “evil” then Hitler, Stalin, HoChi Minh, and the Khmer Rouge were angels) and to share “the
Good News” that God loved enough to give His very best – His Son Jesus Christ that we might be reconciled to Him
and enjoy the blessings that come with being called “a Child of God” For those who volunteer and who put forth
their best He will not only fully equip you for life’s battles, but like real leaders of old he will lead the way. Fort
Benning didn’t invent the phrase “Follow Me” – Jesus did. Pay ain’t always the hottest. The fight may be bitter, hard
and long – but final VICTORY is assured and the retirement package can’t be beat. You won’t need to trample over
your buddies on your rush to the recruiting station. Like Special Forces, volunteers are in short supply, and the
drop out rate is high. There are no medals or campaign ribbons, “atta boys”, or badges – but what a brotherhood.
You’ll look back on life with satisfaction and one day hear the words of the C.O. “Well done, good and faithful
soldier”.
Chaplain Vahan Sipantzi
26972 Lower Pleasant Ridge Rd.
Wilder, ID 83676
(208) 482-7495
When WWll began we had a standing army of only 175,000 that was poorly equipped and low in morale. By
the end of the war four years later it was the best-equipped army in the world and stood proudly at 8,000,000 strong
and drawn from ALL levels of society.
By the time the Korean war (a police action with no “police”) began, the army was once again, after only five
short years, low in numbers, poorly trained, poorly equipped, and soft. The army, and the Congress responsible for
it’s support, had become complacent and lulled to sleep by the false notion that no one would dare start a war and if
they did a single weapon, the A-bomb or H-Bomb, could and would guarantee peace or a quick victory-so funds
would be better spent on vote getting, popular social programs or pork barrel projects at home than on a ready
army.
Jesus, the wandering healer and proclaimer of “Good News” began a revolution in relationships, thinking and
behavior with a standing army of only twelve with probably a couple hundred camp following wannabies. It grew into
an army of hundreds of thousands. As people became more accepting or tolerant of it they began to slide into a
divided force, poorly trained and equipped for the battle it faced, and lulled into a false sense of peace with no unity
or esprit de corps. The result was a weak church with weak faith that allowed for the rise and conquest by Islam. It
was too weak and divided to fight and win so many simply gave up or gave in. They had been Christians, followers
of Jesus Christ in name only or by the accident of birth. Their faith in Christ was not deep enough to face
persecution or to fight for.
Today we face similar enemies: complacency, lack of depth in our faith (sure I believe in “the Great
Jumpmaster In the Sky”), “New Age” philosophies, division and lack of unity within the body of Christ (the church),
the worship of materialism, focus on oneself and a revived radical Islam that won’t be satisfied until we either convert
or die just as it was in it’s expansive years.
Like our volunteer army today, the best equipped and trained fighting force in the world, Jesus Christ continues
to recruit volunteers whose primary desire is to “Be All They Can Be”, to fight the good fight against the world’s evil
(if you don’t believe in “evil” then Hitler, Stalin, HoChi Minh, and the Khmer Rouge were angels) and to share “the
Good News” that God loved enough to give His very best – His Son Jesus Christ that we might be reconciled to Him
and enjoy the blessings that come with being called “a Child of God” For those who volunteer and who put forth
their best He will not only fully equip you for life’s battles, but like real leaders of old he will lead the way. Fort
Benning didn’t invent the phrase “Follow Me” – Jesus did. Pay ain’t always the hottest. The fight may be bitter, hard
and long – but final VICTORY is assured and the retirement package can’t be beat. You won’t need to trample over
your buddies on your rush to the recruiting station. Like Special Forces, volunteers are in short supply, and the
drop out rate is high. There are no medals or campaign ribbons, “atta boys”, or badges – but what a brotherhood.
You’ll look back on life with satisfaction and one day hear the words of the C.O. “Well done, good and faithful
soldier”.
Chaplain Vahan Sipantzi
26972 Lower Pleasant Ridge Rd.
Wilder, ID 83676
(208) 482-7495
From The Editor
I have a new e-mail address.
Ted_Hyde@Fiberpipe.net
Any e-mails sent to any other address will not get to me.
Here is a funny e-mail that I got about taxes to bad it is true. I do not know it the man whos name is at the bottom did
start it but this is how I got it.
"Best explanation to share with your congressman, who clearly does not understand this complex principle.
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way
we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner
threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for
the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would
still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall
so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man
and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair
to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the
breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the
nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something
important. They didn't have enough money between all of them
for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who
pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy,
and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is
somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible."
Ted
Ted_Hyde@Fiberpipe.net
Any e-mails sent to any other address will not get to me.
Here is a funny e-mail that I got about taxes to bad it is true. I do not know it the man whos name is at the bottom did
start it but this is how I got it.
"Best explanation to share with your congressman, who clearly does not understand this complex principle.
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way
we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner
threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for
the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would
still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall
so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man
and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair
to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the
breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the
nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something
important. They didn't have enough money between all of them
for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who
pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy,
and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is
somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible."
Ted
