Kiwanis Club of Historic St. Augustine

Newsletter – 1 June 2006

President’s Message:

It was Recount City here at the Village Inn. The future if the free world was in the balance. Our club had to elect a new slate of officers and directors to lead us into the harsh reality of Kiwanis Land. There was much in-fighting and many ballots after lengthy floor fights (ah, the good old days), but in the end, coming out triumphant were: Vice President-Dave Thompson; Board Members-Jake Thompson, Bob Corson, and Lou Nester. You guys spent a lot of time and money to win these seats, so we expect the best from you.

The Division Council meeting is tonight in Jax at the JU campus. The District Gov. won’t be there, so we should get in and out at a reasonable hour. I believe that four of us plan to go, but if you want to go too, let me know right after the meeting.

Coming Events: [Advise the editor of events of interest at 797-4332]

1 June 2006: Division Council Meeting at 1800 hours at JU. Details to follow.

2 June 2006: First Friday Art Walk, check out the local galleries and taste the food and wine.

5 June 2006: Regular monthly board meeting to be held at The Allegro. The meeting will start at 1700 hours. There is much to discuss, so be prompt and be prepared to share some ideas.

Guests: Gary Bernstein joined us now that school is out.

Programs: (Check the website for your speaker assignment date.)

LAST WEEK: Chief Hedges introduced Tom Wheatly, the crime prevention officer for the SABPD. He gave some very good pointers: 1) You need street numbers on your home and business so emergency people can find your place quickly. He pointed out that you should put numbers on BOTH sides of your rural-type mailbox, because the emergency vehicle might not arrive in the same direction as your postman. 2) Lighting is very helpful for safety reasons, and a dog is very handy to keep bad guys away. [As he said, “Get rid of those cats, get a dog.] 3) Neighborhood watch is a very helpful program for crime prevention. He also had a nice hand out dealing with identity theft.

THIS WEEK: Steve Fricke will bring someone to tell us something.

NEXT WEEK: Our Human and Spiritual Aims meeting.

⅓-⅓-⅓ DRAWING WINNERS: Mark Shelly and Steve Fricke were the big winners. Congrats and mix those tickets up better next time. Buy your tickets early and often.

Late Breaking News:

FLORIDA DISTRICT CONVENTION--Please mark your calendars for August 24-27. All new members, seasoned members, officers and Board members should plan to attend this annual event for Florida Kiwanians. For those who have been to past Florida conventions, you'll agree that these conventions include a lot of great workshops, speakers, and our election of October 1st District officers--and there is still time for fun, so bring your families. Our club secretary will be getting info on the Convention frequently; and it will be in your Florida Kiwanis magazines--or go to www.Floridakiwanis.com. Do yourselves a favor and plan to go!

I know that it is getting warmer and summer is almost here, but don’t get complacent, because we are working on a couple of more projects and we will need you be raring to go. Peanut Day is a Division-wide endeavor that we will be involved with this year.

Last Monday was the Memorial Day observance and massing of the colors at the Marine Street military cemetery. I announced last week that it would start at 1100 hours and that those involved should get there by 1030 hours. In my defense, I did not receive the written announcement from MOAA, and I did try to call to get the correct time. I got there just before 1000 hours and discovered that the ceremony was to start at 1000 hours. I understand from Gary B. that Art Runk was looking for me, and I apologize to him and any other member that was late because of my incorrect announcement. I will confirm the time for Veterans Day before I put it in the newsletter.

The Senate passed a “comprehensive” immigration bill. Right away I don’t like it, because Teddy Kennedy is all for it. (Call me a reactionary, I don’t care.) All I know is that if this country doesn’t begin to enforce the immigration laws we have on the books and close our borders to illegal aliens, we will be in for a sorry future. John McCain can tell us that we have to fair to “these people,” and I think that the only way to be “fair” is to make “these people” abide by the laws we have on the books. I find that the majority of people I know that immigrated to this country legally are in favor of border security and law enforcement. They know how hard it is to get to this country legally, and are NOT in favor of giving the illegal aliens a leg up and an easier path to citizenship.

Quote(s) of the Week:
"If I could sum up the new orthodoxy about Iraq, it might run something like the following: 'I supported the overthrow of the odious Saddam Hussein. But then the poor postwar planning, the unanticipated sectarian strife and insurrection, the mounting American losses, the failure to find weapons of mass destruction—all that and more lost my support. Iraq may or may not work out, but I can see now it clearly wasn't worth the American effort.' Aside from the old rehash over disbanding the Iraqi army or tardiness in forming a government, three observations can be made about this 'readjustment' in belief. First, the nature of the lapses after March 2003 is still the subject of legitimate debate; second, our mistakes are no more severe than in most prior wars; and third, they are not fatal to our cause." —Victor Davis Hanson

"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is not a problem of physics but of ethics. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil from the spirit of man." —Albert Einstein

"We can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." —Plato

"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts. Give me a break." —Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia re Gitmo "detainees"