Azure...

Good evening everyone.

This blog entry is from late June.

Azure...it is sadly not a word we get to use often.  Azure is a shade of blue, normally associated with the sea.  Thus, one who is traveling in the area of the French Riviera is somewhere along la Côte d'Azur, the Azure Coast.

I am somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean right now, underway on a US aircraft carrier.  As with all US carriers, it is nuclear-powered.  Shortly, I will transfer to a guided missile destroyer, which will be my home for the next month or so.

Whatever else is happening, I go outside every day.  On my first day on board, the deep blue of the ocean very much caught my eye.  You may remember the closing few minutes of "The Shawshank Redemption."  Morgan Freeman's character Red has decided to break parole.  He is on a bus to find Andy, the main character of the story.

While on the bus, his character is sitting quietly, staring out the window.  The voiceover is Morgan Freeman.  One of the lines is "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams."

We had a liberty port in Hawaii.  Jennifer came out to visit.  The last time we were there was 20 years ago.  This time, we did not need babysitters.  We took this picture on the eastern side of Oahu.

To Morgan Freeman's hope about the Pacific, it is.

Have a good evening everyone.

R/SCG

Flag Etiquette at Sea...

Top of the afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am in Japan right now, where it is Monday.  If you are seeing this blog entry on Sunday, I would like to tell you that Monday is turning out to be a good day.

In international law, national flags fly at the same height.  The implicit message is that no nation is greater than or less than any other nation.  In United States federal law, no flag is allowed to fly above the ensign of the United States.

And yet you just watched my previous blog entry.  There is a flag above the ensign of the United States.  How could this be?

Technically, my initial statement stands.  No flag will fly above the ensign of the United States.  What can fly above the ensign of the United States is certain pennants, and very few of them at that.  The difference is in the number of corners.  A pennant only has three corners.

Which pennants fly above the ensign of the United States?  A ship's commissioning pennant will fly above the ensign.  As well, it is customary to fly a chaplain's pennant above the national ensign when religious services are in progress and are being led by a chaplain (chaplain only, and not a lay leader).

In the video from the previous blog entry, you will note that the pennant flying above the ensign is in the shape of tablets and has Hebrew writing thereupon.  It took eight weeks to get that video.  I was the Jewish chaplain.  The video was taken while I was embarked on USS HOWARD (DDG 83).

R/Chaps

"One Nation, Under God..."

 

I Need a New Travel Agent...

Top of the evening to all....

I need a new travel agent.  I should have read the fine print.

My flight from Honolulu out to the luxury cruise liner was loud and the air conditioning did not work.  A small bag of pretzels would have been lovely.  Instead of an announcement stating that the captain has turned on the seatbelt light, the flight crew suddenly started waving hands wildly.  We all put our heads against the seat backs.  The plane touched down on the cruise liner and stopped in less time and space than necessary to slow a car down from highway speed.

Was there a welcome?  Noooo.  They rushed us off the plane quickly.  Everyone seemed to think that taking in the new scenery was of secondary concern.  Getting off of an operational runway was far more important.

Okay...my connection was supposed to travel to my next stop on Sunday.  Well, that did not happen.  It got put off until Monday (thank you Vladimir Putin).  Then it got put off until Wednesday.  Now I think it is Tuesday.  I would not have minded so much that it was put off, except that I had packed to travel before they passed the word.

Well, at least I have a room.  And the price was sweet.  And the travel agent made sure it was close to the airport in order to make my connection.  Now I know why it was such a great price.  It was very close to the airport.  My amazing lodging is three decks directly below an operational runway.  Planes landing on this runway come in at takeoff speed.*  The ship shakes as they come to an abrupt halt. 

-----Break-----

And now more seriously, all of those great movies cannot capture the drama and excitement of seeing an aircraft carrier flight deck in operation.  To watch a plane come in at takeoff speed and just stop was exciting every time.  On the other end, to watch the same planes go from being at rest to being launched off of the carrier deck in an instant will never get boring.

Transfer to my new duty station will be Tuesday morning.

Have a good evening everyone.

R/Chaplain

*By the way, planes always come in to the carrier at takeoff speed.  If the arresting cable snaps, or if the plane just misses one of the cables, the pilot needs to be at speed to take off again immediately.  One way or another, the plane is going off the ship.  Whether it goes back up or down into the water depends on a pilot's quick reflexes.

Open and Accountable Government

Top of the evening to all.

Tomorrow will be my last day of this COVID-19 quarantine.  This one is utterly ridiculous.  Why?

I came back from the US approximately 14 days ago.  A day or two after my return, there was an Expert Panel Report.  Canada's Minister of Health appointed this expert panel.  Amongst other things, the expert panel reported that:

1.  There is no reason to require quarantine after day 8 and three negative nasal swab tests.

2.  There is no reason to require quarantine for those who are fully vaccinated (I am in that category).

I have sent numerous e-mails to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Health.  In those e-mails, I have asked the following questions:

1.  Why is being completely immunized not sufficient to allow a person out of quarantine?

2.  Why is the completion of eight days and three nasal swab tests not sufficient to allow a person out of quarantine?

3.  Are there lingering concerns that the Expert Panel did not address?  What are they?

4.  Do you trust the findings and recommendations of the Expert Panel?  If so, why are you not implementing policy?  If not, why is there an Expert Panel?

5.  Will the government implement policy based on the Expert Panel's recommendations?  If so, when?  If not, why not?

6.  Why will the Minister of Health not offer any communication on the decision-making process?

Mr. Trudeau spelled out his policy on Open and Accountable Government.  In section G:6, he states that "communicating with the public is an important obligation of the government.  Communications must be factual, timely, and clear."  The lack of any response to the report of the Expert Panel is a betrayal of the promise of Open and Accountable Government.  

Mr. Trudeau, Ms. Hajdu, when will you give a clear response to the report of the Expert Panel?  If there is good reason for maintaining the quarantine, we are prepared to hear it.  We also deserve to hear it.  

We are waiting.

R/SCG

Quarantine

 Good evening to all.

I am in the middle of an entirely unnecessary quarantine right now.  It is with dismay that the powers that be seem unwilling or unable to give even a single reason for maintaining it.

I wrote the lyrics below a few weeks back.  The original song is Those Canaan Days.  It is from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

I humbly apologize to Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG

"Those COVID Days," 

     sung to the tune of "Those Canaan Days"

 

Do you remember the good years in North York?

The summers were endlessly gold.

New condos were under construction.

The winters were always too cold.

 

We strolled down the Danforth together,

And everything 'round us was fine.

Now even though our arms are bare, we only get one shot in there,

Et maintenant, we cannot go outside.

 

Chorus:

     Those Trudeau days, we used to know, 

     Where have they gone?

     Where did they go?

     Eh bien, raise your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

 

Do you remember those wonderful parties?

The splendour of Canada's cuisine.

Poutine, beaver tails, and IPAs, 

The most amazing we have ever seen.

 

It's funny, but since we've had COVID, 

We've gone to the other extreme.

No one comes to dinner now, 

We'd only mask-shame them anyhow,

I even find I'm missing Trudeau's dreams.

 

Chorus:

 

D.S. 

It's funny, but since we've had Justin,

We've fired an abusive GG.

It seems we all misjudged the lad.

He's clearly nothing like his dad.

And how we miss that charity called WE.  (To Coda)

 

Coda:

 

     Those Trudeau days, we used to know, 

     Where have they gone?

     Where did they go?

     Eh bien, raise your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

 

     Eh bien, raise. your berets, 

     To his sunny ways.

It Bears Repeating...

Good morning to all.

In 2014, there was a significant conflagration between Israel and the murderers hiding behind the general population in Gaza.  At that time, President Obama's press secretary made strong statements regarding Israel's right to self-defence.  

If history is not repeating itself right now, it is at least rhyming.  President Biden, the Secretary of State, and the press secretary have all echoed the Obama administration most emphatically.

Back then, I wrote the following blog entry: Provide for the Common Defence.  

The only thing that would be different between that blog entry and this one is that Rav Jen was in Israel the last time.  This time, Jesse is in Israel (please note that he is in Jerusalem, which is presently quiet).

Other than that, every word stands as is.

וישבו איש תחת גפנו ותחת תאנתו ואין מחריד

May all be able to sit under vine and fig and never be afraid.

R/SCG