“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far,” Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Henry Sprague on January 26, 1900, while serving as New York’s governor.

More than 115-years later, a video shows the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages by ISIS/ISIL in Libya. The 21 men, all in orange jumpsuits, were marched along a beach in Tripoli, before their murders.

Interesting that ISIS/ISIL should select Tripoli, where the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army stormed the fortress of Derne, defeating the Eyalet of Tripolitania during the First Barbary War in 1805. Some sources say this is a direct challenge to the U.S. military’s superiority.

And while the Egypt’s Air Force hit back at ISIS/ISIL inside Libya with airstrikes for the beheadings, the U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the killings, but did not name the religions of the victims or of the perpetrators.

“The United States condemns the despicable and cowardly murder of 21 Egyptian citizens in Libya by ISIL-affiliated terrorists. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens.”

Also released during the same time period is a video of children dressed in orange jumpsuits, locked in a cage in what can only be called a recreation of the ISIS/ISIL video showing a Jordanian pilot being burned alive.   While it’s still unconfirmed, some believe this event was just a stunt calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged atrocities to be likened to those of the jihadists.

In yet another video released by ISIS/ISIL, orange-clad Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are paraded through the streets of the Hawija district of Kirkuk, Iraq, filled with cheering radical Islamists.  They are locked in, and shackled to large iron cages, also reminiscent of the Jordanian pilot being burned alive.

Whether they’ve been murdered is still unknown.

Meanwhile, Danish police shot and killed Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein after he carried out two shooting attacks.  One at a free speech event and then at a Copenhagen synagogue, killing two men, including a member of Denmark’s Jewish community and wounding five police officers.

Danish police have since arrested two people on suspicion of aiding El-Hussein in the attacks, ending the speculation he was simply a ‘lone actor.’

Finally, President Obama spent much Presidents Day golfing at Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, California, before returning to Washington D.C. The White House says Obama’s golfing group includes three childhood friends from Hawaii.

Obama’s idea of a ‘big stick’ is a golf club.

Her name is Jessica Liesmann, but she’s better known as “Mama Bear,” or the woman who confronted an armed car thief after he rammed into her mini-van in Texas. And now, she’s been ‘rewarded’ with a new vehicle.

“A high-speed police chase came to a dramatic end Wednesday in North Dallas when the driver rear-ended a family’s minivan and was promptly tackled, dragged into the street and beaten by the mom at the wheel and her boyfriend,” reports NBC’s Channel 5 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Her story proves that we are desperate for anyone who resembles a ‘hero.’ After-all she leaped from her van and went after a bad guy on live-television.

However, if you really analyze what she did, you’d realize she did this because she lost her temper, enraged by what happened. Basically, she violently attacked a man she had no knowledge about.

“I was just angry,” Liesmann later admitted.

It’s nice that she received a new mini-van – but why it was given to her sends a bad message to others who believe her actions were proper. After all, police discovered a hand gun in the stolen car.

As Dallas Police Communications Services Section spokesman, Major Max Geron tweeted shortly after the suspect’s apprehension, “Thankful that the citizens who held the chase suspect weren’t injured by him. (I) would never advise you do that.”

From time to time, I’d see him standing out on his back porch smoking a cigarette. We would wave to each other, but hardly did we ever speak other than to say a polite ‘hello’ to each other.

Along with this was the fact that while this man’s home was being built, Kyle saw a beginning of a fire, that left unchecked could have burned the building down. It was discovered the blaze began after some plumbers had been working on the pipes in the kitchen area and a hot-ember fell in a pile of debris.

That was 16-years ago. Then I learned that he passed away on February 7, 2015.

And suddenly, I find myself wishing I had tried harder to get to know him as since his death, I’ve learned he and I had more in common than either of us knew.

His name was Tom Golbov, having been born in Oroville, California, in 1932 and moving to Eureka shortly there after. Tom was also a U.S. Army veteran, serving in Korea, and moving to Reno, Nevada in 1961, where he joined the staff as a Laboratory Technician in the Department of Physics Department of the University of Nevada.

He also worked as a life insurance agent for Transamerica, a job that took him and his wife of 61-year, Joan to Phoenix, AZ for 13 years, until his retirement, at which time they returned to Reno to be close to their family which includes daughter Lorraine Hiatt, and sons, Alan and George Golbov.

Tom’s wife is from Eureka, California. In fact her brother, Gerald “Dick” Atwell, was born in 1929 in Eureka. He died in Surprise, Arizona on April 26, 2010 at the age of 80.

Dick was a general contractor “Builtwell by Atwell” for 28 years and an instructor for 25 years at College of the Redwoods. He also received the Southwest Eureka Rotary Club Vocational Service Award in 1991 for Outstanding Service to the Community and in 1996 received from the Humboldt Builders Exchange Construction Person of the Year.

One of the homes Dick built included the “Kins Sportsman House” in 1962.  He also built the Lady Bird Johnson Grove dedication platform and supervised the building of the Evergreen Lodge.

Tom’s father, Walter Golbov was born in Russia, January 16, 1902, dying May 5, 1958 at his home in Klamath. He had lived there for three years, and was an employee of the Arrow Mills. He’s interred in the IOOF Memorial cemetery of Crescent City.

Tom’s mother was born August 30, 1904 in Palermo, California in Butte County. She passed away in Sparks October 17, 1979 and buried at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery near her grandson, Ivan who lived only 18-days, passing away April 9, 1972.

Tom was 83-years old.

Last year I wrote about possible world-wide financial troubles in “The Coming Bubble,” which is ready to pop, sending the U.S. in a slide worse that the Great Depression of the 1930s:

“USA Today published an article featuring a chart showing the internet bubble, the housing bubble, and an unnamed bubble labeled a ‘stock market bubble.’

While the article doesn’t say there is a stock market bubble occurring in the U.S., it does say, “the Fed’s monetary policies have caused stock prices to soar, doesn’t mean there’s a bubble.” It also says those same monetary policies will likely deflate as part of an overall correction of the market.”

Now ‘Google’ vice-president Vinton Cerf is warning we could lose all of our pictures, document and other data forever.  He says the images and records of our existence that we store on our computers will disappear as the ongoing digital revolution makes older hardware and software obsolete and old files inaccessible.

He adds, that since so much data is now kept in digital format, another problem will be future generations struggling to understand our society. That’s because more often than not, historians don’t realize how important a document is until centuries after the people who created it have died.

This may happen sooner than later — so it’s best to start planning for it.

President Barack Obama once again prove jus’ how out of touch he is with America. Recently he was shown on Buzzfeed allowing his full narcissism to be on display via a string of selfies.

The pictures (part of a video aimed to get people to sign up for Obamacare) were shot the same day the White House announced American hostage Kayla Mueller was dead. The selfies also came the day when ISIS/ISIL appeared on the doorsteps of one of the American bases in Iraq, where U.S. Marines are stationed.

Finally, it’s not enough he’s taking a selfie — he is being photographed while taking those selfies. And he hasn’t the sense to be embarrassed by this.

My friend Charles sent this joke to me — and while completely politically incorrect, I thought I’d share it.

Three strangers strike up a conversation in the airport lounge awaiting their flights.

One is an American Indian another is a cowboy. The third is a Radical Islamist.

Their discussion drifts to their diverse cultures. Soon, the two Westerners learn that the third man is a devout, radical Islamist and the conversation falls into an uneasy lull.

Finally, the American Indian clears his throat and softly speaks. “At one time here, my people were many, but sadly, now we are few.”

The Radical Islamist raises an eyebrow and leans forward, “Once my people were few,” he sneers, “and now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?”

The Montana cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth, and says in a drawl, “That’s ’cause we ain’t played Cowboys and Radicals yet.”

It’s not often that I receive personal mail from the post office these days. Much of what I get comes via the Internet.

So when I went to the mail box and found a small package addressed to me from Lyn and Sean Schmitt of North Las Vegas, I was excited. Once I opened it, I was even more excited to after reading this note:

“There is a bit of a story that goes with this belt buckle. I thought you might like to know the story behind it.

Two years back, I was working the weekend shift at the power plant when we had some unexpected visitors. We were hesitant to let anyone on site on weekends, especially when they don’t have an appointment.

The driver of that truck at the gate said he had been on site before and was there to pickup scrap from our lay-down yard. Now this is VERY unusual as we have copper and other metals that can be quite valuable and have been target of thieves in the past.

I asked the person to come in the control room so we could talk.

The truck came on site and in through the door walked a man and a couple of younger men who were obviously Native American. They told me they were from the local Paiute tribe and that they ran a school to teach their young men a skill to get them off the reservation.

They owned a smelter and would melt down scrap metals to create jewelry and trinkets that could be sold. After hearing this and seeing some of their products, I agreed to let them go back and scavenge.

They took some of our old wire and aluminum as well as a few pallets. That was the last I expected to hear from them.

Last week, we were surprised to see that same old truck pull up to the gate of the power plant. The same man came in with another of his students.

He presented us with a beautiful dream catcher that they made into a plaque. They also gave some of the staff belt buckles, knives and copper bangles.

The buckle you have in your hands was made from scrap aluminum and formed in a hand-made sand mold. I hope you enjoy it even more so, knowing the story that comes with it.”

I plan to buy a shadow box and mount both the letter and the bucket in it together as it is artwork that deserves to be shown off.

While the media trumpets news about the ‘fall of the U.S. Embassy’ in Yemen — ISIS/ISIL has seized much of Ramadi, Iraq. The town is the location of al-Asad Air Base where 300 U.S. Marines are stationed.

Furthermore, Iraqi officials say they’ve lost contact with the base, while the pentagon says the terrorist were repelled. Reuters claims the heavy fighting in al-Baghdadi is much more significant than the Pentagon is letting on.

“Ninety percent of al-Baghdadi district has fallen under the control of the insurgents,” district manager Naji Arak told Reuters by phone.

Al-Baghdadi sits on the only real roadway in and out of al-Asad. And if its true that al-Bagdadi is under the control of ISIS/ISIL, the only way in out of al-Asad is by air.

I see another Khe Sanh on the horizon.

And where is President Obama today? He’s on his way to San Francisco, California for a private Democratic National Committee fundraiser.

Listen closely the next time you hear President Obama speak of the American wage-earner and you’ll realize he uses ‘worker,’ verses ‘employee,’ nearly every time. And while some may say it’s accidental or meaningless, it is interesting to note that ‘worker’ is used in the Marxist or leftist contexts to refer to the ‘working class.’

As Obama stated in February 2008, “Don’t tell me words don’t matter!”

• “I haven’t looked at Staples’ stock lately or what the compensation of the CEO is, but I suspect that they could well afford to treat their workers favorably and give them some basic financial security.”

• “That would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage.”

• “Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers.”

• “The average minimum wage worker is 35 years old.”

• “I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs.”

• “Now you have a choice: we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America.”

• “Pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise workers’ wages.”

• “When CEOs are making more in ten minutes than the average worker earns in a year…”

• “But I’ve made a different bet on American workers.”

• “We got workers and automakers to settle their differences.”

• “We bet on American workers.”

• “That’s why we’ve kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that American workers are getting a good deal.”

• “But I guarantee you I don’t meet a single worker in Iowa who’s been laid off who says, ‘I wouldn’t rather pay a little bit more for sneakers at Wal-Mart but still have a job.’”

• “The troubles, the difficulties, the burdens of globalization are going to be placed on the backs of workers.”

• “The Earned Income Tax Credit provides low-wage workers with supplemental income through the tax code should be expanded and streamlined so more families can take advantage of it.”

Only once can I find Obama speaking of ‘employees:  “I will issue an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour–because if you cook our troops’ meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty.”

The first headline I saw came late Sunday evening, “Ukrainian government officials confirmed a nuclear blast was detected in Ukraine Sunday.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t stop to see where exactly it came from. So I ‘googled’ the sentence and found it being carried by every crack-pot with a website and Internet connection, concluding it wasn’t as big a deal as I first thought.

I turned in for the night.

Then Monday morning, I read, “A giant explosion which rocked the Ukrainian city of Donetsk sparked fears of a ‘tactical nuke’ after pro-government forces shelled a rebel-held chemical plant,” in the UK’s Daily Mail.

Did I miss something as I slept? Nope.

After viewing three videos uploaded to Youtube, I concluded it was a conventional explosion that illuminated the night sky.  A nuclear blast creates an electromagnetic pulse that will fry all electronics within the blast area and since the videos were on the Internet within minutes of the reported blast – it wasn’t a nuke that went off.

Russian media reports the epicenter of the explosion was in the Kuibyshev district of Donetsk, Ukraine, the site of the most intense fighting between Russian-backed rebels and the Western-backed Ukrainian government.  The media also said the explosion could be seen and felt for “tens of kilometers.”

The blast occurred at the military chemical plant DKZHI and coincides with 1,500 Russian troops and 300 units of military equipment arriving in Donetsk over the weekend.  Russia denies supplying the rebel’s with troops and weapons, claiming they are only providing “humanitarian convoys.”

It also came as the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine plan to sit down and discuss a peace plan for the region.