Someone help me, please.  I don't understand why scalpers are "evil profiteering bastards" and Ticketmaster and the venues are not.  What is wrong with buying any commodity and selling it to someone else at a higher price?  It works well on Wall Street, why not in entertainment.

"Face Value" is a myth.  The value of an object is the price you can assign that object and find a buyer for it.  If I buy a comic book for $1 and sell it to you for $50, then it has a value (to me and you) of $50.  If someone buys 10 tickets to Hannah Montana for $50 each and sells each one for $150 each, what is the value of those tickets?  "But the scalper is not a fan, he should not be able to buy tickets."  Why?  Give me one rational, valid reason.  The scalper is no different than any other commodity broker.  He takes a risk and typically reaps reward; but only if the market will bear it. 

If you don't like the tactics of the scalper, fine!  I don't either.  Don't buy from him.  But know that if you do, you validate his business model, and therefore condone his action.  On the other hand, I guarantee that when it is no longer profitable, rather it becomes unprofitable, the practice WILL cease.  Do not force legislation, do not cry about it.  Stop supporting them, and they will go away.

By the way, the people you should be angry at are the ones who paid $1000 for tickets to Hannah Montana.  Shame on them.

In June of this year, Rear Adm. Eugene B. Fluckey died at the age of 93.  I cannot hope to give a proper summary of his career, but to say the summary of it upon his passing caused me to immediately purchase his book chronicling his command of the submarine USS Barb. 

Thunder Below! is slang used in WWII for depth charges and gives us the indication that this book is about submarine warfare.  What we cannot be prepared for is the great storytelling found here.  The USS Barb was the most successful submarine in the US Pacific Fleet during WWII under the command of one man.  This is the story of the Captain and his crew on some of the most daring raids of Japanese shipping, ports, factories and even an attack against a train.  The Barb even pioneered the use of rocketry from submarines.  The official war record reads like a novel and this first person account, accompanied by official American and Japanese documentation, is more exciting than many thrillers.

I started this book because the topic interested me.  I finished this book knowing it would be a permanent part of my library.  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in first person accounts of WWII, naval engagements, or military history.  I thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to cover and anticipate that I will read it again one day.  Very impressive.  Adm. Fluckey should be recognized by everyone as a true and very real American Hero.

Paul Tibbets died today at the age of 92.  I would like to honor him for the outstanding way he stood up to critics for what was, to him, and truly was, just another mission. 

Thank you, General Tibbets.  You were, and will always be, an American Hero of the greatest sort.  You stood tall, did your duty, and honored our country with dignity.