I finally got around to posting some pics from my trip. Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Pats cheating? I'm shocked!
First you have the Pats cheating against the Jets. Wait, the Jets? The Pats are so good, why would they attempt to cheat against the Jets? Oh, yeah, because it must work. And there's no way that the Hoodie is going to let ManGenius beat him again! Now those stinking Pats are tainted forever and I do feel slightly bad for their fans. To add insult to injury, Terrific Tom comes out after their Sunday night beatdown of the Chargers to say, "Hey fans, do you know how lucky you are to have us?" Arrogant? Sure. Cocky? Definitely. Stupid? You betcha! If I found out my beloved Steelers did the same thing, I'd want the whole coaching staff ejected from the league and any other players that either knew or were involved. Instead, you have Tom Brady coming out to say, uh, it really didn't help us because we've been near perfect for years now so people just need to move on and realize that our coach is God. Sorry Tom, not this time. Good luck cheaters...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
How sick is Vick?
Michael Vick - All I can say is wow. What kind of moron risks his NFL career because he likes watching dogs fight? If he did half the stuff he's accused of, then he's one sick freak and I hope they throw the book at him. Here is one disturbing accusation: 83. In or about April of 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS, and VICK executed approximately 8 dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road by various methods, including hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground. (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0717072vick1.html)
The real question is, do I still draft Alge Crumpler in my Fantasy Football league now that Vick most likely won't be playing anymore?
Friday, July 06, 2007
Labor of Love - Two weeks ago, some friends and I took it upon ourselves to fix what our local government wouldn't, a sand volleyball court. My friends and I would usually meet on Thursday nights or Sunday mornings to play our favorite sport, volleyball. Unfortunately, the city recently renovated the kids play area and reworked the volleyball court. Once everything was finished, the court was worse than before. There were all kinds of crap in the court, pieces of concrete, tons of rocks, some rebar, and giant chunks of hard dirt instead of soft sand. What the hell? For weeks several members of the group who uses the court contacted the city to ask if they could fix the court. With little to no help coming from the city, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We met at the court on Sunday morning at 0800 with tools in hand. After the first 30 minutes, it was clear that with our hand tools alone, it would take several days to complete the task. Thankfully, one of our buddies showed up with a roto-tiller. Between the roto-tiller and our hand tools, we removed the bulk of offending items and turned the existing sand over into a playable surface. It took about two hours with six of us working on the court until it was ready. We threw up the net and started playing around 1000 and had a great time. I had a great time playing and I'm not sure if the level of enjoyment was due to the game I love, the hard work before, the perfect weather conditions, or the beer, but it was a fine day indeed.
News for profit today and old newsmen seen as objective?!?! Please, even back in the day when news was not for profit, every newscaster from murrow to cronkite slanted their coverage based on their ideologies and beliefs. Now it's just out there and people have a better understanding what motivates the newscasters. I wish more of them would simply put out their beliefs and then the viewers can decide who they want to watch and what they choose to believe. A great example of this debate was when Leslie Stahl interviewed Lou Dobbs and was shocked, yes, shocked that he has opinions and tells his viewers. I know that I for one was glad to hear Lou express his views and I think he's more honest than Stahl will ever be. She couldn't tell anyone with a straight face that her reporting on the Bush administration is unbiased.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Scooter...
Scooter's Clemency - Interesting that he only commuted his prison sentence rather than granting a full pardon that would restore all of his rights. Libby will still be on probation, pay his fine, and remain a felon. Knowing all the fallout that Bush will take for doing anything, I'm surprised he didn't just go all the way. While Article II of the Constitution does grant the President the power to pardon, it would seem like there would have to be a very strong argument before one is issued. President Bush made an interesting point in his statement (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070702-3.html) about the fact that in the end, the no one was ever charged with the original accusation even though they knew who did it early on in the investigation which I can't understand. I think I'd be more inclined to say that the commutation is wrong if the Special Prosecutor also indicted someone with the original charge. Your thoughts?
Monday, July 02, 2007
Ouch...
River rafting…Things to remember: use sun block on your legs and wear a hat. I went down the full South Fork on Sunday and had a great time. Not only did we get a great day on the water, but we had three more surprises in store after we finished. On our drive back, the right rear tire blew on the van and scared those of us in the last row of seats. We pulled off and the tire was completely shredded. Thankfully, a few members of our group are not only mechanically inclined, but also inventive (think MacGyver). The tool to lift the jack was missing so one guy pulled out and used a street sign as a fulcrum to lift the truck up and another person raised the jack by hand. We changed the tire just as the second van arrived to help and then noticed the second surprise, a massive fire on the mountain to our left. Almost the entire mountainside had already been burned and there were no less than three air assaults and a ton of trucks heading up the road to fight the fire. As we drove home we stumbled upon our third crazy encounter, a smashed Honda that slammed into a trailer. I was keeping my eyes open for the locust to begin swarming…ha-ha. There will be pictures in a few weeks, but for now I thought I'd post the map of our trek.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Caution indeed...
Bush's Immigration Bill - one word, horrible. Any bill that includes amnesty for anyone who is here illegally, is nothing I want to become law. On the subject of immigration, I would like to see the following: secure our borders, kick out the illegal aliens, and update our immigration policy. The Republicans will see huge losses if they pass the current bill for sure.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
That's one way to look at it...
Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson/John Fitzgerald - I heard Joe Wilson today on a radio show commenting on Scooter Libby's sentence and what I found hilarious was the way both Joe and the host stuck to the left's spin on this non-story. For those of you who don't know the story, Valerie Plame was made famous when columnist Robert Novak mentioned her name in conjunction with sending Joe Wilson to Niger to investigate a story that Iraq tried to buy uranium. The story was that Plame suggested sending her husband, Joe Wilson, to Niger to find out if the claim was true. In his official report, Wilson did confirm that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Niger (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html?referrer=emailarticle). The story erupted when Joe Wilson wrote an op-ed article after President Bush's State of the Union Address accusing the Administration of lying about his report. The funny thing is that Wilson is contradicted by his own report to the CIA about the uranium and his wife sending him to Niger. After the story broke, an investigation was launched to find out who leaked Valerie Wilson's name which was classified by the CIA. After the investigation was concluded, the only indictment handed down was to Scooter Libby for obstruction of justice due to his conflicting statements to the investigators. There was no indictment of the person who leaked her name, Richard Armitage, but the left continues to say that Libby is going to jail for leaking the name. I simply find it amusing that the left continues to beat the drum about the leak when Libby wasn't found guilty of the crime.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Don't save the rainforest...
Classic, since my daughter was just in a play about this crap:
If Only Greens Saw The Forest For The Trees By ROY INNIS Posted Thursday, May 31, 2007 4:30 PM PT
"People here have no jobs," Mark Fenn admitted, after taking documentary producers on a tour of his $35,000 catamaran and the site of his new coastal home. "But if you could count how many times they smile in a day, if you could measure stress" and compare that with "well-off people" in London or New York, "then tell me, who is rich and who is poor?"
Fenn is coordinator of the World Wildlife Fund's campaign against a proposed mining project near Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. The locals strongly support the project and want the jobs, development, improved living standards and environmental quality the state-of-the-art operation will bring.
People there live in abject poverty, along dirt roads, in dirt-floor shacks, and are hardly able to afford food on their $1,000-a-year average incomes. There is little power, no indoor plumbing. The local rain forest has been destroyed for firewood and slash-and-burn farming. People barely eke out a living.
But Fenn claims the mine will change the "quaint" village and harm the environment. He says he feels "like a resident," his children "were born and raised" there, and the locals "don't consider education to be important" and would just spend their money on parties, jeans and stereos.
Actually, Fenn lives 300 miles away and sends his children to school in South Africa. And the locals hardly conform to his insulting stereotypes. "If I had money, I would open a grocery store," said one. "Send my children to school," start a business, become a midwife, build a new house, said others.
You have to see the film, "Mine Your Own Business," to fully grasp the callous disdain these radicals have for the world's poor. Don Imus' intemperate remarks were insensitive. But Fenn's demeaning, even racist, statements perpetuate misery.
These enemies of the poor say they are "stakeholders" wishing to "preserve" indigenous people and villages. They never consider what's wanted by the real stakeholders — those who live in these communities and must endure the consequences of harmful campaigns waged all over the world.
The WWF, Greenpeace, Oxfam, Sierra Club, Rainforest Action Network and other multinational activist groups battle mines in Romania, Peru, Chile, Ghana and Indonesia; electricity projects in Uganda, India and Nepal; biotechnology that could improve farm incomes and reduce malnutrition in Kenya, India, Brazil and the Philippines; and DDT that could slash malaria rates in Africa, where the disease kills 3,000 children a day.
They harp on technology's speculative hazards and ignore real, life-or-death dangers that modern mining, development and technology would reduce or prevent. They never mention the jobs, clinics, schools, roads, improved housing and small business opportunities — or the electricity, refrigeration, safe water, better nutrition, reduced disease and fewer dead children.
They pervert "sustainable development" to mean no development, and ignore how mines will lay the foundation that will sustain prosperity and better living standards for generations.
Agitators use global warming and "corporate social responsibility" to force companies to acquiesce to their agendas — and ignore human rights to energy and technology, and people's desperate cries for a chance to take their rightful places among the Earth's healthy and prosperous people.
They extol the virtues of microcredit, to support minimal family enterprises, and demand debt forgiveness and more foreign aid for corrupt dictators — but oppose economic development that would eliminate the need for international welfare. They blame Newmont Mining for accidents that killed five people over a two-year period in Ghana, but refuse to admit that their pressure campaigns cause millions of deaths every year.
One could justifiably call it eco-manslaughter — or a racist experiment on powerless, impoverished Third World families.
Yes, there are environmental impacts from mines, dams and other development. There are health and other risks. But the Industrial Revolution also brought those changes. Are we worse off for it? Do we want to return to the jobs, lifestyles and living standards of pre-industrial, pre-electric America, when 95% of Americans were farmers, cholera and malaria were ever-present, and the average life expectancy was 45?
Would any of the greens, politicians and celebrities who clamor to keep the world's poor "indigenous" (and thus impoverished, energy-deprived and diseased) care to live that lifestyle for even one month? Would they exchange their 10,000-square-foot mansions for a hovel, give up electricity and stop globe-trotting in private jets?
Why hasn't the United Nations criticized the institutional racism being perpetrated in the name of "saving the planet"? Where are U.S. civil rights groups, media, churches and these poor countries' leaders? This intolerable situation cannot continue. People of conscience must no longer remain silent.
Innis is national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights group that promotes economic development rights for the poor worldwide.
If Only Greens Saw The Forest For The Trees By ROY INNIS Posted Thursday, May 31, 2007 4:30 PM PT
"People here have no jobs," Mark Fenn admitted, after taking documentary producers on a tour of his $35,000 catamaran and the site of his new coastal home. "But if you could count how many times they smile in a day, if you could measure stress" and compare that with "well-off people" in London or New York, "then tell me, who is rich and who is poor?"
Fenn is coordinator of the World Wildlife Fund's campaign against a proposed mining project near Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. The locals strongly support the project and want the jobs, development, improved living standards and environmental quality the state-of-the-art operation will bring.
People there live in abject poverty, along dirt roads, in dirt-floor shacks, and are hardly able to afford food on their $1,000-a-year average incomes. There is little power, no indoor plumbing. The local rain forest has been destroyed for firewood and slash-and-burn farming. People barely eke out a living.
But Fenn claims the mine will change the "quaint" village and harm the environment. He says he feels "like a resident," his children "were born and raised" there, and the locals "don't consider education to be important" and would just spend their money on parties, jeans and stereos.
Actually, Fenn lives 300 miles away and sends his children to school in South Africa. And the locals hardly conform to his insulting stereotypes. "If I had money, I would open a grocery store," said one. "Send my children to school," start a business, become a midwife, build a new house, said others.
You have to see the film, "Mine Your Own Business," to fully grasp the callous disdain these radicals have for the world's poor. Don Imus' intemperate remarks were insensitive. But Fenn's demeaning, even racist, statements perpetuate misery.
These enemies of the poor say they are "stakeholders" wishing to "preserve" indigenous people and villages. They never consider what's wanted by the real stakeholders — those who live in these communities and must endure the consequences of harmful campaigns waged all over the world.
The WWF, Greenpeace, Oxfam, Sierra Club, Rainforest Action Network and other multinational activist groups battle mines in Romania, Peru, Chile, Ghana and Indonesia; electricity projects in Uganda, India and Nepal; biotechnology that could improve farm incomes and reduce malnutrition in Kenya, India, Brazil and the Philippines; and DDT that could slash malaria rates in Africa, where the disease kills 3,000 children a day.
They harp on technology's speculative hazards and ignore real, life-or-death dangers that modern mining, development and technology would reduce or prevent. They never mention the jobs, clinics, schools, roads, improved housing and small business opportunities — or the electricity, refrigeration, safe water, better nutrition, reduced disease and fewer dead children.
They pervert "sustainable development" to mean no development, and ignore how mines will lay the foundation that will sustain prosperity and better living standards for generations.
Agitators use global warming and "corporate social responsibility" to force companies to acquiesce to their agendas — and ignore human rights to energy and technology, and people's desperate cries for a chance to take their rightful places among the Earth's healthy and prosperous people.
They extol the virtues of microcredit, to support minimal family enterprises, and demand debt forgiveness and more foreign aid for corrupt dictators — but oppose economic development that would eliminate the need for international welfare. They blame Newmont Mining for accidents that killed five people over a two-year period in Ghana, but refuse to admit that their pressure campaigns cause millions of deaths every year.
One could justifiably call it eco-manslaughter — or a racist experiment on powerless, impoverished Third World families.
Yes, there are environmental impacts from mines, dams and other development. There are health and other risks. But the Industrial Revolution also brought those changes. Are we worse off for it? Do we want to return to the jobs, lifestyles and living standards of pre-industrial, pre-electric America, when 95% of Americans were farmers, cholera and malaria were ever-present, and the average life expectancy was 45?
Would any of the greens, politicians and celebrities who clamor to keep the world's poor "indigenous" (and thus impoverished, energy-deprived and diseased) care to live that lifestyle for even one month? Would they exchange their 10,000-square-foot mansions for a hovel, give up electricity and stop globe-trotting in private jets?
Why hasn't the United Nations criticized the institutional racism being perpetrated in the name of "saving the planet"? Where are U.S. civil rights groups, media, churches and these poor countries' leaders? This intolerable situation cannot continue. People of conscience must no longer remain silent.
Innis is national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, a civil rights group that promotes economic development rights for the poor worldwide.
Friday, February 09, 2007
24 cycle
I often think that the hardest thing about war these days isn't the enemy, but rather the perception both in the US and abroad. The 24 hour news cycle and instant access are rapidly shaping public opinion. A solider in Iraq writes exactly what I believe to be true:
"The other day you read some soldier being quoted in Stars and Stripes that he’d rather fight in World War II than this shit. At least then he could pull the trigger and not be massacred by the media or his superiors. Seeing a uniformed enemy would make fighting a real war possible. You totally agree. Fighting this war sucks."
If our commanders on the ground are more worried about how they'll look, then they can't be focused on what should be the number one goal and that is winning the war. I don't know if another war will be fought without the entire world being exposed to coverage without perspective and if the US has the will to place the goal of winning above how we will be perceived...
"The other day you read some soldier being quoted in Stars and Stripes that he’d rather fight in World War II than this shit. At least then he could pull the trigger and not be massacred by the media or his superiors. Seeing a uniformed enemy would make fighting a real war possible. You totally agree. Fighting this war sucks."
If our commanders on the ground are more worried about how they'll look, then they can't be focused on what should be the number one goal and that is winning the war. I don't know if another war will be fought without the entire world being exposed to coverage without perspective and if the US has the will to place the goal of winning above how we will be perceived...
Friday, February 02, 2007
I love this...
The left should have a field day with this one:
Landmark Legal Foundation Nominates Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
Thu Feb 1, 1:27 PM ET
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To: RADIO-TELEVISION EDITORS
Contact: Eric Christensen of Landmark Legal Foundation, +1-703-554-6100, +1-703-554-6119 (fax), eric@landmarklegal.org
LEESBURG, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Limbaugh, whose daily radio show is heard by more than 20 million people on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the world, was nominated for the prestigious award for his "nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world," said Landmark President Mark R. Levin.
"Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today," explained Levin. "Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting that the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations."
The Nobel Peace Prize, which is given by a committee of the Norwegian Storting (the Norwegian Parliament), was created by inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1896 to be given to the individual or organization who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses." The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy.
Should Limbaugh become the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Peace, he will receive the Nobel Peace Prize medal and a cash award of $10 million Norwegian Kroner (approximately $1.6 million). The prize would be presented at a ceremony in the Oslo City Hall presided over by King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway on December 10, 2007, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. As the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Peace, Limbaugh would deliver the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture at that ceremony.
Founded in 1976, Landmark Legal Foundation is the leading conservative public interest law firm in the United States. Rush Limbaugh serves as an unpaid member of Landmark's Board of Advisors. February 1, 2007 Professor Ole Danbolt Mjos Chairman, Norwegian Nobel Institute Henrik Ibsens Gate 51 NO-0255 Oslo, Norway Dear Dr. Mjos:
Landmark Legal Foundation herewith submits the name of Rush Limbaugh as an unsolicited nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
We are offering this nomination for Mr. Limbaugh's nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all mankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. We fervently believe that these are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world.
Rush Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host in the United States and one of the most popular broadcasters in the world. His daily radio show is heard on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the world. For 18 years he has used his show to become the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today. Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations.
Thank you for your thoughtful and serious consideration of this nomination. Should you require additional information, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Mark R. Levin President SOURCE Landmark Legal Foundation
Landmark Legal Foundation Nominates Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
Thu Feb 1, 1:27 PM ET
if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();
window.yzq_d['AXthTNGDJGk-']='&U=13bm6j90s%2fN%3dAXthTNGDJGk-%2fC%3d346472.10135477.10808772.1442997%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d2700580';
To: RADIO-TELEVISION EDITORS
Contact: Eric Christensen of Landmark Legal Foundation, +1-703-554-6100, +1-703-554-6119 (fax), eric@landmarklegal.org
LEESBURG, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Limbaugh, whose daily radio show is heard by more than 20 million people on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the world, was nominated for the prestigious award for his "nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world," said Landmark President Mark R. Levin.
"Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today," explained Levin. "Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting that the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations."
The Nobel Peace Prize, which is given by a committee of the Norwegian Storting (the Norwegian Parliament), was created by inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1896 to be given to the individual or organization who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses." The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy.
Should Limbaugh become the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Peace, he will receive the Nobel Peace Prize medal and a cash award of $10 million Norwegian Kroner (approximately $1.6 million). The prize would be presented at a ceremony in the Oslo City Hall presided over by King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway on December 10, 2007, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. As the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Peace, Limbaugh would deliver the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture at that ceremony.
Founded in 1976, Landmark Legal Foundation is the leading conservative public interest law firm in the United States. Rush Limbaugh serves as an unpaid member of Landmark's Board of Advisors. February 1, 2007 Professor Ole Danbolt Mjos Chairman, Norwegian Nobel Institute Henrik Ibsens Gate 51 NO-0255 Oslo, Norway Dear Dr. Mjos:
Landmark Legal Foundation herewith submits the name of Rush Limbaugh as an unsolicited nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
We are offering this nomination for Mr. Limbaugh's nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all mankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. We fervently believe that these are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world.
Rush Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host in the United States and one of the most popular broadcasters in the world. His daily radio show is heard on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the world. For 18 years he has used his show to become the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today. Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting the Nobel Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful world for future generations.
Thank you for your thoughtful and serious consideration of this nomination. Should you require additional information, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Mark R. Levin President SOURCE Landmark Legal Foundation
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Couldn't agree more...
It's a manifesto of sorts from a Staff Sergeant in the fight in Afghanistan. He had an experience recently while on mid-tour leave to see his wife and baby boy that was the last straw:
Things that I am tired of in this war:
I am tired of Democrats saying they are patriotic and then insulting my commander in chief and the way he goes about his job.
I am tired of Democrats who tell me they support me, the soldier on the ground, and then tell me the best plan to win this war is with a "phased redeployment" (liberal-speak for retreat) out of the combat zone to someplace like Okinawa.
I am tired of the Democrats whining for months on T.V., in the New York Times, and in the House and Senate that we need more troops to win the war in Iraq, and then when my Commander in Chief plans to do just that, they say that is the wrong plan, it won’t work, and we need a "new direction."
I am tired of every Battalion Sergeant Major and Command Sergeant Major I see over here being more concerned about whether or not I am wearing my uniform in the "spot on," most garrison-like manner; instead of asking me whether or not I am getting the equipment I need to win the fight, the support I need from my chain of command, or if the chow tastes good.
I am tired of junior and senior officers continually doubting the technical expertise of junior enlisted soldiers who are trained far better to do the jobs they are trained for than these officers believe.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who fight this war with more of an eye on the media than on the enemy, who desperately needs killing.
I am tired of the decisions of Sergeants and Privates made in the heat of battle being scrutinized by lawyers who were not there and will never really know the state of mind of the young soldiers who were there and what is asked of them in order to survive.
I am tired of CNN claiming that they are showing "news," with videotape sent to them by terrorists, of my comrades being shot at by snipers, but refusing to show what happens when we build a school, pave a road, hand out food and water to children, or open a water treatment plant.
I am tired of following the enemy with drones that have cameras, and then dropping bombs that sometimes kill civilians; because we could do a better job of killing the right people by sending a man with a high powered rifle instead.
I am tired of the thousands of people in the rear who claim that they are working hard to support me when I see them with their mochas and their PX Bags walking down the street, in the middle of the day, nowhere near their workspaces.
I am tired of Code Pink, Daily Kos, Al-Jazzera, CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, ABC, NBC, CBS, the ACLU, and CAIR thinking that they somehow get to have a vote in how we blast, shoot and kill these animals who would seek to subdue us and destroy us.
I am tired of people like Meredith Vieria from NBC asking oxygen thieves like Senator Chuck Hagel questions like "Senator, at this point, do you think we are fighting and dying for nothing?" Meredith might not get it, but soldiers do know the difference between fighting and dying for something and fighting and dying for nothing.
I am tired of hearing multiple stories from both combat theaters about snipers begging to do their jobs while commanders worry about how the media might portray the possible casualties and what might happen to their career.
I am tired of hearing that the Battalion Tactical Operations Center got a new plasma screen monitor for daily briefings, but rifle scope rings for sniper rifles, extra magazines, and necessary field gear were disapproved by the unit supply system.
I am tired of out of touch general officers, senators, congressmen and defense officials who think that giving me some more heavy body armor to wear is helping me stay alive. Speed is life in combat and wearing 55 to 90 pounds of gear for 12 to 20 hours a day puts me at a great tactical disadvantage to the idiot, mindless terrorist who is wearing no armor at all and carrying an AK-47 and a pistol.
I am tired of soldiers who are stationed in places like Kuwait and who are well away from any actual combat getting Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay and the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion when they live on a base that has a McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut, a Subway, a Baskin Robbins, an internet café, 2 coffee shops and street lights.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who take it out and "measure" every time they want to have a piece of the action with their helicopters or their artillery; instead of putting their egos aside and using their equipment to support the grunt on the ground.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who are too afraid for their careers to tell the truth about what they need to win this war to their bosses so that the soldiers can get on with kicking the ass of these animals.
I am tired of Rules of Engagement being made by JAG lawyers and not Combat Commanders. We are not playing Hopscotch over here. There is no 2nd place trophy either. I think that if the enemy knew some rough treatment and some deprivation was at hand for them, instead of prayer rugs, special diets and free Korans; this might help get their terrorist minds "right."
I am tired of seeing Active Duty Army and Marine units being extended past their original redeployment dates, when there are National Guard Units that have yet to deploy to a combat zone in the last 40 years.
I am tired of hearing soldiers who are stationed in safe places talk about how hard their life is.
I am tired of seeing Infantry Soldiers conducting what amounts to "SWAT" raids and performing the US Army’s version of "CSI Iraq" and doing things like filling out forms for evidence when they could be better used to hunt and kill the enemy.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who look first in their planning for how many casualties we might take, instead of how many enemy casualties we might inflict.
I am tired of begging to be turned loose so that this war can be over.
Those of us who fight this war want to win it and go home to their families. Prolonging it with attempts to do things like collect "evidence" or present whiz bang briefings on a new plasma screen TV is wasteful and ultimately, dulls the edge of our Infantry soldiers who are trained to kill people and break things, not necessarily in that order.
We are not in Iraq and Afghanistan to build nations. We are there to kill our enemies. We make the work of the State Department easier by the results we achieve.
It is only possible to defeat an enemy who kills indiscriminately by utterly destroying him. He cannot be made to yield or surrender. He will fight to the death by the hundreds to kill only one or two of us.
And so far, all of our "games" have been "away games," and I don’t know about the ignorant, treasonous Democrats and the completely insane radical leftists and their thoughts on the matter, but I would like to keep our road game schedule.
So let’s get it done. Until the fight is won and there is no more fight left.
-D
Things that I am tired of in this war:
I am tired of Democrats saying they are patriotic and then insulting my commander in chief and the way he goes about his job.
I am tired of Democrats who tell me they support me, the soldier on the ground, and then tell me the best plan to win this war is with a "phased redeployment" (liberal-speak for retreat) out of the combat zone to someplace like Okinawa.
I am tired of the Democrats whining for months on T.V., in the New York Times, and in the House and Senate that we need more troops to win the war in Iraq, and then when my Commander in Chief plans to do just that, they say that is the wrong plan, it won’t work, and we need a "new direction."
I am tired of every Battalion Sergeant Major and Command Sergeant Major I see over here being more concerned about whether or not I am wearing my uniform in the "spot on," most garrison-like manner; instead of asking me whether or not I am getting the equipment I need to win the fight, the support I need from my chain of command, or if the chow tastes good.
I am tired of junior and senior officers continually doubting the technical expertise of junior enlisted soldiers who are trained far better to do the jobs they are trained for than these officers believe.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who fight this war with more of an eye on the media than on the enemy, who desperately needs killing.
I am tired of the decisions of Sergeants and Privates made in the heat of battle being scrutinized by lawyers who were not there and will never really know the state of mind of the young soldiers who were there and what is asked of them in order to survive.
I am tired of CNN claiming that they are showing "news," with videotape sent to them by terrorists, of my comrades being shot at by snipers, but refusing to show what happens when we build a school, pave a road, hand out food and water to children, or open a water treatment plant.
I am tired of following the enemy with drones that have cameras, and then dropping bombs that sometimes kill civilians; because we could do a better job of killing the right people by sending a man with a high powered rifle instead.
I am tired of the thousands of people in the rear who claim that they are working hard to support me when I see them with their mochas and their PX Bags walking down the street, in the middle of the day, nowhere near their workspaces.
I am tired of Code Pink, Daily Kos, Al-Jazzera, CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press, ABC, NBC, CBS, the ACLU, and CAIR thinking that they somehow get to have a vote in how we blast, shoot and kill these animals who would seek to subdue us and destroy us.
I am tired of people like Meredith Vieria from NBC asking oxygen thieves like Senator Chuck Hagel questions like "Senator, at this point, do you think we are fighting and dying for nothing?" Meredith might not get it, but soldiers do know the difference between fighting and dying for something and fighting and dying for nothing.
I am tired of hearing multiple stories from both combat theaters about snipers begging to do their jobs while commanders worry about how the media might portray the possible casualties and what might happen to their career.
I am tired of hearing that the Battalion Tactical Operations Center got a new plasma screen monitor for daily briefings, but rifle scope rings for sniper rifles, extra magazines, and necessary field gear were disapproved by the unit supply system.
I am tired of out of touch general officers, senators, congressmen and defense officials who think that giving me some more heavy body armor to wear is helping me stay alive. Speed is life in combat and wearing 55 to 90 pounds of gear for 12 to 20 hours a day puts me at a great tactical disadvantage to the idiot, mindless terrorist who is wearing no armor at all and carrying an AK-47 and a pistol.
I am tired of soldiers who are stationed in places like Kuwait and who are well away from any actual combat getting Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay and the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion when they live on a base that has a McDonald’s, a Pizza Hut, a Subway, a Baskin Robbins, an internet café, 2 coffee shops and street lights.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who take it out and "measure" every time they want to have a piece of the action with their helicopters or their artillery; instead of putting their egos aside and using their equipment to support the grunt on the ground.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who are too afraid for their careers to tell the truth about what they need to win this war to their bosses so that the soldiers can get on with kicking the ass of these animals.
I am tired of Rules of Engagement being made by JAG lawyers and not Combat Commanders. We are not playing Hopscotch over here. There is no 2nd place trophy either. I think that if the enemy knew some rough treatment and some deprivation was at hand for them, instead of prayer rugs, special diets and free Korans; this might help get their terrorist minds "right."
I am tired of seeing Active Duty Army and Marine units being extended past their original redeployment dates, when there are National Guard Units that have yet to deploy to a combat zone in the last 40 years.
I am tired of hearing soldiers who are stationed in safe places talk about how hard their life is.
I am tired of seeing Infantry Soldiers conducting what amounts to "SWAT" raids and performing the US Army’s version of "CSI Iraq" and doing things like filling out forms for evidence when they could be better used to hunt and kill the enemy.
I am tired of senior officers and commanders who look first in their planning for how many casualties we might take, instead of how many enemy casualties we might inflict.
I am tired of begging to be turned loose so that this war can be over.
Those of us who fight this war want to win it and go home to their families. Prolonging it with attempts to do things like collect "evidence" or present whiz bang briefings on a new plasma screen TV is wasteful and ultimately, dulls the edge of our Infantry soldiers who are trained to kill people and break things, not necessarily in that order.
We are not in Iraq and Afghanistan to build nations. We are there to kill our enemies. We make the work of the State Department easier by the results we achieve.
It is only possible to defeat an enemy who kills indiscriminately by utterly destroying him. He cannot be made to yield or surrender. He will fight to the death by the hundreds to kill only one or two of us.
And so far, all of our "games" have been "away games," and I don’t know about the ignorant, treasonous Democrats and the completely insane radical leftists and their thoughts on the matter, but I would like to keep our road game schedule.
So let’s get it done. Until the fight is won and there is no more fight left.
-D
Friday, January 26, 2007
Good things for once...
I thought I'd post a few of the great things in life in no particular order:
Starbucks Grande Mocha & a Maple Oat Scone; Starbucks holiday offering: Peppermint Mocha, Round Table Pizza (pep + b. o.) w/ranch and a Pepsi, Matty's Nachos and a Pepsi, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a fire on a cold or rainy day, movies at home, going to the movies, Great America, Santa Cruz, volleyball, the beach, Hawaii, NFL Sundays, Pittsburgh Steelers, good books, playing music, new car smell, bodysurfing, swimming, a good workout, getting hammered, bbq'd steak, playing with my kids, San Francisco, San Diego, time alone, talk radio, television, Halloween, Christmas, Kev's golf tournament (at least before this year), listening to great music...
Feel free to add your own entries and I'll do the same somewhere down the line...
Starbucks Grande Mocha & a Maple Oat Scone; Starbucks holiday offering: Peppermint Mocha, Round Table Pizza (pep + b. o.) w/ranch and a Pepsi, Matty's Nachos and a Pepsi, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a fire on a cold or rainy day, movies at home, going to the movies, Great America, Santa Cruz, volleyball, the beach, Hawaii, NFL Sundays, Pittsburgh Steelers, good books, playing music, new car smell, bodysurfing, swimming, a good workout, getting hammered, bbq'd steak, playing with my kids, San Francisco, San Diego, time alone, talk radio, television, Halloween, Christmas, Kev's golf tournament (at least before this year), listening to great music...
Feel free to add your own entries and I'll do the same somewhere down the line...
Friday, January 12, 2007
Trump, Rosie, now Madonna?
So Madonna has come to Rosie's defense and let me tell you it's a whopper! Madonna, in full English accent that she picked up via Detroit, said that Rosie was a stand up comedian and you can't blame them if you say something outrageous, crazy, or politically incorrect. Really? Tell that to Kramer...ha-ha (this is sarcasm damnyouaredumb).
I loved Trump's letter to Rosie and thought I'd post it for you to read and enjoy it as much as I did.
I hope this fight keeps going for the entertainment value alone...
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