Blackfive - The Paratrooper of Love

Clarke Flips and Flops nd Flips Again

Look, folks, if the FBI and CIA were more closely aligned AND a lot of other actions had taken place, we might have stopped 9/11 from happening.

Clarke: 9/11 might have been prevented
Intelligence coordination could have been crucial, ex-aide Richard Clarke, President Bush’s former chief counterterrorism adviser, said Wednesday it was possible that he and his team could have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks if the Bush administration had paid more attention to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network. Clarke’s comments, in an hourlong interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” were a departure from the testimony he gave last week before the independent commission investigating the attacks, when he answered no to whether there was “the remotest chance that it would have prevented 9/11” even if everything he had called for had been implemented...

There's more to this, of course, as MSNBC is stretching the story a bit.

You want to know what the difference was between Clarke's Hardball interview and his testimony?

For one of his quoted statements, he testified under oath to tell the truth. I'll bet that he didn't lie under oath.

...which makes him nothing better than a snake-oil saleman trying to sell a book.

Liberal Radio Network Launches...

...Blackfive Prediction: That even in an election year, the liberal radio network will be either (1) off the air entirely or (2) be reduced to a tenth tier radio network before the election in November....

Here's more from the New York Times (it's long - I wanted to pull out the relevant parts because NYT has a logon req.):

Continue reading "Liberal Radio Network Launches..."

Baathists Send The Wrong Message To Our President

This is sad news. Four contractors (3 were U.S. citizens) were killed while travelling through Fallujah. Among celebratory Baathist Iraqis, their bodies were beaten, mutilated, and then hung from a bridge before being dragged for miles behind donkey carts. The Iraqi police arrived at the scene 30 minutes after the incident and have, as yet, no suspects.

Continue reading "Baathists Send The Wrong Message To Our President"

Free Vail Lodging...

...for returning Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. Be sure to pass this on to anyone you know who might be eligible (especially, from Ft. Carson).

Operation Freedom Lodging Offers 1,000 Nights to Returning Troops From North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (NNS) -- Vail Resorts in Colorado is offering 1,000 free nights to service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as part of “Operation Freedom Lodging."

Members from any branch of service who served for 30 or more days in these countries are eligible for up to three consecutive nights of lodging at Vail Resorts-owned and -operated hotels in Breckenridge and Keystone.

“Operation Freedom Lodging is a gesture of our appreciation for the courageous men and women who have been serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Tony Piringer, vice president of hospitality for Vail Resorts.

Qualified service members wishing to make reservations for Operation Freedom Lodging can call: Breckenridge at 1-800 832-3694, and Keystone at 1-800 270-4690. After making reservations, service members must verify their status by faxing a copy of their orders or a letter from their commander or senior enlisted supervisor to Fort Carson Morale, Welfare and Recreation at DSN 691-9453 or (719) 526-9453. Documents may be sent via e-mail to OutdoorInfo@carson.army.mil.

For more information on the verification process, call Fort Carson Morale, Welfare and Recreation at DSN 691-2083 or (719) 526-2083.

Serbs Put Milosevic On Payroll

...This is the result of Wesley Clark and Bill Clintons' excellent policy. Unbelievable.

Serbs Award Salary, Perks to Milosevic
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - Serbian lawmakers on Tuesday awarded salaries, legal fees and other financial perks to former President Slobodan Milosevic and fellow Serbian war crimes suspects being tried by a U.N. tribunal in the Netherlands.

The new law also would cover travel and mailing expenses incurred by families of the two dozen Serb war crimes suspects currently imprisoned in The Hague.

It was adopted by a 141-35 vote in parliament and illustrates the surge of nationalism in the Balkan republic.
<...>
Since Milosevic is defending himself, the law will pay the fees of his numerous legal advisers. Prison visits by his neo-communist wife, one of the toughest critics of the previous Democratic-led government, and his two children will be paid for by Serbia taxpayers...

I usually don't say things like this, but, maybe, we need to bomb those idiots again.

Welcome To Our New NATO Members

"NATO's core mission remains the same: the defense of its members against any aggression. Today, our alliance faces a new enemy, which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid. Terrorists hate everything this alliance stands for. They despise our freedom, they fear our unity, they seek to divide us. They will fail. We will not be divided. We will never bow to the violence of a few ... we will face the mortal danger of terrorism, and we will overcome it together." - President George W. Bush

A big WELCOME to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. More than 75 years ago, my grandfather left Lithuania after watching the Communists murder his family. He fled to Scotland (where he married a Scottish lass), then America. He's very happy about this - probably drinking krupnik right now.

More about the expansion of NATO here and Pravda's take on it is here.

Tuesday Blog Stuff

1. The Commissar has a new map of Africa up at the Politburo Diktat.

2. GeorgeWBush.com has the Kerry Gas Calculator that will give you the cost of a Kerry $.50/gallon tax increase.

3. John Hawkins at Right Wing News has more on the Benedict Arnold issue for John Kerry.

More to follow...

4. Harvey of Bad Money takes a look at the benefits of appeasement.

5. Bill Whittle has Chapter Two up at EjectEjectEject.

Colonel Aaron Bank

All of you Special Operations soldiers out there, listen up. Scott sent me an email on the status of Colonel Aaron Bank. The 104 year old soldier's health is deteriorating. The leader of the OSS in WWII and founder of the Special Forces, Col. Bank is being moved to hospice care. Keep the Colonel and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

SMASH 'EM!

Smash went to his Congresswoman to talk about enacting legislation to protect Reservists returning to their civilian jobs. Looks like the idea is catching on...

And, he's organizing a Support the Troops rally for April 3rd. If you have experience in organizing rallies, send him some advice.

French Futility

James Taranto posts the infamous Frenchman letter with responses from his readers. Check it out.

Milt's File points the way to a Washington Times article about traditional French foods that are more un-healthy than a Big Mac.

As if this news wasn't bad enough for Herr Chirac, his party is getting its collective butt kicked. He's going to have to make cabinet changes based on the losses his party incurred. Not that it would make much of difference, but I wouldn't mind seeing de Villepin given his walking papers.

Reunion!

Some of you have read about the Carrasquillo family on this blog (must read link) and have seen the photo blog I put together for them. Bobby Sr. has a web site to honor his two sons - both paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division.

Specialist Bobby Carrasquillo, a medic with the 2/325, was wounded in Iraq.

Private First Class Alex Carrasquillo, a Scout with the 3/505th, hit the Green Ramp at Pope AFB at 9:30AM on Saturday. Safe and sound.

It's 10AM and I am going to have a drink (hey, I'm on vacation) in honor of the Carrasquillo family.

To a great American family,

All the way, boys, ALL THE WAY!

If The War Was About The Oil...

...then, why the hell is gasoline at $1.80 per gallon (national average)? Watch the same people blame Bush for the high prices of gasoline.

Morons.

Florida 2004 - Stealing the Election

So here I am in Naples, Florida - enjoying the beautiful weather and spending time with my family. There's a lot to love about Florida. Then, again, there are some things that deserve a bit of scrutiny.

Did you know that if Florida's convicted criminals were allowed to vote in the 2000 election, Al Gore would be President?

That's the claim made in the NY Times, Sunday. And the Democrats are thinking of re-infranchising the voting rights of felons in Florida in order to lock up victory later this year.

FIGHTING FOR FLORIDA - Disenfranchised Florida Felons Struggle to Regain Their Rights
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
...Critics say that President Bush would have lost in 2000 if disenfranchised felons had been allowed to vote. A 2001 report by a University of Minnesota sociologist counted more than 600,000 in Florida, not including those still in prison, on parole or on probation. More than one in four black men here may not vote, the report found. The state says it is impossible to know how many disenfranchised felons live here, because some have died or moved.

If you read the article, you will see that there is a voting right clemency procedure in place in which Governor Bush reviews each case. In fact, for some crimes, clemency is automatically reviewed.

The Democratic National Committee New Motto - Where 'Voters of Conviction' Means More Than Just Strong Beliefs

Troop Morale

Greyhawk of the Mudville Gazette has some excellent posts about troop morale in Iraq.

From my own experiences, I can tell you that Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines all bitch about their leaders. They bitch about living in sand storms. They bitch about cold fake eggs for breakfast. They bitch about carrying a 40 pound ruck through the rain. They bitch about everything. Everything. Why shouldn't they? Life in the military is tough. And, as Greyhawk points out, it also won't get any better unless someone complains.

I can also tell you that most complaints are said with a dry sense of humor. When everyone suffers, it's almost humorous. When one suffers, it's detrimental to morale.

But I would bet you that, even with all of the complaining, the vast majority wouldn't say that their morale would decrease the effectiveness of the mission. Most would follow their leaders into hell if required (although they would probably bitch about the temperature).

I'll tell you what I think is the greatest fear of every Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, or Marine overseas and what would be the greatest detriment to troop morale - to be forgotten.

That's why I post about things that YOU can do to help the troops.

That's why the Ohio Patriot Plan is important to those deployed soldiers who will return to the Buckeye State.

That's why Phil Carter at Intel Dump is going to bat for mistreated soldiers. Some of you helped me to join a similar effort against Country Insurance.

You have the power to ensure that we won't lose the War on Terror. As long as those troops who are fighting for us know that they will come back to a greatful nation, their morale might be low at times but it won't take them out of the fight.

Update: Jennifer sends this question and link about someone running for President of the United States of America

What do you think this did to troop morale in Viet Nam?

Well, Jennifer, I am not a Viet Nam vet, but I doubt that it did anything positive for anyone.

One final note, I served under Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush. In my opinion, President Clinton was by far the worse for morale. Any in the Special Operations community will tell you that they believed that Clinton exhibited scorn for the military. Clinton was the epitome of the Cut-N-Run president - one that we hope won't return, ever.

We just ask that, if you commit us to a fight, you commit us to win that fight. I doubt that John Kerry, whether flexing with the opinion polls or his own non-decisive nature, could really make that committment.

Bush Supporters Attacked In Boston

If you haven't read or heard about the Margolis Incident, you should check out Matt Margolis' version of what happened in Boston. Tyler and Aaron of Pardon My English were there, too.

Check out the posts. There some buzz around this incident as Drudge Report, news media, and Rush Limbaugh have talked about the incident.

It's been my experience that there are a$$es in both parties (or anywhere you go). It's unfortunate that this happened. And more will probably happen in big union towns like NY, Boston, or Chicago.

Update: Geoffrey of Dog Snot Diaries was there as well and has an interesting post about it (with links to pictures).

Kerry Uses Some Words That He Shouldn't Be Using

I can't believe that John Kerry is comparing US companies to Benedict Arnold. This coming from a guy who testified that all vietnam servicemen were committing atrocities?

Kerry's Plan Targets 'Benedict Arnolds'
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) on Friday unveiled his plan to deal with "Benedict Arnold" companies that he has repeatedly criticized during the campaign for reaping tax benefits while shipping U.S. jobs overseas.

But his proposal to end an estimated $12 billion annually in corporate tax relief is certain to stir stiff opposition from some of America's largest multinational companies who are currently enjoying those breaks. And private economists questioned whether it would do much to halt the hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs to foreign countries.

Speaking at Wayne State University in Detroit, Kerry said his corporate tax proposal was part of a comprehensive economic plan he will put forward in coming weeks to create 10 million jobs during the first four years of a Kerry administration...

Yeah, John Kerry, while the companies definitely are trying to make a buck instead of caring about the workforce, they still aren't traitors. Maybe, Kerry is just trying to deflect criticism like this or this, or this.

Math quiz: And, BTW, if we have 8 million unemployed in this country, what the hell are we going to do with 10 million more jobs - ain't that 2 million more than we can use.

New Bush Ad

Received this link to a non-RNC Bush Ad from kilabe and it rocks. We agree that the RNC should look into this one.

Catching Up on Email

Apologies if you sent me an email and it's taking awhile to hear back.

I am actually on vacation in Naples, Florida, and working through dial-up. Maybe, I'll try to find Frank.

I'll try to get back to everyone...eventually...in between Bombay Sapphire martinis and building sand castles with Little Blackfive.

I'll also continue to post a bit so no real hiatus for the blog.

It's Going To Be A...

Many of you know that my wife is pregnant, and, as a result, has Hyperemesis Gravidium. With our first child, she had to get fed by IV for about six months. A little sip of water would cause her to throw up.

This time it didn't last as long (plus, the advances in treatment of h-g have been incredible in just a few years). In fact, she's a little over five months and doing much better. She's been eating more and more everyday. Two days ago, we ate Chinese food for the first time in six months! Man, I missed Kung Pao and Kirin Lager.

Anyway, this morning we found out the sex of our baby.

Continue reading "It's Going To Be A..."

HALO and Rising Sun

This is good news. I like XBox a lot. My time as a grad student has something to do with it.

When I was a grad student at the U of Chicago, my grad advisor quit teaching to go work for XBox. He had been developing games for years and was one of the creators of Marathon which was the precursor to Doom. He was a cool grad advisor.

Cool Grad Advisor: "Hey, Matt, want to discuss my new Algorithm? It'll only take about five hours."

Me: "Not really."

CGA: "Want to go to Jimmy's, get a beer and talk transport protocols for XBox."

Me: "Um. Hell, yeah."

After he left, I was assigned to a real pain-in-the-ass who discovered that I hadn't taken his Super Advanced Algorithms for Masocist Geniuses class. It had five math problems per week that took me about 30 hours and 40 pages (typed) to finish. I was ready to commit homicide. And, to top it all off, he was a socialist who believed that the government should pay him to sit and think about stuff. I had to listen to that crap all of the time.

"The University of Chicago - Where Fun Comes To Die!"

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call a major digression.

Back to the point. I love video games. Lately, I have been consumed by two games. I only like to play one game at a time until I finish it.

HALO for XBox (I heard that the PC version was a lot better)

and

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun for Nintendo GameCube

HALO is fun. I like the fact that you can only carry two weapons - some games allow you to carry fifteen different weapons (like Turok which I like, too). I don't like the vehicle parts too much, but the sniping is good stuff. HALO is the exception to my one game rule. I stop playing HALO for weeks or months and come back to it.

Rising Sun has been somewhat of a diappointment. I finished it in four nights. I liked Frontline better. I have said in previous posts that there's only one thing better than killing Nazis, and that's drinking beer and killing Nazis. Maybe it is just better than blowing up Saki and shooting Niponese soldiers. It just wasn't as good as the first one. Or maybe it was as good and I wanted something more...and the ending sucked. I guess there is going to be a Rising Sun Part 2.

The point of this post: Anyone have any recommendations on new games?

Don Bendel on John Kerry

Jen Martinez has an excellent rebuttal and editorial by Don Bendel. Jen has posted his editorials several times. They are all well worth the time to read...

In Don Bendel's editorial, he talks about HIGHLY decorated veterans that dislike John Kerry. One of them happens to be Colonel (ret.) Ola Mize - a man that I blogged about on my very first day as a blogger. Here is what I wrote:

Please understand that is was a great duty to escort a MOH winner - so I didn't complain - hell, I wanted to meet the heroes and I ended up as escort officer for Ola Mize. He was a Sergeant when he received the MOH and ended his career in the Army as a Colonel. He was a great guy, very easy going and funny. I really liked being around him. I even had the Division Staff Duty Officer - charged with knowing everything that was going on at night and had keys to open every building - open the bowling alley on base for Colonel Mize at midnight so we could bowl and have a beer. After bowling, I dropped the colonel off at his VIP suite. I caught up with the other junior officers who escorted MOH winners that day, and the consensus was that every single one of them were great guys. All of us had been treated with enormous respect. Hell, I bowled and drank beers with an amazing American hero that I would have willingly carried on my back around the base.

After the initial night, Colonel Mize received a higher ranking officer to escort him around by daylight. So, I said my goodbyes, shook the colonel's hand, and went to find out if I was still needed for escort duty. Colonel Mize's last words to me were, "Someday, Matt, you will have the honor of being led around by a lieutenant. When that day comes, don't be a jackass."

I wish that I could introduce each of you to a Lee Mize or Al Lynch. You would NEVER know that they were heroes - even after talking to them for an hour - until someone mentioned that they were awarded the Medal of Honor. Then, some of you Kerry supporters would understand why we vets find Kerry so undesirable. He's not much of a man.

Forget, for a minute, Kerry's voting record or disgraceful actions after the Vietnam War. Forget all of the stories out of Massachusets and D.C. about Kerry's propensity to say, "Do you know who I am?". Forget his penchant for rich women. Forget about his claims of foreign leaders supporting his candidacy. Forget the way he called one of his Secret Service agents a son-of-a-bitch. Forget that he called the Bush team "lying crooks". Uh-oh, I seem to have gotten carried away trying to forget all of the parts of John Kerry that I find disgusting.

Just think about what kind of man he is...because he ain't George Bush and he sure as hell ain't no Ola Mize.

How You Can Help

Here are some things that you can do to help and support our troops! Thanks to all who have taken part in these endeavors!

1. If you haven't been to Soldier's Angels, please visit the site and consider adopting a soldier. With the current rotation in Iraq, there are hundreds of soldiers that want to be adopted but have not received a sponsor yet. You can make a difference with a simple letter.

2. I know that Oreos and Girl Scout Cookies go a long way to boost morale, too.

3. Look into donating money to these two charities:

A. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation

The SOWF provides scholarships for the children of Special Operations soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have lost their lives (in training or combat). One million dollars would go a long way in providing for the children of those who have died defending America.

B. United Warrior Survivor Foundation

UWSF offers scholarship grants to surviving spouses, along with educational counseling, financial guidance, investment planning, and other programs.

4. Think about donating your unused frequent flyer miles for a soldier to visit his or her family. Check out Operation Hero Miles.

Someone that was referred by this site to Soldiers Angels also was responsible for donating frequent flyer miles to bring a family to see their wounded soldier. Thank you!

So please think about supporting our troops. You can show that you care about their lives while they defend yours.

Update at 9:40PM EST: Ryan sends a link to Operation Gratitude where you can help send care packages to troops in Iraq.

And, Toni, sends this link to Books For Soldiers - it's one more way to show troops that you care.

The DNC Is A Unified Party? Who Knew?

Okay, folks, hold on to your hats. As the election gets closer, it's going to get easier and easier to see which media outlet is slanting the news.

First, there's this piece from USA Today (dated 03/24/2004 at 9:44PM EST):

Democrats showcase party unity
By Jim Drinkard and Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Four years out of political power have persuaded normally fractious Democrats to give peace a chance. They're setting aside pet issues, opening their wallets and pouring their energy into electing John Kerry to the White House...

Then, there is this Reuters article that had been posted earlier (dated 03/24/2004 at 4:45PM EST):

Democratic Sen. Miller Leads Charge for Bush

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat who has endorsed President Bush, took the reins on Wednesday of a "Democrats for Bush" group and slammed John Kerry as "out of step" with the party's past leaders.

Miller accused Kerry, the Democratic challenger to Bush and a Senate colleague from Massachusetts, of abandoning longtime Democratic Party principles on tax cuts and foreign policy.

While the USA Today article does address Miller's defection, it portrays the shift of Miller's loyalty as an attempt to crack the Democrats unity. I'd say it's more like taking a flamethrower to it.

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Another New Coke

Does anybody remember what happened to the guy who changed Coca Cola's formula to New Coke? I thought he was dead or or mysteriously disappeared and would never work again, but then there's this horrible idea called "Ted"...maybe he's still out there, lurking.

Ted schedules O'Hare takeoff
BY TAMMY CHASE Business Reporter Advertisement

Chicago will get a new airline in May of sorts, when United Airlines begins offering flights on its fledgling discount carrier, Ted.
<...>
United, whose parent company, UAL Corp., has been in bankruptcy reorganization since December 2002, is trying to attract cost-conscious customers who have flocked to low-fare airlines like Southwest Airlines and ATA.

Hell-ohhhh. Southwest is going to bury Ted. Why? Unions. United's unions will ruin the company.

I have been treated poorly on United before. Never on Southwest. Have any of you been treated poorly by Southwest Airlines? If so, please comment. Or if you have a great story about either, please comment.

Southwest's employees, on the other hand, have enormous buy-in into every interaction you have with the company. No one has been able to beat them at their own game, and they've defied the odds by being profitable through the worst period in airline industry history.

I just can't figure out how United can go from running high-end routes to discount routes with the same costs and same unions as the high-end and turn a big profit. By paying for the repainting aircraft and re-uniforming staff and by selling a $1,000 seat for $299, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO GET OUT OF BANKRUPTCY???? It's the same freakin' route! Does single digit capacity increases matter that much?

I would say that, unless United is changing the way they operate and/or getting rid of their unions, this Ted thing won't last more than a few years.

Blackfive Disclaimer: I have been known to rant about the greatness of Southwest Airlines....

Looks Like "Under God" Will Stay

Bloomberg is reporting that it looks like "Under God" will stay in the Pledge of Allegiance based on statements made by Chief Justice Rehnquist.

Pledge of Allegiance, `Under God' Backed at U.S. Supreme Court
March 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled they have few concerns about the practice of asking public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase ``under God.'' Several justices questioned Newdow's contention that the pledge, with its reference to ``one nation, under God,'' is akin to a prayer and thereby violates the constitutional separation of church and state. <...> ``You may disagree that it's 'under God.' You may disagree that it's `liberty and justice for all,''' Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said, referring to another part of the pledge. ``That doesn't make it a prayer.''

What's The Lifespan Of A Hamas Leader?

Oh, boy, is this going to be interesting to watch...A friend of mine is trying to bet me $20 that this guy won't last more than a month.

Official: Hamas does not need internal election
www.chinaview.cn

GAZA, March 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Islamic resistance movement Hamas senior leader Sa'eed Seyam announced on Wednesday that there is no need for an internal election in Hamas after Abdel Aziz Ranteesi was chosen to be the leader of the movement in the Gaza Strip.
<...>
He said that "it was natural that Ranteesi would automatically become the leader of the movement in the Gaza Strip as he was a deputy to Sheikh Yassin."

Here's what I think happened:

Hamas Sergeant-At-Arms: "All those wishing to assume the mantle of spiritual leader of Hamas, please step forward."

Everyone except Ranteesi takes a step back.

Hamas SAA: "Thank you, Sheik Ranteesi for volunteering. Allah Akbar!"

Ranteesi starts mumbling something about "not volunteering".

Who the hell would want that job? A jelly-donut in Michael Moore's kitchen has more of a chance of making it than this guy...Here's why:

Continue reading "What's The Lifespan Of A Hamas Leader?"

"Hey, Do You Know Where I Can Find Richard Clarke?"

Ready to Bitch-Slap, Donal Rumsfeld described what would happen when he next meets Richard Clarke...

Elbow-up, Arm Rigid, Palm Open, Follow-THROUGH!

The French are next...

"Mustard Stains"

To a paratrooper, there are few awards greater than that of the Mustard Stain.

This great article about junior enlisted paratroopers by an Army Specialist, takes a look back at the Airborne invasion of northern Iraq one year ago.

Paratroopers remember the jump into Iraq
Story by Spc. Adrian Schulte, SETAF Public Affairs
VICENZA, Italy -- It has almost been a year since about one thousand paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into war, opening up the northern front in the effort to liberate Iraq. The March 26, 2003 jump was recently classified as a combat jump and the paratroopers who participated in it will now be able to stick their chests out with pride showing off the gold star, or “mustard stain,” that crowns their parachutist wings.

So what is it like to jump into war? Those troops, young and old, went through an extraordinary experience, one that many paratroopers can only dream of. Many of the Soldiers had been jumping for years, but for others, this would be their first jump after airborne school.

“I knew it was real when they gave us live ammo at the airfield. I knew then that there was no turning back,” recalled Pfc. Jerry Allen, Chosen Co. 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne). “I’ve never seen so many planes in my life,” he said referring to the Air Force C-17 Globemasters waiting to take them to war...

As we say so often in the blogosphere, go read the rest of the story.

Special Ops: Terrorists and Journalists Stay Out!

AP is reporting a story about Special Forces operating in the mountians between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They used bulldozers to cut trenches, bunkers and helicopter landing pads into the side of a mountain.

AP: U.S. Sets Up Base in Afghan Mountains
By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
<...> An Associated Press writer on Tuesday became the first to report from the special operations' observation post since the start of Operation Mountain Storm, a 2-week-old American offensive designed to capture Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants. <...> The camp is home to 60 Americans, working with 200 Afghan militia, the Afghan militiamen say. The Westerners wear T-shirts and sunglasses, and most sport beards and mustaches, with pistols strapped to their legs. Rank and file U.S. soldiers must remain in uniform and are banned from growing beards, but special operations forces are not subject to the same regulations. <...> Americans around the camp refused to speak to AP. Relaying their request through Afghan militiamen, they eventually asked the reporter to leave, saying no journalists were allowed in the area.

Hopefully, we are setting up these detachments all over the place. A few more weeks and things are going to change for the Taliban/al Qaeda.

The Daily Show and Others Weigh In On John Kerry

"The White House begun airing their TV commercials to re-elect the president, and the John Kerry campaign is condemning his use of 9/11 in the ads. He said, it is conscionable to use the tragic memory of a war in order to get elected, unless of course, it's the Vietnam War." - Jay Leno

While Leno is funny, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is a genius. Stephen Colbert is hilarious. I love the Daily Show. They don't cut anyone any slack (and I don't think anyone ever accused Stewart of being Republican). I try to catch it every night. Last night's episode was probably the funniest one I've seen since Stewart had Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on the show.

You have to wonder about a candidate when Stewart says this about Kerry calling his Secret Service Agent a Son-Of-A-Bitch:

"What. An. Ass."

Here are some other late night gems about Kerry from reader Johnny W:

Continue reading "The Daily Show and Others Weigh In On John Kerry"

Operation Iraqi Freedom's Band of Brothers

I received this information about a new History Channel Series from the Chief of the Army Reserve-

Anyone watching the History Channel this past weekend may have seen some new Army material showing Soldiers just back from Iraq and Afghanistan discussing their service to the country, within the context of promotions for Band of Brothers. Promotional segments of one, two, five, and ten minutes draw parallels between Soldiers serving our country today and the men of Easy Company who fought in WW II, depicted in the Band of Brothers mini-series due to start airing on the History Channel April 11.

Soldiers featured in the program include four from 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 1SG Charles Haley, CPT Kevin Williams, SFC David Ainslie, and PFC Cameron Sharp, one Soldier from 10th Mountain
Division, SGT Bret Blalock, and one Soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division, SPC Richard Jacob. In the program, they share their experiences from their recent overseas tours and candidly discuss what Army
service has meant to them. Their experiences are paralleled with those of the men of Easy Company, tying history to present-day Army service based on enduring values.

The show piece of this new material is a half-hour program (actually 22 minutes of footage with breaks) that will start airing March 22, on the History Channel at 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time). Times we know are as follows:

Continue reading "Operation Iraqi Freedom's Band of Brothers"

Interesting Things In The Blogosphere

Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette has more on the protests. I found his update at the end to be very amusing.

Darren Kaplan has a thoughtful post about the possibility of President Bush being able to actually prevent 9/11.

Drill Sergeant Rob has finally moved to BlogSpot. Rob is a US Army Drill Sergeant and his blog is called An American Soldier. You know, I've never heard of such a prolific Drill Sergeant that doesn't pepper his sentences with the words @#$!, @#%& or @#$^ing @#%...Anyway, Rob's a good read.

Stephen sent me this link to an interesting article by Michael Totten on Tech Central Station about Jacksonians, Hamiltonians, and Wilsonians.

Jen Martinez has the story of Sergeant Walters - a soldier who fought like hell when the 507th Maint. Company was ambushed (Jessica Lynch's unit). You should read Jen's links to her other posts about this American hero.

If you haven't visited Joe Ham, yet. You're in for a LYAO-treat.

Speaking of laughing, the Laughing Wolf has a serious and thoughtful post about the summative origins of our current struggle.

Teresa of Technicalities has an informative post about that liberal media.

This post is too funny to come from Chip (see number 37). Must be Wind Rider in disguise...

Blackfive to Veteran: "Kerry Is Against Us Veterans"

Here's a well-written letter from a intelligent critic that I can print:

A friend of mine just commited suicide(airborne trooper) and he did it after having his meds cut off in yet another anti-veteran policy that is killing veterans=you must have never served any time in hell or you would not support that commie bush.

Sorry about your friend. You must be a Kerry supporter because the number of veterans getting benefits under President Bush increased by 25%.

Kerry either missed votes or voted against increases to the Veterans Administration. He missed the last vote to fund the VA (28 billion) and he voted against a 2001 increase of 650 million for the VA. There's more, too, if you would take the time to go look at the facts.

In fact, that 87 billion dollar increase to the DOD this year included 1.3 billion for additional veteran health care benefits. Your man, Cut-N-Run Kerry, voted AGAINST it. He voted against the veterans. John Kerry voted against YOUR benefits.

At a recent Amvet convention a big supporter of bush hade his ass kicked twice for commie statements against JOHN KERRY YOU SUPPORT A COMMIE DRAFT DOGER LIKE BUSH WHAT A PUNK

I hope them commie republicans are paying you well (I served four termsOD in nam and I would bet you never served a day in your life poser.

It's been my experience that the braggarts and most belligerent are the posers (like, um, John Kerry?). You were probably a cook for an OD team and "served" four ODs hot cakes every morning. That or you are emailing me from prison.

HEARD THE NEWS MCCAIN SUPPORTS THE MORAL BACKGROUND AND SUBSTANCE OF KERRY=NOW THERE IS A REAL AMERICAN TO BAD THE COMMIE REPUBLICANS DID NOT VOTE FOR MCCAIN AND NOT THAT DRAFT DOGER BUSH=SO STEP OFF BOOTCAMP

Go check your facts and come back willing to talk about the issue. I'll be waiting.

Don't Know How I Missed This...

...oh, wait, I do know. I had the Mother of All Hang-Overs.

Anyway, Harvey at Bad Money has a post about what happened to me, Harvey and Mike the Marine on St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a bit from it:

Mike: That near-death-experience has made me thirsty. I'm going up to the bar for a beer.

Matty [smirking knowingly]: Just a plain old BEER? On this, the most sacred drinking night of 2004?

Mike: Oh, not just any beer. The darkest, Irishest, most precioussssss beer of them all...

Harv: Budweiser?

Matty: [WHACK!] Blasphemer!

Harv: OW! What? Michelob?

Mike: Matty, kill him slowly

Matty: Right.

Harv: Geez, put down the pig-sticker, Matty! Guinness! Guinness!

Matty: Hey look! Harv just figured out how to keep from acquiring a third nostril!

Mike: Brilliant!

Matty: Brilliant!

So, as you can see, it's both funny and 'brilliant'. And it ain't too far from the truth...just ask Uncle Ben, he was there. Phil, too, but he had to get poured into a cab at about 10PM.

Hamas Leader Meets Maker, Chirac Condemns Killing

First, ABC News has a FAQ on Hamas. The FAQ is too politically correct on Hamas but it does a decent job of putting dates together on the history of the group.

Second, Hamas are a bunch of murdering thugs who take pleasure in the deaths of little children and innocent people. They celebrated 9/11 - cavorting in the streets.

Last, Chirac utters a statement that is more for the benefit of his Islamic audience than for any stance on law. He's a coward, afraid of what happened Spain might happen in France. But I think that he's more afraid of being voted out of office than of losing innocents at home.

Chirac condemns Israel's killing of Hamas leader
French President Jacques Chirac on Monday unreservedly condemned Israel's killing of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, saying it violated international law.

"France, along with all European Union nations, unreservedly condemns terrorism, of course, but also all acts of violence, especially when they are acts contrary to international law," he said at a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country currently holds the EU presidency.

"It's in this spirit that all European countries have condemned the operation against Sheikh Yassin because it was contrary to international law," Chirac said...

So, it's contrary to international law? How about ordering the bombing of a Bat Mitzvah? Blowing up a cafe with innocent vacationing families?

I guess if we were to take Chirac's stance, we can't take out Bin Laden, either.

Peace Activist or Terrorist Supporter

How much do certain "peace activists" hate America?

Citizen Smash, an Operation Iraqi Freedom vet, observed the anti-war protest in San Diego and recorded the speeches.

He even got an interview with one of the "activists".

Warning: This is going to make you angry. More so than my short post about the Chicago protests.

Update 715AM CST: James Lileks talks about the protests in his daily Bleat.

Famous Wills On-Line At British Archives

I saw a piece on CBS News Sunday Morning about famous wills on-line at the British Archives.

William Shakespeare's will is free (PDF file)

Here are a few others that are available for a few Pounds:

Sir Francis Drake, Lord Horatio Nelson, Lord George Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Sir Francis Bacon, Edmund Burke, Winston Churchill, Samuel Johnson, William Penn, Captain James Cook, George Frederic Handel, Jane Austen, Oliver Cromwell, and various monarchs, royalty, poets, playrights, and military men.

Early French Polls Show Preference For All But Chirac

The exit polling for the heartlands of France is showing a preference for any party but the UMP, Jacques Chirac's party. It looks like the far left and far right are benefitting from discontent with Chirac's government.

Left and Right poll upset for Chirac
By Philip Delves Broughton in Paris

President Jacques Chirac was reprimanded by voters last night as his party was trounced in the first round of French regional elections in which the extreme Right Front National demonstrated its growing popularity.
<...>
Polls have shown growing dissatisfaction with the government's attempts at economic reform. Unemployment remains high, the unions have objected consistently to pension reforms and job cuts in the public sector, and most recently France's intellectuals have accused the government of being philistine.

I had to look up that last word, philistine, which means a smug, ignorant, and especially middle-class person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and cultural values. I'll have to use that in my next conversation at the pub.

Basically (and I may be over-simplifying here), this first round of voting was to select the candidates/parties/coalitions that will run in the second round of voting for election. It looks like, in order for Chirac's party to stay in power in the French heartland, that they will have to make a deal with either the far left or far right. They have, so far, refused to consider a coalition of parties.

Let's hope that thought continues.

Sunday Blog Stuff

Greyhawk has moved the Mudville Gazette to a new host. Go check out his new digs...and the new episode of Cloobat Meets Two-Face!

Also, Laughing Wolf has an interesting post about how blogging has ruined his life...

Mike the Marine has a letter from a Marine in Iraq who tells us the truth about what is happening over there.

Both Roach of Mansized Target and Darren Kaplan have good posts about the Balkan situation right now.

The Protests Yesterday

The Anti-War Protesters marched past me and Little Blackfive yesterday. We were at the park having fun when we heard the commotion coming from Michigan Avenue. We checked it out. Little Blackfive enjoyed the march since there were so many mounted police in the area. Horsies galore!

I didn't even know that there was a march planned for Chicago. It was relatively un-controversial. Most people carried the Bush Lied signs, a lot of rainbow flags, the usual freak show stuff, etc. But nothing really radical.

Then, I saw this flag (Chicago Tribune photo).

"Time to go, son."

"Awww. Why Daddy?"

"'Cause you aren't old enough to bail me out of jail, yet...Let's go."

Update: Pardon My English did an awesome job of counter-protesting the New York protest. They even ran into an OIF vet.

Meet the Press - Ted "Spittle" Kennedy

In the past, I have mentioned that I really like "Meet the Press" and that I think that Tim Russert (a Democrat) is a relatively fair interviewer (I know that some of you disagree).

Wind Rider at Silent Running has a great spittle-filled post about Ted Kennedy's performance on Meet The Press today. I missed it because I was at a meeting.

Ted Kennedy - like Hilary on roids.

GOPunk Makes the NY Times

GOPunk, a site for Conservative punk-rockers, is featured in a NY Times article today.

A Bush Surprise: Fright-Wing Support
By WARREN ST. JOHN
Published: March 21, 2004

With his mohawk, ratty fatigues, assorted chains and his menagerie of tattoos — swallows on each shoulder, a nautical star on his back and the logo of the Bouncing Souls, a New York City punk band, on his right leg — 22-year-old Nick Rizzuto is the very picture of counterculture alienation. But it's when he talks politics that Mr. Rizzuto sounds like a real radical, for a punk anyway. Mr. Rizzuto is adamantly in favor of lowering taxes and for school vouchers, and against campaign finance laws; his favorite Supreme Court justice is Clarence Thomas; he plans to vote for President Bush in November; and he's hard-core into capitalism.

"Punks will tell me, `Punk and capitalism don't go together,' " Mr. Rizzuto said. "I don't understand where they're coming from. The biggest punk scenes are in capitalist countries like the U.S., Canada and Japan. I haven't heard of any new North Korean punk bands coming out. There's no scene in Iran."

Mr. Rizzuto is the founder of Conservative Punk, one of a handful of Web sites and blogs that have sprung up recently as evidence of a heretofore latent political entity: Republican punks. With names like GOPunk, Anti-Anti-Flag and Punkvoter Lies, the sites are a curious blend of Karl Rove and Johnny Rotten, preaching personal responsibility and reflexive patriotism with the in-your-face zeal of a mosh pit. When he's not banging his head to the Misfits, the Vandals or the Bouncing Souls, for example, Mr. Rizzuto spends his time writing essays denouncing Michael Moore and "left-wing propaganda," and urging other conservative punks to join his cause...

You know, I used to be kind of punk. Back in my Special Forces and Ranger School days, I had an army-style mohawk (like the ones the 101st wore on the D-Day invasion). I listen to a lot of punk bands. I was just jamming to The Best Republican Punk Band of All Time (TBRPBOAT) - The Ramones. I was blogging to "Pet Cemetary".

I still love Social Distortion, too. But, recently, I was watching Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon with my son and saw that the theme song was written by Social D. Man, now I feel old. That theme song rocked though...

Anyway, GOPunk is an interesting site. Check it out.

Does Al-Qaeda Have Nukes

Not that the Pakistani journalists are well know for their veracity, but this AP story is disturbing to say the least:

al-Qaida No. 2: We Have Briefcase Nukes

SYDNEY, Australia - Osama bin Laden's terror network claims to have bought ready-made nuclear weapons on the black market in central Asia, the biographer of al-Qaida's No. 2 leader was quoted as telling an Australian television station.

In an interview scheduled to be televised on Monday, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said Ayman al-Zawahri claimed that "smart briefcase bombs" were available on the black market.
<...>
"Dr Ayman al-Zawahri laughed and he said `Mr. Mir, if you have $30 million, go to the black market in central Asia, contact any disgruntled Soviet scientist, and a lot of ... smart briefcase bombs are available,'" Mir said in the interview.

"They have contacted us, we sent our people to Moscow, to Tashkent, to other central Asian states and they negotiated, and we purchased some suitcase bombs," Mir quoted al-Zawahri as saying.

"Suitcase Bombs" are very different from "Dirty Bombs".

A "Dirty Bomb" doesn't do much except spread radiation through conventional detonation. The detonation may cause significant damage but it's not from a nuclear reaction. Even the radiation isn't much of a threat. If you were 100 meters away from a dirty bomb detonation, your chances of survival are pretty good.

A "Suitcase Bomb" is capable of destruction by nuclear means. A Suitcase Bomb is what keeps intelligence people up at night. A bomb of this type could wipe out up to 10 city blocks and spread radiation over several miles.

Most reasonable people believe that, if OBL had a suitcase bomb, it would have been used already.

UN Launches Internal Probe Into Iraqi Oil-For-Food Contracts

Kofi Annan requests a probe into possible abuses of the Iraqi Oil-For-Food program...It seems *gasp* that more than a few people benefitted from bribes of Oil contracts in return for support for Iraq. Hasn't that list of bribes been out for a few months now?

Annan seeks independent oil-for-food probe
Saturday, March 20, 2004
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a letter to the president of the Security Council proposing the establishment of an independent, high-level inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption in Iraq's oil-for-food program.

"These allegations, whether or not they are shown to be well-founded, must be taken seriously and addressed forthrightly, in order to bring to light the truth and prevent erosion of trust and hope that the international community has invested in the organization," Annan wrote Friday.
<...>
The letter was addressed to Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, the French ambassador to the United Nations and the president of the Security Council for the month of March.

Remember that list that the Iraqi Governing Council found? It had 267 companies and individuals on it that received oil contracts from Saddam Hussein. Included on the list is former French Interior Minister, Charles Pasqua, and British House member, Charles Galloway (Britain's most anti-war politician). It also listed the Administrator of the Oil-For-Food program.

Continue reading "UN Launches Internal Probe Into Iraqi Oil-For-Food Contracts"

If You Needed A Laugh Today...?

You can file this one under immaturish humor...LMAO!

Worksafe rating: No foul language or nudity. May offend pianists with delicate sensibilities...

We're All Gonna Die

Hopefully, that's not news to you.

Anyway, there is some evidence in England that we are headed for the sixth extinction on this planet. When I was an undergrad, I minored in Archeology (Biblical) because I find this stuff fascinating. When I'm rich and retired, I'll need an interesting hobby to keep me busy so I chose archeology.

Sixth big extinction may be coming
BY PAUL RECER
WASHINGTON -- A steep decline in birds, butterflies and native plants in Britain supports the theory that humans are pushing the natural world into the Earth's sixth big extinction event and the future may see more animal species disappearing.

In an effort that sent more than 20,000 volunteers into every corner of England, Scotland and Wales to survey wildlife and plants, researchers found that many native populations are in big trouble, and some are gone altogether.
<...>
Thomas said that some past extinctions killed more than 90 percent of all life forms and ''nobody is suggesting we are at that point.''

But, he said, ''if this goes on for the foreseeable future then within a short period in geological time we will be getting toward the level of a major extinction.''

Whew! Glad he added that we have some time yet...

US Army Chaplain Released But Not Getting Apology

Captain James Yee, the US Army Muslim Chaplain that was accused of many things - espionage among them, was released today.

Charges Dropped Against Muslim Chaplain
By LARRY HOBBS, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - Citing national security concerns, the Army on Friday dropped all charges against a Muslim chaplain accused of mishandling classified documents at Guantanamo Bay, which houses suspected terrorists.

Capt. James Yee will be allowed to return to his previous duty station at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., said the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the detention center in Cuba.

"Chaplain Yee has won," his attorney, Eugene R. Fidell of Washington, said in a statement late Friday. "The Army's dismissal of the classified information charges against him represents a long overdue vindication."

In dismissing the charges, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which operates the detention center, cited "national security concerns that would arise from the release of the evidence" if the case proceeded.

Captain Yee's lawyer, Eugen Fidel, doesn't agree.

Fidell rejected the notion that security concerns played a role in the dismissal of charges. He said Yee, who was in the Washington, D.C.-area on Friday, was entitled to an apology.

Here is what I said:

If these men were passing messages amonst the worst human filth bent on killing innocent people, then they should get the death penalty. Period.

I am not apologizing for what I wrote. BTW, the reason that the evidence is more important to protect than prosecute Yee is because it would outline the compound where the prisoners and guards are located. Also, Yee is still going to get charged with adultery and downloading pornography. Why? Because the government can prove those cases without exposing classified information.

Yee sounds like one hell of a chaplain, right?

Friday Foray...A Bit Late Today

1. First, the beautiful Jennifer has an interesting interview with Jack of Radom Fate and co-founder of We The People.

2. Speaking of We The People, Donnie tells us that my old pal, Eric "Traitor Bitch" Blumrich, is at it again.

3. Feste at Fool's Blog takes a look at how much Defense business is headed towards the Bay area. Funny how that's the one area that is the most anarchistic and anti-Bush...

4. This is great. I have gotten six infected emails from moveon.org today. One of them said that I was a bad, bad boy.

5. David Kaspar of Davids Medienkritik has a post about how German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder refuses to help the US in Iraq but wants the US to support Germany's quest for a permanent seat in the UN security council.

6. Frequent commenter Bloodspite sent me to doc Russia's Bloodletting to see one post - but the fisk of John Kerry's Iraq speech today really deserves attention. Plus, it's always good to be reminded not to piss off doc Russia.

7. Teresa at Technicalities has a post about the lying journalist from USA Today. Jayson Blair meet Jack Kelley. Now kick each other in the ass...about one hundred times.

8. Jennifer Martinez thanks Poland for a great message from their President and their support. Apparently, the President doesn't agree with Spain...

9. Bobby Sr. sent this link to a GREAT piece about the War on Terror.

10. Visit the Babalu Blog to read a great post about Cuba and the anniversary of the encarceration of 75 political prisoners.

Shredding John Kerry

I'm talking of snow boarding, not a file shredder. The more I learn about John Kerry, the less I like him. This one (NYT article) via Hugh Hewitt:

Amid Natural Splendor in Idaho, a Weary Kerry Gets Away From It All
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER

KETCHUM, Idaho, March 18 — John Kerry was in the air, approaching the Continental Divide, and the candidate often ridiculed as straddling both sides of political divides was wrestling with the big matter at hand.

Should he ski, or snowboard? Or maybe both? He gave no clue where he stood. But that was Wednesday night.

A longtime adviser recently suggested that there were two John Kerrys: "indoor John and outdoor John" — one who agonizes over decisions, and another who acts boldly on them.
<...>
His next trip down, a reporter and a camera crew were allowed to follow along on skis — just in time to see Mr. Kerry taken out by one of the Secret Service men, who had inadvertently moved into his path, sending him into the snow.

When asked about the mishap a moment later, he said sharply, "I don't fall down," then used an expletive to describe the agent who "knocked me over."

The incident occurred near the summit. No one was hurt, and Mr. Kerry came careering down the mountain moments later, a look of intensity on his face, his lanky frame bent low to the ground.
<...>
Still, Mr. Kerry could not entirely escape the hazards of the arena he had left behind. He had just sat down for a bite to eat on the crowded patio near the lift line when a waiting skier, John Norris, shouted: "Hey, John! What foreign leaders talked to you?"

Mr. Kerry beat a retreat back into the lodge, to an upstairs, out-of-the-way dining area where he would be sure to draw even less attention.

Two items of interest here:

1. Hugh Hewitt uses a bit of sarcasm to make a point about John Kerry's attitude towards an agent who is willing to take a bullet for him.

There is no way in hell that I would ever want to work with/for such an arrogant jerk. I hope that Secret Service agent doesn't feel the same way, for John Kerry's sake.

2. If you ever thought that Greyhawk was being a bit harsh about calling John Kerry "Ol' Cut-N-Run", think about the last part of the article..."Mr. Kerry beat a retreat back into the lodge..."

Big "heh"!

Update 7:30PM CST: The Republican National Committee has a new commercial featuring John effing Kerry, International Man of Mystery!

LMAO!

Another Reason To Disregard The French Government

De Villepin is spouting off again...

French Official: War Made World Dangerous

PARIS - The world is a more dangerous place because of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which may have toppled Saddam Hussein but also unleashed postwar violence and an upswing in terrorism, the French foreign minister said.

"This is a belief that I have never stopped expressing," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told Le Monde newspaper in an interview in its Friday edition.

"We have to look reality in the face: we have entered into a more dangerous and unstable world, which requires the mobilization of the entire international community," de Villepin said.

Assertions by the administration of President Bush that ousting Saddam would make the world a safer place proved not to be true, de Villepin said.

"Terrorism didn't exist in Iraq before," de Villepin said. "Today, it is one of the world's principal sources of world terrorism."

De Villepin called again on the United States to respect a June 30 deadline for the Americans to hand over power to the Iraqis.

He is so wrong on so many different levels that this is...Disgusting.

More on the Ohio Patriot Plan

It's game time for the Ohio Patriot Plan. If you live in Ohio, are a vet from Ohio, or know someone in Ohio that you can forward this information to, now is the time to make a difference for military personnel from the Buckeye state. You have the power to protect our troops.

Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Steve Lynch needs help garnering support for the plan. The more ammo we can provide to the good colonel, the better his chances are of getting this Plan approved.

Here are two very simple things that you can do to help:

Continue reading "More on the Ohio Patriot Plan"

Veterans Support President Bush

Dave sent this link to Veterans For Bush where veterans can sign a Roll Call in support of President Bush.

You can also view comments left by veterans. Here are some of my favorite comments:

Continue reading "Veterans Support President Bush"

Democrats Abandon The Troops

James Taranto's Best of the Web has a really interesting piece about a vote to honor the bravery of Americans that fought in Iraqi Freedom.

First, here is the text of House Resolution 557:

States that the House of Representatives: (1) affirms that the United States and the world have been made safer with the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime from power in Iraq; (2) commends the Iraqi people for their courage in the face of unspeakable oppression and brutality inflicted on them by Saddam Hussein's regime; (3) commends the Iraqi people on the adoption of Iraq's interim constitution; and (4) commends the members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Coalition forces for liberating Iraq and expresses its gratitude for their valiant service.

There was a vote for the consideration of this Resolution. It is House Resolution 561.

James Taranto points out that only two Democrats voted in favor of 561 - that is to provide for the consideration of 557 which I quoted above.

Soon thereafter, 93 Representatives voted against 557.

Apparently, 90 Democrats don't believe that we're safer without Saddam, that the Iraqi people did not exhibit courage under Saddam, that the Iraqis shouldn't be commended for adopting Democracy, and that they believe that the U.S. Armed Forces did not perform valiantly.

(By the way, in 1998, all but 29 Democrats and 9 Republicans voted for regime change in Iraq. Why? Because Saddam was perceived as a threat.)

Al-Zawahiri Surrounded

John W. sent me this story from Fox News earlier today:

Pakistani Troops Battle Al Qaeda Along Afghan Border

WANA, Pakistan — Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces using artillery and helicopter gunships launched a new assault Thursday against Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects in a tribal region near Afghanistan, two days after a fierce assault that left dozens dead.

In a report from Islamabad, an American news channel said Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told them Pakistani forces had surrounded a "high-value target" that was being protected by Al Qaeda fighters. The news channel said the identity of the target was not known.

And, now CNN is reporting that it's Al-Zawahiri:

Pakistani sources: Al-Zawahiri surrounded
Heavy air assault expected at sunrise
Thursday, March 18, 2004 Posted: 7:23 PM EST (0023 GMT)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani military was preparing to launch a heavy air assault after sunrise Friday on al Qaeda troops believed to be protecting a "high-value" leader near the Afghanistan border, Pakistani sources told CNN.

Intelligence indicated the surrounded figure is Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, two Pakistani government sources told CNN.

The planned dawn assault against the more than 200 al Qaeda fighters could consist of helicopter gunships and fixed-wing aircraft, the sources said.

I hope it's true and that Al-Zawahiri is found hiding in a septic hole, surrendering without a fight.

Anyone Know If The Donation Was Made?

I haven't heard if Bruce Willis made good on his offer to donate one million dollars if Saddam was captured.

If Saddam was captured or killed by U.S. military, Bruce said he would donate the money to a school or hospital.

Those are worthy causes; however, if he hasn't donated the money yet, I would suggest that he look at donating the money to this charity:

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation

The SOWF provides scholarships for the children of Special Operations soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have lost their lives (in training or combat). One million dollars would go a long way in providing for the children of those who have died defending America.

Is It Called "The Wars on Terror"?

Citizen Smash has a great post titled It's The Same War. He explains why the critics who claim that Iraq was a distraction are wrong.

Oh, it's a distraction all right.

For. The. Terrorists.

BTW, MilBlogger extraordinaire, Greyhawk, has taken up temporary residence here for a few days. He has some great posts about a presidential candidate's service (both military and senatorial).

364 Days Away From St. Patrick's Day

I kid, I kid!

Will restore the original Blackfive template soon.

BTW, those Chaser things don't work. I either need to take more Chasers or do less drink fewer shots of Jameson.