<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Feb 29, 2008

Fair play to the Prince 

I typically don't give a flying fart about British Royalty, because (A) it's silly and (B) we fought a war a long time ago so we wouldn't have to put up with that stuff. That being said, my opinion of Prince Harry just increased dramatically. Good on him.
|

I will vote for ANY of these guys... 

...over the current options.

And these guys are all dead.

The 5 Most Badass Presidents of All-Time

Just reading the article itself will triple your testosterone levels and possibly get you brought before a Congressional Committee on steroid charges. But these were Presidents who would most likely drop a giant, life-taking turd on the head of most of today's Congress, and then run off to keep their appointment to tutor Chuck Norris on the proper way to remove a man's windpipe with your pinky... while blindfolded.

Hat tip to My Bro, who sent me this two weeks ago, but I just now got to it.
|

America's Code Pink's 911 Force? 

Oh, this is too rich...
Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who can turn the air blue when shouting chants against American Marines called out for the Marines in front of Marine Recruiting offices in Berkeley yesterday.

Eamon Kelley, the young Marine who is featured in Move America Forward’s TV commercial that ran on Fox News earlier this week, could hardly believe his own ears when Benjamin called on the Marines for help.
...
“While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 p.m., a white Volvo drove by and a man spat upon CodePink,” Kelley wrote in an email to MAF’s Melanie Morgan. “They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NOWHERE in sight.

“That’s not the best part, ready for this?

“Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote “Marines!” She actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me, “I said Marines” then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine Vet). Ironic?”
Would I have stepped up to keep someone from having their ass viciously beaten in a similar situation? Probably. But in that particular situation? I more likely would have told Medea to "Stay here! I'll go get help!"... then gotten a cup of coffee, gone to a movie, maybe caught up on my reading... ooh, did I leave the stove on? Better check on that...

What a small, petty creature you have proven to be, Medea. What, couldn't "stand up to Hitler" on your own?

More at BlackFive, Michelle Malkin.
|

Feb 27, 2008

"Staying in the shadow... that's my price..." 

Very cool story about the rebirth of the Iraqi Air Force today on CNN. These guys are doing great stuff with what they have, which ain't much right now.

It isn't included on the video here, but right after the story, reporter Kyra Phillips was asked by those back in the studio what was next for the Iraqi Air Force. Her answer? Start packin' Hellfires. That made me and the guys I work with shudder slightly, for two reasons. One: at what level is weapons release authority held for THAT (aka who OK's the shot)? And two: how the hell do you wire up a Cessna to shoot Hellfire? Is that even safe?

Anyway, pretty interesting.

Also in aircraft related news (and speaking of "is that safe?"), a 777 did a flyby at the Boeing factory back near home. Without authorization. Stupid. Ballsy, but stupid. Cool to watch though. Vid here.

Related.
|

Feb 26, 2008

Why we won't get into it with Iran 

No, not because Mahmoud suddenly becomes all hugs and kisses. No, it's because the people there are tired of the way it's been their whole lives and want freedom to be who they want to be.

Now, granted, there's still going to be a large crowd of "death to America" types. But there's also another crowd...
“You have put us on since 1979 until now.” The crowd cheered after repeating the slogan multiple times.

Another slogan chanted repeatedly - accompanied by boos: “We do not want the Islamic regime.”
h/t to the Jawas
|

Why Marines want to go back to Afghanistan 

Every time I thought something vaguely exciting might happen, it didn't happen. There is no war in Western Iraq any more. This is a mop-up.
|

Feb 19, 2008

Gold Star Mom tells Berkeley to stick it 

Feb 13, 2008

When the Man Comes Around 


More: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

UPDATE: "the blast hurled Mughniyah’s body into the building entrance about 15 feet away, severing his arms and legs. He was dead by the time rescue workers arrived"
|

Feb 12, 2008

Heh 

If this is the "Change We Can Believe In"... 

...that's a bad deal.

Now I'm not gonna go so far as to say that Obama knew there were two big Cuban flags with pictures of the mass-murdering commie Che Guevara on the walls of his Houston campaign office. And I'm DEFINITELY not going to go so far as to say he endorses it. But isn't it interesting that the same people who support the one support the other?

And another thing: this has only really gotten passed around the blogs. Can you even imagine the mainstream media bash-fest that would drop on the head of McCain / Romney / Huckabee / any candidate with an "R" next to their name if a Nazi flag with a picture of Hitler was on the wall in one of their campaign offices? I guess as far as the press is concerned, ultra-righty thug bad, ultra-lefty thug good.

Good Christ, remember how they jumped on Dick Cheney last year for going hunting at a gun club that had a Confederate flag squirreled away in the back of their garage? And he wasn't even running for anything...
|

"Consensus" on Global Warming apparently not so... consense 

I'm sick to death of the pseudo-religion/cult that has developed known as "global warming." Not only will I not drink the kool-aid, I'll snatch it away from any dumbass who's distributing it and pour it down his shorts. Which is why I like stories like this.
Back in 1991, before Al Gore first shouted that the Earth was in the balance, the Danish Meteorological Institute released a study using data that went back centuries that showed that global temperatures closely tracked solar cycles.

To many, those data were convincing. Now, Canadian scientists are seeking additional funding for more and better "eyes" with which to observe our sun, which has a bigger impact on Earth's climate than all the tailpipes and smokestacks on our planet combined.

And they're worried about global cooling, not warming.
Paging Algore: your daily, high-noon excommunication of scientists from the Church of Global Warming is waiting for you.

In a related story, Carnac the Magnificent says, "Buy 6,000 fans within the next decade. Problem solved."

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
May you be set upon by a Polar Bear in heat...
|

Feb 8, 2008

One word 

Why America rules... 

... and yet we somehow don't think we do.



How it fell to Drew Carey to explain this to everyone, I have no idea, but the man is right. America is still the greatest nation in the world. If you're doing good, and everyone you personally know is doing okay, then why do you think things are in the crapper for everyone else?

h/t to Beth
|

Feb 7, 2008

Such as Regiments Hand Down Forever 

The men chuckled and laughed with Cliff as he shared stories of his time in the service.

When he talked about how 150 men in his company went into the Chosin Reservoir, but that only 27 survived two weeks later, there was total silence in the room.

He was a page of history that spoke for himself. He was not an old man proudly wearing a "Chosin Few" and "7th Marines" patch on his bright blue jacket. He was one of them.
|

What I believe, right down to my very core 

I've been looking for this since it ran before the Super Bowl. Tip o' the hat to GM Roper for finding it.

|

Feb 5, 2008

Take it back? What is this, the playground? 

A week after blasting the Marines as "unwelcome intruders" in Berkeley, two City Council members want the city to back off the declaration that ignited the wrath of the nation's right wing and inspired a Republican senator to try to sever Berkeley's federal funding. Council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli on Monday proposed that Berkeley rescind its letter to the U.S. Marine Corps that stated that the downtown Berkeley recruiting center "is not welcome in our city," and publicly declare that Berkeley is against the war but supports the troops.
I've never been one to whitewash as a liar everyone who says they're "against the war but for the troops." I can even site two examples of people who I believe when they say that: deuddersun and - strangely enough - ME (although in my case it was our interventions in Somalia and Haiti... was never too fond of getting involved in Bosnia either, but I digress).

But in this case, these people showed their true colors as anti-military nutters. Betty Olds* - who I think was the only council member to originally vote against the action, obviously has her reasons for wanting to rein this thing back in:
"People are so mad about this. They have relatives in the service, and now they think they're not welcome in Berkeley," she said. "My twin brother was a Marine in World War II. He'd be turning in his grave if he saw this."
But you can always count on the troll to pop out from under the bridge at just the right moment.
"I hope they're not acting out of intimidation," said Code Pink spokeswoman Medea Benjamin. "Berkeley is a city of peace, and a recruiting station does not fit Berkeley's values."
And in that, I have to agree. We know what Berkeley values are, and it wouldn't matter if there was a war on or not. Those douche-nozzles would still act the same way. So I say we pay Ms. Olds airfare, set her up with a nice place to stay in San Diego, and then help Sen. DeMint get his legislation passed. Wouldn't it be delicious if the only federally funded agency in Berkeley at the end of all this was the Officer Selection Office?

They were right about one thing during the initial council session, though: KARMA'S A BITCH. The Marine Corps related insanity starts at around 1:13:00 in the associated video at the link (the general purpose insanity starts at 0:00:01) and continues for the next half hour, reaching it's apex at 1:30:00 with the comments of a councilman who proudly claims to be an EX-Marine, with all that entails. You want to see MASSIVE overreach? This is supposed to be a CITY council meeting. They spend virtually the whole time talking international policy. WTF?
------------
*Betty Olds, to whom I was initially going to give the benefit of the doubt, now falls in the category of "those who can suck my ass." In the video, at 1:34:30 she admits to finding psychiatrists who would say her kids were nuts so they wouldn't get drafted for Vietnam, and then laments how "the Marines ought to have better sense than to come here," before throwing in the obligatory tree-hug by taking a shot at the Hummer the OSO drives around in. You're right, you old skag, your brother IS turning in his grave.
|

Feb 2, 2008

Military Medicine as another example of socialized health care 

Did you know that there is an almost six decade old Supreme Court ruling that does not allow military members to sue the military for negligence or medical malpractice for injuries unrelated to their service? It's known as the Feres Doctrine, and I had never heard of it until just now, but then it struck me that I could not recall ever hearing of a military malpractice suit involving the actual service member (though I had heard of some with regards to dependents). The court ruling is upheld so that "good order and discipline" are maintained. What's actually happened is a wide range of 'negligence' events have been shoved under one ruling when they should be handled independently, and the Feres Doctrine's power with regards to health care is unbelievable. What you are about to see is the end result of allowing failure to go unchallenged.

This report is very difficult to watch. I mean as in the story of Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez may make you physically ill. I wanted to cry. You will too.

Semper Fi, Sgt. And God I'm sorry.
|

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Weblog Commenting by HaloScan.com