Vote early and vote often?

I suppose the title is a bit tongue in cheek, unless you live here in West Virginia.

It is time for a another 'Stating the Obvious' exercise. Due the subject matter and timing I expect to be revisiting this particular item several times.

There's page after page of fascinating material out there, topics ranging from falling gas prices to a 'General's Revolt' at the DOD, but has much fun as all that stuff is... it's time to focus.

In early November (unless you've voted absentee) decisions are going to be made. Decisions that will shape not only the next two years, but the long term future of this country. That sentence sounds almost trite from over use, but consider what is at stake.

If there is a real threat from Islamic Imperialism?

Is our border situation is a threat to everything we consider to be American?.

I've stated both elements as questions, because a substantial percentage of our citizens do not consider either to be of consequence.

As I see it these are the only two issues to be decided. Failure to deal with them may well make every other issue trivial.

Aside: I'm not a fan of politics and politicians. I have felt for years that we need to change the system to rid ourselves of the preening, pampered, princes in congress. My choice would be to draft them out of the jury pool, house them in barracks and otherwise treat them like the military. But this is the system we have.

Drive on, it don't mean nothin'

Every so often frustration and melancholy take me into dark places. Frustration with myself and/or frustration with the world. This song, while not about my war, echoes something told me by Nam vet while I was working on his VA claim. He'd been a tunnel rat with the 25ID around Cu Chi. He was talking about the time one of his buddies was hit. I asked if he stopped, he said "Nah, I called for a medic, stepped over him and drove on." Wasn't callousness at work, just focus on what mattered that day.

In the scheme of things that's pretty good advice. It's so damn easy to get tangled up in the small things that we loose track of things that matter. Not profound, or wise... just reality.

It's one of the tools that works for me when frustration leads to depression. Drive on, it don't mean nothin'.

Well, I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
He was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam
He said I think my country got a little off track
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back
But, it's better than not coming back at all
Many a good man
I saw fall And even now,
every time I dream I hear the men
and the monkeys in the jungle scream

Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, it don't mean nothin', it don't mean nothin', drive on

Well, I remember one night,
Tex and me Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
We had our 16's on rock and roll
And, with all that fire,
I was scared and cold
I was crazy, I was wild
And I have seen the tiger smile
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
And I'd be dead , but by God's grace

Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, it don't mean nothin', it don't mean nothin', drive on

It was a real slow walk in a sad rain
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
I came home, but Tex did not
And I can't talk about the hit he got
but I got a little limp now when
I walk and I Got a little tremolo when
I talk But my letter read from Whiskey Sam
You're a walkin' talkin' miracle from Vietnam

Drive on, it don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, it don't mean nothin', it don't mean nothin', drive on

Johnny Cash

It's a small world after all

So last night around midnight eastern I'm gmail chatting with an Army guy in Ramadi, Iraq. He mentions that he's calling his wife, who is in Texas. I say bye and ask that he tells her 'hey' from me. His last message was "She says hi."

Maybe it's just me, but that seems pretty neat. No names here since I didn't discuss this little post with them.

good PR?

There are lessons to be learned. Taking a page from western marketing and public relations gurus the Palestinian Authority is producing videos to aid in the recruitment of martyrs.

The Israeli-based monitor Palestinian Media Watch reports the video, airing on television controlled by Abbas' Fatah party, depicts a Palestinian woman who is shot in the back by Israeli soldiers. The woman then is transported to "paradise" where she joins white-robed "maidens" dancing in water while waiting to marry a male Palestinian who "martyrs" himself.

In the next scene, according to PMW, a grieving Palestinian man is shot in the back by Israeli troops while visiting the grave of the woman killed at the start of the video. The man immediately is brought to "heaven" where he is rewarded with several white-robed "maidens," including the original woman he was mourning.

Read the article

You can watch the video and get more details here. The quality ain't so hot, but it's watchable.

Maybe our government and the military in particular could hire some Hamas members to get OUR message out?

The Point!

H/T Don Surber

This is a continuation of one of my favorite rants. Don links to The Liberals' War .

Here's a puzzle: Why is it so frequently the case that the people who have the most at stake in the battle against Islamic extremism and the most to lose when Islamism gains--namely, liberals--are typically the most reluctant to fight it?

Don observes:

I can cut to the chase on why this is so. The Blame America First crowd believes that teh enemy of mine enemy is my friend. They did this 35 years ago with the Blank Panthers and were saved by good police work. The Blame America First crowd (which now includes the Pat Buchanan types) can either wake up and join the fight, or someone will wake them up someday with a burqa over their pointy heads.

That's pretty succinct, yet the vast majority of the liberal/left just don't get it. Denial is not all that unusual, I'm afraid.

I rant about this every couple of months, and have for several years. The irony is lost on those who stand to lose their lives. Picking a specific quote for emphasis:

Consider, for instance, QUIT!--Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism--a group that, in its hatred for Israel, curiously fails to notice that Tel Aviv is the only city in the Middle East that annually hosts a gay-pride parade.

Go figure?

[update]

There is another article related to the above.

Head-in-the-Sand Liberals

But my correspondence with liberals has convinced me that liberalism has grown dangerously out of touch with the realities of our world — specifically with what devout Muslims actually believe about the West, about paradise and about the ultimate ascendance of their faith.

On questions of national security, I am now as wary of my fellow liberals as I am of the religious demagogues on the Christian right.

This may seem like frank acquiescence to the charge that "liberals are soft on terrorism." It is, and they are.

A cult of death is forming in the Muslim world — for reasons that are perfectly explicable in terms of the Islamic doctrines of martyrdom and jihad. The truth is that we are not fighting a "war on terror." We are fighting a pestilential theology and a longing for paradise.

This is not to say that we are at war with all Muslims. But we are absolutely at war with those who believe that death in defense of the faith is the highest possible good, that cartoonists should be killed for caricaturing the prophet and that any Muslim who loses his faith should be butchered for apostasy.

Conservative Anthem?

An anthem from the Eagles?

GET OVER IT!

I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin’ ’don’t blame me’
They point their crooked little fingers ar everybody else
Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma’s too thin; your daddy’s too fat

Get over it
Get over it
All this whinin’ and cryin’ and pitchin’ a fit
Get over it, get over it

You say you haven’t been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if I gave you some cash
The more I think about it, old billy was right
Let’s kill all the lawyers, kill ’em tonight
You don’t want to work, you want to live like a king
But the big, bad world doesn’t owe you a thing

Get over it
Get over it
If you don’t want to play, then you might as well split
Get over it, get over it

It’s like going to confession every time I hear you speak
You’re makin’ the most of your losin’ streak
Some call it sick, but I call it weak

You drag it around like a ball and chain
You wallow in the guilt; you wallow in the pain
You wave it like a flag, you wear it like a crown
Got your mind in the gutter, bringin’ everybody down
Complain about the present and blame it on the past
I’d like to find your inner child and kick it’s little ass

Get over it
Get over it
All this bitchin’ and moanin’ and pitchin’ a fit
Get over it, get over it

Get over it
Get over it
It’s gotta stop sometime, so why don’t you quit
Get over it, get over it

Just curious

Just wondering about arsenals, the personal kind, on the books? Should note I live in the middle of nowhere (and I like it). Calling 911 in the event of an attempted break-in isn't useful.

I have:

An SKS, minus bayonet. I keep around a thousand rounds on hand for it.

A single shot 12 gauge. I keep about a hundred rounds for it.

A couple .22s: An AR-7 and a semi auto pistol. The pistol is my home carry weapon. It resides on the web-gear I wear when hiking around here, and otherwise is in easy reach. Web-gear also has a K-BAR strapped to it as well as a folding entrenching tool and first aid kit, canteen, etc. AR-7 is my closet gun. I have about a thousand .22 rounds on hand.

A pink pearl handled Raven .25. More or less it's 'The Wife's' bedside weapon. About a hundred rounds on hand.

An ancient .38 is my truck weapon. I carry it (openly in WV) anywhere it won't get me arrested. About 200 rounds on hand.

I also carry 3 folding blades, a flashlight, and a Gerber multi-tool where ever I go. They're on my belt.

So I'm paranoid, but armed. How about yourselves?

A bitter pill

On December 7, 1941 2388 people were killed including 48 civilians. The next day our President offered these words, in part:

Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again. [emphasis added]

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Dec. 8, 1941

Later we learned that one of our adversaries was concerned:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." - Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On September 11, 2001 2973 people were killed, including 125 military personnel. We've had no declaration of war so I can't offer any speech worthy of citation. We DO have many who believe we did the deed ourselves, or at least deserved it.

Our enemy mocks us and invites us to join him.

On the fifth anniversary of the event politicians will posture and pundits will wring their hands or beat their chests.

Nothing will change. I'll skip it, no TV, no blogs, no newspapers, the taste is too bitter.

The Perfect Weapon System

Was talking with a pal (Marine Nam Vet, thanks Bud) over a beer or two.

Taking a page from the Spartans, we could shape The Perfect Weapon System for this war against Islamic Imperialism.

Picture this. Take volunteers from all branches of the military, female only need apply. Using parts of Airborne, Ranger, Marine Recon training, (maybe BUD/S as well) and filter it down to a hundred or so female warriors. More would be better, but I have no idea how it might actually shake out.

These units are to be female, from the officers on down. Equipped with best gear and supported by other units, they would lead the way.

Consider the Amazon ideal and the misogyny of the average Jihadist. There are some minor obvious negatives, but the idea is sound. I'm not joking, BTW.

How would the liberal/left and the feminists react in this country? But of far more import... how would the low-level Muslim react? What does the Koran say about being killed by a female?

stating the obvious

Every so often I spend the time to pull together a personal 'world view'. Some of these I make public, others I don't. It's about time to lay it on the table again. Like most folks I am comfortable with the gestalt that is being alive and cognizant, but at times the background noise rises to such a level that a step back in order to focus is in required.

The model I use for this construct boils down to reversing the 'can't see the forest for the trees' observation. I want to see the trees, and luckily, in most cases this amounts to little more than stating the obvious aloud. There is a certain intellectual dishonesty in jumping from the specific, to the general, and then back again, but I hope what I'm doing is simply shifting focus.

The November election is currently a toss-up. If the Democrats take the House government will likely grind to a halt while the power games are played to the fullest - investigations galore and pompous posturing will be the order of the day. If they also take the Senate we will see an attempt to impeach Bush. Important issues, like dealing with immigration and Islamic Imperialism will fall even further into the cracks while the politicians fiddle. It would be easier if I could point a finger at one group of politicians, but it can't be done with generally used labels.

Our 'Cold Civil War' goes on. Spiro T. Agnew covered this ground when it was newly turned, with the difference being that we can now see the probable harvest some thirty years later.

From Wikipedia:

Agnew was known for his tough criticisms of political opponents, especially journalists and anti-Vietnam War activists. He was known for attacking his opponents with unusual, often alliterative epithets, some of which were coined by White House speechwriters William Safire and Patrick Buchanan, including:

• "nattering nabobs of negativism," (written by Safire)
• "pusillanimous pussyfoots",
• "hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history",
• "the liberal intellectuals...masochistic compulsion to destroy their country's strength",
• "effete corps of impudent snobs", and
• "radiclib," a portmanteau of "radical liberal".

It's amazing how those words still fit, yet they can't encompass the additional threats.

We are confronted by thousands of Chamberlains.

Peace in Our Time.

The peoples of the British Empire were at one with those of Germany, of France and of Italy, and their anxiety, their intense desire for peace, pervaded the whole atmosphere of the conference, and I believe that that, and not threats, made possible the concessions that were made. [1938]

The liberal/left and Agnew's radiclibs seem willing to do anything to preserve peace, except provide for the tools needed. Sadly, those who would be first targets of the enemy are those with a suicidal bent.

Our country can't even agree on a common language to say nothing of agreeing on what America is or stands for. Our own government seems to confuse capitalism with democracy.

Taken in toto (the forest again) there's little wonder that the overall optimism that I've always attributed to being American seems missing. But there are a few trees that are green and growing.

Anyone up for a field trip?

Former soldiers begin anti-Bush demonstration in Washington

Started by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, "Camp Democracy" will welcome pacifists, Democratic lawmakers, union leaders, environmentalists, feminists and those fighting for immigrants' rights.
[...]
"We're told all the time we're out there fighting for democracy. No one knows more than we do that this war has nothing to do with democracy," Michael McPhearson, a member of Veterans for Peace, told reporters. McPhearson fought in Iraq in 1991 and has a son who has just returned from there.

"This administration does not want to have a discussion, especially with those of use who have lived the nightmare of what this war is really about," said Charlie Anderson, who fought in Iraq in 2003.

Sounds like fun. And a Target Rich Environment! "Democratic lawmakers, union leaders, environmentalists, feminists and those fighting for immigrants' rights." Who could ask for anything more?

Oh yeah!

A friend of mine dug up some quotes that we all can be reminded of from time to time:

It seems like such a terrible shame that innocent civilians have to get hurt in wars, otherwise combat would be such a wonderfully healthy way to rid the human race of unneeded trash. ~Fred Woodworth

(If you're interested, Fred Woodworth is an anarchist. Recently he's had to undergo some major surgery and bills are piling up. I'm pretty tempted to send him a donation, and make sure that he knows it's from that unneeded trash. If you're so inclined, do the same.)

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stewart Mill--

War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it, the crueler it is the sooner it will be over.
--William Tecumseh Sherman--

Army: A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats.
--Josephus Daniels--

Diplomats are just as essential in starting a war as soldiers are in finishing it.
--Will Rogers--

Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier.
--Samuel Johnson--

Read the Post

In a moment of ill-spirited glee

Every so often a turn of phrase catches my eye as a simple, obvious, and "wish I'd said that" thing.

"In a moment of ill-spirited glee".

A friend used that (she happens to be retired USAF) in a post. I dunno if it's original.

But take a look around. The troll leaving pointless comments just to see their name on the screen, the MSM parsing every word from the administration, and the liberal/left repeating the same sad old phrases whether applicable or not. To be sure, others are as guilty, but I like picking on those folks when I can.

It's there, that moment of ill-spirited glee. The phrase has a child-like feeling, and maybe there's a clue in that? The childish need for instance gratification?

Not ill-tempered, but ill-spirited - not meanness, but ill-spirited. A sick spirit...says rather a lot, I think.

Two Stories

Subtitle: Who knows?

From AP:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, the cleric's office said. In July, al-Sistani was credited with restraining the Shiite community from widespread retaliation against minority Sunnis following horrific attacks on Shiite civilians.

"If the government does not do its duty in imposing security and order to the people and protecting them, it will give a chance to other powers to do this duty and this a very dangerous matter," al-Sistani's office quoted him as saying.

Read the article

And:

From the Telegraph:

The most influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war.

Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.

"I will not be a political leader any more," he told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters."

It is a devastating blow to the remaining hopes for a peaceful solution in Iraq and spells trouble for British forces, who are based in and around the Shia stronghold of Basra.

Read the Article

Well Damn!

Although he was one of my favorite actors I noted his passing with little emphasis. Boy did I miss it!
H/T Argghh!

Committed to service in the armed forces, Ford also served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the Third Marine Amphibious Force in 1966-1968. He once went on a jungle mission with a Special Forces Team during the Vietnam War. Ford was the only actor to have served with both the Green Berets and the French Foreign Legion and his military record is well recognized in both the United States and France as a highly decorated veteran.

Read this article

Wow, ignorance is a pain.

Goodbye Sweden

H/T The Sarge

This article struck me as maybe the first clear sound of the klaxon.

The Swedish People Have Ceased to Exist — by Decree of Their Own Government.

No more SWEDES, according to the “Finale Report of the Department of Culture” (Ds 2000:43)!

Instead we are now “persons with a Swedish background” (person/er med svensk bakgrund).

In our neighbouring countries there live Danes, Finns, Norwegians, and Germans, but in Sweden there live “persons with a Swedish background” and — not to be forgotten — a damn big heap of immigrants.

The reason for this ridiculous change of terminology is the extensive immigration and the pursued unsuccessful policy of integration. The relatively small and society-disintegrating leftist ELITE of the country wants the MULTICULTURE to dominate the land and the lives of its People — without ever having asked the People. According to the Government Secretariat (Regeringskansliet) Sweden shall bear the stamp only of its immigrants and their cultures, and their values and behaviours and religions.

Read the article

I dunno how accurate the article and it's assements are. It's of interest because it could serve as the framework to describe what's happening in this country.

Phooey

I won't make a habit of this, but I stumbled across three unrelated items via FR that need to be noted and I don't have time to do them justice.

Critic: Americans in danger of 'slavery' WND tends towards too much hyperbole my taste, but this article does a good job of focusing on the issues.

“War is all hell”

But where are the Pattons?

Where are the likes of Confederate Generals Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, or Nathan Bedford Forrest? Senior-level risk-takers who literally seem to draw strength from a fight, and who would think nothing of launching huge independent operations against the enemy: Circling him. Cutting him off. Terrorizing his forces. Landing in his rear time-and-again when he least expects it.

Where is a Union Admiral David Farragut, who – when warned of mines (in those days called ‘torpedoes’) – ordered his sailors, “Damn the torpedoes!” and full speed ahead!

Where is an Admiral Chester Nimitz, whose leadership, boundless optimism and aggressiveness following the attacks on Pearl Harbor led him to decisively defeat massive Japanese Naval forces at Coral Sea, Midway, and the Solomons, all the way through the successful landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

And where are the American people who would support those leaders and their charges in their efforts.

Shoot to deceive

When is an anti-gunner a pro-gun advocate? The obvious answer is never, but that’s too simple a response. The actual answer is “any time a member of the media wants to portray the anti-gunner in a pro-gun light”. Take, for example, a new article in The New Republic entitled “Gun Crazy: The Revolt Against the NRA” by Michael Blanding. Blanding, a freelance writer from Boston, profiles the group calling itself American Hunters and Shooters Association. AHSA bills itself as a “moderate alternative to the NRA”, but in reality it’s an organization founded by leaders in the anti-gun movement who have strong ties to the Brady Campaign.

Well Gee Whiz!

AP has a curious story about the crime wave and tourism in DC.

Businesses and government officials are worried that other visitors will share the same concerns in the wake of robberies and slayings at tourism sites.
...

Since May, there have been several highly publicized attacks _ including holdups on the mall and the slashing death of a British political activist in Georgetown. Last month, a jewelry store worker was critically wounded in the upscale neighborhood after being shot during a daylight robbery.

Read the Article

Washington D.C. has some of the most powerful anti-gun laws anywhere in the country. So it must be something else?

I had a trip planned to D.C. last month, and I was concerned, because I might be arrested if I was armed. Trip was canceled for unrelated reasons, by the way.

Crime is down where ever Concealed Carry Permits are available. Why is that, I wonder? There might be a reason predators seek out the sick and the weak?

I think we should boycott places that don't have and support a reciprocal CCW policy.

From Packing.org

When Visiting DC your best course of action is to leave all weapons at home. Even small pocket knives are not welcome in Government Buildings. Most buildings in DC are Government Buildings. You will have to go through Metal Detectors to get into some Government Buildings. The Mint, White House, Capital and even the Smithsonian and others. Large bags are not allowed in most buildings. Get info from the Government Agency you are planning to visit. Remember that your items will be searched. Big bags will just take longer to search and hold you up.

So the predators can carry anything and your pocket knife will be confiscated, and a licensed CCW weapon will get you in trouble.

If I carry a knife or a pistol and commit a crime... throw away the key. But the notion that carrying a knife or a gun IS a crime is just plain ludicrous!

I wish I had your million dollars = crime.
Your house is nicer than mine = crime.
I should be able to defend my family, anywhere, anytime = crime.