The Makaha Surf Report

The Blog of War hits stores today

2006-09-04T23:23:00.000-10:00

I was lucky enough to be a part of this awesome project. It hits the shelves today, grab it while you can, some of the stories in it will remain with you forever.

Go today, buy it...........
You will not be sorry..........
I anticipate some serious troll infestations in the next few days I might have to shut down the comments section

Dear Dear Leader,

2006-07-06T19:12:00.000-10:00

I just wanted to let you know,YOU MISSED!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? It took a diminutive pissant like you to bring me back from my self imposed blogging moratorium. I can only imagine what would cause you to fire a missile at my home, I know Hawaii is expensive bro, but don't get all missile happy because the Japanese have outpriced you on a Maui villa.

That's right, your little shitty fireworks show has made me come back to blogging, I've been away too long, I let too many other issues divert me from this awesome experience called life. I feel reborn thanks to your missile test, it reminded me to stop navel gazing, there are still monsters in this world that would kill my family and myself if they could. I'd like to thank you and the butchers of the two soldiers in Iraq, you have reignited my flame to do something about people such as yourself. You and those like you that seek to kill, steal, and commit every horror under the sun on the innocent must not be allowed to survive. You are vermin, pure and simple, vermin must always be exterminated, and I forgot that. I got so wrapped around the axle with my own demons from Iraq that I forgot what it is I am fighting against. Thanks for taking the time to fire your shitty little missile at me.

To the blogging community, I say, I missed all of you and it's good to be back.

Democrats ready to surrender

2005-12-08T14:36:00.000-10:00

At least that's what the new republican attack ad will say according to the Drudge Report.

IMHO it's about time someone nailed the Dems to the wall with their constant schizo games of "we support the troops while we try to ensure their defeat."

Today's Democratic party wants us to lose in Iraq and elsewhere as they hope it will win them midterm elections. There I said it, they are the defeatist party that would sacrifice our military for elected office.

Now some troll make a comment about Bush lying about the war, or I'm a simpleton or some other nonsense. I'm not the one on the side of the people pulling for a terrorist win.

Home and ready to reflect.

2005-12-08T13:07:00.000-10:00

I've been back from Iraq for a little bit now and I have finally caught up on house issues, spent some quality time with the Missus, and had time to reflect on what my third tour in Iraq taught me. You see each time I go "over there" life teaches me a lesson that I think makes me a better human being. I learned two things this time in Iraq that I want to share.

I was on a Blackhawk flying from Kirkuk to Sulaymaniya and then down to Tikrit and I remember the feeling of freedom that comes with flying in a vehicle with no doors 100 feet off the ground at 150 miles per hour. You are so completely vulnerable at that time and have no control over your life until you regain the ground. But I realized that you have no control of your life under normal circumstances. Sure you can decide what to wear to work, or what to eat at lunch or even if you read this blog or not, you can even decide to take a sick day for no reason and go to the beach instead, but in the end we aren't in control. God is in control of our lives, he knows the hour of our birth and the time of our death, it is his will as to how long we live in this earthly realm. In that moment I realized that no amount of fear, no amount of bargaining, and even no amount of prayer would save me if an insurgent took that helicopter out. Some people would be given to thoughts of despair or despondency, but I was happy. In fact, I was giddy like a kid in grade school, I had accepted a universal truth of life in a place where death stalked you every day. I remember the freedom I had in the rest of my tour in Iraq, that feeling that I was free to do all that I could to make things in Iraq better and that come what may I knew that I had no control of it. That giving up of control to something greater than yourself can also be found in members of the military. To my colleagues on the left they see spirit crushing militarism when they look at the Armed Forces, I see redemptive freedom, the freedom to exist in the moment to be part of a noble endeavor where everyone struggles together to make something better than it was, or to preserve it for what it is. Many people say the military is the repository of a nation's moral values. I agree to a point with that statement, but I also believe that the military of the U.S. is the spirit of our country reaching for a better world or as Ronald Reagan put it, that shining city upon the hill. In that moment on that Blackhawk, I realized that I wasn't a contractor trying to survive a helicopter flight, I was an American and moreso a Christian experiencing the freedom that comes with acceptance of God's will over my life.

The second thing I learned I already knew it, but I forgot it. You see, Iraq is clarity, clarity in a way that someone that has never been there can never ever experience. Everything about Iraq comes through to a person so much more forcefully than in the world of home. Iraq is like a whole different world, things seem more real than they do now that I'm back. I have seen other bloggers talk about it before and they are correct, Iraq heightens your senses and expands your consciousness. Look at me, I sound like Timothy O'Leary talking about a good LSD trip, but it's true. Only in Iraq have I experienced sheer terror while laughing my ass off in rapturous delight. Only in Iraq have I felt like I wanted to cry out of loneliness, but felt so overwhelmed with pride at serving my country. Only in Iraq have I actually had to confront my own mortality head on, to live in that moment knowing that the next moment I could be dead. Some people might think that living in that moment is impossible with the Sword of Damocles we call death hanging over us at all times. But those of you that haven't been to Iraq can't understand, again I'm going to use that word freedom, the freedom you have when you accept that your fate is not yours to decide is intoxicating. I went on several more missions outside the wire than my wife us aware of, not because I had a death wish or that I was some "gung-ho" fool. No I did it because it was the right thing to do, doing the right thing matters more when it might be the last thing you ever do. But more importantly, I might never be back in this place at this hour doing these things, so if I don't experience it now, I never will. The experiences one goes through in a war zone are unable to be duplicated back in the "real world", and as a result when you leave you crave it a little bit. Iraq is almost like a drug in that regard, I have been home now a little while and I would be lying if I said I didn't have small pangs of wanting to be there right now. Even with the heat, the crappy food, the dangers of indirect fire, IED's and the death of friends, part of me wants to be there right now. I suspect part of me will always want to be there. Some might call me insane, I know my wife thinks I'm a little bonkers for wanting that, but there are reasons. That clarity I talked about earlier when you feel so free and you feel so "GOOD" is absent in this world. By good, I mean that feeling that you are on the side of right, that you are righteous and that your cause is the cause of justice for humanity. In the U.S. sure I can volunteer for charity groups, and sure I can donate to worthwhile causes, but most of those deeds pale in comparison to the conviction that your work has led to a people becoming free. To know that you destroyed a tyrant and his regime is a feeling that is impossible to recreate in this world. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do good things here, but it does mean that they might not be as satisfying as bringing freedom to the lost who have lived their entire lives without it.

I learned a few other things in Iraq, but I haven't formulated my thoughts yet on those issues. I need time to reflect and digest what I went through to make it coherent to people. That having been said I must conclude with this; I am a student of history, (I'm no genius, but I know a thing or two) I have never seen nor read, nor heard of any nation's military at any time in the world's history whose members believed they were fighting for a better world. American armies have always fought for geopolitics, or resources, or even idealism, but this is relatively new. The military of today believes it is not only righteous, but just to bring freedom to oppressed people. The torch of liberty has been passed to a new "Great Generation" that believes it is their destiny to accept the mission of bringing freedom and light to the darkest corners of oppression. I pray our media and certain members of our nation let them finish the mission they have been inspired to begin.

As always linked over at Mudville Gazette.

Let's use hate speech to protest what we think is hate speech

2005-12-08T12:35:00.000-10:00

You have to hand it to liberals, their logic train left the station long ago and they still expect to be taken seriously. Ann Coulter (who I have several disagreements with, but also agree with on certain other issues) was giving a speech at UCONN and the campus whackadoo left came out to protest her. No problem using freedom of speech to tell someone you don't like their ideas, but there's a problem with the following from the article;

Just before the event, Students Against Hate held an alternative event focusing on discrimination at UConn and intended to provide "balance" to the Coulter talk. During the talk several students from various racial groups and of various sexual orientations spoke about how harsh words have wounded them.

That by itself would have been fine, but during the speech the following resulted;

After waiting with her bodyguard on stage for several minutes for the music to stop while a section of the audience chanted "You suck, you suck," an irritated Coulter said she would not finish her speech.

So let's have a session where we talk about how harsh words have wounded us and then let's go engage in harsh words to hurt another. WOW!!!!! Only a leftist would see this as fair and balanced, let's console each other and then go bash someone we hate.

Also from this article I have learned the term Asian chick is no longer appropriate to be used in casual conversation.

Hana Kim, 20, of Stamford, cried as she recalled her experience hearing two young men express shock and disapproval in a loud conversation that a friend was dating an "Asian chick."

I don't think Ms. Kim is going to enjoy the real world very much. Imagine her encountering the following things.

Census forms

How would she identify herself, is female ok, is person of Far Eastern Hemispheric descent ok?

Restaurants

Would she refuse to eat at a restaurant that was Chinese or Persian? What if the restaurant was titled "Food made from items and recipes found in the eastern hemisphere of planet earth where people of a Sino ethnic group live"

Grocery stores

Could she handle going into an Asian market? Or a Greek Deli? Would she fight to have them called Market of food for people that come from the region known as the far east or a Deli with food from people who developed Western Civilization? And what the hell would she do if she thought Western Civilization was evil and it's name offended her.

The point is the whackadoo left is so bizarrely insane that they see the terms Asian chick as hurtful and they see Ann Coulter as hateful so any insanity they resort to in the fight against such things is justified.

And they wonder why we on the right are always laughing at them as we win election after election.

Love us as we love you

2005-12-07T13:49:00.000-10:00

I found this poem over at Blackfive and wanted to share it with anyone that might not have seen it. The more cynical among you might laugh at the hokeyness or cheesiness of this poem. Some of my left wing readers might laugh at what they see as a simplisitic emotional mess. Well go screw yourself, this poem puts into words what I believe is happening in this war, why these brilliant young men and women fight so hard.

It's a shame we have so many on the left that claim to love the soldiers and then act in direct opposition to those soldiers.

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,'

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

We're from the government, and

2005-12-05T14:21:00.000-10:00

we're here to help you, all 8,000 of us. Am I the only person that finds 8,000 bureaucrats meeting in Montreal funny? There are 8,000 of them wasting God knows how much energy, telling us that the U.S. is the only problem enviromentally.

This stuff writes itself.

To answer a critic

2005-12-05T12:42:00.000-10:00

Here at TMSR I rarely indulge my critics with a response. But since this person acted like an adult to a degree, I feel obliged to answer their charges.

The following quotes in italics and bolded are from a person named REALITYPLEASE that posted in my comments section.

Hey! I know. Lets not talk about the enormous cluster that is Bush/Cheney's Iraq debacle. Dont talk about firing your own generals and going w/ your own "plan". 2100+ dead solders. $6 Billion a month. Instead, lets throw mud at a women who has the audacity to speak out againt the war after losing her son. Here's a couple of other items to discuss.

Dear realityplease, what enormous cluster? I've actually been to Iraq 3 times and see success after success after success. That doesn't mean Iraq is the land of Rainbow wishes and chocolate dreams, but it's better than it was under Saddam Hussein. Millions of Iraqis voting for freedom don't lie, tens of thousands of brave Iraqis standing up to fight terrorists are not an illusion, and democracy in the Middle East is happening despite the naysaying of you, members of my family, the treasonous media or the Judas, Cindy Sheehan. Make no mistake she is a Judas, she cares not for the troops at all, most communists see the military as a tool of the petty bourgeois class structure. Where did I find such a quote? From the very website of Cindy's buddies in San Francisco, the revolutionary communist party. It's funny that someone that gnashes her teeth and wails about the "poor soldiers" would involve herself with those who hate the very idea of the American military. But your feeble mind can't see past your own hatred of the president to see the greater truth; Cindy Sheehan actions have disgraced her dead son. No matter the son's political views, I'm sure he is revolted by her siding with Maoists, the greatest murderers of the 20th century.

Let's dissect your other arguments, shall we? Generals are relieved if they shame themselves, the military, or the nation. We have a civilian command structure for a reason. Bush going with his "own plan" is what a president does. He outlines the overall strategy for victory and then has the military fill in the details and make it happen. It has always been thus, who are you to criticize the very successful American way of war that has dominated for 200+ years? As for the combat losses, each one is a tragedy that I would not wish upon anyone, but they were soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Their sole job is to be that thin line that protects us all from peril. That means fighting and fighting means killing and both sides lose people in war. No one was drafted against their will, and if you look at the year, it's 2005, almost 2006, you might learn something from the following. Most enlistments are 4 year ones, it has been nearly 4.5 years since 9/11, and it has been nearly 3 years since we invaded Iraq. The forces we put in the field now are made up of a majority of people that want to fight this war. The reenlistment numbers bear this out quite well. In a 4 year period nearly anyone who wanted out of the military could get out, and yet we are experiencing record reenlistment rates. Here's one quote from the article Every one of the Army's 10 divisions Â its key combat organizations Â has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the year to date. Those with the most intense experience in Iraq have the best rates. The 1st Cavalry Division is at 136 percent of its target, the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent.

That must stick in your craw that a defeatist like you can't stand that the soldiers are voting with their feet to fight this war and to win it. You address cost, 6 billion a month you say, to that I respond with this; Who is the grotesque one here? You who are willing to put a prictagge on freedom, or me who knows that true freedom has no price that isn't worth paying. So yes I'll continue to "throw mud" aCindydSheehanan or anyone else who claims to have the best interests of soldiers in mind, when their actions betray their true hatred for those same soldiers.

So now on to your other its of wisdom you wanted to share with me.

Bogus aluminum tubes, remote winged aircraft, mobile chem labs

Ramped up pre-war bombing

Diverting of funds from Afganinstan to Iraq

Forgive me if I take them a few at a time, I have a sensitive stomach that doesn't handle trash very well.

Bogus aluminum tubes???? As someone that has spent nearly 1/3 of my life dealing with intel, let me say this; We get bad info all the time, you act on what you have, sometimes you are right, sometimes you geembarrasseded. I'd rather bembarrasseded and have acted than not acted and pay a terrible price later.

Ramped up pre-war bombing? As someone who was in those invasion columns that rode into Iraq, let me say this loud and clear. GOD BLESS THE AIR FORCE!!! They took out large chunks of the Iraqi army in that pre war bombing. It ensured I and many thousands of other ground troops survived. I doubt you find many American military members that are upset about the bombing campaign. Our job is to kill the enemy anyway we can and I have no feelings of shame about killing them before a Congressional vote. Killing is never a good thing, but if the choice is premetpive bombing to protect American lives or no bombing that leads to more American casualties, what do you think the American people would prefer?

Diverting of funds? Well, we have ten times the number of troops in Iraq versus Afghanistan, so diverting of funds sounds like a damn smart idea to me. The more funds we can get into Iraq the better. Afghanistan is doing much better overall than Iraq, so why would you object to sending money to where it is needed more?

Pat Tilman

Jessica Lynch

Gonzolez memos labelling quaint & not
applicable the Geneva Convention guidelines for prisoner treatment.

Abu Grape

Pat Tillman died an American hero and was killed in a tragic accident. There is this thing called the fog of war, sometimes we know exactly how someone died, sometimes we get it wrong and we tell an inaccurate story of a person's death. Usually after time we get it right. Cmon, don't tell me that Pat Tillman's death is Bush's fault? More logic from the Cindy Sheehan school of blaming Republicans.

Ditto for Jessica Lynch, she was captured, she survived, we got part of her story wrong, as more evidence came out, the PENTAGON revised it's version of events. Don't tell me you're one of those people who watch a war movie on TV and think it's really easy to follow the action in actual combat.

Gonzalez memos.......... too touchy feely for me and most military members I know. If we are going to hurt people, let's do it the right way, and take what information they give us and use it.

Abu Ghraib, well let's see, those who tortured were punished, and new guidelines were put in place to prevent a repeat performance? What else is there to say?

Using the troops in staged "news" events

Joe Wilson smear

Valerie Plame outing

Libby indictment

Exactly how are the troops used in staged events? Bush travels to military bases to hear from the troops and to encourage them. It is a war, should he act differently?

Joe Wilson is a coward who is using his partisan beliefs to smear a President, you got the smear part right, but the wrong target.

Valerie Plame was not a covert agent anymore. Again as a former intel person, I know the rules on this one. If someone has not been at a foreign station for five years, they are no longer a covert agent. Here let me help you see the light, get it through your noggin, she was not a covert agent, if this case ever goes to trial it will likely be thrown out once we get down to the brass tacks of the matter.

As for Libby, poor Scooter, it looks like he lied and if convicted he must pay. I have no sympathy for him, he probably did something wrong, he got caught and that's the end of the story. Not like a certain former president who was charged with perjury and obstruction ojusticece and kept his job. Libby, if guilty will pay and that's that.

CIA secret prisons - E.U. warning that any E.U. country discovered to have hosted CIA prisons will face "serious consequences," including losing its E.U. voting rights.

Fake & restricted town hall meetings

Bush speaking to captive audiences only

Promising to fire anyone involved in the CIA leak

My wife and I had this very talk the other night, CIA secret prisons make me feel warm all over. Unlike you, I have seen the actions of these animals firsthand. Were I the leader of America, secret prisons would be the nicest thing these assholes received. You see the difference is, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the terrorists plan whole missions dedicated to killing innocent civilians. We, accidentally kill innocents and then do what we can for surviving family members. If I had it my way, these bastards would not be drawing breath any longer than their useful intelligence value required them to.

Fake and restricted town hall meetings? I have yet to see a fake one, I'm sure on your feverish leftwing site you have found something you have latched onto to. As for restricted meetings, does not the President have the carte blanche to speak to whom he wants? He holds press conferences, he speaks to congress at least once a year and goes on numerouforeigngn policy trips, don't get your panties in a twist if he doesn't speak to "Democrats Committed to Imprisoning Bush" whenever you guys want to throw feces at him.

Captive audiences you say? What branch of the Federal govt. is holding the people at gunpoint forcing them to listen to W's drawl? If you know what branch, can you tell me, I'd like to hold people hostage and make them read Greek and Roman classics and I could use a little Federal muscle to make it happen.

Finally, you said promising to fire anyone involved in the CIA leak. Well how can you fire a guy if he resigns, so far Scooter Libby is the only person implicated and indicted. He resigned, but in your little world, you just know Karl Rove and Cheney are involved, no matter that Pat Fitzgerald has said nothing about either one. Try living in the reality based world instead of your little dementia, oops I mean dimension.

One note: I did delete a few more quotes from REALITYPLEASE, but they involved the usual tin foil hat nuttery of "Bush served plastic turkey to the troops", and the "downing street" memos which have been discredited by anyone with a 3rd grade reading level.

Linked as always over at Mudville Gazette

Army/Navy GAME THREAD

2005-12-03T10:52:00.000-10:00

10:53 LOCAL

NAVY LEADS 14-10

ARMY TRIES TO DRAW THEM OFFSIDE ON A 4TH AND 1 AND NAVY DOESN'T BITE

ARMY PUNTS AND NAVY SETS UP SHOP AT THEIR OWN 34 YARD LINE

NAVY COMPLETION FOR 17 YARD GAIN

10:55

NAVY DRIVING WITH 40 SECONDS LEFT IN THE HALF

10:57

NAVY WITH A FIRST AND GOAL AT THE ARMY 8

11:00

NAVY SCORES THE TOUCHDOWN WITH A 2 YARD RUN
THEY GO INTO HALFTIME LEADING ARMY 21-10

HALFTIME

ON AN UNRELATED NOTE MY TEXAS LONGHORNS ARE WHIPPING THE EVERLOVING CRAP OUT OF COLORADO 70-3 GOING INTO THE 4TH QUARTER

GETTING READY FOR THE SECOND HALF

11:25

FIRST HALF RECAP

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT IS REALLY REALLY HAPPY WATCHING THIS GAME. SO MUCH OF THE LIVES OF OFFICERS AND OFFICERS IN TRAINING IS FOCUSED ON SERIOUS THINGS. WATCHING THEM JUST BE FOOTBALL FANS MAKES ME FEEL GOOD.

KICKOFF TO ARMY FIRST AND TEN ON THE ARMY 19

11:28

9 YARD GAIN BY THE FULLBACK ON A PASS RECEPTION

3RD DOWN AND 1 AND NO GAIN

BLACK KNIGHTS WILL PUNT

NAVY IN BUSINESS 1ST AND 10 AT THEIR OWN 25 YARD LINE

11:35

UGH HUGE GAIN BY NAVY 25 YARD GAIN 1ST AND 10 AT THE ARMY 40

11:37

NAVY JUST MISSES A TOUCHDOWN SCORE

SCRATCH THAT TOUCHDOWN NAVY 28-10

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TACKLE THE NAVY RUNNING BACK.

11:46

NAVY GETS THE BALL BACK, ARMY IS STARTING TO STINK UP THE JOINT A LITTLE

11:52

NAVY IN THE RED ZONE AGAIN MAN THIS IS GETTING UGLY

11:56

Navy Scores 35-10

12:05

HOLY JEEBUS, ARMY SCORES A TOUCHDOWN ON A BUSTED PLAY

35-17

12:11

CRAP NAVY LONG RUN FOR A TOUCHDOWN
HEY BLACK KNIGHTS, THE GUY IN WHITE IS THE BAD GUY, TACKLE HIM. SHEESH!!!!!!!!

NAVY 42-17

12:28

Looking like this game is about decided. Navy is settling for keeping Army bottled up.

Still 42-17

12:45

Army driving, now inside the red zone 1:36 left in the game, it's about over, but Army could recover some honor by scoring a touchdown.

12:48

Army scores a touchdown

42-23

Game ends 42-23Good luck next year Black Knights

Cindy Sheehan has a secret

2005-11-30T15:56:00.000-10:00

Good afternoon ladies and gents, I hope you are all having a great day. I have been surfing the net trying to find the truth about Cindy Sheehan's politics. Since this past summer she has been all over the media with her story of her son Casey who was killed by Iraqi terrorists working for Shia cleric and well known rotund dimwit Moqtada Al-Sadr. Casey as we all know by now was an American hero who reenlisted in Iraq and volunteered to go on the mission that killed him. His mother has been waging her own personal jihad against George W. Bush since Casey's death. A bereaved mother is allowed her grief and an American citizen is allowed to protest. Both of those things are sacrosanct to Americans. But, when a woman uses her son's death to advance her own political agenda, that is not a right, that is disgusting and most be fought at every turn.

What people don't know about Cindy Sheehan is that she openly sides with and allows herself to be photographed with people that have pledged solidarity with Iraqi insurgents. Not only photographed with them, but aiding their causes and giving speeches for them with no shame for who they are and what they stand for.

Whoever am I talking about? Well the Revolutionary Communist Party of course. The Revolutionary Communist Party is dedicated to a violent proletarian revolution in the U.S. and the establishment of a People's Republic. These are Maoists, as in Mao Tse Tung, as in the greatest mass murderer in the 20th century, Mao killed more innocents than Stalin and Hitler put together. According to one site Mao killed between 40-72 million people, and these are the people Cindy Sheehan calls allies.

These people trash the U.S. military, their website claims 9/11 was an inside job and they have a plan to drive out the Bush White House. So the RCP is a party dedicated to overthrowing the legally elected government of this country by violence if possible and that seeks to attack our military while they are fighting a war by giving aid and comfort to the enemy. And these are Cindy Sheehan's friends, at the rally in the pictures Cindy Sheehan had the following to say.

The people that are being killed in Iraq are not terrorists. They're citizens of Iraq, they're members of the human race. They're our brothers and sisters. And last year, I worked really hard to defeat George Bush. But you know what? He refuses to be defeated, because if he loses, he cheats. And so he cheated himself into a second term. And I wrote a letter on April -- I mean November 4th. You know, I took a day off -- I was very devastated, very depressed....

So the people that kill children asking for candy are not terrorists, the people that rape and kill women for trying to vote are not terrorists, and the people that killed her son are not terrorists? WOW HOLY FRICKING CHRIST IN A GOLF CART THIS WOMAN IS FLAT OUT INSANE. But even worse knowing all of this I'm not supposed to call Cindy Sheehan a traitor, I'm supposed to play the role where I respect her grief, only thing is her grief is being used to attack all that I love about this country. Well folks, those days are over. I'm calling a spade a spade, Cindy Sheehan is a traitor to America, her son Casey was a hero to us all. It sickens me that our sycophantic media has latched on to a Maoist (or at least someone who has no problem being associated with Maoists) and tried to present her as Betty Fricking Crocker of Middle America. She is a radical that has no qualms whatsoever about allying herself with people who cheer on the people who murdered her son and 2100+ other American heroes. How pathetic is our media when they side with communists that are also terrorist activists over those fighting to keep us safe. So I'm asking any bloggers that want to, call Cindy what she is. Only when Middle America rises up and says enough is enough will those who seek to harm our soldiers in thought and deed be repelled. Enough is enough!

P.S. In case there is any dispute over Mother Sheehan's political leanings, here are the photos of those who attended the rally. Thanks Zombietime, you are a warrior for us.

Sheehan/communist rally

More of the Rally

As always linked over at Mudville Gazette

For anyone that's a fan of the TV show lost

2005-11-29T13:37:00.000-10:00

Disturbing, nutty and funny at the same time.

Crazy crap

A blog to watch

2005-11-28T14:55:00.000-10:00

For anyone interested in animals there is a new blog out there for you Animal Intelligence. It's written by my wife the awesome Janimal. Now before anyone starts rolling their eyes over an animal intelligence blog, let me tell me she is a true renaissance woman, she is a veteran, and a Bush supporter. She has a red hot dislike for PETA and other fringe groups that exploit animals for their own purposes. She'll eat a steak with the best of them and in the words of a Texas good ole boy, she ain't no tree hugging, granola eating, hippie. So check it out if you have the time, but beware she is passionate about her beliefs.

The trolls pop up and the trolls get shot down

2005-11-28T13:33:00.000-10:00

Well it seems those crazy folks at Democratic Underground have decided they don't like me exposing them for the vermin they are and so they are sending trolls at me to spam my comments section. That's cool, I can hang. I even saw an appearance by my family member troll. Since her only reason to come here is disruption, she was banned again. If she comes back with her negative attitude we will do a full range IP ban and if the problem persists, ISP's will get involved. This site is for me and my views, all opinions are welcome and will always be tolerated. That being said outright harassment or posting only to flame me will not be tolerated. We can discuss anything rationally, I have several liberals that comment frequently that I get along with and we have disagreements but are still civil to one another. Act like an adult and follow my rules and you'll do just fine. If not out comes the ban stick and away you go.

A picture says a thousand words

2005-11-27T21:11:00.000-10:00

This is priceless, known antiwar activist, bereaved mother, and known batshit insane leftist Cindy Sheehan was photographed in Crawford, Texas at a book signing for her book. Unfortunately it seems not many people want to have her autograph, nor waste their time listening to her rants.

Cindy all alone

What a disgrace

2005-11-25T11:48:00.000-10:00

This week, we have seen the Democratic Party engage in treachery most severe. We have seen them hew and haw for months that we need to get out of Iraq and then back off from that statement. They advance and retreat this theme whenever they want to get the media headlines back under their control. This week, a respected Democratic House member call for a withdrawal from Iraq, the Republican party asked the democrats to put their money where there mouth was and vote for withdrawal and the dems refused. In fact the man that called for withdrawal, Jack Murtha voted against withdrawal himself. The Democratic party tried to claim this was a cheap political stunt, my question is what is cheaper; To say one thing and then do another or to actually be forced to put your opinion on the record and have our fighting forces judge you as the cowards that you are. Furthermore, what does this mixed message send to my friends, to me and to the hundreds of thousands of other Americans who have fought and still are fighting around the world to rid us all of the evil of our time?

Non-military members will never understand, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines live to serve this nation. They spend every minute of everyday in service to something greater than themselves. They honestly believe they are fighting for a better America, and a better world. What must they think when they see the antics of the democratic party? I'll tell you what they think, most soldiers feel betrayed, they feel that our country is turning against them and nothing will destroy a soldier more than for him or her to believe their country is against them. I rarely swear or lose my temper, but today I have, so bear that in mind when you read the following.

It's a fucking disgrace that one political party would betray our fighting forces in the middle of a war. When you are in a war, you fight to win, you fight to destroy the enemy, you fight and you kill and you bring maximum violence to your enemies, because that violence will bring you home to that which you hold most dear. As a veteran of this war, I know one thing, that the way home lies in the destruction of as much evil as possible.

Now we have elected leaders doing their damnedest to poison the relationship between the military and the country. It's poison to let soldiers think they are unappreciated, it's poison to let wounded veterans believe the war was wrong, they have given blood and bone for God's sake. A very piece of themselves has been destroyed forever to make us all safer and yet we have elected leaders of one party who wish to take a shit all over that sacrifice. Soldiers want nothing more than to be loved by their country, for their country to love them as much as they love it. They believe in the notions of honor, sacrifice and above all else love. The love military members have for this country allows them to get up every day for a year and go out and face evil. Day after day after day, they wake up, put on pounds and pounds of heavy, stifling gear, pick up their weapons and go forward to find, fix and kill an enemy that is so vile, so utterly disgusting, it will viciously kill children playing with toys or rape women doing nothing more than trying to teach people how to vote. This is what we are fighting to destroy, this is the evil that exists in the world, this is the force responsible for 2100+ dead American men and women, and yet we have a political party in our country that wants to "bring the boys home", to yank them away from that fight, to retreat in the face of evil and give evil a victory over free peoples. How dare they, how dare the Democratic party betray those fighting for us. I am a good Christian and I'm not supposed to judge, but in this case I believe I must. The Democratic Party of today is on the cusp of betrayal of America's military, ironically for the second time in my lifetime. They are not for the troops, if they were for the troops, they would be advocating victory, not withdrawal. Victory and this nation are what soldiers fight for, they don't fight for withdrawal schedules or vote getting strategies. Soldiers on the ground more than members of Congress understand the evil they are fighting, and now those same men and women in uniform are forced to listen to a debate that has been generated by fringe groups that hate this country and are using one political party to achieve defeat. What a disgrace that the military is getting criticisms from a fat slovenly coward of a filmaker from Flint, Michigan and a psychotic bereaved mother of a dead soldier that has sold her soul to Anti-American organizations. What a disgrace that the members of one political party elected to lead us are cowards, unwilling to finish this fight. What a disgrace that these leaders would sacrifice the morale and esprit de corps of our military to gain political points. What a disgrace to continuously call for the withdrawal of our troops and then when forced to vote for that idea, to reject it en masse. What a disgrace that our men and women in uniform must watch from 7,000 miles away as one party in our government works to destroy all that they have fought, bled, and died for.

I am ashamed that I voted for a democrat at age 18, I am ashamed that nearly half this country would vote for cowards such as these, I am most ashamed at what this cowardice does to our fighting forces, nothing will destroy their morale faster than the belief that this country does not believe in their mission. The cowardice of the democratic party will echo and reverberate within the ranks of the military causing doubt and depression to replace confidence and the belief that our mission is just. What a disgrace.

Linked over at Mudville Gazette

More proof not all cultures are equal

2005-11-22T15:24:00.000-10:00

From time to time, one will hear an argument that all cultures are equal and we as americans shouldn't judge another culture for the actions its members engage in. And to shut naive little fools like that up, I usually post something like this.

A village council in Pakistan has decreed that five young women should be abducted, raped or killed for refusing to honour childhood "marriages".

So begins an article in today's Telegraph a British daily. Read it for yourself and tell me again that all cultures are equal and we shouldn't judge.

Dueling views on Iraq

2005-11-22T10:37:00.000-10:00

When people ask me about Iraq, I make sure to list the good with the bad. I tell them about the inspiring feeling of having seen people striving to have their voices heard, I talk about the loss and absolute emptiness that comes over you when you lose a friend in combat. I talk about the thanks the Iraqi people give American forces and I talk about the people that just want us to leave. The point is I try to paint a fair and balanced picture. In most of the reporting about this war, there seem to be two competing schools of thought. The Pro-Victory side tells about all the good going on in Iraq while acknowledging the mistakes that have been made as well as mourning the losses we and the Iraqi people have suffered. The Anti-War wing seems to be in love with the idea that nothing is going right, that Iraq is a quagmire that is destroying our military and that we are losing badly.

So with that in mind I came across the following two letters, both from Ramadi in Al Anbar province. One is from the Washington Times and it is an account of a father explaining what his son went through in Ramadi as a Marine. The father recounts through the son's words how our weapons are faring over there, how our tactics are working and what the enemy is doing to counter it. He also describes who the Marines believe they are fighting and the success they think they are having. He also highlights what isn't working for our forces and does so in an honest way. Here are a few of the quotes both good and bad:

The M-16 rifle: Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the sand over there, which is like talcum powder. The sand is everywhere. You feel filthy two minutes after a shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it's lighter and shorter, but it also has jamming problems. Marines like the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lights on the picatinny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert environment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round. Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there and even torso hits cannot be reliably counted on to put the enemy down

The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumbs way, way up. "Ma deuce" is still worth her considerable weight in gold. The ultimate fight-stopper, puts their d**** in the dirt every time. The most coveted weapon in-theater

The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon) .223 cal: Big thumbs down. Drum-fed light machine gun. Universally considered a piece of s***. Chronic jamming problems, most of which require partial disassembly. That's fun in the middle of a firefight

The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approximately six pounds and can reliably be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even stop an AK-47 round. The bad news: Hot as s*** to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat, which averages over 120 degrees. Also, the enemy now goes for head shots whenever possible. All the bull**** about the "old" body armor making our guys vulnerable to improvised-explosive devices was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormous and body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most cases

Next it is discussed who we are fighting, how the insurgents fight, and how we are doing, again a few quotes:

Who are the bad guys? Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi al Qaeda group. They operate mostly in Anbar province -- Fallujah and Ramadi. These are mostly "foreigners," that is, non-Iraqi Sunni Arab jihadists from all over the Muslim world and Europe. Most enter Iraq through Syria -- with, of course, the knowledge and complicity of the Syrian government -- and then travel down the "rat line" which is the trail of towns along the Euphrates River that we've been hitting hard for the last few months. Some are virtually untrained young jihadists who end up as suicide bombers or are used in "sacrifice squads."

The insurgent tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian non-combatants as cover. They know we do all we can to avoid civilian casualties, so therefore schools, hospitals and especially mosques are locations where they meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo and flee to when engaged. They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder without hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new Iraqi government. Kidnapping of family members, especially children, is common to influence people they are trying to influence but cannot otherwise reach, such as local government officials, clerics or tribal leaders, etc.

According to [name redacted], morale among our guys is very high. They not only believe they are winning, but that they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the American press, whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded reporters are despised and distrusted. They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see s*** like "Are we losing in Iraq?" on television and the print media.

For the most part, they are satisfied with their equipment, food and leadership. Bottom line, though, and they all say this: There are not enough guys there to drive the final stake through the heart of the insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to shut down the borders with Iran and Syria.

All in all pretty fair it contrasts the highs with the lows and paints an honest picture of a military engaged in a death struggle against evil in the sands of Mesopotamia.

Now contrast that with Paul Rieckhoff's latest "piece of work". I don't care what people think, I don't much care for Mr. Rieckhoff, I know who he is and the organization he helped found, but I can't excuse him for the company he keeps. I'm a veteran as well and would never ideologically find myself on the same side of an issue as some of Mr. Rieckhoff's associates. In that regard he reminds me very much of Cindy Sheehan and both Mr. Rieckhoff and Ms. Sheehan seem to have no problem being tied to groups that supportive of Iraqi insurgents attacking American troops. Mr. Rieckhoff has done good in the world and for that I am supportive and I honor his service. I take exception to the company he keeps and the doom and gloom message he seems hellbent on portraying in Iraq. So the letter he received was also from an officer friend in Ramadi. It is your basic wild eyed rant from a very stressed soldier or marine, it is also going to be cannon fodder for the Left to use. I have a few problems with the writer of this letter for a few reasons, you see I was in Ramadi for several months in 2004 from the time of the execution style killing of the 4 Blackwater contractors in Fallujah through the battle for Ramadi and into the summer of 2004 when the insurgency gave us a good fight. I know very well how the living conditions are at FOB Blue Diamond or FOB Junction City and they are not as bad as the letter writer states. My first problem with the letter is this

We *can* make a difference here, and I believe in the mission as it looks on paper. But your president and his brain-dead colleagues aren't even trying to give us what we need to do it

It starts off well, but devolves into a typical Bush rant and I find the use of the term "your president" a strange one to use as Paul Rieckhoff doesn't seem like a Bush fan. The letter writer continues to complain and has this to say:

Speaking of contracts, KBR is a joke. I can't even enumerate the problems with their service, but I guarantee they do not receive less money based on how many of the showers don't work, or how many of us won't eat in the chow hall often because we get sick every time we do.

I would never in a million years work for KBR, but this is just sour grapes. I've eaten at that chow hall for months and the food isn't making you sick. Maybe washing your hands would help with that. The food isn't exactly 5 star cuisine but it is hot, filling and nutritious. You can eat as much as you like 3-4 meals a day, they serve meat, vegetables, fruit, bottled water, salad, ICE CREAM, Sodas, Near Beer as well as other things. You can get a submarine sandwich, a baked potato and even pizza on most occasions. So again I'm throwing down the bull**** card. I have walked in this persons shoes to a degree and I'm not seeing what he is seeing. From there we go full well into Bush is screwing us mode.

There is so much. I could go on forever. the worst thing, which we have discussed, is that they are playing these bullshit numbers games to fool America about troop strength. If they stopped paying KBR employees $100,000 to do the job of a $28,000 soldier, maybe they'd have enough money to send us enough soldiers to do the job. As it stands we have no offensive capability in the most dangerous city on earth

What exactly are "these bullshit numbers game"? I know the troop strength in al Anbar and Ramadi, what is the author trying to say that we do not have a Brigade of Army troops specifically for Ramadi? A brigade is usually what's assigned to a Metro area Ramadi's size. We have 1 Brigade in Kirkuk, a city of similar size, we have 1 Brigade of troops in Mosul, a Stryker Brigade from Alaska and until recently Mosul was just as dangerous if not more so than Ramadi is. Why the need to rag on KBR again? It's a well documented Leftwing moonbat meme that KBR is the source of evil in Iraq, why would an officer make this charge while he is ranting about troop strengths, there really is no comparison between the two. Finally we get to the part that is most confusing to me;

Where are the AC-130s? The apaches? They have them in FAR less active AOs (areas of operations). All we ever get is a single Huey and Cobra team, both of which are older than I am. it's such a joke. They're not even trying. At all. They have apaches in Tikrit but Hueys in Ramadi.

I debated how to answer this one for a while and this is what I decided upon. First of all, Apaches are an Army platform, Al Anbar is a Marine AO. The Army Brigade assigned to Al Anbar is task organized to the Marine Corps which means you get Marine Corps air power. Guess what kind of choppers the Marine Corps uses? Anyone........... Anyone...............Bueller? That's right the Marines use Cobra's and Huey's, the Marine Corps does not have Apache's, not a single one. Secondly, the Marine Corps would be loath to ask for Army Apache helicopters to move through their AO in large numbers. As for the AC-130's there are a limited amount of them in theater, and I'm sure the chain of command doesn't want AC-130's buzzing Ramadi all day long to root out some insurgents. People get kind of pissy when you use a 105mm Howitzer to ring the doorbell, and does the author want us to inflict more civilian casualties if we don't have to? I am a bit puzzled that an officer (if he's Army) doesn't know the equipment breakdown of the force he is working with. Give me a break, even privates would know what kind of equipment their unit has. If he is a Marine officer and he's asking where the Apache's are, I think he might be a little green around the gills if you get my meaning. He concluded with a little nugget of his personal wisdom;

I wish every American could see this for him/herself. Registering your frustration at the ballot box isn't nearly enough. There should be jail terms for this.

First things first, I don't think a military officer should be envisioning jail terms for his commander in chief or his chain of command. If he is serious he can resign his commission and face the music. Dissenting is fine to a point, but not in the military and especially not in an officer, supposedly a leader of men in combat. If he is honest and true, he should resign his commission and face whatever punishment that would entail. Don't send anonymous letters to a known anti- war activist and have it be used for grist by the UMCCODF (United Moonbat Collective Commune of Dangerous Fool). Finally I want to express one point; I too wish every American could see what we are doing in Iraq. They would see thousands of the sons and daughters of America helping those who can't help themselves, sacrificing blood for others they do not know. The American people would see the inherent sense of justice that Americans have. Our men and women want nothing more than to kill the tyrants and terrorists and go home. The people of this country would see true nobility in action, thought and deed in the daily struggles of our armed forces. They would see young Americans clawing and scraping and bleeding and dying to give freedom to people of another land and a different faith. Our men and women in uniform, heroes, every last one of them deserve the nation to see them
at their noblest in the midst of this struggle. They are our best and we owe them everything.

Linked over at Mudville Gazette. As always Greyhawk and Mrs. G. thanks for the space to share our thoughts.

Antiwar hero looks like a liar.

2005-11-06T07:57:00.000-10:00

Sergeant Jimmy Massey has been one of the darlings of the antiwar left, telling group after group what barbarians Americans fighting forces are, how callous they, how they relish gunning Iraqis down for no reason. He has a book out in France about this very subject that is quite popular. There's only one problem. Jimmy Massey is lying. Today there are two articles that talk about his smears against our brave and heroic fighting forces. One is from the St. Louis today newspaper and the other article comes from the Bradenton Herald. Apparently most of Mr. Massey's stories of the butchery he claims to have witnessed American soldiers taking part in never really happened at all. I'm never one to pile on a person, but in this case, I believe Mr. Massey deserves what he gets for trying to destroy the image the American people have of their military. If this was just a mistake I could forgive him, but he penned a book and profited off of his lies about the men and women fighting to protect us from evil. Of course, the antiwar left and their friends in the media did nothing to check his stories out, they believed him because they already believe our military is full of criminals, murderers, sadists and worse of all to them Bush voters. First there was the debacle of Cindy Sheehan and now the antiwar forces will have to deal with this man and his lies. So the left defends liars that smear brave soldiers, the left defends a woman that used her son's death to promote her political agenda and the left defends the insurgents in Iraq. Like I asked yesteday, who is evil?

Project Valour-IT

2005-11-05T04:35:00.000-10:00

Want to do everything possible to help soldiers? Want to make a difference for some of our wounded heroes? If the answer is yes, then check this link out. Project Valour-IT is a project that provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. Those who have given the most are going to be given the best to allow them to have normal fulfilling lives. We as Americans must not let these brave men and women down. In the struggle for freedom and justice these men and women have sacrificed with blood and bone, this is a chance for us to repay a small part of that debt.

Now in the long tradition of intraservice rivalary the 4 branches are running 4 different teams. Of course the Army team is being led by blackfive, but anyone can donate. If you are an army blogger and want to help out, go here and sign up. Remember people we can't let the Squiddies, the Zoomies or the Devil Puppies beat us. Just kidding everyone, just donate to this noble and worthy cause if yo can.

Moonbat Central happy Contractors are killed in Iraq

2005-11-04T09:03:00.000-10:00

Well, well, well, it seems the loony left has taken a step closer to the abyss known as insanity. I was surfing through the slime over at Democratic Underground, and I came across this gem of a thread. Apparently the moonbats are as stupid as they are evil. Being divorced from reality is hard, but the true moonies do it with style. Apparently they are ignorant when it comes to the various roles contractors play in Iraq. A few of my favorite quotes are:

matt819: These folks are mercenaries, pure and simple. You can attach other labels to make it sound nicer - private contractors, for example - but they are in it for the money, they carry weapons, and they kill people. That makes them mercenaries. Sorry folks, not a lot of sympathy here.

leesa: So it goes, no sympathy

bluestateguy: Kind of makes you wonder about the wisdom of going to war for profit
They should take a hint and get out of Iraq. Unlike the troops, they have a choice, and they are making a hell of a lot more money than the troops are too.

Vidar: Good riddance

The hatred the left has for some Americans in Iraq is on full display in this thread. Not that I'm at all surprised, but when I come across things like this, it reinforces my beliefs that the democratic party, at least the left wing that is almost half of their numbers is truly batshit crazy and hate filled.

So a few facts for the deranged left wingnuts;

1. Most contractors in Iraq love their country and are motivated by patriotism and service, don't get me wrong, the money is a benefit, but it's rarely "all about the money". I have been three times to serve my country, the money made it easier, but I'd go back for much much less.

2. The DUmmies, did get one thing right, most of us are former military that are retired, joined the private sector out of the service, or are just veterans that still want to give. I guess they only care for the soldiers that they can use as props for their poisioned agenda and don't care about contractors that do not allow them to score political points.

3. Most contractors do not carry weapons, most are unarmed when they leave the FOB's, of course the PSD guys are always armed as are some of the groups training police, but most of us are not armed, or some arm themselves without their companies knowing. And I can say that contractors rarely kill, self defense is everyone's right, but if you follow the DU logic, contractors are scum and they should not be allowed to defend themselves.

4. What the loony left always forgets is that we all have a choice, no one MUST join the military, people volunteer to do so and when they take that oath, they know full well they stand a great chance of going to war. When a contractor takes a job, he or she volunteers and can leave, but at the loss of much of the money, the job that sent them there and in many cases they suffer a blacklisting in their community. Granted soldiers cannot leave at all, but to say that contractors have a choice where soldiers don't is ridiculous. Everyone that is in Iraq or Afghanistan volunteered to be there, saying anything less is disengenious.

Everyday over at that site, there are message threads dedicated to the deaths of contractors, or wishes for Bush to be killed, or for enough soldiers to die that the public turns against the war. You rarely see anyone wishing us victory, or lauding the troops for fighting terrorists or support for the War on Terror at all. The hypocrisy of the left in these matters is beyond question and yet everyday like tireless automatons they decry and denounce the Republican Party as the party of hate and evil. All the while they defend anti-semites, terrorists, and communists, so who's evil again?

Sorry I've been gone so long

2005-11-04T08:43:00.000-10:00

My time in Iraq is nearly over and I was training my replacement the last few weeks, but now I am in a place where I can blog a little more and soon I'll be home and able to write at will. More to follow.

News of the weird

2005-10-17T16:02:00.000-10:00

Ok, for those of us who know our political scandals, or happenstances.

Does anyone find this terrifying?

Anything having to do with possible death by drowning and Ted Kennedy saving you should give a person pause if they have pissed off God or not.

Update on the Constitution #2

2005-10-17T15:47:00.000-10:00

Salahdin province voted down the Constitution 78% said no 20% said yes. So that means the 2 provinces of Iraq that had the most to lose with Hussein being overthrown have now decided they want to remain poor and downtrodden in the new Iraq. Both Salahdin and Al Anbar are where most of Saddam's terror soldiers came from, Fallujah was known as the place where Republican Guard officers came from, Tikrit was Saddam Hometown and the primary recruiting place where Special Republican guards came from. They had the most to lose with Saddam's overthrow and have reacted like spoiled children. Mosul by contrast which was a place many Regular Army officers came from approved the Constitution by a wide margin, showing that only the thugs, tyrants, and former criminal leaders of Baathist Iraq want to see the country fail. Unless MASSIVE voter fraud is uncovered, we can put this baby to bed, the people of Iraq voted with their hearts, they voted for an end to terror, for freedom, and for the future of their children.

On a side note, there is talk of voter fraud here in Iraq in the Shiite South and the Kurdish north. The reason? 90% or more voter turnout. Call me a skeptic, but if I had lived under a dictator for nearly 25 years I would sure as hell make sure I voted for a Constitution that erased the dark legacy of that man. The Shiites and Kurds have been persecuted in Iraq for centuried by whatever country ruled this place, now that the power is in their hands, people are surprised that they voted almost universally as a group? Give me a freakin break!

Watch the antiwar moonbat crowd at DU spin this into the next non story. They will probably believe it as gospel just like they believe 10,000 American soldiers have died here and that Bush used Chemical weapons in Fallujah. But hey, don't believe me, just go to their site and watch the moonbats howl.

Late to the Tag Dance, but gonna play anyway

2005-10-17T15:02:00.000-10:00

My good friend over at Ma Deuce Gunner tagged me with 7 questions to answer, I'm a little late in getting the news. Desultory Butterfly had to tell me I had been tagged. I've been a little busy and thought no one cared enough to tag me. I was wrong, so now I shall do my best to answer deez questions.

Seven things I want to do before I die:
1. Write a book about my 10 years of experiences in and out of the military in some of the world's most dangerous places
2. Scuba Dive in Palau
3. Be the best husband I can
4. See the band Dredg in concert
5. Start my own church (but a cool one where all are welcome and we talk about being better people in life instead of focus on dogma)
6. Run for political office in Hawaii
7. Live everyday of my life to its fullest, knowing that when I die I earned the life I was given

Seven things I can do:
1. Fix an ASAS computer (computer used by military intelligence)
2. Give you a history lesson on any war in human history
3. Grill any meat known to man to perfection
4. Scuba Dive
5. Car Dance like a mofo
6. Spend money like a woman (Yeah I know)
7. Predict football game winners with 95% accuracy rate. (Tis true honestly)

Seven things I cannot do:
1. I cannot spell the word voicerferously
2. Make coherent thoughts on my blog, it all seems so random and jumpy to me
3. Understand the difference between Net and Gross income
4. Understand libertarianism (It all seems so selfish and amoral to me)
5. I cannot eat Broccoli, no matter how much cheese is on it
6. I can't run long distances anymore
7. I cannot see myself with another woman for the rest of my life. I got one, she's perfect.

Seven things I say a lot :
1. That's a whole different kind of gay you've got going on.
2. Right on
3. Sorry, I'm not going to be your dancing monkey today.
4. I truly believe our mission in Iraq is one of the most noble things I've ever seen our country do
5. I miss my wife.
6. I miss my dogs
7. God, give me the strength to do my duty, the patience to deal with the people I despise, and the faith to know that our mission here will not be in vain. Amen

Seven things I find attractive in a female:
1. My wife, but for the purpose of science I'll try to think outside the wedding ring
2. Curly hair
3. Tall women
4. Dolphin trainers
5. Intellifunny
6. All of these apply to my wife
7. I could not think outside the wedding ring afterall

Seven celebrity crushes? (My wife thinks it's healthy that I have celeb crushes so here goes)
1. Eliza Dushku
2. Miranda Otto
3. Nicole Kidman
4. I think that's all
5. But I can't really think of anymore
6. My wife probably could
7. But shes's not here

Update on the Constitution.

2005-10-16T13:00:00.000-10:00

I have some raw numbers about the status of the Iraqi Constitution. It looks like I was right on the money in how it was going to breakdown so far. Results are only in for 8 provinces, but 3 of the 8 were crucial to the success of the Constitutional Referendum.

Al Anbar
Yes: 3 percent
No: 97 percent

Let's start with Al Anbar province, heartland of the Sunni insurgency, turnout was minimal in all areas except Fallujah. It looks like almost every voter in Al Anbar voted against the draft document, no surprise there.

DIYALA
Yes: 280,000 (70 percent)
No: 80,000 (20 percent)
Disqualified: 40,000 (10 percent)

Diyala province which is a Sunni majority province (not by a lot though), but also home to a lot of Shia and Kurds was one that I believed would be a bellwether for the referendum. And it was approved despite recent attempts by the insurgents to suppress the voters in Baquaba and other cities in the province. Of note is that 10% of the ballots were disqualified for an unknown reason.

NINEVAH (Mosul)
Yes: 326,774, (78 percent)
No: 90,065, (21 percent)

Nineveh province was the one I mentioned would have the greatest chance of being a strong Sunni majority province that favored the Constitution. I was right, one factor was that many of the Iraqi Islamic Party (a Sunni group that supported the Constitution) are from Mosul in Nineveh province. I said Nineveh would vote to approve, but I'm surprised at home strong the approval is in the raw numbers. Apparently the Sunnis voted Yes in large numbers. One thing of note about Nineveh province is that it is the province where the Coalition has made the most progress in destroying the insurgent networks. Local Iraqis in this province have been ever more supportive of U.S. forces as the insurgency has been taken apart piece by piece. I credit 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment as well as the brave Iraqi Army soldiers and Commandos as well as the Iraqi people of Nineveh who have recognized that U.S. forces offer hope and economic betterment for all, while the insurgents only offer death and misery.

TAMIM (Kirkuk)
Yes: 341,611 (63 percent)
No: 195,725 (36 percent)

I was surprised at the low percentage for approval in Tamim province (Kirkuk). This is where I am sitting typing right now, I expected it to be higher. My guess is that many of the Turkomen here sided with the Sunni Arabs against the Kurds to lower the percentage of the Yes voters. The turnout here was very high, nearly 80% of the registered voters showed up at the polls.

The other four provinces were all in the Shia heartland of the south of Iraq. No surprises at all in those provinces.

BASRA (Basra)
Yes: 640,200. (97 percent)
No: 19,800. (3 percent)

DHI QAR (Nasiriyah)
Yes: 415,000 (90 percent)
No: 46,000 (10 percent)

KARBALA (Karbala)
Yes: 417,715 (95 percent)
No: 21,985 (5 percent)

WASIT (Kut)
Yes: 494,950. (95 percent)
No: 26,050. (5 percent)

So with nearly half of Iraq's provinces reporting the totals for the vote, here is what I think. There are 5 Shiites provinces still to report in, of which all will pass the Constitution, the 3 Kurdish provinces will due likewise, meaning if the Constitution is to fail Salahdin will have to vote it down as well as Baghdad. I only have one thing to say about that; "NOT GONNA HAPPEN" Salahdin may very well vote it down, but I'm not seeing that right now, and Baghdad will pass it just due to demographics within the city. So the only province to outright reject the referendum is Al-Anbar, what a coincidence, the home of the insurgency, the one area that supports Zarqawi and the one area with nothing to gain from a cessation of violence. What this shows is that a percentage of moderate Sunni Arabs supported this Constitution in clear support of moving Iraq forward.

Personally I believe we will now slowly, start to see a collapse of the insurgency in all areas except Al Anbar. I believe Al Qaeda in Iraq will turn on the Sunnis, so in Sunni Arab areas we will see a spike in violence against civilians as Zarqawi and his cronies lash out at the group they feel has betrayed them. I have done three tours in Iraq now, and I can honestly say there is a faint glimmer of hope in the air, that the insurgency is on its last legs. That doesn't make them less dangerous, in fact it makes them more dangerous as any cornered animal will lash out with all the violence it is capable of. That being said, you can feel the hope radiating from the Iraqi people I see on a daily basis. The long night of the insurgency might be passing into the dawn of peace and freedom. Time will tell.

Caelestis

Information compiled from various sources including Al Jazeera and the AP.

Hat tip to the Mudville Gazette and Right on the Right for the open post.