Opinion Inc.

Sen. Barack Obama

2008-01-09T16:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, Barack Obama. You know, the Barack Obama that's running for President? The Barack Obama that's currently the front runner nominee for the Democratic Party. Yeah, that Barack Obama.

I know it's been a really long time since I've last posted. Honestly, I wasn't planning on ever posting here again till my next tour of Iraq but I've been made aware of something that's very disturbing.

Sen. Barack Obama, hates America.

Oh no, I don't mean in the way those other liberals do. You know, There's a tornado..."it's America's fault.", there's an assassination, "it's America's fault", your dog just died..."it's America's fault". I'm not talking about that...those people don't really 'hate' their own nation. Most of those people probably love America they just think unless they are the one's in charge (or by extension, their people) then we're evil. Once they or their people are in charge...we'll be the shining light we always were.

But not Sen. Barack Obama. This guy really does despise America.

Let's start out slow.

The US flag lapel pin. No, Sen. Barack Obama does not wear one. He says it's because he wants to show his patriotism with his ideas (notice not actions) instead of a silly pin. Which, by itself, is all good with me. I understand his reasoning and it makes sense, in a twisted, doesn't understand what wearing such a pin means, sort of way.

Notice how the wonderfully, not really biased towards the left, media writes about it.

Next, lets examine his show of patriotism during one of our nations rituals. The singing of the national anthem.

I guess the National Anthem isn't good enough to show Patriotism either. I mean, he's only running for President of the nation whose flag he won't wear and whose Anthem he won't salute.

Now let's examine this guy's history.

He starts off in true American fashion. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and an American mother from Kansas whose father worked on Oil rigs during the depression. All of the America haters and 'blame' America crowd would normally ignore such a beginning because according to them, we all know that a mixed marriage would ever result in a Harvard grad who is running for President...but I digress.

His Parents divorced(or split up) and soon his mother meets up with an Indonesian and at the age of about six, Barack Obama moves to Jakarta.

During that time he supposedly goes to a Wahabi Madrassa (which is School in Arabic). Now we're getting into the stuff that's iffy on facts. According to Snopes that's false, and while Snopes is sometimes wrong, I'm going to have to agree that he didn't go to a Wahabi school. But let's look at Jakarta for a minute.

Jakarta is a city of over 8 million, 86% of which is Muslim, 99% of which is Sunni Muslim. Did Sen. Obama likely meet and befriend radical Muslims? Most likely. Just this alone doesn't mean much to me. You can get along with someone without agreeing with their views, I used to do it everyday growing up in Rhode Island.

Now, according to the man himself, he was an Atheist when he began to attend college but later found God. Which is swell, it happens all the time. But what Church does he belong too?

Trinity United Church of Christ

You can read the original in that link, but I'm going to change the words a bit for you.(changed words in bold)
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We are a congregation which is Unashamedly White and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the White religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are a European people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a White worship service and ministries which address the White Community.

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Now, we have a problem as a whole in our nation. A problem of double standards and racism. You see it every day, but it isn't as the media makes it look. The comedian makes fun of whites...laughter ensues! Comedian makes fun of Blacks...lawsuits and a ruined career follows. If the above paragraph belonged to a real white church and not a black church as it truly does, and Barack Obama was white...you think he'd be running neck and neck with Clinton for the nomination?

No, I don't think so either.

So let's examine what we have so far.

No lapel pin....CHECK
No hand over heart during National Anthem...CHECK
Belongs to a Racist Church...CHECK

I'm not going to bring up the other subject I wrote about because that's doesn't really mean much in my eyes. Growing up in another nation and meeting people from around the world is a good thing in my opinion. The problem is, is that it's coupled with others...it has to make you wonder.

I think electing this man is a huge risk, a risk based his actions and his rhetoric. A risk based on his background and the way he tries to hide it. (I mean, why else would he tell people that Barack means 'Blessed' in African instead of the language where it really means 'Blessed', which is Arabic).

He could be completely honest...I don't know...but what we're talking about here is someone seeking the highest office of our nation, and I'm not willing to stand by silently.

A few things before I end this post. Don't lie about him. All it does is make the truth weaker. Meaning, if you lie and tell people he swore in on a Koran (which he did not) or that he went to a Wahabi school (which he did not)...and they know or find out that it's a lie. Then they won't believe that his Church is racist, or that he doesn't love our nation enough to wear a simple pin or to hold his hand over his heart during the Anthem.

Hey.

2007-04-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Bonzo.

Alito and Campaign Finance.

2006-01-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

I've had a chance to watch a lot of the Alito hearings. I think the guy is some sort of computer/human hybrid....I mean, how the hell does this guy remember all those cases? Some Senator asks about some obscure case from WW2 and the guy just answers the question. I guess it's like me and history. Maybe we all have an area we love and we're able to memorize many details. I don't know, the guy is definitely a genius.

I've had some conversations with people about the term limit thingy, and one really smart liberal I know said she believes that it would dissuade people from going into politics...that the best and brightest wouldn't be the ones running from office. She also said that since it takes a lot of money to run for office then only the people who can afford to spend that money on a short term deal would be able to do it.

I don't know, when I watch Boxer or Kennedy asking questions they don't really seem to be the most intelligent to begin with...or even close to our 'best and brightest'. And I only see rich people running for office now as well.

I think to remove money as an issue maybe there should be a limit on how much can be spent on campaigns...though I don't think that's the answer because Soros will still be funding Moveon and they'll still have other organizations spending money on getting people elected with out the candidate ever touching that money.

It's an awfully tough question.

So...I haven't been writing much.

2006-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

First, thanks for the Merry Christmases and Happy New Yearses.

Next, I'm going to write what's been on my mind lately.

1) After this Abramoff thing, I think the only way to stop this BS is to amend the Constitution and put in some term limits. A few Congresspeople have promised this type of thing but once they're elected I think they like the power so much that they never follow through.

I'd say it should be between 12 to 20 years in Congress. So if it's 18 years then they person could do 2 terms as Senator and then 3 terms as a Representative. The closer to 12 the happier I'd be though.

2) We're kicking ass in Iraq. In less than 11 months, it went from only 70ish% of the country taking part in elections with full Coalition security to 100% of Iraq voting with pure Iraqi security.

The Sunni's are telling Al Qaeda to go screw themselves and are forming a coalition with the Kurds and secular Shia.

If those two things aren't a slap in the face to all the, 'We can't win' crowd, I don't know what is.

3) They're moving me from Ft. Drum...and that stinks for me and my family.

4) I have the feeling that if the President nominated Michael Moore to the Supreme Court, the left would still threaten to filibuster.

5) Oh yeah, Filibusters are still unconstitutional in my book. The practice doesn't allow our elected officials to vote without their being a 2/3s majority and the Constitution already lays out what types of issues require a supernumerary...laws and advising and consenting to nominations aren't the reasons.

6) I need to do more physical training, I've really haven't done any in a long time and I'm getting fat.

Alright, that's it. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up. A lot of stuff is going on so I'll have enough to say...it's just spending the time to put it down that's stopping me.

What does google think about Bush lying?

2005-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

A friend from New Orleans.

2005-09-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

An internet buddy of mine that I know from gaming (Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft...yes, I'm a geek.), posted this on a board for his gaming friends to read. I haven't asked his permission to post this, nor the editing(It's going to be edited for spelling, grammar and some bad words). I'm going to keep him anonymous for now.

What it is though, is a first hand account of the type of things that were going on in New Orleans after the Hurricane and the levee broke. It is an eyewitness account, though he does throw in a few opinions here and there. I hope it enlightens.

Lets just say that the storm was impressive and I hope I never see its like again.

Ya ya, I was nuts for being there but being in the National Guard and a full time federal employee its sort of my job to be there. The damage just from the winds were extensive and there are simply places that are no longer there. The water damage from the hurricane itself was negligible for the New Orleans area. The water damage from the hurricane for the west bank areas such as Gretna and all over St. Bernard parish especially Chalmette was extensive.
( water went over the levies in these areas). Parts of Slidell are simply not there as are many parts of SE Louisiana and gulfport )

Well how do I start? I was on telephone standby for the hurricane since I'm guard. About 4 am Monday morning the power went off, so I went back to bed woke up at 7 AM opened my sliding doors and watched the hurricane. The winds were beating the apartment behind me so all I got through my doors was a cool breeze and a hell of a show. At 1030 once the hurricane had lessened a small amount I geared up and went to see if I could help people. You would be amazed at how many fools are walking around in a hurricane when they shouldn't be, once again though its sort of my job.

At about 1 pm I found a Jefferson Parish sheriff and started helping JP. Oh yeah, my phone died so I had no way of reaching out to contact my unit so I did the beat with what I could.
The two of us helped people as we could but it wasn't too bad. As I said the storm didn't kill New Orleans it survived Katrina in good part.

Around 3 or pm (I cant remember) we came upon a few New Orleans Police officers. So since they needed more help, I went with them deeper into the city. All was calm all was great into Tuesday morning. Everything was getting back to normal until the levee broke late morning.
The storm didn't kill New Orleans but she weakened her defenses enough for the Mississippi and the Ponchatran to get there just dues on us.

Tuesday evening all hell broke loose, the water rose and a lot of people lost there lives because it rose quickly. NOPD and JP were not prepared for what happened next but JP did adapt fast and took control of the situation. NOPD became locked in a war with no means of communication with one another.

ALL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION WERE F'D UP!

No phones, No cellphones, the repeater for the walkie talkies was borked. Then it happened New Orleans has about three major Gangs each of which vie for control of the drugs in the city. This explains the huge murder rate in NO. They wanted to defend the turf and the drug stashes even if most of it was not lakefront property. So they came in number and the war began.

1st district was locked in a siege at there own building and they ran out of ammo which had to be brought to them by helicopter. 6th district took control of several key locations such as Harraih's Casino and endured a siege there. JP sheriffs office in the Oak Villa mall was over run and burned to the ground which also was burned the entire mall to the ground.

* They now had assault weapons *

When I speak of they I'm not referring to people, the things these animals did I don't even want to repeat. But they did not act as humans, they acted with no remorse, and no respect for life.
Murder, Rape, assault they did not care about age or gender. Children died, elderly died, and the things they did to the women both young 9-15 and old 50-70+ was unspeakable.

Of what Happened in the superdome and the Convention center I will not tell because if you have a heart you don't want to know because you would just cry.

But on the streets where I was it was a war. They attacked and we fought back as best we could. Most of us, including myself, had nothing but personal sidearms. I had my Sig 9mm. 98% of the LANG was not issued a weapon. We simply did not expect such an outcome to happen.

By Wednesday night 50% of the NOPD had quit. The guy I was with had a nervous breakdown the last time we came under fire, leaving me to be the only shooter. After it was over I got him out of there he was stable enough to drive so I told him to drive us out of the city. He dropped me about 3 miles away from my house.

The things I saw from Tuesday morning to Wednesday night were just astounding. Lots of floaters were around and I'm having a ton of nightmares about zombies now but I can accept that. One neat thing I saw a a 5 foot bullshark swimming on Bourbon street.

Of NOPD the 50% who stayed got rotated a bit at a time for 2 days off. Most didn't come back.
NO is a dead city with about25-30% of its police force left.

Thursday until now I was on helicopter ops. I got some sleep and cleaned my gun some Wednesday night and found a JP officer who told me LANG and FEMA was at Zepher field.
When I got there I found my unit, thank God.

The Helicopter ops was awe inspiring in 4 days we pushed more helicopter sorties then they had performed in iraq in the past 3 months. I believe it was something like 51 million cases of MRE's and 50 million cases of water dropped off to those who needed and over 3k saved( close to 4k), I think I remember hearing last.

The death toll though is catastrophic.

FEMA is worthless, by the way. The organization did nothing but drag its feet and fight us whenever we tried to get an operation running. To those who say the military shouldn't have been involved, F off. It's my city and it's my state. Those are my people who needed help. I'm with the National Guard and you can come to me personally if you want to spout such crap, but you wont like the result.

Gov Blanco was worthless. She fell apart and didn't ask for federal aid until it was to late. FEMA wouldn't do anything until it was to late and we simply couldn't get into the city to give out food and water until we won that war.

But I'm safe, and wanted you to know what happened from first hand rather then listening to that liberal damn media which wont tell you the real story.

I had no idea that there was that much shooting going on. I'm glad there were people there like him, or it could have been a lot worse.

You need to read this.

2005-09-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

This has to be the most well written blog article that I've ever read.

It's like this guy is in my head but is so much more competent a writer than I'll ever be. Please, what ever you do, read it.

Added a picture.

2005-09-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Figured I'd add a picture. I thought the internet would crash if I did post one, but after a few other pictures I've seen posted elsewhere, I figured that it could hold one more ugly mug.

The Blame Game.

2005-09-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

The bodies are not even cold in the Gulf States following Katrina, yet the liberals are already in attack mode.

I've heard and read so many theories about how the President can now control the weather and sent a Cat.5 Hurricane into the region. The President is also to blame on why the levees broke because he personally cut their funding, ignored is the fact that they were designed to withstand only a Cat.3 hurricane at most. The President also hates black people now, ignored is that his top advisors are/were black.

It's sickening and it's everyone's fault but at the same time it isn't anyone's fault. I'm talking from the people of the region all the way up to the President. There are so many,' could have should haves' in this situation that it boggles the mind, and I'm sure pundits on all sides will let us know what they are....but for God's sake, let's work on getting those people out of there and recovering before you start flinging blood soaked mud.

Some new links.

2005-08-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

I want to add a new link. The Jewish World Review to my blog. While I don't know whether I agree with everything said on the site or not, it is pretty professional and gives another well spoken point of view on current events.

What led me to this site is an article by, David Gelernter. He is a wonderful writer and I couldn't agree more with his latest article.

Here is a paragraph of it.

The real story is brief enough. Casey Sheehan enlisted in the Army in 2000 at age 20. The country was at peace. When he was asked to reenlist four years later, he knew that he would probably be sent to Iraq. He reenlisted anyway. In March 2004, he was sent to Iraq as a mechanic attached to the artillery division of the 1st Cavalry Division. When a convoy was attacked in Sadr City a month later, he volunteered to join the rescue mission — although he had no obligation to take part in combat. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

Read this.

2005-08-15T02:39:00.000-07:00

Suprisingly, Newsweek, did this story on the President meeting with families.

I didn't really want to post about Ms. Sheehan, because not only do I feel sorry for her loss, but I also feel badly that some people would use her in an effort to further themselves politically.

You'll notice in the story that Bush meets with these families in private, he doesn't allow the press to enter...yet those bastard far left fools will plaster her face all over the place. What gets me is how they can ignore the 70 to 75ish% of the families who lost loved ones that do support the President.

Anyway, thanks to Ms. Malkin for pointing this out on her blog.

A nice clip.

2005-07-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been extremely busy at work doing all the things that need to be done when returning from a deployment so that we'll be ready to go on leave. That leave started today, I can't wait to get home and see my parents and my brother, along with his family.

A few things have happened since I last posted. One thing was the whole Karl Rove fiasco. I call it a fiasco because, like any crime that seems to make national headlines, Rove was convicted as soon as his name was mentioned in relation to the case. A whole list of the standard 'idiots' from congress marched out and called on Bush to fire him, calling him a disgrace, wanting to revoke his security clearence.

Now it seems that Ms. Spygirl was revealed prior to the time that Rove even spoke to that reporter, that he didn't even learn that she worked for the CIA except through news stories that were already out. Oh well, nice try Democrats.

The Democratic party should really have learned from the 1994 Republicans. In order for the Republicans to get back some power after Clinton became President, they came out with a plan. They presented the plan to the American people and then we voted them into congress.

The Democrats just attack and attack...the wierd thing is, there are plenty of things that they could attack Bush on, hee is weak in many areas. Instead, they try to make up issues, or concentrate on small insignificant matters that it always turns out, Bush was right on. On top of that, they move farther to the left by making Dean the head of the Democratic party.

I hate to break this to them, but most Americans are moderates...you'd have thought they would try to move closer to the center....oh well.

Oh yeah the media. Here's a nice clip from ABC news that everyone has seemed to have forgotten. The clip is from 1998 and it goes into great lengths about Iraq, WMDs and their connection to terrorism.

Saddam/Bin Ladin

A new political party and I'm home!

2005-06-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

I'm really thinking about starting a new political party sometime in the future.

One with a platform based on common sense, one that has a constitutionalist bent instead of an idealogical one.

If I do, I'll probably do it after I've been in office...by office I mean higher than state so it would probably be far in the future.

Oh, and I'm home! Yay!

Operation complete, almost home.

2005-06-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

I really wish I could talk about what we did this past week. We were so very successful...I just don't know what I can or can't say so I won't say anything.

One thing I will tell you is that attacks in Baghdad went down by two thirds since it started.

That said, we're really close to coming home. Of course, I can't say when or where or how(loose lips sink ships). Though I really can't wait to get there and see my family.

Speaking about my family, I really need to tell you about this amazing woman I am married to.

She keeps everything going, she keeps me alive. If you don't believe me, then you've never seen the difference between soldiers who trust and love their wives vs. Those that don't.

When I'm deployed, out in the field or away at a school (which is quite often with my job), I never have to worry about anything, she takes care of all the bills, the kids, when the car breaks down, when there is a problem with the house and even things like sending me my much needed tobacco. All the while going to school to finish what I messed up (yeah, that's right she had to drop out because I got her preggers...Luckily I got one of the most beautiful wonderful woman on Earth preggers).

Because of that, I can fully concentrate on what I need to accomplish, I don't ever have to worry.

Really, when I see all those commercials giving thanks to me for doing my job, it's nice and all, but we don't really need that...We don't need anyone telling us how thankful they are. We don't do this stuff for the thanks. That said, I would love to start seeing commercials giving thanks to people like my wife, without which I'd be lost and unable to do my job.

I really don't even think my wife reads this, I've never told her about this blog. Mostly because I know she wouldn't be interested in it and partly because she knows how I feel about most subjects. I just want to say thanks.

Thank you, Jenn. I love you more than you'll ever know.

If you want to join me in thanking her send her an e-mail for me at Jenn1000p@yahoo.com. She'll probably be pissed at me but too bad.

When I get home I will continue the blog though it will be mostly about politics and my opinions on different subjects. I hope you (those four people) continue to read it.

Heyo.

2005-05-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Things are getting pretty busy here. We're getting ready to leave at the same time as we're getting ready to assume a new mission. I'll probably have another long drought without any posts coming up soon.

My familty returned from Florida and I'm extremely happy that they had a good time and that they're safe. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to my wife tonight, I miss her voice.

Things here are getting exciting, the new government isn't taking any crap from these insurgents. They are going on the offensive, and while I won't be here to assist them through the whole thing, I'm happy that I'll be able to help them atleast get it started.

A deal?

2005-05-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like both parties came to a deal that makes it possible for them to keep their unconstitutional method intact. Very unfortunate.

Anyway, we're almost done here in Iraq. Hopefully within a few days we'll pull out of our new sector (yes we had it for less than a month) then head some where else until it's time to come home.

I hope my family is having a great time in Disney World. My parents took my wife and kids with them down there, it'll be the first time for my kids. I'm sure they are loving it right now. I was hoping I'd be home in time to join them but it wasn't meant to be I suppose. I'll go down with them next time.

Wow...another post.

2005-05-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't have to go out on patrol today...yay! So it gives me more time to post.

I've been trying to keep up with the news, I was able to watch "The Factor" today with some jerk who wrote a book about his time as a sniper and his 60 kills. What sane person glorifies the fact that he's killed 60 people. I think he's just a glory hound, and an embarrassment.

Sane normal people do not revel in the fact that they've had to kill somebody, even in an armed conflict.

Another thing that is bothering me is this whole filibuster issue. Exactly where in the constitution does it say that a group of Senators may choose to use a filibuster in order to keep the rest of the Senate from voting?

From what I remember of the constitution (too lazy to look it up right now), the Senate has to advise the President and consent to Presidential nominee. Which they can't do if there is a filibuster, which leads me to believe that the whole process of filibustering is against the constitution.

Before any liberals speak up...Yes, I know that the Republicans have done the same thing, and it was unconstitutional for them as well. The ability to do such a thing needs to go away totally.

I mean think about it, when the minority party uses the filibuster to stop a vote, they are denying your right to self government. I mean, you did vote for the Senators to make these kind of decisions didn't you?

Anyway...the whole reason that the filibuster debate has come to a head recently is that the Liberals are concerned the these Conservative Justices will overturn a lot of their, "From the bench" legislation. That, to me, is what needs to be addressed.

Again, I know both sides do it and it needs to stop.

Congress has the constitutional duty to impeach and regulate the powers of the courts. They haven't been doing that, and as a result these Judges feel it is completely fine to rule on matters that they have no right to rule on.

Let me use Abortion as an example. I'm not going to debate the rights or wrongs of Abortion, just the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Supreme Court said that the issue was the right to privacy. So how exactly is Abortion constitutionally guaranteed based on this ruling? The constitution addresses the right to privacy, and yes...everyone has a right to keep their medical records/problems/decisions a private matter. How does that translate into the court being able to basically pass a law saying the medical procedure of Aborting a fetus as legal?

The problem is, that while we do have a right to privacy, we do not have the right to do anything we want. The government can still regulate what medical procedures are legal or illegal, same as medications(through the FDA), same as what level of qualifications someone must have to be considered a Doctor (licences to practice). By we the people electing our legislature, we pass the laws we want through them and because of that it is up to us whether we want Abortion to be legal or illegal, not up to the courts.

The constitution also states, that if something is not listed within it, the Congress has a right to pass laws regarding it. If congress doesn't do that, the right goes to the states.

I haven't read a constitution in a few months, but I don't recall there being any mention of a right to an abortion, or a right to any medical procedure at all. Which means it is within congress's power to regulate, and if they don't then it is within the state's power to do so.

As you can see, it the Supreme Court went well beyond it's constitutional mandate when it made abortion legal. Since that time, many of the courts have been doing this in a number of different cases regarding a number of different issues.

It's time for it to stop, courts are supposed to interpret laws, not make them. That is Congress's job description.

A new sector and bad internet access.

2005-05-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

We've moved to a new sector, our last one before going home. It's an interesting one to say the least. I'd tell you where but I'm not sure if it would be an OPSEC (Operational Security) violation or not. I'll wait till I'm home again to let you know.

Needless to say it is a lot less urban than our last sector, it is also a more Sunni area, which makes things more interesting.

There have been some great pictures taken while here, of course none of them are by me. So when I get back I'll try to get as many of them as I can and post them all, since the news doesn't like to report all the good stories I suppose I can give you a taste.

My favorite was when a Battalion of T-55 tanks from the Iraqi Army drove through our area. The Iraqi soldiers on them where cheering, waving and saluting us as they drove by. I never thought my eyes would ever get watery seeing a large group of Russian made tanks pass by me, but it did.

What made it even better is that all the people from the villages came out(remember this is a Sunni area) and cheered on the tanks as they drove by. All the children were chasing the tanks and jumping up and down.

That was a good day.

I know...it's been a while.

2005-05-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

And even though the country is, "Amid a wave of violence" (according to the media), it's been pretty damn boring to say the least.

But there's been car bombs everywhere right!? Actually no. Though there has been some. The terrorists seem to think that by killing a bunch of people going to eat ice cream on a sunny afternoon that it will somehow make the the Iraqis want us to leave.

Let me give you the scoop of why the news reports all these attacks yet most soldiers (except the poor ones in the area I'm about to talk about) never see any.

For one thing, these terrorists want publicity. They want it bad, really bad. They don't get publicity by dying (which is what happens when they try to attack us). They don't get publicity by attacking some out of the way place though it does happen, just not everyday which is what the press seems to let on.

They get it by setting off car bombs just outside the Green Zone, and always right on time so a reporter from CNN (or where ever) can report LIVE from the scene. The reports rarely ever leave the safety of the Green Zone, and the terrorists know that. So they make sure the attacks take place within viewing distance of the hotel that all the media stay in. The media loves it too, because then they can get that shot on the balcony of their hotel with the smoke behind them.

Alright...don't get me wrong, the terrorist do do other attacks. The blow up people at funerals, eating ice cream (like I mentioned), the Iraqi Police trying to control traffic, ect. Between the attacks outside the Green Zone and the other ones spread around the country against random people, they do make a lot of noise. Just like they planned to do.

What the media never lets on is that these attacks do not really effect anything other than the opinions of Iraqis that maybe might agree with the terrorists aims. Meaning, people who didn't hate them before, are now starting to.

They are probably trying to get this publicity in order to draw in more people stupid enough to think they are actually winning here. Maybe they're running out of suicide bombers...who knows.

All I know is that the longer I'm here, the more I'm learning that the press really doesn't report the real news, it reports the news they want you to hear and form it in a way that pushes their own agenda.

I'm also sorry that I'm not writing often...actually, I am not that sorry. I'm happy, because I'm not writing means that there is nothing going on. Let's hope for some more long pauses.

Food.

2005-04-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, I meant to post this earlier in the week but I got caught up in work and forgot.

But after eating dinner today I remembered.

Last week I went to Camp Victory, which is part of a huge base consisting of other camps, the Baghdad Airport and some other stuff. While there I got to eat in their dining facility. It was awesome to say the least...

They had everything conceivable, all you can eat...even ice cream and smoothies. It was almost like heaven. Our camp you get the same crap every day...steak and chicken always overcooked. Sometimes pizza...always overcooked and sometimes vegetables, either under or over cooked. Then for desert we have about three cakes to choose from...which are usually a mess because we have to serve ourselves the cake with this tiny ass fork so the slices of cake fall on the floor, in the middle of the the rest of the cake, ect.

Basically, while our chow hall is better than nothing....that's about all it's better than...nothing.

It pissed me off at first...all those REMFs...in Iraq they are known as FOBbits, FOB Dwellers or one I read in the paper...FOB Goblins. These are the people who actually have office hours...their offices are closed on weekends...and they never leave the camp.

Oh no, oh no they get mortared they say! It's tough being a FOBbit in the Fob shire...The camp itself is larger than Fort Drum. It's huge...the chances of a mortar round landing close enough for them to even see it is probably less than there being a hurricane in central Iraq.

Yeah yeah...they do their part. I know...I'm just venting. At least they are here and not hiding in Canada like a bunch of wussies.

Raids, raids and more raids.

2005-04-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

That's what we've been doing for the past week or so. They're actually a lot of fun to do.

I'm in charge of evidence collecting and cataloging. Which is funner than I thought. I also do a lot of searching, sometimes we bring a K-9 team in to sniff around...most of the dog handlers are from South Africa. They're all pretty good guys who know what they're doing.

On thing I've learned working with these K-9 teams is that Iraqis are extremely frightened of dogs. Sort of like most Americans are frightened of snakes or large spiders. It's really wierd to see people so scared of a some cute doggy.

Blah.

2005-04-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

That's how I feel.

My sleep is all messed up. I've been going to bed between 3 and 6 am every day, then I wake up a few hours later to work. THEN, like an idiot I take a nap when things are slow which keeps me awake all night long again....it's a never ending process.

It doesn't help with all the soda I've been drinking lately. I think I'm going to quit drinking it. I've done that before and started drinking diet/defcaffinated stuff.

We've been doing some fun stuff lately, too bad I can't post any of it...hehe.

One good development has been the President being chosen. A Kurd. Which is awesome. A Kurdish guy runs a few internet cafe's on the FOB and outside the wire. He make all internet use free for 24 hours to mark the occassion.

What's going on?

2005-04-05T02:08:00.000-07:00

A Sunni was chosen as the Speaker for the new Iraqi Transitional Government's Parlament. I suppose this puts to rest all their concerns that they will be left out of the process.

The Sunni clerics have also asked that Iraqi's start joining the Army and Police to help protect Iraq.

Also, Sunni insurgent leaders have started trying to end the conflict.

So who's left to fight?

From the looks of things around here (you can read about that in previous posts)....no one.

Well...there are still Jihadists around. But there are Jihadists in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, ect. So are they really here to help put out the 'occupiers'?

The past week....

2005-04-04T03:22:00.000-07:00

....has been a fun one.

I finally got to watch that show. It was pretty good, I can see why it's the big hit on TV that it is. What they do is dedicate each show to different cells or groups they caught. Then they go over what each guy did...one makes bombs, one is the trigger man, one procures the stuff, ect.

We lived at a local Iraqi Police station for a few days. These guys are very dedicated to the cause. They barely make any money, their equipment is substandard but their morale is high and most of them have been cops for a long time. Their Commander has been a cop for almost 30 years and he is extremely professional and competent.

Got to eat some good Iraqi food while I was there. Some roast chicken, rice, flatbread and hommus...which I used to love to put on my falafal that I used to get at that Lebanese shop on Thayer St. in Providence, RI. I haven't had the chance to get some falafal here yet but my interpreter said he was going to hook me up with some.

Otherwise we subsisted on MREs and water, which sucks but it's better than starving. The best was when we had to go visit with the IP commander and that guy knows how to feed people. He never lets your plate get less than half full.

Anyway, we were at the IP station in order to better coordinate with them for the Shia holiday, Arb'iyyin. It's a commemoration of the burial of Imam Hussian who died in battle against the reigning Caliph about 1040 years ago.

Basically the IPs, Iraqi National guard and Iraqi Army did 100% of the security. We were there just in case they needed help...which they didn't at all. They did not allow any attacks against the people. The Iraqi people should be really proud of how for these guys have gone in such a short time.

I want to write more but I think I'll hold off so I can post again sooner rather than later.

The show.

2005-03-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

There is this show that every Iraqi seems to be talking about. Called, 'Terrorists and Justice', I think.

Anyway, they take captured terrorists, spys and criminals and put them on TV and the Iraqi Police ask them a bunch of questions. It's on for an hour every day....9 to 10pm Iraqi Time.

The show has really influenced a lot of people who were sitting on the fence. A couple of nights ago it had someone who said he was a Syria Intelligence Colonel. His job was to pay people who carry out his orders...assassinations, disruption, stuff like that. The people seem to be furious and everytime I talk to one they want us to invade Syria as soon as possible.

Lately there's been a lot of xenophobia as well. I knew from last time that most of the people causing trouble here weren't Iraqi, but now...either because of the show, or because of the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed 150 people signing up to become police (they then showed his parents in Jordan on the local news, and they were celebrating the attack)...I don't know what exactly but the Iraqis want their border sealed shut.

There's also been a lot of last ditch type mass attacks on us recently. Which, according to 'the book' means that the insugency is on its last legs. I wonder if you're getting this news in the states...I doubt it.

I'll write more often, I promise.

Prayers for Tedy.

2005-03-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

One of my family's favorite players is going to undergo heart surgery. Tedy Bruschi is one of those guys who always play hard, never quit, play through injuries, he's involved in every play, he's at the top of his game but who never puts himself above the team. While the Patriots may be full of these types of players, the NFL isn't.

I wish him well and I hope everyone joins with me in wishing him well. Whether he can ever play again or not doesn't matter to me really...he has some cute kids I always see him messing around with before and after all his games. They need a dad.

Good luck, Tedy.

Boredom ensues.

2005-03-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Just the way I like it. Main things I've been working on are keeping the interpreters in line and getting the paperwork together so that we can rebuild a generator for a local police station.

As the 'terp' guy, all I basically do is set the schedule for the interpreters, deal with their complaints and try to hire new ones. I'm pretty pleased with the guys we have, they are mostly hardworking and are from this area, which helps with finding things.

The police here are pretty screwed. They make about 200 dollars a month on average, all their cars are falling apart and their equipment is substandard. The ING, on the other hand, get paid about a thousand a month and have a lot better equipment. What this is doing, is causing a lot of cops to leave their jobs and join the ING. It also causes a lot of corruption, because they tend to take bribes in order to make up for their lack of pay.

We've been sending up a lot of reports regarding the police pay situation. Hopefully someone up there(higher up on the chain of command) is listening and can get the Iraqi Government to raise their pay.

Anarchy!....not here.

2005-03-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

Yeah yeah...I'm not updating. The reason is not much is going on.

I thought I'd have something to write every day. Before we got over here all you heard on the news is the craziness. I was expecting anarchy, bombs going off on every corner, dogs and cats living together, bands of armed men roaming the streets chanting, "Kill the Americans!". I expected to find American soldiers building permanent bases and not letting people go back to their homes, randomly shooting people and torturing poor defenseless old ladies.

Well...alright...I didn't expect that last part. I knew that last part was bull. If you ever hear about some torture incident or a murder by a US soldier...think of it like this for me...

The military is made up of just regular folks. People like your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, parents, cousins, friends, nieces and nephews. Are they likely to do that stuff? No, of course not. Now think of that one person you know...related or not that has committed a crime...heck, maybe you're the bad apple or blacksheep of your family. Would most of them do the stuff you hear about in Iraq? Maybe the really bad ones but for the most part...no, most of them wouldn't.

Now remember, we're in a war zone. Yeah, it's extremely calm compared to how they make it seem on the news but that one car bomb or attack they broadcast happened somewhere. So all over the country, we're ready...just in case, it's our day to be on the news. A 19 year old soldier patrolling on the street is always thinking, "Today is our day to be on the news.", and he has to, because if he doesn't that could mean the loss of his life or someone in his squad's life. So he's nervous...and sometimes, very very rarely, mistakes happen.

Now that 19 year old soldier is your little brother. Growing up he was the nicest kid, did well in school, had a lot of friends, was respectful to his elders...an overall great kid. He isn't a murderer, he isn't gunning down defenseless old ladies...he's just trying to stay alive in a bad situation.

It's like being a police officer in a way. You approach a man you believe to be armed and dangerous...he looks at you then suddenly reaches in he jacket...now, as a cop you have to think, "Is this guy pulling a gun or is he just getting his cigarettes?". If you shoot him, he could just be getting some cigarettes...if you don't and he pulls out a gun, then you're dead. It isn't too easy of a decision, is it?

Now imagine that, twenty four hours a day. That's what your little brother, or cousin, or aunt is going through here. Yeah...nine times out of ten it's a cigarette but is today the day that they'll make the news?

That said, the biggest excitement here is a small political battle between the local governments and the local criminal court. The court needs a new courthouse, and they want to move into one of the town halls...but, of course, none of the councils want to give up their building.

We tried to help out a bit at first. We were looking for a building suitable to house the court. We heard about an old Iraqi Army recruiting station that was abandoned, so we checked it out. Turns out there was a really nice Iranian family living there. Three beautiful little girls, a pretty wife and nice husband.

When the Iran-Iraq war started in 1980, Saddam kicked him out of his house due to where he came from. The Ministry of Defense took control of the house and used it as the place where people had to go to sign up for the draft. They returned in 2003 after we kicked Saddam out and they moved back in. They had mounds of paperwork backing up their claim.

When we first arrived they were very nervous. Their faces serious. When they realized we were there to ask questions and not kick them out, their attitude changed. They were smiling and laughing with us. They said that last time soldiers came to visit them in this house, no questions were asked, they had to pack up and be out by the end of the day. It was like night and day for them.

I'll try to post more often, even small things. I plan on never making the news, sorry.

The ING kick butt.

2005-03-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

Today there was a small fight. Needless to say the Iraqi National Guard were increadible. Running out of their barracks however they were dressed to engage the terrorists. Some, in just underwear or PJs grabbing their weapons, jumping on the back of a truck and speeding off into the fight.

What this tells me is that all the Iraqis who surrendered to us during the previous two wars did so not because they weren't willing to fight for Iraq, but because they weren't willing to fight for Saddam.

I've heard a lot of talk about how they just aren't ready to take over for the US forces yet...and that may be the case...but it's the case because of their present numbers, not because of their willingness to fight or training.

Things are calm.

2005-02-28T23:14:00.000-08:00

Things are still going well here. I've been working hard trying to get up to speed on the different projects going on and getting to know the different people in charge of all the different areas around the sector.

They all seem pretty good as far as the caring goes. The problems I seem to run into is the organizational abilities of some people. Which is to be expected, all the people who've been in charge for the last thirty five years are now in jail, dead or on the run. It will take a while for them to get the hang of things.

I'll post again soon. Hope everyone is safe.

Contracting.

2005-02-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

So today I went to my first contractors meeting. At this meeting we discuss current projects, future ones and then put out a few for the contractors to bid on.

When we first started doing this, the US Army was in charge of everything. We picked what projects were going to be done, where and when. Every so often we transfer more of the power over to the local Iraqi governments.

This is where we seem to run into problems. The local councils appoint an engineer to look over, alter and change the scopes of the projects. The guy who was appointed in my area runs off of a different time than anyone else. We give him a project to look over and then he sits on it for weeks, so we have a hard time putting the job up for the contractors to bid on them.

The council is talking of replacing him. Hopefully they'll pick someone a little more proactive.

Insh Allah.

2005-02-21T22:38:00.000-08:00

I don't know how it's spelled so I guessed.

I means, 'If God wills it' or 'God willing'.

I've discovered that it's basically a way of life here.

Today while out in sector, we came across a suspected car bomb. As we warned people who felt the need to walk by it or go right up to it to check it out, that's what they said, 'Insh Allah'. They honestly didn't care if their life was in danger, their way of thinking is...if it's their time to go, they're going to go.

I also met tons of wonderful people today. They are extremely kind and generous. The kids are beautiful and they are all polite.

One life taken, one life given.

2005-02-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

My first day in Iraq was an eventful one for my unit.

The Ashura festival is ongoing and my battalion is tasked, along with the IPs and ING with protected the Kadimaya(sorry if it is spelled incorrectly) shrine which is in our sector. Last year, the terrorists where able to explode a number of bombs within the shrine itself. This time we did not allow them to get anywhere near the shrine. The help of the IPs and ING was immense.

Because of this they were only able to explode a bomb on the very outskirts of the town. Sadly, in that bombing, we lost one of our own. He was a good man, I did not know him personally but from everything I heard he was one of our best.

Hours later, one of my soldiers learned that his wife gave birth to a baby boy. The soldier I mentioned above gave his life so that this baby, who was born hours after his death can be free to live life as he wishes.

I hope no one forgets his sacrifice. I never will.

Being pushed back.

2005-02-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

They keep pushing us back. It feels like we'll never get into Iraq but the time we have here is being spent wisely. We've had a ton of classes and ranges, it'll only make us better....but I just want to get there and get to work.

Being sick.

2005-02-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

Everytime I go to a new enviroment, I seem to catch a cold.

Runny nose, sore throat and upset stomache. Typical.

What was cool though, is I saw my first herd of Camels yesterday. I didn't get to see one the first time I was here. Of course, that was during the invasion so the camel herders probably kept their livestock out of the way. I wish I had my camera with me.

Not quite in Iraq yet.

2005-02-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

I'm just outside of it though. We're doing a last minute train up before going into Iraq proper.

It's hard to post where I am due to the limited internet connections but I'll do my best till I leave here and enter the country.

My biggest enemy right now is boredom...and a crappy keyboard. Once the training for the day is done there is not much to do but read and sleep. I don't think I'm going to have to sleep for the next week with the amount I've gotten since arriving here.

I hope this post finds everyone safe.

I'm there.

2005-01-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm in the general area now. Not at my final destination which'll be Baghdad proper but close enough.

The flight was decent, though I am afraid of flying...I know, I'm in the wrong business to have that as a phobia but it isn't a paralyzing one. I just get nervous.

We stopped in Ireland for a refuel and I did pound about three Guniness which, as you can imagine, made the last half of the flight much easier to take.

I really hope elections go off well tomorrow. I'm sure they will.

How many?

2005-01-26T02:46:00.000-08:00

From Al-Jazeera.

"We would love American commandos to enter Iran ... because they are chicks. Our eagles will catch them in no time. The Americans are stupid, but not as stupid as that"

Ali Yunusi,
Iranian intelligence minister
How many asses do we have to kick before someone gets the message?

Right now, our casualties amount to roughtly .3% of the troops we have in Iraq. In Afganistan, it is way lower. What makes Iran feel...when most of their country is against their government...that they could do better?

Anyway, lets hope it doesn't come to that. Let's hope, for everyone's sake, that they agree to dismantle their nuclear program. The great thing about Iran is, that they already have a democratically elected government in place...one that is always at odds with the Mullahs(and extremely limited by them). How much effort would it really take to topple them and leave the democratically elected government in place? Probably not much.

I've read their last election was heavily influenced by the Mullahs though, and that many hardliners were elected because the Moderates weren't allowed to run in some areas. But, if the current Iranian President wanted to hold elections again once the Mullah's are gone, he could.

Every Iranian I've met have been wonderful people...actually, I met one that calls herself Persian because she doesn't want to be linked to the HMIC(Head Mullah In Charge). Beauty of a girl too.

Anyway...Do yourself a favor Iran...it's already just a matter of time before the 'Persians' send you packing, so do the right thing for once.

Haven't left yet...and they need money?

2005-01-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

Our flight was pushed back a bit so I get to post atleast one more time.

I'd like to talk about Roy Hallums. As you know a tape was released recently in which the terrorists made him ask Arab governments for support instead of the President because the President, "doesn't care" (Which means to me that atleast they know that they can't use kidnapping and murder to influence our policies).

I really hope we find him well. I also want to offer his family my best wishes, it must be terribly difficult to not know his status.

This is the website his family has about him.

They are selling magnets and asking for donations, to help him financially, medically or legally. To me it kind of feels like she's trying to make money off this horrible situation...but probably not, most likely it's my 'BS' meter going a tad haywire.

Not something my family would do but to each their own, I guess.

The daughter does a bit of complaining about how little information the US government releases to her. I'm sure she understands that releasing some information could hinder any investigation or search that they have going.

Anyway, I wish her the best of luck and I hope we are able to rescue him soon.

Almost gone.

2005-01-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been busy the last few days getting ready to go.

I haven't had a chance to really look into some things that I wanted to, but oh well.

My next post will be from Iraq, wish me luck.

Coincidence?

2005-01-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

About five days ago, I wrote up my opinion on this coward who didn't deploy with his unit when they went to Iraq. In that same opinion I brought up and example of one of my co-workers who fought to go.

Seems that they were in the same unit in Iraq and according the my co-worker, the coward has been causing trouble for quite some time.

On one of their missions they came across an old Iraqi position in a village. The Iraqis left their ammunition as they fled our oncoming forces. The ammunition was stored in civilian buildings and as my co-worker's unit arrived already three civilians had died from them trying to move the ammo to a safer place.

So, my co-worker's unit set about transporting the ammo they could move and destroying the ammo they couldn't. During that dangerous task one of the pieces of ammo they were moving exploded, injuring two soldiers moderately. (non life threatening wounds.)

So the coward, who wasn't even present or even near the incident filed a congressional report to his congressman as if just trying to get someone in trouble. Like moving ammo away from a place where already three civilians had died is a bad thing.

I really hope I never meet anyone like him during my career.

Questions to Condi.

2005-01-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

Listening to some of the questions asked of Dr. Rice at her hearing today made me think that some of those Senators are lost in space. Sen. Chaffee(R-RI) and Sen. Boxer(D-CA) more specifically.

Condi said, " But Senator Boxer, we went to war not because of aluminum tubes. We went to war because this was the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a man against whom we had gone to war before, who threatened his neighbors, who threatened our interests, who was one of the world's most brutal dictators. And it was high time to get rid of him, and I'm glad that we're rid of him."

Boxer replied, " And, if I might say, again you said you're aware of the stakes in Iraq; we sent our beautiful people -- and thank you, thank you so much for your comments about them -- to defend freedom. You sent them in there because of weapons of mass destruction. Later, the mission changed when there were none. I have your quotes on it. I have the president's quotes on it.

And everybody admits it but you that that was the reason for the war. And then, once we're in there, now it moves to a different mission, which is great. We all want to give democracy and freedom everywhere we can possibly do it. But let's not rewrite history. It's too soon to do that."

Now notice the bolds...

Condi says we went to war because we were worried about WMDs in the hands of Saddam. Then, Boxer...who seems not to have heard a word she said replies, that everyone but Condi admits we went to war over WMDs.

Is she on crack?

And of course the mission changed. There were phases to the campaign...for those of you who don't know how military campaigns are run.

First phase was the removal of Saddam from power...which, unless you live in a barn, knows was a complete success. (though when the President pointed that out on the carrier Abe Lincoln, some people thought otherwise...again, they must live in a barn).

Each succeeding phase has been dealing with the rebuilding of Iraq. We are at the fourth phase now, which are elections.

You can get this exchange in text here.

Next, ol' Chaffee...and I swear to God. Once I get out of the Army I'm going to run against him... I realize that in a liberal state, such as RI, you have to be atleast a moderate for a Republican to win in the state...but he isn't...not even close. I think he's trying to swindle the people of RI in a quite clever way.

He runs as a Republican to get some of those Conservative sheep that don't pay attention and just vote for who ever the Republican candidate is, and then he gets all of the far left in the state to vote for him too.

Anyway...back to the subject.

I couldn't find a transcript of this exchange(so I'm paraphrasing and can't vouch for its complete accuracy) but basically it's Chaffee asking why we treat some nations one way and other nations another way. He used Venezuala and Kazakstan as the examples.

Dr. Rice had to explain to him (a member of the foriegn relations committee for God's sake) that each country is different so each require a different approach and that we expect some countries to be further along than others. Kazakstan is a newer Democracy than Venezuala and there are different forces at work in each nation.

Pretty sad that she had to explain that to someone who is supposed to be an expert in the field.

News from Iraq, and of course....my opinion on it.

2005-01-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

From AP,

"I think 40 to 50 percent of Sunnis will vote. That would be very good, with all the threats, with all the measures taken by the insurgents and the terrorism," said Adel Abdul Mahdi, when asked how many Sunnis needed to vote to validate the polls. Mr. Mahdi is the Iraqi Finance Minister.

Read the article for the measures that will be taken to secure the polling sites.

Still, all the liberals residing in the western world believe that the Sunnis won't vote, but every Iraqi official, blog and person I know says they will...not in the numbers that the Shia or Kurds do, but still a significant amount. In contrast only 32% of eligible people voted in our 2002 Congressional elections, I wonder if the Liberals will call 40-50% turn out a success or a failure?

I find it amazing how within four years of the war starting (from our standpoint that is...from the terrorists it's been on since 1998) that we have liberated two large nations from tyranny. I also find it amazing that regardless of all the good that has come from this some people still think we are forcing our will on other people. How is removing a dictatorship where people are butchered, oppressed and stifled to let them choose their own leaders seen as forcing our will on someone? Can someone answer that for me.

I also find it amazing that we haven't had any terrorist attacks during that time. I know a lot of people say that may or may not be because of our policies but lets look at some facts.

Between the time Bin Ladin's declaration of war on the United States in 1998 and 9/11, our embassies in Africa were bombed, the USS Cole attacked and then, of course, came the 9/11 attack itself. So in three years, there were three attacks. How many attacks have there been on the United States since 9/11? None.

Though during this time we've heard of many plots that have been stopped (using our 'evil' interrogation methods). Most of which were to take place in Europe....the same people complaining about how we're doing business.

And still we continue the struggle.

A prediction.

2005-01-15T02:04:00.000-08:00

I am about to do my Nostrodamus impersonation.

I've looked into the Blogsphere, the fires are bright colors of blue and orange.

My prediction is that within a years time, the Iraqi people will get fed up and utterly root out and destroy the terrorist elements in their country. I think Sunni, Shia and Kurd will join together in this task which will bind them together unlike they've ever been in history. They'll start calling themselves free.

Well, there we go. After reading about a dozen Iraqi blogs lately....this is the impression I'm getting.

Of course, I'm no fortune teller or seer but I have this gut feeling after reading those blogs. I hope I'm right.

The difference between opinion, spin and defamation.

2005-01-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today, while debating someone I was accused of not being able to accept someone's opinion can be different than my own.

I was actually quite suprised, I've always prided myself in not falling into the trap that a lot of people who are politically/socially aware fall into which is Bush is a fascist....Kerry is a traitor, ect. Basically what I'm saying is I've always felt that a difference of opinion is fine, that doesn't mean the person with the difference is evil or stupid. Just they see things differently than I do.

I think I learned this from my Grandmother, who is a staunch Democrat. We debate each other all the time, I always have a lot of fun and my Liberal arse Grandmother is a sweet, wonderful lady.

That said, after I was accused of running a spiteful, slanted, right wing nut blog and that I can't accept anyone elses opinion, I started thinking....yes, me thinking is dangerous. Remember when the lights went out in the Northeast a while ago? That was me trying to think of something deep.

And this is what I got.

An opinion is someone's point of view. For example, I like vanilla ice cream....you don't like vanilla ice cream. I think vanilla is tasty, you think it is nasty. Now this I can accept, and I won't think ill of the person who doesn't like vanilla or think that they are stupid or foolish.

Now defamation is actually what upsets me about people.

Defamation is something we see everyday in modern early 21st century politics. For instance, "Bush is like Hitler and he went to war for oil or so Haliburton will make a lot of money." Now, there are no real facts to this claim. We don't get oil from Iraq, Haliburton has been getting no bid government contracts since atleast Bosnia (which is the first time I got to live in a base built by them...in 1998/99 during Clinton's Presidency) and the President isn't going around building concentration camps or conquering nation after nation or even expanding the military that much(it's still half as big as it was ten years ago). It's basically people taking a simple opinion (don't agree with us invading Iraq) and going to the extreme with it(Bush is a warmonger).

Now spin is what I encountered today. It's when someone wants to persuade someone over to their point of view so they present facts leaving out certian things so that those facts become 'proof' that they are right.

For instance, in the debate today. Poster said that people lied to recruits about numerous things while they were entering the military. I'll use just one example. He said that he heard one guy get told that they could apply to OCS(Officer Candidate School) once they got to their units...initially according to the poster...this is BS. My guess is he was hoping someone reading it actually wouldn't know either way. But I did...you can in fact apply for OCS from any unit in the Army...of course, after I confronted him with it he said...yes, but it's hard. Which it isn't but that's niether here nor there. Point is, people who twist and misrepresent facts upset me. They don't piss me off like people who defame and everyone...even me...has used spin to win a debate now and then.

Another example is in regards to the unit that the coward NCO came from. Pointed out to me was that there were 17 AWOLs and 2 suicides in his unit. So this is how I looked at it....

I've been in two Infantry battalions since 2003. Both of those battalions have deployed to Iraq once before and both are over there again now (my company isn't yet because they stayed longer than the rest of the battalion the first time). Niether of these battalions have had any suicides nor any AWOLs related to the war. So my deduction was, it sounds like this third unit the coward came from is having leadership issues. Sounds like an easy conclusion to reach given my experience with two other units in the same boat, right?

For some people, that doesn't fit their view that all soldiers dislike trying to foster a free Iraq or that soldiers are leaving the army in droves because of Iraq or how often we've been deploying since 9/11(we call it OPTEMPO short for Operations Tempo). To them...even when the facts are clearly stated, with solid evidence to back them up...if it doesn't fit their opinion they will ignore said facts or spin them in order to win the debate.

To me, this means that the person isn't trying to point out things that need to be fixed, or things that are going wrong but that the person just has a predisposition, for whatever reason, to a certian train of thought and nothing you say, prove or demonstrate will ever cause them to waver. In other words, rigid thinking.

Now myself, on the other hand, my thinking may be a tad too fluid. I've found myself changing my opinion as I'm writing or talking because my brain seems to move faster than my fingers or mouth....and actually, I hope I stay that way.

The worst radio station of all time!

2005-01-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

WBAI of NYC is the worst radio station in the world.

I was listening to it in order to hear Ali and Fadhil get interviewed on their morning show. What I heard made my ears bleed. It's almost like these people don't live on the same planet the rest of us do.

First, they say that just about every Iraqi doesn't want the elections. That the United States doesn't even want elections but that Sistani ordered them! While I do not doubt Sistani's power, I highly doubt that even the most half sane person can say that one man has the power to order the United States to do anything.

Ansar Al Islam is also(so WBAI says)...'a resistance group', even though their terrorist camps were one of the first targets we hit as we entered Northern Iraq. Our SoF and the Peshmerga attacked a very large camp in, I guess, mid-April 2003. I wonder who they were resisting then?

Now I know why the Democratic party are losing touch with the mainstream of America. As long as they continue to identify themselves with such loons they'll continue to lose people.

They also played a song called, 'Monkey man' that they dedicated to the President. Very professional of them.

Cowards.

2005-01-14T01:37:00.000-08:00

I'd like to talk about this 'NCO' today.

All I can say is that it makes me sick to my stomache to know people like this somehow become leaders in our army.

A couple of points I want to make.

#1. The guy is a Non-Commissioned Officer, he has soldiers that count on him for his leadership and a unit that counts on his tactical and technical knowledge to get their mission accomplished. What he is doing, is in effect, abandoning his soldiers and his unit. He lacks loyalty and has left his soldiers out to dry.

#2. His mission, per say, does not require him to even come into contact with the enemy. He's a mechanic. He stays on a well defended base and fixes vehicles. Is there a chance that he still may be hurt? Of course. But there is a chance he will die in a car accident, does he still drive?

Is there a chance that he may come in contact with the enemy? Again, there is always that chance, but it is slim given his occupation.

Basically, I think this guy is a coward. Everyday NCOs who shouldn't be getting deployed are working their asses off attempting to go with their soldiers. In my unit there is an NCO who they believed had a blood disease. He was traveling to different hospitals around the country trying to find a doctor that would clear him to go so he wouldn't be sending his soldiers off to war without the leadership they need.

Eventually, the testing he had undergone at Walter Reed came back negative and the first thing he did was go to his doctor to get cleared for deployment. He's a coworker of mine, and just seeing what he did really gives me the feeling that, 'Hey, this is a guy I can trust." I know he'll get my back in combat and I really hope I can get his.

I really wonder why CNN doesn't do stories about the guy in my unit. Stories that occur everyday in the Army. Instead they focus on the one coward. It really pisses me off.

And don't let this guy fool you, it isn't that he 'disagrees' with war....I mean, he's been in the Army for 9 years. This guy is scared, understandably so, but so is everyone else that goes over there. Every soldier that goes to war thinks that it may be it for him, that he's going to most likely die on this trip, but we go anyway because not only do we believe in our mission in Iraq but because we don't want to let our brothers down. This person, obviously doesn't have these traits.

Thanks.

Check her out.

2005-01-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, discovered this awesome blog. If you call discovering it after it's been around a year. I should say...I came across this awesome blog....

Errr, maybe it should be...while reading my normal read everyday blogs I got linked to this one.

No...that doesn't even make sense.

Whatever! Just read her blog!

Hopefully mine will be half as good as hers after a years time, I'd be content.

WMDs, Kid Rock and Racism.

2005-01-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

So the search for WMD in Iraq is over.

What I find amazing about the whole deal is not only did every Intelligence Agency in the world believe they had them, but so did almost everyone in Iraq's own government. There are a couple of things that could have happened.

1) They never had them.

If they never had them, why did Saddam just not let the UN have free reign to inspect the country. He could have had sanctions lifted, and he would have had us off his back. Was it something cultural that I(as a westener) just don't know about? Or is it that he still had them?

2) They still had them but under the threat of war they were moved/hidden.

Anyone remember all those pictures going around showing the nice shiney new Russian Migs with the shiney new French radar equipment found buried in the desert? Now imagine something the size of a barrel buried out there....it's a possibility. We can't really debate on whether it's a likely possibility or not because we don't, as people outside the Intel community, have the information necessary to prove or disprove that suggestion.

Also, there are rumours circulating that, just maybe, they were transported out of Iraq into Syria or Becka Valley. The same problem above presents itself to this possibility as well.

What's the answer? What happened? We don't know, but if he did have them we need to find them before they fall into the wrong hands.

There's been a lot of hub bub about Kid Rock wearing an American flag as a shirt lately. To me it's just foolish. Who cares if he wears the flag as a shirt? I've seen American flag bathing suits, business suits, t-shirts, ect. For most people wearing them, they do so because they are proud Americans.

Really, it depends on why they wear them, not how. As a member of the Armed Forces, I'm certianly not upset when seeing people wearing clothing made from a US flag pattern. What would upset me is if they were wearing it to belittle our country not for the act itself.

I think of it this way. Protesters against a war we're engaged in burn a US flag to show their hatred for our policy....to me, that's traitorous. On the other hand, War Protesters flying an American flag at a rally shows that while against our policy, they still support the nation as a whole. Both sides are using the flag, one doing it distastefully, the other not. And while I may disagree with why they are protesting, I would view each group differently.

One last thing. Racial profiling...and not the way we all think of it.

I'm talking about how the left believes that if a minority American isn't liberal then they are some how sell outs. They seem to believe that anyone belonging to a minority Ethnic or racial group isn't capable of independant thought. I can also feel this type of thinking applying to where people are from...for instance, I'm from Rhode Island...a highly Liberal state in the midst of all the other Liberal states in New England. Am I a sell out too because I don't toe the Democratic party line?

Michelle Malkin, an Asian conservative goes into greater detail about the remarks and racism that is thrown her way because she isn't automatically a liberal based on her race.

I lost a friend, Palestine gains a president.

2005-01-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

I'd like to congradulate, Mahmoud Abbas on his victory in Palestine's recent election. With him comes the hope of peace. Many people think it is a given, some people think things will not change. I tend to be on the more positive side, though I have some misgivings.

Hamas and Hezbollah never listened to Arafat, and I think that was his downfall. I really hope that both Iran and Syria for once do the right thing and pressure these two groups to follow President Abbas' lead and become incorperated into the Security Forces. If this happens, he should be able to exert more control over them. There by eliminating...or atleast diminishing the threat of one of these groups derailing, yet again, the peace process that so many have stuggled so hard to keep moving.

I also hope, for the Isrealis, that in their next election they also elect a more moderate person. The peace process is a two way street. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been getting better, even going against his own party in order to make some concessions.

Former President Clinton gave a speech about a year or so ago. Now, I never liked him as President, but this speech is just amazing and he makes some very interesting points. He says that the old people on both sides of the issue won't bend, so the young continue to die due to their lack of being able to compromise.

I just spent two hours trying to find a link to that speech. What a waste of time.

Also today, I found out that one of my soldiers that worked for me, on and off, for the past couple of years died in Iraq by an IED. He was such a good kid, I'm really going to miss him.

What do I post about?

2005-01-10T01:35:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone.

I'm new 'round here. I'll tell you a bit about myself and how this blog came to be.

I've been visiting blogs for a while now, especially Iraq the Model and now Ali's new one. I've never left many comments, and when I was going to comment for the first time on Ali's blog...it sent me to a page to create my own...hence, this new blog.

A little background for now, I suppose.

I'm 32 years old, was born in Rhode Island and pretty much grew up there. At age 18 I joined the Rhode Island National Guard while I was going to school. At age 20, I went active and have been stationed at Ft. Riley, KS; Korea; Ft. Hood, TX; and now Ft. Drum, NY as part of the 10th Mountain Division.

I'm a 13F (Fire Support Sargeant) and I'm a Staff Sargeant...which in the Army is an E-6. As a Fire Support Sargeant I plan for, direct and adjust fire support assets such as mortars, artillery, attack aviation (rotary wing, IE Apaches and Kiowa warriors) and close air support.

I've been deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

In Bosnia I did mostly presence patrols. Which were designed to secure the area around our base. It also allowed us to speak with the people of the surrounding area so we'd learn what they needed, problems they were having and any other local goings on. It was a great experience and it also changed some perceptions I had about Muslims though, in retrospect I have to say that Bosnian Muslims are much different than any others I've since encountered.

In Kosovo, I was a liason to a Greek Infantry Company that operated out of Partes, which is just outside of Gjilan. Those two towns and the people there really changed me. I learned that Serbians are a really wonderful people...strong, resiliant and beautiful. My main job was to keep in contact with the mayors of Partes and a neighboring village, Donji Budriga. During that deployment I got to work with Macedonians, the UN, numerous NGOs(non-governmental organizations like C.A.R.E.), Italians and others. It is extremely difficult to get in contract with people from there....if anyone knows a way...please, let me know.

As far as the Balkans are concerned, I'm pretty much well versed in their history, culture and opinions. I'll most likely post about this area of the world often.

In Iraq, I also got to work with a lot of different nations and ethnicities. I have a strong love for the Kurds and their Peshmerga are some of the best soldiers I've ever met. Iraqis, as a whole, are educated and open minded. I'll be returning to Iraq shortly and while there, I will try to post of my experiences as often as possible. I'll be concentrating on things I see personally but don't expect some 'war' stories or operational notes. I'll be posting about people I meet and things we are getting done over there. If you want to hear about the bombs, go to CNN. If you want to hear about projects going on in the whole nation of Iraq, go to the links above. If you want to hear what's going on in my sector...where I'm working, then come here.

I hope while I'm there I get to meet the three brothers, and I hope I can make a positive difference. The first time I was there I saw some huge changes...simple things like internet cafe's opening up everywhere, small business flourishing and cell phone systems being brought up. For those of you who think we were met with distain as we arrived and Rumsfeld was full of crap saying that we'd be greeted like liberators, let me just say he wasn't full of crap. As we moved through Iraq I felt sometimes as if I was in a parade with people on the side of the roads cheering as we drove by. Of course, I can't speak for all of Iraq but the parts I was in, that was the case.

I'm married to a wonderful woman and have three children. I'll most likely post often about them too since being married is the biggest thing in my life right now and probably will be for the rest of it.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Hope you all enjoy it.