"Happy" memorial day
On the 23rd of July, 2003, Captain Joshua T. Byers, 29, of Sparks, Nev.; assigned to Headquarters, Headquarters Troop, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, in Fort Carson, Co.; was killed when his convoy hit an explosive device. Josh was not only my friend, but was my mentor and peer.
While supporting (which is a Department of Defense word for fighting) in Operation Enduring Freedom, another very close friend of mine was killed. He died May 29, 2004, just two days short of a Memorial Day, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his vehicle struck a land mine. Captain Daniel W. Eggers, 28, of Cape Coral, Florida. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
LTC Gary R. Derby, 44, of Missoula, Montana; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; died Feb. 9 2009 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when a car bomb was driven into his vehicle. LTC, then Captain Derby commanded a company in my battalion when I was a young shave-tail lieutenant. Aside from his candid leadership and sense of humor, he was the kind of guy who you could always count on to tell you when you were being an idiot—and how to really improve on style points.
One thing that each of these heroes had in common—besides having the unfortunate luck to serve with me, was that they took their duty very seriously; and themselves much less so. The loved the military, they loved serving this country; every day, and no days off.
Each was a family man. Each left behind a great legacy. Each served to the fullest measure. I am sure if they had the chance to be alive today, each would ask that someone who died alongside them would instead take their place among the living.
Many of our fellow citizens have no understanding of the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, other than it means a long weekend. Many people, especially those with no connection to the military, often confuse the two, citing Memorial Day as a day to thank those serving the nation in uniform. Recently, a friend of mine commented that “Memorial Day is meant to pay homage to those who gave their lives for this country and our way of life. It is a day to honor the dead. There is NO such thing as “Happy Memorial Day.”
Respectfully, I disagree, in part, anyway.
Memorial Day is a happy yet solemn, joyful yet tearful, partly sunny yet mostly cloudy kind of day.
We are living the days these men and women never will. Live them well, be happy, and enjoy the blessings of liberty their service and sacrifice have bought. Although we take pause today to remember their absence, we must also take this day to celebrate the very liberty they have secured.
Memorial Day should be a "happy" day, the same as Easter. We remember the sacrifice, and the cost, yet we rejoice in the promise of chocolate rabbits, only six more weeks till spring (if Christ came out of the tomb and saw his shadow) and painted eggs, god-awfully early church services, plastic grass, and kids on a blood-sugar bender. We remember the sacrifice, and the cost, of the loss of friends and family on this day. I remember Josh wearing a cape and boxer shorts and little else, standing in the Kuwaiti desert and saluting passing vehicles. I remember sharing stories and fixing the world’s problems over barbeque and beer with Dan. I remember Gary creatively counseling another lieutenant who just refused to “get it.” I remember these men fondly, and am thankful to wear the same uniform, to serve the same nation, and to carry forward where they cannot.
Dan, Josh, and Gary can't spend this day, or any other day with their families, or among us, and we are a poorer nation because of that. I miss them, but today I pay special attention to their absence, and jealously guard my time with my family. We will have a happy day, because my friends, my mentors, my brothers have already paid for it, in advance, with interest.
I do not mean to suggest that it is proper to tell a recent widow to have a “Happy” Memorial Day. I know the families of the fallen, and especially the recently fallen, spend this day in grief, but they spend this day remembering none the less. They will, in time, first recall the good things, the joys and happiness, the special days; and will lock away the days which hurt the most. These families, these survivors, have something their warriors no longer have… time. They have time to grieve, time to mourn, and time to heal. They will, soon enough, spend their memorial days at family barbeques, pool openings, amusement parks, and all manner of fun and happy occasions.
On Memorial Day, these families, mine and hopefully yours, will also pause to remember all of the joyful times we spent with those who have stood their final muster, and then we too, will go on living, and have a happy Memorial Day.
--Chuck
While supporting (which is a Department of Defense word for fighting) in Operation Enduring Freedom, another very close friend of mine was killed. He died May 29, 2004, just two days short of a Memorial Day, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when his vehicle struck a land mine. Captain Daniel W. Eggers, 28, of Cape Coral, Florida. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
LTC Gary R. Derby, 44, of Missoula, Montana; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; died Feb. 9 2009 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when a car bomb was driven into his vehicle. LTC, then Captain Derby commanded a company in my battalion when I was a young shave-tail lieutenant. Aside from his candid leadership and sense of humor, he was the kind of guy who you could always count on to tell you when you were being an idiot—and how to really improve on style points.
One thing that each of these heroes had in common—besides having the unfortunate luck to serve with me, was that they took their duty very seriously; and themselves much less so. The loved the military, they loved serving this country; every day, and no days off.
Each was a family man. Each left behind a great legacy. Each served to the fullest measure. I am sure if they had the chance to be alive today, each would ask that someone who died alongside them would instead take their place among the living.
Many of our fellow citizens have no understanding of the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, other than it means a long weekend. Many people, especially those with no connection to the military, often confuse the two, citing Memorial Day as a day to thank those serving the nation in uniform. Recently, a friend of mine commented that “Memorial Day is meant to pay homage to those who gave their lives for this country and our way of life. It is a day to honor the dead. There is NO such thing as “Happy Memorial Day.”
Respectfully, I disagree, in part, anyway.
Memorial Day is a happy yet solemn, joyful yet tearful, partly sunny yet mostly cloudy kind of day.
We are living the days these men and women never will. Live them well, be happy, and enjoy the blessings of liberty their service and sacrifice have bought. Although we take pause today to remember their absence, we must also take this day to celebrate the very liberty they have secured.
Memorial Day should be a "happy" day, the same as Easter. We remember the sacrifice, and the cost, yet we rejoice in the promise of chocolate rabbits, only six more weeks till spring (if Christ came out of the tomb and saw his shadow) and painted eggs, god-awfully early church services, plastic grass, and kids on a blood-sugar bender. We remember the sacrifice, and the cost, of the loss of friends and family on this day. I remember Josh wearing a cape and boxer shorts and little else, standing in the Kuwaiti desert and saluting passing vehicles. I remember sharing stories and fixing the world’s problems over barbeque and beer with Dan. I remember Gary creatively counseling another lieutenant who just refused to “get it.” I remember these men fondly, and am thankful to wear the same uniform, to serve the same nation, and to carry forward where they cannot.
Dan, Josh, and Gary can't spend this day, or any other day with their families, or among us, and we are a poorer nation because of that. I miss them, but today I pay special attention to their absence, and jealously guard my time with my family. We will have a happy day, because my friends, my mentors, my brothers have already paid for it, in advance, with interest.
I do not mean to suggest that it is proper to tell a recent widow to have a “Happy” Memorial Day. I know the families of the fallen, and especially the recently fallen, spend this day in grief, but they spend this day remembering none the less. They will, in time, first recall the good things, the joys and happiness, the special days; and will lock away the days which hurt the most. These families, these survivors, have something their warriors no longer have… time. They have time to grieve, time to mourn, and time to heal. They will, soon enough, spend their memorial days at family barbeques, pool openings, amusement parks, and all manner of fun and happy occasions.
On Memorial Day, these families, mine and hopefully yours, will also pause to remember all of the joyful times we spent with those who have stood their final muster, and then we too, will go on living, and have a happy Memorial Day.
--Chuck
Friday, May 28, 2010
On the morning of August 16, 2005, as my wife Retta and I sat with Wes and Abbey just after breaking the news to them of Mikes death earler that morning, then 13 year old Abbey buried her head into my shoulder, sobbing these words: "he was supposed to chase away my first boyfriend, he was supposed to cheer at my graduation from high school, he was supposed to be an uncle to my children..." These words seared my heart, broken as it was. I shall never forget them. She lost her oldest brother that day, her "Bubs" which she called him short for his nickname, Bubba.
Go RTWT. I'll wait.
I never knew Mike, but I know of him. I know the man that his father is, and have been constantly awed and humbled by his strength, dignity, and honor. It brilliantly shines through every time I see Robert--in his easy smile, his warm embrace, and most importantly, the way he honors his son's sacrifice. That Stokely stock is sterner stuff than I've found in many people, including myself. He is a man who has let go of the hate that is rightfully his, who endures the unendurable, and who had done so with tremendous love and dignity.
I am so happy to hear that Robert's daughter, Abbey, graduated (valedictorian, naturally, what else would you expect from a family like this?) from high school. What I didn't know was the hardships and sacrifices she's made to get there. I know Robert's chest is measurably wider today, and rightly so. I can only hope to raise my children so well, or to become half the father he is.
Robert, My deepest admiration and respect for you and yours, and today, for Abbey, too.
--Chuck
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 27, 2010 15:49:57 EDT
SAN DIEGO — Retired Navy Lt. John Finn, the oldest Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at his Southern California home. He was 100.Posted : Thursday May 27, 2010 15:49:57 EDT
Navy Lt. Aaron Kakiel says Finn died early Thursday on his ranch near Live Oak Springs, where he lived for more than 50 years.
Finn earned the nation’s highest military valor award for his heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 1942, from then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Born July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles, Finn was the oldest of the 97 Medal of Honor recipients still living.
During the Dec. 7, 1941, attack, Finn manned a machine gun and began firing from an exposed location on Japanese aircraft, suffering serious wounds in the process.
Read Finn’s Medal of Honor citation:
Military Times Hall of Valor: John Finn
Mike Yon has gone Nanners.
//Update: //Welcome Facebookers! Below is the original text Mike Yon referred to this morning when he called me sloppy, a milkook, and mistaken. I let my writing stand. If you care more for the content, you'll get the idea. If you're here as a grammarian, have at it. I appreciate your commentary here, and will respond as necessary. At the end of the original piece, I will post the same response I wrote to Yon on facebook this morning. Enjoy!//
Depending on your choice of rock to live under, you may not have heard of Michael Yon. Michael Yon is a photojournalist, prior military and Special Forces Soldier. He is the photographer who took this (iconic) photograph in Iraq: //Update://Mike has accused me of copyright infringement for using his photo. Instead, I offer this artist's rendering of the photographer.//
Unfortunately, Michael Yon has the uncanny ability to not just piss people off, but to do so in a such a spectacular manner as to make you wonder if he realizes the consequences of his actions. He "leaks" information that he overhears, he calls out very senior officers in a public forum (making me wonder if he does so for the credibility granted him if they answer him directly, or for the "They are afraid to answer me because they know it's true" mantra of most moonbats. One time would seem like a fit. Twice, maybe a pattern. It's gotten so common that I'm wondering if it's not indicative of a larger problem. In keeping with his multiple (Uncle Jimbo as the count at four) "firings" from embeds, it seems he's been having problems keeping his ability to stay embeded in Afghanistan. Why do you think that is?
Let's look at a few of his most recent posts on his Facebook Page (per the norm, my commentary is parenthetical and italicized):
That about sums it up. This is all taken from Yon's online facebook page. I am pretty sure publishing a letter to the Admiral in charge of determining if you can stay in your embed isn't the way to go. You see, you are playing chicken with him, daring him to keep you or can you. Admiral Smith's options: You go, and write a bad news report, from a reporter who was asked to leave theater--sounds to me like sour grapes. Admiral Smith lets you stay, and you continue to call him and his staff monkeys, and cast doubts on the abilities of the Commander of ISAF and US Forces, Afghanistan. Not a hard choice to make.
I understand a reporter's duty is to sell news. I think you understand that too. And when no one wants to read the good news anymore, you have to dig for news that isn't good, or just change your perspective on telling the news, so that you can still be the lone voice, crying out to be heard. Unfortunately, the Public Affairs Office deals only in truth. No half-truths, no lies, no Information Operations. They understand that they are the credibility of the commander, and if they lie, even a little bit, then the credibility of the commander is shot. Mike, it's a shame that you never learned that. It's a shame that you sold your credibility for your ego. I don't blame General McChrystal one bit for showing you the door. I'm just amazed it took the General this long. Mike, your behavior is nuttier than squirrel shit. You need to seek professional help, and soon. The advances in modern psycho-pharmacology are amazing, and you may someday return to productive work.
--Chuck
Think I'm wrong? He's at the bottom of a tailspin. More on his previous idiocy here:
http://kitchendispatch.blogspot.com/2010/04/taking-out-big-red-pen-michael-yon.html
http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2010/04/19/come-back-from-the-edge-michael/
http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/04/i_likes_me_some.html
http://laughingwolf.net/index.php/site/comments/an_open_letter_to_michael_yon/http://www.mudvillegazette.com/033419.html
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2010/04/one-voice-is-heads-up-many-voices-are.html
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/033422.html
This mornings' response to Yon from Facebook:
Depending on your choice of rock to live under, you may not have heard of Michael Yon. Michael Yon is a photojournalist, prior military and Special Forces Soldier. He is the photographer who took this (iconic) photograph in Iraq: //Update://Mike has accused me of copyright infringement for using his photo. Instead, I offer this artist's rendering of the photographer.//
Unfortunately, Michael Yon has the uncanny ability to not just piss people off, but to do so in a such a spectacular manner as to make you wonder if he realizes the consequences of his actions. He "leaks" information that he overhears, he calls out very senior officers in a public forum (making me wonder if he does so for the credibility granted him if they answer him directly, or for the "They are afraid to answer me because they know it's true" mantra of most moonbats. One time would seem like a fit. Twice, maybe a pattern. It's gotten so common that I'm wondering if it's not indicative of a larger problem. In keeping with his multiple (Uncle Jimbo as the count at four) "firings" from embeds, it seems he's been having problems keeping his ability to stay embeded in Afghanistan. Why do you think that is?
Let's look at a few of his most recent posts on his Facebook Page (per the norm, my commentary is parenthetical and italicized):
"Life was good before I went to Iraq. (A good start) But after three friends were killed during the GWOT, (still holding with you) and my growing mistrust for the media (right on) and for the US Government/Military, (Whoa. Danger! Will Robinson, Danger!) I quit traveling the world and went to war. (EXCEPT, Y'KNOW, WITH A CAMERA) The United States was in peril. I am American. Today, I do not trust McChrystal (That's General McChrystal to you) anymore than some people trust the New York Times, Obama or Bush. (President Obama, President Bush) If McChrystal (again, General. Pretty sure he's earned that.) could be trusted, (Yep--you aren't doing this because it gives you popularity, notoriety, fame, etc. You'd go back to whatever it was you were doing--oh, that's right, freelance writer. So what your saying is that if you trusted General McChrystal, you could go back to doing exactly what you are doing right now.) I would go back to my better life. McChrystal is a great killer but this war is above his head. (And you know that because? How many Joint and International military efforts have you commanded?) He must be watched."-- Mike Yon, via Facebook
"Crazy Monkeys: Senior Public Affairs people often make me think of crazy monkeys. (Like some monkeys I've seen in India.) (Hey Mikey, I don't think that's a good way to win friends and influence people, especially the ones who decide if you can embed.) They break into the cockpit and start flipping switches with no idea what the switches do. They keep doing it until something breaks or you beat them back. And just when you think you've beaten ...them all back, another monkey slips in. (This time by name of Admiral Smith.) (Great way to fling poo... like a Monkey! I'm sure Admiral Smith will applaud the nuanced allegory of your comparison of him to a monkey.) Kay Day wrote a good piece about the Crazy Monkeys:"-- Mike Yon, via Facebook
"The disembed from McChrytal's (General, That is) top staff (meaning from McChrystal himself) is a very bad sign. Sends chills that McChrystal himself thinks we are losing the war. (No, it sends the message that General McChrystal thinks you're a boob, and provide no benefit to his command.) McChrystal has a history of covering up. (I suppose you can support this with, you know... facts?) This causes concern that McChrystal might be misleading SecDef and President. Are they getting the facts?"(You mean the facts that don't matter to you?--See below)-- Mike Yon, via Facebook
"McChrystal's crew has spoken: Embed is ended. This comes from McChrystal's own spokesman (through one CPT Jane Campbell USN cc RADM Greg Smith and COL Wayne Shanks USA). This lends confirmation to ideas that the disembed came from McChrystal's crew. (If not before, 100% now.) McChrystal cannot be trusted to tell the truth about this war. (Or maybe he feels YOU can't be trusted. Maybe he just doesn't like having reporters around who don't understand that they are a burden on the command, and when they become too bothersome, tiresome, or start calling his people monkeys, they may be told to leave--when the dropped hints fail.) Packing my bags."-- Mike Yon, via Facebook
"Rear Adm. Smith, (Sorry I called you a monkey)
I'm a writer embedded with U.S. Forces in RC-South. RC-South PAO recently apprised me that the embed was ended. This happened precipitously and for dubious cause. (You are a liar, or your people are.) Cited cause: embed overcrowding. I rarely see journalists. (Since *I* rarely see them, they must not exist.) Those journalists I see have been doing drive-by reporting. Having embedded before, the PAO pattern is familiar and predictable. (You are a liar, or your people are.)
[I] Am with 5/2 SBCT. It was agreed, as prerequisite of my coming back with infantry, that I would stay with 5/2 to RIP. As a matter of business, these moves are expensive and time consuming. When the military fails to uphold its side, persistent problems are created from air. (It's going to be expensive for me to buy a plane ticket home on short notice.)
After extracting from the field to KAF after PAO notification, was told by 5/2 Commander that I am welcome to stay. (Hey Mikey, GENERAL McChrystal trumps a Battalion Commander. Thought you'd have learned that in your time in the Army. Could be the Battalion commander was just telling you that so he wouldn't be compared to a monkey.) I am considering this offer but need assurance by your office that PAOs will go through you before disembedding me. (Because of WHO I AM, I expect to be given special treatment, and able to jump the food chain.)
And so it's down to you, Sir. (Really, Really Sorry I called you a Monkey.)
Shall I stay or shall I go? (If I stay there will be trouble, If I go it will be double...)
Very Respectfully,
Michael Yon"
-- Mike Yon, via Facebook
That about sums it up. This is all taken from Yon's online facebook page. I am pretty sure publishing a letter to the Admiral in charge of determining if you can stay in your embed isn't the way to go. You see, you are playing chicken with him, daring him to keep you or can you. Admiral Smith's options: You go, and write a bad news report, from a reporter who was asked to leave theater--sounds to me like sour grapes. Admiral Smith lets you stay, and you continue to call him and his staff monkeys, and cast doubts on the abilities of the Commander of ISAF and US Forces, Afghanistan. Not a hard choice to make.
I understand a reporter's duty is to sell news. I think you understand that too. And when no one wants to read the good news anymore, you have to dig for news that isn't good, or just change your perspective on telling the news, so that you can still be the lone voice, crying out to be heard. Unfortunately, the Public Affairs Office deals only in truth. No half-truths, no lies, no Information Operations. They understand that they are the credibility of the commander, and if they lie, even a little bit, then the credibility of the commander is shot. Mike, it's a shame that you never learned that. It's a shame that you sold your credibility for your ego. I don't blame General McChrystal one bit for showing you the door. I'm just amazed it took the General this long. Mike, your behavior is nuttier than squirrel shit. You need to seek professional help, and soon. The advances in modern psycho-pharmacology are amazing, and you may someday return to productive work.
"If a writer wants to make money, he should avoid truth and tell people what they want to hear."--Michael YonMichael Yon, Freelance reporter and photojournalist, Nanners at age 46.
--Chuck
Think I'm wrong? He's at the bottom of a tailspin. More on his previous idiocy here:
http://kitchendispatch.blogspot.com/2010/04/taking-out-big-red-pen-michael-yon.html
http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2010/04/19/come-back-from-the-edge-michael/
http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2010/04/i_likes_me_some.html
http://laughingwolf.net/index.php/site/comments/an_open_letter_to_michael_yon/http://www.mudvillegazette.com/033419.html
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2010/04/one-voice-is-heads-up-many-voices-are.html
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/033422.html
This mornings' response to Yon from Facebook:
Labels: Asshats and Douchebags, conspiracy, stupid is as stupid does, Support the troops and their mission
It must be so
Sweet. I just got an email saying that I'm not only crazy rich, I'm smart too. And we all know that once you post something you got in an email, it must be true...
So if you'll excuse me, I have to look into setting up an Alaskan Cruise for a hundred or two of my best friends. This is going to be awesome.
/sarc
~~Code Monkey
So if you'll excuse me, I have to look into setting up an Alaskan Cruise for a hundred or two of my best friends. This is going to be awesome.
/sarc
~~Code Monkey
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Geek mini-rant
Just as an FYI, if you walk into your resident IT person's office and he or she is eating lunch (we're talking titanium spork
in hand, not just a bag of food on the desk), unless there are flames leaping out of something (in which case you really should be calling 911), the appropriate comment is "Oh, I'm sorry, you're eating. I'll come back later."
That is all.
~~Code Monkey
That is all.
~~Code Monkey
Monday, May 24, 2010
National Half-Mast for the death of a Warrior Leader
Mass of Christian Burial
May 25, 2010
10:45 AM
Location: Fort Myers Chapel [Map]
Burial
Location: Arlington National Cemetery [Map]
General Miley was born in Boston, Massachusettson February 14, 1915. He graduated from historic Boston Latin Schooland began his military career at the United States Military Academyat West Point. He graduated from the Academy in June 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps. His first station was at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was assigned to the 2nd Coast Artillery Regiment. In December 1941, he moved with the 57th Coast Artillery to Hawaii, to garrison the north shore of Oahu.
General Miley returned to the U.S. in late 1942 and, after a tour at the Anti-Aircraft School, the Army assigned him to the 33rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group. He remained with this organization through its training phases at Fort Bliss, Texas and Desert Training Center. In February 1944, his outfit moved to New Guinea, where they participated in the leap-frog operations, executed by the Army along the northern coast of that island.
In January 1945, the Army detailed General Miley to the Ordnance Corpsand he departed New Guinea for Manila. He served in Manila in successive commands of the 189th Ordnance Battalion and the Ordnance General Supply Depot until September 1946.
Following World War II, General Miley served on the faculty of the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and in 1947 he embarked on advanced education tour at Northwestern University. He received his Master's Degree in June 1949 and remained an additional year at Evanston, pursuing advanced studies in economics and statistics.
In 1950, the Army transferred General Miley to Frankford Arsenalin Philadelphia, where he served as comptroller and then as Works Manager. After three years at Frankford, General Miley went to Heidelberg, Germany, for a three-year tour as a staff officer at Headquarters U.S. Army Europe.
General Miley returned to the U.S. in June 1956, attended the Army War College and in 1957 moved to Washington, D.C. to become chief of tank-automotive procurement in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance.
In December 1961, he became Commander of the Advanced Weapons Support Command, Pirmasens, Germany. In March 1963, he was assigned to Heidelberg, where he served as the Ordinance Officer for the Headquarters of U.S. Army Europe. Returning to the U.S. in March 1964, General Miley was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Commandas Deputy Director, Procurement and Production.
In August 1966 he was reassigned as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (Programs and Budget), at Army Headquarters. General Miley remained in this position until June 1969, when he was named Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command, and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. On 1 November 1970, he was promoted to the rank of General and became the Commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command until his retirement in February 1975.
After retirement, General Miley worked for the American Defense Preparedness Association in Washington DC. He lived in Lusby, MD for 35 years as he enjoyed retirement with trips to Spain, China and throughout the USA. The Miley’s eventually built a home in Tampa, Fl. Where they spent winters while traveling back to the DC area to be with his children and grandchildren.
General Miley’s wife Lillah Brooks Miley is living in their home in Tampa Fl. He is also survived by his children, Henry Miley III, of Leesburg, Va., Melissa G. Miley, of Stuarts Draft Va., and step son Ken Brooks of Lexington Park, MD. He is also survived his sister, Ruth M. Lally of Boston MA.
Mass of Christian burial will be offered on Tuesday May 25, 2010, 10:45 AM in Fort Myers Va. Chapel, with interment and full military honors to follow in Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.
Arrangements by Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., Port Republic, MD.
Memorial Contributions
U.S. Military Academy
West Point, New York
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A brand new organization needs a lot of things, but none is ultimately more central to getting operations started than a logo/artwork that visually defines the organization. A good logo or artwork truly is a thousand words, if not many, many more. It tells you almost everything you need to know about the people it represents, and often does so without any words at all.
We need something that can do that. Something that sums up what we are, what we do, and what we hope to do for the troops and their families. Something that combines the seemingly highly separated areas of cooking, combat arms, and maybe even education. Artwork that can be printed full color for print applications, but also done as a one, two, or three spot colors onto mugs and other items.
To make it even more interesting, this needs to be something that can be used almost anywhere: t-shirts, chefs coats, chefs hats, business cards, coins, pins, letterhead, and more. This means that if it is artwork, we need to be able to separate out the central, key component to use small. If it is a logo, it needs to be able to fill all those roles legibly no matter how small or how big.
Your challenge, should you decide to accept it, is to create something that can stand for our mission and the four key goals, and do it within those parameters. You then have to submit it as noted below by noon Eastern time 25 June 2010.
The prize, well, we are just getting started but as a start:
First Prize: A knife donated by Michael Z. Williamson, author and edged weapons maker, from his operation “Sharp Pointy Things” (http://www.sharppointythings.com/index.php}; a jumbo barbecue gift box set from The Spice House (http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/grill-and-barbecue-deluxe-gift-box); an autographed DVD “Gretchen Wilson Undressed” donated by Gretchen Wilson (http://www.gretchenwilson.com/); a jar of Concrete Bob’s homemade barbecue sauce; and, provided it breaks no laws or regulations, a small feature about you on our web site with a link to your site. More if and as we can. Stay tuned.
Second Prize: An autographed book donated by Michael Z. Williamson (http://www.michaelzwilliamson.com/); a basic spices gift box from The Spice House (http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/basic-spices-deluxe-gift-box-starter-set-of-spices); an autographed T-shirt (2xl) donated by Gretchen Wilson (http://www.gretchenwilson.com/ ); a jar of Concrete Bob’s homemade barbecue sauce; and, more if and as we can. Stay tuned.
Third Prize: A small barbecue gift box from The Spice House (http:// www.thespicehouse.com/spices/grill-and-barbecue-gift-box); an autographed camo ball cap donated by Gretchen Wilson (http://www.gretchenwilson.com/); a jar of Concrete Bob’s homemade barbecue sauce; and, more if and as we can. Stay tuned.
Judging the event will be three very qualified individuals:
Chris Muir, who's Day-by-Day comic strip (http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/) is read world-wide everyday. Chris was born in Syracuse, New York, but makes his home in Florida not far from the coast. He cites Gary Larson and Garry Trudeau as influences on his work, and before Day-by-Day did a single panel comic, Altered States, for five years at Florida Today. His background is in industrial design.
Damon Shackelford, who's military strip Delta Bravo Sierra (http://www.deltabravosierra.us/) is fast rising in readership in and out of the military. Damon describes himself as a former Officer Candidate in the United States Army, branched Field Artillery, a graduate of the Disney Management School, a former restaurant owner, and now a civilian again. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree concentrating on both drawing and painting and has been producing fine art, illustration, and graphic design for more than twenty years.
John Cox, artist and purveyor of fine editorial artwork (http://www.johncoxart.com/). John John became fascinated with art at an early age through the classic illustrations in books and magazines. Illustrators such as N. C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, and most especially Tom Lovell forged his interest in art. Today, his paintings are represented in fine art galleries and museums throughout the United States. John's works are also part of numerous private, public, and corporate collections both here and internationally. (Remember Cox and Forkum? That John Cox.)
Of course, there are some rules and regulations that go with any contest:
1. Any individual can submit up to three designs. Each submission must include the name of the artist, name of the agent (if applicable), phone number, e-mail, and address. If you leave off the contact information, we can’t tell you if you’ve won…
2. Initial submissions can be made as a JPEG or similar file, but the winner will have to submit their artwork as an EPS vector file (Illustrator or similar), with fonts (if any) provided as outlines.
3. By submitting artwork to the contest, the person submitting same confirms that they are the creator or have the permission of the creator to make said submission; that non-exclusive rights to the artwork are given to Cooking with the Troops Inc. and its agents; that as part of that Cooking with the Troops Inc. and its agents have the right to print that artwork in any medium or format for any and all purposes; to display said artwork in any medium or manner; and, to do so with out compensation or other indirect payment.
Plain English Translation: This means we can post them to the web to display, to ask for votes, or whatever is needed; print and hang them on the wall; or, use them in a book, brochure, or whatever (think history book as one example) with the only compensation being whatever publicity it brings you. You can use it too, on your site, clip book, etc.
4. The artwork chosen becomes the property of Cooking with the Troops Inc. The artist will retain the right to use the logo/artwork on their site or in print materials as an example of their work. The original artwork is subject to modification, alteration, or other adjustments as needed now or in the future.
5. All prizes listed are subject to substitution, alteration, replacement, or other action based on availability and other factors outside our immediate control without additional recompense or restitution on the part of Cooking with the Wounded Inc.
Plain English Translation: If someone has promised something as a prize and they don’t deliver, we will substitute something in for that prize and you aren’t allowed to sue us. If a substitution is needed, we will work with you to come up with something good, and we hope to have everything in hand when offered. After all, none of us particularly enjoys buying a pig in a poke.
6. We note for the record that we are not yet a 501(c)(3) entity, and that while we anticipate no problems with obtaining same, the IRS could rule against us. If we become a 501(c)(3) entity as planned, your submission may qualify as a donation – but you need to check with your accountant or other tax professional on that and on fair value and related considerations.
7. Cooking with the Troops Inc. and its agents assumes no liability or responsibility for any real or claimed losses, hardship, or other impact to the submitter; nor does Cooking with the Troops or its agents assume any liability for copyright or other claims, and all such responsibility and liability rests with the person submitting the artwork.
Plain English Translation: We are accepting the submission in good faith.
We are not responsible for any costs, fees, or other impacts you incur as a result of your submission; and, if you submit something that infringes on copyright or other legal protection of another person or party, all costs and liability for that infringement rest with you .
Please submit via e-mail to artcontest@cwtt.org. Submission indicates acceptance of all terms and conditions, and the ruling of the judges is final. All submissions must be received by noon Eastern time 25 June 2010 in order to be considered.
--Chuck
Friday, May 21, 2010
AZ odds and ends
I would have just retweeted this but I would have had to edit it to get it down to 140 so:
I don't know about you, but unless Sonora is a bird watching hot spot, that's kinda creepy.
Also, via KTAR: Brewer cartoon making rounds on Internet
Cafe Press items available here.
Also, reading is good for you:
And for those with no time to read, you can get an audio version of the bill being read to you for your iPod here.
~~Code Monkey
@RealSheriffJoe: I want the public to call 1-800-4SONORA & demand to know the meaning of this ad that was in the AZ Republic today http://twitpic.com/1ptueq
I don't know about you, but unless Sonora is a bird watching hot spot, that's kinda creepy.
Also, via KTAR: Brewer cartoon making rounds on Internet
Cafe Press items available here.
Also, reading is good for you:
And for those with no time to read, you can get an audio version of the bill being read to you for your iPod here.
~~Code Monkey
Thursday, May 20, 2010
More about Arizona
For starters, I heard that Cuba thinks we're all a bunch of racist haters here in AZ because of 1070. I'm crushed, I tell ya. I don't know which makes me sadder, them or Berkeley. /sarc
Secondly, play along with me for a second if you will:
One of the things I hear most from opponents of Arizona's Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (aka 1070 because SOLESNW is a very difficult-to-pronounce acronym without someone thinking you sneezed) is that we need "comprehensive immigration reform." From everything I've read, they usually want a "path to citizenship" for people here illegally as part of said reform.
Let's say there is a comprehensive immigration reform plan enacted. Let's say it involves those people who came here illegally paying back taxes and a fine, going to the back of the line for citizenship, learning English, and passing a background check.
Let's not even get into debating the merits of comprehensive immigration reform. Let's just pretend that it's passed and in process for the sake of argument.
My guess is that there will be some people who don't have the money and there will also be some people who can't pass a background check.
Does anyone really think that the federal government is going to suddenly get the urge to enforce the laws on the books and deal with the people who chose not to go for the amnesty plan for whatever reason?
I think the biggest reason 71% of likely voters in Arizona support 1070 is because of the erosion of trust in Washington. The federal government has similar laws but they don't enforce them. They complain about our law, but they haven't read it. They act like we're morons (or racist haters) for wanting people to be held accountable for their actions, but they rarely are held accountable for their own. Washington is so out of touch with the average American that some of us can't trust them to do the job we hired (elected) them to do.
So now we're going to do it ourselves.
Official State Bird of Arizona graphic compliments of Exurban League. (Is that on a t-shirt yet?)
~~Code Monkey
Secondly, play along with me for a second if you will:
One of the things I hear most from opponents of Arizona's Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (aka 1070 because SOLESNW is a very difficult-to-pronounce acronym without someone thinking you sneezed) is that we need "comprehensive immigration reform." From everything I've read, they usually want a "path to citizenship" for people here illegally as part of said reform.
Let's say there is a comprehensive immigration reform plan enacted. Let's say it involves those people who came here illegally paying back taxes and a fine, going to the back of the line for citizenship, learning English, and passing a background check.
Let's not even get into debating the merits of comprehensive immigration reform. Let's just pretend that it's passed and in process for the sake of argument.
My guess is that there will be some people who don't have the money and there will also be some people who can't pass a background check.
Does anyone really think that the federal government is going to suddenly get the urge to enforce the laws on the books and deal with the people who chose not to go for the amnesty plan for whatever reason?
I think the biggest reason 71% of likely voters in Arizona support 1070 is because of the erosion of trust in Washington. The federal government has similar laws but they don't enforce them. They complain about our law, but they haven't read it. They act like we're morons (or racist haters) for wanting people to be held accountable for their actions, but they rarely are held accountable for their own. Washington is so out of touch with the average American that some of us can't trust them to do the job we hired (elected) them to do.
So now we're going to do it ourselves.
Official State Bird of Arizona graphic compliments of Exurban League. (Is that on a t-shirt yet?)
~~Code Monkey
Monday, May 17, 2010
The day the music died
I have a varied, and eclectic taste in music. I can (and have) enjoyed Rodney Carrington, Pachelbel, the Lightning Seeds, Gregorian Chant, and NWA all on one CD. It isn't necessarily the music, or the message, and as in the video I posted some days ago, many widely differing songs do follow the same arrangement. Regardless of the music, (and I do take exception to most top 40 music--90% is crap, the rest is just noise) I can recognize virtuoso performances in any genre.Ronnie James Dio, a singer with the bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, whose powerful, semioperatic vocal style and attachment to demonic imagery made him one of the best-loved figures in classic heavy metal, died on Sunday morning, according to an announcement on his Web site by his wife, Wendy. He was 67.
No cause was given in the announcement, but Mr. Dio had been suffering from stomach cancer, and recently his band Heaven and Hell canceled its summer tour because of his health…
About as bad-ass as my daughter's My Little Pony
or
His *music* isn't the only thing about him that sucks ass
Dave Mustaine would have been an awesome front man for Metallica, and in a weird twist of fate, his heroin addiction led to his expulsion from the band, but gave us Megadeth, and yet another harvest of interesting album art.
All of them, compared to an original in the field, are poor players. Although the Apollo missions took us to the moon, it was the Gemini and Mercury missions, and pioneering adventurers, seemingly made of sterner stuff, with the right stuff, that got us there. DIO, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath--Pioneers in a Genre of music so far removed from the glitz, glam, and glitter of the tragedy that was Disco. Rock music is music of revolution. It is music that accompanies all the good scenes in war movies. It is the music that destroyed the Panamanian dictatorship of Pineappleface Noriega. It is the music that scares the bejeesus out of muslim fanatics, especially when played at high volume (the way it was meant to be played.) Some "musicians" would petition the government to stop using their "music" for torture, guys like Ronnie James Dio would be the kind of guy to ask if there was any particular songs they'd want an extended version to play. This was the guy who popularized "throwing goats" holding up the hand, pointer and pinky extended into devils horns, at rock concerts. Not iconic or anything, that.
Here's Dio's Holy Diver. There's worse ways to spend 5:55 of your day. Turn it up. If it's too loud, etc.
--Chuck
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sick of it
I'm getting to the point where I can't read the news anymore. I look at headlines on Twitter and I don't want to click because it just makes me crazy:
Immigration activists protest AZ law, Napolitano at ceremony
F16s intercept ultralight aircraft near Mexican border in AZ
MCSO: Dozens arrested after cockfighting event raided
Border Patrol seizes 633 lbs. of pot in Arizona desert
Family of slain Hispanic man blames Arizona's immigration law
Police find 7 bodies near US-Mexico border
UN rights experts criticize Arizona's immigration law
L.A. approves Arizona boycott over immigration law
3 Salvadoran children rescued, held hostage in Phoenix area (If you click on no other link, click on this one. It's an AP article about how the three kids were held hostage by coyotes who smuggled them in and then demanded more money from their parents after the kids had been brought into the US. That's what they do. They leave the people they smuggled into the US in houses with no AC, plumbing, phones, shoes. [The AC matters when it's the middle of the desert.] They demand more money and people have been beaten, raped, and died in those drop houses. This is happening in my backyard.)
And now the Feds are apologizing to China?
You win.
~~Code Monkey
Immigration activists protest AZ law, Napolitano at ceremony
F16s intercept ultralight aircraft near Mexican border in AZ
MCSO: Dozens arrested after cockfighting event raided
Border Patrol seizes 633 lbs. of pot in Arizona desert
Family of slain Hispanic man blames Arizona's immigration law
Police find 7 bodies near US-Mexico border
UN rights experts criticize Arizona's immigration law
L.A. approves Arizona boycott over immigration law
3 Salvadoran children rescued, held hostage in Phoenix area (If you click on no other link, click on this one. It's an AP article about how the three kids were held hostage by coyotes who smuggled them in and then demanded more money from their parents after the kids had been brought into the US. That's what they do. They leave the people they smuggled into the US in houses with no AC, plumbing, phones, shoes. [The AC matters when it's the middle of the desert.] They demand more money and people have been beaten, raped, and died in those drop houses. This is happening in my backyard.)
And now the Feds are apologizing to China?
[Assistant Secretary of State Michael] Posner said in addition to talks on freedom of religion and expression, labor rights and rule of law, officials also discussed Chinese complaints about problems with U.S. human rights, which have included crime, poverty, homelessness and racial discrimination.Fine, I'm a racist hater. I'm going to go watch American Idol and be like all the other lemmings in America who can't be bothered. When you care, it makes you crazy, and I don't have a lot of sanity left to spare.
He said U.S. officials did not whitewash the American record and in fact raised on its [sic] own a new immigration law in Arizona that requires police to ask about a person's immigration status if there is suspicion the person is in the country illegally.
You win.
~~Code Monkey
Thursday, May 13, 2010
"The people that once bestowed commands,consulships, legions, and all else, now meddle no more and longs eagerly for just two things — bread and circuses." Juvenal, 55-127 A.D.
During the decline of the Roman Empire, whenever the great unwashed citizenry became unhappy, the Caesar would bestow upon them gifts of free entertainment (gladiators) and free bread. These were, for a time, quite effective at keeping the population's mind off of politics, and the general dimming of the great light of civilization that was ancient Rome. Happy to be entertained, and happier still to eat freely from the government trough, the people of Rome were distracted while the empire slowly collapsed beneath them.
Recently, Blackfive, et. al., have issued a public proclamation supporting the careful, measured adaptation of Staff of the Armed Forces. Those recommendations will not be made until December, but milbloggers are asking Congress to adapt whatever the Chiefs recommend, in the manner they recommend it. The odds-on bet is that the Chiefs will NOT ask to Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. You can't repeal DADT, it is a policy, not a law. The law, US Code Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 37, Subsection 654, specifically states that: (emphasis added)
- (12) The worldwide deployment of United States military forces, the international responsibilities of the United States, and the potential for involvement of the armed forces in actual combat routinely make it necessary for members of the armed forces involuntarily to accept living conditions and working conditions that are often spartan, primitive, and characterized by forced intimacy with little or no privacy.
- (13) The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a longstanding element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service.
- (14) The armed forces must maintain personnel policies that exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create an unacceptable risk to the armed forces’ high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
- (15) The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
The Milblog community is split on this. of course, taken out of context by the monkeys in the Mainstream Media who spend all day banging their booger-hooks on their smith-coronas, the unintelligentsia will come out and proudly declare "Milbloggers support repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell!" Since they mentioned support and DADT in the same post, that must me the case, right? Fact is, what many have said is that "it appears to us the Chiefs of Staff are going to recommend changing the policy and repealing the law to implement the open service of homosexuals. If they recommend that, we urge that you take their advice, and IMPLEMENT IT THE WAY THEY SAY TO DO IT." In other words, "We can smell the way the stink is blowing. If the Advisor says "Yes, we can," please continue taking his advise on how to suck the egg. Don't immediately start dumping eggs on us and tell us to start sucking, let us learn how to suck the egg slowly, so we don't choke."
Personally, I agree with the law. Serving and living in very close confines with homosexuals would impact my morale and unit cohesion. It's just the way I'm wired. To quote the other side's view, it's not a lifestyle, it isn't a choice--it's how we're born. Maybe I wasn't born that way, but I was certainly raised that way. The same Judeo-Christian ethic that guides every other aspect of my approach to life guides this one, too. The same upbringing that taught me to love, honor, respect, serve, sacrifice, care, and taught me right from wrong really IS black and white, taught me that homosexuality is wrong. In my mind, in my being, it is wrong.
That ethic also taught me to hate the sin, love the sinner. I think that applies here. I don't have any problem, in normal, daily life, with homosexuality. A few of my peers won't watch certain TV shows because they portray homosexuality in a normal daily life. To me, that is extreme, but that is their choice. Blackfive once said, "if I were wounded, I wouldn't care if the medic dragging me off the battlefield was gay or not." And you know what? I fully agree with that. I wouldn't say, "No, I'll wait for the next available straight guy." In that respect, I didn't care when a female nurse put in, or removed, my catheter, or gave me a sponge bath. I wouldn't care if it had been a male.
Let me try to explain it like this: Do you support the idea of same sex public restrooms? What about same sex public showers at the gym? Why not? Maybe it's a remnant of our puritan founding. Maybe it's just the way I was raised, to have privacy, and modesty especially when less-than-clothed. Maybe it is completely acceptable to the civilian world for open homosexuality in all circumstances. The military is not the same thing as civilian society. Of course, there are homosexuals who've served honorably, although closeted. Of course, there are homosexuals serving now, although closeted. Their experience is anecdotal, not proof of concept. Because they didn't (couldn't) serve openly, the differences in how they were perceived, and the impacts of those perceptions if they'd served openly didn't exist.
So where do I stand? On this particular issue, of changing the DADT Policy, or Repealing the subsections of United States Law that deal with homosexual service:
I stand with Juvenal. We are fighting a multi-front, multi-theater war; the economy is in the toilet, unemployment is at 10%, the stock market is bipolar at best, the Nation is $13,000,000,000,000 in the red, and the Administration is giving us Bread and Circuses. There will come a time when visiting this idea of open homosexuality in the ranks has a place. That time, that place, is not here and now. There are far more important things for the United States Congress, and The Chiefs of Staff, to worry about than changing laws covering homosexuality in Uniform.
--Chuck
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tone Deaf
Phoenix May Lose 2012 Republican National ConventionThere's a reason I'm registered with NO party affiliation. They're all functional idiots.
PHOENIX - Phoenix is one of the finalists for hosting the Republican National Convention in 2012. We could learn as early as Wednesday whether Phoenix is chosen, but all indications show that Phoenix won't get it, and the immigration battle may be to blame.
Also, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has moved their convention from Phoenix to Vegas in protest.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. He dreamed of a day when people would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
But if Alpha Phi Alpha acknowledged that this bill made it illegal for cops to inquire about a person's legal status based on race (color of their skin), or inquire without having made a lawful stop, detention, or arrest (content of their character) already, it just wouldn't fit the narrative.
~~Code Monkey
Stand With Arizona
Local First Arizona
Monday, May 10, 2010
Illogical
"We have Republican legislators all over the country focused on Arizona particularly, saying we are concerned about this because the federal government is not doing anything," (Senate Majority Leader Harry) Reid said. "The two senators from Arizona won't work with us, it's illogical to hear the state of Arizona complaining about the federal government not doing anything and the two Republican senators from Arizona won't join with us to do anything." -sourceDear Senator Reid,
We can't even trust the federal government to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books (that look a whole lot like the evil 1070), so why should we expect that "reform" will be better?
We're not illogical, we're tired of broken promises and lies from people like you.
Sincerely,
An apparently illogical Code Monkey in AZ
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Double Whammy
Happy Mother's Day (or, for my Hawaiian friends,Hau`oli La Makuahine.)
This morning started pretty early for a Sunday, 8 AM. It started early because my 10 year old son had a surprise for me and the Mrs.: breakfast in bed. Scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee! He cooked them himself, and brought them in to us.
A great way to begin mother's day, and a great day to begin our 13th Anniversary. Following breakfast, our daughter presented Carren with a plant she'd been growing on her windowsill and a books she'd made in class. Our son followed up with a cookbook his class had made for moms.
As for the Mrs. and I, we opted to not make a big event of this anniversary. We both realize that gifts will equal more crap to move in a month, and our needs are met, so our anniversary gift to each other is a the simplest of things: each other.
Hau`oli la Ho'omana'o, babe.
--Chuck
This morning started pretty early for a Sunday, 8 AM. It started early because my 10 year old son had a surprise for me and the Mrs.: breakfast in bed. Scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee! He cooked them himself, and brought them in to us.
A great way to begin mother's day, and a great day to begin our 13th Anniversary. Following breakfast, our daughter presented Carren with a plant she'd been growing on her windowsill and a books she'd made in class. Our son followed up with a cookbook his class had made for moms.
As for the Mrs. and I, we opted to not make a big event of this anniversary. We both realize that gifts will equal more crap to move in a month, and our needs are met, so our anniversary gift to each other is a the simplest of things: each other.
Hau`oli la Ho'omana'o, babe.
--Chuck
Saturday, May 08, 2010
A letter to the mothers of our service members
There's a letter in the Opinion section at The Arizona Republic that is a "must read" if you're a military mom. Or if you know a military mom. Or if you just want another example of how cool the members of our military are.
Now if you'll excuse me, there's something in my eye...
~~Code Monkey
A letter to the mothers of our service membersRead the rest
by Luke Larson - May. 8, 2010 12:00 AM
Special for the Republic
On this Mother's Day, millions of heartfelt letters will be sent. When opened, they will reveal great appreciation for all of the sacrifices mothers endure for their children. There will be one set of mothers who desperately would love a letter, although their mailboxes may have the highest chance of remaining empty.
Not receiving the letter will be the least of these mothers' worries: They are the mothers of the 180,000 service members presently in Iraq and Afghanistan. This group of mothers would gladly forfeit the letter to know that their grown children are safe.
Of course, some in uniform overseas will get out timely well-penned notes to their mothers, but the majority are likely so focused on their mission that they will be late or miss the day entirely.
Now if you'll excuse me, there's something in my eye...
~~Code Monkey
Mothers—where would we be without them? Where would Soldiers’ Angels be without ours?
On this day that recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society, Soldiers’ Angels salutes its very own “Angel Mom,” Patti Patton-Bader.
Soldiers’ Angels was founded by Patti, a self-described “ordinary mother” of two American soldiers. Her son Brandon was deployed to Iraq in 2003 when he expressed concern that some soldiers in his unit did not receive any mail or support from home. Being a loving and caring mother, Patti decided not to allow a situation like that to continue. She quickly contacted a handful of friends and extended family and asked if they would support a soldier or two. Within just a few months, Soldiers' Angels went from a mother sending a few extra care packages and letters, to an Internet community with thousands of Angels worldwide, and became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2004.
This Angel salute extends to a large group of mothers across the globe: Gold Star Moms, Blue Star Moms, deployed moms, Blue Star Families, Angels who are moms, sponsors/donors who are moms and moms in combat hospitals around the world caring for our wounded heroes... the list goes on.
In the United States, Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (famous for writing the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"). Then Anna Jarvis held a ceremony in 1907 in Grafton, West Virginia, to honor her mother, who had died two years earlier. She then began a campaign to create a national holiday honoring mothers. Jarvis and her supporters wrote to ministers, businessmen and politicians, and were finally successful in their efforts. In 1914, President Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day.
Where would we be without moms? Certainly a lot of good things of this world would be missing!
Have a great Mother’s Day! You too, Mom: Hau'oli La Makuahine.(and Sandi H. Too!)
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=557&cntnt01returnid=15
On this day that recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society, Soldiers’ Angels salutes its very own “Angel Mom,” Patti Patton-Bader.
Soldiers’ Angels was founded by Patti, a self-described “ordinary mother” of two American soldiers. Her son Brandon was deployed to Iraq in 2003 when he expressed concern that some soldiers in his unit did not receive any mail or support from home. Being a loving and caring mother, Patti decided not to allow a situation like that to continue. She quickly contacted a handful of friends and extended family and asked if they would support a soldier or two. Within just a few months, Soldiers' Angels went from a mother sending a few extra care packages and letters, to an Internet community with thousands of Angels worldwide, and became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2004.
This Angel salute extends to a large group of mothers across the globe: Gold Star Moms, Blue Star Moms, deployed moms, Blue Star Families, Angels who are moms, sponsors/donors who are moms and moms in combat hospitals around the world caring for our wounded heroes... the list goes on.
In the United States, Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (famous for writing the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"). Then Anna Jarvis held a ceremony in 1907 in Grafton, West Virginia, to honor her mother, who had died two years earlier. She then began a campaign to create a national holiday honoring mothers. Jarvis and her supporters wrote to ministers, businessmen and politicians, and were finally successful in their efforts. In 1914, President Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day.
Where would we be without moms? Certainly a lot of good things of this world would be missing!
Have a great Mother’s Day! You too, Mom: Hau'oli La Makuahine.(and Sandi H. Too!)
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=557&cntnt01returnid=15
Executives from Chrysler Group LLC, Zac Brown Band and Soldiers' Angels stood wingtip-to-wingtip to announce the launch of Letters For Lyrics, a massive, nationwide effort to send one million letters to support our U.S. troops stationed across the world.
The project begins May 10 and in exchange for a letter, participants will receive a "Breaking Southern Ground" CD featuring three all-new songs from Zac Brown Band and songs from artists signed to the Southern Ground label. Visit your local Dodge or Ram Truck Dealer to write a card and get your CD, or join the Band at one of their concerts this summer.
As the organization that will deliver the 1,000,000 postcards to from Americans across the country to our servicemen and women around the world, Soldiers’ Angels is honored to be part of this exciting endeavor. For video of today’s event and for more info on the Letters for Lyrics program, including the latest official news, please visit Chrysler's Blog and ZacBrownBand.com.
Read the whole story--
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=556&cntnt01returnid=15
The project begins May 10 and in exchange for a letter, participants will receive a "Breaking Southern Ground" CD featuring three all-new songs from Zac Brown Band and songs from artists signed to the Southern Ground label. Visit your local Dodge or Ram Truck Dealer to write a card and get your CD, or join the Band at one of their concerts this summer.
As the organization that will deliver the 1,000,000 postcards to from Americans across the country to our servicemen and women around the world, Soldiers’ Angels is honored to be part of this exciting endeavor. For video of today’s event and for more info on the Letters for Lyrics program, including the latest official news, please visit Chrysler's Blog and ZacBrownBand.com.
Read the whole story--
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=556&cntnt01returnid=15
Friday, May 07, 2010
These people make our laws, and run for President:
Hat tip: Joe.
New York desperately needs more anti-terror funding and tighter gun control laws to guard against the next attempted attack on the city, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly told Congress Wednesday.
Bloomberg cited the handgun found in the van of Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahraz. He noted new federal stats showing that suspects on terrorism watchlists tried to buy weapons more than 1,200 times in the last six years and were successful 90% of the time.
Because, you know, more laws against guns would've kept him from parking a bomb on the street.
...
Even more remarkable, is this:
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) backed Bloomberg's plea for more Homeland anti-terror funding while breaking with the Obama administration on how the arrest of Shahraz was handled.
"I don't believe somebody like Shahraz should receive Miranda rights," Lieberman said. Terrorism suspects "ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Lieberman said. The person he's talking about is a US citizen. So much for innocent until proven guilty.
Ahem:
In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the term for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments explicitly limit the Federal government's powers, protecting the rights of the people by preventing Congress from abridging freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religious worship, and the right to bear arms, preventing unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination, and guaranteeing due process of law and a speedy public trial with an impartial jury. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," and reserves all powers not specifically granted to the Federal government to the citizenry or States. These amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three-fourths of the States.
You'd think a Jewish Senator would understand the horrors of a government that tries to strip people of their inalienable (un-removable) rights. I think Mr. Lieberman is speaking about naturalized U.S. Citizens, but I think the larger issue is most important: That ALL citizens, regardless of when they became citizens, naturalized or natural-born, deserve due process and equality under the law. If we try to strip a citizen of their rights before they are tried, what real rights do we have? If we strip them of their rights, then they are also stripped of legal representation based on a "charge." If you lose your rights when charges are brought against you, what good are rights, anyway?
If we strip citizenship from them, and then a military tribunal finds them innocent, then what? A military tribunal cannot grant, nor restore, citizenship. What of home-grown terror suspects? Would they, too, be stripped of citizenship and tried before a military court? Where would they end up if their sentence was less than life or execution, when their time was served? Try this one on and see if it sounds American in Ideology:
(Note: The following is for illustrative purposes only, and does not reflect, nor should it be taken in full or part without this disclaimer attached.)
"I don't believe somebody like Goldberg should receive Miranda rights," Herr Liebermann said. "Jewish suspects ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Herr Liebermann said.
Or, for an analogy from our own (US) history:
"I don't believe somebody like Martin Luther King Jr. should receive Miranda rights," Bubba Lieberman said. "Black suspects ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Bubba Lieberman said.
(Note: The previous is for illustrative purposes only, and does not reflect, nor should it be taken in full or part without this disclaimer attached.)
Now, if you found the previous two statements outrageous, all I did was replace a race or religion with a different noun.
Everyone deserves equal protection under the law, and equal treatment. Instead of a ridiculous idea that we could, or should, somehow strip citizenship before a trail is held, instead change the law so suspected terrorists are tried before a special court, with access and clearance to all information, and that terrorism suspects, and their counsel, shall be sequestered during the trial, and that all "collection methods" shall be heard by the judge alone. The only verdict that this court can issue is "innocent" or "guilty," (and no permutations of either) and the only sentece it can issue is "Freedom" or "Death." The United States Supreme court will give ample time--six months--for appealing the verdict, then it will be carried out. Methods for the execution will be equally simple: feet fed slowly into a chipper shredder; or suspended by the neck, slowly, and weights incrementally added to your feet until you suffocate. (When they pass out, we take them down, revive them, and feed them into the chipper shredder.) Their remains are then fed to pigs.
There. Nice, simple justice, punishments that are neither cruel (compared to the crime) nor unusual (compared to public perception of unusual). Courts with acceptable security and an appeals process. No laws broken, no rights violated. Treason and sedition are capital offenses, Terrorism is simply a violent form of both.
--Chuck
New York desperately needs more anti-terror funding and tighter gun control laws to guard against the next attempted attack on the city, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly told Congress Wednesday.
Bloomberg cited the handgun found in the van of Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahraz. He noted new federal stats showing that suspects on terrorism watchlists tried to buy weapons more than 1,200 times in the last six years and were successful 90% of the time.
Because, you know, more laws against guns would've kept him from parking a bomb on the street.
...
Even more remarkable, is this:
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) backed Bloomberg's plea for more Homeland anti-terror funding while breaking with the Obama administration on how the arrest of Shahraz was handled.
"I don't believe somebody like Shahraz should receive Miranda rights," Lieberman said. Terrorism suspects "ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Lieberman said. The person he's talking about is a US citizen. So much for innocent until proven guilty.
Ahem:
In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the term for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments explicitly limit the Federal government's powers, protecting the rights of the people by preventing Congress from abridging freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religious worship, and the right to bear arms, preventing unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and self-incrimination, and guaranteeing due process of law and a speedy public trial with an impartial jury. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," and reserves all powers not specifically granted to the Federal government to the citizenry or States. These amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three-fourths of the States.
You'd think a Jewish Senator would understand the horrors of a government that tries to strip people of their inalienable (un-removable) rights. I think Mr. Lieberman is speaking about naturalized U.S. Citizens, but I think the larger issue is most important: That ALL citizens, regardless of when they became citizens, naturalized or natural-born, deserve due process and equality under the law. If we try to strip a citizen of their rights before they are tried, what real rights do we have? If we strip them of their rights, then they are also stripped of legal representation based on a "charge." If you lose your rights when charges are brought against you, what good are rights, anyway?
If we strip citizenship from them, and then a military tribunal finds them innocent, then what? A military tribunal cannot grant, nor restore, citizenship. What of home-grown terror suspects? Would they, too, be stripped of citizenship and tried before a military court? Where would they end up if their sentence was less than life or execution, when their time was served? Try this one on and see if it sounds American in Ideology:
(Note: The following is for illustrative purposes only, and does not reflect, nor should it be taken in full or part without this disclaimer attached.)
"I don't believe somebody like Goldberg should receive Miranda rights," Herr Liebermann said. "Jewish suspects ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Herr Liebermann said.
Or, for an analogy from our own (US) history:
"I don't believe somebody like Martin Luther King Jr. should receive Miranda rights," Bubba Lieberman said. "Black suspects ought to be turned over to the military justice system" Bubba Lieberman said.
(Note: The previous is for illustrative purposes only, and does not reflect, nor should it be taken in full or part without this disclaimer attached.)
Now, if you found the previous two statements outrageous, all I did was replace a race or religion with a different noun.
Everyone deserves equal protection under the law, and equal treatment. Instead of a ridiculous idea that we could, or should, somehow strip citizenship before a trail is held, instead change the law so suspected terrorists are tried before a special court, with access and clearance to all information, and that terrorism suspects, and their counsel, shall be sequestered during the trial, and that all "collection methods" shall be heard by the judge alone. The only verdict that this court can issue is "innocent" or "guilty," (and no permutations of either) and the only sentece it can issue is "Freedom" or "Death." The United States Supreme court will give ample time--six months--for appealing the verdict, then it will be carried out. Methods for the execution will be equally simple: feet fed slowly into a chipper shredder; or suspended by the neck, slowly, and weights incrementally added to your feet until you suffocate. (When they pass out, we take them down, revive them, and feed them into the chipper shredder.) Their remains are then fed to pigs.
There. Nice, simple justice, punishments that are neither cruel (compared to the crime) nor unusual (compared to public perception of unusual). Courts with acceptable security and an appeals process. No laws broken, no rights violated. Treason and sedition are capital offenses, Terrorism is simply a violent form of both.
--Chuck
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Arizona
I've been torn about blogging much about the Arizona thing here since this is a milblog. Going on about Shakira, Al Sharpton, and Suns (excuse me) Los Suns uniforms didn't really seem to fit.
But then today I listened to audio of Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll's 911 call after he had been shot in the desert by suspected illegal immigrants when he was tracking drug smugglers. When he said, "Tell my wife I love her" things changed.
Politicians are usually too worried about whether they're going to get reelected to take on "tough issues" in an election year. Coyotes and drug runners don't give a rat's patootie if it's an election year.
When Janet Napolitano was our Governor, she asked to be reimbursed by the feds for the cost of incarcerating foreign nationals. Now she's getting the same requests from our current Governor, Jan Brewer. Napolitano complained about getting ignored when she was Governor. Now she's doing the same thing to Brewer.
And please don't think I'm so naive that I don't wonder if Brewer would have signed 1070 if she wasn't running for reelection.
Meanwhile, a Sheriff's Deputy got shot in the desert. He was making an effort to keep the people who shot him from finding him and coming back and making things a whole lot worse. And he told the 911 dispatcher to tell his wife he loves her. There are real human beings on both sides of this story, even if most of the MSM only tells stories of one side. These are people with families and hopes and dreams who just want to make it home each night to eat dinner with the ones they love and sleep peaceably in their beds. Even the sheepdogs have to sleep sometimes.
I joked with a friend of mine who has been training for deployment to Iraq that he's just going to wind up on the border a few hours south of his home. But the truth is if the situation escalates he just might. Today the police are fighting the battle to stem the flow of drugs and human smugglers over our border. Our soldiers have been called there before...
So maybe it is worthy of being noted on a milblog.
~~Code Monkey
PS Deputy Louie Puroll is recovering and the audio can be heard here.
But then today I listened to audio of Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll's 911 call after he had been shot in the desert by suspected illegal immigrants when he was tracking drug smugglers. When he said, "Tell my wife I love her" things changed.
Politicians are usually too worried about whether they're going to get reelected to take on "tough issues" in an election year. Coyotes and drug runners don't give a rat's patootie if it's an election year.
When Janet Napolitano was our Governor, she asked to be reimbursed by the feds for the cost of incarcerating foreign nationals. Now she's getting the same requests from our current Governor, Jan Brewer. Napolitano complained about getting ignored when she was Governor. Now she's doing the same thing to Brewer.
And please don't think I'm so naive that I don't wonder if Brewer would have signed 1070 if she wasn't running for reelection.
Meanwhile, a Sheriff's Deputy got shot in the desert. He was making an effort to keep the people who shot him from finding him and coming back and making things a whole lot worse. And he told the 911 dispatcher to tell his wife he loves her. There are real human beings on both sides of this story, even if most of the MSM only tells stories of one side. These are people with families and hopes and dreams who just want to make it home each night to eat dinner with the ones they love and sleep peaceably in their beds. Even the sheepdogs have to sleep sometimes.
I joked with a friend of mine who has been training for deployment to Iraq that he's just going to wind up on the border a few hours south of his home. But the truth is if the situation escalates he just might. Today the police are fighting the battle to stem the flow of drugs and human smugglers over our border. Our soldiers have been called there before...
So maybe it is worthy of being noted on a milblog.
~~Code Monkey
PS Deputy Louie Puroll is recovering and the audio can be heard here.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Founder's Notes
 Dear Angels, I am so excited to see the spirit of loving creativity that so many people are showing in the midst of some of the negativity in this world. People are using their interests and skills and passions to support the troops in amazing ways. Remember hope, faith and courage when you look at these fantastic stories?and think about how you can answer the call!
|
Hundreds of people who believe in and support the troops gathered for the Face of America bike ride last weekend in a show of hope for recovery. To see wounded heroes and civilians alike overcoming a challenge of 110 miles in two days was inspiring beyond description. Read the story to see all these amazing people in action! [
Troy has spent his first week on the road, completing over 100 of a courageous 7,000 miles hiking across the country. From Day of the Deployed efforts to parachute jumps by a Vietnam veteran, he has activities planned all over the place. There are so many ways to get involved by cheering him on, fundraising, or just raising the visibility of the veterans and military families he is supporting. Please visit drumhike.com to see how you can get involved! [
The empty space popping up on shelves at Soldiers' Angels warehouses is becoming alarming. We have faith that you can help us restock our shelves with items to support America?s deployed, wounded and veterans! From soup to nuts and everything in between, we need your help. Please spread the word - tell everyone you know! This is a great project for schools, churches, community organizations, senior citizen centers, businesses, colleges, radio and TV stations, and newspapers. [
For years, nonprofit GASP has filled a very special gap in support for America?s deployed heroes?pet care. Single men and women in the military rely on their pets for love, joy and stress relief when they are home from their demanding and dangerous jobs. When a single servicemember is deployed, there is sometimes no one who can take care of that special pet. GASP has stepped up to offer ?foster? families for pets of deployed heroes, allowing service members to focus on their mission, secure in the knowledge their beloved pet is safe and happy.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Four Chords
This is made of win.
Now some one go find, and send me (in mp3 format) all of the songs played, in order. It'd be a better mix than anything listed by K-tel.
Hat tip, Maetenloch, via Ace
--Chuck
Let Our Troops Know You Care!
Buy a Cup of Joe for a Soldier Serving Far From Home And Have It Delivered With Your Own Personal Note of Encouragement...
In our travels to see the Troops, many share with us their sense of loneliness, isolation and feelings of being forgotten. Their commanders tell us that some Soldiers never receive mail from home. In response, Green Beans Coffee has launched Cup of Joe For A Joe to let anyone, anywhere in the world, say thanks to our troops through the simple act of buying a cup of coffee and having it delivered along with their own personal note of encouragement into the hands of a deployed Soldier.
Please join Green Beans in honoring our Troops. It only takes a few moments plus the spare change in your pocket to say thanks. Simply choose a purchase of any amount and we'll do the rest!
Go here to start.
--Chuck
Go here to start.
--Chuck
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--DISCLAIMER--
Public Notice: This is a free speech website devoted to the expression of controversial ideas. The rhetoric and concepts represented herein may be inappropriate for ignorant persons or immature individuals, so discretion may be warranted ... hence this precaution. The reader entering this website, and encountering the contents of these web pages, is wholly responsible for his well being, and by such ingress, agrees to hold the author and publisher harmless. Any acquired insight or accrued perceptivity is the sole responsibility of the nescient explorer who ventures forth into this conventicle, as are any objections or frustrations, confusions or misinterpretations realized herein.
Further warning: Caveat Lector: Vulgar, profane, and obscene dysphemisms, which have been used for every part of speech and rhetorical form, have not been Bowdlerized nor expurgated from this site, to the undoubted dismay of purists and the evident enrichment of our mother-tongue; so immature or hypersensitive persons should refrain from perusing this indubitably eclectic and contingently egregious compendium. Swearing is usually either juvenile or crass, but military personnel admire talent and respect skill, so the ability to create imaginative expletives and to craft uncommon scurrility is often appreciated. This site may, from time to time, publish the works or words of others that contain, or use such language.
Unless otherwise noted, all material published herein reserves copyright to the author, and may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced, for any reason, without permission.
The AUTHOR is currently under the care of mental health and other medical professionals, currently takes prescribed pain-management and psychotropic medications, and is under treatment for both Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress. So take anything written as either the medicated ramblings of a mad man, or as the official policy and position of the United States Army. You will be wrong in both cases.
These are my own poorly arranged thoughts. They usually come to me during periods of when I can’t sleep and when under great stress. They do not reflect the official or unofficial policies of any government agency. I refuse to acknowledge them as my own. This site has quite possibly been hacked, and therefore I am unable to be held responsible for anything that may (or may not) appear here. So There. I'm going back to putting on my aluminum foil helmet to block the mind control beams.
Public Notice: This is a free speech website devoted to the expression of controversial ideas. The rhetoric and concepts represented herein may be inappropriate for ignorant persons or immature individuals, so discretion may be warranted ... hence this precaution. The reader entering this website, and encountering the contents of these web pages, is wholly responsible for his well being, and by such ingress, agrees to hold the author and publisher harmless. Any acquired insight or accrued perceptivity is the sole responsibility of the nescient explorer who ventures forth into this conventicle, as are any objections or frustrations, confusions or misinterpretations realized herein.
Further warning: Caveat Lector: Vulgar, profane, and obscene dysphemisms, which have been used for every part of speech and rhetorical form, have not been Bowdlerized nor expurgated from this site, to the undoubted dismay of purists and the evident enrichment of our mother-tongue; so immature or hypersensitive persons should refrain from perusing this indubitably eclectic and contingently egregious compendium. Swearing is usually either juvenile or crass, but military personnel admire talent and respect skill, so the ability to create imaginative expletives and to craft uncommon scurrility is often appreciated. This site may, from time to time, publish the works or words of others that contain, or use such language.
Unless otherwise noted, all material published herein reserves copyright to the author, and may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced, for any reason, without permission.
The AUTHOR is currently under the care of mental health and other medical professionals, currently takes prescribed pain-management and psychotropic medications, and is under treatment for both Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress. So take anything written as either the medicated ramblings of a mad man, or as the official policy and position of the United States Army. You will be wrong in both cases.
These are my own poorly arranged thoughts. They usually come to me during periods of when I can’t sleep and when under great stress. They do not reflect the official or unofficial policies of any government agency. I refuse to acknowledge them as my own. This site has quite possibly been hacked, and therefore I am unable to be held responsible for anything that may (or may not) appear here. So There. I'm going back to putting on my aluminum foil helmet to block the mind control beams.
You said my writing was sloppy and I made mistakes.
But you certainly didn't argue any of the points I made. Why is that? Is that your own intellectual (I'd say journalistic, but we know you aren't a journalist) sloppiness?
I republished (in that post) comments YOU made, then simply added what I thought were the errors you made in judgment. Maybe any mistakes I made were due to the fact that I left the better part of my hands in Iraq, and my typing is admittedly sloppy. The logic, however, isn't. You need to take a break--a real break--and unplug.
Maybe the milblogging community isn't enough of a wake-up call for you. Maybe charities offering to send you on a vacation so you can refocus, because they want you to be able to continue doing good work, isn't enough for you. Maybe, when the donation well runs dry, you'll get the picture.
I do think you are a talented photographer. I also think that many of the professional soldiers you excoriate deserve a much greater benefit of the doubt then you give them. I don't think you can begin to understand the levels of understanding and decision making abilities of the Generals you have met, simply because you left the uniformed world at such a low rank. Had you stayed in longer,you would likely have a greater respect for them, rather than preaching "those idiots at higher" to the SPC-4 mafia. I also believe that you really don't understand how to be polite and respectful, and still get your point across.
You wrote incredibly mean and unsubstantiated things about people who wear the uniform and work very damn hard to do their jobs. You refused to offer up your "proof" of their wrongdoing. You accused them of dumping your embed as a vendetta, then posted the letter they sent you explaining why your embed was ended as proof that you weren't dis-embedded for any reason other than there were other people waiting to embed.
I wonder when you stopped giving soldiers the benefit of the doubt that they were doing their best at a very hard job. What rank is the cutoff? You claim General McChrystal is incompetent, but how much time have you spent with him, and how well do you understand what he is A) tasked with doing and B) how he is trying to do that and C) how much "top cover" he gets, and D) the challenges he faces intrying to fight this war. You wrote that you no longer trust him, but never explained why. Were you trying to be misleading, or just being sloppy? My sloppiness and misleading writing was published, right alongside your writing, in "The Blogs of War." Why would you ever allow your name to appear in a book with such nefarious kooks? If you want to talk sloppy/lazy, I'll ask Maryann to write a guest post about her dealings with you.
Do you see what I've done here? I've tried to explain what I wrote, and why I wrote it. I've tried to defend my statements. I've tried to explain why I made the statements that i made. This might be something you want to do, rather than just casting a wide net, then walking away.
If you would like me to take down the picture I posted, I will do so. All you have to do is ask.
Finally, I am left to wonder, do you really support the troops, or just support the troops who support Mike Yon?
--Chuck
//Update://
MY asked for my apology. Here it is:
Mike,
I'm sorry you were *only* dis-embedded twice, not four times, however I clearly referenced (and linked) that count from Uncle Jimbo.
I'm sorry you were told to leave Afghanistan, because other embeds were waiting.
I'm sorry you continually attack our leaders in that fight, the doctrine we're using, and are trying to illustrate hopelessness and failure.
I'm sorry you chose to attack the PAO staff, calling those service members "crazy monkeys" while they were serving their nation, sacrificing, for you and all Americans.
I'm sorry you never realized that they are the ones who control how long your embed will last.
I'm sorry you've opted out of the milblogging community that has supported you from the beginning.
I'm sorry you can't understand that people were actually concerned for you, and were trying to tell you that you needed to readjust your perspective.
I'm sorry that none of your readers have been able to find fault with my arguments, but have instead chosen to make ad hominem and personal attacks.
I'm not sorry that I've asked people in the past to donate to keep you embedded.
I'm not sorry that I wrote what I believed to be a post illustrating to you and others that you were wandering off the reservation, by using your own comments and posts.
I'm not sorry that I tried to contact you privately before I publicly wrote anything, but I am sorry that I never heard anything from you.
Finally, I'm sorry I published your picture and called it an "iconic" picture of the Iraq War. I will rectify that, ASAP.