Great ceremony, grand tour of the Capitol with Representative Glenn G.T Thompson, (R), PA. He took us around the Capitol building, all the non-tour spots, gave us HOURS of his time and a history lesson too. Was a VERY gracious host.
Carren looked AMAZING this morning.
Thanks to all who voted and nominated my better half.
Now for an early supper, then off to the Kennedy Center to catch the National Symphony.
--Chuck

Army Wife Carren Ziegenfuss Announced as the Winner of Military.com and CinCHouse.com's Spouse of the Year Award 2010

MCLEAN, Va., Sep 28, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Military Advantage, Inc. announced the winner of Military.com and CinCHouse.com's Spouse of the Year Award 2010 today.

Army veteran and military wife Carren Ziegenfuss was chosen after hundreds of nominations were submitted to the CinCHouse.com website. Submitted by her husband, Major Chuck Ziegenfuss and several friends, Carren was chosen through community voting on the site and by a panel of expert judges.

A veteran Army wife who has experienced three deployments, Carren's husband was wounded in 2005. During his recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Carren started an outreach group for families of Wounded Warriors through Soldier's Angels (http://www.soldiersangels.org) a non-profit organization dedicated to providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families. In addition, Carren has been an active volunteer with Boys and Girls Scouts, volunteered as a PTSD counselor and currently works as a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) for Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter, HI.

For the rest of the story, go here.

You may have read some of Stilton Jarlsberg's comics over at hopenchange.  There, he excoriates the stupidity of the evil party, and its acolytes.

Like this:

But I just saw that he's been running another comic for a while called Johnny Optimism.  From the author:  Johnny Optimism is a darkly comic look at a boy who tries to look on the bright side because "things could always get worse." And they do get worse, time after time.

Johnny interacts with a highly unusual collection of medical professionals, bureaucrats, mean kids, fellow sufferers, a manic helper monkey and more - getting real comfort only from his faithful dog, Lance.

Together they're trying to cope with Life...just like the rest of us.

I secretly think he's been following me.... (click to enlargify)













--Chuck

Just in case some of you didn't know this.
People need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican.Facts are Facts.  Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION, was removed.

Franklin Roosevelt, (Six worst letters in American History are FDR and TVA) a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary, (No longer Voluntary)
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program, (Now 7.65% on the first $90,000)
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year, (No longer tax deductible)
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and, Under Johnson (ack, spit) the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent.
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.  (Under Clinton and  Gore it went up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed)

Since many have paid into FICA for years and are receiving a Social Security check every month --and then finding that they are getting taxed on 85% of the money they paid to the Federal government to 'put away' -- you may be interested in the following:
 
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
 
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore (ManBearPig) casting the'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That's right!  Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.

Immigrants move into this country, and at age 65, begin to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they might have never paid a dime into it!

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
--Chuck

Okay, let's get something straight: I can't stand mike yon. He's an arrogant, pompous ass.

However, he has a new book out, and is donating $5 of every book sold to Soldiers Angels. This has the potential to provide up to $50,000 to us in a time when donations are very scarce. The lack of donations has something to do with the economy, but I'm sure that once healthcare is universal, the porkulus takes full effect, the Bush tax cuts disappear and unemployment stops climbing, we'll all have so much money left that it will be easy to donate.


Anyway, if you are in need of something to level your coffee table, and want to also donate $5 to a great cause (Soldier's Angels, not mike yon's ego) go ahead and purchase this book.

http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=664&cntnt01returnid=15


Or, if you don't want to spend $50 on something just to give SA $5, there are much easier ways to donate that $5: Just Text "Soldiers" to 20222 to Donate $5.


Yep, it's that easy. Five digits on your phone to give five bucks (fully tax deductible) to a GREAT cause. (You can also donate the full $50 cost of the book.) Or, if you are a federal employee, (including the military) you can elect to donate through the combined federal campaign (CFC). Soldiers' Angels CFC number is #25131. It's what I do, and since the money comes out before I ever see it, I don't miss it, and I can still claim it on my taxes.

Come to think of it, I am going to double my donation amount this year through CFC.

For those of you not "lucky" enough to work for the gummint, there are dozens of ways you can donate (many of which will surprise you.)  You can see them all here:  http://soldiersangels.org/donate.html

Also, all proceeds from my cafepress store, ad revenue (seriously, just click the links at the top left of the blog, I get paid if you visit, and also if you buy) go to soldier's angels.  As do 20% of sales of select Ranger Up! shirts.  And all proceeds from the fantastic book, Blogs of War:  Front-Line dispatches from Soldiers (not Photographer wanna-be's) in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This book features the writings of many of the early great milbloggers, and me too! By Matt Burden (aka Blackfive.) Also available for the kindle.


And what does your money do?
It helps people like this:

--Chuck

1. You've ever been fined for riding with your head sticking out your car's sun roof. (Yep.)

2. Your wife complains because the kitchen junk drawer is full of MILES keys and heater parts. (Yep.)

3. You giggle when your hunting buddies talk about the awesome stopping power of the . 308 Winchester. (Yep.)

4. You named your son Roger. (Nope--Creighton. As in Abrams.)

5. You drive a '59 Caddy because you like "the feel of a lot of American iron. "

6. You announce "On the way!" before you break wind. (Yep.)

7. Instead of meeting you at the door with a cold beer after work, your wife meets you with a can of degreaser and orders to strip before you touch the furniture. (Yep.)

8. After returning from the field it takes you a while to get used to food without the "diesel smoked" flavor. (Yep.)

9. After sex you make your wife wipe down the breech.

10. When you go duck hunting you give your dog the command "ducks! left duck!"

11. You've ever refered to a infantryman as a crunchie. (Yep.)

12. When buying a new car you make the salesman lay out the BII. (Yep.)

13. During intercourse you announce "On the way. " (Yep.)

14. You refer to General Patton as Him. (Yep.)

15. You refer to the Gulf War as "The big one of 91. "

16. You think of ground troops as a speed bump.

17. You think bad sex may just be a boresight problem.

18. You consider a a middle east deployment as hard as a sand table exercise. (Yep.)

19. You consider a hasty defense just aiming the gun. (Yep.)

20. When working on your car you fill out a DA 5988e.

21. A pillow is nice, but a CVC is better. (Yep.)

22. You think 19Kilo should be 19Sweep. (Yep.)

23. You wish your POV had Tac Idle. (Yep.)

24. You get mad when NOMEX is refered to as the tanker suit. (Yep.)

25. You've ever driven to the neighbor's house instead of walking. (Yep.)

26. You volunteer to fuel up a car. (Yep.)

27. You have a BBQ and invite all three of your friends. (Yep.)

28. You rank monster trucks between a Bradley and a M1 tank. (Yep.)

29. You carry a tanker bar in your POV. (Yep.)

30. You think hot spots are targets, not clubs. (Yep.)

31. You wish Suburbans weren't so expensive. (Yep.)

32. Before your son/daughter can use your car they must complete a request for dispatch. (Yep.)

33. You think PT means Persona Training. (Yep.)

34. You always set 4 places at the dinner table. (Yep.)

35. You don't buy gas for your car, instead you "top off." (Yep.)

36. Your kids call the sandbox "NTC". (Yep.)

37. Your older kids call the youngest one "Cherry".

38. When your extended family gets together you call them "Slice Elements". (Yep.)

39. Your dog's name is Sabot.

--Chuck

iChuck

UPDATE - Yup, it's descended into a caption contest in the comments!  ~~Code Monkey


So what we have here is the electrode, inserted in my spine. It is then fed into my spine, up into the base of my neck.  The silver box on the left is the device that emits the electrical pulse. The gray wire going over my shoulder leads to the battery pack worn on the waist.  (which will be replaced by a battery pack implanted beneath the skin.)













From the front, everything plugs in to the battery pack on my waist.


















The remote controls amplitude (mA), frequency of pulses, strength of pulses, etc.  It talks to the battery pack, which then signals the controller on my back.

 Latest news from ISAF

"This is the second time in recent weeks a Taliban commander has been found hiding in an oven," said U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. "Whether they hide in a cave or an oven, we're going to find the enemies of Afghanistan and secure peace for this country." 

 Lets see, WWJWD?  (What Would John Wayne Do?)
1.  Set oven to "self-clean", brace oven door, take a nap.
2.  Check done-ness with bayonet.
3.  Turn oven on low, and fill room with tear gas, brace door to room.
4.  Put video camera in window, set oven on low, feed to youtube.
5.  Put pork roast in oven, set to bake
6.  Spray oven with easy-off "super nasty fume formula" brace door.
7... add your own in comments.

--Chuck

For those keeping score, surgery #38 was Wednesday. 

I had the 1st (trial implant) installed.  I now have a wire running up my spine, it goes in between my shoulder blades, and goes up into my neck.  The other end is connected to a battery pack, (external) and there is a remote which controls the whole thing.  It's like having a TENS unit, but without the muscle contractions, and it works on both arms, and if I dial it up high enough, the whole body.

The effect is positional, so if I turn my head or shoulders too far, the sensation becomes stronger/weaker, and if I really stretch, I can force the lead out of place, making this all a wash.

The good news it, it completely blocks the pain in my hands and back while it is on.

#39 is next Tuesday, where they install the battery pack, run a new lead from the internal battery up into my neck, and the whole system is internal.

#40 is forthcoming (sometime in October, I think) when they cut out my gall bladder.  Should end the bouts of chest-pain.


--Chuck

So....

Three hikers (Americans) decide to take a trip along the Iraq-Iran border.  Hikers are picked up by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and are now being held as spies by Iran.  Iran is demanding $500,000 bail. (I'll be more direct, and simply call it a ransom.)

Of course...

There are calls by some to "Go in and get them."  This is most often said by people who have nothing to lose by "Us" or "We" doing something.

But...

You may wonder, why am I not calling for their release?

Simply, these hikers thought the Iraq-Iran border would be a good place to go for a hike.

I've been there.  There isn't anything worth looking at (except sand, scorpions, lizards, and al-quds shipping arms west to insurgents in Iraq in this supposedly "scenic Kurdish region.")  It is hot.  Damn hot.  So hot you'd expect the flies to explode like popcorn.  So hot, you will consider trying to suck-start a cigarette without any ignition sources.

The hikers' families claim they just inadvertently strayed across the border.  I can see how this might happen, as hikers NEVER use GPS thingies, and instead rely on dead reckoning with a map and compass to get around in a life-stealing desert along a border with a country run by an international madman of savagery.  Of course, it could be they couldn't get a decent satellite signal, after all there are only like 40 various GPS satellites available over that region (and few, if any, are scrambled, thanks to President Clinton.)

I don't want these three back.   A cool half-million isn't a ransom, it's a huge tax on their families--a tax on them for raising, and then unleashing on the world, three people who are so colossally stupid that they deserve to languish in an Iranian prison.  It's farcical for Iran to claim they are spies; after all, we have much smarter spies than those who get caught trying to walk across a border.  Our spies are all people who pose as journalists for the New York Times, Newsweek, and CNN.  You'd think the Iranians would know that.  That's why these "Journalists" have such an anti-America slant on their stories, so they can buddy up to these governments to spy on them.

However, I don't think it is right for the US to allow any nation to detain our citizens without due process of law, and without access to lawyers, without all of the amenities we provide for the guests at GITMO, (including the tropical island prison).  We should tell the Iranians that if they don't release the prisoners by Thursday, then we will launch a shuttle mission with a payload of 50,000 pounds of a single, solid piece of Iron, with steering fins, and we'll drop it right on Tehran.  No muss, no fuss, nuclear-megaton sized damage, no radioactivity (maybe).  Best part is, now that NASA has "retired" the shuttle missions, we can use all of them as our new fleet of  B-3 Bombers.  Just a few of these--bombs that cannot be stopped, that cause no environmental or long lasting harm, bombers that cannot be shot down, and soon we'd see the world tremble when the State Department rattled its saber.

Sure the UN would whine about "Arming Space" but the fact is, 99% of the banana republics represented by the UN would Arm Space in a millisecond, and hold the world hostage in a nanosecond, if given the opportunity.

Anyway, screw those idiot hikers.  Don't give Iran didly, make the hikers a non-issue, one that gets zero attention, and Iran will release them because they benefit nothing from keeping them.

--Chuck

I will never forget.

~~Code Monkey

Yesterday when I was out driving around, I started counting the number of flags that were not being flown at half-staff.  This has become one of my more unfortunate habits, and I say that because it always leads to disappointment.  I've been in the same neighborhood for years so I wasn't surprised that all the usual suspects didn't bother with the show of respect to the fallen of September 11th.

But when I drove by two police stations and a fire station that are usually very good at remembering, I nearly started crying when I saw they had forgotten.

For a minute I wondered if this was a thing of the past.  Maybe it wasn't expected anymore.   Nope.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2010, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I invite the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost, to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

You know who did get it right?  Arizona State University's main campus.  After all the ribbing and all the derision for not giving Pres. Obama an honorary degree when he spoke at the commencement ceremony, you would think they were the epitome of anti-patriotism.  Well, not at all.

Thank you ASU for remembering.

~~Code Monkey

Seriously, who burns korans?  The thin paper they use is bound to produce more ash than Mount Saint Helens. 

GEN Petraeus warns that doing so will enrage the Afghans, and put lives at risk.

The Afghans need to take a farking pill, too.  So what if a bunch of Americans burn Korans?  They aren't burning their Korans.  In fact, they have to buy the Korans to burn them, resulting in the publisher making more money off them, and in turn seeing an increase in demand for Korans.

In the end, their holy book, my holy book, your holy book, is just words on paper codifying a belief system.  It's no different in that respect than Ted Geisel's "Yertle the Turtle."  If they burn a Koran, Torah, Talmud, Bible, Zend Avesta, Tipitaka, or Kama Sutra, it's no different than roasting The Guinness book of world records, Harper's weekly, Teen beat, Esquire, GQ, Maxim, Penthouse, the U.S. Constitution, or The Blogs of War.  As long as one copy survives, the knowledge can be passed on. 

Of course, the Afghans get it when a pussnuts runs into a barracks full of troops and kills them, or when a girl has acid thrown in her face, or when an Afghan commits one of the myriad horrible things they do to actual people damn near daily... "It wasn't us, oh no, it was others, outsiders, ali baba, bad people.  Don't judge all of us by their actions."  Too bad they can't apply that logic to us.  It's high time we told these fourth-world mud-hut dwelling rock farmers to step off and back up before they really piss us off (Ask the Japanese about that.)  We put on the kid COIN gloves, and can take them off any time we want.  If they can't take a long view, or worse, control themselves over news that has zero effect on them, then we have succeeded nowhere in stabilizing the country (the house built upon the sand, as it were), and they will devolve just as rapidly at the slightest internal or external provocation when we leave, despite everyone else's best efforts. 

My patience is worn thin by dealing with populations with less restraint than my seven year old daughter.  These people have damaged egos, the inability to control the id, they are at the mercy of the whims of their perceptions of insults, threats, and slights, and have no ability to rationalize, let alone understand anything beyond the immediate satisfaction of their desires.

Ever consider they are just looking for the reason du jour to be pissed off and effect reprisals?  After five years of COIN, shouldn't many, if not most, be more understanding and realize that we are the good guys and there to help them?


--Chuck

BAGHDAD — Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday. The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens.(link)

Don't you hate it, just hate it, when you go and declare an end to combat operations, and nobody tells the enemy?  Now, I'm sure it reminds some of you of this:

Except, in this photo, the President was A) Declaring an end to MAJOR combat operations--those requiring multiple divisions; and B) the banner was noting the end of the carrier's mission in the Persian gulf, not US forces in Iraq.  The rabid lefties with BDS just spun it that way, in between bouts of tongue-punching dogs' fart-boxes.

The President, however, declared an end to combat operations in Iraq--lulling people into believing he had ended (not necessarily won) the Iraq War.  No US Troops were injured or killed in the attack.

--Chuck

Imagine you come home from work one day to a notice on your front door that you have 45 days to demolish your house, or the city will do it for you.  Oh, and you’re paying for it.
This is happening right now in Montgomery, Ala., and here is how it works: The city decides it doesn’t like your property for one reason or another, so it declares it a “public nuisance.”  It mails you a notice that you have 45 days to demolish your property, at your expense, or the city will do it for you (and, of course, bill you).
Your tab with the city will constitute a lien on your property, and if you don’t pay it within 30 days (or pay your installments on time; if you owe over $10,000, you can work out a deal to pay back the city for destroying your home over a period of time, with interest), the city can sell your now-vacant land to the highest bidder.
Alabama law empowers municipalities to do just this.  Officials can demolish structures that they determine, “due to poor design, obsolescence, or neglect, have become unsafe to the extent of becoming public nuisances…and [are] causing or may cause a blight or blighting influence on the city and the neighborhoods in which [they are] located.”  Keep in mind, so-called standards like “obsolescence” are so vague they can mean anything, so even a well-maintained home that government officials don’t like the look of can be fed to the bulldozers.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/26/eminent-domain-by-any-other-name-still-stinks/#ixzz0ydkxA3Tc

45 days?  Too Easy.

1.  reinforce all doors and door frames with steel, rebar, and concrete.
2.  Tear out all drywall.  Purchase plywood.  Replace drywall with plywood, fill space between joists with reinforced concrete.

3.  Have a sh*t ton of used tires delivered.  Stack along outside walls, offsetting like with bricks.  Reinforce with vertical rebar,  Have tires filled with soil, or concrete on lower 1/3, soil on top 2/3.
4.  Install perimeter cameras.
5.  Install solar panels on roof, battery rack in basement.
6.  fill ceiling with hardening foam
7.  Cover windows with smash-proof security film.
8.  Spread caltrops throughout yard.
9.  Stockpile water, food, medical supplies, portable generator, fuel, in garage.
10.  Install Wifi-repeater off property, ensure redundant internet access (to maintain situational awareness)
11.  Install motion sensitive lighting/alarms.
12.  Stock up on guns, body armor, gas mask, and ammo.
13.  Turn windows and doors into firing ports.  Ensure all sectors of property can be covered by at least two.
14.  Have interior "siege room" soundproofed/fireproofed.
15.  Cut access paths from room to room--avoid doorways/halls.
16.  Ensure multiple "burner" phones are on hand and charged.
17.  Final Option plan:  Keep 100# of propane on hand to flood the house before ignition.  You should be aiming for launching the (now solid) roof at least 500' into the air.

The idea is to make the house a fortress.  Ensure that even the casual observer would realize that it would be impossible to assault without losing many lives.  IF you are choosing to fight for liberty.   They may relent, but odds are, unless the same bureaucrats who are aiming to steal your house are the ones doing the raiding, you are gonna have a showdown.  If you decide that you would rather not die for your principles, then proceed with steps 1-4.  Then seal all entrances with concrete, and fill house to roof level with raw sewage.  Leave cameras on and pay for hosting to let them stay on while the cops raid the house of poo.

Disappear.  Leave the state.  Live elsewhere.  Refuse to EVER set foot in the state you left.  Refuse to EVER pay them a dime.  If they contact you, reply by using their correspondence for T.P. and return it to them (they'll remember you.)

Sure, you'll have lost your home either way, but it's a foregone conclusion at that point.  At least this way, they will never use the house for their own designs, and have a VERY costly clean up to boot.

--Chuck

State Department Squirms
On Garand And Carbine Imports

A lot of things have changed in the federal government since President Harry S. Truman put his famous "the buck stops here" sign on his desk. This week, Fox News reported that it couldn't get a straight answer from the State Department about its decision in March to disapprove the importation of more than 800,000 M1 Garand rifles and M1 carbines from South Korea.

According to Fox, the State Department claimed that the rifles might be used "for illicit purposes." But when asked to explain, State passed the buck to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which passed it to the Department of Justice, which passed it back to State.
The anti-gun Brady Campaign didn't hesitate to give Fox an answer, however. "Guns that can take high-capacity magazines are a threat to public safety," the group's Dennis Henigan told reporter Maxim Lott. 

M1 Garands don't have magazines, they use en-bloc clips.  They are one of the few guns which actually use clips.   So the brady bunch, who purports to knw all about guns, should have no problem with this.  As for high-capacity, the Garand only holds 8 rounds in its clip.  Is eight now high-capacity? 

Neither gun was ever limited by Clinton's poxy Assault weapons ban, either.

So, by the Brady Campaign's logic, Cars which hold more passengers cause more accidents (meaning, by default, motorcycles are the safest vehicles on the road) I I assume they believe Hang-gliders are more safe than Boeing 777s.  Come to think of it, Hinkley used a .22 caliber revolver to change James Brady's mind. That's only a six-gun, so is six the definition of "high capacity?"  The point of the matter here isn't that it's the number of bullets in a gun, nor the number of bullets a gun can fire (most are limited to one at a time) or how fast the gun can fire those bullets.  What is most important is the will of the person behind the trigger. Just like the most dangerous piece of a car is the nut behind the wheel, the most dangerous part of a gun is the person who wields it.

And when the person who wields a gun is dangerous, the best defense--often the only defense--is another person with a gun.  Mr. Colt's equalizer.

The Brady kids are idiots, and notorious for lying, when not merely stretching the truth to fit their agenda.  For more, pay Joe a visit.

--Chuck