Madbob - An Angry American

2008-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

A Recounting of Significant Events – July 2007[Ed. Note: I obviously didn’t get this post out before my R&R break in September. I do intend to post at least my fav snaps from each of my subsequent months in Iraq, and hopefully some thoughts to go along with them. We’ll see…]I’m gonna try to get this post in tonight, before I leave on my

2007-09-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

A Recounting of my Experiences with IDF Attacks (and Other Significant Events) – June 2007 My workload has picked up quite a bit of late, and spare time is hard to come by. I’ve put in more OT hours this past month then ever before, and have actually exceeded the Civil Service bi-weekly pay limits for four pay periods in a row. My pay was being reduced until I contacted my HR person back at

2007-08-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

A Tribute to my Family & Extended Family: The 25th Major Family Reunion(And another interruption in my postings from Iraq) Yes, I am incredibly far behind in my blogging schedule, but I had my mind made up that I wasn’t going to post again until I did this tribute. A tribute to the folks that make up my family and extended family. Nothing more than links to some snaps of these wonderful

2007-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

A Recounting of my Experiences with Indirect Fire (IDF) Attacks(and Other Harrowing Events) On my post about Day Two in Baghdad, I mention my first experience with an in-coming rocket attack. These rocket and mortar rounds are referred to Indirect Fire attacks, or IDFs for short. One thing we learned early on about IDF attacks was the limited time you have to react when they happen. Once you

2007-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Some Sights From my First Days in the IZ I believe you have already been treated to snaps of my digs in the “transient trailer”, where I spent my first 5 days in Baghdad. So let me continue by showing where I live now. First, a front photo of the US Embassy Annex, aka, the Palace Compound. All the housing trailers are located behind the palace. I moved from the transient trailers, located in

2007-07-10T10:04:00.001-07:00

I Interrupt These Baghdad Bob PRT Postings to Bring You a Return to the Rants of Madbob – I Therefore Present to You: A Letter to Senator Lugar, (R) Indiana [Ed note: The following is a letter I pounded out last night in a fit of anger. I wished I had done just a bit more research before sending, as my conclusion that the good senator was capitulating to poll pressure was off the mark. Sen

2007-07-07T10:27:00.001-07:00

The IZ, PRT and Me(As a change of pace for my posts, dear Tireless Reader, here is some general information…) The International Zone (IZ). One of the first things I learned about the situation in Iraq was the mythology of the International Zone (IZ), which used to be referred to as the Green Zone. Actually, some still refer to it as the Green Zone – today is the 4th

2007-07-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Day Two in Baghdad (Fret naught, tireless Reader – I have no intention of recounting every day, day by day, of my life here in Iraq. Just the first few…) Day Two in Baghdad dawned, and it was much the same as Day One. Our group broke fast at one of two locations, or just had coffee at… the Green Bean! Told you this chain was the military contractor version of Starbucks! They’re everywhere

2007-06-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Baghdad(Day One in Baghdad, Iraq) I ended the last post with myself and a couple of my fellow travelers opting to have breakfast at 0530 so we could sleep through lunch and then make our first in-theater briefing at 1300. This briefing, like all subsequent briefings the first few days were conducted in what was known as Sadaam’s Headquarters Palace – a place where he conducted a lot

2007-06-19T12:22:00.001-07:00

Waiting to Ride the Rhino[Ed. note: Today, 21 June 07, I've added the conclusion to this post - scroll down to previous Ed. note to find the new material. Thanks!] I guess we arrived in Iraq at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) about 1500/3pm local time. It was less than a one hour flight, and we left Kuwait about 1300/1pm. But it works out since Baghdad, despite being further west, is

2007-06-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is one of the saddest days of my life Mary Ann just endured one of the hardest tasks in the civilized world. She had to take our beloved pet, our first pet, Sly, to the vet today, and have him “put to sleep”. I was hoping, but really didn’t expect, that he would last until I returned home. Who knows – perhaps my leaving accelerated his demise. Doesn’t matter. Sly is gone now – may God

2007-06-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

PRT Post – Flight to Iraq (cont’d) [Ed. note: I’ve inserted the 2nd part of this posting here, as opposed to where I left off, below. See post of 3 June for the beginning…] Things started out normal enough. we were all just chillin’ on the bus, shootin’ the breeze. The trip to the airport and our flight out would take less than an hour, giving us a couple of hours to spare. I had my camera

2007-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

PRT Post – Flight to Iraq So where was I? Ah, yes – wrapping up my stay in Kuwait. We were slated to leave Camp B Friday late, and were gearing up for departure all day. When we came back from dinner, we were surprised to see that our travel had been delayed till Saturday a.m. Okay, that was a stupid thing to say – of course we weren’t surprised. I guess we’d have been more surprised if

2007-05-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

My Time in Kuwait (cont'd) [Ed. Note: This is a continuation of my 27 May posting below. I figure it’s easier to see where I left off doing it this way, plus it makes the post look shorter!] The combat shower wasn’t bad at all – I suppose we all could save a big piece of the planet (and $ on our electric & water bills!) if we all showered this way. But it was also a pain in the ass. Spoiled

2007-05-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

A Memorial Day Posting [Ed. Note: I interrupt my already-way-behind postings for this holiday message…] I sit on the stoop of my hooch – having just returned from a solemn and moving Memorial Day ceremony at the U.S. Embassy Annex in the Palace here in Baghdad. Both Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus gave relatively short but eloquent speeches recognizing the occasion, focusing on those

2007-05-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

My Time in Kuwait Picking up my saga where I left off in my last (extremely lengthy) post, we arrived in Kuwait after 21 hours on the plane. We got to our final destination in Kuwait, Camp Buehring, some 33 hours after leaving El Paso, Texas. [Ed. Note/FYI: Camp Buehring (Camp B) used to be called Camp Udairi] Excerpt from linked source:The Army’s permanent aviation base camp in Kuwait

2007-05-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Flight to Kuwait[Ed. note: Halleluiah! I have finished this post - see [Ed. note:...] below to see where the new material was added] As I was saying before, we “formed up” at about 0800 on Saturday, which was the beginning of the Duffel Shuffle (DS), a term coined by CPT M. After the two-dog team cleared our bags, we were shepherded onto buses for a short ride to a military airport.

2007-05-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

CONUS Replacement Center (CRC) Training After spending a most superb weekend with Mary Ann, I packed my bags one last time, and on Sunday morning, headed out the door for El Paso, TX and Fort Bliss to attend training at the CONUS Replacement Center (CRC). [Ed. Note: CONUS = Continental United States] The flight from Indy had a connection in Houston, where I ran into one of my PRT cohorts. If

2007-05-13T02:14:00.000-07:00

[Ed. note: I obviously am behind in my posting (mostly due to internet access issues), so this one just made print today, which is a special day - Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there, and I think you know who you are!]Weekend Break In between the FSI training and the subsequent Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT) training, I rented a car and drove down to Sandbridge in Virginia

2007-05-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Madbob’s Journey to Iraq Begins (with copious amounts of training) I’ll start this with a brief rundown of the training I encountered at the beginning of my Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) “adventure”. I use the word with caution, remembering (paraphrased) words from the J.R.R. Tolkien's The

2007-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Madbob has been selected to serve on a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Iraq Why I would go… As I related to several family members & friends who have asked the basic question, “why?”:I am a changed person since September 11th.

2007-02-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Sometimes It’s Nice To Have The Data To Back Up Something You Know Intuitively Is True…Which is basically a quote from a posting I read on Dadmanly. The topic is one near to my heart – MSM malfeasance. To the point, Dadmanly refers to an excellent op-ed by Alicia Colon in the NY Sun, wherein Ms. Colon laments the MSM blindness to the fact that the “grim milestones” of American casualties in

2007-02-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

“Collateral Damage” in Modern WarfareI know this topic is coming out from left field, but whenever I think about how levels of “collateral damage” (aka, civilian deaths) are measured by today’s standards, I flash back to WWII. My apologies to those citizens of this country who can’t think past the Viet Nam war. I specifically want to address the atomic bombing of Japan.It always gets my blood

2007-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Just in case you still get all your news and info from the MSM…Please read this by StrategyPage – “Top Ten: Myths of the Iraq War”There’s no way I could’ve even close to summing things up like this. Try and get news from alternative sources – get different perspectives. Make up your own mind, don’t have it made up for you…

2006-10-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

The MSM: Trying To Provide Another “Tet Offensive” Victory For Our EnemiesWell, I’m, back!!! That must mean that my blood pressure has risen to the level that only a rant on my blog will cure my symptoms.I just attended a grad-level ethics class, and on the last day we spoke of the ethics of war and the warfighter. The media, of course, played a part in our discussion. I was floored that some

2006-07-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

I Tried To Ignore It, But Once Again, CNN Of The MSM Continues To Re-Write History…And so, I responded. Below is my e-mail in response to today’s CNN web story regarding the Plame/CIA case: “In your web article at the address listed above, “Novak: Rove confirmed Plame's identity”, the statement is made that “President Bush included the Niger allegation in his 2003 State of the Union speech…”.

2006-05-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Just the other day my family celebrated the christening of our latest member. Less than 10 days later, we mourn the loss of our father. I was given the sad honor of writing both his obituary, and his eulogy. The obit is linked; the eulogy follows:My Dad’s Eulogy – 22 May 06 Today we are gathered to honor the memory & legacy of a man whose life touched so many, John Arthur Major, Sr. – my Dad.The

2006-05-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

I’m a Godfather! And You’ll Never Guess What Happened at the Ceremony!!This past Saturday, my newest niece was baptized in the Catholic faith. And like any good Catholic, she has been provided with Godparents as chosen by her parents. My sister Patty is the Godmother (the one who is required to be a Catholic-in-good-standing, letter required). And I was honored to be chosen as her Godfather (the

2005-10-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Liberal Bias of MSM Evident as the Left Holds 2,000 Deaths PartiesThe following is my first ever letter to an editor – and to the NY Times no less. Kudos to the Times for posting the contact info for their Public Editor. Shame on me for perhaps being less than truthful. I state that I haven’t had any reason to believe the NYT would deliberately mislead the public. In fact, I make that assertion

2005-10-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

[Editor's note: This was written 17 Oct 2005; unable to post from hotel that night, so it's a bit stale - as usual...]The Undeniable Liberal Bias of the MainStreamMedia (MSM)Just read today’s USAToday page 7A article on the Iraqi constitutional referendum. The headline is appropriately neutral “Sunni Arabs boost turnout for charter vote”; and the text of the article, not at all.If you want to

2005-08-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

The ”Paper of Record”? Try Broken Record…I blog only when I just can’t take it any more. Mostly I just browse through my fav sites, gleaning news and other info that we, the people, are not getting from the sources we used to be able to rely on. It’s a cathartic-type therapy for my anger.So I’m back again – time for some therapy!!But really, what I’ve got to get off my chest is best covered

2005-07-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Reduce the London Death Toll by FourWhatever the final body count becomes from the tragic bombings in London, the death toll should be reduced by four. I am make the assumption that it will be proven that all four bombs were detonated by suicide bombers (as seems the case for at least the bus bomber). Since each of the others are also missing, I’ll go out on a limb and say that they are all

2005-07-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

What The HELL Is This Supposed To Mean? I recently switched over to DSL broadband, and am loving life. It’s actually cheaper per month then the Angry American Wife’s beloved AOL (sorry, babe, but AOL has got to go!).Now I can download large files (read, porn vids!) without leaving my connection on overnight. What I was looking for today was some video clips of the 9/11 attacks – you know, the

2005-06-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

DEATH!! BOMBS!!! DESTRUCTION!!!! CHAOS!!!!!This has been the headline since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. It matters absolutely none at all that the removal of the world’s most homicidal dictator has released tens of millions of people from a living hell. Since the removal of Saddam’s (apparently) benign regime, it been nothing but DEATH!! BOMBS!!! DESTRUCTION!!!! CHAOS!!!!!. Does the

2005-06-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Alleged Abuse of Terrorist Prisoners & Their Precious Holy Book? Who Cares?Anyone who really follows the GWOT – libs & conservative alike – knows that radical Islamic training includes the instruction to allege all sorts of abuse by Western (read “American”) forces. Even the most died-in-wool liberal, if they’re being honest, acknowledges that this is part of Islamic fundamentalist training

2005-03-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

What the HELL is up with ESPN?I’m on travel again, back in DC again, and I’m sitting at the bar in the Ragtime restaurant (okay, so I’m actually staying in Arlington, VA), and I’m sippin’ my brew while waiting for my chew, watching ESPN.The sound is down, and Closed Captioning is on, and I’m reading about critics talking ‘bout the Congressional hearings on baseball & steroids. This is what I

2005-02-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hokie Sports Moment: Quick – Before They Play Tomorrow!My beloved Va Tech Hokies b.ball team has achieved a level of national awareness nearly unparalleled in their history. Last Thursday, they beat #7 Duke, and followed it up by beating fellow ACC newcomer Miami – no Big Game Hangover here!As I said in an e-mail to a friend:“During the Hoosiers/Purdue game Tuesday, Brent Mooseburger was talking

2005-01-31T09:52:00.000-08:00

Just Another Reason Not To Feel Guilty For Not Donating $$$ To NPR Listened to NPR again this a.m. (do I need to explain why I subject myself to this torture on a regular basis again?). In discussion on the Iraqi vote, their expert on the situation, Rachel Bronson, director of Middle East and Gulf Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, was asked if, in her opinion, any of the neighboring

2005-01-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

How Dumb are Democrats? Yep, still a day late and a dollar short, but this issue has been bugging me to the point where I have to blog about it just to put it to rest. Recently, John “I served in Viet Nam” Kerry was quoted as saying that, during the presidential elections, voters in some states/districts were being disenfranchised. He said something to the effect of (paraphrased quote follows)

2005-01-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

Feel My Pain – Virginia Tech Hokies Lose… I stole this concept from a collegefootballnews.com sportswriter, who offers his talking points as recorded during a particular football game, which he calls his "Stream-of-Consciousness Notes" (example here). 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl – 3 Jan 05 Va Tech Hokies vs. Auburn University Tigers New Orleans, LA 1st Qtr: Early on – 3rd & 16 for the Tigers. 3rd

2004-12-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

Iraq is NOT Viet Nam! Geez… What is wrong with the MSM pundits? It was bad enough that we had to re-live Viet Nam this past presidential election (John "I Served in Viet Nam" "Reporting For Duty" Kerry, and the MSM’s feverish pursuit of Geo. W’s Viet Nam-era Nat’l Guard service records), but the old ‘60’s counterculture hippies and some ‘Nam vets are reviving Viet Nam ghosts yet again. This

2004-12-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Media Failed to Defeat W, Now Wants to Oust Rummy Although the election is over, MainStreamMedia (MSM) is not giving up without a fight. Now that they’ve (mostly) conceded that George W. did win the election, they’re doing their best to bring down his administration, with the biggest target being SECDEF Rumsfeld. Hardly a week goes by that some incident isn’t brought forth as new evidence

2004-12-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

A Whole New Type of Rant As I Take on the Nation’s Sportswriters!! Well, it’s not really a rant. It’s more of a celebration scream, in the tradition of a rebel yell, as follows: Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi! That’s right, Sports Illustrated, with your disrespect of my Va Tech Hokies football team, picking them to finish in the bottom third of the ACC: Tech, Tech, VPI! Take that, ESPN & you

2004-12-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Another Unintentional Hiatus Wow! It’s been quite awhile. I just thought I’d take a break until the elections. Then, when George W. won, I found I didn’t have a much to rant about. Now the holidays are here – who has time to rant now? Maybe once the shopping is done - now there's something to rant about. Till the next time... GO HOKIES!!! (Don't miss the Va Tech / Auburn Sugar Bowl - 3 Jan 05)

2004-10-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! Anyone Reporting Out There? Back on that Liberal Bias in MSM soapbox… Have you heard of the landslide victory of John Howard in Australia (he was running for a nearly unprecedented 4th term as Prime Minister (similar to US Prez) of the island continent)? Mr. Howard had been an unswerving ally to the US in the Global War on Terror (GWoT). This election is the 1st of 3 (Australia, US, then

2004-10-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, Matt! Why Dontcha Check Your Prostate As Long As Your Head’s Up There! More MSM campaigning for Kerry: This a.m., on the Today show, Matt Lauer recited an oft-repeated (and deliberate) misrepresentation of what President Bush said in his 2003 SOTU speech. While questioning his guests (a Dem & a Rep), he says, to the effect, "Given that the president’s main reason for going to war were

2004-10-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

It’s No Longer Liberal Bias – MSM is Now Campaigning for the Dems! (Note: MSM = Main Stream Media) I can’t stand it – this is what passes for “news”? This a.m. on NPR: “Edwards accomplished his goal, which was to prove he’s qualified to step in as president” – Sez who? Almost every informed opinion had the debate slightly in favor of Cheney, and the one consistent complaint about Edwards was

2004-09-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

Still Breathin'... Yeah, once again I've been slack. But I'm DAMN proud of the blogosphere, after the triumphant exposure of Dan Rather's forgeries, not to mention the exposure (for anyone previously too blind to see) of Dan's liberal bias. What did it take, 12 hours? And Martha Mapes claimed to be working the story for FIVE years? *sheesh!* And don't even get me started about the Mapes to

2004-07-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Media Campaign to Unseat G. W. Bush The following is a joke sent to me by my sister-in-law: ***The Pope is visiting DC, and President Bush takes him out for an afternoon on the Potomac, sailing on the presidential yacht, the Sequoia. They're admiring the sights when, all of a sudden, the Pope's hat (zucchetto) blows off his head and out into the water. Secret service guys start to launch

2004-06-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Bad Karma for Ex-Presidents Is it coincidence, or is there something to the tradition of not naming USN ships after living dignitaries? Although the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) was commissioned in Norfolk in July 2003, she was not certified as battle ready until 10 May 2004. Less than one month later, the Gipper is a goner. One would think that George H.W. Bush, of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN

2004-06-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Soldiers You Never Hear About The Media’s sickening fascination with the Abu Gharib prison abuse story is put into perspective in this enlightened article of the same title by Kate O’Beirne. The following quote from the article sums it all up: The media's line of attack against the war is revealed in its selective coverage of our soldiers: All villains and victims, no valor. Not one of the

2004-05-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ummm, What Wedding Party Incident? The following article was taken from Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily – sorry no link cuz… Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily is a five-day-a-week intelligence report published electronically, as part of the Global Information System (GIS). It is only available as part of GIS, and therefore is only available to authorized subscribers from governments (including

2004-05-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Required Reading for Those Tired of the Doom & Gloom Reportage Out of Iraq Want some perspective on the Iraqi EPW scandal/Rumsfeld resignation issue? Read this, from Victor Davis Hanson.

2004-05-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Low-Carb Diet & Even Lower Media Between work and springtime-home improvement tasks, my blogging has suffered – not that I’ve ever been all that consistent… Anyhoo – quickly, there are 2 phenomena currently sweeping this nation that I’ve never quite seen before. The 1st is the Atkins/So. Beach/Lo-Carb diet craze, and the 2nd is the low – and getting lower – opinion people have regarding the

2004-04-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Interpretation is in the Lies of the Beholder Now ain’t this sweet. JFKerry – who served in ‘Nam, in case he hasn’t reminded you in the past 10 minutes – had finally released a large portion of his Navy records. Here are 2 articles on the subject, one from the NY Times (registration required – free), the other from the Washington Times. (Editor’s note: Yeah, I know I’m lagging the news cycle,

2004-04-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Another attempt at restarting Comments *sigh* Update: It woiks!! I've finally got Comments to work again! Now I can be certain that no one reads this... :p

2004-04-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Headlines in 12 April 04 Early Bird Supplement on IRAQ As stated above, these are the first 32 articles in the Early Bird Supplement (as opposed to the main page). For the uninitiated, the Early Bird is a hyperlinked listing of the day’s top headlines that are of interest to US politicians and government employees released every day (used to be published hardcopy, back in the day). Or as the

2004-04-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

From Russia, for the Love of Gawd!! (Via Instapundit) The Democrats should read the following article - from the Moscow Times, of all sources. I love the way the article begins, with a little jab at Sen. Ted "Hey, I still got my pants on!" Kennedy: "It was Kennedy's older brother, John F. Kennedy, who dragged the United States into the Vietnam quagmire, and the senator should know better than to

2004-04-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Couple of quick hits: Litigation vs. Gun Manufacturers – STOP THE INSANITY!! If the courts allow the gun manufacturers to be sued because they make a product that then kills people, do you know what will be next? If not sooner than later? Auto manufacturers. That’s right, and why not? Not only are cars involved in many, many more deaths than handguns, cars – esp. sports cars - are

2004-03-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Worldwide Protests Not Attracting Much World According to CNN.com, the rallies have begun. But when you click on the story, they tell you next to nothing about the level of support these rallies have garnered. And they seem to be misrepresenting the protesters in Iraq. I mean, although they do say: “Demonstrators against the Iraq war gathered in London; Tokyo, Japan; New York, South Korea,

2004-03-20T08:21:00.000-08:00

*Comments update* It still doesn't work; I'm workin' on it, but I'm a slow & lazy SOB...

2004-03-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Beating Dat Dead Horse Yep, still bithcin’ ‘bout dat Left-Leaning Media Bias. IOT downplay the stunning success of the OIF, whose upcoming anniversary is giving Bush much needed positive PR, CNN HL News continues their campaign against the Prez. Sometime around today’s 5 – 6 pm news cycle, the teaser vid clips at the quarter hour commercial break concerning OIF had the curiously (and blatantly)

2004-03-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

What Media Bias? Continuing that good ol’ Left-Leaning Media Bias trend, check out today’s WaPo. There’s a follow-up article on a Maryland woman who was arrested for allegedly accepting $$$ from Iraqi agents. It is well established & documented that this woman worked on Democratic congressional staffs. First paragraph mentions her congressional staffer jobs, and – to give the WaPo credit –

2004-03-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

Anti-Gun Lobby Idiocy Makes Way for Liberal Media Bias I was planning on posting – late as usual – a rant against the anti-gun lobby’s tactic of suing gun manufacturers. Their rational is that the gun makers not only sell a dangerous product, but they actually MARKET the product. The utter reeee-DICK-you-less-ness of this approach would seem to be apparent. However, lawyers are involved, so

2004-03-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

2004-03-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Same Sex Marriage and the U.S. Constitution For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Prez Bush would come out in favor of a Constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. I really don’t have strong feelings one way or another, but I guess I tilt toward NOT singling out a particular demographic of people for discrimination. And the US Constitution is definitely NOT the place where you

2004-02-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that the General Public (GP) has put the “Bush AWOL” story behind them as being without merit, BigMedia can’t let it go. In today’s WaPo, Dana Milbank wastes no time in reminding the stupid GP (that’s us’n, folks!) what they should be concentrating on – no matter what the setting. First lines from the article: “This time, there can be no dispute: President Bush fulfilled his

2004-02-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

Let’s Do The Time Warp Again! Is it just me, or is the press having flashbacks to the year 2000? This hoopla about Bush’s Viet Nam era National Guard service is old news. Back in 2000, I was a’pullin’ for John McCain, and much wanted to believe the stories of Bush getting preferential treatment (be/c he got Guard as opposed to “real” combat duty), being AWOL, etc. But the story fizzled out,

2004-02-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

David Kay & WMD: The Threat That Was Worse Than The One That Wasn’t Found (huh?) Rants, by definition should be long and long-winded, but somehow this subject begs to be kept short and simple. There’s so much that can be expounded on why the US had no choice but to rid the world of Saddam Hussein (SH), but all it should take is a quick look at the situation and the choices. Really, even

2004-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

You might've noticed that I lost the ability to allow comments to these rants. The service shutdown, and has been replaced with some kind of webring forum that I'm not familiar with. But it's free, so let's see what happens. Hopefully, it will allow some form of interaction... UPDATE: OK, so that was a bust. Dunno what it was supposed to do, but all I get is a trip back to the BlogSpeak.net

2004-02-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

What Liberal Media Bias? Well, it’s the bias that allows CNN Headline reporters to repeat a distortion of facts (okay, let’s just call it a “lie”) so often that (the hope is) the gullible General Public (GP) will begin to accept this “lie” as being true. But I just can’t believe that CNN HL is doing this – oh, wait, you can’t read my mind. Friday at approx. 2300 & again on Saturday at around

2004-02-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

As long as I'm doing Birthday announcements (once you start, you'd better cover all your family & friends or they'll think you don't care... well, I don't want to rant about it, so I'll just accept it as a new burden I've given myself, like an idiot), Happy Birthday!! to bro-in-law Bill & niece Meghan, one day late...

2004-02-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

This is pretty cool - create a map of the states you've visited in the US. My visited states are in red. Click on the link below the map to create your own, or try one for the countries of the world you've visited. Enjoy... create your own visited states map

2004-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hey! Tomorrow is my li'l sister's Birthday!! Happy Birthday, Patty! Wish we could be there to help you celebrate with an Angry American rant on growing older. Well, actually I don’t have any rants against aging – I've seen the alternative, and it does not appeal to me at all... (Belated Happy B.day to older bro John!!)

2004-01-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

I've got to stop letting these rants fester so long. Not only does it get my blood pressure up, but I also wait till my issues aren't exactly current... That being said, 2 not-so-current rants: On the near-anniversary of Bush's 2003 SOTU address, journalists (WaPo's Glenn Kessler) & presidential candidates (Weasley Clark) are STILL claiming Bush said (esp. in the 2003 SOTU address) that Saddam

2004-01-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

From the Palm Beach Post, January 7, 2004. A casual read finds this article fairly objective, but if you look for the "tone" of the piece, well,... Fisking found [within these characters, in italics]. Former General Defends Invasion Of Iraq In Speech By Ron Hayes, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer In the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks led 150,000

2004-01-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, Virginia, there is stifling of dissent – in your backyard!! After the attacks of 9/11, the fear was that the Gov't was going too far with new laws to combat terror (i.e., the PATRIOT Act). Our civil liberties are at risk, was the battle cry from the Left – and I actually agree. We do need to keep a careful watch on those who would protect us from ourselves, at the expense of our

2004-01-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Navy Sets To Close Puerto Rico Base New York Times on the Web January 5, 2004 CEIBA, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Navy ships are vanishing from Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, ending an era when defense spending boosted Puerto Rico's economy and the U.S. territory was seen as a strategic asset. The military has used the base for six decades to keep watch over the Caribbean, and as the outpost closes,

2003-12-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

Now here's a very long personal/professional rant – a Navy program I used to work on is having its systems removed from surface navy ships, without an identified replacement for a critical capability. It inspired me to write my Indiana congressional reps, as well as Sen. John Warner, Chairman of the SASC. My letter to him is as follows (similar letters were sent to the Indiana reps): US Navy

2003-12-31T11:15:00.000-08:00

CNN is pissing me off - again. This time it was their website... A couple days after the UK's Beagle 2 was supposed to have landed, and after Earth had received no signal from the lander, CNN reported on the efforts to contact the spacecraft. CNN stated that an attempt would be made to contact Beagle 2 by (paraphrased quote) "...a craft on an unrelated mission...". Immediately checking the BBC

2003-12-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

Today on NPR, during the Morning Edition, one of the segments concerned a NYSU law prof who was suing some arm of the Fed gov't. Why? Because info from the INS, namely the names of aliens who have overstayed or are otherwise in violation of their U.S. visas, is being entered into criminal databases. Said law prof states that this is illegal as Congress specifically delineated what info can be

2003-12-17T04:42:00.000-08:00

I knew it - CNN totally misses a demo of 5-10,000, but gives detailed/video coverage of "hundreds" of pro-saddam protesters. *sigh* Sometimes I hate it when I'm right... [Hattip to Tom Perry, isntapundit]

2003-12-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Aarrgh! Figures - now that I've got a place to blow off steam, I never get around to using it. Whatever... Anyway - did you know that there was a massive pro-democracy/anti-terrorism protest in Iraq? Well, unless you surf blogs, you won't - cuz Mainstream Media has decided it's a non-event. No Americans killed = no news. But if this had been a pro-Saddam/anti-US protest, it'd be front page

2003-11-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

Of course it can get more ridiculous – just continue to watch CNN! [you may wonder why I continue to watch Headline News; today it was cuz it's the only channel playing at the Cafeteria here on base – Ed] Today at lunch (approx. 11:30 a.m. EST), the witty anchorwoman commented on today's rocket attacks on the Oil Ministry & 2 hotels. Paraphrased quote follows: "It appears American tanks &

2003-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes - as fate would have it, soon as I get this blog up & running, I run into a bunch of obstacles to keep it up. Like work. Or actually vacation. Just got back from Can Cun!! Weather back here in the 'States sux!! Anyway, just catching up on Headline News to see what's happenin' in the world, when I hear this little gem during the 7:30-8:00 pm EST segment, that Op Iron Hammer is named

2003-11-07T04:03:00.000-08:00

So much for the extended, dangerous tours of duty causing an exodus from the armed services... Still need to crank up the draft, Rangel?

2003-10-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

A-ha! Saw you coming!! Don't think I won't know who posted what comments, Major family & friends! Remember, I know where you live...

2003-10-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Mainstream Media Self-Correcting Bias? Last night (Sunday, 26 Oct) on 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft had a piece on Nuclear Toxic Waste Disposal at Yucca Mountain. On the air, there was the requisite introduction to set up the story, as follows: "Yucca Mountain sits on federal land in Nevada, not far from Death Valley, in a remote stretch of desert, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas." That's fine.

2003-10-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

For those of us SICK & TIRED of the revisionistic (word?) antics of the "anti-war" crowd, go read the following (scare quotes - kinda stupid being "anti-war" now; wonder if I can initiate a Haitian anti-war protest, or even an anti-Civil War protest. Nah, that would be just... stupid). A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IMMINENT THREAT CANARD To quote the Shark (from who's blog I've lifted this article),

2003-10-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

I suppose this piece of Brit-shit Mathspew Engel was getting away with writing this kinda "Amerikkca is the Great Satan" crap because no one in the US reads the Guardian. Heard he has since left the country - probably a wise move. But one has to wonder why he dallied so long in the land of fat, ugly Americans... I love the intro – "In a major investigation...". Even a cursory read of the

2003-10-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome!! Well, I've been talking about doing it since I first discovered blogs - starting my own! Inspired by the incredibly slanted Big Media coverage of Op. Iraqi Freedom, I sought alternative sources for news. I turned to the internet, and searched for news stories/sources. What I found was... ...the Blogosphere!! I now only watch Big Media to learn an event has taken place. I then head