Something to do this weekend

Stolen shamelessly from Castle Argghhh!

Good morning, everyone! Just wanted to drop you a note to update you on the status of our Operation Love From Home 2008 4th of July card drive for the troops. Sadly, we are still far, far short of our 5,000-card goal... we have in our possession slightly less than 1,500 cards. We've extended the deadline until JUNE 14, 2008. Please do all you can to help get the word out, and send in a card or two! :) Every single card/letter helps tremendously, and truly makes a very real difference! An empty P.O. Box means less 4th of July Thank You cards & letters going to our troops. :-(

So what is "Operation Love From Home?" - 4TH OF JULY CARD DRIVE FOR DEPLOYED TROOPS

The Mission: To collect at least 5,000 "thank you" cards for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of the cards collected will go to a unit currently stationed in an extremely harsh and remote area of Afghanistan.

The Reason: Being away from home and living in harsh conditions with combat & constant danger is difficult ~ our troops need to know we have not forgotten them!!! Mail from home helps to keep our troops' morale strong, making a very real difference in their lives. It keeps them motivated and focused when they know we care about them!

The Address: Send your signed, unsealed thank-you cards to the following address:
Mrs. Kathy Orr OPERATION: LOVE FROM HOME P.O. Box 1660 Loganville, Georgia, 30052
ALL CARDS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2008.

The Guidelines:
The cards can be handmade or store-bought (letters are just fine, too). This is a great pportunity to get your Scout troop, school, church and other civic organizations involved in doing something to show support for our troops. Please do not write the date on your cards Please, no glitter on the cards. Because of the intended destination of the cards, nothing "shiny" should be sent for safety & security reasons.

For those of you that have been deployed you can attest to the power that receiving mail from home can do for one's moral, it really does mean a lot to them to receive mail.

David M

Five-Sided Memorial

Most days I go to work, come home, and think no more of work until the next day. Clock in. Clock out. Today was a little different as my company participated in a meeting at the Pentagon (yes, THAT Pentagon). It was kind of cool as we navigated through the building's rings to our meeting room. Most of the day was spent in the meeting, then into the center courtyard for lunch at the cafe there. It was an interesting day, to be sure. After the meeting, one of the guys working there escorted us through the building and down to the west side.

The west side, where Flight 77 plowed into the facade September 11, 2001.

I saw the chapel there. I looked through the yellowed windows towards the sky in the direction the jet crashed from. I read the names of those killed--many of them held rank; many of them did not. The six of us wandered in silence, in contrast to the bustle and buzz of the rest of the building. Flowers, some of them dried by age, left by others. New Testaments, bound in camouflage, left by the Gideons.

Never forget.

Keeping Perspective

Every single combat death and injury sustained by our fighting forces is a deep loss. But those who decry the 4000 military deaths related to the liberation of Iraq as somehow a disproportionate historic disaster do not have much perspective. A Navy vet reader of AT who prefers anonymity has produced a graphic representation to supply some perspective:

Its starting

Britain's armed forces are sending pilotless "robot" strike aircraft into battle for the first time, allowing controllers sitting at a computer outside Las Vegas to drop guided bombs on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The "Reaper" unmanned aerial vehicle marks a major watershed for the Royal Air Force and has been rushed into service after senior defence chiefs identified it as a vital weapon in the fight against Taliban insurgents.

The only thing I have to say is when will they be armed with lasers (phasers would be even better) and can we use them to knock off more trouble makers in the world?

Iraq

Finally, news from Iraq. Well worth reading and supporting the people doing the reporting.

Nuke reactors on campus

This is potentially frightening. Research reactors on university campuses are not secure. Blowing one of them up won't result in a Hiroshima, but rather a dirty bomb, in the middle of a crowded campus and often in the middle of a large city.

Iraq and Vietnam

The situation in Iraq is improving.

How the US media turned a military victory into a political defeat by selective reporting in Vietnam.

Victory in the Middle East?

As the situation in Iraq continues to improve, will the Democrats continue to insist the situation is hopeless and we must run away?

Thus Proving the Point

A Danish suntan shop was bombed in the midst of a week of riots by Muslim men venting "their anger and frustration towards Danish society by setting fire to cars and burning bonfires in the streets." All this over the publication of a cartoon depicting Muhammad sporting a stick of dynamite as a fashion accessory. Ironic. And there are continued threats against the cartoonist.

In America (or most of the West for that matter) when there is government sponsored art desecrating Christ there is an uproar, some petitions are written, and perhaps even a Senator or two. Never has there been violence over such a thing, even though the shock artist intends to provoke as much reaction as possible. Why? Because we live in a culture where speech is ingrained in our psyche and revered by all. It is a freedom purchased at great and sometimes odious cost. As much as I dislike such antics (and I DO dislike how my tax money supports shock art), I suck it up because the same freedom that allows me to write in this blog allows for disrespect of what I hold dear. Such are the allowances we must make in a liberal democracy and we have been raised in such way by our parents and teachers.

How are these Muslim youths raised? What is taught in their homes? When they attend mosque and their daily prayers, what are the things revered by their teachers? It is true a single action speaks louder than words, but that solitary event is not entirely silent--a bombing of a tanning salon speaks volumes.

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Update on Iraq

Is Iraq getting safer? Well General David Petraeus, US Commander, and the person every terrorist would like to kill is walking around Baghdad without a helmet and without body armor.

Soon Baghdad will be as safe as Washington DC, and could be there as far as the murder rate goes (not counting deaths by IED's).

Things are changing and in a good way in Iraq. I hope it continues.

All is legal in Jihad

Using children or the mentally disabled as suicide bombers is the only way al-Qaida can attack the people in Iraq these days.

We know that Syria is either sponsoring or encouraging them with money, arms and people. So can we say for every terrorist attack in Iraq, we will drop one MOAB in Syria? After all, if all is legal in Jihad, then why shouldn't we play by their rules?

Credibility

James Circello went AWOL and was given an "other than honorable" discharge. It appears Mr Circello posted a piece at Men's Journal positing a number of Geneva Convention violations against his former unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade. It appears, as Blackfive says, Mr Circello left out some key facts, facts filled in by a company XO, Lt Roy Emerson, from the 173rd:

• Mr Circello reenlisted after his initial tour in Iraq


• Mr Circello was assigned to Italy during his second tour, a tour that would have ultimately led to a second deployment to Iraq


• Mr Circello reported to duty intoxicated, lost a promotion, and was arrested for DUI


• Mr Circello went AWOL, for which he was discharged

Lt Emerson attempts to make it clear that Mr Circello's performance as a soldier may not have a bearing on his views vis a vis Iraq or his subsequent desertion, but the train of events seems mighty suspicious. Mighty. Mr Circello might have more creditability had he been a better soldier.

(hat tip and the complete story at Blackfive)

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What was she thinking? What were they thinking?

MIT student walks into Logan airport with a circuit board on her sweatshirt looking much like a terrorist.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," [State Police Maj. Scott] Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."

The device had wires connected to a battery, allowing it to light up, he said. Simpson [the student]also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.

Play-Doh?? Yeah, okay, this sounds a little stupid considering our current conflict. I'd have to ask what WAS she thinking? If at all. Is this a publicity stunt? Some sort of statement? Just a silly oversight? I'm looking forward to see how how this develops. (and why do college students feel the need to go out of their way to be controversial in the most stupidest of ways? Push the boundaries; don't jeopardize the public.)

On the other hand, if I were a terrorist, the last thing I would do would be to strap a bomb to my sweatshirt. I'd wonder what the cops are thinking at this point in time. Of course, in the heat of the situation, you can't analyze the situation--better to err on the side of caution. A little analysis would have helped defuse the situation, but you'd have to have somebody familiar with circuits (like an EOD tech). Perhaps police departments should be trained in electrical engineering.

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Title says it all

From the London Times: Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’.

“I’ve been worried for some time about North Korea and Iran outsourcing their nuclear programmes,” Bolton said last week. Syria, he added, was a member of a “junior axis of evil”, with a well-established ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction.

How come this hasn't been all over the American media?

A day of remembrance

Do you remember where you were when you heard the twin towers were hit? There was a Country song popular in 02 or 03 with just that question, do you remember.

Do no only remember those who died but of equal or greater importance is why they died. The other side declared war on us that day in a way we could not ignore (World Trade Center 1993), rationalize (US Embassy's in East Africa 1998) or write off as a one off (USS Cole 1999 I think). We are at war and need to keep fighting until the other side surrenders or dies. They started it we should finish it and fight it on our terms and not on the terms imposed by those who are on the sideline or the other side who ignore all the rules and yet demand we follow the rules.

If you are so inclined, there is an online petition (yes another one), but this one is by Victory Caucus. The petition reads as follow:

We, the undersigned, call on our national leaders and fellow citizens to resist calls for a premature withdrawal from Iraq and to support America's troops under the new commander, Gen. David Petraeus, as they implement a bold new strategy designed to bring a successful completion to their mission.

I urge you to sign it, petitioning our government is one of the rights in our constitution, just hope a few will listen to us.

Nominee: Most Stupidest Terrorists? Not.

Blazing car driven into Glasgow airport terminal - Times Online

One would think of much more effective terror acts than to drive a burning car into the terminal...I suppose it's pretty easy to accomplish--taking only a license and enough money for fuel. In terms of outright destruction, it's pretty piss poor, let's just say.

But are they dumb? The act grabs headlines, causes governments to put out warnings and, in general, remind us that we are still at war. So, no, they aren't stupid.

Maybe just a wee bit lazy.