Friday, April 30, 2010

High On The AWWWWWW Scale

I found while watching this that, on this beautiful sunny day with the windows open and a nice spring breeze, that the dust must have been whipped up in my eyes resulting in a little watering, if you know what I mean...you may want a hanky handy.



H/T Theo Spark

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Posting Has Been Light, So...

You Got The Wrong(est) Item, Part 3

Garden Store | Canada

Me: “Good afternoon, how can I help you?”

Caller: “Can you tell me if you carry Chlamydia?”

Me: *long pause* “Um… I’m sorry, is this a plant you are looking for?”

Caller: “Yes! The pink one. You know, Chlamydia!”

Me: “Do you mean Cyclamen?”

Caller: “Yeah! Cyclamen, Chlamydia, they’re all the same thing. So, do you have anyone there that can give me some Chlamydia?”


H/T Not Always Right

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Political Groups

I'm enjoying all the different political groups out there right now from the panty wetters at the Brady Campaign and the outright liars at the Southern Preposterous Lie Center to the bold individuals of the Oathkeepers. Each has their pet agenda. Each wants you to toe the group line when choosing a candidate for office. Therein lies the problem.

This nation has more than just one issue facing it, more than just one thing that needs attention. If we go only by our pet group, we wind up with a political environment that has candidate #1 saying lower taxes, candidate #2 saying repeal obambi/pelosi/reidcare, candidate #3 saying secure the borders, candidate #4 saying strengthen the military and on and on and on. What we wind up with is 10 candidates for 1 seat.

There are far too many people who fail to educate themselves on the issues and where the various candidates stand on them. They shuffle into the booth like a zombie and hit the button for their favorite party and shuffle out. This is how we got into this mess folks. There's really not much of a split between the parties anymore. The Dems move further left and the Repubs have completely forgotten their core values and move left so they don't get too far away.

We have to stop voting for parties and start voting for people who stand for what we believe in. Yes, I do want the Second Amendment protected but I also want the borders secured and illegal immigrants to be considered the criminals that they actually are. I want an end to wasteful spending and lower taxes, but I want an environment created that attracts business rather than chasing it away. I want a strong, well trained and well equipped military, but I also would prefer not having to use them. I no longer give a damn how the rest of the world feels about America, I want America to do what is in her best interests and fuck the rest of the world. (OK, disclaimer, that sounded good but I never really gave a damn what the rest of the world thought about us) I want the government to return to it's powers as outlined by the Constitution and get the fuck out of my life.

We need to cast our votes for candidates that will pledge to stand up for all of these things. We need to stop looking at the parties and start looking at the individual people and where they stand on all of the issues and if they don't want to answer our questions, then we need to hound them until we get our answers. They work for us you know. The best weapon we have to change the government is a well educated electorate.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Iranian Nukes

I was reading over at the Counterterrorism Blog an article by Dr. Walid Phares about Iran and its nuclear ambitions and I began to think. The more I thought about it, the more apparent it became that Iran's nuclear program must be stopped at any and all costs. I'm going to link to Dr Phares' article, of course, but I have a few of my own thoughts.

My thoughts are this. Iran is a nation under the control of a madman. His being a holocaust denier is bad enough, but public statements about removing the Nation of Israel from the face of the earth and how the world would be a better place without America make one pretty nervous as is. Now add in the additional threat of nuclear weapons and you have Armageddon just waiting for a place to happen...and it will too. Let's take a look at how.

Ahmadinnerjacket is not the only madman on earth by any stretch of the imagination. Kim Jong Il over in North Korea is pretty scary too and he already has nukes. Now I know you're saying "so why concentrate on Iran?" Well, that's actually simple. Iran and North Korea both have crazy people running them but they are in completely different places. North Korea has the nukes but lacks a delivery system. Iran has no nukes (yet) but it does have delivery systems. North Korea could develop a delivery system and they are working on it. Iran has, so far, not been able to get a nuke.

The other difference is more important than you think. Sure, North Korea has tested a couple nukes and yes, Kim Jong Il is a total nutbag, but not completely stupid. He's more than likely all talk. Why do I say this? Have you forgotten who lives next door to North Korea? That's right, China. China may not love America, but do you really think they want a nuclear conflict on their back porch? North Korea may develop the delivery system to go with their nukes, but China will never let them get away with popping one, they'd flatten North Korea just to protect their own asses. And Dear Leader knows it.

Iran, on the other hand, is a whole different can of nuts. He has the delivery system and no one close is going to present enough of a threat to stop him. If he gets the nuke to go with his delivery system, he's going to airmail one to Israel. THAT, my friends, is where Armageddon begins. When that bad boy goes off, Israel is going to nuke Iran until it glows. Enough people in the world dislike Israel to begin with, they won't see self defense, they'll just see how the Jews nuked someone and they won't care who the aggressor is, they'll just dogpile Israel. The US will never be able to hold back the Israeli response with Obambi in the White House after he showed such utter disrespect to them. We still have forces in the region so we may be backed into defending them....do you see how the dominoes are starting to fall? Ugly, isn't it?

Iran must not be allowed to gain nuclear weapons. EVER.

Let's not forget that there's a nutjob in this hemisphere too...Chavez down in Venezuela. Don't forget, he's butt buddies with Ahmadinnerjacket. Since Ahmadinnerjacket doesn't like America, he could smuggle a nuke to Chavez who would be more than happy to use it here. Ponder that for a bit.

We're so wrapped up in watching Obama destroy the country from within that we're beginning to lose track of those who would like to destroy it from without.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Thunder Run

A couple of days ago, I posted the Thunder Run so you could see all the stuff that gets linked there. It's a great site and it's updated every day with all the latest news from mil-bloggers from all over the world at home and abroad.

Well, I found a widget that you can click on should you see a headline that interests you. Enjoy.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Great Read

I just bumped into an article written by Skip Coryell, founder of the Second Amendment March and I'm going to copy it in whole, which I rarely do, plus the link because it's not only a good read but it is sage advice as well. Attend children:

The Next Bloody Revolution - Is it Too Late?


“But mark my words. This war will be fought not on the frontier, or on some distant battlefield, but amongst us. Among our homes. Our children will learn of it with their own eyes. And the innocent will die with the rest of us.”

Recently I wrote an article titled “Rattling the Second Amendment Saber” where I discussed the necessity to speak out and let our elected politicians know we will hold them accountable for their actions. Isn’t it amazing how quickly the landscape can change in one week?

Yesterday morning I was surprised when my business partner called me on the phone and asked me if I’d been arrested by the FBI yet? I was confused. “What? Why would I be arrested?” He replied, “Haven’t you been watching the news today?” I hadn’t. You see, I live in Michigan, and he was referring to the FBI rounding up 9 members of a domestic terrorist group called “Hutaree”. Apparently these people were plotting to kill police officers as well as preparing for the violent overthrow of the U.S. Government, and … did I hear that right? The antichrist?

My friend was joking about my arrest of course, as he often does about my involvement in the Second Amendment March. He thinks it’s funny that the ATF, the FBI, or some other acronymed federal organization might be listening to my phone calls or reading my mail, or whatever else it is they do. Personally, I think they have bigger fish to fry than one little country boy in Michigan organizing a “peaceful, unarmed” march on Washington DC. And when they raided the “Hutaree”, they proved that to be true.


As Founder of the March, I’ve been learning a lot about all kinds of people all across our great land. There are some people out there who advocate the immediate, violent overthrow of the government. Just for clarity’s sake: I’m not one of those people. One of my biggest fears was given flesh, blood and bone yesterday when I found out about the Hutaree organization. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they were arrested. They’re kooks. But I fear there are more out there like them, ready to kill innocent people. If we can just last another 6 months until the November election, then I think we’ll be okay. But… then this morning I started getting hate mail.

The subject title of the email was: “Gonna blow up some daycare centers?” It was from a man named (we’ll call him) “Pseudonym”.

The message read: “Have fun on your Timothy McVeigh Domestic Terrorism Memorial March. Ignorant sad sack, f*#$ing morons, all of you.”

Normally, I just hit the “delete” key when I get mail like this. But today I felt playful, so I responded with: “Dear Pseudonym, What are you talking about? Your message makes no sense. We are an "unarmed" free speech protest designed to support the Second Amendment. Go to www.secondamendmentmarch.com and get the facts before spouting grade-school-level insults.”

This incredible, intellectual giant countered with: “4/19, dumb#ss! Great day for a bunch of wingnuts to go marching. Especially with guns. Or are some of you going to pack a truckload of fertilizer?” Why is it that every time a Democrat is in the White House the wingnuts start throwing tantrums and having violent fantasies of treason?”

Hmmm, my immediate response was, “Why are you so angry? Why are you insulting me? And why is it every time conservatives stand up against anti-gunners they are labeled in the rudest terms as “violent revolutionaries?” (And, just for the record, April 19th isn’t “Timothy McVeigh Day” it’s “Patriot’s Day”. You know, the 235th anniversary of Lexington-Concord. But he probably didn’t know that.)

But it’s not just the far-left that hates me. I get insulted by the far right as well. It seems there are lunatics living on both fringes. Several months ago I was on a radio talk show and a man called in with scathing remarks. He ridiculed me for organizing the Second Amendment March. “What do you mean you’re marching on DC without guns!” He called me a coward for not invading the Capitol. Of course, I was brave enough to give my full name, and that was more than he did. My immediate thought was, “If you think an armed march on DC is necessary, then go for it! I’ll watch from here.”

For the next 6 months I’ll be on pins and needles, terrified that some people won’t wait until the November elections to right the wrongs being perpetrated against the American people by the far left. A small minority, like the Hutaree, will see this as an opportunity to make all their violent fantasies come true, falsely believing that the American people will rise up and join them in a bloody, John Brown-like revolution. Unfortunately, anyone promoting the Second Amendment will have their reputations publicly tarred and feathered along with the nut cases like Hutaree. It’s much easier to blindly sling mud than to do the research.

I have a big problem with violent overthrow of the government: the wingnuts in charge right now, the greedy, money-grubbing politicians, the dishonest, selfish jerks in Washington DC; they are there because the American people put them there. And I will not rise up in a bloody, murderous revolution to overthrow a government that was legally and constitutionally elected by the people of their own free will.

Yes, America screwed up! And now we must pay the price for our lazy, self-righteous lack of vigilance. Did you recognize the quote at the beginning of this article? It was actor Mel Gibson, from the movie “The Patriot”. There is another quote from that movie that seems appropriate these days.

“Why should I trade 1 tyrant 3,000 miles away, for 3,000 tyrants 1 mile away?”

But yet, it seems, we’ve done just that. Now, instead of one “unelected” tyrant in England, we have 3,000 “elected” tyrants right here in America. It no longer matters why we elected the present Congress and administration; that’s backward thinking; it’s history. What matters now is “How do we fix it?”

The American people will not support a bloody, violent revolution to overthrow duly-elected politicians. That’s not the American way. Of course, if they start door-to-door confiscation of firearms, then that’s a whole new ball game. But they haven’t done that, indeed, nothing like that.

However, if cooler heads do not prevail, if the violent whackos go nuts and start a war against the US Government, then the government has all the excuse (and public mandate) they need to pass more draconian gun laws. The wisdom of Ben Franklin aside, when push comes to shove, the sheep of this country will give up essential liberty to ensure their safety. And most Americans are, indeed, sheep.

I leave you with one final quote from “The Patriot”. It is the opening line of the movie.

“I have long feared that my sins have returned to visit me, and the cost is more than I can bear.”

My fellow patriots, as a whole, we chose Barack (may-my-tongue-turn-to-sand) Obama for President, just as the people of Nevada chose Harry Reid, and the citizens of California chose Nancy Pelosi. I don’t like that, but I’m stuck with it, at least until November. Until then, stop fueling the fires of violence and start supporting grassroots, nonviolent efforts to remove these jokers from office.

America’s supreme sin was to vote for tyrants. That sin has returned to visit us, and the cost is more than we can bear. But we’re Americans. We’ll bear the consequences, then in November, our penance will be complete along with their reign of tyrannical terror. In the meantime – stay cool!

Editors Note: Skip is the founder of the Second Amendment March. The national March will take place April 19, 2010 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Please join us.

-Mike Piccione



Skip Coryell is the founder of the Second Amendment March, a former United States Marine, author and President of White Feather Press.

Monday, April 12, 2010

And Another

Let's do some WW2 trivia. The anniversary is tomorrow. April 13, 1945. The place?

An Anniversary

6 days from now is the 68th anniversary of a military event that shocked the world. Do you know which one?

OK, here's a pic. Name the ship and the event.



Photo Credit...Denver Post

More Than Mildly Frightning

I have learned of an uptick in pirate activity over in the Somalia area. I've been pondering this for a couple days and the longer I think about it, the scarier it gets. Those pirates are up to something...something evil. They have to be, Somalia may be a little backward but no one in a nation that borders a major commercial shipping route will EVER...EVER mistake a warship for a commercial sailing vessel. I mean, come on kids, if the paint job isn't a dead give away, the shape of the ship itself should sure as hell tell you something.

I now give you the USNI blog and the article that I've been considering here. With that, a passage that makes one think.

This is the latest in a number of incidents over the last 120 days involving pirates in the Gulf of Aden intentionally engaging men of war. USS Nicholas (FFG-47) and USS Farragut (DDG-99) were both apparently engaged, while USS McFaul (DDG-74) captured ten pirates on Wednesday after answering a distress call.

Anyone who reads this blog know I'm a Navy vet. There is absolutely no fucking way on this earth that you can mistake an FFG-7 class Frigate for a merchie. Helen fucking Keller could tell the difference. A DDG-51 Class Destroyer...a Destroyer? I mean come on...look at the rake of that bow? There's no merchant ship in the world with a bow rake like that. Attend children.

FFG 47



DDG 99



Maersk Alabama




How the holy fuck can you possibly confuse these?

So that brings me to the question. What exactly is going on? What are the pirates trying to do? Is this a scenario where they believe that if they can actually take a warship they can "scare" off CTF 51?

I've said it before and I'll say it again...The Roman Empire had the perfect method of dealing with piracy on the high seas...They killed them.

I am sorry about the photo quality here, for some reason I'm having some issues in both finding a decent sized recent pic and geting it to the hard drive to post here.

Thunder Run

I get e mails from Thunder Run which list headlines from a whole bunch of mil-blogs from around the world. I thought I might share it with all of you since he sent some code to embed. So, if it works, here you go...enjoy.

In today's From the Front: (Click on link to read stories highlighted below) This post is courtesy of The Thunder Run

Dispatches:
She Who Waits: Confession
270 Days in Afghanistan: Army Service Awards
A Little Pink in a World of Camo: Coping
Afghanistan My Last Tour: Time is Running Out
Afghanistan My Last Tour: ANA On Their Own
al Sahwa: Shifting Focus to Kandahar
Katherine Tiedemann: Daily brief: Afghan outrage after NATO troops kill 4 civilians
Martine van Bijlert: Karzai and confusion in Kabul
Army Poet: What We All Want...
C.J. Chivers: Afghan Marksmanship: Pointing, Not Aiming
David Bellavia: Unapologetic About the Greatness of the American Warrior Spirit
Free Range International: Death in the Morning
Bruce R: Shocked... shocked
Scott Fontaine: Reflecting on six months of war
Helmand Blog - Afghanistan: 3 RIFLES improve security along Helmand road
TankerBabe: Remembering Dad; The Milbloggies; Incredible Friends
Helmand Blog - Afghanistan: ANA and 1 SCOTS distribute school books to Afghan kids
Insight of the Moment: More nothing, with some stuff in between
IraqPundit: Friendly Chat
Jalalabad Fab Lab blog: Coalition of the Willing 2.0
The Kitchen Dispatch: Tired of War
Manatee's Military Moms: A SMART gift: Unconditional love
One Marine's View: 120 Days of Wind in Afghanistan
One Marine's View: A HOT ONE today...
Ramblings from a painter: Jon Voight
Red Bull Rising: The Sun Also Rises ... on Red Bulls
Red Bull Rising: More than Rumors of War
Ranger Up: Keeping The Home Fires Lit
GRUNTSHIT: David Lane April 3, 1987 - Sept 4, 2007
The Torch: Our vanishing Provincial Reconstruction Team at Kandahar?
David Axe: Debating Chowkay Valley Engagement
Nathan Hodge: Afghans Report More Roadside Bombs, Attacks on the Rise
Home From Iraq: Celebrity (Author) in the House--Dr. Charles W. Hoge
Yellow Rose: TWO events worth your while
ROFASix: Apache Combat Video - Was it Murder?
The Captain's Journal: Strange Counterinsurgency: The Marines Join Other Tribes!
Michael Yon: Under Cover of the Night
Yankeemom: Waiting
News from the Home Front:
Graduating to the next battle
News from the Front:
Iraq:

The vice president bears good news from Iraq
Iraq war video raises more than just ethical and legal questions
Iran Wants Sunnis in Iraqi Politics
Allawi's secularism may not fly in today's Iraq
Iraqi Alliance Questions Vote Count in Election
Iraqi PM's Alliance: Election Tainted by Up to 750,000 Fraudulent Votes
1-9 and Provincial Reconstruction Team Support Iraqi Election Process
Sniper Training Provides 'combat Multiplier' for Iraqi Army
Afghanistan:
IJC Operational Update, April 12
Joint Team Assessing Civilian Casualty Incident in Zhari
Taliban pushed out of Swat make 'Kala Dhaka' their new terror base
5 Afghan deminers killed in roadside bombing
Four dead as US loses first Osprey in Afghanistan
Compromising with the Taliban
Learning to work with our man in Afghanistan
The U.S. can't ignore Karzai's tantrum
Kabul park offers Afghan women a taste of freedom and opportunity
In Kandahar, coaxing Afghan police into training
Afghan air force struggles to take off
Nato troops accused of opening fire on civilian bus in Kandahar
Taliban wants France to arrange detainee swap
NATO gunfire kills 4 on bus, sparks protests
Key Afghan town still at risk, U.S. general says
Poison swirls around Hamid Karzai and Barack Obama
Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, threatens to block Nato offensive
U.S. seeks to ease strained relations with Afghanistan
Obama Administration Calls Karzai 'A Reliable Partner'
Senior Officials Discuss Way Ahead in Afghanistan
Update on Afghan Police Training
Canada Pledges Additional Personnel to Train ANSF

The Thunder Run'sFrom the Front is a daily series that highlights news and personal dispatched from the front and the home front.
This is not a secret post, please, post it on your blog, share it with your friends and families and anyone else who wants to know what is really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and how our military families cope with this war.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

To Boldly Steal a Phrase From David Codrea...

We're the Only Ones safe enough to be allowed to carry guns in public. The common citizen just doesn't have the training necessary......OOPS another candidate for the Lee Paige gun safety award.

Robert J. Stewart, 55, was demonstrating the use of a 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol at about 7:51 p.m. at the firing range when he shot himself in the upper right thigh in front of 24 recruits and several instructors at Butler Tech’s Public Safety Education Center, said Butler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chuck Laymon.

You remember Lee Paige don't you? I never get sick of posting this:



Just too funny. I'm the only one in this room professional enough, that I know of, to carry a Glock .40...BANG. Shoulda left the bullet in your pocket Barney.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Congrats

It seems that congratulations are due to a couple of the blogs on my blog roll for the 2009 Milbloggers awards. So hoist a victory beer to the USNI blog and Blackfive for winning their respective categories.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010