Monday - March 19, 2007

After Action Report

Here’s a good report from our friend CWO about the “Gathering of Eagles” counter-protest in DC. 

I was proud to attend today’s “Gathering of Eagles” (GOE) counter-protest to the large anti-war march to the Pentagon and was pleased find the attendance by many loyal veterans and Americans. Those carrying American flags and backing our men and women in uniform arrived and participated in very large numbers. I was impressed and pleased.

The dingbats were also in very large numbers and behaved shamefully. They didn’t do so without direct, loud and clear commentary from the assembled patriotic souls and faced a sea of American flags flying stiffly in the cold wind. The “moonbat” crowd did shameful things to the few American flags that they had - including altering the to stars and replacing them with dishonorable symbols and later - dragging the American flag on the ground.

The voices and messages of those of us flying the American flag with pride were numerous, loud and gave absolutely no quarter. I was proud to raise my voice with them. The event began with the dingbat anti-war protesters assembled near the State Department giving their shrill speeches.

Go thee hence and partake of the event by proxy

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2007 at 10:57 AM   
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   Sunday - December 24, 2006

Silent Night

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

-- Luke 2:1-14 (KJV)

On This Day In History

December 24, 1914 - Flanders, France

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the “no man’s land” between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a “Christmas” truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death.

Signboards arose up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or - from the Germans - in fractured English. Rightly, the Germans assumed that the other side could not read traditional gothic lettering, and that few English understood spoken German. ‘YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT’ was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units improvised ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up.

A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict. Then, they exchanged gifts. Chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. By Christmas morning, the “no man’s land” between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations and gifts, singing and (more solemnly) burying their dead between the lines. Soon they were even playing soccer, mostly with improvised balls.

According to the official war diary of the 133rd Saxon Regiment, “Tommy and Fritz” kicked about a real football supplied by a Scot. “This developed into a regulation football match with caps casually laid out as goals. The frozen ground was no great matter . . . The game ended 3-2 for Fritz.”

By New Years Day the fighting had resumed and the war would drag on for another four years — and it would ultimately see the staggering totals of 8½ million dead and 21 million wounded but for a few brief days in that December of 1914 there was “peace on Earth, good will toward men.”

-- “Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce” by Stanley Weintraub
    Plume; Reprint edition (October 29, 2002), 224 pages, ISBN: 0452283671

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/24/2006 at 01:10 AM   
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   Tuesday - November 21, 2006

Lessons Forgotten

_{Gary Varvel - The Indianapolis Star-News}

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/21/2006 at 02:21 AM   
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   Tuesday - October 24, 2006

PODS

Paranoid Obsessive Derangement Syndrome (PODS) is spreading rapidly along both coasts and around the Great Lakes region. Medical authorities have not been able to pinpoint an exact origin of this deadly virus as it seems to have simultaneously appeared in the US regions above as well as in North Korea, Venezuela, Gaza and Iran at almost the same time.

The disease begins with a withdrawal from the rest of society, followed by a rapid growth of paranoid delusions. Sufferers may, at this early stage, begin making public threats against perceived enemies. Attempts to manage the disease by outside intervention often results in heightened fear and paranoia in the sufferer.

Ignoring the disease (and the sufferer) only seems to exacerbate the symptoms as a need for public recognition and approval arise in the tertiary stages. This can often manifest itself as an almost messianic belief that the sufferer has been “chosen” to right all the wrongs in the world and bring peace, love and understanding to all creatures under the sun.

After that, it gets real ugly in the final stages of PODS. The sufferer begins experiencing hallucinations, and schizophrenic behavior begins to heighten the feelings of paranoia. The passive-aggressive behavior reaches painful levels. At this stage, anyone who attempts treatment with doses of sanity and reason are apt to be met with threats of physical harm, foul abusive language and even threats of lawsuits and/or other retaliation up to and including nuclear war.

Researchers are currently studying several specimens: Cindy Sheehan, Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Kim Jung Il, all of whom appear to be in the final stages of this debilitating disease. Researchers are making some progress with a serum made from stem cells taken from the asshole of a dodo bird and chemically grown in a bed of cells from the back hair of Sasquatch. Due to the shortage of these key ingredients a cure seems decades away.

In the meantime, go to Amazon and buy a copy of ”America Mourning” by Catherine Moy and Melanie Morgan. The moonbats have gone after the authors with a vengeance and now Ms. Sheehan is threatening to “sue them for every nickel they have.” (see Final Stages Of PODS above)

I’ve just finished reading the book and, contrary to the beliefs of people suffering from PODS, it is not about Cindy Sheehan. It is about the contrast between two different families who have suffered losses in the War On Terror. I highly recommend it for anyone out there who hasn’t contracted PODS yet.

Sheehan’s Legal Threat Led CNN to Censor Me, Author Says
_{(CNS NEWS) - October 24, 2006}

CNN restricted an on-air discussion about a new book dealing with the Iraq war because peace activist Cindy Sheehan threatened to sue over provocative claims about her in the book, one of its co-authors claims.

“American Mourning” examines how the death of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq affected their families. One of the two is the Sheehan family. Co-author Melanie Morgan told Cybercast News Service she was slated to appear on CNN’s Headline News’ “Glenn Beck” program last week and that a producer told her it would be a short segment, focusing on passing claims in the book regarding Sheehan’s personal life.

Morgan said she replied: “OK, fine, whatever,” and continued on the promotional tour for the book, which deals with the families of Casey Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., and Justin Johnson of Rome, Ga., friends who were killed within five days of each other in separate ambushes in Sadr City, Iraq, during April 2004.

While en route to CNN studios to tape the interview, however, Morgan received another call from the producer telling her that the segment would now deal with “everything but the sex issues.”

Morgan—who is president of the conservative organization Move America Forward—said when she asked about the reason for the last-minute change, the producer told her it was made because of “legal issues.”

Morgan and her co-author, journalist Catherine Moy, told Cybercast News Service that they believe they know what “legal issues” CNN was concerned about when they changed the focus of the interview.

One day earlier, peace activist Sheehan said on the nationally syndicated Stephanie Miller radio show that she planned to sue Morgan and Moy “for every nickel they have.”

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/24/2006 at 01:46 PM   
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   Tuesday - July 11, 2006

America’s Forgotten War

I’d heard of the Utah War of 1857-58 but never any details. Enjoy.

America’s forgotten war: LDS raiders kept Army at bay in 1857-58
By Lee Davidson
Deseret Morning News

John Eldredge’s smile shows he loves this. Technically, he is leading a Jeep caravan into the wilds of western Wyoming, but it is more like the expedition has traveled back in time, to when Utah changed forever as the territory became the stage for what could be called America’s first civil war.

Eldredge tells stories at a bleak spot called the “Camp of Death,” where a race for survival began for U.S. soldiers harassed by Mormon militia during the so-called “Utah War” of 1857-58. A flock of buzzards is perched just down the trail, almost as if, by chance, age-old events might repeat to their benefit. The wind seems to carry echoes of suffering ghost soldiers.

“It’s absolutely fascinating — and almost nobody knows about it,” historian Eldredge says about the Utah War and the sites where most hostilities occurred, in an area of Wyoming that was then still part of Utah Territory.

A state-appointed group of historians is working to publicize that often-forgotten military encounter as the war’s sesquicentennial approaches next year, and the group used a caravan to “battle” sites this past week to help.

It is a story worth telling. The Utah War showed how the American nation would deal with perceived rebellion and how an invaded people would react, foreshadowing events of the real Civil War that would follow just four years later.

Emphasis added. Continue reading or click here for the article with photos and maps.

Posted by Christopher     on 07/11/2006 at 06:49 PM   
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   Tuesday - May 02, 2006

The Critic

_{Steve Breen—The San Diego Union-Tribune}

- David Beamer: “United 93 - The filmmakers got it right”
_{(David is the father of Todd Beamer, who was on the flight and was last heard saying “Lets Roll!")}

- US Senate: “Congressional Gold Medal for passengers and crew of Flight 93?”

Posted by The Skipper     on 05/02/2006 at 08:01 AM   
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   Saturday - April 22, 2006

Can You Hear Me Now?

This story needs no intro and all I have to say is .... BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA ......

Wrong Number: Interpreter Answers Cell Phone,
Dupes Insurgents
_{Saturday, April 22, 2006}

IBRAHIM AL MARKHUR, Iraq — One misplaced cell phone and one savvy interpreter equaled one dead insurgent, several pieces of intelligence and a whole lot of captured weapons. On a routine patrol, U.S. troops with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor came upon a house in the midst of dense greenery and at the end of a dusty country road.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicodemus, 33, said he immediately noticed that no Iraqi men were around. Suddenly, a cell phone inside the home rang, said Nicodemus, of Altoona, Pa. “The interpreter went in and answered the phone, and on the other end of the phone the person said, in Arabic, ‘Hey, coalition forces are here, go ahead and run away,’ and he specifically said, ‘Go and run into the palm groves all around here,’ ” Nicodemus said.

The troops then fanned out into the palm groves and found several weapons including several rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, two AK-47s and a new sniper’s rifle, Nicodemus said. They also found a hand-written map of a U.S. military base, diagrams on how to build rockets and a CD-ROM with several thousand files written in Arabic, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Greer, 35, of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

If that weren’t enough, the insurgent kept calling the interpreter back to ask what the Americans were doing. The interpreter kept the act going. “He’s basically acting like, you know, he’s watching us ... making sure everything is fine,” Nicodemus said.

- Read The Rest Of This Hilarious Incident at Stars & Stripes

Posted by The Skipper     on 04/22/2006 at 01:34 AM   
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   Sunday - April 09, 2006

M.I.A.

In keeping with the rules of the Geneva Convention, Al Qaeda today issued a statement on the second anniversary of the capture of Matt Maupin detailing how he is being well treated in captivity with special Western meals provided as well as a Bible to read and access to the P.O.W. prison library and frequent visits by the Red Cross and Amnesty International to deliver packages from home and to check on his well-being ...

Unfortunately, not a damn word of the above is true. Two years later and no one knows what happened to Matt. The insurgents have issued a video tape purporting to show their “execution” of the young man. Only one thing is sure: without a doubt, Matt is not being treated with the same kid gloves that the captured Al Qaeda fighters at Gitmo are being treated. Why? Because our enemy is nothing less than a savage band of barbaric murderers, thieves and cowards. They prefer to capture and torture female reporters and behead civilian workers. They are nothing more than wild animals and should be treated accordingly - shot on sight.

Your assignment today is simple: read the story of Matt Maupin and see if you can do anything to help find out what happened to him ... and while you’re at it, compare and contrast the courage, love and devotion of Carolyn Maupin to the insane venom of Cindy Sheehan. Two mothers with decidedly different attitudes toward their sons and what they stood for ....

Mom Holds Out Hope for Missing Soldier
_{April 9, 2006, 11:48 PM EDT}

BATAVIA, Ohio (AP)—Nearly 30,000 pictures of Matt Maupin are circulating around Iraq, a loving effort by his parents to locate the only U.S. soldier still listed as missing since his capture two years ago. Carolyn Maupin steadfastly hopes that someday, someone will recognize Matt, and he will come home.

She refuses to consider the alternative. “I honestly thought he’d be back by now,” she said. “I didn’t think it would take this long. Pictures of Matt are placed inside the boxes of goodies sent to troops in Iraq by the Maupins’ Yellow Ribbon Support Center—a storefront operation near the Sam’s Club where Matt used to work.

“We put 10 pictures inside each box with a little note asking them to please help us find him, and also thanking them for defending our freedom,” Maupin said. Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin is known as Matt because Keith is also his father’s name. He was a 20-year-old private first class in the Army Reserves when he was captured April 9, 2004, when his fuel convoy, part of the 724th Transportation Co., was ambushed west of Baghdad.

A week later, Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles. That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim’s head and did not show the actual shooting.

The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the soldier in the second tape was Maupin, and he has been promoted twice since his capture. After a routine review a year ago, the adjutant general approved an Army board’s recommendation to continue Maupin’s status as “missing-captured.” That has not changed, and there are no plans for another review, said Maj. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman in Washington.

President Bush has met with Keith and Carolyn Maupin on trips to nearby Cincinnati, and they have been briefed at the Pentagon about efforts to find their son. The Maupins have helped get computers to soldiers in Iraq to give them access to e-mail and college courses, and they hope to raise $100,000 at a dinner-dance Sunday to fund scholarships in the name of area soldiers who have died in Iraq.

“They have a great deal of courage,” said Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, an avid supporter who lives in Loveland near the Maupins’ hometown. “They’ve kept the candle burning for Matt; they’re also keeping it burning for every member of the military.”

- More on this story here ...

More About Matt Maupin On The Web:

The Patriots Inn: Matt Maupin

TIME: On Matt Maupin

WCPO: Matt Maupin News

Enquirer: Matt Maupin News

POW Network: Matt Maupin

Military.com: Matt Maupin

Posted by The Skipper     on 04/09/2006 at 12:28 PM   
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   Thursday - April 06, 2006

The Time Traveler

I saw this link on Misha’s site and followed it.  Wow.

Here’s a taste:

The Time Traveler appeared suddenly in my study on New Year’s Eve, 2004. He was a stolid, grizzled man in a gray tunic and looked to be in his late-sixties or older. He also appeared to be the veteran of wars or of some terrible accident since he had livid scars on his face and neck and hands, some even visible in his scalp beneath a fuzz of gray hair cropped short in a military cut. One eye was covered by a black eyepatch. Before I could finish dialing 911 he announced in a husky voice that he was a Time Traveler come back to talk to me about the future.

If you read nothing else today but this, you will have read enough.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/06/2006 at 08:05 AM   
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   Tuesday - March 28, 2006

Wild Blue Yonder

“US Air Force B-17 Pilots”
US Air Force Celebrates Women’s History Month

These four female pilots leaving their ship at the four engine school at Lockbourne are members of a group of WASPS who have been trained to ferry the B-17 Flying Fortresses in 1944.

In the United States, with the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who called them a “weapon waiting to be used,” record-breaking pilot Jacqueline Cochran tried to use her influence to form a woman’s squadron, but seeing that it was hopeless, she took a group of women pilots to England to fly with the British ATA. During her absence, the U.S. Army organized the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps in 1941 (WAAC) (changed to the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) when the group was militarized in 1943). The WACs were assigned to non-flying aviation positions such as Link trainer instructors, radio operators, mechanics, photo interpreters and parachute riggers. The Navy established the WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1942 to perform the same assignments as the WACs, as well as become control tower operators, a controversial decision since detractors worried that women could not handle the multiple tasks required. But the women excelled and the only problem was that the WAVES uniform skirt was too snug for climbing the ladders into the towers.

The U.S. Air Transport Command had been investigating, through pilot Nancy Love, using women to ferry planes from the factories to stateside military bases. Although U.S. Army Air Force Chief of Staff Henry “Hap” Arnold had promised Jacqueline Cochran and the White House that Cochran would have command of any women’s unit, that was not to pass. Military politics led to the announcement on September 10, 1942 of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), under the command of Love. The first WAFS group arrived, after an intensive screening process, at New Castle Air Base in October. Although civilians, they began flying military planes in the contiguous United States.

As a peace offering to the angry Cochran, Arnold organized the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) to train pilots. The WFTD training school was at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where 1,074 women were taught to fly “the Army way” while living the military lifestyle with uniforms, drills, regulations, and morning reveille. Although never officially made members of the military, the women still behaved as if they had been.

In August 1943 the two women’s groups were merged, under Cochran’s command and renamed the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs). The WASPs accumulated an amazing record. They flew every airplane in the USAAF’s inventory, including half of all pursuit planes delivered during the war. When male pilots were afraid to fly the new B-29 Superfortress because of mechanical difficulties experienced during testing, two WASPs took one, Ladybird, on a tour of air bases to show the men how safe the plane was. And the women’s duties increased beyond ferrying. They towed targets for aerial gunnery practice, simulated strafing, served as flight instructors, and ran check flights for recently repaired aircraft. And Ann Baumgartner worked as a test pilot at Wright Field where she became the first woman to fly the YP-59 jet. Thirty-eight WASPs were killed performing their duties. In total, the female pilots logged 60 million miles flying their planes.

- More at the US Centennial Of Flight Commission ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/28/2006 at 05:22 PM   
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   Monday - March 20, 2006

The Art Of War

September 2, 1945 - Aboard The USS Missouri
US Naval Historical Center

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/20/2006 at 06:46 PM   
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   Sunday - March 19, 2006

Requiem

This morning I woke up to the realization that I had survived another year on this planet and could safely put the 57th notch on my life-counter. Will there be a 58th? Who knows. None of us really knows when our number will come up in the great lottery of cheating death day after day.

Putting aside momentary thoughts about my own mortality, I started looking around the web to see what was going on while I slept. Almost immediately I came across a link from Drudge to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about Cindy Sheehan by staff writer Vicki Haddock.

Fully expecting to read another anti-war diatribe from another San Fran-critter, I started reading. Sure enough, there was news about an upcoming media blitz revolving around Ms. Sheehan, including a movie about her starring anti-war activist Susan Sarandon ...

She’s averaging just two days per month [at home]. The next morning she will fly off again, the surreal star of what is—depending largely on one’s political perspective—either an epic tragedy or a farce. After stops for protests in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., she will breakfast in Manhattan with actress Susan Sarandon, who is set to portray her in a biopic movie. A crew will film Sheehan for a weekly reality series on the Sundance Channel.

Her letters to President Bush inspired “Peace Mom,” a one-woman monologue show in London. A memoir is due to her publisher April 1. And she hopes to reschedule a trip to address the European Union, postponed, she says, because of injuries when she was arrested yet again and jailed earlier this month on charges of blocking entrance to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Thoroughly intrigued by the phrase “depending on one’s political perspective”, I decided to read further. The article goes on to explore not only Ms. Sheehan’s rise to “fame” but also the psychological impact it may be having on her. I have to admit I lost all respect for the woman a long time ago. At first, I felt sorry for her for the loss of her son but then after a while things got real squirrely as described in the article ...

Sheehan’s image rose and fell on her willingness to publicize personal pain. A January Vanity Fair spread featured a photo of Cindy Sheehan, eyes closed, lying on her son’s grave: National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg suggested it was “the most shameless, exploitative stunt of the decade.”

“These plainclothes celebrities become spotlight addicts. The lows of being out of the news cycle make them crave it all over again. So they ratchet up the zealot factor,” said Matthew Fell, media director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. “Cindy Sheehan went from letting her picture be taken, to posing, to mugging. She’s become a caricature of herself.”

The picture in Vanity Fair really went over the top, as far as I was concerned.  If you must see the picture, it’s here in this WorldNet Daily editorial from December, 2005. When I first heard about the photo and saw it, I had to just sit back and take a deep breath. I cannot describe the feelings that went through me ... except one. I felt extreme and complete shame and pity for Ms. Sheehan. Not for the loss of her son but for the loss of her sanity and dignity.

The article then goes on to explore Ms. Sheehan’c current state and how she is reacting to the sudden media spotlight followed by the subsequent disappearance of support for her cause as more and more people reacted negatively to her increasingly embaressing displays of “media whoring” as some have called it ....

Her public rhetoric grows angrier. In the earliest interview, after her first meeting with the president, she gingerly described him as sincere while suggesting he didn’t satisfy her about the war. In recent months, she has branded him “The Fuhrer” and a mass murderer, demanding his impeachment. She has squared off against parents who have lost soldiers in Iraq and continue to support the president’s policies, labeling them “brainwashed.”

But Cindy Sheehan isn’t apologizing for her anger. “How can your rage not increase when every day something comes out that says my son should still be alive, that the reasons for this war are bogus? ... I’m not an extreme wacko—I’m with the mainstream on this. I don’t think it’s naive or wacky to be upset that we’re still killing people to solve our problems.”

Sheehan has been severed from much of her old life—or she has severed it herself. Her marriage, her job, her home. Loss of most of her friends, whom she cannot forgive for voting to re-elect Bush. Loss of her Catholic faith (a former youth pastor, she has abandoned Christianity and envisions a universal spiritual creator.)

Every day her anger increases. She has driven off everything from her former life including her husband, her marriage, her former friends and now travels around with a host of bodyguards and public relations people hired by activist organizations with suspect agendas. She has declared that she is “not a wacko and with the mainstream” but I know she hasn’t convinced me and I doubt she has even managed to convince herself.

The loss of her Christian faith is, to me, the final sign. This is a trainwreck waiting to happen. When it does, the media and the Leftist groups propping her up will simply do what she is doing now ... namely blame everyone but themselves. I sincerely hope I am proven wrong and Ms. Sheehan manages to regain her sanity and perspective before all is said and done.

So where does this lead me? Well, you’re probably wondering why this post leads off with a picture of a Army soldier. The picture is of Spec. Casey Sheehan who is at the center of all this and at the same time becoming less and less a part of this saga. After reading the article above and gathering my thoughts, I decided to rectify my lack of knowledge about Casey Sheehan. Here is what I found out by browsing around the web ...

He grew up in Norwalk in Southern California and moved to Vacaville in 1993 with his parents, brother Andy, 18, and sisters Carly, 23, and Jane, 18. His family attended church at St. Mary’s Catholic Church where Casey was very involved. According to Father Benedict DeLeon, the priest there, “Casey assisted me in various ways. He was on our high school youth group leadership team, also acted as alter server when we celebrated youth mass. When Casey got older, he served as a eucharistic minister.” He was also an Eagle Scout.

Casey Sheehan was in Iraq only two weeks when he was killed while driving a Humvee just outside of southern Baghdad during the uprising there. He was one of eight soldiers killed by Shiite militia firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades in an early morning ambush of the convoy. He was 24 years old at the time (April, 2004). Sheehan was a member of the 82nd Field Artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. According to Sheehan’s Sergeant, on the day he was killed he and another soldier, Cpl. Forest J. Jostes, volunteered to be part of a quick response team when rioting started in Baghdad.

Casey Sheehan’s life was probably best summed up in a quote from his sister Carly that I ran across at Honor The Fallen web site ....

“That’s all he wanted to do was serve God and his country his whole life,” Carly Sheehan said. “He was a boy scout from age 6 or 7 and an Eagle Scout. It was kind of a natural progression to go into the military from that. He said he was enjoying the military because it was just like the boy scouts but they got guns.”

Now do you understand? Casey Sheehan was just a good kid, as evidenced by the many compliments of his friends. He was someone who believed in his country and his faith. He was the kind of young man any parent would be proud to have raised. His life, his dedication to duty, honor and courage, his faith in God and most importantly his willingness to lay down his life in the cause of freedom - should be his requiem. Instead, all we are given is constant coverage of his mother as she disassociates herself from everything he stood for. That’s just not right.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/19/2006 at 01:40 PM   
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   Wednesday - March 15, 2006

Make Love Not War

You’re out on patrol, choppering through the skies over the war zone in Iraq. While scanning around with night vision goggle you notice activity in a parked car behind a building. You zoom with the goggles and slowly the picture comes into focus ....

Chopper Observer: “02 to 26. Do you copy?”

HQ Comm unit: “Go ahead, 02.”

Chopper Observer: “We have activity here but I don’t think we need to report it.”

HQ Comm Unit: “What you got, 02?”

Chopper Observer: “Well .... it looks like fornication in a convertible.”

HQ Comm Unit: “Whaaaaaaaat?”

(Entire chopper crew heard cracking up in background)

Just another day in a war zone .... [NSFW]

_{Hat Tip To: Steve C.}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/15/2006 at 03:41 PM   
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   Sunday - March 05, 2006

Dude, Where’s the Civil War?

First of all, sorry for the brief Haitus.  I was in Las Vegas for a week (what a crazy town that is!) at a conference, and my wife left yesterday to spend a week in Waveland, MS doing hurricane relief, so we spent last week getting everything ready for that.  I’ve been reading all the posts and comments, but have not had the bandwidth to participate.

Ralph Peters has a great skewering of the MSM today.  He’s in Iraq, riding around with the boys in the Field Artillery and can’t seem to find anything but waving children, hospitable sheiks and grateful citizens.  Here’s a taste:

I’m trying. I’ve been trying all week. The other day, I drove another 30 miles or so on the streets and alleys of Baghdad. I’m looking for the civil war that The New York Times declared. And I just can’t find it.

Maybe actually being on the ground in Iraq prevents me from seeing it. Perhaps the view’s clearer from Manhattan. It could be that my background as an intelligence officer didn’t give me the right skills.

And riding around with the U.S. Army, looking at things first-hand, is certainly a technique to which The New York Times wouldn’t stoop in such an hour of crisis.

Let me tell you what I saw anyway. Rolling with the “instant Infantry” gunners of the 1st Platoon of Bravo Battery, 4-320 Field Artillery, I saw children and teenagers in a Shia slum jumping up and down and cheering our troops as they drove by. Cheering our troops.

All day - and it was a long day - we drove through Shia and Sunni neighborhoods. Everywhere, the reception was warm. No violence. None.

And no hostility toward our troops. Iraqis went out of their way to tell us we were welcome.

That just won’t do.  You see, Chimpy’s illegal war must fail so our guys the progressives can get back in control.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/05/2006 at 10:08 PM   
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