Musings of a Merry Mad Monk

Will This Be Your Epitaph?

2006-10-29T08:49:00.002-06:00

"I was not a warrior. I never learned to fight for my freedom. I was only good at enjoying it."

It will be theirs.

Just When I Think I'm Back

2006-09-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

I'm gone again.

"This affair must hang in suspense no longer. Sweep the field with the bayonet."
-- T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Are You Still Mad?

2006-09-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

Yes? Good.

It's been almost 5 years since the cowardly attack upon our people and our nation -- to me, it seems only days ago.

This fight has really just started. It's not going to be over anytime soon. Maybe when the knuckleheads realize that when they fuck with the United States of America things end very badly for them, we will be able to see the beginning of the end of this particular struggle.

It is an epic battle between good and evil -- and in this world, good does not always win. But if we stay strong... if we maintain our warrior spirit, we will win this one for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We can't expect to look much beyond that.

The warrior spirit. I trust that it is still alive and well in this nation.

They need to be worried about what we might do...not the other way around.

And I can't help but add this thought: Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, et al. What have they contributed lately to humanity save misery and suffering. Would we really miss them if they were wiped off the map tomorrow?

I might miss the pyramids.

Trouble in the Wind for Security Firms

2006-09-01T06:45:00.000-05:00

... and potential trouble for securing this nation.

The trial lawyers are salivating:

Blackwater loses bid to move suit to federal court

Blackwater loses appeal in deaths of four in Iraqi city

Blackwater suit stays in N.C. court:

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by families of Americans killed and strung up on a bridge in Iraq stays in a North Carolina state court, the federal appeals court in Richmond ruled yesterday.

Three judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided they had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal filed by Blackwater Security Consulting, the Moyock, N.C.-based company that employed the four dead men.

The families initially filed the lawsuit in state court. Blackwater wanted the case tried in U.S. District Court and tried to move it there.

But the federal judge found that his court lacked jurisdiction in the matter and sent it back to state court. Blackwater appealed.

The lawsuit makes wrongful-death and fraud claims.

This has been below the radar screen, but we need to start paying attention. This nation made a decision to maintain a small military -- we do that, in part, by contracting out more and more military-related work.

We cannot have our cake and eat it, too.

Either we radically increase the size of our military or change the laws pertaining to defense security consulting.

If we do nothing, the trial lawyers will tie our hands in defending this country.

Still Missing FREED: Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig

2006-08-22T16:38:00.000-05:00

Centanni and Wiig released from captivity

Steve Centanni

Olaf Wiig with his significant other (I suppose)

I'd never heard of Olaf Wiig previous to his kidnapping, but almost all of us military types have heard of Steve Centanni. He's not just a good reporter -- he's a good man... and a tough one... very tough.

We want both men back. Please pray for them.

More info:

Missing Fox News crew: Blogburst

Why Iran Does Not Worry Me

2006-08-22T14:04:00.000-05:00

Iran is a nation and nation-states can be made to not exist.

I'll further develop this thought at a later time.

For now, I really just want to say ...

I'm back.

Alive and Well

2006-07-07T23:52:00.000-05:00

Very.

My son is home.

Blogging will be nonexistent for the next 30 days or so.

Pursue, Prosecute, Punish Leakers

2006-06-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

The New York Times once again publishes classified national security information. Michelle Malkin has the latest here and here.

We can stomp our feet and holler at The New York Times -- and yeah I think they're culpable -- but classified information doesn't just fall from the sky into their laps.

Until the Bush administration gets serious about going after the people who are making unauthorized disclosures, our classified national security information will continue to be compromised and our enemies will continue to benefit.

Related:

Selling Out the Security of Our Nation
Unauthorized Disclosure
Able Danger: Tony Shaffer Talks...and talks and talks and talks
Slaughter Of The Innocents

One Damn Good Reason

2006-06-22T22:49:00.000-05:00

...to take your camera to the beach.

They just crawl right out of the Gulf and into your viewfinder.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Actually, I managed to get this exclusive shot just before she said, "That's like a totally small camera for someone who freelances for Travel Channel."

Nah. I'm lying. I wouldn't tell anybody that.

Really.

Army Raises Recruitment Age to 42

2006-06-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

Some may choose to look at this as desperation on the part of the United States Army. They may be right.

I choose to look at it as an opportunity to point out some facts that ~~should~~ might make a lot of you uncomfortable.

About 93% of Americans, age 18-42, have never served a day in the military.

There are about 115 million Americans age 18-42.

@ 5.1 million of them are veterans
-- @ 365,000 (20-24)
-- @ 670,000 (25-29)
-- @ 1,008,000 (30-34)
-- @ 1,332,000 (35-39)
-- @ 1,732,000 (40-44)
@ 1.4 million of them are on Active Duty in the Army (@ 490,000), Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard
@ 1.2 million are in the Guard and Reserves

@ 107 million Americans, age 18-42, have never served.

In other words, even accounting for the mentally and physically disabled, there are a whole bunch of people that are eligible to wear...

...combat boots.

Opportunity knocks:

GoArmy.com

Meet Diana Irey

2006-06-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

Diana Irey is running against Jack "Cut and Run" Murtha for Pennsylvania's 12th U.S. Congressional District House seat.

Lane Core, Jr., a freelance writer, interviewed Diana Irey last week. You can read about it here.

(Click on photo to enlarge... you'll be glad you did)

She is one of the most intriguing candidates to come along in quite awhile and she couldn't have come on the scene at a better time. This has become a critical national race in my humble opinion.

Lane's profile of Diana Irey.

Her website.

Diana Irey on FOX News Live (6-19-06)

Her Washington, D.C. press conference.

Veterans Support Diana Irey for Congress.

The Way Things Work in The Third World and Louisiana

2006-06-20T01:46:00.000-05:00

Pardon the redundancy.

The U.S. Congress gives Louisiana $12 Billion dollars (OUR tax dollars - from all 50 states) for Hurricane Katrina recovery.

The Louisiana legislature creates a Disaster Recovery Unit to spend that $12 Billion dollars through community development block grants (a recipe for graft).

Bryant Hammett, Jr. (Democrat-Ferriday [Little Port-au-Prince], Louisiana), Chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, applies for a job in the new Disaster Recovery Unit which he helped create.

Grinnin' like a possum eatin' grapes

Bryant Hammett, Jr., who is tight with that national disgrace and thoroughly incompetent governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, alternately insists that:

a) he saw an advertisement for the job on a website.
b) a friend told him about the job.

Bryant Hammett, Jr., also the sole owner of Bryant Hammett & Associates LLC, a civil engineering and land surveying business that benefited from state contracts while he was Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, doesn't see a problem with applying for the job.

Neither does the Louisiana Board of Ethics (talk about oxymorons). The Louisiana Board of Ethics says it's OK for Hammett to take the job.

[Kinda reminds me of that old song: You ain't done nothin' wrong, but you ain't done nothin' right.]

Bryant Hammett, Jr. resigns his position (he was term limited to 2008) in the legislature which he has held for 15 years.

Bryant Hammett, Jr. gets the $140,000/year job as Infrastructure Manager/Senior Engineer for the Disaster Recovery Unit which will dole out the $12 Billion dollars.

Bryant Hammett & Associates LLC will be precluded from doing any work for the Disaster Recovery Unit, BUT the firm could be a subcontractor on jobs involving regular Community Development Block Grant funding and continue to do work for other state agencies AND local governments EVEN IF they (the local governments) receive Disaster Recovery Unit funding.

$12 Billion dollars taken involuntary from the pocketbooks of taxpayers across the nation and sent to Louisiana to be spent as Bryant Hammett, Jr. sees fit.

It's enough to make a rabbit spit in a pitbull's face.

Sources:
Legislator takes job to help rebuild state
Rep. Hammett to resign, will direct rebuilding
Ferriday legislator considers recovery job
Hammett Considers New Job
Hammett considers new job

If you want to learn more about how Louisiana works -- and we all should since we've given the state $12 Billion dollars -- then don't miss this excellent blog: Louisiana Political News Service

The Intolerant, Judgmental GM Roper

2006-06-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

... speaks for the intolerant, judgmental Merry Mad Monk and, no doubt, many others.

GM Roper offers clarity to an otherwise confused and politically correct society:

Tolerance, as foisted on the denizens of western civilization is an outgrowth of the '60s and '70s growth of "self esteemism" and psychobabble such as "I'm O.K., You're OK." Having participated in some of that dreck, I know whereof I speak, but it didn't take me long to figure out that "When everything is tolerated, then nothing is sacred and evil is unrestrained."

Tolerance: tol•er•ance pronunciation – tol-er-ens:

The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others."

Recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others - nothing is sacred and evil is unrestrained. Yes, these two concepts are greatly connected and should be, I repeat, should be a strong hint to the rational individual that tolerance is not the way to practice human relationships. Yet, there is room for tolerance, and that too should be obvious to the rational among us. For example, I am more than willing to tolerate the religious beliefs of others when those other's beliefs also tolerate the religious beliefs of others. As a Christian, I tolerate the beliefs of Hinduists, Confucionists, animists, Jewish folk etc. I'm intolerant to a large degree, though I accept their freedom to worship as they choose, of those who believe that their faith is the only "allowable" faith. I do not believe, for example, that as a Methodist, all Baptists are doomed to hellfire and brimstone. Nor do I accept that only the Roman Catholic faith is the only way to heaven. Nor do I accept that Mohammad is the ONLY prophet of Allah or even that Islam is the "one true faith."

I also don't accept any religion that says human sacrifice is acceptable, or that infanticide is "good" or that making burnt offerings to a statue is the same as any other faith. I do not believe that a faith has the obligation to convert everyone else on the pain of death or the imposition of dihimmitude. I do not accept any belief or custom that demands female circumcision so that the female cannot enjoy the act of sex.

I am not willing to tolerate the existence of a cult of murderers who kill in the name of Allah, or Baal, or any other belief system and this is because I am judgmental. Oh yes, I also believe that there is also nothing wrong with being judgmental. Read on

What Does North Korea Want?

2006-06-19T02:06:00.000-05:00

North Korea wants the entire Korean peninsula.

All the rhetoric, missile testing, missile launching, weapons proliferation, weapons sales, border infiltrations, threats, warnings, and propaganda are meant to support that goal.

Other than that, the only thing predictable about the North Koreans is that they are unpredictable.

What we must do is continue to be resolute... because what the North Koreans are really testing is our resolve.

Kim Jong-il does not doubt our capability to stop him. He doubts our resolve.

We need to remind this pissant that not only can we burn them to a crisp, but that we have the will to burn them to a crisp.

Anyway, I reckon I'll be up the rest of the night watching for this latest threat from North Korea.

RELATED:

Korea: The Unfinished War

Iraq, Iran & North Korea

North Korea: Ten Years Of DCI Testimony

Merry Mad Monks of the DMZ

===============================

UPDATE 6:15pm CDT:

Rice Warns North Korea Against Missile Test

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned North Korea on Monday it will face consequences if it test-fires a missile thought to be powerful enough to reach the West Coast of the United States.

"It would be a very serious matter and, indeed, a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile," Rice said amid indications that the North Koreans could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any moment.

The senior U.S. diplomat said the United States would talk to other nations about action should the North go ahead, and "I can assure everyone that it would be taken with utmost seriousness."

The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries have urged North Korea to abandon any missile firing, but there was no sign of backing down. U.S. officials said Monday the missile was apparently fully assembled and fueled, giving the North a launch window of about a month.

Unlike other preparatory steps the United States has tracked, the fueling process is very difficult to reverse, and most likely means the test will go ahead, one senior administration official said.

The precise timing is unclear, the official said.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said he was holding preliminary consultations with Security Council members on possible action if North Korea fires the missile, thought to be a three-stage Taepodong-2 with a non-nuclear payload.

"But we don't really know what the North Korean intentions are at this point, so I think we need to wait for the event," Bolton said.

What's it all mean? North Korea has an intercontinental ballistic missile assembled and fully fueled that can be launched anytime in the next 30 days. And that is not a good thing.

The Man on Page 602

2006-06-16T14:34:00.000-05:00

After 31 years, the mystery is solved.

I suspected as much.

(For Miss C, Miss H, Miss M and Miss J)

Good Dogs Having A Good Time

2006-06-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

"Did ya see how high Fluffy jumped when I nose-poked her?"
"Heh. Sleeping cats are soooo easy."

"Wow! She's still running in circles!"
"Yeah, we probably need to give her a little more space."

Should the Marine Corps Punish Corporal Belile?

2006-06-15T00:54:00.000-05:00

NO.

Can the Marine Corps punish Corporal Belile?

Yes.

Jim Hanson at Blackfive seems to think that marines and soldiers have the same rights as civilians.

They don't... and he should know better.

Hanson also seems to think that marines and soldiers have "off time", i.e. a time when they are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice?

They don't... and, again, Hanson should know better.

To suggest otherwise is to misinform his readers and the readers of those blogs who have excerpted his letter to the Marine Corps spokesman.

Having said that, I think the Marine Corps brass need to CAIR less.

Happy Birthday, Army!

2006-06-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

231 Years

The day began at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery ... honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

As always, a special birthday greeting to the soldiers of...

...where the rubber meets the road, the leather meets the dirt and the metal meets the meat.

Do you know which units the above patches represent?

Today is a good day to find out.

It Is A Hot Day

2006-06-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

But...

We be chillin'

(Yeah, I've been told: that's one ugly couch ... and that men should not make certain buying decisions without "proper" consultation, etc etc. It was on sale ["That should have been your first clue."]. I liked it ["Of course you did."]. And the salesgirl was pretty ["Figures."].)

It Is A Good Day

2006-06-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

An evil leader of evil men is dead.

Abu Musab al Zarqawi at room temperature.

Michelle Malkin has all the links.

Leave Her Alone

2006-06-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

As if she gives a rat's ass what you think, anyway.

Miss Ann, if the GOP tent is not big enough, you can come stay in my pup tent.

Murtha Must Go!: A New Blog That's Lookin' Good

2006-06-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Check it out here.

Diana Irey is like a cool drink of water on a hot summer day.

If you haven't seen her D.C. press conference, you can watch it here.

Yet Another Moral Victory for the KOS Kids

2006-06-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

Republican Wins Bellwether House Race:

With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Bilbray had 56,130 votes or 49.5 percent. Busby trailed with 51,292 votes or 45 percent. "I think that we're going back to Washington," Bilbray told cheering supporters.

The race one of dozens of contests Tuesday in eight states was viewed by Democrats as an opportunity to capture a solidly Republican district and build momentum on their hopes to capture control of the House.

And how are the kids doing?

Its like watching a TBS movie for the 100th time...everytime an update comes through and our candidate gains its chump change votes....everytime the other candidate gains its in big fat chunks....

That one seems to suspect there something's hinky about living in the fever swamp. Most of the others remain blissfully delusional.

A Letter Home from Fallujah

2006-06-07T06:17:00.000-05:00

Via Alabama Improper, via Hillbilly White Trash... and at HWT's request, I'm reposting this letter from a United States Marine to his hometown paper:

Jun 2, 2006
COMMENT: Letter from Iraq: They're not supporting the troops
By Anthony Ippoliti

I am fortunate enough to receive The Ridgefield Press every few weeks and enjoy keeping abreast of the local issues currently pressing in our small town. I am a U.S. Marine Infantryman currently serving in Fallujah, Iraq, and my mother usually includes The Press in the many care packages she sends me.

Since we have very limited access to telephones, The Ridgefield Press is the primary means by which I receive local news.

Almost every week, I open The Press and find an article or letter to the editors denouncing the coalition effort in Iraq. Invariably, the individuals behind these anti-war letters and rallies mask their political agendas by asserting that they "support the troops but not the war." People like Vince Giordano, Paul Sutherland and Anne Stubbs are pictured in the April 13 edition of The Press carrying a yellow-ribboned coffin and signs that say "Bring Them Home Now." They read off the names of the dead and claim to "show support for our troops" while urging lawmakers to "bring them home." They believe that the U.S.-led coalition should never have entered Iraq and that the current effort is a never-ending quagmire that has made no progress. They believe that things are progressively getting worse and think that our forces should just pick up and leave.

They do all this under the pretense that they are supporting the troops. However, what they are really doing is using our lives and the issue of our safety and well-being as a means to achieve a political end.

My primary concern is the assertion that these individuals support the troops in Iraq but not our mission. It boggles my mind that this logic is actually utilized on a large scale.

Supporting the troops but not the war is like saying that you support filmmakers but not making films. One cannot claim to support an individual in a given profession but not support what the said profession entails. This is essentially a slap in the face to those in the service.

How protesting the job we are doing in Iraq while demanding our withdrawal constitutes supporting us is beyond me.

Furthermore, I am particularly interested in how these people support us, specifically. I have never once received a letter from an individual who claims to "support the troops, not the war." Not a single Marine I know has received anything that could be considered remotely supportive from any of these people or the groups they represent. We have received phone cards, hygiene supplies, food, etc. from members of state and local government, radio stations, schools, private individuals and organizations, but never once from any group claiming to "support the troops, but not the war."

I ask again: How can these groups claim to support our troops while telling us that what we are participating in is wrong?

How can they support us if they are essentially saying that our blood and sacrifices have all been given in vain?

How can they support us if they say that our comrades and brothers who have been wounded or killed in action have done so for a hopeless and morally questionable cause?

I reply to the questions I pose with a simple answer: They can’t. As a matter of fact, I assert with a considerable degree of confidence that their efforts make our already difficult job even more difficult. I’ll go so far as to say that their rallies and protests cost more and more servicemen their lives and limbs every day.
I support my assertion with evidence gathered first hand. I see the Iraqi people every day. The protesters do not. I speak with the Iraqi people every day. The protesters do not. I don’t sit behind a desk and do paperwork or resupply efforts in the military. I am an Infantry Marine and I walk the sewage-filled streets of this city every single day.

In Fallujah, the people watch Al Jazeerah. However, they also watch CNN. A lot of them fear that the United States will soon cut and run. The people of Iraq see when our country is divided. When they see rallies to "Bring The Troops Home," they see that as a sign that we will end our efforts prematurely.

Furthermore, they know that the insurgents will not end their efforts early. That leads them to the conclusion that when we leave, the insurgents will still be there. Therefore, if they help us, their lives and the lives of their loved ones will be in great jeopardy the minute we leave — if we don’t finish the job. Much that they see on American television leads them to believe that we intend to abandon our efforts before the new Iraqi government is capable of defending itself and its citizens.

The actions of these aforementioned organizations and the heavy media coverage their rallies often generate serves as fuel for the insurgency. Insurgents believe they can drive us out through the idea of "death by a thousand cuts." The longer they persist in their efforts, the more the American public becomes disenchanted with the coalition effort.

The insurgency sees this as a result. These criminals will continue to kill Iraqi civilians, Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army and coalition forces so long as they see that their efforts are alienating the American public from its military.

And for those of you that aren’t up to speed with the situation in Iraq, the insurgents attack and kill established public services (such as Iraqi police and Iraqi army) more often than they attack coalition forces. As a matter of fact, an explosive-laden insurgent blew himself up last week outside the Iraqi police station that is attached to our compound.

The insurgents aren’t fighting simply to drive America out of Iraq. They are fighting to destroy any semblance of the Iraqi government so that they can impose their will on its people.

Publicly protesting our efforts in Iraq fuels the insurgency. Doing it under the pretext of "supporting our troops" is disgraceful.

Let me now emphasize that I respect an American citizen’s right to voice his or her opinion in a public forum. Such a right is granted in the U.S. Constitution.
However, voicing one’s opinion in such an irresponsible way is something I do not support. Additionally, using deployed service members as a mask to serve your purely political purpose is downright shameful. If your desire is to protest the war, then protest the war, but don’t use me or any reference to our troops as a tool to bolster your purpose.

I’ll summarize by saying this: Organizations such as The Ridgefield Coalition to Stop the War do not support our troops. No matter what they say or what is printed on the signs they carry, they effectively do the opposite of support us. They downright hurt us.

Such organizations damage the morale of the men and women in the armed forces and progressively cause them to believe less and less in the mission at hand. The conditions here are difficult as it is. Opening a month-old edition of The Ridgefield Press and reading an article about an anti-war demonstration that uses our troops in an effort to mask its true cause doesn’t help.

Please do not feign support while effectively telling us that we are fighting for an unworthy cause. I think I speak for an overwhelming majority of our troops when I ask organizations like The Ridgefield Coalition to Stop the War to discontinue using Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors as a means to serve a political end.

You are neither supporting us nor honoring us. You are doing the exact opposite.

Marines Humiliated by TSA Security Guards

2006-06-07T05:28:00.000-05:00

Yet another reason why there should be a house-cleaning at the Transportation Security Administration:

The Marine Corps is livid over the mistreatment of three Marines at the hands of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in Philadelphia last month.

According to a Marine Corps memo we obtained, three Marines were "humiliated" by TSA security guards while escorting the body of Marine Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, who was killed April 28 along with two others in Al Anbar province, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Mills' body was being moved from Dover Air Force Base through Philadelphia International Airport en route to her final resting place in Gulfport, Miss., on May 3. The three Marines who were accompanying the casket, Sgt. John C. Stock, Cpl. Aaron J. Bigalk and Cpl. Jason A. Schadeburg, were forced to remove their dress blue uniforms, belts and shoes, which were then scanned. They were then "patted down" by TSA inspectors.