Been thinking about political asshattery in general, and a few politicians in specific. I try not to dwell on things too much, 'cause, well, there's only just so much bs that I find I can stand, nowadays. I thought it was interesting when my chain of thought took a different track, of sorts.


It started with Georgia's finest, opining on the possibility of military folks decidin' to up and go Guam tippin'...


Bounced around a bit, and then landed on another 'Call me Senator' who apparently got their panties in a bunch in re: the grievous insult of being called, "Ma'am". (Loved how she didn't address him as General during that little exchange, that was the topping on the cake!)


After some twists and turns, my little train wound up on sections of just about every General Petraeus clip that I've heard...


What's the connection, you ask? Political asshattery? Well, yes, but more so than that, was, the bearing of the Admirals and Generals when they have to deal with politicians.

Now, I've done my fair share of pissin' and moanin' about the really-really higher ups, but for the most part, it was more about them than directly because of them. Gettin' to formations 5 hours prior, hand scrubbing an already friggin' immaculate floor in a back room of the out-of-the-way berthing area on ship because the Division's CG is visiting in the same port as us, running fake personal security details / low-tech mine sweeping ops in Iraq, that sort of thing.

I've had to directly, face to face deal with stupid (much lower ranking) Officer questions, but truth be told, they were long and few in between, and for the most part, I'd give 'em credit; they didn't know something, so instead of pretending to be totally on the ball they put it out there and asked someone who did know what was going on. Good on 'em, sorta.

But what struck my mind when thinking about these incidents, and what I'm probably going to keep a look out for in the future is, their bearing. In all of the above mentioned scenes, there was no scoffing, snorting, wtf-ing, laughing, mouth-dropping, or hell, any kind of reaction other than the 100% professional response.

Is there some sort of Command-Staff College Poker class for advanced players going on out there? Holy Hey Zeus, can you imagine if the military got tired of the BS and just informed everyone that any and all future hearings would be responded by Gunny Ermey? Now there's a show I'd like to watch...!

Marvel

For your viewing pleasure... click and marvel at the dainty tinkle of this zoomie's sterling silver set o' balls!

linkypoo.

n.b. Grunts may want to put down any and all beverages before watching the video. Seriously, I think I damn near literally busted my gut.

Whoda thunkit?

Holy moly, did y'all hear about this?


Kayne West Told to Leave VMAs After Upsetting Taylor Swift.


Now, to be fair, all I really know of these two is 1) She's purdy and 2) She's how young? 3) Hasn't this schmuck done stuff like this before?


Not really sure I could name any songs either have done. Might be able to get kinda close with one or two, and I'm reasonably sure I could point out a song or three if I heard 'em, but that's not what gets me about this story.


What really sticks out to me after hearing about his outburst at her award reception is,



MTV is playing music videos? When did this happen?

WTF, Over.

When I was in Iraq we had, on occasion, the odd journalist or two posted at our FOB. Officially, we were to extend every courtesy, if asked. We were instructed to provide non-sensitive information if questioned and, for even a suggestion of uncertainty, to professionally and politely refer them to our chain of command, blah, blah, blah.


Unofficially, the word got out that they were to be regarded in the highest of suspicion.


We went with the unofficial word.


This is a pretty good representation of why.


ETA:

Sweetness.

Condolences go out, of course, to the families of the translator and the soldier.

Wha?

You know, this is something I never really thought about before, but since you brought it up, Coopster....

0:50





We didn't ask, why do you think he had to tell, hmm?

Stamps going up... again.

Hey, that reminds me, I have to take some letters (delivered to my house & for the previous owner) to the Post Office. Hell, it's only been almost three years, and his name and that of my wife do share a few letters, so mebbe this'll be the year they figure it out. While I do that, I'll have to try to keep from thinking about all of my mail that's probably still being delivered to random addresses in California and Texas. On a related note, time to pull my credit history again, and check to make sure that no one opened up a credit account for me from one of those addys, as well. After all o' this, I do have that one mortgage bill that I need to switch over to direct withdrawl.


Thanks, USPS!

Here.

Death in combat is something that, for some, is not really talked about too much. Just by the nature of the environment it is commonly accepted knowledge that there are plenty of risks in war, everyone is exposed to them, and sometimes, your number is called. When someone dies, you console yourself with the knowledge that the person died 'fighting the good fight', doing what they volunteered for and were trained to do, alongside their buddies.


It's still never easy.


Death, in training, is something that is possibly even harder to bear, but it does happen on occasion. The soldiers here still volunteered, were still among buddies, and even though it happened in training, I believe that they were still fighting the good fight.



Thoughts and prayers to the families of the broken and broken-hearted.


link

Oh my. The possibilities are endless with this one.


link.


I can't really get behind this... can you?

I hate to think of Francis and Flynt down on their knees beggin' for this kind of package.

This just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This is truly a sign of today's hard times.

I'm sure that all of the 'jobs' in the porno industry aren't all at risk.

Lot more companies are more hard up than I thought.

Too big to fail? Methinks they exaggerate a bit.

BOHICA.

Hope they don't go tits up.

Not sure of all the details, but I'm sure that the taxpayers are gettin' screwed in the end.

Dammit.

This really, really sucks.


link 1.

link 2.

Both links are in regards to a recent event in a city just north of me. To make a long story short, a cop stopped to assist a disabled motorist. Officer Keith Laughlin, 26, was apparently between his squad car and the SUV when a drunk driver crashed into the SUV, pinning the Officer between vehicles.


Laughlin, despite having what would most definitely qualify as a Pretty Bad Day, was able to call in to, you know, request some help for his crushed legs.


I don't care who you are, that takes some big brass ones, right there.


It has been reported that the Turd-in-Question had the smell of alcohol on him and, (surprise, surprise) has been arrested for DWI as recently as Christmas Eve.


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, asshole.


The few 'good' things about this story, I suppose, is that it sounds like Officer Laughlin is going to be ok. I don't know if the man is going to be able to resume his career in Law Enforcement that he started in friggin' April (on patrol for only 2 months!), but at least he'll be able to eventually go home to his wife and 7 month old child. As it happened on duty, I trust that Keith's expenses are going to pretty much be taken care of, but there are a few drives set up and hats being passed around for him and others here and here.


The timing of this will hopefully impress upon those that need it the importance of planing ahead. Walk, get a ride, call a cab- hell, sleep it off somewhere if you have to. In this day and age, there are even organizations that will give folks a free ride home, if all else fails.

Great Googly Moogly!

You don't see this every day.

U.S. anti-kidnap expert kidnapped in Mexico.

Reports from the article was that the guy was down south for seminars dealing with his area of expertise. It also mentions that the area he was in was 'relatively safe' *snort*. He was taken after stepping outside a restaurant to take a phone call.

Whoops.

Is there nowhere truly safe, anymore?

Give y'all a clue. Nope.

Now of course I hope for the best when it comes to this unfortunate fellow, that he is released quickly and without harm. I couldn't help but think that if only he had access to some means of defending himself, some method of ensuring that he would be able to keep from harm should he be attacked by those who would bring him ill-will, maybe he wouldn't be in this unfortunate position...


Yes, I'm talking about dodge-ball classes from the President's personal trainer. Whoever that guy is, give him a raise.

Now, I understand that there were most likely many requirements, restrictions and considerations that the security detail were working with, but holy-hell, that's the friggin' President of the friggin' U.S. of friggin' A.! There should have been at the very least a hit that would've made any NFL defensive player weep tears of enlightenment and types like me cackle at the righteous violence. Now, I'll give 'em credit, they subdued the guy fairly quickly, as well they should have- you notice the guy's white socks? Heck, even I know that white socks are a no-no in that attire. We should have seen a few flying elbows and/or noogies, just for the socks.

WTH?

From yesterday's post,

...due to our geographical location, the concept of snowy fields was negotiable...

Yesterday's high temperature here in Central Texas was 81 degrees, as some reported.


It snowed last night and this morning.


I'm still waiting for the word that Texas has been closed for the day...


Go ahead, marvel at my power.

Murphy's Criminal Friendly Neighborhood Tips...

BWAhahaha!

*brrrring.... brrrring*

Hey, brain donor, it's the clue phone! It's for you!



1. Home invasion (in Texas) is a risky 'business'.

2. I don't really understand those that abandon their vehicles in an attempt to out-run the cops... in their squad vehicles... all with radios, and granted I've never been in a running away situation so mebbe I'm not the best to offer advice here, but a friggin' golf cart is probably not gonna be much better of a choice.

3. Kinda hard to cry 'Poor me!' when you have a stolen car in your garage...



Kudos to the boys in blue for commandeering their own cart to give chase. I'd love to see that tape!

Been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I thought I'd take a moment to let y'all know what kind of stuff goes running through my 'mind' the past few days.



What a difference a year makes...


Remember the '15 min prior' rule? That's the one that runs along the line of a Battalion Commanding Officer talking to his Executive Officer. He tells his XO that he wants to hold a formation at 1800. The word travels down the chain of command, from Officer to Occifer, Senior Staff NCOs to Staff, around and about to everyone that has something to say about it. By the time it gets down to my level, I'm standing tall in formation with my guys at 0745 that morning, wondering why the Battalion formation is running late...

Preparing for large family gatherings around say... Thanksgiving, for example - is kind of like that. Timelines are more of general suggestions and/or loosely held guidelines, especially with select members of the family.

Know what isn't a general suggestion?

Heh.

One of the only things that's more fun than the 15 min. prior rule is the to-my-knowledge unnamed rule that deals with visits by a General. Before a General arrives, you better believe there is a massive 15 minute rule applied, but even more so than that is the advanced preparation. The guy could be planning to not even go anywhere near your shop/office/barracks/heads/whatever - but the cleanup... *Oy, vey!* Floors will be buffed to panty-viewing perfection, weapons will be lick-dried if necessary, and grass will be cut, by hand and by individual grass blade, if possible. All this and the Man is only going to visit the other side of the base... again. Yeah, we kind of had that goin' on this weekend. I almost expected My Love to tell me that she wanted the Virgin Mary herself to be proud to come over to take a- well, you know.


The next time I tell myself that I'm gonna go on a good run on Thanksgiving morning and not eat so much that night... I'm actually going to do it... hopefully. I'm lucky if I can get up enough steam for a good waddle, right now.

On a related note, in my life I've gathered up quite a few skills that, while not necessary enjoyable, in the moment make life a bit easier. Lamaze breathing and relaxation techniques on the throne is a good example of one of those skills.


I figure I've still got a few days before I get tired of turkey sandwiches, turkey pot pies, turkey stew, turkey a la mode, turkey jerky, turkey subs, fried turkey, turkey gravy, turkey jello, etc, etc, and etc...


Eric, I have no idea who you are, but you're on my list, buddy, and it ain't my Christmas list...


I love watching some good football games on a full belly - but I try to avoid thinking too much about it. If I did, I'd get pissed all over again about the way things are run and the way that certain players act. When I become king of the word I'm going to institute a single elimination tournament system. To make it interesting, elimination will be done with axes. Should make for some good times.

Speaking of interesting times, what the heck is going on with the players (again)? If I was making that kind of money to play a game, the only time I'd leave the house would be to do charity work, feed the homeless, and help the nuns at the orphanages. Sheesh.

What the heck was he thinking?

So a buddy and I were talking about the current political situation and related news about a week back.

Inevitably, the conversation turned to our President-elect.

He's a wee bit more pro-O. than I, but neither of us begrudge the other for our differing views, too much, at least...

I was kind of surprised when, after about 10 minutes or so he made a comment in the vein of, "...it doesn't really matter how much I like to see the first Black President, 'cause someone's bound to try and take the brotha down n' out, ya know?"


[scratching record sound here]


"Really, you think so?"

He answered in the affirmative.

I might be pessimistic in some ways, but I'm not nearly that pessimistic..

I tried countering that by emphasizing the value of the Secret Service. I spoke about the group as being for the most part well trained, thoroughly vetted, highly motivated and dedicated outfit true to their mission. I told him that with their level of training, standard OCD level of anxiety in every aspect of what they do- hell, it'd almost be worth it (in an academic training sense) to see some turd begin to try something. Of course anything can happen at any time, but I'd be willing to wager that there's a fairly good chance that they'd perform exceedingly well, succeeding at their mission, letting nothing get in their way of accomplishing their tasks, no disctractions whatsoever, driving straight on through...

*sigh*


Figures....

Down Time, Clips, and a Doh!

I was cruising through the MC Times the other day, when I read this.

Pretty nifty, huh.

Especially nice when they talk about service members and loved ones being able to communicate about babies first steps, birthday parties, and the like.

Obviously, this memory isn't about such wholesome and family friendly things. Heck no, this one's about what they don't allow on the family friendly channel...

I might've mentioned before that some of the guys would take digital video and pictures out on patrol. I don't remember this ever being something that was officially sanctioned, but the fact was that it was eventually commonly accepted as part of the information gathering process. For the most part, all knew when it was appropriate to have a camera out and when it wasn't. Also, it was much, much easier to pass over a memory card at the debrief rather than try to describe familiar tattoos on bodies or suspicious drawings and arabic writings. We'd much rather take personally owned equipment rather than take what would have been the military issued, gen 1, 25 pound, rarely functioning, often assed-up, Camera: Picture, Polaroid, 1.

Heh, '... for the most part...'

I remember one stop we made to the guys up north. If I remember correctly, we were delivering misdirected mail and dropping off a repaired hummer. We pulled into the staging area, got all the vehicles topped off, and I sent the guys to grab some chow while I checked in with the CO. After a fairly uneventful debrief and a little chewing of the fat with some of the staff, I grabbed a bite and wandered the area looking for some buddies I hadn't seen in awhile. I poked my head into one of the squad rooms.

"Hey, anybody know where y'alls squad leader is?"

Their eyes were rooted to the tv show they were watching. One guy pointed vaguely 'upstairs', another grunted something sounding like 'farther back down this hallway', and one guy farted.

Good times.

As it turned out, they weren't really watching a tv show, but an episode of Combat's Funniest Videos. Not familiar with that program? Lemme 'splain...

When I mentioned that most guys knew when to have the camera in their hands and when to have a rifle, well, that was correct. See, after all the hoopla has passed is the time to bust out the cameras for the record. Angles of approach, maps, id, uniforms, weapons, vehicles, anything and everything that can possibly help the intel weenies should be noted, and in detail. When the enemy is attacking well, let's just say not the best time to record, unless...

Apparently one of the guys in the squad I visited had hit on an idea. He had a fairly lightweight camera and a number of spare batteries. He was a Lance Corporal, so he managed to 'acquire' an extra helmet cover and a bunch of zip ties. He trimmed some helmet cover material with his bayonet and used his sewing kit to fashion cammo covers for his camera. He then affixed his camera to his helmet. Other than taking a little extra care getting into and out of his vehicle, he was good to go. No hands necessary after pushing the record button.

What resulted was a little bit documentary, a bit of COPS, and a whole lotta funny.

There was a passable Aussie accent when recording a pair of mutts going at it, some shaky footage of a Marine taking a deuce, and a short while later, the ambush. It was pretty standard as far as ambushes went back then, a bunch of amateurs with beat-to-hell weapons and questionable tactics, but his voice during the attack was what made it memorable. While narrating the video, he was grinning and chuckling as well and trying to explain his thoughts during his hasty nose dive out of the vehicle (not tripped, 'hasty vehicular dismount'). His running commentary of, 'ohshitohshitohshitohshit' as he ran to a building (talking to himself whilst trying to keep attempting to gain personnel accountability, not freaking out), and his high-pitched "Aiiiieeee" was a rallying cry/way cry (and most definitely NOT a 9-year old girl shriek).

It was a 9 year-old little girl shriek - trust me, I kno... - er, I'm pretty sure...

Hey! Who's laughing in the Back? Rambo? Well, ok then... the rest of y'all, tell me how you do the first time downrange!



Anyways, fast forwarding to a half-dozen months in the future, and I was sitting in my parents living room, my assorted bags scattered around, and my mom's toy poodle humping my leg.

Ah, the good old days...

Dad was really keen on getting ahold of all of the pictures and clips that I had collected on my all expenses paid trip to fun in the sun for his collection and for distribution to family. I don't think I had yet confessed that the one collection of pictures I had sent of a hummer hit in an IED attack was actually my hummer, but it was coming, I'm sure. Anyways, we were both on the couch, his laptop on his lap, and mine on mine. I was pulling discs from the pouch, inserting them into my laptop, getting a rough idea what was on it, and handing it over to him for copying. My part of the process was quicker than his, so he had a nice pile of discs waiting to be copied. He still noted when I subtly slipped a few discs back into the pouch. "What're those discs?" "What discs?" "The ones you just put back." "Oh, those. Those're nothing, just some ah,... recreational stuff." "Recrea... sure...."

Eventually, I got kind of lazy and began relying on the label details of what was on one of the discs. During the deployment I had eventually gotten detailed about what was on the discs, dates, names, and all of that. The last two discs weren't actually even anything I had taken, but some discs that other Battalions had handed out. Our Battalion had approached the end of our tour at the same time as some others, and during the inevitable down time that always happened back in the rear, we managed to trade a number of discs back and forth. Gave each other a rough idea of what else was going on in the greater AO while we were each in town.

I asked Dad if he wanted 'em, he said 'sure', and I handed 'em over.

It was only a couple of hours later that I remembered what one of those discs contained. The Battalion Disc in question had compiled a bunch of video sources together on one disc, voted on by popularity by its Marines. There were the standard combat ops, down time funny stuff, and some miscellaneous stuff towards the end. There was no question in why one clip at the end was hugely popular; apparently, one lonely soldier (female type) had decided to make a clip of herself... er, dancing around to Marvin Gaye's 'Lets Get It On', I seem to remember. I guess it was pretty warm in the can, 'cause she was pretty scantily clad at the end of the clip, you could say.

Very nice.

Wonder if Dad ever got that far in the disc...?

I'm Starting To Like This Endless Political... Stuff

I just realized something.

The never-ending campaigning, stupid voter tricks, completely unbiased *cough* journalism has taken the usual impact off of something that I find increasingly annoying, year after year.


I have yet to hear any sort of cutsey shopping countdown untill 'Bah Humbug' Day.


That pleases me, very much.

That's Gotta Suck

Stove Shoots Woman, Story At 11.

Hmm, I knew that me and stoves are a dangerous combination...


I've even heard of attack journalism before, but I think this is getting out of hand. Whod've thought that you can now also think of newspapers as a deadly (eek!) weapon? Hopefully, this incident will lead to studies, resolutions, safety measures, and laws for 'common sense' journalism.

If I Ruled The World...

I had a thought, recently.


Don't act too surprised, reader(s), they happen on occasion.

What we really need, when it comes to politics, politicians, and most people in general, is something like this.

Work with me here...

I propose that any time a politician lies, fudges the facts, makes dumb remarks, distorts figures, avoids the question etc etc ad friggin' nauseum, he, she, and/or it should get a good n' solid jolt - you know, to help them get back on track. They're always all miked up anyways, adding a coupla extra wires wouldn't be terribly complicated, and I'm sure there'd be plenty of volunteers to help with the equipment and administration.

Just imagine,

"Ah did not have sex with- *crrackcrrackcrrackcrrack!* ...Ungh!"

For more current events, I think it might be a good idea to institute a 'Zap List', or that is to say a list of words, suggestions, or situations in which the Taser of Doom would be wielded with gleeful abandon. I propose the following;


Any mention of;

Clinton(s)

Universal... anything.

Bail out.

"The One".


Any time;

Senator Biden opens his mouth (preemptive measure).

A musician, actor, or TV hosts spews their views ($$$, fake boobies, and inflated ego are no protection from my Taser of Doom...).

A politician answers a yes or no question with anything other than... wait for it... 'Yes' or 'No' (Friggin' amazing concept, that one...).

A politician opens his cake hole without sufficient knowledge of the question (Muahahaha....)

A politician makes dumb jokes (bombing other nations, shooting at other candidates, corner stores with funny accented folk, etc).


Any news updates showing (jolt for the news 'journalists' and all hands in the clip);

Whenever Obama fans cry and/or show their 'O face'.

Creepy Obama's-gonna-save-the-world music.

Fashion critiques on friggin' shoes. Shoes.


To be fair, I might consider credit on future taser avoidance as a result of someone being honest for once [chuckle]. Hell I'd declare a temporary (3o minutes, say) moratorium for anyone that might actually say, 'You know, I don't know, but I'll find out'.


Thoughts or suggestions are nice, but 'tase yourself' probably won't be taken into consideration...

Shaking My Head

Check out this turd.

John 15:13

I sincerely hope that the Peralta family knows that to many, Sergeant Peralta could not possibly be held in any higher esteem throughout the Marine Corps. Even when I was still in Iraq, his name and actions had already entered into Marine Corps lore, and will be carried forth for many, many years to come. I am only one of many that feel that the Navy Cross, while a very high honor itself, is insufficient in this situation.

link.


Semper Fidelis, Sergeant.