Who's not patriotic?

Well, this is interesting. While I'm over here helping the people of Ramadi establish a young democracy and become self governing, the good people back home have decided that I'm not very patriotic. Why not? Because I drive a sport utility vehicle and have therefore prolonged America's dependence on the evil that is imported oil. Oh, please. That's a bunch of crap for several reasons...

1. My SUV get better gas mileage than some cars do.
2. If the boneheads in GreenPeace would just shut up, we could develop the oil reserves in Alaska. Maybe my history lessons were skewed because I started school in the 70's, but I was taught that people only criticized our purchase of the territory (from Russia) until oil was discovered.
3. As I drive around Southern California, I want to be as safe as I can for the sake of my family. If driving a SUV is the only way I can feel confident that my wife will have the power she needs to get out of the way, and the safety features necessary to save them, then call me unpatriotic.

Bottom line, folks, is this... Last time I checked America is a country of freedoms. Freedom of speech allows people to say what they want about my vehicle and also allows me to respond in this format.

Weekend wrap-up

Friends, another week has come and gone, and now it's time to carry on

We mourned our brothers and our friends
Whose service with us has reached its end

Thankful for the men they were and promising to make them proud
We move back into the hostile crowd

We've turned a corner in our battle for the hearts and minds
And we've turned a corner as we count down our remaining time

With less than one hundred days before we leave to go home again
We must not lose focus on the battle we are here to win

Will there be casualties from this point on? It would be foolish to say for sure
All we can do is "soldier on" and keep our honor clean and pure

For we are Marines and this is what we do
Do not feel sorry for us
Do not anger us
Do not tell us we should know better

There are those to whom we answer that make those decisions
And we go
Into harm's way
Day after day after day

If we didn't want to be here we would never raise our hand
Or sign the dotted line
But we did
Many of us more than once

We leave behind families who support us and defend us from the press
If you ask me we should pin medals on their chests
Our loved ones must carry on with every facet of life
Kids, bills, cars that don't work
All very normal strife

But they do that every day
Not knowing from one week to the other
What's happened to their warrior
Father, son, husband, or brother

This ode is dedicated to all of you who stand with us to say
Speak your peace
You have that right
This is the USA

Just remember as you spit your hatred for our warring ways
If it wasn't for someone willing to fight
And die if that's what is required
Then all of your anger, meanness, spite
Would surely get you fired... Or arrested

We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun
From the winter spent at Valley Forge
To the hot Iraqi sun
And every place in between and some that time does not recall
In every conflict there's a price where too many heroes fall

Watch over us, dear Lord, we pray and see us through this night
That we may face You some day and know that we've done right

Help us to maintain our honor and integrity
As we do the tasks we've been trained for in the USMC

Watch over our families and keep them safe
Nestled in Your hand
Someday soon we'll be home back in our favorite land

With less than one hundred days left our time is drawing near
Thank You for our blessings and those we hold so dear

Amen

Views on the News

Well, today is one of those days... I don't have any one thing in particular I feel I need to say, so here are some links to various news stories and my humble, working man's opinion on each subject.

Let's start with Dick Durbin's comments about the Gitmo Gulag. Now he says he regrets that his comments may have offended some people. Mr. Senator, aren't you the slightest bit remorseful that your comments were vindictive and only served to further the cause of those who would see America, and all that we stand for, destroyed in a fireball of glory?

Moving on. The Rev. Billy Graham has announced that his current crusade will probably be his last. Although I never attended a crusade personally, my family was heavily involved in his visit to Cincinnati a couple of years ago and the message he preaches has never waivered. I'm sure God is going to tell Mr. Graham, "Well done, good and faithful servant," when it comes time for him to "enter into his master's rest."

This story about a jerk who's being accused of beating his family and pets to death irks me. Why? Because I'd be willing to bet dollars to donuts that if he is NOT sent to death row for this there will be a bigger outcry from PETA than from any so-called human rights group. Same thing goes for the sicko who appears to be abducting dogs in PB.

We will miss these two men as we work toward the stabilization of this area and the destruction of those who would do us harm. We will miss them and the 11 others who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country.

Then there's this family from Kansas who came all the way out to CA just to berate a church in La Jolla. My question is why La Jolla? Is it because they thought they'd get more media coverage if they came to San Diego, or is it merely an excuse to visit Southern California and see the big city?

Anyone want to explain to me the difference between a life sentence and a twenty year prison term when the convicted man is 80 years old?

And yet, through it all, the San Diego Padres have managed to not only stay in first place in the NL West, but actually increase their lead over the Dodgers and D'Backs! Will wonders never cease? There are a few out here (Dodgers fans) who firmly believe that the Padres will fade after the All-Star break and end up out of the playoffs, like they did last year, but I have a feeling that this may be the year for San Diego. When they got a taste of the World Series a few years ago, I have a hunch that started a hunger for the team for which there can be only one cure- a championship ring.

Well, these are my thoughts for the day. I look forward to hearing yours.

finally, some GOOD news!

You know, we don't get alot of news over here, but we have been able to keep tabs on the whole disappearance in Aruba thing going on. Hopefully she will turn up alive. Add that to the Wacko-Jacko acquittal and you can see how it's easy to get discouraged by the news these days.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. As much as I look forward to one day camping with my family (somewhere where it's warm, but not hot, and I can walk around without a pistol strapped to my leg all day if you please), I can not help but already feel a certain trepidation about our adventures. My son is the kind of kid who will simply wander off because he is watching an ant crawl away and wants to watch it as long as he can and my daughter would follow him for the simple reason that "anything he can do I can do better."

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. I could almost end this entry with that simple statement. In a society where it seems fashionable to be critical of white Christians, like Howard Dean was a couple of weeks ago, or to poke fun at dads, as evidenced by many of today's commercials and other spots, the fact that today is Father's Day doesn't seem to amount to a hill of beans.

But I know better.

There are those of us among the father population who strive to be more than just the male contributor to the next generation. We try to be dads. Here is a good example of exactly what I'm talking about. I think this blog entry is a good thought on what may have been going on in the mind of God when He created man and told him to be fruitful and multiply.

So, to all the fathers out there who are striving to be dads, and to all the dads out there (like mine) whose children have grown and left the nest, taking a piece of you with them... Happy Father's Day.

To my Dad: Thank you for showing me that no matter what I did in my life, even if was exactly the opposite of what you advised (remember saying "Don't sign anything" when I went to the recruiter's office 14 years ago?) you supported me. Only now that I am a father myself do I truly begin to understand the saying "Any male can be a father, but it takes a man to be a dad."

Thanks, Dad.

I've got an idea

The last two days have been somewhat hectic out here. As you may have heard, things have not been exactly quiet out here on the Western Front. Fortunately, today saw a return to what passes for normalcy around here, which makes me feel a little guilty for being able to say that we’ve passed the ½ way point for this deployment and can honestly start counting down to going home. Of course, there are those who were only brought out here for a short time and they are already on their way home, but they deserve it. Most of those men were here for the third time. Me? I’m on my second tour to the cradle of civilization and I think I’ve seen just about enough of this place to last me for a pair of lifetimes, thank you very much.

Okay, yes, there is just a little bit of anger seeping into my fingers as I type these words. Is it anger towards the Iraqi people? Not especially. It’s not their fault they won’t stand up and defend their homes against those who would rule over them. Is it anger toward my commander-in-chief? Absolutely not! I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and obey the President of the US and all officers appointed over me, so help me God. In fact, I’ve sworn that oath several times over the last 14 years. So who’s left for me to be the focus of my ire?

Well, other than the bleeding hearts who say we should leave as soon as possible, my wrath is directed toward those who would snipe at us from buildings and who plant bombs in the road because they lack the ‘nads to face us directly. See, if the bad guys are in such a rush to die in “glorious battle” against the “oppressive evil” and all we want to do is do our duty “to the Flag and the Republic for which it stands” then why don’t they face us straight up? We’ll kill them and everyone wins. They die the way they want to and we go home, the way we want to. What’s wrong with that?

Besides, I'm missing all the fun back home. My wife should learn to never let me leave. I have yet to experience a serious quake and I laugh at her when she says she'd rather go through an earthquake instead of a tornado? Why? At least with tornados, you can sort of prepare for them and you get some warning that they're coming. Earthquakes? By the time you realize what it is, it's over. Where's the fun?

Happy Birthday

To my little one, on her first birthday:

It seems so hard to believe that it's already been a year since your mommy and I welcomed you into our world. We went to the doctor's office for a scheduled visit, since you weren't due for another week, and after our midwife checked, she asked if we were ready to have a baby.

We said, No.

We still had things that needed to be done around the house to prepare for your arrival. We'd moved since your brother was born, so we needed to go around and baby-proof all over again. Then there was the decorating that still needed to be completed. We had bought your crib, but it wasn't assembled yet. Good thing we had borrowed a basinet from our friends for your first few weeks home. Oh, did I mention that Mommy hadn't packed her bag yet?

Still, you would not be deterred, so we went home. Mommy packed her bag while I called Grandma. Somebody would have to look after your big brother for a while. Mommy still didn't really feel any labor pangs, but the doc said your mom was dilating already. We went back to the L&D wing in the hospital, checked in and waited... and waited... and waited. Unlike our experience with your brother, everything went fairly smoothly this time. The doctor with the epidural got it right so Mommy could actually "enjoy" the experience of the birth process. We watched the evening news and even got most of the way through "The Tonight Show" before the active labor began.

Mommy worked just as hard as she did with your brother and before we knew it, there you were... on Mommy's tummy. New to everything, you started crying and even that didn't last very long. I cut your umbilical cord and the doctors were impressed with how healthy you looked. After you and I spent some time in the nursery, I was able to take you back to Mommy, where you and Mommy had a chance to bond and meet each other face to face.

The next day (well, actually, later that day) Grandma brought your brother in to visit you at the hospital and he just fell in love with you right there. He started laughing and waving at you and calling your name like you were the Queen of the Tournament of Roses or something. When we brought you home we suddenly couldn't remember life with just three of us in the house. You brought so much joy to us that there hasn't been a day that goes by when I don't thank God for bringing you to us.

Now I'm over here and not able to say these things to you directly, but know that I love you and want only the best for my little girl. I'll be home soon and you and I have some catching up to do. When I left you only had two teeth, barely, and you weren't even crawling yet. Now you're walking! I love you, Precious, and Daddy will be back as soon as I can.

I will always be,

Your Daddy

PS. I had to go back and change some things after Mommy read my letter and reminded me that I was wrong about some of the details. My brain must be fried from the heat over here.

random thoughts

Okay, since I haven't posted for a few days and since there isn't really anything in particular that's made me think, "Oh man! I have got to blog about this," I offer a few random thoughts about a wide variety of topics from today's readings and other sources...

Home:
My mom and sister have arrived in San Diego to help my wife with the birthday party for this weekend. I so wish I could be home for that, not to mention the other aspects of being physically home this summer.

Politics:
Not that I'm against the Democratic Party tasting their own shoe polish from time to time, but Mr. Dean should learn to just shut up every now and again. You know it's bad when Sen Biden is basically saying the same thing.

Sports:
It figures that the year when I'm going to miss the entire baseball season, the Padres are actually in first place, up by 3 1/2 games in the NL West as of today. Of course, I am also spared having to watch my beloved Reds fall to 15 1/2 games off the pace in the NL Central, so maybe it's not all bad. I'll get home just as football is really getting interesting... Go Eagles!

Faith:
I believe that God will see me through the rest of this deployment and reunite me with the wife and children He has used to bless my life. I have used some of my free time to learn basic guitar chords. Perhaps some day we will be able to sing songs around a camp fire as a family.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. As you can see, I'm clearly in the throws of the "mid-deployment blues." It sometimes happens right around this stage in a deployment. We've been here for just over 100 days and we have a little over 100 more before we go back to SoCal. Of course, I do have Friday to look forward to for a few reasons... but I'll save that until then.

I knew it

Let me ask a question. If the good people of the former regime out here really have nothing to hide, then why is the UN all in a tizzy about some missing chemical weapons equipment? I'm not one to say "I told you so," but come on. Okay, okay... I'm totally one to say "I told you so," but that's not the real point here. Maybe this goes along with all those long range, French-made, missles I saw when I was here two years ago. It's almost as if the more things change, the more they stay the same.

To that end, while the UN gets their britches in a bunch about stuff that America's been saying along, I'm heading out into the city over the next few days to see if we can get some of these citizens registered to vote. In case you forgot, or never heard, there was an election in January to select a representative government. That governments main purpose was to draft a new constitution for the country of Iraq, which is to be voted on by the people. Kinda sounds like "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people" but what do I know? Anyway, that election is coming up and we are trying to instill a sense of ownership in the people of Ramadi. If they want changes in the way the government is (or isn't) involved in their lives, they need to register and vote. This town has about 300,000 citizens of voting age but only about 10% are even registered. We're hoping to up that to about 25% by this election.

Hope your June is off to a good start. Check my wife's blog for some great news about what June means to us as family. It should be fairly obvious at the top of the page.

Thank you

It has been a truly humbling experience to read the comments of so many people who responded to my Memorial Day message. Thank you all for your support. I'll probably be back to my old fire-brand self in a day or two, but we must first conduct our own memorial for a brother who was taken from us on the day we set aside to remember those sacrifices. Thank you again for your support and please keep us and our families in your thoughts and prayers.