Fox News Alert

Over the objections of some of the members of my command, former Marine Lt Col Oliver North is in the wire. For those of you who don't get it, that means he's in our camp. He's here taping for his show on Fox News. If you are interested in watching to see what he comes up with, it might be a good idea to read a couple of his stories to get a feel for where he comes from. To that end, I've selected a couple of editorials that are currently available at www.foxnews.com. Enjoy. Keep an eye on his show on Fox News and see what he has to say about the First Battalion of the Fighting Fifth Marines.

Here is his commentary about a picture of a soldier cradling a dying child in his arms:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155737,00.html

And these are his comments about the recent push toward the Syrian border:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,156700,00.html

Just for the record, Fox News did NOT pay me to mention this in my blog.

What's the deal?

OK, so I've been here for about two and a half months so far and I have to ask, "What's the deal?" What do you mean, Bill? I mean simply that I don't understand why the citizens of Ramadi don't step up and help themselves. We are here to help them learn to govern themselves and they seem to be willing to simply allow their lives to be manipulated like pawns in a chess game. No, strike that. It's more like marbles in a game of Chinese Checkers. There seems to me that there are more than two players and the "rules" have alot of sublties involved. On the surface of course, are the Multi-National Forces, led by America on one side and the terrorist insurgents (many of them from outside of Iraq) on the other, with the citizens of Ramadi caught in the middle. But that's not the whole story. When we roll through town, the townspeople are pro-America, until they disappear from our rearview mirror. Why? They don't want to get shot. When we leave, they turn pro-insurgents. Why? Again, they don't want to get shot. While I can understand the instinct for survival, I can't understand the logic. Survival, as an end to itself, is not enough. You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything. If you're an insurgent, then step up and we'll either capture or kill you in a quasi-fair fight. That way, your integrity is intact and we can clean this place up that much faster. If you're on our side, then talk to your friends and get out and vote! If you don't vote for your young government then, in my opinion, you don't have the right to bitch about it. Vote. Make your convictions known. Take a stand for crying out loud.

Cinco de Mayo

I'm just using "Cinco de Mayo" as my title. I don't really have anything relevant to say about today since it looked just like yesterday, and will probably look alot like tomorrow. Check that...

Did you see the news reports about the insurgents who were sent to their final reckoning when they attacked the multi-national forces in Ramadi yesterday? That was us. I guess the bad guys read our battalion logo, "Make Peace or Die" and opted for the latter. Works for me. The more of them we kill the fewer there will be to harass the decent people here who really just want to be left alone to live their own lives, and we can get out of here.v

I saw that Tony Blair is projected to win reelection as PM of England. Once again those who thought that a world leader had committed political suicide by supporting an invasion to rid the world of a despot are being proven wrong. There really are two types of people out there: those who see the world as being a conflict between right and wrong, good and evil, and are willing to take a stand for what they believe in; and those who "report" the news, but actually try to reshape the truth into a version that better fits their world view. Face it, the rest of the world does not think like some who spend their whole careers and even lives living in secluded communities and criticizing absolutely everything. Get over yourself, Hollywood. The terrorists won't attack you because you're not nearly as important as you think you are. If anything, they'd just as soon hire Alec Baldwin to be their spokesman. By the way, didn't he promise (I mean "threaten") to leave the country if President Bush was elected? That was over 4 1/2 years ago... why isn't he gone yet?

End of speech.

I got some pictures today of my kids from my mother in law. She had a great shot of little Leah at Christmas sitting next to her Mommy and completely fascinated with a little doll she'd gotten. It was great. Thanks, "Mom".

Why do I love my job?

This Marine epitomizes the reason I serve as a career planner. I could not be more proud of the Marines with whom I serve and who represent themselves and their country with honor, courage, and commitment every single day... come hell, high water, or the occasional freak sand storm.

Weather Bug

Last night I thought we were filming a remake of "The Wizard of Oz". The winds were blowing at about 40 miles an hour and there was lightning everywhere to boot. Then the rain started. Not just a nice light sprinkle like we had a couple days ago. This was rain that made EVERYTHING get wet. Water dripped through the roof in my bunk area, the generator shorted out, and we even had a corporal nearly drown in a large puddle. OK, that last part was a joke, but our electrical tech did get shocked when he tried to get the power back on. Oh well. This morning broke nice and clean and it was almost like the weather never happened, except for the puddles everywhere. You know... I know that I've posted about the rain before, but trust me... I'd rather post about the rain than about the 100+ degree weather I'm bound to be tired of by the time October gets here.

This, That, and T'other

Well, I was going to copy this list from my wife's blog and just change the answers for myself. You know, like those annoying chain mail letters I keep getting that ask me for my favorite drink and what-not (anything that's not warm water, by the way)? But as soon as I started going through it, I realized it's completely designed for the softer side of the human race. After all, I don't wear a bra and I don't wear perfume (although I'm sure there are people who think I should do both, but that's another entry) so I can't answer those "questions" with any integrity.

Therefore, I'll just pitch a fit about the weather again. Two days ago the mercury rose to 100 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, then yesterday started out nice and toasty (about 95F) before a big dust storm rolled through and covered my sweat soaked clothes in a fine layer of mud. Then today it rained. Yes, you read that right. It does actually rain out here, amazingly enough. I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm thinking it's going to be hot again, which will only serve to make it sticky as the water on the ground evaporates and drives the humidity up. But, I'm not a meteorologist, so I may be well off base about that (knock on wood).

I did learn that my daughter is getting closer and closer to taking her first real steps. My only regret is that I can't be there to see it and cheer her on, like I did with my boy. I'll be there for her most important steps, though... first day of school... across the stage to get her diploma... off to college... down the aisle to get married... (By the way, little one, I'm only doing that one once.) Fortunately I was still home when she cut her first teeth, so that's something, and my wife is keeping me pretty up-to-date with pictures and other communications. Thank God for this technology. This would not have been even remotely possible the last time I was out here.

What's wrong with this picture?

So I'm checking the Marine Corps' home page and I see this story about a motivated father skating with his kids. Looks like fun, but then the Marine in me kicked in and I asked myself, "What's wrong with this picture?"

Anyone wanna take a guess? Think safety and look again.

WHERE IS HIS HELMET? WHERE ARE HIS KIDS' HELMETS?

As the Master Control Program from "TRON" used to say...

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