The Will

If you read a lot of blogs like me, you might want to try out Google Reader. Highly recommended. You can, of course, subscribe to my blog using the service. 🙂 I’ve tried My Yahoo, Newsgator, and Pluck also, but I think Google Reader works best for my needs. Go check out the various readers and simplify your day.

Marine Major Ben Connable has written a fine editorial regarding how America’s military feels about the current situation in Iraq. Thanks to Stan for bringing it to my attention.

Open optimism, whether or not it is warranted, is a necessary trait in senior officers and officials. Skeptics can be excused for discounting glowing reports on Iraq from the upper echelons of power. But it is not a simple thing to ignore genuine optimism from mid-grade, junior and noncommissioned officers who have spent much of the past three years in Iraq.”

I’m proud to be one of those noncommissioned officers.

Today is election day. Iraqis are voting. A mortar just went off in the distance. So what? The insurgents are going to lose and Iraqis are going to exercise free will by voting. Today is a great day and even though I am nervous and wary, I am honored to be participating in this process. History is being made in this nation today, and it will ripple outward from Baghdad across the Middle East and further.

Tsunamis wipe out everything in their path. It is my hope that by being here, I have played a small role in creating a tsunami that will scour Iraq, cleansing it of head choppers, bombers and dictators. When I’m an old man sitting on my porch in North Georgia drinking chai tea with my wife and watching the sunset, I hope an Iraqi will be waking up in Baghdad free to pursue his dream of building a business, writing a book or inventing something new he dreamed about while I was wide awake and living free back home.

UPDATE: Please take a moment to read “Iraq: Getting the Whole Picture.” It’s well worth your time.

The ever popular Spookytooth makes another appearance in “Words of the Infidels.”

Check out all the Spookytooth entries if you have time.

I also have a new video for my wife.

A hint for those of you who read my blog regularly and also use Firefox as your web browser: when you are surfing here, click the little icon in the bottom right corner of the browser window and you will subscribe to a live feed in your bookmarks. That way, you will see every post as soon as it is uploaded. It’s a time saver. As always, thank you everyone who is supporting myself and my unit over here.

There are good and bad people and units here in Iraq. Some soldiers I encounter are indifferent to the big picture or too arrogant to understand that we’re here to serve Iraq and Iraqis and not the other way around. I choose not to focus on those negatives, because by and large, the soldiers and units here are doing good things. They do understand the big picture and that helping Iraq helps America.

Danjel Bout has written a post that really tore my heart apart. It’s units like his and soldiers like those he describes that are the key to winning in Iraq.

The memory of that wisp of a boy stayed with me, and after a few days I asked SSG Spite if he could think of anything we might be able to do for the family. SSG Spite said that he would see what he could do and then disappeared for the rest of the day.”

Danjel Bout, In Iraq

There are so many Iraqis who have so little. And most of them are graceful about it. Go read the story. Think about how lucky you are to be an American when you’re done.

Happy Holidays.

The election is tomorrow.

Will Iraqis vote for a secular government?

Prediction: Allawi and his party will win the Dec. 15 elections.

Why? Because of idiocy like this:

In a rare joint statement, Al-Qaida in Iraq and four other Islamic extremist groups denounced the election as a ‘satanic’ project and said that ‘to engage in the so-called political process’ violates ‘the legitimate policy approved by God.'”

It really irks me when people think they have a lock on God’s will for and work to enact it upon everyone else.

Note: I have no influence whatsoever over the outcome of the elections. I’m just here to ensure that Iraqis have choices.

We are going to win this war. By we, I mean the coalition. And the coalition includes Iraqis. I’m not one who lives by polls but I do find that some of them have value:

An opinion poll suggests Iraqis are generally optimistic about their lives, in spite of the violence that has plagued Iraq since the US-led invasion.”

BBC News

About 70% of the Iraqis I ask are optimistic and hopeful about the long-term future of Iraq. Apparently, I’m not the only one finding out for myself how Iraqis feel about the future. Since it is the single most critical factor in what sort of nation Iraq will become, I am optimistic. After all, from what I’ve read, the American Revolution was accomplished with only about 30% popular support. The rest of the people in colonial states were either indifferent or anti-revolutionary. Iraq seems to have a better chance than we did. That makes missing Christmas at home with those I love just a little bit easier to deal with.

Here’s hoping for a safe and orderly election process in three days.

Note: Yes, I did read the detailed poll results. I just don’t have time for a more in-depth analysis.

Last night a few of us were playing Civilization IV in our hooch. When we do have free time, this is one of the ways we choose to socialize. The game is complex, challenging, fun and time consuming. We have started lots of games, but haven’t finished any, because someone always has duty and so we start a new game with a slightly different group of players.

It was getting late and we were deeply involved in several societal battles in the game when the ominous sounds began outside. Small arms fire, when heard from inside a poorly insulated metal trailer, sounds a lot like a very loud bowl of Rice Krispies just after you pour the milk on it. When heard from outside the same poorly insulated metal trailer, the gunfire sounds quite a bit more ominous, especially when you realize it is coming from thousands of guns at once. Then, when you look up and see the night sky filled with red tracer rounds from various weapons including machine guns, you start to wonder just exactly what is going on.

If you’re me, and I am, your heart starts to beat faster. You think to yourself that perhaps you should be doing something other than playing a silly computer game.

All of us watched the thousands of rounds being shot into the sky. We breathed in the scent of a Baghdad night – that unique mixture of burning trash, airborne microsand and, of course, the sharp and acrid smell of gunpowder.

A few moments later, the cell phones came out, people started putting on their battle rattle and things got busy. No one panicked, but we were all somewhat uneasy. The sky glowed and the air crackled as we raced to and fro preparing for no one knew what. Then the big giant voice came on: “ATTENTION IN THE COMPOUND. THE GUNFIRE YOU ARE HEARING IS CELEBRATORY. DO NOT RETURN FIRE.”

Everyone settled down as we learned that Iraq had won a close match over Syria in that most revered of sports, soccer. This morning, I found a bullet smashed into the sidewalk outside my hooch. I heard many others tell tales of the close encounters they had with pieces of metal plummeting from the sky. I wonder how many unfortunate victims of the celebratory fire there were last night.

Hopefully, this is a custom that will die out.

The rain of bullets is over for now and Iraq’s elections are four days away. Even when the sky rains metal I remain optimistic.

Update: Others have written about this event as well.

Courage Without Fear – I thought it was the big one
While Away –D ecember 11, 2005
Mike’s Iraqi Adventure – I’m Back
GI John – A Better Use for Bullets

H/T Mudville Gazette

What the heck is that?

The Neolibertarian believes that libertarian principles are important, and should be incorporated into law or legislation, but only to the extent possible . Neos do not consider a failure to pass their entire body of principles into law to be a defeat, as long as they can pass some of them. There’s no other alternative available for a minority political ideology. It has to grow by implementing libertarian principles where possible, and trusting in the electorate to realize the benefits of those principles, even if that realization occurs slowly, over time.”

A good explanation can be found here. Once you finish reading it, check out the rest of The Neolibertarian Network.

I love to discuss things that matter in my life. Perhaps you do as well, or perhaps you want to respond to me in a public venue.

You can now do so in the Will to Exist discussion forum. Blogging is fun, but it’s pretty one sided. Here’s hoping you’ll take a moment or two to add your opinion to the mix.

Apparentely, I am Jean-Luc Picard. Yay.

Thanks for sending me the quiz, Teresa.

Just resting

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Some days, all we have is humor.

This is my co-worker and fellow soldier Spc. Jeremy Pitcher. He and I perform many of our duties in a buddy team environment.

Long days, low pay and high morale are all we have. Oh yeah, and a parrot.

Q. Do you believe there is such a thing as a limited life span for humans?

A. No. Life span is totally tunable. In my lab, we tune it up and down all the time. “

Read the article. It’s interesting, to say the least.

H/T Instapundit.

Calling President Bush’s plan in Iraq a ‘failed strategy,’ Dean said he and most Democrats support bringing home an estimated 80,000 National Guard and reserve troops within the next six months.

He said that he backed the redeployment of 20,000 troops to Afghanistan and a force in the Middle East to deal with al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but not in Iraq.

I know we’re going to win,” Bush told reporters at the White House. “Our troops need to hear not only are they supported, but that we have got a strategy that will win.”

Two different parties, two different men and two different outlooks. Which one do you prefer? As a soldier, I’m certainly not going to support the guy who tells me that it was all for nothing, let’s get out while the getting is good. All those deaths were meaningless. All those shattered limbs for nought. All you soldiers who fought, sweated, cried and worried in the dirt of Iraq – it doesn’t matter. All those children you passed candy and toys too – abandon them. All the water pipes you laid, all the generators you installed, all the buildings you built – abandon them. The Iraqis you trained – say goodbye, they’re on their own. Terrorism has won. The head choppers and their ilk are just too persistent for us.

Or, I could support the guy I didn’t vote for, President Bush, who despite all the things I disagree with him about, has my respect in this matter. Despite the long hours here, despite that fact that my feet hurt every day and I have a knot in my back the size of Texas. Regardless of the loud booms and the bags under my eyes. Despite missing my wife terribly and wishing I was someplace else half the time.

You can’t come to the game and then throw down the ball halfway through, give the bird to your teammates and walk off the field. Because that is what losers do.

The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq’s new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected.

Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own: we will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more.”

President George W. Bush

Now go read the actual document outlining the plan for victory. Chew on it. Ponder it. Digest it. Then drop me a line if you have any questions. I’m just a sergeant but I know how to be a winner. I refuse to drop the ball and walk off the field.

The days are flying by. Some moments stick in my mind though. There were a few of those today. The Saddam trial has resumed, and the media here is very interested. Since I escort and credential media, this results in my running so hard I almost fall down sometimes. But today, every time I had a chance to catch my breath I looked around and noticed that Iraqis were watching TV. They were watching the Saddam trial.

The trial of Saddam Hussein resumes, with the first witness describing the torture of man from a Shiite village in 1982: “They broke all his body parts.” Ahmed Hassan Mohammed, a resident of Dujail, told the court how he and others — including women and children — were taken to intelligence headquarters in Baghdad and tortured. The women, including young girls, were raped, he said.”

Since I work in a government building this shouldn’t be a revelation. What was interesting to me though, is that not only were members of government watching, the Iraqi police were watching, and the cleaning people were watching, and the people who were going about their errands were watching. Every Iraqi I saw was watching. Evidently, they are interested in Saddam’s fate.

I passed a satellite van with a crowd in front of it. I heard them cheering and clapping about something, and I wondered what they were watching. Perhaps a soccer game? Nope, they were responding to the Saddam trial. Every Iraqi I have talked to here in Baghdad wants Saddam to be a part of the past. His trial is a chance for Iraq to get out from under his shadow, and to throw off his terrible legacy of evil deeds. What I will remember about Saddam when he’s gone is those Iraqis gathered in a tight huddle around a TV satellite van, cheering at something I couldn’t understand – something that only Iraqis will ever truly understand – the world is trying the dark deeds of a very bad man.

No matter what Iraq becomes, it will not mourn the passing of the era of a brutal tyrant warmonger with a flair for self-delusional drama.

I work in military public affairs. It’s my job to tell the public the truth about military operations. I am late blogging this, but it was recently revealed that the military has been paying Iraqi media to write positive stories about coalition operations in Iraq. I’m left feeling uncomfortable.

Information operations are intended to “influence foreign adversary audiences using psychological operations capabilities,” according to a Sept. 27, 2004, memo sent to top American commanders by the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers.

Myers warned that putting public affairs and information operations in the same office had “the potential to compromise the commander’s credibility with the media and the public.”

I am a noncommissioned officer of the lowest level. It isn’t my job to make policy. But I still have opinions, whether my commanders want to hear them or not. And in the Army of a free nation, I should be able to express them. So I am. Paying for positive coverage doesn’t encourage freedom of the press. Being dishonest may well be necessary from time to time, but I am not going to do it. My word is my bond, as the old saying goes.

Information Operations is a gray area that should never be mixed with Public Affairs. It is our duty to tell the public and the world the truth about what we do. It is not our job to make up people’s minds for them. We serve America, not the other way around.

We have been fighting a “War Against Drugs” for 40 years at home. We’re losing that war and I believe that much of the reason is because we use dishonest tactics. Officially endorsed bribes and on the payroll snitches are bad policy. Honestly winning hearts and minds is good policy. If I were in charge, I would direct that the policy of paying for positive coverage stop. The core of such a policy is dishonest, and I was taught that lies never lead to good things. I think I was taught well.

It’s not a perfect war, but we can work on some areas and this is one of them.

the-scream

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

We mostly work 12-14 hour shifts and sometimes longer. At the end of these shifts, soldiers can be pretty frazzled.

This is a photo taken at the end of a long shift. Pictured are 1st Lt. Michelle Lunato and Sgt. James Sherrill, both of whom I enjoy working with immensely.

georgian-italian

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Two Georgian guards (the country, not the state) and an Italian mug for the camera. I try to take pictures everywhere I go of people and e-mail them a copy whenever possible.

Several of my generous readers have donated funds to ensure that I can keep purchasing camera gear as my current stuff wears out and breaks.

Thank you so much!

smoggy-day

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Baghdad always smells of burning. I suppose that is because people burn their trash in pits here. You can see the gray in the air.

Sometimes I wonder what the effects of the air are on my lungs. I used to smoke and I suppose breathing Baghdad air is the equivalent on some days.

Well, I’ve finally written something that resonated with people. The reviews are in and they are a mixed bag.

I don’t have the time to answer every single person personally, as much as I would like too. For all those of you who expressed support, thank you sincerely. Many of the more thoughtful responses included questions such as this one:

I respect your opinion and I agree a time table is potentially dangerous, but isn’t there also the idea that us having a visible presence in Iraq is also hurting the situation? Is there no thought of a middle ground where we allow Iraqis to become more visible and we provide more background assistance?”

Ed

Ed – I can tell you from personal observation that both the coalition and Iraqi leadership recognize the need to have Iraqis doing the job of providing Iraqi security. In the building I work in, we try to be as low key as possible, and the actual security for the building is already provided by Iraqi policemen. We are here more as technical advisors and facilitators than anything else. The Iraqis have ownership. Thanks, Ed, for asking and expressing your concern.

I hear the general officer level briefings every week and hear the various Iraqi ministries addressing Iraqis via televised broadcasts. The leadership over here understands that Iraqis have to do this job of building a free Iraq. That process is imperfect and is just beginning. If it reaches completion and bears fruit, it will be the next few generations of Iraqis who benefit most. The changes required for a free Iraq to exist are sweeping and will wipe away an ingrained culture that is what it is because Iraqis have not known what it is like to make their own choices in many decades.

It’s easy to try and discount what I have to say, as the individual below did:

This guy does not speak for anyone I know. In fact, I’d say he’s in the minority. I doubt he’s even over here. It is deeply, deeply sad that people are willing to believe that President Bush is actually a military leader with any sort of vision.”

A Coward

I am a real soldier serving in a real combat zone, putting my life on the line for what I believe could turn out to be good for both Iraq and the United States of America. We live in an age of globalization, and as much as I’d like to live out my life isolated and happy, ignorant of the problems halfway around the world, those problems are in one way or another my problems. I can ignore them until they affect me, or deal with them now, and hopefully change the future for the better.

I’m not in combat every day. I am not a grunt, as some have speculated. I am an information warrior, living in Baghdad and trying to help in some small way to make Iraq a better place for Iraqi children because I believe that what we do here will have a ripple effect. We are all connected.

This war is not perfect, and this war is not pretty. It was a long time coming. It may have been started justly or unjustly. But no matter which side of the arguments you find yourselves on, you would do well to remember that the outcomes of millions of lives depend on whether or not the coalition stays the course. Those of you supporting a complete pullout on a timetable might as well be spitting in the eye of all the Iraqis who are currently trying to build futures worth having. So go ahead, keep on supporting the next murdering dictator or intolerant fundamenalist theocrat. Condemn more generations of Iraqis to a life where owning a cell phone or a satellite dish is a crime and people disappear en mass as if they had never been.

I made my choice, and I’m here. You make yours every day when you rally, rail and cry against a war you don’t understand and haven’t seen firsthand.

P.S. It’s been suggested that I was paid by the Pentagon to write the blog entry supporting no timetable. I find that laughable. Get to know me and you will as well. I took a pay cut to come here.

pitcher-tank

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

One of our duties in Baghdad is to escort the media through checkpoints. This photo was taken near one of those checkpoints. Spc. Pitcher arrived late but he’s learning his way around quickly.

My unit is lucky – our duties are undertaken in a relative environment of safety. We are not in constant danger, except from random mortars or perhaps a sniper.

The soldiers who man these checkpoints, both American and Iraqi, are frequently in harm’s way. They all have my admiration for doing a thankless and dangerous job and keeping good attitudes despite the danger.

As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists,”
President George W. Bush

I watched Bush speaking on television last night. It was my first day off since arriving in theater one month ago.

Please, America, listen to the man.

The moment anyone puts a timetable on coalition forces leaving, we’ve lost the war. You can’t put a timetable on the good guys unless you can put one on the bad guys too. That’s ridiculous. You can’t put an exact timetable on training up the new Iraqi military and police forces. It would be irresponsible.

No one wants American troops to keep dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know, because I’m one of those troops and I would prefer not to die here. On the other hand, and this is what you won’t hear from most mainstream media, if I do die over here, I’ll do so with few regrets. I wouldn’t be dying for a lie, as so many minstrels of misery and mischief keep spouting.

Americans are dying in Iraq so Americans don’t have to die at home, or so that they can die of self-inflicted things like lung cancer and heart attacks instead of having a building blow up and crush them while they are inside it. Don’t kid yourself that things are otherwise. Keeping the fight in the enemy’s home court is exactly the right thing to do.

It’s sad that so many Iraqis and others are dying over here. However, when you discover you have cancer the treatment is always the same – attack it at the source. You don’t wait for it to spread. And when is the last time you heard a doctor putting a limited timetable on cancer therapy? I can picture it in my mind. “Mr. Smith, we have seen some progress with your tumor. It’s shrinking. But we need to move on now. The timetable for treating you has passed. Good luck.”

That’s what some people are trying to tell Iraq just as hope is looming on the horizon. And that disgusts me.

I’m often told by people who spend time with me that I am jaded. They are right. I am jaded. I’ve seen lots of things that have made me tend towards cynicism and sarcasm. I normally don’t give my spare change to people who ask. This is a self-defense mechanism I have built up over time, because many people will take advantage of someone who is willing to share too much of themself.

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.”
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)

Sometimes, it is better to throw aside everything you think you know and just be kind. Which leads me to tell a tale of my workplace.

I spend a significant portion of my time here credentialing people. If you are a member of the media, and you want to cover the stories happening here in Iraq in the near future, you will probably have to visit me for a press pass.

Needless to say, I meet many people as I verify that they are indeed members of the press here to report what is happening and not souless insurgents hell bent on evil deeds. About half my time is spent with Western media and the other half is spent dealing with Iraqis. Iraq has a burgeoning media establishment. That makes me happy.

I work with an interpreter in my job because my current Arabic is limited to a few words. A few days ago, a man was waiting in line and the intrepreter was assisting him in filling out his badge renewal form. I heard laughter coming from that part of the room a few times. I hear laughter a lot. Sometimes it is forced, and sometimes it is drunken, and every now and then it is pure and infectious, making those who hear it smile without realizing that they are. The laughter I heard coming from my intrepreter was last of these types of laughter. It made me smile and only after I smiled did I realize that I had.

I looked over and saw a small man sitting in a chair, filling out his form. He smiled at me. I smiled back and continued processing other applications. A few minutes later, it was his turn to sit in the chair and have his badge renewal form reviewed. As he approached my desk, he smiled at me warmly and shook my hand vigorously. I tried not to stare at him because of his terrible limp as I wondered whether he suffered from a birth defect or perhaps an injury incurred during the decades of uncertainty and war that Iraq has suffered through.

As I reveiwed the documentation he presented me, I realized that the man’s passport was expired. I cannot issue an ID without a valid passport, and for good reason. I asked my intrepreter to have the man step aside and explain to him that the passport must be renewed before a badge could be issued. They moved off into the corner – the small, determined Iraqi man limping and smiling. I moved on to my next customer because I had many people waiting.

A minute or so later, I heard another outburst of warm, heartfelt laughter. When I finished processing the customer in front of me, I asked my intrepreter what was being said. I wanted to share in whatever it was. I don’t laugh as much as I should. Sometimes, I force laughter. I don’t like that about myself. Laughing with your heart is a healthy thing.

My intrepreter told me that the man had been recently unemployed and faced a number of different troubles. The troubles mentioned would make most Americans cringe. Daily life for an Iraqi in Baghdad involves danger and inconvenience on a level that would mentally crush many Americans. Many of us rely on our SSRIs and energy drinks to keep us moving through a day. Iraqis have to rely on other means to cope. And their world is much more daunting than ours. How many of your family members have been blown up recently? Have you had a mother or sister murdered because they were too friendly with foreigners? You probably haven’t been restricted from having a cell phone or satellite TV for the last 20 years.

The little man with the limp has been using his wits and humor as his tools to get from checkpoint to checkpoint, from job to job and from day to day. He’s been surviving on the strength of his smile and sense of humor for a long time. I appreciate that.

As he finished telling my intrepreter his funny tales of a hard life, he turned and began to walk out. Before he had made it, I had the whole story in English, and something inside me told me I needed to act. I asked my intrepreter how much a passport renewal would cost the man. The reply was a small amount for me, probably a huge one for him. I imagined what he might have to go through to get enough money to renew his passport so he could perform his duties as a member of the new Iraqi press.

I made a spur of the moment donation of cash out of my pocket. And I’ll never regret it. Most people I know will never live in a war torn city. Most will never be crippled. Most won’t ever wonder where they will get the money to renew their passport so they can start a new job and renew hope. Most will never have to survive on their own ability to make other people laugh – to turn a life of hard times into a funny story that makes people around smile and laugh so that their eyes crinkle up.

The Iraqi came back with his renewed passport yesterday, shook my hand warmly, and thanked me sincerely through the intrepreter. And it was worth every penny. I hope he has a long life full of genuine laughter, the kind that makes people in earshot wonder what great thing they are missing out on. You can find deserving people in need all around you, and when you do, you should show them an act of kindness, because in the long run, you will benefit too.

For those of you with an interest in Iraq, this is a must read blog: 365 and a Wakeup. I’m surprised I didn’t find it sooner.

Smoggy Baghdad Day

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

On the way to take care of some business, I got someone to get a shot of me on the water in Baghdad. There are always fires burning in this city, and the air quality is far from healthy in my estimation. Hence the gray skies in the background.

My sinuses have been going haywire since I arrived here. I’m hoping they’ll buckle down and start not caring about the stuff I’m breathing soon.

I was sick yesterday. I’m getting better. Iraqi flu is about the same as American flu, from what I can tell.

Presented for your viewing pleasure, I have some new footage:

Spookytooth Crossword Puzzle – Spookytooth shows us how he earns his bread and butter and what real war is all about.

Hi Amber – Sgt. James Sherrill says hello to his wife back home.

Karaoke Night at the Embassy – Members of my unit sing for your edification.

Despite the daily incidents around this city and nation, the above videos are intended to show you that your troops are leading out our lives without fear, that we are doing the jobs we came here to do. Sometimes these can even be mundane. Contrast American warriors with an insurgency murdererer and then ask yourself who you would rather have in charge.

This is war people, and there are moral differences between the two sides. Remember that, because people seem to be confused here lately about who the good guys are.

Major K has a blog worth reading. So please do.

Yesterday, we celebrated Thanksgiving. I didn’t hear a single explosion all day. To all those who stood guard yesterday, thanks for your viligance.

I owe many others thanks as well. Thank you to my wife for supporting me while I’m deployed. Thanks, Mom and Dad for being moral compasses. Thanks Dad Chance, for your books and other help. Thanks Tim and the rest of the crew at EMJ for the morale boosting hygiene kit you sent us while we were training up to come here. Thanks Doug for finding me the stuff I don’t have time to find and sending it over. Thanks to so many of you who’ve supported me via this blog and other lifelines. I appreciate each and every one of you.

In return for your support, I’d like to let you know what I’ve learned since I arrived in Iraq. From Iraqis, I’ve heard stories about what Saddam did to their families. All of them have been bad. One example that comes to mind is the electrician I met who said his brother was killed by Saddam and it broke his mother’s heart. He told me that under Saddam he made $3 a day and that now he makes ten times as much. He sees a positive future for Iraq.

From my leadership, I’ve heard how we are fighting and winning the battle to crush the insurgency. And I’ve seen that despite the bureaucracy the inevitably comes with government, the coalition is here to build, while the insurgency is only here to destroy. Yesterday, my generals served my evening meal. I wonder what Al-Zarqawi did for his troops.

Al-Zarqawi has no new construction projects. He doesn’t have engineers on staff to bring people without plumbing running water. He won’t be seen risking his life to bring electric service into Sadr City. His people don’t work late into the night planning how they can make life better for the Iraqis. The coalition does all these things.”

If you’re one of the people who think that this isn’t a cooperative effort, you’re wrong. In any given day since I’ve been here, I’ve met Egyptians, Iraqis, Polish, Iranians, Turks, Peruvians, Brits, Georgians, Gurkhas, Indians and others. Hell, I even met a Frenchman. There are people of every nationality here, doing every job imaginable. In ways small and large, all these people are doing jobs that will lead to one result – more freedom of choice for more Iraqis.

So on behalf of one of those polyglot people working for a better future for Iraq and for humanity, I appreciate your support. Thank you for standing behind the builders and not the destroyers.

Bloggers in Iraq

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

As a blogger, I find pleasure in meeting other bloggers. My job in Baghdad gives me the opportunity to do so, because I am the guy who credentials members of the press embedding with our military.

Bill Roggio, of The Fourth Rail and Threats Watch, is here to embed with a unit and cover some of their activities. Go check out his stuff.

I got to enjoy Thanksgiving lunch with him at the Al-Rasheed Hotel. Keep up the great coverage!

Trevor in Baghdad

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Here’s a photo of yours truly inside the Iraqi government building where I currently work. I’m wearing my very heavy full combat load, minus the 8-pound helmet, which I put on as I exit the door.

It’s a living. So far, I haven’t used the rifle at all. Here’s hoping I won’t the entire stay.


Keep checking back if you’re interested in seeing a movie of Karaoake Night at the US Embassy. If I can get any free time, I will produce and post the movie. I’ve already collected raw footage.

the-same-team

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

There are lots of people saying we’re illegally occupying Iraq these days. They should come over here and talk to the Iraqis pictured in this photo because these guys are the ones who will decide the future of Iraq along with millions of their fellow citizens.

Ultimately, it will be up to them, and not us Americans, what happens in the nation of Iraq. From what I can see, during my first two weeks into the maelstrom that this country is, many Iraqis understand only too well the choices their nation is facing for the first time.

Not everyone I’ve met here likes me. But this show on the world stage isn’t about me, it is about the citizens of Iraq deciding what sort of nation they want to build.

Look at the faces in the picture. Now take away the two American soldiers. The remaining faces are the faces of Iraq’s future for the next few decades.

This morning started with two nearby explosions. The walls of our living quarters moved and everything rattled. The big giant voice came on and announced the obvious, that an IED attack had occurred at one of the area checkpoints.

In my spare time, I produced two more of my little videos.

I’m a Computer guest stars PFC Michael Cost and was filmed in the desert of Kuwait on the day we left for Baghdad.

Drunken Bob’s tour of my living quarters is to answer a specific request from my wife Barb.

If you’re interested in the military’s mission in Iraq and all that goes into it, please check out milblogging.com. They have a great index of blogs written by military members.

front-porch

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

The view outside my living quarters in Iraq.

We live inside a giant maze of sandbag walls and concrete berms engineered to minimize the damage caused by incoming mortar and rocket attacks.

The insurgency enjoys firing into coalition areas at random and then running away. To be fair, the insurgency also enjoys blowing up crowds of people trying to get jobs and school children being handed candy. I suppose they are equal opportunity murderers.

arrival-night

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

The night of our arrival in Iraq was cold and miserable because we had been up for more than 24 hours hauling our gear around and being herded from location to location. We tried to catch a nap outside with our luggage as our bed.

Sleep deprivation is one of the many ways the military toughens up soldiers, or slowly kills them. It’s all a matter of perspective.

saddam-palace

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

This is one of Saddam’s former palaces. I like the bird art on the building.

The entire palace is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, and I cannot imagine how many pieces of various artisans’ lives were poured into the making of this series of interconnected buildings.

The incoming bombs, rockets and mortars don’t stop the daily routine here in the heart of Baghdad. They simply provide exclamation points in the sentences that make up our daily lives. Christina has posted photos of one recent event that served as an exclamation point to most of us in the area.

As a reader of my blog, you likely have an interest in Iraq. Check out my list of links by scrolling down the right hand column to the Iraq blogroll section. Besides adding While Away recently, I’ve added Life in the Puzzle Palace as well. There are many other notable blogs, some recent and some discontinued, but all worth a few moments for those seeking an understanding of what is happening here.

I’ve added two more movies:

Chow Hall Interview – SSG Graham is being posted for humor value and Missing You is for my wife.

My wife sent bad news from home today. I hope she’s coping OK. It’s hard to have a heart to heart talk when your only phone is a government line in the middle of a busy office. I feel completely inadequate being thousands of miles away when a crisis strikes and there really isn’t much I can contribute to solving the problem or mitigating the pain. Moments like those are moments when I want to say “Screw all you people, I’m leaving. My wife needs me.” Of course, that’s not an option.

Sorry honey, I wish I could be there for you.

Two more videos have been uploaded.

Desert Volleyball is a brief illustration of the pleasures of Kuwait.

Spookytooth’s Veteran’s Day Interview is a lighthearted attempt to show that even in a hostile fire zone, soldiers will find ways to have a good time.

It’s time for our first (just reformatted and reuploaded, you’ll need Windows Media Player or a program capable of displaying .wmv files) Spookytooth video. I hope to make this a regular feature, bandwidth and time permitting.

I’ll be attempting to post Desert Volleyball and Spookytooth Veteran’s Day Interview in the near future.

My unit is busy settling into our new role in Baghdad. Today is cleaning day.

Since we arrived a few days ago, things have been eventful, to say the least. Yesterday Condoleeza Rice was in the area, causing some delays in our normal movement as her security details blocked off various routes we normally use to get from place to place.

We’ve heard several explosions in the distance since arriving, and yesterday, as we were visiting a checkpoint between the green and red zones, we experienced our first taste of danger. An Iraqi policeman started firing up in the air. We were not prepared, and didn’t know the who, what or why for the firing. Everyone started looking for a place to duck and cover so we could be ready to return fire if necessary.

Another Iraqi policeman quickly explained that the firing into the air was intended to shoo away a slow moving car on a bridge nearby. Apparently the bridge is a favorite place for the insurgents to stop and blow up or fire at soldiers below.

Welcome to Baghdad.

sheik-jumpy

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Rzepka likes to experience as much of the cultures he’s exposed to as he can. Hence, the traditional Arabian garb. The boots are harder to explain.

This is tent life in the desert at its finest. We’re looking forward to being at our theater duty station soon, because a year in the sand would not be appealing, even though the tents are air conditioned.

For those of you who have been coming to the blog for the first time, all new commenters are moderated. If you post something and it doesn’t immediately appear, please be patient, I’ll either approve it or not. If you get approved, all future comments are automatically posted. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be posting my mailing address soon so that those of you who want too can send us snail mail.

desert-volleyball

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Volleyball during a sandstorm is an interesting experience. The frequent wind gusts are especially daunting. Serves can end up going just about anywhere and often do.

We won’t be here long, but some of the soldiers stationed at the post in the picture spend a year or more in the barren landscape. Ugh.

DCU

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

We are now wearing our Desert Combat Uniforms. Isn’t that great? I’ve grown a mustache because during our theater famialiarization training we learned that Iraqis respect mustaches. When in Rome…

chow-hall-danger

Originally uploaded by the.myrmidon.

Specialist David Claffey senses danger and reacts according to his training.

The training we’ve received at Camp Atterbury, Indiana should be instrumental in keeping us safe and prepared to react accordingly while in a war zone.

Out of Uniform

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

The forward operating base (FOB) was a special time for all of us. In this photo, Specialist Harold Lewis, Jr., enjoys a moment of peace and relaxation in the FOB’s house of worship.

OK, he’s actually in the latrine, and it’s dark outside, but flash photography solved that.

The FOB is not a fun place, nor is it supposed to be. Being intelligent and motivated soldiers, we found ways to make some non-officially supported humor happen. And in case anyone reads this that might feel a sense of concern, we also performed our training and duties professionally and efficiently.

Celebrate!

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

Sergeant James Sherrill celebrates his freedom from the Forward Operating Base (FOB) by levitating.

Sherrill is the only soldier in the unit capable of this magical act. Everyone else just kind of sits around and sighs when he overwhelms us with his special talents.

On a serious note, Sgt. Sherrill aka James is one of the most laid back soldiers in the unit and is often the voice of reason when things get tough and everyone else is bitching and moaning.

“C’mon guys, just do it,” is one of his constant entreaties. It’s good to have him with us.

In The Bunker

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

We ended a phase of training that was designed to prepare us for life in Iraq recently. Part of our training included daily simulated mortar attacks complete with bunkers where we spent time singing “Kumbaya” and sharing the moments of our lives.

I’m now operating on short time and a deadline for a project, so even though I have Internet access again, my posts will probably be limited for the next several weeks.

sunrise2

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

Camp Atterbury TSIRT training – four days of plastic pleasure palaces in an environment than can only be described as tranquil and filled with harmonious nature sounds like explosions and the screaming of uptight people in uniforms. At night, we were lulled to sleep by the crooning and deceptively calming audio created by Blackhawk helicopters firing their miniguns into nearby targets.

This blog is going to fall silent for the next two weeks or so as we enter a phase of training that will not afford me such luxuries as an Internet connection. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by.

sherrill-melancholy

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

Sergeant James Sherrill is one of the quietest members of the unit, and he is an Army forms expert, with a plethora of administrative experience. He sometimes lightens the mood in our unit with a quirky and unexpected comment.

The picture here was taken just after we finished looking for IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

the-strut

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

This shot was captured on the way back from a litter bearing exercise where we practiced running towards a helicopter with a “casualty.”

Our unit just finished four days of TSIRT training. We covered a number of important topics including rules of engagement. It’s clear to me from the training that the United States of America is serious about human rights and values life in comparision to the insurgents we are fighting.

From left to right, Captain Bill Roberts, Sargeant First Class John Kinnaman, me and Specialist Harold Lewis.

Photo Credit: Private First Class Michael Cost.

sunrise

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

Specialist Rick Rzepka offers up a look that summarizes the joy of life in a military field training environment. The coffee gets cold before you finish the cup.

Woo

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

Kelsey, who more readily responds to WOOO, is around 5 years old, and is most likely a miniature pinscher mix. As you may be able to see, she needs to lose some weight! She weighs around 45lbs and should weigh around 35lbs. If she were in a home where she could be walked on a semi-regular basis, the weight would come right off! Woo is very sweet and loving, housebroken, spayed, and just wanting to cuddle, love you, and go for walks. She gets along with other dogs, and I believe she would do well with children, but probably not ear-pulling toddlers. Cats would be OK after introduction. Woo got along with our bird who was not caged just fine once it was explained to her that she was not allowed to touch the bird.

Sweetie

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

Sweetie is a golden retriever, possibly collie mix, around 5 years old and 65 lbs. She is housebroken, spayed, happy, and loving, and she needs to lose a few pounds. She will require a home with extra love though. Sweetie has macular degeneration, and we have been told she will eventually go blind. We have had her over 3 years which is longer than we were told she would be able to see, and she can still see. It is obvious she cannot see well, as she will bump into things once in a while (I took this picture today, and you can tell she is looking right at me). We took Sweetie in because we like to help the dogs with special needs. She was the first “going blind” dog that we took in. After her, we took one in that was totally blind (that poor girl found a good, loving home!), and that is when I realized that a dog with impaired sight ideally should not be in a large group of dogs. Sweetie gets insecure when all of the other dogs are around her and they bump into her. She does fine with a couple of dogs, but 14 running around her are too much for her to handle. For that reason, we often keep Sweetie alone, and that is not a good situation for her either. When going to a strange environment, Sweetie will need time to adjust to the floors, yard, etc. If she is about to step on an unfamiliar surface, you have to be patient with her until she learns it is safe. Sweetie would not do well with younger dogs or puppies jumping on her. Once she adjusts, she is fine. I did learn with the one completely bind dog that we had that blind dogs do just fine. They smell and listen to their world carefully, and enjoy it! Sweetie has an adorable way of cocking her head when she is listening. Sweetie would do best with older children and no cats.

Greta

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

Greta was found in the woods recently. She’s a puppy and is just becoming used to humans, but she loves them.

Buddy

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

Buddy: Black lab mix, 4 years old, 60 lbs, housebroken, highly intelligent, neutered, and he would love nothing more than to have an owner that can cuddle with him, play Frisbee or ball with him, take him for walks, and take him into their heart. Buddy is full or personality. He gets along well with other dogs, but would probably do best in a home without a strong, alpha male. Buddy is truly sweet and loving and waiting to have fun with his human. I believe Buddy would do well with children of all ages and most likely cats. Buddy got along with our un-caged bird fine, once he was told to leave the bird alone.

Sticks

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

Sticks earned her name because when I found her on the side of the road, she was nothing but a pile of sticks with skin and fur attached. Her gums were cool to the touch and white. I believe I found her a day or two before she would have died from starvation. She is a hound mix (?), possibly with Rottweiler, 2 years old, 50 lbs, housebroken, spayed, and also highly intelligent. She would do best as an only dog or in a home with only one or two other dogs. She gets along with my other dogs, but she may have a tendency to get aggressive with other dogs (she is very submissive to people). I have not seen a major problem yet, but I believe the possibility exists. I know this hurts her chances of finding a home, but I believe in being honest about a dog’s tendencies. She is very shy to start with, but she is a dog that so wants to be cuddled and loved once she feels comfortable with you. Sticks would do best with older children and no cats.

Maggie

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

I have been deployed to Iraq, and my wife is having a hard time handling our 15 dogs. She can’t give them the attention they deserve, and is looking for good homes for several of them. The home must be a loving, caring home. We were able to handle the situation when there were two of of us to give them the attention they deserve, but my wife works full time and she isn’t able to handle it alone.

E-mail Barb.

678-232-9985

We’re in North Georgia.

I found Maggie lying on her back on the double yellow lines in a submissive position in the middle of a highway! She was on her last legs, and I swear that was her final “plea” for help because she was in need. I was the only one to pull over and I brought her home. She is around 4 years old, 45 lbs, possibly an Australian Shepard mix. She is spayed, housebroken, and I believe she would be the absolute ideal dog with small children. I have seen her with toddlers and she has a very strong mothering instinct. Any time I bring home a lost kitten or puppy, she wants to lick them and be a “mom.” She acts the same way with toddlers. Because of Maggie’s rough beginnings, she has a couple of small quirks. She is petrified of water, but if you are gentle with her, she can get through the bath thing without issue. She had most likely never been brushed or combed before, so she is still a little reluctant to let you do that, but she is so sweet and submissive to people that you can brush her. She gets along well with other dogs too. I even trust her with my ancient, 17 year old miniature dachshund, because she is so gentle with the little ones. Given the opportunity, Maggie will bolt out of the gate or door, so keep her secure. Cats would be OK after introduction. Maggie got along with our bird that was not caged just fine once it was explained to her that the bird was off-limits.

M249 Qualification

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

SPC Harold Lewis fires his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon for qualification at Camp Atterbury, Indiana on Thursday, September 22, 2005. Over the last two days, various elements of our unit have qualified on the M16 rifle, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and the M9 pistol. I qualified on all three weapons.

Shooting with a gas mask on is an odd sensation. It causes me to hyperventilate, or almost hyperventilate, and my heart rate goes up into tachychardia levels. Also, I weigh about 150 pounds and the equipment we wear, without a rifle, is another 30 pounds or so, plus the water we hump. It all adds up to a backache and shoulder aches. It’s great getting old. I feel like I was beaten by midget ninjas for two days.

Photo credit: PFC Micheal Cost

team-tard

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

The military makes us wear a reflective belt so we won’t get run over by cars. It’s required from dusk until dawn if you want to move about outside. We supplemented our special belt with extra special headbands, increasing our safety margin by 30%.

If you look carefully, you’ll see I’m also wearing a high-tech disco light that protects me from enemies at night. OK, not really. The disco light is actually a response to another soldier in our unit who gets up at 0300 and walks around with a little red light shining off his forehead. This wakes me up, so I’m responding with a disco light attack.

the-IV

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

In the photo, I am inserting the 18-gauge needle with catheter into the arm and vein of Spc. Harold Lewis, Jr.

He did the same thing to me, and broke out into a major sweat during his “stick.” He got it right, however.

Our military training continues full pace. Our days have been averaging about 16 hours. We get up between 0500 and 0630 every day and retire for the night at about 2200 or 2300. Our evening free time is limited by the various mundane tasks that are required of us, but a few of us have had a little time to watch some DVDs in the evening recently.

I spend most of my “free time” helping people with their computers, checking my e-mail, calling my wife and organizing my gear. And of course, there is the blog, which eats a hole in my day due to very slow Internet speeds here.

combat-life-saver

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

The combat life saver course is a three day instructional block that certifies soldiers to be first responders to medical emergencies while in theater or elsewhere. SPC. Rick Rzepka posed for me while simulating an injury. Another soldier was treating him in the background.

Tommorrow we will be learning and practicing the fine art of inserting IVs into each other.

sexy army soldier

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

SSG Henry is hardcore. He pushes himself harder than anyone else in the unit, and will give you the shirt off his back.

He has the top bunk and a habit of getting up at 3AM to pace around the barracks. All I see is his little red cave exploration light as he wanders around checking his gear and preparing for the upcoming training day.

SSG Henry has a heart of gold and the crusty brusqueness of an old sailor.

professionalism

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

Yes, we do feel a need to display a sense of humor from time to time, although it’s probably not an officially supported form of passing time.

The day was hot, everyone was sweating profusely and people still managed to ham it up for the camera.

Today started with some warm-ups and a run at 6 AM. The rest of the day was spent sitting around waiting in lines to get various bureaucrats to check us out. The Army has a plethora of requirements that must be met before it will let us go on a combat deployment. I am good in all but one area. I do have to say that the staggering amount of wasted paper and forms being filled out over and over disgusts me. When will the military modernize it’s system of tracking soldiers? This stuff should ALL be electronic by now. It’s wasteful, costly and inefficient to continuously reprocess information on paper that should be stored electronically and widely available for appropriate use.

I’m coming down with a case of the Camp Atterbury Crud and it’s making me tired and incoherent. I’ll blog more once I’ve recovered. Right now, draining my throat and taking care of the smallpox injection site is going to be all I can muster.

I spend a lot of time complaining about the state of things in my adopted country, but tonight, I’d like to thank a generous and anonymous family. My unit was having dinner at Applebee’s as we ramp up our pre-deployment training in Indiana. A gentleman who was dining with his family paid for our meal. The tab was more than $300. Thank you, sir, for your support. Many of us took pay cuts to perform our mission, including myself,
so I was doubly appreciative of the moral and financial support demonstrated by a complete stranger.

The pace of training will be fairly intense. We’re up at 0530 and lights out is at 1000. In between we’re pretty busy with the bureaucracy and training that permeate Army life. The training is critical while I could do without most of the bureaucracy.

PFC Michael Cost captured the above image of myself and part of my unit unpacking in our new palatial barracks.

Sgt. Emily Slusher disassembles an M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon) observed by PFC Michael Pfaff.

Initial training for our Iraq deployment is underway, and I will be hard pressed to answer comments for a while, but will read them all, and answer sporadically. If you’ve been blacklisted in the past on comments, please try again, I have turned off my RBL feature for now as a test.

Many of the Bush haters out there are blaming the war in Iraq for the slow response by the National Guard to the disaster in New Orleans. There has been lots of shrillness, lots of accusations that the Guard is stretched too thin, and plenty of calling for the head of Bush on a platter. Here are the facts.

Not hardly. According to Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, 75 percent of the Army and Air National Guard are available nationwide. In addition, the federal government has agreed since the conflict in Iraq started not to mobilize more than 50 percent of Guard assets in any given state, in order to leave sufficient resources for governors to respond to emergencies.

In Louisiana only about a third of Guard personnel are deployed, and they will be returning in about a week as part of their normal rotation. The Mississippi Guard has 40 percent overseas. But Louisiana and Mississippi are not alone in this effort — under terms of Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMACs) between the states, Guard personnel are heading to the area from West Virginia, D.C., New Mexico, Utah, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Alabama, Washington, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, and Michigan. Thousands have already arrived, and more will over the next day or so.”

I know we’re all having fun playing the blame game while people continue to die, but those of you who blame Bush and Iraq for any of the lackluster response that caused people to die may now have a big, tasty glass of STFU while you seek out others reasons to spew your silly and non-productive brand of pissing and moaning with no real goals in mind.

Write to your elected leaders. The average tax on fuel is 23%. I’m hearing a lot of whining about the cost of filling the tank and “greedy” corporations. What about government? If anyone can afford to stop profiting from the cost of a gallon of gas, it’s government. They make the money, they can borrow in unlimited quantities, and they can afford to stop raping us at the pump until the current situation with supply and demand has been resolved.

Sure, the greedy corporations could lower their prices. But they only make a 17% profit on the product that they bring us, from the ground to the pump. The government, which does nothing to add value to a gallon of crude oil and has no role in getting it to your local pump, gets 23% just for being the government. And that’s where we should start demanding a price break.

One of the places I like to visit on the Net is called Thought Mechanics. The site has a liberal slant, but socially, I’m liberal. I’m only conservative when it comes to government robbing me of massive portions of my income stream. Thought Mechanics is usually thought provoking, even if I often disagree. The text below is in response to an article by April Spreeman wherein she tries to make a case for the argument that no one cares about New Orleans because the victims are black. I think she’s way off base. Read her article and my response below if you have an interest.

April: My response in italics and bold.

I think you’re vastly oversimplifying this situation in a very insulting way.

If it is your ideology to believe that ignoring (denying) the fact that right now, accutely poverty stricken blacks in New Orleans are victims of 1) The Hurricane 2) The crooked politicians and 3) The rich whites (and blacks) who could give a damn less about poor blacks, then I respect that, but I do not agree. Part 2 and part 3 are the results of institutionalized racism that usually is followed by discrimination in the actions of prejudice.

a) Poor white people get treated just the same as poor black people in this country

I am interested as to who taught you this. From what I am reading, this is simply an ideology, and not a reality. Poor whites still have the advantage of white privledges that blacks do not. If you still do not believe this, and end up replying to this comment in question, I’ll go ahead and type an excerpt from a very good book that can explain the situation in far more detail than I can currently. If you search for “white privledges” on the thought mechanics search engine, you will find an interested essay regarding white privledges and what they are, if you do not know what I mean.

I’ve been a poor white person, and I base my statement on that experience.

b) New Orleans has been below sea level since it was founded.

True, I cannot argue there.

c) The federal government was not intended by the founders of this nation to be the solution to every American’s problems

The founders of this country are long dead, and they used to be slave owners, oh… and believed that black men were 3/5ths of a person… oh fiddlesticks, but we are not supposed to discuss race… that’s oversimplification. Wait! Ahh yes, the entire country developed money-wise via on the backs of slaves!! We wouldn’t even enjoy what we enjoy without the benefits of having people work for free… is that what you meant by our founding fathers?

Oh come on April. The South may have had an economy based on slave labor. The entire Carribean perhaps. But the Northern portions of the U.S. never had an economy based on slavery. You’re overstating the importance of that institution. If you want to have a historically based discussion of slavery, let’s also include white people enslaving whites, Arabs enslaving Caucasians, black selling other blacks (which is still happening today), etc.

The founders of this nation were certainly far from perfect. But they created the best system of government that humans have managed to date, and we’re working to destroy it. Yes, we have made some improvements, and for every one we’ve made at least two mistakes.

d) The leadership of New Orleans could have done a much better job of evacuating the city

I did not address this in my article, and perhaps I should have. I question though, how much revenue could have been generated by Louisiana considering it happends to be one of the poorest states in the U.S.

I don’t know, but I’ll bet you if I did a complete study of the city and state budgets, I’d find lots and lots of waste that could have been redirected to levees or moving the city to higher ground.

e) There was a mandatory evacuation order which was largely unenforced and ignored

This is not an accurate statement. Indeed, people were asked to leave, but the poor blacks did not own vehicles. New Orleans happends to be one of the cities in the U.S., with the least amount of people who own cars. Go to that link at democracynow.org, and watch the streaming video there to get a better picture.

Well, the elected government of the city certainly failed those constituents who didn’t own private vehicles. I’ve seen a photo today of hundreds of school buses sitting in deep water. I also read the tale of a 20-year-old resident of the city who’d never driven a bus but managed to get one out of the city. Why weren’t those idle buses used to evacuate people?

The city of New Orleans has been in danger for hundreds of years. If it is rebuilt, it will prove what I already know – we humans tend to be arrogant and self-deceptive about the nature of our own existence and it’s fragility.

People are still dying in New Orleans but politicians and political whores are already talking about rebuilding the city. I heard some jackass talking about how offensive it was that a senator had stated he was dubious about rebuilding New Orleans.

Are you f**king kidding me? The damn city was built in a bowl below sea level, the people who lived there either knew that or should have, and the government of the city certainly was well aware of the potential for exactly what is happening today.

If New Orleans is rebuilt, then I say a) New Orleans should pay with no federal or state help and b) people who live in New Orleans should have to sign a form stating that they understand the next time the city floods no one is coming to help.

Of course, this will not happen, because we live in a nation of half-blind idiots who are breeding faster than the forward thinkers that keep the wheels of civilization greased.

Methinks the New Orleans tragedy was the first of many to come in my lifetime.

Rebuilding New Orleans in the same place will probably happen, and when it does, I’ll be reminded of someone I know about, who was told that if she kept smoking, she would die in six months. She died with a cigarette in her mouth.

Today was the first day I have served on federal active duty since 1996. I spent my day in uniform and actively helping my unit’s efforts to get packed and ready for our upcoming deployment. Part of these duties included going to places like Lowe’s and Home Depot to get certain supplies that we needed. I was asked several times whether I was headed to New Orleans. I’m not, and our predeployment training has now been moved out of the state of Mississippi and into the state of Indiana. We’re still Iraq bound and staying on schedule.

I’m not, but many engineering and military police elements of the Georgia Army National Guard are leaving or will be soon. Hopefully, they’ll help stop the human created tragedy that is following the and worsening the one created by a storm. As suggested by the Toolfist Chronicles, I hope to see two in the chest and one in the head being actively practiced on those who are robbing, raping and murdering just because they can in the absence of authority during this crisis. A bullet is almost too good for those people.

Maybe this event will help some of you rethink your dependence on government. Perhaps some of you will realize how fragile law and order actually are. Purchase and practice with firearms. Develop a personal moral code. Get to know your neighbors, and if they’re not good people consider a move. Have an emergency kit and lots of ammo around.

I realize this isn’t practical for everyone. For those of you who fit into this category, I suggest becoming friends with those who do practice assertive, self-reliant and independent lifestyles. Your own storm of a lifetime could be just around the corner at any time.

At least, that’s what this “get the Bush monkey off my back” individual appears to believe:
The original post sequences are bold. My responses are italicized.

1. The levees around New Orleans were overdue for repair, and Bush failed to provide the Army Corps of Engineers with the resources necessary to fix them.

Um, it wasn’t levees that failed. Do your research before you try as hard as possible to make an ass of yourself. “Conditions exceeded the design,” according to the Corps of Engineers. The system was only designed for a Category 3 hurricane. Katrina was a category 4. The City of New Orleans should be responsible for its own protection either way. Even if the FedGov should have done something to protect the city, how is it you draw the conclusion that Bush is personally responsible? The FedGov has millions of employees and none of them is responsible for managing the municipal and state affairs of either Louisiana or Alabama. Nor should they be. This disaster should have been better planned for by those entities.

2. There has been rampant looting in New Orleans–apparently the local police are even taking part. Where is the National Guard? Thousands of them are over in Iraq, looking for weapons of mass destruction, or getting attacked by terrorists so we don’t have to, or rounding up those people on that deck of cards, or sending a message to rogue states, or building democracy, or whatever it is we’re doing over there this month.

So Bush is responsible for the looters too? The National Guard is responding as quickly as possible. The problem isn’t the National Guard, it’s the looters and the poor planning in advance of this event. Blame the state of Louisiana and the cities involved, it was their job to prepare, not Bush’s, you retard.

3. Global warming appears to increase the risk of damage from hurricanes in three ways: First, it heats the ocean to higher temperatures, giving the hurricane more power. Second, it raises sea levels, putting low-lying coastal areas like New Orleans at higher risk. Third, it kills coral reefs, leaving the coast more vulnerable to storm surges. Now, the science on much of this is still in the works, but we’ve known for some time that global CO2 emissions are likely to put the world at increased risk of extreme weather events such as hurricanes. What has Bush done to protect us from this risk? Absolutely nothing! He blew off the Kyoto Protocol, and has taken absolutely no steps to curb CO2 emissions.

This is utter garbage. You have a major chip on your shoulder and can draw no scientific correlation between this hurricane and George W. Bush, but you’re trying because you have nothing constructive to offer society yourself.

Put a goddamn Donate Here! link on your site, or go down and help out in person. Otherwise STFU, because you’re not helping in any way, shape or form. The city was built in a flood zone, below sea level well over a hundred years ago, and people are dead and dying because of a natural disaster. Bush is as responsible for the hurricane damage in New Orleans as you are for the stampede in Bagdhad that killed 800+. Only an a**hole would sit around trying to point the finger at a time like this. Human tragedy is everywhere. Get your finger out of Bush’s face and use it to help out. Stop acting like a sh**head.

I’m not sure how this country is going to survive long when it’s so polarized that people will blame its leader for the damage caused by hurricanes. The more information we have, the less we know and the more we whine can’t work for very long. Let’s build a giant wall around the Gulf Coast and use whiners as the filler material.

rafting

Originally uploaded by trevor.snyder.

My wife and I are in Colorado this week spending time together before I leave her for a year. We went white water rafting on the Arkansas River yesterday. We’re the two in the front of the raft.

This story is noteworthy.

And for the record, in my personal, non-official opinion, the U.S. military should be as forthcoming as possible about detainees and the reasons they have been detained.

Having said that, I find it dubious that the story mentions that two Reuters journalists killed by the U.S. military, but fails to mention that the U.S. military does not intentionally target journalists for death. The insurgency does. Isn’t that a significant difference? You might want to ask Eason Jordan. I’ve mentioned him in the past.

I would invite you to read the accounts of journalists dying in Iraq for the year 2004. What is clear from reading these accounts is that in a war, many accidents happen, and many innocent people die unjustly. What is also clear, is that the insurgents have a policy of murdering journalists with whom they are displeased. The coalition forces, on the other hand, have a policy of investigating every journalist death caused by the coalition in an effort to minimize such incidents. Do you understand the difference?

People kill people. We’ve been doing it since the beginning. But sometimes, the way we do it horrifies me.

They were burning him as if playing a normal street game. A few kept him pinned down to the ground while others poured petrol on him. After kicking him to the content of their hearts they torched him. With a burning body, he ran here and there. Someone brought a burning tire and with the help of a long rod and put it around his neck, receiving a great round of applause. They clapped and they chatted. There was no sound coming from him. He just ran like a giant flame, aimlessly flailing his arms in order to capture something in the air. They playfully avoided him, giggling, joking. Then he fell on the ground, giving up the fight against the unknown demons.”

Read the full entry, and then consider your own humanity. Consider how you want to die, if you have the choice. I have.

The America haters out there will want to tell me how much of American history is filled with similar scenes. I already know. I’m cognizant of national and world history. I also know what is in my heart. I could never set someone on fire and laugh at them while they died. I couldn’t stand by and watch while others committed such an act. I would try to kill them all. That is my nature.

I’ve complained several times in this blog about various companies that I do business with and their insulting automated systems that dehumanize me.

But this story about a man who is receiving offers for credit has to take the cake.

The letters begin, “Dear Palestinian Bomber. . .”

Habbas was even more shocked when, on several occasions, he said he called an 800-number for JP Morgan Chase and spoke to operators in an effort to complain. Each time, he says the operators called up his information on a computer but apparently didn’t catch on. According to Habbas, “The operators always said, ‘Yes, Mr. Palestinian Bomber, how can we help you?'”

If I hadn’t received similar treatment from the low IQ people that usually staff these phone centers, I would think this story was a plant. But it’s very believable. When I’m totally fed up with the appalling lack of customer service in today’s corporate world, I often play games with these people. I’ll start off my call speaking in a bad English accent. In the middle of the call, I’ll switch to a terrible Scottish accent. I like to finish off with a mediocre Indian accent. No one ever says a thing or questions why I come from three different parts of the world.

I recently complained that XM Radio has been randomly turning off my satellite radio service for the last 2 years and that the process of getting it turned back on is about as soothing as getting a lava enema. Yesterday, Cingular (a Bellsouth company) double billed me AGAIN for cellular phone service.

It almost makes me want to give up and become a Palestinian Bomber. But that would mean I’d have to pay dues to CAIR and I don’t want to support terrorist organizations.

Editor’s Note: Stuff that’s interesting or of import, in my opinion, is bolded. My comments are in italics.

Chapter One

Article One

The Republic of Iraq is an independent state. See, it’s not a damn Democracy.

Article Two

The political system is republican, parliamentary, democratic and federal. The democratic and federal parts are not to my liking.

1. Islam is a main source for legislation.

— a. No law may contradict Islamic standards. Not good.

— b. No law may contradict democratic standards. Not good.

— c. No law may contradict the essential rights and freedoms mentioned in this constitution.

2. This constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the Iraqi people and guarantees all religious rights; all persons are free within their ideology and the practice of their ideological practices. Doesn’t sound very free to me. What about athiests?

3. Iraq is part of the Islamic world, and the Arabs are part of the Arab nation. Not everyone in Iraq falls into this. It sure isn’t very inclusive.

4.

a. Arabic and Kurdish are the two official languages, and Iraqis have the right to teach their sons their mother language like the Turkomen and Assyrian in the government educational institutes.

b. The language used orally in official institutions such as the Parliament and the Cabinet as well as official conventions should be one of the two languages.

c. Recognizing the official documents with the two languages.

d. Opening the schools with two languages.

Article Three

Federal institutions in Kurdistan should use the two languages.

Article Four

The Turkomen and Assyrian languages are the official languages in the Turkomen and Assyrian areas, and each territory or province has the right to use its own official language if residents have approved in a general referendum vote.

Article Five

Power is transferred peacefully through democratic ways.

Article Seven

1. Any organization that follow a racist, terrorist, extremist, sectarian-cleaning ideology or circulates or justifies such beliefs is banned, especially Saddam’s Baath Party in Iraq and its symbols under any name. And this should not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq. Bans don’t work. Just ask the American drug czar. He’ll lie, but the truth is, he’s losing. That’s despite 40 years of help from his predecessors. Bans DO NOT WORK. And they are idiotic, to boot.

2. The government is committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms, and works to protect Iraqi soil from being a center or passage for terrorist activities.

CHAPTER TWO

Article 35

— a. Human freedom and dignity are guaranteed. Good. That means that Iraq will never have a TSA.

— b. No person can be detained or interrogated without a judicial order. We used to practice something like this in the United States.

— c. All kinds of physical and psychological torture and inhumane treatment are prohibited, and any confession is considered void if it was taken by force, threats and torture. The person who was harmed has the right to ask for compensation for the financial and moral damage he/she suffered.

Article 36

The State guarantees:

1. Freedom of expression by all means. Does this include government funding of projects wherein the “artist” takes pictures of someone with a bullwhip in his or her anus?

2. Freedom of the press, printing, advertising and publishing.

Article 37

Freedom to establish political groups and organizations.

Article 39

Iraqis are free to abide in their personal lives according to their religion, sects, beliefs or choice. This should be organized by law. What? I have no idea what this means.

CHAPTER THREE

Article 66

A presidential candidate should:

1. Be Iraqi by birth and the offspring of two Iraqi parents. This is probably to keep Eygptians like Yasser Arafat from taking over.

2. Be no less than 40 years old.

3. Have a good reputation and political experience, and be known as honest and faithful to the nation. I have no idea why this is necessary, as it’s completely subjective.

Article 75

The prime minister should have all the qualifications as the presidential candidate and should have a university degree or its equivalent and should not be less than 35 years old.

Article 104

A general commission should be set up to observe and specify the central (government) revenues, and the commission should be made up of experts from the central government, regions, provinces and representatives.

CHAPTER 4:

Article 107

Federal authorities should preserve Iraq’s unity, security, independence and sovereignty and its democratic federal system. This will, of course, require that Iraqis create a plethora of agencies with the inevitable three letter acronyms for names.

Article 109

Oil and gas are the property of all the Iraqi people in regions and provinces.

Article 110

The central government administers oil and gas extracted from current wells, along with governments of the producing regions and provinces, on the condition that revenues are distributed in a way that suits population distribution around the country. This means an automatic 30% or more reduction in efficiency since government and not private enterprise is the delivery vehicle.

CHAPTER FIVE

Article 114

1. A region consists of one or more provinces, and two or more regions have the right to create a single region.

2. A province or more has the right to set a region according to a referendum called for in one of two ways:

— a. A demand by one-third of all members of each of the provincial councils that aims to set up a region.

— b. A demand by one-tenth of voters of the provinces that aim to set up a region.

Article 117

A region’s legislative authority is made up of one council, named the National Assembly of the region.

Article 118

The National Council of the region drafts the region’s constitution and issues laws, which must not contradict this constitution and Iraq’s central laws. This is a reassertment of central authority, which I am very dubious about.

Article 120

The executive authority of the region is made up of the president of the region and the region’s government.

Article 128

The region’s revenues are made up from the specified allotment from the national budget and from the local revenues of the region.

Article 129

The regional government does what is needed to administer the region, especially setting up internal security forces, such as police, security and region guards.

Article 135

This constitution guarantees the administrative, political, cultural and educational rights of different ethnic groups such as Turkomen, Chaldean, Assyrians and other groups.

CHAPTER SIX

Article 144

The Iraq Supreme Criminal Court continues its work as a legislative, independent commission to look into the crimes of the former dictatorial regime and its symbols, and the Council of Deputies has the right to annul it after it ends its duties.

Article 145

a. The Supreme National Commission for de-Baathification continues its work as an independent commission, in coordination with the judicial authority and executive institutions and according to laws that organize its work.

b. Parliament has the right to dissolve this commission after it ends its work, with a two-thirds majority.

Article 151

No less than 25 percent of Council of Deputies seats go to women. I’m not sure where they got this number, but I am glad women will have a voice.

Article 153

This law is considered in force after people vote on it in a general referendum and when it is published in the official Gazette and the Council of Deputies is elected according to it.

It will be interesting to arrive in Iraq around the time of the referendum.

(CNN) — Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him “a terrific danger” bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.”

I’m not a big fan of vocal religious fundamentalism. If you want to practice it quietly among your friends and family, and they’re all doing so along with you, in a consensual manner, then I say go ahead and knock yourself out.

Pat Robertson, however, should learn when to STFU. I can understand why a nation might want to assassinate another leader if the two countries are at war. But I didn’t realize we were at war with or threatened by Venezuela. I must have missed the invasion. Or I was sleeping when Chavez issued a fatwah against us. Something got past me.

I don’t like dictators. It’s pretty clear that a lot of Venezuelans are unhappy with Chavez and his policies. Some must be supporting him or he wouldn’t be in power. But that isn’t the story. Venezuela should handle it’s own business. The story here is that Pat Robertson is an awful poor example of a Christian. Christians shouldn’t be calling for the assassination of anyone. You see, Christians are supposed to emulate Christ. And as far as I know, Christ wasn’t a ninja assassin and didn’t hang out with or glorify that type of human being.

Pat Robertson also said something to the effect that Chavez is trying to create some new sort of monster that combines the evil power of Communism and fundamentalist Islamic belief systems. I’m not buying that. Venezuela is 98% Roman Catholic. Extremist Muslims have a hard time selling their Special Crazy Sauce to people who like French Toast with an image of the Virgin Mary burned into it.

Some of us liberty loving Americans tend to want to poke our fingers into the eyes of the rest of the world way too much. But the American people can’t afford to interfere in every single political struggle going on around the globe. It should be general policy not to do so. Unless Venezuela starts military posturing or conducts war games off our coast, I think Pat Robertson should stand down. Maybe some prayer and reflection would help him out. Maybe he needs some quiet time with Jesse Jackson. I’m not sure what it would take to help him get his head screwed on straight, but I’m sure the road he’s traveling is making him look like a complete ass and giving Christianity a bad name.

UPDATE: And to be completely fair, I once called for the assassination of Yasser Arafat by the Israelis.

And today I’d like to remind my readers of a fine, fine fatwah issued back in 1998 that still applies to all the True Believers today:

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in “Al- Mughni,” Imam al-Kisa’i in “Al- Bada’i,” al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said “As for the militant struggle, it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life.”

This is in addition to the words of Almighty God “And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed–women and children, whose cry is ‘Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'”

Thanks for your support everyone,

Usama

P.S. Please read the Rules of War in Islam.

Here’s an excerpt: The first traditional opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed under all circumstances, except those who convert to Islam. The second traditional opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed, except for those who convert to Islam or those who are Christian or Jewish prisoners and who accept to henceforth pay the jizya tributary tax. This second opinion is the position of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. The third traditional opinion is that no prisoners of war may be executed, in general – this was upheld by the medieval, Muslim scholar of Islam, Sufyan Al-Thawri. The fourth opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed (except those who convert) until the cessation of major hostilites, after which they can be executed at the discretion of the Islamic supreme leader or those legally deputized by him. This opinion was upheld by the medieval Muslim judge, Sa’id bin Jubair (665-714 AD). The fifth opinion is that adult, male prisoners of war may be executed at the discretion of the Islamic supreme leader, or those legally deputized by him. This fifth opinion was upheld by the Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools of Islamic jurisprudence. The Shiah Jafari school of Islamic jurisprudence holds similar views on the matter.

My father comes from an Amish background. My mother comes from a Mennonite background. Both groups are conscientuous objectors and pacifists. Ironically, I became a United States Marine and still manage to get along with both my mom and my dad. Now that I’m in the Georgia Army National Guard and just days away from being active Army and on my way to Iraq, my parents’ main concern is that my soul is prepared for the next stage of existence. It is, although I don’t pretend to have the same expectations for my next life as my parents have. It’s much more nebulous for me than it is for them.

In any case, I love the irony that life so richly illustrates. Joan Baez has been an anti-war protestor for decades. Most recently, she’s jumped on the Cindy Sheehan train to nowhere. I like to ponder on what her life would have been had she been born an Iraqi. Imagine Joan al-Zarqawi, if you would, protesting under the regime of Saddam. Oops. Rather than being able to sing about the evils of war, I am guessing that the Iraqi folk singer name Joan al-Zarqawi would have been expeditiously buried in a shallow grave without much of a ceremony. Perhaps the grave diggers would have smoked a cigarette after pushing the earth over her head and reflected a moment on their own fragile mortality, but that would have been about it. She wouldn’t have had the opportunity to protest through music for more than about five minutes.

Remember, all you idealist lovers of peace – you’re only alive and thriving because others are willing to make war despite your constant insouciance and trumped up self-righteous indignation. If it weren’t for us hawks, all you doves would have been eaten by the wolves a long time ago.

My co-workers gave me a little send off today.

If you’re tuned in to all the bulls**t coming from the whiners and the pacifiers here at home, please take a moment to read this blog entry from A Soldier’s Perspective.

I quote:

I personally saw, WITH MY OWN EYES, glorified paintings of planes hitting the WTC in Iraqi GOVERNMENT OFFICES. How many of you bought huge paintings of this atrocity and openly display it in your homes and offices?”

Read the whole thing. Then come argue with me that we’re doing the wrong thing. I’m happy to consider all reasonable points of view. Reasonable ends when your culture or government wants to annihalate a) my way of life or b) my life. That’s where war begins.

Hat tip to the Gunn Nutt.

I’m not sure exactly why, but the #1 search result for people finding me on the web is “sex blogs.” I don’t write about sex, so I’m not quite sure why that is.

Number two on my list: Matthew Sepi. He’s the former servicemember that shot two people in a dark alley.

LAS VEGAS — An Iraq war veteran accused of using an assault rifle to kill a woman and wound a man in an alley acted in self-defense and should be eligible for psychological treatment instead of trial, his defense lawyer said Monday.

“I don’t think this kid should be in custody,” Public Defender Nancy Lemcke said after a brief appearance by Matthew Sepi, 20, in a Las Vegas courtroom. “

Here’s the full story on this Iraqi war veteran.

The press always loves a story where an “assault weapon” is used. I suppose the tale of Mr. Sepi wouldn’t be so interesting if he had used a blowgun and poison darts in an apparent case of self-defense.

Coming in at number three this month: Jennifer Wilbanks breasts. I’m not sure why people are still searching for her breasts. If you people really need to see a breast, visit Tara Reid’s Boob. I’m sure the quality is higher over at her chest, plus, Tara Reid doesn’t have massive bug eyes.

Other interesting searches that brought people to my site this month: “life sucks, please kill me,” “melinda melons,” and for some reason I cannot fathom, “raping photos.” What’s that all about? If you’re an “obese chain smoking woman who eats too much and never exercises,” or you’re just looking for one, please don’t visit my blog anymore, I can’t help you. The same goes for the person that found me while searching for “dogs raping young girls.” For you, I recommend suicide. Freaks.

Bob Herbert, one of the New York Times arrogant and self-righteous columnists, has written an editorial entitled Blood Runs Red, Not Blue.

Here’s a sample of the vitriol:

For all the talk of supporting the troops, they are a low priority for most Americans. If the nation really cared, the president would not be frolicking at his ranch for the entire month of August. He’d be back in Washington burning the midnight oil, trying to figure out how to get the troops out of the terrible fix he put them in.”

Here’s my response to Mr. Herbert:

In response to your article entitled “Blood Runs Red, Not Blue”, all I can say is that I think it is you and not George W. Bush that is delusional.

Trevor Snyder

And of course, because Bob Herbert really cares – almost as much as the President – I got this auto responder:

Thanks for your thoughtful email. It was greatly appreciated. Please be assured that I read every message but because of the volume I cannot respond individually to each one.
Take care,
Bob Herbert

Bureaucracy is evil. Sometimes by design but usually by incompetence and pettiness. Take for example, the case of the Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq and is being told he’ll have to pay the higher out of state tuition fees for his college education becuase he isn’t a resident of his home state.

If you live in the United States for any length of time, you’ll discover many illogical and maddeningly stupid inconveniences foisted upon citizens and visitors alike. Why do we tolerate them? The stupidity and arrogance of government can affect all of us in negative ways, from minor inconveniences to events that ruin lives. I experienced a minor inconvenience yesterday. Apparentely, it’s important to the U.S. Army that my driver’s license not expire while I’m in Iraq. The logic behind this escapes me. If my license expires will I suddenly become a crappy driver? Anyhow, I’m forced to stop my normal activities and go get my license renewed. This is inconvenient because I live in Georgia and work in Tennessee. That means I have to go back to Georgia and cut a half day out of my planned work activities.

Once I arrive at the driver’s license bureau, I’m please to discover that there isn’t much of a waiting period, but irritated because I have to pay $20 for the privilege of being forced to renew my driver’s license early in order to go to Iraq where my license is not only unnecessary but useless. Are the Iraqi traffic police going to issue me speeding tickets or something? Of course not! The purpose of renewing my driver’s license is merely to further the cause of faceless, nameless bureaucrats who I’ll never meet, but who have managed to inconvenience me anyhow.

Ah, the sweet taste of freedom! I’m free to be fingerprinted by my state. I’m free to pay a $20 fee in the furtherance of ensuring I’ll be certified by the State of Georgia to drive well while in Iraq. Sometimes, I wonder why I bother. I guess it’s because the alternative is to lay down and die, having given up. I can’t do that. It’s not in my nature.

I’m going to beat the bureaucrats or die trying.

Yes, the explosions in Bangladesh were planned and executed by a Muslim fanatic extremist group. One businessman was murdered in the blasts.

I spent part of my childhood in Bangladesh, the poorest nation in the world.

Leaflets stated that “it is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh.” Translation: do things our way or we kill you. My response: go f**k yourselves, psychos.

Are you getting it yet? This is a world war that hasn’t finished ramping up. It’s a war between fanatics who demand everyone else do things their way (in the name of God, of course) and those who would prefer to let people choose their own path in life.

It’s worth posting the other side of the Sheehan family coin.

The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son’s good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.”

Casey Sheehan’s grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.

And if you’re still not convinced that Ms. Sheehan is wrong, read this open letter from an Iraqi written expressly to her.

Aaron over at Ketchup is a Vegetable has had his muse inspired by something I posted to his site. I’m happy to repost his response to me here, with my comments added in italics.

Trevor
Since I’ve moved my engine to Blogger, comments here at KIAV have been less spammy but also less frequent. I mean, I understand that, to a large extent, I am masturbating into the wind here. And limiting the pool of commenters to members of Blogger, it doesn’t help. I know. I know. That’s blogging for you, especially, I think, when you blog from this side of the dais. But, at least I’ve limited advertising resources for online poker.

There are lots of ways to put a smackdown on spammers. You don’t have to limit yourself to Blogger. May I humbly suggest WordPress? It’s got at least 50 ways to curtail spam. I get a very limited amount.

So I was pleasantly surprised to get a comment that wasn’t spam and wasn’t from my Mom. It was from a man named “Trevor.” Trevor wrote: “No worries. It’ll work out despite people like you who have nothing to contribute but negativity. Or am I wrong?”

My full name is Trevor Snyder. I live in rural Northwest Georgia. Nice to meet you.

I of course stood up from my handy dandy Briggs and Stratton computer device and began to argue with Trevor. Hey, man, I said to the wall, I got positivity. I got yer positivity right here. I was gearing up and ready to let this right-wing whacko have it. Yeah, bitch.

So before I sat back down again to write, I looked up Trevor’s profile and checked out his blog. It’s called “will to exist.”

Trevor is a National Guardsman getting ready to go to Iraq. To quote a dead ex-friend of mine: “Not so fucking funny now, are we?”

So, Trevor, my man, I have a few things to say to you. First of all, thank you for posting a comment here at KIAV, and thank you for that comment not being some milquetoast “Yes, I Agree With You Completely” sort of comment. Your comment, not for what it said but for what you are, has been the most interesting thing to ever happen to this project since its inception. Because with what you’ve laid at my feet, it no longer feels like shadowboxing. From my visit to your site, I can see your face, man. In cammos, no less. And how do I answer you directly without telling you that the sense of purpose you clearly feel in this mission is worthless? How do I tell you where I’m coming from without making you feel that my opinions are specifically meant to render your sacrifice as “in vain?” Could I look you in the face while you’re wearing those cammos and tell you that I believe this war is bullshit and sleep all right that night?

For the record, I had been off active duty for almost 10 years when I volunteered to resume military service. I’m fully cognizant that many people believe this war is bullshit.

All right, fine. “…nothing to contribute but negativity…” Listen. I was in downtown Washington, D.C. on September Eleventh. I had to walk home to Arlington with several thousand of my closest friends. I saw the smoke. I fussed for a whole evening over a friend who was in New York. I lived it and had stomachaches over it and cried it out just like everybody else. And on the other side of the grieving, I supported our president. And, at the time, I was willing to suck up my obviously
partisan proclivities and support George W. Bush in whatever endeavors he attempted. I was positive, my man. Like most of my American brothers and sisters, conservative or liberal, I positively wanted two things: I wanted justice, and I wanted measures taken to insure that this wouldn’t happen again.

Me too. I’m a realist though. It’s likely to happen again, due to the nature of the underlying conflict between cultures.

Gary Schroen reported to Tim Russert that Bush wanted UBL’s head in a box on dry ice. Tim Russert’s initial question upon hearing this was about where you’d find dry ice in Afghanistan. I think I might have asked something like, “His head? Really? His fucking head? You’re shitting me. He wanted his HEAD? No fucking way. You’re shitting me. No, really. His HEAD?”

I don’t know Gary Schroen personally, nor do I know George W. Bush personally. I don’t know who really said what. So I’ll reserve judgement for the time being.

But, if that were to have come to pass, I can’t say that even my happy capital-punishment-hating liberal ass would have been disappointed. But it did not come to pass, and nor did the routing out of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, or so a little home movie featuring Ayman al-Zawahri released just last week tells me. So, no justice. And, certainly, we’ve enjoyed a cessation of attacks here at home, but the recent London bombings indicate to me that there’s no peace, either. And every line of relevance that these folks have tried to draw from September Eleventh to Iraq has been broken. This administration and its policies have made it diffcult for me to just give our president any attaboys.

Have you heard of the Hundred Years War? We’re in a new one on a global scale. Be patient and take the really long view. This thing is in it’s infancy. The lines of relevance between Sept. 11 and Iraq don’t need to be clear and strong, because Sept. 11 was a catalyst.

Regardless, Trevor, of whatever disagreements you and I might have about the path our country has taken, the most important thing I have to tell you is this: Please come home. Please come home safe and with all of your arms and legs and fingers and toes and with your sanity intact. Come home to your country and your family and your hometown, preferably to a tickertape parade and a fat happy beautiful American life. Godspeed to you, but please, come home.

Here is what I hope for – a chance to see for myself what is being wrought in Iraq. It’s possible I’ll find out I’m completely wrong and what we are doing over there is counterproductive. I hope that will not happen. I hope I’ll meet many Iraqis who want to control their own destiny and build a nation that tolerates more freedom than that part of the world has seen before. I hope that I will be able to offer them assistance. People are going to die. I might be one of them.

Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. It is easier to destroy things than it is to build them. It takes years for a human being to develop and mature to their peak productivity. It only takes a moment to snuff out a life. It took years to build the World Trade Center, and it only took minutes to knock the thing down, destroying thousands of lives in the process. The mindset of the people who knocked down those buildings was instilled by a culture of intolerance and blind hatred. That’s what I’m fighting. I’ll fight that sort of thing wherever I encounter it, in Iraq or in Georgia – and yes, you can find it both places.

How’s that for positive?

Pretty good.

I have linked to your blog and will check it often, though I will understand if spinning the blogwheel isn’t your first priority. But please try to keep us updated when you can.

No worries, unless the military shuts me down, I’ll be blogging. Until I’m in country, may I humbly suggest you take a moment to check out Michael Yon’s blog about events in Iraq?

Thank you.
Aaron

Take care of yourself, Aaron.

This web site memorializing Army Specialist James M. Kiehl is the perfect example. The way we honor our dead speaks volumes about our American culture. Contrast the funeral procession for this young man with a typical Palestinian funeral. There is no ranting and raving, no animalistic ululation. No rioting, no rock throwing, no noise at all. Just respect for a young man who gave up his life for his nation.

View all the photos and contrast the scenes with those you see in a typical Palestinian “martyr’s” funeral. Then take a moment to think about the differences between us. We Americans are so wrong so much of the time, but our society is more developed and more worthy than one that glorifies death. We celebrate life, and I would like to thank the family for sharing these images.

Life or death, which one do you choose?

I’ve added Hurl’s Blog to my list of Iraq links down the right column. Hurl is a Marine Cobra pilot. Hat tip goes to the Gunn Nutt. Check Hurl out if you want to hear a non MSM viewpoint of what is happening in Iraq.

For another non MSM point of view, check out DVIDS. The Digital Video & Imagery Distribution System will allow you to see still and video footage gathered and distributed by troops on the ground in Iraq and is a vastly underused resource.

I don’t find these little gems on my own. People send them to me. Anyhow, a friend wanted me to know that she was Yo Ren Ishi from Kill Bill.

I am Agent Smith, of course.

Find out what sort of evil Hollywood stereotype you are.

Cindy Sheehan has every right to make a fool of herself. She is certainly justified in asking questions about her son’s death in Iraq. President Bush does have an obligation to explain why we are fighting in Iraq. But he already has.

I’m not sure what Ms. Sheehan’s ultimate goal is, but right now she’s acting as a foci for every left-wing nutjob in the country. I happened to be in line at the grocery store the other day. My cashier was an Iraqi Turkmen and I was having a conversation about Iraq with her. Some lady in front of me decided to blurt out her opinions of the war and then prattled on about how she was considering joining Cindy on her camping trip. Being a polite type, I just listened. Internally, I was thinking, whatever, you nut job. Ignorance is everywhere.

I’ve asked my wife, should I die while in Iraq, that she not politicize my death. She just rolled her eyes. She’s not the camping evangelist type.

Yes, I am the ultimate white guy. My current training is causing a nice sunburn to manifest itself. I’ve got lots of video clips of the training process itself, and will be shooting video of my entire deployment whenever appropriate. Some of the material may make its way into this blog from time to time. Photos will definitely be a part of my sharing this experience.

So, to get things started, here I am after another long day of training to operate a military news satellite uplink/downlink system. It’s rather large, sorry if you have a small monitor. I’m even sorrier if the image causes any damage to your monitor.

It’s been interesting weather to say the least. While my flesh has been nicely cooked by the rays from above, rain has been intermittently falling, and thunderheads have been hovering in the near distance threatening all the participants in our enclave with imminent danger from above.

The paper shuffling at our home base is over, and my National Guard unit is gearing up for several phases of training prior to our physical arrival in Iraq. My posts will likely be infrequent in the near future for an indeterminate time. For the time being, however, I continue to have reliable high speed Internet access. As I transition from being mostly a civilian to being a full time soldier, I will likely limit personal opinions in this blog, as they are not appropriate and would, in many cases, be highly unappreciated by my command. This is a normal part of being a soldier. I am voluntarily surrendering some of my freedom of speech and freedom of expression to be a part of something much bigger than myself.

This week I’m learning how to operate a portable satellite uplink/downlink system that allows the U.S. military to beam information from Iraq back to the United States and vice versa. The system makes it easier to provide information about troops on the ground to the people back home when and where appropriate. We are being taught by Canadians. I mention this since I’m an emigrant Canadian and immigrant American.

The training is fairly straightforward and involves assembling, pointing and deassembling the dish, controlling the software and the basics of what might go wrong in a combat environment and how to fix it when it inevitably does. In the interests of operational security (hereinafter referred to as OpSec), I won’t go into great detail, but I think it’s safe to mention the most important part – not standing in front of the dish while the unit is live. It’s microwave technology, and will cook a person from inside out. That’s not how I want to go.

Three members of my unit are receiving the training with me, along with a plethora of other Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel. The room we’re in is hot, and it has been hard for many to stay awake, but our classes will be mostly outside from tomorrow on. Luckily, the weather calls for rain all week (editor’s note: sarcasm).

We went to lunch at a local fast food joint today, and two Vietnam veterans – both with the look of lifetime blue collar workers – paid for our lunch. Gentlemen, I realize you will never read this, but thank you. Thank you for your moral support and for recognizing our willingness to expose ourselves to danger to fight forces that, if left unchecked, might someday kill a million Americans, or a million British, or a million human beings from anywhere who disagree with fundamentalist extremism backed by indiscriminate torture and murder. Thank you for reminding us that those of us in uniform do have support from the public. In the midst of much shrill dissent proferred up by those who claim Iraq is nothing more than a distraction it is nice to have an honest dialogue with random strangers who offer good deeds and a kind word or two to us as we prepare to leave our daily jobs, our families and everything famialiar for an uncertain future. I hope my unit and I make some small contribution that increases the freedom of Iraqis.

Journalist Steven Vincent was murdered in Iraq by worthless bastards recently. A few days before he died, he said this:

The people here desperately need — and deserve — law and order, a sense that justice can prevail against malevolent powers stalking their nation.”

Steven Vincent was right. And the malevolent powers murdered him for it. They will keep murdering anyone who disagrees with them until they are extinguished.

I hope Steven Vincent is avenged. I hope that all those who have died trying to make Iraq a better place are avenged and that the worthless bastards who murdered them have their genetic lines snuffed out. This conflict is bigger than Iraq. It’s a conflict between decency and destitution. It’s a battle between the benign and the malignant. It’s a conquest of wills between a culture that values life against and a culture that spits on it at every opportunity.

Don’t let the worthless bastards win. Don’t let them win in Iraq and don’t let them win in your neighborhood.

Matthew Sepi’s government taught him to kill. Now that he is back from Iraq, he has used the training, apparently to defend himself.

(Sepi) explained that he had been trained in the military that in a situation in which he was ambushed, he was to engage the targets and retreat from the area,” police wrote in the report. “He felt that the situation in the alley was an ambush, and he reacted the way he had been trained.”

This story illustrates a number of the silly rules our society expects us to follow. Sepi is 20-years-old. He was on a beer run. I’ve never understood why we allow 18 to 20 year old kids to kill for our country while at the same time telling them they aren’t responsible enough to have an alcoholic beverage or three.

Another silliness – we put our troops in environments where they are constantly in danger and then act surprised and shocked when they get back here and still want to carry around loaded weapons at all times. Personally, I think every responsible adult should always have a loaded weapon handy and be prepared to use it in self-defense or the defense of other citizens as necessary. If you put your personal security in the hands of anyone other than you or a trusted associate, you deserve it when you find you really don’t have much security.

Sepi may or may not be a great guy, but if he was defending himself, he had an inherent right to do so and I have no problem with him carrying an “assault rifle.” After all, if he was being shot at with a 9mm handgun in a dark alley, he needed it.

I’ve been very busy preparing to leave for Iraq. This involves a number of mundane tasks such as drafting power of attorney and estate planning documents in case I cease to exist during my sojourn into a place where many would love nothing more than to make me into a corpse. I hate paperwork.

It’s interesting to me that I have to struggle to find out a lot of stuff that seems like it should be pretty basic. I called the Army National Guard hotline to get an exact amount I would be getting paid, including tax expectations, combat pay amounts, etc. I might as well have consulted a magic eight ball.

There’s this thing called My Pay. It tells you how much you got paid. It would also be really easy to hack, but that’s a whole other story. What it doesn’t tell you is how much you will be paid in the future. So it’s basically useless to me as a planning tool. All I can tell right now is that I’m taking a major cut in pay. Depending on housing allowances and any combat pay that might be forthcoming, my wife and I will either barely manage or flounder.

It would be nice if someone could tell me ahead of time whether or not I’ll have to turn tricks on the side to make ends meet.

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for the well wishes and in particular for some of the advice re: My Pay. Between the comments I’ve received here and more personal research, it appears that the government will value my services at around $3,900 a month while I’m “over there.” That’s about a 30% pay cut in comparision to my civilian employment. It should be manageable but I won’t be buying a new car with cash when I get back.

I have had XM Satellite radio for about two years. Every few months, they randomly shut my service off. Recently, due to my upcoming deployment to Iraq, I asked them to schedule an automatic shut off of the service on a certain date. Sounds simple, but not for the people at XM.

It took about half an hour to (I thought) get my request across to them. Finally, I felt reasonably confident that the semi-literate customer service rep I was talking too understood what I wanted. The date I requested was about two months from the day of the conversation.

The next day, my radio was deactivated. When this happens, the only channel that can be heard is the preview channel. Since I’m a big fan of talk radio and I commute a long distance twice daily, this is very frustrating. It destroys my routine, and makes a long drive even longer.

I spent several hours over the next week trying to get my radio turned back on. Keep in mind that I’ve been having similar problems for two years, where my service is erroneously shut off and I have to call five or six times to get it turned back on again. Each time, it’s like I’ve never called before. XM seems to lack any coherence at all when it comes to basic help desk policies. They don’t generate a case ID when you call in and they have no idea what the concept of case notes involves. They can’t tell me who I’ve talked to and about half of them speak garbled English that’s nearly impossible to comprehend.

It’s also infuriating to have to repeat mind numbing crap like your home address, phone number and penis size every time you get transferred to another phone rep.

Anyhow, after 10 days and wasted hours of phone time, one of the reps I was speaking asked me for my radio ID. I gave it to him and he mentioned that the radio they had been trying to reactivate was not a match. Idiots.

Buyer beware: if you’re considering purchasing XM satellite radio, I highly recommend against it, unless they have a show that you simply must listen too which isn’t available elsewhere.

The terrorists have struck again. Being the craven cowards that they are, they have killed people on vacation, noncombatants all. Their hope is to sap the will Western nations to continue exterminating them. It won’t happen.

Every bomb hardens my will and resolve to assist in any way I can to exterminate these vermin. They are a disease.

The key operating phrase in this story and a worldwide theme that must be discussed: the perpetrators were Islamic militants. To defeat your enemy, you must identify him, understand him and then exterminate him.

I generally try to respect people and their belief systems, but the head choppers got exactly what they should have expected when TheAnarchAngel decided to vent his frustration on their holy book.

Now, the head choppers have issued a fatwah. They want to extinguish his life. Piss on every one of them.

Hat tip goes to the Heartless Libertarian.

Bruce Schneier comments on the dubious value of random searches. Well worth five minutes out of your day.

Keep in mind that this applies to all random searches, including the “drunk driver” checkpoints. The long-term effect is conditioning free people to lower their expectations and accept curtailment of their freedom without solving or even significantly mitigating the problem that “justified” the searches in the first place.