I dare you to listen to this song

The men who keep Air Force jets in the air

The guys who keep our Air Force jets roaring into the sky are called Air Force Crew Chiefs or "aircraft maintainers."

The jets fly because the guys who greet them on the ground, and who fix them, and who help shoot them skyward again - these guys care a lot about "their" planes.

My youngest son is one such guy. In the Air Force for about eight years and going for twenty, he's now stationed in Ogden, UT. Recently he published on his site at MySpace an essay entitled "An Air Force Crew Chief." Here's the link.

Because The Decider says so

Our commitment in blood and dollars to the people and politicians of Iraq is open-ended because The Decider says so. This is how I heard President Bush.

Not that exposing his BS is new or fun, but it continues to be informative to read how little this man stands by what he says - ever. Last night's spin on the war seems simply to ignore what he said when he introduced his surge factor last January. The staff at Editor & Publisher has wrote about that yesterday and published it on-line. Here's an excerpt:

The president said then, "I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this....

"To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution."

None of this happened.

War death toll is old news, but ...

Americans dying on foreign soil is old news. Day after day the count continues upward without relief or any end in sight. Most recently two men who went to Sheridan High School together died in Afghanistan. Here's the Advocate report.

Day after day and month after month, more people die. Real people with real parents, spouses, children and friends. Many thousands more are injured, maimed for life.

Yet to many of us they boil down to mere numbers and we keep it impersonal in order to avoid the horrible reality behind those numbers. We keep it impersonal so we can forget, though we know they are dying for us.

So far the CNN American death count in Iraq as of 8/27/07 stands at 3,732, of whom 157 are from Ohio and in Afghanistan 426. The number of wounded in Iraq is 27,506, of whom 1,129 are from Ohio.

Real people giving us the ultimate sacrifice. Let's not forget.

Congress is morally adjourned

July 30, 2007 - from Associated Press:

"BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's parliament adjourned Monday for an August recess without receiving from the government a series of U.S.-backed draft laws designed to promote national unity and stem support for the Sunni-led insurgency."

Also in that same report:


"The U.S. military said three soldiers had been killed in fighting in Anbar province west of Baghdad on Thursday. At least 3,651 members of the U.S. military have died since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count."


The United States has a Congress that's letting this happen because our representatives have been morally adjourned for years.

Generations of valor

Click on this link and be grateful.

Patriotism

Here's what I believe to be an authentic account of a real incident that demonstrates the difference between our fire-cracker brand of July-4th patriotism and the kind required by people in the military. It was written by Chaplain Jim Higgins on 5/14/07. LSA Anaconda is at the Balad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad

I recently attended a showing of "Superman 3" here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through the National Anthem the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. And again, at the same point, the music stopped.

What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter as everyone sat down and expected the movie to start.

Here, you could have heard a pin drop. Every Soldier stood at attention.

Suddenly there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand Soldiers

'And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?'

It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq. I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here.

What's wrong, Bunky?

The staff writers at Editor & Publisher asked "What's going on?" in view of a new surge in American angst.

Authors of the article seemed baffled because "Gallup reports today a sudden plunge in its regular 'satisfaction' index. Only 25% of Americans now say they satisfied with the state of their country -- down 8% in just one month -- and one of the lowest ever measured.

"'The current 25% satisfaction level is very low by historical standards,' Gallup explained. 'Since Gallup first asked this question in 1979, the average percentage of Americans saying they are satisfied with conditions in the country is 43%.'"

Let's see. What could possibly have put Americans in such a funk?

Could it possibly be no-longer-affordable gasoline?

Could it be an out-of-control congress and a crazy president?

Perhaps it has something to do with idea that Americans know they were lied to about the war, and are still being lied to, we have repeatedly sent that message but we remain stuck another Vietnam with no light at the end of the tunnel? Meanwhile, our youngsters spill blood for government which views itself as having no allegiance whatever to middle-class tax-paying voting citizens. Could that be it?

Could it be that government has given and still is giving this country over to millions of criminal aliens for the sake of business profits?

Could it be that about one in three Americans now are considered "minorities," causing much unpleasant socio-economic upheaval, not to mention the burden to taxpayers of vast welfare entitlements and unnecessary overcrowding?

Could it be that corruption in government, lying politicians, taxes for pork, lobbyists who determine how our legislators vote, stupid tax laws, and on and on until everyone is just beat down and there's nothing to be proud of anymore and nobody we can trust? And no Presidential candidates that are a bit better than recent failures who've occupied that office? Could that have something to do with it?

I think it might.

Invitation to members of the Armed Forces

On behalf of the nearly four million members of the National Rifle Association of America, thank you for serving our country! We deeply appreciate your sacrifice, and would like to offer you a complimentary one-year membership in the NRA as a token of our gratitude and respect. Your membership will include all regular benefits of membership, including a subscription to your choice of our three flagship magazines. All you have to do is sign up at: http://www.nra.org/supportourtroops/