This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Antiwar crowd

  • This is getting really old.

    Seems that the people over at Rethink Afghanistan are upset that Brig. Gen. Nicholson said that civilian casualties are going to be unavoidable. Yet by their reaction you would think that the is a open statement that civilian casualties are being viewed as unimportant. Hardly the case that I have seen.

    So of course these people jump over it when it does happen. Of course our sources our always wrong and children seem to be be involved. Does not do well since half of the footage used is from Al Jazeera does not make me want to watch anything they say. Also not to mention the fact this news group is the only news group that video taped a Insurgent group in Afghanistan pulling people over at a illegal checkpoint looking for people who voted in the election. Now they want to come off with any sense of concern for the people of Afghanistan.

    But that seems not to bother some people.

    U.S. forces just fired a “precision munition” that landed 300 yards away from its target, butchering 10 civilians, including 5 children. Stop this war.

    DC I respect you but you and your group are dead wrong on this.

  • Kokesh takes a page from the Obama campaign

    Remember during the 2008 election, the Obama campaign had to put up a web page to fight the so-called mistruths about their candidate? Well, former or current IVAW member Adam Kokesh thought he ought to do it, too for his campaign in New Mexico. Let’s take a look at it;

    1. “Adam Kokesh never served in Iraq and is a phony veteran.”

    False. Despite all of the photos of me in Iraq that have been posted in a variety of places online including numerous credible news outlets, some people still think the best way to discredit me is to say that I never served in Iraq. So here is my favorite photo from my time in Iraq and you can see my final DD214 at the bottom of this page.

    Yeah, I fought that battle for him the other day.

    2. “Adam Kokesh protested his country in uniform.”

    False. This is a gross distortion of a street theater action that I performed with a group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans on Capitol Hill to raise awareness among lawmakers whom we felt were out of touch with the reality of what was going on in Iraq. To say that this was “protesting America” is not only untrue, but unamerican. Part of what makes America great is that we know the difference between our great country and our corrupt government, and we celebrate when the American people stand up to corrupt forces in our government. While reenacting parts of our experiences in Iraq, we made it clear that we were not wearing official uniforms and that we were only representing ourselves, not the DoD, or any other branch of the government. There had already been a Supreme Court case affirming the legality of what we were doing, and we had a permit from the US Capitol Police.

    That’s not exactly true. He did protest in uniform and the Marine Corps downgraded his discharge as punishment.

    3. “Adam Kokesh admitted to drug abuse on his blog.”

    Distortion. When I got back from Iraq and was dealing with PTSD, I occasionally turned to alcohol. Because I had the help of a number of veterans, some of whom became members of the peer support group that I started for vets with PTSD and other readjustment issues, I was able to quit drinking entirely. I was also given a number of prescription drugs by the VA to deal with anxiety and used Xanax “as needed” to deal with stress. Because lots of veterans have dealt with similar issues and we have now lost more veterans to suicide than we have to combat in the Global War on Terror, I was motivated to address these issues head on and discuss them frankly on my blog. Fortunately, I was able to help many veterans as a result.

    It’s not really a distortion. He removed the paragraph from his blog in which he admitted he mixed gin and Xanax when he began his run for Congress, but not before TAH took a screen shot of the blog. In fact, TSO offered to help Kokesh get treatment and Kokesh declined.

    4. “Adam Kokesh is a communist, a socialist, and a liberal!”

    False. I have always had a deep-seated belief in freedom and the US Constitution. This charge comes from the fact that in the course of my activism, I have worked with people who hold a wide range of beliefs, including some from the extremes on “both sides.” I am proud of the fact that I can work with people who disagree with me and stay true to my beliefs. Because I am running as a Republican, some have tried to use some of the liberals that I have worked with against me, but I am particularly proud of the fact that in the course of working with people who disagree with me, I was able to expose and even convert many of them to the philosophy of freedom! As your Congressman, I will be able to work with a wide range of people on pressing issues to further the ideals of freedom.

    Well, if he’s not a socialist, he ought to stop marching with socialists. And hanging out with guys like Darnell Stephen Summers when he’s in Germany.

    5. “Adam Kokesh brought a gun back from Iraq.”

    True. It was a war souvenir that I brought back from Iraq in violation of general order 1A as issued by CENTCOM. When it was discovered by the Marines, I was immediately straightforward with my unit commander about what happened and I took my punishment like a Marine.

    I’m glad he owned up to that finally, but he should tell the rest of the story – he was reduced in rank in November, 2006. He immediately volunteered to go back to Iraq and the Marine Corps, because of his conviction for the pistol, wisely declined his offer. By Spring 2007, he was an anti-war activist.

    Numbers 6 and 7 are about whether he’s a Republican and whether or not he pays his taxes – I don’t really care and I’ll stick to stuff I can prove.

    8. “Adam Kokesh used inappropriate language when addressing an officer.”

    True. What is usually not mentioned is that I had already been discharged at the time and was no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I did use inappropriate language in defending myself when the Marine Corps Mobilization Command threatened my right to speak out as a veteran. When I met the officer in person, I was able to make amends. Many veterans came to my support during that time. “Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same democratic right we’re trying to instill in Iraq is not what we’re all about,” said Gary Kurpius, national commander of the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars. In some ways, I spoke from a deep frustration from not finding adequate justification for my life being on the line in Iraq. While many of them are not actively speaking out, when the vast majority of Iraq vets wanted us out years ago, I am glad that I did what I could to give our shared frustration a voice.

    No, Kokesh hadn’t been discharged at the time he used inappropriate language. he was still in possession of a legitimate military ID card which he used to access a military base in Germany in May, 2007. That page has since been removed from the IVAW website [Ed. Note; Thanks to Toothless Dawg who found the new URL. But, IVAW forbids links from TAH (for some reason) you’ll have to paste this URL into your browser; http://www.ivaw.org/node/787], but I wrote about it on May 31st, 2007. I also wrote about the regulation that covered his infraction.

    Finally, Kokesh included one of his DD214s. He used the third one because since he already admitted to the bust, that was the last discharge form he received as an Honorable discharge. But, it’s not his last discharge.

    If you look at block 12b, it says the separation date for that period is November 30, 2006. However in block 6 it says his Reserve Obligation Termination Date is June 18, 2007 so even though he says that’s his last DD214, it’s not. There’s one out there for his final seven months which is not honorable.

    I’m still waiting for his explanation of the racist posters he put up around GWU campus trying to frame a Conservative student group. Or his arrest when he blatantly ignored the laws in front of the Park Police in DC. Or the time he tried to bully us into silence.

  • The post in which TAH defends IVAW’s Kokesh

    I really hate to do this – defending Adam Kokesh, member of IVAW and congressional candidate in New Mexico is probably my least favorite thing. But, I also hate it when people don’t tell the truth inadvertently or otherwise. Free Republic and American Patriots Against Kokesh have a thread questioning Kokesh’s Iraq vet creds. They both use a copy of Kokesh’s DD214 that I posted last year. That DD214 is one of three in his records – the last one. I posted it to prove he was not a sergeant when he was discharged.

    Unfortunately, the amateurs didn’t come to me before they posted the DD214 and Free Republic didn’t link to me so I could help them avoid embarrassment. Here’s the DD214 that proves his service in Iraq.

    kokesh-dd214-iraq-service

    You’ll notice the requisite medals in block 13, 6 months and 24 days of foreign service in block 12f. I also have the narrative for his Navy Commendation Medal for service in Fallujah. These all came as a result of POW Net’s FOIA to the records center.

    Ya know how on television they always tell you tell you not to try stuff you see at home – this is one of those things.

  • Stuck on stupid

    Remember how well the Ron Paul Blimp worked when it propelled Ron Paul into the Oval Office in 2008? Me neither. But that doesn’t deter the Paulians from launching a campaign to litter our skies with a “Peace Blimp“;

    Imagine…a “Peace Blimp”- defiantly displaying a message of peace across the skies of the nation, unable to be dismissed, ignored or brushed aside. Rallies for peace greet the blimp in every city it visits. Politicians, celebrities, movie stars, athletes, war veterans and peace activists make the call to bring our troops home by boarding the blimp for a ride. Crowds flock to the events and are educated about the war. With each stop along the tour the momentum for peace grows from a dull roar into an undeniable fervor until the seemingly endless wars come to an end.

    Now, let’s make this a reality.

    Please join us this March 20th for the largest online monetary war protest in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000 people to donate $10 each (minimum), creating a one day total of millions to fly the Peace Blimp until we the people force our government to end this war.

    Do you know that Pizza Hut has a $10 special? I doubt the pudgy, basement dwellers across America will allow a large stuffed-crust slip through their fingers that easily.

    From an interview with a Paulian in a Canadian blog;

    Trevor Lyman, a Ron Paul supporter who is responsible for the Peace Blimp effort, responds to a few of my questions. Here are the questions, as well as his responses:

    P. M. Jaworski: What do you hope to accomplish with The Peace Blimp?

    Trevor Lyman: I hope to help reignite peace protests here in the States. The majority of the American people have wanted this war to end for over four years now.

    PJ: Why should money be spent on a blimp, rather than on other ways to persuade legislators to end the war?

    TL: There were massive protests against the war in the States around the time of the 2006 elections. The media barely covered them. The blimp is something that cannot be ignored and the money we will raise for it shows there is real support. The media only pays attention to candidates who raise the most money and so I believe this will be mostly the same.

    Yeah, the blimp didn’t work for Ron Paul and it won’t work for abandonment of our security policy. But you numbnuts keep throwing your allowance money at these fools’ errands.

  • Stop-Loss Rapper deploys to Iraq

    Regular readers remember Marc Hall, the “Stop-Loss rapper” and new IVAW member, who complained in his rap song that he was scheduled to deploy to Iraq after his date for leaving the Army. The Army charges that Hall communicated a threat in the song by referring to all of his leadership as targets that would hit the floor when he locked and loaded a thirty round magazine on them. Of course, he sent the CD to the Pentagon in the weeks following Major Nidal Hasan’s attack on scores of soldiers at Fort Hood.

    It seems the Army is preparing to deploy Hall to Iraq and the Leftists are angry.

    Today, Fort Stewart, Georgia officials confirmed that the Army will attempt to separate Spc Marc A Hall from both his civilian legal team and his established military defender Capt. Anthony Schiavetti by sending him to Iraq “within a few days” to face court martial.

    The Army declared that, “The jurisdiction transfer ensures a full and fair trial for both Spc. Hall and the United States.” Nothing could be farther from the truth, at least for Spc. Hall.

    “It is our belief that the Army would violate its own regulations by deploying Marc and it would certainly violate his right to due process by making it far more difficult to get witnesses. It appears the Army doesn’t believe it can get a conviction in a fair and public trial. We will do whatever we can to insure he remain in the United States,” explains attorney David Gespass of Birmingham, Alabama.

    Of course, the Army can send his military lawyer to Iraq with Hall, so they’re really not separating him from his defense team. But the really hilarious part is Veterans Today with their penchant for hyperbole, asks “what is happening to our military justice system;

    gitmo-for-hall

    Yes, we’re going to start throwing our troops in Guantanamo, Hanafin, you mega drama queen. Are you guys still taking hallucinogens after all these years. I’d love to hear your theories about the JFK assassination some time.

    My guess is that most of the witnesses on both sides in the Hall case are deployed to Iraq and it makes more sense to move him there than to send an entire unit back from the war. But I have an email in to his commander to get the real skinny on the reason. Maybe they’re going to tie him to the grill of an MRAP on a clearing operation. I’ll check with Gordon Duff on that.

  • Crossing the streams

    The grand queen of all moonbats, Cynthia McKinney has been deemed worthy of receiving the “Peace through Conscience” award from the European Moonbat organization Munich American Peace Committee, a group of disaffected Americans in Germany;

    Included in McKinney’s program is a meeting with the Munich American Peace Committee (MAPC – www(dot)mapc-web(dot)de) which will present to McKinney its third annual award, “Peace through Conscience,” during the ceremonies of the Munich Peace Conference on the evening of February 6, 2010. The MAPC Peace Prize is normally awarded by the previous year’s winner.

    Who was last year’s “winner”. Why, it was none other than our favorite derelict Andre Shepherd, an IVAW member who gained notoriety by deciding he wouldn’t spend a year playing X-Box in Iraq with his unit while his German girlfriend kept company with the folks who stayed in the rear.

    Shepherd won the prize for applying for refugee status in Germany because he thinks the Army will put him to death for deserting.

    McKinney and Shepherd on the same stage can’t be good for the rest of us. I suspect it will be like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters. I suspect that Germany’s resident American commie Darnell Stephen Summers will be there, too.

    If there’s any Army CID guys reading this, here’s your opportunity to snag Shepherd when he leaves that lonely refugee station where the Germans are holding him. I believe that’s the only place he’s safe from y’all. Of course, as soon as I get done typing this, I’ll be contacting my connections in Germany.

  • Hugo (hearts) Cindy

    After celebrating his 11th anniversary in office, Hugo Chavez is turning to the Cubans to help solve his energy consumption woes;

    President Hugo Chavez has turned to his friends in Cuba for help in tackling Venezuela’s energy crisis, drawing criticism Wednesday from opponents who say that the communist-led island is notorious for its own electricity woes.

    The socialist leader announced that Cuban Vice President Ramiro Valdes had arrived on Tuesday to head a Cuban team advising Venezuela on its efforts to reduce energy consumption.

    He gave few details of what Valdes would do, but the announcement bewildered some.

    Yeah, the Cubans have the solution for that – shoot a few hundred people in the head until half the population leaves, Viola, energy problems solved. Of course, as many TV stations as he’s shut down recently, energy won’t be his main problem for long.

    But there’s another dark cloud on his horizon. Someone screen captured this from their Facebook page;

    cindyhugo

    Yep, Hugo is going to get some Cindy Sheehan strange and we can all look forward to an accurate description of conditions in the Bolibanana Republic from the crusty old commie hag.

    sheehanchav2web4ct

  • Tony Camerino still clinging to his own lies

    In his latest missive at VoteVet’s VetsVoice, Anthony Camerino (aka Matthew Alexander) dismisses a Washington Post op-ed piece by Michael V. Hayden because of Camerino’s perception of the Bush Administration’s policy of treating terrorists as terrorists;

    Jumping on the bandwagon of fear-mongering and criticizing the Justice Department’s handling of Abdulmullatab is Hayden’s method for shielding against the Justice Department’s investigation of war crimes committed by CIA agents, which may ultimately lead to the top.

    Camerino thinks that Abdulmullatab should be treated as a criminal instead of a soldier in the war against America because it “shames” him and “shames” al Qaeda. Is Camerino so naive that he thinks that these Stone Age thugs are influenced by shame? That we can win the war against terrorists by shaming them into submission?

    Hayden writes;

    We got it wrong in Detroit on Christmas Day. We allowed an enemy combatant the protections of our Constitution before we had adequately interrogated him. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is not “an isolated extremist.” He is the tip of the spear of a complex al-Qaeda plot to kill Americans in our homeland.

    In the 50 minutes the FBI had to question him, agents reportedly got actionable intelligence. Good. But were there any experts on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the room (other than Abdulmutallab)? Was there anyone intimately familiar with any National Security Agency raw traffic to, from or about the captured terrorist? Did they have a list or photos of suspected recruits?

    Of course, Hayden is right, there were no al Qaeda experts in the room when Abdulmutallab – he admits the limitations of not having an experienced team. So how does Camerino respond?

    Perhaps Hayden lacks perspective of never having been on the ground in the Middle East and working with Arabs or Muslims.

    Seems to me Camerino should have been outraged that interrogators like him, with a measure of experience in interrogating jihadists, weren’t doing the work they’re trained to do. Instead, Camerino claims Hayden doesn’t have the experience to judge the situation.

    It’s hard to give credence to someone who authorized war crimes, repeatedly, or who’s actions (the torture and abuse of detainees) resulted in thousands of new recruits for Al Qaida, costing us the lives of American troops on the ground.

    It’s even harder to give credence to someone who hides behind a pseudonym and makes outrageous claims like our strategy against terrorists creates terrorists with no real evidence other than the word of a few terrorists avoiding questions from an interrogator with less than four months of experience in the field.