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

Category: Support the troops

  • Berkeley waves white flag

    Now that the Berkely City Council has witnessed the fruits of their ill-conceived move against the Marine recruiters in their city (Breitbart video of Marines being forcibly detained from reporting to work) they’re having second thoughts according to SFGate;

    Council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli on Monday proposed that Berkeley rescind its letter to the U.S. Marine Corps that stated that the downtown Berkeley recruiting center “is not welcome in our city,” and publicly declare that Berkeley is against the war but supports the troops.

    The City Council will vote on Olds’ and Capitelli’s two proposals at its meeting next Tuesday.

    “I think we shouldn’t be seen across the country as hating the Marines,” said Olds, who voted against last week’s proposals. “If you make a mistake, like we did, you should admit it and correct it and move on.”

    Naw, that was no mistake, you flea-bitten old bag, it was intentional. And anyone who thinks that our letters and emails and phonecalls influenced her change of “heart”, don’t bet on it. Those old hippies love the abuse – they think it makes them unique and American originals. It was Jim DeMint’s prposal to shut down the freeflow of taxpayer cash that did it (SF Chronicle link);

    Sen. Jim De Mint, R-S.C., had a tougher take. “If the city can’t show respect for the Marines that have fought, bled and died for their freedom, Berkeley should not be receiving special taxpayer funded handouts,” De Mint wrote on his blog. De Mint has found some choice earmarks – $975,000 for the Cal Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service, $243,000 for the Chez Panisse Foundation – that, while not city projects, made De Mint’s list.

    Some cling dearly to their so-called convictions;

    Councilwoman Dona Spring said the council should not be cowed by the volume of hate mail and threats.

    “I still oppose the Marines recruiting in Berkeley because it’s one way of protesting this wasteful war,” she said. “Our military policy is a shambles. But we’re not in opposition to the Marines; we oppose the policy that directs the Marines.”

    Michele Malkin responds;

    Riiight. When the mayor and the council are railing that the “Marines are the President’s own gangsters… they are trained killers” and that the Marines are known for “death and destruction…and maiming” and give America “horrible karma,” it’s the “policy” they oppose, you see.

    At Wake Up America, Spree says;

    Make no mistake, they meant to word the resolution the way they did and when city council member, Linda Maio claims that “”I don’t think any of us paid enough attention to it, and people want to rewrite it to more accurately portray our sentiments. We really do have a great deal of concern for the people in our military, and we don’t want to be critical of the sacrifices they are making,” she is full of it!!!!!!

    They knew exactly what they were passing, the resolution, as seen above wasn’t very long and it was VERY clear.

    Well, I’m warning the hippies who run Montgomery County, Maryland (in some quarters known as Berkeley East) – I will personally stand guard at my local recruiting station – Hell, I’ll even use my vacation time to “express myself” if you know what I mean. I’ll exercise my freedom of speech with all the volume and force this old infantry sergeant can muster – I’ve taught hippies to fly with the sound of my voice.

    One thing I won’t tolerate is the misinterpretation of the Constitution that will result the loss of freedom of others.

    Of course, Code Pink, the band of wrinkled political whores who got Berkeley into this mess in the first place are stretching their gums in anticipation;

    “I hope they’re not acting out of intimidation,” said Code Pink spokeswoman Medea Benjamin. “Berkeley is a city of peace, and a recruiting station does not fit Berkeley’s values.”

    You better keep that shit in Berkeley, Media. You bring it to my neighborhood, you’ll in for rude awakening – much like any guy who wakes up beside you.

  • Berkeley vs. US Marines (Updated)

    (Scroll for updates)

    I was really surprised yesterday when I read that the City of Berkeley actually used the whole weight of their legislative body to hamstring the Marines from effectively recruiting in the city. No, I really was surprised. I had no idea how much of a bunch of idiots occupied that town. Call me naive.

    Of course, Code Pink says it’s a real victory for free speech. I don’t know how they figure that. By harassing people at their jobs, they’ve characteristically ended the freedoms of not only those Marines, but their prospective recruits. I know it’s hard for Code Pink and the Berkelians to believe, but a whole shitload of us weren’t seduced by recruiters to join the military. Some of us felt it was our obligation and duty (of course, I shouldn’t expect any of you to understand those complicated terms, sorry)

    At An Old Broad’s Ramblings, I read that Jim DeMint wants to cut off the US government’s funding for the town. Makes sense to me. If they don’t like government operations in their city, they should not like all of the money the government spends there, too. Well, unless they’re hypocrites, of course.

    Big Dog’s Weblog says we should boycott. Well, I would but I’ve never been to that place and I wouldn’t know how to boycott a city which has as it’s only export idiots and morons, seein’s how I avoid idiots and morons as soon as I identify one. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from Berkeley, well, except David Horowitz.

    I guess I always took the advice that Baldilocks offers;

    It’s like having crazy family members: you stay away from them unless they’re hurting somebody or somebody is hurting them.

    Michele Malkin reports that one of the councilmembers is having voter’s remorse;

    One Berkeley City Councilwoman now says she’s “ashamed” of her vote. Idiot:

    “I’m ashamed of my vote,” said Councilwoman Betty Olds, who helped approve the parking spot but not the condemnation. “The protesters should have free speech – this is where Free Speech was born, after all – but to tell the Marines they are not welcome is shameful. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t even go for the parking spot.”

    Yep, the shame will come for them all eventually. I remember the “shame” Vietnam protesters felt when history was written about their escapades, and the grownups got to write the history of the ’60s. How ashamed they are now of their behavior towards the veterans of that war – especially now that the Vietnam veterans have banded against the current crop of US-hating hippies. The chickens came home to roost for the Vietnam veterans, they’ll come for the younger generation, too.

    And Berkeley is already covered in chickenshit.

    Oh, and in a steel cage death match, one squad of Marines could take on the whole city, in case anyone is wondering.

    Sign the petition at Move America Forward and if you missed the whole thing, get a recap at Yankee Mom.

    Updates

    Pam Meister at Blogmeister USA republishes an email from Move America Forward that announces their plans to counterprotest the protesters at the Berkeley recruiting station.

    And Zombietime (hat tip to Little Green Footballs) has photos of the protest. It’s pretty well gotten out of hand, as things usually do in Berkeley;

    Recruiting station, Berkeley

    Marooned in Marin reports that Barbara Boxer’s office has condemned Jim DeMint for suggesting that Berkeley should be hung out to to dry by the Federal government.

    Michele Malkin reports that the SFGate says we bloggers are unhinged. Have the SFGate folks taken a look at the lunatics that are protesting? Neptunus Lex says we should ignore tham. Yankee Mom has all of the relevant phone numbers and email addresses.
    Skye and the West Chester County folks are still holding the protesters near Philly back.

  • Code Pink is revolting

    [This is where Mel Brooks says, “That’s right. They stink on ice”.]

    123beta writes that Code Pink is advocating a tax revolt to defund the war in Iraq;

    (more…)

  • Vietnam Veterans Against McCain (now with working links)

    This is difficult. I’m no big fan of John McCain, but I really can’t let this stand. I read about this from Return of the Conservatives by way of Invincible Armor;

    Supporters of Republican John McCain on Tuesday assailed a mailer sent to state newspaper editors claiming he sold out fellow POWs to get better treatment while held prisoner in Vietnam. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I know because I was there,” Orson Swindle, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and former prisoner of war, said in a statement about the mailing from Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain.

    (more…)

  • Officer cleared of Abu Gharaib charges

    The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the only officer to face court martial charges in the Abu Gharaib incident had the major charges dismissed yesterday; (more…)

  • Blackwater rescues US citizens in Kenya

    7586335_BG1.jpg7586335_BG4.jpg

    Photos from WOOD TV8

    In the Washington Times this morning Jerry Seper writes the story destined to be the most ignored story in the media today;

    Three young women have returned home to Michigan after being rescued from an orphanage in a remote village of strife-torn Kenya by Blackwater Worldwide.

    Yep, those border-line terrorists (um, sarcasm, folks) of Blackwater acting completely out of character (more sarcasm) stopped murdering innocent civilians (more sarcasm, in case you haven’t noticed a pattern yet) long enough to stage a rescue mission;

    “I knew the girls were in incredible danger, and I was calling anyone and everyone I could trying to get help but without success,” Mr. VanderMey said. “Then Erik Prince called, asked about the situation and said he was going to do what he could to get my girls out of harm’s way.

    “It wasn’t the image that most people have of Blackwater,” he said. “But I can assure you these are dedicated men, professionals who know how to help people in times like this.’ ”

    Blackwater spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said the “best thing” about being a company owned, managed and staffed almost entirely by U.S. military veterans and former law-enforcement agents “is that it puts us in a position to help people who need it most.

    “These are three incredible girls who went to Kenya to help and ended up needing help,” she said. “We are delighted they are safe and at home with their families.”

    My personal thanks to my fellow veterans in Blackwater for the countless other lives they’ve saved in addition to these. If all of their stories were told, maybe the country would have another opinion of them.

    For more information on the situation in Kenya, I always check out Baldilocks first.

  • McCain/Lieberman; The Surge Worked (Updated)

    Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, perhaps the Administration’s best allies in the Senate wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning proclaiming the The Surge Worked; (more…)

  • Iran’s Hormuz feint not out of character (Updated)

    OB-AW958_strait_20080107113212.jpg

    Image from the Wall Street Journal

    The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the Pentagon released a video of the the Islamic Republic’s feint against US warships in the Gulf of Hormuz;

    Tehran acknowledged that the boats were Iranian and denied that its sailors had behaved recklessly.

    Iran seemed certain to dominate Mr. Bush’s coming meetings with Mideast leaders even before the confrontation, because every nation on Mr. Bush’s itinerary — from Israel to Sunni Arab powers Egypt and Saudi Arabia — is alarmed by Iran’s rising influence over the region.

    Many of the countries, most notably Israel, also worry that the Bush administration may be adopting a softer line toward Iran after the release of an U.S. intelligence estimate that concluded Tehran had halted its nuclear-weapons program.

    It is unclear if the latest incident will reassure the Israeli and Arab leaders or alarm them further, since the U.S. sailors — while warning the Iranians that they would take “defensive measures” if the small boats didn’t turn around — allowed the Iranians to pull within a few hundred yards of the U.S. warships.

    Gateway Pundit has the video, still shots and narrative. The Islamic Republic denies anything out of the ordinary happened (Associated Press link);

    Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar called Western news reports that the boats threatened to blow up the U.S. warships “mischief.”

    “(Iranian) navy units … asked them to identify themselves. They responded accordingly and continued their path,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Najjar as saying.

    He said the encounter was normal.

    “The identification of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian navy units is a natural occurrence,” IRNA quoted Najjar as saying. “Islamic Republic of Iran navy units always put questions to passing vessels and warships at the Strait of Hormuz and they need to identify themselves. This is in accordance with the normal procedures.”

    Persian language blogger Haji Washington (translation by Kamanzir the Archer) speculates that it was a tacit Iranian endorsement for the Clinton New Hampshire campaign;

    If the US is telling the truth and if IRGC vessels have gotten close to the American ships, without any legitimate reason, I would argue that the IRGC likes to see Hillary Clinton as the next president of the united states of America. But why do I say so?

    When Clinton voted in the senate for the recognition of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, Obama criticized her for helping those who like to start the war. The same criticism was made by Edwards and had a great impact on increasing the popularity of Obama against Clinton,. Now that Obama has won Iowa and is leading with his 39% popularity, as opposed to Clinton’s 29%, and is going to win in New Hampshire on Thursday, this report can be the winning card for Clinton.

    I do hope that Clinton’s aides do not get the point.

    The Islamic Republic has a history of tempting the Great Satan for political advantage. It was a few months short of twenty years ago that the Iranians flew an Airbus 300 at the USS Vincennes and disregarded warnings to avoid the heavily armed Navy craft. 300 Iranian civilians were killed in that accident (BBC link);

    However, [then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff William Crowe] said, the Airbus was four miles west of the usual commercial airline route and the pilot ignored repeated radio warnings from the Vincennes to change course.

    Less than an hour before the shooting down of the passenger jet, he added, the Vincennes was engaged in a gun battle with three Iranian gunboats after a helicopter from the Vincennes was fired on.

    Given the mileage the mullahs got over the accident twenty years ago, I don’t blame the Navy crews for holding their fire this last weekend – they showed remarkable restraint. I’m sure the pucker factor was at critical levels, but their restraint snatched another small victory from the Islamic Republic.

    Update: Kamangir the Archer translates a rather nuanced denial from the Islamic Republic that those are IRGC boats (after admitting that they were IRGC boats).