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

Category: VoteVets

  • Priorities

    Suppose you work for a veterans service organization and you have $400,000 to spend on that service to veterans. What would you spend it on? Maybe lobbying to get the President to make a timely decision about supporting the troops engaged in Afghanistan?

    Maybe an outreach program to veterans who suffer from traumatic brain injuries or PTSD? Perhaps use the money to influence Congress to exempt veterans who rely on the VA or other military health care from the impending penalty for having free healthcare?

    Maybe something like a memorial to people who serve? An outward-bound program for disabled veterans? Something to let those currently deployed know that we’re thinking of them?

    Well, not if your organization is named VoteVets – you’d spend your $400,000 on RADIO spots for pushing a clean energy bill. Yeah, they’re calling it an “ad blitz” but how hard is it to “blitz” a 19th century technology? And a “clean energy” ad buy? Of course, their strategy is to perpetuate the “war for oil” lie;

    ANNCR: There’s a new generation of American patriots – young veterans who’ve fought for our country overseas. Now, they’re on a new mission? right here at home. (Home State) veteran (Name).

    Local Veteran: Growing up in (Home State), nothing prepares you for the things you see over there. I saw firsthand how money we spend on oil is finding its way to the same terrorists we’re fighting against.

    Yeah, who’d want to spend the money on something that helps veterans when you can prostitute yourself to MoveOn.org for a “clean energy bill”. Soltz, you make me vomit.

    Oh, and the key states that they’re targeting? Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, Missouri, South Dakota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maine. 15 States. An ad blitz. Hold on to your hats, fellas.

    By the way, TSO noticed the other day that dicksmith now calls himself Richard Allen Smith. Wonder why?

  • Vote Vets: Sure let’s bring back the Taliban

    Yeah, dicksmith is a rocket surgeon. The Times Online reports that President Obama is contemplating involving the Taliban in rebuilding Afghanistan.

    Mr Obama appears to have been swayed in recent days by arguments from some advisers, led by Vice-President Joe Biden, that the Taleban do not pose a direct threat to the US and that there should be greater focus on tackling al-Qaeda inside Pakistan.

    And, surprise, dicksmith thinks it’s brilliant;

    This makes sense. Often in America, the Taliban is conflated with al Quaeda as if they are the same organization. They aren’t. The Taliban were a group of fundamentalist Islamic scholars who took power in the vacuum that ensured following the withdrawal of the Soviets. Needing money to fund their regime, the Taliban turned to a Saudi-born oil heir named Osama bin Laden and agreed to allow his organization to operate training camps within their borders in exchange for financing.

    See? It’s not their fault that they became entangled with terrorists. Dicksmith fails to mention that these “fundamentalist Islamic scholars” are the guys who now throw acid in the faces of young girls for the unforgivable crime of going to school.

    And, oh, has anybody bothered to mention that the Taliban, who the US Left credits for eradicating poppy production and the resulting drug trade in Afghanistan are currently involved in the drug trade?

    But dicksmith isn’t done apologizing for the Taliban;

    Yes, the Taliban were complicit in attacks on American, but they did not perpetrate them.

    For six years we got to hear the Left complain that Iraq wasn’t complicit in world-wide terrorism. Now we get to hear them eliminate yet another group of enemies with their pathetic, intellectually shallow excuses. Besides, the Taliban says that they’re not a threat to us. they’ve never lied before, right?

    What’s next? Are they going to tell us that Osama bin Laden didn’t know about the 9-11 attacks? How could he? He was all the way in Afghanistan.

    The fact that welcoming the Taliban into the community of Afghans is a Biden plan should have warned everybody off – but not dicksmith, bless his tiny black heart.

  • Strandlof still at large

    As TSO wrote yesterday, Richard Strandlof aka Rick Duncan, our favorite VoteVets, IVAW member, is about to be arrested, but he remains at large. But all of the local news sources are putting his face out there. The feds shouldn’t have let him go, then they wouldn’t have to look for his goofy ass.

    From the Denver Post;

    Strandlof will be charged with one count of making false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals, a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $250,000 fine.

    CBS Channel 4 finds a World Can’t Wait connection;

    Besides Duncan, Strandlof also used the alias of Rick Pierson, according to the arrest affidavit. Strandloff was a war protester in Reno, Nev., and coordinator for the anti-war group the World Can’t Wait. While in Reno, Slater was part of an effort to bring a Grand Prix race there, according to the arrest affidavit.

    A woman who answered a phone for a number listed for Strandlof in Incline Village, Nev., near Reno said it was a wrong number. No number was listed in Colorado Springs.

    The Vail Daily writes that at least as an imposter he was worried about appearances;

    When asked at one fundraiser why he wasn’t wearing his medals, Strandlof said wearing them “would appear egotistical,” according to the affidavit.

    The Colorado Springs Gazette

    KRDO Channel 13

    Our friends at KKTV Channel 11 have a video up of the story (but I can’t embed it here)

    Here’s a picture of Strandlof from that video. I want the image burned into the brains of some of our Strandlof deniers;

    strandlof-winter-soldier1a

    Yeah, you might have joined after Jesse MacBeth, but you didn’t join after Rick Duncan.

    Maybe they can get James Branum to defend him with the fake-but-accurate defense. Or maybe he can blame the Marine Corps for not giving classes on how to be a fake Marine with a reattached finger.

  • VoteVets tonguebathes VA

    VoteVets creamed all over themselves again in reference to the VA’s handling of the GI Bill fiasco. This time, their legislative director, Brian McGough, gets his chance to suck up at lightspeed;

    Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs again showed it is willing to quickly adapt and move to meet the needs of today’s veterans. By offering veterans waiting for their GI Bill benefits the chance to go online to get them sent on an expedited basis, the VA has made a tough situation for veterans a lot easier. This is the kind of quick action that has been missing from the agency for the past eight years, and gives us great hope for the future of veterans care under this administration.

    Funny how that “past eight years” thing keeps slipping in there, huh? I doubt Brian or dicksmith could qualify that statement, though – it’s more just a knee-jerk spewing of a phrase than anything substantive.
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  • Burnpit takes on VoteVets

    One of our occasional commenters, Blue Cyclone, writing under the sceen name of Seventh Son at The Burn Pit blows VoteVets out of the water on their claims that they’re non-partisan;

    It is a shame that as numerous organizations came together with the VA and the White House to address the needs of veterans of our most recent conflicts, VoteVets saw an opportunity to score cheap political points. VoteVets is good at getting their folks elected to Congress, and I hope they will stick to that. Leave aiding veterans to organizations like The American Legion who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work with veterans, citizens and lawmakers to get veterans all they have earned, without a Pavlovian need to check their voter registration first.

    Somehow, Blue Cyclone has picked up on several of the themes we’ve presented here.

    TSO ADDS:

    Question: What is funnier than Dicksmith spelling “Scholarly” wrong?

    smith

    Answer: Almost nothing.

  • The ever-flexible steel-spined resolve of VoteVets

    Back in March, VoteVets’ grand-poobah, Jon Soltz wrote at Huffington Post that VoteVets is very proud of their president for understanding the war in Afghanistan and applying the necessary resources to the front in a timely manner.

    For those of us who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was extremely important that the new president get the situation in Afghanistan right. Not just for America’s security, but for those troops still in Afghanistan, and those heading to Afghanistan to put their lives on the line in the war. With today’s announcement, President Obama has shown that he “gets it.” That’s why we at VoteVets.org are supporting the plan with a petition, which you can sign on to, right here.

    So, Soltz tells us that Obama “gets it” way back in March and that Obama is committed to the war. But then yesterday, dicksmith, who apparently doesn’t read This Ain’t Hell, but does read the Wall Street Journal (no, I don’t believe that either) writes that John Kerry is exactly right – maybe we ought to slow down and understand the war and our goals in Afghanistan before we commit more resources;

    What he is saying is that we need to know what the conditions must be for us to be able to withdraw. From there, we can discern clear goals to help us get to those conditions. This is a much needed step in what has thus far been a conflict with goals that are ambiguous at best.

    So, Soltz says that Democrats “get it” but when the darker forces in the party get the microphone, our goals have been “ambiguous” over the last six months. Of course, I know dicksmith is talking about the Bush Administration goals being ambiguous, but it’s been Obama’s war since January. You two ought to coordinate your message a little better instead of letting TAH drive your blog posts.

    And now to address Soltz’ line “For those of us who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq…”, TSO sent me this artist’s rendition of Jon Soltz in action during his four months of motor pool operations in Kuwait;
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  • Soltz shows his ignorance again

    Many of you probably remember the post TSO wrote on Jon Soltz, the irrepressible Executive Director of VoteVets, one of those pretend veteran organizations (the only veterans they help are themselves) a few months ago for Soltz’ inability to distinguish between the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Defense in regards to their separate medical services.

    Well, Soltz stayed under the radar for awhile after that. He popped up in my lane last week.

    He wrote at VetsVoice about The Erratic Joe Wilson’s Shameful Record on Troops and Veterans Care.
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  • Catching up with VoteVets

    votevet

    Having been on travel for work last week, I decided to go see what I had missed over at the House of Beeker. Lots o’ good shi’ite, as I always find.

    First off, has anyone ever noticed that the VoteVets crowd is a bit short of history….first there was Rick Duncan Strandlof, who just disappeared. Then Matthew Alexander, that every credible intel person I have talked to has proclaimed completely full of shit, and now we get this assclown Sgt. Neil Riley, VA Vote Vets state chair, who has no record over at Military.com for some inexplicable reason….

    Anyway, a short history on this guy before I go on to the latest from that numbnuts Jim Staro. First, Riley was lamenting the millions of Special Forces guys booted over DADT or something. Then, he decided to go after George Allen:

    I know Allen never served in uniform, but he should ask someone who has what “intestinal fortitude” is, because he is certainly lacking.

    Putting aside his utterly asinine argument thereof, I think it is important to note that Riley keeps identifying himself as an OEF/OIF veteran, and bludgeoning non-veterans with it. I find this strangely ironic in light of his appearance on VetVoice going after McCain for talking about his POW experience. My favorite online info on him though comes from the non-partisan website, “Vets for Obama.” You know how VoteVets is non-partisan? Surprisingly, everyone on this page of Obama’s seems to be affiliated with VoteVets. (Including our friend Alex Horton.)

    Anyway, Riley is an unknown, and I don’t really like unknowns, so if anyone knows anything about who he served with etc, would love to know. You know, so I can update Military.com.

    But what is more insane is this post from Jim Staro.

    I shit you not, he starts by discussing Medal of Honor recipient Jared Monti to illustrate what he calls a “Noble Cause” and then segues into this….

    There is one more “Noble Cause” of war, those who recognize when the policies are not only flawed but extremely negative as to humanity, theirs and the countries people they occupy, and damaging for what we call our ‘National Security’ in the present and long term, the country they took an oath to serve and protect!

    These soldiers become emotional “Conscientious Objectors” to the inhumanity of these Wars of Choice and the Occupations of others, they speak out in the attempts to get their brother and sister soldiers out of harms way and brought home. Saving them as well as the innocents in the countries of these man made conflicts and the failed policies of lies and wants of certain civilian, as well as military, leadership!

    That’s the “Noble Cause!”

    I spent last week with the MOH guys at their convention Jim, you probably spent it with your CO buddies. I have news for you, they aren’t even in the same ballpark.