MoveOn.org, a big left-wing group, put out a fairly pathetic ad recently that they have been showing on TV and whatnot. You should watch it if you haven't, but set aside for a moment the breathtaking dishonesty they have by asserting that McCain wants our military in Iraq for 100 years.
The sad thing is the contining infantilization of of the members of our military. Anti-war types constatntly talk about how "our children are dying", or some such nonsense. In truth, everyone who joins the military is an adult who does so on his or her own free will. To call them "children" or something like that seems very insulting to me (I can't speak for any soldier, since I have never been one).
(A similar theme is when these left-wingers like Michael Moore go around asking supporters if they would "send their children" to Iraq. Um, no one can force his or her adult child to do anything, let alone join the military.)
Anyway, a now-retired Navy guy wrote a long and thoughtful e-mail in response to the ad, and the whole thing is very good. Here are my favorite parts:
You see, service to your country isn't something that fits into every heart very easily because it involves sacrifice, and unfortunately, to so many people today, sacrifice is just a word, but to the men and women in uniform, it means honor, courage, and commitment. Those are words that can't just be thrown around because to live up to them requires genuine integrity and honesty, and all of these things I just mentioned are the values associated with wearing the uniform of any branch of service and they are not something taken lightly. When you commit to the uniform, you commit to the country. So, please, forgive me if I sound a little proud of my service to our country.
...
I see the same values and appreciation and gratitude in the faces of the men and women who journey to our nation’s capital everyday to witness the monuments that have been erected in honor of their service--I've seen them cry, sob tears of joy, relief, and sorrow as they recount days gone by, memories of a time they spent proudly serving America.
Their mothers, wives, girlfriends, and family didn't want them to go either, but America called and they responded, because that is what Americans do.
Showing posts with label military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military. Show all posts
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Daily Show on Code Pink
Dean Barnett over at the Weekly Standard Blog posted a video of the Daily Show's segment on Code Pink and the Berkeley Marine recruiting center. It's done by Rob Riggle, who is that big dude who used to be on SNL and now is in the Budweiser commercials. He's also a Marine, which makes parts of the video even funnier. (I've heard that Marines like to say that there are no "former" Marines, so I'll mention that it seems he is no longer on active duty.)
My favorite part is his question at 3:23 in.
My favorite part is his question at 3:23 in.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
British war hero honored
The details of the medal and such aren't interesting, but his awesome work in the field of battle sure is:
A BRITISH soldier who almost single-handedly took on 150 Taliban after he and his 50-man convoy were ambushed in Afghanistan has been awarded the Military Cross.
Fusilier Damien Hields used his grenade machinegun to destroy seven Taliban positions before his ambushers realised he was their main threat. After peppering his vehicle with bullets, they hit the 24-year-old soldier. He had to be dragged off for treatment by his driver after he tried to continue fighting.
...
They were on their way back to Kandahar on June 3, driving south in a valley, when the Taliban attacked. One of the Land Rovers hit a landmine and was flipped upside down by the blast. “There were Taliban dug in all around and they started hitting us with AK47s and mortars. We could not see where they were at first.”
Hields followed the trail of RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades coming towards him and started firing grenades one at a time, trying to home in. “Then I switched to automatic fire,” he said. A grenade machine gun has a box with 32 grenade rounds. “I emptied a box onto that position and you could see all the dust and smoke flying about where they hit.
“After that no fire came back from that position and I moved on to the next one. One or two rounds until I got onto the target, and switch to automatic and empty the box.”
Realising that Hields was the main threat to them, the remaining Taliban fighters homed in on him with their RPG7s, Dushka heavy machineguns and Kalash-nikov rifles. Hields was undaunted and continued firing.
“I got through six boxes in about 15 minutes and we were winning the fight,” he said. “They started it. We were going to finish it.”
A BRITISH soldier who almost single-handedly took on 150 Taliban after he and his 50-man convoy were ambushed in Afghanistan has been awarded the Military Cross.
Fusilier Damien Hields used his grenade machinegun to destroy seven Taliban positions before his ambushers realised he was their main threat. After peppering his vehicle with bullets, they hit the 24-year-old soldier. He had to be dragged off for treatment by his driver after he tried to continue fighting.
...
They were on their way back to Kandahar on June 3, driving south in a valley, when the Taliban attacked. One of the Land Rovers hit a landmine and was flipped upside down by the blast. “There were Taliban dug in all around and they started hitting us with AK47s and mortars. We could not see where they were at first.”
Hields followed the trail of RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades coming towards him and started firing grenades one at a time, trying to home in. “Then I switched to automatic fire,” he said. A grenade machine gun has a box with 32 grenade rounds. “I emptied a box onto that position and you could see all the dust and smoke flying about where they hit.
“After that no fire came back from that position and I moved on to the next one. One or two rounds until I got onto the target, and switch to automatic and empty the box.”
Realising that Hields was the main threat to them, the remaining Taliban fighters homed in on him with their RPG7s, Dushka heavy machineguns and Kalash-nikov rifles. Hields was undaunted and continued firing.
“I got through six boxes in about 15 minutes and we were winning the fight,” he said. “They started it. We were going to finish it.”
Thursday, February 28, 2008
They hate the military until they want their help
Surprise. From Melanie Morgan via Michelle Malkin, a Marine tells his story of the Code Pink protest of the Marine recruitment center:
“While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 PM a white volvo drove by and a man spat upon code pink. They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NO WHERE in sight. That’s not the best part, ready for this? Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote “Marines!” she actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. Lol. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me “I said Marines” then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine vet) Ironic? Ok back to the emails!! “
They'd probably say the same thing if al Qaida was attacking them, but hey, our military is evil when it's safe to say so.
“While we were at the protest in Berkeley from 12 to 4 PM a white volvo drove by and a man spat upon code pink. They chased him down the street and got into a verbal altercation. The police were NO WHERE in sight. That’s not the best part, ready for this? Medea Benjamin yelled and I quote “Marines!” she actually yelled for our help because this man had stepped out of his car. Lol. I even asked her if she was yelling Police and she told me “I said Marines” then put her arm around my friend Allen (the Marine vet) Ironic? Ok back to the emails!! “
They'd probably say the same thing if al Qaida was attacking them, but hey, our military is evil when it's safe to say so.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
How to fix the Army
I don't know enough about the Army to critique this article, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Basically, the theme is to cut the number of officers in half.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Berkeley's best
L-Train had a good post about the Berkeley city council's fight against our Marines. Here's a video put together by Sentor Jim DeMint's office. It's a nice view into the thinking of these warped old hippies.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Just don't question their patriotism Part 2
Michelle Malkin has more today on the insanity in Olympia, Washington. The lowlight is a mom dropping her infant human shield on the pavement as she celebrated some disgusting little victory over our military:
After the military convoy was forced to retreat, a victory celebration ensued, with chanting dancing, etc. I was horrified to watch as the woman in the attached photograph, distracted by events, allowed her infant to fall from her lap and land, face first on the pavement. The second photo shows her retrieving the crying baby as her other two children, dressed as terrorists look on.
Pictures can be seen on the link above.
A reader who works at the port wrote to Michelle, and here is an excerpt I agree with wholeheartedly:
This situation, and another two days later, when dozens of college aged girls were arrayed in rows with arms linked to block the road, showed a deliberate effort to use the same tactics as the terrorist savages who manipulate us, knowing that decent people cannot abide putting innocents in harm’s way. And, while the police were dragging the females away, under the glare of the media’s cameras, the males were establishing rolling blockades; throwing rocks at police and military vehicles; breaking windows, etc.
But hey, I'm sure they support the troops.
I find it hard to believe that anyone but the most hardcore, anti-American leftists could not be troubled by what's happening up there. It's the military that ensures that these idiots have the freedom to act like jerks, and this is how they treat it.
After the military convoy was forced to retreat, a victory celebration ensued, with chanting dancing, etc. I was horrified to watch as the woman in the attached photograph, distracted by events, allowed her infant to fall from her lap and land, face first on the pavement. The second photo shows her retrieving the crying baby as her other two children, dressed as terrorists look on.
Pictures can be seen on the link above.
A reader who works at the port wrote to Michelle, and here is an excerpt I agree with wholeheartedly:
This situation, and another two days later, when dozens of college aged girls were arrayed in rows with arms linked to block the road, showed a deliberate effort to use the same tactics as the terrorist savages who manipulate us, knowing that decent people cannot abide putting innocents in harm’s way. And, while the police were dragging the females away, under the glare of the media’s cameras, the males were establishing rolling blockades; throwing rocks at police and military vehicles; breaking windows, etc.
But hey, I'm sure they support the troops.
I find it hard to believe that anyone but the most hardcore, anti-American leftists could not be troubled by what's happening up there. It's the military that ensures that these idiots have the freedom to act like jerks, and this is how they treat it.
Canada to deserters: drop dead
That's a paraphrase of a very famous headline in the 1970's by the New York Daily News. It works very well here, as a couple of US soldiers (the article doesn't mention what branch of the service they are in) were denied refugee status in Canada. Why did they try this in the first place?
Before Thursday's ruling, the Federal Court of Appeal last rejected the claims by Hinzman and Hughey, who crossed the border rather than face possible court martial and imprisonment for refusing to serve in a war they say they morally oppose and is illegal because it was not sanctioned by the United Nations.
The two men have also argued they face persecution in their home country because of their political opinion.
The Court correctly ruled that since they come from a Democratic country with a good human rights record (to summarize), they don't deserve refugee status.
My guess is that these guys don't have serious objections to the war; they have serious objections to serving in the war. They probably signed up for the military thinking it would be a nice way to kill some time and see the world, like the Peace Corps. I bet they never imagined they would have to actually serve, and when they were called upon to they went AWOL. I hope they get tossed in military prison for a few years.
Before Thursday's ruling, the Federal Court of Appeal last rejected the claims by Hinzman and Hughey, who crossed the border rather than face possible court martial and imprisonment for refusing to serve in a war they say they morally oppose and is illegal because it was not sanctioned by the United Nations.
The two men have also argued they face persecution in their home country because of their political opinion.
The Court correctly ruled that since they come from a Democratic country with a good human rights record (to summarize), they don't deserve refugee status.
My guess is that these guys don't have serious objections to the war; they have serious objections to serving in the war. They probably signed up for the military thinking it would be a nice way to kill some time and see the world, like the Peace Corps. I bet they never imagined they would have to actually serve, and when they were called upon to they went AWOL. I hope they get tossed in military prison for a few years.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Just don't question their patriotism
Apparently, anti-war nutjobs in Olympia, Washington are blocking shipments of military supplies overseas. Unfortunately, the local authorities are doing virtually nothing to stop it. Michelle Malkin sums it up.
But I'm sure they say that they support the troops.
I think it's time for the cops to go 1968 Democratic convention all over their asses. We could probably send some of Chicago's finest to help out.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Veteran's Day
I was wondering why the roads and train today was so empty, and it's apparently for Veteran's Day. It's a bit of as neglected holiday, but everyone can use it as a moment for any type of reflection they please, of course. I will just mention that my dad was in Vietnam, and though he won't ever read this, I've always found it admirable.
Anyway, National Review Online has a batch of articles for the holiday posted. I really liked this one about R. Lee Ermey. Here's an excerpt:
Not for nothing did legendary movie director Stanley Kubrick drop his originally cast actor and hire Ermey to play the toughest, meanest, and most memorable military drill instructor ever to grace the silver screen, Full Metal Jacket’s Gunnery Sgt. Hartman. The result was the film’s now-classic opening scene, in which Ermey strides round a Vietnam-era Marine barracks and delivers a brutal, obscenity-laced monologue to a pack of fresh recruits. Ermey wrote most of the lines — most of which plumb unexplored depths of creative vulgarity — himself, and now, after George Carlin, he may be the most famous foul-mouth in recent history.
Anyway, National Review Online has a batch of articles for the holiday posted. I really liked this one about R. Lee Ermey. Here's an excerpt:
Not for nothing did legendary movie director Stanley Kubrick drop his originally cast actor and hire Ermey to play the toughest, meanest, and most memorable military drill instructor ever to grace the silver screen, Full Metal Jacket’s Gunnery Sgt. Hartman. The result was the film’s now-classic opening scene, in which Ermey strides round a Vietnam-era Marine barracks and delivers a brutal, obscenity-laced monologue to a pack of fresh recruits. Ermey wrote most of the lines — most of which plumb unexplored depths of creative vulgarity — himself, and now, after George Carlin, he may be the most famous foul-mouth in recent history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)