The NSA has gone too far...

We all recall that the existence of an NSA eavesdropping program launched after the September 11 attacks was revealed in December and created quite a nationwide stir among the Senate and Congress. Defending their controversial program at the time, the Bush administration said it had aimed to uncover links between international terrorists and their domestic collaborators and only targeted communications between a person inside the United States and a person overseas. At that point in time people tended to fall into a “Yes sir, what’s good for the country is good for us” line of agreement.

It is very disheartening to discover that the entire conversations of tens of millions of Americans were compiled by NSA through monitoring - AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. The source of this latest information USA Today stated, “although customers' names and addresses are not being handed over, the phone numbers the NSA collects can easily be cross-checked with other databases to obtain that information,"

The fact the NSA created the database using entire conversations is what boggles my mind and sets the hair on the back of my neck on end. By now any computer literate person in America is well aware that instead of a total call monitoring and database compilation system a simple data mining program could have been constructed monitoring the calls, searching for key words, i.e. bomb, explosives, etc. any hits it incurred then tabulated into a database

This latest report may indeed be the culprit that provides the proverbial straw breaking the camels back once the public realizes the full picture of what their government has done in the name of national security. This is action not only violates citizens rights, it stomps all over every one of them and takes it foot and grinds it into the dirt.

Follow up:

Here is a wonderful link to contact, write or e-mail your elected official, Contact your Congressman or representative; we need to state our unhappiness that America is reporting the whereabouts of its own citizens to a foreign nation, Mexico as can be read at the Daily Bulletin.

Reporting on our own citizens!

Not too long ago I posted about the Minuteman project I questioned what would happen when the time came when one of these people had to use deadly force and the repercussions that would ensue.

This morning I received information from Cj stating that our country must report the whereabouts of these people on the borders to Mexico! This is an absurdity of the highest proportions and it is a violation of their constitutional rights to congregate as an American citizen.

CJ pointed out that according to three documents on the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site, the U.S. Border Patrol is to notify the Mexican government as to the location of Minutemen and other civilian border patrol groups when they participate in apprehending illegal immigrants-- and when violence is used against border crossers.

What bothered me more than anything else in the above statement is the fact of America, a sovereign nation and the majority of financial support for Mexico reporting the whereabouts of it own citizens, their movement and actions to another government?

This actually solves a question that has been on many individuals lips lately pertaining to the Minuteman project. The fact that illegal drug runners all have prior knowledge of the whereabouts of the Minuteman and their taking alternate routes to bring their death dealing drugs into our country. I have read some publications in Mexico and Texas where the reporters are actually using this as humor when discussing the Minuteman project and now I understand the situation completely, their government is giving them the information as to the location of the groups.

I agree with CJ and feel we all should initiate a letter or e-mail writing campaign to our elected officials telling them this is a violation and we as citizens do not agree with it. I will be posting the information needed for this later on in the day.

Support our Military.

CJ has the right idea and I support and applaud his efforts to educate the politicians and media, there is not any better or qualified individual to do that then someone who was there. I feel his statements, news releases and information must be heard from as many people and as many sources as possible, only then will we get people to understand the truth.

Perhaps if the blog community takes the stance as I, we just may succeed in getting them to understand that NO our troops are NOT loosing the war. It is high time they woke up to the fact that we have the highest trained, professional military in the world and they are doing the job they are supposed to do, learn from that.

The media, Washington and politicians have never learned anything and this stems from our involvement in Viet Nam and has remained with them to this day.

Our military in that action never lost a battle, never, not once, yet the war was a loss because the politicians and the people at home grew tired of it. How did they think it made us feel, the military engaged in actions that our country had sent us to accomplish when we heard news from home that all was against us?

When our brothers and fellow soldiers would return from leaves telling us they were pelted with eggs and spit upon by the people we were representing it created deep problems that remain to this day. The troops would hear the news and stories of protest from home and carry on because that was what soldiers are supposed to do.

The news from home made the troops feel like hell, moral went out the window in some cases, thoughts of our brothers and sisters in our own families being against us hit harder, but we fought like the dogs of war we were and battles were won. America needs to remember these lessons and learn from history instead of repeating it as we constantly do.

As long as CJ keeps the word and information flowing I will be posting it with hopes that all who read it walk away informed and talk to others, educate the masses and for the sake of our own brothers, sisters, sons and daughters in harm’s way support them, tell them you care.

News from CJ...

I received this release via CJ today and wanted to share it with you.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – During an Apr. 16 raid in the Yusifiyah area, Coalition Forces discovered a large amount of documents and videos ranging from plans to critiques including al Qaida in Iraq's strategy in Baghdad, and how the terrorist organization lacks leadership, military capability and Iraqi support.  

After discovering these documents, the translated versions were sent to Coalition Forces' leadership for analysis, said a Multi-National Force spokesman.  Specifically, the al Qaida author of the "Baghdad Strategy" and the "Baghdad State of Affairs" is unknown, but officials assess he is of significance within the terrorist organization.  The latter memorandum outlines that al Qaida in Iraq presently has no strategy, that the '…mujahideen are not considered more than a daily annoyance to the Shiite government…', and that the '…mujahideen in Baghdad are generally groups of assassins without any organized military capabilities.' 

"The discovery of theses documents is extremely relevant.  This information confirms what the Government of Iraq, Coalition Forces and ultimately the people of Iraq already know - that AQIZ's role only attempts to impede Iraqis in following the road to prosperity, security and national unity," said MNF-I spokesman, Brig. Gen. Rudy Wright.

According to the translated al-Qaida in Iraq's documents, the Mujahideen's only power lies in surprise 'hit and run' attacks, or setting up explosive charges and booby traps that predominantly target civilian men, women and children. 

According to the author of the Baghdad State of Affairs document (translated), "The actions of the Iraqi Security Forces are having a significant negative impact on the Mujahideen's ability to operate in Baghdad.  Al Qaida in Iraq attacks Mosques and other public places to draw media attention and is having difficulty recruiting members because the people of Iraq do not support its cause."           

Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces continue to conduct operations that provide for the safety and security of all Iraqis.  The Government of Iraq is presently working on forming its new National Unity Government according to its constitution voted on by all Iraqi people and is a hindrance to the terrorists who do not support this cause.

News from Baghdad.

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be posting the IED Roll-ups that Cj sends out; his posting can also be viewed at No End But Victory.

In my opinion the Roll-up advisories that CJ was posting on his blog and now via e-mail and on No End But Victory are a vital piece of news from Baghdad, the public will not read the information in the media as they could care less that our troops are making a difference, they are only concerned with negative reporting.

Remember that every single IED captured by our troops and the Iraqi’s is one less explosive device that will injure or kill our men and women.

A Salute goes out from this old warhorse to our troops and the Iraqi troops on a job well done. HOOAH!

The photos displayed are also from CJ, the first is of the Iraqi police handing out activity books focused on countering IEDs. Also of note is that the first Iraqi Army soldier has graduated from the Army Ranger course.

The second photo is of a new Iraqi army HMMWV.

Lawnmower DUI...

While surfing the news and the strange and odd this morning I came upon one of the gems of the net, “Man Charged With Drunk Driving On Lawn Mower”. It seems a gentlemen in Ohio who already had two prior arrests for DUI had been tossing down a few and then decided it would be nice to go outside, mount his 20 HP riding lawn mower and cut his front lawn.

That was all well and good as long as he had curtailed his driving to the private property of his own front lawn, but this poor guy decided to drive his lawnmower on the sidewalk. Big mistake as the law specifies all it takes to be charged with driving under the influence is physical control of a vehicle, any vehicle albeit car, bicycle or in his case a lawnmower.

The article stated that just before 10:00 pm Friday, an officer saw the 50-year-old male driving on the sidewalk along a road in Vermilion, Ohio, subsequently stopped him and after detecting the odor of alcohol administered a field sobriety test, which the gentlemen failed and subsequently placed under arrest for DUI.

The male in question is of course denying the incident and the fact that he was operating the lawnmower on the sidewalk and it is evident he has never seen the television show Cops, if he had he would have known that officers have dash cam video mounted in their patrol cars and this guy is their newest star.

I can only imagine the outcome had a pursuit ensued while the office was attempting to stop the lawnmower; the chase would have reached speeds in excess of 5 MPH as lines were mowed in all the lawns of the neighborhood.

Important Information to remember:

People tend to forget or simply do not have knowledge that all it takes to be charged with DUI is physical control of a vehicle, any vehicle, it does not matter if the vehicle is not even moving; you are intoxicated or under the control of drugs and sitting in the drivers seat with keys in hand, you are guilty. By the way, that includes any drugs including over-the-counter medications that would impair the driver’s ability to operate a vehicle such as Benadryl, (Diphenhydramine) antihistamine allergy medication. It is a good idea to make it a habit to read the adverse effects on the box when taking any over-the-counter medication and operating any vehicle.

CJ’s IED Roll-Up

April 28 - Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division led a joint raid with Coalition Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division in the town of Al Hak during Operation Babil Perimeter and detained five men and seized four weapons caches. Iraqi soldiers conducted a search of the homes to find suspected terrorists. Coalition troops provided a cordon around the town. Troops discovered two caches around the immediate area. After the initial search by the Iraqi troops, Coalition Soldiers used K-9 dogs and metal detectors to search the areas again and located two additional caches. In total, the caches contained an assortment of bombmaking materials and triggering devices, a 152 mm round, a 132 mm round, three 82 mm rounds, two PKC machine guns, an RPK light machine gun, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with two RPG rockets and a 57 mm aerial rocket with an improvised launcher.

April 29 - Seven insurgents with AK-47s were encountered and engaged by Soldiers from the 1-68 Combined Army Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Band of Brothers and 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division when the joint patrol observed them digging at a cache site in Baqubah. Both elements pursued the insurgents who retreated into a palm grove. The insurgents then broke contact and fled, swimming across the river. No injuries or damage were incurred by either of the units. At the site, an Iraqi police badge was found. Also discovered were four 155mm rounds, six silencers and numerous mortar rounds and hand grenades. The munitions were taken to a secured location for further investigation and controlled detonation.

April 30 - Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops arrested three men in connection with insurgent activities and found a cache near Hit. The cache contained three assorted artillery rounds, an acetylene gas tank and several fuses. The detainees and cache contents were turned over to authorities for further investigation.

May 1 - Badrah Iraqi Police found eight small unidentified types of explosive devices north of Al Kut. Explosive ordnance personnel believed the munitions to be left over from previous wars in Iraq. During the search, Iraqi police officers also found one antitank mine, two 82 mm mortar grenades, 11 anti-tank guided missiles, three 122 mm artillery shells, 10 fuses, one 130 mm artillery shell and one 23mm anti-aircraft shell. Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal personnel were called in to secure and dispose of the munitions. No injuries or damage were reported.

May 2 - Soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops got a tip from locals and found a bomb maker's cache northeast of Bayji. The cache contained three 155 mm artillery rounds. The ordnance was recovered for later disposal. No injuries or damages were reported.

In total, approximately 44 IEDs were prevented from being built and employed against US and Iraqi people. Over 350 people will not be affected by the vile devices terrorists have resorted to in order to further their extremist views. These are the points you won't see in many places. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you think would like to read it. If you're a blogger, you are free to post it there as well.

Threats of war

An article this morning caught my attention it was from the London Papers: “Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's Iran Stance Prompted Angry Bush Call To Blair” and it was asking the question if President Bush had forced this person out due to his anti-use of nuclear weapons stance he had recently taken.

I feel that someone in this crazed world needs to make a stand against the use of nuclear weapons because if the path Iran is presently on does not change quickly we will all be facing the use of these dreaded death machines within our lifetime.

President Bush cannot be blamed in the Iran situation that has been brewing for a few months now; he is simply a bystander as is the rest of the world. An idiot that is presently the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is making the entire situation worse in his constant barrage of threats against anyone and everyone in the free world. His constant flow of nuclear threats against the UN, the United States and Israel only creates a situation where we must counter any attack with nuclear weapons or this idiot will actually launch weapons of mass destruction to back his threats up. The ruling sect in Iran is doing nothing to prohibit this, nor are they doing anything to dampen his open threats of use of nuclear weapons.

The world is in a higher state of the actual use of raining nuclear death upon the earth  then it was during the cold war and Iran is doing nothing to put a stop to it, their idiot president is only putting the path a little closer each day with his constant threats of destruction.

The world can only wait and see what is going to transpire with this latest threat, but I for one wish someone would kick that idiot in the butt and put him in another form of governing Iran, perhaps sweeping floors, that may keep his mouth shut.

Televison has went Bye-Bye.

Well it finally happened; the television industry has officially run out of ideas for reality shows and scrapped the bottom of the barrel in an attempt to create something to satisfy the whims of reality audiences everywhere. This morning I read that the creator of Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee is on the hunt for a new superhero, and he plans to find it on reality TV.

The release said that eleven wannabe superheros — whittled down from over 200 — are set to compete in the show, scheduled to premiere July 26 on the Sci-Fi channel. The winning superhero will be the star of a new comic book created by Lee.

My imagination had an entire field day and went into overtime with the news of this release with insane visions of spandex clad muscle-bound “Hulk Endowed” men running around the streets of New York saving kittens from trees and women from bad relationships. Accompanying these sad caricatures of man-hood were spandex clad women, faced masked, capes flowing in the morning breeze saving these same men from a life of comic books and living with their Mother and never knowing what a relationship is.

As if this pathetic and sad scenario is not bad enough, they have announced the catch phrase for those who do not make the cut, "Turn in your spandex!"

The television industry has been dedicated to reality shows for so long that they have lost sight of any other form of programming. They constantly create shows containing the entertainment values of watching the grass grow in the front yard and then question why their ratings have hit the bottom. I guess we will just have to wait for the next superhero and watch as he or she flies into our televisions on a weekly basis.

An Eye for an Eye...

I have followed the trial of convicted terrorists Zacarias Moussaoui since the initial opening arguments, I, as many other Americans feel sentencing this poor excuse for a human, and general piece of trash to supermax is not the way in which to put a dent into the growing terrorist problem.

Removing his personal liberties and confining him to solitary imprisonment sends a message of tolerance to the terrorist community instead of a message of an eye for an eye. That is not going to combat the growing problem of terrorism in any way shape or fashion. We must remember that we are not dealing with a rational way of thinking in this instance; we are not dealing with the normal manner in which reasonable and prudent people operate. The only manner in which to combat terrorism is through the use of deadly force. That and only that will put a dent into the problem, not sentencing the man to prison.

We Americans tend to look at life in a very different perspective then those in other countries, we see the rainbows and the good in people, we feel we can solve all the worlds woes by taking them into our hearts and embracing their cultures and history. That is a load of pure and simple bovine excrement too, for the only thing that manner of new age, “let’s help the world” thinking will lead to is another terrorist launching a shoulder fired rocket at anything they can get a lock on.

We need to radically alter our way of fighting terrorism, the arrest; detainment and any subsequent trial and punishment that may follow will simply not work. The only process that will work is the total use of deadly force and until we wake up to that fact, we will remain the targets that we have been.

And Life Goes On...

It appears that one of the seven seals that will lead to the riding of the four horseman of the apocalypse have finally been broken. I am sitting at my desk, sixth or seventh cup of coffee in hand, (Hey, they say it is good for you now) and all I see in the news services are comments pertaining to the ever-mad-hatter Tom Cruise and the sex life of Britney Spears.

First we can cut straight to the chase and I will state hear and now that I personally could care less if Britney is pregnant again. It does appear that she has found something to do in her off time from singing besides running around telling people what a great Mom she is, but I do not care about her sex life, not one bit. While I am on the subject, Britney, for the sake of everyone purchase a better fitting bathing suit when running around hotel pools. Believe me when I say this, there are far worse photos of her pregnant and wearing a bikini at hotel pools out there and there is no way I will lower my blog to link to them.

Tom Cruise has been quoted saying that the detox process from heroin addiction is only a three-day process and bingo, you are ready to face the world drug free and dependant upon life and the merry habits of chipmunks instead of nasty old heroin. It is such a comforting feeling knowing that Tom has become an expert in the physiological dependencies of drug addiction and has a newfound hobby now that he no longer has the need to peer into Katie’s womb with his personal ultrasound machine.

The only facts that I can come up with in dealing with the great knowledge of Tom’s expertise in all things knowing is that his Scientology education and dedication to all things L. Ron Hubbard is equal to or greater than Freud and Jung combined. I just want to say, thank you Mr. Cruise for taking the time away from your daily “I Love Katie” couch jumping exercises to obtain this educational supplement for the greater good of man.

Iran needs to take a step back.

I do not know if it is truly Iran’s policy, but unless they stop pounding their constant barrage of war drum rhetoric it is clear they will get what they are asking for and end up in a nuclear war with Israel or the United States.

News this morning that Israel Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel needs to take seriously Iranian threats to wipe out the Jewish state and can defend itself against a country the West suspects of seeking nuclear weapons only takes the nuclear threat game one step closer to reality.

This newest incident coincides with their latest threats against the state of Israel and their right to exist. This is coming from a country whose president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called to the Arab world for the open destruction of the state of Israel.

Just two days ago, Iran complained to the United Nations that the United States is planning to use our nuclear capabilities against their country in a weak attempt to toss the blame somewhere else. They need to discontinue their current practice of constantly making nuclear threats against anyone who disagrees with them or stands in the way of their beliefs or this cannot end in any other way than it is presently heading. The world recalls not that many years ago when Israel in a bold move to protect themselves against a nuclear attack, took it upon themselves to fly a nonstop mission to Iraq and destroy their nuclear reactor that was presently in the startup phase of construction and their threats to repeat the attack each time they attempted to rebuild.

With the Middle East in the constant state of disarray and uncertainty that it exists within and the militant as ever Hamas now in control as the governing body of Palestinian affairs Israel is already living within a state of constant readiness and preparation for attacks or reprisals. History has already been subject to the fact they will not tolerate any threats of destruction to their country nor their right to exist.

The world did not need another nation entering the nuclear game of chance, especially a country as volatile as that of Iran and the views of its present leadership president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We can all only hope and pray this present mess and constant display of force does not end as it appears to be currently heading, because if nuclear weapons are used the world as we know it will cease to exist.

Hard work and dedication

The article from England titled, Medieval Marathon Man Finally Finishes at first struck me as humorous. It said, “Eight days after the London Marathon began, a man dressed in some very heavy metal finally dragged himself and his pet dragon across the finish line.” Then went on to describe the man dressed in full medieval knight armor and dragging a dragon behind and his quest to raise money for a children’s charitable organization a children's leukemia charity.

The headlines were quite funny, the photo of this guy really made it that way, when you think he him ran the slowest marathon ever that adds to it. Then it struck me that this poor guy had to go to that great length to raise any funds whatsoever and it saddened me.

I have a good friend who has been working since 1988 with a non-profit organization called, New Parents Network, their mission is to help children worldwide by reaching families with parenting information through the creative use of technology. Their website can be visited at, www.npn.org and she has dedicated a large portion of her life to insure the mission statement of her company is achieved.

I have learned over the years through my friendship with the founder of New Parents Network that it takes hard work, dedication and as much tenacity as humanly possible to achieve your goal as this person in England did.

We all tend to forget that there are people out there who are striving to make a difference in this world. There are many more people as this man in the knight armor dragging their own personal dragons around in their quest to make a difference in this life. Their personal dedication to their goals is awe-inspiring and I as others forget that until an article like this come into play.

I have watched my friend with New Parents Network dedicate herself to her quest, her goal and I confess that I have gained more respect for her than any other person in my life and I have learned that one does not have to wear armor to be a hero for she has become just that to me, my hero. Her selfless dedication and work is an inspiration to me and I applaud her.

The Judge Code.

I think it is wonderful that an English Judge of the high court would take the time to place a code within the writing of his judgment in the copyright case involving Dan Brown's bestseller "The Da Vinci Code. It was announced yesterday that a lawyer has uncovered what may be a secret message buried in the text of the ruling.

Apparently, a Lawyer Dan Tench noticed some letters in the judgment had been italicized, and it suddenly dawned on him that they spelled a phrase that included the name of the judge: "Smith code."

Justice Peter Smith, who presided over the copyright case was said to display a sense of humor that in itself was a rarity within the English bewigged barristers who, to this day are steeped in ancient tradition. The Justice appeared to have become so involved in the case that he decided to embrace the technology of codes that run throughout the Da Vinci Code novel.

I had read the novel by Dan Brown and had a grand old time attempting to make heads or tales of the codes even though Brown goes into detail it still makes one wonder if in fact some type of code exists. To discover a Justice of the English high court so involved in the process of codes that he creates a tongue in cheek judgment rendering his ruling is wonderful.

Perhaps the world need more levity and humor to get us through the days we have been facing, I know I am all for it.

The pubs in London

The pubs in London have taken customer identification to an entirely new level of achievement. Plagued by a long list of troublemakers who after a pint or two begin to tear the pub as well as patrons apart they have instituted a new identification process, fingerprint scanning.

Biometric finger-scanning machines have been installed at six venues in Yeovil, southwest England. Clubbers will be asked to have their right index finger scanned and show picture identification to register on the system.

The data is then stored on a computer network which other pubs and clubs in the scheme can access so that information on louts can be passed on quickly.

I can just imagine something like this taking place in the good ole US, people would be screaming “Invasion of privacy” from the tops of roofs, marching in the street and drinking at home.  In London, people are a bit different, laid back, refined and are not going to miss their evening pub experience for anything.

We also have to bear in mind that the soccer crowds in the English pubs take drinking and violence to a completely new level of destruction. They have long been notorious for destruction caused before and after games, so if keeping out the instigators solves the problem, then more power to them.

The drug problem in Mexico

The drug problem within Mexico and our borders is not going to go away by simply sweeping it under a rug pretending that it never occurred in the first place, but that is exactly what they are attempting to do with their new laws. Their congress passed legislation decriminalizing possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use — including cocaine and even heroin. To put it in simple terms the bill legalizes possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, ectasy and marijuana.

Mexico has been a continuing source of illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine and has been the bane of law enforcement officials working along the border for years. They have found enough tunnels stretching under the border to weaken the earth’s surface connecting the two. I recently watched a show on one of the discovery or learning channels where they were going over one such tunnel which evidently been built by professional engineers

The tunnel was located under a house, or some form of structure on the US side and was built with connecting beams and totally walled with cement. It was wide enough for small trucks to drive back and forth between the US and Mexico allowing them to bring their death-dealing loads of drugs into our country. The drug agency person being interviewed stated that it had been going on for a long period of time and the tunnel was wide enough to bring just about anything someone wished into this country, including weapons and people. That is a very frightening statement if you think about it; they could have brought shoulder fired missile launchers, bombs and the people to man them in another attempt to destroy America.

We have law enforcement agencies that have been working jointly with Mexican drug officials for years and they have been waging a loosing battle in an attempt to put a stop to it. Now with Mexico taking the stance that it is better to ignore a problem than it is to fight it only time will tell what the outcome will be. One can only imagine the swarms of young people and college crowd making their treks across the border to obtain drugs and the beefed up law enforcement we will have to put on our side to combat this problem. Mexico has taken the drug enforcement problem to an entirely new level and in a time when America is trying to so something positive with the growing illegal follow of people across the border. Forcing America to close off our borders is not the answer to this problem and it appears that Mexico is attempting to do just that.

Videos lie

It has become evident that there are those within the Muslim world that are attempting to turn the present war in Iraq into a Fourth Crusade and this term should not be propagated to any further degree by the media. The leaders of al Qaeda have been trying very hard to portray Osama bin Laden as the Salah al-Din figure in this fantasy and have even gone as far as to say his spirit resides in bin Laden.

For someone to imply that a disgusting, murderous individual forced to hide within the confines of various caves out of fear of being killed is in any way the Salah al-Din of the Muslims is absurd. In fact, it should not even have any further credence put to it by our media or the media of the world. Osama is the poorest choice for an example of Salah al-Din and if he had lived during that time would not have been considered worthy enough to tend to the horses.

The world would do very well if the spirit of Salah al-Din did exist today; he was a fair and righteous ruler who commanded the respect of both the Muslims and the Christians during the crusades as well as allowing the inhabitants of Jerusalem to leave upon capturing it. He and England’s Richard the Lion heart had what some have called a friendship and respect between them. Now we have individuals who are propagating the fourth crusade issue referring to Bush as today’s Lion Heart and bin Laden as the Salah al-Din and they should be committed to the nearest institution till they come to their senses.

The Taliban and al-Qaeda have openly declared a jihad against America and the term jihad means holy war, that is the one and only form of text in which this term can be used. It is by no means a fourth crusade, nor is it a holy war as far as America is concerned.  

Now they are releasing videos in a back-to-back scenario in their weak attempt to create a misinformation structure among the world. We are supposed to believe anything and everything they are saying because, well after all, they released a video.

They need to recall that we invented that in the first place, the idea of misinformation and they may try as they might, but sorry, we have you in hiding and running for safety, I would say that means you are full of it.

The media has lost touch of being a professional

I have been reading all of the negative statements emanating from the anti-war media pertaining to the Zarqawi video released April 25 titled, "This is a Declaration To The People." and I confess I have been so enraged with a fire within me that I have not yet bothered to write about it. Tonight I received a newsletter from our good friend, CJ in which he discussed the video at length, going over various points and references. I read this twice, insuring I captured each item Cj was making and decided it was time to take this matter on in my blog.

To begin, the media has manifested into such an anti-military misinformation machine that it is bordering on the ad nauseam. My blog, as is the majority of the military and veteran blogs out there today supports the men and women in harm’s way, our military. I have made numerous statements pertaining to the manner in which the media portrays these men and women which in essence is in the worse possible light. They go out of their way to insure the casualty figures are screaming in headlines as well as any unhappiness that may or not be prevalent within the military. Let one soldier write in their blog that they are unhappy, or they have lost faith, or God forbid question the fact they are there and the media eats this up as a vulture on a fresh kill.

We cannot pick up a newspaper or magazine or turn on any form of news programming without being inundated with antiwar and antimilitary propaganda. Where are the eye-opening fact filled in-depth features about the antimilitary individuals protesting the funerals of our brave fallen men and women? Granted, the media did make comments regarding this, but not one single news program said anything other than reporting that it happened. Not like their continuous antiwar statements that a reporter should not be making in the first place.

The media is not supposed to report anything in a biased manner; I believe that specific rule of thumb went out of a second story window during the Taft administration. They are also supposed to report items in a fair manner; they threw that out along with the other biased things they ignore. The media does whatever it wants to do, make any statement it wishes to make and the sad part is the majority of their listening audience believes every word stated.

Our military is comprised of professional, educated, highly trained individuals dedicated to the branch of service they selected. They enter the service and after completing long difficult training, sent to countries on orders of the government they promised to protect. They spend their nights insuring the safety and freedom of people they have never met with the knowledge that some of them may never come home again. They are the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard and they do this because they volunteered.

Remember this and think about them the next time you watch the news or read a paper because somewhere in the world, any time or any day they are thinking of you.

FEMA needs to go.

According to the statement from Senators on Thursday, Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA in a symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy and it should be scrapped. Personally I don’t feel Katrina turned FEMA into a symbol, I feel it had been living on borrowed time for many years and Katrina only served to bring this bureaucratic trash into the eyes of the media and showed it for what it truly was – a nightmare.

FEMA should be replaced and it should be accomplished quickly before anyone else has the misfortune of having to deal with it. The agency has no idea what is going on in this country and no concept of how to handle things if a catastrophe occurs again and if history has taught us anything, it is the fact that it is not if, it is when.

Documents and transcripts released from the onset of Hurricane Katrina has proved beyond any reasonable doubt that not only did the powers that be have prior knowledge of what was happening, not one of them took any action to prevent the tragedy that was the final outcome. Something must be done to correct this and insure it never happens again and this something needs to be done now, not after twenty government panels have studied the problem, now.

The citizens of that state are still scattered about the country trying to figure out what to do and how to begin anew while the people that stayed are hoping it never happens again. Washington needs to get off their collective “pass the blame” butts and take action to insure FEMA is placed out to pasture and a new agency with the proper people, resources and knowledge to handle a problem replaces them.