Calling all liberals...

If there are any liberals who read my blog, will you please answer a question I have. Why, why oh why, do you think America is such a bad place? Seriously. Why do you complain about everything this country does, from its over-seas policies to its domestic law? It's a common thing that I find amongst all the leftist writers, especially those that populate the New York Times and Newsweek.

The strange thing is, it seems like not only do you hate most things about the greatest nation ever constructed, but you don't even want said nation to do the things you want, because then you'd have to stop the complaining. You guys remind me of some old codger who's all alone and constantly makes up problems so that someone will talk to him.

Any libs reading? Give me an answer. Do you want us to win in Iraq? Or would you rather we turned into France?

Barak's Michelle

This past weekend, Michelle Obama, wife of Barak Obama, made a speech in which she stated that, for the first time in her life, she is truly proud of her country. She says she's proud because the country is demanding change. Barak quickly clarified his wife's statement, saying that she meant, for the first time she was proud of American politics.

How many times is a person running for president, or in a position of power, going to allow their fate to be controlled by someone close to them? When will they learn to grab the microphone from their wives's hands before she says something stupid. Remember Tipper Gore? Where'd she go? Bill Clinton too has all but ruined Hillary's chances, by showing his a side of himself that the media used to help him hide. But then he did the dumb thing and attacked the media itself. He found that no power on earth can withstand the American media's wrath, not even Slick Willy...

Michelle Obama finds herself on the cover of the leftist rag called Newsweek. I don't know about you, but the bias in that magazine drips off the pages and makes a mess on my floor. Mark my words, Michelle Obama will make no more speeches before the primaries. She's done, or hopefully she is, for the sake of Barak's hopes of socialized utopia. He'd best just hand her a bottle of Vicodin and stock the cupboards with Rum and Coke, then buy her the complete first season of Desperate Housewives. "Honey, why don't you just stay home and relax, watch a movie. I'll be at Oprah's if you need me...)

In the Army Now...

So I went through my MEPS processing yesterday, and let me say that it was a long, irritating and downright bad experience. At 6 am I arrived in Jacksonville after getting only three hours sleep. It was a three hour trip there. I went through the physical exams and such, which took hours. Finally, near the end of the day, I went to see the army liaison, whose job it is to seal the deal on my contract. Basically, I had to hold my ground on the job I wanted. They tried every trick in the book, from trying to make me look dumb and like I didn't know what I wanted, to sweetening me with car salesman talk on jobs I didn't want. Through the ordeal, I made it clear to them that I was not changing my mind on job preferences, and that the jobs I told them I was interested in were the same ones that I had spoken to my recruiter about when I first walked into the recruiting station two months ago.

The liaison, couldn't get my job title correct, nor its series number. He repeatedly told me that the jobs I wanted were not available. I told him I'd have to walk out without a contract if that were the case. He got huffy-puffy, slammed some papers down on his desk, and told me to call my recruiter. When I had her on the phone, I explained the situation. Now, I give her credit; she went out of her way many times to tell me the truth and she drove me to Jacksonville on the same amount of sleep I had. Needless to say, she wasn't impressed with what the liaison was trying to pull, which was sell me a mediocre job and save the good ones for later. What irritated me, is that my ASVAB score was a 94. Who the hell was he saving the job for? James Bond?

When my recruiter finally arrived at the MEPS station, I was told to go to another area of processing so that my finger prints could be taken. As I sat giving my info to a civilian employee so that she could log the info, the liaison walked up to me, looking disgusted, and held his finger under a line on my contract. The line said: "Intelligence Analyst", the job I had been pushing for and that supposedly was not available only ten minutes prior. I had wanted to go 18 x-ray, (Special Forces) but since they wouldn't give me a contract that day guaranteeing the spot as I need to see a specialist for my knee, I decided to go with my original choice of Intel. When I'm in, I can always try out for Special Forces if I choose. Adding fuel to the liaison's fire, the woman processing me stated, "Oh, you got a good job!" I smiled. She told me that prior to the civilian position she now held, she had worked for Naval Intelligence and said that she enjoyed it immensely, but since her husband was a career Navy man, she decided to get out because their children needed someone to be at home with them.

Also on my contract is a two-week Airborne school at Fort Benning. The Intelligence school is a 19 week program in Sierra Vista, Arizona. My signing bonus is $16,000.

All in all, I'm happy with this. It's not set in stone yet, as I still need to have my knee cleared with the specialist, and to have my Top Secret clearance accepted. The training I'll get here will prepare me for a possible career in the CIA or NSA, or maybe if I like things enough, I'll do twenty years in the army.

Firebase Cobra Part II

Here's Part II of the Firebase Cobra series. It depicts US Special Forces in Afganistan...

A long jump into the darkness...

Well the Army recruiting thing is just about over. I go to MEPS on Tuesday and will be sworn in if they guarantee me the spot they've offered. They offered me a Special Forces slot (18X). It will be tough I know, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to serve my country, with the army's best men.

The process goes like this:

1) 16 weeks of infantry combat training at Fort Benning, Georgia. This includes basic and advanced training.

2)3 weeks of Basic Airborne Course at Benning.

3)14 days at Special Forces Prep Course 1, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

4)At this point, there will be a selection process. Not all who make it through the whole deal will be selected; only those that the trainers feel are best suited. Those that remain will be allowed to enter the Special Forces Qualification course. 4out of 5 people remaining at that point will fail.

5)Then to the Primary Leadership Development Course.

6)Special Forces Prep Course II-- 10 weeks of SERE (Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion) traing, plus hand to hand combat and disarming.

7) Next, I'll be assigned to one of five specialty Seargent postions, Medical, Engineering, Communicaton, Weapons, SF Officer, depending on what I have shown proficiency in.

8) 8-12 weeks of language school--depending on what language I'm assigned.

9) I will then take place in a large scale unconventional warfare exercise, Codename: ROBIN SAGE. Then I will be awarded the Special Forces tab and the coveted Green Beret.

This will be tough. I'm taking nothing for granted. I'm not assuming I'm smart enough, tough enough, good enough. I must take each portion one at a time. People think I'm nuts, but I've never argued with that. It will be, without question, the toughest thing I have ever done. It's all about pain tolerance, calm under pressure, and mental and physical endurance. Ouch.

Say a prayer for me. Actually, it's possible I could just fail my physical on Tuesday and it'll be a moot point....

A look back

The following article is one of the best I've read on the justification of the Iraq War and the Left's idiotic attacks on the Bush administration, in particular, those by that lying, ginormous, dunderhead, Michael Moore. Ahhh--too bad the article is scribed by Christopher Hitchens, whose vitriolic attacks on religion usually amount to nothing more than emotional arguments against the church establishment. But hey--at least he knows Al-Qaeda's evil, something his leftist brethren still can't figure out 1000 carbombs later...

Link here: http://www.slate.com/id/2102723/#back

What I've learned in the last year....

What I’ve learned in the last year


The last year has been a challenge for me, in so many ways. Following the maxim that "Whatever does not kill me, makes me stronger", I learned several valuable lessons. Here's to your learning too.

1) Be thankful for all things. Everything. Your clothes, your meals, the soap you wash your hair with. I found that when everything was taken away from me, I naturally became thankful for the smallest thing. When I thanked God for a meal I was about to eat, the feeling of gratitude replaced any gloomy misgivings. The mind can hold but one thought and emotion at a time, so when I consciously made the effort to feel and be thankful, the worries left me.

2) It can always get worse--and it very well may. Just when you think you've hit rock-bottom, there's probably more room for you to fall. And again. And again. But in that is the corridor to the next lesson...

3) Pear your desires instead of increasing them. We can never fulfill all our desires. In fact, the more our desires are fed, the more ravenous they become. It's always more, more, more. There are basic needs all humans intrinsically require, and we should be greatful when those needs are met. Just like Mom said when you wouldn't eat your spinach, "There are kids starving in Africa". Paradoxically, my satisfaction is inversely proportional to the number and girth of my desires.

4) Helping others helps you. There's nothing like helping other people. It makes you feel good, accomplished, and takes your thoughts off yourself.

5) Don't waste talent. When you find something that you're good at and enjoy, pursue it with everything you have. To me, there are two things that a person should want: A happy family, and job they enjoy or can at least see themselves doing for the rest of their lives. Chase both of these, and when you find them--don't let them go.

6) Life is hard. No amount of money or stuff will make life what we thought it would be when we were kids. That being said, every man should pursue the best life he can for he and his family. But life is rough; horrible events can happen to us, shock us to our core. Nonetheless, perhaps our role here on earth, is to go on, no matter what. So, laugh at the absurdity of life, laugh at it, but acknowledge it, don't try to deny it, because that will make it all the more painful when one is stomped by the undeniably dark universe.

In work--meaning. In sleep--rejuvenation. In family--joy. In God--all.