On the NBC Evening News, 28 July 2007, in a report concerning a home invasion the reporter interviewed a gun store salesman. The salesman, holding a shotgun made the statement "You just point, you don't aim."
In the state of Florida, anyone who uses a firearm against another human is responsible for every projectile that is discharged from the firearm.
"You just point, but don't aim" advice is one of the most truly statements I have ever heard; particularly from a person who makes their living selling firearms.
Statements like that just antagonize those who dislike firearms and make it much harder for the person who makes a conscientious decision to become proficient in and use firearms as a defensive tool.
Persons who are interested in firearms, regardless of how they arrived at that interest should be encouraged to learn how to properly and legally use firearms. In Florida, there is no difference in the accountability of use of a defensive firearm for a police officer or a private citizen.
The police officer is taught self defense, the use of firearms and state law during their police academy. Any private citizen needs to seek out and gain the same knowledge prior to incorporating defensive firearms into their toolbox.
Thanks a pant load for your input Mr Gunstore. Friends like you continue to play right into the anti-gunners sentiments.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Barack Obama, Closer To Madame Clinton Than He Is To Lieberman
Or if you're looking for a Democrat with scruples, he or she is probably not in the race:
Barack Obama, has been running, against Madame Clinton, as a candidate for change. Lets look at his changing positions on Iraq.
On July 18, 2007, Obama supported legislation requiring most U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by April 30, 2008.
But in 2004, Obama said that a quick withdrawal from Iraq would be "a slap in the face" to the troops.
In 2006, he said that he did "not believe that setting a date certain for the total withdrawal of U.S. troops [was] the best approach to achieving" our goals.
In May of this year, Obama promised to provide critical funding for the troops. His exact words:
"[W]hat you don't want to do is to play chicken with the President, and create a situation in which, potentially, you don't have body armor, you don't have reinforced Humvees, you don't have night-vision goggles."
Then, just weeks later, he voted against the emergency Iraq spending bill that would have provided critical funds for body armor, mine resistant vehicles, and to help combat IEDs.
By his own admission, Obama understands that our enemies will wait us out in Iraq.
But as his position shifts it seems clear that he's more concerned with pandering to the left wing of the party than standing by his previous statements.
Barack Obama, has been running, against Madame Clinton, as a candidate for change. Lets look at his changing positions on Iraq.
On July 18, 2007, Obama supported legislation requiring most U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by April 30, 2008.
But in 2004, Obama said that a quick withdrawal from Iraq would be "a slap in the face" to the troops.
In 2006, he said that he did "not believe that setting a date certain for the total withdrawal of U.S. troops [was] the best approach to achieving" our goals.
In May of this year, Obama promised to provide critical funding for the troops. His exact words:
"[W]hat you don't want to do is to play chicken with the President, and create a situation in which, potentially, you don't have body armor, you don't have reinforced Humvees, you don't have night-vision goggles."
Then, just weeks later, he voted against the emergency Iraq spending bill that would have provided critical funds for body armor, mine resistant vehicles, and to help combat IEDs.
By his own admission, Obama understands that our enemies will wait us out in Iraq.
But as his position shifts it seems clear that he's more concerned with pandering to the left wing of the party than standing by his previous statements.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
European Terrorist Alert Levels
We have long used colors to describe perceived terror level. Other countries use different systems:
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from"Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to"Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to"Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
Not only the English and French are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain, "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
And Finally the Germans have also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher Levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
Last, but not least, the Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish Navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish Navy.
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from"Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to"Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to"Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
Not only the English and French are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain, "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
And Finally the Germans have also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher Levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
Last, but not least, the Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish Navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish Navy.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Shame Of It
On the 4th of July, 2007 Senior Airman Matthew J. Marren was shot in the chest by an anti-war zealot who specifically targeted the victim
The 4th of July, is celebrated as the most patriotic day of the entire year. This is the day when those in, or those who have served in, the military are honored by their countryman for their present and past service.
On this special day, a military person is targeted and shot by an anti-war zealot and the media barely manages to report the incident.
Soap Box Ravings can't help but wonder how much news coverage would be available if any military person, mentally unstable or not, targeted and shot an anti-war protestor.
The 4th of July, is celebrated as the most patriotic day of the entire year. This is the day when those in, or those who have served in, the military are honored by their countryman for their present and past service.
On this special day, a military person is targeted and shot by an anti-war zealot and the media barely manages to report the incident.
Soap Box Ravings can't help but wonder how much news coverage would be available if any military person, mentally unstable or not, targeted and shot an anti-war protestor.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Karzai Pardons Teen Trained as Bomber
A fourteen-year-old boy, Rafiqullah, said men at a Pakistani madrassa (religious school) showed him and two of his classmates videos of suicide attackers and taught them to drive a car and motorcycles.
Then they gave Rafiqullah his mission: kill an Afghan governor.
Rafiqullah said he walked eight hours from Pakistan to the Afghan city of Khost, where a militant named Abdul Aziz tried to pump up his courage. Aziz provided him with an explosives-laden vest whereupon the teenager confessed his fears.
When he said he was afraid to carry out the suicide attack, Abdul Aziz pointed a gun at him and told him that he would be killed if he did not carry out the attack.
President Hamid Karzai declared Rafiqullah an innocent pawn manipulated by terrorist militants and on Sunday freed the teen, who appears to be at least the third child co-opted by Taliban fighters to carry out attacks since April.
Karzai said, "Today we are faced with a fearful and terrifying truth, and that truth is the sending of a Muslim child to carry out a suicide attack."
Last month, a 6-year-old boy in Ghazni province said the Taliban forced him to put on a suicide vest and walk up to American soldiers, a potential attack was foiled when the boy asked Afghan soldiers for help.
In a gory Taliban video that surfaced in April militants are shown instructing a boy of about 12 as he beheaded an alleged traitor with a knife.
Rafiqullah said at least two other teenage boys his age had been indoctrinated to carry out suicide attacks at his madrassa.
The United Nations considers the use of such young combatants as constituting a war crime.
Soap Box Ravings says while the United Nations says using children as soldiers is a war crime, they do nothing about it in the many countries, particularly in Africa where it occurs often. I would also like to point out that this teen was sent to kill another Muslim, because that Muslim was not a Taliban believer.
Soap Box Ravings also wonders if the United Nations has an official position on cutting another humans head off with a knife to make a propaganda video.
Then they gave Rafiqullah his mission: kill an Afghan governor.
Rafiqullah said he walked eight hours from Pakistan to the Afghan city of Khost, where a militant named Abdul Aziz tried to pump up his courage. Aziz provided him with an explosives-laden vest whereupon the teenager confessed his fears.
When he said he was afraid to carry out the suicide attack, Abdul Aziz pointed a gun at him and told him that he would be killed if he did not carry out the attack.
President Hamid Karzai declared Rafiqullah an innocent pawn manipulated by terrorist militants and on Sunday freed the teen, who appears to be at least the third child co-opted by Taliban fighters to carry out attacks since April.
Karzai said, "Today we are faced with a fearful and terrifying truth, and that truth is the sending of a Muslim child to carry out a suicide attack."
Last month, a 6-year-old boy in Ghazni province said the Taliban forced him to put on a suicide vest and walk up to American soldiers, a potential attack was foiled when the boy asked Afghan soldiers for help.
In a gory Taliban video that surfaced in April militants are shown instructing a boy of about 12 as he beheaded an alleged traitor with a knife.
Rafiqullah said at least two other teenage boys his age had been indoctrinated to carry out suicide attacks at his madrassa.
The United Nations considers the use of such young combatants as constituting a war crime.
Soap Box Ravings says while the United Nations says using children as soldiers is a war crime, they do nothing about it in the many countries, particularly in Africa where it occurs often. I would also like to point out that this teen was sent to kill another Muslim, because that Muslim was not a Taliban believer.
Soap Box Ravings also wonders if the United Nations has an official position on cutting another humans head off with a knife to make a propaganda video.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
History Repeats Itself, While Government Does Nothing
Today, a man has appeared in court in Sydney, Australia after causing thousands of dollars worth of damage during a 90-minute rampage.
Soap Box Ravings wonders how many more times this must happen in the world before our liberal friends start screaming for the government to seize all tanks and armored vehicles in the hands of the public. In fact bulldozers, which closely resemble armored vehicles, also should be seized because they are so similar. I mean after all, they are to noisy to use for deer hunting and nobody really needs one. They should all be in the hands of the military or police.
Soap Box Ravings wonders how many more times this must happen in the world before our liberal friends start screaming for the government to seize all tanks and armored vehicles in the hands of the public. In fact bulldozers, which closely resemble armored vehicles, also should be seized because they are so similar. I mean after all, they are to noisy to use for deer hunting and nobody really needs one. They should all be in the hands of the military or police.
Just ONE Example In The News
Suspect In Girl's Slaying Investigated In Other Cases
In Tacoma, Washington police named the suspect, Terapon Adhahn, in the abduction and slaying of a 12-year-old Tacoma girl. They also said the 42-year-old man is being investigated in connection with other crimes -- locally and in other parts of the country.
Police said Terapon Adhahn is being charged with failing to register as a sex offender and that he would be charged in the girl's death.
Adhahn, a Thai immigrant who was convicted of incest in 1990, is being held at a federal detention center because he could face deportation for his 1990 incest conviction, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said earlier this week.
He also has been charged in Pierce County with failing to register as a sex offender, and would face that charge before being deported.
Court records show Adhahn was charged in 1990 with raping a 16-year-old relative. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree incest in exchange for completing 60 months of sexual-deviancy counseling.
Soap Box Ravings says 1990 plus 60 months of counseling and maybe a year of court translates to "This subject has been running loose since approximately 1996 and it is only now that he is locked up for possible deportation for a crime he pleaded guilty for in 1990. 2007 minus 1990 is basically 17 years this pus bucket has been loose and possibly causing harm.
Furthermore Soap Box Ravings would like to extend a "Hearty Well Done" to those public officials as well as those elected officials that have and continue to allow these illegals to remain in this country. And for the record, in my opinion, he became an illegal when he committed a crime and was not deported.
In Tacoma, Washington police named the suspect, Terapon Adhahn, in the abduction and slaying of a 12-year-old Tacoma girl. They also said the 42-year-old man is being investigated in connection with other crimes -- locally and in other parts of the country.
Police said Terapon Adhahn is being charged with failing to register as a sex offender and that he would be charged in the girl's death.
Adhahn, a Thai immigrant who was convicted of incest in 1990, is being held at a federal detention center because he could face deportation for his 1990 incest conviction, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said earlier this week.
He also has been charged in Pierce County with failing to register as a sex offender, and would face that charge before being deported.
Court records show Adhahn was charged in 1990 with raping a 16-year-old relative. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree incest in exchange for completing 60 months of sexual-deviancy counseling.
Soap Box Ravings says 1990 plus 60 months of counseling and maybe a year of court translates to "This subject has been running loose since approximately 1996 and it is only now that he is locked up for possible deportation for a crime he pleaded guilty for in 1990. 2007 minus 1990 is basically 17 years this pus bucket has been loose and possibly causing harm.
Furthermore Soap Box Ravings would like to extend a "Hearty Well Done" to those public officials as well as those elected officials that have and continue to allow these illegals to remain in this country. And for the record, in my opinion, he became an illegal when he committed a crime and was not deported.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Urine Test
I did not write this, I got this in my e-mail. I am retired and I no longer have to take urine tests for employment, but I was subjected to them for most of my working life and if I was seeking part-time employment, I would probably still be told to contribute.
The following is the e-mail I received:
Like a lot of folks in this state I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem.
What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check, because I have to pass one to earn it for them?
Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sitting on their ass.
Could you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?
Soap Box Ravings says he will pass this on to his elected Florida Representatives, with their proposed changes in real estate taxes they may want to reduce the costs of welfare, especially that paid to those using illegal substances.
The following is the e-mail I received:
Like a lot of folks in this state I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem.
What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check, because I have to pass one to earn it for them?
Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sitting on their ass.
Could you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?
Soap Box Ravings says he will pass this on to his elected Florida Representatives, with their proposed changes in real estate taxes they may want to reduce the costs of welfare, especially that paid to those using illegal substances.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Virginia County To Do Feds Job
Virginia County Requires Police Officers to Check Immigration Status
In Prince William County, the Board of County Supervisors passed a resolution that requires police officers to ask about immigration status in all arrests if there is probable cause to believe that a suspect has violated federal immigration law.
The resolution also requires county staff to verify a person's legal status before providing certain public services provided by county offices.
According to Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart, "We know this is a federal issue, but I think the citizens have a right to expect that their local government and the state government are going to do whatever they can to address the problem."
(Soap Box Ravings wishes that Florida elected officials would follow this initiative. If enough states start passing realistic laws that affect illegal immigrants then the federal officials who are derelict in their duties may be forced to follow. Perhaps the County should bill their services to the Federal Government for each check they make.)
In Prince William County, the Board of County Supervisors passed a resolution that requires police officers to ask about immigration status in all arrests if there is probable cause to believe that a suspect has violated federal immigration law.
The resolution also requires county staff to verify a person's legal status before providing certain public services provided by county offices.
According to Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart, "We know this is a federal issue, but I think the citizens have a right to expect that their local government and the state government are going to do whatever they can to address the problem."
(Soap Box Ravings wishes that Florida elected officials would follow this initiative. If enough states start passing realistic laws that affect illegal immigrants then the federal officials who are derelict in their duties may be forced to follow. Perhaps the County should bill their services to the Federal Government for each check they make.)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
My Comments Regarding My Senator's Response
Below is a response to the recent comments I received from you:
Dear Soap Box Ravings:
Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration reform. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
As you may know, on June 28, 2007, the Senate voted to set aside debate once again on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1639).
(Soap Box Ravings says both Florida Senators, Martinez (Republican) and Nelson (Democrat) voted identically with Yeas for this vote.)
I firmly believe addressing this issue in a comprehensive manner is critical to our nation’s security and continued prosperity.
(Soap Box Ravings Feels that this is a BS position to ramrod a bill through the system and to garner votes while Senator Martinez tries to retain his position while pandering votes.)
While securing our borders is top priority,
(Soap Box Ravings feels that "top priority means first priority and needs to be taken care of before any other step, NOT in conjunction with any other step.)
we must also address the economic and law enforcement realities of having millions of illegal immigrants already living and working in the United States. Any solution to this problem must be practical to be effective.
(Soap Box Ravings feels that once you identify and remove the known criminals, sex offenders, and possible foriegn agents from the mix; the rest can then be processed to become accepted by this culture if that is what they want or they can be carded to be farm workers if that is what they desire.)
Efforts to secure our borders should be coupled with necessary changes to our current ambiguous and ineffective immigration policies to maximize security for our country.
(Soap Box Ravings believes that if our borders are secured, we will no longer have our "current ambiguous and ineffective immigration policies.")
Additionally, gaining operational control of the border will not cease the problem if we do not gain control of our employment system.
(Soap Box Ravings did not know that a goal of our government was to gain control of our nations employment system.)
Please know that, I will continue to work
(Soap Box Ravings sees not so much work as a stampede to give US Citizenship to a large number of people who have and continue to break our laws with the assistance of our duly elected representatives who have sworn to uphold our laws.)
with President Bush and my colleagues in Congress to develop a plan that will halt the flow of illegal immigrants crossing our border while implementing needed changes to our immigration laws.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Do not hesitate to contact me with any additional questions or comments. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
Dear Soap Box Ravings:
Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration reform. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
As you may know, on June 28, 2007, the Senate voted to set aside debate once again on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1639).
(Soap Box Ravings says both Florida Senators, Martinez (Republican) and Nelson (Democrat) voted identically with Yeas for this vote.)
I firmly believe addressing this issue in a comprehensive manner is critical to our nation’s security and continued prosperity.
(Soap Box Ravings Feels that this is a BS position to ramrod a bill through the system and to garner votes while Senator Martinez tries to retain his position while pandering votes.)
While securing our borders is top priority,
(Soap Box Ravings feels that "top priority means first priority and needs to be taken care of before any other step, NOT in conjunction with any other step.)
we must also address the economic and law enforcement realities of having millions of illegal immigrants already living and working in the United States. Any solution to this problem must be practical to be effective.
(Soap Box Ravings feels that once you identify and remove the known criminals, sex offenders, and possible foriegn agents from the mix; the rest can then be processed to become accepted by this culture if that is what they want or they can be carded to be farm workers if that is what they desire.)
Efforts to secure our borders should be coupled with necessary changes to our current ambiguous and ineffective immigration policies to maximize security for our country.
(Soap Box Ravings believes that if our borders are secured, we will no longer have our "current ambiguous and ineffective immigration policies.")
Additionally, gaining operational control of the border will not cease the problem if we do not gain control of our employment system.
(Soap Box Ravings did not know that a goal of our government was to gain control of our nations employment system.)
Please know that, I will continue to work
(Soap Box Ravings sees not so much work as a stampede to give US Citizenship to a large number of people who have and continue to break our laws with the assistance of our duly elected representatives who have sworn to uphold our laws.)
with President Bush and my colleagues in Congress to develop a plan that will halt the flow of illegal immigrants crossing our border while implementing needed changes to our immigration laws.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Do not hesitate to contact me with any additional questions or comments. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Wishful Thinking
This is an e-mail that I received from my little brother titled:
"Some Serious Considerations About Wishful Thinking"
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.
"Very few people were true Nazis, " he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.
Now, we are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.
Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of fifty shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals.
The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority," the "silent majority" is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia included Russians who just wanted to live in peace. Yet according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 66 millio! n people . The peaceful majority was irrelevant.
China 's huge population -- it was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awake one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts - the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Soap Box Ravings says: "Thanks Brother, I only wish I had thought to write this myself. I am in complete agreement with whoever put this together."
"Some Serious Considerations About Wishful Thinking"
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.
"Very few people were true Nazis, " he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.
Now, we are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.
Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of fifty shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals.
The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority," the "silent majority" is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia included Russians who just wanted to live in peace. Yet according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 66 millio! n people . The peaceful majority was irrelevant.
China 's huge population -- it was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awake one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts - the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Soap Box Ravings says: "Thanks Brother, I only wish I had thought to write this myself. I am in complete agreement with whoever put this together."
Monday, July 02, 2007
It Is About Time
Commentary on a USA TODAY report by Tom Vanden Brook:
The Pentagon approved a 600% increase in production of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to protect soldiers from makeshift bombs in Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made the vehicle the Pentagon's top priority. The MRAP's V-shaped hull and raised chassis are up to four times safer against the top threat to U.S. troops in Iraq — improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Gates said Friday he was pushing industry and the military to build MRAPs faster: "For every month we delay, scores of young Americans are going to die."
Soap Box Ravings notes that it took a change in the Secretary of Defense to get the equipment our troops need in Iraq
That recommendation followed a visit to Iraq by a high-level Army team to assess soldiers' needs and which vehicles would best fill them.
Soap Box Ravings wonders why there isn't a "high level team" on site in Iraq 24/7 to continuously ascertain troop needs.
"We're going to aggressively pursue maxing out production, definitely for '08," Sliwa said. "We're extensively testing the vehicle to ensure the soldier's very well protected."
FLASHBACK: Corps refused 2005 plea for MRAP vehicles
The Pentagon's move boosts the Army's MRAP total from the 2,500 the service had originally sought and the Pentagon's total commitment to almost 23,000 vehicles. That includes 3,700 for the Marines and 1,500 for other branches of the military.
The Pentagon's decision to build more MRAPs may encounter opposition from Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who leads the committee that writes the defense budget.
Murtha said he wouldn't support more than $6 billion in MRAP spending for next year because contractors can't build the vehicles fast enough.
Soap Box Ravings notes that Representative Murtha is the "Marine" in Congress who wants the US out of Iraq. Basically, he is just another Democrat looking for ways to not support our troops in their mission.
The Army's bill for MRAPs next year would be $8.1 billion, according to a memo from Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren.
MORE: Army seeks $20B for protected vehicles
To meet the increased demand, the Pentagon awarded contracts to nine companies in January to develop and build vehicles for consideration for its MRAP program.
Since April 23, the Pentagon has awarded contracts worth about $1.6 billion to three companies to build 3,130 MRAPs, records show.
Last week, Australian television reported that Thales Australia would make 1,500 MRAPs for the Pentagon, although that has not been confirmed by the Defense Department.
Soap Box Ravings does not give a damn about what country manufactures these pieces of equipment as long as they are made to function in accordance with their specifications. These units are needed now, more troops will be killed or injured while these are being manufactured and tested. If any manufacturers have them "on the shelf" then they need to be procured from the shelf. The troops needs must come first.
The Pentagon approved a 600% increase in production of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to protect soldiers from makeshift bombs in Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made the vehicle the Pentagon's top priority. The MRAP's V-shaped hull and raised chassis are up to four times safer against the top threat to U.S. troops in Iraq — improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Gates said Friday he was pushing industry and the military to build MRAPs faster: "For every month we delay, scores of young Americans are going to die."
Soap Box Ravings notes that it took a change in the Secretary of Defense to get the equipment our troops need in Iraq
That recommendation followed a visit to Iraq by a high-level Army team to assess soldiers' needs and which vehicles would best fill them.
Soap Box Ravings wonders why there isn't a "high level team" on site in Iraq 24/7 to continuously ascertain troop needs.
"We're going to aggressively pursue maxing out production, definitely for '08," Sliwa said. "We're extensively testing the vehicle to ensure the soldier's very well protected."
FLASHBACK: Corps refused 2005 plea for MRAP vehicles
The Pentagon's move boosts the Army's MRAP total from the 2,500 the service had originally sought and the Pentagon's total commitment to almost 23,000 vehicles. That includes 3,700 for the Marines and 1,500 for other branches of the military.
The Pentagon's decision to build more MRAPs may encounter opposition from Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who leads the committee that writes the defense budget.
Murtha said he wouldn't support more than $6 billion in MRAP spending for next year because contractors can't build the vehicles fast enough.
Soap Box Ravings notes that Representative Murtha is the "Marine" in Congress who wants the US out of Iraq. Basically, he is just another Democrat looking for ways to not support our troops in their mission.
The Army's bill for MRAPs next year would be $8.1 billion, according to a memo from Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren.
MORE: Army seeks $20B for protected vehicles
To meet the increased demand, the Pentagon awarded contracts to nine companies in January to develop and build vehicles for consideration for its MRAP program.
Since April 23, the Pentagon has awarded contracts worth about $1.6 billion to three companies to build 3,130 MRAPs, records show.
Last week, Australian television reported that Thales Australia would make 1,500 MRAPs for the Pentagon, although that has not been confirmed by the Defense Department.
Soap Box Ravings does not give a damn about what country manufactures these pieces of equipment as long as they are made to function in accordance with their specifications. These units are needed now, more troops will be killed or injured while these are being manufactured and tested. If any manufacturers have them "on the shelf" then they need to be procured from the shelf. The troops needs must come first.
Secret, What's A Secret
Reported on Monday, July 02, 2007, ABC News Reports:
Secret Document: U.S. Fears Terror 'Spectacular' Planned
A "secret" U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer, according to a senior official with access to the document.
Soap Box Ravings asks: If the report is "Secret," why is an un-named official even discussing it?
U.S. officials have kept the information secret, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that the United States did not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point."
As ABCNews.com reported, U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against "airport infrastructure and aircraft."
The warnings apparently never reached officials in Scotland, who said this weekend they had received "no advance intelligence" that Glasgow might be a target.
Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff declined to comment specifically on on the report today, but said "everything that we get is shared virtually instantaneously with our counterparts in Britain and vice versa."
Soap Box Ravings asks: What kind of comment would you expect a responsible public official make about an official report?
Soap Box Ravings says: Any idiot could figure out that Al Qaeda is going to attack their targets any where and at any time. Al Qaeda has publicly stated this in the past. The "secret" report can not say anything but "there will be attempts in the future." And every country on the receiving end knows damn well that the attacks are coming. The only people that are always surprised are those with their heads buried in the sand, of which we have many in this country as does the rest of the free world.
Secret Document: U.S. Fears Terror 'Spectacular' Planned
A "secret" U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer, according to a senior official with access to the document.
Soap Box Ravings asks: If the report is "Secret," why is an un-named official even discussing it?
U.S. officials have kept the information secret, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that the United States did not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point."
As ABCNews.com reported, U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against "airport infrastructure and aircraft."
The warnings apparently never reached officials in Scotland, who said this weekend they had received "no advance intelligence" that Glasgow might be a target.
Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff declined to comment specifically on on the report today, but said "everything that we get is shared virtually instantaneously with our counterparts in Britain and vice versa."
Soap Box Ravings asks: What kind of comment would you expect a responsible public official make about an official report?
Soap Box Ravings says: Any idiot could figure out that Al Qaeda is going to attack their targets any where and at any time. Al Qaeda has publicly stated this in the past. The "secret" report can not say anything but "there will be attempts in the future." And every country on the receiving end knows damn well that the attacks are coming. The only people that are always surprised are those with their heads buried in the sand, of which we have many in this country as does the rest of the free world.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I Saw A Bumper Sticker Today
The bumper sticker said:
Clinton Lied
Nobody Died
I thought about that for enough microseconds to figure out what they were trying to say.
The Lie is "Clinton Lied, Nobody Died"
The Truth is "Clinton Lied, Many Have Died"
Soap Box Ravings
Clinton Lied
Nobody Died
I thought about that for enough microseconds to figure out what they were trying to say.
The Lie is "Clinton Lied, Nobody Died"
The Truth is "Clinton Lied, Many Have Died"
Soap Box Ravings
Monday, June 25, 2007
From My Little Brother
This might interest you, some history detail I've never read before. Don't think I've ever seen the third stanza in print...I've seen three verses, but the 1st and 2nd, with the 4th stanza as the 3rd. Of course, Britain is still our ally..../D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Star Spangled Banner
Unless you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Perhaps most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history. (FYI: Francis Scott Key lived in and is buried in Frederick, MD)
Editor's Note - Near the end of his life, the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor......)
"I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time."
NO REFUGE COULD SAVE: BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV
I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.
"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff"
I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.
More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.
So now let me tell you how it came to be written.
In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.
At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.
The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England.
The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.
The central prong was to head for the Mid-Atlantic States and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.
The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.
On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.
The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.
As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.
As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"
After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
("Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort.) The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise? During World War I when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling):
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away ... not even one word of it.
Soap Box Ravings Says: "Amen"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Star Spangled Banner
Unless you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Perhaps most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history. (FYI: Francis Scott Key lived in and is buried in Frederick, MD)
Editor's Note - Near the end of his life, the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor......)
"I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time."
NO REFUGE COULD SAVE: BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV
I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.
"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff"
I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.
More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.
So now let me tell you how it came to be written.
In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.
At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.
The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England.
The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.
The central prong was to head for the Mid-Atlantic States and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.
The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.
On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.
The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.
As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.
As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"
After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
("Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort.) The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise? During World War I when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling):
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away ... not even one word of it.
Soap Box Ravings Says: "Amen"
Torture Versus Humiliation
A Navy POW from Gulf War, CAPT Larry "Rat" Slade, retired recently with the ordeal of his capture still vivid in his mind.
During his 22 years in the Navy, he flew in the backseat of a Tomcat fighter over four combat zones, graduated from Top Gun school and won the naval flight officer of the year award.
But one moment of Slade's career fails to fold neatly into a shadow box with a flag, ribbons and medals.
On Jan. 21, 1991, a cloudy, damp night over Baghdad, an Iraqi anti-aircraft missile blew the tail off his Oceana-based jet at 25,000 feet. Slade and the pilot, Lt. Devon "Boots" Jones, ejected safely and floated into the enemy's desert a mile apart. Jones was rescued. Slade was captured.
For the next 43 days, Slade endured interrogation, torture and starvation at the hands of Iraqis. The military code burned in his mind: "I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability."
It still smolders: Did he resist to the utmost of his ability?
"I struggle with that question today," he said.
During a rare interview, Slade recalled the still-vivid pictures of being shot down in combat. As his F-14 tumbled toward the desert floor and with his altimeter unable to track the smoky and rapid descent he ejected at 10,000 feet and landed in a remote, rocky region outside the Iraqi capital a few miles from the burning wreck of his airplane.
He sent out emergency signals religiously. No answer came.
The next morning, an Iraqi soldier and Bedouin stumbled upon his hiding spot. The young Navy lieutenant, armed with only a snub-nosed .38 caliber revolver, surrendered. "I had no expectation of living through the experience the moment I was captured," he said.
Jones, his pilot, evaded capture and was rescued by a special Air Force unit.
Once captured, the Iraqi took Slade to a secret, high-security prison and kept him in solitary confinement. The Iraqis videotaped Slade and other prisoners and broadcast their capture to the world.
At the prison, interrogators questioned Slade repeatedly about his target and other military intelligence. "I was going to fight every single one," he said during the interview at his office.
The Iraqis met his stubbornness with violence. They smashed his nose and teeth, and pummelled his ribs and spine with a bat. They threatened to kill him."Day by day, Rat," he told himself. "Day by day."
In late February, American air dominance over Iraq expanded. An allied bombing raid severely damaged the secret prison. The prisoners were then transferred to a municipal facility in Baghdad - now famously known as Abu Ghraib where Slade endured more days with nothing more than soup - "oily water" - for sustenance.
During his 43 days of captivity, Slade had lost 45 pounds. The Iraqi beatings left him with permanent damage to his organs and spine.
Soap Box Ravings says: "Torture is the destruction of tissue which causes grievous and often permanent damage to the human body. Humiliation makes you feel upset without causing damage to the body.
This is posted only so those of the liberal persuasion can learn about the subtle differences between when Saddam Hussein controlled Abu Ghraib prison and the United States controlled the same prison.
During his 22 years in the Navy, he flew in the backseat of a Tomcat fighter over four combat zones, graduated from Top Gun school and won the naval flight officer of the year award.
But one moment of Slade's career fails to fold neatly into a shadow box with a flag, ribbons and medals.
On Jan. 21, 1991, a cloudy, damp night over Baghdad, an Iraqi anti-aircraft missile blew the tail off his Oceana-based jet at 25,000 feet. Slade and the pilot, Lt. Devon "Boots" Jones, ejected safely and floated into the enemy's desert a mile apart. Jones was rescued. Slade was captured.
For the next 43 days, Slade endured interrogation, torture and starvation at the hands of Iraqis. The military code burned in his mind: "I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability."
It still smolders: Did he resist to the utmost of his ability?
"I struggle with that question today," he said.
During a rare interview, Slade recalled the still-vivid pictures of being shot down in combat. As his F-14 tumbled toward the desert floor and with his altimeter unable to track the smoky and rapid descent he ejected at 10,000 feet and landed in a remote, rocky region outside the Iraqi capital a few miles from the burning wreck of his airplane.
He sent out emergency signals religiously. No answer came.
The next morning, an Iraqi soldier and Bedouin stumbled upon his hiding spot. The young Navy lieutenant, armed with only a snub-nosed .38 caliber revolver, surrendered. "I had no expectation of living through the experience the moment I was captured," he said.
Jones, his pilot, evaded capture and was rescued by a special Air Force unit.
Once captured, the Iraqi took Slade to a secret, high-security prison and kept him in solitary confinement. The Iraqis videotaped Slade and other prisoners and broadcast their capture to the world.
At the prison, interrogators questioned Slade repeatedly about his target and other military intelligence. "I was going to fight every single one," he said during the interview at his office.
The Iraqis met his stubbornness with violence. They smashed his nose and teeth, and pummelled his ribs and spine with a bat. They threatened to kill him."Day by day, Rat," he told himself. "Day by day."
In late February, American air dominance over Iraq expanded. An allied bombing raid severely damaged the secret prison. The prisoners were then transferred to a municipal facility in Baghdad - now famously known as Abu Ghraib where Slade endured more days with nothing more than soup - "oily water" - for sustenance.
During his 43 days of captivity, Slade had lost 45 pounds. The Iraqi beatings left him with permanent damage to his organs and spine.
Soap Box Ravings says: "Torture is the destruction of tissue which causes grievous and often permanent damage to the human body. Humiliation makes you feel upset without causing damage to the body.
This is posted only so those of the liberal persuasion can learn about the subtle differences between when Saddam Hussein controlled Abu Ghraib prison and the United States controlled the same prison.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Wow, The Feds Got One
Unwitting woman votes, faces deportation
Posted on aol.com: 5:28 p.m. EDT, June 24, 2007
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- All of her life, Zoila Meyer believed she was an American. She even won election to the City Council of Adelanto.
But now she is facing a threat of deportation for illegally voting, because she never became a citizen after being brought to this country from Cuba when she was 1 year old.
"To be honest with you, I'm scared. How can they just pluck me out of my family, my kids?" the 40-year-old mother of four said in a telephone interview Friday.
"If they can do this to me, they can do it to anybody," she said.
After Meyer was elected to the council in Adelanto in 2004, someone told officials that she was born in Cuba, prompting an investigation.
Eventually, "the police came to me and said, 'Zoila, you're not a citizen. You're a legal resident but you're not a citizen,"' said Meyer, who now lives in the San Bernardino County desert town of Apple Valley, near Adelanto.
She resigned after 10 weeks in office in Adelanto, a town of about 23,000.
Meyer, whose story was first reported in the Victorville Daily Press, applied to become a naturalized citizen and continued with her life: raising her children and attending two local colleges to earn degrees toward her goal of working in the justice system as a forensic nurse.
However, because she was not a citizen, Meyer faced a felony charge of illegally voting in the 2004 election.
In April 2006, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting and was placed on probation, fined and ordered to pay restitution.
What Meyer didn't realize is that fraudulently voting is a deportable offense.
On June 18, Meyer said, immigration officials showed up at her home and told her to appear at their San Bernardino office.
Her husband drove her to the office on Tuesday, "and they handcuffed me," Meyer said. "They put me in jail and they frisked me and processed me."
"I said 'You're doing this because I voted?"'
The case is unusual but immigration officials were just doing their job when they arrested Meyer, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"People are arrested on immigration charges from all walks of life," she said. "She can plead her case before an immigration judge, if she feels that she has reason to seek release for removal. ... Everybody has due process when they're arrested."
Meyer was released pending a July 18 appearance before an immigration judge who will determine whether she will be deported to Canada, the last point of entry into the U.S. recorded in her immigration record.
Meyer said she and her parents had visited Canada and she had gone many times to Mexico without anyone ever asking her to prove her citizenship.
Meyer said she does not support illegal immigration but she thinks immigration procedures should be changed to prevent misunderstandings.
"It makes me feel like we're all just numbers," she said of her case. "I see people writing 'this is my country.' It really isn't. It belongs to the government and they decide who stays and who goes ... you think you're free; you're really not."
Soap Box Ravings would like to point out that the Feds did not find this person, she was ratted out by someone else. As a police officer, we called the Feds to the Greyhound Bus Station to pick up illegal aliens, but the Feds were never interested and released everyone.
But I guess once you are outed, you are an easy kill for some lazy-assed armchair bureaucrat who can't get out of their own way.
Thirty-nine years of clean living in the good ole US of A and that is all the Feds can come up with.
When common sense can't be applied, blame is to be substituted.
It kinda makes you wonder, how much this deportation is going to cost the federal government in "well spent" dollars.
Posted on aol.com: 5:28 p.m. EDT, June 24, 2007
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- All of her life, Zoila Meyer believed she was an American. She even won election to the City Council of Adelanto.
But now she is facing a threat of deportation for illegally voting, because she never became a citizen after being brought to this country from Cuba when she was 1 year old.
"To be honest with you, I'm scared. How can they just pluck me out of my family, my kids?" the 40-year-old mother of four said in a telephone interview Friday.
"If they can do this to me, they can do it to anybody," she said.
After Meyer was elected to the council in Adelanto in 2004, someone told officials that she was born in Cuba, prompting an investigation.
Eventually, "the police came to me and said, 'Zoila, you're not a citizen. You're a legal resident but you're not a citizen,"' said Meyer, who now lives in the San Bernardino County desert town of Apple Valley, near Adelanto.
She resigned after 10 weeks in office in Adelanto, a town of about 23,000.
Meyer, whose story was first reported in the Victorville Daily Press, applied to become a naturalized citizen and continued with her life: raising her children and attending two local colleges to earn degrees toward her goal of working in the justice system as a forensic nurse.
However, because she was not a citizen, Meyer faced a felony charge of illegally voting in the 2004 election.
In April 2006, she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting and was placed on probation, fined and ordered to pay restitution.
What Meyer didn't realize is that fraudulently voting is a deportable offense.
On June 18, Meyer said, immigration officials showed up at her home and told her to appear at their San Bernardino office.
Her husband drove her to the office on Tuesday, "and they handcuffed me," Meyer said. "They put me in jail and they frisked me and processed me."
"I said 'You're doing this because I voted?"'
The case is unusual but immigration officials were just doing their job when they arrested Meyer, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"People are arrested on immigration charges from all walks of life," she said. "She can plead her case before an immigration judge, if she feels that she has reason to seek release for removal. ... Everybody has due process when they're arrested."
Meyer was released pending a July 18 appearance before an immigration judge who will determine whether she will be deported to Canada, the last point of entry into the U.S. recorded in her immigration record.
Meyer said she and her parents had visited Canada and she had gone many times to Mexico without anyone ever asking her to prove her citizenship.
Meyer said she does not support illegal immigration but she thinks immigration procedures should be changed to prevent misunderstandings.
"It makes me feel like we're all just numbers," she said of her case. "I see people writing 'this is my country.' It really isn't. It belongs to the government and they decide who stays and who goes ... you think you're free; you're really not."
Soap Box Ravings would like to point out that the Feds did not find this person, she was ratted out by someone else. As a police officer, we called the Feds to the Greyhound Bus Station to pick up illegal aliens, but the Feds were never interested and released everyone.
But I guess once you are outed, you are an easy kill for some lazy-assed armchair bureaucrat who can't get out of their own way.
Thirty-nine years of clean living in the good ole US of A and that is all the Feds can come up with.
When common sense can't be applied, blame is to be substituted.
It kinda makes you wonder, how much this deportation is going to cost the federal government in "well spent" dollars.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
It's All In How You Read The Story
Father Kills 300-Pound Bear With Log
AP, Posted on aol.com: 2007-06-22 21:19:43
HELEN, Ga. (June 22) - A 300-pound black bear raided a family's campsite, and the father saved his sons from harm by throwing a log at the beast, killing it with a single blow.
Chris Everhart and his three sons were camping in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia when the encounter happened Saturday. The bear took the family's cooler and was heading back to the woods when the youngest son, 6-year-old Logan, hurled a shovel at it.
The bear then dropped the cooler and started coming at the boy, said his father. Fearing what might happen next, Everhart, an ex-Marine , grabbed the closest thing he could find - a log from their stash of firewood.
"(I) threw it at it and it happened to hit the bear in the head," Everhart said. "I thought it just knocked it out but it actually ended up killing the bear."
Everhart was given a ticket for failing to secure his camp site, said Ken Riddleberger, a region supervisor for game management with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
"We've not had an attack in Georgia," Riddleberger said. "The key thing to learn from this is if there's a bear around, do not have your garbage or food available. If we manage our food, we won't have bears around."
The attack happened the same weekend that an 11-year-old boy was killed by a black bear while camping in a forest in Utah. Sam Ives was found mauled to death after he was pulled screaming from his tent in the Uinta National Forest, about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
Authorities said it was the first recorded fatal attack by a black bear in that state. His family said there was no food in the tent to attract a bear.
Soap Box Ravings says "Since there has never been a recorded attack on a human by a bear in Georgia it is obvious in this case that the bear was the victim and Everhart had to be ticketed."
The Regional Game Magement Supervisor states basically that we should learn from this but it is hard to learn when you don't get the correct point. I can't help but wonder if those who actually work in the forest with the animals actually agree with this politically correct supervisor.
Soap Box Ravings says "The bears are there whether food is left out or not. It's the freaking woods, it is were they live stupid."
To me this is another reason why citizens should be armed when they are in the woods and they should be armed with large caliber weapons while in bear country.
As I have previously noted:
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Animal control, on the other hand, will be way, way, wayyyyy behind the arrival of the police officers.
Last year while on an alaskan tour to view bears, the Inuit guide carried a .338 Winchester Magnum rifle "in case we actually ran into any of the local bears."
AP, Posted on aol.com: 2007-06-22 21:19:43
HELEN, Ga. (June 22) - A 300-pound black bear raided a family's campsite, and the father saved his sons from harm by throwing a log at the beast, killing it with a single blow.
Chris Everhart and his three sons were camping in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia when the encounter happened Saturday. The bear took the family's cooler and was heading back to the woods when the youngest son, 6-year-old Logan, hurled a shovel at it.
The bear then dropped the cooler and started coming at the boy, said his father. Fearing what might happen next, Everhart, an ex-Marine , grabbed the closest thing he could find - a log from their stash of firewood.
"(I) threw it at it and it happened to hit the bear in the head," Everhart said. "I thought it just knocked it out but it actually ended up killing the bear."
Everhart was given a ticket for failing to secure his camp site, said Ken Riddleberger, a region supervisor for game management with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
"We've not had an attack in Georgia," Riddleberger said. "The key thing to learn from this is if there's a bear around, do not have your garbage or food available. If we manage our food, we won't have bears around."
The attack happened the same weekend that an 11-year-old boy was killed by a black bear while camping in a forest in Utah. Sam Ives was found mauled to death after he was pulled screaming from his tent in the Uinta National Forest, about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
Authorities said it was the first recorded fatal attack by a black bear in that state. His family said there was no food in the tent to attract a bear.
Soap Box Ravings says "Since there has never been a recorded attack on a human by a bear in Georgia it is obvious in this case that the bear was the victim and Everhart had to be ticketed."
The Regional Game Magement Supervisor states basically that we should learn from this but it is hard to learn when you don't get the correct point. I can't help but wonder if those who actually work in the forest with the animals actually agree with this politically correct supervisor.
Soap Box Ravings says "The bears are there whether food is left out or not. It's the freaking woods, it is were they live stupid."
To me this is another reason why citizens should be armed when they are in the woods and they should be armed with large caliber weapons while in bear country.
As I have previously noted:
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Animal control, on the other hand, will be way, way, wayyyyy behind the arrival of the police officers.
Last year while on an alaskan tour to view bears, the Inuit guide carried a .338 Winchester Magnum rifle "in case we actually ran into any of the local bears."
Friday, June 22, 2007
To Communicate With An Arab You Need To Understand The Arabic Word As Used
Islam = Submission
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/518
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/518
Thursday, June 21, 2007
My E-Mail To President George Bush
President George Bush,
Just a few lines to let you know that my interest in Immigration has not died off.
I want:
1. The borders closed to illegal immigrants.
2. Convicted felons, sex offenders and people who have previously deported repeatedly either placed in prison or permanently removed from this country.
3. A realistic plan to allow persons to move across the border which eliminates the generation of anchor babies and wholesale attachments to our social security system.
4.After this is completed, then we can decide what to do with the remaining illegal immigrants in this country.
5. The language of this country is English.
Just a few lines to let you know that my interest in Immigration has not died off.
I want:
1. The borders closed to illegal immigrants.
2. Convicted felons, sex offenders and people who have previously deported repeatedly either placed in prison or permanently removed from this country.
3. A realistic plan to allow persons to move across the border which eliminates the generation of anchor babies and wholesale attachments to our social security system.
4.After this is completed, then we can decide what to do with the remaining illegal immigrants in this country.
5. The language of this country is English.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)