Ya know, she really has if you play this all the way out to the end. Paris Hilton lives “La Vita Loca” (for you illegal aliens out there) and dines at the swankiest. Paris Hilton has never seen what it is like to work, nor has she ever sacrificed a damn thing - except maybe her few contacts that bailed when her SideKick was hijacked! (Doh!)

I mean really, what one earth can she be worth? (rhyme intended) I won’t even do the math, ’cause that is only money.

It is impossible to even fathom to what extent the Hilton Family is willing to stoop. Maybe Paris Hilton has been “schtupped”, but I think that the family is now schtupping those injured brave men and women at Walter Reed that have been able to experience a steak dinner and some time away to forget their pains and continuous fight with debilitating injuries. The US Military is sacrificing every day, whether it is the time spent on the field of battle, the spouses and families holding it all together all alone, or those brave enough to continue yet cannot because they are wounded the worst and must recuperate and rehabilitate at Walter Reed.

Can the Hilton Hotel Corporation (ticker symbol/link HLT = http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=HLT) be this flippin’ stupid? Are they really as dumb as their namesake, Paris? Are they really that reluctant to support these brave men and women and continue the steak dinner ritual? I mean, it isn’t like this is a free ride because Fran O’Brien’s Stadium Steakhouse makes sure that they are all square. In fact, Wal-Mart (uh-huh, that evil giant corporation the lefties love to hate) and the VFW is kicking in $50k!

Yeah, I SAID FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!

That’s a ton of steaks, and I’m right there with them. I’ll continue to go to Wal-Mart, folks. I hope you do too. At least THEIR heart is in the right place. Sam Walton was no idiot. Neither are we, ya know?

Thanks to Lt. Smash of Indepundit, I landed on Chris Dickson’s blog where I was able to get a little background on the Wal-Mart and VFW pitching in to make this free to the wounded. Here, check out a few choice tidbits:

The Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation awarded the VFW Foundation a $1 million matching grant last summer to support VFW programs that aid military members and their families. Fifty thousand dollars of that grant was earmarked to underwrite the cost of dinners for wounded troops at Fran O’Brien’s.

According to restaurant co-owner Hal Koster, Fran O’Brien’s has provided free dinners to wounded troops and their families since October 2003. Last year they served about 2,300 dinners at a cost of nearly $160,000, an expense that was initially absorbed internally but is now being largely offset by outside donations.

Do you think that Wal-Mart is evil? Well, maybe you might want to rethink your position? (you better you MORON!) Just look at the sacrifice that Wal-Mart is making for our brave men and women:

Wal-Mart has 3,200 employees serving on military leave. Besides continuing their employee benefits and helping with the salary differentials, Wal-Mart has provided millions of dollars in financial aid to military family-support organizations that help supply clothing for the wounded and special-need items for the troops. In addition, Wal-Mart’s customers nationwide have sent hundreds of thousands of messages of support to military men and women through in-store kiosks.

OK, maybe that doesn’t look like much to the casual observer. But, maybe we can do a little “simple math” and see just what they are sacrificing. Let’s take an average pay and net-it-out.

NON-MANGEMENT :: $32,250 PER YEAR + BENEFITS

• $15 per hour
• 8 hours a day
• 5 days a week
• 50 weeks a year (2 weeks vacation and sick days)
• 100 hours TIME AND A HALF OVERTIME per year

MID-MANAGEMENT :: $55,000 PER YEAR + BENEFITS

• $27.50 per hour
• 8 hours a day
• 5 days a week
• 50 weeks a year
• NO OVERTIME PAY

Let’s say that the breakdown for non-management to management is about 85-15 (85% are non-management, 15% are mid-management). That means that 2,720 employees or $87,720,000 total pay for non-management and 480 employees or $26,400,000 total pay for mid-management is being set aside. PEOPLE, that means that $114,120,000 per year is what Wal-Mart believes is an acceptable cost to support our brave men and women serving and sacrificing for all of us to be safe!

That’s really rough numbers, folks. They are willing to truly keep that job open for their valued employees. And, you really need to understand that statement I just made because Wal-Mart VALUES military service! Their employees are not in the store making things work. Their employees are in the battlefield making it possible for the rest of us to live and work safely.

Is there value there? Yep! Does Hilton Hotels see that value? I think not.

Who is the evil corporation now? Just stew on that a bit - chew until it hurts, Hilton, ’cause I will never grace your doorstep, ever. You have really burned that bridge - all Hilton Properties. I came from the travel industry after I separated from the United States Air Force. I keep up to date with all the changes, and I know how easy it is to make a dent. From that point alone, I am contacting all my travel agent friends.

How about you? Do you know someone in the travel industry? WELL, GET OUT THERE AND GET GOING!!! Make sure that those travel industry friends of yours know that Hilton is making a huge mistake. Here is the “Hilton Family” of hotels, so, make sure you do not stay here, either:

Conrad Hotels
Doubletree
Embassy Suites Hotels
Hampton Inn & Hampton Inns and Suites
Hilton HHonors
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn
Hilton Grand Vacations Club
Homewood Suites by Hilton

All these properties are tabu! DO NOT STAY AT THE ABOVE LIST OF HOTELS, PEOPLE!!!

OH! and, it seems in every search, Delta Airlines came up as a great place to get deals on Hilton Hotels. The URL looks like this from a Google Search [http://www.delta.com/tracking/index.jsp?MR=http://www.hilton.com]. You might wanna think twice about Delta Airlines, too. You just never know how deep this can cut until you have looked carefully at the blade about ready to go deep into your gut.

Here’s the petition that Chris Dickson talks about here. I signed it. I expect that you will do the same.

H/T to Lt. Smash of Indepundit and Chris Dickson!

If you aren’t reading Irish Pennant’s for great leads, and you forget to wander over to RealClearPolitics and Jack Kelly’s articles, you’ve been bumping around in the night without a flashlight (torch to my friends in the UK). The primary thrust of Jack’s article for today is awesome about how the media is busy giving iteself a toilet-bowl-swirlee. Those dopes are never going to go back and reexamine the complete falsehoods they’ve published. I mean, why clarify or retract what you’ve written - the truth? Naw, too plebeian …

BUT, buried in all this, is a little snippet I think you all will find, astonishing:

We’re more reluctant to reexamine old news even when there are new developments, if the new developments run counter to journalistic memes. Here’s a story you didn’t read on the front page: Among the captured Iraqi documents recently released to the public is a March 17, 2001 memo from an Iraqi air force brigadier general soliciting volunteers from his command for a suicide mission to “strike American interests.” Gee, in what sort of suicide mission would pilots have been useful?

Another document, released Friday, has not yet been translated from Arabic, but notations on it indicate it describes the movement of chemical and biological weapons.

But Saddam had no ties to terror groups, and he had no WMD. We told you so.

Uh, did I read that right? A March 17, 2001 memo from Iraqi Air Force Brigadier General asking for pilots to volunteer for a suicide mission to strike US interests?!

Uh-huh, there’s no link between Sad-damn and al Qaida … you keep thinking that out there.

Yep, it is amazing that Ted Kennedy has enough air for all of us, except Mary Jo Kopechne. If he had even used 1/10th of his breath then, she might be alive today. Instead, we now have someone who never saw a day in jail for his illegal act, pandering to a crowd that wants all sorts of amnesty for those that have also perpetrated an illegal act. CommonSenseAmerica has a great post of Teddy Boys speech - she tried to type everything that he said to the crowd. That takes some guts, ’cause I cannot even handle 3 seconds of that guys spew.

Major Hats off to CommonSenseAmerica for bringing us this stuff … here you go!

Ted Kennedy’s Speech Translated Into English
I am so angry right now that I am nearly in tears. I just finished watching Senator Ted Kennedy give a speech in front of the illegal immigrant rally at the National Mall in Washington, DC. I typed as fast as I could through moments of blind anger to get his entire speech for you and I’m copying it below. It is broken into paragraphs by each sentence because they had to have a translator translate each sentence to Spanish for the crowd. Yes, they had to translate for all of the assimilating illegal immigrants. Instead of adding their Spanish translations, I’m adding my own American citizen translations for you in parenthesis.

Kennedy gave a speech that can only be described as ‘The day he gave away our nation’ as he pandered for votes from the illegal Hispanic community. Comparing the plight of the illegal immigrant with the African Americans of the Civil Rights movements, Kennedy disgraced our nation with the following as he looked out over a sea of illegal immigrants and their activists yelling:

• I see the future of America! (Well there you have it, the American citizen is officially out and illegal immigrants are in!)
• We are a nation of immigrants! (Yes, we came here legally but, come on in!)
• Today we stand together as brothers and sisters to shape America’s destiny! (Remember my name, Ted Kennedy, at the polls!)
• Old Americans new Americans and future Americans! All join together for the common good! (Anarchy!)
• Let me ask you some questions,
• Are you ready??? (For amnesty?)
• Do you have a good job??? (Will you vote for me????)
• Do you love your family??? (I’m giving you amnesty!!!)
• Do you love your community??? (Will you vote for me????)
• Do you love America??? (I’m giving you amnesty!!!)
• You are what this debate is about! (The American citizen doesn’t even factor into our thinking!)
• It’s about good people who come to America to work, (Screw the Americans - we’re on your side)
• To raise their families, (The American citizens don’t have families!)
• To contribute to their communities and to reach the American dream! (Nightmare if you get your way, Ted!)
• This debate goes to the heart of who we are as Americans! (Yes, we’re at a crossroad. Are we lawful or lawless?)
• It will determine who can earn the privilege of becoming a citizen! (America is for sale to the highest bidder! Or voter!)
• It will determine our future progress! (Or at least mine!)
• Some in Congress want to turn America away from its true spirit! (True spirit of enforcing our law!)
• They believe immigrants are criminals and they are wrong! (No, Mr. Buttmunch, they’re not wrong!)
• They believe any of us that help immigrants, even our priests are criminals, too! (No one is above the law!)
• They are wrong again! (No, think again!)
• They say you should report to deport! (Ummm, once again, that’s the law!)
• I say report to become American citizens! (Report to who? You?)
• More than 4 decades ago near this place, Martin Luther King… (I lost the end of this sentence because my jaw hit the floor that he had the nerve to compare people that snuck into this country illegally with the slavery of African Americans of the past!)
• Freedom did ring and Freedom can ring again! (Time for Americans to give Teddy a ring!)
• It’s time for Americans to lift their voice now in pride for our immigrant past and our immigrant future! (How about lifting our voices to enforce our laws?)
• We stand for the future! (The future of what?)
• We stand for our families! (But not if they are American citizens and as long as I get something out of it!)
• We stand for our faith! (Of aborting babies and standing for immorality and lawlessness!)
• And I stand with you and you and you and you! (As long as you need their vote, huh Ted?)
• Are you with me??? Are you with me??? Are you with me??? (You might want to check with voting Americans, Ted!)
• John McCain and I have a plan. (Amnesty!)
• It’s a strong plan, (No more laws!)
• it’s a fair plan … (I lost the last part of this sentence because I was so angry)
• Do you support us??? Do you support us??? Do you support us??? (I’m giving you amnesty … don’t forget!)
• We will never give up! (Unless Americans vote your sorry butt out of office!)
• We will never give in! (Neither will we, Mr. Kennedy. Neither will we.)

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, e-mail the coalition and let them know at what level you would like to participate.

Sheesh, what an unbelievable day. We go from Reuters reporting on Calypso Louis’ words of treason in Cuba to the Blowhards in Washington crossing the line and pitting themselves against the people they represent.

Check out the choice words from Farrakhan in the Reuters story:

Farrakhan called for “regime change” in the United States on Monday and denounced “wicked” U.S. policies for turning the world against America.

“We need a new government, we need regime change in America,” he said at the end of a visit to Communist Cuba.

Farrakhan, who led the Million Man March on the Washington Mall in 1995 to promote black self-reliance, said the Bush administration’s domestic policies were “sucking the blood of the poor and the weak.”

The controversial African American leader defended Iran’s right to develop a nuclear energy program to reduce dependence on oil and said Washington’s opposition was a pretext for a war.

“The Muslim world should unite against America’s desire for a preemptive strike against Iran and Syria,” he said at a news conference.

Farrakhan said a similar pretext was used by Washington to invade Iraq “to rape the treasuries of the United States of hundreds of billions of dollars to be doled out to the friends of President Bush, Halliburton and Bechtel and associates.”

Farrakhan visited Cuba for a week to learn about disaster management in the wake of the U.S. government’s failure to cope with Hurricane Katrina last year in New Orleans, he said.

He thanked President Fidel Castro and blasted the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba as a “wicked blockade.” The U.S. government has no moral grounds to criticize Cuba, where education and health care are free, he added.

And now, for the point where the planets align and body snatchers have come and placed Republicans next to Ted Kennedy just to get a vote:

“A path to earned citizenship is what this bill is about,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who joined Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy in offering the measure. He said it was “an eleven-year journey” to earn citizenship and candidates would have to pay a fine, undergo criminal background checks, learn English and pay their taxes.”

And, more stupidity from Spectroid:

“Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, called it a “a measured bill.”

Is there ever going to be an end to this insanity? Is there ever going to be a time where people know what it means to respect their country? When are the primary border states going to stop being the sheep and enact their own laws and enforce the borders to keep their citizens safe and free from carrying the burden?

When are you going to stand up to your lily-livered, spineless, vote-gettin’ politician? The “Guard the Borders Blogburst” needs to turn into the “mail your dopey senator/congressman burst”. They need to listen, we’re getting slaughtered out here!

In comments regarding my post about the percent of GDP we spend on Defense, a reader thinks that by paying so much for retired and injured personnel the United States might think twice before engaging an enemy. I’m going to just take my thread and continue it here … easier for you all to read …

Nothing like that will happen at all. We have many injured during wars and conflicts. You’ll find that the men who fought in WWII are more apt to support our current action. War was hell back then. No one even wants to have our fighting men and women to be injured or heaven forbid killed in action. But there are more important things to be dealt with in this world.

Turns out that the politicians are the ones that want to reduce the benefits. The Joint Chiefs are paid by the politicians. Too much Washingtonization no balls debate and polls management is what is causing cuts in benefits - or more appropriately increases in fees to the patient/ex-military members and families - and that is what is criminal in this case.

If how much it costs is the only factor, that is where freedom breaks down. For the United States to be free there MUST be a United States Military. And that means that we support past and present brave fighting men and women.

Interesting to note, the UK spends a ton on previous officers and their families who have fought to protect the people. The enlisted force is a proud body of men and women, but they are less “supported” … it happens everywhere.

Just because it costs money to do what is right is NEVER a reason to sit in the corner with your thumb in your mouth. Someone else will come along and smack it out of your mouth - and you will always be their submissive.

I, for one, am NOT a submissive. I refuse to see my country cower in the corner.

K?       

All for the media’s hate for President Bush and the emotionally driven isolationists, we just kicked $16.5 Billion out of the US Economy. All in one day. It goes like this:

Angling for impeachment of President Bush in retaliation for Bill Clinton: $50+ Million in special news bulletins, hit pieces, fake polls
Fear of just one country yet ignoring others with evil ties: $6.8 Billion ports deal
Thumbing your nose at a new partner in a key part of the world: $9.7 Billion Boeing 777 deal
Realizing you just scored re-election for 2006: Priceless

I’m not saying that deals should not be handled with scrutiny. I am not looking the other way at security issues. And I’m not saying that the UAE is without any form of responsibility for events in the past. Yet, we are so quick to forget the following countries: Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Korea, Iran, France, Russia, China, and Vietnam. These are not listed for the simple reasons that are coming to mind as you read them. Past atrocities are everywhere and we are still doing a brisk amount of business with these countries.

The newest critically injured victim in this latest debacle is soon to be Boeing. They have one deal on the books and another in the making. If these deals tank, we stand to lose more than $11 Billion - which will go to the EU. The reason is the newest creation to come from Boeing, the 787. The demise of one deal won’t kill the company, but it is a serious dent.

Boeing is revolutionizing air travel every day. This article by James Wallace, published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, has some staggering design and development firsts. The photo you see here is Section 41, which is the nose, cockpit, and forward fuselage. The 787 is to be built from a carbon composite material and is of single piece construction.

A few choice tidbits from James Wallace’s piece on the 787 dated August 26th, 2005:

“The 787 program represents a revolution in jetliner manufacturing. The fuselage barrels are made from one large piece of carbon fiber. They are the largest such composite pressure vessels ever made.”

“Such a composite structure is significantly lighter and requires almost no maintenance, unlike aluminum.”

As for the first customer delivery, Japan gets dibs:

“First flight of the Dreamliner should come in the summer of 2007, with delivery to the first customer, All Nippon Airways of Japan, in mid-2008.”

Now in last Thursday’s The Hill, Roxana Tiron has a piece titled “Dubai threat to hit back”. Here’s where the whole thing is starting to look like a ‘69 Impala with bald tires on an icy road:

“The Emirates Group airline will decide later this year whether it will buy Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner or its competitor, Airbus A350. The airline last fall placed an order worth $9.7 billion for 42 Boeing 777 aircraft, making Dubai Boeing’s largest 777 customer.”

“Dubai in mid-February also established the Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, a $15 billion investment to create a company that will lease planes, develop airports and make aircraft parts to tap into growing demand for air travel in the Middle East and Asia.”

Do you realize that the most profitable airline in the UAE is Emirates Airlines? As of last year they posted record growth and profits. In their press release from October of last year, Emirates Airlines posted a $251 Million dollar profit in their first 6 months of operation of fiscal year 2005-2006. Taken straight out and doubling that for a year, that’s about $500 Million in profit in one year. They have brought $25 Billion in revenues to the UAE. And they are planning on spending $9.7 Billion with us for Boeing 777s!

Straight from NewsMax:

“A harsh reaction from Dubai could impact a pending decision for the Emirates Group airline to purchase Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner - or go with the European competition, the Airbus A350.”

In a couple of articles on Strategiy.com I found some great information regarding the first orders of 787s: an order of 6 Boeing 787s comes from LCAL (Low-Cost Aircraft Leasing) and 20 from IFLC (International Lease Finance Corporation). LCAL is a Hong Kong based company and IFLC has its roots in Nepal. These two orders total about $3.5 Billion, about a third of the deal being brokered by and with The Emirates Group (Emirates Airline). Running the math, Boeing needs 6 deals to equal one deal with the UAE.

Sound tough to weigh what one should do when dealing with a partner in trade? Sure, if you actually do your homework, you can find out just how little our elected representatives read! They think Bush is a yokel, sheesh, get a load of those on the Hill!

Bah! Calling the American people ignorant and treating them as such is a mistake. Giving us false information with which to gain a personal advantage that in the end hurts our economy is a tragedy. This hurts our already bad reputation in the world, and may embolden those that wish to do us serious harm - without use of our ports!

Washington is full of Pantomime Horses, and we’re all locked in a life and death struggle …

References and Thanks!
Bloggers I read:
Amy started me on this thread!
Found Amy cross-posted to CaliforniaConservative too
Buck’s got a sound posting on this mess
Babylonandon cracks me up - sees a finger in the dike
PunditGuy wonders what is going on now
Sister Toldjah’s short blurb on the fallout - she has more

References:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Hill
Strategiy.com
Emirates Group
NewsMax
Orange Cow

Can you say a poke in the eye, bupkiss, or an extended maintenance plan that always expires just days before the thing ya bought goes Tango-Uniform! (ok, T-U was often used on the flightline - sorry folks, tits-up, busted, not goin’anywhere, dead)

Uh-huh, that’s right. What’s the deal, we pay and pay and they vote against us and tell us that we are too big for our britches. The EU takes every opportunity to trash the United States. Tin horn dictators love to tip their huge buckets in our well, and then spit in it for good measure.

Let’s see what’s out there at NewsMax in their special report out today:

U.N. Report Card: Handful of Nations, Including Israel, Stand with U.S.

.:elided:.

“NewsMax examined 12 key General Assembly votes taken on issues of critical importance to the U.S., and found that only four countries - Israel and the Pacific Ocean nations of Palau, Micronesia and Marshall Islands sided with the U.S. on most of the issues.”

“The rest of the U.N. members voted against the U.S. position the vast majority of the time, and dozens of countries voted along with America ZERO PERCENT of the time.”

“These nations include some of the biggest recipients of U.S. foreign aid…”

.:elided:.

So, here’s the cash that goes out, and the support that goes in:

• Turkey GETS $1.007B/yr (excludes military support) WE GET 12 key issues Turkey votes with us 0%
• Ethiopia GETS $594M WE GET another 0% support
• Colombia GETS $524M WE GET another 0% support
• Egypt GETS $460M WE GET another 0% support
• Jordan GETS $224M WE GET another 0% support
• Peru GETS $229M WE GET another 0% support
• UN GETS US pays 22% of total UN Budget WE GET pressure to lift Cuba embargo, slap Israel, and nuclear disarmament

“Even some of America’s closest allies voted against U.S. interests. France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea, for example, all sided with the U.S. on just 8 percent of the votes.”

Here’s the NewsMax feature called “The U.N.’s Great Follies”:

- The U.N. voted to remove its forces from Rwanda in the early days of tribal conflicts there. Result: More than 900,000 Tutsis were slaughtered in April 1994.
- The Iraqi people were defrauded of at least $1.8 billion in revenue from the oil-for-food program designed to alleviate civilian suffering resulting from sanctions against the Saddam Hussein regime. Alleged wrongdoers included the U.N. secretariat.
- Sudan won re-election to the U.S. Commission on Human Rights in 2004 despite potentially genocidal atrocities in the Darfur region.
- U.N. peacekeepers in the Congo allegedly used food and money to pay for sex with girls as young as 12.

Sheesh. Wanna know where all your tax dollars go? Do you think we are spending too much on the US Military? Do you think we fund big oil? Is it your opinion that we don’t spend enough on schools?

Actually, about $3 Billion is listed right there, a couple of paragraphs up, did ya realize that?

Remember when no one wanted to see a US Military uniform with American Flag arm patches or our standard helmets/cover? Remember when our fighting men and women were being sent to fight and protect on foreign soil, yet were commanded by another country’s General? I’m not talking about Vietnam, I’m talking about during the Clinton Years. In fact, when we were asked to help out countries in trouble, the rest of the UN Security Council said we couldn’t be in our own uniform. We needed to be “softer” as a fighting force, ’cause we were just the Rent-A-Cops for the UN.

Huh? Who’s your Daddy? Boutros Boutros-Ghali? Or what about the UN’s 7th Daddy, Kofi Annan?

I THINK NOT!

Would you rather have a President, CINC, that watches your six or one that sells you out for BILL-YUNS?!

Does anyone know how much was spent in Somalia? This is only one of the many “conflicts” we were asked to participate in during Billy Boys reign. I checked, and straight from this UN Report, for UNOSOM I & II, this one mission looks like this:

LOCATION: Somalia
HEADQUARTERS: Mogadishu
DURATION: March 1993 - March 1995
STRENGTH: Approximately 28,000 military and police personnel; there was also a provision for some 2,800 international and locally recruited staff
FATALITIES: 147 (143 military personnel, 3 international civilian staff and 1 local staff)
EXPENDITURES: $1,643,485,500 net

Hey, did you catch that last one? $1.65 Billion, net … uh-huh, they said net. I’d like to know what was really spent, gross dollars, but we all know that would be too much to stomach. And, are we sure that the monies spent weren’t actually an international pay off to terrorists for political hay? If you read the UN report you’ll see the number of times the program was extended, the countless “warnings” to disarm, and the lame attempts to put pressure on the Somalian leaders to form a real government. It starts to look like those tin horn dictators were just looting the bank - our bank accounts people!

Oh, and to find out the troop strength and breakdown, ya gotta go allllll the way to the bottom of the report. I’ll save you some time:

“The original authorized strength of UNOSOM II under resolution 814 (1993) was approximately 28,000 military personnel and some 2,800 civilian staff.”

And these are the countries that participated (31 is a good showing, I might add):

“Military personnel were provided by the following countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, and Zimbabwe.”

Now, here’s the kicker:

“Supporting UNOSOM II in the field, but not part of it, were approximately 17,700 troops of the United States Joint Task Force in Somalia. A Quick Reaction Force was part of the United States presence.”

That QRF consisted of the team of US Army Rangers that lost lives in Somalia (God Rest Their Souls!)

After March of 1995, Mr. Clinton authorized sending the 3rd ID, Company A, to Macedonia under the command of a Finnish General. Then SPC Michael New said, NO! to ripping off his American Flag from his uniform, and NO! to prancing around in a baby blue friggin’ helmet! What did it get him? I suspect some of you know the story - tossed out on his ear! Well, he landed in the brig first.

For the love of his Country, and he was ONE out of 550 that mustered to the parade ground in full US Military uniform. Yep, 549 obeyed a direct order to report to the command of another country’s General. At their level they were told that the order came directly from the CINC. To Michael, and to me as well, it began to look like after all the destruction being leveled at the US Military, it had finally happened: secession of US Force to a foreign power. What to do? His US Army was gone, and what he had signed up for was no longer something of valor.

Umm, my question is, who had Michael’s six? One man standing alone in a sea of Chain of Command mayhem. Were the Joint Chiefs really on board with the order, or was something else happening at the time?

Ever read Presidential Decision Directive 25 (PDD-25)? There is only a summary available right now. You can get a pretty good idea of how the CINC is the one responsible for Michael’s six by reading this summary/review online. Pay special attention to the sections that cover the Commander-in-Chief Clause and Command versus Operational Control.

This is what was happening to the US Military, by 1997:

• Wholesale distrust of the military within the United States of America, and outside
• Continuous breaking down of morale by force reductions and lack of materiel support
• Restriction of future development programs and research into new defense technologies
• Wasting money and time by politicizing the use and usefulness of the US Military
• US Military becomes the world’s police force and Meals-On-Wheels in blue hairnets
• The World’s Liberator and Repatriating Firm in a near state of disrepair
• Billions to Trillions of dollars flowing from the US into other countries under less than admirable deals

I’ll tell ya, I came in under Carter and left way before Clinton took hold. I know that some of you served under Clinton. I wish that there were Milbloggers back in the day. Maybe things would have been different?

However, if we begin to take our eye off the ball, this could happen again. So far, evil forces like “she who shall be nameless” have not been able to wander the globe unchallenged, or those protesting outside Walter Reed Hospital have been forced from their position, or those that seek to defame a family in mourning have not gone unanswered. We need to continue to put pressure on our elected officials. We have an obligation to protect our country from those that seek to destroy us, inside and outside our borders. And, we can handle the snide, stupid, jealous talk from the EU, Hollywood, and supercilious college professors. These detractors forget that:

• They do not know the strength and commitment of the US Military.
• They do not know the strength and commitment of the spouses, children, parents, grandparents, and friends of our fighting men and women.
• They do not know the strength, commitment, and constant love and support by the Milblogger community.
• They do not know the strength, commitment, and ever vigilant watch over their six by the CINC, President George W. Bush.

Do I hear a God Bless America and her US Military?! I thought I could hear you from here!

Short Technorati search for other posts about Michael New
Far Right-Wing Minded
Chaos-In-Motion
Three Knockdown Rule
Clear and Present
Smash Left Wing Scum

Short Technorati search on PDD-25
The Glittering Eye
Get the US Out of the UN - Now!

Backup Material for UNOSOM II, Michael New, and PDD-25
UNOSOM II by DPI
Michael New - How it all began
Unclassified Summary of PDD-25 (details of Secret PDD 25 are concealed from public scrutiny)
“Command” versus “Operational Control”: A Critical Review of PDD-25
Commanding Officer Oath - UN Deployments
No World Court, No World Army

Does he honestly think he looks like General Honore? I mean, I know that most of what Mardi Gras is all about is partying and dressing up. But, dressing up as a General?

Dishonors the uniform.

Dishonors General Honore.

Will people ever learn that there are real people, real fighting men and women, that wear this uniform every day and do not see it as a “costume”. Ray Nagin may think that this is a tribute, or a compliment, or maybe even a mini-dig at how he was left “high and dry” (no pun intended) by the Federal Government, the US Military, and the President.

I think I would have picked a different outfit.

Thanks very much and H/T to The Officer’s Club and Sweetness & Light for the photo and story!

Those words were written by “The Chief” over at The Truth. His posting, Children Do Not Lie has a quote, or assertion, one should take to heart these days:

“I ask each one of you reading this blog: Are you aiding or abetting the enemy? Are you corrupting our children? Are your words helping or hurting our Global War On Terrorism?”

I think that this is a very valid query. In the age of, no I think more appropriately The Starbucks Society nails it, too many folks are forgetting that there are consequences to every action. In fact, those consequences are deeper still during a war. Not many “kids” these days are aware of what this really means.

Sad, isn’t it?

Anyway, I think that the Chief has a great snippet there. In his own words he takes a quick moment to provide a look into what it is we Milboggers do that is so very different from the MSM. (remember, MSM = losers) In fact, his posting is based on a posting by Michael Yon, The Battle for Mosul IV.

The gist of the story the Chief was going after is how the media are willing accomplices (like Halifax and Mosely in Word War II). The MSM is trying so very hard to toss Bush out, or actually get an indictment and an impeachment to follow, because they are hurt. Yes, it is feelings that are more important than national security here. Make no mistake.

Halifax and Mosely were against Churchill - you decide, but I choose Churchill any time of day, hands down! So would Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, I reckon. (duh)

The assertion that keyed me to write: are your words helping or hurting. I joined, as we humans often do, the previous sentences with that to come away with, “Are your words helping or hurting your children?” Are your words, actions or deeds, corrupting your children?

My answer is, emphatically, “No.”

OK, as Kit or Heidi would say, “Hell No!”

Then, I read a post from a few days ago by Buck over at Exile in Portales. He’s worried about what his 9 year old is learning - like the war in Iraq is over oil. Hmmm … gives ya the willies, doesn’t it? I’m sure Buck will find a way to make it right.