Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.
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Snerk. http://www.codepinkforpeace.com/ Go ahead, click the link. You won't be damaged.
Hmmmm. Welcome to Fort Leavenworth, home of the Command and General Staff Place For Learning, as well as Patton Junior High Place for Learning, and MacArthur Elementary Place for Learning. Hey, works for me. We can have the United States Infantry Place for Learning, and the Field Artillery Place for Learning...
Winning Writers sponsors an annual war poetry contest, pop over here to read the winners. Some interesting stuff, some stuff I find painfully earnest, and, unsurprisingly in this day and age (though I admit I haven't read each one) not much Kipling, far more Seeger, Brooke, and Owen. Except there aren't any Seegers, Brookes or Owens' that I could find. I'm not a sophiisticate when it comes to poetry - it seems to me almost everybody has to use ever-so-sophisticated meters. Heh. Sometimes, simplicity is the best sophistication. Let your story tell itself. But, I admit, I'm no poet. I did like Jude Nutter's Via Negativa, both in terms of simple reading and conceptually, defining something by its absence. M.C. Allen's In The Silos was bemusing, but I liked her Baghdad Zoo. But I found little there as moving as Wilfird Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est,, Alan Seeger's I Have A Rendevous With Death. Rupert Brook's The Soldier,
Much less John McRae's In Flander's Fields. -the Armorer
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Yanno, there are some things you just don't expect to read when perusing a milblog. Like this:
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Oh, good golly no. Hey, I know he's the guy's father and all... but, sorry Jeb. I won't vote to establish a dynastic presence in the White House.
Far more important than any one qualified individual in the Oval Office is a principle that it not be a family business, so to speak. Much more so than the Senate (let Caroline run and win the seat outright, fine with me - I just ain't comfortable with her suddenly piping up and asking for it, with an expectation that she'll get it - because of that surname... It's going to have to be a pretty execrable Democrat running against him - as in Cynthia McKinney/John Murtha level bad - for me to pull the lever for another Bush in the White House. -the Armorer
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Speaking of the White House. President Bush has taken such a low profile here during the diminuendo of his Presidency that Powerline notes that in Indonesia, not-yet-President Obama is enjoying his ritual hanging and condemnation for what's happening in Gaza. Gee, he didn't get much of a honeymoon overseas, where people unclear on the concept (but hey, if they read American newspapers, it's easy to understand their confusion) take their opening shots at Mr. Obama before he assumes the reins. Clearly, the people in Indonesia didn't get the memo about the seas stopping their rise and unicorns pooping rainbows. -the Armorer
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Snerk. http://www.codepinkforpeace.com/ Go ahead, click the link. You won't be damaged.
Hmmmm. Welcome to Fort Leavenworth, home of the Command and General Staff Place For Learning, as well as Patton Junior High Place for Learning, and MacArthur Elementary Place for Learning. Hey, works for me. We can have the United States Infantry Place for Learning, and the Field Artillery Place for Learning...
Winning Writers sponsors an annual war poetry contest, pop over here to read the winners. Some interesting stuff, some stuff I find painfully earnest, and, unsurprisingly in this day and age (though I admit I haven't read each one) not much Kipling, far more Seeger, Brooke, and Owen. Except there aren't any Seegers, Brookes or Owens' that I could find. I'm not a sophiisticate when it comes to poetry - it seems to me almost everybody has to use ever-so-sophisticated meters. Heh. Sometimes, simplicity is the best sophistication. Let your story tell itself. But, I admit, I'm no poet. I did like Jude Nutter's Via Negativa, both in terms of simple reading and conceptually, defining something by its absence. M.C. Allen's In The Silos was bemusing, but I liked her Baghdad Zoo. But I found little there as moving as Wilfird Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est,, Alan Seeger's I Have A Rendevous With Death. Rupert Brook's The Soldier,
Much less John McRae's In Flander's Fields. -the Armorer
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Yanno, there are some things you just don't expect to read when perusing a milblog. Like this:
And you read on, and discover just how *apt* reading that on a milblog is. You rock, Sarah. Tip of the budyanka to Fuzzybee. -the ArmorerThere are also times when the Pythagorean Theorem comes in handy. Like when you're making something on the bias and you want to make sure that you're knitting a true square. You are making a triangle and you can solve for the hypotenuse to make sure your real hypotenuse is hitting the target.
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Oh, good golly no. Hey, I know he's the guy's father and all... but, sorry Jeb. I won't vote to establish a dynastic presence in the White House.
Enjoy the Senate or something, fine. A couple of realities - the President, despite the power inherent to the position and the prestige we accord the incumbent (unless of course, we're spitting at him and calling him a dung-flinging chimp, which half the electorate is doing at any given time, so to speak) there are any number of individuals at any given time who can assume the duties of the office. No one is indispensible. Think not? Arlington Cemetery is *full* of indispensible people (or people who thought they were) and the Republic still totters along.Asked in a broadcast interview about Jeb Bush's consideration of the Senate seat, Bush 41 said: "I'd like to see him run. I'd like to see him be president someday."
When asked if he was serious, he said: "Or maybe senator. Whatever. Yes, I would. I mean, right now is probably a bad time, because we've had enough Bushes in there. But no, I would. And I think he's as qualified and able as anyone I know on the political scene. Now, you've got to discount that. He's my son."
Far more important than any one qualified individual in the Oval Office is a principle that it not be a family business, so to speak. Much more so than the Senate (let Caroline run and win the seat outright, fine with me - I just ain't comfortable with her suddenly piping up and asking for it, with an expectation that she'll get it - because of that surname... It's going to have to be a pretty execrable Democrat running against him - as in Cynthia McKinney/John Murtha level bad - for me to pull the lever for another Bush in the White House. -the Armorer
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Speaking of the White House. President Bush has taken such a low profile here during the diminuendo of his Presidency that Powerline notes that in Indonesia, not-yet-President Obama is enjoying his ritual hanging and condemnation for what's happening in Gaza. Gee, he didn't get much of a honeymoon overseas, where people unclear on the concept (but hey, if they read American newspapers, it's easy to understand their confusion) take their opening shots at Mr. Obama before he assumes the reins. Clearly, the people in Indonesia didn't get the memo about the seas stopping their rise and unicorns pooping rainbows. -the Armorer
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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change.Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.
I remember helping a builder when i was young he showed the use of the theorum to square a shed. It's the missing link in education at times. The fancy formulae and concepts are taught without connection to their use.
a +b =c the Pythagorean Theorem? Ha...never trust anyone with no first name. And "Hypotenuse"...what kind of a word is that? Those guys back then had it easy. They were discovering stuff just laying around, fire, water, wheel. They wouldn't make it in the 3rd grade today.
If we were talking about Marvin becoming President, I would agree with you. However, Jeb proved himself as an excellent executive, and he's earned a chance at the Senate. If he proves himself there, too, then I think he'd be ready for a shot at the White House.
Maybe I'm just biased because I'm a Floridian and I miss him terribly...I can't wait to vote this traitorous Charlie Crist jackass out of office...
Josh - tough noogies. Not having a third Bush in the White House trumps Jeb's competence to date.
As I said - there are plenty of other fully functional candidates. There are no indispensible people.
That said - I didn't say you couldn't vote for him. I said I wouldn't.
Never did like the first Bush, have some issues with the second. Following that trend, looks like the third one could be just right.
But, the way things are looking these days, I wont be totally surprised if the next POTUS is a recent immigrant from Russia with a history of employment in the Soviet KGB and current job as boss of one of the bigger, bloodier crime families who wins on a platform of "Destroy the USA Today!"
Live and let live.
No matter how it ended,
These lose, and
Under the sky,
Lie befriended.
For foes forgive,
No matter how they hated;
By life so sold,
And by death mated.