Wednesday, December 20, 2006

5 Months In MOG by Mike Waller

Mike Waller has his story finished over on Michael Yon's Frontline Forum complete with video and pics. Link is here


Here is a little bit of bio about Mike:

Mike Waller was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He joined the Army in 1983 and served in the Gulf War and in Mogadishu, Somalia from August, 1993 to December 1993. He left the Army in 1995 and now lives in a suburb outside of Detroit.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Active Apaches in Afghanistan

Active Apaches in Afghanistan

December 18, 2006: U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Philip Learn, and his co-pilot, Captain Brian Hummel, were recently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroics a year ago in Afghanistan. But there's a lot more to it than that.



The two were flying an AH-64 Apache gunship at the time, escorting two CH-47 transport helicopters near Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. One of the CH-47's took some ground fire, was damaged, but managed to land. Then the 34 troops on the CH-47 found themselves under fire from a large group of Taliban gunmen in the area. So Learn and Hummel took their AH-64 in low and basically shot it out with the Taliban, killing and wounding many, and forcing the rest to leave the area. At times, the AH-64 was exchanging fire with over a dozen Taliban, who were armed with assault rifles, machine-guns and PRGs.





Well done!

Rest here at Strategy Page

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Kofi don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out

Great summary of Kofi's speech if you can call it that Here

I would love to think things at the UN will get better now that he is gone but I seriously doubt that.

Monday, December 11, 2006

The Agitator

Added a link to Radley Balko's blog the Agitator he has had great coverage of both the Cory Maye and Kathryn Johnston cases. Discovered that blog via the Instapundit

Obviously over qualified for the post

Well except for the fact he has no clue what the hell he is talking about.

The incoming Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee could not describe Hezbollah and incorrectly described al-Qaeda's Islamic roots in a recent interview.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), whom incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) named earlier this month to chair the panel, formally known as the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, was asked by a reporter from Congressional Quarterly whether al-Qaeda was Sunni or Shiite. "Predominantly -- probably Shiite," Reyes replied.

From Osama bin Laden down, al-Qaeda's leadership is comprehensively Sunni and subscribes to a form of Sunni Islam known for not tolerating theological deviation.


Queries Vex New Chair of Intelligence

Why would anyone want him as Gov anyway?

So lets get this straight.

Attorney General Greg Stumbo has asked the state ethics commission to reconsider its opinion that said he could not run for governor in 2007 without confronting a “perceived or actual” conflict of interest.

Stumbo, a Democrat, said in an interview Thursday with The Courier-Journal he has not decided whether to run for governor but has no plans to do so “at this time.”


Story

Right. Like he didn't spend the last couple of years wasting taxpayer money to make a name for himself to be Governor.

Speaking of which would anyone want a Governor that thought this way:

Taxpayers picked up a tab of at least $2.1 million for the investigation of Gov. Ernie Fletcher and his staff for awarding civil service jobs to political allies.

But the full cost will remain a mystery.


Was it worth it? Well according to Stumbo sure it was:

"Yes, the investigation was worth it. Kentucky will see the benefits of this investigation as its work force in state government is allowed to function as the law intended it to, where jobs are awarded on merit and what you know -- not who you know," he said.


Linky


Sell thanks Greg I sure will sleep better tonight.

Dems declare open season on Pork


Democrats tidying up a cluster of unfinished spending bills dumped on them by departing Republican leaders in Congress will start by removing billions of dollars in lawmakers' pet projects next month.


The move, orchestrated by the incoming chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, could prove politically savvy even as it proves unpopular with other members of Congress, who as a group will lose thousands of so-called earmarks.

"There will be no congressional earmarks," Rep. David Obey , D-Wis., and Sen. Robert Byrd , D-W.Va., said Monday in a statement announcing their plans, which were quickly endorsed by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Earmarks are congressionally mandated projects such as grants for local governments, home-state universities and hospitals, roads, bridges and flood control construction, and economic development efforts not included in the president's spending proposals.

Often called "pork" by critics, their sponsors defend inserting the projects into spending bills by claiming that, as elected representatives, they know more about the needs of people in their states and government programs than the president or bureaucrats in the executive branch.

Such projects have exploded in number under GOP control of Congress over the last 12 years and at the same time have spawned a boom on Washington's K Street lobbying corridor, where consultants earn big fees by helping outsiders navigate the system.




Hard to complain much about that move but one has to wonder where and when they will sneak it back in especially seeing that the King of Pork Sen Byrd is involved.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Above the law in Kentucky schools

School paddling brings assault warrant

Last week, however, McGuire obtained an assault warrant against the principal at Central Elementary in Johnson County, one of 50 school districts in Kentucky that still permit corporal punishment.

McGuire concedes he gave the school permission to paddle his son at the beginning of the school year. The boy was punished Nov. 27 after what McGuire termed a wrestling match with another student during recess.

But McGuire says principal Ben Hamilton, 43, went too far and hit too hard.

"He crossed the line," said McGuire, who said bruises on his son's buttocks in the shape of a paddle were still visible yesterday. "You're talking about a straight-A student who's never been in trouble before and, in his first whipping, you tear his backside off."


So 9 days later the bruises are still visible and that is an acceptable paddling in this school? I think I would have a hard time with that one. If a parent was to spank their child in the local Walmart and 9 days later I would wager Social Services would not agree. But apparently some think it is okay:

Principal accused of paddling too harshly

Hamilton referred questions to his lawyer, Ned Pillersdorf, who said he has filed a motion to dismiss the warrant because Hamilton is immune from prosecution under state law. Principals have the right to use necessary force to promote discipline, Pillersdorf said yesterday.

Teacher Beth Lemaster, who witnessed the paddling, said in a court affidavit that it "was not excessive, hurtful and was routine in nature, and was designed to instill discipline in the child."


Perhaps the good teacher should define for the class "excessive". Bruises were left 9 days later and it was not excessive. What kind of paddling is she used to seeing doled out to the kids at that school anyway?

I'm a little curious myself about the "immune from prosecution" thing. How immune are we talking here can he break bones while paddling?

Col Peters on the Iraq Study Group

Source

Former Secretary of State James Baker and his panelists are trying to shore up the failing regional system that their generation designed. Released yesterday, their report doesn't offer "a new way forward." Its recommendations echo past failures. And it shows no sense of how gravely the world has changed.

The report doesn't offer a plan, but a muddle of truisms and truly bad ideas.


Its a shame W had to bring in that old turd to point the way. Especially since it seems to point the way to failure.

I always said they were Socialists at heart

European Socialists promised on Thursday to work to rebuild Europe's strategic alliance with the United States now that the Democrats control Congress after last month's elections.

Socialist leaders attending a meeting of the European Socialist Party pledged that with the Democrats on the rise, strong ties could be renewed with the United States after years of cool relations with Republican President George W. Bush.

Howard Dean, chairman of the national committee of the U.S. Democratic Party, is attending the two-day conference together with the leaders of leftist governments of several countries and party leaders from across Europe.


So if you ever wondered where the Democrats get some of their screwed up ideas there you go. Seeing the abysmal failure of the social welfare systems across Europe I can certainly see why the Democrats would want to mimic that. Like when the Kentucky Dept of Education took all the education reform ideas that were tried (and failed) in California repackaged them as KERA and turned it loose on Kentucky schools.

Source

Light blogging is over

School is finished forever. Let freedom ring!

Now lets get on with the show.