In March 2008, the anti-war organization Iraq Veterans Against the War held an event entitled Winter Soldier-Iraq and Afghanistan at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, MD. The event was self-consciously patterned after the 1971 Winter Soldier Investigation held in Detroit by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War(VVAW). During that event, over one hundred purported Vietnam veterans "testified" to widespread and horrific atrocities committed routinely by American forces in Vietnam.
....the general theme of the 1971 Winter Soldier Investigation of widespread atrocities committed by American forces in Vietnam passed largely unchallenged into much of our culture. It has been a mainstay of the film industry for decades. It has harmed the image of America in general, and the honor of three million Vietnam Veterans in particular.
* Make request of the Iraq Veterans Against the War that member(s) of the Caucus be provided video of the entire Winter Soldier Investigation testimony proceedings and be provided access to all those who testified,
*That the Caucus require any testimony given by IVAW be presented in the following format:
D: Date(s) - When did the incident occur?
U: Unit(s) - What military units were involved?
P: Personnel - What are the names of the participants and witnesses?
E: Event(s) - What exactly happened exactly where?
S: Signature(s) - Was this reported at the time or later and were reports, affidavits or depositions signed, or will they now be signed?
* That in the event that staff determines that there has been testimony given that touches on areas where, in the words of Senator Warner, the members of the SASC "have a responsibility to establish where in the military chain of command rests the 'accountability,' depending of course, on the accuracy of the facts", the Caucus forward the information to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC),
* That the Caucus request and all documents and records, signed statements and recordings, audio, video or digital, that bear on the claims made and being investigated,
* That the Caucus demand that those making such claims or professing publicly to verify those claims be requested or subpoened to appear before the HASC under oath, to answer questions.
In 1971 the Senate of the United States was derelict in its duty of both oversight and follow-up and in the reasonable regard and respect it should have shown in consideration of the sacrifice and service of the American armed forces and veterans. We request that the members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus not allow what happened to a previous generation of veterans be allowed to happen to this generation of Warriors.
Link to sign petition here.
People ask me that when I tell them I am pro-victory, pro-mission, pro-troop I qualify the response with the admonition that I am not pro-war, as the more extreme elements of the rabid left have called us. No one I know is pro-war, especially veterans. I’d love to see the entire world living in harmony, drinking hot chocolate and eating S’mores around the campfire. You can forget the Kumbiya though. I really have grown to dislike that song and besides, I don’t sing. The last time I sung, animal control showed up asking about cats being tortured.
I’ve heard politicians say victory is not possible. I’ve heard military personnel say victory is possible, we just need to maintain the current staus quo and wear them down. I’ve heard others, including military personnel, say we have already won, and now we’re providing security so the Iraqi’s can build their own system. I’m in the last group, but I tend to accept the second groups mindset, in that we will be fighting this menace for a long, long time.
True victory means the troops get to come home. Victory means the Iraqi people no longer live in fear of homicide bombers or VBIEDS in marketplaces or IED’s/EFP’s on the roads. It means the terrorists who perpetrate these horrendous acts are silenced and hopefully, gone. It will mean women can attend school in Afghanistan without fear of being dragged into the street and murdered or worse. It will mean the peaceful Muslims, the ones who simply want to live their lives, practice their faith, and raise their children as we do, will be able to do just that. It will mean that the water wells, the treatment plants, the oil pipelines function everyday, providing clean water for irrigation and drinking and a source of income for the Iraqis.
Will there ever be a time when we no longer fear the random islamofascist nutjob following the teachings of a manical pedophile, in search of eternal life and his 72 virgins? Will there come a day when we can board a plane without being treated like drug smugglers or worse? Will it happen in our lifetime? I hope so, but I doubt it. My great grandchildren will probably see this, unless you subscribe to the Mayan timetable.
I have a friend who is a great photographer. I've known her since she was 16. She is a dear friend and I love her.
Take a minute, please, and visit her website. I think you'll like it.
My first post as an associate blogger. Its about taxes and the military. Just an idea I had when a buddy of mine who had done two tours, one in the Stan and one in Iraq, had to file his tax return on top of all the other BS paperwork the Army is so fond of finding.
Oh and Michelle has an update on that despicable ad the DNC is running. Seems they can't get enough footage of soldiers being blown up, and you know they only want whats best for the jihadis, er, soldiers. Sorry, Freudian slip
I've been invited to join a stellar lineup of contributers. My first post is in the can and awaiting the tender hand of the editor.
I will be sharing bandwidth with the talents of Cao (Cao's Blog), Rosemary, Rurick, Jonn Lilyea, Ron Winter, Dave Jeffers (father of Eddie Jeffers "Hope Rides Alone), and as yet to be announced special contributors.
Here's the schedule for contributors:
Monday - Rurik
Tuesday - Rosemary and Concrete Bob
Wednesday - Wednesday Hero and John Lilyea
Thursday - Cao and Dave Jeffers
Friday - Ron Winter
I have only one question: WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?
Re-posted from Blackfive via MaryAnn SA Germany
Different But Important: Testicular Cancer
Posted By Laughing_WolfUPDATED & BUMPED
MaryAnn asked me if I would do this post, and I am glad to copy her post here so that the information can get downrange to the troops. Her site is often blocked (Blogspot), and while Blackfive is in some places as well, the thought is that it will reach places her's can't. If anyone else wants to copy this, please feel free to do so as caught early this is a very treatable cancer -- just ask Lance Armstrong. Copy for post, copy to mail, just help get the word downrange.
LW
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2008
Important information about testicular cancer and self-exams
Ok, this is an unusual post. But it's really important because we see quite a few cases of testicular cancer at Landstuhl due to the gender/age group of the patients.
Please help raise awareness about the importance of deployed men doing testicular self-exams.
There's very high awareness for breast cancer and the need for women to carry out self-exams.
However, there's much less awareness about testicular cancer (TC), which is the most common type of cancer affecting guys between the ages of 15 and 35.
Most often, TC is found by men themselves. The thing with being deployed is that you don't want to look like you're playing with yourself in the shower or whatever while checking yourself out. Also, back home, it's often found by wives/girlfriends.
But a monthly self-exam of the testicles is the best way of becoming familiar with your body and thus enabling detection of TC at an early - and highly curable - stage.
Information about self-exams. [http://tcrc.acor.org/tcexam.html]
General information about TC. [http://tcrc.acor.org/index.html]
Important to Know:
- TC has a VERY high cure rate.
- Treatment usually involves removal of the affected testicle and follow up.
- Having one testicle is almost always sufficient to keep everything "working".Finally, embarassment is a poor excuse for not having things checked out. If you think there is something wrong or something has changed, get your butt to sick call!
Please help by passing this information on to those you know in the sandbox. Thanks.
Update: In the comments Mrs. G shares this cancer prevention tip ;-)
UPDATE: An example is given below the fold, may not be family friendly (especially if you are this idiot & his moronic co-sponsors), can cause Aunt Minnie to blush, palpitations in the susceptible, etc.
Even the ancients checked for testicular cancer, and here we see one having checked himself is keeping a firm grip on his continued good health. Go thou and do likewise.
Check yourself. In fact, if you have a wife or SO, make it a monthly joint check so that you have a future of good health together. Testicular and breast cancer, caught early, have a good range of treatment options.
Image shamelessly stolen from Roger and I have no idea from whence he may have acquired it.
LW
Drafting Guys over 60 - was obviously thought up by a former soldier.
New Direction for the war on terrorists
Send all the former Service Vets over 60.
I am over 60 and the Armed Forces think I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than 42 to join the military these days. They've got the whole thing ass-backwards. Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join the military until you're at least 35.
For starters:Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. My back hurts! I can't sleep, I'm tired and hungry. We are impatient and maybe letting us kill some asshole that desperately deserves it will make u s feel better and shut us up for a while.
An 18 -year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys always get up early to pee so what the hell. Besides, like I said, I'm tired and can't sleep and since I'm already up, I may as well be up killing some fanatical son-of-a-b.
If captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at, and we're used to soft food. We've also developed an appreciation for guns. We've been using them for years as an excuse to get out of the house, away from the screaming and yelling.
They could lighten up on the obstacle course, however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training. I can hear the Drill Sgt in the New army now, Get down and give me .. ER ... one.
Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy, too. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to start up a conversation with a pretty girl. He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to shade his eyes, not the back of his head.
These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off into harm's way.
Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The last thing an enemy would want to see right now is a couple of million pissed-off old farts with attitude and automatic weapons who know that their best years are already behind them.
If nothing else, put us on border patrol...we will have it secured the first night!
Share this with your senior friends. It's purposely in big type so they can read it.
That's Something to be Proud Of
It's even better in that I have met this gentleman backstage, watched as he and Troy Gentry took an active duty soldier and made him the center of attention for 15 minutes after performing a live show and have I friends in Kentucky who know Eddie Montgomery personally.
The Feel Good Movie of the Year
Deebow from Blackfive recommends this:
In direct contravention to the HollyWeird types, and the usual fair that they call "acting," there is a movie out there that premiered not long ago in Los Angeles that might put a positive spin on what kind of sacrifices were made in the War in Iraq.
So, presenting from Lucky Forward Films is This is War: Memories of Iraq.
This movie is about the men of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry and their time fighting in OIF in Najaf and Fallujah in 2004 to 2005. And they are not some high speed, low drag crack unit out of the SOCOM.
They are National Guardsmen, who serve not only their state, but their nation as well.
The guy walking around at the end has the body language of someone who is thoroughly disgusted.
Achmed, is that you?
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American Infidel said:
[this is good]True victory means the troops get to come home. Victory means the Iraqi people no longer live in fear of... read more
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Unfortunately I fear we will never see those days. Just as I fear we will never return to the days... read more
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[this is good]This is referring to: How Do You Define Victory? I am beginning to believe the only solution to this is... read more
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