nutkick

Go with what you have

“You go with what you have, not what you want or wish you had”

From the fist time I read this something sounded really really wrong with this answer. It just seemed so unconcerned, harsh, and irresponsible. The more I think and read about this remark, the more pissed of I get. It sounds like something I would say, then get my ass reamed over by some higher ranking officers. Sadly, Rumsfeld does not have many standing above him, and I don’t picture President Bush coming down hard on a guy he seems to be totally sold on and supports to the end. The initial phase of the war went well, but it’s been going down hill from there, though nobody up at that level seems to acknowledge this trend.

One of the main sources of casualties there is the roadside bomb, something we’ve known about for well over a year now. From what I’ve read, the efforts to increase the number of armored vehicles have been coming along fairly well. It looks like the full amount of armored vehicles will be on hand within the next six months. By most standards, this is pretty impressive. But how do you feel if you are one of the guys who doesn’t make the cut and rides in an un-armored truck? Personally, in the year I was over there, I never rode in an up-armored HMMWV, and never was bothered too much. It was fun riding without doors anyway. Then again, if given the choice, I’d rather have something more than the body armor I was issued halfway into the deployment between me and the RPG’s, IED’s, and AK-47 rounds out there. Then again, I never really felt super threatened over there, perhaps a form of denial. I felt like both laughing and disgusted when I started seeing the field modifications on trucks back around a year ago. While rusty pieces of iron welded together to make boxes in the back of trucks looked pathetic, especially for what is supposed to be the best equipped army the world has ever known, function always triumphs over form in these situations.

The answer Mr. Rumsfeld gave seems out of context with this war. We were not taken off guard, we made the timeline and decided to go with what we had over what we need. Notice the lack of the word need in his response. I guess what is actually needed is an afterthought. I know nothing can be done to make good on the mistakes of the past, but accountability would be nice. While this issue is not new at all, I’m glad it’s again being brought to the forefront. It stands as evidence that we jumped into this endeavor too quickly. It indicates a lack of foresight – I don’t expect crystal balls to be implemented, but did the possibility of roadside bombs and ambushes on completely unarmored vehicles come up as one of the potential threats we would encounter over there? How do you not take preventative measures against what is turning out to be one of the primary killers of our troops in Iraq? And finally if you do screw up and fail to plan for such things, why not take any accountability for this mistake? Instead, we keep the same major players in place for this operation (unfortunately by the choice of almost sixty million voters), the same ones who keep making mistakes that result in graves. The sad thing is that many of these same mistakes had already been made ten years earlier, and are addressed in this document: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB63/doc10.pdf 

Fix more, bitch less

Recently the example of the KKK as a terrorist organization came to my mind. The similarities between them and any other fundamentalist/extremist organizations are many. They felt threatened by a group seen as different. They blames their own problems on this group. They actually did think they were doing right by killing people they killed, and based their justification on religion just like our modern Islamic fundamentalists do. Check this out:

“The KKK groups are Protestant Christian organizations. From the early 1900s through the 1940s, hundreds of thousands of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), primarily in the South saw the KKK as a part of their faith. Millions more viewed the KKK's tactics as morally reprehensible and extreme, but nonetheless saw its members as valid Christians and generally agreed that WASPs were inherently superior to other groups. At that time, oppressing black people, as well as Jews and Catholics, was seen by many as part of "God's plan" (by the early 1970s, however, most groups claiming ties to the KKK dropped anti-Catholicism from their officially-stated doctrines, and in the mid-1980s a Klan chapter was found to exist in New York City's borough of Queens, with most of its reputed members in fact being Catholic, primarily of Irish descent). A much smaller number of Americans still have such views today. Many people hold that the Klan's members were not really Christian, as they didn't follow the nonviolent, "turn the other cheek" teachings of classical Christianity.” This was taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan

I’m guessing that killing is viewed as wrong to Muslims just like it is to Christians, but still both groups support killing under the right circumstances. I don’t remember an asteric next to “thou shalt not kill” oking murder as long as the person is on death row or a possible terrorist. People always find ways to justify doing what is wrong. Do terrorists acknowledge that their acts of murder are wrong? I doubt they do feel they are doing something wrong, and even if they do, they feel justified in doing it just as much as a pilot flying a jet that drops bombs on a supposed terrorist hideout knows it is wrong to do something that will potentially kill innocent people. Justification trumps right and wrong too often.

Finally, back on the KKK issue. How did we essentially reduce this extremist group to an insignificant sliver with little power? Their beliefs are just as absurd as the extremists waging Jihad in the middle east, and they were just as violent. Did we go about eradicating them with military forces? Did we put them on trial? Sanctions? I don’t really know, but I know we somehow eradicated these terrorists in this nation during the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Any group with far out beliefs is going to fade away because most people don’t feel the same way they do. The best chance for this to happen is to make them stand up on their beliefs alone, and by refraining from adding other factors such as murder. What I’m saying is that, if you kill a radical’s children, more people will sympathize with him in seeking revenge. If you leave him to defend himself based on his radical beliefs, those who don’t subscribe to the same beliefs will be unlikely to stand by him.

daily diversion with terror

I love to get diverted from any real, pressing issues that actually effect my life by reading up on the Iraq situation. When I read our Secretary of Defense’s response to a soldier’s comment on the lack of armor for vehicles going north I was moved. “You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have.” Don Rumsfeld said this to the guy. What the fuck kind of response is this? Sounds like 180 degrees off what the military philosophy tends toward and quite defeatist. It’s the whole “good enough for government work” mentality that translates into dead soldiers. What an asshole. I seriously doubt he would accept such an answer himself if on the verge of taking the most dangerous drive of his life.

The next thing I found totally amusing was the story I found here http://www.jihadwatch.org/ which mentioned that those being release from Guantanamo prison had to first sign a contract vowing never to take part in terrorist activities. Does anyone else see this as retarded and absurd? Enough with the contract signing, first the RNC and now Guantanamo. These contracts seem about as binding as those I’ve (or my dog has) entered with Columbia House and BMG. The fact that these kind of absurd gestures are taken seriously by those who have the authority to implement such policies erodes my confidence in the fight on terror.

feel good tips and invention

Today I came up with a great invention idea, the cell-phone with a built in lighter. I always have to carry these two items in my pocket, sure would be nice to combine them in a great conversation starter. It will also be much more difficult to lose, and as a last resort you can call to try to find out who walked off with your lighter.

I know this is going to be offensive sounding to some, but wondering, along the ‘it’s all in a name’ notion, why is the NAACP still going by that name?

Anyone out there looking to start a McDonalds franchise? If so, I’ve got a super location with about 300-500 potential, and also quite captive, people who could have the chance to do a swift business for ya.

Finally, feel good attempt of the day: posture, good posture. People will rarely think you are on drugs if you stand up straight and speak loud and clear.

TiVo

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/latimests/tivowillnolongerskippastadvertisers

tivo, sounds like they are doing their best not to let the original point of television be circumvented by technology for long. Did anyone think they could avoid advertising on television? That is what it was created for, getting large numbers of people in one place at one time and shoot your message to them most efficiently. Now it seems tivo is working on ways to make this effort even more efficient through tracking devices. Face it people, there is no escape. Why not, though, instill a bit more reality into programs, and just advertise the products in the shows, that way nobody will ever be able to fast forward through them. Even channel surfing will be ineffective at eluding the sponsorsharks. We all use actual products, why not just include the price of commercials in the cost of making the shows, or even make shows that are really elaborate commercials but still entertain. They already do this with entertainment programs like Entertainment Tonight, which is just a 30 minute commercial for various movies, tv shows, and stars. I wonder if the makers of these type of programs get paid based on what content they include in each day’s show.

Back pat

ok, some days I come to an understanding that you really have not done much that day unless you get to make someone else feel better about themselves somehow. Now I have widely varied and possibly controversial approaches to this (does saying "wow, you're hot" to passersby make them feel any better, and do courtesy flushes really do others a courtesy by wasting water to save a little stench?) but today's should meet this audience well. Pats on the back to all who have bothered to make the effort to create a blog. These things seem pretty popular, almost so much so that you don't feel yours will get noticed among the millions. So with the huge number of these things out there, I'd guess almost everyone has an inkling to make their own, yet only like one tenth of those who can probably do. So well done everybody, but still a big fuck off to some of ya.

peace

karma

Why I don’t believe in Karma. If there were such thing as karma I’d be much better off, probably a rich millionaire and not have to work or worry about money or the future for my kids. If there is true karma, I must have done something seriously wrong in my past that somehow I overlook these days. Perhaps I’m just too impatient and good karma is on its way, in the cosmic mail somewhere. Perhaps I’m just not good at looking at all the blessings I have, and it’s my place to uncover the great karma already existing in my life. I do have two really cool kids that I can’t hang out with enough. I did make the decisions that kept me from living with them for the years I was overseas. While these decisions were based on doing what I felt was best for my family as a whole, they were also based on frustration and conflict with one member of my family. While my original decision to join the army was based in part on laziness at looking for a job and panic in choosing what seemed like a steady and secure route to nestle a budding marriage and pregnancy, it resulted in both achieving these goals and shaking them as well. Perhaps my karma is learning, learning not to take the easy route, learning to go with what I really desire despite the uncertainty, learning to value what is at home through separation, and learning to make my own karma.

Hiraqi Freedom

By the time I got to know the guys who first turned me on to this stuff, we had taken to driving out the gate to make quick stops at some of the various stores set up in old ratty trailers on the corner of the main highway. The first time I went with them we pulled up next to one trailer and all jumped out. They each went into different shacks, while I stayed outside trying to look as if on guard for a legitimate transaction. Back in these days everyone still stopped in town and at the stores along the side of the road on the way to town for cokes, cigarettes, blankets and other legitimate offerings. Nobody would make you out for corrupt back then, if they happened to see a single truck parked outside one of the vendor stands, especially these ones right outside the gate since many people working around the gate would make quick runs to pick up ice and cold drinks, thus far un available on post. We made out biggest hauls then, one time picking up at least twenty bottles of booze and several pieces of hash. It did not take very long, with attacks on the increase and I’m sure higher ups getting wise to more and more empty bottles along the sides of the road and in trash piles. Paranoia usually precedes actual incident, and this was no exception. Soon rumors of people staking out such vendors of ill repute, which seemed like a logical and easy thing to do, since these places had little to offer other than liquor. Next came stories of trucks getting searched upon reentering the base. This would be a sure bust if holding a bunch of bottles, but with a pocketful of blocks I don’t think much chance existed of getting hit. Also, I don’t really think anyone was really on the lookout for the smokeable intoxicants, even now. After making a few more runs my nerves got the best of me and I decided to find an alternative method of acquiring our wares. With an abundance of kids always out in the receiving area, where all the legitimate vendors linked up with military people to sell all the stuff we used to go into town for, like wire, electronics, appliances and who knows what else. By this time more and more people had grown wary of making stops in town, if not just for their own safety, but also cause it would be hard to explain why they took the risk, which seemed to be growing, whether or not it was really an irrelevant matter, the risk was perceived and so better to just have the locals do the shopping for you. This was the approach I mimicked by getting the kids to run down to the stores for us. Sometimes they would have it on them already, which is what gave me the idea to begin with, but usually were not in possession of the amounts we desired. While this seemed safer both on an attack victim level and also as to getting caught outside without the requisite three trucks, a sure bust, the prices actually got lower. Our best haul cost somewhere around $120, for which we got like five smaller blocks and three rather large hunks. This almost seemed too good to be true, and in a way it was, at least too good to last. The kids, being quick and crafty little business minded fucks, soon figured out that we were doing something not entirely sanctioned by the army, and knew that mp’s were dicks, and figured that we would not really want to have the mp’s knowing that we were not purchasing mere bootleg sex disks or cheap knives. So the first time they started asking for more money at the threat of turning us in, extorting from us, was also the last time I made any purchases that way. That was certainly the most exciting, infuriating, frustrating and memorable buying spree though.

Ripped Skin

Ripped skin, virtual hymen broken, and I'd never thought it would be like this, but when is it ever like you'd expect? I've got this here blog cause people need to hear some of the things that I hear in my head. This notion came to a zenith during the election run up the last couple months. Nothing better than an election to get you riled up to the point that you feel everyone must hear your response to the absurd things candidates say. After submitting a few editorial comments to various online news sites, with no avail, I've taken to a more entrepreneurial method of getting my thoughts put up someplace no matter what any editors or half-witted front line screeners had to say about it. I've also toyed with the thought of submitting articles to magazines, but this just takes too long, again has the problem already mentioned with editors/screeners, and is just so indirect. So here you have it, the unedited, hot off the presses version of my mostly worthless thoughts.