Scoop’s Views

The late General Douglas MacArthur was once quoted as saying, “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.” That’s a concept that many today have forgotten, often in lieu of protesting or other self-serving goals, such as passing on military service, attending law school, and later in life, seeking office of President of the United States.

As many around the country prepare for today for a long weekend, it seems a lot of people have forgotten what this particular holiday weekend is centered around Memorial Day. It’s a traditional day of remembrance of those military men and women who selflessly laid down their lives in order that those of us, here at home, may continuing living in freedom, mostly peacefully, and without a dictatorship or junta as the controlling party of the nation.

Tags: Abrams, adrenaline, Afghanistan, Air Force, airmen, Army, artillery, BBQ, Blackhawk Down, blessings, blood, Bosnia, C-Rations, chow line, Coast Guard, commitment, country, desert, dictatorship, Douglas MacArthur, Drug War, duty, enemy, fathers, fear, flags, freedom is not free, freedoms, gourmet meal, Grenada, gunshot, hero, heroes, holiday weekend, holidays, honor, hot dogs, Hummer, HumVee, IEDs, Iran, Iraq, Korea, law school, machine guns, Marine, Marine Corps, Marines, Memorial Day, men, Middle East, Military, military service, Mogadishu, mortars, mothers, motorcade, MRE, Navy, pain, Panama, Philadelphia, preservation, president, protests, reflection, remembrance, rifles, sailors, Saudi Arabia, self-serving goals, soldiers, Somalia, steak and potatoes, sweat, terrorists, tombstones, troops, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, ultimate price, uncertainty, uniformed services, uniforms, United States, US Navy, VFW, Vietnam, vigilant, War on Terror, Women, World War II, WWII

While Hillary Clinton focuses on staying in the 2008 presidential race as long as possible, meaning as long as she and former president and husband Bill Clinton, can afford to make loans to her campaign, Barack Obama is busy personally answering calls from concerned voters in Kentucky, Florida, and Michigan.

Although votes were counted in Kentucky last night without issue, many people there still have questions about Barack Obama and his intentions, especially as they relate to the Blue Grass state.

Tags: American public, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Blue Grass state, campaigning, Campaigns, Democratic Party, Elections, electorate, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, November 2008, Obama, phone calls, politicians, Politics, presidential election, voters, votes, White House

An unidentified Marine sniper, formerly stationed in Iraq, has been pulled out of the country and sent back to the United States. Why? Because he allegedly used a Quran as a target early this month during some target practice at a shooting range at the Radhwaniya police station, located on Baghdad’s western outskirts, according to reports.

Did the U.S. Marine do this? Under U.S. law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a case must first be made, and then his innocence or guilt is determined, not hang him first and then figure out later if he actually did anything wrong. Oh, wait! Muslims are offended by this offense, so, by all means, let’s hang him now and later figure out his guilt or innocence.

Tags: Afghanistan, al Qaeda, armed forces, Article 6, Bagdad, Baghdad, billions of dollars, bulldozers, Christians, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, Constitution, criminal act, deep concern, food, George W. Bush, Gordon Johndroe, guilt, guilty, Holy Bible, homes, inner-city, innocence, Iraq, Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraqi Prime Minister, Islam, Jews, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, Marine sniper, Muslims, National Security Council, Nuri al-Maliki, police officers, police station, Quran, Radhwaniya, radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, reprimand, Saddam Hussein, schools, Section 3, severest of punishments, shot Quran, shot-up Quran, sniper training, spokesman, Talmud, target practice, U.S. law, U.S. Marines, U.S.-Mexico border, UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, video teleconference

It seems that every few months, another multi-term politician is apologizing and stepping down from office, or, in the case of a Congressman who sought homosexual encounters in airport men’s rooms, promising to step down, but lying about that, as well.

The latest politician caught in the adulterous web is the six-term Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), who was nabbed by police in Alexandria, Virginia, just after midnight on May 1.

Tags: adultery, airport, Alexandria Virginia, Alexandria Virginia police, apologizing, apology, BAC, blood alcohol test, Congress, congressman, driving while intoxicated, DWI, Elections, extra-marital affair, homosexual encounters, Laura Fay, men's room, New York, New York Giants, police, Republicans, sick children, sick daughter, Super Bowl champions, Vito Fossella, White House

Are President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and India’s Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the center for international trade, economics and the environment of CUTS International, an independent research institute based in New Delhi, all locked in an emotional argument without fact-based evidence?

Tags: American society, better food, better nutrition, Bombay, call centers, China, Condi, customer service skills, CUTS International, Dubya, exportation, exporting, exports, famine, food, high demand, hungry people, imports, India, Indian economy, middle-class, Missouri, New Dehli, nutrition, outsourcing, political paradigms, politically incorrect, Pradeep S. Mehta, President George W. Bush, prices increase, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, sub-Sahara

Imagine someone you know going into a coma tomorrow. With the November 2008 Presidential election several months off, they’d have no idea the outcome when they wake from the coma, if ever.

Trying to remain eternally optimistic, though, let’s suppose that person wakes from the coma in 2015, about seven years from now. Can you imagine what a different world it could be?

Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Campaigns, Christians, churches, devil, economy, evil, gasoline prices, health care, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, Michelle Obama, Muslims, national health care plan, president, religions, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, terrorism, videos, wars, White House

It seems one idiot at Guantanamo, Osama bin Laden’s former “media manager” — media as in video, not public relations, and definitely not free, as in gas, not open-source software — Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul. Related to him, at least in terms of idiocy, is Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, who was also held at Gitmo, but was released in 2005.

Tags: 69 virgins, Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, Afghanistan, Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul, Cuba, Gitmo, Guantanamo, Islam, Kuwait, Kuwaiti, military tribunal, Mosul, Mosul Iraq, Muslims, suicide bomber, suicide bombers, Tom Wilner, Yemen, Yemeni

One TV show I used to watch, and have watched since it was introduced about three years ago, The Unit, has had its current season halted, and despite pulling in high ratings before the writer’s strike, may be axed by idiots in CBS’ entertainment division.

It seems an online petition has been started in an attempt to “save” The Unit from the proverbial TV show scrap pile. Although I’m not a big fan of online petitions, I’ve seen several TV shows that were “saved” as a result of such actions by viewers. Since I already said I enjoyed the show, I will push others to sign the petition in an attempt to keep the show on-the-air.

Tags: Are You Stupider than a 5th Grader, armed forces, Big Brother, Bones, CBS, CNN, combat veterans, Comcast, Comcrap, Delta Force, Fox 29, headlines, House, knowledge, Lost, Military Channel, military families, National Geographic, NCIS, News, online petition, Philadelphia, renewed, research, Season 4, Special Forces, Survivor, The Unit, Troop Space, Two-and-a-Half-Men, veterans, Weather, writer's strike

Eric DeShawn Floyd, the last of three suspects believed to have killed Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, has been captured, then handcuffed with the handcuffs formerly belonging to Sgt. Liczbinski. Floyd is now resting, most hopefully, uncomfortably in a cell here in Philadelphia.

Tags: AK-47, AK-74, cop killers, dilapidated house, Eric DeShawn Floyd, Eric Floyd, Germantown Masjid, girlfriend, Howard Cain, Levon Warner, Mayor, Michael Nutter, Muslim garb, Muslims, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Police, Philadelphia Police Department, police, robbery, Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski, Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, SKS, Stephen Liczbinski, Tariq El Shabazz, vacant house

A 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldier was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during a valorous award presentation ceremony on April 30 at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Tags: Admiral Eric T. Olson, Afghanistan, airborne, combat, combat actions, Distinguished Service Cross, Ft Bragg NC, Ft. Bragg, gallantry, Green Berets, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Wagner, Military, military actions, North Carolina, Operation Enduring Freedom, Ranger, Special Forces, Special Operations Command, Special Ops, U.S. Army Special Forces, valor, valorous actions