Scoop’s Views

Below is a joke sent to me by a friend, Stan (aka Stan the Man), an alum at my alma mater who is old enough to be my father, or on a bad day, an older brother.

Stan’s a good guy. He likes to keep busy in real life, and when he isn’t busy, you can tell: he sends tens of email messages, some with photos, some with jokes, others with videos or PowerPoint presentations, and some, well, they have a subject line warning you of “how bad” the content may be, starting with a rating of R, if I recall a message from months ago correctly. You have to appreciate someone who is willing to tag potentially “offensive” messages in the subject line – whether for your own preferences or due to workplace restrictions.

Tags: blue vest, children, courteous, email messages, emails, employment, Forrest Gump, Friends, greeter, Humor, jobs, jokes, kids, manners, Navy, offensive, older Americans, older workers, part time jobs, Photos, polite, PowerPoint presentations, presentations, retirees, subject lines, supervisors, twins, US Navy, videos, Wal-Mart, Walmart, woman, Women, workplace, yelling

While you and I are sitting at home, enjoying all the creature comforts, American fighting men and women are in distant lands, including Afghanistan and Iraq, sweating their butts off, literally, while going on patrols, doing raids, and other duties, and their performance – or responses – could be the difference between life-and-death.

As for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is doing a tour of specific areas in Afghanistan and Iraq, supposedly getting a first-hand look at the situation on the ground, things are much different. His environment will be hot, sandy, dirty, but secure, for the most part. Because Obama, like McCain and others during past trips, are members of Congress, the military will provide a shroud around the “dignitaries” – ensuring, to the best of their ability, the survival of the elected officials, even at the expense of service men and women.

Tags: 2008 presidential candidates, 82nd Airborne Division, airborne, armed conflict, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Hussein Obama II, Barack Obama, barry o'bomber, body armor, desert fatigues, Ft. Bragg, G.I. Bill, Harvard University, heroes, infantry, infantry platoon leader, insurgents, John F. Kennedy School of Government, John McCain, LBE, load bearing equipment, McCain abortion, McCain for President, McCain issues, McCain potatoes, Obama for President, off-the-record, paratrooper, photo op, photo opportunities, publicity stunt, Purple Hearts, real heroes, rucksacks, security details, U.S. Army Rangers, United States Army, United States Military Academy at West Point, Vietnam, water, weapon and ammo, weapons qualification, West Point

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

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

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

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

BALAD, IRAQ — 4th Iraqi Army Division Scouts, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained one suspected insurgent cell leader in an operation in Kirkuk province.

Tags: 4th Iraqi Army Division Scounts, Coalition forces, Green Berets, Haqijah area, insurgent attacks, insurgent lead4r, insurgents, Iraqi forces, Iraqis, Kirkuk, small arms fire, Special Forces, terrorists, terrorizes, U.S. Army Special Forces

Obama is spending money left-and-right in his attempts to woo the voters in Pennsylvania. He’s running commercials that are seemingly accurate, but some of the truths — the realities — at the fringes of the ad are in question. Did the pharmaceutical industry really put wording in legislation that Medicare cannot negotiate for lower prices with manufacturers of medications? No.

It was politicians, just like Barack Obama — a senator — put together the wording, and later, after being approved by a committee, was sent to the Senate and House, for approval. If the wording bothered Sen. Barack Obama, why did the senator from Illinois not make a motion to change or delete the wording? It’s a common practice, as is another common practice of adding bills that alter other legislation onto popular bills being brought for vote. Barack Obama has had time to change the Medicare language about price negotiations he’s ranting about.

Tags: Barack Obama, campaign, care, Catholic church, China, church-goers, commenorative postage stamp, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, compassion, family histories, fishing, George W. Bush, hunting, Iraq, job creation, jobs, landfills, Military, National Academy of Sciences, PATRIOT Act, Percy Lavon Julian, Philadelphia, racist attitudes, rifles, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, scared, shotguns, shredder, small towns, Sudanese, tactics, volunteers, Women

While listening to the the Senate hearings last week on the conflict in Iraq, I became sick to my stomach by the way the politicians were demanding clear cut answers, but also by comments that were made.

Tags: Bagdad, Baghdad, Bath, bombings, combat, deaths, Delta Force, families, homefront, IEDs, insurgents, Iraq, Kirkuk, Life, Malaki, Marines, SEALs, shootings, soliders, Special Forces, suicide attacks, suicide bombers, Sunnis, Tikrit, tour of duty, troops, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, United States

The deactivated US Navy aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, is on the final leg of its journey to storage. Well, to a storage yard, anyway.

Tags: allies, decommissioned, Delaware Bay, Delaware River, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Norfolk VA, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Naval Yard, Philly, scrapped, South Philadelphia, US Navy