Tag Archives: war

Recent Posts

Time Out for a Commercial

6 Comments

Okay, time out from my political rant for a commercial break. Many of you who follow me here have read “the book.” Yes, I am talking about my humble approach to become a writer, the title of which is the  name of this blog. However, for those who simply stumbled onto this site you may not know of the book, let alone having read it.

So if you will beg my pardon I thought I’d throw in a short commercial break, I mean, damn it’s my blog right? LOL 

BTW, that’s 2nd LT Bathurst standing in front of the world famous Marine Corps Silent Drill Team at Marine Barracks, 8th&I Streets, SE, Washington, D.C. which was his OCS and TBS

The book is a print on demand, which means I paid to have it printed through a POD publisher (IUniverse), and while it was costly, they provide nothing, no marketing, advertising, etc. Oh, they’ll do that, but at a significant cost. I bit into their BS the first year and bought a few  of their packages, but never once could I point to a sale and say it came from their marketing.  For any future authors on here, I would not recommend a POD publisher, especially IUniverse. 

It comes in soft cover (not a paperback, but better), eBook, and hardcover.  IUniverse did an outstanding job on the cover based on my stern guidance. It is a beautiful book. I had no voice on the prices except on the eBook, it was the publisher’s call based solely on page count, and it’s a big book (564 pages including numerous  pages of photographs). The list price is $42.95, $38.95 for the soft cover, and the eBook is $7.95.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble and few other online book stores sell all three at the list prices, plus shipping in most cases. I do sell the hard cover, but bear in mind I do not get the same deal from the publisher as do the online book stores, I’m only the author! UGH!

Okay, here’s my deal, I have recouped my initial printing costs; therefore, it is no longer a money thing to me, I simply want folks to read it and hopefully enjoy it.  I sell the hard cover personally inscribed anyway you want it, signed, and dated for $35.00. And if you are a Marine, or if it is for a Marine, I will eat the postage myself. Truth be known, for every book I sell to a Marine I lose $0.63! 

Personally, I believe it makes a great gift for a birthday, Christmas, or any special occasion, especially for a Marine, who I guarantee will enjoy it and rekindle many fond (and maybe not so fond LOL) memories of his/her time on active duty.

You can go to Amazon and Barnes & Noble and read all the reviews. I have even included some here on the website. Please click on “About the Book, About the Author, and About the Editor, as well as peek inside the book for selected pages, If you would like to order a book, simply go to “Buy The Book,” fill out the form, and submit it. Your message will come to me and I will contact you with details.

Okay, the commercial break is over, now back to the liberal BS we’re having to put up with in today’s rabid society.

Originally posted 2019-11-09 10:02:42.

Current Events

“Thank You for Your Service”

6 Comments

Really? Do you truly mean those words, or are they something that makes you feel good about your lack of it? I have often wondered about that because it seems so common today like Good Morning or Good Afternoon. Here is an article that my favorite contributor Marine Greg Maresca, had published in the American Spectator. I think it is a fitting article for today as it’s Veterans Day, or for those who remember when it was Armistice Day. Enjoy, and if you are a Vet, think about Greg’s recommendation. I love it!

When I first stepped onto the college quad, I was just another young man, making his way, surveying the lay of the land. For me, however, there were a few personal firsts playing out in real time to which none of those aspiring collegians were privy.

For one, I was no longer getting a weekly haircut, nor was any razor getting acquainted with my face on a daily basis. I no longer used shower shoes, waited in line to eat out of a can, or pitched a tent to sleep in a bag. “The slide into civilian slime,” as Marine Corps GySgt. Cooley, a decorated Vietnam veteran, would lament, was well underway. Perhaps that is why Gunny assigned me to the Civilian Readjustment class — twice.

In one of my first collegiate classes, everyone took a turn at the professor’s lectern, and we were all instructed to introduce ourselves with a brief biography, explaining what brought us to university. As the class was dismissed, the professor asked to speak with me. In no uncertain terms he wanted me to know that, during the Vietnam years, protests on campus occurred, and veterans were not well received by some.

Growing up, I witnessed the domestic upheaval that was endured by these veterans, many of whom were the senior NCOs and field grade officers I served with. There was even a smattering of Korean War veterans among them. Sensing the opportunity to support and defend these men who mentored me, I did it without trepidation and with satisfaction.

This was before the days when the ubiquitous expression “Thank you for your service” became the new catchphrase echoing throughout our lexicon, especially around Veterans Day. For some, specifically those Korean and Vietnam veterans, the “thanks” and “welcome home” were much too long in coming. Whether or not these words bestowed upon them are sincere, the fact is that plenty never got a chance to hear such benign salutations.

Or is it just something we say, like “Happy Thanksgiving” and “Merry Christmas,” to fill an uncomfortable void that often comes across as disingenuous?

This seemingly quasi-support perhaps stems from the fact that most have never served, even though America had, until recently, been at war for nearly two decades. More than 2 million served in Iraq and Afghanistan following 9/11. That seems like a lot, but, categorically, they represent less than 1 percent of the U.S. population.

Americans’ experience of war today happens as they are surrounded by the comforts of home. That battle against evil and freedom-hating rogues is fought compliments of a computer video screen and mouse, where the terror, blood, and stench of death is nonexistent.

“Thank you for your service.”

Really?

If you truly mean what you say, how about making your gratitude count the next time you vote? For once, stop casting your ballot for Marxists who take their liberties for granted, while despising this country that I served, and you chose not to, a nation that seemingly does not exist today.

How about that — or are you offended?

Freedom’s steep and never-ending price tag is disproportionally paid, time and again, by veterans, and it always has been that way, even after 1973 when Congress put the draft to rest. If attempting to assuage your draft-deferment guilt with your yearly perfunctory “thank you for your service” makes you feel better — then have at it.

After all, it’s a free country, right?

There is one hero of the Iraq War, who had the humility and grace to respond in kind, who was nothing short of perfection. You won’t find this gentleman on Facebook or any other narcissistic social media outlet extolling his every move as some validation of purpose. He does not wear a hat, shirt, or jacket to distinguish who he is because his mere presence and the way he carries himself more than suffices.

While on patrol in Iraq, his face and hands were mutilated by an improvised explosive device. Maimed for life, he looked the person dead in the eye, saying, “The best way you can thank any of us for our service is to make America a nation worth dying for, again.”

Amen.

Greg Maresca is a longtime Sample News Group columnist and a Marine Corps veteran living in Flyover, Pennsylvania. 

Wow, was that powerful or what?That is a great response to those common words of “Thank you for your service” (because I didn’t). Thank you so much for this Greg!! And Semper Fi, Brother.

Originally posted 2023-11-11 10:24:26.

Current Events

Last Shot

11 Comments

For the life of me, I cannot understand how someone with a brain they aren’t sitting can be for this woman. The only reason I can think of is that they hate Trump so much they’d vote for for a squirrel to be president. Which means their  voting for a negative reason, not a positive. They simply do not give a hoot about what is good for America. I honestly feel that if the majority of Americans eligible to vote do so for her, I’m living in the wrong country.

On the Brink                                                                          By: Greg Maresca

Tomorrow’s election cannot be overstated as America’s prosperity and global influence lie in the balance making every ballot essential.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that one in five claim they need to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris. In our fingertip world of unending media, this is hard to fathom. This is the consequence when many get their political acumen from edited sound bites, Tweets and commercials.

Harris’ horizontal climb to headline the Democrat presidential ticket came by not earning one primary vote. Harris and Hillary Clinton both navigated their paths to power primarily through relationships rather than achievement. Harris is the DEI presidential candidate – the turtle on a fence post as there is no way she could have gotten up there on her own. Harris checks more boxes than the token U.S. Customs’ drug dog at the southern border.

Harris likes to claim the one freedom that unlocks all other freedoms is the freedom to vote – when no one voted for her.

Harris’s mother was Indian, her father is a half-white, half-Jamaican, she was raised in Canada and married a Jew. No word if she ever had an abortion but given her ardent support of the gruesome procedure, it gives one reason to pause.

For all the word salads Harris tosses together on the issues, she is clear and concise about abortion. Inflation, illegal immigration, crime – none matter to those who are obsessed with abortion. And no one is more fixated than Harris who flatly rejected any religious exemptions.

As someone who served as an attorney general, Harris knows but won’t admit that there is a fundamental freedom, enshrined in the First Amendment, that guarantees religious liberty, and conscience rights that are the soul of the abortion argument.

Every honest person knows that abortion kills the most innocent among us. Baby showers are proof. Harris is so thoroughly secular that religious liberty means nothing. Harris underscored this at a recent campaign stop when she informed those who yelled out “Jesus Christ is King,” that they needed to find another rally. Harris claims to champion women’s rights, but the facts, which the media purposely obfuscates, tells another story – from rampant sex trafficking at the border to forcing girls to share their bathrooms with boys.

If she loses the election, this will be one of the major reasons why. Harris is not only acting immorally, but irrationally.

There is not a genuine bone in her body and with her incessant eye-rolling, phony accents and nonstop cackle she is best suited as America’s ex-wife than our next president. Harris continues to flip on the issues she could easily find work as a circus acrobat.

Harris chose to be Biden’s vice president after suggesting on multiple occasions he was a racist before she was the first to flame out of the Democrat primary four years ago.

Her campaign went full bore with Biden’s strategy by setting a trail of wine bottles leading to the basement making her a charter member of the Democrats’ Candidate Protection Program.

Harris only qualification is that she is not Biden but will be just as easily manipulated. Harris is being propped up and supported by a complicit and corrupt national media that hates the foundational values and history of the nation she wants to lead.

Democrats called Bush Hitler, then McCain. Romney, and now Trump Hitler. In an election between Harris and Hitler, keep in mind that the Washington Post and the L.A. Times both declined to endorse Harris. The difference between Hitler jokes and a cow is, you can’t milk a cow for more than a generation.

During Trump’s presidency inflation was low, while under Biden-Harris it has soared. Illegal immigration has exploded as has crime. Biden’s record is a catastrophe, and Harris is co-owner of this disaster as vice president. Yet, Harris’ campaign’s number one issue is – abortion. Recently, when questioned on “The View” on what she might do differently over the last four years, Harris was unapologetic saying, “There is not a thing that comes to mind.”

Harris claims she is going to solve the problems she helped to create.

Harris is the most unqualified candidate to run for president in your lifetime, if not ever.

Current Events

America’s Own Cold War

Video 5 Comments

Yes it is, in fact, a war! But you will not hear about on any of the national news networks. For all intent and purpose it doesn’t exist. That is unless you live in TX or AZ, or one the many sanctuary cities and states. How can this be you might ask. We have laws about immigration, why are they not enforced? Simple, that POS in the White House and his Secretary of Homeland Security have directed the Border Patrol to allow them enter despite the TX Governor deploying forces to stop them. Wasn’t that whore VP assigned as the Border guru by the POS. We hear nothing about the border unless it is to attack my Governor for shipping some to Martha’s Vineyard. Watch this, but be prepared to get angry.

I try to watch as many of my Governor’s press briefings as I can. Recently he was interviewed at length and the final question the interviewer asked was “What would be the first thing you would do if you were elected as the next president.” Without any hesitation at all he said “Relieve the current Secretary of Homeland Security and close the border.” Guys, that’s why I will vote for him. That has to be the number one priority for the next POTUS.

If I were him, I would set about finishing that damn wall. And while they are building the wall, I would deploy the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg and the 1st Marine Division from Camp Pendleton to the AZ/TX border to assist the Border Patrol. Hell, they could conduct all sorts of training including live fire training, while they are forcing those scumbags back across the river. How to force them back; easy, water cannons. That border MUST be closed. This is our country. If they want to seek asylum make them go through the procedures set up to allow that. Nothing upsets me more than to have laws and not enforce them. Sickening.

Originally posted 2023-07-26 11:47:37.

Current Events

A Messiah Awaits

8 Comments

Are his comments not a breath of fresh air, and trust me they are not hot.  I am a Floridan, and if there is one thing you can count on from Ron, he means what he says and does what he says. Broward County and Disney learned that the hard way. 

 

From the Wall Street Journal                                          Thursday, 20 July 2023

Next Target for Ron DeSantis: the Military

Ron DeSantis is gradually laying out his presidential agenda, and on Tuesday he unveiled a plan to build a “Mission First” U.S. military. The Florida Governor has several worthy ideas to restore American confidence in the armed forces, though fighting the culture wars isn’t a substitute for preventing an actual war.

“We need a military that is focused on being lethal, being ready and being capable,” Gov. De-Santis said in South Carolina. The U.S. military is suffering from institutional drift, as senior officers rush to associate themselves with progressive causes. One example: Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt in a June speech unleashed a political broadside against elected state legislatures for considering what she styled as “anti-LGBTQ+” measures.

One good priority is reviving American military education. Gov. DeSantis is right that the service academies ought to be “narrowly focused” on disciplines such as engineering or military history and leadership. Civilian academics have taken over most military educational institutions such as war colleges, and the instruction is often, as Gov. DeSantis says, “substandard.”

The Governor, a Navy veteran, also says he would review the performance of every four-star flag officer and remove those who aren’t focused on lethality. There is reason to wonder if the services are producing the war fighting talent the country needs by picking leaders on the merits. More aggressive civilian oversight would help.

Case in point: In 2021 a Navy admiral suggested the service should bring back photos as part of promotion boards to achieve more diversity. Gov. DeSantis said he’d ban “race and gender quotas in military recruiting and promotions.”

The perception that the military is a political institution may be hurting enlistment, and the Army looks likely to come up at least 10,000 soldiers short this year. Gov. DeSantis says he will “restore national pride” in the armed forces, to include a school program explaining that the U.S. military “ has been a force for justice and good in the world,” which is at least a start. But an under-appreciated reason the services are struggling to recruit is that the force is too small and ill-equipped to fulfill its current missions. This wears out troops. President Trump boasts that he rebuilt the U.S. military, but he offered a one-time increase that only started to rebuild the readiness burned in President Obama’s two terms.

The defense industrial base also continued to erode on Mr. Trump’s watch. Contractors are now recalling retired engineers in their 70s to teach new workers how to build Stinger antiaircraft missiles that haven’t been in production for decades.

Gov. DeSantis’s special operation against wokeness will thrill his base, and he has correctly identified China as the top threat to U.S. security. His harder task will be building public support for a larger and more capable U.S. military that can deter the Communist Party from a terrible mistake such as invading Taiwan.

That will require convincing skeptical Republicans to increase defense spending—for example, building two attack submarines a year for the U.S. Navy, up from 1.2 now. Or speeding up the new Air Force strategic bomber. Or building a long-range missile inventory that can last more than three nights of fighting in the Taiwan Strait.

An aide to the campaign says Gov. DeSantis still plans to offer a broader defense agenda. But on U.S. support for Ukraine he’s too often catered to the isolationist right that would, in Ronald Reagan’s words, play innocents abroad in a world that’s not innocent.

Still, the Pentagon’s growing preoccupation with identity politics is corrosive to an institution built on cohesion and self-sacrifice. The country would be better prepared for a fight if a new President started to right the ship.

Has he nailed the problems or what? “. . . review the performance of every four-star flag officer and remove those who aren’t focused on lethality.” Wow, that would sure open up the promotions for three stars, albeit he should look at all flag officers, not just the four-stars.

Increase defense budget bother you? He’ll find other areas to reduce the funding e.g., all the woke shit, welfare, immigrant benefits, and many more. Ron is not a big spender, just ask a Floridan. Trump hasn’t talked about any of thee issues, because he is too busy calling people names.

My dream team would be Ron and  SC Senator Tim Scott. What a team that would make. Sorry guys but if you didn’t already know it, I am no longer a Trumper. He simply will not shut the hell up!

Originally posted 2023-07-20 09:26:59.