Carter's rants

Horse Cave,Kentucky

2005-03-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Well,we decided to get out and see some sights-went down to the cave country-little over an hour south of here.We stopped off at a little hillbilly diner along the way,and got totally stuffed on good down home food-a REAL diner.....then went on down the road aways to the town of Horse Cave,KY-such as it is-good thing we did'nt blink,or we'd have driven right through.Anyway,we went to the museum of the American Cave Conservation association conducts tours.The guy figgered out the price for all of us-30 bucks-then when he found out I was active duty army,waived the fee-COOL!We then embarked on the tour,with EArlt the cave dude...this guy was warped...bet he's fun at parties..........it was a pretty interesting tour-took an elevator down to ground level of the sink hole,and the entrance to the cave-descended 230 steps,then Earl showed us around-had a great timeDid'nt see Fred or barney anywhere though...then earl asked if we had any questions...well I HAD to ask,,,,wheres the mutant life forms?of course the old lady hadda say that yours truly was mutant...anyway,had a good time,and we'll explore other caves time permitting..

Quote of the Day

2005-03-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

"The military don't start wars.Politicians start wars"

general william westmoreland,supreme commander,US Forces,Republic of Vietnam

Trying to get orders deleted

2005-03-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well,as mentioned before,I'm on levy for Fort hood,TX.Now,I don't mind Fort hood,OR Texas,but I AM awfully tired of moving-this would be 4 PCS in 4 years-thats too much.My First Sergeant and Sergeant-Major are attempting to get these orders deleted for me-hopefully they'll have more success than I have so far.I called the cavalry branch manager the other day,and he was shall we say,less than helpful.Ok,he was a downright prick....I mentioned that I'd already had 2 combat tours in Iraq,but that did'nt matter to him.but I DO have an ace up my sleeve-we got a letter from my daughters Neuroligist up in Cinncinati,requesting that I be kept here at least till March of 07-in the right channels,that letter SHOULD hopefully get me out of those orders.And just to make SFC prickwad at branch happy,if I stay here,I'll volunteer for a 30 day short tour.....

Back in the PSG saddle......again

2005-03-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

Well,found myself filling in as the platoon sergeant again-but fortunately,I'll soon be getting PAID for my agravation-got my promotable status,and will be pinned as a staff sergeant on 1 may.Feels good to be getting it,and in 18 months,unless I go to Iraq in the meantime,I'll be branch certified as an SSG,and therefore eligible for promotion to SFC.(If I go go to Iraq,6 months is waived,making me certified in 12 months).Today I reccomended my first article 15 as a platoon sergeant-and got the full backing of the first sergeant.Of course,that means MORE paperwork for me....oh wel,an NCOs work is never done.....been working late all week,and jumping through my ass trying to cover everything under the sun,and one of my E-5s is in school,anothers on emergency leave...well,guess thats why I make the big bucks...yeah right....

Quote of the Day,Part 2(I Love 2nd amendment quotes)

2005-03-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms,is as a last resort,to protect themselves against tyranny in government"

Thomas Jefferson

"No Freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms"

Thomas Jefferson

I like this T. Jefferson-lord knows we could use a few more of him

Quote of the Day

2005-03-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

"An armed society is a polite society.Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life"

Robert A. Heinlein

Trip to Cinncinatti

2005-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

My daughter,Poo the strange,was diagnosed as being epileptic at the age of 2. it got real interesting for awhile-the first 2 grand mals she had were the mother of all seizures...but eventually things stabilized,and she has'nt had a major seizure since 1999-and that one was'nt all THAT major.Anyway,she's been on anti-convulsant meds since 1998,and we've been routinely taking her to neuroligists to see when we could take her off her meds.Now bear in mind,the field of pediatric neurology is a very SMALL field-for example,while still living in wisconsin,we re able to find only a single one in the northern part of the state-and HE was an idjit.The one we had while living in West Michigan,was world class-a pioneer in his field,but once I returned to active duty,we have'nt been able to take her to see him,and have been around some total quacks in military hospitals.Well,Fort Knox does not have ANY neurologists,pediatric,or otherwise,so they sent us up to see Doctor Hadji in Louisville.Well,it was far from a satisfying experience.Kids of Desert storm/OIF veterans should probably NOT go to Hadji doctors,because-duh-we don't LIKE hadjis.....and our big problem with the succession of quacks has been that they insisted on keeping her on her meds,although there has been no evidence of seizure activity since 1999.considering that prolonged usage of most anti-seizure meds DOES have adverse side effects,we've been wanting to get her off them.Well,we requested a second opinion after our relationship with Doctor Hadji did'nt produce any results.They referred us to Childrens Hospital of Cinncinati-about 3 hours north of here.I took the day off,and we drove up the night before to get a room close to the hospital.Now,being a United States cavalry Trooper AND former Field Artilleryman, NEVER get lost-suffice it to say however,that we were very mis-oriented.We finally found the street the Hospital was on-next step,find a motel.Well,it appears that this motel was designed by Stephen King,with collaboration by Douglas Adams,and run by Norman Bates.....I'm thinking,gee and I did'nt bring a sidearm......anyway,we went to the appointment in the morning,and met with Doctor Not-A-Hadji-a white american doctor who speaks ENGLISH....he ran some tests,and asked questions,and came to the conclusion that its now safe to take her off her meds.FINALLY!Poo was ESTATIC-she asked me-"after i'm off my meds,can I drink beer":?-YUP-"COOL!!!!"

Household appliance commits suicide

2005-02-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well,I had to gfo to the field at oh dark stupid yesterday to haul vehicles back from the training site-so,the day did'nt start out good-I was at regiment at 0530,in the RAIN,(w/o wet weather gear-nice example to set fer the troopies...),had 2 knuckleheads AWOL,and then it REALLY started going downhill.....we have to load tanks and brads(and no self respecting cav scout rides on brads-those are for SKANKERS-cav guys ride hummers),onto civilian HETTS for transport back to the motor hole-anyway,some genius figgered we should take the civvy convoy the BACK way,to minimize our footprint on Kentucky Hiway60.Well,the back way is pretty near impassable for MILITARY vehicles at times,let alone civilian rigs-plus theres a narrow,low water crossing bridge.I asked the SFC in charge of the mission,if anyone had taken anyone from range control(who had cooked up THAT bright idea),out on a route recon to evaluate trafficability.He replied they had."And they STILL want to do it?????"Helmet flies off,SGT King's vocabulary improves-screw it,time to go smoke.....well,all the NCOs were thoroughly disgusted at this silliness,and cursed the powers that be here at Fort knox-eventually word came down that we COULD use the public hiway.(Whew)(I'd had mental images of flipped over tanks in the river).Anyway,we finally got all the tanks and brads hauled to the motor hole,and locked up till tuesday,and went home.I walked into a flooded kitchen,and noticed the washing machine was unplugged,and the unmistakable smell of burnt wiring in the air....well,we'd had this washer for years,and gotten lots of good use out of it,so it should'nt have been a surprise.So,we hauled it to the curb,and cussed some more...well,we found a purty good one at the PX today for 300 clams and hauled it home,and got it set up-so alls well that ends well I guess

Quote of the Day

2005-02-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest"

Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day

2005-02-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

"Wars are not won by the most COMPETENT army-they're won by the LEAST INcompetent army"

Marshall Of The Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov

On the Road Again

2005-02-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well,I don't even have a year under my belt here at Fort Knox yet,and I've just recieved a levy alert that I'm being sent to Fort hood,Texas.Gee,I was kinda hoping to stay put awhile......well,thats ok-I've been talking to others,and Fort hood levies have been hitting all over post,and they're all pinpoint assignments to First Cav...so,I'll be going home.I grew up militarily in third corps,headquartered at Fort Hood,and served with First Cav in Desert Storm-except this time I'll be going there as a staff sergeant and not as a lowly spec-4.I thought I'd have a fight on my hands with household six and the kids about this move,but they're actually rather excited about it.militarily,it'll be pretty hoo-ah for myself too-I get to go to one of the new brigades being formed under the army transformation,and it'll be cool-plus,it looks like I'll qualify for a re-up bonus of 15K AND be stabilized in this assignment for at least 3 years-not bad considering I LIKE Texas,and I've got friends there-hell,now that I'm a 19D,I'll REALY get into the whole First Cav thingy....

On relative wealth and poverty

2005-02-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

You know,I get real tired about people whining about the "poor" here in America?Give me a break-our "poor" own 3 cars,4 televisions,a computer and all the junk food they want-contrast that with REAL poor people in other parts of the world.While I was deployed to Thailand,a few years ago,we bought a cheap coffee maker for about 10 clams,to use while we were there for a month and some change-as we were getting ready to leave,we gave it to a Thai Marine corps Sergeant-Major-and he was as happy as the proverbial pig in shit to get it.......and it was'nt anything to us.Or,as I was clearing my hotel room in Patteya Beach,Thailand,I tipped the maid 400 baht(around 10 bucks US),and once again,she was estatic-but ten bucks was'nt a major issue to me-especially considering that the army was paying me well for my travel expenses.I've seen numerous other examples of this,like Greek soldiers,who'd recieve their monthly pay,buy a carton of smokes,and be broke till payday-that would suck.....as a sergeant,I make more than colonels make in many armies around the world,and really can't complain about my standard of living.Sure,I'd like more money,and upon my promotion to Staff sergeant,in May or June,I'll get close to a $5,000.00 annual raise-and theres guys in other parts of the world who would give their left nut to earn just what my RAISE is!Maybe compared to Bill Gates,or Warren Buffet,I'm "poor",but we seem to be doing ok on what I make-of course,there IS my well known addiction to dumpster diving and thrift shops that REALLY stretches a paycheck.....of course,exageratting the plight of the "poor" here in America makes great political capital for lefty kooks,but in my book,it just does'nt wash.

glitches with my blog

2005-02-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

ARghhhh..!@#$%^&*(&^%$#@!!()*&^%$##@!@!...(trying to speak like Sergeant Snorkel in Beetle Bailey......I'm having fun and games with my blog-EVERYTIME i go in to make a post,I hafta change my password-I'm getting peeved-thinking of changing my password to"usuck".....

Quote of the Day

2005-02-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

I have spent my career trying to get Congressmen to spend the people's money as if it were their own.But I have failed.

Senator William Proxmire

As a cheesehead,I remember Sen. Proxmire well-he may have been a liberal democrat,but he certainly had no tolerance for naked pork barrel spending-we could use a few more-oh,say 99,of him in the senate.

My daughters medical advice

2005-02-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

my daughter,Poo,is just a bit on the strange side-as we've discovered from time to time.....today,she delivered some real words of wisdom though-she was feeling icky,so she figured she had to crack open a can of Bush's beans,so she could fart and feel better-flatulence therapy?

Quote of the Day

2005-02-03T05:29:00.000-08:00

One of my movies was called "True lies"-maybe thats what the democrats should have called their convention

Arnold Schwartzenegger

Quote of the Day

2005-02-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

You know,a long time ago,being crazy actually MEANT something-nowadays EVERYONE is crazy

Charles Manson

ABC gum

2005-01-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

The wife just discovered a sammitch bag-with ABC gum in-obviously saved by my aforemention feminity challenged daughter,Poo......well,she DID ask me if chewing gum lost its flavor on the bedpost overnight-now WHERE would she come up with a question like THAT?Well,at least she did'nt seal the bag up with duck tape....

My daughter discovers wrasslin'

2005-01-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

Well,saturday night,and everyones hibernating from the cold-I was getting ready to head down to regiment,at around 2300,due to a knucklehead issue that came up(thats ANOTHER story.....),when I noticed my daughter watching All Star Wrestling....thats my girl..now,Poo has never been accused of being real feminine(sorta like the line in dat yoopers song about the gal from Wausau-"she could'nt kiss or dance too good,but she could drink and fight").Anyway,I wuz sooooo proud of my litle girl!!!!!When I got back from regiment at around 0215,she was STILL awake,RAVING about wrasslin'-and asking when I could take her up to Louisville to see it in person....well,thats one date I'll hafta go on....

Quote of the Day

2005-01-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is something I think I'll do daily-or close to it anyway,field time and such permitting-lots of good quotes out there,and I'll pass them along.

"In my youth,I only had 2 goals-either to be a piano player in a whorehouse,or a politician-which really are'nt that different"

Harry S. Truman

cheesehead accents

2005-01-20T17:35:00.000-08:00

You know,its hard being a cheesehead in the army-we have one of those distinctive regional accents that NEVER goes away-it may get diluted somewhat,but still,you ALWAYS sound like you just stepped out of the movie "Fargo".....I used to did'nt think we HAD an accent in cheesehead land-till I got home on leave after my first assignment-almost 2 years away from home,out and about around guys from all over,then I come home-I'm sitting in a bar,in Green Bay-just listening to people talk-oh my GOD,we DO talk funny......then of course,every other cheesehead/yooper can IDENTIFY you as soon as you start to speak....I had been in the army for almost 5 years,and thought my accent was TOTALLY eradicated-till I got to 2/92 artilly,in Giessen,Germany,and our BMO asked me-"So,WHERE in Wisconsin are you FROM?"...so much for speaking normally....and many other instances of that throughout the years...it NEVER goes away......the wife did'nt believe that we had those accents till we left Wisconsin-we have'nt lived there since 98,and while on leave this past spring,she was LAUGHING at EVERYONE'S accent-INCLUDING the State Trooper who pulled me over outside Bloomer,WI(Yes,thats a real town)-then she was ragging on 2 of her sisters-said that they sounded like REP Sensenbrenner,who she was just losing it over during the impeachment hearings.Having seen the Honorable Rep. sennsenbrenner at a public function I CAN attest to the fact that his accent could be cut with a knife-after DECADES in Washington....and then I get here-a new XO walks into the troop-his german surname was a dead give away- I asked HIM-"Sir,WHERE in Wisconsin?"....Beaver Dam,sergeant......then another guy came into the troop and pulled it on me.....he was describing downtown Green Bay to me-I asked him how he knew it so well...Duh,I'm from wausau-and i picked up yer accent the first day....the wife is in the units FRG program,and there was another unit spiuse there-a german national-who asked her-what part of GERMANY are you from...uh,Green Bay?....

Saber Ceremony

2005-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

Well,we had 2 guys leave the unit today,one,a young E4(P),who just passed the board,who is going to a brigade recon troop at Fort campbell,and the other one,a knucklehead PFC,transitioning to the reserves.Well,in the time honored tradition of the cavalry,we took some money out of the platoon fund and got them each a saber.Theres a shop here in radcliff that has them pretty reasonable ,and we got both of them,with engraving,for under a hundred bucks-not bad.I called the guys to attention,had both of them post,and one of my suad leaders presented them.I then turned the platoon over to the young E4(P),and suggested that he just MIGHT want to drop the whole platoon before he left.........he thought it was just a DANDY idea,and proceeded to do just that......now,I gotta ask myself THIs-is it WISE to give sharp objects to cav guys?

Winter Blahs

2005-01-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

Well,the holidays are done,and we're well into the new year-time fer the winter blahs to set in......kinda dead time around here,not much going on,and the winter weather is getting crappier and crappier.The whole Ohio valley got socked in with tons of snow,and now we have the cold.....I had to go to the range with another platoon yesterday to be a safety NCO-well,by god,MY cheesehead ass was'nt ABOUT to get cold-I dug out all the snivel gear I could find-fell out in parka,long johns,hood and scarf,and trigger mittens-and I stayed WARM.....while everyone else froze their nads off...well,they knew they were going to the range,and the army issued them all the same stuff I wore,so its on them.Monday,we have a PT test coming up-THAT should be interesting in the cold-but we have to raise our platoon average to 250,so we can all enter a belt buckle ruck march going on next month-looking forward to THAT-my old ass can't run like the young pups,but I can STILL ruck these guys into the ground...it'll be fun-then after that,we have a spur ride coming up,then on into spring and summer training requirements....Oh,joy...

Returning to school at 43

2005-01-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

Well,I took the plunge,and got signed up fer some college-may as well-the army provides $4500.00 per year in tuition assistance for any soldier willing to take advantage of it-plus it'll look good once the DA selection board starts looking at me for SFC.I'm working toward an associates in general studies from Central Texas College-you know-THE university for the military....I started off with US History 101,covering the period from 1607-1877.Pretty good chunk of history,but,I've always been a history freak,so I'll SMOKE this course.I went to the first class yesterday-(at 0800 on a saturday morning-EEEK)-when my alarm went off at 0643,the wife mumbled something about,are you smoking ****ing CRACK getting up so early......told her I had class,and off I went.Arrived at the Ed center,and alas,the instructor did'nt have the key to the classroom-I offered to hook up my logging chain to the door,and pull it off with my truck,but he politely declined and accused me of being a TANKER........I quickly corrected his mistaken assumption-turns out the guy is a retired 19 Delta from the Vietnam era,so I won't hold it against him....anyway,we could'nt get in,but since we showed up,he gave us all credit for that class,and said,see you thursday-it promises to be a cool course,and I'm looking forward to it.

Googling

2005-01-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Ok,I've figgered out by now,that yes,I DO need adult supervision-i LOVE entering goofy words into search engines,just to see what I come up with-but,I never figgered that when I entered "crap" into google,I'd get 180,000 results-or when,just for shits and giggles,I entered "cats"-27.8 million results...now I LIKE cats(especially with ketchup and onions),but come on people......I've also been known to enter into search engines such things as "cat flatulence"-"shut yer pie hole",and "dirty socks"....all kinds of cool shit comes up-and sometimes,you can find some really neat sites unexpectedly-I once put "shit" in the search engine,and found some hilarious military humor sites-and some really lame ones as well.Wonder what I'd come up with if I entered "Kerry blows ass"?

Arghh,Broken water line

2005-01-07T16:18:00.000-08:00

well,I got up to go to PT yesterday,and walked across the hall to the bathroom and started shaving-well,I noticed that there was'nt any hot water-it was barely lukewarm-I though,GREAT-the freakin' hot water heater went out.......and started wondering,HOW long will it take the facilities engineers to fix it?Well,then after I finished getting cleaned up and started walking downstairs to head out,I heard water gushing-shit,busted pipes......well,I found where it was coming from-under the kitchen sink,and killed off the main valve,and went back upstairs and told household six to call in an emergency work order,and I'd break loose rigfht after formation and come back.I got accountability of my knuckleheads and turned things over to one of my squad leaders and dashed back,and helped the wife get everything mopped up-fortuneatly,this happened on a work day,and I discovered it quickly enough where there was'nt much damage to anything-but WAIT-theres MORE-turns out that underneath our sink was a veritable toxic waste dump of black mold,that made New Jersey seem positively CLEAN-and the water carried it all out into the kitchen and hallway-well,the wife ended up in the post hospital later in the day with severe mold allergy reaction.Now,housing wants us to move to different quarters because of this-and in a way,thats cool,because these are too cramped anyway-but I would have preferred to wait till spring,but they're telling me maybe a month or so till we get new ones.On the bright side they DO have to move us into he newest neighborhood here at Fort Knox,so maybe its not that bad.

Happy New Year!

2004-12-31T18:33:00.000-08:00

Well,that time of year again....time to get totally shitfaced and make all those resolutions you have NO intention whatsoever of sticking to!!!!!Well, '04 was'nt a bad year,compared to some I've had,but its always nice to have yer annual fresh start I guess.....but,I'm getting ready to start consuming good corn likker and fermented malt beverages,and ring in the new year-and if Top calls me cuz one of my kids is in jail up in Indiana,well TFB,I'm DRINKING already.......

Buddy of mine wounded

2004-12-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

Got an e-mail today from a buddy of mine at Fort Lewis-"the gremlin"-so named because he was about 5 feet tall and kept a shaved head-he's a cool dude though-helped me keep my freakin' sanity while I was there-the guy was just totally GONE!He's deployed over to the box as a combat cameraman-this is his THIRD combat tour-as a SP4-mybe he should slow down.....anyway,he got caught up in a roadside bomb outside Baghdad.Guess he's ok,but it damaged his eardrums,and his ears keep bleeding.says they'll probably be evacking him stateside soon.But he seems in good spirits about it-says he got a hadji the day before,so he's EVEN...

Is christmas done YET?

2004-12-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

Is the holiday season done YET?????Fortunately,we're past christmas itself,the tree is down,got my living room back....I dunno,just could'nt git in the holiday spirit this year-I suppose a certain E. Scrooge could commiserate with that.....well,at least its better than Christmas of 1990-I was one of around 100 of us selected to be the division advance party,moving farther north toward the Iraqi border-and bear in mind,I had been sent to a pogue unit prior to deploying-a trans unit.We had NO combat arms support accompanying us on our recon mission-talk about freaking GAY....we had sidearms and a handful of M-16s,and I think a 203 or 2-going up to a stones throw of the Iraqi border!THAT sucks on Christmas.....well,at least I'd gotten a good present-before we left,my buddy John and I swapped gifts-I gave him a pack of smokes,and he gave me 2 cans of soda...hey,it was all we had,but sure was nice to get.

"Anger Management"

2004-12-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Has anyone ever heard a SILLIER peice of psycho-babble than "anger management"?Come ON-anger is a NATURAL emotion..........but,I guess this keeps a bunch of people employed,doing work that should'nt even EXIST.....whats next?

Further Antics of Spud,the rat dog

2004-12-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

My dog,spud,thinks he's a freaking CAT!!!!!!We bought some really primo catnip for our 2 OTHER varmints,and he was all over it like a democrat on a welfare check..............HELLO McFly-yer a DOG!!!!!!Species Identity crisis?I realize he's only 15 pounds,and waddles with his belly barely clearing the floor,and sammie the yellow tiger kitty,kicks his ass DAILY....I suppose I'd have issues TOO in that case......then there was the time he was on the couch,fighting-with absolutely NOTHING......maybe it was the voices in his little canine/feline head....

On Coffee Cups and Zippo Lighters

2004-12-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

The manufacturers of both coffee cups and zippo lighters are evil.They know theres guys like ME who'll keep buying them,just because of the nifty logos on them....like last time I went home on leave,we were in Poynette,WI-saw a zippo with a Packer logo on it-now Packer fans are suckers-you could put a packer logo on a pile of shit,and we'd BUY it....now,lord knows,the last thing I needed was ANOTHER zippo-but,sure as shit,I forked over the 26 bucks fer it.....to add to my First Cav,2nd Dragoons,32nd Infantry,Ford Truck,POW/MIA,and various and sundry OTHER zippos(not to mention the one I picked up at the mall In Patteya Beach,Thailand,thats about the size of Rhode Island)....but dumbasses like me KEEP buying them!I just don't see and END to it...then theres coffee cups-same principle-got coffee cups for EVERYTHING....every unit I've ever been in,places I've been,and just ones I think are cool-the old lady is at her wits end with it-yet SHE is ALSO guilty of it.....but I take it to extremes-I could probably serve coffee to half the neighborhood,using ONLY cups with cav shit on them.....it probably would'nt be so bad if we actually had SPACE i our quarters here for stuff,but we have to fight for EVERY square inch of space we can find-then a couple old pack rats like US come along.....oh well-could be worse I suppose......could be a coca-cola freak like my bud Herb....

Good Book

2004-12-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

I just picked up a copy of the book "In The Company of Heros",by CW3 Micheal Durant-he was one of the pilots shot down in Somalia in 93,and featured in "Blackhawk Down"-its a "can't put downer" book....its awesome!He starts out telling about his service with task force ranger in Somalia,then he intersperses the book with accounts of his earlier military career,serving an an intel puke in Panama,then attending flight school at "mother" Rucker,AL,going on to srve as a Blackhawk pilot with the 101st,and finally being chosen to fly with the 10th Special ops avaiation Regiment-(one of those units which does'nt officially exist).....lots of humorous episodes in there-like how they jerry rigged their commanders wind shield washer pump to spray INSIDE the car!It then goes back to his action in Somalia,and his shootdown,and captivity by the SNA(somalian National Alliance).This cat went through some SHIT.....if there was ever anyone deserving of the MOH,its this guy-but he's very humble,and downplays his own actions-he has the utmost praise for MSG Gary Gordon,and SFC Shughart,the 2 Delta Force snipers who moved to his crash site,and delayed the somalis as long as possible,till they went down under enemy gunfire.And those guys WERE heros-and recieved the MOH posthumously-the first ones except for SGT Trujillo,(Grenada),to recieve it since Viet Nam-and rightly so-these guys put themselves between a wounded pilot and a mob of hundreds of armed thugs,and selflessly gave their lives to protect him until a relief force could arrive-unfortunately,they could'nt hold them off long enough,and Chief Durant was captured,but they died saving a fellow soldier-and deserve the utmost respect from a grateful nation-(surprised that the draft dodger in chief GAVE them the MOH)-I highly reccomend this book to EVERYONE-think I'll E-mail a message about it to the pentagon about getting it on the Chief of staffs reading list.

More adventures as an NCO

2004-12-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well,the regular platoon daddy got back last week-BOY was I glad to see him-told him I was gonna give him a big wet sloppy kiss...he looked at me like I had 2 heads-anyway,it was good to turn the aggravations back over to him for awhile...then I busted him out-turns out,he told one of the other NCOs the friday before he went on leave"I'll be going on leave soon"-just did'nt say WHEN!Ok asshole,I OWE you one....Myself and this guy go back a few years-we were in Iraq together as squad leaders in 3rd Infantry Division,so he must have trusted me to run things in his absence,but still wish he'd BRIEFED me.....but its nice to be dropped down to the position of senior scout,one notch below the platoon sergeant-I'm still basically running the platoon,but SSG J. gets to take the BLAME for any screw-ups!The past few weeks have been quite a transformation for me as an NCO-I feel I've gained a lot of respect withing the troop-both from the joes and the NCOs-in fact,I was selected to give the pre holiday safety brief to the whole squadron.Afterwards,both the squadron and regimental CSMs shook my hand and told me I did a good job.Guess it was so good,my troop XO let me do it AGAIN the next day.....Well,if I get my records descrewed in time,I'll catch the January E-6 board,but looks like I'll most likely have to go in Feb.And then,a year after I get pinned SSG,then I can drop my E-7 packet.

Arghhh

2004-12-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Boy,I feel like pure-D crap....woke up with the flu this morning-thought at first it was the after effects of household six and myself killing off half a 5th of good kentucky sippin' whiskey last night,but alas,this is no mere hangover.....been running a fever all day,and can't stay awake,and been running to the can all day-thought I was gonna shit my drawers at Wally-World,but made it through there without an accident.speaking of Wally-World,it was quite the genetic non diversity festival there tonight-come on-I realize that I AM in Kentucky,but they get some real gems at the local wal-mart-and thats just the employees....kinda reminds me of the denizens of the Peirce County Transit System in Washington-the "bus people"....when I used to ride the buses there,I'd always have a good knife or .22 pistol in my pocket-they were SCARY people...anyway,got back from Wal-mart,and STILL feel like crap-then found out I got screwed-I bought a shrek blanket-to strap to my gear and take to the field-to make my guys WONDER about me-like they don't already.....turns out it was a BABY blanket!Well,there goes 13 bucks.....anyway,still feel like crap,and cound'nt get anything done today-we wanted to work on one of our vans today,but that did'nt happen-and we HAVE to get it up and running,because a moving truck backed into our OTHER van on Tuesday and busted out the rear glass and caved in the lift gate.....so,we'll get on that tommorrow,so we have a vehicle up when the other one gets repaired....just wish I felt better..

The Old Lady has Issues,or MORE dumpster diving adventures

2004-12-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well,we were TRYING to go to wal-mart,and get stuff we NEEDED,when household six executed a left turn down a strange stret in the housing area...WHERE are you going????...well,lets recon these strets up here...I replied-And we'll put the stuff we dive WHERE???Fort Knox has the smallest quarters of any stateside post,and this can be a problem-ESPECIALLY if yer a dedicated dumpster diver...well,we spotted one of those big igloo shaped doghouses,and SOMEHOW crammed it into the back of our van-mind you,ALL my TA-50,and leaders books,and varios and sundry other military paraphernalia were unceremoniously dumped into the back of the van,th other day when we had unloaded it from the extend cab of my truck the other day when I took it in to get the clutch fixed..well,after shuffling stuff around,we got it in,SOMEHOW....and got it home-and the damn pooch won't even use it!

Beauracracy at its Finest

2004-12-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

well,I'm slated to go to the SSG promotion board in January,so,I went to the army's website to review my OMPF(201 file)-alas and alack,it shows me mysteriously appearing in the army three years ago,AS a sergeant,having NEVER been ANYWHERE overseas,no combat tours,no schools,and very few awards....WHY does this not surprise me????Well,I've been fighting the beaureacratic monster for the last week,to no avail.....been back and forth to S-1,MILPO,back to the ebsite,e-mailing Indianapolis with info,and NOTHING has been updated....theres a young corporal in my Squadron's S-1 shop who HAS been trying to un-jack it up,but he's not getting very far.....I suppose this will EVENTUALLY get de-screwed,but its getting frustrating-I want full credit for everything I have done in the army the past couple decades,and not to go into the board looking like an idiot....or having to remove half the awards from my uniform-hell,the don't even have my Garryowen(7th Cavalry) regimental Affiliation in there....and thats just WRONG!

Unit Christmas Party

2004-12-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Had my troop's annual christmas party last night-kicking off at 1800-except I had duty till 1830-so,household six said she'd link up with me over there-so,I finished my duty,had to swing by regiment to drop off my 1594,and cruised on up to where the party was being held.I had ONE foot out of my truck,when one of the tanker NCOs told me that my wife had called his,and relayed a message for me to pick her and the cubs up.Well, I was thinking-WTF?We HAVE three cars.....SSG Perez did'nt know what the deal was-"just relaying a message,dude".....so,went home to pick them up-turns out she could'nt find her car keys.So,we all piled into one of the vans and headed out-and had to do an emergency resupply of soda at the PX on the way.We got there,with me still dressed as a tree-army of one,ya know...everyone else was in civvies.But,we circulated among everyone,had a pretty good time-then it was time to pass out presents.Both my girls got presents,which the unit had provided.Then the commander started taking pics of the kids sitting on santa's lap..ok,thats cool,but the comander had some shots left,so several of the soldiers started chanting-"Sergeant King,sergeant King,sergeant King...",so being a good sport,I got my pic taken with Santa.If it turns up on the squadron web site,I'm kicking someone's ass!Well,the party continued,then we hung around to help clean up,and headed home.When we were geting ready for bed,the wife's keys turned up-in MY pants pocket....

Useful Link or I Need Adult Supervision

2004-12-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.burpsandfarts.com/

reminds me of when my daughter drank some lamp oil-we called the 800 number on the bottle-they said don't worry-all it'll do is make her burp and fart....

Good Samaritan In Indiana

2004-12-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

We were rolling through Indiana last spring,on our way to Kentucky,when we decided to break for lunch.Well,we were short on cash,and needed to find an ATM to get some for lunch and gas.We pulled into a travel plaza,in Hebron,Indiana and we asked some gal where we could find an ATM.Well,I was wearing a US cavalry t-shirt,and she asked if I was in the army-I replied in the affirmative.Well,she INSISTED on buying us lunch AND slipping us 10 bucks for gas,to boot!I tried to turn it down,and thank her anyway,but BOY she was insistent-C'mon lady,I just need to find an ATM-the army is paying me well to make this move....well,this crusty old horse soldier lost THAT fight!We were totally taken aback,after 27 months of being treated like pondscum while stationed on the left coast.Sure was good to be back in the Midwest!

The General

2004-12-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

I was walking into the building where my office is(an old barracks-we really ARE the red-headed stepchildren of Fort Knox),when I saw a gaggle of tankers clustered around a Brigadier General,who was talking to them.I walked up,and noticed his green beret-yup,an SF general-we gabbed for about 15 mikes-and quite the character he was......he just went off(with VERY colorful language) about the young SP4 who was whining to Rumsfeldt about having to scrounge materials to reinforce their vehicles....hell,thats standard doctrine to USE available materials to increase armor protection....AND I remember rolling into Iraq in 91 in some real crackwhore vehicles-and we STILL stomped a mudhole in the Republican Guard Corps' ass.The guy kinda reminded me of my CG in First Cav in 91-also quite the character-"SP4 king,my tanks are rolling through here soon-give them all the fucking gas they want"....need a few more crusty guys like him,and less PC perfumed princes...

My @#$%^&* clutch

2004-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

well,my cluth went out today.....had to limp it about 6 miles to the shop at 10MPH-had household six behind me as trail vehicle running flashers-still though,had some folks decided to "wave" at me-just wish they'd used ALL their fingers.....anyway,got it to the shop,and the guy confirmed it was the clutch-then his cat bit me.....it'll cost me about 600 clams to get it fixed,but I was planning on getting it done at tax time anyway..well,guess it just prove that a pick 'em up truck is a hole that you pour yer life savings into...

C-store clerk shoots would be robber

2004-12-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

I was watching the local news,and it had some great footage,from the store's security camera,of an attempted c-store robbery up in Louisville-well,old robber got more than he bargained for-old girl behind the counter shot him to peices....unfortunately,he'll survive,and is being guarded by deputies in the hospital until he's well enough to stand trial-I'm glad they showed it on the local news-it'll send a strong message that us armed citizens WILL fight back-just can't imagine them having shown it on the news when I was out on the west coast-unless it was footage of the CLERK being arrested for defending herself...

The Incredible Farting Cat

2004-12-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

Back in 95,right after my daughter poo came home from the vet clinic,I got home from work,and being the good recon scout that I am,noticed something amiss in my living room-there was a VARMINT attempting to escape and evade behind the couch-I looked at household six,and asked-"what was THAT?"..well,replied she,we were at a rummage sale,and,.....well,he's so CUTE......anyway we got stuck with him...but it turned out OK...that cat could fart like nobodies business!And STINK!!!!!!Methinks he was part skunk.....had that cat a lot of years-traipsed him all across the country-from wisconsin,to Michigan-then back on active duty,and down to Louisiana with him,then out to washington on the left coast.During all those years,he had lots of medical problems.What had happened was,he got inadvertantly locked inside someone's garage in Michigan,for several weeks,and damnere starved to death.He was nothing but skin and bones when he finally made it home-it was touch and go wether he'd make it,but he bounced back slowly.One side effect of the starvation though,was that his head was permanently crooked......so(picture this)-when we'd give him catnip-a neurologically damaged,crooked headed farting cat defending his stash against the dog......then there was his habit of CATCHING animals,but forgetting to KILL them-the mighty hunter he was NOT....one time,he deposited a live chipmunk in my girls' dresser drawer-my daughter told household six that there was a chipmunk in her dresser-"yeah,yeah,whatever"...no mama,there really IS...she had to go find a REAL cat to catch it.....periodically,he would have bouts of illness,and go down for a few days,and we'd bottle feed him until he regained his strength.But,last year around christmastime,he finally went down,for the last time-not sure if it was related to the medical problems he'd had throughout the years or not-his head got much more crooked,and he walked around in circles,and could'nt feed himself or anything-we sat up with him most of the night,but by the time I got up for PT,he was gone...well,we gave him a funeral with full military honors-well he WAS a sergeant-major...but,damn I miss that old stinky varmint!

My Daughter's Farts

2004-12-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Farts are neat.Farts are slick.farts are cool as hell-why,they're shit without the mess......anyway,my youngest daughter,Poo-is flatulently gifted......thats my girl.........she has a habit of coming down first thing in the morning and letting out a big ripsnorter.....awful powerful fart fer a nine year old!She's gotta take after me-after all,I did once get an 11 on a fart,when we were rating them on a scale of one to TEN.....I cleared the whole tent,on the coldest night of the war!IS there a fart gene?GOD,I hope so......regardless,her farting abilities ARE coming along nicely.....my other daughter PRETENDS that she does'nt fart,but we KNOW better...

more dumpster diving treasures

2004-12-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well,we were driving through the housing area,minding our own business,when household six INSISTED on diving some more STUFF......found an old WW2 style folding field table,which I've been wanting one of those for awhile,and have'nt been able to "aquire" one yet.....also found a nice bedside stand that we got.We saw a couch,but it was missing cushions,so we left that on the curb.

Driving through Montana

2004-12-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

We were reminiscing about our escape from the people's republic of washington last march,and we remembered our automotive adventures in Montana.......I was driving my 93 F-150 pick 'em up truck,with a 2500 pound camper trailer behind it-we'd made pretty good progress for the last few days-weather was fair,roads were'nt too bad-except a few stretches right across the washington line,in Idaho-made a gas stop in Montana,then got on the road again.I was driving through the mountains,in Musselshell county-BEAUTIFUL country -and gabbing with household six on our motorolas,when I suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the road-"Why'd you stop?",queried she................."my CLUTCH just went out"...followed by language worthy of any good NCO....well,we stressed for a few minutes,but soon,the chief deputy sheriff of the county,a gal by the name of Wendy Shores-MAYBE all of 25 years old,showed up-she got on her cell phone,and called a wrecker-and BOY was this wrecker a beast-a 79 F-250,with a home welded towing unit on it....but it got us to the town of Roundup,15 miles away.Now bear in mind,I've ALWAYS wanted to see Roundup,Montana,but not under those circumstances....anyway,they got us to a repair shop,and the guy replaced a line-that was all that had gone out on it-got back on the road fer 60 bucks.....coulda been MUCH worse,or anywhere else,they probably woulda taken us for a bundle-I tip my cavalry stetson to the good folks of Montana

TGIF

2004-12-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

No,that does'nt stand for "toes go in first"-although that might be some useful guidance for Herb..well,its friday,and have'nt totally pulled out all my hair yet after filling as as platoon sergeant all week-but I'm WORKING on it....my barber will have an easy time on my next haircut....well,I've only had to work late and take problem children to see the man 3 days out of the last 4......wonder if I'll have a drama free day TODAY?probably not...........oh,the joys of being an NCO in a training support regiment-I long for when a REAL unit gets here,and I can run away screaming from TRADOC(training and doctrine command)-and return to FORSCOM-(Forces command)-which is basically all the major combat units in the continental US.Life will be MUCH easier than-but,my problem children DO keep my on my toes-although myself and some other NCOs MAY have to link up with the tankers-commandeer a tank,and conduct a raid on the Jim Beam distillery down in Bardstown,just down the road...and have some tradoc therapy....

Duck tape and other useful items

2004-12-02T04:28:00.000-08:00

I love duck tape.Along with zip ties,coat hangers,550 cord,and all the standard issue items fer white trash engineering.Always figgered if it can't be fixed with duck tape,it can't be fixed-even used to secure my kids diapers with duck tape-and tied up some hadji P.O.W.s with it too-what are some of your more memorable duck tape experiences?

space limitations

2004-12-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

Ever notice that the older,(and more pack-rat-ified one gets),it seems yer house keeps SHRINKING?Granted,our quarters here at Fort Knox are cramped-probably the smallest quarters of any army post-but,damn,HOW do piles of stuff tend to reproduce mysteriously,thereby using up all available space,and you have to continually search through everything to find anything?Ok,I admit,my dumpster diving activities and addiction to thrift shops and used bookstores MIGHT play a minor role in this.....

killer charged in Wisconsin mass shooting

2004-12-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=716&e=5&u=/ap/20041130/ap_on_re_us/hunters_shot

I have to ask-will he be charged with a "hate crime" as well?

NCO creed

2004-12-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.army.mil/leaders/sma/creed.htm

On being a platoon daddy

2004-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

My platoon sergeant went on leave and did'nt tell me-thanks asshole!So,i got thrust into the platoon sergeant slot for 2 weeks,without being briefed on ANYTHING.......so,after 3 days of it,I've COMPLETELY pulled my hair out.............but I'm stumbling through it ok.Then,at the daily platoon sergeants meeting,I had to reccomend MYSELF for promotion...and Top INSISTED I go-ok,I will-might as well get paid for the aggravations...

good history site

2004-11-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.geocities.com/sonzabird/easternfront.html

paper grocery bags

2004-11-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

Whatever happened to those good old paper grocery bags?They were sooooo handy-we were looking for some around the house,and no luck.....had to go BUY paper grocery bag wrapping paper instead of SALVAGING it...

More On Mass Shooting

2004-11-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-hunters23.html

Ok,this doucheball is already trying to evade justice-too bad one of the hunters did'nt shoot him in self defense

Snot-nosed Punks these days

2004-11-27T18:32:00.000-08:00

Last night,we were traveling down the street,when we came upon 2 young soldiers,playing with their remote control cars in the street,in the housing area.They took their sweet assed time getting them out of our way,and because we'd had the unmitigated gall and audacity to drive a CAR on a public street,slammed one of their toy cars into the back of our van......BAD move!"DRIVER,STOP-COMBAT DISMOUNT-GO-GO-GO".......I then confronted the 2 young soldiers,and they had the balls to DEMAND to know what RIGHT I had to correct their behavior!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"BECAUSE I'M A ****ING NON COMMISIONED OFFICER IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY ENFORCING MILITARY STANDARDS"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Man,I was ready to choke both of them,but settled for getting their names and units-which,as it turns out,they're both in MY unit-hope they have fun explaining their actions to their 1st Srgeant on monday-but what are people thinking these days?

my crappy haircut

2004-11-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well,it was that time again-my every other weekend haircut was due.So,off I went to the PX barbershop to get de-hippied.Now,theres a KFC(Kentucky fat chick),who works there and normally cuts my mop,but this time,when my number came up,she was decisively engaged cutting someone elses hair-so I had to take the next barber in line-and he looked like the banjo player in "Deliverance"....I was cringing..so,I held my nose,gritted my teeth,and hopped into the barber chair,and proceeeded to get my wig cut.Two of my soldiers were in the shop,looking at me with knowing smirks-shoulda given me a hint.....anyway,I got home,and the wife looked at it,and said,you got BUTCHERED!!!!....the worst was yet to come-the following monday morning,I had to attend a daily platoon Sergeants' meeting-I sat down next to the 1st Sergeant and across from the skipper-both of whom busted out laughing....LAST time THAT guy touches my hair

Today Sucks-or-Will It ever stop raining?

2004-11-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

Gee,proffessor Murphy must be hard at it-on my 4 day holdiday weekend,and of course its cold,rainy and miserable.Methinks its a conspiracy-WHY,on weekends that I'm WORKING,is the weather great?I was planning to get lots of stuff done-yeah RIGHT........well,I did get the gas purged out of the lawnmower,to put it away for the winter-then like a dumbass,left the cap off,so it could evaporate the rest of the way..BAD idea-now its full of rain!I was also planning on ripping everything out of both my sheds,in order to make room to put other stuff away for the winter....well,that was also canceled due to rain.Of course,Spud the Rat DOg,still wants to go on walks-I TELL him,dude,you won't LIKE it..but does he listen?Of COURSE not!Well,hopefully the rain will clear up-want to get SOMETHING done tommorrow.

my guestbook

2004-11-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

https://panel.dreamhost.com/dreambook/?tab=add

stop by and say hi in my guestbook

Mass shooting in Wisconsin

2004-11-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.nbc5.com/news/3937952/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65192

I'll add some commentary on this myself as events unfold-I was certainly shocked by this,as things like this just normally don't happen in Wisconsin.I've been discussing this with some guys in my unit who are from Wisconsin and Minnesota,and they were awfully shocked as well.We're eagerly awaiting what kind of half baked defense some scumbag lawyer comes up with for this shitbag

Douglas Adams quotes

2004-11-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~nhughes/dna/faqs/quotedir.html

Right to keep and bear arms

2004-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.rkba.org/

good site for gear and ammo

2004-11-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/default.asp

good political site

2004-11-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.dummocrats.com/

7th cav site

2004-11-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

http://lewis184.home.mchsi.com/7th_cavalry_regiment.htm#A

Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

Well,its Thanksgiving today-and sure is cold here in Kaintuck.....finally dragged my stinkin' carcass out of my warm bed,and braved the cold house-had varmints wrapped around me under the covers,but was still cold..anyway,got up,put on my homer simpson slippers to keep my feet warm(THAT really confuses the pooch)....well,guess its good I did'nt wear my gorrilla slippers,as that woulda really confused him,although I did once wear them to the 7-11 in Tillicum,WA on a dare.....anyway,winter is finally rolling in here,and I just AIN'T ready for it!And of course,like millions of americans,every year,our turkey was'nt fully thawed...what to do?Well,a local radio station suggested putting it in the clothes dryer....naw,maybe thats a bad idea...had him sitting in the fridge for 2 days,figgered he'd be ready come thanksgiving morning,but he was still partially frozen.Well,a little,(OK,a LOT),of hot water got him ready for the roaster.So,its definitely gonna be a pig-out day here..I'll probably gain 10 pounds today-I LOOK at food and gain weight..just hope Herb is'nt eating turkey today-that would make him a CANNIBAL....

cheesehead humor

2004-11-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

On Visiting Wisconsin This Summer - Do it, Then Go Home How to save your ass if you plan to visit Wisconsin this summer 1. Don't order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Al's Lodge. It's a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you upset the ladies in the kitchen they'll kick your ass. 2. Don't laugh at the names of our little towns (Sheboygan, Mukwonago, Onalaska, Oconomowoc, Nekoosa, Pewaukee, Wauzeka, etc.) or we will just have to kick your ass. 3. Don't order a bottle or a can of soda here. Here it's called "pop". Accept it. Doing otherwise can lead to an ass kicking. 4. We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you. We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer. Don't refer to us as a bunch of hicks or we'll kick your ass. 5. We have plenty of business sense. You have to make a living here, unlike some places where people are allowed to live off parents past the age of 16. Naturally, we do sometimes have small lapses in judgment from time to time, but we are not dumb enough to let someone move to our state in order to run for the Senate. If someone tried to do that, we would kick her ass. We are also not dumb enough to elect a Professional Wrestler to our highest state office. People like that should have their ass kicked. 6. Don't laugh at our giant fiberglass fish and cows. Anything that inspires tourists to buy 50,000 postcards can't be bad. And don't laugh at our love and pride of cheese or we'll kick your ass. 7. We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter so shut the hell up. Just spend your money and get the hell out of here or we'll kick your ass. 8. Don't order the vegetarian special at the local diner. Everyone will instantly know that you're a tourist. Eat your steak well done like God intended and have some potatoes with that, for heaven's sake! Also, don't ask what a hot dish is or we'll kick your ass. 9. Don't try to fake a Wisconsin accent. We don't have an accent. That will incite a riot and you will get your ass kicked many times. 10. Don't talk about how much better things are at home because we know better. Many of us have visited big-city hellholes like Detroit, Chicago, and New York and we have the scars to prove it. If you don't like it here, Interstates 90, 94, and 43 are ready when you are. Move your ass on home before it gets kicked. 11. Along the same lines, don't try to tell us we don't have beaches like California, Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina. We got two great lakes, lakes up the ass, and the biggest river on the continent. You knock our beaches and we'll kick your ass. 12. Don't complain that Wisconsin has too many mosquitoes and farmland. If you whine about OUR scenic beauty we'll kick your ass all the way back to Chicago. 13. Don't ridicule our mannerisms. We only speak when spoken to. We hold doors open for others. We offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people. Behave yourselves around our sweet, little gray-haired grandmothers or they will kick some manners into your ass just like they did ours. 14. Don't lie to any of us. If we don't find out right away, we will eventually. We will then kick your ass. 15. So you think we're quaint or losers because most of us live on the farm or in the woods? That's because we have enough sense to not live in filthy, smelly, crime-infested cesspools like New York or LA. Make fun of our fresh air and we'll kick your ass. 16. Anyone from any point further south than the Mason-Dixon line will have their ass kicked back to whence they came. If you are from Virginia, we will kick your ass using some LaCrosse Steel reinforced boots. 17. Oshkosh B'gosh is NOT a joke. Your ass will be kicked. 18. Last, but not least, DO NOT DARE to come out here and tell us how the prairies should "go back to the buffalo." This will get your ass shot (right after it is kicked). Just mention this once and you will go home in a pine box minus your ass. Enjoy your visit and then go home.

Armed Citizens

2004-11-24T05:06:00.000-08:00

Armed Citizens Mean a Safer City by John R. Lott, Jr. It is one of the benefits of being a politician. While handguns are banned for citizens in Washington, D.C., congressmen are allowed to have a gun for self-protection on the Capitol grounds. Well-known liberal politicians such as Senators Chuck Schumer and Ted Kennedy have armed bodyguards. The wives of politicians, such as Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle's wife, Linda, also have bodyguards. Undoubtedly, these politicians and their families have extremely good reasons for this protection, but many other Americans, especially those living with the high crime rates in D.C., also feel the same way. Thank goodness the U.S. House of Representatives finally voted to overturn D.C.'s handgun ban. While these politicians have protection both in their homes and as they travel around in public, since September 24, 1976, other D.C. residents have lived under the nation's most restrictive gun laws. Police enforce a citywide handgun ban, and local statutes require residents to keep long guns disassembled, unloaded, and locked up. Yet, with a murder rate of 46 per 100,000 people in 2002, the District easily holds the title of the U.S. murder capital among cities with over 500,000 people. This was not even close to being the case prior to the ban. Crime rose significantly after the gun ban went into effect. In the five years before Washington's ban in 1976, the murder rate fell from 37 to 27 per 100,000. In the five years after it went into effect, the murder rate rose back up to 35. During this same time, robberies fell from 1,514 to 1,003 per 100,000 and then rose by over 63 percent, up to 1,635. The five-year trends are not some aberration. In fact, while murder rates have varied over time, during the almost 30 years since the ban, the murder rate has only once fallen below what it was in 1976. These pre-law drops and subsequent increases were much larger than any changes in neighboring Maryland and Virginia. For example, the District's murder rate fell during the same five-year period from 3.5 to 3 times more than in the neighboring states and rose back up after the ban to 3.8 times more. The bill being voted on will "restore the right of self defense in the home." When the ban passed, criminals had less to worry about from armed citizens and burglaries soared by 56 percent in the five years. Disassembled, unloaded, and locked long guns are essentially useless for self-defense. With police response times in the District averaging 8 minutes and 25 seconds, one doesn't always have the luxury of waiting for police to respond. Surely the ban cannot be blamed for all the District's crime problems. The police department has had severe problems over hiring standards and there have been management and morale issues. But even cities with far better police agencies have seen crime soar in the wake of handgun bans. Chicago, whose ban on new handguns started in 1982, has police computer systems that are the envy of the nation, a bevy of shiny new police facilities and a productive working relationship with community groups. Indeed, the city has achieved impressive reductions in property crime in recent years. But the gun ban didn't work at all when it came to reducing violence. Chicago's murder rate fell from 27 to 22 per 100,000 in the five years before the law and then rose slightly to 23. The change is even more dramatic when compared to five neighboring Illinois counties: Chicago's murder rate fell from being 8.1 times greater than its neighbors in 1977 to 5.5 times in 1982, and then went way up to 12 times greater in 1987. While robbery data isn't available for the years immediately after the ban, since 1985 (the first year for which the FBI has data) robbery rates soared. The irony over the gun-ban debate is that Democratic national standard bearers at least publicly give lip service to the claim that Americans have an individual right to own guns for self-protection. Senator John Kerry has said, "I believe that the Constitution, our laws and our customs protect law-abiding American citizens' right to own firearms." Senator John Edwards claims "I believe that the 2nd Amendment protects Americans' right to own firearms for purposes like hunting and personal protection...." Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic minority leader, has also just affirmed his support for the Second Amendment in ads airing in his tight race in South Dakota. These politicians' support for an individual right to own guns for protection hardly squares with threats to filibuster the bill to end the ban when it reaches the Senate. Proponents of the bans claim that the laws failed because guns leaked into the District and Chicago from neighboring areas, but there was not even the smallest reduction in crime. We all want to take guns from criminals. The problem is that gun bans appear to have disarmed only law-abiding citizens while leaving criminals free to prey on the populace.

Why We need to ban guns-or contradictions of the anti-gun left

2004-11-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

WHY WE NEED TO BAN GUNS-OR, CONTRADICTIONS OF THE ANTI-GUN LEFT
1.Banning guns works, which is why New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago cops need guns.
2.Washington D.C.’s low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control,while Indianapolis’s high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to lack of gun control.
3.Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control.But statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are “just statistics”.
4.The Brady bill,and assault weapons ban,which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime,which have been declining since 1991.
5.We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.
6.An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray,but if shot with a .357 magnum revolver,will get angry and kill you.
7.The more helpless you are,the safer you are from criminals.
8A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking pistol and a dead would be rapist at her feet.
9.When confronted by criminals,you should “put up no defense-give them what they want”(Pete Shields,HCI).
10.The New England journal of Medicine has some excellent articles on guns-just as Guns and Ammo has some wonderful treatises on heart surgury.
11.One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seatbelts,a civil engineer for safer bridges,a surgeon for internal medicine,a computer programmer for hard drive problems,and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.
12.The second amendment,ratified in 1787,refers to the National Guard,which was created 130 years later,in 1917.
13.The National Guard,federally funded,with bases on federal land,using federally owned weapons,vehicles,and uniforms,and punishing tresspassers under federal law,is a state militia.
14.The phrases”Right of the people to peaceably assemble”,”right of the people to be secure in their homes”,”enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people”,”and “The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively,and to the people”,all refer to individuals,but the “right of the people to keep and bear arms” refers to the state.
15.”the constitution is strong and shall never change”but we should ban and seize guns,thereby violating the 2nd,4th and 5th amendments to the constitution.
16.Rifles and handguns are not neccesary to national defense.Which is why the military owns millions of them.
17.Private citizens shouldn't have handguns,because they are “military weapons”.But private citizens also should not have assault weapons,because they ARE military weapons.
18.In spite of waiting periods,background checks,fingerprinting,government forms,etc,guns today are too readily available,which is responsible for recent school shootings.In the 1940s,1950s,and 1960s,anyone could buy guns at hardware stores,army surplus stores,gas stations,variety stores,Sears mail order,with no waiting,no background checks,no fingerprinting,no government forms,and there were no school shootings.
19.The NRA’s attempt to run a “Don’t touch” campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda,while the anti-gun lobby’s attempt to run a “Don’t touch” campaign is responsible social activity.
20.Guns are so complex that special training is required to use them,yet they are so simple they make murder easy.
21.A handgun,with up to 4 controls,is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use,as opposed to an automobile,that only has 20.
22.Women are just as intelligent as capable as men,but a woman with a gun is “an accident waiting to happen”,and gun makers advertisements aimed at women are “preying on their fears”.
23.Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers,but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.
24.Guns cause violence,which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.
25.A majority of the population supports gun control,just as a majority of the population supported owning slaves.
26.Any self loading weapon can be considered an “assault weapon”,or a “weapon of mass destruction”.
27.Most people can’t be trusted,so we should have laws against guns,which all criminals will comply with,because they can be trusted.
28.The right of internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights,but the use of a handgun in self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.
29.Free speech entitles one to own newspapers,transmitters,computers and typewriters,but self defense only justifies bare hands.
30.The ACLU is good,because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the constitution,but the NRA is bad because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the constitution.
31.Charlton Heston,a movie actor as president of the NRA,is a cheap lunatic who should be ignored.But Micheal Douglas,a movie actor,as a representative of Handgun Control,Incorporated,is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.
32.Police operate with back up within groups,which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines,as opposed to “civilians”,who must face face criminal alone,and therefore need less ammunition.
33.We should ban “saturday night specials”,and other inexpensive pistols,because it is’nt fair that poor people should have access to self defense guns.
34.Police officers have some special jedi-like mastery over handguns,that private citizens can never hope to attain.
35.Private citizens don’t need a handgun for self defense,because the police are there to protect them,
36.Citizens don’t need to carry a gun for personal protection,but police chiefs,who are desk bound administrators,who work in a building full of cops,need a gun.
37.”Assault weapons” have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people.the police need assault weapons.You do not.
38.When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion,thats bad-but when the federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith and Wesson,thats good.
39.Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes,which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.
40.Handgun Control,Incorporated,says they want to keep guns out of the wrong hands-guess what-you have the wrong hands.
41.Ballistic fingerprinting works so well,that of the 19,000 ballistic fingerprints available in the Maryland database,not a single one has helped solve a crime committed with a firearm.
42.Rosie O’Donell does’nt think that a firearm is neccesarry for self protection,which is why her personal bodyguards have handguns.
43.Senator Diane Feinstein(D-CA) thinks that a concealed carry permit will not not help prevent personal crime,which is why she has one.

dumpster diving and other useful scrounging

2004-11-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

Being the frugal midwesterner that I is,(not always by choice either-a sergeant's paycheck only goes so far),I'm quite the fan of the time honored american custom of "dumpster diving","curb snatching","garbage picking",or whatever other euphemism one wishes to use sure that Herb,as well as everyone else can certainly relate to THAT'D have however,on occasion,been accused(unjustly of course),by my wife and kids of being OBSESSED with it!Merely because I automatically go into "curb scan" mode anytime I'm driving down the street...but I've found some pretty nifty things over the years.Most of my living room furniture,including the desk I'm typing this at,is off the curb.As is my entertainment center,reclining couch,a china hutch,baker's rack,bookcases,coffee tables-you name it,I've PROBABLY dove it at some point wife even pulled a sewing machine off the curb which was clearly marked'does'nt work"...yeah,right....it worked just fine!We've gotten serviceable clothing off the curb,including a barely worn insulated flannel shirt-looks EXPENSIVE too.One of my soldiers was moving out of his onpost quarters,and needed to lose a bunch of things-like the craftsman tool box in my shed,coolers,fire extinguishers........got them off his curb.Being in the army,and living onpost affords plenty of opportunities for lucrative diving-and EVERYONE does it-they just don't always ADMIT it.I busted out my platoon sergeant at Fort Lewis for it,in front of EVERYONE-"so,SSG @#$%^&,how do you like the chair you dove last night?"-he was'nt amused....Since arriving at Fort Knox,I've found just how utterly RUTHLESS divers can be-they're AGRESSIVE here!One guy beat me to a nice pick up topper as I was on my way to get it....and the other night someone beat me to one of those gray aluminum shelving units.Oh well,there'll be more stuff other times.I'll continue diving-always looking for the ULTIMATE find....let me know some of the treasures you all find.

My pooch,or,The Bat Gremlin

2004-11-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

Last year,while stationed out in the Peoples Republic of Washington,we had a rat on steroids,or possibly,a pychotic guinea pig on acid thrust upon us.What happened was,the guy who owned the dog had to leave for Iraq,and we ended up with him.He was only 3 pounds when we got him,full of worms,and totally messed up in the head.Well,the wifey-poo and I seem to have a purty good track record at turning neglected animals around(more on that later),and now,he's around 15 pounds,fat and sassy and a normal,well adjusted pooch.Ok,so,I fibbed.He's NOT very normal.You'd think that by the time a dog turns two years old,they'd figger out that their tail is NOT a seperate entity,but part of them.He continually gets beat up by his tail.Or vice versa.Then theres the snorting.....sounds like he has a 105mm howitzer round stuck in his throat or something.we've also been unsuccessful in getting him to eat pet food-so,he gets a steady diet of Oscar Meyer hot dogs-with which he walks around with it hanging out of his mouth like a cigar,bearing a strong resemblance to Winston Churchill.He's quite the woos,until someone LOOKS at his hot dog-then he's ready to kill.......his best friend is a little orange kitten,by the name of Sammy-Sammy beats him up daily,and vice versa.All in all,he's not a bad pooch,although,I never thought I'd take to a rat dog as I have.I'll keep you posted on any further antics of Spud,the Rat dog.

my blog

2004-11-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Ok,after enough nagging from Herb,I finally broke down and started my own blog.I'll try to cover all the vital topics that Herb mentioned,such as the cav,the second amendment,beer,snot and dirty socks(and of course,frivolous things as well)So,we'll see how this blog turns out...