The Daily Whim
A Photo Gallery With An Attitude
Congressional Support For Veterans Shows Sharp Partisan Divide
“The Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America’s 2010 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans’ legislation that came to a vote during the 111th Congress, exposed a sharp partisan divide on the level of support for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow tabulated yesterday. Of the 94 elected officials that earned an A or A+ rating from IAVA, 91 were Democrats. Of the 154 officials who received a D or F, 142 were Republicans.”
Posted 1:05PM, Oct 23 2010 in Politics · War
I have been assigned as a staff officer to a headquarters in Afghanistan for about two months. During that time, I have not done anything productive. Fortunately little of substance is really done here, but that is a task we do well […] For headquarters staff, war consists largely of the endless tinkering with PowerPoint slides to conform with the idiosyncrasies of cognitively challenged generals in order to spoon-feed them information. Even one tiny flaw in a slide can halt a general’s thought processes as abruptly as a computer system’s blue screen of death. Col. Lawrence Sellin
…who was later fired
Posted 2:14PM, Aug 28 2010 in War ·
“The reason I didn’t use PowerPoint is, I am convinced PowerPoint makes us stupid.” General James Mattis
Posted 11:16AM, Jul 10 2010 in Software · War
Wed. Jun 23, 2010
Runaway General Gets Emergency Brakes
When you read the article, The Runaway General, you can’t help but wonder, “what was he thinking?” Well, the article makes that fairly clear, but it does not explain why Gen. McChrystal (and his staff) would bare his soul to a reporter from Rolling Stone.
Sun. Nov 04, 2007
Becoming The Thing We Hate
Here we are about five years down the line since the subject came up, and we’re still trying to decide if waterboarding and other “intense interrogation techniques” qualify as torture. I suppose I should take solace in the fact people are still talking about it, instead of being waterboarded for their dissent. But I swear, day by day, I have more and more of those “What Country Is This?” moments. The latest is inspired by something The Wife pointed out to me in Saturday’s AJC about a recent speech by General Russel Honore, the plain spoken and straight forward general who you might remember from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
I haven’t “Fisked” anything in ages, but I think it’s time to dust off those skillz…
Mon. May 28, 2007
Not Just Another Holiday
I hope you’ve had a nice holiday weekend. We’ve been to a wedding and a barbeque, and otherwise generally relaxed. And that generates a twinge of guilt in me.
Because it’s not such a relaxing time for many families, like the Worthington and Ardron families here in Georgia:
Tue. Sep 26, 2006
Do Budget Bozos Hate Our Troops?
We can afford tax cuts. We can afford all kinds of new spending (“Federal spending in 2006 is set to rise 9%, the largest increase since 1990 [...] the Senate is preparing to bust fiscal year (FY) 2007 discretionary spending caps by at least $32 billion”). Deficit spending? Not a problem. But, we’ve got to cut corners on the budget for our overstretched military.
Mon. Dec 19, 2005
The War on Extraordinary Executive Orders
Interesting news has been piling up on the national stage this past week or so. The Senate blocked the extension of the Patriot Act, the House held a non-binding vote to throw their weight behind the Senate-passed amendment on torture (forcing the President to agree to that which he’d said he would veto), and the NY Times published a year old story on NSA spying approved by the President.
Poor George. It would seem they’re taking away what he deems his executive prerogatives. I can’t imagine why. Perhaps it has something to do with performance. And trust.
Mon. Nov 07, 2005
We Do Not Torture, We Exempt
A year ago, we’d just finished roasting John Kerry on roaring spit of “I voted for it before I voted against it.” Today in the White House, we appear to have a group of people so cocooned they do not see they are doing and saying the very same thing. But this time, it’s not about an $87 billion appropriation bill, it’s about torture.
Sun. Jul 10, 2005
UN Failure, From The Inside
A few days ago, I wrote in Ever Again about why the UN is dead to me. As we draw closer to the anniversary of the massacre at Srebrenica, others are offering evidence.
People who were there. Working for the UN.
Mon. May 30, 2005
Not American Enough
On Memorial Day, I think it’s appropriate for you to hear the story of a woman named Ligaya Lagman, if you haven’t already
Mon. May 30, 2005
Decoration and Remembrance
Today is a day to remember just how many good Americans have fallen fighting for their country. Not just the hundreds we count today, but hundreds of thousands. Your freedom today came on the backs of over a million American soldiers who gave their lives so we could keep it a few generations longer.
Tue. Jan 11, 2005
Troops, Present and Past
There’s more heavily laden discussion over the subject of troop numbers in Iraq. Some people are talking in the past tense. Others are responding in the present tense.
Thu. Nov 25, 2004
Giving Thanks
On previous Thanksgivings, in 2001 I made a list of many things for which I’m thankful, and in 2002, Just One Thing ... that “my wife of 32 days is on the mend this Thanksgiving, after urgent spinal surgery yesterday.”
While I’m still thankful for all those things, this year my mind and thanks turn to the men and women in the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy, many of whome are very far from home today.
Thu. Aug 19, 2004
Debating Deployments
On the Aug. 1 broadcast of ABC’s This Week, John Kerry said “If the diplomacy that I believe can be put in place can work, I think we can significantly change the deployment of troops, not just there but elsewhere in the world — in the Korean peninsula perhaps, in Europe perhaps.”
Now that Bush has announced a plan to remove up to 70,000 troops from Europe and North Korea (over a ten year time span), Kerry seems to be singing a reflexively different tune. It reminds me of the times that Dick Cheney has criticized the “drawdown” of our military during the Clinton years. A “drawdown” plan that was written up during the Bush I administration. By a Secretary of Defense named Dick Cheney.
This is what election year does to us. It’s a good idea, until the other guy does it. Then it’s a clear mistake. I’d like to try and look past that.
Sat. Jul 03, 2004
3 Days in July
I hope you are having an enjoyable and relaxing Fourth of July weekend. But once upon a time, during this three day span in early July, 6,334 Americans were killed, another 28,209 wounded, and 20,264 were reported missing or captured.
Sun. Jun 06, 2004
June 6, 1944
A year ago tomorrow, I asked “What Was Yesterday?”
And so here we are on June 6, 2004, and Howell and Martha still make low level appearances in the media … but no one really cares, except those looking for a new punch line. And though last year it was hard to find any mention at all of the anniversary of D-Day, this year, it’s all over the place. And some people aren’t exactly thrilled by it
Sun. May 30, 2004
A Day of Decoration and Remembrance
I decided to spend part of my weekend visiting the Marietta National Cemetery, a place that came into being at about the same time as “Decoration Day” did
Fri. Apr 23, 2004
R.I.P., Pat Tillman
He was 28 years old. He’d made himself a multi-millionaire as a top notch player in the NFL. He was picked in the bottom 5% of the 1998 draft, yet won the starting strong safety position that year, and could have easily continued playing until 2010. By that time he would probably have had a couple of Pro Bowl appearances under his belt, and could retire having earned more money than 99% of Americans ever will … at the ripe old age of 34.
Mon. Apr 12, 2004
Angry Generals And Phantom Reinforcements
We take our military’s ability to quickly project force for granted. The reality is, it is a pretty unique capability in our current world. And right now, it’s stretched near its maximum.
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