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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/09/2010 11:35:54

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,792nd day in Iraq and our 3,320th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualties from our ongoing wars, courtesy of antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4427
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4288
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3568
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 199
Since Operation New Dawn: 9

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,371
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 825
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 104, 857, 675, 000 .00



Turning to the news at hand, while the left is licking their wounds from the election, so is the veteran community. The good news is 9 vets won their election and will be taking their seats in the new congress. The bad news is they are all Republicans. One of the comments to the story below notes that GOP vets tend to vote for the defense industry, while Democratic vets vote for Veteran's issues. Only time will tell which way the freshmen go this time, so it's up to all of us to keep them in the hotseat.

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39 comments (Latest Comment: 11/09/2010 20:07:50 by Raine)

Monday Morning Open thread.
Author: Raine    Date: 11/08/2010 13:23:11

I am temporarily suspending myself indefinitely without pay because I supported candidates financially.

In the meantime, Sign a petition and support me by liking something on Facebook.
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25 comments (Latest Comment: 11/09/2010 00:50:01 by trojanrabbit)

GET OFF MY ROADS!!!!
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 11/07/2010 15:19:27

Welcome dear readers to a new ballgame. The crazies have taken over the nuthouse and already started shouting to the point of spittle frothing from their tight lips while waving their overly-tanned arms in self-righteous indignation.

Rand Paul is pissed off that his opponent made fun of his religion of choice during his college prankster days and used it to his advantage to ride his way into the Senate by the Tea Party. The same Tea Party that the majority believe, and criticize, President Obama for being a Muslim.

Lindsey Graham is actually out singing the tunes of "Bomb, Bomb, Iran"
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3 comments (Latest Comment: 11/08/2010 14:08:24 by Scoopster)

A Saturday Ramble
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/06/2010 10:40:30

Good Morning!

Despite the hour, I am not off to donate platelets this morning. (But why aren't you?)

No, I'm off to do something called "University of Scouting". It's an all-day event chock full of hopefully useful training and other things. It's mostly geared towards new leaders, but I need credit for attending some sort of training in order to earn my Den Leader's award this season...so off I go.

We're all aware of the seismic shift that happened this past Tuesday. I've been switching between cynic and disinterested for much of the week. Fact is, America has spoken, and even though they have spoken wrongly, there's not much you or I or anyone else can do about it. I rather like Raine's idea from earlier in the week that we should call the Speaker's office every day in the new congress and demand jobs, reduction in government, and budget austerity. It won't do a damn thing, but we'll feel better about it, I suppose.

After Bush' won' in 2004, I went back and reread "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". I was astonished at the time over the similarities in the respective rises to power, and knew that we were in for bad times ahead. Six years later, and this past year I reread George Orwell's "nineteen-eighty-four". Sad to say, we are there.

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7 comments (Latest Comment: 11/07/2010 03:32:32 by Scoopster)

Friday Science Fun Stack
Author: BobR    Date: 11/05/2010 04:20:11

It's been a long ugly campaign this year, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that's a little burned out on the political battles. There will be plenty to come when Congress gets back in session, and even more next year when the new Congress gets under way. For now, though, I'd like to indulge in a Friday Science Fun Stack.

One of the most fascinating things I've seen in a while is a photo of comet Hartley 2. NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft flew within 435 miles of it and took pictures:
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50 comments (Latest Comment: 11/06/2010 00:50:04 by Raine)

Smaller Gov't = Fewer Jobs.
Author: Raine    Date: 11/04/2010 13:48:53

I will ask them respectfully to deliberate upon this: Governments do not create jobs. Individual entrepreneurs, men and women, create jobs — but not the government. Rand Paul, November 2, 2010

Spoken by the newly elected Senator, who will officially works for ....the government. Yes, Rand Paul's Job was created BY THE GOVERNMENT. Nope, No irony there.

John Boehner, who for the last 18 months, with a steady beat on a leathery drum kept asking, mostly via his twitter feed: Where are the Jobs? Where are the Jobs? Where are the Jobs?
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15 comments (Latest Comment: 11/05/2010 03:03:03 by livingonli)

The Morning After
Author: BobR    Date: 11/03/2010 12:23:14

The votes have been cast, the results have been counted and analyzed. In the end - the Republicans took the House back. We can now look forward to 2 yrs of the Orange Man as Speaker of the House. Either the Progressives didn't show up, or the moderates decided that the obstructionists that got us into this economic situation after being in charge for so many years deserved another chance to try again.

What will the next two years look like? What sort of radical changes will occur?

In a word - nothing.
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48 comments (Latest Comment: 11/03/2010 22:33:33 by Will in Chicago)

Ask a Vet - Election Day!
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/02/2010 10:27:35

Good Morning. Did you vote yet?

Today is our 2,785th day in Iraq, and our 3,313th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4427
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4288
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3568
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 199
Since Operation New Dawn: 9

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,353
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 821
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

"Cost of War" seems to be down at this hour. Suffice to say that it's still climbing at $10,000 every 3 seconds.

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24 comments (Latest Comment: 11/03/2010 10:47:20 by TriSec)

One More Day, One Day More 2010
Author: Raine    Date: 11/01/2010 12:51:45

On the Morning of November 4, 2008, our dear friend Clintster wrote the following:
[...]We talked about the 2000 election, and she made a startling confession to me.

“I didn’t vote”, she confessed.

I looked at her in shock and surprise. “What happened?” I asked, sure that the answer would have something to do with being kidnapped by ruthless pirates, shanghaied to… well, Shanghai, and forced to work in a sweatshop turning out counterfeit Bush-Cheney bumper stickers. If only it were that simple.

“I didn’t think it was that important”, she protested, “and I was trying to get my Master’s degree.”

I teased her for weeks afterwards for being responsible for Bush-Cheney, even though North Carolina was not in play that year. However we should all take note that NC and many other states are in play, and regardless of how crucial your state is to the national election, you should take the time and vote for the local candidates you see as fitting to your interests. A good house is only as solid as its foundation. Vote early, vote well, and enjoy the thrill of tomorrow.
Every election and every vote is important.
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44 comments (Latest Comment: 11/01/2010 20:05:58 by Raine)

Scary Stories!!
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 10/31/2010 15:22:54

Happy Halloween all you ghouls and goblins and vampires and werewolves and Jedi knights and sexy nurses!

I have a few tales to tell you, true stories that will send a CHILL up your spine. So, sit back and take heed to these lessons that some people never learned. BOO!

Once upon a time a young couple named Cody and Blair where parked on lovers lane in a dark and wooded area of town, they were making out in the car by the light of the full moon.
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6 comments (Latest Comment: 10/31/2010 23:06:53 by Raine)

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