About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 10/19/2010 10:30:30

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,771st day in Iraq and our 3,299th 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): 4426
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4287
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3567
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 198
Since Operation New Dawn: 8

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 1,342
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 821
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

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

$ 1, 095, 028, 475, 000 .00


War is many things. It is costly, dangerous, heartbreaking, and sometimes even heroic. While usually the only thing to come from war is destruction and sadness, on occasion it is an incubator for leadership and inspiration. Throughout America's history, soldiers have made the leap into politics, starting with our very first President. Military service is no guarantee of success, however.

Continue reading...

42 comments (Latest Comment: 10/19/2010 22:20:06 by livingonli)

If it's good enough for East Germany, why not?
Author: Raine    Date: 10/18/2010 12:58:45

I don't want to blog about Joe Miller and his merry gang of thugs Security Detail handcuffing and detaining a journalist at an Alaska town hall. That said it's going to be the news cycle today, so I too shall jump in the fray. This picture pretty much sums it up.

http://media.adn.com/smedia/2010/10/17/19/Hopfinger.85233.original.standalone.prod_affiliate.7.jpg
Alaska Dispatch founder and editor Tony Hopfinger sits with his wrists in handcuffs after being arrested by Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller's private security detail Oct. 17, 2010.

Continue reading...

45 comments (Latest Comment: 10/19/2010 00:29:07 by BobR)

Sundee Blog
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 10/17/2010 13:18:29

So, I really, really hate to do another open blog right after TriSec has. But, like him, I've been SLAMMED with stuff. All of it has numbed my mind. I haven't even been able to hear Steph all week!!!



Well, there you have it.
Continue reading...

4 comments (Latest Comment: 10/18/2010 00:24:54 by Raine)

Open House
Author: TriSec    Date: 10/16/2010 10:44:29

Look, I know it's a cop-out. You probably know I started a new job this past Monday; I've been in training all week and have looked at the internet perhaps a grand total of 5 times during that stretch. I'm feeling a little cut off this week. I quite honestly have no idea what's been going on around here. So...we'll let the inmates run the asylum this Saturday. You know who you are.

But of course, if there is a Saturday blog open this early, it usually means one thing. I am indeed off to donate platelets this morning. It will take about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, and I'll be able to catch up on some of the podcasts I've missed during the week. Especially if you've been a blood donor in the past, why not take it to the next level?

Continue reading...

2 comments (Latest Comment: 10/17/2010 00:34:18 by trojanrabbit)

A Deficit of Ideas
Author: BobR    Date: 10/15/2010 11:49:28

Our current economic woes as voiced by the electorate seem to revolve around three subjects: jobs, taxes, and the deficit. The voters want to see more jobs, less taxes, and a reduced (or eliminated) budget deficit. The Republicans are promising just that. How will they deliver it? They don't say, but they claim that reducing taxes and "cutting government spending" will produce the other two. It's the same ol' same ol' that didn't work before and doesn't even make sense.
Continue reading...

13 comments (Latest Comment: 10/15/2010 19:15:42 by Scoopster)

2 weeks. There is still time.
Author: Raine    Date: 10/14/2010 13:22:46

It's one thing to be folksy, cute, clever, a person just like you and me. It's another thing to be informed -- and when it comes to politics, that is critical.

Last night was yet another in a long string of perfect examples of this. The Chris Coons / Christine O'Donnell debate.
Well if you remember when we were fighting the Soviets over there in Afghanistan in the '80s and '90s, we did not finish the job, so now we have a responsibility to finish the job and if you are gonna make these politically correct statements that it's costing us too much money, you are threatening the security of our homeland.
Thank Goodness the Soviet Union is our ally these days.
Continue reading...

23 comments (Latest Comment: 10/15/2010 02:09:18 by livingonli)

We'll Have a Gay Old Time
Author: BobR    Date: 10/13/2010 11:47:08

In the relatively short amount of time our country has been in existence, we've made amazing strides in equality among all of our citizens. From blacks being considered to be 3/5 of a person to women and blacks getting the vote, to civil rights legislation, the march toward equality has come often in fits and starts, but always progressively forward. We still have a ways to go in a lot of areas; one of those is the treatment of gays. Yesterday, however, several steps forward were made - as usual, via the courts.
Continue reading...

11 comments (Latest Comment: 10/13/2010 19:58:03 by Scoopster)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 10/12/2010 10:44:10

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,764th day in Iraq and our 3,292nd 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): 4424
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4285
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3565
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 196
Since Operation New Dawn: 7

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,323
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 822
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq : 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

1, 091, 763, 900, 000 .00


Continue reading...

23 comments (Latest Comment: 10/12/2010 20:12:40 by livingonli)

GOP wouldn't know a nobel prize winner if it hit them in the...
Author: Raine    Date: 10/11/2010 12:27:11

The Nobel Committee announced today the winner of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel-- Unnoficially called the Nobel Prize for economics. The 3 recipients, Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides are a pretty impressive group from MIT. When announcing the award, the Academy questioned:
“Why are so many people unemployed at the same time that there are a large number of job openings?” the Academy Sciences wrote in the statement today. “This year’s laureates have developed a theory which can be used to answer these questions. This theory is also applicable to markets other than the labor market.”
Peter Diamond-- does that name sound familiar? If not, it's understandable. He was nominated by the President.
Continue reading...

17 comments (Latest Comment: 10/11/2010 17:38:05 by Raine)

Things that Make you go: OMFG!
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 10/10/2010 14:56:58

Sometimes I am so embroiled in the big picture, that I miss the little things. Sure I heard the story about the US Chamber of Commerce and their un-American activity of accepting donations from foreign corporations and mixing the funds into the general pool that is then donated to (mostly Republican) candidates. There is also this story out of Wisconsin:

Wisconsin Democratic congressional candidate Julie Lassa is calling on her opponent to denounce a new attack ad by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that displays her home phone number and tells viewers to call and tell her to "stop voting for job-killing tax hikes."

"Sean Duffy's special interest backers crossed a line in their attacks that put Julie and her family at risk to harassment and abuse," Lassa campaign Manager Rick Fromberg said in a statement. "Sean Duffy should let it be known to his outside special interest groups that there is no place for these kinds of attacks in Wisconsin elections."

According to a person close to the Lassas, the family had to unplug their phones the day the ad went up and her two daughters can no longer answer the phones because of all the calls.

Continue reading...

3 comments (Latest Comment: 10/11/2010 11:19:03 by Scoopster)

<<  507  508  509  510  511  512  >>
Order by most recent comment   Complete Blog Entry List