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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! October 31, 2006 And that's all I got to say about that...By Greyhawk
Want to help out "the under privileged"? Learn about Valour-IT, then choose a team in whose name to donate. (All proceeds go to the same worthy cause, and to individual service members as the need arises, regardless of which team you pick.) (Further explanation of joke, if needed, here and here.) Much more military-type feedback on this topic (including what I believe was the first ever blog post on this) at MilBlogs. Posted by Greyhawk / October 31, 2006 10:41 PM | Permalink 2 TrackBacksOk, this may be a dumb idea (if so it would not be my first). But I figured put it out there and see if it is good, or leads to something good. What drove me to this was thinking Read More With the old media focused squarely on reporting body counts and Democrats clamoring for retreat you would never know that anything good was accomplished in Iraq during the month of October, or any other month for that matter. In all do fairness to th... Read More 19 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
I posted a little bitty copy of your picture at Bill's Bites >> Jean Fraud Kerry -- Still Lovin' Our Troops and captioned it "Click to view full size."
Get your gear for the next Kerry Lied rally here. "Proud Veteran-American. Silent No More!" We haven't gone away, Johnny, and we haven't forgotten. We're still here, locked and loaded, waiting for you to crawl back out from under that rock again. Bring it on, Johnny.
Bill Faith
USAF 1970-1974
Proud Viet Nam Veteran
Webmaster, www.oldwardogs.us
So please, pick TEAM NAVY, and help erase the stain of shame that was LTJG Kerry.
Please. We need all the help we can get!
Well shut my mouth!
Go Marines!
OMG!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!
What did Jim Nabors do to get associated with that piece of slime?
Apologies to Jim.
(But, gaaaaaaowlly Sgt Carter, they's twin sons of differ'nt mothers...)
I don't know how Carl Rove got JFK (wannabe) to say such stupid things one week before an election.
As one who has never served, forgive me, but I have the greatest admiration for those who do.
Thank you to those of you who are serving or have served our country.
In the 1990s Clinton's HHS Secretary, Donna Shalala, commented publicly that the United States "didn't send the best and brightest to Vietnam". She was roundly criticized by Republicans and (I think)several Democrats, including Clinton, who quickly made his displeasure with her publicly known (undoubtedly to stop the political damage rather than from any personal offense he took at her statement). Now, only a decade later, I've heard no Democrat publicly rebuke Kerry's comment, unless I missed it. Perhaps some will, but if not it's sad commentary of where that party has gone.
You do realize that Kerry was talking about Bush, right?
I know you people with KDS (Kerry Derangement Syndrome) like to assume the worst, but what's implausible about his statement that he was talking about Bush? Nothing. Because he was insulting Bush, not the troops, and Bush for one knows this very well.
Nice way to illustrate the previous comment, M.A.
For the record, here's what I said at Milblogs:
The quote was recorded. It's all over the internet (you can watch it here.). I've seen it on Fox and CNN - just while flipping through channels. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't about Bush. It was Kerry in an unguarded moment, speaking his mind.By the way, M.A., which team did you donate through?
Put some prosthetic metal teeth in Kerry's mouth, and he'd look like he could be related to Jaws....
Good ol' Jim Nabors. A graduate of the University of Alabama, a great singer, rich and famous without a wifely leg up.
And as Gomer Pyle, Jim acted naive and goofy for the entertainment of television viewers. What's Kerry's excuse?
MA
I always thought that Kerry looked like James Buchanan, unquestionably one of the worst Presidents ever. Also, and probably less relevant is that Buchanan was most likely the first gay President, not that there's anything wrong with that. But I digress.
Considering the cosmetic surgery that Kerry's had, you'd think that he'd try to alter his appearance more, so that he didn't look like one of our worst Presidents....
MA, JFK (AKA Just For Kerry) STARTED his political career by slandering Vietnam vets.
I just sent a note to the Senator through the webform at http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/contact/email.cfm and no, I did not use a real street address.
Senator Kerry,
I am incensed about your remarks today concerning my and my fellow enlisted soldiers' intelligence. I also read your follow-up explanation that it was a failed joke - I hope you also do not believe the rest of the country as stupid as me, because I have a really hard time believing it was a joke after being able to view the speech (yes, in context) online.
I have a BA from Columbia University. Maybe you have heard of it. I would be willing any day of the week to put my French language skills up agaist yours. I also attended a certain private high school in Exeter, NH. Maybe you have heard of that one? I enlisted in the US Army after 9/11. Am I stupid?
I went to basic combat training with a guy who has a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. He is, literally, a rocket scientist. He also enlisted soldier in the US Army after 9/11. Is he stupid?
I currently work with another guy who has a Masters in Philosophy and was very close to finishing his dissertation for his PhD. He, by the way, is very liberal politically, but I would be willing to bet that in an exercise of debate, with him taking the other side, he would talk circles around you, or any of your 99 colleagues in Washington. He enlisted in the US Army after 9/11 out of patriotism. Is he stupid?
College degrees in my company in the enlisted ranks outnumber those in the officers'. We obviously did our homework and worked hard during our years in school. Maybe you are out of touch and do not realize just how much things have changed since you were in the military (that is if, in fact, you had an idea about it then). I think you may get too many of your ideas from movies and television, because it is painfully obvious that you have not ever taken the time to really speak with an enlisted member of the US military.
-SGT TJ Buttrick
Ft Drum, NY
Home state of record: New Hampshire.
I kicked a couple of beans into the Navy's can just so they know I don't blame them for John F'n Ketchup.
THANKS TO ALL BRANCHES OF SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN AND ALSO TO THEIR FAMILIES. YOU MAY NOT GET RICH IN THIS WORLD BUT I BELIEVE GOD WILL HAVE A VERY SPECIAL PLACE IN HEAVEN FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES. MY FAMILY AND I APPRECIATE YOUR PROTECTING THE USA AND OTHER COUNTRIES WHO DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES THE USA HAS. GOD HAS BLESSED THIS COUNTRY ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES OUR CITIZENS DON'T DESERVE WHAT FREEDOMS WE DO HAVE. LET ALL AMERICANS WORK TOGETHER FOR PEACE STARTING WITH OUR OWN FAMILIES, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS, LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE FOR ALL PEOPLE TO LEND A HELPING HAND WHEREVER WE SEE A NEED ALL OVER THE WORLD. GOD BLESS THE USA AND ALL COUNTRIES AND GIVE THE LEADERS A SENSE OF DUTY TO ALL CITIZENS. AMEN.