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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 14, 2008 Politics and PentagonsBy GreyhawkUnnamed Pentagon officials discuss prospective presidents in the LA Times: Some officials privately express a degree of enthusiasm for Obama, hoping for better relations with allies and an improved U.S. image in the Muslim world. Toward that end, they said, the Democrat is more likely to appoint Pentagon leaders who would actively engage potential adversaries, as well as allies.I think "better relations with allies and an improved U.S. image in the Muslim world" would be fine (though I'm not certain why Muslims would prefer Obama and the Times doesn't provide details). But perhaps "leaders who would actively engage potential adversaries, as well as allies" could be better employed in the State Department, and the military could be used only in those cases where diplomacy fails. At first glance the headline of the piece somewhat confusing: "Pentagon divided over John McCain". That's an odd description - the headline "Pentagon divided over Barack Obama" would be equaly true. Likewise a headline "America divided over Barack Obama" (or John McCain) would, too. But the Times finds it interesting that not everyone in the Pentagon supports McCain just because he's a veteran. But in fact, that's what bothers "many": McCain, a former Navy officer and prisoner of war, would arrive in the White House with more military experience than any president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. But he also would bring a long congressional career as an outspoken critic of the Pentagon -- prone to harsh assessments of its spending practices, weapons programs and military leaders. In other defense-related campaign news, Senator Obama explains why women should have to register for the draft: "There was a time when African-Americans weren't allowed to serve in combat," Mr. Obama said. "And yet, when they did, not only did they perform brilliantly, but what also happened is they helped to change America, and they helped to underscore that we're equal.So for all you women who need help understanding that you've got obligations to this country, help is on the way. Posted by Greyhawk / October 14, 2008 4:31 PM | Permalink 6 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 |
Not confusing at all. Anytime the LA Times can get the words "Divided" and "McCain/Any Republican" in the same headline, it's a win in their books. You thought you were dealing with objective press and not ideological zombies or something?
The thinking that because Obama's father is Muslim, he would have better ties with Muslim countries has often been stated as a reason he would be more accepted in the Muslim world. This shows a lack of understanding of Islam. In Islam, one of the greatest sins is converting from Islam to another religion- punishable by death. You are your father's religion regardless of whether or not you practice it. When Obama became a Christian (even if he never practiced Islam) he committed an unforgivable sin in Islamic eyes. Therefore, some in the Islamic world will see him in even a more negative way than they view Bush.
I'm not an Obama supporter, but the Muslim tag has been exploited unfairly, and he didn't help matters by recoiling in disgust like there was something horrible about being Muslim.
He's obviously Christian, whatever you think of Wright's church. LATimes might think he'll appeal to that part of the world because of the kind words leaders like those in Iran, Jordan, Palestine, et al, have had for him. I'd guess there are polls out there showing the preference in each country for McCain vs. Obama. Most say the world prefers Obama, including Hugo Chavez and Castro, who recently weighed in on his side.
The L.A. Times is rotten to the core. It has almost become irrelevant, but I'm continually surprised at how many people here in the greater L.A. area still subscribe. Not I.
I disagree. I believe Wright's Church is moreso about Black Liberation Theology than Christian Theology. Thus it would be more apt to describe Obama as one whose religion is Black Liberation Theology, not Christianity.
It's kind like saying that someone who goes to the Westboro Baptist Church is a Baptist. Not so. Those people aren't Baptist, they are homosexual-bashing hate-mongers. To grant them the legitimacy of saying they are Baptists is wrong.
Same thing with Obama. He's not practicing Christianity, he's practicing Black Liberation Theology.
Another better example is saying that someone who goes to a White Supremacist Christian Church is "obviously Christian". Not so. They are racist White Supremacists.
Again, same with Obama. He practices racist, bigoted Black Liberation Theology, not Christianity. The fact that he gets away with calling himself a Christian is ridiculous.
I don't question Obama's Christianity. I'm just stating that many other countries and cultures see religion as a matter of ancestry not choice. This is something we often forget living in a country where we are fortunate to have religious freedom.