Open Post

Little girl in Iraq. Photograph by Alan, soldier and blogger at MREater.

Army Recruiting As Seen by the AP

I was going to say something about this today, but another blogger beat me to the punch with such an awesome post that I'll just give you the link to his post. I'm talking about the headlines in the AP today that say, "Army Faces Worst Recruiting Slump in Years".

What the AP chose to ignore is that the Air Force, Marines and Navy had over 100% (101%, 102%...) recruitment, and only the Army fell short...by about .7% of its intended goals to ENLARGE the army. They didn't shrink - just fell a little short of the goals to have more members than last year.

Read the Big Lizards Blog post and you too will walk away shaking your head at our media.

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Supporting Our Troops VS. the 'Mission'

I've heard it plenty of times. "I support the troops but not their mission." Many take offense at the thought that they are unsupportive of our troops if they do not support their mission. It seems that with the exception of a rare few (Fred Phelps for one), most people do not disagree on troop support - they disagree on the mission of our troops. While this may seem heartening, the idea that with a few exceptions our entire country supports our troops...you have to wonder why this is such an issue. It's an issue because of the 'mission' aspect of the support.

Why does this raise such passion in our society? Because most of us do not want to align ourselves with the likes of those that openly admit they do not support our troops. It would be an aweful thing to admit that you do not care about your fellow human beings - would it not? We wouldn't want to believe it of ourselves in private, let alone say it in public. Come on - try it...see how it makes you feel to say these words out loud, "I do not care about my fellow human beings." Did you cringe just thinking of saying it? No wonder everyone wants to believe there is a way to support our troops without supporting what they are doing. The alternative (that this is impossible) is repugnant.

So what's the problem? Is it that conservatives want to make the liberals feel bad about their anti-war views? Is it a covert way to call them jerks? "If you are anti-war you can't support our troops - and only really bad people don't care about their fellow human beings." Is that it? Are we back to the moral superiority here? Or is it something more?

I think it is something more. I think the obvious has yet to be stated. When you support our troops you are aiding their mission. How so? Well, a letter to a soldier that boosts his morale will enable him to better perform his job (ie. accomplish his mission). How can you support a soldier and aide in the completion of his mission while stating you do not support said mission?

Something else - trying to do what you think is best for someone is not the same as supporting that person. Trying to bring the troops home now (if that's what you believe to be right), is doing what you think is best for them. Now perhaps there are those soldiers who might agree with you on what is best, but not all of them, and not most of them. So in effect you are putting what you believe to be best above what they believe. Kind of like forcing someone to get married who chooses to remain single, or forcing them to be a doctor when they'd rather be a lawyer because you think you know the best choices for them, regardless of what they want (or pushing a minority position on a majority public? Can we say democracy?).

So what am I saying? That you must be for the war in Iraq? That you must cease lobbying Washington to bring our troops home? That only then can you support our troops? No. What I am saying is this - if you are supporting our troops with actions such as letter writing, carepackages or whatever, you have to realize you are aiding the mission you oppose. If you are supporting our troops merely with lip service (saying the words but you have yet to actually DO anything supportive) then you have to realize you are not really 'supporting' our troops (you are a cheerleader...you are 'supportive').

So let me make it clear here - I don't think there are bad guys in this disagreement. I think there are three types of people:
-Those trying to do what they think is best for everyone
-Cheerleaders
-Those supporting our troops (actually physically doing something supportive)

Now I realize that the word 'support' has become more of a catch phrase than a verb with real meaning these days, so I don't expect everyone to stop saying it. I'm not saying you are a liar if you say you support our troops but want to bring them home now or agree with their mission but have never written a letter. I just want to clarify the arguement that has developed - those that support our troops and their mission are arguing semantics of the word 'support' with those that disagree. It needs to be acknowledged that this has become a catch phrase and is not necessarily being used by dictionary definition.

But if you want to start debating the whole idea - it must be taken back to the definition for some clear-cut lines. Use the phrase - but be honest about what you mean and what your intentions are when you say it.

After reading this article to my mother (to get her wisdom and opinion... gotta love mothers!) she asked a pertinant question that I decided should be asked and answered here: "What is your goal in writing this article? Who do you want to reach?"

My goal is to provide some honesty to conservatives and liberals alike. The very semantics that conservatives use on the word 'support' to indicate the mission must be included can backfire to be used against them - hence the continual debate and mixed feelings. The players, coach, pep squad and waterboys are all important in a game. Disagreeing how things should be done is fine - but there's no need to follow a rabbit trail of 'support', when the mission is the real issue at large.

"'Character' is what you do when no one's looking. The same could be said for 'support'."

Cross posted at Soldiers Angel - Holly Aho.

Open Post

I'll have to dig around for a nice picture to rival Greyhawk's! Unless he'd like to add one here...
Open post time =0)

Okay, Greyhawk here:

All Aboard!

Pataki Sacks IFC

Associated Press:

Gov. George Pataki, bowing to a growing campaign by furious Sept. 11 families, ousted a proposed freedom museum from its space at ground zero Wednesday, declaring that the International Freedom Center has generated "too much opposition, too much controversy" to remain.
The decision follows months of acrimony over the Freedom Center, with angry families and politicians saying that the museum would dishonor the memory of the 2,749 people who died at the World Trade Center.

"Freedom should unify us. This center has not," Pataki said. "Today there remains too much opposition, too much controversy over the programming of the IFC and we must move forward with our first priority, the creation of an inspiring memorial to pay tribute to our lost loved ones and tell their stories to the world."
<...>
"Goodbye and good riddance," said Rep. Vito Fossella, one of three congressmen who had threatened hearings on federal funding if the museum stayed where it was. "The IFC will not stand on the hallowed grounds of the World Trade Center site."

September 27, 2005 -- Hillary Clinton. Three New York congressmen. Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro. Former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, who may challenge Clinton. Ed Cox, another likely Clinton rival.

The firefighters' union. The police union. Fifteen independent organizations representing 9/11 families.

Some 47,000 petition-signers.

And now ? America's mayor: Rudy Giuliani.

"They should change the whole concept and scrap [the] plans and focus it on 9/11," Giuliani said Sunday. "I think it's a mistake . . . "

Giuliani was referring to the International Freedom Center's intention to host debates and "educational" programs that invite criticism of the nation and its historical record.

Which may be a worthy goal ? but is highly inappropriate at the site where America suffered it worst domestic attack (for reasons that have nothing to do with its historical record).

Governor Pataki made the right decision - the memorial will be just that - a memorial to the fallen, free from politics or other distractors. That is as it should be.

But this is also a victory made possible by new media - internet sites helping form a coalition and "getting the word out" - and breaking an old media stranglehold on the shaping of events.

Reaction from others who've been on this story:

Michelle Malkin

Jeff Jarvis

LGF

Jarvis offers a great quote on the IFC's planers claiming there's no other location for their Center: at a cynical act. If they truly believed in their freedom center, they would have built it anywhere. But, in the end, its? clear that they believed only in bringing their agenda to the World Trade Center memorial."

Time will tell. Meanwhile, (and I'm not joking) Kabul,Afghanistan would be one location to consider. Baghdad another.

Update (Looking back at Mrs Greyhawk's original entry on this topic here on 9 June):

Michelle Malkin highlights in Debra Burlingame's article, " the culprits behind this sacrilege at Ground Zero" and in answer to Debra's question "How do we get it back?" Michelle suggests contacting NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. George Pataki and even the President. I agree they need to be bombarded with complaints however I think there's only one who can rally New York and the country into putting a stop to this insult ...yes, the one and only, "Person of the Year 2001", Rudy Giuliani.

Previous entries on this topic:

911... Never Forget...it's all America's fault

More Memorial

WTC Update

Take Back the Memorial (I)

Take Back the Memorial (II)

Drawing Fire

911 Memorial Update

Take Back the Memorial (III)

9/11 - The Art of Denial

Take Back the Memorial (IV)

An Amazing Marine Wounded in Iraq

This is the story of a marine you should know. His name is Kyle Anderson and he was wounded in Iraq last year when he was hit by an IED. He had been in Iraq for little more than a month when he was injured, and he had just turned 19. Let me tell you why Kyle is someone you should know.

Kyle's story starts before he was injured - this background merely highlights why he is someone to know besides being wounded in Iraq. Kyle was the all-state wrestling champion in Minnesota the year he graduated high school. He is one of the few to be in the all-state championships 5 years in a row instead of 4. In eighth grade he was allowed to be in the championship because of his abilities. Kyle is not a big guy. He is about 5' 10" tall and maybe 175 pounds. But he is such a strong willed and strategic thinker that he excels anyways.

Before leaving for Iraq Kyle's platoon had some sporting games on the beach in California. One of the competitions was wrestling. The matches were to 'hold and subdue'...basically wrestle till one of the opponents admits defeat. The winner moves to the next opponent. Kyle wrestled for more than 2 hours, with some opponents as large as 6' 8" tall and 250 pounds. He never lost.

Kyle's unit suffered quite a few casualties while in Iraq, but morale hit a low when Kyle was injured. He was a hero to all the men in his group - for the stories mentioned above as well as his attitude, kindness and humility. Kyle was thought to be dead as soon as he hit the ground after the IED exploded. Once it was clear he had somehow survived the blast it was a sure bet he wouldn't last very long - and off he was sent to Germany for medical treatment. His unit mourned.

Kyle's injuries were mainly to the back of his head. He ended up losing the entire left side of his brain after all was said and done. I had the privilage of meeting his commander, who was with Kyle when he was hit. Kyle was guarding a building at the time of the injury, and as his commander ran to him and held Kyle while waiting for transport he told me and Kyle's family that he thought Kyle would never make it. Kyle's injuries were gruesome and extremely severe...kind of like a shotgun blast to the back of the head.

Kyle was stablized, but infections from shrapnel held his life hostage. Finally, in an effort to remove all infection and prevent further infection his doctors decided to remove the entire left side of his brain. Kyle was in a coma for months afterwards, but his will to live was incredibly strong.

The prognosis for Kyle initially was grim. He might never wake, or if he does he might have extreme brain damage and never make a complete recovery. Kyle decided to prove everyone wrong. Kyle is fully conscious now, and is his normal self. He still has obstacles to hurdle, such as speech, reading and writing...but other than that his recovery is nothing if not amazing. Here's just one example - Kyle's parents were told by doctors that memory is stored in the left side of the brain, and since Kyle was now missing that part he surely had lost all memory of before. Kyle's doctors were wrong...Kyle has no memory losses, and his doctors are at a loss to explain how this is possible. The brain is an amazing machine.

Kyle doesn't think he's a hero, and he'll get angry if you push the issue. He believes he was just doing his job. He has no regrets about joining the military, no regrets about serving in Iraq, and is not despondent over his injuries. He was there to do a job and he did it. To him 'heroism' doesn't fit in the picture. Of course Kyle is not happy that he has the injuries he does, but he doesn't blame anyone for them.

I have been visiting Kyle in the hospital for about 7 months now. Despite his inability to speak, he can communicate quite well. I am honored to be able to visit him and call him a friend. If you are not a regular reader of my blog, Soldiers Angel - Holly Aho, you may not have heard of Kyle before. I highly recommend reading the following posts to learn more about him, he is inspiring!

How I first me Kyle - How It All Began for Me, Journey of an Angel
Kyle - Why Our Troops ARE a Cut Above the Rest
Horse Racing With a Marine
Interesting Meeting With a Marine Officer
Visiting Kyle Again at the VA Hospital
One Heck of a Day at the Airport!

You can also learn much more detailed information about Kyle (including a photo) and his journey from injury to recovery here. These updates, written by his family, also give a clear idea of what it's like to have a family member injured while in Iraq.

I Am Pro-Victory

With the difficulty of defining those that disagree with the anti-war individuals, alot of terms have been used that don't really fit well. I've seen 'anti-anti-war', 'pro-war', 'pro-troops', all sorts of things. The media doesn't seem to know what to call us either. Well Jay Tea over at Wizbang Blog has tackled this dilema and come up with a solution that I think is perfect. And A North American Patriot took the idea one step further - giving it a logo. Excellent!

Get the code to show this logo on your blog here.

Open Post

Notre Dame, at night, full moon.
In the evening people gather in the square, and street artists perform.

Sort of an Open Post, if you will...

Light your fires here.

On the Dawn Patrol

For those who missed an earlier announcement - you'll see a new name on the Dawn Patrol these days - Holly Aho. She's agreed to fill in while Mrs Greyhawk takes a vacation.

Holly's been doing outstanding work - and I know how much effort it takes to put that daily feature together. We literally can't thank her enough. Holly's also an artist, mom, wife, and a Soldier's Angel - and she runs her own blog too.

I highly encourage you to visit Holly's site - she's got some great posts and podcasts there, including interviews with Cpt Chuck Ziegenfuss (a wounded warrior/milblogger), and Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldier's Angels. Don't miss 'em.

Visit, bookmark, return: Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho.

A Word on the Protests Last Weekend

As I do the Dawn Patrol for the Mudville Gazette each morning I must read the latest headlines for several newspapers as well as a ton of blogs. This past weekend much of the talk in the blogs was about the demonstrations in Washington this past weekend, and there were a few articles in the newspapers about them as well. Now as I write the Dawn Patrol I can't really put my own commentary into the post, but I often want to. The demonstrations and articles on them this morning are one such time.

Many of the blogs had pictures of the demonstrators, both the anti-war protesters and the pro-troops supporters. (I won't say "pro-war" because they support the troops and THIS war...they are not 'warmongers' who love 'war'.) Anyways, I noticed a few odd things that I think are important. While there were thousands of 'anti-war' protesters, it seems not all of them actually showed up to protest the war. It seems more like many had the mindset of , "A publicity opportunity for my protest concerns regarding gay rights, racism, socialism, abortion....". You name it, if there is a social movement out there these people showed up to get their voice heard regardless of what they thought of the war itself.

So the large crowd of 'anti-war' protesters could probably have been wittled down if you actually counted those there to oppose the war compared to those there to protest God knows what. It looks good though to the media and the country doesn't it? A huge crowd...supposedly there to protest the war. Supposed to be there to protest the war. I'll grant them it was a huge crowd, however the pictures show a different story of why they were there.

The pro-troops supporters on the other hand. I didn't notice any discontinuity amoung them as far as why they were there. There might have been just 'hundreds', but they were all there for the SAME reason. I think this says something about the strength of one movement against the other. Numbers and turn-out don't always tell the story of which movement is stronger. An analogy:
If I ask 1,000 people to come help me build a house, which is better?
-1,000 people show up and only 100 come to actually build the house, while the other 900 are just a distraction and get in the way
OR
- 300 people show up, and they are all there to build the house, no distractions

I hope you get the point. Also, something else...those of us who support our troops and their mission have something to do (actual physical work) to make that support happen. I'm refering to letter writing, sending carepackages, visiting the wounded, comforting grieving families...and on and on. What do the anti-war movement people actually have to do besides voice an opinion?

Last thing - I think this is most important. While these thousands of anti-war demonstrators showed up to protest the war, and only a 'few hundred' showed up to support our troops in Washington this weekend it is important to note:
-45,000 Soldiers Angels around the world were busy writing letters, visiting the wounded, and all the other things they do to support our troops
-MANY people wanted to be in Washington to support our troops at the rally...BUT WE HAVE JOBS, we are not professional protesters
-millions of people spent time supporting our troops in a personal way through other programs such as anysoldier.com, Operation Minnesota Nice, A Soldiers' Wish List, Adopt a Platoon , Caring For Troops , Defenders of Freedom , Give 2 The Troops, Have a Heart/Adopt a Soldier, Hearts Across the Miles , Helping Our Troops, Local Heroes , Montana Supporting Soldiers, My Soldier, Operation AC , Operation Care and Comfort, Operation Care Packages , Operation Gratitude , Operation Interdependence, Operation Military Pride , Operation Military Support , Operation Mom, Operation Morale, Operation Paperback, Operation Shoebox, Operation Support , Operation Troop Appreciation, Operation We Care, Packages from Home, Patriot Packs, Inc., Shadow Warrior, Share Our Gifts Foundation, SI Yellow Ribbon Campaign, The Freedom Fund , Treat the Troops, US Troop Care Package, USO Care Packages, Operation HomeLink, Operation Hero Miles, Angels Of Mercy, Armed Forces Foundation, Azalea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiers, Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, Comfort for America's Uniformed Services Elite , Fisher House Foundation , Freedom Is Not Free, Helping Our Heroes Foundation , Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund , Kids for our Troops , Operation Second Chance, Wounded Warrior Project , Wounded Warriors, Yellow Ribbon Fund.........

And that's not even half of all the organizations and groups out there daily working to support our troops. Now I think I've made my point.

Cross posted at Soldier's Angel - Holly Aho

Open Post

New! Improved! Illustrated!

The Metro, Paris

Crooks, Liars, and Video Tape (II)

Aaron Broussard appeared on Meet the Press today to refute claims that there was any "misunderstanding" about comments he made in an earlier appearance. Transcript excerpts follow, with emphasis added. Full transcript is here. MSNBC article referenced is here. Previous Mudville entry is here. For the record, the inconsistencies in the original story were first exposed on the blog Wuzzadem.

Following Wuzzadem's breaking story, MSNBC reported:

New details and interviews with the son whose mother died in the flood show that the tragedy unfolded from Saturday through Monday, Aug. 29 ? not Monday through Friday, Sept. 2 as recounted by Broussard.

Mr. Russert: ...that our viewers see that again because MSNBC and other blog organizations have looked into the facts behind your comments and these are the conclusions, and I'll read it for you and our viewers. It says: "An emotional moment and a misunderstanding. Since the broadcast of [Meet the Press] interview...a number of bloggers have questioned the validity of Broussard's story. Subsequent reporting identified the man whom Broussard was referring to...as Thomas Rodrigue, the Jefferson Parish emergency services director. ...Rodrigue acknowledged that his 92-year-old mother and more than 30 other people died in the St. Rita nursing home. They had not been evacuated and the flood waters overtook the residence. ... When told of the sequence of phone calls that Broussard described, Rodrigue said `No, no, that's not true. ...I contacted the nursing home two days before the storm [on Saturday, Aug. 27th] and again on [Sunday] the 28th. ...At the same time I talked to the nursing home I had also talked to the emergency manager...to encourage that nursing home to evacuate...' Rodrigue says he never made any calls after Monday, the day he figures his mother died... Officials believe the residents of St. Rita's died on Monday, the 29th, not on Friday, Sept. 2, as Broussard has suggested."

Mr. Broussard: Sir, this gentleman's mother died on that Friday before I came on the show. My own staff came up to me and said what had happened. I had no idea his mother was in the nursing home. It was related to me by my own staff, who had tears in their eyes, what had happened. That's what they told me. I went to that man, who I love very much and respect very much, and he had collapsed like a deck of cards. And I took him and put him in my hospital room with my prayer books and told him to sit there and cry out and pray away and give honor to his mother with his tears and his prayers.
<...>
Listen, sir, somebody wants to nitpick a man's tragic loss of a mother because she was abandoned in a nursing home? Are you kidding? What kind of sick mind, what kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death? They just buried Eva last week. I was there at the wake. Are you kidding me? That wasn't a box of Cheerios they buried last week. That was a man's mother whose story, if it is entirely broadcast, will be the epitome of abandonment. It will be the saddest tale you ever heard, a man who was responsible for safekeeping of a half a million people, mother's died in the next parish because she was abandoned there and he can't get to her and he tried to get to her through EOC. He tried to get through the sheriff's office. He tries every way he can to get there. Somebody wants to debate those things? My God, what sick-minded person wants to do that?
<...>

Mr. Russert: Mr. Broussard, the people who are questioning your comments are saying that you accused the federal government and the bureaucracy of murder, specifically calling on the secretary of Homeland Security and using this as an example to denounce the federal government. And what they're saying is, in fact, it was the local government that did not evacuate Eva Rodrigue on Friday or on Saturday. And they're making that, in fact...

Mr. Broussard: Sir...

Mr. Russert: Let me just finish. I'll give you a chance to respond.

Mr. Broussard: Yes.

Mr. Russert: And, in fact, the owners of the nursing home, Salvador and Mable Mangano, have been indicted with 34 counts of negligent homicide by the Louisiana state attorney general. So it was the owners of the nursing home and the local government that are responsible for the lack of evacuation and not the federal government. Is that fair?

Mr. Broussard: Sir, with everything I said on Meet the Press, the last punctuation of my statements were the story that I was going to tell in about maybe two sentences. It just got emotional for me, sir. Talk about the context of everything I said. Were we abandoned by the federal government? Absolutely we were. Were there more people that abandoned us? Make the list. The list can go on for miles. That's for history to document. That's what Congress does best, burn witches. Let Congress do their hearings. Let them find the witches. Let them burn them. The media burns witches better than anybody. Let the media go find the witches and burn them. But as I stood on the ground, sir, for day after day after day after day, nobody came here, sir. Nobody came. The federal government didn't come. The Red Cross didn't come. I'll give you a list of people that didn't come here, sir, and I was here.

So anybody that's saying, "Oh, they were all here," you know, they weren't living on my planet, there weren't living in my parish. They did not come. I can't make it any more clearer than that. Did inefficiencies, did bureaucracy commit murder here? Absolutely, it did. And Congress and the media will flush it out and find it out and those people will be held accountable. You've already given an example. These people in the nursing home in St. Bernard, they're getting indicted. Good. They ought to be indicted. They ought to get good old-fashioned Western justice. They ought to be taken out and administered to like they did in the old West.

Yes, there's a lot of people that they're going to find that are going to be villains in this situation, but they're also going to find for the most part that the Peter Principle was squared. The Peter Principle is you promote somebody to the level of incompetency, but when you promote somebody to the level of incompetency in a life or death department, then those people should be ousted. Those people should be strung up. Those people should be burned at the stake. And I'm sure Congress and the press is going to do that.

Mr. Russert: At the local, state and federal level.

Mr. Broussard: Sir, at every level.
<...>
When somebody wants to nit-pick these details, I don't know what sick minds creates this black-hearted agenda, but it's sick.

Do's and Don'ts

Time to take a look at how well the Daily Kos Do's and Don'ts advice went over with this weekend's protest crowd. We're only looking at the "don't" list today. The remainder of the text below is from Daily Kos; the pictures from various reports on the festivities.

Don't have a hippy drum circle:

There are few things more annoying and irrelevant than a bunch of dreadlocked Boulderites banging on drums while dancing around with erect nipples under their hemp shirts.

Don't have a gothic pagan chorus on the stage talking about mermaids:

This actually happened at the last November 3rd movement rally. It has nothing to do with the overall point of the protest. Rather it is just an opportunity for superficial hipsters to whine about "mother earth". They then leave to go get coffee and don't stay for the rally.

Don't talk about gay rights or other issues that have little to do with the Iraqi invasion:

Believe it our not, all of the protesters do not see eye to eye. Although Palestine and gay rights are very important issues (and yes, I do realize that there are parallels between imperialism with Palestine and Iraq) that does not mean we should have speakers that talk for 30 minutes on the subjects. It is sloppy and off message to the united coalition of organizations and individuals against the Iraq war to talk about different issues that they may not agree with. Stay with a poignant message and prosper.

Don't use the slogan "No Blood For Oil!":

Face it. The bromide is tired, used. Be creative.

Don't march to the Halliburton building:

Guess what, most of the workers aren't there on Saturday. We've done it two times with little to show for it, enough is enough.

Don't talk for an hour and a half, leaving supporters standing:

Last time different speakers talked for a little over and hour and a half. The primary reason we showed up was not to hear people speak about things we are already aware of or don't care about. We wanted to march! By the time the speeches were over, a good chunk of the crowd had left, and no media was around.

(Greyhawk notes: Read here. Also see Cindy Sheehan told to finish her speech here.)

Don't wear black bandanas or gas masks:

Want the police to target you? Wear a black bandana over your face. Wear a gas mask. I know, I know, it's the cool anarcho thing to do, but it's also very foolish. If you feel you might need them later (for whatever reasons...), put them in your bag where you'll have easy access to them.

If you bring kids or animals, stay on the sidewalk.

Don't set up a [deleted] T-shirt stand selling Anti-Bush propaganda made in Hanes sweatshop factories:

Everytime I go to a rally I see some baby boomer liberal [deleted] shelling his shallow and petty white T-Shirt crap. Don't do it. To ad insult to injury, the shirts are usually from some sweatshop company like Hanes. When you try and talk to the vendor he gets all defensive and babbles something about an "honest" living. Yeah, right. For that matter, let's keep all aspects of consumerism out of the rally. Protests are about community empowerment and action, not buying stuff. Save it for conferences and book signings.

DC photos here

Counter protests at Walter Reed here and here. (Move over Lebanon - America has lots of "protest babes" too.)

LA protest photos here.

Video of rally to honor military families (a counter-protest) on CSPAN here.

Closing thought from Holly Aho, must read.

Mizz Sheehan, your time is up

Answer: "I'm almost done."

Video: here.

Favorite quote: "We are here in... (long pause, looking aound) ...massive amounts of people...

A few seconds prior to that statement, at approximately the 1:50 point in the video a camera shot revealed she's addressing a crowd of a few hundred people at most.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Blogging

(But were Afraid to Ask)

(Note: reposted in response to numerous "how to" questions received regularly here. Some of the links below may no longer be active. Feel free to leave alternatives in the comments section.)

Okay - I'll tell you right off that the title is deceptive. You won't find everything here. But this guide will offer ten fundamentals about which anyone wanting to be a blogger should be aware. Whatever your blog might be about, I think you'll find this info useful. This isn't about writing, or site design - it's about the knobology of blogging, the nuts and bolts, (hmmm, maybe nuts is the wrong term...) and that applies to everyone.

1. Get a Blog
Lets keep this one short. I recommend Blogspot for the purpose. It's easy to set up and get started, and it's free. Test the waters, if blogging is for you then you can move on to other things if you want. But lots of very big bloggers are still using blogspot, and most others maintain their blogspot blogs as backups 'just in case'. You don't even need to know how to write html code - blogger makes everything easy and is getting better all the time.

Done? Good. If you want to you can stop now and blog happily away.

2. Hit counters
So you've started a blog, does anybody care? Believe it or not, unless you're already well known your blog will probably not get 5000 hits to that "test 1234" post you did this morning. But you knew that. But one of these days you might post the Big Mac secret sauce recipe and everyone will be beating a path to your door. How many people will visit when Glenn Reynolds links your photo of Kofi giving Saddam food for oil, Kos links your rant about Bush being a chimpymonkey, and Wonkette links your photos from the coed Senate steam bath?

And how much should you charge for blogads once they do?

Get a hit counter - a little string of code you add to your page that allows you to see who's visited. Sitemeter is the blogger's "industry standard". (Hint: get one) I also really like the Onestat hit counter - it can't be beat. Click my onestat link in the sidebar (the round symbol below the sitemeter visit numbers). Check the features. Test drive. Once you're on the onestat page note the pull down menu in the upper left corner area, and the listed options below it. They're both free.

Don't lock them - leave them open for public view. They tell you how many visits you've had and they also tell other bloggers how many visitors they've sent your way. Don't get obsessed about either number - your visit numbers will likely be small initially, I know mine were. But they are of interest to anyone who's serious about blogging. Let's face it, we're in this to communicate, and these are simply letting us know who we're communicating with. I like to know what works best when I link to someone else - a simple "This is a must read!" or a paragraph sample followed by a "read it all". Lock me out of your site meter and I won't know.

Another option you might try is the on-screen referral log. I have that too, you'll find it farther down the right side bar. I often use the blog list there to find new sites I hadn't seen before.

Last important note: be sure to put the hit counter code on your main page template and all archive templates too. At least 40% of visits here come to individual pages from links from other bloggers. I know a few bloggers who are getting a lot more visits than they think they are, because they don't have hit counters on individual archive pages.

3. Comment
I want to be the guy that 'discovers' your blog and sends thousands of readers (and other bloggers) to you, launching your long and successful career. Why? Because my guess is you'll return the favor some day. But how will I find you? Perhaps via my sitemeter stats, but another way is via comments and trackbacks.

Comments are easy and need no explanation. I began my blogging career by commenting at another blog. When Mudville started I had a handful of regular visitors who knew me from there. If you're a new blogger, or one who wants to draw a bigger crowd, leave comments at those other blogs that have posts about topics on which you write. Etiquette note: don't just say "Great post - I linked it from my blog here!" along with a url. Contribute something to the conversation and people will follow that url linked to your name in the comment back to your site anyway. Do this at enough places and people will soon see your obvious expertise - do it wrong enough times and people will know you're just a pest.

Besides, that "I linked your post" stuff is what trackback is all about.

4. Trackback
I get tons of questions about how to do trackback. The easiest way is to link a blog post to the 'permalink' below, and your blogging software does it automatically. This doesn't work for everybody. If you are using blogspot, for instance, there are no automatic trackbacks. Don't fret! You've still got options.

Blogspot recommends Haloscan's free service. A lot of big bloggers use this option.

But here's a quick fix that's just so cool you'll probably want to try it just to see it work. Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger.

To use it, first click the 'trackback' option below. You'll find this entry number there:

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2250

That's the one you'll want to enter in the first box on the Trackback Pinger. (Note: it is not the url you link too! The url to link to is the 'permalink' below) The other entries should be self explanatory.

That's it - trackback!

5. Open Posts
Now that you have the power of trackback, use it wisely. Most bloggers are happy to see you linking your post to theirs, whether you agree or disagree with what they say - as long as you're on topic. Some might even include a link to your post in their original post. I've set my blog up so that trackbacks automatically are shown at the bottom of every post.

I also run at least one open post every day, a place where fellow bloggers can trackback any post they want, on any topic. (Well, I'll delete any pure attack pieces or anything I think gets too much inspiration from Jerry Springer...)

Other sites offering open posts include Wizbang and Outside the Beltway.

6. Finding your tribe
So - you just finished fisking the latest Maureen Dowd column - you've punched hole after hole in her logic, and now you want to find others who are linking her column too. Here are a couple sites you'll find useful.

Technorati - enter any url or keyword into the search window and you'll get a list of sites who are linking that url or using the keyword. Here's the list for Maureen Dowd.

Memeorandum - this one tells you what certain big blogs are linking too.

There are other options, but these will give you a start. Find others on your topics, link, trackback, comment or

7. email
Another way to communicate with fellow bloggers, but in many cases the least useful. I'm more likely to respond to someone who I find via trackback or sitemeter. From time to time I get emails from someone asking me to link something. I do take the time to read such things, but I usually don't have time to devote a post to them. Especially since they could have automatically had a link just by using an open post, or linking one of my posts on the topic. By all means, send me emails, especially if you're a non-blogger with a great tip on a story, or a blogger with a great post. I want to be the guy who discovers you. But also remember you have an automatic option here.

On the other hand, some bloggers don't have open trackback or comments, and they welcome emails. Most will be quick to tell you they prefer a pointer to a specific post than to an entire blog, but few would post their email on their site unless they wanted people to email them. Of course, smaller bloggers will probably be more likely to respond.

You also will want to email your entry into the

8. Carnivals
Many moons ago I always submitted an entry to the Carnival of the Vanities - a traveling link-fest used to promote a blogger's personal favorite post of the week. "Traveling" because a different blog would host it every week. The final link at the bottom of each week's carnival tells you where next week's will be. So you go to that blog and find the post that gives you guidelines for submissions, follow those instructions, and presto! Glenn Reynolds and lots of other bloggers link the carnival, so a good bit of traffic can flow your way from that source.

Now back to the future: there are lots of carnivals now, for medical blogs, for recipes, for you name it. My advice to you is to visit the Carnival of the Carnivals - it lists them all. See which ones are on topics you write about, find out where the next one will be, and get your post submitted. (Note the compiler of the Carnival of Carnivals has offered it to a new home, perhaps you would like the task?)

Then watch the numbers rack up on those new sitemeters.

You'll also find bloggers in your area of expertise, and as you do, be sure and add them to your

9. Blogroll
- those lists of great blogs running down the side of every great blog.

Here are some tips for running a blogroll:

Two methods to create a blogroll. 1. Manual - build the links yourself or 2. Use blogrolling.com. With blogrolling you also have an option of their free service or a paid service with more features.

Greyhawk's advice: Use blogrolling's paid option. It's not that much money and it's money spent in the blogosphere, and that's good.

Now, as to building your blogroll. Do: add as many fine blogs as you can. Do Not: Simply put Instapundit, LGF, Hugh Hewitt, PowerLine, and Michelle Malkin, and The Corner on your blogroll and stop. Do add those sites, but do not stop there. Add several smaller blogs too. Are you using the open post trackback feature here? Go visit some of the other blogs that do. Have you checked out the Carnivals I directed you to? I know there are great blogs there, and many would love to exchange links. Blogroll those you like. Leave a comment at their site telling them that you enjoyed your visit and added them to your blogroll. They'll likely be glad to learn that - I know I am when I find a blog that's just linked to me.

Whether you use blogrolling or not, be sure to "ping" blogrolling whenever you put up a new post. This will automatically update other's blogrolls to announce your new post. In some cases "new" will appear by your blog's name (or whatever the site owner has decided) in other's you'll actually move to the top of the list.

Little by little your site visits will begin to creep upwards, and you too will be climbing...

10. The Ecosystem
NZ Bear's Ecosystem is the hub of the blogosphere. This is a comprehensive who's who, a list of the members of the club. This is the community. And if you're a blogger and haven't joined the fun, now is the time. Recent big events in the life of the proprietor had prevented new entries, but it's open again. Enter your blog. You'll find out where you stand and be able to chart your progress in the blogging world. You'll find other blogs - and they'll find you.

NZ also tracks blogs by visits, by the way - if they have an open sitemeter.

There you have it - the power is in your hands. Why would I be so willing to help you out? Because when you become a huge blogger I want you to remember me and link me from time to time, okay? That is how this whole thing works.

Recap:

1. Get a blog.
2. Get a sitemeter (and a onestat)
3. Leave comments.
4. Use trackback
5. Take advantage of open posts - here, here, and here for example
6. Find your tribe (memeorandum, technorati, etc)
7. Email
8. Carnivals
9. Blogroll (and ping it too!)
10. Enter the Ecosystem

(reposted from 2005-04-28 21:12:08)

Lovely Rita

Rita making landfall, as seen from the Lake Charles Doppler radar, 0742UTC 24 September 2005.

Although it's fun to watch CNN and other networks reporting on the winds and rain, it's also interesting to look at real data from the National Weather Service and see what really happened as the storm moved ashore.

Lake Charles, Louisiana and Beaumont, Texas are obviously being pounded at this point - the eyewall, where the most intense winds occur, is passing directly over them. The highest wind reported from either location was a gust of 91 knots (105 mph) at Beaumont. The strongest sustained winds reported were 56 knots (64 mph). The sustained winds define the hurricane category - these would indicate Rita was a tropical storm, near hurricane strength.

Lake Charles' wind reports stopped a few hours before landfall - up until that time they were experiencing 46 knots sustained winds, with gusts of 64 (53 and 74 mph). It's not unreasonable to assume that their peak winds were ultimately higher than Beaumont's - they were in a more favorable sector of the storm for that, so Rita may have been a cat 1 hurricane at that point.

There were category 1 hurricane winds reported at a coastal observing site, labeled SRST2 on the map below. There the sustained winds were measured at 71 knots, with gusts of 86. (82 and 99 mph).

We'll keep looking for reliable reports on the actual intensity of Hurricane Rita and update if found. In the meantime the coded observations are in the extended section, with peak winds highlighted.

Lake Charles, La:

KLCH 241253Z AUTO A2902 RMK AO2 SLP836 PWINO FZRANO TSNO PNO $
KLCH 240653Z AUTO A2873 RMK AO2 PRESFR SLP738 PWINO FZRANO TSNO PNO $
KLCH 240553Z AUTO A2888 RMK AO2 PRESFR SLP789 6//// 402830239 58106 PWINO FZRANO TSNO PNO $
KLCH 240453Z AUTO A2900 RMK AO2 PRESFR SLP829 PWINO FZRANO TSNO PNO $
KLCH 240353Z AUTO A2909 RMK AO2 RAB0256E06 SLP860 P0035 PWINO FZRANO TSNO $
KLCH 240333Z AUTO 04038G50KTS A2915 RMK AO2 RAB0256E06 P0035 PWINO TSNO WINDS AUGEMNETED WITH RSOIS$
KLCH 240310Z AUTO 05040G49KT 1 3/4SM BR BKN017 BKN023 OVC028 24/23 A2917 RMK AO2 PK WND 05059/0259 RAB0256E06 P0015 TSNO $
KLCH 240300Z AUTO 06046G59KT 1 3/4SM +RA BR SCT015 BKN021 OVC033 24/23 A2919 RMK AO2 PK WND 05059/0259 RAB0256 P0005 TSNO $
KLCH 240253Z AUTO 05042G52KT 2SM BR FEW012 BKN019 OVC033 24/23 A2920 RMK AO2 PK WND 04064/0207 RAB50E53 SLP895 P0044 60115 02390228 56040 TSNO
KLCH 240210Z AUTO 04046G64KT 1SM BR FEW009 BKN019 OVC023 24/23 A2917 RMK AO2 PK WND 04064/0207 P0015 TSNO
KLCH 240153Z AUTO 04039G52KT 1 1/2SM BR SCT016 BKN024 OVC031 24/23 A2921 RMK AO2 PK WND 03062/0131 SLP898 P0025 T02390228 TSNO
KLCH 240133Z AUTO 04044G62KT 1 3/4SM BR FEW012 BKN020 OVC031 24/23 A2922 RMK AO2 PK WND 03062/0131 P0014 TSNO
KLCH 240124Z AUTO 04042G56KT 1 1/4SM BR SCT012 BKN018 OVC027 24/23 A2924 RMK AO2 PK WND 03056/0118 P0011 TSNO
KLCH 240100Z AUTO 04041G62KT 2SM BR FEW013 BKN028 OVC035 24/23 A2925 RMK AO2 PK WND 04052/0056 P0002 TSNO
KLCH 240053Z AUTO 04041G62KT 1 1/2SM BR SCT013 BKN019 OVC035 24/23 A2925 RMK AO2 PK WND 04062/0051 RAE2357B19E21 SLP914 P0046 T02390228 TSNO
KLCH 240038Z AUTO 03040G52KT 1 1/2SM BR FEW009 BKN020 OVC025 24/22 A2926 RMK AO2 PK WND 03052/0037 RAE2357B19E21 PRESFR P0037 TSNO
KLCH 240018Z AUTO 03034G47KT 1 1/4SM BR SCT013 BKN017 OVC030 24/22 A2929 RMK AO2 PK WND 02049/0004 RAE2357 P0020 TSNO
KLCH 240005Z AUTO 03040G49KT 1 3/4SM BR BKN014 BKN019 OVC032 24/22 A2931 RMK AO2 PK WND 02049/0004 RAE2357 P0007 TSNO
KLCH 232353Z AUTO 03037G47KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR SCT014 BKN020 OVC028 24/22 A2932 RMK AO2 PK WND 03047/2351 VIS 1 3/4V4 SLP935 P0025 60103 02440222 10261 20244 58058 TSNO
KLCH 232340Z AUTO 03034G47KT 1 1/2SM BR SCT012 BKN019 OVC026 24/22 A2934 RMK AO2 PK WND 03047/2338 RAE38 P0021 TSNO
KLCH 232327Z AUTO 03031G44KT 1 1/2SM +RA BR SCT017 BKN024 OVC036 24/22 A2935 RMK AO2 PK WND 02047/2308 P0014 TSNO
KLCH 232318Z AUTO 03028G43KT 2SM +RA BR SCT016 BKN023 OVC036 24/22 A2936 RMK AO2 PK WND 02047/2308 P0008 TSNO
KLCH 232309Z AUTO 03036G47KT 2SM -RA BR BKN016 BKN023 OVC036 24/22 A2937 RMK AO2 PK WND 02047/2308 PRESFR P0005 TSNO
KLCH 232300Z AUTO 03033G43KT 2 1/2SM -RA SCT016 BKN021 OVC040 25/22 A2939 RMK AO2 PK WND 03043/2259 PRESFR P0001 TSNO
KLCH 232253Z AUTO 04035G42KT 3SM +RA BKN016 OVC025 25/22 A2940 RMK AO2 PK WND 04044/2226 RAB2154 SLP963 P0025 T02500222 TSNO
KLCH 232240Z AUTO 04029G40KT 3SM RA FEW014 BKN018 OVC026 25/22 A2943 RMK AO2 PK WND 04044/2226 RAB2154 P0022 TSNO
KLCH 232233Z AUTO 04032G44KT 2 1/2SM RA FEW015 BKN022 OVC029 25/22 A2941 RMK AO2 PK WND 04044/2226 RAB2154 P0019 TSNO
KLCH 232219Z AUTO 04028G40KT 1 3/4SM +RA BR FEW012 BKN019 OVC024 24/22 A2944 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2154 RAB2154 P0013 TSNO
KLCH 232214Z AUTO 03030G40KT 2SM +RA BR SCT014 BKN022 OVC028 24/22 A2943 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2154 RAB2154 P0011 TSNO
KLCH 232208Z AUTO 03031G41KT 1 1/2SM +RA BR BKN014 BKN020 OVC025 24/22 A2943 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2154 RAB2154 P0008 TSNO
KLCH 232153Z AUTO 03031G42KT 2SM HZ SCT014 BKN019 OVC025 25/22 A2943 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2107 RAE43 SLP973 P0019 T02500222 TSNO
KLCH 232139Z AUTO 03029G41KT 1 1/2SM -RA BR BKN017 OVC022 24/22 A2943 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2107 P0014 TSNO
KLCH 232130Z AUTO 02031G41KT 2SM +RA SCT014 BKN019 OVC025 25/22 A2944 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2107 PRESFR P0009 TSNO
KLCH 232109Z AUTO 03029G44KT 3SM HZ BKN016 BKN020 OVC038 25/22 A2947 RMK AO2 PK WND 03044/2107 RAE04 P0003 TSNO
KLCH 232053Z AUTO 03027G39KT 2 1/2SM RA OVC016 25/22 A2949 RMK AO2 PK WND 04047/2025 SLP993 P0017 60034 T02500222 56052 TSNO
KLCH 232034Z AUTO 03030G47KT 2 1/2SM RA SCT016 OVC022 25/22 A2951 RMK AO2 PK WND 04047/2025 P0009 TSNO
KLCH 232006Z AUTO 03026G35KT 3SM RA BKN016 OVC023 25/22 A2953 RMK AO2 PK WND 04035/2003 P0004 TSNO

Beaumont, Tx:

KBPT 241053Z AUTO 24038G51KT M1/4SM -RA OVC016 23/ RMK AO2 PK WND 28059/0957 SLPNO P0005 T0233 TSNO $
KBPT 240958Z AUTO 29039G59KT 1/4SM RA FEW012 BKN016 OVC031 23/ RMK AO2 PK WND 28059/0957 VIS M1/4V5 P0000 TSNO $
KBPT 240953Z AUTO 29038G53KT 2SM RA FEW012 BKN016 OVC023 23/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 VIS 1/2V5 RAB35 SLPNO P0060 T0233 TSNO $
KBPT 240944Z AUTO 30047G61KT 3/4SM RA FEW007 BKN016 OVC023 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 VIS 1/2V5 RAB35 P0060 TSNO $
KBPT 240938Z AUTO 30047G61KT 1 1/2SM RA FEW006 BKN016 OVC023 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 VIS 1/2V5 RAB35 P0060 TSNO $
KBPT 240935Z AUTO 30047G63KT 3SM RA FEW006 BKN016 OVC023 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 RAB35 P0057 TSNO $
KBPT 240923Z AUTO 32053G64KT 1 3/4SM BR FEW003 SCT008 OVC016 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 VIS 1/2V5 P0054 TSNO $
KBPT 240920Z AUTO 32050G69KT 1SM BR FEW003 SCT008 OVC015 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 VIS 1/2V5 P0050 TSNO $
KBPT 240912Z AUTO 32056G80KT 1/4SM FG FEW001 SCT008 OVC015 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 32080/0904 P0039 TSNO $
KBPT 240853Z AUTO 34055G91KT 1/4SM FG SCT001 BKN006 OVC011 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 33091/0847 SLPNO P0249 60460 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240818Z AUTO 34056G86KT 1/4SM FG BKN001 BKN006 OVC014 24/ RMK AO2 PK WND 35086/0811 P0114 TSNO $
KBPT 240800Z AUTO 36048G80KT 1/4SM FG FEW001 BKN009 OVC020 24/ A2822 RMK AO2 PK WND 01066/0756 P0014 TSNO $
KBPT 240753Z AUTO 36053G80KT 1/2SM FG SCT001 BKN015 OVC020 24/ A2823 RMK AO2 PK WND 35080/0751 PRESFR SLP560 P0094 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240653Z AUTO 01048G61KT 3/4SM BR FEW002 BKN018 OVC027 24/ A2854 RMK AO2 PK WND 03067/0631 PRESFR SLP662 P0117 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240553Z AUTO 36045G66KT 1/2SM FG SCT002 BKN010 OVC017 24/ A2873 RMK AO2 PK WND 02068/0515 PRESFR SLP729 P0104 60284 T0239 10244 20233 402890233 58154 TSNO $
KBPT 240535Z AUTO 01043G59KT 1/2SM FG SCT004 BKN010 OVC017 23/ A2879 RMK AO2 PK WND 02068/0515 PRESFR P0069 TSNO $
KBPT 240511Z AUTO 36047G65KT 3/4SM BR FEW008 BKN023 OVC027 24/ A2888 RMK AO2 PK WND 01065/0510 P0018 TSNO $
KBPT 240453Z AUTO 01043G57KT 1SM BR SCT014 BKN020 OVC027 24/ A2891 RMK AO2 PK WND 01070/0426 RAB08E17 PRESFR SLP789 P0048 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240446Z AUTO 36042G57KT 1SM BR BKN016 BKN023 OVC030 24/ A2894 RMK AO2 PK WND 01070/0426 RAB08E17 P0039 TSNO $
KBPT 240436Z AUTO 36042G61KT 1 1/2SM BR FEW012 BKN025 OVC032 24/ A2897 RMK AO2 PK WND 01070/0426 RAB08E17 P0033 TSNO $
KBPT 240417Z AUTO 01048G60KT 1 1/4SM BR FEW013 BKN020 OVC039 24/ A2904 RMK AO2 PK WND 02060/0414 RAB08E17 P0019 TSNO $
KBPT 240405Z AUTO 01036G57KT 1 3/4SM BR FEW015 BKN023 OVC034 24/ A2906 RMK AO2 PK WND 03057/0400 PRESFR P0008 TSNO $
KBPT 240353Z AUTO 01043G55KT 1 1/4SM BR SCT016 BKN022 OVC035 24/ A2907 RMK AO2 PK WND 02057/0343 RAE05 PRESFR SLP845 P0038 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240316Z AUTO 01042G52KT 1 1/2SM BR FEW016 BKN022 OVC031 24/ A2917 RMK AO2 PK WND 02052/0310 RAE05 P0012 TSNO $
KBPT 240306Z AUTO 02036G52KT 2SM BR FEW015 BKN021 OVC030 24/ A2918 RMK AO2 PK WND 02052/0304 RAE05 P0005 TSNO $
KBPT 240253Z AUTO 01031G47KT 3SM RA BKN019 BKN028 OVC035 24/ A2919 RMK AO2 PK WND 02054/0238 RAB53 SLP883 P0035 60094 T0244 56062 TSNO $
KBPT 240245Z AUTO 01037G54KT 1 1/2SM BR SCT018 BKN026 OVC032 24/ A2920 RMK AO2 PK WND 02054/0238 P0031 TSNO $
KBPT 240225Z AUTO 01038G50KT 2 1/2SM BR SCT017 BKN022 OVC041 24/ A2920 RMK AO2 PK WND 02051/0210 P0020 TSNO $
KBPT 240153Z AUTO 01034G49KT 1 1/2SM BR BKN015 BKN020 OVC025 24/ A2924 RMK AO2 PK WND 36050/0117 RAB03E51 PRESFR SLP901 P0037 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240141Z AUTO 36031G47KT 2 1/2SM -RA SCT013 BKN021 OVC040 24/ A2924 RMK AO2 PK WND 36050/0117 RAB03 P0027 TSNO $
KBPT 240136Z AUTO 01035G45KT 3SM +RA BKN013 BKN022 OVC034 24/ A2926 RMK AO2 PK WND 36050/0117 RAB03 P0027 TSNO $
KBPT 240121Z AUTO 01034G50KT 2SM BR SCT013 BKN020 OVC026 24/ A2926 RMK AO2 PK WND 36050/0117 RAB03E19 PRESFR P0020 TSNO $
KBPT 240053Z AUTO 01035G47KT 1 3/4SM BR FEW014 BKN022 OVC035 24/ A2931 RMK AO2 PK WND 01047/0050 RAE35 SLP925 P0022 T0239 TSNO $
KBPT 240045Z AUTO 01033G47KT 1 1/2SM BR SCT017 BKN022 OVC035 24/ A2931 RMK AO2 PK WND 02047/0040 RAE35 PRESFR P0016 TSNO $
KBPT 240038Z AUTO 01033G47KT 2SM BR SCT017 BKN022 OVC035 24/ A2932 RMK AO2 PK WND 36047/0036 RAE35 PRESFR P0012 TSNO $
KBPT 240012Z AUTO 01029G42KT 3SM +RA FEW017 BKN027 OVC036 24/ A2935 RMK AO2 PK WND 01042/0011 PRESFR P0004 TSNO $

Station SRST2 - Sabine, TX:

09 24 8:00 am WSW 47 58 - - - - 28.97
09 24 7:00 am WSW 48 56 - - - - 28.85
09 24 6:00 am WSW 41 49 - - - - 28.74
09 24 5:00 am W 41 59 - - - - 28.59
09 24 4:00 am WNW 54 64 - - - - 28.39
09 24 3:00 am NNW 65 78 - - - - 28.09
09 24 2:00 am N 71 86 - - - - 28.23
09 24 1:00 am N 63 79 - - - - 28.46
09 24 12:00 am N 63 78 - - - - 28.64
09 23 11:00 pm N 61 72 - - - - 28.87
09 23 10:00 pm N 54 66 - - - - 29.03
09 23 9:00 pm N 48 61 - - - - 29.10
09 23 8:00 pm N 48 60 - - - - 29.20
09 23 7:00 pm N 42 52 - - - - 29.27
09 23 6:00 pm N 40 50 - - - - 29.34
09 23 5:00 pm N 33 43 - - - - 29.41
09 23 4:00 pm N 37 47 - - - - 29.47
09 23 3:00 pm N 28 36 - - - - 29.52
09 23 2:00 pm N 25 34 - - - - 29.55
09 23 1:00 pm NNE 26 36 - - - - 29.61
09 23 12:00 pm N 22 28 - - - - 29.64
09 23 11:00 am NNE 26 30 - - - - 29.67
09 23 10:00 am NNE 24 31 - - - - 29.68

Marine Salutes Attackers

Photo here.

Counter-protest in DC

Sign from a counter protest at Walter Reed last night. See much more here. (And guess what? America has protest babes too - lots of 'em!)

(Via Powerline)

Corporal Tibor Rubin, Medal of Honor

Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Corporal Tibor Rubin distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism during the period from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, while serving as a rifleman with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in the Republic of Korea. While his unit was retreating to the Pusan Perimeter, Corporal Rubin was assigned to stay behind to keep open the vital Taegu-Pusan Road link used by his withdrawing unit. During the ensuing battle, overwhelming numbers of North Korean troops assaulted a hill defended solely by Corporal Rubin. He inflicted a staggering number of casualties on the attacking force during his personal 24-hour battle, single-handedly slowing the enemy advance and allowing the 8th Cavalry Regiment to complete its withdrawal successfully. Following the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, the 8 th Cavalry Regiment proceeded northward and advanced into North Korea. During the advance, he helped capture several hundred North Korean soldiers. On October 30, 1950, Chinese forces attacked his unit at Unsan, North Korea, during a massive nighttime assault. That night and throughout the next day, he manned a .30 caliber machine gun at the south end of the unit's line after three previous gunners became casualties. He continued to man his machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted. His determined stand slowed the pace of the enemy advance in his sector, permitting the remnants of his unit to retreat southward. As the battle raged, Corporal Rubin was severely wounded and captured by the Chinese. Choosing to remain in the prison camp despite offers from the Chinese to return him to his native Hungary, Corporal Rubin disregarded his own personal safety and immediately began sneaking out of the camp at night in search of food for his comrades. Breaking into enemy food storehouses and gardens, he risked certain torture or death if caught. Corporal Rubin provided not only food to the starving Soldiers, but also desperately needed medical care and moral support for the sick and wounded of the POW camp. His brave, selfless efforts were directly attributed to saving the lives of as many as forty of his fellow prisoners. Corporal Rubin's gallant actions in close contact with the enemy and unyielding courage and bravery while a prisoner of war are in the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

See the video of the Medal of Honor ceremony here.

Additional videos, including an interview with Tibor Rubin here.

Our previous entry detailing Corporal Rubin's heroic acts here.

Corporal Rubin's actions in Korea earned him four recommendations for the Medal of Honor. He was also nominated twice for the Distinguished Service Cross, and twice for the Silver Star. Had he received all those awards, he would have become the most decorated American veteran of the Korean War. But two Purple Hearts and a 100 percent disability were the only recognition he received - until now.

A look at "what took so long" here.

Ghost Stories

I started noticing Halloween decorations and costumes in the Exchange here around September 1st. That seems a bit early, but with October practically here I suppose it's time for some ghost stories.

Here's one. A video presentation, in fact. Soldiers, New Orleans, spirits - what more could you ask?

Found at numerous sites around the 'sphere, but I saw it first here - along with some more ghost stories...

Looking for a good read?

Try Erik Larson's book Isaac's Storm : A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History.

It's non-fiction, but written in the style of a novel. The title character is Isaac Cline, real-life weather forecaster in Galveston, Texas. On September 8, 1900, a hurricane struck, the city flooded, and winds and water destroyed thousands of buildings. Estimates place the death toll as high as 10,000 - the worst natural disaster in America's history.

I read it a few years ago - and even then thought that in some regards we really hadn't progressed much beyond that point in time.