Bravo Zulu

My thoughts exactly.  I served my country for six years in the Navy, and I remember the dog and pony shows very well.  I worked as a "pit snipe" in the enginerooms, and grabbing 4 straight hours of sleep during a 24 hour period was a luxury.  My last ship had the "priviledge" of hosting VP Al Gore on one occasion, and we were "lucky" enough to have Rob Lowe aboard.  What a thrill it was to forego sleep and health to ensure the dignitaries were taken care of. 

 I am 100% behind Ron Paul for his unwavering stance on the Constitution.  I do not agree completely with everything he advocates, but I see in him a chance to restore this country to a nation of principles based upon our Constitution.

by Layne Buck (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 1:25:32 PM
 

Thanks Man

Thanks man. More veterans should speak out like you.  

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 3:10:00 PM
 

This one goes out to my boys.

This goes out to all my boys who didn't leave the service and still don't enjoy the freedom of speech.

-You stuck it out because you have families to raise.

-You keep your mouth shut because you need to make rank.

-You do the job you're asked to and you refuse to complain.

But *no one* puts words in your mouths as long as I'm on my game.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 3:18:57 PM
 

what constitutes a win in IRAQ?

I would like an explanation from this administration or any of the candidates what constitutes a win in IRAQ?  

by Michael Chavers (50 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 179 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 4:10:20 PM
 

No such thing, brother

All the Iraqis will be filled with love and happiness. They will spend hours frolicking through the lush green meadows of the Middle East. Sunnis and Shiites will come together to promote the United States and its noble cause. Iraq will become the land of milk and honey and oil.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 4:24:01 PM
 

Been There.

Not all officer's are lost to the plight of the enlisted men.  Don't forget Mustangs like me.

I've been present for those Public Affairs forums for VIPs held in Iraq. They select soldiers who will say whatever the VIP wants to hear. In the case of Iraq, they usually pick the Senior Officers who spend all their time in little offices inside green zones where the mortars don't fall, and the IEDs are just a graphic on the map. The soldiers beating the path on the ground such as myself see things differently, and we would be happy to come home to our families in one piece. That is why I am donating all my Hazard Pay bonus to Ron Paul's campaign until I max out my $2300 contribution limit.
-1LT Thompson, Mosul

by J.R. Thompson (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 6 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 10:42:33 PM
 

Thanks for your input

You're right. There are two kinds of O's. Thanks for being the right kind. I'm sure you were a better leader for it. I meant to mention this, but it would have taken up too much text:

I don't speak ill of officers at all. I almost re-upped as a line officer and then a JAG. Low-ranking officers especially have it hard. At least the enlisted can hide themselves while machevellian COs browbeat their 0-1s and o-2s. On the other hand, an O-1 is likely to have a say in the world someday. Even if he/she doesn't grow up to be General Shwatrzkoff, he'll have the skills to do something in the civillian sector and the education to fight nonsense rhetoric like McCain's.  An enlistedman is likely to spend his entire career drinking out of the enlisted-only waterfountain (metaphorically and literally).

Unfortunately it's all the good officers who work closely with the men that get picked off on the battlefield while the desk jockeys pal around with McCain.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:35:02 PM
 

IF it were just the war ...

... and Ron Paul was the only candidate calling for immediate full pull-out, then yes - but he's not.

Kucinich has the same record on the war that Paul does and is light-years ahead in commonsense diplomacy and interpretation of how the Constitution is able to grow concerning domestic obligations to the general welfare of the community as a whole.

Are the soldiers ready to give the companies that are keeping them in Iraq now completely unregulated freedom to do whatever they want?  Because it certainly isn't for the cause of "freedom", or any pledges to the United States that they are there. Can we imagine a world with no regulation on business, when it's already out of control?

Now mind you, there are many things attractive about the essential Libertarian interpretation of the Constitution, but it leaves no room for what the Constitution was meant to do - grow.

So, in essence, in my opinion, I can't help but believe that to the soldiers this is a one horse issue - who's going to get us out of this hell-hole ASAP and they are being feed Paul, Paul, Paul ... and not hearing that there is another person who is better qualified to run this nation that has the same voting record and feelings on the war as Ron Paul. I can also imagine that in the immature macho world of the military Kucinich is viewed as somehow being less manly because of his physical appearance. Thank God for his drop-dead gorgeous wife, puts that to rest.

But before any of this comes into being we have to fix the election process. Because I don't care if a reincarnation of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Truman and Kennedy came back as one person and ran they couldn't win against the rigged system we have now.

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 1696 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 10:45:56 PM
 

My Dream

I agree that Kucinich is a good choice, but the GOP field is much more pliable than the Democrats.  Hillary is very strong, and only Obama is even close to her, and not by much.  Paul has a better chance to win the GOP than Kucinich to win the Democrat primary.  However, this is my dream...

Ron Paul wins the Republican primary by a hair with 29% over Mike Huckabee's 27% by bringing in new and moderate voters to the Republican side to balance out Huckabee's Ultra Religious Right. The corporate plant candidates all getting barely 5% each.

Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Primary in a landslide because nobody says socialism like Hillary.

Hillary names Obama as running mate to capitalize on the women/minority voting block.

Paul names Kucinich as running mate in a rare Cross party ticket not seen since the founders were still running for office. Perfect to mobilize his passionate moderate voters and stay to his constitutional roots.

With such an unprecedented move, they decide to rename themselves the Unity Party.  Democrats and Republicans decide to rename themselves as well to speak about their true goals.  Thus the Democrats become the Socialists, and the Republicans become the Fascists.

The Fascists decide to Run a Giuliani/Romney ticket despite the loss to everybody else in the primary.

The combined Unity party ticket of Paul/Kucinich defeats the other two by a 60% vote.  Socialists get 30% and Fascists only 10%.  America experiences a new birth of freedom.

by J.R. Thompson (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 6 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:20:57 PM
 

Stop!

My head is spinning!

That's a whole lot of wishes.

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 1696 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:33:06 AM
 

Agree with the last part, but not the rest

Yeah. It remains to be seen whether a reincarnated Roosevelt could make good in our modern system, but it doesn't look hopeful.

Saying that the Constitution was intended to grow without amendment is a little dogmatic. The brightest legal minds can't come to agreement on that. I don't know why they would have added a method for amending the Const'n if that was true.

As a libertarian matter -and I think it's safe to say that the framers were more libertarian than the mainstream today- it just doesn't make practical sense that the Const'n was intended to grow. The Constitution is a social contract, ratified by the people, which brings the Federal Government into being. To allow that federal government to interpret it however it wants, seems very dangerous. Corporations aren't allowed to deviate from their articles of incorporation because it sticks the shareholders. Yet, we as the shareholders of this country, let our government their charter hwoever they want. I think we're seeing the ramifications of that now as the right-wing begins to subscribe to constitutional progressivism ala George W. Bush.

It was all well and good when we got The New Deal and Roe v. Wade, but now right-wingers want to make this 'living document'-ideology their own by mandating religious norms. The sad thing is, they have every right to do it since we've abandoned strict adherence. If it's good for the goose...etc.

I think there may be an impressive change if liberals react by switching to strict constitutionalism. I would hate to think that we'll be forever trapped in battles on the Senate floor when the amount of energy it takes to get a federal bill passed could be more smoothly invested in constitutional amendments enacted by the states.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:52:57 PM
 

Oops, that last one was meant for Mr. M

that last one was meant for Mr. M

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:54:01 PM
 

Well ...

... this I believe, I would like to see either Paul or Kucinich in, if for no other reason then to shake things up. And I would like the soldiers we have now guarding them, because the powers that be won't like it when the people are actually calling the shots and both of these men will respect the people over power and that in of itself makes them both worthy over all the other candidates.

But it brings us back to the last part again. Right now we don't have fair elections. The system itself is corrupted at the core. Before we vote for anyone we have to secure the voting system, or none of this matters.

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 1696 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 12:58:08 AM
 

I heard that, brother

That's the spirit.

I know a lot of us shake-the-system types want to go for Kucinich. I like Kucinich too. But Paul has momentum right now. And while I'm on the subject, I don't think that he would be bad for the country just because he has some strong economically-libertarian ideals. He regularly says that he would never achieve a free economic system because he has too much respect for Congress' right to govern. One area that Congress has the right to govern is commerce. One area that the executive has a right to govern is troop deployments.

In fact, everyone talks about saving Social Security, but with the Trillions of dollars he could save us in foreign policy, Paul will actually do it. How ironic is that? The only person who will save social security is the guy who loathes government spending.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 1:56:06 AM
 

Accidently put my response to you below

Accidently put my response to you below

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:54:32 PM
 

I Digg this

Beautifully written.  I believe every word.

I always figured that, that was the real take by servicemen and women, because that's how I would react.  Actually, I did react that way in private industry whenever there was a snap inspection by the corporate generals.  It was all bull.

McCain's straight talk express is also a crock.  He's one of the biggest crooked talkers around.

The old army expression "never volunteer," sadly seems to apply to not even volunteering the truth, even why you're asked.   

by Sandy Sand (166 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 10:12:46 AM
 

Actually that's a Navy Expression

N.A.V.Y.= N.ever A.gain V.olunteer Y.ourself

 It's not that bad though. Sailors like to complain.

by Greg Albert (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 34 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:04:51 PM
 

Never one to argue...

...but I was married to an army man, and he claimed the expression was theirs.

We can easily say never volunteer is an equal opportunity saying.

by Sandy Sand (166 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:44:40 PM
 

Remember the Super Highway Conspiracy question?

I just wanted to point out that CNN itself reported on the SuperHighway. Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsvZys5hF4Y

And then at the end of the CNN debate during the rap up, some political hack called Paul crazy for talking abou it.

Just disgusting.

by fuzzy wzhe (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 33 comments) on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 11:04:10 AM