Letters to the Editor
Jebbie
Published Letters: 1208
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Retired Military Patriot
[Read the article: Col. Boylan's implosion accelerates]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Col. Boylan has an extremely busy and demanding job and he has been in Iraq a long time, perhaps too long."
Col. Boylan has been in country since January of this year, 10 months, this tour. Prior to that, he was in country for approx. a year. Between those tours, he had the requisite assignment out of the "war zone" at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Our Marines are currently serving tours of 15-16 months "in country" and, if I'm not mistaken, Army combat soldiers are also serving 15 month tours.
The US State Department has recently alerted its civilian career diplomats that they may be required to serve in our embassy in Iraq for tours of up to 2 years, more than twice as long as Boylan has served during his current tour, and at approximately the same location, with the same exposure as Boylan.
I was reading an interesting, albeit rather aged, article this morning about ex-SecDef Rumsfeld. In the article, the author described how Rumsfeld liked to issue short memoranda giving his thoughts (instructions) on a variety of issues. These memos were called "snowflakes" since they fell indiscriminately among the "troops" at the Pentagon and down the Chain. (When I was on active duty, the CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) was an Admiral named Zumwalt. Zumwalt also had a habit of commanding through missives and in his case, the "snowflakes" were nicknamed Z-Grams.)
Anyway, one of Rumsfeld's "snowflakes" struck me as extremely relevant to today's discussion. The DoD, at the time - the same time Boylan was at Leavenworth, I believe), was suffering from a plethora of bad press. Rumsfeld's answer was not to look into changing what we were doing to earn that bad press, but rather to "push back" at the reporters and organizations which were spreading such unwanted news. The term "push back" rang a bell.
This leads me to believe that Boylan was not, as widely believed here and elsewhere, reacting in a manner which would earn him low scores on his next evaluation but was, in fact, doing precisely what he has been trained to do and ordered to do.
His failure to admit doing it can be explained in the same manner as the rest of the activities performed by this administration's surogates. They admit to nothing.
I have more thoughts on this but I have to scoot. It's been a pleasure reading you, BeBop-O, and Garry Owen these last few days.
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@Kitt @Garry Owen
[Read the article: Col. Boylan's implosion accelerates]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"This is not some grunt we're talking about, he's Gen. Petraeus's spokesperson."
Kitt, in this context I can understand why Garry Owen believed you were using the term 'grunt" in a derisive manner. It's not that the term grunt in and of itself is necessarily all that offensive, but the inference that had the sender of those emails been a "mere grunt", it would have been more acceptable.
Having said that,
Garry, perhaps you jumped too far too far fast in your condemnation of Kitt. Not all of us are familiar with the ins and outs of milspeak.
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When all is said and done
[Read the article: Mukasey's nomination and the sudden opposition to "waterboarding"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The saddest thing about this whole deal is that by and large, the American people don't give a fuck.
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Bebop-o
[Read the article: Only America-hating traitors believe in due process for journalists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We are all humans. That;s what we are to Be! Be human. okay.
Garry Owen is a big boy too- I see hurt too- Tone in DC-?- very rancid? I believe, very so!
War strips humans down to beneath the skin. Nerves are exposed and society as a whole will not comprehend, much less understand the real pain and cost to themselves.
War happens to the other guy.
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-- Chris Sinnard
[Read the article: The Ron Paul phenomenon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Hey L.W.M. why don't you leave your sandbox?"
Is this type of thing really necessary?
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-- jef
[Read the article: Jonah Goldberg's deeply "conflicted" thoughts on war and torture]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"(Eu também, um pouco. Falo espanhol melhor. Quando quero falar em português tenho que pensar em espanhol e depois traduzi-lo a português. Eu sei que é provável que este tem muitos errões.)"
Não demasiado muitos.
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Oh, Mona!
[Read the article: Ron Paul distortions and smears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Another librarian thread!
Will someone please invite Laura Bush to the party?
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Oh, Mona!
[Read the article: Ron Paul distortions and smears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Nevermind inviting Laura. Chris is here.
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Oh, Mona!
[Read the article: Ron Paul distortions and smears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"In any event, if Roe is overturned tomorrow, the vast, vast majority of states, including red ones, are still going to legalize at least first trimester abortions. South Dakota just demonstrated that. All the hysterical shrieking about women as slaves and bodies lying dead in alleys in "Ron Paul's world" is about as reasonable as those who think we have to make a glass parking lot of the Middle East to ward of the Caliphate."
While I understand where you are coming from, I doubt very much if the "vast majority" of states will legalize abortion if Roe is overturned. Many states already have laws which make abortion illegal in all cases, and those laws are merely not being enforced in conformance with Roe. As a matter of fact, Ohio, for example, expressly passed legislation which will automatically engage its anti-abortion statute in the event Roe is overturned. Louisiana has done likewise and I'm pretty sure many, if not most, of the so-called "Bible belt" states have similar legislation on the shelf.
If I recall correctly, prior to Roe, there were actually very few states in which abortion was legal. Perhaps you have the resources to check this out.
I don't.
Love,
Jebbie
P.S. Do you really hang out with some of the nutcases, morons, and idiots which have invaded UT of late? I certainly hope Glenn finds a subject other than Ron Paul to write about for a while.
May I suggest....."Gunz and their effect on Religion?" (or How to marry the preacher's daughter BEFORE she gets knocked up.)
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Ode to a Lady Bug
[Read the article: Ron Paul distortions and smears]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Oh, I wish that I could see
A bug as pretty as a be
Bop-o to earth
and then to Sun
once there, the world
will know we won.
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Won wat?, he cried with thickened tongue
His singing voice harks of the Hmong
Peace be with me
and all mankind
from Bebop-o the Forgotten mind.
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Thanks for your Joy in Life my Comrade.