Mile 50

I ran on base today... but today has been happening for a very long time, so depending on how you define a day, I may have run twice today and only once of those two time was on base. There were airborn distractions of the afterburning variety. Jet noise is cool.

Distance: 5.1 miles.
Time: not really sure.
Playlist: Unchanged
Feeling: I'm through the wall. I even got some sprinting in.

Wishes are not Fishes

Could somebody please tell this to Harry Reid?

He and his fellow congressional Democrats have promised to 'provide resources' to hunt down Osama Bin Laden. Wow. Yeah, just pull that one out of thin air. Wait! What is going on now? The U.S. war machine, the CIA, and several other alphabet soup types are all hunting Bin Laden. We have the resources. The Democrats thinking that somehow they can speed the bughunt up is childish at best but more likely just dirty, pandering, politics. Of course, no suggestions about how to speed up the hunt have been made, save the pie in the sky notion of 'doubling of special forces' and increasing the number of spies.

Let me describe the attributes of special forces, because I've seen way too many people suggest that the U.S. simply get more of them. Special forces are very well named. This is not just me stating the obvious, special forces are a special breed of man. They do not grow on trees, they are the epitome of uncommon. Not only must they be able to turn into creatures of superlative endurance and strength, but they have to have an absolutely indomitable spirit, a sharp mind, and an uncompromising nature. Most people with the body for special forces do not have mind and most with the mind do not have the body. The ones who have both are very rare. Nobody can just double the number of these men. It is not possible, nor is it possible to reduce the requirements to get more men into special forces. The requirements that these warriors must meet are far from arbitrary, but formed based on battlefield needs and experiences. Just like a man unable to lift 50 pounds is unfit for construction work, men unable to meet current standards for the special forces are unfit for such duty. There is no way to double these forces. Increases are possible, but only small ones. We are speaking here of units with insane washout rates... and these are men who met the entrance standards!

As for the spies, all I can say is that the Democrats eviscerated our HUMINT assets in the 1990s when all this mess was brewing. They had their chance. To try and evade responsibility for that by suddenly changing minds, all the while making it look like this has been their belief all along, is just plain pathetic. Maybe I should be happy that they are finally coming around on this, but I have a hard time believeing their sincerity.

I had a better idea: if the Democrats want to help with the Global War on Terror, how about getting out of the way? We (the U.S. Armed Forces) can get our assigned jobs done. However, it would be easier without the opposition to military spending that seems to be a plank in the Democrats' platform. It would be easier without putting up with the garbage from the Cindy Sheehan camp and from schools that won't let recruiters on campus. It would be easier if certain people in power stopped trying to cut us down. It would be easier if fewer media outlets lied about how the War on Terror is going and the action of our Forces. (How I perceive the mass media as somehow connected to the Democratic Party, I'll never know... )

To close, this war will not be won by Democrats. It will not be won by Republicans. It will be won by the men and women of our military. Washington has loosed us upon a set of objectives and unless they reel us back in, our success or failure will be of our own doing. Washington can help us or they can hurt us, but as long as the U.S. military is allowed to pursue our objectives, we will accomplish them. If Bin Laden is alive, we'll find him. If given the time, we will build nations for free people. If given the chance, we will pursue organized terror and eliminate it. We have never failed except when forced to.

It's time to stop whining, to stop wishing, to stop bickering, and to meet the challenge at hand.

Mile 40

It was a gorgeous day out, temperatures in the 70s and a nice breeze that shifted direction and velocity often. The city is tearing up the north end of my running track, so I was forced into doing some loops in a small forested (well, what passes for forest out here) area.

Distance: about five miles.
Time: about forty minutes.
Playlist: Kidneythieves ...because it was partly cloudy.
Feeling: I am at the wall. This is the hard part and only gets easier from here.

Public Service Anouncement

Kids, running 15 miles and snowboarding just don't mix...

There's hope yet

See here the case of Abdul Rahman.
His case has been dismissed for a lack of evidence. I however, would like to a see a world where no faith is a capital offense.

Now for less conciliatory words: religeon of peace, my ass. It is my hope, though, that this time is to Islam what the middle ages were to Catholicism. I also hope that it will end soon.

And now for something a bit more incendiary...

Immigration. Specifically, the plan to make illegal immigration a felony. How the hell can anyone say no to that?

Is it so unreasonable to demand that a few simple procedures are followed? Is it unreasonable to make sure that our Government know who is moving in to the country? Certainly, in this day and age, this sort of knowledge is a necessity.

Somehow, though, those that want to see people follow the rules are now being painted as racists and oppressors. This is libel. There is nothing racist about this entire immigration debate. Nobody, at least nobody with ant credibility, is asking that immigration stop. The only thing that anyone is asking for here is and end to illigal immigration. How is is this view racist? How is it oppressive?

A better question would be: 'who has a stake in seeing the unfettered continuation of illigal immigration, but who would be harmed by lawful immigration?' Answer that question and you will quickly find out what is behind all this controversy. Thousands of protestors espoused just that postion this week: they seem to want to be able to come and go from this country like people caome and go from neighboring towns... oh, and collect benefits here. Some of them have called all opposition to this practice 'racism'.

Meantime, I support the plan to make illegal immigration a felony. My ancestors worked very hard to come here, they worked hard to naturalize. I work hard to keep this place safe. You better believe that I want anyone willing to exploit this nation punished severely. Is that xenophobia? Is that racist or oppressive? No, it isn't.

Miles 15-35

I'm a bit ahead of schedule now. Today, after a fiarly marginal end of week performance, I ran 15 miles in just over two hours. It was mostly on winding dirt trails in the woods, so the time positively flew by. Too bad those woods are so hard to get to from my home, or I'd run there exclusively.

Distance: about 15 miles over varied terrain, relatively flat.
Time: 2:10
Playlist: Tamplin, Lanny Cordolla, Petra, Dakoda Motor Co., Michael Tait, Fold Zandura.

Feeling worn out, but not as much from running. I hope I can make it to the ski slopes tomorrow. The season is closing.

Note

New entry in daily reading... It's not daily reading, but I wanted near the top. Go click it.

Mile 10

Approximate distance: 5 miles.
Approximate time (I don't own a watch): 40 minutes +/- 1 minute.
Playlist: same as yesterday. What can I say? Not only is Nightwish the best band ever IMO, there is little more appropriate for jaunts through ice and snow.

It was bloody cold out and the track was pretty icy... nothing I couldn't handle. I still feel fine. The wall doesn't usually come until day seven.

Mile 5

The AFTAC Ironman is back... it's a fitness campaign that happens every spring in my command. This year, I'm supposed to run five miles a day every day for 20 days. Also, I get to throw in some pushups and situps to the tune of about 100 a day. HQ says that three miles of biking counts as a mile run, but I think that's to be avaoided if possible. This used to be a pure running event.

Here's the breakdown for today:
Time: 42:53 (5.0 miles)
Playlist (gotta have tunes!): all Nightwish, nothing but the hard stuff (Dead Gardens, End of All Hope, Siren, etc... ) Very good running music, especially when it's cold out.
Feeling fine. I don't want to run on the treadmill again, though. It was, however, that or the blowing snow.

For What it's worth

I just realized that this stupid little corner of the internet has been here for 366 days now... and, just like a birthday, I niether feel nor percieve anything differently. I still have a lot to say and still, for some reason, won't. One thing I do want to change in the upcoming times is to be less reactionary, but at the same time, the world is dynamic and I am not yet one who creates situations. I am only capable of responding. That doesn't mean I have to like or blindly accept it, though.

Thanks to everyone who still reads this.

Before I'm Dead

What am I saying, I could do this for fun for the rest of my life! Click on the little pics for big and beatiful views.
I gotta try that... add it to the Headwall of Tuckerman's Ravine and a Scandinavian cross country ski tour.

Wusses

The moonbats over at united for peace and justice are nowhere to be found... okay, they didn't storm the White House, at least. Bummer. I could use some entertainment. Hopefully, this lack of action will give security forces at 1600 time to buy extra bean bag rounds... or extra extra bean bag rounds... and maybe some more bean bag rounds, just to be sure. Does anyone make a belt-fed bean bag gun? I'm pretty sure the answer is no, so perhaps I should invent one.

What could possibly go wrong?

Forgive me for bomb-throwing.

Gay people vs. Muslim people... in a soccer game... a game which spawns the most violent of fights... and it's supposed to reduce tension. It could work, I guess. It's just nonsensical enough to possibly do so.

You're not under arrest...

But please go with these fine, helpful, gendarmes... You have freedom of speech, we just want to talk to you... downtown.

A spectator at the World Baseball Classic was... spoken to... for waving a 'down with Fidel' sign. The State in Cuba has called this sign cowardly...

Oh, inverted world.

Made in Sweden

It still counts for something, unlike with some cars.

I was out at the range a few days ago and witnessed an accident of sorts. I needed to bring back a target, so I dumped the mag, locked my bolt open, and set the rifle down on my rifle case. Off I went to get the target.
A huge gust of wind came out of the hills with some colorful expressions from my friend. When I got back, I discovered that my rifle had been blown off the table. It fell four feet to the ground, where the Aimpoint sight, under the weight of the rifle, hit a rock...
Scopes break right? This one didn't. The rail it was on though, was mangled. So, the Aimpoint, made in Sweden, came out fine. The rifle, made in America, was fine. The iron sights didn't even lose zero. The scope rail is done, though, I mean DONE. It's all bent up now. Where am I going with this? Aimpoint rules. Oh, and leave guns UNLOADED, like I did.

Unleash the press gangs!

Yep, that's right: colleges that receive federal* American taxpayers' money may no longer exclude military recruiters. Now, the military's elite search-and-recruit units will be able to stalk America's campuses (Campi perhaps? That just looks wrong.), snagging unsuspecting students from the Lover's Lane... and maybe even the student development center... and forcing them to fight in Iraq. It will be chaos as students are rounded up into huge transport aircraft to be shipped directly to a gruelling seventeen month training camp where they will be turned into robot-like killing machines, their hearts and souls surgically removed with a rusty can opener! Parents will be frantically searching for their missing offspring, only to find that all the new recruits look the same and only respond to the name 'Private'! Yes, all is lost now that the recruiters are on campus!

Seriously, why were recruiters barred from some campuses... campi... campususus... ?
Oh, some people don't like some of our policies... like 'don't ask/don't tell... yeah, that one's a real doozie. It makes life such hell. Others think that what we do is too dangerous. What a crappy attitude! Dangerous is what life will be like for everyone should we, for some reason, go away.

I see a serious disconnect here: most people expect college students to make decisions for themselves. I guess that the decision to defend this nation and her allies is one that college students just can't be trusted with in the minds of some.

*There is no such thing as federal money. Federal money is YOUR money that gets spent by the Federal Government.

Fight the real enemy

These people want the military to stand with them... yah, that'll happen. Personally, if it were up to me... well let's just say that I hope most of them get arrested... and tear gassed... and maybe pepperballed... deluged with a firehose... shot with stunbags... perhaps beaten... yeah, that's the PG-rated version. If they want the military to stand with them, they ought to try standing against our enemies... oh, and not doing something (storming the White House to install an unelected government) that the military is sworn to prevent.

These hypocrites claim to be against dictators: I searched their site, and the ONLY man they want to take down is George Bush, the leader of the most free and most democratic nation on the planet. Nowhere do they mention Kim Jong Il, Saddam Hessein, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bashar Al-Hasad, Hu Jintao, etcetera etcetera...

They also are under the impression that the U.S. is not rebuilding Iraq and that the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib are par for the course.

Liars, hypocrites, morons all. They could do something constructive, I think. With all this compassion that they claim to have, perhaps they ought to go take on the Kim Jong Ils of the world, those who actually have concentration camps, those who actually do torture people, those who actually are depriving humans of their God given rights... instead, they assail the man who is currently to frontrunner in the fight to make the world a better place. I suppose if they did go after the real villians, they would be killed unceremoniously and forgotten. They don't have the balls to even try that, so they go after a man who is fashionable to hate because they know that the consequences will be limited and that they will be in warm beds with full bellies when it's all over. Not only are these people cowards for not taking on the real threats to what they claim to believe, but they have stripped themselves of all honor, not even fit to walk in public without hung heads. Why? For assaulting a force for good in a completely inapropriate way and for lying about the good intentions and good deeds of good men.

UFPJ are beyond worthless: by taking the action that they describe, they side with the dictators... AGAINST America, her Constitution, and good people everywhere.

No, I have not gone away...

...you're not that lucky...

I'm alive, and I want to post... I've already missed the boat on so much stuff, but hey, maybe I'll just do some nice general purpose rants. Of course, this world will never have a shortage of stupidity, insanity, and recklessness for me to rant against. It never ceases.
It's pretty clear to me that there must be some definition again as there are, as usual, people running around using some very powerful and damning words to describe people who's only crime has been disagreement with others. There are people blaming others for not taking care of people who should have taken care of themselves. There are people running around using 'economic hardship' as an excuse to torture people to death. People are killing people over cartoons. People are loudly and misguidedly assuming that the only way to become rich is at the expense of the poor (which, in this nation, exceed the life standard of most of the world). Last but not least, it seems that millions of people still fail to realize that they are in mortal danger, even after their enemy has announced their intentions of genocide and their unwillingness to negotiate.

I want to take all this on, that’s just the sort of person I am. I think that my next post, in classic esprit d’escallier, will be about all those obnoxious and dis-unifying history months.

Time... I’d love to have some. That, and a vacation.

A Mystery solved

So it was oil after all...

Wierd. I'd hate to be the guy that approved/thought up this project, though...