majdrfrtim
majdrfrtim's JournalDid any (other) Vets take umbrage
at SphincterLips' saying the other day, during his Maria Bartiromo interview, "And I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, National Guard or if really necessary by the military"?
Granted, I didn't join the Army National Guard until I was almost 51 years old (with no prior service), yet when I went to Camp Liberty Iraq in 2008-2009, it sure seemed as though I was in "the military." I realize that quite a number of my Active Duty friends referred to us as "Nasty Girls," yet in the midst of a MASCAL, no one asked me what component I belonged to.
Since TFG had the position of Commander-in-Chief, I feel annoyed that he seems not to care enough to know that mobilized National Guard personnel are *definitely* "the military."
Of course, the whole premise of turning the military against US civilians on US soil, is anathema and absolutely disqualifying for the Office he's seeking. I'm just pissed off at this insult on top of that injury.
Photography assignment
So, I'm an old fart and already have earned six post-secondary academic degrees. That said, in my 50s I joined the Army (no prior service), had four overseas deployments (each time without a weapon), and earned 36 months of Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits. Given my advanced age and superabundance of initials after my name already, I'd not imagined I'd use those benefits (and have no offspring to whom I could bequeath them). Over the summer, however, I made the decision to pursue an Associate of Arts degree in applied photography, precisely so I *could* use up those benefits.
I'm telling people that while there are lots of folks who get degrees from Junior Colleges, a great many of them do so as they begin post-secondary education rather than finishing up at one. I also like the symmetry of already having gotten a degree from a Junior University* and now attempting to earn a degree from a Junior College, which might allow me to "complete my collection" of initials.
Anyhoo, recently, we had to submit a photo depicting strong bisection, so here's what I turned in:
Canon EOS 80D; EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II; ISO 100; f/29; 1/60 s; focal length: 123 mm
The shadows on the wall of the neighbors' garage caught my attention and I noticed how great the light was on that wall, and how blue the sky seemed.
There are so many great photographers here on DU, I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and put this out there for feedback.
Pax et bonum.
* My last degree (until now, anyway) was conferred by the Leland Stanford Junior University.
How long before the "BUT HER EMAILS" crowd
starts whinging, "*she* didn't get indicted, so *he* shouldn't, either!"?
Will McCarthy pay for Spurious George's legal bills
(surreptitiously, or otherwise), assuming he's charged with a crime or a dozen, in order to keep Spurious George in the House as long as possible?
A now-retired Army LTC who took me under his wing
in 2006 when I joined the military at age 51, no prior service (long, weird story), related a great story to me this evening about the election in GA. I had forgotten he retired to GA after leaving the Army.
He mentioned that, all his life, he's been a conservative and that there was "no way in hell" he'd ever vote for Walker. Moreover, he said that a week ago a Walker canvasser had come to his door to urge him to vote Walker.
"NO WAY!" my friend exclaimed to the guy. "Why are *you* voting for him?"
The young man seemed taken aback, paused, looked down, and responded quietly, "To be honest, Sir, I've already voted for Warnock."
"Then why are you knocking on doors for Walker?"
The guy smiled broadly and replied, "Oh, that's easy! They've been paying me like $2000 a month to canvass for him. Easy money!"
Two pieces of good news in one, I'd say.
I voted today, having filled out my ballot last night.
In my part of Southern California there were eleventy-seven judicial races, which are nominally non-partisan. I couldn't find any Democratic voter guides with suggestions for the judicial races. As I was determinedly using 'the google' to look up each of the judicial candidates' names, I realized that there might be an easier, softer way (as many friends of mine say about something else): I sought out the local RepubliQan voter guide which *had* recommendations for each of those races and voted the opposite for each.
Now I wait for the text from the CA Secretary of State's office indicating my ballot's been received, and then for the text indicating my ballot has been counted.
"They're not here to harm *me*!"
Pumpkin Spice Pol Pot knew FROM THE OUTSET that the thugs attacking the Capitol on 06JAN21 were NOT "antifa"!
MAGAts who heard him say this on 06JAN21 *knew* the ARMED insurrectionists WERE NOT "antifa"!!
I believe this needs to be repeated again and again!!!
I heard from one of my UKR paratrooper buddies Tuesday.
We were deployed to the same base overseas in '09 - '10, I with a Battalion from the U.S., they were a Company of Airborne Soldiers from Ukraine. I wound up teaching English to many of them (as well as to some Polish, Slovenian, Armenian, and Turkish personnel). As I was in my 50s I felt pretty avuncular toward them; yet since I'd just joined the military ~2.5 years earlier (no prior service), many of them had many more years of military service under their belts, so I felt they were mentoring me. I've stayed in touch with a number of those guys, and with one in particular, a senior NCO. Out of an overabundance of caution, I'll not name him here.
Anyway, for most of the rest of my times being deployed I sent him money every month to help him and his growing family so they could buy an apartment. Just after the invasion two weeks ago he sent me a photo of his military kit (rucksack, sleeping bag, bedroll, etc.) with the caption, "All your presents are at work again." That took my breath away. Since then, I've been checking that platform several times daily looking for word from him, his wife, or any of the other guys I know. As the situation over there has worsened, I have engaged every resilience option at my disposal to just get through each day.
Yesterday, I received another message: "Hand granade rolled down to the foxhole, I thew the dude out and covered by myself. Dude alive with no scratches. I've got only small one in left hand (does not affect shooting in any way, so good). And, I instantly got battlefield promotion from 1LT to CPT" (His English is so much better than my Ukrainian!)
He's a fucking HERO. I've known for years that he's an awesome Soldier and a stellar human being, so I'm not surprised that he went head-to-head with a live grenade, and won! I suspect that he's grossly downplaying the injuries to his left hand; that would just be his style. I just now remembered that about seven years ago when he won some military competition in Ukraine which allowed him to come to the States for five months of language training in San Antonio followed by five months of training with the USMC at Camp Lejeune, he called me one day and said that the Marines had started calling him "Beast!" and he wasn't sure how to take that. He is, certainly, one of the strongest men I've ever met.
That said, the dread that's been shadowing me seems even greater now than before. Oh how I wish, were I not now closer to 70 than to 60, that I could be over there to support him and his buddies. If you've made it this far in reading this, I humbly ask that you send good thoughts or prayers to him, his lovely family, his buddies, and Ukraine, if you'd be so inclined.
Thanks for letting me share this.
Слава Україні!
A question regarding classified documents in Merde-a-Lardo boxes:
When I was in the military I believe I learned that POTUS was the final arbiter of security classification status, so might tfg just declare, “Oh, I declassified all those documents,” as a hedge against criminal liability? Given his packing of SCOTUS, might they then just let him skate on by with no consequences?
Clearly, I am not a lawyer.
When any media report on the "Stop the Steal" rally these days,
wouldn’t it be more accurate for them to label it the “Stop the Nonexistent Steal” rally (or something to that effect)?
By continuing to call it silmply “Stop the Steal” it seems to me to amplify the Big Lie . . .
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Member since: Fri Apr 27, 2018, 12:42 PMNumber of posts: 340