God Bless the USA. I am sure glad we don't carry out laws like this.
Semper Fi,
m
-------------
Afghan 'blasphemy' death sentence
An Afghan journalist has been sentenced to death by a provincial court for distributing "blasphemous" material.
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was arrested in 2007 after downloading material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic societies.
A primary court in Balkh province said that Kambakhsh had confessed to blasphemy and had to be punished.
The court also threatened to arrest any reporters who protested against Kambakhsh's sentence.
Kambakhsh, a student at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e Naw (New World), was arrested in October 2007 after material he downloaded was deemed to be offensive to Islam.
Shamsur Rahman, the head of the court, told Reuters news agency:
"According to... the Islamic law, Sayed Perwiz is sentenced to death at the first court.
"However, he will go through three more courts to declare his last punishment," he said.
'Deeply shocked'
Balkh province's deputy attorney general, Hafizullah Khaliqyar, warned other journalists that they would be arrested if they attempted to support Kambakhsh.
Kambakhsh did not do anything to justify his being detained or being given this sentence Reporters Without Borders But Agence France-Presse reported that journalists were gathering outside the home of the condemned reporter.
The sentence has been welcomed by conservative Islamic clerics in Afghanistan but criticised by international human rights groups.
Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said it was "deeply shocked" by the trial and appealed to President Hamid Karzai to intervene "before it is too late".
In a statement, the group said the trial was "carried out in haste and without any concern for the law or for free expression, which is protected by the constitution".
"Kambakhsh did not do anything to justify his being detained or being given this sentence."
Kambakhsh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, said the verdict was "very unfair" and appealed for help from the international community, reported Reuters.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7204341.stm
Published: 2008/01/23 11:35:26 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Erik Swabb's Lessons Of Iraq
Wall Street Journal
January 14, 2008
The Lessons Of Iraq
By Erik Swabb
While the improved security situation in Iraq is changing views about the chances for success there, one common belief has remained unchanged: that the war is eroding U.S. military capabilities.
It is true that repeated deployments have caused considerable strain on service members, equipment and our ability to respond to other contingencies. These problems, however, only tell half the story. The Iraq war is also dramatically improving the military's understanding, training and capabilities in irregular warfare. Since this is the preferred method of Islamic extremists, the experience in Iraq is transforming the military into the force required to help win the Long War.
The blunders of the early years are well-known. Trained for conventional warfare, the Army and Marine Corps were unprepared for the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq. Commanders emphasized killing or capturing insurgents, not securing the population as counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizes. U.S. units were stationed on large bases and didn't develop the critical relationships with local leaders that only come from living among the people.
When units did interact with Iraqis, the interaction ranged from fruitless patrols in Humvees zipping through town to draconian operations that detained scores of innocent people. The Sunni insurgency only grew in this environment, attracting al Qaeda and spurring the growth of Shiite militias.
After a costly learning process, the military increasingly "gets it" when it comes to irregular warfare. The Army and Marine Corps published a new counterinsurgency manual that legitimized the radically different strategy that the Iraq War required. Pre-deployment training now includes realistic scenarios that test units' ability to build relationships with local leaders and partner with host-nation forces.
Commanders, from the small-unit level to the general ranks, increasingly understand that population security, political reconciliation and economic development create legitimate government, which saps insurgents' strength.
As a result, conventional forces are now performing counterinsurgency missions at a level that many experts thought impossible.
My old unit returned from Iraq last spring after serving in a city in Anbar Province. As a mechanized reconnaissance company, its traditional mission focused on scouting for Soviet-style armored forces. The unit's performance in Iraq more closely resembled that of the Green Berets.
Soon after occupying its forward outpost, the company met heavy insurgent attacks. But it did not over-react with mass detentions and other alienating tactics. Instead, the Marines took a patient approach to win the support of the population and eject the extremists hiding among them. They partnered with Iraqi police, established a pervasive security presence throughout the city, and worked with local leaders to improve basic services, governance and the economy. Such tactics used to be rare, but are now increasingly the norm, thanks to Gen. David Petraeus's dogged emphasis on seeing counterinsurgency conducted by all units.
The Sunni tribal uprising that's driven al Qaeda from Anbar Province and Baghdad wouldn't have occurred without U.S. forces grasping the complexities of irregular warfare. Iraqi Sunnis rejected the oppressive version of Islam that al Qaeda imposed -- but feared the consequences of resisting. By showing a willingness to help, U.S. troops presented a more trustworthy and less-threatening partner than al Qaeda, a remarkable achievement considering the vast religious and cultural differences between Americans and Iraqis.
U.S. commanders reached agreements with tribal leaders to accept their members into local security forces and establish combat outposts among the populace. Knowing that their families were safe from reprisals, the tribes gained the confidence to go after al Qaeda. Now U.S. officials are considering whether to adopt a similar model for Pakistan's Northwest Frontier.
It remains to be seen whether the new counterinsurgency strategy will lead to a peaceful, democratic Iraq. Success ultimately depends on the ability of Sunnis and Shiites to overcome decades of mistrust and antagonism. But the current approach has created an opportunity for political reconciliation, as Sunnis have demonstrated that they reject al Qaeda's campaign of terror against Shiites. The new strategy is also helping to prevent the establishment of an al-Qaeda safe haven in Iraq -- and in this sense, it has already proven its worth.
The strains on the military are real. However, overemphasis on the "eroding"
capabilities of the armed forces belies the incredible emergence of an irregular warfare capacity in the world's greatest conventional military.
This hard-fought transformation faces resistance from advocates of the status quo in the military, and thus is easily reversible without political support. Such support is something Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
Mr. Swabb served in Iraq as a Marine infantry officer.
What are your thoughts on this? Have we really learned? It has been said that Iraqi's only understand violence and that we need to treat them with violence if they are to respect us. What say you now? Still feel that way? Sound off.
January 14, 2008
The Lessons Of Iraq
By Erik Swabb
While the improved security situation in Iraq is changing views about the chances for success there, one common belief has remained unchanged: that the war is eroding U.S. military capabilities.
It is true that repeated deployments have caused considerable strain on service members, equipment and our ability to respond to other contingencies. These problems, however, only tell half the story. The Iraq war is also dramatically improving the military's understanding, training and capabilities in irregular warfare. Since this is the preferred method of Islamic extremists, the experience in Iraq is transforming the military into the force required to help win the Long War.
The blunders of the early years are well-known. Trained for conventional warfare, the Army and Marine Corps were unprepared for the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq. Commanders emphasized killing or capturing insurgents, not securing the population as counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizes. U.S. units were stationed on large bases and didn't develop the critical relationships with local leaders that only come from living among the people.
When units did interact with Iraqis, the interaction ranged from fruitless patrols in Humvees zipping through town to draconian operations that detained scores of innocent people. The Sunni insurgency only grew in this environment, attracting al Qaeda and spurring the growth of Shiite militias.
After a costly learning process, the military increasingly "gets it" when it comes to irregular warfare. The Army and Marine Corps published a new counterinsurgency manual that legitimized the radically different strategy that the Iraq War required. Pre-deployment training now includes realistic scenarios that test units' ability to build relationships with local leaders and partner with host-nation forces.
Commanders, from the small-unit level to the general ranks, increasingly understand that population security, political reconciliation and economic development create legitimate government, which saps insurgents' strength.
As a result, conventional forces are now performing counterinsurgency missions at a level that many experts thought impossible.
My old unit returned from Iraq last spring after serving in a city in Anbar Province. As a mechanized reconnaissance company, its traditional mission focused on scouting for Soviet-style armored forces. The unit's performance in Iraq more closely resembled that of the Green Berets.
Soon after occupying its forward outpost, the company met heavy insurgent attacks. But it did not over-react with mass detentions and other alienating tactics. Instead, the Marines took a patient approach to win the support of the population and eject the extremists hiding among them. They partnered with Iraqi police, established a pervasive security presence throughout the city, and worked with local leaders to improve basic services, governance and the economy. Such tactics used to be rare, but are now increasingly the norm, thanks to Gen. David Petraeus's dogged emphasis on seeing counterinsurgency conducted by all units.
The Sunni tribal uprising that's driven al Qaeda from Anbar Province and Baghdad wouldn't have occurred without U.S. forces grasping the complexities of irregular warfare. Iraqi Sunnis rejected the oppressive version of Islam that al Qaeda imposed -- but feared the consequences of resisting. By showing a willingness to help, U.S. troops presented a more trustworthy and less-threatening partner than al Qaeda, a remarkable achievement considering the vast religious and cultural differences between Americans and Iraqis.
U.S. commanders reached agreements with tribal leaders to accept their members into local security forces and establish combat outposts among the populace. Knowing that their families were safe from reprisals, the tribes gained the confidence to go after al Qaeda. Now U.S. officials are considering whether to adopt a similar model for Pakistan's Northwest Frontier.
It remains to be seen whether the new counterinsurgency strategy will lead to a peaceful, democratic Iraq. Success ultimately depends on the ability of Sunnis and Shiites to overcome decades of mistrust and antagonism. But the current approach has created an opportunity for political reconciliation, as Sunnis have demonstrated that they reject al Qaeda's campaign of terror against Shiites. The new strategy is also helping to prevent the establishment of an al-Qaeda safe haven in Iraq -- and in this sense, it has already proven its worth.
The strains on the military are real. However, overemphasis on the "eroding"
capabilities of the armed forces belies the incredible emergence of an irregular warfare capacity in the world's greatest conventional military.
This hard-fought transformation faces resistance from advocates of the status quo in the military, and thus is easily reversible without political support. Such support is something Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
Mr. Swabb served in Iraq as a Marine infantry officer.
What are your thoughts on this? Have we really learned? It has been said that Iraqi's only understand violence and that we need to treat them with violence if they are to respect us. What say you now? Still feel that way? Sound off.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Catching Wild Pigs
I had this story e-mailed to me. It has some good thinking points, and I would like to get your take on its relevance.....
Do you know how to catch wild pigs?
This is no joke. You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten h ow to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
According to the writer, that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms just a little at a time.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Thomas Jefferson
...I am not an anti-government activist, nor do I want the government to stop providing services and security functions for me/us, but I think there is a lethergy that is overtaking us in our dependance. I am an advocate for personal and civil responsibility of each citizen.
What do you think of this story? Does it apply to you / America?
Do you know how to catch wild pigs?
This is no joke. You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten h ow to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
According to the writer, that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms just a little at a time.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Thomas Jefferson
...I am not an anti-government activist, nor do I want the government to stop providing services and security functions for me/us, but I think there is a lethergy that is overtaking us in our dependance. I am an advocate for personal and civil responsibility of each citizen.
What do you think of this story? Does it apply to you / America?
Friday, January 11, 2008
Ways to Defeat Islamic Jihadism
I am going to begin this post by saying that I am trying to start a dialog, NOT take a position. The fellow that wrote the following article Amil Imani, "an Iranian-born American citizen and pro-democracy activist residing in the United States of America. Imani is a columnist, literary translator, novelist and an essayist who has been writing and speaking out for the struggling people of his native land, Iran. He maintains a website at http://amilimani.com/ and also writes for Islam-Watch.org."
Imani and I agree on most points, except for the one about killing our enemies. I agree that we should adhere to higher standards, and an eye for an eye is not that standard, but I WILL defend myself, my family, my country, with violence if necessary, against militants of any sort. OK, enough bantering, here is Amil Imani's writings....:
Global Politician
Ways to Defeat Islamic Jihadism
By Amil Imani
This is an urgent call to all free people to rise and defeat the Islamic Jihadists who are marching under the banner of the Qur'an to subdue all non-Muslims.
It is imperative that the values and the way of life of civilized people be protected against the assault of Jihadists' savagery born from a primitive culture of long ago Arabia. There is nothing to negotiate here. Nothing to compromise, for the Jihadists are on a non-negotiable campaign of Allah. The goal of this mission from Allah is the eradication of just about everything that falls under the rubric of human rights.
It takes every free human to do his or her share in defeating Jihadism.
Below is a partial list of what can be done.
* You don't have to take up arms and go around killing the Jihadists. That's the Jihadists' way of dealing with us and anyone they don't approve of. Decent humans value life, even the life of a Jihadist. By contrast, the Jihadists have no compunctions at amputating limbs, stoning, beheading and hanging people even en mass. The brutal mullahs ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomed the new-year by hanging thirteen people, one of them the mother of two young children. We need to dry up their sources of support and beat them in the battle of ideas. We need to show them the fallacy and danger of their pathological belief.
* Fight to end the deadly practice of political correctness. Truth, only naked truth, can set us free. And freedom is our greatest gift of life. Life without freedom is death disguised as life. Remember Patrick Henry's cry: Give me liberty or give me death. We must fight for life, for liberty and freedom.
* Demand that politicians, Islamic apologists, and paid-for media do not abuse freedom by lying about Islam. When these people portray Islam as a religion of peace, they are lying through their teeth. Just take a quick look at Islam's history as well as what is happening today in the Islamic lands. Islam is not a religion of peace and it has never been. Islam is violent, oppressive, racist, and irrational at its very core. It is treachery for people to present it as otherwise, either out of ignorance or because of their own personal reasons.
* Challenge your leftist professors who may be retained by Islamic front organizations to trumpet Islam's virtues. Demand transparency from hired lobbyists and the liberal mainstream media. Sadly, a percentage of people in Western Democracies are born alienated. These people seem to a have congenital hatred of their own societies; they ally themselves with any and all people and forces that aim to destroy our cherished way of life, and they live by the motto: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They eagerly join forces with the Saddam Husseins and Hugo Chavezes of the world.
* Demand that Islamic literature, including the hate and violence manual called the Qur'an, be purged of all violent and hate spewed toward non-Muslims. Is it too much to ask that non-Muslims not be targeted for hate by the so-called sacred religious text? What kind of religion is this? Religion is supposed to bring people together, and not put them at each others' throats. The Muslims must be made to understand that and they must reciprocate the tolerance that the non-Muslims voluntarily afford them.
* Do not allow any special privileges whatsoever granted to Muslims. Demand that all Muslims have their first and foremost loyalty to the United States and its Constitution and not to the Islamic Ummeh, the Qur'an, and the shariah law. Europe is rapidly buckling under the pressure of Islamism. Just a couple of examples: Germany has legalized polygamy to placate Muslim men, Italy is forced to plan separate beaches for Muslim women.
* Demand that none of the barbaric provisions of Islamic sharia be practiced. Just because a woman is born into a Muslim family, that shouldn't force her to lead a subservient life to a man, for example. All family matters and disputes, without exceptions, must be adjudicated according to the civil laws of the country.
* A Muslim is, first and foremost, an Ummehist, a citizen of international Islam. So, when a Muslim takes the United States' Pledge of Allegiance, he is either ignorant of the implications of his pledge or is lying willfully. Sadly enough, taqqiyeh (lying, or dissimulation) is not only condoned, it is recommended to the Muslims in their scripture. Hence, a Muslim can and would lie without any compunctions, whenever it is expedient.
* Require that the large number of recent arrival Muslims be carefully vetted for their terrorism and Jihadists backgrounds and beliefs. Many recent arrivals from places such as Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan come as refugees and bring with them their pathological anti-American system of belief. It is criminal to admit these refugees without demanding that they completely renounce their allegiance to the hate dogma of Islam. Those diehard devotees of Islam should make any of the eighteen or so Islamic countries home, rather than invade the secular societies and aim to subvert them.
* Demand that Muslims, without the least reservation, adhere to the provisions of the human rights. Muslims, by belief and practice, are the most blatant violators of human rights. We hardly need to detail here Muslims' systemic cruel treatment of the unbelievers, women of all persuasions, and any and all minorities across the board. To Muslims, human rights have a different meaning, and its protective provisions are reserved strictly, primarily for Muslim men.
* Go and talk to Muslims, particularly the young and the better educated, about the horror and the fallacy of a primitive belief that has been handed down to them through an accident of birth. Show them the magnificence of freedom, in all its forms; the indispensability of tolerance for all; and, the futility of clinging to an obsolete hodge-podge of delusional ideology. The onus is clearly on the Muslims to prove the validity, utility, and sanctity of the belief they intend to impose on all of us.
* As for democracy, our cherished way of life, Muslims have no use for it at all. Muslims believe that Allah's rule must govern the world in the form of Caliphate: a theocracy. Making mockery of democracy, subverting its working, and ignoring its provisions is a Muslim's way of falsifying what he already believes to be a sinful and false system of governance invented by the infidels. Reason, if you can, with the Muslims that their belief is an outright rejection of the greatest gift of life: Freedom.
* Support financially and in every other legal way those individuals and organizations that are fighting the Jihadists' relentless encroachment. Many European countries are already on the verge of capitulation to the Islamists. The Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, confidently proclaimed recently that Europe will be Islamic in a dozen years. He has good reason to say that. Muslims are forming states within states in much of European towns and cities. In Britain, for instance, non-Muslims are in serious danger entering Muslim neighborhoods.
In conclusion: Folks, get off your duff. Stop saying, "let George do it."Neither George the President, nor the "other guy" George can do it by themselves. This is a battle for survival that every one of us can help wage. Let's get on with it before, if not you, then your children and grandchildren end up under the barbaric rule of the Jihadists.
...me again. Your thoughts? Comments?
Semper Fi,
mark
Imani and I agree on most points, except for the one about killing our enemies. I agree that we should adhere to higher standards, and an eye for an eye is not that standard, but I WILL defend myself, my family, my country, with violence if necessary, against militants of any sort. OK, enough bantering, here is Amil Imani's writings....:
Global Politician
Ways to Defeat Islamic Jihadism
By Amil Imani
This is an urgent call to all free people to rise and defeat the Islamic Jihadists who are marching under the banner of the Qur'an to subdue all non-Muslims.
It is imperative that the values and the way of life of civilized people be protected against the assault of Jihadists' savagery born from a primitive culture of long ago Arabia. There is nothing to negotiate here. Nothing to compromise, for the Jihadists are on a non-negotiable campaign of Allah. The goal of this mission from Allah is the eradication of just about everything that falls under the rubric of human rights.
It takes every free human to do his or her share in defeating Jihadism.
Below is a partial list of what can be done.
* You don't have to take up arms and go around killing the Jihadists. That's the Jihadists' way of dealing with us and anyone they don't approve of. Decent humans value life, even the life of a Jihadist. By contrast, the Jihadists have no compunctions at amputating limbs, stoning, beheading and hanging people even en mass. The brutal mullahs ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomed the new-year by hanging thirteen people, one of them the mother of two young children. We need to dry up their sources of support and beat them in the battle of ideas. We need to show them the fallacy and danger of their pathological belief.
* Fight to end the deadly practice of political correctness. Truth, only naked truth, can set us free. And freedom is our greatest gift of life. Life without freedom is death disguised as life. Remember Patrick Henry's cry: Give me liberty or give me death. We must fight for life, for liberty and freedom.
* Demand that politicians, Islamic apologists, and paid-for media do not abuse freedom by lying about Islam. When these people portray Islam as a religion of peace, they are lying through their teeth. Just take a quick look at Islam's history as well as what is happening today in the Islamic lands. Islam is not a religion of peace and it has never been. Islam is violent, oppressive, racist, and irrational at its very core. It is treachery for people to present it as otherwise, either out of ignorance or because of their own personal reasons.
* Challenge your leftist professors who may be retained by Islamic front organizations to trumpet Islam's virtues. Demand transparency from hired lobbyists and the liberal mainstream media. Sadly, a percentage of people in Western Democracies are born alienated. These people seem to a have congenital hatred of their own societies; they ally themselves with any and all people and forces that aim to destroy our cherished way of life, and they live by the motto: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They eagerly join forces with the Saddam Husseins and Hugo Chavezes of the world.
* Demand that Islamic literature, including the hate and violence manual called the Qur'an, be purged of all violent and hate spewed toward non-Muslims. Is it too much to ask that non-Muslims not be targeted for hate by the so-called sacred religious text? What kind of religion is this? Religion is supposed to bring people together, and not put them at each others' throats. The Muslims must be made to understand that and they must reciprocate the tolerance that the non-Muslims voluntarily afford them.
* Do not allow any special privileges whatsoever granted to Muslims. Demand that all Muslims have their first and foremost loyalty to the United States and its Constitution and not to the Islamic Ummeh, the Qur'an, and the shariah law. Europe is rapidly buckling under the pressure of Islamism. Just a couple of examples: Germany has legalized polygamy to placate Muslim men, Italy is forced to plan separate beaches for Muslim women.
* Demand that none of the barbaric provisions of Islamic sharia be practiced. Just because a woman is born into a Muslim family, that shouldn't force her to lead a subservient life to a man, for example. All family matters and disputes, without exceptions, must be adjudicated according to the civil laws of the country.
* A Muslim is, first and foremost, an Ummehist, a citizen of international Islam. So, when a Muslim takes the United States' Pledge of Allegiance, he is either ignorant of the implications of his pledge or is lying willfully. Sadly enough, taqqiyeh (lying, or dissimulation) is not only condoned, it is recommended to the Muslims in their scripture. Hence, a Muslim can and would lie without any compunctions, whenever it is expedient.
* Require that the large number of recent arrival Muslims be carefully vetted for their terrorism and Jihadists backgrounds and beliefs. Many recent arrivals from places such as Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan come as refugees and bring with them their pathological anti-American system of belief. It is criminal to admit these refugees without demanding that they completely renounce their allegiance to the hate dogma of Islam. Those diehard devotees of Islam should make any of the eighteen or so Islamic countries home, rather than invade the secular societies and aim to subvert them.
* Demand that Muslims, without the least reservation, adhere to the provisions of the human rights. Muslims, by belief and practice, are the most blatant violators of human rights. We hardly need to detail here Muslims' systemic cruel treatment of the unbelievers, women of all persuasions, and any and all minorities across the board. To Muslims, human rights have a different meaning, and its protective provisions are reserved strictly, primarily for Muslim men.
* Go and talk to Muslims, particularly the young and the better educated, about the horror and the fallacy of a primitive belief that has been handed down to them through an accident of birth. Show them the magnificence of freedom, in all its forms; the indispensability of tolerance for all; and, the futility of clinging to an obsolete hodge-podge of delusional ideology. The onus is clearly on the Muslims to prove the validity, utility, and sanctity of the belief they intend to impose on all of us.
* As for democracy, our cherished way of life, Muslims have no use for it at all. Muslims believe that Allah's rule must govern the world in the form of Caliphate: a theocracy. Making mockery of democracy, subverting its working, and ignoring its provisions is a Muslim's way of falsifying what he already believes to be a sinful and false system of governance invented by the infidels. Reason, if you can, with the Muslims that their belief is an outright rejection of the greatest gift of life: Freedom.
* Support financially and in every other legal way those individuals and organizations that are fighting the Jihadists' relentless encroachment. Many European countries are already on the verge of capitulation to the Islamists. The Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, confidently proclaimed recently that Europe will be Islamic in a dozen years. He has good reason to say that. Muslims are forming states within states in much of European towns and cities. In Britain, for instance, non-Muslims are in serious danger entering Muslim neighborhoods.
In conclusion: Folks, get off your duff. Stop saying, "let George do it."Neither George the President, nor the "other guy" George can do it by themselves. This is a battle for survival that every one of us can help wage. Let's get on with it before, if not you, then your children and grandchildren end up under the barbaric rule of the Jihadists.
...me again. Your thoughts? Comments?
Semper Fi,
mark
Thursday, January 10, 2008
DEFINITION OF A VETERAN
Veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check madepayable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of 'up to andincluding my life.
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who nolonger understand it. - Author Unknown
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who nolonger understand it. - Author Unknown
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Marines' Hymn
... Just in case you are ever asked how many verses there are in the "Marines' Hymn," you can confidently say,"three." They go something like this....:
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev'ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
--The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
....One of these days, I am going to write about a few already guarding some of those streets.
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev'ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
--The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
....One of these days, I am going to write about a few already guarding some of those streets.
The Wedding!
Well, Courtney and Mike Stumpf are now officially married, as of Saturday, 5 January. What an awesome couple they make. (My absence in posting is due to my presence with them.) If you know them, please congratulate them. They are off on their honeymoon, somewhere in the Bahamas.
We got to visit our former and future church home. What a blessing it is to have such an awesome church family. God really blessed us with those relationships. If you ever get down to Jacksonville, NC, you must go to Discovery Church and give Pastors Ron and Pam a hug.
More tomorrow. Tonight, I have to do some homework so I can get some sleep before tomorrow’s classes.
We got to visit our former and future church home. What a blessing it is to have such an awesome church family. God really blessed us with those relationships. If you ever get down to Jacksonville, NC, you must go to Discovery Church and give Pastors Ron and Pam a hug.
More tomorrow. Tonight, I have to do some homework so I can get some sleep before tomorrow’s classes.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Shake it off and Step up.
This last couple weeks reminds me of a story I heard a few years back.
A farmer was tending to his field and heard a bunch of hustling and bustling coming from his neighbors yard. Curious as to what was going on, the wandered over to his fence to see a bunch of people staring down into his well.
"What's going on?" he yelled?
"My donkey fell down into the well... we're trying to figure out how to get him out."
The well was about 50 feet deep and nearly straight down. The donkey was unhurt, but not the least bit happy about his situation. He kept looking up and trying to step on something higher than where he was... trying to climb to somewhere a little higher, to possibly get out.
They couldn't think of any way to get this donkey out without hurting him or putting someone else in danger. After an hour or so, the farmer's neighbor decided it was best just to cut their losses and fill the hole in so that no one else would fall in it.
They all grabbed their shovels and started shoveling dirt into the hole. As they did, they noticed the strangest thing happening in the bottom of the well. As the dirt fell on the donkey's back, he would shake it off, and step up on the new, higher ground.
You can see where this is going. After a while, the dirt kept getting higher and higher and finally the donkey could just walk out.
It may seem like you are getting buried by the dirt life is throwing at you, but just shake it off and step up. It will take a lot of time, and a lot of shaking and stepping, but eventually, you will get out of that hole.
A farmer was tending to his field and heard a bunch of hustling and bustling coming from his neighbors yard. Curious as to what was going on, the wandered over to his fence to see a bunch of people staring down into his well.
"What's going on?" he yelled?
"My donkey fell down into the well... we're trying to figure out how to get him out."
The well was about 50 feet deep and nearly straight down. The donkey was unhurt, but not the least bit happy about his situation. He kept looking up and trying to step on something higher than where he was... trying to climb to somewhere a little higher, to possibly get out.
They couldn't think of any way to get this donkey out without hurting him or putting someone else in danger. After an hour or so, the farmer's neighbor decided it was best just to cut their losses and fill the hole in so that no one else would fall in it.
They all grabbed their shovels and started shoveling dirt into the hole. As they did, they noticed the strangest thing happening in the bottom of the well. As the dirt fell on the donkey's back, he would shake it off, and step up on the new, higher ground.
You can see where this is going. After a while, the dirt kept getting higher and higher and finally the donkey could just walk out.
It may seem like you are getting buried by the dirt life is throwing at you, but just shake it off and step up. It will take a lot of time, and a lot of shaking and stepping, but eventually, you will get out of that hole.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Quotes by / about Marines
Quotes:
"We signed up knowing the risk. Those innocent people in New York didn't go to work thinking there was any kind of risk. -- Pvt. Mike Armendariz-Clark, USMC; Afghanastan, 20 September 2001
(As reported on page 1 of the New York Times): "The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!" -- MGen. Frank E. Lowe, USA; Korea, 26 January 1952
"Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights." -- Navy Times; November 1994
"Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines." -- Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918
"The United States Marine Corps, with its fiercely proud tradition of excellence in combat, its hallowed rituals, and its unbending code of honor, is part of the fabric of American myth. -- Thomas E. Ricks; Making the Corps, 1997
"For all of those that have son's or daughter's at bootcamp let me pass on what I found. Let me give you a little background first. When my son left home he had no motivation, he was lazy, slobby, no pride, no self worth. This is the boy that got off the bus March 18th at Parris Island. The man that I met on Thursday for parents day is AWESOME. There is no way I can describe to you all the difference. He looks different, he walks different, he talks different, he has such a sense of bearing and pride all I could do was look at him in awe. Oh yes, the training is hard, what he went through is unimaginable to any one that has not been there. They are definitely taught to be Warriors. Let me tell you the surprise of what else they are taught. My Marine son has better values, better morals, better manners than any one I know. It is so much more than Yes Sir, Yes Mam...so much more. He cares about how he looks, he cares about what he does, and its not a boastful, bad ass thing. He is a true gentleman. I saw patience, and a calmness in him that I have never seen. I could never express my gratitude enough to the Marine Corps for what they have given my son. I know this, I have an 11 year old Devil pup still at home. When the time comes for his turn if I had to I would take him kicking and screaming all the way. Although I'm sure that will not happen. The hero worship I see in my younger sons eyes for his Marine brother tells me I will have two Marines in the family, and I will be one very proud mother." -- "Cybil", Mother of a Marine writing to the myMarine Group
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years." -- James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945 (the flag-raising on Iwo Jima had been immortalized in a photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal)
"I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!" -- General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur; Korea, 21 September 1950
"We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on?" -- Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the assault on Grenada, 1983
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!" -- Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945
“Those poor bastards. They’ve got us surrounded. Now we can fire in any direction. They won’t get away this time… They have us right where we want them.” -- Col. “Chesty” Puller, USMC, the most decorated Marine of all time, December 1950, Choisin Reservoir
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985
"Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat." -- RAdm. "Jay" R. Stark, USN; 10 November 1995
"They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli ahow," which means "Excuse me, I didn't mean it, my mistake"." -- Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991
"For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles." -- Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC (CMC); 5 May 1997
"Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?" -- GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly, USMC near Lucy-`le-Bocage as he led the 5th Marines' attack into Belleau Wood, 6 June 1918
"Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over." -- Colonel Commandant Archibald Henderson, USMC in a note pinned to his office door, 1836
"Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you!" -- Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC rallying his First Marine Regiment near Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950
"Marines die, that's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever. the mythical GySgt. Hartman, USMC; portrayed by GySgt. R. Lee Ermey, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor using his own choice of words in Full Metal Jacket, 1987
"You'll never get a Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!" -- Capt. Henry P. Crowe, USMC; Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943
"We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military prowess." -- Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (CMC); 10 November 2000
"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." -- 1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918
"I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past." -- Cpl. Jeff Sornij, USMC; in Navy Times, November 1994
"Courage is endurance for one moment more..." -- Unknown Marine Second Lieutenant in Vietnam
"My only answer as to why the Marines get the toughest jobs is because the average Leatherneck is a much better fighter. He has far more guts, courage, and better officers... These boys out here have a pride in the Marine Corps and will fight to the end no matter what the cost." -- 2nd Lt. Richard C. Kennard, Peleliu, World War II
"A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors." -- Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
"Lying offshore, ready to act, the presence of ships and Marines sometimes means much more than just having air power or ship's fire, when it comes to deterring a crisis. And the ships and Marines may not have to do anything but lie offshore. It is hard to lie offshore with a C-141 or C-130 full of airborne troops." -- Gen. Colin Powell, U. S. Army - Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (During Operation Desert Storm)
"This was the first time that the Marines of the two nations had fought side by side since the defence of the Peking Legations in 1900. Let it be said that the admiration of all ranks of 41 Commando for their brothers in arms was and is unbounded. They fought like tigers and their morale and esprit de corps is second to none." -- Lt Col. D.B. Drysdale, Commanding 41 Commando, Chosen Reservoir, on the 1st Marine Division Division
"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are." -- Father Kevin Keaney1st Marine Division Chaplain - Korean War
"There was always talk of espirit de corps, of being gung ho, and that must have been a part of it. Better, tougher training, more marksmanship on the firing range, the instant obedience to orders seared into men in boot camp." -- James Brady, columnist, novelist, press secretary to President Reagan, television personality and Marine
"The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps." -- General Alexander A. Vandergrift, USMC to the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, 5 May 1946
"By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the American who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." -- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy
"Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning after you get there." -- LtGen Victor H. Krulak, USMC April 1965
"The Marine Corps has just been called by the New York Times, 'The elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world." -- Admiral William Halsey, U.S. Navy
"I still need Marines who can shoot and salute. But I need Marines who can fix jet engines and man sophisticated radar sets, as well." -- General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps, 17 May 1974
"I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like 'brilliant,' it would really be an under description of the absolutely superb job that they did in breaching the so-called 'impenetrable barrier.' It was a classic- absolutely classic- military breaching of a very very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trenches-type barrier." -- Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, U. S. Army Commander, Operation Desert Storm, February 1991
"I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world." -- Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchhill
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." -- Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, U.S. Army Commander of American Forces in World War I
"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army." -- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings.
"The American Marines have it [pride], and benefit from it. They are tough, cocky, sure of themselves and their buddies. They can fight and they know it." -- General Mark Clark, U.S. Army
"They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines." -- LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate to defend the Corps." -- Jonathan Winters, comic and Marine
"Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary." -- Gen. A. M. Gray, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps
"A Ship without Marines is like a coat without buttons." -- Adm. Farragut
"If I had one more division like this First Marine Division I could win this war." -- General of the Armies Douglas McArthur in Korea, overheard and reported by Marine Staff Sergeant Bill Houghton, Weapons/2/5
"Once a Marine always a Marine''
"No Better Friend, No Greater Enemy"
"Semper Fidelis"
"We signed up knowing the risk. Those innocent people in New York didn't go to work thinking there was any kind of risk. -- Pvt. Mike Armendariz-Clark, USMC; Afghanastan, 20 September 2001
(As reported on page 1 of the New York Times): "The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!" -- MGen. Frank E. Lowe, USA; Korea, 26 January 1952
"Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights." -- Navy Times; November 1994
"Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines." -- Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918
"The United States Marine Corps, with its fiercely proud tradition of excellence in combat, its hallowed rituals, and its unbending code of honor, is part of the fabric of American myth. -- Thomas E. Ricks; Making the Corps, 1997
"For all of those that have son's or daughter's at bootcamp let me pass on what I found. Let me give you a little background first. When my son left home he had no motivation, he was lazy, slobby, no pride, no self worth. This is the boy that got off the bus March 18th at Parris Island. The man that I met on Thursday for parents day is AWESOME. There is no way I can describe to you all the difference. He looks different, he walks different, he talks different, he has such a sense of bearing and pride all I could do was look at him in awe. Oh yes, the training is hard, what he went through is unimaginable to any one that has not been there. They are definitely taught to be Warriors. Let me tell you the surprise of what else they are taught. My Marine son has better values, better morals, better manners than any one I know. It is so much more than Yes Sir, Yes Mam...so much more. He cares about how he looks, he cares about what he does, and its not a boastful, bad ass thing. He is a true gentleman. I saw patience, and a calmness in him that I have never seen. I could never express my gratitude enough to the Marine Corps for what they have given my son. I know this, I have an 11 year old Devil pup still at home. When the time comes for his turn if I had to I would take him kicking and screaming all the way. Although I'm sure that will not happen. The hero worship I see in my younger sons eyes for his Marine brother tells me I will have two Marines in the family, and I will be one very proud mother." -- "Cybil", Mother of a Marine writing to the myMarine Group
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years." -- James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945 (the flag-raising on Iwo Jima had been immortalized in a photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal)
"I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!" -- General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur; Korea, 21 September 1950
"We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on?" -- Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the assault on Grenada, 1983
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!" -- Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945
“Those poor bastards. They’ve got us surrounded. Now we can fire in any direction. They won’t get away this time… They have us right where we want them.” -- Col. “Chesty” Puller, USMC, the most decorated Marine of all time, December 1950, Choisin Reservoir
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985
"Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat." -- RAdm. "Jay" R. Stark, USN; 10 November 1995
"They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli ahow," which means "Excuse me, I didn't mean it, my mistake"." -- Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991
"For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles." -- Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC (CMC); 5 May 1997
"Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?" -- GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly, USMC near Lucy-`le-Bocage as he led the 5th Marines' attack into Belleau Wood, 6 June 1918
"Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over." -- Colonel Commandant Archibald Henderson, USMC in a note pinned to his office door, 1836
"Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you!" -- Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC rallying his First Marine Regiment near Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950
"Marines die, that's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever. the mythical GySgt. Hartman, USMC; portrayed by GySgt. R. Lee Ermey, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor using his own choice of words in Full Metal Jacket, 1987
"You'll never get a Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!" -- Capt. Henry P. Crowe, USMC; Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943
"We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military prowess." -- Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (CMC); 10 November 2000
"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." -- 1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918
"I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past." -- Cpl. Jeff Sornij, USMC; in Navy Times, November 1994
"Courage is endurance for one moment more..." -- Unknown Marine Second Lieutenant in Vietnam
"My only answer as to why the Marines get the toughest jobs is because the average Leatherneck is a much better fighter. He has far more guts, courage, and better officers... These boys out here have a pride in the Marine Corps and will fight to the end no matter what the cost." -- 2nd Lt. Richard C. Kennard, Peleliu, World War II
"A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors." -- Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
"Lying offshore, ready to act, the presence of ships and Marines sometimes means much more than just having air power or ship's fire, when it comes to deterring a crisis. And the ships and Marines may not have to do anything but lie offshore. It is hard to lie offshore with a C-141 or C-130 full of airborne troops." -- Gen. Colin Powell, U. S. Army - Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (During Operation Desert Storm)
"This was the first time that the Marines of the two nations had fought side by side since the defence of the Peking Legations in 1900. Let it be said that the admiration of all ranks of 41 Commando for their brothers in arms was and is unbounded. They fought like tigers and their morale and esprit de corps is second to none." -- Lt Col. D.B. Drysdale, Commanding 41 Commando, Chosen Reservoir, on the 1st Marine Division Division
"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are." -- Father Kevin Keaney1st Marine Division Chaplain - Korean War
"There was always talk of espirit de corps, of being gung ho, and that must have been a part of it. Better, tougher training, more marksmanship on the firing range, the instant obedience to orders seared into men in boot camp." -- James Brady, columnist, novelist, press secretary to President Reagan, television personality and Marine
"The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps." -- General Alexander A. Vandergrift, USMC to the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, 5 May 1946
"By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the American who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." -- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy
"Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning after you get there." -- LtGen Victor H. Krulak, USMC April 1965
"The Marine Corps has just been called by the New York Times, 'The elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world." -- Admiral William Halsey, U.S. Navy
"I still need Marines who can shoot and salute. But I need Marines who can fix jet engines and man sophisticated radar sets, as well." -- General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps, 17 May 1974
"I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like 'brilliant,' it would really be an under description of the absolutely superb job that they did in breaching the so-called 'impenetrable barrier.' It was a classic- absolutely classic- military breaching of a very very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trenches-type barrier." -- Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, U. S. Army Commander, Operation Desert Storm, February 1991
"I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world." -- Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchhill
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." -- Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, U.S. Army Commander of American Forces in World War I
"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army." -- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings.
"The American Marines have it [pride], and benefit from it. They are tough, cocky, sure of themselves and their buddies. They can fight and they know it." -- General Mark Clark, U.S. Army
"They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines." -- LtGen Thomas Holcomb, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1943
I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate to defend the Corps." -- Jonathan Winters, comic and Marine
"Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary." -- Gen. A. M. Gray, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps
"A Ship without Marines is like a coat without buttons." -- Adm. Farragut
"If I had one more division like this First Marine Division I could win this war." -- General of the Armies Douglas McArthur in Korea, overheard and reported by Marine Staff Sergeant Bill Houghton, Weapons/2/5
"Once a Marine always a Marine''
"No Better Friend, No Greater Enemy"
"Semper Fidelis"
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year
What are your resolutions and who is holding you accountable?
My New Years resolutions are pretty much the same every year. I simply want to be better than I was last year. (eat better, run faster, exercise more, make more money, read more, spend more time with the family ...blog more....) I want to live life to its fullest.
My lovely bride is holding me to those standards, and I expect my brothers and sisters to help me too. If you see me slacking, let me have it.
My New Years resolutions are pretty much the same every year. I simply want to be better than I was last year. (eat better, run faster, exercise more, make more money, read more, spend more time with the family ...blog more....) I want to live life to its fullest.
My lovely bride is holding me to those standards, and I expect my brothers and sisters to help me too. If you see me slacking, let me have it.
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