Christmas

Happy Christmas all. Ashley and I are off to Hawaii for time with her family. I may not get a chance to post again before the new year. So, that being the case, enjoy your holidays.

Church Shooting

You may or may not have heard about the church shooting this week. You can read more about it here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316651,00.html. There were two brave individuals there, one the female security guard who, while under fire, calmly returned fire killing the murderer. The second was a former Veteran who tried to get the other two security guards to take action, failing that, he attempted to take the security guard's pistol in order to return fire himself.

Democrats Race for President

Update

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, Ashley and I have been a little busy. Quick recap though. Last weekend we went to Las Vegas on a Company Christmas outing. We had good luck at the craps tables and won around $550, which pretty much paid for the trip.

Last week I was in Wisconsin for a couple days on a quick Guard trip, and the weekend before that was my Guard weekend. We had a lot of snow in Wisconsin, and at home too. Around 6 inches. Most of which is still around suprisingly.

Ashley and I have one weekend at home, then we're off to Hawaii for a few weeks over Christmas. We're both looking forward to spending the time with family, the holidays, and just slowing down for a couple days.

Gotta love mindless hatred...

Thought it was funny...

Holiday Hangover

Turkey day is over, coming back to work was rough. Ashley and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last night. Yay us!

This is why we're in Iraq...

An update from Michael Yon: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/come-home.htm

And Dems, sorry, Iraq is not a quagmire. Us losing a war does not help you politically. And when we win, you rooting for us to lose is going to look mighty distasteful.

In other news. We lost our first playoff soccer game on Monday night. So, soccer is over for the year. We'll be playing indoor this coming January.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, I'll be able to sleep in for the first time in almost a month! Well, just on Saturday morning. Ashley is having a girl's night Saturday night at our place with the women from House Group. So, I'm getting kicked out of the house. But, it sounds like fun for them.

Churches in Baghdad

Do you think any churches would have reopened in Baghdad under Saddam or Al Qaeda? To the skeptics I say, we are accomplishing a world of good in Iraq. The following is from http://www.michaelyon-online.com/.

Thanks and Praise
Thanks and Praise: I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John’s Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome.

A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from “Chosen” Company 2-12 Infantry to the
church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John’s, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers.

Liberal bias at the Universities?

For a long time now, Conservatives have felt that the major Universities were biased to the Left. Now, even voices on the left are concerned that schools are indoctrinating students rather than teaching them how to critically evaluate. See the article for more information.
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnZmirak/2007/11/07/even_the_left_admits_that_classroom_politics_are_a_problem

Hatred of Bush

Sam, a close friend of mine sent me an article (below) and asked me to respond to it. My response is also below.

A War Pitched with a 'Curve Ball' (by Jim Wallis)
via God's Politics on 11/5/07Watch 60 Minutes from last night or read the story. It revealed the results of a two-year investigation into the source of the key piece of information which was used by the Bush Administration as "proof" that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. This was the information that Colin Powell used in his now famous February 5, 2003 testimony at the United Nations reporting an "eyewitness" account that Saddam had a "mobile bio/chemical weapons program." The source, ironically code-named "Curve Ball," was a young Iraqi defector in Germany, who claimed he was a top student employed by a so-called seed purification plant that was really a bio/chemical weapons facility and that he saw trucks moving in and out to be armed with the weapons of mass destruction. Problem is that he wasn't, after all a "top student," wasn't there during the time he reported, got caught stealing equipment from his next employer, and there turned out to be walls at the alleged entrances and exits where the trucks were supposed to be going in and out.

For the first time, we know his name, Rafid Ahmed Alwan. Apparently, he lied because he wanted a green card in Germany, where he now lives. Turns out the Germans told the Americans that his testimony was "unconfimed," but the CIA wanted to use it anyway. Watch the 60 Minutes interview with former senior C.I. A. official Tyler Drumheller who was asked whether Curve Ball's assertion was essential to going to war with Iraq. He replied, "If they had not had "Curve Ball," they would have probably found something else. 'Cause there was a great determination to do it." But the information Curve Ball provided was the "absolutely essential case" for going to war. It was crucial to C.I.A Director George Tenet's telling the White House that the case proving the Saddam had WMD's was "slam dunk." Powell apparently believed the C.I.A.'s information, as Secretaries of State normally do, when he told the world that Saddam had a mobile bio/chemical weapons program at the same time his successor, Condoleezza Rice, was talking about "mushroom clouds." No American had interviewed "Curve Ball" nor had they visited the plant when Powell told the world about the Iraqi WMD program. Turns out that inspectors went to see the alleged WMD facility just days later, saw the walls where the trucks were supposed to be going in and out, and discovered it was a just a seed purification plant after all. But we never heard anything about that visit, and the war started a few weeks later—a war justified on false information.

I believe that Dick Cheney is a liar; that Donald Rumsfeld is also a liar; and that George W. Bush was and is clueless about being the President of the United States. And this isn't about being partisan - I was raised in a Republican family with two Republican parents that I loved more than any two people in the world. I've heard plenty of my Republican friends and public figures call this administration an embarrassment to the best traditions of the Republican Party and an embarrassment to the democratic (small d) tradition of the United States. They have shamed our beloved nation in the world by this war and the shameful way they have fought it. Almost 4,000 young Americans are dead because of the lies of this Administration, tens of thousands more wounded and maimed for life, hundreds of thousand Iraqis also dead, and 400 billion dollars wasted—because of their lies, incompetence, and corruption.

But I don't favor impeachment, as some have suggested. I would wait until after the election, when they are out of office, and then I would favor investigations of the top officials of the Bush administration on official deception, war crimes, and corruption charges. And if they are found guilty of these high crimes, I believe they should spend the rest of their lives in prison, after offering their repentance to every American family who has lost a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister. Deliberately lying about going to war should not be forgiven.

My response -

As it turns out, the intelligence was faulty, no argument there. But how does he go from the intelligence was wrong to "I believe that Dick Cheney is a liar; that Donald Rumsfeld is also a liar; and that George W. Bush was and is clueless about being the President of the United States."? That's a bit of a leap. The decision was based on faulty information, but was the best they had at the time, and had no reason to believe otherwise. Even the previous administration believed they had WMD. The conclusion should be, the CIA screwed up, not the administration is evil. Where is the support for his assertion? There isn't one in the text, only a leap of logic.

"They have shamed our beloved nation in the world by this war and the shameful way they have fought it. Almost 4,000 young Americans are dead because of the lies of this administration, tens of thousands more wounded and maimed for life, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis also dead, and 400 billion dollars wasted—because of their lies, incompetence, and corruption."

Huh? How is our nation shamed? The Iraqi people are free, they are grateful for what we've done on their and our behalf. How have we fought this war shamefully? Again, support for his assertion? Lies of the administration? Again, support? As for Iraqi's, 1) his numbers are inflated, 2) most of that was caused by Al Qaeda and sectarian violence not our actions. Would they have been better off if we hadn't gone into Iraq? Good question, life under Saddam or life under Al Qaeda? Tough choice, but wait, Saddam is gone, and Al Qaeda is on the verge of being gone. So, the new choice is Saddam/Al Qaeda or free and stable Iraq? Hmm... Why is that money wasted? Free and stable Iraq, a democracy in a tough region, potential source of oil besides from the corrupt Saudis, etc, etc, etc. Again, proof for the lies, incompetence, and corruption???

If I were King (as the saying goes) I would have done things differently than the President, who knows, maybe in reflection he would have done things differently. But, I also have the perspective of the armchair quarterback, I know things now he didn't at the time. In those situations, you have to be able to decisively act with about 70% of the information, any less and you don't have enough, if you strive for 100% you lose your ability to act. I believe he made the best choices he knew how for the best interests of our nation, as well as the rest of the world. I don't believe he is evil, deliberately deceitful, corrupt, or incompetent.

The author seems to have a hatred for Bush unsubstantiated by the facts he cites. I tend to disregard anyone who raves on without being able to logically support their assertions. The sad truth is, we had bad information that the decision to go into Iraq was based on. The blame for that falls with the CIA, and those who handcuffed our intelligence services by reducing their funding so they couldn't operate adequately.

Good thing we elected a new Congress a year ago...

Why I'm not a Democrat...

Because I take the reverse opinion on every one of those issues.

Update on Iraq & San Diego Wildfires

Didn't think the two went together did you? Well, an Iraqi Army unit donated money to help the families suffering from the affects of the California wildfires. This clearly shows that we're making a difference in Iraq. Here's the link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/10/29/iraq.donation/

Are you really liberal?

This was borrowed from Dennis Prager's website: http://www.dennisprager.com/areyouliberal.html

Are You a Liberal?
It is my belief that about half of the Americans who call themselves liberal do not hold the great majority of positions held by mainstream liberal institutions such as the New York Times editorial page, People for the American Way, and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. So here is a test of this thesis to be given to anyone who believes he or she is a liberal. If you feel I have omitted a liberal position or have unfairly characterized any of them here, please email me. This is still a work in progress.
Thank you,
Dennis Prager

You say you are a liberal.
Do you believe the following?

Standards for admissions to universities, fire departments, etc. should be lowered for people of color.

Bilingual education for children of immigrants, rather than immersion in English, is good for them and for America.

Murderers should never be put to death.

During the Cold War, America should have adopted a nuclear arms freeze.

Colleges should not allow ROTC programs.

It was wrong to wage war against Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War.

Poor parents should not be allowed to have vouchers to send their children to private schools.

It is good that trial lawyers and teachers unions are the two biggest contributors to the Democratic Party.

Marriage should be redefined from male-female to any two people.

A married couple should not have more of a right to adopt a child than two men or two women.

The Boy Scouts should not be allowed to use parks or any other public places and should be prohibited from using churches and synagogues for their meetings.

The present high tax rates are good.

Speech codes on college campuses are good and American values are bad.

The Israelis and Palestinians are morally equivalent.

The United Nations is a moral force for good in the world, and therefore America should be subservient to it and such international institutions as a world court.

It is good that colleges have dropped hundreds of men's sports teams in order to meet gender-based quotas.

No abortions can be labeled immoral.

Restaurants should be prohibited by law from allowing customers to choose between a smoking and a non-smoking section.

High schools should make condoms available to students and teach them how to use them.

Racial profiling for terrorists is wrong -- a white American grandmother should as likely be searched as a Saudi young male.

Racism and poverty -- not a lack of fathers and a crisis of values -- are the primary causes of violent crime in the inner city.

It is wrong and unconstitutional for students to be told, "God bless you" at their graduation.

No culture is morally superior to any other.

Those are all liberal positions. How many of them do you hold?

San Diego Fires

This photo isn't from Iraq, or another war torn area of the world, but San Diego. Today was the 4th day of wildfires that "have killed five people, destroyed 1,500 homes, consumed 426,000 acres-- or about 665 square miles-- and forced almost one million people from their homes--the largest evacuation in the state's history. More than 70,000 homes remained threatened.

New evacuations were ordered Wednesday in San Diego County, the hardest hit area where, officials said, five separate fires have caused more than $1 billion in property damage. The largest of the San Diego County fires has consumed 196,420 acres — about 300 square miles — from Witch Creek to Rancho Santa Fe, destroying 650 homes."

The photo and quoted text are courtesy of Foxnews.com.

needs a snappy title...

I ran by the post office Saturday, and there was a couple with a table and a whole host of signs out in front of the post office. They were way laying people, handing out tracts, etc. Where they radical religious? Well, actually, they might be.

The signs read "stop Bush's war in Iran". Interesting take on things I thought (sarcasm). Firstly, Iran is at war with us, has been since the 70's. Secondly, Bush has done nothing but negotiate with Iran despite those who would push for a stronger stance concerning them.

Hillary Care? Don't think so!

So Congress is trying to convert the US to socialized medicine, Hillary's health plan is another version of it. When will the left in America realize that all their ideas have been tried in Europe and Canada already, and failed miserably! The following text was forwarded to me from a family member, and I cannot vouch for its authenticity.

This was sent from Canada to a friend in the States.

I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.

First of all:

1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense.

2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road.

3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients through as possible each hour for Government reimbursement

4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.

5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment.

6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week.

7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list Died before he could get treatment.

8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears.

9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee.

10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs.

11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get.

12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy.

13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums.

14) Oh yeah we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered but the health care system.

Been awhile....

I realize its been awhile since I posted, my apologies. Life is hectic right now. This last weekend was my guard weekend, Ashley stayed home to watch a dog.

Last night our 3 game win streak was broken, we won last week 3-0, this week we tied 3-3. In Sam's words "But we didn't lose. It was one of those confounding games when we had good chances, and good goals, and they somehow got two of the luckiest goals on earth, twice! Big smack on the back goes to the most unlikely source of goals on ourteam, who decided to step up and be...Supa-Corey!!! The man with the steady forehead guided home two headers!! Another li'l slap goes toyours truly for tying things up at the last minute with a break-away."

The luckiest goals were lob shots directly over my head into the corner of the goal. The first one was amazing, the second won was like striking the lottery twice in a year kinda odds. With no goalie in this league there is no way to defend against it.

Winning Streak

We won our soccer game last night, 2-0. Jordi scored both goals. And we had the most confused referee, he couldn't make a call to save his life. Also, I'm on a 2 week winning streak in Fantasy Football.

Ashley gave her 4 weeks notice yesterday. Her boss was pretty cool with it, especially since she gave her so much time. Ashley felt she needed to in order to find and train her replacement.

White Sox

As a transplant to Chicago, I'm not ravenously attached to either of the City's two professional baseball teams. But, over the years, I've enjoyed watching the Sox play, and visiting Cellular Field much more than the Cubs in Wrigley. Ashley on the other hand, learned to be a Sox fan while we were dating. It probably didn't hurt that they won the World Series the same year we were married.

That being said, Ash & I went to a game on Saturday, and absolutely enjoyed ourselves, even more so after we moved away from the rowdy Detroit fans. Jim Thome hit his 507th homerun in the first inning. Juan Uribe won the game with a base hit in the 9th, it was tied 2-2 before that. Then, they had 15 minutes or so of fireworks after the game.

The Sox may have had an awful year, plagued by injuries and a poor pitching staff. But visiting Cellular Field to watch them play beats the Northsiders any time. Although, I still wish the Cubs and their fans luck in the upcoming post season.

Big Changes in Iraq

Ramadi, capital of the Al Anbar province was the most dangerous place in Iraq two years ago when I was there, and was even as of last February. Now, its the safest place in Iraq. Al Qaedi is so brutal and evil that it turned the residents there against them. For more information there are two articles at Michael Totten's website: http://www.michaeltotten.com

Autumn is here!

As of Sunday the 23rd, Fall is here. Well, the weather doesn't feel like it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Soccer went well last night. We started a new league 3 weeks ago, and we won last night 5-2. So our record is now 1-1-1. Don't you hate ties? I'm sorry to report that I let both goals go in, and whiffed on a chance to score one of my own, missing an open net by inches. After having missed a week due to military obligations, I guess I was rusty. Or, I'm just awful. Take your pic. lol

The dictator of Iran was given time to make a speech at Columbia University yesterday. Uhm, hate to be politically incorrect, but... traitors.

Iran declared war on the U.S. back in 1978. They are still at war with us. They are backing insurgents in Iraq with training and weapons to attack our troops. Iran is also sending fighters of their own into Iraq to fight our troops. In addition, Ahmadinejad has declared publicly that when the get a nuclear bomb, they intend on wiping Israel (our ally) from the face of the planet.

Hillary got caught taking donations from the Chinese just like Bill did. Wonder where their interests lie?

Heard the transcript of Bin Laden's message to the US for 9/11. He's a serious nut job in addition to being our enemy. But also, parroting lines from the left to support his arguments. When will people realize that when they attack their country publicly in a time of war its propaganda for the enemy?

Gen. Petraeus' Report

So, General Petraeus gave his report to Congress this week, which Congress asked for, because he's not required to report to them since he works for the President. His report was optimistic, the surge is working, they'll be able to wrap up the surge sooner than anticipated, and the war in Iraq is winnable. In fact, Ramadi the capital of the Al Anbar province which was once the most dangerous city in Iraq is now the safest. Generally, good news; but not what the Democrats wanted to hear. So, the Democrats in Congress spent the entire time asking ridiculous questions and calling the General a liar because his report didn't say what they wanted it to.

Remembrance

Do you remember where you were on 9/11/01?

In lighter news... we finished our soccer league last night, in the rain. We didn't win one game for the season. Bummer. But, on the bright side, we started our new league last night, in the rain. 3 of us dashed over to the other field at half time of the first game to start game 2, while the rest followed after the end of the game. We did manage to tie 2-2, so that's an improvement over the previous league. Although, I have to take the blame for allowing the 2nd goal to go in. And to make up for it, I'll strive to better next week.

Guard Weekend, Again

Last weekend was my guard weekend again. Ashley and the girls went with me to Peoria. I got a little sun on Saturday controlling F-16s in Havana Illinois. Saturday night we went and saw "Balls of Fury". It was funny in places, but we could have waited for it to come out on DVD. In my quest to become an officer I learned this weekend that my paperwork is finished and has been sent to State headquarters. I guess, if it gets approved, that from there it should take a couple/three months to get finalized and schedule me a school date. So, we'd be looking at March at the earliest for a date. Which is good, because I also learned I'll have to lose about 45 pounds in order to pass AMS (the officer candidate school).

In other news, my sister and her fiancee have completed their wedding website (http://www.eliseanddave.com). Feel free to visit, sign the guest log, etc.

And we mourn the first Bears' loss of the season. Hopefully, it'll be the only one.

Happy September

Sorry its been so long between blogs, I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend. Ashley and I were sick like the living dead last week. We're both mostly recovered this week, but still fighting it off with a stick. Helped a friend move last weekend, to Skokie. Another friend might be moving to Skokie soon as well. Looks like Skokie is the place to be!

So why if you're an environmentalist are you usually against the cleanest form of energy around, nuclear? We haven't been able to build a new nuclear power plant in the US for decades due to the heavy "Green" restrictions placed on them.
And why have the Democrats decided on a policy that means America loses its war in order for them to win, just to oppose Bush? Now who cares about the troops?

And finally, after the Larry Craig news, I love this cartoon and how many of us Conservatives view Liberals. What about Representative Jefferson who was found with cash in his freezer from bribes? That's ok apparently.

5 Hour Tour

Nicholas White organized a fishing trip for this last saturday. We sailed out of Kenosha Wisconsin. But since it was a little rainy, we had moderately rough seas. Alex and Greg were seasick for pretty much the whole trip. I started off a little queasy, but recovered enough to enjoy the trip. The sea looks pretty calm in the pictures, but don't let then fool you, it got pretty rough at times. We did manage to pull out 9 Salmon, Chinook and Coho, which fried up really nice. Enjoy the pics.

Tornado

So two weekends ago Ashley and I were returning from Peoria and we saw a funny cloud. We then realized it was a tornado. That was confirmed when we got closer and saw it rotating. After watching it for a few minutes it very quickly dissipated and returned to look like a normal cloud, again confirming that it was a tornado. Ashley took these pics with her cell phone.

Last night's game wasn't too bad. We had a full compliment of subs. But we didn't have all that many coordinated attacks on goal, which resulted in no points for the good guys. Better luck next week we hope.

Another stab at the Democrats

Randomness

A quick note about the cartoon first. I hear Democrats, in this state anyway, say they're going to relieve the tax burden by taxing companies. But what that does is 1) drive companies out of state (or Federally, out of the country) to avoid the extra taxes, 2) slow down the economy by lowering profits (which companies use to reinvest, expand, hire new employees, etc), and 3) the taxes are still paid by individual consumers, they get passed through the company and onto the consumer in the form of higher prices on goods. Democrats also oppose tax decreases and are in favor of tax increases, even when decreasing the percentage of tax taken actually increases the dollar amount of tax collected. Why are Democrats so bad at economics, perpetually?

Soccer again last night. For the first time we were playing full strength, well, without subs still. Then early in the first half Andy came down chin first on an opponent's head and split his chin open. He had to leave to get stitches. We hope you're doing ok Andy. Then we were a man down for the rest of the game. However, we did pretty decent considering, only losing 2-1. Pam, Sam, and I went out for a pint after the game. We found a nice corner pub called Kuma's Korner. On their menu it says "death to bud light - seriously". They also refuse to serve miller light, or any other awful light beer. All they had were wonderful micro brews. Ahh, I'm home. Its only a block from where we play, so I have a feeling I'll be back.

In other news, you think your boss is bad? This guy shot his employees for asking for a raise. See the link for the article. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291489,00.html

Tonight, Sam, Erika, and new baby Owen are due over for dinner. Sam's promised to introduce us to Settler's of Catan (board game). I've heard a lot about it, and quite a few people are addicted to it so I've heard. So I'm excited, well, and excited for my wife's wonderful cooking too. I've also got a bottle of Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot. Marcelo introduced us to it a few months back and I've been looking forward to trying it again. Who knew golfers were so good at wine making? Here's his website: http://www.shark.com/gnestates/index.php

The day after...

Our soccer team got demolished last night. Yeah, we're just playing for fun, and we're not supposed to care if we win or lose, yadda yadda. But, its definately no fun to lose 9 or so (we lost count) to nothing. We did hold them scoreless in the first half, but our lack of subs, playing a man down, and playing sick caught up with us and it became a scoring frenzy. Hopefully we'll have everyone back next week.

Found a new link: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/. Its a reporter who is former Army Special Forces, and is independant of any news agency. He's actually funded by readers to stay in Iraq and report. Very good, first hand reporting. He goes on missions, and in his latest report, has to pick up a rifle to help his squad out in a tough situation.


The following story is courtesy of my sister-in-law Tiffany, enjoy:

A Wake Up Call From Luke AFB, AZ
Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were.
A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.
The complaint: "Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."
The response: Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday): On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flyby of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured. A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?" The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Lt. Col. Scott Pleus CO 63rd Fighter Squadron Luke AFB

The Surge

So the surge is now officially a month in, and a new interim report looks good. Gen. Petraeus says things are going well, with captured or dead terrorist leaders. Baquaba and Anbar all but cleaned up. Al Qaeda is becoming a stench in the nostrils of Iraqis more everyday.

Yet the Democrats call the war lost, and the surge a failure. At what point is this defeatist, lying, backstabbing stance no longer political posturing but endangering to our troops, our national security, or even treason (propaganda aid to the enemy)?

Summertime Blues

So, I remarked to Ashley this morning that the only good thing about summer was that it ended with the start of fall. I'm not a big fan of the heat and humidity, actually I can handle the heat if it didn't have the humidity. Its been in the 70's lately due to thunderstorms, but the humidity has been up making the cooler temperatures wasted.

Check out the new quote also.

A Passing

My maternal Grand-mother, Irene Tucker, passed away in her sleep early Monday morning. She and my Grandfather Eugene lived in Kansas until retirement. They then moved to Montana. My Grandmother was a cowgirl, painted, wrote poetry, gardened (her favorite was the yellow rose), and was full of life. Most importantly, she loved the Lord, and saw His hand at work in the world around her. She conveyed what she saw in her oils and words. Grandad Tucker passed away three years ago, and Grandma Tucker was my last surviving grandparent.

Whenever I think of Grandma Tucker, I will always remember when she and Grandad were watching me while Mom and Dad where at the hospital for the birth of Elise. I was 3 at the time, and for whatever reason I upset and I talked back to her, and then hit her. Now something you need to know about Grandma Tucker is that she didn't take disrespect from anyone. Well, you can imagine the beating I got. Who knew an old lady could move so fast? But, I did learn my lesson. Thanks Grandma, see you soon!

End of the First Week

End of my first week at the new job. Learned a lot, that's for sure, but able to contribute from my experience and MBA as well. We start 8 on 8 soccer Monday, looking forward to that. Even if I am out of shape, I'll be glad to have some time to play again finally.


Silly Democrats, they made trumped up charges to indict Libby with to get back at Bush for not doing things their way. Then they get upset when he pardons him from something he never did. I don't think the Democrats currently in power want to play fair. Whatever they do is right, and whatever the right does is wrong. (pun intended) I just wish the Republicans in power would grasp this concept and stop pretending the Democrats can be negotiated and compromised with.