Moogie's Blog

The first leg of the "war on terror" was begun in Afghanistan.   That war is almost seven years old.  Osama has not been caught.  The Taliban is resurging. 

One of the dead in the recent upsurge in violence is identified as Staff Sgt. Edgar A. Heredia, 28, of Houston.  He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.  SSgt Heredia was killed in an ambush in Farah province on May 26th, according to DefenseLink.

I have blogged my brains out since May of 2006 (not here until more recently)  on the medical treatment which our veterans deserve and do not receive.  My concern has been that our military and Veterans Affairs will again go into denial about the existence of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), about Gulf War syndrome, and other as-yet-unknown physical and mental disorders which will surface due to many being deployed once, twice, and three times to our two ongoing war zones.

Since that time, news has broken about the criminally bad conditions at Walter Reed (which was pressed into service at a time it had been slated to close).  On a more optimistic note, the "Fallen Heroes Fund" has opened its $50 million rehab facility in Texas (what a shame we taxpayers have not funded one or two in each state--the budget for two weeks of the war would pay for them!)

Now the question has hit home.  In the same ambush in which SSgt Heredia was killed, three or more Marines received traumatic injuries.  One of them is my cousin, who was hit from above by fire (the bullet traveled beneath his body armor and exited his lower back).  He (being a medic) continued to administer care to one in his unit who had sustained a leg injury.  As a Humvee approached them to carry them to safety, its driver stood up to spray ammo widely to shield the group from further gunfire.  That driver was shot in the head.  There may have been more injuries.  More details will emerge as the days go by.

All three of the injured Marines I have described are being cared for at Bethesda Naval.  All three appear to be making good progress, but we must not forget them or any of our injured and maimed....please. 

I have a few friends who all have birthdays in the latter part of January.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !

Can we please get some additional coverage of  this?

"The blaze was located in Cheney's suite of ceremonial offices. His working office is in the West Wing. Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford said the building was evacuated as a precaution. District of Columbia firefighters poured water on the blaze, broke windows and moved furniture onto a balcony.

There were no reports of serious injuries, Etter said. A U.S. Marine stationed at the building smashed a fifth-floor window to escape from the smoke and had to be rescued from the ledge, he said. The man suffered a minor cut to his hand.

The building remained evacuated while firefighters ventilated the smoke, Etter said. The displaced employees were sent to other offices or went home.

The extent of water, fire and smoke damage was unclear.

Investigators were working to determine the cause of the blaze, Etter said. The smoke appeared to come from an electrical closet on the building's second floor."

Yeah right.

Thankfully, today there was some mainstream "news" coverage of the homeless problem among our military veterans.

Of particular interest was the point about our female veterans. Although they are less likely to become substance abusers, they are more likely to suffer from emotional illness (from exposure to combat stress). After the first Gulf War, the illnesses (emotional and physical) were often not recognized or treated. Now there is more recognition of these conditions, but veterans often cannot access a full range of treatment.

How many days of military spending would it cost us to build a state-of-the-art hospital to serve our veterans in every state? One center, build with private funds in Texas, the Center for the Intrepid, cost $50 million. Let's make it regional. 6 more would cost $300 million. Let's say $400 million by the time construction is completed. That's two days of war in Iraq.

TWO DAYS.

Can we get some news media interest in a project like this?

http://www.fallenheroesfund.org/content/pdf/2007_01_FA
CTSHEET_CenterForTheIntrepid_REVISED__6_1_5146_404_6_1_
6264.pdf

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/23/4049/a>

Just checking in...

Did anyone else notice that President Bush told Pakistan's President Musharraf that he cannot be President and head of the military at the same time?

Uh.....

Just what we need. Fake news.

In the past few days, stories have been surfacing about the well-travelled expert who has been National Security consultant to ABC News.  His name is Alexis Debat. 

This guy worked not only for ABC, but for GW University, Middlebury College, and several other consulting rackets.   He claims to have intereviewed subjects ranging from Talibanees to Barak Obama.  However, his credentials are in dispute.  His PhD, if he actually earned one, is on hold by the Sorbonne.  It was the French embassy who notified the ABC News organization that perhaps a further check should be done on his credentials....hmmm.

Here's the Washington Post story: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl
e/2007/09/12/AR2007091202333.html

Someone on these blogs was asking about a report he or she had heard regarding internal attacks on the US by the Taliban or Al Queda.   See page two of the Post article, but here's an exerpt: 

Debat last appeared on ABC in May, in a "World News" piece by Ross about the possibility of Taliban sleeper cells planning attacks in the United States. In April, Debat appeared on "World News" to analyze a foiled terror plot in Saudi Arabia, and in a "Nightline" story on U.S. ties to a group mounting attacks inside Iran.

In fact, here's the original report ...read it fast, links to this guy are being deleted very quickly.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/09/pakistan_ex
pert_find

Debat claims the French government is out to get him, because he has disclosed details of CIA covert operations. 

Huh? 

Debat also claims to be attempting an exhaustive history of the CIA.

Here's a Mother Jones piece, too.

The funny thing is, when I saw his picture, I thought he looked remarkably like Jon Stewart.  The real Jon Stewart, you know?  The one who does "Fake News." 

Here's the real Jon Stewart.

Alexis Debat.   Does this man do fake ABC News?

C'mon...somebody has got to be pulling our leg.

Health, prosperity, peace of mind, and all good things...

Am I missing something?  Haven't GP systems gotten very portable--and inexpensive enough that people use them to track pets, bicycles, and other possessions? 

Do they work everywhere, or must one be near a transmitter or receiver (as with mobile phones).  Or is it un-macho to use one?  I do not understand.

English is my favorite language.  It has so many words, and they all mean something.

Here's a guide to "standard" pronunciation (courtesy of Professor Duncan at Bowie State).

I have wanted to try embedding something in this blog--this is what I chose.

Professor Duncan is creating a "hybrid" course.  There is classroom time (once a week), but the rest of the work is done online.  The subject matter is "History of the English Language." 

Teachers like Professor Duncan are forging ahead into cyber-education, a topic about which I am very enthusiastic.  As we have discussed on this blog, it is necessary for our society to press for affordable (free) and accessible education.  It will be the very best way to make sure no one is marginalized in our society.

Please watch the slideshow if you are interested, and please comment. 

Of course ALL languages are beautiful !  Especially Italian.

 I talked to an interesting man yesterday. He worked for the IMF for years and he did studies which revealed some interesting things about the recent  illegal alien problem which started after the Reagan-era violence problems in Central America.  (Recent, because this is a little different than what has always happened with border crossings--this problem was implanted in middle America).

Lots of the (first wave) illegals from Central America were actually ex-USAID employees who had to get out of there -- we gave them refugee status and later citizenship.  Those are the ones who started the businesses (lawn care companies, maid services, construction contractors, etc) and then brought the 2nd generation of people from their hometowns to work in those businesses.  They housed them --- many to one apartment -- and kept them submerged in their own culture, not able to mix, assimilate, learn English, etc.  Many were seasonal workers but most seem to be here year round now.

The problems we have now are that so many other illegals have jumped on that same bandwagon.  Ten years ago the average American did not have landscapers, a maid service, or a subprime mortgage.   Speaking of which ...

He also says that the IMF will not listen to him regarding the serious nature of the mortgage scandal, which he predicts will be 1.5 times worse than the S&L scandal.  So there you have it, the two problems are closely aligned.

What is all boils down to is exploitation.  Everyone seems to want to emulate the rich without having the budget to do so. 

Has anyone else been accosted by a sales rep riding a Segway?  I think it is frightening.  My first instinct was to run, but I was sitting on a bench and the thing was headed straight to me.   It was not a tea representative, but this is the closest picture I could find:

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p290/bbbbrenda/?
action=view&current=segway.jpg

An attractive representative from the bank across the street tried to interest me in an account.  I usually politely refuse and keep walking, but in this case I was stationary on the bench.  The Segway's wrap-around ad made it look rather like a pulpit on wheels.  The smiling rep's face gave sort of a cheshire-cat impression.  I felt like Alice beyond the looking glass.  (I often do).  Once the disappointed bank rep decided I was not opening an account, the Segway/pulpit floated quitely away. 

I would like to suggest to ad companies that they try this approach when using Segways to approach people. 

http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p290/bbbbrenda/?
action=view&current=psegwayresize.jpg

This is much friendlier!  I am not afraid of being chased down by a spoon.  

Sorry to say, but I have heard this theory.  Our infrastructure is crumbling.   The Congress refuses to address the issue -- it is too big.  Individual congress members will only work hard for something (except for those who actually have morals) if it directly reflects back upon what "they" "bring back" to their constituents.  There are 50 states.  Fixing something in 49 other states (where no one can vote for him/her)  will not benefit an individual congress member !

We are LUCKY there wasn't something dangerous being transported at that moment on that bridge.  At least I hope there wasn't.  Ask the military.

I am sure I am not the only one, but a while ago after pet food was shown to contain melamine as filler, I got curious.  Then, when other allegations about product purity surfaced, like ethylene glycol (the ingredient in antifreeze) in toothpaste, and then melamine in people foods, I got even more curious. 

Why melamine as a filler?  What are they doing in China, reclaiming used countertops and crushing them up?   Why not use sawdust, or recycled newspapers, or what's left of carrots after one makes carrot juice?

Here's part of the answer.

China has a HUGE COAL INDUSTRY.  Melamine is derived from coal tar.  That's why we've been drowning in plastic goods of all descriptions since the first "dollar stores" opened years ago.  Evidently, we don't consume enough already, so now we, our pets, and our livestock have to ingest it, too.

This is really not new.  As early as 1972, the

President Bush is taking his budget talk to a Nashville muffin man — well, actually muffin baker Nashville Bun Co. With a veto fight looming over tax-and-spend issues, Bush will tour the muffin plant Thursday and deliver a speech on the budget in which he is expected to repeat complaints that none of the 12 annual appropriations bills has yet to reach his to his desk. He’ll also likely urge Congress to keep discretionary spending below his $933 billion request in fiscal 2008. “At their current pace, I am not likely to see a single one of these must-pass spending bills before Congress leaves Washington for a four-week recess,” Bush said last week. “The Democrats should honor their commitment to fiscal discipline by passing these bills in a way that sustains our growing economy and balances the federal budget.” Democrats say it is a little early for the president to be raising these warnings, given his own party’s track record and tactics to delay action on the bills. One of the first things the new Democratic Congress had to do last winter was complete the spending bills left unfinished by the Republican-controlled Congress. So far, the House has passed six spending bills while the full Senate has yet to act.

From the Wall Street Journal