Your Business Blogger(R) teaches business at the local college and loves the 'continuous learning' life style. So when Jack Welch, Ph.D., former CEO of GE has something to say about management, this student takes notes.

Welch appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box this morning and graded president Obama on leadership.

Welch said Obama on leadership earned an "A."

(On leadership, said Welch; Not so on policy...)

Personnel is Policy, Ronald Reagan & Charmaine

Welch mentioned his criteria: Vision, Mission, Communication and Team Building.

Welch explained the value of having the right people on the president's team -- and how well the team works together because they each share the vision and mission of Obama's America.

This is what president Reagan talked about in "Personnel is Policy" when Charmaine worked in the West Wing. You hire people who think as you would think -- the boss should hire like minded deputies.

And this is exactly what Obama has done. Jack Welch is right. Obama's managers want us all to love and worship Obama's world (view).

So when an Obama Deputy - Napolitano -- publishes a directive to law enforcement officials -- those with the power to arrest -- that Pro-Lifers and Veterans are a danger to America; all Americans know that this is exactly how Obama thinks.

What happens next? Obama is dividing our nation. People are not buying Obama's vision for America. Texas talks about seceding (again). But this time the abolitionists Pro-Lifers will be in the south -- not Massachusetts. Salena Zito writes,

Texas Gov. Rick Perry last week declared the federal government had become "oppressive in its size, intrusion into the lives of our citizens and its interference with the affairs of our state."

Obama will push for the so called 'Freedom of Choice Act' or FOCA. Which will remove all local regulation of abortion and the offices where abortions are preformed. A social worker in a dirty back alley could do the baby-cutting.

Obama will allow open homosexuals to serve in the military which will destroy unit cohesion and effect our ability to complete any mission and will certainly cost American lives.

But red-blooded Americans are fighting back.

Charmaine was interviewed by Politico on the Obama backlash. CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN writes in Obama boosts anti-abortion efforts,

The first hint of a stir came just after Election Day, when the computer servers at Americans United for Life crashed. People were swamping the Web site to sign a petition urging President-elect Barack Obama to stand firm against abortion.

"I got a call from one of our guys, 'We have a problem,' " said Charmaine Yoest, the group's president and chief executive officer. "And I was like, 'The problem would be what?'"

Tech-savvy Charmaine knows that servers being overwhelmed with internet traffic is a high-quality problem.

Obama does not care for veterans such as Your Business Blogger(R) nor the Pro-Lifers such as Americans United for Life.
.


Join Fight FOCA

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

An Alert Reader, fred5676 writes on Michele Malkin's Confirmed: The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real,

So NumbersUSA and Americans United for Life are terrorist groups??? COUNT ME IN!!

Visit the Baptist Bulletin world news.

See the Pregnancy Resource Center at UAB; A student organization serving pregnant and parenting students on our campus,

More than 261,000 people have signed an online petition calling on Notre Dame to withdraw its invitation for Obama to speak at the Catholic university's May 17 commencement. The petition says Obama has carried out "some of the most anti-life actions of any American president," including expanding taxpayer-funded research on embryonic stem cells.

And Americans United for Life plans to expand its plans to expand its staff in Washington and, after the post-election crash, recently upgraded its computer system to handle the bump in online activism.

The King's Good Servant and God's First

Jill Stanek has excellent analysis at Anti-life (on steroids) Obama energizes pro-life movement

See Peter Shinn from Pro-Life Unity interview Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

Fight for Life here.

AUL Defends Doctors and Nurses

Oklahoma legislature would allow pregnant mother to use deadly force to protect unborn

Love Life no matter how small.

Catholic Pro-Life Committee

CNA -- Oklahoma legislature would allow pregnant mother to use deadly force to protect unborn

Posted at 1:33 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

A Tale of Two Presentations.

A Tale of Two Wheelers.

What if Earle Wheeler was more like Elmer Wheeler?

Your Business Professor
Jack YoestYour Business Professor opens our lesson with a story from November, 1965, as told by Charles Cooper who remembers the most important sales presentation of the last fifty years -- .

Charles Cooper was a young staffer assisting his boss, Earle Wheeler who made a presentation to the Big Boss.

The Big Boss had to decide between two strategies, one from Earle, who had wisdom and judgment and experience.

The another strategic was from Robert who ran an academic team of whiz kids.

The Big Boss had to choose between nearly opposite recommendations from Earle and Robert.

Although the pitch by Earle Wheeler was done almost a half century ago, Charles Cooper remembers it as if it were yesterday. Cooper was the young man who was holding the flip chart.

The Big Boss was about to make the biggest mistake of the last 50 years...

Why? Because Earle Wheeler could not sell like Elmer Wheeler.

Well-run organizations have decision makers and influencers who are sales professionals at every level. People who persuade.

They sell to customers, superiors and peers. They are 'salesmen' who work to control events - both inside and outside the organization. Salesmen in business development who are account managers.

Who: Professionals and life-long students in management or in business development - sales, fund-raising, leadership.

What: The seminar will equip the attendee with background on how to manage and how to sell both tangibles and intangibles -- To sell ideas, and products, and services.

When: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 11:00pm to 12:15pm

Where: Northern Virginia Community College,
Alexandria Campus, campus map
The new Bisdorf Auditorium, room 196
3001 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311 street map

Why: Increase sales, Increase funding,
Sell an idea, Save the world.

Cost: No Charge. Register here at JYoest@NVCC.edu. Space is limited.

Jack Yoest with sales trophies, circa 1995.

The sales training on March 18th will present an overview of the dominant, popular sales philosophies and their application to selling ideas and products in for-profits, not-for-profits, government, military, media and academia.

Jack has developed a simple three step method to sell; to persuade:

The Push: gently encourage the client -- overcome inertial.
The Pitch: the seller must always be in the debt of the buyer -- never the reverse.

The Promise: selling is a long term relationship -- love the client.

Jack Yoest, Adjunct Professor of Business at NOVA and President of Management Training of DC, is a former Armored Cavalry Officer in Combat Arms. For over 30 years he has managed software, health care and international human resource management companies. His experience spans the military, Fortune 500, government, start-ups, non-profits, media and academia.

He conducts sales and marketing and management training for professionals in industries from law to government, from for-profit businesses to charities.

He has sold car mufflers and intravenous catheters. He's peddled tactics for night vision devices, partnerships with software developers, budgeting in public policy and media marketing for CEO's.

Jack also served in the Governor's Office of the Commonwealth Virginia as Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources where he acted as the Chief Technology Officer for the secretariat. He was responsible for the successful Year 2000 (Y2K) conversion for the 16,000-employee unit.

He was also a sales account manager with a medical device start-up and helped move sales from zero to over $12 million, opening over 300 accounts, resulting in a buy-out by Johnson & Johnson.

Jack has consulted across industries and in China and India. His first job out of high school was selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door in 1971.

Questions? www.Yoest.com, JYoest@NVCC.edu or call Jack at 202.215.2434.

Suggested class reading:

Selling your skills, Do You Have An Incompetent Manager? From The Washington Post.

Management_Time__Who_s_Got_the_Monkey___HBR_OnPoint_Enhanced_Edition_.pdf Harvard Business Review. How not to sell in the office.

One Minute YouTube Introduction: Office Politics: Someone is always selling, Someone is always buying.

Come to this class.

Thank you (foot)notes,

See George Mason University, History News Network The Day It Became The Longest War.

Parking info at the jump.

Save the Date: 18 March 2009

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:17 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine are spending a few days at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel for a series of meetings.

This Ritz sold us in the first two minutes.

The car valet attendant took our car and offered assistance with our bags. Walking thru the front entrance, the staff welcomed us.

By name.

We are escorted to the check-in counter (of magnificent stone) and Charmaine addresses the lovely clerk (young, but mature and a happily married mother we soon learn),

Charmaine asks, "How did the door man know our names?"

She looks up. "He's got special powers," she replied matter of factly.

Funny. Smart. Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen.

The Ritz knows how to sell. The lifetime value of each regular guest of the hotel is over $300,000.

Commitment, Attention to Detail, Immediate Follow-up: Selling.

Save the Date:

Question: What lost Vietnam?

Answer: A failed sales presentation.

Well-run organizations have decision makers and influencers who are sales professionals at every level. People who persuade.

They sell to customers, superiors and peers. They are 'salesmen' who work to control events - both inside and outside the organization. Salesmen in business development who are account managers.

Who: Professionals and life-long students in management or in business development - sales, fund-raising, leadership.

What: The seminar will equip the attendee with background on how to manage and how to sell both tangibles and intangibles -- To sell ideas, and products, and services.

When: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 11:00pm to 12:15pm

Where: Northern Virginia Community College,
Alexandria Campus, campus map
The new Bisdorf Auditorium, room 196
3001 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311 street map

Why: Increase sales, Increase funding,
Sell an idea, Save the world.

Cost: No Charge. Register here at JYoest@NVCC.edu. Space is limited.

Jack Yoest with sales trophies, circa 1995.

The sales training on March 18th will present an overview of the three dominant, popular sales philosophies and their application to selling ideas and products in for-profits, not-for-profits, government, military, media and academia.

Jack Yoest, Adjunct Professor of Business at NOVA and President of Management Training of DC, is a former Armored Cavalry Officer in Combat Arms. For over 30 years he has managed software, health care and international human resource management companies. He conducts sales and marketing and management training for professionals in industries from law to government.

He has sold car mufflers and intravenous catheters. He's peddled tactics for night vision devices, partnerships with software developers, budgeting in public policy and media marketing for CEO's.

Jack also served in the Governor's Office of the Commonwealth Virginia as Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources where he acted as the Chief Technology Officer for the secretariat. He was responsible for the successful Year 2000 (Y2K) conversion for the 16,000-employee unit.

He was also a sales account manager with a medical device start-up and helped move sales from zero to over $12 million, opening over 300 accounts, resulting in a buy-out by Johnson & Johnson.

Jack has consulted across industries and in China and India. His first job out of high school was selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door in 1971.

Questions? www.Yoest.com, JYoest@NVCC.edu or call Jack at 202.215.2434.

Suggested class reading:

Selling your skills, Do You Have An Incompetent Manager? From The Washington Post.

Management_Time__Who_s_Got_the_Monkey___HBR_OnPoint_Enhanced_Edition_.pdf Harvard Business Review. How not to sell in the office.

One Minute YouTube Introduction: Office Politics: Someone is always selling, Someone is always buying.

Come to this class. You might be the one to prevent another Vietnam.

Jack Yoest
202.215.2434
Adjunct Professor

Posted at 11:05 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Obama is speaking to a joint session of congress. The War is not a priority for Obama and liberals.

Every soldier's death is a public event.

Back in the day of the horse cavalry, Your Business Blogger(R) was privileged to be a Survival Assistance Officer helping families who lost a service member. As a young Cavalry Officer, I commanded a number of burial details. The part that hurt and still moves in slow motion in my mind's eye, is handing the tri-folded American flag to the widow.

I never cried at these funerals. I was too young. It was a task, a detail that had to be done.

Charmaine and I have two sons who we expect will serve our country in uniform. And they may serve a commander-in-chief who does not demand victory over our enemies.

Americans want Victory over -- not justice for -- terrorists.

The following article was written a few years ago and deserves a wide audience, courtesy of John Howland of USNA-At-Large.

TAKING CHANCE23 Apr 04 - The enclosed article was written by LtCol M.R. Strobl USMC who is assigned to MCCDC Quantico, VA and served as the officer who escorted the remains of PFC C. Phelps USMC from Dover AFB, DE to his home. PFC Phelps was assigned to 3d Bn, 11th Marines - an artillery unit functioning as a provisional infantry battalion during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 2. PFC Phelps was killed in action from a gunshot wound received on 9 Apr 04 during combat operations west of Baghdad. He was buried in Dubois, WY on 17 Apr 04.

PFC Chance Phelps

Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn't know Chance before he died.

Today, I miss him...

Read at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 12:19 PM | Permalink
Comments (6)

King Kong in New York CityFrom time to time, Your Business Blogger(R) works out of a client's offices at the edifice at 350 Fifth Avenue in NYC.

Also known as The Empire State Building.

It is still standing.

So what didn't happen on New Year's Eve?

What did not happen in 2008?

Nothing.

Enemy Jihadists didn't blow anything up on USA soil. And they didn't touch Times Square packed with people at midnite 31 December.

President George Bush has been keeping all Americans safe since 9.11.

Even Michael Moore.

Even Jeremiah Wright.

We have been safe for some 2,800 days. Will this continue?

Vice President Elect Joe Biden has promised us that we will be attacked when Barack Obama is president. Americans will be killed by jihadist terrorists.

This is a campaign promise of the Obama administration. One that Obama is sure to keep.

Alert Readers know that our household lives down wind in the blast zone of Your Nation's Capital. A dirty bomb in DC is a bit of a concern for us.

If you voted for Obama, you voted for changing the landscape in Washington, DC.

Literally.

###

Be sure to thank Bush for keeping us safe.

9.11 How Would Liberals Have Protected Us?

We have not been attacked since 9.11.01. It is nearly impossible, in war, in politics, to make nothing happen.

So the liberals are right when they say to George Bush,

"Thanks for nothing..."

September 11, 2001 Remembered: What Were the Feminists doing on Sept 10, 2001?

See Nine Possibilities Heading Into 2009

Visit Bush Kept Us Safe Since 9.11.

Posted at 8:57 AM | Permalink
Comments (0)

So pre pre-schooler Baby Boo walks by as Your Business Blogger(R) is watching The Story of the Intrepid. The story of the famed WWII aircraft carrier.

The boy catches a few seconds of battle, of war, the triumph of good over evil; an American civics lesson. He listens to the music.

He asks, "Is this a Jesus movie?"

"No," I said. "But it's hard to tell the difference..."

Must see clips: USS Intrepid

We don't know exactly how Obama will attempt to lead as Commander-in-Chief. But we do know his liberal belief philosophy.

Where?

From his pastor: Jeremiah "God D@m America" Wright.

MEDIA ALERT: Charmaine on FOX, Cavuto Obama and Wright: Do They Hate America?

In contrast, another must see clip,

Thank you to USNA at Large for Intrepid's link.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:27 AM | Permalink
Comments (6)

Your Business Blogger(R) wanted a medal.

A piece of paper will have to do.

And it's not a check...

Certificate of Recognition
for service during the Cold War.
Robert Gates is grateful.

Robert Heinlein wrote in Starship Troopers that only veterans who served in the country's armed forces would be allowed the privilege to vote.

In Obama's administration, a voter doesn't have to be a citizen, goodness, doesn't have to even be a live citizen.

Obama is NOT Pro-Life: not for babies; not for voting citizens. A dead baby is just fine. A living citizen is not a requirement for voting.

Early in the presidential campaign, Obama maligned the military, for air-raiding villages. And Friended with fellow community activists who tried to blow up the Pentagon.

Will Obama continue his military re-malign-ment? It would appear so.

The popular fellow-liberal, congressional gender-free Barney Frank, not being happy with destroying Freddy and Fannie has now turned his sights on the pentagon, looking for a 25 percent cut in funding.

Veterans do not expect big money bonuses from the government for our service.

But, yes we do want some cash. We would like money... to provide for the common defense for the budget to secure and defend against all enemies foreign...

And domestic. As stated in the oath of office.

Does this mean Obama will go after Bill Ayers as president and commander-in-chief...?

Happy Veterans Day.

Thank you (foot)notes,

Cold War Warriors: Request Your Certificate

Veterans Day, The Liberal Prospective

I Was A Soldier

Arlington National Cemetery, John Wesley Yoest, USN, BMCS

Veterans' Day 2007 & The 13 Flag Folds

Posted at 8:27 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Obama will not salute our flag Your Business Blogger(R) did a tour of duty in combat arms.

One of the first tasks to learn on assuming a military position was

(as Bill Clinton was slow to learn) the military salute.

Another Democrat, Obama

and the war hero,
the war injured McCain

have one thing in common with the military.

If either is elected, neither will salute.

Obama: Because he won't.

McCain: Because he can't.

Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine attended a gala tribune to Paul Weyrich, one of the founders of the Heritage Foundation and founder of Free Congress Foundation, recently in Your Nation's Capital.

It was a delight to be in a very large room with with people with big ideas. Each who loves his country.

One of the Hosts, Colin Hanna, from Let Freedom Ring, was about to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and reminded us of legislation allowing veterans to render a hand salute, even if out of uniform, even if separated from active service.

The law was made possible by Senator Jim Inhoufe of Oklahoma -- a Republican, of course.

A conservative, of course. Who loves Jesus. Clinging to his religion and his guns...

So the next time you are at a ball game look for veterans during the National Anthem.

They'll be the ones saluting.

Inhofe Legislation Allows Veterans to Salute the Flag

By Ryan Cassin,
Thursday July 26, 2007
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today praised the
passage by unanimous consent of his bill (S.1877) clarifying U.S. law to allow veterans
and servicemen not in uniform to salute the flag.

Current law (US Code Title 4, Chapter 1) states that veterans and servicemen not in
uniform should place their hand over their heart without clarifying whether they can or
should salute the flag.

"The salute is a form of honor and respect, representing pride in one's military service," Senator Inhofe said.

"Veterans and service members continue representing the military services even when not in uniform.

"Unfortunately, current U.S. law leaves confusion as to whether veterans and service members out of uniform can or should salute the flag. My legislation will clarify this regulation, allowing veterans and servicemen alike to salute the flag, whether they are in uniform or not.

"I look forward to seeing those who have served saluting proudly at baseball games, parades, and formal events. I believe this is an appropriate way to honor and recognize the 25 million veterans in the United States who have served in the military and remain as role models to others citizens.

Those who are currently serving or have served in the military have earned this right, and their recognition will be an inspiration to others."

See
Gold Star Moms
Visit a cranky vet
Respect for the Flag

Alert Readers have also noticed that Barack Obama has no American Flag on his campaign aircraft. It is not known if he will remove the flag from Air Force One, if he is elected...

Barack Obama also demonstrates that it is impossible for him to support the troops. He took millions from Bill Ayers, the domestic terrorist who attempted to blow up the Pentagon.

How can Obama support the troops and support a terrorist who tried to kill the troops? Obama is not qualified to be commander in chief.

From NRO,

"There's reason to doubt that oft-repeated pledge of 'supporting the troops' when you've worked for a man who tried to kill the troops."

UPDATE on new regs at the jump.

UPDATE: 23 Dec 2008, New York Times, Obama Tries Out His Salute, By Jeff Zeleny,

KAILUA, Hawaii - He's not the commander in chief yet, but was President-elect Barack Obama briefly practicing his salute on Sunday?

On the first morning of his vacation here, Mr. Obama arrived at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii for his daily workout. As he walked out of the Semper Fit Center, his gray T-shirt soaked in sweat, he lifted his right hand and gave a quick salute to two Marines in fatigues who were standing in the distance.

[Reagan knew how to salute; it was within his experience.
The Cubscout is saluting.
Expect homosexuals in both the military and the Boyscouts
under Obama.]

The brief moment was not captured by cameras. Photographs and video were not permitted to be taken on the military base, according to campaign aides.

Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, opened their day with a 45-minute workout inside a large gymnasium at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, which is located on the Mokapu Penninsula on the windward side of Oahu, about 30 minutes outside Honolulu. It is sunny and warm here, a world away, at least in terms of the weather, from Chicago.

Saul Alinsky was Obama's mentor who taught Rules for Radicals and how to be community activists. One of Alinsky's rules was that the activists' tactics had to be within the experience of the participants. Obama, like most liberals, doesn't care for the military: it is outside his experience.

Alert Readers well know that Reagan served in uniform, like most patriots, in WWII.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:44 AM | Permalink
Comments (5)

Is nuclear power safe? John Howland and his vast readership offer observations on nuke power on its most intimate terms: a submarine.

And how's that working?

From the other side of the leaded glass pane.... I spent three years and five specops in fast attacks and enjoy showing nuke-doubters my radiological med-record for that period: I received less high-energy bombardment that if I had been on a small boy or (sorry for forgetting...) fossil-fueled CV deployed anywhere. 0. ZERO.

[The Penta-Posse is pictured in the forward torpedo room of a WWII submarine. There is not much more room in the new subs.]

And that was with about half of my workspaces next to the Tunnel, just forward and a deck or two above the you-know-what. Whatever other scientific wonders we were near is unknown to me, but I once heard a rumor that our detachment's enlisted people slept in the torpedo room.


It being true in any endeavor of consequence that "One Oh-heck" wipes out a billion atta-boys, the nuclear field cannot tolerate any mistakes greater than a burnt out lightbulb, and our erstwhile Comradette Jane used her cinematic best to take it well beyond the Pale in that regard.


Chernobyl's long term effects will not be known for several thousand years, but there are data that suggest BOTH that life of both flora and fauna types were impacted by the 1986 accident AND that renewed organic chemistry has burgeoned there since a couple of years after it. For fascinating details, see website "kidofspeed.com" a photographic reportage made by a recklessly brave (kinda cute, too!) Ukrainian lady motorcyclist who managed to enter the permanently closed region around the defunct power plant and record its emptiness for posterity. Thanks be, Chernobyl did not start Nuclear Winter -- and our photog lives to do other reckless things (politics, for one) without her suntan turning into a full-body keloid scar.

"Wer rastet, rostet," the Germans say: "He who stops, rusts." What, with the clear and present danger of merely being alive faces us TODAY, nuclear power, with its Rickoverian no-mistake rules looks mighty advantageous to this former cryppie.

If we don't have some new benefits from same, who will provide all that electricity to cook the Sierra Club's granola bars, assemble their Birkenstocks, or to blend blue and yellow basic colors to make green ones?

Forgive an old salt for waxing poetic over an X-ray film, but....

Steve
=============================================

If France can manage to produce 80% of their power from nuclear piles, I have to think we have it within us to do likewise.

With vast respect & ear-trumpets for sea-daddies everywhere,

Jason W.

There is no way to eliminate all risk on this side of eternity. Nuclear power is the safest method to generate power.

Posted at 9:51 AM | Permalink
Comments (7)

The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel will be conducting a hearing on the issue of homosexuals in the military. Among the witnesses who will offer testimony will be Brian Jones, a highly-decorated former Sergeant Major of the US Army's elite Delta Force, who served with the Department of Defense in Iraq in 2004.

Sgt. Maj. Jones will testify in support of the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible for military service. The law passed Congress with veto-proof majorities in 1993 and has been upheld as constitutional several times.

The hearing will take place in Room 2118 of the House Rayburn Office Building, at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, 23 July .

John Howland from USNA-at-Large sends this along from Allan Slaff,

I am delighted that...Sergeant Major Jones will be on hand to testify before the House Armed Service Committee on Personnel on 23 July in regards to gays in the military.

I am confident that...he will do a superb job. I have a concern...on the unique sociological problems that would be generated by permitting openly practicing gays to serve in the ships of the fleet. These unsolvable problems make it absolutely impossible to permit that to happen.

Let me summarize here:

The habitability standards under which our enlisted personnel serve in the ships of the fleet afford almost no possibilities for human privacy. I examined the habitability standards afforded our bluejackets at sea for the Secretary of the Navy many years ago and found that the habitability standards afforded our enlisted personal in the ships of the fleet were less than 50% of the habitability standards allowed our federal prisoners.

Other than a privacy curtain which may be pulled across a man's berth, there is none. Outside that small space of stacked berths the remainder of the compartment is completely open; thus public nakedness is the norm. The same applies to the heads, washrooms and showers.

These ships deploy for normally 9 months at a time and sometimes much longer. Unlike our air force and army personnel there is no leaving the base after normal working hours except on very restricted liberties when in foreign ports from time to time.


That compartment is our bluejackets' home 24/7 as long as the ship is deployed. It would create a truly impossible sociological situation to permit openly gay personnel to live in such an environment.


It would most assuredly wreak havoc with the good order and discipline of the ships company Requiring gays to abstain for long periods would be akin to berthing two heterosexual men in a compartment of essentially naked women for long periods; especially when those young men were being driven by an absolute rush off hormones. Impossible!


There is another issue. Homosexuals are as intellectually capable as heterosexuals. Therefore, eventually the gay will win advancement in rate. He will then be in a powerful position to bring exquisite sexual pressure on the non-rated personnel under his control.


As you know, I am also opposed to women serving in the combatant ships of the fleet. I base my opposition not on any failure of intelligence, courage, patriotism or ability of women.


It is based solely on the absolute impossibility of eliminating the powerful drive of sexuality. At least, however, in the case of the women, they may be isolated into their own living accommodations on board ship.


Instead of establishing my qualifications to speak with authority on this vitally important issue, I shall send along an abbreviated curriculum vitae. Please note the enormous experience I have had in serving in eleven ships of the fleet and commanding four of our very best.

Under a B. Hussein Obama administration, homosexuals will be allowed to openly serve in the armed forces. As Allan notes, this will destroy unit cohesion and hurt our military readiness.

Military Readiness will not matter under Obama anyhoo. He will simply surrender to the jihadists making our military power moot.

Voting for John McCain is important. He knows how to run the military.

B. Hussein Obama is an accomplished community organizer.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Update: Alert Reader CourtneyMD comments below on the need for the presentation of a compelling argument rather than two homosexuals pictured enjoying a cruise. This may help:

CourtneyMD, You are close: I'm not 14, but this is an argument any 14-year-old understands. Even My 15-year-old daughter.

We all may not have the reasoning power of a 14-year-old, but let us attempt a review.

The arguments are simple to comprehend, especially for those few that have served in the armed forces.

Close quarters, intimate surroundings strip away modesty. It does not promote good order and discipline in a military unit to enable sexual attraction. The military mission does not have the margin of error to tolerant the distraction caused by having a girlfriend or boyfriend in arm's reach in harm's way 24/7.

See close quarters -- men and women -- on a submarine.

This is different than the soft civilian life most people enjoy, even in dangerous occupations. Females and homosexual firefighters and police-persons can go off-duty.

Can't really go off-duty on a submarine.

In the absence of privacy, no person -- whatever they may tell the pollsters -- does not want other service members lusting after their bodies.

A sailor wants his buddy to watch his back -- not covet his backside.

As requested, see a compelling argument for unit cohesion.

And let's not forget B. Hussein Obama's other sugar stick women in combat.

B. Hussein Obama and Jesus.

Double standards for women in the military.

And thank you for noticing the repetition of B. Hussein Obama -- and thank you for repeating it back. Perhaps you are trainable.

Repeating back a negative is something even the professionals have trouble with. See the Bimbo Awards with the late Tony Snow.

Your Business Blogger(R) works at teaching business sense. Here, we are reduced to teaching common sense.

Thank you for commenting,
Jack

See Dana Milbank from the WaPo. Your Business Blogger(R) is not related to the Cynthia Yost mentioned in the Milbank article

Posted at 9:25 AM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Alert Reader Richard Neault sends this email,

Mr. Yoest,

I was stationed on the Bonefish (SS-582)from 1984-1988. In 1988 we had a fire that killed three of our friends and ended the career of the Bonefish. I had met the widow of the CO of the first Bonefish when she presented the crew with a Holy Bible.

I have been assembling different items for a framed tribute piece for both the first and second bonefish. I have always been fascinated with the first boat and what happened to her.

I have been trying to find information about the battleflag of the first bonefish and have been unable to. I have also been trying to find an original, or at least a good reproduction, of the patch from the first bonefish. If you can help me with either of these items, I would be very grateful. I am in the process of founding a local museum about the Cold War and hope one day to place these items in the museum. It must have been an honor to have had a father who was a part of the Greatest Generation.

I appreciate his service to our country.

Please tell your wife that I also appreciate the things she has done and that we are one family that appreciates the FRC and the real conservatives in politics.

Richard Neault
www.calcoldwar.org

Here is the patch of which he may be speaking. I would be honored to donate the Bonefish artifact to the museum, if the item would be helpful.

If there are other Alert Readers who might have items of interest, please contact Mr. Neault through his website -- or email Your Business Blogger(R)

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Also see USS Bonefish Lost: A Remembrance 18 June

See Virtual Paintings of Bonefish by Tom McMahon

Posted at 12:35 PM | Permalink
Comments (3)

The following was made available thru John Howland at USNA-AT-Large and deserves a wide audience.

General to General

Richard Carroll asked my opinion of General Tony McPeak, and his
current support of the far, Socialist-Left. He is co-chairman of
Obama's National Election Committee. I have been asked the same
question by many others.

Rich wrote this and asked for as much coverage as possible...

I consider this a weak version of how I really feel about Wesley
Clark, Tony McPeak, the traitor Army Generals, and the rest of their
ilk who are supporting the far-left in this election.

Most, if not all, waited until they thought there was a predictable winner to the
Democratic nomination, then ran to show their support in hopes of
receiving a Cabinet appointment after the election. This is
absolutely unforgivable to me, and the majority of the military
members that I served with for upward to 35 years. In my opinion,
they are supporting the destruction of our military, and willing to
do irreparable damage to our country strictly for their own personal gain.

J. C.
B/G, USAF, Ret.
==========================================
A Four Star Tool;
Generally Speaking

by Rich Carroll

'As one who for 37 years proudly wore the uniform of our
country'. General Merrill 'Tony' McPeak, Co-Chairman of Barack
Hussein Obama Campaign.

History, General, will remember you by not how proudly you wore your
uniform, but by how you betrayed our trust and by how defiantly your
current boss refuses to wear an American flag pin.

Veterans will remember you for choosing to support a political party that trashes
and degrades our military. You have separated yourself from 'those
who served' to become entrenched with a candidate inextricably
connected to a political and religious cult determined to control
America and murdering millions in their effort to do so.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:53 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Charmaine calls early morning from Edinburgh. "I'm having trouble flying into London," she says.
I'm still waking up -- I didn't see the news. I ask, "When can you come home?"

"I don't know," she says, her voice unsteady, "They're still clearing the bodies."

Three years ago Your Business Blogger(R) sent the Little Woman to the G-8 with the B3: Bono and Branson and Bush.

We here in the US of A have not been attacked on our soil since 9.11. We must be doing something right.

Bush must be doing something right. Would Obama be able to protect us as Bush has? As McCain would?

Charmaine on the plane with Richard Branson

Following is an edited cross post from Reasoned Audacity, July 1 - 7, 2005.

Charmaine calls early morning from Edinburgh. "I'm having trouble flying into London," she says.

I'm still waking up. I ask, "When can you come home?"

"I don't know," she says, her voice unsteady, "They're still clearing the bodies."

A wake up call.

London, welcome to the war.

It started, as most things these days do, with Powerline.

Following is original posting from London as Charmaine called it into me, when her site went down. Any inconsistencies may be due to transcription overload.

This is Jack, the husband: Charmaine called. Her site is still down, but she wanted to file a report to Powerline.

"Flew into Heathrow airport and took a $150 cab ride into north London to conduct interviews and document the bombsites. Bobbies cordoned off area around the sites sealing the scene of the explosions. I got to within a block or so of Edgware Tube station entrance with Londoners sitting calmly, relaxing in pubs. Everything is strangely calm, business as usual. I interviewed a woman, an interior designer, expecting some emotional display. There was none. "We don't do a lot of group hugging in England," she said, making me think of the stiff-upper lip. "We are not sentimental."

And she seemed to reflect the mood of the London population. Not for what they were doing but for what they were not doing: No candles, no out-pouring of grief, no hoards of gawkers milling around police tape, no teddy bears, no bouquets of flowers. No movement. No tears. Everything normal, except, maybe for that bus with the top blown off. Workers cleared and cleaned up the area real well. Spiffy. And got back to their pints.

I visited hospitals and learned that 'only' 37 were confirmed dead at that time. More confirmations were expected.

There were no moms with little children in downtown London. I interviewed middle-aged businessmen on cell phones and kids with Mohawks, none who were surprised.

Londoners gently reproached me about my concern over the bloodshed, "You Americans get sentimental over silly things. We're used to getting bombed." The IRA Troubles had hardened hearts as well as the London infrastructure.

I expected some grief, at least as much as there was when Lady Di died. And grief I got. I interviewed three very ordinary, normal teenaged English Muslims, one with short spiky hair (dressed not unlike my 10 year-old-dude). All three seems to be parroting Muslim talking points. "The bombings were a conspiracy by Blair to generate support for the war," they recited in a charming British accent.

The bombers were quite indiscriminate. Edgware is not far from the heart of Little Beirut, a Muslim ethnic neighborhood.

A young British black woman told me, "The bombings are Tony Blair's fault -- they killed a 100,000 Iraqis -- and it's like a boomerang [coming back at the British]." Most everyone I talked to believed that the British caused the bombing or had it coming.

Of the dozen or so people I interviewed only white males in business attire expressed surprise that anyone would think the British were at fault in anyway.

But these gentlemen were the minority. Most felt that the Brits were complicit. The people at London's ground zero were sounding like the "wobbly" Spanish after their train bombings.

The day is a cloudy, cold, rainy 7.7."

Charmaine is still out on the streets -- 9pm local London time and will be sending pictures soon.

Read the entire story at My Wife Flew off with Bono and Branson; Bombed in London 7.7.05 .

Posted at 12:54 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

The following has been circulating on the web and deserves a wide audience. Please comment if the author is known. The writer should be acknowledged and acclaimed.

BUSH'S RESIGNATION SPEECH

The following 'speech' was written recently by an ordinary Maineiac [a resident of the People's Republic of Maine ]. While satirical in nature, all satire must have a basis in fact to be effective. This is an excellent piece by a person who does not write for a living.

The speech George W. Bush might give:

Normally, I start these things out by saying 'My Fellow Americans.'

Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that many of you are really not fellow Americans any longer.

I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.

The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people. I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too d@mned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 1:39 PM | Permalink
Comments (4)

Following is from a Naval Aviator. The Dude, pictured on left with Baby Boo a few years ago at the Air Force Academy, loves jets and jet noise and wants to fly.

Charmaine is not so sure.

The Air Force crashes about 75 jets in routine training accidents apart from the war zones. The Navy budgets two jet losses per carrier per deployment.

Producing a number of widows, orphans and grieving families.

Even training is dangerous.

Our cousin Will was an F-18 pilot after graduating from Harvard.

He assures us that Naval Aviation is safe.

Except when it isn't.

Subject: Oyster Here . . I Think We Need To Rig The Barricade [ To Catch This Thing ] !

Here's a personal story of an F-18 pilot's . . at o'dark thirty . . with the carrier's barrier in place. The barricade's an impressive 20 foot high stiff net, that can be stretched across the deck to ' capture ' birds during extreme emergencies.

" Oyster, here. This note is to share with you the exciting night I had the other month. So There I was .

. . manned up with pins pulled on the hot seat for a 2030 night launch on the Hornet about 500 miles north of Hawaii. I taxied off toward the carrier's island where I did a 180 and got spotted on Cat number 1. They lowered my launch bar into position and the take-off routine began. On the run-up, all systems appeared to be ' in the green.'

After waiting the requisite 5 seconds to make sure all my flight controls were OK, I turned on the exterior lights, then shifted my eyes to the catwalk to watch the deck edge dude move his head while clearing me, left and right.

With the back of my helmet, I touched the head rest for...what was coming.

The Hornet cat shot is pretty impressive. Particularly at night. As the cat fired, I clicked in both afterburners...and I am along for the ride. But just prior to the end of the stroke there's a huge flash with a simultaneous B-O-O-M ! ...

continue reading at the jump.

###

This article has been circulating on the web. Credit to John Howland's USNA-At-Large.

Be sure to read Your Business Blogger(R) getting bested by his pre-teen Diva. And no, this is not a case study for women in combat. Read The FireDrill: Practice Success to Avoid Failure,

Your (Army) Business Blogger[R] had no business in the cockpit. My instructor was a Vietnam vet with MigKlr license plates on his truck.

He said the F-14 was a "Man's Plane." He sounded sexist. He explained that the old-generation hydraulics required real strength -- after a couple of hours, even the manliest studs needed two hands on the stick.

No place for girls.

Or so I thought.

But I was wrong, again.

I bring the Five-kid Penta-Posse to Oceana Naval Air Station to show them how macho military men (like their father) defeated Communism.

We get invited to some F-14 training. I climb in the simulator. No photography is permitted. And a good thing, too...

Alert Readers know that the F-14 is now retired.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 3:49 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Two items for June 18th:

1) It is a day of remembrance in Your Business Blogger(R)'s household, and
2) Charmaine gave speech.

Charmaine's talk was on the impact that women can have in our culture.
See her From Femme to Fatale.ppt Power point presentation.

MEDIA ALERT: Charmaine to speak at the EPC 28th Assembly

Charmaine's talk reminded us of the eternal values. Life and Death; this side of eternity and beyond.

At a recent funeral -- they seem to come faster and faster as we get older and older -- we talked about burials. Cremation, well, lights our fire and speeds up that dust-to-dust transition.

Charmaine asked what we plan to do with the ashes, where on earth to put them. We talk about the extended family's burial plots.

"Where do you want to get buried?" She asks.

"37º18'N, 137º55'E," I say.

"What?"

"The Sea of Japan," I remind her. Women!

"What's there?" she wonders.

Bonefish.

June 18th is the day we remember the loss of USS Bonefish.

My father, then only a teen-ager from Jersey, left high school, went to war and was assigned to the submarine, USS Bonefish. Just before the final mission of the Bonefish, my father walked off the gangplank - transferred to another assignment. Another man took his place.

On its eighth mission, on June 18, 1945, the Bonefish was lost fighting the enemy in the Sea of Japan, with the loss of all 53 officers and men. It was the last U.S. submarine sunk in World War II...

The article was first published by a number of outlets including the Virginian-Pilot in my hometown.

Posted at 10:38 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Remembering the fallen

Watch the video
courtesy: Military Times
Alert Readers know that Your Business Blogger(R) does not care to see women any where near combat.

Real men fight their own battles.

Real men fight their country's battles.

Watch how How One Woman Serves. This is why men fight. She is why families sacrifice.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

The forward torpedo room Pictured is the Penta-Posse on the retired submarine USS Becuna moored at Philadelphia. This highlights the close quarters men and women would live for months at a time under a Obamanation.

When boys and girls are close together, they get, well, close together.

The Navy will not tell us how many women get pregnant.

Our guess is that the pregnancy numbers are so high that the politically correct Navy will not disclose the prego incidents for fear of feminists. One anonymous service member said that the only women not getting pregnant in the military are the lesbians.

Barack X. Obama, the metro-sexual, girlie-man plans to put women in land combat, in harm's way and into submarines.

He is not quite a real man.

John McCain does not want women on submarines or in combat. He is a real man. With the scars to prove it.

McCain gives us his body once broken. Obama has never broken a sweat. Never had a blister, the poor sweet man.

Our poor country...

Your Business Blogger(R) was once honored to give a speech to some sub vets,

Submariners' Memorial Service, Saturday May 13, 2000, Outer Banks, North Carolina

Debt of Honor

It is an honor to join you here today and remember the submariners "still on patrol." And to remember our debt of honor due. I've asked my son, John, to join us today -- a day I expect him to remember and take to his grave.

During World War II, my dad, a teenager from New Jersey, left high school, went to submarine school and was assigned to the USS Bonefish.

When John saw previews of the blockbuster movie U-571, he asked if it was about his grandfather. The movie is a story about honor, courage, strength, character, what being a man, a warrior really is. Yes John, your grandfather was in the movie, and so were each of the submariners here today.

But in the movie the men came home. We are here today for the men who didn't.

The only women on submarines during WWII were the Korean "Comfort Women" used as sex slaves on the Japanese boats. We won that war.

Posted at 6:43 AM | Permalink
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Martha McCallum on FOX Charmaine will be appearing on the FOX News Live Desk with Martha McCallum to discuss today's hot topics:

Clinton's undisciplined messaging; McCain invites Obama to Iraq; Allergic to WiFi under ADA?

Alert Readers might be interested in our recent article in National Review Online by Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Hillary Clinton's management style: The woman can’t manage. “Bad Management”

Hit time is 1pm eastern on FOX News.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Please email us your comments.

See Does Wi-Fi Violate the ADA?

I'm dubious that this is a violation of the ADA. If the plaintiffs feel the effects of Wi-Fi signals even inside their specially protected homes, it's hard to see how the city (which has got to be an awfully minor contributor to the aggregate Wi-Fi signals within its boundaries) could reasonably modify its policies and practices to avoid the problems these plaintiffs are facing.

USAToday, Allergic to WiFi? Group fights Internet hotspots in Santa Fe,

[t]he World Health Organization says there's little to suggest that electromagnetic fields are responsible for the "range of non-specific symptoms" that such sufferers have described.

"A number of studies have been conducted where [electromagnetic hypersensitivity] individuals were exposed to [electromagnetic fields] similar to those that they attributed to the cause of their symptoms. The aim was to elicit symptoms under controlled laboratory conditions," the organization says. "The majority of studies indicate that EHS individuals cannot detect EMF exposure any more accurately than non-EHS individuals. Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure."

The World Health Organization reports on This reputed sensitivity to EMF has been generally termed “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” or EHS,

A number of studies have been conducted where EHS individuals were exposed to EMF similar to those that they attributed to the cause of their symptoms. The aim was to elicit symptoms under controlled laboratory conditions.

The majority of studies indicate that EHS individuals cannot detect EMF exposure any more accurately than non-EHS individuals. Well controlled and conducted double-blind studies have shown that symptoms were not correlated with EMF exposure.

It has been suggested that symptoms experienced by some EHS individuals might arise from environmental factors unrelated to EMF. Examples may include “flicker” from fluorescent lights, glare and other visual problems with VDUs, and poor ergonomic design of computer workstations. Other factors that may play a role include poor indoor air quality or stress in the workplace or living environment.

There are also some indications that these symptoms may be due to pre-existing psychiatric conditions as well as stress reactions as a result of worrying about EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself.

From TechDirt, If You're Going To Claim That WiFi Violates The ADA, Shouldn't You Need To Prove It Actually Hurts People?

Posted at 10:42 AM | Permalink
Comments (0)

In Remembrance of
those in the
Submarine Service 40 Years ago the USS Scorpion was due in Norfolk, VA. She never returned.

She is, as the veterans say, on Eternal Patrol.

John Howland at USNA-AT-LARGE has set up a group for the boat,

Dedicated to and in honor of the 99 U.S. Navy submariners who perished in the loss of SCORPION in May 1968. The 40th Anniversary of that tragedy ...[is] (May 2008), yet the cause(s) of the loss remain a complete mystery.

USS Scorpion
40 Years on Eternal Patrol

This lack of clarity and closure has created a void into which charlatans now have full play in creating bogus theories for profit.

This unsatisfactory situation may result in the SCORPION 99 going into history forever at the mercy of the unscrupulous.

The solution that this group will work toward will be to encourage the U.S. Navy to, at the very least, put to rest the loss scenarios which have MINIMAL TO NO PROBABILITY of having actually occurred.

Your Business Blogger(R) wrote an article for National Review Online about those left behind from the loss of the USS Scorpion.

Five Days in May: The loss of the USS Scorpion.

By Jack Yoest

Yolanda Mazzuchi was about the prettiest girl in our school class. Our dads were in the Navy, often gone for months at a time. And they would be welcomed home at dockside with cheers and homemade signs. These gatherings at the D&S Piers at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia, were a regular part of our lives growing up. Families often took children out of school to celebrate a ship’s homecoming.

At 1 in the afternoon on Monday, May 27, 1968, at the height of the Cold War the USS Scorpion was due in port.

Yolanda didn’t know it then, but her dad was already dead....

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

More from BubbleHead.

And read about the Loss of the Bonefish.

Your Business Blogger(R) of Management Training of DC, LLC, is a licensed agent for the William Oncken Corporation, presenters of Managing Management Time(TM) fondly known as Monkey Management.

Remember Me at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 12:53 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

The Penta-Posse at
Arlington National Cemetary, 2005 Our good friend Mackubin Owens, Ph.D., has a terrific article up on NRO, Mystic Chords of Memory, From America's Founding, to the sacrifices of her sons and daughters, we remember.

This weekend, we mark the 140th anniversary of the first official observation of the holiday we now call Memorial Day, as established by General John A. Logan’s “General Order No. 11” of the Grand Army of the Republic dated 5 May, 1868. This order reads in part: “The 30th day of May 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers and otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Logan’s order served to ratify a practice that was already widespread, both in the North and the South, in the years immediately following the Civil War.

Alas, for many Americans today, Memorial Day has come to signify nothing more than another three-day weekend, a mere excuse for a weekend cook-out. Such an observance of Memorial Day obscures even the vestiges of its intended meaning: a solemn time, serving both as catharsis for those who fought and survived, and to ensure that those who follow will not forget the sacrifice of those who died that the American Republic and the principles that sustain it, might live.

"Mac" continues,

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address gives universal meaning to the particular deaths that occurred on that hallowed ground, thus allowing us to understand Memorial Day in the light of the Fourth of July, to comprehend the honorable end of the soldiers in the light of the glorious beginning and purpose of the nation. The deaths of the soldiers at Gettysburg, of those who died during the Civil War as a whole, and indeed of those who have fallen in all the wars of America, are validated by reference to the nation and its founding principles as articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

Some will object, claiming that linking Memorial Day and Independence Day glorifies war and trivializes individual loss and the end of youth and joy. How can the loved ones of a fallen soldier ever recover from such a loss? I corresponded with the mother of one of my Marines who died in Vietnam for some time after his death. He was an only child and her inconsolable pain and grief put me in mind of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Epitaphs of the War, verse IV, “An Only Son”:

I have slain none but my mother, She
(Blessing her slayer) died of grief for me.

Kipling too, lost his only son in World War I.

But as Holmes said in 1884, “[G]rief is not the end of all. I seem to hear the funeral march become a paean. I see beyond the forest the moving banners of a hidden column. Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death — of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope and will.”

This Memorial Day the household of Your Business Blogger(R) will fly our Flag as we always do and remember those who "gave the last full measure" and died in service.

***

Dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The years on his head stone tell of his full life. Our family was so lucky.

Nearby head stones tell of service men who died far too soon. Far too young. In war for us.

Danny Boy
The BalladThe Irish classic Danny Boy has a long and varied history. The following explanation is my favorite and the simplest,

Once, a long time ago there was an old man who had raised many sons who he loved dearly. A war raged over the land that they lived in and one by one he saw each of them go off to fight and not return. Then one day, as harvest time drew near, he knew that his youngest, and most precious, son would soon be going off to fight just as his brothers before him. The old man was sad and knew that he may never see his last boy alive. He looked intently at the young lad, and with tears in his eyes he sang this song.

The ballad cannot begin to reveal the emotion and the pain of fathers and mothers who bury sons in a time of war.

I do not know how families do this.

But I do know that we must be grateful.

We are so lucky. Happy Memorial Day.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

See Meditation on Suffering and Sacrifice,

The famous chapel on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy nestled at the base of the Rocky Mountains is more truly a cathedral. Outwardly, it is all sleek silver-wing metal, with seventeen external buttresses, knifing severely skyward. Designed to evoke an air-frame, the architecture does not immediately summon spiritual devotion.

But cross the threshold, step inside, and one is transported to another plane. The solemn air is bathed in the soft splendor of muted light. While the stern steel silhouette dominates the external view, the interior reveals the fragile panels of stained-glass that the harsh ribs support. The intricate glass panes filter and animate the sunlight, illuminating the sacred space with almost a visual hush.

At the front of the chapel, a single row is roped off. "Reserved" the sign says, for all the United States aviators who are missing in action or prisoners of war. The only occupant of the pew is a single, burning candle.

"Greater love hath no man than this. . ." reads the plaque. The Scripture it alludes to concludes: "that a man lays down his life for his friends."

My thoughts immediately fly to my boy, my sweet Dude, who wants to be a fighter pilot. And baby Boo, who will almost certainly want to follow his older brother. My heart blanches. How could I bear it? And yet so many other mothers -- gold-star mothers -- even this very day, must find a way when their sons have given the last measure of devotion.

Be sure to read Charmaine's post from 2005, Memorial Day: Arlington National Cemetery

Danny Boy Lyrics at the jump

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:54 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

McDonald's is funding homosexual activism--and I'm NOT lovin' it!

Charmaine and the Penta-Posse
at a McDonald's
somewhere in Middle America
circa 2005 Buying a McDonald's hamburger now promotes the homosexual lifestyle. Here's a sample open letter to the McDonald's leadership, supplied by the Family Research Council,

Dear Chairman McKenna,

We are writing to request that you end your "Corporate Partnership" with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and refrain from making corporate contributions to this or other homosexual organizations.

[If individual members of the board of McDonald's wishes to give to any charity, have it your way, so to say -- but a corporation should not
use earnings for charity. Charity is a test of the individual heart -- not corporate or government largess.]

We also request that you adopt a policy which would prevent your corporate officers from using the McDonald's corporate name to lend legitimacy to work they may do for such organizations. The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce exists to generate business for companies that are owned by homosexuals. While we do not object to McDonald's doing business with any suppliers who can provide a quality product or service at a good price, we also do not understand why anyone would engage in affirmative steps to seek out suppliers based on their sexual behavior, or assist in promoting businesses for that reason.

[Your Business Blogger(R) has spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in McDonald's PlayPlaces. I'm not sure I've ever seen a homosexual in a McDonald's. The demographics do not fit the fast food market segment.

No. The homosexuals do not want to eat at McDonald's any more than they really want to serve in the military. Homosexuals are on a marketing campaign for normalcy. And they are looking for a stamp of approval in basic cultural institutions: Ronald McDonald, marriage and the military.]

However, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce does not exist just to promote the economic interests of their members. They also promote an extensive political agenda, including explicit support for legislation and litigation that would:

* Undermine the unique treatment granted to marriage between one man and one woman under the law
* Treat homosexual and "transgender" behavior on the same basis as race under federal civil rights laws
* Label disapproval of homosexual behavior a form of "hate" under so-called "hate crime" laws.

[Parents should ask if McDonald's will embrace open unisex restrooms where transgenders and transvestites and cross-dressers can have proximity to the wee ones.]

The NGLCC promotes a controversial social and political agenda that is offensive to tens of millions of your customers. A corporation like McDonald's, which prides itself on providing a family-friendly product in a family-friendly environment, should not be associated with any narrow political agenda. Thank you for considering my views.

Let the homosexuals dine on fast food at Starbucks. With the rest of the liberals.

Nope. The next time I need to take the Penta-Posse out for fast food -- Lord, the money we spend -- we will not go to McDonald's. And neither should you.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Market Research for McDonald's

Your Business Blogger(R) has enjoyed eating at McDonald's the world over. I'm not sure of the support for homosexuals in, say, China. See China's New Statue for Brotherhood and World Peace. And learn where the ad, I'm Lovin' It was developed.

Posted at 9:04 PM | Permalink
Comments (6)

Your Business Blogger(R) has an old article at National Review Online about the loss of the submarine,

Five Days in May: The loss of the USS Scorpion.

By Jack Yoest

Yolanda Mazzuchi was about the prettiest girl in our school class. Our dads were in the Navy, often gone for months at a time. And they would be welcomed home at dockside with cheers and homemade signs. These gatherings at the D&S Piers at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia, were a regular part of our lives growing up. Families often took children out of school to celebrate a ship’s homecoming.

At 1 in the afternoon on Monday, May 27, 1968, at the height of the Cold War the USS Scorpion was due in port.

Yolanda didn’t know it then, but her dad was already dead....

Follows is an invitation to the 40th Anniversary Memorial Weekend for the USS Scorpion.

April 24, 2008

Dear USS Scorpion Families / Shipmates / Friends:

MaryEtta and I hope you have made your reservations at Norfolk’s Downtown Radison Hotel for the USS Scorpion, SSN-589 40th Anniversary Memorial Service weekend. The program has been finalized and we are honored to have Vice Admiral John J. Donnelly, Commander, Submarine Forces, as our keynote speaker at the memorial service. We have a full weekend planned, thanks to our sponsors and your support of our T-shirt sale.

After checking-in at the Radison, please join us in the USS Scorpion, SSN-589 Hospitality Room. There you can pick up all the information for the weekend activities as well as reuniting with old friends. The room will be open all day and well into the evening, so if you are staying at another location, please come by and say hello.

***Note to USS Scorpion family members and crew***
The Newport News Father Bader Assembly of the Knights of Columbus is hosting a picnic at Fleet Park starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday in honor of the USS Scorpion family and former crewmembers. This is a ticketed event, so please see Barbara Lake in the Hospitality Room to receive your tickets. If you can’t pick them up on Friday, please see me before or after the memorial service.

This will be the last mailing we will be sending out before the memorial service. As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Mary Etta.... I will have my cell phone on all weekend if anyone needs assistance or information.

Attached you will find the full schedule events. Look forward to seeing everyone very soon.

Sincerely,

Art Nolan
In honor of Wally Bishop, Chief of the Boat

More at the jump.

Thank you to John Howland at USNA-AT-LARGE

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:42 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Obama Surrendering in 60 Seconds Alert Reader Jx sends this clip along,

"Ha! Where's he going to run to when the enemies of the USA start/continue war with us because they hear that his goal is to make us defenseless?"

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Jx is from Texas. A Red State where normal people live.

Full Disclosure: Charmaine, wife of Your Business Blogger(R) served as senior advisor to the Huckabee Campaign and with Mike Huckabee is supporting McCain for President. A real Commander-in-Chief.

McCain: Commander-in-Chief. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Posted at 5:53 PM | Permalink
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Our liberal friends at PBS have put together a program on the Navy.

Remember, any time 'Hollywood' gets near the military, the result always degenerates to an anti-war film.

USS Nimitz From: Chief of Naval Operations...

Beginning Sunday, April 27, PBS will air a reality-TV documentary
entitled "CARRIER", filmed while the production company was embarked
during the entire USS NIMITZ's 2005 deployment. The program will air
over five nights from Sunday, April 27, to Thursday, May 1, 2008,
9:00-11:00 p.m. ET.

Ten hours of film will be aired, selected from almost 2,000 hours that
were shot over the course of a 6-month deployment to CENTCOM. I have
viewed the production and want to share context and some thoughts
with you.

While "Carrier" shows the outstanding work our young Sailors do every
day and the opportunities the Navy offers, it also shows Sailors
making mistakes in their personal and professional lives. The
snapshot is frank and may be somewhat disconcerting to some who came
into the Navy some time ago. However, that said, I believe it will
also resonate with a significant segment of our country, especially
potential recruits and young Sailors serving today.

1) What we did. We provided unprecedented access to our Sailors,
and this production tells their story in a very personal way. There
is no narrator -- the stories are told by the Sailors themselves.
You get unvarnished views from junior personnel about their hopes,
aspirations, and challenges of life in the Navy aboard the carrier.
We did not get between the film crews and the Sailors.

2) What we got. The production highlights the racial, gender,
religious, and socio-economic diversity of our Navy. The hard work
our Sailors perform and the remarkable feat of forging thousands of
individuals on a carrier into a truly unique team really shines
through. Culling through hundreds of hours of video, the producers
created a 10-hour reality-TV documentary that shows selected aspects
of our Sailors' personal and professional challenges. The
cinematography is very high quality and the visuals and music are
sure to appeal to younger audiences.

3) What we did not get. We did not get a Navy "commercial" in the
traditional sense. "CARRIER" is very different from the hardware
documentaries we have supported in the past. This program focuses on
our people and the reality-TV approach gives it a sense of
authenticity and credibility. Since we did not monitor the
individual interviews and ongoing production, the program contains
material that does not always and fully represent the discipline,
values and mission of the U.S. Navy.

You will see some Sailors making personal and professional mistakes,
and expressing opinions that are different from the Navy's. However,
the production shows that these are the exception, not the norm, and
that leadership is engaged to shape lives and appropriate outcomes.
There are abundant examples of how the Navy changed Sailors' lives
for the better by giving them opportunities and a disciplined
environment.

4) Why did we agree to the project? This production, although not an
all-inclusive picture of the Navy, will give potential recruits and
those who influence them a glimpse of what life is really like in the
Navy. We want the American people to know, understand and appreciate
the contribution our Sailors make each and every day while deployed
around the world. We also want them to know us, not as a monolithic
bureaucratic entity, but as a diverse organization of individual
Americans who have set aside the comforts of home and have put
themselves on the line to serve a greater cause. You already know
how inspiring our people are, but few in our Nation get to see our
people in an operational environment.

Some of you may be called upon to offer public comments about this
film to the media or to community groups. We will soon distribute PA
guidance to support your efforts and will be putting additional
information on www.navy.mil in the near future. If you need any
additional information, please contact CHINFO, RDML Frank Thorp.

Thank you for all that you do.

All the best,

Gary Roughead

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Thank you to John Howland at USNA-AT-LARGE for sending this out.

See more pictures.

Posted at 11:35 AM | Permalink
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Sherman Tank vs Ford Mustang,
Fort Knox, KY, ca 1978
credit: Your Business Blogger(R)
Back in the days of the horse cavalry, Your Business Blogger(R) served a tour of duty as an Armored Officer.

And volunteered at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY. Working on restoring vintage military hardware.

One of the first lessons taught was that large armored tracked vehicles, ie, tanks, had limited fields of vision in close quarters. So a ground guide -- a human walking in front and behind -- was routinely assigned to keep the masses of metal from unnecessary collisions.

Not always successful.

Sometimes deadly.

Watch the video comparison test between another wheeled and a tracked vehicle. Surprise ending.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Credit to Marshall Manson from London for Twittering this comparison .

And no, I was not driving either vehicle...

Please email your comments.

Posted at 7:07 AM | Permalink
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William Tecumseh Sherman.
National Archives Our friends at Military.com have a short, four question test to determine which military model of leadership you might fit.

No wrong answer.

No bad answers either.

Your Business Blogger(R) tests out as Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Well.

I married into a Georgia family with deep Confederate roots. Poor back then, they would remind me when we visit near Atlanta, No slaves.

They are still mad about Sherman's March to the Sea. They'all are not going to appreciate my test results.

When in the south, do not say "Civil War." It was technically, "The War Between The States." We just wanted to leave, say my southern kin. The North wouldn't let us be and came after us.

Firing on Fort Sumter didn't help, though...

Take the Leadership Profile evaluation.

***

But if you are thankful for our current, reunited uniformed services, you might consider the Grateful American Coin. It is a Challenge Coin to present to veterans. Neat gift. 100% of Net Proceeds Benefit Wounded Veterans.

Your Business Blogger(R) bought a bunch. You should too. Why?

Why are we doing all of this? ...The answer is gratitude.

Grateful American Coin was founded on the belief that it is out of a deep sense of gratitude that we should honor and acknowledge the sacrifices of members of the U.S. military. In doing so, we should individually do what we can, however small, to help those service men and women who have sustained the most severe injuries.

We feel that there are a great many Americans who share our sense of gratitude and are looking for an ideal way to express it.

Grateful American Coin is a non-profit organization and has submitted a 501(c)(3) application.

Grateful American Coin is based outside of Tampa, FL and is entirely staffed with non-paid volunteers.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Thanks to John Howland at USNA at Large for the referral to Grateful American Coin. Unpaid link.

What's a Challenge Coin?

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:06 AM | Permalink
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An Alert Reader sends this,

I had told many of you about the command given by the new Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy: The flags of the United States and the Brigade of Midshipmen may no longer be processed down the center aisle of the Chapel and no longer can they be dipped before the altar of God.

Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler underscored his direct order with the word that if his command was not obeyed, he would no longer worship at the 11:00 am Protestant worship service.

Many retired military members of the Chapel community wrote to protest this unlawful order. We prayed and worked to have this order countermanded.

Last Sunday, the flags returned to the Chapel. They were processed down the center aisle. Many were in tears at seeing their return.

The "Supe," however, did not return.

We would welcome Admiral Fowler and his family, but not at the price of our precious religious liberty.

Our family, and hundreds of others, thank God for this result.

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement during this difficult time.

Admiral Fowler is clearly confused on the hierarchy between the state and the church. It would appear that he, like most Godless liberals, fear the dominance of the Creator.

Liberals should fear not.

Bible believing Jesus lovers know well that every Christian is commanded to obey every law of the state.

Every law, save one.

There is one law that the Christian is commanded NOT to obey. The Christian is commanded to share the Good News even if the state forbids. This is the only law that the Christian can knowingly break.

Admiral Fowler should know that that any order he gives will be followed. He didnot need to worry about the Flags rendering respect. Or the loyalty of the service members under his command. They will obey him.

Unless.

Unless Fowler forbids the sharing of the Gospel.

***

So Admiral Fowler doesn't care for God on Campus. But probably doesn't mind Girls on Carriers:

John Howland, at USNA-At-Large, writes

This stuff is Exhibit A why women should not be allowed anywhere near combatant warships.

Think hard. Imagine, for example, that this clip and other "related clips" are just brief visual manifestations of an iceberg of incredibly complex interpersonal dynamics throughout the entire thousands of personnel aboard this ship.

And, you are going to go into a real war with that?!?

From The feminization of the American military
The United States today is the only serious military power in history to contemplate thorough sexual integration of its armed forces, Wednesday, October 18, 2006, By Walter A. McDougall

As former Secretary of the Navy James Webb attests, military institutions must be coercive, hierarchical, and self-sacrificial, and as such they depend on a rigid code of fairness with regard to conduct, performance, and deportment, promotion on merit, and egalitarian treatment that by its nature cannot be gender- neutral.

For as soon as the sexes are mixed in close quarters, especially for prolonged and tense intervals, the jealousies, courtships, and favoritism that are bound to erupt must corrode fairness and discipline.

Imagine, writes Webb, a ship at sea for a hundred days during which numerous crew members pair off for sex. That in itself spawns favoritism, duplicity, and pregnancies.

But what of the crewmen who don’t “score” with shipmates and must stifle their libido for months? “The inescapable feelings of resentment, competition, and anger that follow create a powder keg of emotions that cannot help but affect morale, discipline, and attention to duty.”

To military expert Edward Luttwak, the belief that mixing the sexes need not affect order and discipline is “a grotesque, puritanical hypocrisy.

The Army can’t do something that eluded the Franciscans. It can’t run a mixed monastery.”

DoS problems persist -- email comments here.

UPDATE: The Naval Academy dips the Flag; The Air Force Academy reserves a pew.

At the front of the chapel, a single row is roped off. "Reserved" the sign says, for all the United States aviators who are missing in action or prisoners of war. The only occupant of the pew is a single, burning candle.

"Greater love hath no man than this. . ." reads the plaque. The Scripture it alludes to concludes: "that a man lays down his life for his friends."

Bryant Jordan at Military.com has the story.

The traditions with the Flag are rich and varied. The Flag covered my father's coffin. Illustrators use a stylized Flag to make a point. There are places where the Flag flies on eternal patrol. The opening scene in Private Ryan.

UPDATE: the email above is from Alert Reader Bob Morrison. He says, "Vice Admiral Fowler is to be commended for changing his mind on this. He now knows, I'm sure, that his JAG officers had given him bad advice. The posting of the flags at the Chapel is a revered tradition of the Academy." Bob, like most Alert Readers, is so much more diplomatic than Your Business Blogger (R).

Posted at 3:55 PM | Permalink
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Your Business Blogger
circa 1979
courtesy: US Army "A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon," Napoleon Bonaparte.

Sometimes a piece of paper will do.

The largest, most effective human resource management machine in the world, the US Army, knows that the best motivator is appreciation.

The Department of Defense is issuing the Cold War Certificate.

"Members of the armed forces and federal government civilian employees who faithfully served the United States during the Cold War era, from Sept. 2, 1945, to Dec 26, 1991," are eligible for recognition.

You will need the following:

1. Forms from U.S. Army Human Resources Command
2. DD214 (don't know? don't ask)
3. Fax machine. Send to 1.800.723.9262.
4. Patience. Wait is six months.

There is no charge. DoD has budgeted about a million-five for the printing.

Yoest ROTC

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

In Harm's Way even in the motor pool.

How To Obtain a Cold War Certificate from About.com

See Cold War Veterans: Cold War Vets get the shaft again!

The Clinton administration under SecDef Bill Cohen managed to screw-up even this simple recognition. The original award was to be a medal.

I Was A Soldier.

Cold War Recognition Certificate.

Hat Tip to John Howland USNA At Large.

Legislation verbiage at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:08 AM | Permalink
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MILITARY LANGUAGE CONVERSION CHART

Your Business Blogger once held a Top Secret Security clearance. This post is cleared for less than FOUO.*

Now that the US military is pushing for a Joint Service environment, we, as former service members, have to learn a different language. Therefore, this chart was created to assist in that area to help bridge the gap of service respective languages.

NAVY / USMC ..................ARMY .......................AIR FORCE

Head.........................................Latrine ......................................Powder Room

Rack.........................................Bunk ..................... ....................Single with ruffle and duvet

Mess Deck / Chow Hall ..........Mess Hall / Mess Tent ..............Dining Facility or 'The Cafe'

Die for your Country ...............Die for your Battle Buddy ..........Die for Air Conditioning

'Cookie', stew burner ..............Mess Cook ..................... ..........Contract Chef

Coffee / Mud ...........................Cup of Joe ..................... ..........Vanilla Skim Latte'

Bug Juice ..................... ..........Kool-Aid ..................... ..............Shirley Temple

Utilities / Digitals ..................... BDUs / ACUs ..................... .......Casual Wear

Seaman / Private ..................... Private ..................... ................Bobby / Jimmy

Chief / Gunny ...........................Sergeant ..................... ............Bob / Jim

Captain / Skipper ..................... Colonel ..................... ...............Robert / James

Captain's Mast ..................... ....Article 15 ..................... ...........Time Out

Berthing / Barracks ..................Barracks ..................... ............Apartment

Skivvies / U-Trau ..................... Underwear ..................... ........Undies

Thrown in the Brig ...................Put in Confinement ....................Grounded

Zoom Bag ..................... ..........Flight Suit ..................... ...........Business Casual

Cover / Head Gear ..................Beret ..................... ...................Optional

Ship's Store / NEX ...................PX (PX Trailer) ..................... ...AAFES Shopping Mall

TAD ..................... ...................TDY ..................... .....................PCS with family

Cruise / Afloat .........................Deploy ..................... ................Huh?

Ground Grabbers ....................Athletic Shoes ..................... ...Flip-Flops

Shipmate / Marine ....................Battle Buddy ..................... ......Don't Ask, Don't Tell or Honey

Terminate / Kill ........................Take Out ..................... ............Back on Base for Happy Hour

Boon Dockers .........................Jump Boots ..................... ......Birkenstocks

Low Quarters ..................... Low Quarters ..................... .......Patent Leather Pump

SEAL ..................... ..............SF/Ranger ..................... ............Librarian

Shore Patrol / MPs ................MPs ..................... ..................... SF

Oouh-Rah! ............................Hoo-ah! ..................... .................Hip-Hip hurray!

MRE ..................................... MRE ..................... .....................Happy Meal To Go

Salute ..................................Salute ..................... .....................Wave

Obstacle Course ..................Confidence Course ..................... .Class 6 Parking Lot

Grinder / Drill Field ................Parade Field ..................... .............What?

Ge-Dunk .............................. Snack Bar ..................... ...............Chuck E. Cheese

PT Test ................................ APFT ..................... ..................... 'No conversion available'

Dept. of the Navy .................DoD ..................... .....................DoD Lite

Midshipman ..........................Cadet ..................... ...................Debutant

Hard-Core ............................Strak ..................... .....................'Way Too Serious'

###

* FOUO: For Official Use Only, the lowest level of classification

Thankyou (foot)note to Stan Honour for passing this along.

And see more on military observations, at the jump. Overheard Combatant Command Staff Officer Discourse:

"Whatever happened to good old-fashioned military leadership? Just task the first two people you see."

"His knowledge on that topic is only power point deep..." MAJ (JS)

"I need intelligence, not information." Maj (EUCOM)

"I am so far down the food chain that I've got plankton bites on my butt."

Continue Reading »

Posted at 5:24 PM | Permalink
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The armed services has carefully outlined rules for engagement of the enemy and the use of deadly force. The USNA-At-Large and Don Rockwell have passed along to us this unclassifed (or so Your Business Blogger hopes) listing for each service.

Marine Corps Rules
1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
3. Have a plan.
4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.
5. Be polite. Be professional, but, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start with a "4."
7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral & diagonal preferred.)
9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
11. Always win. There is no unfair fight.
12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to shoot.

Navy SEAL's Rules
1. Look very cool in sunglasses.
2. Kill every living thing within view
3. Adjust speedo.
4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules
1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.
2. Locate individuals requiring killing.
3. Request permission via radio from "Higher" to perform killing.
4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.
5. Walk out 50 miles wearing a 75 pound rucksack while starving

US Army Rules
1. Curse bitterly when receiving operational order.
2. Make sure there is extra ammo and extra coffee.
3. Curse bitterly.
4. Curse bitterly.
5. Do not listen to 2nd LT's; it can get you killed.
6. Curse bitterly.

US ARMY RECON
1. Slip silently into area of operations.
2. Kill anything that moves or breathes.
3. Sneak out of area of operations.
4. Haul @ss to the LZ for the pickup.
5 Call in heavy artillery and an air strike to cover up infiltration activity.
6. Destroy all maps and reference materials.
7. Play dumb when you return to firebase.

US Air Force Rules
1. Have a cocktail.
2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.
3. See what's on HBO.
4. Ask "what is a gunfight?"
5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" Power Point presentation.
6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.
7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.
8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.
9. Hurry to make 13:45 tee-time.
10. Make sure the base is as far as possible from the conflict -- but close enough to have tax exemption.

US Navy Rules
1. Go to Sea.
2. Drink Coffee.
3. Deploy Marines

Posted at 5:39 PM | Permalink
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The Following was originially published by Charmaine in 2005.

Every time we've made the left turn onto Eisenhower Drive, and passed through the imposing brick gates of Arlington National Cemetery, I've been overwhelmed with emotion. Family members of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery are given a special pass and may drive onto the Hallowed Grounds to visit the grave of their loved one. It's an enormous honor which makes me feel humbled.

The Penta-Posse
at Arlington National Cemetery

My husband's father served thirty years in the United States Navy, and died the year I married into the family, so I didn't know him well. And the fact is, after a lifetime of nine-month Mediterranean tours, wars, and rumors of war, there is a lot my husband doesn't know as well.

However, over the 15 years that we've been married, I have gotten to know my mother-in-law well. She doesn't talk either about the sacrifices she made, but there is one story that she has told me several times.

Once, when my father-in-law was out on tour, and she was home with three small children, the car broke down and, of course, she had to take care of it. My husband marched up and said, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll fix it." He was about five years old at the time.

My mother-in-law laughs. . . the little man, takin' care of things. But it makes me cry.

We owe a lot to our military families.

When we visited Arlington this past week, we passed at least three funeral ceremonies on the way to Section 64. I lost track of the fresh graves and the still-standing tents, either just vacated by other grieving families, or awaiting the afternoon's fresh, raw sorrow.

As we pulled up on Bradley Avenue, an Air Force honor guard was marching precisely back to their bus after a ceremony for an airman who had been a POW in Korea. While we searched for my father-in-law's headstone, an empty horse-drawn caisson lumbered past, and settled briefly in the shade nearby, awaiting their next assignment. . .

We found my father-in-law's headstone: The front has the Christian Cross with the old Chief's Curriculum Vita. Chief Yoest cut high school to catch World War II. He retired with rows of ribbons and a "v" device, and pinned butterbars on his boy. He now has a grandson, The Dude, who bears his name and wants to be a Navy pilot.

The reverse of the stone is blank, awaiting the inscripton for Chief Yoest's high school sweetheart, his wife, Jack's mom, "Babcia" (Polish for Grandmother), who is still with us. In the end, they will be buried together, an honor she earned.

As we turned to go, the Diva took her jingle-bell necklace from around her neck, and left it on the headstone. A fitting tribute for a warrior.



Sailors, rest your oars.

We drove back down Bradley Avenue -- past a fresh grave covered by a tarp. In front of us, sparkling in the bright sunlight of a gorgeous day, stretched row after row of white marble markers, orderly, peaceful, some weathered, others new and crisply chiseled . . .

I turned to the Penta-Posse. "I want you to look," I said. "I want you to understand, that each one of these headstones represents someone who gave their life so that you could be free."

They were quiet and solemn. The weight of it is beyond measure.

The Dreamer said, "Don't cry, Mom."

We made the right turn onto Eisenhower. We drove slowly toward the exit, passing the drive to the Tomb of the Unknowns to our left, until we came to a crosswalk thronged with tourists. The guard on duty motioned to the crowd to stop, and we drove through, passing through the gates, back to a busy day, leaving behind -- the curious crowds, the chattering school children. . . and the silent stones.

###

More on Arlington National Cemetery at the jump.

Other Memorial Day Links from last year:
Blackfive with "Opening the Gates of Heaven."
Intel Dump

Marine Corps Moms

LaShawn Barber's Corner

See Traffic Jam

Jo's Cafe has Specials.

Mudville Gazette has Open Post.

Michelle Malkin has Memorial Day Links.

Wiz Bang has links.

LaShawn has tributes.

California Conservative has Memorial Day Tribute.

See background on the 13 Flag Folds at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 11:03 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

There were three 14'ers we could find.

No, we were not taking in mountain scenery in Colorado. Charmaine and Your Business Blogger were looking for the youngest finishers at yesterday's 32nd running of the Marine Corps Marathon.

Billed as "The Peoples' Marathon" a runner had to be among the first 30,000 to enter. The run takes place from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia ending at the Flag Raisers at the Iwo Jima memorial.

The run route passes Arlington Cemetery were my dad and friends rest.

We three had been following a work-out regiment for months, following the military dictum that the more one sweats in training, the less one bleeds in combat.

No one is bleeding, but everything still hurts. Charmaine didn't cry as much this time.

The marathon was run with, well, military precision. The Marines run a class act, having some experience with logistics and human relations and victory.

And business.

Challenge Coin from USAA The MCM is expensive. To help underwrite the event businesses lined up. Sponsors included CVS/Caremark; Wal*Mart; Brooks; CISCO, Saturn, Arlington, Virginia; Aetna; AT&T; BAE Systems; Bar Clif,; CROCS, Crystal City: EDS; jetBlue Airways; Maggiano's Little Italy; Rosslyn; symantic; UPS; VSP; The Washington Post; Sodexho: Einstein Bros Bagels: Her Sports; News Channel 8; ABC 7; HOT 99.5; BIG 100.3; DC 101; 97.1 WASH-FM; 98. WMZQ; SportsTalk 980.

But the best SWAG was from USAA.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

About 20,600 of the 30,000 registrants finished. Thank you for not asking our time...

More on SWAG at All Things Orange Save the Date for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Dinner in Baltimore and 7 Steps in Making Money at Trade Shows

History of the Challenge Coin at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:12 AM | Permalink
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Rush Limbaugh
Photo Credit:
Your Business BloggerHow can one objectively measure support for a subject?

A person a talk on and on about caring and commitment, but how would a third party measure the good intention? Or even, dare we say, the condition of the heart?

The measurable answer may be seen in two items:

A calendar

A checkbook

A simple review of these two artifacts will reveal how much one does care. (Or even You, Gentle Reader.)

By this measure we can note that Limbaugh cares more about the troops than Reid. It is clear where Limbaugh puts his time and his treasure.

Rush Limbaugh talks about supporting the troops on his program and with his personal visits.

Harry Reid talks about surrender.

Tom McMahon presents this simple idea simply. Conservatives like to keep score. (Conservatives still want victory.) See Tom's scorecard on Limbaugh and Reid.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

See: This War is Lost; Incompetent Generals: A Letter To Liberal Democrat Harry Reid

Harry Reid Democrat: This War is Lost; LT Landaker died for nothing

Where can the Alert Reader support the troops? Please consider Soldiers' Angels. And see Enlist in Soldier's Angels

Even if you don't care for George Soros (and how he made jillions shorting the British pound) there is no doubt where his heart is.

Posted at 4:12 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Kinglsey Brown Alert Readers will know of Your Business Blogger's endorsement of Professor Kingsley Brown and his research. Brown is on faculty at Wayne State University teaching law.

He writes to John Howland with USNA At Large,

“Co-ed Combat: The New Evidence that Women Shouldn’t Fight the Nation’s Wars” is due out on November 8, although it can be pre-ordered now on Amazon...

My book examines physical and psychological differences between the sexes and their implication for integration of combat forces. This examination includes not just individual traits -- such as strength, endurance, risk-taking, physical aggression, fear, courage, and other traits that affect both combat motivation and combat performance -- but also the effect of psychological sex differences on the functioning of groups. As you know, individuals do not fight wars; groups do, and the sex composition of groups has a substantial impact on how the group functions.

As you have yourself noted, trust is the “coin of the realm” in combat groups. It appears that men are not “designed” to easily trust women in dangerous situations. I’m sure that you and the other At-Large members have had the experience of knowing leaders whom you would be willing to follow through the gates of Hell and others whom you would be reluctant to follow across the street. Some people trigger trust in their comrades, and others –

Women in Combat

no matter what kind of training they have had – simply cannot do so. I suggest in my book that women generally do not trigger that kind of trust in men, no matter how much men like and respect women. This is not a criticism of either women or men; it is simply the way our psyches work. As the continued opposition to women in and near combat suggests, this is not a problem that can be solved simply through “leadership” and “training,” which are usually invoked as the solution to problems with sexual integration.

My book also chronicles a number of other impediments to sexual integration, many of which are well known, such as problems of pregnancy, double standards, political correctness, and so forth.

Best regards,

Kingsley

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Read more on Kingsley Browne's work at Hiring Super Stars vs Tolerating Turkeys

Thanks to John Howland at USNA At Large.

More on Professor Kingsley Brown at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:48 PM | Permalink
Comments (4)

Navy Times, April 15, 1961 As Your Business Blogger was looking through an old Navy Times for a listing of my dad's promotion, I came across this cartoon.

The Old Salts knew even back then that sparks fly when men and women put on a uniform -- in close quarters.

Sometimes the uniforms come off:

Deanna Allen getting out of uniform
in Camp Bucca.
She is clearly not a prudent woman,
See Pirate Codes below

A sample of Pirate Codes concerning women. And these were the uncivilized men:

Bartholomew Roberts's articles,

One of the best known sets of pirate articles was set down by the famous Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts in 1720.

No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man were to be found seducing any of the latter sex, and carried her to sea, disguised, he was to suffer death; [so that when any fell into their hands, as it chanced in the Onslow, they put a sentinel immediately over her to prevent ill consequences from so dangerous an instrument of division and quarrel; but then here lies the roguery; they contend who shall be sentinel, which happens generally to one of the greatest bullies, who, to secure the lady's virtue, will let none lie with her but himself.]

And from Captain John Phillips's articles,

If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death.

The Pentagon will not publish the pregnancy rate or the true number of non-deployable women. Not all military women are as, well, flashy as Deanna Allen. But the silence of the Brass makes the virtue of military women appear to be something out of the campus orgies in Tom Wolfe's "I Am Charlotte Simmons."

Are all women in the military un-dressing the troops like Deanna? I would hope not. But the pictures are compelling.

And this may get worse. Hillary Clinton wants more women in combat and open homosexuals in the military. More women and homosexuals in the armed forces; in harm's way would not be helpful for unit cohesion or for what little privacy seen in the military.

Alert Reader David Hilgartner has more thoughts on the "weaker sex" in this terrible time of war, at the jump.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Your Business Blogger is a former Army Captain in Combat Arms. And never had women under his command. Not in the military; not in marriage. And don't even ask about the daughters.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:38 AM | Permalink
Comments (10)

Gary Bauer has an excellent analysis of how liberal Democrats behave in power. Their disrespectful behavior would not improve if another Clinton were in the White House.

Charmaine has given congressional testimony and Your Business Blogger has attended a number of congressional hearings. Hearings are usually conducted with decorum and respect and dignity. The high ceiling-ed hearing rooms are treated as sanctuaries; like churches. And people are mindful of being considerate and deferential.

But not these days.

Bauer, as usual, gets it right on yesterday's hearings -- and his message deserves a wide audience.

The Inmates Are Running The Asylum

I spent most of the day on Capitol Hill yesterday, meeting with members of Congress and discussing important issues. The terrain is familiar to me, though it can be hostile at times. I have worked in this town for three decades, served eight years in the Reagan administration and have been through some tough hearings myself.

But yesterday something happened that I have never seen before, and even the Washington Post felt compelled to report the “theatrics” on page A2 today, noting, “the lid came off” of the liberals’ anger during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

Simply put, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Peter Pace were ambushed by radical activists and liberal Democrats on the committee. Senator Robert Byrd, chairman of the committee and the top recipient of campaign cash from MoveOn.org, whipped the audience into a frenzy. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post:

“He [Byrd] invited the audience in the room to join him in heckling the witnesses [Secretary Gates and General Pace], creating a responsive Greek chorus.

“Byrd: Are we really seeking progress toward a stable, secure Iraq?
“Chorus: No!

“Byrd: Is our continuing occupation encouraging the Iraqi people to step up?
“Chorus: No!

“Byrd: Are Iraq's leaders doing the hard work necessary?
“Chorus: No!

“Emboldened, two dozen hecklers in the audience from the antiwar group Code Pink continued to shout at the witnesses and wave signs for the better part of an hour. Finally, after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) challenged Pace on his view that homosexuality is immoral, the hearing collapsed as the hecklers shouted down the nation’s top military officer.

“...When the proceedings resumed, minus two dozen pink-clad demonstrators, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) felt the need to ‘go on record with how disturbed I am about the conduct that occurred here. Such tension, such chaos, such disrespect.’”

What is described here is a mob scene in which top officials charged with the defense of our country were verbally harassed and insulted by arrogant politicians and a cadre of loud-mouthed radicals. Secretary Gates and General Pace were not there to offer testimony about the war. They were intentionally set up and they walked into a trap.

That kind of petty partisan behavior is disgraceful and unbecoming of the United States Senate. While I appreciate Senator Mikulski for speaking up, it’s no wonder that Congress’ approval rating has fallen to record lows lately.

By the way, when Senator Harkin decided to bring up the issue of open homosexuality in the military, General Pace reminded the senator that the U.S. Military Code of Justice prohibits homosexual activity -- and adultery. To which Sen. Harkin retorted, “Well, then, maybe we should change that.”

Wow! I wonder what the good folks back in Iowa think of that idea. I hope they will keep it in mind next year when Harkin runs for reelection.

Global Warming = Higher Taxes

Liberals in the House of Representatives are putting the finishing touches
on a plan to combat global warming, and, of course, it involves higher
taxes. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee is being very blunt about the facts of the plan, saying, “I’m
trying to have everybody understand that this is going to cost and that
it’s going to have a measure of pain that you’re not going to like.”

In making his call for “shared pain,” Dingell is proposing – and you might
want to sit down for this – to hike gasoline taxes 50 cents a gallon;
phasing out the interest tax deduction for home mortgages; and a new tax on
carbon emissions of $50 per ton, which would increase the cost of
electricity, winter heating fuel, etc., etc.

I’ve been saying for some time now that this debate was headed in precisely
this direction. Regardless of the science or the value of being good
stewards of the environment, liberal Democrats are turning the policy
debate on its head and using it as a tool to accomplish their agenda of
bigger government, higher taxes and more control over your life.

Democrats Debate Values; Go Off The Deep End

An interesting question was posed to the Democrat candidates during last
night’s debate in New Hampshire. A member of the audience told the
candidates about a situation that occurred last year in Lexington,
Massachusetts, in which second grade students were read a “fairly tale”
about prince who could not find true love until he met another prince. The
book is called “King and King” and it is being used to indoctrinate young
children about same-sex “marriage.”

This concerned citizen asked each of the Democrat candidates, “Would you be
comfortable having this story read to your children as part of their school
curriculum?” Their responses were revealing.

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards responded, “Yes, absolutely. I
want my children to understand everything about the difficulties that gay
and lesbian couples are faced with every day, the discrimination that
they’re faced with every single day of their lives.”

Barack Obama essentially agreed with Edwards, noting that children need to
understand that some people are different. Then it was Hillary’s turn.

“I really respect what both John and Barack said. With respect to your
individual children, that is such a matter of parental discretion,” Clinton
said.

Well, actually, it’s not. When the father of a child in the Lexington
class objected to what his son was being exposed to, he was told that
homosexual “marriage” was legal in Massachusetts. When he continued to
protest the school’s blatant disregard for parental rights, he was
arrested. Parents later sued the school district and a judge dismissed
their suit. So much for “parental discretion.”

I’m pleased to report that several Republican presidential candidates today
are noting just how extreme and out of touch the Democrats have become on
values issues. Earlier this year, the Democrats participated in the first-
ever “gay debate,” demonstrating the influence the militant homosexual
movement wields within the party of Clinton and Kennedy.

My friends, today’s news – liberal Democrats haranguing our military
leaders; trying to raise taxes through the roof; and forcing homosexuality
on our children – once again illustrates the stakes involved in the 2008
elections. I’ll be reporting even more in the days ahead. I hope you are
ready, and I hope you will support us!

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

If you would like to receive Gary Bauer's update by e-mail, you can sign up online at http://www.cwfpac.com/cwf_eod_request.php

If you would like to support his outstanding work, please click on the following link:
https://www.cwfpac.com/cwf_contribution.php

These are unpaid links for the Campaign for Working Families

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger and Charmaine have worked for Gary Bauer in different capacities over the decades.

Posted at 9:13 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about American exceptionalism; the American experiment,

If I am asked how we should account for the unusual prosperity and growing strength of this nation, I would reply that they must be attributed to the superiority of their women.

- Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America.

Your Business Blogger is not sure that this is what Alexis de Tocqueville meant:

Vanessa Dobos, gunner: the superior woman?

Following is Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American woman and psychologist from Los Angeles. She is debating the clash of civilizations. She reviews the fact that inferior civilizations use "women as beasts." There might be some confusion on how Islam jihadists and the American armed forces use women in combat.

Watch the clip here.

The video is a must see.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

President George Bush said our women will not be in ground combat.

A C-130 doesn't count, I guess.

Thank you to Alert Reader Stan Honour for finding this vagina warrior.

Posted at 9:23 AM | Permalink
Comments (6)

Robespierre guillotined during the Reign of Terror, 1794
Some historians state that he was executed face up --
to watch the descending blade. There has been some concern and backlash on the 'justice' rendered to Naval Academy...attendee... Lamar Owens.

Gerald L. Atkinson writes on The New Age 'Diversity' and Its Discontents as part of his series on the Looming American Matriarchy. His article,

[A]ddresses the origins of the modern ‘diversity’ movement. It traces this movement in the U.S. Navy and in our broader society as well. It attempts to tie the loose ends of this subject together as it relates to the Looming American Matriarchy and the ‘counter-culture’ revolution of which it is a part.

Whereas the previous issue of this journal revealed the surprising depth to which the modern idea of ‘diversity’ has wormed its way deep into the heart and soul of the U.S. Navy -- and with the appointment of ADM Michael G. Mullen to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- eventually into the entire military.

This issue attempts to understand this phenomenon, ­ its essence, origins, adherents, and purpose. How could the radical feminists and their supporters embedded in every institution across the land over the past three or more decades have usurped the civil rights movement to the point where sexual politics trumps race?

The answer is straightforward.

We are fortunate to have a seminal book on this subject: Diversity: The Invention of a Concept by Peter Wood, Encounter Books 2003. Th[is] book provides an in-depth treatment of ‘diversity’ as a modern ideology.

The interesting aspect of this treatment is the striking parallel of the ‘excesses’ of the French Revolution with the New Age ideology of ‘diversity.’

One can imagine the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the counterpart of Robespierre ­-- the Fool as Revolutionary and Midshipman Lamar Owens and the hundreds of naval officer ‘warriors’ who have been ‘purged’ over the past two decades and are still being purged as the counterpart of the innocent Catholic priests who were put to the guillotine and drowned on barges in the wake of the blood bath of the Reign of Terror in France in 1789.

When will the modern day Robespierres find their just end?

It may be likely that the same forces that are alive and boiling under the surface in America ­ those forces that forced the politicians to scrap the recent seriously-flawed immigration legislation proposals will carry the day.

We must understand the difference between the Franco-German way and the Anglo-American way if we are to preserve our civilization as it was handed down to us by our Founding Fathers.

Provocative. See the New Totalitarians, by Gerald "Beak" Atkinson.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Half of Rape Allegations are False: Seven Clues from Your Business Blogger. A not so subtle point in Management Training.

And it is not just Lamar Owens. see Girls win -- Boys lose: Webster Smith, Coast Guard Academy Cadet Convicted What is it about feminists and black men?

Posted at 9:21 AM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Today, 27 July, marks the end of the live fire hostilities of the Korean War. Flags are to be flown at half-staff until sunset.

The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 when North Korean attacked South Korea.

And ended in a stalemate.

And a lesson. During the negotiations, the UN forces in US Army jeeps would drive the delegates under a flag of truce to the North Koreans.

The flag of truce was flying from the front fenders -- it was, of course, a white flag.

The white flag was reported by the Communists as a flag of surrender. A tremendous propaganda victory. It took the UN Forces a few days to catch on to the 'misinterpretation' that gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

Which is what will happen today if liberal Democrats have their way and retreat and withdraw from our current war in Iran. It will not be 'misinterpreted.'

It will be more than a white flag. It will not be a stalemate. It will be a surrender.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Your Business Blogger's father fought in the Korean War.

John Yoest (before he was a Sr.) receiving the Commendation Medal with "V" device for valor under enemy fire from Rear Admiral Francis C. Denebrink
"Official Photograph U.S. Navy 19 March 1951"

The citation reads, in part,

Pearl Harbor, March 20 [1951]...Boatswain's Mate Yoest received this medal for, "meritorious service as a member of a motor whale boat crew on board the USS CONSERVER, a rescue and salvage vessel, during the sinking of an allied mine sweeper in densely mined areas, subjected to enemy gun fire off Wonsan, Korea on 17 October 1950. He volunteered and took his boat on two successful trips at great personal risk, into the mined areas to rescue survivors, thereby minimizing the loss of life and contributing to the successful clearance of mine free channels and anchorage off Wonsan...

Chief Yoest now rests in Arlington National Cemetery.

USS Conserver

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:51 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

My good friend Bob Miller has a compelling article on women in combat that deserves a wide audience.

Female sniper,
United States Air Force In September of last year, the Naval Institute Proceedings commemorated thirty years of sex-integration at the U.S. Naval Academy with a Commentary by Sharon Disher, USNA ’80, entitled “Women CAN Fight.” As a member of the first sex-integrated Naval Academy class, Disher wrote in conspicuous contradiction of former Marine combat hero, and now Senator, James Webb’s (USNA ‘ 68] then-troublesome 1979 Washingtonian Magazine essay: “Women Can’t Fight.”

Well of course women CAN fight. In Iraq, US military women have fought and still do fight bravely and selflessly. These armed daughters, sisters, wives and mothers can also become wounded, maimed, captured, abused and killed. In fact one hears military women, in particular, declaring their willingness to "die for my country," words far less often heard from men.

And women can kill; there's no doubt about it.

But please, put aside for a moment the tendency to rationalize, trivialize, scoff or scorn a cautionary perspective in order to reflect with candor on what this unarguably historic innovation of the "woman as warrior" may signify about a phenomenal cultural trajectory.

The stakes are high.

Read his entire article at the jump.

Robert H. Miller, CAPT, USN ret
Hope For America
PO Box 1007
Willow Grove, PA 19090
hfa@aol.com

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink
Comments (14)

Roy Blunt
Credit: The DudeYour Business Blogger was wondering what the Republicans were going to do about the war, the wall, Osama, Obama. So I wandered over to The Heritage Foundation this afternoon for a free lunch. And happened upon The House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt, an R from fly-over country.

If any one could, well, show me, it'd be someone from Missouri.

The Dude tagged along. He's likes a free meal as much as his dad.

The Dude live blogged. Sarah Little from Blunt's press office ablely worked the crowd. See The Dude's report at Panzer Commander.

After Blunt's talk, I feel a bit better about the state of the Union. Not that the GOP may or may not get good things done, but at least they might stop bad things from happening.

Which might be good enough -- it is around our house. Which is like a carnival.

But for well organized carnivals, here are some suggestions,

See Blog Carnival of Observations on Life July 8, 2007, By Anja Merret. While there visit Reciprocity - What we do in Life always comes back to us March 17th, 2007 by Callum.

But sometimes good does not come back measure for measure. I've found the ratio to be about 10-to-1. See What is the best tactic to get a referral? More Biblical than Karma-tic.

Visit The Carnival of Family Life. See Physical Education.

Stop by Carnival of Life, Happiness & Meaning #8, hosted by Life Insurance Lowdown, Life insurance news, reviews and tips. Don't let the title scare you (as it did me). No agent will call. No emails from Nigeria. And see What Makes a Relationship Great? Much more articulate than The Complete Married Man's Guide To Spousal Responses.

For a good post on Office Politics. Read Management vs. Politics by HotStrategies.

It is not until we look at later definitions... that we see a political content. He maps management as ‘SAMP’, Science, Art, Magic and Politics. In this definition we are seeing politics as part of management activity in which he acknowledges that in order to be a successful manager an individual has to know how to “play the game” in order to achieve his objectives.

For more on Office Politics, with a nifty video see Management Training, Tip #1 at the last Office Politics link.

And please visit Carnival of Family Life - June 25 2007 for about the nicest compliment Your Business Blogger got all week.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

See Roy Blunt's speech at the jump. From his website,

As Whip, Congressman Blunt is the second highest Republican in the House of Representatives. He selects and leads a team of Deputy and Assistant Whips, which columnist Robert Novak has described as "the most efficient party whip operation in congressional history."

Continue Reading »

Posted at 6:03 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

If it were not for the US of A, the French would be wearing lederhosen.

But an even better joke (at French expense, of course) is re-told by Mark Petersen from the US Naval Academy at Large,

A US Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included 20 Admirals from the US, English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.

At a reception, he found himself standing with a huge group of officers that included personnel from most of the countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks, but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages. Americans learn only English.

He then asked."Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German"

You could've heard a pin drop.

Posted at 9:40 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Happy Fourth of July! Your Business Blogger is a Flag Waver. And got college course credit for the effort.

Your Business Blogger with the American Flag, Foreman Field, Old Dominion University

One of my Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) responsibilities was as a member of the Color Guard. Our job was to present the colors at various functions on various holidays. For the singing of the National Anthem or the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rather patriotic displays.

This morning the Penta-Posse carried The Flag on their bikes in the local Fourth of July parade in our neighborhood.

Fire trucks, police motorcycles, pancakes.

Because he had the biggest flag, The Dude got to lead the parade. And we look forward to the fireworks tonight.

Pure emotion. Respect. And celebration for the American Revolution.

The American Experiment.

Your Business Blogger with the flag of the
Commonwealth of Virginia Kevin Emdee, on left with weapon would later be in my wedding. He attended without the M-14.

Yes, the state standard is not vertical. The photographer insisted that I move the flag as to not obscure my visage.

I readily complied to his reasonable request.

And breaking protocol for a greater good.

Happy Independence Day! From Your (insufferable) Business Blogger.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Listen to Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance. Credit to Bob Miller via John Howland.

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,

ONE NATION UNDER GOD,

INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

Posted at 2:26 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Your Business Blogger was having lunch in the Congressional Dining Room in Your Nation's Capitol. On the way there I saw the Best Bumper Sticker This Week,

PEACE HAD A CHANCE

Short phrase, short words, neat twist, compelling message.

My old boss, Jim Gilmore won the governorship of Virginia with the bumper sticker message,

NO CAR TAX

Dr. Frank Luntz writes about pithy messaging in his book, Words that Work, It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear.

Frank has Ten Rules of Successful Communications:

1) Simplicity: Use Small Words

2) Brevity: Use Short Sentences

3) Credibility is as Important as Philosophy

4) Consistency Matters

5) Novelty: Offer Something New

6) Sound and Texture Matter

7) Speak Aspirationally

8) Visualize

9) Ask a Question

10) Provide Context and Explain Relevance

Can your marketing campaign fit on a bumper sticker?

###

Wendell Robinson has an excellent review of Luntz's book.

Media Matters doesn't like Luntz; at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:08 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Barry R. Relinger
June 14, 2007

Sen. Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Sen. Reid:

Please allow me to take this opportunity to express my complete contempt for anyone who allows their quest for political power to bring them to a point of such despicable and unwarranted personal attacks on members of our military as those in which you have recently engaged. Generals Pace and Petraeus, who have served their country courageously and honorably for over 73 years of active duty, deserve better then to be used as pawns in your pursuit of political power by engaging in unfounded and cowardly attacks.

As one who served in the United States Navy from 1957 to 1969, I find your obvious efforts to sabotage the military mission in Iraq and Afghanistan to border on treason. You bring shame and discredit on the United States Senate and our Nation with your continuing support of our enemies.


With Utter Contempt


Barry R. Relinger
U. S. Navy, 1957-1969

Thankyou (foot)note to John Howland with the USNA at Large

And see Harry Reid Democrat: This War is Lost; LT Landaker died for nothing

Posted at 11:59 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

Einstein once remarked that a sign of intelligence was the ability to change direction quickly. If so, the following video is an excellent example of very destructive thinking.

The short clip is from the military. Ours.

The quick thinking/quick reaction would not surprise a conservative. And would surely disappoint a liberal.

Short Explanation Before Watching The F-16 - SIERRA HOTEL

This is a video from a F16 doing CAS (combat air strike) during the recent fighting in Fallujah. We have been bombing insurgent "safe houses" with some success recently. This F16 was on such a mission, to hit a building with an LGB (laser guided bomb). After the weapon had been launched 30 + insurgents left the building en masse to hurry to a nearby engagement with US Marines. The fighting had been going on for hours.

A new opportunity has come up since the plan was made. Threats and opportunities always, always pop up. Even if your plan has been in place for hours or months, the next action may have to turn in a new direction instantly.

The pilot communicates with the FAC (forward air controller) either in the air or on the ground, and changes the flight path of the bomb while it is en route to the target.

The decision maker may or may not know exactly where his team is located -- the team is probably not at his elbow -- the team may be off-shore or even out-sourced. But the boss can still guide the action across multiple silos.

You can clearly see the "L" flashing in the MFD (multi-function display), and TGP (terminally guided projectile) is selected.

Every manager has a matrix of info on his dashboard. In this scenario, the decision maker had data, maybe not complete, maybe not 100%, but enough to make a decision.

It is the pilot who says "I got numerous individuals on the road, do you want me to take those out?"

Your Business Blogger senses that the pilot is not quite asking permission in his request; he is merely alerting the controller that a new course of action is needed and will be done immediately. If, for example, there was a radio equipment failure, the pilot may very well have changed the mission rather than bomb an empty building.

Or perhaps like Nelson, the pilot would have turned a "blind eye" to an incomplete command.

Of course,

The FAC says "Take em out!"

The analyst continues,

Now, to put this in focus for you so you can get a glimpse into the complexities of the modern battlefield and the flexibilities of the modern U.S. war fighter: You have a supersonic high performance aircraft being driven by a single pilot who, under the tactical control of a FAC, launches a PGM (precision guided munition) at a designated structure (building).

The pilot uses the aircraft's laser guidance video display to guide the weapon to the target (precision).

Remember, he is also flying the aircraft. The pilot sees the video on his heads-up display and notices a bunch of combatants leaving the targeted building, turning the corner and heading down the street towards an active firefight. The pilot advises the FAC of the change in the status of the target requesting to target the combatants en route to the firefight rather than hitting an empty building.

Permission is granted.

The key phrase is "change of status." The US of A military is trained in flexibility. This is how America wins wars.

Wins military campaigns.
Wins civilian marketing campaigns.

Human Resource Managers: Hire a veteran. Not only because it is patriotic and the right thing to do, but because you will have a mature manager who can think and act on his feet. Hire him, if you can find him.

American business needs more vets. The taxpayer has already invested in the Management Training.

Watch the 53 second clip

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Thank you to Alert Reader, Stan Honour, for forwarding.

The Army's definition of discipline is, The prompt obedience to orders, and the initiation of appropriate action in the absence of orders.

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger is biased -- and is a former Armored Cavalry Captain running a Management Training firm based on military principles. Our Management Training philosophy may surprise even the Alert Reader. See Management Training of DC, LLC.

Read Thomas Thompson's Tester on dcmilitary.com at the jump. Your Business Blogger made it required reading for The Dude on the value of initiative.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:16 AM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Landing craft at NormandyJune 6, D-Day 1944.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the nation in a six minute prayer. Excerpts follow.

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

...They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas,...help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

...And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade.

...Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.

Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill

See Would You Sell Out D-Day . . . for a Pulitzer?

Posted at 10:53 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Some time ago, Your Business Blogger was invited by FOX NEWS to discuss social programs in the military and the new Congress. Following are the back of the envelope notes for the show prep.

Damascus Nancy Pelosi
Courtesy: Rush Limbaugh Liberal Democrats have taken control of Congress in this terrible time of war. What does this mean for the armed services?

High on the law makers' agenda is the Global War on Terror. The debate raging over our involvement in Iraq has been high profile and headline-grabbing.

But there is another agenda; a hidden one that isn't making headlines. An agenda that is attempting to change the culture of our military.

High on the hidden agenda is to advance liberal ideologies by remaking the military. This re-engineering campaign is a three-pronged effort:

1) Reinstituting the draft
2) Entrenching women in combat and
3) Encourage homosexuals in the military.

The Draft

Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel is pushing the draft, using involuntary conscription as a legislative tactic to end what he sees as an unpopular war by having even smart rich white kids get killed.

But what is driving the congressman’s hidden agenda is to provide manpower in the cultural war. A few years ago army veteran Rangel first introduced legislation to bring back the draft for both men and women; with no exception for conscientious objectors. Draftees would “volunteer” for some approved social public-works. Liberals want legions of indentured servants for government programs.

The purpose of the draft is to maintain military numerical strength in an extreme national emergency. Because the draft is designed for combat replacements, only men -- not women must currently register.

But many social engineers including Rangel would want women drafted to fight in combat.

Women in Combat

Men have to do 3 chin-ups to be in the
Marines. Women don't have to do any. Zero. None.The hidden agenda also includes advancing women in land combat. President Bush has clearly stated that women will not be placed in land combat and be subjected to Direct Ground Fire. But the left-leaning Flags of senior generals and admirals are not only placing women in harm’s way but also into combat. 77 women have died in our current war, where only 16 died in Vietnam, most of them were nurses.

Feminist have long preached that men and women are interchangeable and that being a male or female was simply a social construct. The new congress will want to advance these egalitarian goals in the mistake of pursuing the women’s vote as (former) senator George Allen did. (See Allen's support of women at VMI.)

But the military is not subject to the Equal Opportunity and Employment Commission. The battlefield is not regulated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Combat is violence against women.

Liberal Democrats in the coming months will force the armed services to evolve, to grow; to achieve higher consciousness. Liberals in Congress will demand EEO hires into OSHA compliant combat to remake a new and improved military.

The end result is a liberal Department of Defense which may or may not win any wars but will pass EEO muster.

After training by feminists in Anger Management.

Over the past few years, armed forces policy has been the domain of the generals and less of the civilians elected and appointed. The civilian leadership ceded control to the Pentagon Brass. Empty civilian Armani’s were replaced with Class A military Uniforms.

Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that...

Except the military leadership was as liberal as the civilians they replaced. Forgetting the true job of the armed forces. The purpose of our military has a single goal: To defend our institutions. Our way of life. Freedom. Congress is charged with providing for the common defense.

Unfortunately Democrats in Congress will demand control to change the culture of the military.

Lifting the Homosexual Ban

As recently as 1993, Congress affirmed in law that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. But Clinton-era "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" regulations contradict the law and cause confusion. Democrats and homosexual activists will use the confusion to work to remove the regulation and change the law, in a single synchronized move.

The key difference in our current culture wars is in understanding unit cohesion. This is the unique bond that is needed for survival in combat necessary for victory. Unit cohesion is all but unknown and nearly unnecessary in the civilian world.

In 1982 the Department of Defense said that he presence of homosexuals, adversely affects the ability … to maintain discipline and morale; to foster mutual trust. And unlike the civilian workplace military men and women, …must live and work under close conditions affording minimal privacy…. Sexual attraction and tension destroys unit cohesion and may detract from mission accomplishment.

Few civilian shift managers expect employees not to date each other. Few first line supervisors expect staff to jump on stray hand grenades.

What should Congress do?

Liberal Democrats have a hidden agenda for changing the military culture. But what should our law makers do instead to improve military readiness?

Keep the volunteer army. As recent studies by The Heritage Foundation have shown, our current All-Volunteer Army is well motivated, well education and truly looks like America. If the Pentagon needs more young men for combat, President Bush can lead the recruiting drive by call to arms from his bully pulpit. We have heard no such exhortation from the President.

The Army can follow the president’s orders and keep women away from Direct Ground Combat. The president can order the Pentagon to stop the charade of assigning women to non-combat units, then attaching and “co-locating” women with combat units. At the very least, the military can hold women to the same physical training standards as men.

The Pentagon can repeal the Don't Army Don't Tell regulations. And keep the current laws against Gays-Lesbian-Bi-sexuals and Transgender genders from serving in the military. Even Hillary Rodham Clinton, then-Vice-President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton have admitted that Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell was a failure.

Homosexuals can honorably serve our country in many ways, including,

Peace Corps,
America Corps,

But not the
Marine Corps

We are a nation with citizen soldiers. We should not burden combat leaders with the needs of citizen cross-dressers. "Unfair" as it may be.

It is enough to ask the combat leader to fight and win battles with out being worried about the special needs of gender-identity politics.

By taking these actions we might have a prayer in the Global War on Terror. Because if we fail, any prayers we have will be toward Mecca.

###

Posted at 6:56 AM | Permalink
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A post from last year and the year before by Charmaine.

Every time we've made the left turn onto Eisenhower Drive, and passed through the imposing brick gates of Arlington National Cemetery, I've been overwhelmed with emotion. Family members of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery are given a special pass and may drive onto the Hallowed Grounds to visit the grave of their loved one. It's an enormous honor which makes me feel humbled.

The Penta-Posse
at Arlington National Cemetery

My husband's father served thirty years in the United States Navy, and died the year I married into the family, so I didn't know him well. And the fact is, after a lifetime of nine-month Mediterranean tours, wars, and rumors of war, there is a lot my husband doesn't know as well.

However, over the 15 years that we've been married, I have gotten to know my mother-in-law well. She doesn't talk either about the sacrifices she made, but there is one story that she has told me several times.

Once, when my father-in-law was out on tour, and she was home with three small children, the car broke down and, of course, she had to take care of it. My husband marched up and said, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll fix it." He was about five years old at the time.

My mother-in-law laughs. . . the little man, takin' care of things. But it makes me cry.

We owe a lot to our military families.

When we visited Arlington this past week, we passed at least three funeral ceremonies on the way to Section 64. I lost track of the fresh graves and the still-standing tents, either just vacated by other grieving families, or awaiting the afternoon's fresh, raw sorrow.

As we pulled up on Bradley Avenue, an Air Force honor guard was marching precisely back to their bus after a ceremony for an airman who had been a POW in Korea. While we searched for my father-in-law's headstone, an empty horse-drawn caisson lumbered past, and settled briefly in the shade nearby, awaiting their next assignment. . .

We found my father-in-law's headstone: The front has the Christian Cross with the old Chief's Curriculum Vita. Chief Yoest cut high school to catch World War II. He retired with rows of ribbons and a "v" device, and pinned butterbars on his boy. He now has a grandson, The Dude, who bears his name and wants to be a Navy pilot.

The reverse of the stone is blank, awaiting the inscripton for Chief Yoest's high school sweetheart, his wife, Jack's mom, "Babcia" (Polish for Grandmother), who is still with us. In the end, they will be buried together, an honor she earned.

As we turned to go, the Diva took her jingle-bell necklace from around her neck, and left it on the headstone. A fitting tribute for a warrior.



Sailors, rest your oars.

We drove back down Bradley Avenue -- past a fresh grave covered by a tarp. In front of us, sparkling in the bright sunlight of a gorgeous day, stretched row after row of white marble markers, orderly, peaceful, some weathered, others new and crisply chiseled . . .

I turned to the Penta-Posse. "I want you to look," I said. "I want you to understand, that each one of these headstones represents someone who gave their life so that you could be free."

They were quiet and solemn. The weight of it is beyond measure.

The Dreamer said, "Don't cry, Mom."

We made the right turn onto Eisenhower. We drove slowly toward the exit, passing the drive to the Tomb of the Unknowns to our left, until we came to a crosswalk thronged with tourists. The guard on duty motioned to the crowd to stop, and we drove through, passing through the gates, back to a busy day, leaving behind -- the curious crowds, the chattering school children. . . and the silent stones.

###

More on Arlington National Cemetery at the jump.

Memorial Day fine time to visit historical sites.

Other Memorial Day Links from years past:
Blackfive with "Opening the Gates of Heaven."
Intel Dump

Marine Corps Moms

LaShawn Barber's Corner

See Traffic Jam

Jo's Cafe has Specials.

Mudville Gazette has Open Post.

Michelle Malkin has Memorial Day Links.

Wiz Bang has links.

LaShawn has tributes.

California Conservative has Memorial Day Tribute.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:20 AM | Permalink
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Gold Star
1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker A few decades ago, Your Business Blogger was privileged to be a Survival Assistance Officer helping families who lost a service member. As a young Cavalry Officer, I commanded a number of burial details. The part that hurt and still moves in slow motion in my mind's eye, is handing the tri-folded American flag to the widow.

I never cried at these funerals. I was too young. It was a task, a detail that had to be done.

Our government has a task that needs to be done. But it won't be done by Harry Reid. Democrats are surrendering and will nullify our sacrifices in the war against the jihadists. Democrats say our troops sacrifice and die for nothing.

Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, says, "...this war is lost..."

Democrats, like the French, have already surrendered. RedState says it all best.

But not surrendering, it seems, is the American public. Following is Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home dated February 17, 2007, that was making the rounds. Hat tip to John Howland, who runs the USNA-At-Large group.

Every death in the armed forces is a public event. 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker, 25, Big Bear City, California, Rest in Peace.

Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home

February 17, 2007,
0350 [hours; 3:30am]
I was at curbside at 24th and M, Washington DC . 16 Degrees with a light breeze. Going home after my second week of freezing temps to my warm home in SoCal. Take a walk on the beach, ride a horse, climb a mountain and get back to living. I'm tired of the cold.

0425
paying the taxi fare at Dulles in front of the United Airlines counter, still cold.

0450
engaged the self-serve ticker machine and it delivers my ticket, baggage tag and boarding pass. Hmmm, that Marine over there is all dressed up in his dress blues a bit early this morning... "Good Morning Captain, you're looking sharp." He says, "Thank you, sir."

Pass Security and to my gate for a decaf coffee and 5 hours sleep. A quick check of the flight status monitor and UA Flt 211 is on time. I'm up front, so how bad can that be? Hmmm, there's that same Marine. He must be heading to Pendleton to see his lady at LAX for the long weekend, all dressed up like that. Or maybe not. I dunno.

The speaker system announces "Attention in the boarding area, we'll begin boarding in 10 minutes, we have some additional duties to attend to this morning, but we'll have you out of here on time."

The Marine Captain has now been joined by five others. BINGO, I get it, he's not visiting his lady, he's an official escort. I remember doing that once, CACO duty. I still remember the names of the victim and family, The Bruno Family in Mojave - all of them, wows, that was 24 years ago.

On board, 0600:
"Good morning folks, this is the Captain. This morning we've been attending to some additional duties, and I apologize for being 10 minutes late for push back, but I believe we'll be early into LAX. This morning it is my sad pleasure to announce that...

Continue Reading »

Posted at 3:16 PM | Permalink
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Translated below The Navy's nixed-mixed messages making the rounds with mil-bloggers from last year.

U.S. Navy Directive 16134 [Inappropriate T-Shirts]

The following directive was issued by the commanding officer of all naval installations in the Middle East, and it was obviously directed at the Marines.

To: All Commands

Subject: Inappropriate T-Shirts

Ref: ComMidEastFor Inst 16134//24 K

All commanders promulgate upon receipt, The following T-shirts are no longer to be worn on or off base by any military or civilian personnel serving in the Middle East:

"Eat Pork Or Die" [both English and Arabic versions]

"Shrine Busters" [Various. Show burning minarets or bomb/artillery shells impacting Islamic shrines. Some with unit logos.]

"Napalm, Sticks Like Crazy" [Both English and Arabic versions]

"Goat - it isn't just for breakfast any more." [Both English and Arabic versions]

"The road to Paradise begins with me." [Mostly Arabic versions but some in English. Some show sniper scope cross-hairs]

"Pork. The other white meat." [Arabic version]

"Infidel" [English, Arabic and other coalition force languages.]

Your Business Blogger's favorite: "Guns don't kill people. I kill people." [Both Arabic and English versions]

The above T-shirts are to be removed from Post Exchanges upon receipt of this directive.

In addition, the following signs are to be removed upon receipt of this message:

"Islamic Religious Services Will Be Held at the Firing Range At 0800 Daily."

"Do we really need 'smart bombs' to drop on these dumb bast*rds?"

All commands are instructed to implement sensitivity training upon receipt.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

See I love Jet Noise.

Arabic above: I am NOT a terrorist.

Posted at 4:42 PM | Permalink
Comments (3)

General Peter Pace
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of StaffMarine General Peter Pace supports our law that states, homosexuality is incompatible with military service.

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts." General Pace then says, "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

Because this would undermine unit cohesion.

Trust is the foremost component of the bonds that bind a small military unit together.

Trust, in that I trust you with my life. I trust your word.

Undercover homosexuals in the armed forces are living a lie. Where their first act in the military is to hide, to deceive, to circumvent the law: Homosexuality is incompatible with military service.

If your first act on joining the military is to lie, what makes us think that you would not continue to lie.

The best indication of future performance -- is past performance. If the homosexual deceived in the past, the homosexual will deceive in the future. Living the lie destroys unit cohesion -- no one will trust the homosexual.

The Department of Defense Directive, 1332.14, 28 January 1982, said,

The presence of such [homosexual] members adversely affects the ability of the Military Services to maintain discipline, good order, and morale; to foster mutual trust and confidence among service members...

The presence of homosexuals destroys mutual trust.

...to ensure the integrity of the system of rank and command; to facilitate assignment and worldwide deployment of service members who frequently must live and work under close conditions affording minimal privacy...

Service members do not want to be in close, intimate quarters with any gender who would be sexually attracted or attractive. Heterosexual men do not shower with women. (The military is not a college campus.)

...to recruit and retain members of the Military Services; to maintain the public acceptability of military service...

What mother or father would knowingly send their son off to a San Francisco bath house?

The Gay, Lesbian, BiSexual and Transgender genders are demanding that the military accept their morality. They are more interested in fighting the culture war. And less concerned about losing the war against the Islamofascists.

There are many ways homosexuals can serve our country:

The Peace Corp,
AmeriCorp,

but not the Marine Corp.

The Salvation Army,

but not the US Army.

There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Also see Don't Ask; Don't Tell and The Ban on Homosexuals in the Military

PUBLIC LAW 103-160 - NOV. 30, 1993

UPDATE: So what did General Pace actually say? Listen to the clip here.

See Peter LaBarbera, Praised.

Your Business Blogger is a former Armored Cavalry Officer.

Posted at 8:49 PM | Permalink
Comments (9)

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save," commonly known as The Navy Hymn, was sung at the funeral of President Gerald Ford today.

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save": The Navy Hymn

Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
and calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Text from a publication of the Bureau of Naval Personnel

See the DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

This hymn is often used at funerals for personnel who served in or were associated with the Navy. Eternal Father was the favorite hymn of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral at Hyde Park, New York in April 1945. Roosevelt had served as Secretary of the Navy. This hymn was also played as President John F. Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the capitol to lie in state.

More verses at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:03 PM | Permalink
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The Army has a new slogan: Army Strong.

Army StrongThis replaces the Army of One nonsense we have endured for the last 5 years. Your Business Blogger/Old Soldier is delighted with the new verbiage.

Robert Burns, the AP Military Writer reports,

Army officials said the switch did not mean the "Army of One" slogan was a loser, but many have criticized it.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute research group, said the previous slogan seemed to promote the notion that you could join the Army and preserve your individuality.

"If you want to be an 'Army of One' you probably want to join the Hell's Angels, not the U.S. Army," he said.

The new war chant is a better descriptor; more authentic as the academics say. And is guaranteed to win advertising awards as it should.

The Washington Post reports on the $200 million a year ad campaign where the,

New York advertising firm McCann Erickson designed the campaign after winning the two-year Army contract, which can be renewed for three additional years.

The ads were tested on hundreds of soldiers, although studies show that it is difficult for the military to gain an accurate measure of the effectiveness of advertising, which is relatively expensive compared with other recruiting tools such as educational benefits and bonuses.

All of marketing, including military, should be measured against a matrix of benchmarks for grading a return on investment.

[Goodness, look-it all those buzz phrases strung together. How impressive!...I'll have to raise my fees.]

The measure of success in this marketing campaign with the new catch-phrase is in the number of recruits as compared to a like-time frame with the old slogan.

I am not persuaded that the Army Strong campaign will increase the recruiting numbers of the Army.

Heartbeat of AmericaThe Army Strong marketing mirrors the marketing done by Chevrolet with the Heart Beat of America branding from 1987 to 1994.

The genius of Sean K. Fitzpatrick was recognized by a number of awards for Chevrolet's Heartbeat of America advertising effort.

Interestly, singer songwriter Robin Batteau wrote and sang both Chevrolet's "Heartbeat of America" and "Be All You Can Be" for the US Army.

Steve Coomes, writes in Pizza Marketplace Image isn’t everything,

The Heartbeat of America, Chevrolet.

It’s not only one of the most memorable ad slogans of the 1980s, it was an advertising industry award winner.

And yet it failed miserably....

"That’s a perfect example of image advertising," said Cavalloro, whose company, Performance Marketing, is based in Algonac, Mich. "Image advertising is the type of advertising that focuses more on the aesthetics and the artistic quality of an ad. It doesn’t get the reader to take action."

(Marketing: Pizza, Chevy, Army. Ain't America great or what.)

As it happens, I drove a Chevy Celebrity during the Heartbeat heyday. Not by choice. It was a company car. It was not, shall I say, reliable transportation.

So, Heartbeat of America won awards and cost millions of dollars. But Chevrolet sales dropped 17 percent in Heartbeat's first year.

Great slogan. Crappy cars.

My concern is that advertising history will be repeated: The Pentagon will have terrific, award winning eye-wash. But that the results of the slogan's effectiveness will be poor. Recruitment will remain a challenge.

Not because of a poor product. The Army output is outstanding. No. Recruitment will remain problematic -- not because the Army is a difficult lifestyle. Or there is a war and you might die. Not because the Army is too hard.

No. Recruitment will falter because the Army is now seen as being too easy. Too soft.

Even girls can do it.

Women Loving WeaponsRecruitment will be troublesome because the Army is using double standards -- different standards for men and women. For example,

Army men must do 75 push-ups...and run two miles in 13 minutes. Women soldiers must do 46 push-ups...and run two miles in 15:35.

The Army has soft, gentle, kinder standards for females. Double standards. New slogans will not fix this policy.

###

Thank you (foot)notes:

Management Training Tip: When recruiting new talent, don't make the job sound easy. Make the job a challenge.

See the Chevy icon in...China.

Posted at 9:44 PM | Permalink
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Fox News here in Your Nation's Capital is taping a segment on women in the military. The interview will air on the 11th. Veterans' Day. I will be discussing the contribution of women in the uniformed services.

Location: MC RECRUIT DEPOT, PARRIS ISLAND,
SOUTH CAROLINA (SC)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
DoD photo by: SGT R. KLIKA
Date Shot: 20 Jun 1985Our women in uniform are serving with distinction and honor in our Armed Services. The nation is proud of our women in uniform for their outstanding contribution to the security of our nation. They have faithfully discharged their duty and oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. We are grateful for their service.

To defend out institutions and our way of life. Our women in the military have made sacrifices. And for too many, the supreme sacrifice.

Women have served with distinction in Iraq and Afghanistan in the global war on terror. There is no debate, no question on the patriotism of our women in the military and their contribution to our national security.

Nothing that has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan changes the debate on women in combat. That women have been placed in combat.

The President, the Commander in Chief, has said that women willl not be in [land] combat.

Congress has decreed that women will not be in land combat.

Army rule and req have forbidden the placement of women in land combat.

The American people have demanded that women not be placed in land combat.

But.

Women are dying in combat.

Todate, 67 women in the service have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Vietnam era only 17 women were killed. And most of those female casualties were nurses. We do not have to sacrifice our women in combat.

What has changed?

During the Clinton era army regulations were weakened to where women are now exposed to a substantial risk of capture. The end results of this change has been tragic. As we now have seen with the capture, torture and murder of our female soldiers.

We are proud of our women in the military. But we did not send them off to a war zone to be killed and captured in combat.

Double Standards involving Women (DSIW)

...here's what a 22-year-old man and woman must do to "max" (get a perfect score of 300) the physical fitness test in each service.

Marine men must do 20 pull-ups, 100 sit-ups and run three miles in 18 minutes. Women Marines must hold the flexed-arm hang for 70 seconds, do 100 sit-ups and run three miles in 21 minutes.

Army men must do 75 push-ups, 80 sit-ups and run two miles in 13 minutes. Women soldiers must do 46 push-ups, 80 sit-ups and run two miles in 15:35.

Women are held to lower physical standards than men. Lower physical standards can jeopardize mission accomplishment and evacuation of wounded fellow soldiers.

Only about 3% of military women test as well in physical training as the average male. Women have much to offer in knowledge, skills and abilities to our armed forces. Man-handling an 80 pound back isn't one of them.

If one of our soldiers is wounded, do we know that a female could move her buddy to safety?

This doubt, this hesitation on rescue is what destroys unit cohesion.

Women in combat does not improve the ability of our Army to fight and win.

US Marine Corps Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Schliesman and the other Drill Instructors of the 2nd Battalion, H Company, watch as new recruits do dead hang pullups at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. (Released to Public)

Pullups. Men have to do them. Women don't. Double standards. For the feminists.

###

Thank you (foot)notes: Update: The interview was bumped. We'll let you know when segment is re-scheduled. Your Business Blogger serves as the Vice President of the Center for Military Readiness

Posted at 7:01 AM | Permalink
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The Center for Military Readiness is having our Eleventh Annual Celebration, this afternoon, Thursday, October 12, 2006 in Washington, D.C.

C-SPAN has confirmed to cover the event.

The Celebration will be held at the National Guard Association of the U.S. Building -- Hall of the States, on
One Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington D.C. 2002, one block west of Union Station.

Elaine Donnelly, President, Center for Military Readiness, will preside. I will MC.

CMR Issues Briefing
4:00 PM -- 5:45 PM

The CMR Issues Briefing panel will discuss the question Respect for Women: Where is the Military Taking Us?

In addition to CMR President Elaine Donnelly, guest panelists will include:

Kate O’Beirne Washington Editor of National Review, author of Women Who Make the World Worse, and former member of the 1992 Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces

Charles W. Gittins Noted attorney, USNA alumnus and former Marine naval flight officer and lecturer who has successfully defended many men who have been caught up in high-profile legal and cultural controversies at the service academies and in the military

Karin L. Agness Founder and President of the Network of enlightened Women (NeW), which helps female college students to confront radical feminists and liberals on fifteen college campuses. Ms. Agness is a Phi Beta Kappa member and student of law, University of Virginia.

CMR Celebration Reception 6:00 PM -- 8:00 PM

2006 Honorees, 7:00 PM

"CMR Spotlight Award" Janet Parshall, Salem Radio Network

Ambassador Robert D. Stuart, Jr. of the Stuart Family Foundation

###

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Your Business Blogger is proud to serve as the Vice President of CMR. The Center for Military Readiness is an independent public policy organization that specializes in military personnel issues. Information about issues of concern to CMR can be seen on our website, www.cmrlink.org. More at the jump.

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Posted at 10:07 AM | Permalink
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Last night, President Bush paid tribute to Staff Sergeant Dan Clay, who died in Iraq last month. The President read portions of a letter Dan wrote to his family. But his full letter gives a powerful Christian testimony -- my friend Stacy Harp at Writing Right has posted that letter:

MOM, DAD, KRISTIE, JODIE, KIMBERLY, ROBERT, KATY, RICHARD, AND MY LISA: Boy do I love each and every one of you. This letter being read means that I have been deemed worthy of being with Christ. With MaMa Jo, MaMa Clay, Jennifer ... all those we have been without for our time during the race. This is not a bad thing. It is what we hope for. The secret is out. He lives and His promises are real! It is not faith that supports this ... But fact and I now am a part of the promise. Here is notice! Wake up! All that we hope for is Real. Not a hope. But Real.

But here is something tangible. What we have done in Iraq is worth any sacrifice. Why? Because it was our duty. That sounds simple. But all of us have a duty. Duty is defined as a God given task. Without duty life is worthless. It holds no type of fulfillment. The simple fact that our bodies are built for work has to lead us to the conclusion that God (who made us) put us together to do His work. His work is different for each of us. Mom, yours was to be the glue of our family, to be a pillar for those women (all women around you), Dad, yours was to train and build us (like a Platoon Sgt.) to better serve Him. Kristie, Kim, Katy you are the five team leaders who support your Squad ldrs, Jodie, Robert and Richard. Lisa you too. You are my XO and you did a hell of a job. You all have your duties. Be thankful that God in His wisdom gives us work. Mine was to ensure that you did not have to experience what it takes to protect what we have as a family. This I am so thankful for. I know what honor is. It is not a word to be thrown around. It has been an Honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. This is as close to Christ-like I can be. That emulation is where all honor lies. I thank you for making it worthwhile.

As a Marine this is not the last Chapter. I have the privilege of being one who has finished the race. I have been in the company of heroes. I now am counted among them. Never falter! Don't hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting.

Now here are my final wishes. Do not cry! To do so is to not realize what we have placed all our hope and faith in. We should not fear. We should not be sad. Be thankful. Be so thankful. All we hoped for is true. Celebrate! My race is over, my time in war zone is over. My trials are done. A short time separates all of us from His reality. So laugh. Enjoy the moments and your duty. God is wonderful.

I love each and every one of you.

Spread the word ..... Christ lives and He is Real.

Semper Fidelis

* * *

God bless the Clay family. How humbling -- we all live more safely today because of their sacrifice of their son. May we make grateful and good use of that gift.

Posted at 1:43 PM | Permalink
Comments (2)

The Guardian is really pushing the Iran story. More today. They quote an unidentified "western intelligence assessment" from last summer that says Iran is agressively pursuing nuclear technology, equipment and supplies.

Although are we surprised? At the same time, Iran has cooly announced that they will resume nuclear fuel testing. On Monday.

Sleep well.

via Drudge.

Posted at 11:39 PM | Permalink
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The Pearl Harbor Telegram

We were at war.

We are at war.

Tom McMahon did the thinking. I'll do the linking.

Be sure to check out his 4-block world.

The truth is always simple.

###

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Red State Rant has more on 7 December 1941.

Posted at 3:09 PM | Permalink
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Wow. This is just a jaw-dropper.

Lisa from Two Babes and a Brain was at Walter Reed this weekend and took a picture with a camera-phone of this card that had been sent to one of our soldiers, recovering from a gunshot wound that he got fighting for our country in Iraq.

Even if it's a fake, and some adult wrote it to look like a kid did it, still. . .how horrible.

Michelle Malkin provides Joshua's address:

Joshua Sparling
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Jack used to work Walter Reed when he was in medical sales and he says our soldiers need our cards and visits. . .

UPDATE: Here are the names of other wounded soldiers at Walter Reed, from Brian Kilmeade of Fox News, via Michelle Malkin:

Capt. James Ollinger
Sgt. Zavian Simspon
Specialist Brian Radke
Specialist Jason Braase
Sgt. David Nevins
Sgt. Jose Ramos
Cpl. Todd Bishop
Sgt. Ryan Donnelly
Sgt. Eva Diane Cochran

Posted at 3:28 PM | Permalink
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Greyhawk posts today results from a survey of Utah's National Guard reporting why they are reenlisting, or not.

Why are you staying in? Here's the one answer that really got me:

"Lisa."

Posted at 7:34 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

Apocalyptic, misleading, headlines: U.S. Soldiers Burned Bodies of Taliban Fighters, Taunted Villagers.

The full story.

Via Beth, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

Posted at 9:05 AM | Permalink
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We got a formal wedding invitation . . . with no date on it. Instead, it said they'd let us know when the groom could be home for the ceremony.

This picture was taken on day three of a six-day leave. Pretty short honeymoon.

The new husband is now back in Germany, training for deployment to Iraq.

Always remember the families. . .the wives, the children, the mothers and fathers. . .of those who serve, so that we can be safe.

God bless you Josh and Charlee. May you grow old together, in joy and peace.

Posted at 11:40 PM | Permalink
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It's worth taking a moment to reflect on how profoundly technology has changed our world. Amidst the frequent criticism of cell-phone technology -- detractors argue that it has grossly impinged on our public spaces -- we often fail to remember when lack of communication caused real pain.

Most of us know the World War II story of the Sullivan brothers -- five young men from one family killed in action. . . but did you know that although they died in November of 1942, in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the family had still not received official word in January, and their mother wrote to the Navy asking about a rumour that they had all died?

Here's the letter that Florida Cracker found and posted this last week:

Every time I read this, I can't get beyond the line, "If it is so, please let me know the truth," without choking up. What an unimaginable loss.

History marches remorselessly on. And we fight another war.

Tammy Pruett sends five sons off to Iraq. But because of Alletta Sullivan's loss, the Pruett boys would not be allowed to serve together in the same unit.

And another soldier's mom, a blogger, Some Soldier's Mom, got a phone call on Tuesday: her son, Noah Pincusoff, had been seriously injured in Iraq. She put up a post asking for prayer for him at 6:37pm.

By 4:30am, she had talked with him by phone in Iraq.

By Friday, Mrs. Greyhawk had seen Noah in person in Landstuhl.

By this morning, Mrs. G was able to talk with Noah's mom by phone to tell her how well her son is doing. . .

Sure. There are some downsides to the new insta-always-on-communication.

But the upsides are worth it.

* * *

See also -- From Michael Yon's amazing reporting on site in Mosul: Picture of Commander Erik Kurilla calling wounded soldier, Daniel Lama's, family to reassure them that he is going to be okay.

And more cool technology: open trackbacks at the ever-generous Beth's Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. . .

And Mrs. Greyhawk, as well as visiting hospitals and giving us the great Dawn Patrol, also gives us Open Post!

Posted at 4:49 PM | Permalink
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His name is Robert Crook. And, if you support the President, and the war in Iraq, he says you are a "moron."

Yeah, well, c'mon Charmaine, that's what happens when you get your political commentary from someone who has a can of spray paint in his hand.

No, actually, Salon provides him bandwidth and his very own "Soapbox:"

There is no shortage of morons who support George W. Bush [so true Rob, so true. . .eat your heart out] -- Americans who buy the "freedom" and "democracy" bull***t even though it's clear that the only parties who are benefiting from the Bush regime's f***ing mess in Iraq are the war profiteers. . .

But presently, it becomes clear that what's really bothering Robert is that some of those "morons" Americans who support both the President and the war have had a front row seat for the "mess in Iraq," and have come away with a pretty different account. Robert is not too happy that many (most?) in the American military do support the war, specifically, military mom, Tammy Pruett:

Tammy and GWB
Reuters

Of course, Tammy Pruett isn't really the Anti-Cindy because none of her immediate family members have been killed in Iraq.

Tammy can get back to us with what she thinks of Gee Dubya's Gulf War II if one of her immediate family members is killed.[You don't think that the thought that one of her boys, or her husband, could get killed has occurred to her, Robert?]

Lila Lipscomb, the mother of a military family featured in "Fahrenheit 9/11," was supportive of Gulf War II -- until her son was killed in Iraq.

What I like most about the news story above, I think, is Bush's remark that "America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."

What about the Sheehan family? The Lipscomb family? [Of course them too. Especially them. The President did meet with Mrs. Sheehan in person after her son was killed, remember.] The many other families who lost a member to Bush's bogus war in Iraq who would not squeal like a giddy schoolgirl if Bush were to mention them in a speech?

Do these families count?

To Bush, I don't think that they do.

Well, apparently that one line of the President's -- "America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts." -- has really rankled the Left.

Eric Jaffa, of MoveLeft.com, left a comment here about this same statement:

We were a free country before the Iraq War.

We would still be a free country if the US hadn't invaded Iraq.

We could have an extended debate about the implications of that comment. But here's what I still can't believe:

Eric: You left that anti-war comment on my Tammy Pruett post??

So much for "I oppose the war, but support our troops . . "

* * *

Here at Reasoned Audacity, we are PRO-Mudville Gazette, with thanks for the Open Post.

FRIDAY UPDATE: Ilyka Damen says Crook has a "Dead Kid Quota." Brilliant. Absolutely Must Read.

Posted at 12:33 AM | Permalink
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Tammy Pruett

Tammy Pruett has five sons in the military, four of whom are in Iraq right now. Her husband served in Iraq last year, too.

Look at that face. The Pesident mentioned Tammy today by saying: "America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts." (See Drudge.)

So true. So humbling.

Think we'll have a spate of media attention on the Pruett men? Not a chance.

Tammy, you and yours have my undying gratitude and respect.

* * *

Also saluting Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette Open Post.

Posted at 6:50 PM | Permalink
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