Brutally Honest

Moonbat logic and the Dallas Cowboys

Jfielek, over at Quibbles and Bits, plays to win:

Supporting the troops is akin to supporting a sports team. You want them to have the best gear for the job. You want them to have the best talent. You want them to have the best facilities possible, and the best training.

Like supporting a sports team, supporting the troops also mean you want them to accomplish their mission -- whether that mission is winning the Superbowl, winning the Gold Medal, or creating a free and democratic Iraq.

You can disagree with the mission, just like you can disagree with the selection at quarterback. But once the troops undertake that mission, you should want them to succeed, even if you don't like the decisions that got them there.

I went through this while our troops were in Bosnia and Somalia -- I didn't agree with the missions at the time, but I support the troops. So I put aside my disagreement with the political process that resulted in our troops being placed in harm's way, and said a prayer for them, and for victory -- our victory.

I didn't want to see the good men and women of the United States Military put into those situations, but once there, I wanted them to come home as heroes, with their missions accomplished.

The same applies now. If you support the troops, you must support them in the cause of victory. Anything else is pulling the rug from beneath their feet.

So where, you're asking, is the Dalla Cowboy reference?

Go now gentle reader and read the rest of the story.

By the way. That will likely be the last reference you'll see on this site to Cowboys, unless I'm reporting on the news that they were defeated by my beloved Redskins this year.

Oh, and tip of the fedora to Matt over at BlackFive for the piece.

Is John Kerry floundering?

Cox & Forkum seem to think so...

... and Kerry's actions seem to be confirming it, as evidenced by UPI's take on today's events.

The White House slammed Sen. John Kerry Wednesday for staging a "political stunt" at the president's ranch and for a double standard on attack ads.

Spokesman Scott McClellan said Kerry's dispatch of former Sen. Max Cleland and Vietnam veteran Jim Rassman to Crawford to press President Bush to condemn and stop ads by a veterans group that questions Kerry's war record was an attempt to divert attention from Kerry's "out-of-the-mainstream record and out-of-the-mainstream views."

"Senator Kerry says he wants to talk about the issues. Today's political stunt is an interesting way of showing it," McClellan said. "If Senator Kerry was interested in focusing on the issues, he would join the president in calling for a stop to all these ads by these shadowy groups."

...

Bush has called for a ban on all ads by the so-called 527 advocacy groups. Kerry has not heeded Bush's call to stand with him on the issue.

Bush has been savaged for a year by 527s favoring Kerry.

Im glad UPI's seeing this for what it is...

Rank hypocrisy.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Patrick Brady on John Kerry

Via the good Reverend Sensing, a must read Op-Ed by Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a medal of honor recipient:

America has no kings or queens but we do have nobility – our nobility is called Veterans. That nobility is responsible for the bounty that is America but tragically their influence has faded in recent years and the values they died for are under attack. But this election year they are back in demand and some have said the veteran vote could decide this election. It may have put Bush in the White House. With this in mind, John Kerry is seldom seen with out his band of brothers and constantly plays the” hero” card as a cornerstone of his bid for president, indeed, as the definition of who he is. Kerry defines patriotism as “keeping faith with those who wear the uniform of this country. He also brags that he “defended this country as a young man”. If Missouri is the show me state, Veterans are the show me voters – we are not much for words, deeds are our stock in trade. Lets look at Kerry’s deeds.

Before Kerry played his “hero” card, he played the atrocity card. When Kerry came back from Vietnam he joined with Jane Fonda and in 1971 denounced “those who wear the uniform” as terrorists-like rapists and assassins who “cut off heads, taped wires … to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, shot at civilians, razed villages, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks” … and said he “committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of others”. He made these charges under oath. Kerry says today that he would have framed some of what he said in 1971 differently. But he does not say he lied, which he did, nor does he apologize. How can one properly frame the denunciations of ones comrades in arms as modern day Genghis Khans?

The very day that Kerry was calling Vietnam veterans’ war criminals the family of one of those “war criminals”, Michael Blanchfield, was posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor for Michael who had thrown himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. How different from Kerry was the way this man kept faith with those who wore the uniform with him. How different from Kerry was the manner Michael defended his country.

He could have attacked the war without attacking the warrior. He could have questioned policy without supporting the communists’ claim that our soldiers were war criminals. He could have kept faith with those who wore the uniform with him. But he did not and he should be held accountable.

...

Kerry’s “hero” card is based on medals he received in Vietnam and is much celebrated, and unchallenged, by the mainstream media. I know many Medal of Honor recipients who have received less publicity for their medal than Kerry has for his. But medals don’t make a hero. It is how one uses medals that make a hero. Every honest soldier knows that medals are a function of circumstance, even happenstance, but most of all the support of ones fellow warriors.

I was awarded the Medal of Honor; but my fellow soldiers who supported me in the actions and took the time to write it up earned it. I wear it for them, they own my medals. And every Medal of Honor recipient and hero I know believes as I do. Medals should be a sign of patriotism, a symbol of sacrifice, support and defense of a great nation. The highest form of patriotism is service to our youth; heroes also wear their medal for them to signal the importance of courage. Heroes do not use their medals for personal political gain. As I said they are not theirs to use.

Senator Kerry threw his medals away (or ribbons, they are symbolically the same), a political act very difficult for any veteran to understand. He must have been proud of them for he wore them even on his fatigues, in violation of all regulations. But they were not his. They belonged to those who he served. By that act he symbolically denounced his fellow veterans -- again. Does one keep faith with those who wear the uniform by throwing away their medals?

But perhaps most telling of his leadership qualities is his use of his Purple hearts to abandon his band of brothers, his command, on a technicality. Kerry may be the only person in history who took advantage of a Navy regulation that allowed him to leave his command after 4 months for 3 purple hearts none of which ever caused him to miss a day of duty. In my experience men fought to stay with their band of brothers, especially commanders. All the commanders I know would get out of a hospital bed to be with their men. Some one had to take his place; someone probably less experienced who would have to learn the ropes. That put his command more at risk than if he stayed. It is not hard to understand why those who stayed in combat for the full year are upset with Kerry.

And veterans today would be upset with Kerry’s support of Flag Burning his non-support of weapons systems and his 12 votes against military pay raises. But his use of veterans and mis use of his medals should bring into serious question his loyalty, integrity and character all of which equal leadership. He is not fit for command.

If I say Kerry's unfit for command, I can understand those who would discount my opinion, since I've never served.

Brady's opinion can only be discounted if you're a certifiable moonbat.

On August 25th...

... in 1910:

Walden W. Shaw and John D. Hertz formed the Walden W. Shaw Livery Company, which later became the Yellow Cab Company.

... in 1916:

The U.S. National Park Service was created.

... in 1944:

Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division.

... in 1946:

Ben Hogan won his first major golf title.

... in 1949:

Popular radio show Father Knows Best debuts on NBC.

And yet, exceeding each of these events in an order (or two) in magnitude, outweighing in importance (even if you put them all together) every single event, is what happened

... in 1961:

Mrs. Brutally Honest was born.

And I will forever be grateful.

Happy Birthday babe... and many, many more...

Bear-ly avoiding disaster - Part Deux

Sunday night, I wrote about my encounter with a black bear.

On Monday, I made a few phone calls to the Albermarle County police department and to Albermarle County's Animal Control division. I explained that I had hit a bear and that I was trying to find out if perhaps anyone had called and if anyone had followed up and tried to track the bear down.

Monday night, I received a call from Steve at Animal Control.

Yes, they received numerous calls about a bear being hit on I-64 on Sunday. Yes, officers were dispatched in the attempt to find the animal. No, they didn't find anything.

And then I was brought up to speed on how often this happens (often), on how usually cars are totalled (complete loss), and how resilient bears are (they survive being hit by cars more often than you might think).

Bottom line is that Steve gave me hope that the bear survived the crash.

And I wasn't cited for a hit-and-run.

I'm feeling a tad more relieved.

Dole-ing it out

Mike, over at Cold Fury, turns us on to this NewsMax article:

Presidential candidate John Kerry telephoned former Sen. Bob Dole this morning to complain about Dole's demand a day earlier that he apologize to Vietnam veterans for protesting the war, the one-time Republican presidential candidate revealed Monday afternoon.

"John Kerry called me this morning, which surprised me," Dole told radio host Sean Hannity.

"He said he was very disappointed, we'd been friends. I said John, we're still friends, but [the Swiftvets] have First Amendment rights, just as your people have First Amendment rights. Dole told Kerry, "I'm not trying to stir anything up, but I don't believe every one of these people who have talked about what happened are Republican liars.

"And very frankly, Bush is my guy, and I'm tired of people on your side calling him everything from a coward to a traitor to everything - a deserter."

Dole said he urged Kerry, "Why don't you call George Bush today and say, 'Mr. President, let's stop all this stuff about the National Guard and Vietnam - and let's talk about the issues."

Dole said Kerry responded, "I haven't spent one dime attacking President Bush."

But the Republican war hero shot back, "You don't have to. You've got all the so-called mainstream media, plus you've got MoveOn.org and all these other groups that have spent millions and millions of dollars trying to tarnish Bush's image."

"Don't tell me you don't know what some of these people are doing," he told Kerry.

"Everybody likes quiet heroes," Dole added, saying he told Kerry, "John, everybody knows you were in Vietnam and the less you say about it, the better."

Now that's a Bob Dole I could vote for.

Thinking right, about being a man, about being a woman

Right Thinking Girl has a host of tips on being a man in 2004. 10 of them here for your reading pleasure:

* Eat meat. Real men eat meat; you need the protein and iron. It makes your muscles stronger and there's something very sexxxy and primative about watching a guy eat a steak.

* Work out. A man doing pushups.... nothing sexier. NOTHING.

* We will expect you to defend us if someone breaks into our home. You may have to kill somebody. If you're not prepared for that, please tell us during the dating phase, before we sleep with you, so we can reject you and find someone else with better instincts.

* Know the directions. I'm not saying you have to stop and ask for directions. Lisa and I both agree it's very hot when a guy is lost and finds his way all by himself. We love logical brains. Don't let bitchy women bully you into asking for directions, or into doing anything else you don't want to do.

* Let us hit your biceps as much as we want. We're fascinated by them because no matter how much we work out, ours aren't going to be as big and sexy as yours. It's comforting to just ball up our fist and gently punch that really tight muscle. It reminds us how big and strong you are.

* Own a gun. Or at least a baseball bat. Or be as big as Vin Diesel. We want to feel safe.

* Do not put up with nagging. From anyone. It's emasculating and it never accomplishes anything. (Ladies, either learn to live with it or shut up.)

* Valentine's Day is a great time for flowers and stuff but we know you're doing it because of peer pressure. Better to bring the flowers on a really bad day to cheer us up, and then doing something else entirely for Valentine's Day.

* Be nice to other women but don't flirt. It makes us cranky and you can't get away with it because you're pretty much under global surveillance (yes, even you). You do it and we'll find out and it'll be a nasty evening. Just be a gentleman.

* Help us with unweildly grocery bags, open the door for us (every single time), and say please and thank you. Manners are important. But be careful not to be her slave. You're a man, not a servant. You're supposed to protect us, love us, and care for us, but not be so worshipful that your body no longer produces testosterone.

She also has a ton of tips on being a woman in 2004:

* Do not nag him. He doesn't need to hear your whiney little voice complaining about something he doesn't want to change. Just sssshhh!

* Dress like a girl. They like us because we're girls, not miniature boys. Skirts are so popular in spring and summer for a reason. Not only are they much cooler than pants, it gives boys ideas. They imagine that the easier access means something.

* Don't fall into the habit of wearing sweats and a t-shirt around the house. It can be cute but if it's all he sees you in, he's going to start looking at the Hooters girls a little too carefully.

* Never, ever talk badly about your man. Whatever fight you had, it's between you two. Don't tell your girlfriends, your boss, or God forbid, your mother.

* Don't embarrass him in front of his friends. There's a social order to everything and if you bitch at him in front of his friends, it emasculates him. Treat him like the prince he is, even if you're seething with rage.

* Expect him to be kind, generous, loving, gentle and sweet, but don't expect him to be happy about running your errands every day for a month. In other words, don't take advantage of men's naturally generous natures.

* Men don't like complainers, especially if there is nothing to be done about it. Guys want to help, and if you give him a problem he can't solve (ie, you have blisters and there's no bandaids and you refuse to take off your shoes) it makes him feel like a failure.

* PMS is not an excuse to be mean to him. Don't be short with him or be rude. Nicely tell him you feel bad and you're much more likely to get what you need.

* Work out. They like our bods for a reason. Give them lots of reasons.

* Seduce him. Often. He'll feel awesome and that can only be good for both of you.

There's some serious wisdom. And Mrs. Brutally Honest, who is all woman, I think would agree...

:)

Kerry's altruistic self

This is priceless:

Kerry Donates War Medals to Korean Olympian

(2004-08-23) -- Democrat presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry today donated several of his own medals to South Korean gymnast Yang Tae-young, who fell short of an Olympic gold medal this week due to a judging error.

"That young man's uneven parallel bar routine is seared...seared in my memory," said Mr. Kerry, who is also a U.S. Senator. "Since I had these medals just lying around the house--the ones I earned in Vietnam--I thought it would cheer him up."

The Democrat candidate said he personally delivered the decorations to the South Korean Embassy in Washington.

"The embassy was closed, so I tossed them over the fence," he said. "There were some ribbons or some medals...I don't remember. Anyway, ribbons and medals were absolutely interchangeable in the Navy."

A spokesman for the Kerry-Edwards campaign said the altruistic act demonstrates that Mr. Kerry is not the kind of man described in the new book by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

If that doesn't make you crack a smile, you have problems fogging a mirror.

Life and Death

Josh Claybourn chronicles his mother's last day.

May the good Lord rest her soul. And may He comfort and console her loved ones as only He can.

Bear-ly avoiding disaster

I'm an animal lover. Not PETA-esque in how much love but love nevertheless.

So what happened yesterday has hit me pretty hard, although I hesitate in admitting as much.

We were on our way to deliver our oldest son (and all his stuff) to his dorm room in Harrisonburg where he's set to start his sophomore year at James Madison University.

We were two hours into our three hour trip, having just begun the most picturesque portion of our trek. Charlottesville was looming in the rear-view mirror and Staunton, where we'd catch I-81 and turn north toward the rolling hills of Harrisonburg, was roughly 30 minutes away.

Trailing my son's Nissan 240SX by about a mile or so (he tends to have a bit of a heavy foot), Mrs. Brutally Honest and I listened quietly to the radio as it scanned local frequencies for something we'd both agree to listen to. Every once in a while we'd stop the scan as it hit upon a classic that would send us back 20 or 25 years. We wondered aloud at how quickly time had passed and how one year from now we'd be making a similar trip with our youngest son. And then...

... in the median on my left, I see something black and large running toward the highway, perpendicular to the direction I was heading in. Traffic was moving at a fair clip, the speed limit in that rural area set at 65 MPH, and I was in the passing lane, with traffic close in behind me in both lanes.

As I get closer, I recognize that it's a bear and it continues to lope toward the highway. Glancing quickly in the mirror, I see I have few options. I can't go to my right as there are cars coming up on that side and if I brake hard I'm likely to get rear-ended. I holler at the bear, as if he'd hear me, as if he'd understand what I'm saying. "Stop damn you bear, don't come across, don't come across..."

The bear doesn't listen. I brake as much as I can and swerve slightly to the left, but it's too little, too late. It crosses directly in front of me and I clip the bear in it's right rear haunches with the right front side bumper. I groan as I hear the loud thump.

I estimate that I was doing around 60... my wife thinks I was slower. In my rear-view mirror, I see two cars in the right lane pulling over and I catch a glimpse of the bear running up a hill on the right side of the highway.

I find a safe place to pull over roughly a quarter mile to a half a mile up the road. But we're around a bend and can't see if the bear has been mortally injured.

Mrs. Brutally Honest tries to warn my son that we've pulled over and that we've hit a bear. He was too far ahead of us to know of the mishap and has continued on. She raises him on the cell phone and by then he was a number of miles up the road.

The truck bumper sustains some minor damage and there's a tuft of black hair, matted with what appeared to be blueberries, stuck to it's front edge.

I'm heartbroken. It's only the second time I've seen a bear in the wild. And I think I've mortally wounded it.

We get back in the truck and head on down the highway, thinking we should find an exit and turn around, if only to see if in fact the bear was on the side of the road, breathing it's last breaths. But by the time an exit is found, and with our son by this time far ahead of us, we decide to move on.

I still don't know how the bear is. It bugs me to no end.

Later that evening, on the return trip, we actually rode by the area where the accident took place three times, taking exits twice so that we could look for a carcass on the side of the road, or some other evidence (a note written by the bear saying it's ok). We find nothing.

Mrs. Brutally Honest has tried to console me by saying, repeatedly, that if the bear was well enough to make it up the side of the hill, that it was likely not fatally injured.

I'm picturing the thing somewhere however, even as I write this, dying from internal injuries. And my luck, it'd be a momma bear with cubs.

Damn it all.

I hope the thing survived.

I really do.