Let's Worry About The Right Things

Worry About The Right Things
Beer Runners' Flour Trail a Recipe For Trouble

I really can't believe the New Haven eye doctor and his sister are being charged with breach of peace. It's absolutely ludicrous!

I think the prosecutor will have a difficult time proving intent.

I can understand why someone would overreact and freak out, but instead of saying, "oops, false alarm", they charge the people who were doing something completely innocent and unrelated to terrorism with a felony. Can't our taxes be put to a better use?

J.H.C. Worry that your fire department can't communicate with your police department or E.M.T.s in the event of a real emergency. Worry the same for our soldiers and Marines on-the-ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then do something about it. Worry that high blood pressure and obesity is going to kill you. Don't let fear run your life, because once you do you turn your security over to people who may or may not have your best interests in mind. Don't think of security as a defensive precaution - think of it as proactive, offensive measures that encompasses a broad scope.

Wartime Racial Prejudices

When I drove past South High School in Torrance on my commute to work today, I noticed a memorial composed of flowers, photographs, and warm-hearted notes for a PFC Joseph Anzack Jr.

His was the body found in the Euphrates this week. He had been MIA.

Body Found In Iraq ID'd as Torrance Soldier
Soldier slain in Iraq joined Army to 'keep us free'
Body of Missing GI Identified as PFC Anzack

Today at work I saw posted notices pretty much everywhere; in the elevators, in the halls, near the front desk, with a synopsis of Anzack's life and career in the military. The notice was pretty gung-ho; proclaiming the virtues of wanting to serve one's country, as Anzack did, how noble he was for wanting to be in Special Forces.

Near the end of the notice was a remark that included some very derogatory and racial slurs towards Iraqis, which I thought was very inappropriate. I did not know PFC Anzack personally, but if Anzack truly believed in the United States' cause in Iraq, if he truly thought he was there to make a positive influence on the lives of Iraqi citizens, he would have been disgusted with such a remark.

I read something once when I was studying stuff on the Marines, I think it was in Making the Corps. One of the rules you must follow when liberating/occupying a country is to respect the natives of said country. Once you don't respect them, once you start to treat them as sub-humans, they will turn on you and, instead of helping you help them, they will turn against you and harbor hate for the United States.

Fostering and encouraging hate will not bring our soldiers home. It will not bring the dead back to life. It only continues the hate and racial prejudice that runs rampant in certain parts of the world, and it doesn't encourage peace.

What I read in the bulletin disgusted me.

I wish the very best for his family, and hope that PFC Anzack rests in peace.

Boots On The Ground

Iraq 1
Iraq 2
Marines In Fallujah

I was wandering on YouTube and found a couple (a lot, actually. I'm just posting a couple for brevity) of videos that have, uh, wartime footage not sponsored by CNN or FoxNews.

Looking at a couple comments on these videos, there's a lot of hate and general misunderstanding regarding them. I have not been there, and I don't know what war feels like. But I do know a couple people who have spent some time over there, and I do believe (from what they've told me) it's the closest thing to Hell on Earth someone can experience in this day and age.

These guys don't care about the politics of the situation. They care about getting home. They care about their brother next to them. They care about killing insurgents, because if they don't the insurgents will kill them.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this recently. I think in a lot of ways this war is more complicated than what the average American thinks. I think that yes, war is not a good thing. I also think that now the U.S. has dug itself into this situation that we need to throw all the resources we can into stopping the insurgency and stabilizing Iraq so these guys can come home. Because believe it or not, the United States has a responsibility to Iraq to finish what we started.

Blog Addiction

It's relatively easy to get addicted to reading others' blogs.

While most blogs are sappy, not intellectually nutritional, and/or unreadable, there are still lots of good blogs out there.

One of my new friends is an Iraq War veteran, and I was looking into what the World of Blogs had in store by way of people in Iraq.

This is what I came up with.

Today In Iraq
Baghdad Burning
Sgt Hook
Boots In Baghdad
A Day In Iraq

There's lots of other good stuff out there, too, but this is what I found on short notice and appeared to be worthwhile to read.

Now I want to pick up a copy of Blog of War.