Day: September 13, 2017

Closing Thought–13Sep17

Death By Suicide!

There have been many tragic stories that have come to light since we started down this road of war 16 years ago…..it is sad that so many Americans have had to die….so many have had to be repaired….and especially all those that just could not cope and took their own lives.

Below is a story by a military wife that had ro deal with the results of a husband’s suicide……

Most military families will tell you that the trajectory of their lives was drastically altered following the attacks that took place 16 years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001. It was no different for my young family. We were stationed in Enid, Okla., and my husband was a Marine Corps instructor pilot, training student pilots to fly T-37 trainer jets. We had two young boys, ages 4 and 6. Oklahoma was supposed to be our last duty station before we transitioned back to civilian life; we planned to leave the Marine Corps and move home to live near our families in Massachusetts. My husband, Maj. John Ruocco, just happened to be home that morning and we were enjoying a cup of coffee together when we noticed “breaking news” on the television. We sat in stunned silence as we watched the second plane hit the second tower. My husband took a deep breath and said, “this is going to change everything for us.” Four years later, three months after he returned from a combat tour in Iraq, my husband died by suicide.

Source: Hope, Help, Heal: Suicide Prevention and the Military | RealClearDefense

Suicide is a battle that we are not winning….all stories need to be told and heard…..maybe somewhere3 we can find a way to heal these troubled souls.

Will She Ever Shut Up?

She is back!

Just when you thought it was safe to read the news……you then have your Johnson banged into a door.

I am talking about Hillary Clinton.  She is back and with a new book telling the world about her place in the world during the 2016 election and of course assigning blame for her overwhelming loss.

NO!  I have not read the book and will never….but apparently she does what she and all her cronies have been doing since the vote count….blaming Bernie and his supporters for her loss.

Letter to the editor: 

Hillary Clinton blaming Sen. Bernie Sanders for her loss is deeply offensive and beyond the pale.

Millions of citizens from all walks of life (myself included) supported Sanders passionately because we loved the positions he was willing to fight for and the fact that he was not beholden to wealthy corporate donors.

Clinton represents everything that is wrong with the political class in this country, in both the Democratic and Republican parties, which have lost touch with the real needs and cries of the people they’re supposed to represent. I sincerely hope that Sanders joins the growing movement for a viable new progressive party.

With her latest blame game, Clinton has only further alienated every true progressive who didn’t support her to begin with.

Lydia Johnson; Roanoke, Va.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has spent years in Congress as an independent, not helping the Democratic Party much. But when Democrats put forth a woman, he pushed his way into the Democratic primary. Sanders has no allegiance to the Democratic Party and has done damage by bringing out the whining kids. I am not a fan.

— Victoria Kugler

I voted for Clinton, but in the primary I wanted Sanders. One problem was that Democrats had Clinton anointed.

— Karen Benson

Clinton blames Donald Trump, Sanders and just about everything and everyone for her failed run for the White House. How about looking in the mirror? She did not campaign very hard. She did not visit key states. She lost in the final weeks. She thought she had it in the bag. The ultimate example of entitlement.

— Sharon Raguckas

She is a typical arrogant politician……she just cannot bring herself to look at her terrible candidacy ans the reason she lost…..she had NO message but that has been the problem with most Dems since 2008….they have NOTHING to offer the American people.

I know it is a bitter pill to swallow….but do it anyway….you lost….stop whining and go spend some of your money…..

Time for her and her cronies to step aside and let the Dems get on with finding a message that will resonate with the American people….doing it the Clinton way is a dead issue.

Will she ever shut up?

ANTIFA: Out Of The Shadows

Return with me to days of high adventure, the 1920’s Europe, roaming gangs on the Right would meet the roaming gangs of the Left in massive street violence……..chuq

Gulf South Free Press

A few weeks ago it was reported that a few thousand neo-Nazis, KKK and other assorted fascists were going to Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee…….with that report a group known as ANTIFA decided that they would show up to protest the protest.

Before we go any further maybe here would be a good place to define the ANTIFA for those that know mlittle of this organization……

They wear black pants and sweatshirts, with either helmets or hoods over their heads, bandanas across their faces — and dark sunglasses, goggles or gas masks over their eyes. Many carry makeshift shields and flags, whose staffs can quickly become weapons.

They call themselves “antifa,” short for anti-fascist, and they’re part of a loosely organized national network of anonymous anarchists. The movement during much of this decade has been a common sight at Bay Area…

View original post 371 more words

World War 2–The Big Ones

Speaking of war……..

The war of the “Greatest Generation”…..when American went to war against Germany and Japan and to a small part Italy…..sad that was 80 years ago and slowly those that fought that war are disappearing….soon their voices will be gone and I am afraid so will be the caring of a nation.

When yopu talk to younger people about that war and ask to name a few of the big battles you get a wide array of answers but the one the they remember will be D-Day and Pearl Harbor….

So I ask….what were the big battles of World War 2?

World War II was the greatest conflict in history, carried out on a scale almost impossible to grasp. In many ways it was the first modern war, in which airpower played a vital role both on land and at sea, but many actions were ultimately won by the determination and grit of the foot soldier. Here’s the whole vast panoramic epic of the Second World War presented in 20 of its most significant battles.

Source: The 20 Most Important Battles of World War II

I try to keep my readers informed……especially about our many wars….hopefully some one will do the same of our other wars…..you should never forget the sacrifices that our soldiers made for their country.

Turn The Page!

One, Two, Three, What Are We Fighting For?

Well I don’t Give a Shit

Just Get us Out Of Tikrit

A take on an old antiwar song from Country Joe and The Fish……

With the news these days on Russia, North Korea, storms, etc…..you would think by the lack of any news that the War on Terror must be won or is over……well it is NOT either.

There has little to nothing about ISIS or Iraq or Syria in weeks…I guess it is true…..”outta sight, outta mind”….

I understand the desire for revenge against those that carried out the attacks…..we got the bastards that did this despicable act….why did it have to go any further than that?

So now the question begs being asked……(see title)…..or just what are we accomplishing?

I used to command soldiers. Over the years, lots of them actually. In Iraq, Colorado, Afghanistan, and Kansas. And I’m still fixated on a few of them like this one private first class (PFC) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011. All of 18, he was short, scrawny, and popular. Nine months after graduating from high school, he’d found himself chasing the Taliban with the rest of our gang. At five foot nothing, I once saw him step into an irrigation canal and disappear from sight — all but the two-foot antenna on his radio. In my daydreams, I always see the same scene, the moment his filthy, grizzled baby face reappeared above that ditch, a cigarette still dangling loosely from his lips. His name was Anderson and I can remember thinking at that moment: What will I tell his mother if he gets killed out here?

And then… poof… it’s 2017 again and I’m here in Kansas, pushing papers at Fort Leavenworth, those days in the field long gone. Anderson himself survived his tour of duty in Afghanistan, though I’ve no idea where he is today. A better commander might. Several of his buddies were less fortunate. They died, or found themselves short a limb or two, or emotionally and morally scarred for life.

Source: In the “War on Terror,” What Are We Killing and Dying For?

All I can see that is being accomplished is the rotation ordinance….the waste of billions….and the abuse of troops.

At what point does anyone care?