Meatstick Timeout: Back to School

If you are wondering why Off The Meatstick hasn't been updated lately it is because I am now in graduate school.

I want to thank everyone who checked my site and helped contribute to the discussion around here.

One thing I learned about having a blog is that it is hard work to keep people coming back. It takes time to build a following. The only way to get people (besides family) coming back is by doing a lot of research and offering opinions and news that isn't easily obtainable somewhere else. I had to invest quite a bit of time and energy, neither of which I currently possess very much of thanks to school.

I will try to post occasionally so please check back once in a while. In the meantime, just check my godmother's site...she's always entertaining:
www.outinleftfield.com

Meatstick Opinion: President's Speech

The President's speech was exactly what we thought it was going to be. I have no comments about it. However, here is an interesting article on the whole testimony this week from the Seattle Times. Representative Sestak (D-PA, former 3 star Admiral) makes an excellent point in the article:

"By not having a bipartisan approach, Congress has defaulted and let the whole tone of this debate be set by a military man's report," said Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., a former three-star admiral and adviser in the Clinton administration. "Regardless of one's position on the war, it's profoundly dangerous to have the military make decisions on war and peace, and to some extent, that's what we've done."

I chose to watch MSNBC's coverage of the speech. Shortly after the speech was over MSNBC interviewed Republican candidate for President, Mike Huckabee. Of course, Huckabee thought the speech was really good. At one point he said something along the lines of, "this is about whether or not WE have the will to fight the extremists."

I really can't stand when I hear people like Huckabee (Republican or Democrat) refer to 'we' and fighting in Iraq. Mike Huckabee is not fighting anyone in Iraq. He is just another politician using our service members to help himself politically.

Meatstick Opinion: What To Do When You Hear Someone 'Quote' Iran's President

I will start this thread by saying that I am in no way defending Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The guy is a complete ass.

What I will say is that I do not believe in taking advantage of language gaps by misquoting and spinning quotes from Ahmadinejad. This is what Republicans love to do.

For example, I had the chance to sit down for a bit and watch the Patreaus debacle from the live stream on cspan.com. For the first time in my life I was looking at my computer hoping that Comcast's shitty service would knock out my internet. Senator/Comedian James Inhofe (R-OK) started off his ten minutes of questioning by droning on and on about the influence of Iran in Iraq. He was all proud of himself for finding a recent quote by Ahmadinejad. Inhofe said,

"Ahmadinejad recently stated, 'Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap.'"

Yes, Mr. Inhofe. Ahmadinejad did, in fact, make that statement. However, it was part of a longer quote. A quote that you decided cut in half because you didn't like the rest of the quote. Here is the entire quote from Ahmadinejad:

“Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation.”

Mr. Inhofe left off the entire last part of the quote because it allowed him to spin the quote to make him look like a hotshot in front of GEN Petreaus. In reality, it sounds like Ahmadinejad wants to bring in the various parties in the region to help his own cause. Sounds a bit like what we have been trying to do the last 4 years.

You will also hear the misinformed claim that Ahmadinejad proclaimed, "We need to wipe Israel off the face of the map." This is one of their favorite quotes to sing while beating the drums of war with Iran. When you hear someone make this claim can you please instruct them that "face of the map" is an English phrase. This is what he actually said in Farsi:

Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from).

Basically, he said, "Khomeini said this occupying regime in Israel must be vanished from the page of time." This quote takes on much different meaning than the version we so often hear. The misquote is used to scare people into thinking that Iran is developing nuclear weapons so that they can bomb Israel off the face of the map.

I realize that not everyone has the benefit of being surrounded by fluent Persian speakers, like I do (commence wiretapping), but this information can be found other places. For those of you that don't believe my Persian sources...figure out the shit for yourself here.

We've already been persuaded into one war based on misinformation and false pretenses. Please don't let it happen again.

Death of a Friend

My friend Drew passed away this Friday.

Drew was on his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was shot in the neck in May. From The Tacoma News Tribune:

Capt. Drew N. Jensen, 27, died at the Veterans Administration hospital in Seattle after his doctors and family followed his wishes and turned off life support, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Jensen was shot in the neck May 7 in Baqouba as he tried to help a fellow soldier who was pinned behind a vehicle after a bomb blast, according to the P-I. Despite a 10-hour operation in Germany to stabilize his spine and fuse his vertebrae, Jensen was left a quadriplegic and dependent on a breathing tube. He was transferred to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., and to the VA in Seattle on June 1.

Drew was always thinking about others before himself. In the days before he decided to be taken off life support he set up a $10,000 fund to be left in his name to help families afford housing near their injured soldier, who are often being cared for in hospitals far from home.

In addition, his family has set up a the Drew Jensen Memorial Fund, which will look to provide scholarships to future leaders of America. Please donate through www.ocf1.org.

I'm grateful that Drew got the opportunity to come home and be with his family, friends, and wonderful wife. Many soldiers never get that chance.

Meatstick Event: Green Lake Walk/Run for Obama

By Jayron

I went to the first Seattle for Obama meeting tonight and it was awesome! Since Obama has so much support in this state, I went there thinking they already had a ton of campaign people in Washington but they don't! It's up to all of us, Obama supporters, to get involved.

On a side note, there were 2 people there who attended Oprah's 3 million dollar fundraiser at her mansion this weekend and they told us all about it!

I learned more about the Washington State Primary. Did you know that although there is a Democratic Primary in Washington, those votes don't count but rather the Democratic Caucus held February 9th will choose our states delegates. SAVE THAT DATE! Most people don't know about caucuses. I didn't until 2004 when Washington Democrats didn't have a Primary at all. At the caucus people must show up at their neighborhood precinct for their vote to count. So even if people support Obama and not show up at the caucus, he won't win! It's all kind of confusing because people don't know where to go and what to do. There will be more meetings on learning about this and I'll pass it on to you. I realized at this meeting that if I don't take responsibility for my neighborhood and get people to show up, no one else will!

Another interesting note, only 100,000 people showed up in the 2004 Wash. St. caucuses (an average of 15 people for Washington's roughly 6,000 precincts). Which means that if each neighborhood precinct can get 15 more people to show up on February 9th, Obama could get all the states delegates!

So, I decided to host an event to reach out to other Obama supporters. Below is what I sent out. I really hope you all can come!

Please pass on to anyone who you think would be interested!


While the weather is still nice, let's gather at Green Lake and show our support for Obama! When: Saturday September 22 at 11:00 am

Ideally, we'd love to get a table going as well. So if anyone asks you about Obama during your walk/run, you can direct them to our table where they can get more information. If anyone knows if we need to ask the parks department permission to set up a table, let me know!

First 50 people who reply will get a free official Barack Obama pin to wear on the walk!
Please RSVP:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4v2dl

Please wear your Barack Obama T-shirt if you have one. I'm going to order one for myself right now! But of course you don't have to have a shirt to show up.

We'd love to see you there!

P.S. For all you Seahawks and Husky Football fans this shouldn't interfere with any games. :)

Meatstick News: Dick Durbin Says No More Funding Without Withdrawal

I hope he puts his money where his mouth is.
From The Swamp:

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin promised today that he would no longer vote to fund the war in Iraq unless the money is tied to a withdrawal strategy.

Durbin voted in favor of the last round of Iraq funding so his statement is a bit of a change of attitude for him. As the assistant Senate Majority Leader he must be willing to continue to make statements like he did today and pressure his fellow Democrats to take a stand.

Again, from The Swamp:

Durbin’s commitment--and a forceful speech he delivered against new funding for Bush’s war strategy--positions an influential Senate leader in favor of a hard line at a moment when some Democrats are signaling a willingness to compromise on war funding.

Just to clarify Durbin's stance, he is not calling for immediate withdrawal of every troop within a short time frame, like has been called for by Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich. Durbin stated:

Durbin said he would no longer support the annual “supplemental” funding packages that the Bush administration has used to pay for the bulk of war costs—unless the legislation includes provisions to change strategy and bring the war to a quick end. “I’m looking for some language in there that gives me some hope that this war is going to end before I will vote for more (funding),” Durbin said in a conversation with reporters.

We need statements like Durbin's to be coming out of the mouths of other 'leaders' of the party. If you remember the last round of funding Hillary and Obama both voted against it. They will surely remind of us that in the next 18 months as they try to convince everyone they are against the war. I do applaud them for voting against it; however, I do not commend them for the way they did it. Instead of spending the day of the vote yelling and screaming to their counterparts about how they should not fund this war (like a good leader of a party would do), the two of them waited in silence until the last minute. They waited until they knew funding would pass and then they ran out and voted against it.

I have to wonder if Durbin's sudden hard line stance has anything to do with the fact that MoveOn.org and other groups are preparing to run third party candidates against Democratic Congressmen and Senators who will be up for reelection next year.

MoveOn has recently told Huffington Post:

"This fall, we face a pivotal series of votes on Iraq--votes that, if we win, could spell the end of the Iraq war. MoveOn members have made phone calls. We've held town meetings. We've run ads and written letters to the editor. But now, given this big moment, we have an important decision to make together. Should we support primary challengers against some Democrats?.... It's a tough question, and one we need everybody's input on."

An anonymous leader of the Democratic party quickly responded:

"What in the world are they thinking? All this is going to do is increase the possibility of electing more Republicans. Instead of going after Democrats, they should be focusing their efforts on pressuring Republicans to break with the president."

Somebody sounds scared...maybe they'll get the hint that the constituents aren't messing around anymore.

Meatstick Video: Keith Olbermann

Meatstick Opinion: United States Minimal Voting Rights Exam

My brother recently earned his masters degree in International Relations from a prestigious, Ivy League school. I think this can explain some of the outlandish theories he has developed. A few times a year I’m fortunate enough to be able to link up with my brother (he lives 3,000 miles away) and share a few beers. It is during these brief encounters that we try to solve all of the world’s problems. Since he is older and wiser, he ends up doing most of the talking.

We had the chance to spend some time together back in June. Since we are both recent veterans we spent much of our time discussing the war in Iraq. How did it get to this point? How do we get out now? Inevitably, the discussion usually turns to the current administration.

My brother is a bit of an elitist, and as such, he believes that the American people are to blame for the current state of affairs in our country because they voted for this administration, not once, but twice. My brother feels that Americans should have to demonstrate a basic knowledge of current affairs and US history in order to be eligible to vote. I agree with him. I think a basic test wouldn’t favor any particular party, race, or religion...so it's fair. Before you think we are both nuts, consider this quote from Thomas Jefferson in a letter to a friend in 1789:

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights."

Jefferson also believed that Spain’s constitution was great because it said that a person couldn’t be recognized as a citizen until they could read and write. He felt that it would give people and incentive to learn. He stated:

“This will give you an enlightened people and an energetic public opinion which will control and enchain the aristocratic spirit of the government."

I wouldn’t go quite so far as Jefferson, but you get the point.

On to my brother’s test…
Here are the rules:
A score of at least 70% is required on this exam in order for an eligible US citizen to be permitted to vote during in a national election (e.g. Congress and Presidential elections). A passing score qualifies a voter for five consecutive years of voting rights. A failing score disqualifies a citizen from voting for a period of six months, but can be taken once every six months until it is passed.

Here are the questions:
1) Name one of the two national senators from the state in which you are registered.
2) Name three of the original thirteen colonies.
3) Name the two main political parties in the US.
4) Name one of the following individuals: the Secretary of State, the Vice President, or
the Secretary of Defense.
5) The US is currently involved in two major wars; one in Iraq and one in
Afghanistan. Name the capital city of one of those two countries.
6) What does the acronym 'D.C.' stand for in the title of the nation's capital?
7) Name the century in which the US civil war was fought.
8) The legislative branch of government, one of its three branches, makes the nation's
laws. Name one other branch.
9) Name one US territory or possession.
10) How many states are in the US?

How did you do on the test?

As you can see, all of the answers to this test can be found for free by spending one hour at any public library in America. Yes, public libraries still exist. So please don’t tell me that this test isn’t fair to inner city kids and 90 year old women who might not have access to the internets.

Immigrants looking to gain citizenship are tested, fourth graders are tested to comply with No Child Left Behind, 16 year olds are tested in order to operate a car, and new recruits are tested to gain entry into the military. Testing is everywhere.

Test voters...before things get worse.

Meatstick Game: Guess the World Leader

Event: A nation is attacked by Middle Eastern terrorists:

• The leader claims that the attack originated from a group of Middle Eastern terrorists who rationalized their acts using religion.*
• Within 4 weeks the leader pushed through laws that: suspended parts of free speech and habeas corpus. Police were allowed to wiretap without warrants and people could be arrested w/o access to lawyers.
• He creates a new branch of the government to help protect the country. He appoints a trusted associate to lead the agency.
  
• He reaches out to industry and brings former execs into high positions in the government.
  
• He argues that other nations are harboring the terrorists that attacked his country even though the evidence couldn't be confirmed.
  
• He then attacks the country he believes are harboring the terrorists and proclaims, "Not as tyrants have we come, but as liberators."

The answer to the above is: Hitler

The event was the bombing of the German Parliament by a Dutch terrorist named Marinus van der Lubbe. The country Hitler attacked was Austria, followed shortly by Czechoslovakia.


I got the above information from an excellent book called "What Would Jefferson Do? --A Return to Democracy" by Thom Hartmann.

Mr. Hartmann gives the above history lesson in a chapter called When Democracy Failed.
He ends the chapter with a very interesting observation:

Today, as we face financial and political crises, it's useful to remember that that the ravages of the Great Depression hit Germany and the US alike.

Germany's response was to use government to empower corporations and reward the society's richest individuals, privatize much of the commons, stifle dissent, strip people of constitutional rights, and create an illusion of prosperity through continual and ever-expanding war.

America passed minimum wage laws to raise the middle class, enforced anti trust laws to diminish the power of corporations, increased taxes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals, created Social Security, and through the WPA became the employer of last resort through programs to build national infrastructure, promote the arts, and plant forests.

To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is ours once more.

*In my own limited research I have found that Hitler blames Communists for the attack. Thom Hartmann doesn't give the source in his book for this bullet

Meatstick News: Excellent Article about VoteVets.org

The founder of VoteVets.org, Jon Soltz, is an Iraq war veteran. He came home from Iraq, reflected on his experiences, became enraged the more he learned about the war, and is now trying to expose the Republican party's claim that that they are "pro military." His story is similar to mine, except all I have is this lousy website, while he has created a powerful political force to be reckoned with. In fact, many people credit VoteVets for being a main reason that Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Rick "the prick" Santorum (R-PA) both lost re-election last year. Here is their ad that exposed Santorum:


There are 22 seats in the Congress and one very important Presidential spot up for grabs in the next election. VoteVets is gearing up:

With a database of more than 40,000 supporters and donors, he is planning to take on GOP presidential candidates in 2008, targeting their claim that they are better guardians of national security. Soltz stated, "Our goal is to be the No. 1 player on the No. 1 issue facing the country."

There is an excellent article from the Los Angeles Times today about VoteVets and Jon Soltz.

If you are looking to monetarily help in the next election but you are skeptical about giving politicians money, VoteVets is a great way to help out.

If you support the troops, please donate here to VoteVets.org.

Meatstick Opinion: Congressmen Brian Baird (Part 2)

Here is a video of Congressmen Brian Baird just a few short months ago (February) arguing against the surge and further occupation in Iraq:

Here he is getting his ass chewed by his constituents this week back home in Vancouver, WA after he came out and said that the surge is working:


In the first video Baird makes a powerful statement,

"It is irresponsible to allow a Commander in Chief...to continue to sacrifice the lives, bodies, and families of our troops in a mission that lacks a clear end point or successful strategy."

How in the world do you change your mind so drastically in 6 months? How do you go from believing in a statement as powerful as the one I listed above, to believing in a prolonged surge through April 2008?

Also, take note of the pictures of Baird in the second video taken of him in Iraq. He is not wearing a kevlar helmet or vest. It is impossible to evaluate the surge without wearing kevlar and traveling outside of fortified Army bases. I would love to see the list of places this guy visited while he was there. Just so you know, the guy was on ground in Iraq for 2 days. In 2 days he came to the realization that the surge is working.

I applaud the people of Vancouver who showed up for this town hall meeting.
This guy is an embarrassment to the Democratic party.

Meatstick Event: Selling Our Car on Craigslist-Update

In the past 6 months I have tried to sell two cars on Craigslist. It has been an interesting experience. I think part of the issue was the type of cars that I was selling. Both cars were well past their prime and were listed for reasonable, cheap prices. My dad warned me by saying:
"You'll meet all the whackos selling a car yourself, especially in that price range. Wait till you get the guy with 2 screaming kids and a pregnant wife and all he has to his name is $2,351.49 and he wants the car."
My dad was more right than I could have ever imagined.

The first car I tried to sell was a 1998 Chevy Blazer listed at $4,990. Here are some of the emails I got from people 'interested' in the car and the responses I should have given back:

"please call nate for the s10" -- I was tempted to reply back, "Hey asshead, I have never owned an S10 in my life."

"I called and left you a page number what time can we see the car?" -- This guy should have gotten an email back from me that said, "A page number? A pager? I might as well be selling a Delorean from 1986 if we are using pagers in this transaction."

"I do not have the money for the car, but I am willing to trade a lawn mower and an older car for this Blazer." -- This guy doesn't even deserve the bandwith required to reply back to him.

In the end, I ended up selling the car on the military base to a soldier that just moved to the area.

This week I turned to Craigslist again in order to sell my 1994 Honda Accord, clearly priced at $2,990. This listing attracted the majority of the dregs of society found throughout the Puget Sound region. Here is a spattering of the emails I got back:

"hi im len n i wood love to buy your car call" -- I was wanting to reply back, "I will not sell my car to anyone using the phrase 'n i wood.'

"I wonder if you taking offers. if you do my brother have 2000 cash today let me know" -- My response to him could have been, "Yes, I will take $2000 cash along with another $990 cash."

I also ended up fielding an interesting phone call at 10pm the first night I had the car posted. A man from Portland called telling me how badly he wanted my car for his wife. He said he loved Hondas and wanted to drive to Seattle right away to buy it. I did the quick math and estimated he could be in Seattle by 12:30 AM, so I told him I would wait up for him. He thanked me and said he would be in Seattle no later than 1AM. My wife and I ended up sitting on the couch, drifting in and out of consciousness, until 4:30AM. We politely called him the next morning and left him a message saying that we hope the reason he didn't make it was because he contracted Herpes.

I ended up selling the Honda a day later to a guy who had never heard of Craigslist. He just happened to see the 'FOR SALE' sign posted on my car on the side of the road.

I will finish by saying that Craigslist is a great tool in selling any used product because of the fact that it is completely free and is checked by thousands of people each hour. Don't let my experiences ruin your impression of the site. Although I have never personally had success selling anything on Craigslist, I can say that I bought a nice set of golf clubs for dirt cheap on there (Unfortunately I couldn't buy the guy's golf handicap to go along with the clubs).

Meatstick Opinion: Draft College Republicans (part 2)

President Bush was in the Seattle area for about 2 hours yesterday. A video of the event can be found on Komo 4's website. The video is pretty much what you would expect of any presidential visit. It shows Air Force One screwing up the flights for the day, the motorcade blocking traffic during rush hour on some of the busiest highways in America, and Bush telling a crowd of his most loyal fans that, "we need to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here."

Of course, the video also shows the hundred or so protesters that were there from the time he arrived until well after he was gone. There were also a few Bush supporters in the crowd outside the hotel. These must be Bush's poor fans because they didn't pay the $1,000-$10,000 to see him speak inside the hotel. One of these poor fans was a kid named Timothy. I only know his name because they put it up on the TV screen during his interview. Mr. Timothy had the nerve to make the following statement in regards to the protesters:

"They're saying this an illegal war and innocent people are dying. Not that many people have died compared to World War I, or World War II, or Vietnam."

Holy shit. I had to take a few deep breathes so that I didn't throw my remote control across the room. College football season is coming up, I need my remote control.

A quick myspace search of Timothy reveals that he is an even more hurting than his interview on TV made him out to be. His profile picture, found here, shows him holding a sign that reads, "US out of Iraq and Into Iran." Of course, Timmy doesn't list any military experience in his profile. He appears to be one of the many college aged Republicans who would rather spend their time at protests rather than actually helping us win the "war on terror."

In the meantime, forty minutes down the road at Fort Lewis, there was a memorial held for 2 Special Forces soldiers killed in Iraq this week. I guess that wasn't an important enough event for George Bush and Timmy to attend.

Meatstick Event: Selling Our Car on Craigslist

Selling a car on craigslist can be a painful/funny process. More to follow.

Meatstick Opinion: Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) is Hurting

Have you heard about Brian Baird yet? He's the Democratic Congressman from Vancouver, Washington who went to Iraq for a few days and is now saying we need to continue business as usual over there. He spent most of the last few days appearing on right wing talk shows spewing his crap with Hannity and Tucker Carlson. Baird originally voted against the war in 2002, so his recent change of heart is definitely not normal among fellow Democrats. Baird wrote a lengthy editorial that appears in the Seattle Times today explaining his new position. I like to believe that this is actually his Congressional Obituary because after this flip flop I would think it might be very hard for him to get re-elected. The points he makes in his editorial are horrendous, for example:

The costs have been horrific for our soldiers, their families, the Iraqi people and the economy. If we keep our troops on the ground we will lose more lives, continue to spend billions each week, and, given the history and complex interests of the region, there is no certainty that our efforts will succeed in the long run. We must be absolutely honest about these costs and risks and I am both profoundly saddened and angry that we are where we are. Knowing all this, how can someone who opposed the war now call for continuing the new directions that have been taken in Iraq? The answer is that the people, strategies and facts on the ground have changed for the better and those changes justify changing our position on what should be done.

I'm not sure if this guy has ever taken a class in persuasive writing, but if I was going to argue that we need to keep our troops in Iraq I wouldn't be mentioning the fact that countless more soldiers will die, billions of tax dollars will be spent, and after that we still might not succeed.
He then goes on to say:

Our soldiers are reclaiming ground and capturing or killing high-priority targets on a daily basis. Sheiks and tribal groups are uniting to fight against the extremists and have virtually eliminated al-Qaida from certain areas. The Iraqi military and police are making progress in their training, taking more responsibility for bringing the fight to the insurgents and realizing important victories. Businesses and factories that were once closed are being reopened and people are working again. The infrastructure is gradually being repaired and markets are returning to life.

His statement might be true for the areas around Baghdad that he saw through binoculars from his safe haven inside the Green Zone. However, he fails to mention that during the same week that he was visiting Iraq up to 400 Yazidis (Kurdish sect) were killed in a coordinated four part suicide car bombing in Northern Iraq. Since Congressman Baird left Iraq a lot more has happened. I'll give a quick rundown of events this week in Iraq during the same time that Baird has spent giving Hannity and Tucker Carlson reach arounds:

• Suicide car bomb kills 11 Iraqis in Tikrit
• 42 injured in a car bomb in Mosul (the same city that I thought I helped 'secure' 2 years ago)
• Car bomb in Baghdad kills five Iraqis
• 4 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 11 American soldiers wounded in car bomb attack in Baghdad
• 20 Iraqis killed and 50 wounded in a car bomb attack in Baiji
• In the city where 400 were killed in the suicide attacks last week, 2 were killed and 4 wounded by drive by shootings and mortar attacks
• 14 US soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash while supporting combat operations

The timing of Mr. Baird's flip-flop could not have been worse. Three other people have released statements this week that don't help Mr. Baird's cause at all. All three of these sources are much more respected on issues regarding Iraq. First, Republican John Warner called for, "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal." He said we needed to start by bringing 5,000 troops home by Christmas. John Warner is the most respected Republican in the Senate on military affairs. Then, the National Intelligence Estimate reported, "the level of overall violence, including attacks on and casualties among civilians, reamins high; Iraq's sectarian groups remain unreconciled...Iraqi political leaders remain unable to govern effectively." And finally, General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff, is expected to urge Bush to significantly reduce troop size by next year. It is believed that keeping more than 100,000 troops in Iraq through next year would "severely strain the military and compromise its ability to respond to other threats."

So, it's Congressman Baird vs. the tag team of John Warner and Peter Pace.
Sorry Baird. I hope you can find a job with former Senator Rick Santorum on Fox Noise.

Meatstick News: The Redcoats Are Leaving, The Redcoats Are Leaving!

The British are preparing a complete withdrawal from Iraq and they don't seem to concerned about the comparisons to pulling out of Saigon that supporters of the war in Iraq love to claim. For example, one of President Bush's closest military advisers, Stephen Biddle, recently stated:

"Britain won't be able to pull all its troops out through the airport, which is why they will have to fight their way out. It will be a hard withdrawal. It will be ugly and embarrassing."

As an American, I find his comments to be completely embarrassing. Unfortunately, Mr. Biddle isn't just some insignificant blogger or talking head. He actually has power and influence over military decisions made by our administration and he is making us look bad.

Obviously, the British took offense to these statements. Lord Byce, the former Chief of the Defense Staff in the British military, thinks these comments by Biddle are unwarranted. In response to Biddle he claimed:

"I don't think it's sensible to draw any parallels between Saigon and Basra. The British are not facing what the Americans were facing in Saigon, which was a well-equipped army as opposed to disparate murderers and terrorists."

Lord Byce isn't the only Brit who thinks the British can successfuly pull out of Iraq. Michael Clarke, the director of the Royal United Services Institute, said yesterday:

"The idea that the US would have to deploy two brigades to protect a British withdrawal is overwritten. Our own troops can do the job. It would take about a month, and it might need a short tactical deployment of extra forces to cover it, but we have the numbers for it."

In my mind, our administration should be wishing the Brits good luck and offering our help to remove all 5,500 of their troops safely. Instead we have Mr. Biddle acting like a school kid who hopes it rains on another kid's birthday party just because he didn't get invited. Of course it's much worse than that because he seems to be hoping British soldiers are killed in order to help prove his point.

As for Mr. Biddle...he may have a PhD from Harvard, but he never served a day in Vietnam or Iraq.

Meatstick News: New York Times Op-Ed by US Soldiers

People in America are always looking for the truth of what is really going on in Iraq. Conservatives are always skeptical of mainstream media so they turn to pundits like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity (who have the combined military experience of parent's 8 month old puppy). Liberals also like to claim bias in the mainstream media and flock to blogs like the Daily Kos and moveon.org. Well, for anyone interested in an accurate assessment written through the eyes of soldiers who have lived through an Iraq deployment, please read this New York Times published Op-Ed entitled "The War as We Saw It." This piece was written by 7 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division who are about to return from a 15 month deployment.
Here are some quotes from the article:

To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day...Coupling our military strategy to an insistence that the Iraqis meet political benchmarks for reconciliation is also unhelpful. The morass in the government has fueled impatience and confusion while providing no semblance of security to average Iraqis. Leaders are far from arriving at a lasting political settlement. This should not be surprising, since a lasting political solution will not be possible while the military situation remains in constant flux.

This article is not only important because of the content, but also because of the consequences these soldiers will probably face for voicing their opinion. This article was clearly not censored by the military and submitted without the permission of their superiors. Judging by their rank, these soldiers are mid career non-commissioned officers that have a lot to lose by submitting this piece to a major US newspaper. Undoubtedly, these soldiers sat around and discussed the ramifications of sending this article to the New York Times. In the end they chose to stand up for what they believe in regardless of what consequences might come their way.
Do these soldiers a favor and take the ten minutes to read their honest opinion:
LINK TO ARTICLE

Meatstick Congrats: My Friend Will

Big congratulations to my friend Will who starts a new job today working for Senator Jim Webb at the his office in DC. Senator Webb is currently working on some very important wartime issues including:

• Dwell Time: His bill was recently passed in the House to ensure that soldiers receive adequate time at home before they are sent back overseas. Somehow, 44 Republicans in the Senate found fault with giving our troops time at home, even though the bill was strongly endorsed by the Military Officers Association of America and other veteran groups.
• Commission to Investigate Wartime Contracting: An effort to create a bipartisan committee to investigate fraud, waste, and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. This shouldn't have a problem passing the House and Senate...Republicans like saving tax dollars, right?
• Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007: The bill states that returning service members could earn up to 36 months of benefits, equivalent to four academic years, which would include payment of tuition, books and fees, as well as a $1,000 a month living stipend. This bill is endorsed by: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS), the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Oh yea, the Bush Administration opposes this too.
  

Feel free to write your Congresssman/Senators and tell them to support Jim Webb's legislation listed above...if you support our troops.
Good job Will! Beat Navy!

Meatstick Opinion: Al Gore Would Have A Good Shot

The Air America talk hosts gathered in Seattle for a town hall forum session a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was out of town and could not attend. I ended up catching the forum on the Seattle Channel here on local cable, but for anyone else who is interested in watching, it can be found online here.

Cenk Uygur, co-host of The Young Turks (Air America's morning drive program), brought up a really good point on the issue of which Democratic candidate is the most electable. He feels that the most electable candidate is Al Gore, who isn't even currently running for President. His reasoning makes a lot of sense:

"The reason I bring up Al Gore...I know he's electable because he already won once, he won the popular vote...He's already won an election."

He is definitely right on that account. Al Gore had 50,999,897 votes vs. George Bush's 50,456,002 votes.
But the real point of his argument is what he said next:

"Who voted for Gore last time that thinks now, 'you know I should have voted for Bush.' No one, No one! And who voted for Bush that would love to make up for their mistake. A lot of people."

Cenk Uygur is definitely on to something. Another reason I like Cenk is because, like me, he used to be a Republican.

Bottome Line:
If Al Gore could pull the popular vote (and arguably the electoral vote) after the debacle surrounding the Clinton administration, just think of the votes he could pull in the wake of this 8 year mess.

Meatstick Video: Dick Cheney On Why Invading Iraq Would Be A Quaqmire

A big thanks to Seán for bringing this to my attention. This video is a slam dunk for any blogger who is having writer's block.



I'm quite sure Dick Cheney will defend this video by saying that 9/11 changed everything. Even if 9/11 was a valid excuse for invading Iraq, which it most certainly is not, that does not explain why Dick Cheney thought it would be wise to use minimum military force just 9 years after this video was shot. What happened in those 9 years from the time he gave this interview to the day we crossed the berm into Iraq? He obviously knew that invading Iraq would be extremely difficult back in 1994.

In 1999 the Army conducted a training war game called "Desert Crossing" which was set up to go over all the possibilities involved with invading Iraq. Retired marine General Anthony Zinni recommended a force of 400,000 soldiers for an invasion saying, "We were concerned about the ability to get in there right away, to flood the towns and villages. We knew the initial problem would be security."

On February 25, 2003 General Shinseki warned the President and Congress that the U.S. was not preparing correctly for the invasion because they weren't considering enough troops.

Carl Levin asked for Shinseki's opinion on how many troops would be needed and he answered, “Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably a figure that would be required...We’re talking about a post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that’s fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems,” said Shinseki."

This is almost exactly what Cheney said back in 1994.

Instead of listening to General Shinseki, General Zinni, and himself back in 1994...Cheney chose to listen to Rumsfeld and a Mr. Hyde version of himself in 2003. Three days before the invasion of Iraq Cheney declared, "Things have gotten so bad inside Iraq ... we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

They decided to invade with 130,000 troops, all hell broke loose after some initial success, and here we are 4 years later still playing whack a mole.

You know that bumper sticker that says, "If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention"
Man, is that ever true.

Meatstick Revelation: Time to Re-evaluate Myself

Last night I had one of those moments we all have in life where we ask ourselves, "What is wrong with me?"

I was watching the Northwest final of the Little League Championships. It was a close game between the local Kent, WA team and a team from outside Portland in Lake Oswego, OR.

That wasn't the sad part.

The sad part was the dialogue between my wife and I:

Wife: What are you watching?
Me: Little League baseball...it's a real good game, we're (as if I have any connection to the 11 year olds on the Kent team) up 2-1.
Wife: Do you really care who wins this game?
Me: Of course, we can't let those little bastards from Lake Oswego win this.

I need to refocus on life.

Meatstick News: War Czar and the Draft

The Bush administration has long claimed that the war in Iraq is the epic struggle of our times. A year ago George Bush declared, "Every element of national power is being marshaled in the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century." He also said, "The battles in Iraq will one day rank alongside those at Omaha Beach and Guadalcanal as mileposts on the path to liberty." In the same speech he declared, "the United States must stay the course in Iraq because it is a battleground in an epic struggle between democracy and tyranny." In a similar speech a few months ago Karl Rove was quoted as saying the war in Iraq is, "the defining issue in our generation."

If everything they say is true, then why hasn't the administration asked more of America to help us win this epic struggle? If they really believed everything they say, then how can they think it is fair to ask our Armed Forces (that roughly make up less than 1% of the total population) to be the only ones to help us win the war that is the defining moment of our generation?

These are the questions that I have been asking myself for the last few years. If this is actually the defining moment of our generation, and we are going to continue keeping troop levels at where they are at now, then I feel we need to start asking the rest of our country to pull their weight.

Members of both political parties have stood up in favor of a draft. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel claimed, "Why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?" Hagel argued that restoring the draft would force "our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face." Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel has repeatedly called for a draft because he believes that it would force Americans to be more outgoing in their resentment for the current war in Iraq. In 2006 Rangel declared,

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way."

Both of these men have very opposite but very good reasons for reinstating a draft. However, if you are skeptical of anything that comes out of a politician's mouth, like many of us are...then maybe you might take the word of our war czar, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, more serious. In an interview with NPR this week, Lt. Gen. Lute made the following comment regarding the draft, "I think it makes sense to certainly consider it."

The administration quickly dismissed their own czar's comments by saying, "The president believes an all-volunteer military serves the country well, and there is no discussion of returning to a draft."

So, to summarize:
The administration believes we are involved in the epic struggle of our generation but they don't plan on demanding that more than 1% of our population do anything about it. They would rather the other 99% of the people stay in America where they can debate the merits of Barry Bonds and the latest gossip on Lindsay Lohan. Oh well, I guess I should be more positive about this. On the bright side of things...if we fail in Iraq at least we have 99% of the people on guard ready to "fight the terrorists over here."

*Here are the numbers:
1,426,713 people in active duty military
858,500 in the reserves

2,285,213 people in the military in the US.
The total population is roughly 300,000,000.

2,285,213/300,000,000 = .772% serving in the US military

Meatstick Followup: Pearl Jam and Net Neutrality

"Net Neutrality" is a movement that looks to keep a free and open internet. Basically, it is preserving free speech online.

Who wants net neutrality? The people.
Who doesn't want net neutrality? The communications companies.

The major communications companies believe that net neutrality isn't really necessary written into law form. They believe that they can be trusted to protect our online interests by themselves.

I have now found out these companies cannot be trusted. AT&T signed on to sponsor the online webcast of the Lollapalooza weekend. After the concert, fans of Pearl Jam informed the band that a portion of their song "Daughter" was censored from the online show. Pearl Jam didn't think it was a coincidence that the very portion of their show that was cut featured ad-libbed lyrics to their famous song "Daughter." In this version of the song Eddie Vedder sang:
"George Bush, leave this world alone." and
"George Bush find yourself another home."

Pearl Jam immediately contacted AT&T to ask them why they censored their performance. They were given a bogus answer along the lines of, "it was a terrible mistake made by our content editor." I bet the content editor was given a promotion.

I now realize why people are so up in arms about net neutrality. Here is the link to the version of the song that was butchered by AT&T and how it should have sounded:


Frig AT&T. Here is a link to help save the internet:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/

Meatstick Opinion: Pearl Jam and Dennis Kuicinich

My people of the week are Pearl Jam and Dennis Kucinich. Let me explain:

I was 12 years old when I attended my first concert. Lollapalooza '92 came rolling into Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA bringing together some of the most popular and influential bands of the last two decades. Among the bands that performed that day were:
Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, and Ice Cube.

Over the last 15 years the Lollapalooza festival has had an interesting history. It exploded with the popularity of the grunge scene and then died in the late 90's as boy bands began to take over the air waves. Well, I'm happy to say that Lollapalooza is back and better than ever. Unfortunately the festival no longer tours the country because they must find it easier to consolidate all the bands in one place for a killer weekend. This years addition just wrapped up on Sunday night with Pearl Jam ending the weekend with a 2 hour set. I couldn't make it to the show because I am an unemployed grad student but that didn't stop me from legally downloading their whole set online.

It was awesome to see Pearl Jam bring up on stage an Iraq war veteran named Tomas Young, who was paralyzed from the waist down. Mr. Young is the subject of a new Phil Donohue documentary named Body of War. Eddie Vedder heard about the Tomas, was touched by the story, and wrote the music for the movie.

What does this have to do with Dennis Kucinich? Well, like Eddie Vedder, Dennis also wants our soldiers out of Iraq. Yesterday, MSNBC hosted another debate with the Democratic hopefuls and I believe that Dennis was once again the most honest, sincere person on the stage. Again, he reiterated the fact that if Democrats really wanted to end the war all they have to do is cut off the funding, "We need to get out of Iraq, and get out of Iraq now. I'm the only one on stage who has had the vision and the foresight to have voted against authorizing the war and voted against funding the war."

In honor of Pearl Jam's performance this weekend I will leave a youtube clip of the band in Seattle back in 1991. Who would have thought that in 2007 this basketball dribbling, long haired singer of a grunge band would know more about foreign policy than Bush and Cheney.

Meatstick Guest Blogger-Jayron's Lipstick Jihad Book Review

In Lipstick Jihad, the author/journalist Azadeh Moaveni, writes about her life as an Iranian-American, who after being born in northern California moves to Iran in 1999 to work as journalist for Time magazine. In the first few chapters Azadeh’s depictions of growing up Iranian in America really hit home. Mentions of her grandma making jam and being the master of the kitchen, her mother’s insistence that Madonna was a “jendeh” (whore), the culture’s fondness of BMWs, her American friends being considered rude when they didn’t say hello upon entering the house all were very familiar to my own experience. References to gathering around tea, eating pomegranate and akbar-mashti bastani (ice cream), and hearing the word Jaan (dear) at the end of everyone’s name also warmed my heart.

Azadeh’s parents, like mine, had moved to America to attended college in the 70’s and the revolution in ‘79 made returning to Iran an undesirable alternative, so they stayed. The Islamic revolution of ‘79 changed everything in Iran. The religious fanatics who were threatened by the West’s encroachment upon their culture wanted to take their country back. (And back they did, unfortunately they took it 200 years back!) Women who used to be able to wear bikinis were forced to cover themselves from head to toe. Listening to the Beatles was now out of the question since music was no longer allowed. Men and women were separated, alcohol was banned, and lipstick was forbidden. Many of the best and brightest left the country. To this day, the country remains under religious rule. But little by little, women regained some rights and with the “reformist” President Khatami elected in 1997, women could even wear sandals (how shocking)! Sandals must be accompanied by the long veil/jacket, of course.

Azadeh, more profoundly, writes about her own transformation. She went from living in America, speaking “kitchen” Persian, having no ties to Iran other than through her mother, and hiding from embarrassing associations with her Iranian background to living in Iran where she found herself more at home than ever.

A line in the book really resonated with me. Azadeh revealed her fear of losing the Iranian side of herself. When she was a little girl, listening to Persian music in the car with her mother, she told her mom, “Mom, it’ll be sad when you die, because no one will listen to his music anymore!”

I wonder the same thing. I don’t want my generation to be the one that cuts ties to our Iranian background. I’m not ready to move to Iran, marry an Iranian and make a life there for myself as Azadeh did. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who embraces the culture and is even learning the Persian language himself. But I do want to hold on to the language, the music, and the richness of the culture. So this summer, one of my goals is to learn write the language, improve my “kitchen” Persian, and keep the tradition alive so I can pass it on to our children.

Meatstick Opinion: What Are We Doing in Iraq?

At least once a day I ask myself, "What are we doing in Iraq?" If you've never asked yourself that simple question, take a few minutes to read this story from the Washington Post.

The Government Accountability Office is reporting that the Pentagon has lost track of 190,000 AK-47s and pistols. This should be front page news in every paper from the Marshall Islands to Maine. Not only is our military facing insurgents using Iranian supplied weapons but now we must also deal with insurgents using American supplied weapons. A senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information said, "They really have no idea where they are...It likely means that the United States is unintentionally providing weapons to bad actors." The Pentagon is not disputing the claim and a senior official from the Pentagon admitted to the Washington Post that it is possible our own weapons are used against us.

The next time somebody tells you that they vote Republican because they are "fiscally conservative" please cite this article to point out the ridiculousness of that statement. Since 2003 we have spent $19.2 billion trying to equip and train the Iraqi Army yet 30% of the weapons we supplied between 2004 and 2005 are unaccounted for.

Meatstick News: Summer In Baghdad

Here is an AP article that explains what life is like for residents of Baghdad this summer. If you don't want to believe the AP article, here is another one by Reuters. There are many things in these articles worth quoting, but I'll try to just pick a few:

"I live with five brothers. When the water comes in we stand in a queue waiting to take a shower," said Ali Musa, a security guard from the al-Hurriya district in western Baghdad.
The number of Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies has risen from 50 per cent to 70 percent since 2003, while 80 per cent lack effective sanitation, British charity Oxfam said in a report last month. Baghdad has about one or two hours of electricity a day and most residents rely on neighborhood generators and smaller diesel-powered machines to supplement the supply.

Stories like these might not be as shocking and interesting to Americans (or Fox Noise) as car bombs in markets that kills dozens of people. However, power shortages and lack of water stories are equally as important to report because they seem to effect everyone in Iraq. Well, everyone except people living in the Green Zone and the other numerous US Army bases across the country.
Here is an interesting quote:

Noah Miller, spokesman for reconstruction at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, said the water shortages were due to a nationwide power cut on Wednesday and possible leakages in water pipes due to old equipment or illegal tapping.

He is obviously talking about the parts of Iraq that aren't occupied by a military base. Here is a quote from the owner of the al-Rasheed hotel in the Green Zone:

"Living here is like living in Europe," says Haider Hassan, a store clerk at the $280-a-night al-Rasheed Hotel inside the Green Zone. "You miss nothing, starting with electricity, power, water and security. Outside the gates is hell."

Although my experience living on a military base in Iraq wasn't exactly like "living in Europe." I will tell you that as temperatures rose to 118 degrees during the Iraqi summer, my air conditioner dropped to a cool 65 degrees. I also managed to watch Ken Jennings' Jeopardy streak on my satellite TV while sipping on ice cold Fanta from my refrigerator. The only time I didn't have power was when a numbnut private forgot to fill up the generator with Turkish pumped oil.
I guess that explains the frustration and why Iraqi insurgents that aren't fortunate enough to live on a US military base in Iraq feel the need to mortar them on a daily basis. That really used to piss me off. There is nothing worse than a mortar landing in your compound while you are trying to concentrate on Final Jeopardy.

Meatstick Opinion: Bill Richardson

I still like Dennis Kucinich but I have begun to realize that I am taking Dennis' presidential run more serious than he is. I went to his website the other day and it wasn't even fully up and running. C'mon Dennis, all it takes is a Craigslist ad for "webmaster needed" and about $2,000 to pry some high school nerd away from his Harry Potter book to run a website for you. So, now that I realize that Kucinich is basically a non-player I have had to shift my focus. This leads me to Bill Richardson.

Bill Richardson has made some recent gains in Iowa. He is now up to 13% in a recent poll. Unfortunately that only puts him in fourth place. However, an interesting thing to note about the Iowa poll is that Richardson leads the independent vote, 25% to Obama's 21%. I think the people of Iowa are finally starting to realize what the rest of America hasn't yet. Bill Richardson is a really good candidate for President. He has a long career of government service (state department, US Ambassador, Sec. of Energy) and good ideas to back up his experience. I like many of his ideas, including:

• Removal of troops from Iraq
• National minimum wage for teachers
• Scrapping No Child Left Behind
• Gym class in elementary school to help combat childhood obesity
• "Heroes Health Card" that would allow veterans to receive medical care whenever and wherever they need it.

I realize that either Obama, Edwards, or Clinton will probably win the nomination of the Democratic party. My hope is that whoever does receive the nomination gives Bill Richardson a serious look as their Vice Presidential running mate. I think Richardson is the type of person that Republicans won't necessarily hate as much as Democrats loathe Cheney. After all, Richardson was endorsed by the NRA as a Governor and he has said that he would accept their endorsement again. That is something all Republicans can like about the man. Am I the only one who thinks it would be nice to get past all the hatred, at least for a few years?

Oh yea, speaking of Cheney...I am sorry to say that I have to finally change my quote at the top of my webpage. Since I started this website my quote has always been the wise words of Dick Cheney who claimed in 2005, "the insurgency in Iraq is in the last throes." You didn't have to be Douglas MacArthur to realize this statement was absolutely ridiculous from he moment the words left his mouth. Yesterday, over two years later, Mr. Cheney finally admitted that he was wrong about the insurgency:

"My estimate at the time - and it was wrong, it turned out to be incorrect... I thought there were a series of these milestones that would in fact undermine the insurgency and make it less than it was at that point. That clearly didn't happen. I think the insurgency turned out to be more robust.''

Maybe someday he'll admit the invasion was a mistake too.

Meatstick Opinion: Hillary's Public Service Academy

Hillary has recently spoken about a new idea she has to create a national "Public Service Academy" that would be set up similar to the United States Military Academy. She told a crowd of Democrats yesterday:

"I'm going to be asking a new generation to serve," she said. "I think just like our military academies, we need to give a totally all-paid education to young men and women who will serve their country in a public service position."

I actually think this is a decent idea when taken at face value. I have worked for and with civilian run Department of Defense organizations and the lack of young, intelligent employees is staggering. In fact, the average federal civilian age is 47 and 44% of federal employees are eligible for retirement in the next 5 years. For whatever reason (probably money) young American students don't seem to be attracted to a long life of federal service.

I have some issues with her idea. For one, she is proposing it be placed under the control of the Department of Homeland Security. I think that department already has a big enough job and more important things to worry about. Also, it is estimated that it costs $500,000 to send a student to a service academy for 4 years. Since Hillary's academy would be funded 80% by the government and then subtract roughly $100,000 for military training that wouldn't be involved in a civilian academy, we are looking at around $300,000 per student. When you multiply that by 1,000 students per class you are looking at $300,000,000 for the cost of one graduating class. There have been serious efforts in the past to close the other service academies for this very reason. The only thing that have helped keep them open is their history and what they have done for our country. This new public service academy doesn't have a long history and tradition on their side. Also, Hillary proposes that each student be required to serve as a public servant for 5 years after graduation (similar to the military academies 5 year service obligation). West Point officers are leaving service after their five years at the highest rate in history. From the Boston Globe:

According to statistics compiled by West Point, of the 903 Army officers commissioned upon graduation in 2001, nearly 46 percent left the service last year -- 35 percent at the conclusion of their five years of required service, and another 11 percent over the next six months. And more than 54 percent of the 935 graduates in the class of 2000 had left active duty by this January, the statistics show.

If the new public service academy had graduates leaving public service at rates like West Point, would all this effort to start the school really be worth it? I agree with Hillary that our country needs to come up with a plan to attract young professionals to public service, but I don't think that starting a new academy is really the answer.

Meatstick Proof: Wrigley Field = Gay Bar

There is an old saying in baseball that goes, "Wrigley Field (home of the Cubs) is the world's biggest gay bar."

This video might prove it. Watch what happens to #16 (Aramis Ramirez) after the old, white guy moves out of the way:

Meatstick News: Soldier Suicide

At least 116 soldiers have committed suicide while in Iraq.

It is important to note that none of these are cases that happened after a soldier returns home from Iraq. These are simply numbers of soldiers that have committed suicide in Iraq.

This is a staggering number and I think it is symbolic of some of the larger issues our Armed Forces will be facing as a result of the war in Iraq.

Meatstick Fact: I Wrote Mine Before Huffington Wrote Hers

This is kind of weird. Arianna Huffington, the creator of one of the most famous liberal blog sites, wrote almost the exact same thing that I did in her blog post yesterday about being aware of generals. I just want to make it clear that I wrote mine first. Her post is timed at 4:56 PM EST, mine is dated 4:44 PM EST. See for yourself:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bush-sets-the-table-for-s_b_58018.html

She might want to find a new line of work when a junior varsity blogger like me beats her to the punch!

Meatstick Opinion: Don't Always Trust Generals

If you have been paying attention to the Iraq war you have undoubtedly heard George Bush claim that we need to trust and listen to our generals in regards to the outcome of the surge. Here is a recent quote by Bush:

''My job . . . is to say to David Petraeus, 'I trust your judgment, I trusted you going in and I trust you now.' '' He calls Petraeus ''the most credible person in the fight at this moment.''

And here is another quote by Tony Snow:

"Now, if you take recommendations about how to proceed, along with the President's determination to follow the advice of generals, then you have the prospect that there may be some shift in posture or strategy based on the realities on the ground."

The administration likes to tell us we must listen to generals because they realize that the majority of Americans are clueless on military operations. Using generals as a facade, the administration can dodge questions and then try to make us believe that we are all stupid when it comes to the situation in Iraq...and the generals will set us straight.

Well, beware from now on when you hear anything about generals "on the ground." It turns out that there is a high ranking, 3 star general that is about to be stripped of his stars because of the way he misled the investigation into the death of NFL star, Army Ranger Pat Tillman. According to ABC News 7 officers in all will be punished:

The most severe punishment is planned for Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger. Kensinger is accused of misleading investigators about when he knew the truth about circumstances surrounding Tillman's death.

My point here is that generals are people too and they can and do make mistakes. So, the next time you hear President Bush throw out something like, "we need to listen to our generals on the ground," please take that statement at face value.

It's just unfortunate that President Bush didn't trust generals back in 2003 before the war when 4 star General Shinseki was asked how many soldiers would be needed for the impending invasion of Iraq:

I would say that what's been mobilized to this point -- something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We're talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes a significant ground- force presence to maintain a safe and secure environment, to ensure that people are fed, that water is distributed, all the normal responsibilities that go along with administering a situation like this.

Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Wolfowitz didn't listen to their general. Shinseki retired shortly after and NO senior officials from the administration were present at his retirement ceremony.

Meatstick Fact: Health Benefits of Red Wine

They say that one glass of wine a day is good for you. That may be true. One thing I know for sure is that 11 glasses of wine a day is not good for you.



This is all, goodnight.

Meatstick Opinion: This Guy Is Cool

This guy might actually be cooler than Dennis Kucinich:

Meatstick News: Democrat On Strike

I was in the car for 13 hours yesterday. With my satellite radio broken I was forced to hit the scan button on my terrestrial radio 900 times as I drove through the various farm towns throughout Northern California and Oregon. I quickly realized that this is how AM radio breaks down in rural areas:

60% Christian, religious channels

35% Conservative talk shows

4% Sports talk
1% Other

This left me in a bad spot since I'm just a tad liberal and haven't been to church in a while. While I do love sports, I get sick of hearing about Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, and ARod, which are the only things sports radio stations talk about.
I'm thankful I had the other 1% to keep me sane along the way. On one of these 1% stations I heard a very interesting interview with a man named John Morgan. Morgan is a lawyer from Orlando who has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Democratic party over the last few years. Morgan recently decided to go on "strike" as a Democrat because he is fed up with their handling of the Iraq war since the Democrats have taken control of Congress. The Miami Herald has a good article about his story that can be found here. Here are a few quotes from the article:

Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, who has personally given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats and helped raise much more, is so fed up with his party's failure to stop the war in Iraq that he canceled an upcoming fundraiser at his home. Take $250,000 and kiss it good-bye.
''I told Chuck Schumer, I'm through,'' he said, referring to the New York senator who heads the Democratic Party's fundraising arm for the Senate. ``As a Democratic donor, I am going on strike.''
Morgan is considering full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today to encourage other donors to join his boycott, disgusted with the latest effort by Democratic senators to stop the war by pulling an all-nighter.

I'm just a single, insignificant member of the Democratic party. My only way to show my disgust with the war in Iraq is my stupid website. It was a huge relief for me when I heard the story of John Morgan. Here is a guy who has so much money and influence that Chuck Schumer is calling him at his home. People like John Morgan have the ability to make the leaders of the Democratic party realize that people are fed up with any politician who doesn't end the war, regardless of their political party. Hopefully there are many more John Morgan's out there doing their part behind the scenes to make Democrats realize that nobody is giving them a free pass because they have a (D) next to their name.

Meatstick Game: What Do They Have In Common?

What do the following people have in common?

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi
NBA Star, Lebron James
Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki
Republican Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell

All of these people will be taking most of the month of August off.

The House of Representatives calendar says the "Summer District Work Period" is Aug 6th-31st (they come back just in time to take a 3 week vacation for Labor Day). The Senate allots vacation from Aug 6th-Sep 3rd. Similarly, the Iraqi parliament will be off the whole month of August. I guess that only makes sense since we helped them form their government. I hope they get Labor Day off too!

I'm just glad General Patreus isn't taking the month of August off since he is supposed to deliver a groundbreaking assessment of the "surge" in September.

Meatstick Opinion: Draft College Republicans

This is hilarious and scary all at the same time. More hilarious though.

Max Blumenthal goes to the College Republican Convention with his videocamera. What he comes away with is priceless. There is no doubt in my mind that if we had a draft, this war would be over tomorrow. See for yourself:


Untitled from huffpost and Vimeo.

Meatstick News: The War Goes On

The vote on the Iraq withdrawal came down to a 52-47 vote. Unfortunately that is 8 less than the 60 needed to bring the issue to a serious vote. This bill, approved by 3 REPBULICANS, would have started troop withdrawal in 120 days, with all troops removed by the end of April 2008.

The vote turned out pretty much as expected. Nobody believed that the bill would pass with 60 votes in favor. However, as I read through the dissenting opinions I came across a few good quotes courtesy of Kentucky Republican Senator, Mitch McConnell. He was quoted as saying:

“We’ve been down this road before. When the President decided to change course in Iraq last year, Democrats said his new strategy wouldn’t work. They called it a failure before it began. And now, just one month after that strategy became fully manned, they’re calling it a failure again — even as it’s started to show signs of military success."

What the hell does Mitch McConnell know about military success? Mitch McConnell entered active duty military in July of 1967. He proceeded to serve approximately 5 WEEKS before he was medically discharged from the Army. Sure, every Senator is entitled their own opinion about the issues, but Mitch McConnell knows as much about military success as the Cubs know about World Series success.

This is an old website, but definitely a good one. It shows the military service, mostly lack thereof, for many of the hard line supporters of the war in Iraq:

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0434,robbins,56166,1.html

Meatstick News: Iraq Video and Article

My friend Marc sent me a great article and video that goes along with it. Marc was my roommate in Iraq for a year. This article is about our old unit (brigade), the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Marc and I are both out of the Army, but our old unit is on their 14th month of their current deployment (the second deployment in 3 years).

If you don't have the time to watch the video in the upper right hand corner AND read the article, then I would ask you to please just take the 2 mintues and watch the video. It is a pretty powerful look into the lives of these soldiers and they end up speaking very freely about what they think of their current mission in Iraq.

For those of you that would like to claim "liberal media bias" please realize that this story and video comes from the words of the soldiers themselves, not some liberal reporter.

Here is the link to the article:

The video is in the upper right hand corner.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3383389&page=1


Taking 2 minutes to watch this is the least you could do today.

Meastick Idea: Self Made Bumper Stickers

I have an idea to make my own bumper sticker for the upcoming election. Here are some of the ideas I had:

"Barack Obama didn't turn me into a liberal, George W. Bush did"

"If Republicans are against wasting tax dollars, then why did the government pay Halliburton $90 dollars a day for me to eat doughnuts every morning when I was in Iraq?"

"Sometimes I hope Hillary wins so that Republicans know what it's like to get sick to your stomach every time you see the President."

Please feel free to think of some good ones on your own and let me know what you come up with!

Meatstick Picture: This is What a Horse's Ass Looks Like

Here is what happens when an Irish dude goes to the beach and tries to put sunscreen lotion on himself:

Meatstick Question: Why Does the Military Vote Republican?

During my five years in the military I often felt uncomfortable around the majority of my peers whenever the topic of politics came up. More often than not I was the lone liberal in a sea of conservatives. Being a Democrat in the military is like being the Jewish kid at public school during Christmas, or like being a White Sox fan at Wrigley Field during a Cubs game, or like being the person in the group who doesn't like wine when you are on a trip to Napa Valley. Sometimes I would try to explain to others around me that it makes no sense for people in the military to support Republicans but most times I would just keep my mouth shut and realize that they have been brainwashed and I wasn't going to change their mind. Most people in the military I talked to were Republicans long before Sept 11th. I assumed that they thought all Democrats wanted to take away their hunting rifles and let gays get married. Then came Sept 11th. That terrible event in history, along with the war in Iraq, oddly seemed to only strengthen their beliefs because soldiers felt that Republicans were sending them off to protect the American soil.

A few days ago Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, gave a speech in reference to an amendment he was proposing to the Defense Authorization Act. You can read his moving speech at this site. Senator Webb has a long military history (US naval academy graduate, Vietnam veteran, former Secretary of the Navy) and is the father of a Marine who has served in Iraq. He simply wanted to attach an amendment to the current Act that would allow soldiers to have as much time at home that they served overseas. For example, if your unit was deployed in Iraq for 14 months, you would have at least 14 months at home until the next deployment. Furthermore, he was trying to get reservists three times the amount of time home that they spent overseas. This bill is clearly a non-partisan issue that supports the soldiers and their families. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue.

Yesterday, Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, and his fellow Republicans were successful in striking down this amendment and never giving it the chance to see the light of day. He was quoted as saying he was pleased that the amendment "failed to advance to a final vote."

Sadly, I had to dig around to find out about this in the news. It wasn't talked about on any of the major "news channels." For example, a friend told me that Bill O'reilly started off his show by talking about the San Diego Padres having a "gay day" at the ballpark. I don't have much hope, but hopefully someday the people in the military will wake up and realize that Republicans don't really support them and their families.

Meatstick History: First Person To Run out of Gas in a Prius??

I am on vacation in San Diego. My wife and I drove from Seattle in 3 days staying at friends' places along the way. On Friday we accomplished something truly remarkable in hybrid history. We ran out of gas (and battery power) just north of Los Angeles. The Prius gave us warning well in advance that we were low but we decided to power on and make it to an In N Out Burger before filling up. The next thing I knew I was running down the highway in Santa Clarita, CA looking for a Shell station. In 98 degree heat I found the station. This was 1.5 miles later and after I lost 15 pounds that I can't really afford to lose.

The Prius brand is having a rough time in Cali this week. First Al Gore III gets arrested going 100mph with weed in a Prius and then I run out of juice on the highway in one.

To top it off...there is no sun in San Diego, the sunniest city in America. However, San Diego is still nicer with no sun than 98% of America with all the sun in the world.