Occupation Movement

Many of you have been patiently waiting for my thoughts on the Occupy (place here) Movement and there are some of you that have been a little less patient. So I figure I've been mulling over this for quite some time so I shall bestow my humble thoughts on the innerwebz masses.

DISCLAIMER:

Yes the normal disclaimer applies because I have this great knack for offending even the unoffendable (I know it's not a word, bite me). Alas the most important portion of this particular disclaimer is this. This blog represents the opinion of the author and only the author. That means the guy typing right now. It does NOT represent the opinion of the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Government or any affiliates there of. It also does not represent any type of official statement nor does it represent any other aspect of the U.S. Government that could Court Martial the author under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. This is exceptionally important to understand. This is my opinion and ONLY my opinion, no one else's, just mine.

Ok, so where exactly to begin. The initial movement was to Occupy Wall Street in NYC to express grievances about corporations basically running many aspects of government and in many cases figuratively getting away with murder against the American people. Basically the big corporations barely pay taxes and get HUGE tax returns each year courtesy of the tax payer. In addition politicians are giving them more tax breaks in order to ensure they have excess money to hire more Americans. In theory this makes sense, however, this is not what happens. Most of these corporations have been closing shop in the U.S. and outsourcing overseas because it's cheaper to operate there and they can make more profit. Meanwhile they are still taking all the tax incentives and are essentially screwing the American people. This as I understand it was the original grievance that was being protested. Not to mention that the "occupation" was supposed to be hundreds or thousands of people milling around the area basically making it an annoyance while the big wigs went to and from work. It made sense, it wasn't just peaceful assembly, it was peaceful annoyance. I thought this approach was fucking brilliant. Then something happened that no one really expected...

This movement to Occupy Wall Street fucking EXPLODED. More and more people came out and when they couldn't make it to New York City they started doing the shit in their own cities at the corporate centers or government centers. Now things got interesting because the original message was something along the lines of what the corporations are doing isn't fair but there was no official agenda. So yeah, initially, there wasn't an official message. The official message and the list of demands wasn't put out until a week or so into the movement. Although saying that, they have been organizing this since June but it was about a grievance with no clear list of demands, if that makes sense. Now here is the fun and confusing part about all of this. There are so many different groups taking part in this that there are at least 10 different lists of demands. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the one that was originally posted on the OWS site. 

So here we are nearly two months deep into the movement to Occupy and it has gone from National to Worldwide. Yet some things have gone horribly wrong. First and foremost there is no leadership, they are in their own words a "leaderless resistance". Just wanna point something out here, in order to get anything done in this country you have to have a leader to address the people that make changes, you know those Congressional people. Secondly, protesters are breaking laws. Yes, we have the right to PEACEFULLY assemble. However, in many states and cities you have to have a permit to protest. This is because they put extra police on shift, will block traffic, etc in the name of protecting the protesters. This has lead to some problems, namely that the protesters may not have the right permits and now the cops are being told to remove them and BOOM. All fucking hell breaks loose. Thirdly, the police are over reacting. For fucking real. Regardless of whether or not the protesters are listening to the cops the cops do not have the right to use excessive force. PERIOD. You can't do that shit, it's bad for business. And what pisses me off most about this is during the "Arab Spring" our government told these Arab governments they should not be attacking the protesters. Yet now it is happening in our own fucking country and the politicians are looking the other fucking way. This is bullshit. Lastly our fellow Americans aren't looking at this the right way. I read posts from people saying that "OWS is stupid, they need to get a job etc." Then their next post is bitching about the government or something the big banks are doing and I just want to reach through the screen and slap them up side the head with a mug full of wake the fuck up because that is ONE of the things the OWS movement is protesting. 

At this point I will be completely honest about the movement, I don't agree with everything that they are protesting, HOWEVER, I am intelligent and honest enough to admit that there is a lot they are protesting that I do agree with. 

I don't think corporations should get so many tax breaks and I REALLY don't believe they rate a fucking tax refund. Especially when the government, or we the fucking people, give them tax incentives to hire more Americans yet they are closing up offices and outsourcing to save money. "Look, we created jobs here! Just don't look in Ohio where we closed down a plant and moved it to fucking China so the 500 jobs we just created are offset by the 2500 we just got rid of." Don't believe me, search Google.

Corporate Personhood is a load of fucking bullshit. I am a person, a corporation is not. Enough said. I'm not even sure how this is an argument.

Corporations should have to abide by U.S. laws just like the rest of us. Listen, if I got in bed with Iran and made deals with them to make a profit I'm going to jail. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go DIRECTLY to jail. Ladies and Gentlemen we have got some big corporations operating in our country that our doing just that. The best part about it is, they are getting away with it. Don't believe me, search Google.

Our politicians should NOT be allowed to take donations from corporations. This is bullshit. Politicians are supposed to be for the people, by the people. HOW THE FUCK IS GOLDMAN SACHS THE FUCKING PEOPLE! They aren't, but damn it they are funneling money to a shit load of politicians. This is bullshit.

Our government should be investing in the infrastructure of this country. This not only creates fucking jobs but it also prevents things like fucking bridges collapsing. But because we have such bipartisan bullshit going on our government can't pass a fucking bowel movement let alone productive legislation.

Here are some things I don't agree with.

100% debt forgiveness. The vast majority of people worked damn hard to get out of debt or keep it minimal. If you didn't, why should you be rewarded while others aren't. I understand there are circumstances but why not ask for a temporary hold on interest charges instead. Makes more sense to me and is more feasible and will help everyone out. The banks still make money so this wouldn't necessarily shut them down either. Contrary to popular belief complete debt forgiveness will fuck the banks. However, granting temporary  interest relief will not, just stand by for a charge every fucking time you use your debit card cause they will find another way to make money off of you. Don't like it? Use cash.

Student Loan Forgiveness. Again, you took out the loan to get your education. You chose the school. You chose what to major in. It was your choice. Yes we need higher education in this day and age but for the love of fuck there are ways to do it without going into debt up to your eyeballs. 

There is more on the agree and disagree but that could take a while, those are the main ones.

With this movement there is something that is absolutely amazing happening that I think few people have considered. 


So a friend of mine posted something along the lines of an Egyptian saying that all the Occupy stuff looks like Tahrir Square in the spring. He then went on about how disgusting it made him feel because the U.S. is supposed to be better than that. I pondered this for a while and it sort of hit me like a lemon wrapped gold brick how fucking amazingly awesome that actually is. Let me explain. We are supposed to be a democracy that others want to emulate. We are supposed to show the world that people can have a say in government. Yet throughout the world countries have looked upon us as bullies because of our foreign policies and especially our actions over the past ten years. Now they are looking at us and saying, "HOLY FUCK ME RUNNING BACKWARDS BATMAN, if the Americans can do this, so CAN WE!" And now they are standing up next to us the world over. Call it revolution, call it anarchy, call it whatever the fuck you want to, I call it a beautiful thing that people are looking past cultural differences, past race, past nationality, past religion, and past every other biased boundary out there to stand up as one and say in one voice, "We think this is fucked up and you need to fucking fix it." How is that not amazing? How does that not take your breath away and bring a tear to your eye? The people the world over are speaking in one voice. 


People in the Middle Fucking East are identifying with people of the West without bias of any kind. Think about that just for a second. Well take a few days and really digest that concept. Really turn it over in your head. Then think, many of these people were the same ones who celebrated on 9/11/01 because the U.S. was supporting ruthless regimes and their foreign policies were not helping the people in their country because of U.S. interests. Now, these same people as well as their sons and daughters, have stood up the world over and joined out voice. How is that not fucking brilliant? You want to end terrorism, guess what, this may be a larger blow to terrorism than anything any country the world over could have done. Now there is a common understanding about grievances. They identify with us and with that there is a sort of mutual understanding. With that, there is less of a reason to promote or support terrorism throughout the world. 


"For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."
~Shakespeare - Henry V


That quote says it all. It's not combat, it's in protest, it's figurative but it's equally as powerful. 


We speak of United Nations, but this is something different. It is a united people against corruption in its purest form. In the words of Sean Penn, "It's people saying they will no longer live in fear." It's amazing. 


Even if you don't agree with everything they say you have to admit the unity of it is amazing. You also must remember that there are so many individuals and groups involved and they all want different things. In the end they are all saying that the system is broken and we need to fix it.


Here's what I think they should do to be even more effective and really institute change.


1) Demand that all protests are being conducted within the law and that all protesters truly peacefully assemble.


2) Form a leadership committee with a representative in each city in order to spearhead talks with local, state, and federal politicians.


3) Form a no bullshit political party for the 2012 elections. There is still time. Not to mention look at the outpouring support from the American people who would support this.


4) Develop a list of grievances that includes all parties to make it crystal clear what everyone is pissed off about. Make this the ONE official list of grievances.


5) Develop a list of solutions to these grievances that all parties agree on. Make this the One official list of "demands".


6) Begin to campaign for 2012. The best way to change things in this country is not to influence politicians but to replace them. 


Ladies and Gentlemen these are the things I can see that will help make the changes that the Occupation Movement wants. As much as I respect how the leaderless resistance took the world by storm, if we want anything done, we have to stand up and do it. We definitely can't depend on others to do it for us, look where that's gotten us.


Ok, so that's my lot. Again this is just MY opinion. You can choose to agree or disagree but this is what I think about it.


Via con Ocupacion!!!


The Senator

That Nagging Feeling

So yeah the normal disclaimer remains in effect I'm not going to gloss over it, I just need to get down to business. I just feel this need to write, metaphorically speaking of course because I'm actually typing... if this was the written word from me most of you would be trying to figure out if you were reading a blog or attempting to learn Sanskrit, I digress.


That nagging feeling has been forcing its way into my thoughts again. That nagging feeling that I shouldn't be here, that I should be deployed. That feeling that no matter what I could do more there than I can here. It's the most aggravating feeling in the world. It's driving me nuts. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, one of the Marines I worked with in Guard Company (the Bastard child of Marine Barracks Washington) is laid up in Bethesda, sedated, intubated, and undergoing constant surgeries after surviving an IED blast that took his legs. And there's that feeling that had I been there, he'd be out walking patrols and not lying in a bed fighting for his future. I know it doesn't make sense, but it is what it is. 


It's weird though because we spent some time with his family tonight and I was humbled by their strength and resilience. Just blown away. There is something that stuck out though. I mean the conversation about war was skirted around the entire evening. We talked politics, green energy, global warming, stories of their son and the antics he used to pull, but then, then we hit something when we discussed war. Because their questions, like many others, including my own, was, "Why are we still there? What's it all for? What are we trying to accomplish? What did he lose his legs for?" There it is. 


The fucked up thing is I agree with them yet I still want to go back. I just don't understand what's going on in my own fucking head. It just doesn't make any fucking sense. I've been screaming about getting the fuck out of Afghanistan for a good minute now but I want to go back. It's crazy. We do good things over there that are never put on the news here because good news doesn't sell. That's bullshit in and of itself. But even with doing all this good shit the people we are fighting are trying to maim us and not necessarily kill us. Fuck burying someone, make them suffer through something horrendous. Yet we're still fucking there and I still want to go back.... no sense.


Now don't get me wrong, I completely agree with the other 99% throughout the world that are currently protesting in more places than I can remember. I agree that corporations have gotten away with a lot of fucked up shit and should be held accountable just like the rest of us. I agree with the basic grievance that they are protesting. Now their demands, half of those are bat shit crazy and don't stand in line with what they are protesting. But this isn't a discussion about their demands. This is something different. Why is it that in Vietnam millions protested against the war, but in 2011 they are protesting the corporations? Can someone explain that to me please? Do these people not realize that if we stopped the war our country would be a hell of a lot better off than it is now? This is our first problem that needs to be fixed. As much as I want to go back, it needs to end. And it needs to end, not soon, but NOW. Once we stop spending billions upon billions of dollars on wars that we no longer need to fight, then we should address the shit corporations have gotten away with for so long. 


Will someone please explain to me why protesting the war hasn't taken a priority? Not the troops, the war. It's not unpatriotic to tell our government we need to stop this war. It's just not. Protesting the troops is an entirely different thing. I think that's disgraceful considering the people that are running the government are the reason we're still fucking there. Protest those bitches. Protest the war. Stand up to Washington and say, "HEY, we need to stop this NOW." 


I just don't get it. We're still there and we shouldn't be but all I want to do is go back. 


Fuck.

For LCpl Mark I. Fidler... Please Share as much as possible. UPDATED!

UPDATE: As of November 28, 2011 LCpl Mark Fidler received a personal letter from Former President G.W. Bush. Unfortunately due to Presidential protocols President Bush cannot visit Mark at this time. However, he took the time out to send Mark a letter which is great in my opinion. For all of those who helped by sending their own letter I want to offer my heart felt thanks with this. I am still going to leave the original letter posted on here as well as the letter posted by the family below. Thanks again for what all of you did!

Sincerely,

Me

The Honorable George W. Bush

P.O. Box 259000

Dallas, TX 75225-9000

October 13, 2011

Dear President G. W. Bush,

                My name is Gunnery Sergeant Cory D. Will with the United States Marine Corps. During your tenure as Commander-In-Chief I served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as an Infantry Unit Leader. Today I write to you on behalf of Lance Corporal Mark I. Fidler and his family.

                On Monday October 3^rd of this year Mark was struck by an IED on a dismounted patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The injuries received have been so severe that in order to save his life Mark has had both of his legs amputated up to the hip. As of today he still has multiple major surgeries that will be completed over the upcoming weeks but he will survive this tragedy.

                I spoke with his family today and his father, Kerm Fidler, told me about President Obama’s visit to see Mark when he arrived at Bethesda Naval Medical Center this past weekend. When he finished telling me about President Obama’s visit he immediately asked if I knew if there was any way we could request to have President Bush visit Mark in a few weeks when Mark is not so heavily sedated. After looking around on the internet I found this address and immediately began composing this letter.

                Sir, the Fidler’s have been staunch supporters of you since you first took office in 2000. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fidler’s sons joined the Marine Corps in answer to your calls to service to eliminate the terrorist threat overseas. Both sons have also served in combat. Now one of them lies in a hospital bed in Bethesda Maryland missing both of his legs. I know Mark very well and he will get through this and he will be proud of what he has done as a Marine in the Infantry. He will never regret his decision to serve or go to combat. Through all of this his family has made the simple request that you come visit their son while he is in the hospital.

                On October 11^th of this year I read an article stating that what you missed most about your Presidency was interaction with the troops. You said, “There’s nothing as courageous in my judgment as someone who had a leg blown off in combat overcoming the difficulties.” Sir, your visit will help inspire this young Marine to meet and overcome the challenges he will face after losing both of his legs. As a Marine Gunnery Sergeant with 14 years of active service and multiple combat tours I am humbly requesting that you come to Bethesda Maryland to visit Lance Corporal Mark I. Fidler who has paid a great sacrifice serving during the Global War on Terror.

                Thank you for your time and your consideration in this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

Cory D. Will

Gunnery Sergeant    United States Marine Corps

World of War-On-Terrorcraft by D. James Davis

Ok people so the most glorious writer Dan Davis sent me this little tidbit of awesomeness last night. Alas I did not read it until this morning because I was in a drug induced pass out period because of the roughness of the past few days. BTW the Ambien/Prozasin/Octoberfest cocktail I took last night worked pretty damn well, but I digress. This is by far the best comparison that I have read concerning warfare. If you are a video game junkie you will appreciate this on an enormous level and if you aren't you'll still understand and relate to the vast majority of it.

So before you get to the meat and potatoes I want you to take the time to book mark his website and then take a read through it when you get a chance. I HIGHLY recommend reading The Diary of a Lazy Hero because it's fucking EPIC. Anyways here's his site:

D. James Davis

Also since I'm all about pimping take a second to vote for his short quip on the Facebook Reader's Digest Competition.

Toying with the Psychiatrist

Without further adieu I present the awesomeness of D. James Davis...

WORLD OF WAR-ON-TERRORCRAFT: Explaining America’s Long War in Video Game Terms

By D. James Davis

Over the years, a lot of people have asked me to talk about the war. Not what it was like. They don’t want to know about the mud and the blood and the horrible things. And it’s just as well. I wouldn’t tell them, anyway. People with a finer gift for words than I’ll ever have have written plenty on the subject. I’d tell people to read them instead.

No, what people want to hear from me is the “Big Picture,” foreign policy stuff: Should we be there? Can we win? What are we even fighting for, and when do you think it’ll be over?

And as anyone who’s ever asked me these questions can tell you, I usually don’t say much. There’s a reason for that. It’s not that I don’t have an opinion. It’s that I can’t divorce that opinion from all the stuff I don’t want to talk about: The mud and the blood and the horror.

You see, if I say something they don’t agree with, there’ll be a debate. And it’s a debate I don’t want. They’ll be debating politics and abstract concepts, while I’ll be debating memories that keep me from ever sleeping soundly. No matter what happens next, I’ll leave the situation much worse for wear, and much more upset. So I generally just stay quiet. And besides, people are going to think whatever the hell they want to, anyway.

But today I feel the need to say something. And it has nothing to do with seeing a commentator on CNN, or an Op-ed piece on MSN. It has nothing to do with any of the political, big picture stuff. It’s because of the blood and the mud and the horrible stuff.

Very recently, a friend of mine named Cory wrote something. Cory is one of those people I told you about, with a finer gift for words than I’ll ever have. He wrote about what he was feeling after a young Marine of his came home a double amputee. Cory speaks volumes about the anguish we all feel when one of our brothers comes home less than whole. The anguish we feel at the injustice of it all. And through it all is the same question we’ve all had: Why?

That’s what we want to know. Why did this happen to us? Why are we suffering? Why are we putting our lives on the line?And under that is another question: How much is enough? How much more do I have to suffer before this thing is over?

Well, I have an answer for that. But it isn’t a pretty one.

So without further ado, here it is. My explanation of America’s Global War on Terror. Framed completely within video game references, so as to be easily understood by the twenty-something civilian college demographic.


PART 1: Historical Context -

The majority of America’s past wars were like the early-generation console games. They all had a victory condition: a set of criteria that meant we successfully beat the war.

For example, the American Revolution had the victory condition of securing autonomous government. Failure to meet this condition would have meant we didn’t win.

This is analogous to Nintendo’s 1986 classic, “The Legend of Zelda.” In order to win the game, the player needs to rescue Princess Zelda. Failure to meet this criteria means you don’t win.

The American Civil War had the victory condition of regaining control over the secessionist states.

This is similar to the Gameboy versions of “Pokemon,” in which the player’s goal is to “catch ‘em all.”

World War II had a more abstract victory condition, but a victory condition nonetheless: the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

This is most analogous to “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.” We had to defeat an overwhelmingly superior opponent, and it was only made possible through hard work, dedication, and by dropping the equivalent of the “Game Genie” on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In short, they were winnable.


Part 2: The MMORPG model, or “How they convince you to pay $15.99 per month for a game you already own.” -

America’s Global War on Terror, by contrast is more like Blizzard’s “Word of Warcraft.”

We invaded Afghanistan in late 2001. We began attacking terror cells and Taliban strongholds, which is similar to WoW’s “instances” or dungeons. They’re short-term endeavors, and each individual dungeon has a victory condition, like killing a “boss” or cell leader. And, much like the WoW dungeons, you can hit the same one over and over again. It doesn’t seem to make too much difference either way.

But “instances” aside, the overall war effort is like the World of Warcraft game itself. There is no victory condition. You can set yourself a goal as a player. For example, you may really want to beat that 80th-level Osama Bin Laden dungeon. And you may even succeed. But in the end, you still haven’t beaten the game. It’s still there.

You can play forever. You can buy the Iraq and Libya expansion packs. And for a while, that’s new and exciting. You’re so caught up in all the new dungeons that you don’t notice it’s still the same game. And you’ll just keep playing, until you get tired of wasting your life and your money on it, and move onto something else.

So in sum, the War on Terror will only end when America decides it has better things to do than sit in it’s mom’s basement and obsess over an ultimately un-winnable game.

Shit. Maybe we just need to go out and get laid.

I don't know.... just fucking because.

The disclaimer... yeah fuck that. If you haven't figured it out by now stop munching on fucking lead paint chips and wake the fuck up. This has the potential to offend and that about sums up my fucking disclaimer.

So yeah two blogs in one day, aren't you guys the lucky ones. All I can say is that since my therapist is fucking useless and all she tells me to do is relax and do this relaxing exercise and blah blah blah blah blah blah... yeah fucking useless. Wanna save some money Congress, start doing customer satisfaction survey's on the therapists that are hired for PTSD and shit and I promise you you'll be able to shit can about 90% of them. Then spend some fucking money to educate those who have fucking been there because they have an understanding of what we fucking go through and will probably be able to help other vets a hell of a lot better than my brain team duo who just keeps telling me to stop drinking fucking coffee and to quit smoking. Well here's a thought, if we could figure out why the FUCK I can't sleep I wouldn't need all the fucking coffee and cancer sticks to keep me going... anyways, yeah.

Today I saw a 22 year old kid who went overseas to fight a war we should have ended but he did it for us. What does he get in return? He gets to give up both his legs from the femur down. What the fuck? When is enough enough? How many more friends and loved ones do we have to bury and nurse back to health before someone that works in the general vicinity of Washington DC wakes the fuck up and says, "Wow, this shit ain't working"? How FUCKING many? I'm fucking tired of it. Twenty-fucking-two years old. He's a fucking baby and now he has to tackle life in an entirely different way. I know the kid and I know he's gonna do it with a smile on his face and his middle finger in the air. I know if he ever wanted to ride a motorcycle he'll have a pimped out Harley trike with a suicide shifter and fucking gun rack on the back, but that's not really the point. This shit just shouldn't have to happen anymore. It's fucking done. We killed bin Laden, we killed all these higher ups, we've killed so many fucking people that we're the equivalent of the plague that wiped out a 1/3 of Europe back in the day. Yet we still keep sending our boys to war, to fight an ideology. Haven't we learned from history? You can't wage war against a fucking concept. It's just not fucking possible. 

"Oh but we're fighting a war against terrorism." Are you fucking stupid. Terrorism is a fucking tactic. A TACTIC according to Webster's is 1) a device for accomplishing an end, 2) a method of employing forces in combat. You can't fight that, that's fucking retarded. As long as one country has greater military forces an adversary will use whatever "Tactic" will be most successful. Hey fucktards, pick up a fucking history book. The English referred to our tactics in the Revolutionary War as ungentlemanly and terrorism. Why? Because we couldn't go toe to toe with the red coats, they were too well trained, too powerful, too well equipped. So we handed a hunter or farmer a gun, told him to hide in a tree, and take them out one by one. Why did we do that? Because it was the most feasible tactic we could employ to win. The thing is we fought for something then. It wasn't about national interest, it was about self-governance. We wanted our country (which we stole from someone else) to be ours. We wanted a say it what went on here, and we used every fucking tactic possible to bring that want, that need, that desire to a reality. 

About 60 years ago we began a campaign of "containment". We wanted to contain the spread of communism. How fucking noble of us. All the sudden we started fighting against a system, an ideological concept. We were fighting against communists. Ok so we kept them from taking over South Korea. Then we decided that we would do the same thing in Vietnam. That was a little different because we tried to stay within the borders of one country, only problem is our enemy didn't. They used whatever tactic would work. In Korea they couldn't really go outside of the one country because the water was TOO FUCKING COLD. In Vietnam, fuck it right, a jungle is a jungle, only they American's won't go past this imaginary line but we will. So now, we're fighting against an ideology and we're trying to fight a tactic that was developed to knock out conventional armies, insurgency. So what happened with Vietnam... we wasted tens of thousands of lives and destroyed a hundred thousand more. For what? What the fuck did we accomplish? The Soviet Union ended up collapsing not because of what we did directly but because they kept trying to spread their views in places that it wasn't wanted... namely Afghanistan. Holy shit, sound familiar. 

So here we are, now over ten years in the same country and we're still fighting but we've long forgotten what for. We've killed the bad guys, we've weakened the terrorist network, we've established better international cooperation to catch people before they have an opportunity to strike. Yet we are still fighting. I'm still seeing more friends buried in Arlington, I'm still seeing more friends being shipped to the states missing arms, legs, and worse. For what? Will someone please fucking explain to me why the fuck we're still fighting?

Twenty fucking somethings are getting killed and maimed at the fucking sustained rate and we just keep throwing them into it. What the fuck. Seriously, when are they going to learn? Does anyone else remember when a man took the office of President under the promise that he was going to see an end to this war? I remember that. And I can't help but wonder why I've had to watch so many be laid to rest and why like today, on Thursday I'll be at a hospital to support a friend and his family during a really hard time in their lives. It's supposed to be over...

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

~Dwight D. Eisenhower 

Marine Corps Stuff...

So for those of you who loyally read my rants and raves let me start off with my normal disclaimer. To sum it up quickly if you're easily offended by colorful language, political commentary, religion bashing (that's what someone e-mailed me), sarcasm, etc. Please spare yourself the pain and hit the back button. This is the internet and therefore I have the privilege (notice I didn't say "right") to post whatever the hell I want. Additionally since I'm going to be talking about the Marine Corps I have to add that the views and opinions that are reflected in this blog are in no way, shape, or form, the views of the United States Marine Corps, the Department of Defense, the United States Government, or any other official type organization that may have Court Marshaling authority over my dumb ass. I think that covers about everything so off to the races...


Now this one is a little different primarily because even though my unexplained pissed off mood still resides in my little world this is more along the lines of thoughts that I've been musing over recently. For those of you who don't know I've been serving on Active Duty in the Marine Corps as an Infantryman for the past 14 years. Prior to the war breaking out I deployed, since the war broke out I've deployed, and due to a family emergency at the moment I'm non-deployable but still have many friends and Marines whom I've served with who are actively deploying. 


Most of the infantry guys you run across are fairly simple people. Now when I say that I don't mean the typical stereo type of "Ooh Rah dumb dumb grunt" I mean we have been humbled by what we have seen and by what we have done so we truly enjoy the simple things in life. The weekend BBQ's, the embrace of loved ones, the ice cold beer, the hot shower, a home cooked meal, the simple things that most take for granted. I'd also like to extend the fact that this goes for nearly all the ground combat arms side of the Marine Corps, this includes tankers, trackers, artillery, etc. We all get shit on pretty regularly and get asked to do more than your average Marine who, for example, may be a chair pilot in an administration shop. I'm not saying those other Marines don't serve a purpose because I like getting paid, I like having equipment that works, and having someone in the air above to light up a mountainside is always a good thing. However, their experience in the Corps isn't nearly the same as your average grunt. 


As long as I can remember I've heard the expression "You can't spell disgruntled without the grunt." This saying rings true on so many levels it's not even funny. Your average grunt and ground combat arms guys aren't as motarded (meaning motivated to the point of stupidity) and aren't nearly as happy with our lot in the Corps because we don't get treated quite the same. We get pushed out on some FOB (forward operating base) with little to no amenities and get asked to do a job that is pretty hard at times. That's fine, we accept that. After all that's what we signed up for and few of us will ever ask to do something different for the Corps. Now here is what upsets me. When the big wigs go out to visit the troops they don't go to places where most grunts live and work while deployed. They go to the big bases in the rear that have the DFAC chow halls, the movie theaters, pizza hut, subway, burger king, stores and shops, the hugenormous gyms, etc. Many of the people on these bases even live in small two person apartments with their own internet connection, air conditioning, and sometimes even cable TV. This is a far cry from the FOB I was at in Iraq where I nearly electrocuted myself and was thrown from the 16 foot high roof while trying to alter the ungrounded plumbing system in order to install a fucking washing machine so our Marines could wash their fucking clothes. We're grunts, we improvise, adapt, and overcome in any situation handed to us. However, the problem lies in the fact that those big wigs who come and visit never see that shit. They see troops living the good life at these major installations and think, "These guys have it great." Yeah deployment experiences vary. So what ends up happening is certain things get cut because the troops they saw are living great. When things get cut the people at these major bases rarely suffer. It's usually that Battalion of grunts living in squalor that lose out on various comfort items. Yet we push on, a little more disgruntled than normal, but we push on. 


Most of us aren't heroes, we do what we have to do to get that man to our right and our left home safe. Most of us have little regard for our own lives but guard our fellow Marines lives with a zealous passion that would rival the most dedicated terrorist or insurgent the world over. At our level patriotism is a foreign concept long since abandoned and left at home for those who live in peace and wave a little flag or sport the latest yellow ribbon. Some of us become heroes because of actions in combat or paying the ultimate sacrifice. Those who lay down their lives in order to save another Marine or in many cases civilians caught in a cross fire. Each and everyone of us leaves combat a different person. A part of you changes out there that is impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it. In a metaphorical way a part of us dies off and is replaced by something entirely different.


Some guys come back with some pretty significant issues, some come back without limbs, with physical scars from battle, and all come back different than when they left. We're all a little bitter at our non-combat arms cohorts who lived a better life and get talked to like their war heroes for even though they weren't exposed to the same things as the combat arms lot. Like I said before, we don't view ourselves as heroes and when someone refers to any of us as one we will normally look to the ground in an awkward sort of way because we just don't see it like that. Many of us have skeletons in our closets and demons in our souls from what we had to do and witnessed and the vast majority of us will take those skeletons and demons to our graves.


We attempt to assimilate back into the society we once knew but it's different. We're met by loved ones who think everything will be exactly the same upon our return and we all truly wish it could be. Some of us can't sleep, some of us are plagued with nightmares, some of us are tormented by our minds so much that suicide seems like the most viable option, and some of us shut ourselves out from as much of life as we can. Then some prick on the Hill talks about when he/she visited the troops and how good they have it over there. Then you get pissed off even more. If you're still in the Corps for a while you develop a hatred for non-combat arms people who lived in those nice places and run around talking about it and glorifying themselves and what they did. Meanwhile you don't even talk about it except with  a close group of people who you served with. It's kind of strange. Sometimes you feel like you did the work while others get the credit. Then you just push on and do your thing and ignore the rest.


This past weekend a Marine I was in charge of for a while arrived at Naval Medical Center Bethesda. He's in his early twenty's, from Pennsylvania, he loves to fish, hunt, and do pretty much anything outdoors. He screwed up a bit when he first got in and got into some trouble but no matter what he always had a smile on his face and was quick to crack a joke and laugh. Yet when we found out what happened to him the rest of the world was occupied with Steve Jobs untimely death so the fact that this young Marine was on a dismounted patrol, was struck by an IED, and lost both his legs above the knee was largely ignored. It was kind of crazy. I saw his friends on Facebook cursing Jobs and all those who posted about him because they were upset and rightly so. You see in a span of a week we lost two of our Marines in July, one to an IED and one to an accident here in the states. The wounds are still fresh then we have one lose both his legs and it hits home even harder, meanwhile, the world is concerned with a technology innovator and not our brother. Anger and rage rise up because people value the inventor of the iPhone more than the ones who make this country safe for them. It's a sign of the times I guess.


Yes, I understand that Jobs was responsible for some great things but the bottom line is this. If it weren't for that kid with a gun in some God forsaken place soaking up hardships without a second thought, watching his brothers get maimed and killed, silently hoping to make it home, and sacrificing his very soul the Steve Jobs' of the world wouldn't be able to do what they do. Yet his achievements are more important than the kid who years from now will be using his artificial leg as a stabilizing platform for his rifle when he goes hunting. 


Just a few things to leave you with here...


"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
~George Orwell


Grunt:
Term of affection used to denote that filthy, sweaty, dirt-encrusted, foot-sore, camouflage-painted, ripped trouser, tired, sleepy, beautiful little son of a bitch who has kept the wolf away from the door for over 200 years.


~From Green Side Out by Maj. H. Gene Duncan, USMC Retired.


On that note, I'm off to shower, shave and then off to see a friend.

Inexplicable rage....

So let's go over the disclaimer for a minute and pay very close attention because I've been pissed off so the odds of me offending the masses have increased exponentially. If you are easily butt hurt, if your panties are in a bunch as soon as you put them on, if you can't take any kind of criticism even if it's not directed at you, if you get upset when someone says something bad about your religious, political, or general beliefs, if you don't appreciate the semi-god like versatility of the word fuck, if you don't like the word "cunt" (in or out of quotations), or if you don't like derogatory references of any kind do me a favor and hit the fucking back button now and save yourself the heart burn. For everyone else, this is just a rant, nothing poignant, just a rant because I'm inexplicably pissed the fuck off lately and if I don't rant and fucking rave somewhere I'm going to lose my fucking mind, go bachmann fucking crazy, and potentially end up in a bell tower with a high powered maxed the fuck out paintball gun. Surprised? Well then you've never been shot with a paint ball gun because it fucking hurts and it's sometimes a little fucking funny to watch someone wither in pain when struck by something that in all actuality will only leave a fucking bruise, but anyway, I digress.

For some unknown reason I've been really fucking pissed off in general lately. If I knew why I would remedy the situation. Now would be the time for me to warn my religious readers that the first person that says, "You'll find peace when you accept God/Allah/Yahweh/Santa Clause/other make believe shit" I'll punch you in the dick so fucking hard you won't need a fucking sex change. I'm just fucking pissed off at the world and life in general.

Here are some things that have truly set me off lately.

The Occupy Wall Street fiasco. Why are we protecting the worthless pieces of shit that are bleeding our country dry but macing, beating, and arresting those who are utilizing their 1st fucking Amendment rights to protest a grievance? What the fuck? I bet, I'd put money on the fact, I'd put my left nut on the fact that if they were protesting something to do with 2nd Amendment rights that we wouldn't be fucking with them nearly as much. I went to war to protect shit like this. I don't agree with a lot of things people protest about, especially when they protest anything to do with the troops. HOWEVER, I would lay down my fucking life to protect their ability to do so. Yet some people are straight up fucking worthless so fuck them. This pisses me off and it should piss you off too..

The DADT Repeal and the introduction to repeal DOMA. HEY FUCKERS! People are gay. Pole smoking, pillow biting, ass bandit, carpet munching, kiss in fucking public to make you cringe fucking gay. Why do you give a shit? What fucking difference does it make if they batting for the same team? The truth is it doesn't. If it upsets you that much move somewhere fucking else. This country is based on a premise of equality. If you are one of those fucking document twisting douche bags that says that's not what our founding fathers meant. Well this is what I say to you. If they meant that all white hetero sexual men and only men were created equal and everyone else didn't count then I think that maybe, just fucking maybe, they were smart enough to write exactly that. But they didn't. The wrote that;

 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equally, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

It's that fucking simple. In the most pure form of interpretations "all men" refers to all man kind, "their Creator" means who ever they believed created them. If you read it any other way you're fucked in the head. What's fucked up is that in the past 100 years we have raised the level of equality to include women and all races, yet you don't want to include someone because they like members of the same sex. What the fuck? You may have a foot fetish or like to get golden showers, but I don't fucking hold that shit against you so get fucking bent bitch and let's make every-fucking-one of our people in this fucked up country of ours equal. Because it makes sense. This shit pisses me off and it should piss you off too...

Fucking breast cancer. Jesus Howard Christ there is enough money going into breast cancer research that not only should the shit be fucking eradicated but every man woman and child should have a perfect set of tits to fucking play with. Holy fucking shit, there are more charities raising money for breast cancer than I can think of. What about all the other shit that's killing people? What about brain aneurysm, ALD, blood disorders, and the plethora of other shit whether man made or natural that's dropping people at the cyclic rate. You rarely even hear about AIDS any more. Seriously WTF? Don't get me wrong I'm all about saving the tata's because boobies make me and just about everyone else around the world happy but there is still so much more out there. So why the fuck is Susan G. Koman, Amy's Blend, Breast Bonanza and all the other pink ribbon shit getting the most attention? What about ball cancer? You don't see any ribbons out there with catchy slogans like "Save the boulders" out there. I don't get it and it's pissing me off and it should probably piss you off too...

People that refuse to pay attention when they drive. If it is illegal for us to go out and get shit faced fucking drunk and get behind the wheel then it should be illegal for people to talk on cell phones, text, put on make up, receive fellatio, give fellatio, read a fucking book or newspaper, steer with their feet, or anything that truly distracts people from driving like a sane human fucking being. We all have out moments of retardation behind the wheel, I understand that, but doing anything that distracts us from driving increases those instances of retardation exponentially. You might as well attempt to lick your fucking windshield while driving, at least then I'll be able to immediately see you've ingested too many lead paint chips and to avoid you at all costs. 

People that don't mind their own god damned fucking business. If I wanted your fucking opinion in the fucking store I would fucking ask you for it. However, approaching someone that you don't know and criticizing them for any fucking reason it just plain stupid. If you're the PTA Holier than Now mom who pulls this shit let me tell you what you are. A fucking Cunt. Not only are you a fucking cunt but every time you fucking speak all the world can here is the distinct sound of a queef. Just because you think you're better than everyone else because your husband is out making six figures and you drive a Lexus and don't have to fucking work doesn't mean you are any better than the rest of us trying to get by on a daily basis. Let me tell you something. The reason your husband always works so fucking late is because he is banging his 20-something secretary and going out to drink before he comes home so he can deal with your queef spewing fucking cunt mouth without trying to suck start a shotgun when he walks through the fucking door. You, nor anyone else for that matter, has a right to judge anyone because of what they look like. And if you do, keep it to your fucking self. People like this piss me off and if they don't piss you off you are much more tolerant than I...

Fuck... I'm gonna stop for now I think, there's plenty more but at the moment, in order to hang onto the sliver of sanity I just need to stop.

I'll leave you with a quote from Tim Minchin that seems appropriate...

"And if perchance I have offended,

Think but this and all is mended;

We'd as well be 10 minutes back in time,

For all the chance you'll change your mind."

Your pissed off neighborhood baby killer.

The Senator