7 Aug 09

Pretty sweet deal, I think I'll call Iran and see if I can get the hikers released.


Mentee and I at the range




Afghan toilet. This is in Osama's Tea House, so Osama himself may have squatted over that hole.


Bucket of a track-hoe attempting to pull several hundred feet of electric cable out of the ground, I told them it wouldn't work, and it didn't. They were just breaking off 15' sections...I asked them if it sold better out in town in 15' sections.


The brain children behind the cable pulling idea.


How do you delicately pull up cable with a 1yard hydraulic bucket on a track-hoe


Homemade air conditioner. the water pump sends water to the top and the water flows over the wood shavings and evaporates. the evaporating action takes heat out of the air and the fan on the inside draws the cooled air into the room.

Well, I was supposed to be gone on leave right now…all that really means is I have the excuse “I am not even supposed to be here right now” at my disposal until I leave. It has been a really busy week. Election security is top priority and there are a few construction projects that I am “consulting” on. One construction project that is starting soon is for a new maintenance facility for the ANA for trucks and heavy equipment. The guy from the previous pics that goes around holding the AF construction companies accountable for less than acceptable work will be leaving in OCT and has designated me as his replacement for all such tasks. After the elections, I will work more on the construction stuff vice security. The security mentoring has been successful for the most part. I have won some big battles there and will just have to ensure we maintain in that respect.
I finished a book this week titled: THE WEST’S LAST CHANCE: WILL WE WIN THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS?. It was a pretty good book; a fast read. The principle theme centers on the fact that radical Islam has spread from Central Asia and the Middle East in every direction, and it doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. The book focuses mostly on the threat that European Muslim extremists pose to our way of life. Europe was struggling to keep its population up and people everywhere decided they were above certain jobs, so the logical explanation was to allow millions of immigrant Muslims into Europe to do the dirty work. For the majority of these immigrants, it was a way to escape an oppressive government or give their families a new start, but some of them and many of their kids preached and spread an extremist version of Islam called Wahabiism. Open borders and a political correct attitude of “We have to be nice to these people” or “That is their culture, we have to respect that” lead to a dire situation of Europe being a launch pad for attacks on the U.S. The book recommends and discusses actions that must be taken in AF, Europe, and in America to secure our civilization.

Did you know that Canada and some European countries are currently or have at some point considered allowing Sharia law to be practiced on their soil.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/islamsadvance/2008/08/a_case_for_sharia_law_in_the_w.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons_why_sharia_is.html

Of course, current laws would still apply, but for example, if your wife disgraces you (in your opinion), you can kill her under Sharia law. There are people in America that want these “rights” as well. How does that make you feel?...go ahead and say it with me, “If you don’t like my country, my way of life, and my laws, get the hell out.”
One part of the book that I have mixed emotions about discusses the governments’ powers during a declared war and precedence set by FDR back in the ‘40s. We have all heard stories of internment camps for Japanese-Americans and “special” attention that some people were given in the name of protecting America. Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know that the Supreme Court actually said that all that was cool during a declared war based on the fact that a person of Japanese decent was more likely to have feelings of support for Japan than someone who was just a plain ole American. What about jailing people for voicing their opinion? 1st Amendment right? Nope, during a declared war, if you don’t agree, you better choose your words wisely. If you cheer when an American soldier dies, you’ll go to jail. You will be arrested for speaking against the war effort. What is different now? We are not in a declared war, just like we were not in Vietnam. Who would we declare war against? The only people we can declare war against are the people who time and time again have declared war on us-Islamic Extremists. Now if we go and do that, it sounds like it is a religious war.
If war was declared against “Islamic Extremists,” the TSA would be protected and free to treat an 80 year old lady different than 3 men of Arab descent who board a plane together acting bit funny, until then, it is racial profiling, and we cannot do that…would want to hurt anyone’s feelings; after all, the 3000 people that died almost 8 years ago and the many that have given their lives since in the defense of our way of life and the freedom of AF and Iraqi people…they didn’t have feelings.
So what are the mixed emotions about? What "new" and expanded rights would the govt have in today's day and age? I am talking about wire tapping and spying on American citizens and U.S. persons. What if your gun purchasing ability was restricted during a time of war b/c the govt was concerned about an angry population? An angry mob like the democrats think they see in town hall meetings regarding health care...surprise guys, it is called democracy. If you don't think the govt infringing on your gun rights during tough times is a realistic possibility, see: http://www.neworleansgungrab.com/ where Nagin and other idiots in the storm affected areas of Katrina authorized the seizure of legal weapons out of the hands of law abiding citizens b/c they didn't think it was safe for the people and the authorities to have guns. So where will the FEDS draw the line, where will they let the line get blurry? The problem I see goes back to career politicians who are so disconnected from real Americans that they will make decisions without regard for how it effects the people they are sworn to serve.

I went to the gun range with the ANA again a few times this week. The shooting has improved a bit, and safety is still “OK.” The most disheartening thing is the condition of their equipment and weapons. They really don’t have enough weapons for everyone and many of them share gear. I am starting to understand the lack of pride that many of them exude. Many of them don’t see what they have to be proud of. They are given bad equipment, food lacking proper nutrition, and some have awful living conditions, but are expected to act like professionals…it is just not going to happen like that. An example of where the ANA stand is some comments from a meeting this morning: 1. Holding hands in uniform is inappropriate. 2. Senior enlisted soldiers are not allowed to have homosexual relations with their soldiers. Yep, that just happened.
Pray for these people. Pray for our troops.
God Bless and take care.

BMP