From Pine View Farm

It was one year ago today that C. D. Alston, Gen., USAF, announced that

Insurgents in Iraq are showing little capacity to keep up numerous and persistent attacks, a senior U.S. general in Baghdad says.

At a briefing December 29, Air Force Brigadier General C.D. Alston said there are three reasons for the diminishing capability of the insurgents to keep up attacks. The ability of insurgents to wage sustained combat is a key indicator closely watched by U.S. military forces to determine the enemy’s effectiveness.

“The first is the joint offensive operations that have been launched by coalition forces and Iraqi security forces over the course of the last several months,” said Alston, who is the director of strategic communications for the Multinational Force Iraq.

The security offensive has been focused on defeating terrorists and foreign fighters, and disrupting the insurgency, he said, with great effect.

The second reason, he said, is the progressive training and equipping of Iraqi security forces.

Let us celebrate his clear-headed prescience.

With a tip to Atrios.

From NPR. No one supports our troops like their employer:

Army studies show that at least 20 percent to 25 percent of the soldiers who have served in Iraq display symptoms of serious mental-health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Administration officials say there are extensive programs to heal soldiers both at home and in Iraq.

But an NPR investigation at Colorado’s Ft. Carson has found that even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. In fact, evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army.

The Army is giving these soldiers honorable discharges, but adding a “PD” (personality disorder) notation.

Now, “personality disorder” is a recognized psychiatric diagnosis–and a pretty scary one–though, from listening to the news story cited above, I suspect the Army is not using the term in that sense. Rather, they are using it as some kind of catchall gotcha that means, in sum, “whatever is wrong with you, the United States Department of Defense is not responsible for it.”

Even when it is.

And, frankly, “personality disorder” is a pretty scary diagnosis, because there is no cure for properly diagnosed personality disorder. Those who suffer from it will not admit that there is anything wrong with them; without that admission there is ipso facto no chance of a cure.

For the Army to hang that diagnosis around someone’s neck and walk away is, frankly, beyond contempt.

And the Army is now taking its support of its own troops to whole nother levels:

Earlier this month, NPR reported on problems soldiers face at Ft. Carson, Colo., when they come back from Iraq with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other emotional problems. Now, the base command has taken steps to court-martial one of the soldiers profiled in the story.

Class act. Use you up, throw you away.

All the yellow ribbons on all the vans and pick-up trucks on all the back roads of this country will not allay the Army’s betraying its own.

All Spin Zone:

You don’t “surge” a conflict. You don’t “surge” a commitment of manpower and money. Plain and simple, it’s ratcheting up the stakes; it’s an escalation of the conflict and an escalation of U.S. commitment to the occupation.

One wonders why the Current Federal Administrator is taking so long to reveal his new policy on his failure in Iraq.

I suspect that the reason is simple. He cannot grasp the reality that stuff doesn’t happen just because he wants it to and now has no clue what to do.

But I predict this (call me Criswell), based on his past performance: Whatever choice he makes will be the wrong choice.

The man has a perfect track record. He won’t ruin it now.

The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the ranks, including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations overseas and put more immigrants on a faster track to U.S. citizenship if they volunteer, according to Pentagon officials.

A desparate sign of the moral and political bankruptcy of the Current Federal Administration. They cannot find enough cannon fodder in the United States, so they look for it elsewhere.

My girlfriend said, “I don’t remember Jerry Ford being such a great president.”

I replied, “He wasn’t. But he was an honest, decent, truthful, and honorable man.”

No doubt that’s why he looks so good from the sixth year of King George the Fourth.

Addendum:

Professor Cole takes a reasoned look back on the Ford Administratioin.

Tagged by Phillybits.

1. In the first election in which I was eligible to vote, I voted for Shirley Chisholm.

2. I was at the Mobe, the Big One, singing along with Pete Seeger in “Give Peace a Chance.”

3. Me mate and I got caught trying to steal that keg of beer from an English pub, but we talked our way out of it.

4. It takes three weeks of Saturday nights to steal a stop sign. And said stop sign looks awfully nice in the deputy sheriff’s front yard.

5. My draft lottery number was 349. Until the lottery, I was on my way to Saigon upon graduation.

Consider yourself tagged.

Nine people, five dogs, one ham, one goose, two and a half dozen sweet potato biscuits, three cups (before cooking) rice, one head of cauliflower au gratin, one quart goose gravy, one tin cheese straws, three bottles of wine, two sweet potato pies, one lemon chess pie, one notification of impending grandchild.

And no more cooking this week.

(with apologies to the Blues Brothers) Phillybits.

The vacuum cleaner has issues. It’s a canister with a beater head, but the beater in the head doesn’t work consistently. There’s some kind of short. So I went to the manufacturer’s website to find an authorized dealer (yeah, it’s the kind of vacuum you want to take to an authorized dealer–I inherited it from my father and it cost half a Yugo).

The manufacturer’s website has issues:

Guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. There must be a phone book around here somewhere . . . .

and to all a good night.

Find out here.

Now that Senator George Allen (Embarassment of Virginia) is jobless, a fitting successor for the small-minded bigotry party is needed.

Fortunately, one has volunteered himself: Congressman Virgil Goode (rhymes with food) from Southside.

I will not spend my time demolishing the irrational hate-filled bigotry of his beliefs, which embarrass me, my home state, and anyone who knows aught of the history of the United States of America and its Constitution.

Professor Cole does that nicely here.

Virginia has given the United States of America some towering figures: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe. All in the past. Lately, Virginia has given us Pat Robertson (and his Daddy, J. Willis), George “Surfer Boy” Allen, and, now, Goode.

It’s so bad that Senator John Warner, once voted “Dumbest Senator,” (it was before teh internets, so I can’t find any links–heck, he may still have been married to Elizabeth “One Husband Is As Good As Another” Taylor at the time–but I read about it when it happened) now looks like a statesman.

I will say this: Mr. Goode proves that any idiot can gain elected office.

Then, again, maybe I’m wrong. He’s not just any idiot.

He’s a very special idiot.

Sheesh.

. . . if we do not guard it.

Bruce Fleming of the U. S. Naval Academy–worth a read:

. . . only a few years ago, enraged right-wingers screamed because the French dared say “no” to the then all-powerful 43rd President, demanding that there be some actual proof that Saddam did in fact possess weapons of mass destruction before they’d sign on to an attack. People posing as patriots (but in fact idiots) poured French wine into the gutters-this was reported gleefully on Fox News, and played for sensational effect on the French news networks-to show their fury that anyone could dare to question El Presidente. For that matter, fury was in the air, anyone who questioned or warned was a traitor or a coward. Far too many people were all too ready to support roaring into battle, being convinced that action- any action – was the way to take their revenge.

Now it’s the morning after. Oh, our aching head! And surprise! The French were right. Increasingly the evidence suggests that the CIA gave in to political pressure to front-and-center the claims of questionable sources to justify a war that was already decided on. Rationality was forgotten.

(snip)

The current administration has offered at every turn a horrifying lesson in how not to lead. Its MO has been this: suppress dissent (rather than encourage it), surround yourself by sycophantic yes-men (rather than objective views), bring in personal loyalists for key positions (rather than people who actually know what they’re doing), vilify those who disagree or propose a better way. And oh yes: accuse even long-term like-minded allies of cowardice and treachery if they don’t kiss your ass 24/7. No term of opprobrium is too low for somebody who refuses to bow to your will: that’s the way to lead the Free World. (Not.)

The far right has still not realized that one does not protect freedom by destroying it.

With a tip to All Spin Zone.

A 29-year-old woman allegedly forged documents and assumed the identity of an Annapolis attorney, apparently for the sole purpose of having sex with an inmate at a Baltimore prison.

“It was an elaborate scheme,” said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the prison system. “I’m not aware of something like this ever occurring before.”

Police charged Tiffany Gwen Weaver, of Reisterstown, with seven counts stemming from the alleged incident, including forgery, fraud, and false use of government identification. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

Hope it was as good for–oh, never mind.

My Daddy spent a good part of his career with the Virginia Department of Agriculture trying to develop new markets for sweet potatoes.

Yams are not sweet potatoes.

Just as green beans are not watermelons.

They are a whole nother thing from a whole nother continent.

Dammit.

Here. (Windows Media Player format.)

With a tip to C&L.

Susie has it figured out. Here.

4 egg yokes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs lemon juice

8 tbs (1 stick) butter

tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper

Combine egg yolks in blender.

Hit blender once quickly to blend egg yokes.

Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper (sauce) to blender.

Melt butter in small sauce pan until it’s bubbling (the butter, not the sauce pan).

Turn blender on high and pour butter in thin stream directly into center of blender blade. Turn off blender immediately that mixture is, well, blended.

Serve over Eggs Benedict.

Makes approx. 3/4 cp.

1 cp Flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbs butter, melted and slightly cooled (may substitute shortening, vegetable oil, or, if a disciple of the Evil One, margarine)

1 cp cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (may used cooked canned sweet potatoes)

Approx. 1/4 cp milk

Combine dry ingredients.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add sweet potatoes and mix well.

Add milk gradually to make soft dough.

Turn out dough on floured board and knead until reaches biscuit consistenly. Add flour if needed.

Roll out dough and cut out with biscuit cutter (a juice glass works just fine).

Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 450 F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on bottom of biscuits.

Makes approx. 12 biscuits.

Roast Goose with Stuffing

Goose Gravy with Goose Giblets (which is to die for)

Country Ham (brought it up from Virginia today)

Rice (merely a vehicle for the gravy)

Green Bean Casserole (because it can be prepped in advance)

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Lemon Chess Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Have I left out anything?

My first boss was a very easy man to work for. It was a high-speed, high stress environment. We worked, on average, an hour of overtime each workday and four hours each Saturday, just to keep up.

I asked him once, “Denny, how is it you are such a good boss?”

He said, “Whenever I am faced with a decision, I think of what my first boss would have done. Then I do the exact opposite.”

Good advice for whoever succeeds the Current Federal Administrator.

Warning: Harsh pictures of real life. And death.

With a tip to Hullabaloo.

Good grief.

The Man of the Year is Me–er, you, er us. Or whoever.

My Daddy cancelled his subscription to Time because he didn’t like it when they sort of acted sympathetic to the civil rights movement (thankfully, he changed and grew).

I don’t subscribe to Time and Newsweek because, if I did, I wouldn’t have anything to read when I go to the doctor’s office. I can catch up on them there quite nicely, thank you.

Yet, with all the big stuff that happened this year, all the Kings and Queens and Rooks and Bishops and Knights and even Pawns on the international stage, this is all up with which they can come?

Sheesh.

And this surprises us how?

General Odom (Lt. Gen., USA, ret., former Director of the NSA) enumerates six myths about Iraq, and proceeds to demolish them.

Below is his list of “Truths” that contradict each of the myths. Follow the link to see his reasoning. Each of these items is used to excuse the Current Federal Administration’s misguided adventurism in entering Iraq, phenomenal incompetence while there, and bull-headed determination to fix things by doing the same thing harder.

I did quote his reasoning for “Truth No. 3,” because it speaks directly to the immorality of this whole darn endeavor:

Truth No. 1: No “deal” of any kind can be made among the warring parties in Iraq that will bring stability and order, even temporarily.

Truth No. 2: There was no way to have “done it right” in Iraq so that U.S. war aims could have been achieved.

Truth No. 3: The theory that “we broke it and therefore we own it,” with all the moral baggage it implies, is simply untrue because it is not within U.S. power to “fix it.”

The president’s cheerleaders in the run-up to the war now use this theory to rationalize our continued presence in Iraq, and in that way avoid admitting that they share the guilt for the crime of breaking Iraq in the first place.

Truth No. 4: The demand that the administration engage Iran and Syria directly, asking them to help stabilize Iraq, is patently naïve or cynically irresponsible until American forces begin withdrawing – and rapidly – so that there is no ambiguity about their complete and total departure.

Truth No. 5: The United States cannot prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Truth No. 6: It is simply not possible to prevent more tragic Iraqi deaths in Iraq.

How grievously the politicians and pundits, the hypocrits and hype-artists, who foisted this fraud upon us, have stained our society, our sons and daughters who serve honorably, our sacred honor.

An innocent American, wrongfully detained Iraq, details his experiences. This is what the Current Federal Adminstrator thinks of your–and of my–rights as a citizen (New York Times–registration may be required):

Detainee 200343 was among thousands of people who have been held and released by the American military in Iraq, and his account of his ordeal has provided one of the few detailed views of the Pentagon’s detention operations since the abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib. Yet in many respects his case is unusual.

The detainee was Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran from Chicago who went to Iraq as a security contractor. He wound up as a whistle-blower, passing information to the F.B.I. about suspicious activities at the Iraqi security firm where he worked, including what he said was possible illegal weapons trading.

But when American soldiers raided the company at his urging, Mr. Vance and another American who worked there were detained as suspects by the military, which was unaware that Mr. Vance was an informer, according to officials and military documents.

At Camp Cropper, he took notes on his imprisonment and smuggled them out in a Bible.

“Sick, very. Vomited,” he wrote July 3. The next day: “Told no more phone calls til leave.”

Nathan Ertel, the American held with Mr. Vance, brought away military records that shed further light on the detention camp and its secretive tribunals. Those records include a legal memorandum explicitly denying detainees the right to a lawyer at detention hearings to determine whether they should be released or held indefinitely, perhaps for prosecution.

Clearly, the best way to preserve freedom is to stifle it. Sheesh.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich last night defended his call to limit freedom of speech to combat terrorism, comments that last month provoked strident criticism from liberal groups.

Gingrich said the threat of biological or nuclear attack requires America to consider curbs to speech to fight terrorists, if it is to protect the society that makes the First Amendment possible.

We cannot protect our freedoms by destroying them.

To quote the greatest actor of all time, “What a maroon.”

Cell phone frolics:

Virgin mobile, in what is either utter desperation or a brilliant PR coup, has identified a new trend in Christmas shopping that manages to combine boobs and mobile phones.

The firm has issued a press release in which it claims that its “national network of retail trend spotters” has spotted a number of women using their camera phones to photograph themselves wearing the saucy lingerie they want to be given for Christmas. Said pics are then emailed to boyfriends who might otherwise buy the wrong colour pants, or something.

Here.

Wonderful.

Give me a break subcategory:

From suburban lawns to postage-stamp city decks, it’s a bigger-than-ever Invasion of the Inflatables this holiday season.

Billowy Christmas penguins, taller than NBA star Yao Ming, have put down stakes alongside red-capped SpongeBobs saluting mammoth Grinches and nutcrackers that loom like pine trees.

Nationally, sales of the novelties, which cost between $20 and $200, are expected to top $500 million this year, up from $100 million in 2003, said Pam Danziger, whose company, Unity Marketing in Lancaster County, tracks consumer spending.

Inflatables are the country’s fastest-growing category of outdoor Christmas decorations, said Danziger, who conceded their charms.

Charms? Charms? Charms?

Oh, brother.