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Thursday, March 31, 2005

Happy Mission Day, with much sadness

Happy mission day! I did not make the mission again this month. I tried and I tried, but alas, my end of the monther, could not get a high enough score. Missed it by 3 ASVAB points.

On a couple of sadder notes, Terri died today. May her soul rest easier than her body did these last 2 weeks.

The Pope is not doing well. I am not Catholic, but I understand that the Pope is very influential and I listen whenever he talks. I feel that there is a secret red phone to God in the Vatican. I hope that he can recover from his infection.

Well... life goes on for the rest of us. Lets all hope that some good will come out of today.

Militantpundit posted @ 8:43 PM




Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Last ditch effort

The Militantwife has been kicking around one last idea on how to get more people behind Terri. And it is this...

Where are the feminists! Hello! There is a man out there that says and continues to show that he considers Terri to be his property. The courts are set up so that this woman is his property, and he gets to make all decisions about said property.

How can the feminist world let this happen? Should we start an e-mail campaign to the National Orgainzation for Women? Let's all e-mail Helen Wall and tell her that Terri is not Michael's property.

How about it?

Militantpundit posted @ 9:50 PM




Monday, March 28, 2005

New Picture

The picture more matches what the blog is about. You might have to hit refresh if you are a returning visitor. Let me know what you think.

Militantpundit posted @ 11:18 PM




Thursday, March 24, 2005

GM is going to axe another line

As you can see from the picture at the top of the page, I am a car LOVER. I am a lover of new, old, classic, and even vehicles that may not be able to be classified as cars.

With that said. GM missed the mark. Why do cars not make it in the world? 1. There is no market for them or 2. They are not cool. I would go out on a limb and say that both Buick and Pontiac have failed on both marks.

Lets go down the Buick line and contrast it with a better car in it's price and class line.

Rendezous- Lexus RX330 (only about 3 grand more for a FWD model, and a Lexus)

Rainier- Yet again,Lexus RX330 for only about 2 grand more.

Terraza- Dodge Grand Caravan (I can't believe I said that either) for 3 grand less

Lacrosse-Audi A4 1.8T

Lesabre- Audi A4 1.8T

The only one that I think that anyone can argue with is the Grand Caravan, but that is because I do not particularly like Minivans, but they are still good cars.

On to Pontiac. I always felt bad for Pontiac. They are like the kid brother of the football star quarterback. We want to be cool too, so we make the Pontiac Sunfire (Chevy Cavalier/ Cobalt), the G6, which is so much hype to try to get it sold that people went out and realized it was a new name for the Grand Prix. Speaking of the GP, it had it's niche, but it forgot to keep itself updated. All of the rest of the Pontiac line is a little off the wall (vibe, astek, etc) design wise. Just like the kid brother trying to be the black wearing trenchcoat wearing little brother. People say... "The GTO... The GTO!" Yeah... My BMW will smoke a GTO from a standing start and on the highway. It is 240hp, and the GTO is 315... I somehow do not believe it. I even went and test drove a GTO to see what happened. I felt like I was in a grandma car. It was not a driver's car. It could have been one. Now Pontiac ends up thinking "hey lets steal the 427!" That engine might be able to save the car, but if you are going to think about a new GTO (probably 45g) wouldn't you get the same engine in the new ZO6 Vette? I would. Or a Audi S4? Or a Mercedes C32 AMG? Or a BMW M3?

I don't know. Yes I do. Any of those. But the GTO.

Tell me your favorite cars and why...

Militantpundit posted @ 10:33 PM




I love it when Daily Kos dismisses the republican argument

So I was reading Blogging Blago's Blunders in which he takes on the Schaivo issue by not taking it on. Good idea, but I cannot stand around. Kos, which I refuse to add any traffic to (find the link yourself) refers to this report (thank you abstractappeal.com)as the basis for their argument on why Michael Schaivo is an alright dude. Well, coming in as a conservative, I read it with a different eye and found a couple of statements that turned my stomach.

Mr. Pearse concludes that Michael’s hearsay testimony about Theresa’s intent is “necessarily adversely affected by the obvious financial benefit to him of being the sole heir at law…” and “…by the chronology of this case…”, specifically referencing Michael’s change in position relative to maintaining Theresa following the malpractice award.


This to me shows that even back in 20 DEC 98, the court appointed guardians were thinking that he was a scumbag who wanted her $700,000 purse she received from a somewhat bogus case of malpractice. Michael sued an Obstrician for her eating disorder. Before he met her, she was 250. When they met she was 150. She continued her weight loss down to 110. Then she had her heart attack due to bulemia (it goes into the whole thing in the report). Did Michael not notice that she was bulemic? This was the height of the bulemia issue on TV even. He cannot claim ignorance on that one. The court pulled this guardian because of the conclusions that he made, by the way. Imagine that...

Another Good series of paragraphs on this case....

It has been suggested that in the case of incapacitated persons, particularly those who have not expressed an advance directive, the “clear and convincing” evidence standard for establishing the intent to discontinue artificial life support is insufficient and incongruous. The insufficiency, it is argued, is because of the possibility of using information that is not accurate, complete or even honest. The incongruity is related to the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that serves as the basis for decisions to convict and then execute capitol felons.

If persons unable to speak for themselves have decisions made on their behalf by guardians or family members, the potential for abuse, barring clear protections, could lead to a “slippery slope” of actions to terminate the lives of disabled and incompetent persons. And it is not difficult to imagine bad decisions being made in order to make life easier for a family or to avoid spending funds remaining in the estate on the maintenance of a person.

There is, of course, the other side of that slippery slope, which would be to keep people in a situation they would never dream of: unable to die, unable to communicate, dependent for everything, and unaware, being maintained principally or entirely through state resources – and for reasons that may relate to guilt, fear, needs or wants of family members, rather than what the person’s best wishes might otherwise have been.

And there is the chillingly practical, other public policy matter of the cost of maintaining persons diagnosed in persistent vegetative states and terminal conditions alive for potentially indefinite periods of time – at what inevitably becomes public expense. Here the “reasonable person” standard, with respect to how one would want to be treated were they in Theresa’s shoes affects the discussion. This is not easy stuff, and should not be.


Does this nail the argument? Absolutely. Now which side do you fall on? Read the argument and decide, the post your comments here.

Militantpundit posted @ 9:38 PM




Da Chief

I spent a couple of months with a "Native Activist" (his words not mine). He made one statement that made me decide that this is a "partisan" thing. Not republican or democrat, but some other internal parties to the native community that I, admittedly, know little about. He said that "some want the chief gone. Those are the guys that find it racist and find every other thing racist." Kind of like the "Jesse Jackson's" of the world who would accuse a rock of being racist. The other side does not care to make a big deal out of it. Why? Who knows.

So what does that mean? That we, "the white society" (his words again) do not want to be called racist because of the political (correctness) ramifications. I wish that we could get up enough convictions of our own to not cower to the most vocal of people.

Why are we so up in arms about the Chief? Who is it that is complaining about the Chief exactly? Lets bring in the natives and have them file their complaints.

What do I see? I see that the Chief is in Champaign, along with the University obviously. What else comes on universities? Dumb ass guys who have nothing better to do that to take up causes that they only care about because of two reasons. 1. The girl with the nice boobs and the great ass is going to the protest. Lets follow her and get involved. Maybe she will see us and talk to us. 2. The Studies professor is yapping about the protest and they think that if they are seen then there the grade will be easier. Now the girls that are involved usually care a little about something they are protesting about. Then they get emotionally involved, and congrats you have a lib.

Why is someone offended by the Chief? The basic premise is that he is in a dress that Natives would not be in. In all actuality, a PowWow is (my activist buddy told me this. If you know different, let me know) just a money making scheme that tribes developed back long ago when the white expansion moved into the native land. The "official" dances that were conducted for the spiritual side of the native religion were done in private and shared only with the tribe. So, what that comment said to me was that the image that today's natives have now is made up by their ancestors. If they are offended by the image that was portrayed by their ancestors, then take it up with their ancestors and not take it out on a small number of schools and teams that uses their symbols as a sign of unity and honor.

What do you think?

Militantpundit posted @ 8:38 PM




Today is the greatest

Day of them all... Name that song and you get a yellow stickie of appreciation.

Today I found that one of the guys that I served with actually lives in town and is from here. It is ironic because I met his sister in law that explained his career, we talked about him and then she told me his name. Holy crap I served with him! I called him up and he did not really remember me I don't think. We talked and he said that he is going to come by the office and talk about some of the old times.

It is such a small world now that I am in the military. Not only do you meet at least 2 people a day who were in my branch, I am even finding people that I served with. Weird.

Militantpundit posted @ 7:50 PM




Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Pissed

Damn Kansas Lawmakers. You make your decision. Post it up here. I am a Puppy Fan. What about you?

Militantpundit posted @ 11:10 PM




Monday, March 14, 2005

More on Terry Schaivo

Well, I feel good. Maybe I helped do something. Maybe not. But I got this letter in the inbox today.

Thank you for contacting Governor Bush to ask for his help in the case of Terri Schiavo. He has asked me to respond on his behalf.

The Governor shares your concern for this young woman and has pledged to do whatever he can within the laws of Florida to protect her life. The next few weeks will be very difficult ones for Ms. Schiavo, her family and all of those who care about her. The Governor asks that you keep her and her family in your prayers during this difficult time. Again, thank you for writing Governor Bush about this important issue.

Sincerely,
L. O’Connor Office of Citizens’ Services


It was titled "Govenor Jeb Bush". I almost fell out of my chair. I know it is a form letter, but it makes me feel good.

Militantpundit posted @ 8:42 PM




Tuesday, March 08, 2005

What kind of crap is this?

My goodness. What a day. I had to wake up at 5:00am to make it to Ft. Sheridan for a board. The militantwife (She wants to be called pinkcactus from now on) sends me a e-mail. Here is what is linked inside the e-mail.

I have been boiling since I read it. It is not bad enough that I have to work my arse off to get people to come into my office, talk to me and join. Now I have to deal with these moonbats.

As it states in the article. These guys come up to people who are joining the military and try to convince them that the military cannot help them attain their goals. Here is my problem with this "goal attainment" theory. Most of these guys are ex-military. They had the opportunities that they are now trying to keep from these kids. I am going to debunk the myths now:

For one thing, Murphy helped convince him that he could go to college to pursue his interest in criminal justice, and that there was no guarantee he'd get his request for assignment to military police. For another, he's worried about combat in Iraq.


Murphy, is a counter-recruiter. Him is a guy how enlisted in the marines while in high school and has to wait until he gets out of school to go to boot camp. First, the Marines, Navy and Army guarantee, in contract, what job you have, bonuses you receive, when you are leaving, and any other special schools you will have. The only one that you are your job first and a soldier/sailor second is the Navy. It is even in how they call each other... job rating first...then 1 or 2, signifying them being first class or second class petty officers. With the Army and Marines, you will get sergeant something or another. The only branch that does not guarantee your job in writing is the Air Force. They give you a top 3 choice, and the needs of the Air Force (at Boot Camp) dictate what job you will have. So 3 of the 4 branches guarantee you will be in the "Military Police", by your job.

Everyone is worried about combat in Iraq. Unless you are joining the Navy. They seem to be the only branch that is not taking the casualties than the other branches are. The Air Force is even taking casualties.

Back in early 2004, the Moonbat Lib that suggested the draft, Senator Hollings tried to say that it was just the poor who join the military under the guise of getting college paid for. The Montgomery GI Bill pays out $36,072, this year. It goes up each year. It is paid out in 36 monthly installments. In Illinois, the Illinois Veteran's Grant will give you 4 years tuition and books. Tell me that is not a good deal for kids. It is not just poor kids. I guess they are not talking about Illinois rich though. They are talking abut old money New England rich.





Militantpundit posted @ 9:02 PM




Sunday, March 06, 2005

Ran across a good one today

Skippy is obviously like that "one guy" that everyone has had in their division if you are in the military. This has to be one of the funniest lists that I have come across. Read it. Even if you are not in the military, you will get a good laugh. Just replace officers with bosses. It makes sense then.

Some of my favorites:

26. Never tell a German soldier that “We kicked your ass in World War 2!”

30. Not allowed to wake an Non-Commissioned Officer by repeatedly banging on the head with a bag of trash.

37. Our medic is called “Sgt Larwasa”, not “Dr. Feelgood”. (guilty here!)

48. I may not use public masturbation as a tool to demonstrate a flaw in a command decision.

78. I may not call block my chain of command.

89. Must not refer to the Commander as “Dad”.

There are 213 of these. Take a look.


Militantpundit posted @ 10:18 PM




Standing up for Terri Schaivo

More news from the Schaivo front. I hope that the court gets its head out of its anus and think. This man is obviously just trying to kill his wife. He has already tried once according to some credible doctors (read: abuse) and now he is just trying to finish the job. I do not like to think that the courts of Florida are as stupid as they are, but this one is definitely making the argument.

I hope the parents get her divorced. This asshat does not deserve a penny from the insurance. Does anyone know if they have State Farm for life insurance? If so, does anyone know a State Farm adjuster in Bloomington? I bet that would end all of this silliness.

Militantpundit posted @ 6:20 PM




Saturday, March 05, 2005

Flip out for Flipper

Yahoo-AP is trying it's best to link the Navy's Submarines to an issue with some rough tooth dolphins. The USS Philadelphia is a 688i class Attack Submarine based out of Groton, CT. The ships usually operate with "passive" sonar. Passive sonar systems are designed to listen to sounds in the water, with hydrophones. These hydrophones do not send out any active noises at all. Submarines are designed to be quiet and hide.

There is an active sonar system on Attack Submarines. Here is why we know it was not used, according to the "press release"; the Phil was doing SEAL operations. If you are doing any work at all in the water around submarines and the active sonar fires off, you are deaf. Period. Sound travels significantly farther underwater with the same decibel level. So water basically amplifies the sound, without amplifying the sound, if you understand what I am saying. Less energy is required to push a liquid molecule into another than its gas counterpart. So if they hit the active, we would have some deaf ass SEALs.

Is there a problem with the Dolphins? Absolutely. Is it the submarines fault? I would guess not. We have a lot of submarines all around the world. Get used to it.

And what the hell is a necropsy? An autopsy on a dead thing? Is there a such thing as an autopsy on a living being?

Militantpundit posted @ 11:12 PM




F1 Season starts now.

Everyone turn to Speed Channel. I believe it is channel 72 for every Insight Communications Customer. There is nothing else to watch tonight anyway. If you give F1 a chance, you will never go back to Nascar. I am not a Nascar fan, nor am I a fan of having a car number anywhere on your vehicle. Please don't do that.

Militantpundit posted @ 8:36 PM




If I could kick someone's ass

This guy would be it. First off, let me premise this by saying that I try to prepare my Delayed Entry Program Personnel (the guys and girls that are waiting to go into the Military but cannot leave yet because there is not a slot at Boot Camp for them) the best that I can. I do not lie to them. I tell them how to get everything out of the Military. It is up to them to take it.

From this website that is linked above, Ron Jacobs titles it "Lies military recruiters tell" and starts off telling a story about a counterpart in the Army mass e-mailing (perfectly legal, BTW, I have done it as well) a student list from a university. In the e-mail it speaks of a program we call the "College Loan Repayment Program". This program pays off 33% of your college loans the first year you are in the military, 33% the second, and 33% the third. It pays off all loans up to $65,000. This program is only if you go enlisted. If you are talking Officer Programs, this is not a program we can sell, nor do we. It is guaranteed on a contract, along with your "ship date" (Boot Camp start date, for those of you in Rio Linda), your job, and (if any) bonuses you have. No ifs, ands or buts.

How many of you are in telemarketer jobs? Well, mine is kind of a telemarketer job at times. I have the Solomon Act (not amendment as the asshat Jacobs calls it) that allows me to contact people to get them into the military, and the federal Do-not call list does not apply to me. The No Child Left Behind Act allows me to go into every high school and college and get a list of names and phone numbers. Most schools supply addresses as well, which helps. I have an obligation to contact at least 85% of them. Guess what, kids want to join the military. They may not want to join a particular branch, but at least 20-30 percent want to join. Most of those kids cannot pass one of the Basic Enlistment sections (mental, moral, physical). On average, most kids who really want to join out of high school seek us out and say they are joining. We put in HS Seniors starting at the beginning of the 11-12 summer. I usually have my list of people set up to join about 3 months out for summer. All of them are HS seniors.

How many of you have "handshake" jobs? Where your job entails you get out of the office, meet people and do business that way? Another part of a recruiter. You will see us on college campuses. I have been called a baby killer before. (Funny story: I spun around, found the little moonbat lib PROFESSOR who called me that. I ask: "sir, what political party do you affiliate with?" Him: "I am a democrat." Me: " Do you believe in Abortion?" Him: moonbat drivel "yes" me: "well you are more of a babykiller than I am." I walk away. I got called to the Headquarters the next day to explain that one. Apparently he got a little pissed. But I won. I think..) I have a right to be there. I pay IL taxes. I can be there. Asshat, I pay for your electricity.

Jacobs then goes on a rant saying how not many schools give the ASVAB anymore. In Chicago alone, Yahoo says that there are 179 high schools. I bet it is probably less, around 120, so lets use 150 for arguments sake. Boston and Chicago are pretty close in size... Big at a bare minimum. 30 of those schools gave the ASVAB last year. 30/150= 20%. This year 19/150= 13% Big Shit. I have 28 high schools. Only 3 of them test. 3/28= 11%. Poor Boston. Cry me a freaking river! We actually do not use the ASVAB as a recruiting tool. We use the ASVAB as a way of kicking people off the list of people we have to call. If they are idiots, yay, I don't need to call them to find out if they are idiots. News Flash: recruiters also use yearbooks to find out who is overweight, use those magazines they give out at football games to nail who is overweight, the web to find out who has a criminal past, etc. We are a sly group. We do not like to waste our time.

"Don't ask, Don't tell" policy of the military. We have it. NEWS FLASH: The Gay thing is over. We don't need an gay marriage ban anymore. No one cares anymore. Queer eye has jumped the shark. It is happening everywhere. Ok, in today's culture, I admit, we are a bit more tolerant when it comes to gay folks. But in the military, we go a little beyond the normal meeting someone on the street. We have open showers in boot camp, multiple showers in the same area on ships and submarines, no showers in some cases on the battlefield, etc. We bond, as men, like a fraternity. The Navy says that their E-7 to E-9 Chief's Community as the "most exclusive fraternity". Frankly, I do not know if I would feel comfortable going on a deployment knowing that I had to go with someone who has "homosexual tendencies". That is more what we fear than actual penetration fears. These tendencies are what have been called "metrosexuality", being prissy, having to do more work because the man that you are expecting to physically work as hard as you do not putting forth the effort. I am making generalized statements here. I know. I don't care. This is my opinion based on the few gay fellows I have known in my day.

Now this site is right up on my list of people who need an ass kicking. Congrats Lindie England. You F*cked up Military Recruiting Forever. I am not going to bore you all with more pic from the prisoner questioning. I bet I could sell this asshole into the Military. Yeah, I am cocky.

Taped Formula 1 Australian GP qualifying is on. See you guys later.
MP

Militantpundit posted @ 7:35 PM




New format!

Today is the first day of a new format. The Militantwife has been making a few templates in her spare time. She made this one for me today. She felt bad about the car club falling apart so she made me a car theme. Everyone thank her or give her feedback in the comment section. You rock babe!

I would like to thank peoriapundit.com for passing some kind words my way today. If anyone reading this site has not seen Bill in action, check out the link. He was right on target with his post about Matt Hale v. Lefkow and the murders. I know that we are supposed to not assume guilt. But, and this is a big but, we are citizens. We can say what we want, and when we want it. Unlike Judge Lefkow, we are not bound by "innocent until proven guilty". Anyway, go check out peoriapundit.com and Blogging Blago's Blunders. Carl was a recruiter in the past so he knows the ups and downs of this life.

Militantpundit posted @ 4:47 PM




Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Children left behind find comfort in failing tests

Today I talked to a guidance counselor at one of my schools. We had a deep conversation about the No Child left behind act, the IL laws similar to NCLB, and other small topics.

Her graduating class of 2005 seniors is a grand total of 65. It is a rural school, kinda. It is within eyeshot of a larger city.

The problem with legislators making a law is that they do not see thing from the deckplate level. The Principal is getting worried about the PSAE. The PSAE is the standardized test given in the 11th grade to everyone, including Special Education students (so they do not feel left out, according to my source). The test is not an exit exam, it is not really anything to the kids, but everything to the staff. My source is even telling me that by 2015, if a certain percentage of the children do not pass, their students then go on a voucher system, financed by the school, for their local students to go somewhere else if they want. What does this mean to you the consumer?

First off, the small schools of the world that are doing things right (educating the kids) are going to be affected based soley on numbers. If the test show <90% get Satisfactory or better, then ALL of the students get an opprotunity to go to the larger city's district, as if they live there. So with my source school, 7 students (4 of them are special education that have to have the test read to them) have to get unsat scores and they lose funding.

Last year, a kid at her school made a 32 on the ACT. That will get you into most any school in the US, especially schools in IL. That same kid, because he knew the test did not count against him (colleges do not/cannot look at it, "Companies lobbied the state congress to have the PSAE on the transcript... so they can use it to hire kids" she said), failed the PSAE. Why try? Why not create a christmas tree of dots and sleep for 2 hours? Personal initiave and drive are not taught in schools. That is a perfect example.

So... what can we do to fix this? Easy. Make the PSAE 3/5 satisfactory or better to graduate. That is a 60% which is a "D-" right? If they do not pass the test, they stay another semester and take the exam again at christmas time. They fail again, bye-bye... you are left behind. You are not a child anymore.

There is also a test for 3rd graders. They are easy. IF you are a school teacher and you cannot modivate a 3rd grader, you may need a change of careers. Now we have to worry about the test. Same stakes. If they are <90% Sat or better, the school loses money on vouchers. Same Special Education requirements.

Vouchers are good for big cities, but horrible for rural schools or small city schools. If I were 15 again (ohhh... bad thought... nevermind) I would definitely go to the school 20 minutes away that had more to offer me, even driving by other schools to make sure I got an education that would help me get off the ground. If that happens to be the biggest school in the area, so be it. I would love to see a Math and Science Magnet School locally at least when I have kids. The University High Schools are ok, but I want Magnet Schools.

Amazing Race is about to boot their first person. Will Blog more about this topic later.

Militantpundit posted @ 9:53 PM




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