Disaster Response 101

Welcome to the first installment of "Responding to a Incident of National Significance"! I figger the beginning of tornado season would be a good time to get you all acquainted with the National Disaster Plan. National disasters like Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina have taught us many things, but the number one complaint/question I still hear is "WHERE'S THE CAVALRY?" (h/t to asshat mayor Ray Nagin)

The Cavalry, my friends, lies within YOURSELF. *YOU* are responsible for *YOU*. Period. No questions asked. If the National Weather Service tells you a hurricane is headed your way, you have plenty of time to board up the windows and get out of Dodge. If the tornado siren goes off, you high tail it to the basement or bathroom. If they tell you a flood is eminent, you move your belongings up high in the house and you bail out before you literally have to bail out. If you're going on a long trip, you get the car tuned up and start out with a full tank of gas (and get batteries for your damn camera, moron). Anywhoo... the point is, YOU PREPARE. You stop, think about the situation, take action, and brace yourself for the impending disaster.

So, my job, as your Resident Disaster Kitty, is to make sure you are PREPARED so that you don't fall into the category of People Who Expect The Farking Cavalry To Save Their Asses Due To Their Own Lack Of Preparedness. Hoooah!

First of all, you need to know what kind of disaster to prepare for. If you have a two story house, do you have a fire escape ladder? If you have kids, have you discussed with them how to "get low and go", "stop, drop, and roll", and identified at least two ways out of their bedroom and the house? If you're in the Midwest, you're in tornado territory. Do you know where you would go in your house? In the grocery? What about if you were in your car when the funnel approaches? If you live along the southern coast, you've probably been through a hurricane or two. Where would you evacuate to? Do you have a full tank of gas? Are your windows boarded up? No matter where you live in the United States, there is always a chance of disaster hitting and affecting your family. Know what the risks are for your area, and prepare accordingly.

Secondly, when you prepare for the possibility of disasters in your area, you should be aware of what your local, state, and federal governments (and non-government agencies) are ready to do to help you. You should know how long it takes for assistance to arrive so that you can be self-sufficient until that time. You should also know where to go for help.

It is the second point that the majority of Americans don't know enough about, and what has prompted me to write this series. Yes, Series. This is not a one-time post, but rather a series of posts to make sure you all know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in the event of a disaster. Stay tuned for the next installment of "how to survive a disaster in the United States".

Regal Royalty

I know the Princess of Wales, Diana, wasn't born into royalty- she married into it. But wow.. what she did with her position as Princess is a legacy that still lives today. We know now how depressed she was and how she hated the limelight, and we've always known how charitable she was, but now we can see those same qualities in her sons.

I have to admit, I wasn't very excited about the possibilities of Harry and William being raised by Camilla and Prince Charles. Diana was a MUCH better role model for her boys. She didn't have a lot of time with them, but she made such an impression that Prince Harry is now following in her footsteps.

Yes, the same Prince Harry who wore a swaztika band to a costume party. The same Prince Harry who graduated from Sandhurst earlier this month as an Army officer, determined to lead his men into the GWOT in Afghanistan or Iraq. He's started his own AIDS foundation in Africa, appropriately called "Sentebale", which means "Forget me not" in Lesotho. Harry co-founded the charity with Lesotho's Prince Seeiso, who lost his mother in 2003. Prince Harry has been to Lesotho on numerous occassions assisting organizations aimed at helping children affected by AIDS.

Good on ya, Harry. Your Mum would be SO proud.

*thud*

(that's the sound I make when I fall over from losing my balance).

*ok... now what?*

(that's what I told the doc when he said my MRI was "normal")

OK. So I guess I'm not gonna die of a brain tumor any time soon, but damn... this pressure and dizziness is really getting to me. The meds the doc gave me are so-so, it makes me sleepy and doesn't fully take away the symptoms. I'm still sleeping in an upright position, which isn't very easy to do.

Yeah. I'm cranky today. I wish they could tell me what was wrong.

Impressions

This weekend was full of impressions. It's hard to describe what it was like to physically meet bloggers and commenters I've "known" for years but never met in real life. People like John and Beth Donovan, FbL, ArmyWifeToddlerMom, LL, Matt, Uncle Jimbo, Smash & the Mrs., Maggie, SK, Sgt. Allen, Sgt. B, Capt. B, Dadmanly, Chuck & Carren Ziegenfuss, Taco and Taco's Mom to name a few. Yep. That's right- "to name a few". There were SO many people there it's hard to remember exactly who I met.

Everyone was simply wonderful, just as I expected them to be. AWTM made an interesting observation Friday night at Fran O'Brien's: bloggers tend to end conversations abruptly, just like in comments. "Well, I said my peace, and I'm off to the next post" kind of attitude. It was pretty funny to see that happen!

FbL wrote a beautiful post on Fran O'Brien's detailing the speech given by a Walter Reed patient. He stood behind the bar, beer bottle waving in the air, and thanked Marty and Hal for giving him a place to recover outside of the hospital. A place to feel welcomed, like family, and treated like brothers. A place to recoup and gather the strength to go on. It was SO true. You could feel the energy in that place, and you could see how comfortable the patients were there. For a few hours on Friday nights, Marty and Hal gives these guys (and gals too) a place to socialize and be normal and appreciated. It really is "family" there. I'm sick about Fran's closing, and am determined not to stay at any Hilton owned hotels for the rest of my days.

I got to explore DC on Friday before heading to Fran O'Brien's. First stop: Arlington. First experience at Arlington? A 21-gun salute...and silence. I was only there for about 2 hours, but within those two hours I heard not one, not two, but THREE 21-gun salutes. Hearing those shots ring out was more emotional than the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. I'd post pictures, but my ding-dong-dangle battery was dead in my camera and there wasn't anywhere around I could buy a new one that day. *sigh* Most visitors to Arlington will explore the grounds, go see JFK's Eternal Flame, Iwo Jima, and witness the changing of the guard. However, my favorite stop at Arlington was the Women's Memorial. It's off to the right, behind the visitor's center. It's been open since 1997, and it's absolutely gorgeous. It's also the host of the "Faces of the Fallen" exhibit.

"Faces of the Fallen" is a display of 6" X 8" portraits of each soldier killed in the GWOT from October, 2003 until November, 2004. There are 1,319 portraits, each one made by a small group of artists who brought their own interpretation to the project. Some used clay to sculpt busts. Most used either charcoal or oil paints. Some were a bit abstract, and some were very artistic. ALL made me cry. As people who know these fallen soldiers visit the display, they have left notes, pictures, and other mementos.

I saw Laurie Piestewa's portrait- Jessica Lynch's best friend. I saw both my KIA soldier and my Mom's- we both have GWOT KIA bracelets. I even saw Pat Tillman's image, which was dotted with newspaper articles about the former NFL player. I saw notes like "I miss you, my darling son", and "Dad and I are so proud of you", and "I love you, Daddy". One had a picture of a young girl, perhaps 3 or 4 years old, hugging her Daddy's headstone. One had a tire gauge laid in front of it- I have no idea why. Someone put Airborne pins on each of the 101st's fallen. One had a picture of the soldier's golden retriever laying on the ground quite forlorn. Each one was special, not only because of the artist's work, but because of the mementos left behind by loved ones. I was struck by the overwhelming amount of respect people showed for the display- no one touched it, and no one took pictures.

I knew Arlington would be memorable, I just didn't know why. Now, when I think about our National Cemetery, I will always think about "Faces of the Fallen", and it will be a very long time before I can get the crack of rifles firing off a 21-gun salute out of my head.

I was also able to visit The Wall, which was different than I expected it to be. It was smaller than I imagined it, and is sunk into the ground. Approaching it from the corner, you can't see the memorial. The top of the wall is level with the ground at the corner of the road, then you turn the corner, go down a short sidewalk.. and BAM! There it is. You were only 10 feet away just a minute ago, and didn't even realize it. Schoolchildren left notes at the base of the wall. Some were addressed to specific soldiers and had personal notes; some were generic "thank you, Sir" notes; all were meaningful and written with care.

Next up: the new World War II Memorial. That was so cool. I love the meanings behind the memorial, like the 56 columns which represented each state and province which participated in the War. There were some fantastic quote engraved into the walls near each end of the memorial. It was so peaceful and scenic.

After that, I saw the Korean War Memorial. Man, oh man.... It's a collection of incredibly life-like bronze statues trudging through the muck in Korea. I could have stayed and studied each statue for quite a while- each one is unique, and extremely detailed. Of the memorials I saw, this one was my favorite.

Saturday meant the Conference, which deserves a post of its own. Sunday meant a quick trip to the National Air and Space Museum to get souvenirs for the boys. Those at Fran's Friday night will remember me telling you that Kevin asked for "A spaceship with those three rocket fings on the back (translation: a space shuttle), three astronauts, and a space station if they have it"... and instructions to get Thomas the same thing so that they wouldn't fight over who got the kewler toy. Well, Kev got his wish. I was SO excited- they had this really cool set of Matchbox-sized space shuttles, astronauts, satellites and a shuttle launching pad. It was WAY cool, and the boys thought so too when they finally got to open them Monday night.

Yes. Monday night. I was supposed to get home around 5pm on Sunday, but due to a little mishap, I ended up at the wrong airport and couldn't get a flight back to Cinci until 6am Monday morning. *snore* A crying Kitty is *not* a pretty sight- especially one stuck in an airport due to a simple mistake. Just remember folks, DCA does NOT stand for Dulles. DCA is the airport code for Reagan National. Go figure. Oh well.... I made it home safe and sound Monday.

OK. This has dragged on long enough, and I haven't even gotten to the Conference on Saturday. I'll end this post now, and pick it up again later with Conference and Pub Crawl notes.

2006 Milblog Conference

Things I learned:
1. Bloggers are damn kewl in person and in print.
2. DCA does *NOT*, I repeat, *NOT* stand for Dulles. *sigh*
3. Missing your flight will cost you dearly.
4. Parking in DC is near about impossible. So is driving during rush hour.
5. TAKE EXTRA BATTERIES FOR YOUR CAMERA WHEN GOING ON VACATION! (which is why I'll be blegging for pictures from any and all attendees)
6. 7th NW is NOT at the opposite end of 7th SE.
7. Our military doesn't do a very good job keeping family of injured soldiers "in the loop", nor do they pay for transportation or lodging for family unless the soldier's injuries are life-threatening.
8. Many people improperly blame the in-theater public affairs offices for the lack of MSM coverage of the good stories coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The stories are there, for public use, but the MSM isn't picking them up, and the DOD can't force them to. As you all know, this is exactly why milblogging has become so popular, but it still suprised me how many milblog supporters think the problem is within the public affairs offices, and not with the MSM.
9. Our "young" soldiers are older than I will ever be.
10. Fran O'Brien's will be an immeasurable loss to our soldiers recovering at Walter Reed.
11. Andi is the Goddess of All Things Organized In The World. (I swear- she's incredible)
12. It would take a week or more to really explore all of the things to see just in DC alone, not to mention the outlying areas which are so full of our nation's history.
13. War memorials mean so much more to me now as an adult than they did when I was in 8th grade, the last time I was in DC.
14. There's nothing more chilling than walking around Arlington and hearing 21-gun salutes.
15. Seeing pictures of our young amputee soldiers does not compare to seeing them up-close and personal. What an inspiration; what spirit!
16. My on-line name, AFSister, is a lot more well-known than I thought!
17. DC is full of gorgeous architecture, and I cannot wait to go back to see more of the city.
18. It bothers me when I visit national treasures, like Arlington, and the cashiers who work there hardly speak English. I didn't realize how much this would bother me until it happened. It seemed disrespectful somehow, but I'm not really sure why.
19. "Celebrity" bloggers, like John, Matt, Uncle Jimbo, Capt. Z, Capt. B and Smink are incredibly approachable and wonderfully fun to be around.
20. The "Faces of the Fallen" exhibit is a must-see. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

I'll expand upon these experiences as time allows. This is a really busy time for me at work, and I'm a bit under the weather. I developed a raging case of vertigo on Sunday. I went to the doc on Monday and he's ordered an MRI to see if we can figure out what's going on. Being spinning drunk without the benefit of the alcohol is no fun at all, let me tell you. It's like a constant hangover, and every time I close my eyes or lay down, the world takes these HUGE dips, swings, spins and dives. blech.

Sa-weeeeet!

When my brother was younger, he and his friends used to call really cool things "Ninja!" He never called ME a Ninja... but perhaps he should have!

Rogue Ninja
You scored 9 Honor, 3 Justice, 4 Adventure, and 8 Individuality!

You are as quiet as the wind, deadly as a viper and you follow no master. You are a Rogue Ninja. Let no one say you are without honor, lest they meet a quiet and questionable end.

Dress as you like and keep your knives close. You'll do just fine.

Link: The Cowboy-Ninja-Pirate-Knight Test written by fluffy71 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I'm off to the Milblogger Conference, but I'll check in from time to time.

*BillT... we'll miss you. I wish you'd return my emails!!*

WOW! What a surprise!

Cincinnati Black activist, Kabaka Oba, was shot and killed by another Black activist, Howard Beatty.... and there haven't been any riots! If a white man or the police had "kilt" Kabaka, you can bet there'd be an uproar, but that's not the case. This was another black-on-black crime which will result in the death of one man, and the inprisonment of another. Kabaka Oba has a long history of making trouble in the tri-state. I find his death particularly ironic, considering his history. It's also ironic that outspoken comedian, Bill Cosby, was in Cincinnati the day after the shooting addressing parenting, education and social responsibility during 19th stop on his "A Call Out With Cosby" tour. He told the audience to "put a body on 'em", referring to keeping a close eye on troubled youth, and to stop being so sedate about addressing problems with our children.

Some people side with Kabaka and his lame-ass Black Fist, but this view of him is more accurate- from both the white community, and the black community. I brought this comment up from The Cincinnati Enquirer's blog post about Kabaka's shooting.

"This is what happens when you let the animals run free without the cages. Cincinnati needs more cages, and less loud mouths complaining of police brutality against black Americans. Every black American gunned down by Cincinnati Police had a record a mile long. Gun or no gun, if they didn't get it that day, they would have got it another day because of putting themselves in that situation.

As a Black-American citizen in Amberley Village, one who is educated and looks at all the trash I have to walk past from the parking lot I use, to the building I work (Atrium 2), I am disgusted that citizens like Oba and his black fist, as well as other idiots with their baggy clothes, white tee-shirts, etc., claim to speak for me, the black citizen. I did my part in life, I stayed out of trouble, no record, a BS from UC and a MS from The Ohio State University. I should be the one that speaks for the black-Americans, one who strived to succeed and bring my family wealth and happiness, not the filth that walk through the streets of downtown and OTR that are gang-banging, looking for trouble, looking to take someone out to earn respect of another stupid gang bangin' brother.

Cincinnati has gone to hell. Another riot will make you look bad, not me."

Now, I'm not condoning his death- Beatty will be convicted, I have no doubt. But damn... I sure am glad this asshat is no longer walking the streets of Cincinnati. Goodbye, and Good Riddance, Kabaka.

It was the best of times.... and the worst

Many months ago, I started looking for a new house, because I knew I would have to move once the divorce was finalize. Much to my suprise, I found the perfect house about two months ago, made a bid, and it was accepted. I was pre-approved for my loan, so I really didn't think there would be any problems.

Boy, was I wrong.

I was supposed to close yesterday at 10am. Sears was supposed to be out with new appliances. The phone company was scheduled for today. None of it happened.

Between 3:30 and 5 on Thursday, the lender pulled a fast one on me and has really messed up my loan. They're messing with me, and I'm not going down quietly. I WILL get that house... just not as soon as I had thought, and not under the terms I had agreed to.

I'm pissed, and I'm sad, and I'm stuck- there's not much I can do about it if I want to keep the house. If anyone knows anything about real estate law, I'd appreciate an email or comment.

Now, the whole day wasn't a complete loss. I did get a HUGE laugh out of my son, Kevin, and discovered the local airport down the road is host to the Tri-State Warbird Museum. We're going to the museum later today, so I'll have pictures to share. Now, for the laugh.

We were in the car yesterday, and Kevin asked me to play the "Jiggy" song. HUH? We were listening to a Disney CD- and as far as I know, there aren't any Disney movies that get jiggy with it. So I had to ask "Kevin- how does the Jiggy song go?" And he said.... "In the jiggy jiggy jiggy jiggy jiggy room. You know- where the birds sing at Disney World". Oi. So... I switched the CD over to "The Tiki Tiki Room" and proceeded to laugh my ass off thinking about Disney World having a Jiggy Room!

Well, now THAT'S interesting.....

Did you know I'm #3 on Google for "dog shit make hydrangeas grow"?
WHO KNEW? Mom will be so proud.

*sigh*

Yesterday's post really took a lot out of me. It's affecting me in ways I never thought possible. I'd be lying if I said your comments didn't suprise me, because I was just flabergasted knowing how many of you advocate the sexual misuse of our soldiers in the name of "training".

It just makes me so sad to know you guys feel this way... and I don't. At all.

I just cannot understand why anyone would approve of sex and gender being used as a weapon during training, or why anyone would approve of our female soldiers being abused in this way. Maybe someday I'll "come around" to your way of thinking, but I highly doubt it.

SEREious Shit

April 9th will be an anniversary my community isn't likely to forget any time soon. It's the day Matt Maupin disappeared in Iraq.

Our trees and lamp posts are adorned with yellow ribbons. The fence around the school district's bus yard (where Mrs. Maupin works) is decorated with tributes to Matt. Electric candles stay turned on year-round here, instead of just at Christmas, to help "light the way home" for Matt. Clermont Yellow Ribbon, lead by Matt's parents, send care packages to deployed soldiers along with a picture of Matt and a note to "please find our son". Everywhere I go, I'm reminded of Matt. Clermont Yellow Ribbon has a few video productions linked, but this one gets me every time.

Thing is, that's not the case for the rest of the country. Chances are most of them have forgotten about our missing Soldier. But you know what? I never will. And they wouldn't either if Matt was from their hometown. I often wonder how his parents are getting through it. I wonder if they think about Matt being taken, interrogated, possibly abused and killed. I know they do, I just don't know *what* they are thinking.

I take some comfort knowing that Matt must have gone through survival training through the Army before deployment. I know the Army wanted to give him every opportunity to survive being taken hostage. I was looking into the training the Army does for interrogation and survival when writing this post, and came across the SERE site. SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. It was developed at the end of the Korean War to provide our military with as many tools as possible to survive being taken as a POW.

I hope Matt went. But I'm also glad he's not a woman going through that program. If you scroll down on the SERE link above (it takes you to Wikipedia), you'll get to a section entitled "Techniques". It lists the skills taught during the training, including "sexual embarrassment/humiliation/rape." WTF????? Sexual embarrassment,humiliation, and rape are taught? Huh. Wonder how they do that.
Scroll down a little bit further, to "SERE at the US Air Force Academy and the 1995 scandal". Oh great. Sounds like the Zoomie version of Tailhook, right? Of course I had to look into this further.

It sickens me to think that our enlisted personnel would be subjected to sexual humiliation in the name of training. According to AR350-30, "during training, capturing forces or units will treat simulated prisoners EXACTLY according to the Geneva Convention". EXACTLY. So why is it that we prosecute, and convict guards over sexually humiliating and abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib, yet it's OK to do it to our own enlisted men and women? We're better than this, people.

John Donovan recently provided a link to the SERE Code of Conduct, AR350-30, which includes a couple of sections on training. It basically states that during training, simulated POW's shall be treated according to the Geneva Convention. How in the HELL did we get from "Geneva Convention" to simulated rape of our men and women?

I have a HUGE problem with this. OK. "problem" is too kind. I'm PISSED. I'm really, really PISSED. Teaching our folks to survive, evade, resist and escape can be done WITHOUT SEXUAL HUMILIATION. It can be simulated WITHOUT really doing it, folks. Trust me. The mental affects of sexual abuse lasts WAY longer than the physical affects. It sickens me (I'm serious- I got sick to my stomach doing the research for this post) to think that our military deemed this treatment "necessary" for proper resistance training.

FUCK THAT.

I'm wondering what the gender split on this post will be. But I'm guessing that the guys will have no problem with the training, other than a simple "it's ugly, but necessary" attitude about it, whereas I think the women will be more outraged. Perhaps it's because we ARE women, and many know what it's like to have your body used, and what it's like to be sexually intimidated by a man.

****************
As I find more articles (or am directed to other articles), I'll post links and thoughts here. I'm trying not to feed the trolls, but, well... I think this post will probably bring them out.
1. NYT article published Nov. 2005, appropriately entitled "Doing Unto Others as They Did Unto Us" reaffirms my believe that our soldiers are using SERE techniques on Iraqi detainees. The article focuses more on Gitmo, which I am NOT getting into, and why I hestitate in posting it, but it raises some very valid points about our interrogation techniques and how we are regressing to Communist interrogator tactics.

2. Lex posted about it in August, 2005. The link he provided is no longer available. Consensus is that SERE sucks, but it worked. However, none of the comments mention any sexual harassment/intimidation techniques- they all focus on other types of physical abuse. (which I have no problem with, by the way- it's the sexual stuff that needs to be left out of this training)
****************************

I am obviously in the minority here, but that does not lessen my horror over this so-called "training" tactic, and I'll be honest, I'm really disappointed in a lot of you for not being more upset that we're doing this sort of thing to our own soldiers. I expected more of a gender divide, but there wasn't one. It's more of a "Sis against the world" divide. So be it.

I do not see the value of adding sexual content to SERE training. I *DO* see the value of SERE- just not the sexual content. No amount of training could possibly prepare you, or your fellow soldiers, for that scenario. I was talking to Sean (Doc in the Box) a bit about it, and he said that you can't train for the kind of terror the POW's are subjected to over there- what could prepare you for having your head sawed off by a rusty knife?
That's part of my problem with it. No amount of training will prepare you for something that will most likely never occur anyway- so why do it?

There has been a lot of discussion over SERE vs. Abu Ghraib vs. Gitmo as well. The three are connected, because many of the SERE techniques have been utilized on detainees by our soldiers. If you look at the specific treatment of the Abu Ghraib prisoners, you will see alarming similarities. Gitmo officials have made use of SERE training techniques to interrogate Gitmo detainees.

It's a slippery slope, and I know that stopping the abuse on our end does not mean it will stop on their end, but I know Americans are better than that, and we don't have to sink to their level.

YO YO YO!

YAY! The auditors is gone, n AFSista is doing a stoked dance! Only two tiny problems W-H-to-tha-izzich were fixed before they even left. HOT DAMN fo' sheezy! Whos bring'n tha motherfucka n shit! Its time fo` a party gangsta style!

*thank you Gizoogle for the Snoop Dog translation for: "YAY! The auditors are gone, and AFSister is doing a happy dance! Only two tiny problems which were fixed before they even left. HOT DAMN! Who's bringing the beer! It's time for a party!"

Heard Around Town

....AFSis wins the basketball pool at work! YAY ME!!!

...."The C-5, at more than six stories tall and nearly the length of a football field, is one of the world's largest aircraft. It's big enough to carry tanks, helicopters and trucks." Until yesterday, there were 112 in service. Now, there are 111. Thank GOD the 17 crew members are all ok. Only 3 remain hospitalized, and are in fair condition.

After the Hanoi Taxi is decommissioned next month, my brother will be assigned to one of these massive planes.

....Flight 93, The Movie, is being released this month. ALa and Lex both sound off, with interesting thoughts about whether or not it's "too soon". For me, it's not the timing, but rather the emotion that will always be associated with 9/11. We will never forget, but there are some things I'd rather not relive either. Chances are, I'll watch the movie on DVD. Once. And that will be more than enough.

....You all know that American Soldier was injured and is back in the US recovering from his IED injuries. But... his current post addresses some additional issues he's dealing with. Hugs to ya, AS, and to your wife as well. Acknowledgement is half the battle, hon.

....Sean is boots-on-ground in Iraq, and livin' la vida loca, compared to the conditions he was under the past two trips to the Sandbox! Be safe, Doc.

....This story will make you look at your oven door in a whole new light. Maybe. Well, maybe you'll look at it and laugh your ass off like I did after reading the story Jack linked to!

....LawDog has a new use for the "Kelo vs. New London" eminent domain ruling. LMAO!

....TF Boggs has some thoughts on Purple Hearts and Politics. I remember reading about Tammy Duckworth running for office, I didn't get the same take on it that Boggs did. He says, "The bottom line is that someone’s ability to lead does not come from their being hurt or captured by an enemy during a time of war. The ability and smarts to lead comes independently of military awards. Watching John Kerry campaign last election and mention over and over about his three Purple Hearts was sickening to me. Someone has to be utterly despicable to talk about how great they were during war. Real soldiers do their job and get on with life."
Here's an excerpt from her site: "I was proud to respond when my country called, and I have no regrets. But from a policy perspective, invading Iraq was a mistake...During my time in Iraq, whenever I had a chance, I talked with Iraqis. They told me that they were glad that Saddam Hussein was gone. Nevertheless, I came away from these conversations with the impression that while they often said what they thought we wanted to hear, they resented what they saw as the occupation of their country. We must understand that this resentment, fueled by insurgent propaganda, continues to grow and creates the conditions for insurgency, making U.S. troops and aid workers the targets."

Well... what do you guys think? I understand Bogg's ability to lead not being the result of an injury or award, but then again, one of our best Presidents ever was an actor before he ran for office. I know she's only won the primary, and not the office yet, but I say we give her a chance. How many politicians actually studied Politics in college anyway? Most of them are business leaders who made the leap to public service.

IT'S OPENING DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Unless you've been living under a rock (or perhaps on a plane flying back from Korea), I'm sure you realize that IT'S OPENING DAY FOR MLB! In the spirit of the day, I found this quiz interesting. How much do you know about the Presidents and Baseball? How much do you know about the All-Star Game?

For the first time in my lifetime, the sitting President threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Cincinnati Red's Opening Day game. He looked pretty good out there, so I thought I'd share some pix with ya, compliments of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Prez, surrounded by the Redz

The Prez slippin' some skin to Red's catcher Jason LaRue after the pitch.

An emotional meeting for Sgt. Paul Brondhaver.

Jason LaRue and President Bush leave the field, accompanied by Sgt. Paul Brondhaver, Sgt. Mike McNaughton (remember him? The injured Soldier who went for a run with President Bush?), and John Prazynski, father of fallen Marine, Taylor Prazynski.

And then there's this little guy, who asked me this morning if President Bush knew how to play baseball. Of course he does, son. He's an AMERICAN. And maybe someday, you'll be out there on the Field of Dreams, catching (or perhaps throwing?) that ceremonial first pitch yourself.