The Right-Wing Libertarian Rants

HOW Long?!?!

2007-04-29T22:56:00.000Z

Oooh-Rah!

Today is the 25th Anniversary of my joining the United States Marine Corps. I can't believe it really was that long ago!

In that amount of time, I survived three months on Parris Island, seen sunrises over Camp Lejeune, sunsets over Camp Pendleton, snow-capped altitude sickness in Bridgeport, California at Winter Warfare School, ridden helicopters over MCAS El Toro, and spent more time assaulting beaches and driving in MechExes than I can think of (YATYAS!). I've driven tracks, fired fifties from tracks, eaten in tracks, heated water for coffee atop the engines of tracks, and slept in tracks, and when I get wealthy enough, by God, I'm gonna buy me a track! I am thankful that I have only lost three friends (Beirut), but even more thankful that I've welcomed back hundreds more.

To this day, I have never regretted joining my Marine Corps, but have often regretted leaving it. I am proudest of my wife, a 5-foot, two inch brunette firebrand who carries our Marine Corps Florida license plate with glee and is prouder of my service to this country than even myself.

I thank the Commandant of the Marine Corps for allowing me to continue to bear the title of Sergeant of Marines (even though I certainly earned it), and I thank every citizen of this country for the honor of having defended your freedom from 1982 - 1992, whether you welcomed my service or not. Those who know me are well aware that even though my service as a Marine ended fifteen years ago, I will still happily lay down my life for this country, its citizens, and the principles of individual freedom and liberty upon which this great land was founded.

My biggest regret is that there are those in this land who don't understand that, and probably never will.

Fuck 'em; their loss!

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Hol-ee...

2007-04-16T19:22:00.000Z

From Dick Morris' newsletter:

While the sampling is not at all scientific, it is still interesting because of the heft of Moveon.org among the activist left. While only about 42,000 people voted, the results certainly indicate that the left is getting sick of Hillary’s evasiveness on the war.

The Moveon.org numbers were:

Obama 28%

Edwards 25%

Kucinich 17%

Richardson 12%

Clinton 11%

Biden 6%

Dodd 1%

Again, caution, this is not a scientific poll of anything, but it does serve as a warning indicator that Hillary may be alienating the left in her bid to stay close enough to the center to win in the general election.

Can you believe it?!?! In a poll of Democrats, Hillary is coming in at fifth place! And behind Kucinich and Edwards, both. And neither Kerry nor Gore are in there. At all!

AND, in even better news (again, from Dick Morris' newsletter):

The L.A. Times poll showed Guiliani leading the field, as usual, at 29% but with Thompson in second place at 15%. McCain fell to third place at 12%. Poor Mitt Romney still can’t get no respect and trailed at 8%. The results were as follows:

GIULIANI 29%

THOMPSON 15%

MC CAIN 12%

ROMNEY 8%

GINGRICH 7%

HUCKABEE 3%

Source: LA Times

There may be hope for this country yet...

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

GO GATORS!

2007-04-03T15:15:00.000Z

Yeah, I know, everyone who comes here normally expects to find my narrow-minded, jar-headed rants, but THIS I couldn't resist!

The Almighty Mrs. and I went to watch the final game of the NCAA Basketball Championship last night at the O'Connell Center here in Gainesville with about 12,000 of our "closest friends." To say the least, IT WAS AWESOME! The noise level rivaled some of the most intense football games I've ever seen, with almost ten times the people.

Immediately following the game, everyone poured out into the street and made our way to the intersection of University Ave and NW 17th Street (for those of you not familiar with Gainesville, it's right in front of campus) and partook in the pandemonium. Nothing violent or dangerous; Gator fans make some of the happiest drunks out there.

We got home at almost 2am and managed about four and a half hours sleep, so I'm tired, but even as worn out as I am as I write this, I am still elated!

And this is what elates me the most: As many of you may know, I am a historical reenactor, Civil War and World War II the most. I have a healthy disdain for many things from north of the Mason-Dixon line (except the New York Mets; I love my Mets!), but I REALLY dislike the majority of Northern sports writers who seem to think that nothing from the Southeastern Conference is worth mentioning. When Florida won the Football Championship this past January, and became the first school in NCAA history to win a Football and Basketball Championship in the same year, a LOT of Northern POS sportswriters hemmed and hawed to the effect of "Well, they didn't really win it in the Same year, since this football game was played in 2007, and they won the basketball championship in 2006." It was almost as if the basketball team stood up and said, "All right, fuckers..."

Now maybe some of those Big 10-loving retards will give us a little respect.

God Bless My Gators!

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Food For Thought...

2007-03-20T12:55:00.000Z

Here's a question: Why hasn't Gonzales simply pointed out that the eight US Attorneys in question were Clinton appointees who refused to investigate voter fraud committed by Democrats? Just asking, 'cause, y'know, it would be the first thing out of my mouth were I in his place.

The truth hurts; that must be why the media refuses to print it.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Tuesday, 7 November 2006

2006-11-07T14:06:00.000Z

It's election day so get your sorry butts off the couch and vote. I've done my part, now you do yours. Otherwise, I don't want to hear it; if you don't vote, you are cordially invited to keep your slimy pie-hole shut.

Out.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

It's Really This Simple...

2006-10-04T12:26:00.000Z

In the event that you've just crawled from beneath a rock, Congressional Representative Mark Foley of Florida has been caught sending sexually explicit e-mails to and engaging in chat conversations with male Congressional pages. Pages are junior and senior year high school students, 16-years old or older, who have been nominated by their Congressman. In other words: kids.

As you may have guessed by the frequency of my posts, I generally don’t blog unless I get pretty riled up about something, mainly due to the fact that I hold a regular job, am a freelance artist and writer, and an entrepreneur. As you may have also guessed by the title of this post, my solution is simple.

Take Foley out and hang him. Figuratively, not literally. Well, no... literally too.

As a Libertarian, I have often found myself siding with Republicans more often than Democrats. Democratic politicians seem to embrace the “if it feels good, do it” mentality. That in it’s own right isn’t so bad, but that mentality seems to extend to the thought that if you've been caught doing something you shouldn’t, if you make enough excuses it would shift the spotlight (and with it, responsibility) away from you. In the past, Republicans tended to accept responsibility and step down, as they should. Not any more.

Enough, dammit.

This whole Foley situation has shown us one thing if nothing else, that no matter how high and mighty they might paint themselves, Republicans are just a different ilk of the same, detestable beast: Politicians. It’s bad enough that Foley has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but when the Speaker of the House and other leading Republicans start to make excuses or worse, justifications, for Foley’s behavior, it’s time to break out the rope.

As I’ve said before (see Gut Reaction: San Francisco), having an excuse does not legitimize deplorable behavior. First Foley said he was an alcoholic (which no one seems to be buying, and for good reason), and now he’s saying he was molested by a priest when he himself was a child. And for some reason, this makes what he did okay?

Face it, plenty of people have been molested, and millions more are alcoholics, yet they don’t seem to be going around molesting children. And what’s worse, they’re not in positions of immense responsibility like Congressman Foley. What’s worse still, is that even more powerful and seemingly responsible Congressmen aren’t running around making excuses for them!

Here’s a hint for you, Mr. Speaker of the House Hastert: Quit standing up for this weasely sack of shit. Take him out and turn him over to the authorities. Foley has done absolutely wretched acts and he should be punished for it. Severely. That means more than allowing him to resign and walk away with a gargantuan pension. He should be censured and tossed out on his fucking ear, where hopefully a set of large, uniformed police officers stand ready to toss him into the deepest, darkest oubliette in the known world.

After they’ve accomplished that, every scum-sucking maggot who defended Foley should be tossed right in behind him.

This sort of behavior is beyond deplorable, and it matters not which side of the aisle it has come from. There is no reason this should be tolerated by anyone in a position of authority. I said it when BJ Clinton got caught, and I’ll say it for Foley and any of his ilk that get caught doing this sort of thing. Yes, frankly, I do expect my elected officials to live on a higher moral plane. I do expect my elected officials to behave like angels. As an American, I have every right to do so.

Congressmen are in positions of power and authority and it seems that with every passing day, more and more of them abuse that power for the basest of vices and I am damned sick and tired of it! They make our laws, yet seem loathe to live by them themselves, and that is the ultimate hypocrisy. It's wrong, everyone knows it, and they should hang for it. Period.

Semper Fi,
Mattski

In Memorium: Five Years Ago Today...

2006-09-11T15:28:00.000Z

Five years ago today, I remember sitting at my desk at work, calming a coworker that it was probably just an accident, until that second plane hit.

Five years ago today, I remember frantically attempting to contact my father, whose work often takes him into the Pentagon (he was at Bethesda that day).

Five years ago today, I remember trying to reach my youngest brother, whose office was a lot closer to the Pentagon than I was comfortable with.

Five years ago today, I watched footage of the attack in shock.

Five years ago today, rage filled me beyond any emotion I had ever experienced before.

Five years ago today I understood first hand how Americans felt on December 7th, a mere 60-years earlier.

Five years ago today, I realized that terrorism is now our problem as well, and not just the Israelis.

And now...

Five years later, my anger has not subsided in the least.

Five years later, I am just as determined to find every last one of those responsible for killing 3,000 of my fellow Americans and friends, and return the favor.

Five years later, I have no desire to “understand” the motivations of those who perpetrated this horrific act of brutality.

Five years later, I am still bemoaning the fact that I am too old to help my brothers and sisters in arms; my Marine Corps no longer wants me.

Five years later, I remain as steadfastly supportive of the War on Terror.

Five years later, I refuse to become part of the problem by protesting the war like it was some fucking game from the 1960s.

Five years later, I will never, ever consider Islam as a peaceful nor tolerant religion; I know better now.

Five years later, I wonder what happened to my country’s resolve.

Five years later and I still have but one thing to say to Al Qaeda and any and all sympathizers, on our soil or anyone else’s, in the words my Drill Instructors taught me:

"Payback is a motherfucker."

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Bullies and What Should Be Done

2006-09-06T13:34:00.000Z

Remember the fight scene from "A Christmas Story?" Scutt Farkus, the bully with the freckles and the Daniel Boone hat, throws a snowball into Ralphie's face after he had a particularly trying day. Scutt then goads Ralphie further: "Oh, now you're gonna cry. Well go ahead, baby, cry. Cry! Wa-a-a-a-ah..." That final straw having broken the camel's back, Ralphie then turns on him, pounding his face with both fists while "...a steady torrent of obscenities and swearing of all kinds was pouring out of me as I screamed."

I can't think of anyone who watched that and didn't feel good as it happened. Not that they revelled in the "violence" (if one could call it that; the scene is actually pretty tame), but that they felt a pang of bittersweet joy as Ralphie finally stood up for himself and the bully, whom no one liked, got put, nay - shoved, in his place. I think the narrator actually said something to the effect "he never bothered me again," although that may have just been implied.

Just about everyone is familiar with this literary meme. Bully picks on kids, one kid either gets fed up or finally learns to stand up for himself, said kid gets into fight with bully, bully gets his ass kicked, said kid is hero, bully skulks away never to be heard from again. It doesn't just happen to kids, but adults as well; it's a popular tale no mater who's involved. Everyone likes to see the bully get his comeuppance.

So why is it that the world isn't treating Islamic Fascism the same way? Al Qaeda can be compared to that schoolyard bully that no one likes, that everyone's afraid of, and that no one will stand up to. For all intents and purposes, the rest of the world is that playground, pretending that the bully isn't there, avoiding the bully, and just plain hoping that the bully will go pick on someone else.

The problem is that this bully isn't going away, especially not anytime soon. If that bully picks on someone else, he'll subdue them, and then come pick on you (whomever "you" happens to be) until some "Ralphie" comes along and kicks his ass.

The US is that Ralphie. Like in "A Christmas Story," Ralphie was a quiet, unassuming kid who really just wanted a neat toy and to be left alone. That pretty much sums up the entirety of American desire throughout its 226-year history. But the bully had to pick on him. Unfortunately for that bully, he picked the wrong way to do it.

As we near the 5th anniversary of September 11th, we need to remember one thing if nothing else: the world may not ever admit it, but it needs a Ralphie. It needs someone who will just flat go ape-shit and kick the bad guys' ass whenever no one else has the testicular fortitude to do it for themselves. It needs someone who won't turn into a bully themselves, but who can be depended on to bring the maximum level of force and violence (and then some) against the bullies of the world until they return to the barrens from whence they came, skulking and licking their wounds, never to be seriously heard from again.

We're that Ralphie. Time for us to start behaving like it.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

PS - And for those of you who might be thinking, "If you're so ready and willing to fight, how come you're not over there?" It's because I'm too old; the Marine Corps is making their recruitment goals at 106% so they're not accepting anyone requiring an age waiver - the recruiter's exact words. So yeah, if my Marine Corps would let me, I'd be there in a heartbeat, so STFU.

Oh, For The Love Of...

2006-08-11T13:26:00.000Z

Twenty-six hours later, and details and reactions are coming in regarding the August 10th mega-plot in the UK. Does the world wake up? Do the nut-jobs on the Left (no, not everyone on the Left is a nut-job) start to see that perhaps they might be wrong, and that Islamic terrorism is an actual threat?

Not only no, but fuck no:

Elections nearing... ...terror alert is RIGHT ON TIME!!

How friggin' predictable.

(h/t freedomdogs.com - link here)

Okay, for those that are against the War on Terror, hear this: I don't mind that you disagree with me. I don't mind that you feel it necessary to oppose the President for whatever deranged reason you might have. But, if you are so dumb-assed blind to the fact that we are being fired on and at the very least need to defend ourselves, STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY AND ALLOW US TO GET THE DAMNED JOB DONE!

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

August 10th and What To Do About It.

2006-08-10T12:11:00.000Z

I woke up this morning to my wife telling me point blank to turn on the news. Normally she tends to find newsworthiness in the trivial, but not this morning: Scotland Yard has nabbed 21+ people today who were attempting to blow up as many as thirty planes in midair. Targeted were three American carriers.

Now, coming out of England, "American carriers" means transatlantic flights. That means a minimum of 300 people per plane, max 550. That means that MI5, Scotland Yard, and any assisting US agencies just saved... wait for it... between 9,000 and 16,500 people, not to mention how many on the ground who would have been killed when said planes came crashing to earth.

Anyone else out there wondering about eleven missing Egyptian "exchange students" we heard about yesterday? Think it's a coincidence, because I damn sure don't.

Right now, I am livid! I am about to the point of going to the corner of University and 13th Street where the protesters gather and slap every last one of them for being so blindly stupid as to think we can talk to these people! What is it going to TAKE?!? Terrorism is NOT a law-enforcement issue! Arresting these people is not going to stop this level of murderous madness!

At the risk of sounding like a blood-crazed warmonger (perhaps more of us need to), there is one solution to the problem of terrorism, and the Israelis seem to be the only ones on the planet who have the balls to get it. I mean, the Russians don't even have the marbles, and when the Russians aren't willing to mete out force then you know something's wrong! The solution is to treat every last one of these Islamoturds according to the Geneva Convention, and that is for non-uniformed combatants, AND THIS IS IN THE GENEVA CONVENTION, to be executed in the field.

We are at war; it's not a war of our choosing, either in scope, location, or method. We aren't the one's who started it; it all started back on a calm day in September in 2001 when nineteen madmen flew planes into buildings and killed a lot of innocent people who really had nothing better on their mind than to earn a living or visit friends (the horror!). We're not talking about criminals, international or otherwise, who stole someone's PIN code or something. We're talking about a group of people who want to reestablish the Caliphate and rule the world. These are the ones who have declared war on us. So, regardless of how you feel on the issue of whether terrorism is a law-enforcement issue or a military one, that decision has been made FOR YOU.

We. Are. At. War. In war, the job ahead is not to arrest the bad guys, but to kill them, and ONLY the killing of them will bring this war to a close in one of two ways: a.) there will be no more bad guys, or b.) the bad guys will wise up and knock it off. Remember the number one tenet of war according to Sun Tzu: The best way to win a war is to not have to fight it. In other words, if you are perceived as being so strong that there is no way to actually beat you, people will not attack you. There are those who think that if you kill one terrorist that you will only create two more, but even if we do create two more, they'll grow up knowing that the United States doesn't take that kind of shit from the likes of them.

We were attacked on September 11th because we were perceived as weak, the exact same reason we were attacked on December 7th. And for the eight years prior to that date, they were right; we had a leader (and I use that term very loosely) who was more concerned with governing through polls, getting his crank sucked, and token responses to international terrorism when he decided to respond at all.

As I hinted at in my last post, this country does not have the testicular fortitude to crack some heads when heads need to be cracked. Thankfully, our current chief executive has at least a better inkling on that than the last one, and we have dodged not one, but two bullets in having nearly elected a pair of international appeasers in Gore and Kerry. But even Bush seems to be more concerned with upsetting the lily-livered peacemongers in the press and on the Left than in doing what's necessary to actually win this war.

Hopefully, what happened in the UK today will wake more than just a few people up. If we are going to win this war, and it IS a war we're in, not a crime spree, we have to realize that there is only one way to win it, and that is in the manner that General George S. Patton described: "No one ever won a war by dying for his country; he won a war by making some other dumb bastard die for his country." There are those of us that realize that, and are prepared to make the sacrifices to accomplish that goal. Then there are those that don't. Even worse, there are those that never will.

Peace at any cost will one day come tied to the muzzle of a gun. Remember, the Soviet Union's idea of peace was once defined as the lack of opposition to Communism. Al-Qaeda's definition of peace is a lack of opposition to a reestablished Caliphate, and I'm afraid that there are too many people in this country who are willing to accept that.

The one saving grace about this whole incident today is that I am no longer afraid that the Democrats will win big in the mid-term elections in November...

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

UPDATE: 0200 GMT 11 Aug 06 - The number of planes has since been downgraded to only ten, so that means potential death toll drops to 3,000-5,500. Jeez, I feel so much better now...

NOT the New Rome

2006-07-20T13:39:00.000Z

In the event that you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, there’s a bit of a tussle going on in Lebanon. Frankly, I think Lebanon is reaping what it’s sewn for their lack of diligence for the past decades in not getting rid of Hezbollah, who themselves need to have their collective asses exterminated. Period.

God bless Israel for having the testicular fortitude to do what needs to be done.

But what’s driving me to dust off my password and post today isn’t the conflict itself, so much as it’s the American tourists who are demanding to be evacuated, for free no less, even after traveling to what’s got to be one of the least safe tourist spots on the planet! Case in point, check here. I feel bad for them being stuck there in the middle of a real-life shooting war and all, but jeez, what prompted them to go to Lebanon in the first place? It wasn’t that long ago when their Prime Minister was assassinated by a BOMB, no less.

Many Americans suffer from a sense of Imperiosus Civitas when they travel abroad and it just boggles the mind. For some unknown reason, they feel that being an American citizen somehow absolves them from harm, like Roman Imperial Citizenship protected those citizens in their day. Anyone harming a Roman Citizen (not just an inhabitant of the Empire, but a genuine Citizen) immediately faced the death penalty, so inhabitants of other regions went out of their way to not harm Roman Citizens. If it did happen, Rome wasted no time in hunting down the offenders, regardless of who might be swept up along with them, and executed them in the most gruesome manner possible.

The trouble is, the US isn’t, nor ever will be, Rome. Apart from the fact that we don’t have an Empire, regardless of what the numbnuts on the Left will tell you, we don’t have the clout the Roman Empire had because we don’t have the balls the Roman Empire had.

One of the few times we came close was back under Teddy Roosevelt who, in my opinion, was the last President this country had who seriously cared for the individual American and not some special interest. Ever seen the movie “The Wind And The Lion”? Based on a true story, TR sent Marines into the Middle East (yeah, we’ve been doing that for a while) to locate a kidnapped American. That’s what Rome would have done; sadly, it’s what a lot of Americans expect our government to do, though it’ll never happen.

Firstly, being an American often makes one more of a target than “that which should be avoided.” It isn’t because we are arrogant or ignorant, though in many cases we are, but it’s because we’re such easy marks. The Bad Guys, regardless of national or ethnic origin, can spot us a mile off. We’re lax on personal security. We wander about with a sense of awe at what we’re seeing rather than a sense of what (or whom) is around us. We wear the same clothes that we’d wear to the mall, seemingly oblivious to the fact that NO ONE outside the US dresses precisely the way we do (i.e. - ever go to Europe and notice who else is wearing sneakers or running shoes with casual clothes? Yep, only other Americans; Europeans NEVER wear running shoes except when they’re actually exercising. In fact, they’ll wear regular shoes to the park, then change their shoes to jog, then change them back before leaving.)

A lot of times, it’s just a pickpocket looking for someone who’s not as diligent as the average local, but these days, terrorism changes all that.

Secondly, this government will not stick its neck out to go forcefully rescue an American in a bad situation (apart from in Iraq, which is a different situation entirely), mainly because we don’t wish to draw the ire and scorn of “world opinion” or those in our own country who harp on us to be more diplomatic. Why? Probably because in order to rescue someone it takes a certain degree of aggression and we just don’t have the balls to do that.

Case in point: Carthage. During the last of the Punic Wars, Rome defeated Carthage, their rival across the Mediterranean. In order to ensure that everyone, especially Carthage, knew precisely where they stood on the matter, the Roman armies decimated the population; literally lined up entire cities and villages and killed every tenth person, be they man, woman, or child. They then proceeded to sew salt into the Carthaginian fields to the point that to this day, crops won’t grow there. Granted, these days that would be a bit extreme, but when was the last time you heard any crap out of Carthage? Think the US would do anything even vaguely approaching that today? Of course not.

In some ways, I have to wonder why we can’t take a hint from the Soviets. Back in the early 80's when everyone was so hostage-happy in Beirut, someone had the gall to kidnap a Russian diplomat and demand a ransom for him, much like what had happened to a number of Western diplomats and journalists. But they forgot one very important thing: they’d kidnapped a Russian, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, and as such, they now had to deal with They Who Don’t Play Nice.

The Spetsnaz wasted no time in finding out who’d perpetrated the kidnapping, and then kidnapped their family members. Instead of a ransom, the kidnappers received a note from the Russians in a box filled with the pinky fingers of everyone they’d nabbed. The note read (paraphrasing here) that they would receive their family members, bit by bit, until the Russian diplomat was released. The kidnappers let the Russian go the very next day.

Again, think the US would ever do something like that? Not only no, but hell no! Supposedly, we’re the Good Guys, and we would never do something like that. Well, until we ARE willing to do something like that, get used to the idea that when you travel you might end up as someone’s target, because everybody else out there realizes we would never do that, too.

If the US was to start behaving like the old Roman Empire, then and only then would US citizens be free to strut about with some semblance of immunity. Until then, watch your back, dress more like the locals, don't travel to places that are likely to erupt in gunfire at the drop of a friggin' hat, and don’t piss and moan when my Marines come drag your sorry asses out of the frying pan.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Quote To Remember...

2006-03-08T22:52:00.000Z

The meek shall inherit the earth, but they'll never fucking make it through a four-way stop.

The Almighty Mattski

The Electronic Wall

2006-03-08T21:39:00.000Z

Whatever happened to customer service? You know, not the old axiom "the customer is always right," because they frequently aren't, but a simple "May I help you?" instead of the prevailing attitude of "Go away, I'm working here." A prime example of how insipidly tolerant we've become is the telephone answering system, or as I often refer to it: The Electronic Wall.

If the DDR had phone systems like this back during the Cold War, it would have proven a more effective wall than that in Berlin. This little electronic box has proven more reliable in keeping people out of a business than anything else out there. Case in point:

I went online today to buy a steamer for work so we could iron out the wrinkles in a photographic backdrop for a photo shoot we're doing Friday. I finally found one at Sears, for a very reasonable price, but I wanted to call the store and see whether they had any in stock before I committed to buying one, mainly because we need it now, not next week when one likely would have shipped. It took me eight phone calls and over THIRTY MINUTES to get that question answered. I had to go through the operator three times because I had no idea which department I even needed to contact. Even when I did get through to a department, never mind whether or not it was the correct one, no one ever picked up! And if that wasn't bad enough, when no one picked up, the system kicked you back to the very beginning, so I had to sit through the whole "Dial one for store hours, dial two for..."

When I did finally get through to the correct department (housewares, not small appliances), and someone did finally pick up the verschlügener phone, they were so irritatingly indignant, as if I was interrupting them! The mental capacity of said "customer service" (there's a misnomer, if ever I heard one) representative can best be described as vapid, as every third word out of her mouth was either "uh" or "um."

To say that I was about ready to rip someone's arm off and beat them to death with it would be an understatement. I was absolutely seething by the time I got the item purchased and drove to Sears to pick it up. The only saving grace was that once I actually got there, I wasn't in the lobby two minutes before someone had walked out to hand me the steamer; that part of customer service they have down, pat.

When I openly yearn for "the good old days," like the 1950's, I have to remind the numbnutted morons who say stupid shit like "you want to go back to segregated bathrooms and water fountains?" that what I'm actually talking about is a day when government of all levels took a grand total of less than 13% of our pay in taxes and businesses knew and appreciated it when you visited them. They knew you could go somewhere else, and they bent over backwards to let you know they genuinely appreciated your patronage. Not so today. Like I said earlier, employees behave more like they're being interrupted instead of doing their jobs. Well, gee; if I'm that much of a hinderance to your day, I'll just go elsewhere. Then, when your boss asks me why I left, you can go flip burgers for a living, provided you can display at least a minimum competency at even that.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not asking employees to kiss my ass, but it would be nice every now and then if they would so much as acknowledge it.

Semper Fi
The Almighty Mattski

Now HERE's Someone Who Can Express The Reality Of The Situation

2006-03-07T22:07:00.000Z

For those of you, especially on the Left, who think that maybe wading into Iraq wasn't such a hot idea and that maybe we should beat-feet outta there, I highly recommend checking out this post by Orson Scott Card, the famed science fiction writer. In it, he defines in no uncertain terms precisely why the US needs to stay in Iraq until the job is finished. In my wildest and most lucid dreams, I could not possibly put it better.

Once you finish reading that, you probably want to bookmark his site, the Ornery American. HIGHLY recommended reading!

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Utterly Disgusted

2006-03-07T20:36:00.000Z

For the first time in my life, I'm seriously considering not voting in an election.

Local elections are being held today for an "At Large" city commissioner's seat. The two (and only two) candidates are both decidedly less than stellar. One is an environmentalist who reaks of Socialism, and the other is a Republican whose avowed purpose in life is to get Gainesville the most stringent zoning laws in the country. In other words, I have no one to vote for, and two excellent choices to vote against.

So, what does one do? How do you vote when there's no good choice? I mean, sure, the 2004 election did a good job of establishing the criteria (not that 2000 was that much better), but depending on which side of the aisle one sat, there was a pretty good choice of who you wanted to vote against (I don't think I've voted for a candidate since I friggin' started voting).

In this day and age of consistently crappy candidates, we need to take a lesson from the old Soviet Union, for despite their many shortcomings, they did get one thing right: their voting ballots.

Okay, get past the whole "Party" thing and the fact that the Soviets only had one Party to choose from; for all intents and purposes so do we. It doesn't make that much of a difference these days -- you've got a choice between right-wing socialists and left-wing socialists, what with the way the Republican-run Congress has been spending. And don't give me that "There's A War On" crap, either; this Congress has been spending our money like three hundred-fifty Ted Kennedys on a bender, and for all sorts of non-military related fiscal ridiculousness like the Highway Bill, which had at its core some $35-billion worth of butt-kissing earmarks.

What I'm talking about is the oft touted but never realized option to select none of the above. The Soviets had that. They had two days to vote, both of which were holidays (which I'm not in favor of -- business has to get done) and they usually had only one name on the ballot, BUT they also had a block that simply said "No." Even if they had two or more names to select from, all good, loyal Communists, they still had the right to exercise the "No" option.

And it happend quite a bit. If a candidate did not recieve a majority of the vote, they didn't take office. Even if there was only one name on the ballot, if that candidate received 49.999999999% of the vote and the "No's" received 50.00000001%, that candidate was out on his ear and a second election was held a month later.

I guess because the hardy citizens of the old CCCP had so little say in their lives that they took every opportunity to say something. Voter turnout was typically 98.5%. All the time. Ours is what, 30-40%? On Presidential elections. In local elections... well, we'll be lucky to break 10% today.

Which brings me back to my original point. What choice is there when there's no choice? In the past, I've always been able to hold my nose and vote for one candidate/against an opposing candidate, but no matter who I vote for in this election, I lose. I'll either end up paying more in taxes for inane spending to coddle irresponsible behavior, or I'll be forced to bow more to an already full-of-itself city whose idea of liberty is to do what they tell you, property rights be damned.

So until I have a "No" option to vote FOR, both parties will simply continue to run losers that represent their parties but will never, ever represent the people that get to call themselves their constituents. In other words, I'll continue to lose; we all will.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Sorry

2006-03-07T20:23:00.000Z

Okay, to all of you who have been eagerly awaiting additional installments of the Great Excursion, you're in for a severe disappointment.

In case you weren't aware of it, I returned with a very severe case of bronchitis. In fact, I spent my first night back in the States in the ER. It was my first ever bout with bronchitis, so of course it would be severe. Never let it be said that The Almighty Mattski ever did anything halfway...

I basically spent January and a healthy chunk of February recovering. I do still have my notes, but I also have a skid of other much more important things to do which shall, for the moment, preclude me doing any more writing about The Great Excursion. For that, I do sincerely apologize. I promise that I shall get around to it eventually, maybe even submitting it for publication somewhere, and if you're really that interested, you're welcome to email me and I'll send the long, sordid details to you directly if you wish. How's that for service?

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

The Great Excursion Begins

2005-12-27T07:36:00.000Z

Okay, I promised my friends that I would try to upload tales and/or pictures to my blog while I was away, and even though I haven’t had a lot of time to do so, I’ve been really wanting to. Now that I’ve got a little free time, I can actually sit down and compose a travel log to let you all know what we’ve been doing thus far.

Ersten Tag – Den Flug
First day – the flight – 22-23 December
The flight was thankfully uneventful. In these days of post 9-11 air travel, one is often on the look-out for just about anything that takes place out of the norm. We had a few handfuls of Turkish passengers, but they were all very cheerful and mild mannered, so no worries there.

That was it; though I think my brother was a tad disappointed. He knows full well that if someone DID show up on the plane that looked or behaved suspiciously, I’m the kind of person to kick their ass out of principle, should they move towards anything other than the aft restroom. I think he was kind of hoping I would’ve gotten myself in trouble rushing to everyone’s rescue over some Arabic guy getting up to ask the stewardess for a bag of peanuts.

The meals were pretty “okay,” but what does one expect for coach airline food? Any airline; it doesn’t really matter which one. But we got dinner, coffee, desert, and then five hours later, breakfast and more coffee. Free drinks all the way, actually, alcoholic or otherwise. And let me say right now that Austrian Airways mixes some pretty heavy-handed gin and tonics! Nic and I were in GREAT shape for most of the flight.

The one really cool thing was that we flew over on an Airbus 330, which has TV monitors in the back of every seat and a remote control in everyone’s armrest. You could select from about a dozen audio stations, six or eight video, each in two to four different languages, and several interactive menus with games (I whipped the computer’s butt in the backgammon game), movies (none of which were what was listed), and best of all: Flight Information!

Those that don’t know me personally, and even a few that do, aren’t aware that I am an absolute aviation geek. If it involves being airborne for more than five minutes, flies faster than 50-mph, or has two or more dials, I wanna know about it. So, when I found this feature, I about wet myself! By selecting the Flight Info, the TV monitor informed me what altitude we were at, how long we had been in the air, current groundspeed, external temperature (which averaged about –80ºF and got as low as -97ºF), miles to destination, etc., etc., etc., in both English and German. It even had a map with the flight path marked on it and a little icon to show you what the plane was passing over. Seventh Heaven, I tell you! After I determined that I could not watch the movie I wanted, I just kept it on the in-flight info station, and geeked my way across the Atlantic for like eight and a half hours.

We landed on the morning of 23 December at 0830 Vienna Standard Time (no, it’s not really called that). My father’s good friend Emil arranged for a taxi to meet us, so we were greeted by an older gentleman holding a sign that said D.I. Palma. Interesting way to spell it, but it got the point across.

The poor guy spoke little to no English so I got kicked into the deep end of the pool with my German language skills. Even though my brother Nic speaks German, he exercises it even less than I do, so I was once again pressed into the role of Family Übersetzer (translator). He took us to a lift, where he told me that he’d meet us downstairs. A few minutes later, we understood (told you I was rusty), and managed to cram ourselves into the small elevator with all our luggage.

Did I mention it was a small lift? I mean, we all took a deep breath to get the doors to close. I actually had to work at turning around just to push the button. It was all worth it, though; you should’ve seen the look on our driver’s face when we came out. It was much like the look most people have when the clown car comes into the center ring and the door flies open.

We got to the Graben, sort of. The Graben is a very old street that stretches from Stefansdom (St. Stefan’s Cathedral) and gets its name from the thousands that were buried under the street during the plague of 1687-93 (Grab is the German word for grave). It is a pedestrian only avenue, so he had to drop us off at an adjoining street. From there we walked onto the Graben, past the Pestsäule (plague column monument), all the while hauling every bit of luggage we’d brought, and on to our hotel, Pension Nossek.

We took a moment and kind of acclimatized ourselves with Viennese amenities. For those who have never been to Austria, or anywhere other than the US for that matter, things are, well… different. Not bad, just not fully what you expect. All of our rooms have bathrooms en suite, meaning in the room instead of a common restroom down the hall. The shower has no curtain, but it does have a glass door, one door, though it looks like it should have two, because it doesn’t fully enclose the tub. For me, a lizard who hates being even slightly cool, the initial draft is murderous.

The really interesting thing is the commode. There is no handle to flush with, but there is a button, two buttons, in fact; one for a mild flush, and one for a stronger flush (Penny calls it the “big boy” flush), as a water saving measure. What’s really different is that the bowl has, well, a shelf. When you do your business, it all piles up on the shelf. It does keep one from getting a cold, eye-opening splash, but since everything is exposed instead of being inundated, it tends to makes one’s visit quite aromatic. And I can destroy a bathroom with the best of them.

As luck would have it, our room wasn’t ready, so no unpacking for us. We left our luggage in my folks room, who did get to unpack, and all went on a walk around the immediate vicinity. We went to a small grocery store at the end of the Graben (all of about fifty feet from the front door of Pension Nossek) called Josef Meinl, where we got some bottled water, chocolate (if you’re going to Vienna, purchasing chocolate seems to be a standard requirement – just go with it), and some apple-pear juice which we later discovered was actually wine. We went back to the room and put everything away, except of course us; our room wouldn’t be ready for a while yet.

We bundled ourselves and girded our loins against the cold, which actually didn’t feel as bad as we thought it would be, seeing as Vienna is the same latitude as Boston, and headed out to show the city off to my brother and his wife. This was actually our second trip to Vienna, so we’d seen many of the beautiful buildings before, i.e. – we knew what to expect! We wandered through the Burghof, the winter residence of the Hapsburg emperors, and off to the Spittelberg area, just west of the Burghof, where we’d heard there was a Christkindlmarkt.

The Christkindlmarkts are truly something to behold. Think of it as an open air market; numerous stands, all bedecked in pine boughs and ribbon, selling candy (oh yeah, LOTS of candy), Christmas tree ornaments, mittens, and Glühwein, lots and lots of Glühwein (mulled wine) and Punsch (punch), all stiffly alcoholic and warm. The object is to drink a lot of Glühwein, then spend every last cent you have on trinkets that no sober person would realistically buy. On top of that, most stands selling Glühwein and Punsch also sell you the mug. Five Euro gets you a piping mug of wine; if you don’t want the mug, turn it back in to the stand and they refund two Euro. Suffice to say, I’m coming home with like four different mugs from my Glühwein experiences (no, not all in one day).

After perusing the Spittelberg area Kindlmarkt, we went to the Kindlmarkt at the Rathskeller, or town hall. This Kindlmarkt was reported to be a more traditional one, and seeing as the Spittelberg Kindlmarkt resembled a widespread and well-organized flea market, we were eager to give it a look.

Wow! This Kindlmarkt was really fabulous! It was an eaters’ paradise, to say the least; about every third stand sold Punsch, Würstl (sausages), pastries, or candy. I think I gave my doctor a heart attack by proxy just looking at everything. Decorations were everywhere, including massive oak trees, one covered with gigantic foot-wide heart-shaped lights and another with similarly sized star lights. The Rathskeller was lit from stem to stern with a large Tannenbaum decorated and illuminated right out front. We picked up a few minor trinkets; I got a beautiful white wool scarf to go with my overcoat, my Mom got a head wrap with fur trim, and we all got Lebkuchen (a kind of gingerbread) and assorted munchies. We hustled our booty off to the hotel and made plans for dinner.

You may have noticed that all of this is taking place during the “first” day. We hadn’t gone to sleep, save for what fitful rest everyone else could get on the plane – I didn’t get any sleep on the plane at all – so we’d been up for about 38+ hours by this point. The best way to reset your body clock is to travel across the pond at night, and stay up during the daylight hours as best you can. By now, the sky had darkened and we were beginning to get tired. We had yet to reset our watches, or even taken notice of them, actually; we were so enamored with the beauty Vienna at Christmastime!

We got back to the hotel (our room was ready) and finished the last of our unpacking then went to dinner at the Esterhazy Keller. My parents had been there once before, and it was a typical Austrian beer hall/restaurant. One had several choices of beer in varied sizes (which is as it should be), and for dinner there was a large display case of salads and meats to choose from. That night they offered a special of Goulasch with Knödel (large Austrian dumpling that is about as big as my cat’s head), which Nic and I attacked with reckless abandon. We toasted my project director and traffic manager Tom Gilhuley, another beer monkey like Nic and myself, ate like we hadn’t seen food for weeks, and headed back to our hotel.

When we did finally get in and check the clocks, it was only like 6:30 pm! It had been dark for almost two full hours. We’d forgotten how far north Vienna was and as the days went by, we realized that it got midnight-dark by 5 pm. We crawled in bed and I think Penny and I were both asleep before our heads even hit the pillows!

I'll post more as soon as I can.

Tschüß! (Later!)

Hollywood vs. Everyone Else

2005-11-18T13:33:00.000Z

I had the pleasure of watching a fantastic movie on Turner Classic Movies last night: “Stage Door Canteen” from 1943. It was a good look at famous film and stage stars serving what could very likely be the last meal in the States for a lot of servicemen and women before heading overseas. The movie was set in New York and followed an Army dog nicknamed “Dakota” as he wooed a very minor starlet whose last stage appearance consisted of four whole lines.

The story was pretty korny to say the least, but that’s not why I stayed up to watch it. The underlying message went way beyond the pale ghost of a plot, and one needn’t be a rocket scientist to get it. The crux of the tale was that actors and actresses, producers, directors, and even stage hands volunteered their time, which was often at a premium, to give one last little bit of comfort to those who were on their way to do a very serious and dangerous job. Everyone was well aware that the face of the soldier, airman, Marine, or sailor might never make it back to these shores when all the poop stopped hitting the fan. There was a genuine respect for those servicemen, and you could tell by watching the movie that respect went far beyond the acting portrayed on celluloid.

Watch some of the old newsreels; you can tell that stars gave their time freely and happily because they knew they were doing something nice for someone who might not make it home. Bob Hope led the USO overseas, sometimes even within range of German and Japanese guns (the big ones, mind you, not the standard field variety) to bring some little spark of home to those folks. Sure the movies touted their success with films like “Stage Door Canteen” and others, but you won’t find a serviceman today who wasn’t damned glad to see them, who knew that those stars were WAY out of their comfort zone all to bring some little bit of comfort to them.

So what happened? No, not in “Stage Door Canteen,” I mean with Hollywood. There were plenty of stars back in the 1940’s who didn’t agree with our involvement in World War II, but at least they didn’t speak out against our efforts to win it, as opposed to today.

Today it seems Hollywood can’t wait to get out there and torpedo our efforts. I’m not talking about abrogating one’s right to freedom of speech; if you disagree with what’s being done you have the right to say so, but for God’s sake, don’t crawl up on a soap box and for all intents and purposes encourage the enemy, Streisand, Clooney, Dixie Chicks, Sarandon, Garafalo, Moore, etc.

Every time someone goes on the news and lambasts Bush, Rumsfeld, the military, or the war effort, the Bad Guys hear it. In this day and age, information goes to all corners of the world and in seconds. Back in the 1940’s, the Bad Guys had to rely on watching the same newsreels and radio programs that everyone else did, and those were edited, prepped, and censored to give one message: the People of the United States are united in kicking your measly, fascist asses and handing them to you.

So why can’t we at least unite and get that message across, if not to ourselves, then to the Bad Guys who are listening in? Our servicemen and women are just as determined to find the terrorists of the world and hand them their collective Islamo-fascist asses as we were back in 1943, but you’d never know it to listen to Hollywood.

Thanks to the Jane Fondas of the world, Hollywood seems to think it’s not only harmless but laudable to stand up and send a message of divisiveness to the world. They don’t seem to understand that although one has the right to say what one wishes, responsible thought should tell you that it isn’t always prudent to do so.

As such, I shall withhold my good, Yankee dollars from such ingrates: I do not own a single CD by the Dixie Chicks. I will never purchase another George Clooney DVD, Sean Penn DVD, anything with Martin Sheen in it, or go to any movie with said irresponsible and unappreciative shitbirds starring in it, at least until they grow up and realize that verbal tantrums don't help their respective political platform so much as they’re getting my brothers and sisters in arms killed.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

About Damned Time...

2005-11-17T13:51:00.000Z

I'll say it now, much to the ire of my Democrat friends: Way to go Dick Cheney!

Ever since 2002, the more vocal Democratic leadership along with the nutty Left (as opposed to the sensible Left - yes, there are some) have chanted incessantly about how Saddam and "peace" should have been given a chance. Now these gits have the audacity to say we never should have gone into Iraq in the first place; that somehow, the world was safer when Saddam the nutball and his rape-room sons were in charge.

Enter Dick Cheney:
"And the suggestion that's been made by some U.S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this Administration purposely misled the American people on prewar intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city. Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force against Saddam Hussein. These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence, and were free to draw their own conclusions."
(Tip o’ the hat to Neal Boortz - emphasis mine)

About damned time someone in the Administration actually said what a lot of us out here are thinking. You know the press isn’t going to say it (see The Media And Why It Sucks), and none of the Democrats except perhaps Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller would call them on it. Granted it took HOW long before this happened?

Word to the uninitiated: I am not a hands-down supporter of George Bush. There are plenty of things I disagree with him over, primary of which are his lack of an intelligent approach to tax reform, his immigration policy, the "free drugs for seniors" program, and cronyism, but as far as I’m concerned, he hit the whole War On Terror nail on the head. Bush had the testicular fortitude to do what his predecessor, Bill “I-Got-Head-In-The-White-House” Clinton, didn’t. If Clinton had done more than lob one or two cruise missiles after Somalia, Kenya, and the Kobar Tower incidents, September 11th might not have ever happened. Instead, he showed the world a weak, spineless nation led by an even weaker more spineless do-nothing that failed to take the threat of international terrorism seriously.

The Bush Administration showed a lot of spine in the days following September 11th; why did it go to Jello™ since? Blowhard Democrats like Kennedy, Reid, Pelosi, and Byrd stood and blatantly lied about “how things were” and the Administration has been letting them get away with it. Thankfully, Dick Cheney has the marbles to call it like it is. This Administration would be in a lot less hot water if they would simply call these worthless Socialists on their bunk and hoist them on their own petards.

Would I LIKE to see that happen? You’d better believe it. Am I expecting that to happen? Not even “maybe.” The Democrats are having a field day pointing out Bush’s shortcomings which, so long as they’re valid criticisms, I am all for. So let’s see the Administration start pointing out these Democrats’ shortcomings, lies, and misrepresentations as well.

I am calling for equal opportunity; ANY politician, be it Democrat or Republican, not only is entitled to but deserves our disgust and ire when they pull this kind of crap. We as Americans deserve no less. I’m just happy to see some of the tables turn, if only this once.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

This Most Wonderful Of Days...

2005-11-10T15:37:00.000Z

10 November 1775 was a terrible day for a lot of people.

To my knowledge, 10 November was never celebrated among the pirates of the Barbary Coast, the Mexicans, the Germans, the French (except in 1918), the Spanish, the Moro, the Japanese, the North Koreans, the Chinese, the Communist Vietnamese, the Syrians, the Cubans, the Baathists, and Al Qaeda. Nor has it ever been celebrated by the bedwetting maggots who infest the fair cities of this land chanting "give peace a chance," and "no war for oil."

Fuck 'em.

There are people in this world, and in this country in particular, who don’t appreciate that freedom and liberty must be defended; that one cannot embrace principles unless one is willing to fight to preserve them some times. Thankfully, there are those, my brothers and sisters, who do. Today is their day.

On that day our Continental Congress passed a simple resolution creating one of the proudest and most illustrious traditions of any military service on the globe, over which perches an eagle, and behind which lies an anchor. That tradition was carved and honed by every man that ever fired a musket from the tops of a frigate, assaulted a Japanese held island, stifled a Chinese assault over frozen hills, and it continues to be stamped out by the men and women who carry a weapon through the sands and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan today. Today is a day that all of us who wear, have worn, and who shall some day wear that symbol of freedom and loyalty, celebrate that act of Congress which gave us our place in the world. Our motto itself bespeaks an undying allegiance to the principles under which this country was founded: Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful.

The entire world knows and respects the United States Marine Corps. The Germans, who only once had to stand against my beloved Corps, and even then for only a few months, to this day utter the title with awed reverence. I once had a German friend who, when he found out I had served in the Marines, asked me if I spit napalm. I answered "Ne, scheiße..." He laughed, though a bit unsure as to whether I was telling the truth. Another German friend of mine, who treated me to a trip to a pistol range, told the RSO behind my back as I was about to fire: “Watch this, this is my friend from America. He’s a Marine.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is respect.

That respect has not come cheaply, however. I can personally point to three names that I know on a wall at Camp Lejeune, a monument to those that perished in Beirut in 1983 trying to bring peace to a severely troubled land. I had the honor of meeting my Marine Corps figurative “grandfather,” a man who drove Amtracs (Amphibious Tracked Vehicles, to the uninitiated) at Tarawa, whose first day on that scrubby atoll cost him 90% of the friends in his unit, the 2nd Tracked Vehicle Battalion. I served in the 4th Assault Amphib Battalion, one of four grandchildren to the men and vehicles that created and perfected the role of amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II.

Nothing has shaped and molded me to be a more loyal, more astute, and more confident person than my days as a Marine. I served in a time that being in the military was frowned upon. I was just another olive-clad lackey of Ronald Reagan, a has-been holdover from an unpopular war. I was on standby for the first Gulf War, but am today too old for the second. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go if the recruiters would let me. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Don’t put too much faith in that movie “Jarhead.” I read the book; put it down after five pages. I have yet to see the flick but I will, even though I am well aware that Hollywood will use it to malign my beloved Corps and all who serve in it, ridiculing their dedication to accomplish a difficult and sometimes impossible mission, their love of their country, and their dedication to one another. I do not refer to my fellow Marines as brothers and sisters for nothing. (The term “Jarhead” originated as a moniker of derision by a bunch of Squids, but is now a proud epithet. Marines once got into fights over being called “Jarheads,” now we call each other that.)

Marines lead a hard life. They are usually the “first to go and last to know.” They get shot at, blown up, cursed at, spit upon, and ridiculed, but even after such derision, the United States Marine Corps continues to defend even those who mock them. Marines build schools. Marines care for children who have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marines deliver food to areas of the world where the All Righteous And Benevolent United Nations fear to go. Most importantly, Marines will cut the throat of any scum-sucking maggot who oppresses or threatens the rights of others to live in a free world.

So, this greeting goes out to my fellow Jarheads, to Tom Fasulo, an entomologist who once slogged through the jungles of Viet Nam, to George Haggard, a firefighter for NASA who was wounded at Chosin Reservoir, to David and Lee Wilson, two fine young men that I reenacted with and who have both just recently returned from Iraq, and to anyone and everyone who wears, wore, or will wear the eagle, globe, and anchor. These people gave this country their time and service, some of them gave their lives, but all of them assisted in establishing the United States Marine Corps as the finest fighting force on the planet, worthy of the respect of nations, and the fear of the enemies to peace and liberty.

Happy Birthday, Marines. Here’s to another year!

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

PS - In the words of my Senior Drill Instructor, SSgt T. Gerhardt, Jr.: "God bless mommy, God bless daddy, and God bless Chesty Puller, where ever he is."

Here's To Chris

2005-11-10T13:53:00.000Z

Good morning!

I just wanted to apologize for not posting anything these past coupla weeks. I had a very dear friend of mine pass away from cancer and I just didn't have quite the same bounce in my step. He was about half my age.

Chris was diagnosed with Clark's Type II Melanoma about 18-months ago, and it went through his system like a hot knife through butter. Yet, not once did he take a dim view or take it out on anyone around him. Chris always had a genuine and beaming smile, no matter how hard a day he'd had. He will always have a special place craved out in my heart.

He left behind a wife of less than a year, both parents who, although they are hurting, remain strong and loving, an older sister, and a younger brother, all of whom have our undying love and support for what they are going through today.

God bless you, Chris, and thank you for having added so much to our lives! We will miss you so very much.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Woh...

2005-10-21T12:52:00.000Z

Had a severe Keanu Reeves moment last night. I got lucky and managed to get hold of "rush" tickets to a very impressive concert for The Boss and myself - just $10 a seat. Sure, I had to take my own oxygen tank; we were in the very back of the balcony, but it's a concert, not a movie.

At any rate, the program was simply billed as "Trio," but what a trio: Jean-Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, and Bela Fleck. Those of you who follow the jazz scene are well aware of the caliber of artists I'm talkin' here. For those that aren't, imagine you're a classical music fan and Beethoven started touring.

Holy cats, it was fabulous! They would play.
Really.
Really.
Slow.
Music.
Then they would playlikewowwatchthiswe'replayingreallyreallyfastnow! Ponty was running that violin from one end of the spectrum to the other and hitting every note in between. And then when Clarke started playing that big old bass fiddle like a flamenco guitar... I thought I was going to come unglued!

Each of them did about twenty minutes of solo in between sets, so it was almost two hours of non-stop music, no intermission, and then they treated us to an encore. It was the best $20 I've spent in a long time; my brother Nic is going to be so jealous.

The only problem I had last night had to do with the Phillips Center, and I have to ask: Since when did music have to be so loud? My ears were all but bleeding by the time I got done. Music in a venue that large does need a little help, granted, but it's best appreciated when you can hear all the intricacies of it, especially when the musicians are as intricate as these three. The music was so loud it drowned itself out! I didn't think that was possible! As incredible as these guys were, I know I missed some of it because it was so loud. My ears are actually still ringing.

Note to the Phillips Center: For the love of God, let's turn the volume down a little, shall we? Not a whole lot, but if I walk out of there with my ears bleeding again, I swear ya'll are getting the bill to buy me a hearing aid.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Gut Reaction: San Francisco

2005-10-20T16:01:00.000Z

Has anyone else seen the story of the woman who threw her three kids, aged 6, 3, and 1, into San Francisco Bay?!?!

I have two questions:

1.) Why (okay, that's a pretty obvious one), and 2.) When is this country going to grow the testicular fortitude to do what needs to be done?

1.) The woman claims to have heard voices in her head, telling her to throw her kids into the bay. I can't help but remember the South Park episode in which they ripped apart John Edward, the psychic. He told Stan that he heard voices and Stan said he did, too: "It's called intuition."

Obviously, this lady isn't getting it. I mean, even if you are hearing voices, does that mean you should LISTEN to them? I hear voices telling me I should throttle every IRS agent in the United States; I don't act on them. (Ohhhh, that's gonna get me in trouble, I bet...)

Presume for a moment that you are a deeply religious individual. You hear a voice inside your head and you can't tell whether it's God or the Devil. If that voice is telling you to throw your three kids into San Francisco Bay where they will likely die withing five minutes due to hypothermia, my bet is it isn't God. So why would you listen to that voice?

Now, presume you're not religious -- my question still stands: why would you listen to that voice?

2.) I can hear the bleeding hearts now: "Oh, we have to try and understand why she did that..." The hell we do; she killed her kids! That's murder. If it can be proven that she did so in the first degree, hang her. Publicly.

I am so damned sick and tired of people thinking it is society's role to determine why someone did something bad. It's psychologists role to find out why Jeffrey Dahmer killed and ate 15 people, it's society's role to remove that guy from society. It doesn't matter why he did it, other than to attempt to spot trends to prevent that sort of thing from happening again. And this is what gets me: his guilt was neither questioned nor contested! The old "by reason of insanity" bit. Thankfully, it didn't fly.

So, why does this sort of thing happen? I don't know, but I'll venture a few guesses:

1.) Publicity: The media publicizes this stuff up because we moross individuals will watch it. (I use the collective "we" as Americans here; I never tune in to this kind of crap. I didn't watch the trial of what's her name in Texas that did this, nor did I watch one second of the Michael Jackson trial.) People want to be noticed, just like the old axiom about dealing with kids: they'd rather be praised than punished, but they'd rather be punished than ignored.

2.) Because They Can: With so many people wringing their hands over why someone did something, this country has lost all concept of judicial responsibility. Lawyers introduce excuses for their clients in an attempt to get them off, 'cause that's where the bucks are. "Oh, that poor man was abused as a child; he's not a murderer." Plenty of people out there had been abused as children, but they don't go around killing people.

Screw the excuse/reason why someone did something; the law says don't do "X." If they did "X" then punish them for it! How friggin' complicated does it have to be? If someone steals my car and trashes it in the process, I don't give a rat whether they did it because they were economically downtrodden or some such similar drivel. I'm out a car, for crying out loud, something I worked long and hard to acquire!

So that brings me back to my original question: When is this country going to grow the testicular fortitude to do what needs to be done? And that is (ta-daah) punish people for doing bad things! Negative reinforcement works, folks. If you get into the cookie jar before dinner, you're going to get a spanking. If you run a red light, you're going to get a ticket. If you murder someone in the first degree, you're going to get the chair (needle, rope, bullet, whatever).

And the problem isn't the death penalty, it's how it's applied. Right now, it's racially and economically unbalanced. There are way too many sentencing guidelines, plea-bargains, and restrictions to equitably apply the death penalty any more. As such, it serves as no deterrent. Hire a good enough lawyer and you can, literally, get away with murder. Think that's justice? Not by my definition of the word...

You want some guidelines that make sense? How's this: If you murder someone in the first degree and you're found guilty; buh-bye. Period -- end paragraph. It shouldn't matter who you are, what you made last year, what race, creed, or background you're from. Commit that level of crime and you should be removed from the gene pool, and as swiftly as possible. No book deals, no movie deals, no time for a bunch of whining, sympathetic Leftists to gather outside the gate and piss and moan about how you've been misunderstood. Appeal it, sure, but you got two years, tops, for your lawyers to do so.

First degree murder, a murder in which one plans, schemes, or otherwise conceives of a method to kill someone, hence "premeditated," is tough to prove, so when prosecutors CAN prove it, the end result should be very obvious. And prosecutors that can be shown to have executed an innocent individual? Ah, there's that whole definition of "premeditated" again, isn't it? I'd bet my next paycheck against a friggin' jelly doughnut you'd see a lot fewer false convictions if the choice is between one's conviction record and one's life.

It wasn't that long ago that rape was a capital offense in this country. Rape someone, and you're off to the gallows. I think that should be brought back, too. I mean, if nothing else, it'll decrease the population of rapists in this country, either by removing them from the number of the living or by giving them an incentive to find another hobby. Again, equitably applied, I bet the frequency of rape goes down, and markedly. Instead, we put them in prison where they can rape people.

Anyone else wondering where the friggin' logic is on that one?

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

The Media and Why It Sucks

2005-10-20T15:07:00.000Z

I no longer watch network news or read newspapers. I have never trusted the media in this country, and I’m not about to start. It has nothing to do with whether or not there’s a liberal bias, either, so please hear me out.

Here are a few things that I have learned over the years, each supported by facts that I have personally experienced:

1.) Bad news draws more attention than good news.

People, humans in general not just Americans, will pull over to gawk at a train wreck long before they’ll stop to admire a patch of flowers.

So, can the media really be “blamed” for reporting bad news out of Iraq? Not entirely. After all, what is the primary reason the media exists? If you answered “To keep people informed,” smack yourself for not paying attention and go to the back of the room.

2.) The media does not exist to keep you informed.

Do-gooders take note: The media exists for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make MONEY. They are a business. The only difference between the media and Chrysler, Trend Realty, and Chevron is that they are peddling advertising instead of cars, houses, or oil. They get more value for their product if more people pay attention to that product, so the media will broadcast/print that which causes the most people to stop and look. That means car bombs going off in Iraq.

Face it, the United States and its international coalition have managed to bring electricity to areas of Iraq that have never known it before, have brought water to more areas than the Baathists ever did, have built schools, have built public buildings, have rebuilt mosques, and so on, but how many of you are going to sit through a half hour broadcast of that? Yet, when you see a burning automobile sitting in a crater that was once a roadway, I bet you stopped, didn’t you?

Like every other business out there, the media is constantly striving to improve and increase the marketability of its product. To do so, they have to push it, often by making claims that dance around that grey area between truth and fiction.

3.) The media claims to be objective; it isn’t.

I don’t recall precisely where I found this statistic, but I do remember seeing it in several different places: Ninety percent of those who make up the nebulous glom that we refer to as the media are registered as Democrats.

Now, that, in its own right, isn’t a bad thing. Contrary to what some would have you believe, there are good Democrats out there; I happen to know quite a few of them. However, with that kind of disparity in political representation among its members, is it any wonder that the media is often accused of being biased?

No matter how hard one genuinely tries to be objective, opinions and subconscious thoughts will tend to float to the top and taint one’s reporting, if only a little. I do not believe that the media is engaged in a wholesale agenda to further the cause of the Democratic Party.

However, I don’t deny that some members in particular are. The president of CBS News said in a New York Times interview that he would never report anything good about George Bush. Openly admitted it. Dan Rather stood by the Air National Guard memos, even after they’d been proven to be forgeries. Does anyone other than Rather actually believe that something can be “fake but accurate?” Think I’ll ever trust CBS after that?

There are those that claim that the media does nothing different than what right-wing talk show hosts like Hannity, Limbaugh, Ingraham, and others do. There’s only one major problem with that, though: Hannity, Limbaugh, Ingraham, and others openly acknowledge and even outright brag about their bias (each of whom, in case you didn’t already know, is conservative, right-wing, and even *gasp!* Republican). None of them claim to be objective. The media does.

The only mainstream reporters that I’m aware of who openly admit their bias are Andy Rooney and John Stossel. Rooney, a World War II veteran, openly admitted that he is a cantankerous liberal-Democrat; I actually heard him say it on the air. More power to him! Frankly, I think he hits the nail on the head more often than not. I love listening to Andy Rooney and I respect his opinion, especially since I know and appreciate where he’s coming from. John Stossel, God bless him, openly admits that he is a Libertarian. Stossel happily points the finger at just about anyone who massively deserves to be singled out as an idiot, right-wing or left. He’s gotten ABC’s panties in a wad on more than one occasion by refusing to toe their line. I’ll say it again: God bless him.

So where are the others? Why hasn’t any of the media luminaries ever admitted their political affiliation? Why hasn’t any of them ever admitted that they are less than totally objective in their reporting, especially when their on-air bias is obvious?

4.) The media will misrepresent facts if it suits their cause.

Way back in 1976, CBS ran a piece about the violent nature of Viet Nam veterans, most suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, homelessness, and the like. It was an impressive piece of journalism, except that there wasn’t a word of it that was true. Turns out Viet Nam vets suffered from PTSD at roughly the same rate that vets from Korea and World War II suffered. CBS had scoured Washington, D.C. looking for the homeless, the alcoholics, and the mentally messed-up, then asked whether they were veterans. The result was countless hours of footage of one homeless, alcoholic, screwed-up veteran after the other, most of whom had served in Viet Nam, and who were now serving the purpose of CBS News.

And it’s not just CBS; some high muckity-muck over at ABC News admitted after the 2004 election that she wasn’t even going to report on the Swift Boat Vets’ attacks against John Kerry except that there was so much information about it on the internet she couldn’t afford not to. She claimed it wasn’t newsworthy, even though a candidate for the office of the President of the United States could have arguably been charged with commission of a treasonous act. That’s not newsworthy!?!?

None of the major news networks have reported a thing about the money scandal at Air America radio. I have yet to hear a thing on the mainstream news about the University of Oklahoma suicide bomber. (Fox News finally said something this past week, but even they reported it as “Breaking News” almost three weeks after it actually happened!)

I personally caught CBS, ABC, NBC, and CNN misrepresenting information during the 1990 University of Florida student murders. Each was trying to scoop the other, so rumor got reported as facts almost regularly. That bordered on the excusable, given the media frenzy, but when they got even the simplest of information wrong, like where some of the murders had occurred, I learned right then and there that the news media doesn’t give a rat about actually reporting what was happening.

The big wake-up call for me came when the South African government released Nelson Mandela from prison (yeah, I know, I’m showing my age here). All the networks showed Mandela standing before a red draped podium as he addressed the press. My wife’s uncle, who was one of the few people who owned a large satellite dish at the time, had taped the live feed that was sent from South Africa to the main network offices in New York. Mandela hadn’t spoken from a red draped podium; Mandela spoke from a podium that had been draped with the Communist Russian flag. EVERY ONE of the big networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, had airbrushed the hammer and sickle out of the image for the final broadcast. Why?

Does it even matter why? The networks all changed that image to hide the fact that Mandela was a Marxist. Granted, that information wasn’t anything new; that’s primarily why Mandela had been arrested in the first place. This wasn’t something that happened in South Africa and got sent to New York, this happened at four different art departments at four different news agencies, all on the same day. Still think the media can be trusted?

Most recently, even after a report questioning the staged interview of troops in Iraq by President Bush, Michelle Kosinski reported on the heavy rains from a canoe in a flooded area in the northeast. It would have been very convincing had two locals not walked right in front of her during a live broadcast proving the water to be, in actuality, only ankle deep. You can see the broadcast for yourself right here: http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/10/14/todayshow/

Am I the only one that finds this is just a wee bit hypocritical? I mean, is it really okay to call the President on misrepresentation (and justifiably so), and then in the very next segment do the exact same thing yourself?

The media regularly crosses the line in trying to make the news rather than reporting it. Investigative journalism is one thing; skewing facts, deleting facts, or worse, creating “facts,” is as morally reprehensible as clubbing puppies. It is the disingenuous misrepresentation of information that often gives rise to calls of media bias, and justifiably so.

5.) The media will report personal opinion as fact.

I have to admit that I miss Peter Jennings. He had a great presence, a bright, clear speaking voice, and a warm personality, and I don’t just say that because he was Canadian.

But I could not watch him very often. I caught Jennings interjecting his personal opinion into newscasts as news on so many occasions that I eventually stopped watching ABC News altogether. And Brokaw. And Rather. And...

I don’t have a problem with an anchor stating their opinion; it’s a God-given right to express one’s self that no one, not even a reporter, should be prevented from exercising. It is important, however, that opinion should be stated as such, not as news. (see #4.)

6.) The media is it’s own modern political entity.

Prior to 1972, politicians had played the media as gigantic public relations firms, luring reporters to staged news events to promulgate their own agenda. Even political organizations used the media to publicize and stage disingenuous demonstrations, such as the Viet Nam Veterans Against the War’s infamous throwing of medals onto the White House lawn. Members of VVAW contacted the media solely so that the news cameras would publicize their staged event as a spontaneous and genuine protest.

Since Watergate and Viet Nam, however, it has been the media that has wielded its influence on the American political scene. Anyone who watched the Election of 2004 could see it, though it didn’t happen only in 2004. The media chooses and selects which candidates to cover, and as such, presents the public with their choices for election.

How else does one really explain the disappearance of Howard Dean from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination? Right-wing talk shows had a field day with the now infamous scream, but it was only schoolyard ridicule; there was no substantive challenge to Dean’s position. Howard Dean’s volumed exhaust had nothing to do with his policy, his politics, his stance on the issues, or his opinions. Yet after that one utterance, the press left Dean by the wayside and he showed very poorly in the next primary.

Kerry eventually received the Democratic nomination, an individual who, as I said earlier, could arguably be charged with treason after both his meeting with North Vietnamese officials in Paris in 1970, and his perjury (yes, it was perjury) before Congressional hearings in 1971, in which he claimed to have personally witnessed atrocities committed by American troops when we now know he was privy to no such experience. Before, the media would have never let anyone with such “qualifications” anywhere near the White House. In 2004, with the blessings of a sympathetic media, however, this man was just a few percentage points shy of it.

Because the media controlled what information people received, though the internet is now changing that, thank God, the media could guide public opinion in any direction they desired. They could portray any political candidate as they saw fit; just look at the Nixon-Kennedy debates of 1960. Information really is power, and those that wield that power are well aware of what they have and how to use it.

So I don’t trust the media any more. Sometimes I get so damned irritated whenever I hear people trying to argue a point based on solely what they’ve heard on the news, though I also get irked when someone passes it off as simply a “liberal bias.” Take what you hear on the news as a starting point, with a grain of salt, and then do your own research. The sources are out there. Be as objective as possible; as Americans you should want the truth in order to make an informed decision, not just dig up whatever facts support what you’ve already decided to believe. You deserve no less.

The media might have a bias, liberal or otherwise, but one can temper what one receives from the media with the knowledge of what "angle" it’s coming from. And remember this: Power begets the need and desire for more power. The media does not have a bias so much as they have an agenda, and that agenda is to further the influence of the media.

Semper Fi,
The Almighty Mattski

Just call me "Hurricane Magnet"

2005-10-19T14:56:00.000Z

Since this is my very first post, I figured I'd start off with something safe... if you can consider being nailed by the strongest hurricane in recorded history "safe."

Hurricane Wilma went from category 1 to category 5 overnight. Literally: Overnight. Although the likelihood that South Florida will get mashed instead of those of us in North Florida, one cannot help but wonder whether this beast will veer northward.

That's the "beauty" of hurricanes; you can only predict so much. Oh, sure, the National Hurricane Center has a decent handle on things, much more so than even five years ago, but it's still weather and they're still weathermen. Meaning: they're gonna be wrong sometimes. I mean last year after we got hit by Wrong-way Ivan (I think it was Ivan; we got smacked by so many last year I lost track), it became apparent that when it comes to hurricanes, it's anybody's guess, really.

So what are we going to do? As far as I can tell, we'll pick up some more water, stock up on more canned food, work on eating all the ice cream in our freezer before the electricity goes out, and say several rosaries to keep trees from falling on the house. Like there's much more than that we can do. We're hoping at least that Wilma will delay landfall enough that we can drive to Orlando for our friends' wedding, but we shall see. As the week progresses into weekend, I'll try and stay on top of it for those of you who are wondering what sort of panic might or might not be sweeping through Florida. After last year, we're used to it by now. Hopefully this won't end up being like the mgno.com blog after Katrina, but who can tell.

Reporting on Wilma, live from the city of Bedrock.