July 28, 2003
Tastes Like Chickenhawk.
Note to my neocon friends: I think your "flypaper" line may be about to be withdrawn by HQ. Just a heads-up. Don't be the last one to find out.
July 24, 2003
Enough To Make You Sick.
From today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel;
And so, the Senate Judiciary Committee told witnesses to raise their right hands and swear to tell the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
What happened after that "was pretty scary," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, the Senate minority leader.
"People who had testified before us on previous occasions got up there and told us different things."
Apparently, those advocates for capping jury awards in medical malpractice cases at $250,000 have been lying through their teeth.
Gee, who would have guessed?
July 23, 2003
Official Report on the 507th.
The official report of the attack on the 507th was issued July 17, 2003.
No mention is made of the Marine casualties at An Nasiriyah.
Naming the Dead.
Best list I can assemble of the soldiers killed in An Nasiriyah on March 23rd. This is a follow-up to the post I made describing the attempted resuce of the 507th by Marines, who were then killed in combat, but apparently never made it into the news stories about the attack on the 507th.
Just something about the disappearance of these men and their actions has stuck in my craw, probably because there never was any need to puff up the actions of any of the people there that day, and I'd like the weasel bastard that thought it necessary to suffer just a little bit.
The Rescuers Killed
Marine Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, of Ventura, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibious Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, of Cedar Key, Fla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Pfc. Tamario D. Burkett, 21, of Erie, N.Y.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah March 23. He was listed as missing until April 13, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.
Marine Cpl. Kemaphoom A. Chanawongse, 22, of Waterford, Conn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed near Nasiriyah on March 23. He was listed as missing until April 14, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline Jr., 21, of Washoe, Nev.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah on March 23. He was listed as missing until April 13, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.
Marine Lance Cpl. David K. Fribley, 26, of Warsaw, Ind.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, of Costa Mesa, Calif.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Pvt. Jonathan L. Gifford, 30, of Decatur, Ill.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah March 23. He was listed as missing until April 14, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.
Marine Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, of Los Angeles; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Pvt. Nolen R. Hutchings, 19, of Boiling Springs, S.C.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah March 23. He was listed as missing until April 13, when the Defense Department announced his remains had been identified.
Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, of Enfield, Conn.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick R. Nixon, 21, of Nashville, Tenn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., 31, of Tonopah, Nev.; assigned to the Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Sgt. Brendon C. Reiss, 23, of Natrona, Wyo.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23.
Marine Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, of San Diego; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Slocum, 22, of Thornton, Colo.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, 31, of Yuma, Ariz.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Soldiers of the 507th Killed
Army Sgt. Edward J. Anguiano, 24, of Brownsville, Texas; assigned to 3rd Combat Support Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed in a convoy ambush in Iraq. His remains were recovered April 24. His status was changed from missing on April 28.
Army Sgt. George Edward Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C.; assigned to 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed after his convoy was ambushed in Iraq.
Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Pfc. Howard Johnson II, 21, of Mobile, Ala.; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Spc. James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of Pecos, Texas; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, 23, of Tuba City, Ariz.; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Pvt. Brandon Ulysses Sloan, 19, of Bedford Heights, Ohio; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Army Sgt. Donald Ralph Walters, 33, of Salem, Ore.; assigned to 507th Maintenance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas; killed in an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Josh Dropping Bombs.
Josh Marshall has an excellent post on the real reasons for invading Iraq.
His point is that the current administration felt it needed to stick it's nose into the Middle East, and wanted to stir the pot, but didn't feel like the public would go along with such a risky plan. Hence, the threat of weapons of mass destruction, to help push an already nervous American public over the side to support.
Now that's a goddamn mess, right there.
July 21, 2003
And You Thought Your Friends Were Crazy.
He was forced to swerve as the kilted crackpot played "chicken" on the Silverstone track.
Cars missed the 56-year-old Irishman by inches. He was waving a banner saying: "Read the Bible: The Bible Is Always Right."
Button said last night: "I was about to pull out and overtake when I noticed a madman on the circuit. It was a very scary feeling.
"I looked into his eyes and thought, `How weird is that? He does not care what might happen'. But we did.
"I was travelling at 185mph when I went past him. He would have felt the wind in his hair that's for sure."
"It does not bear thinking about what would have happened had he been hit.
"He would not have been the only one killed."
July 19, 2003
That 4.5 Deficit.
The federal deficit is going to be over $500B
Let's just stop pretending that it's going to be $455B right now. It's not, it's going to be over $500B.
Do like Dean, cut to the chase.
July 17, 2003
Cisco IOS Vulnerable? Naaah...
Cisco has announced that there is a problem with their router software. If you are running IOS on any switch or router, you get a free IOS upgrade from Cisco.
Remember when the internet was glamorous and exciting? Yeah, me neither.
July 16, 2003
July 05, 2003
The Grand Tour.
Tour de France starts today.
Since I work at home, and also have a satellite dish that includes OLN, I have had ample opportunity to watch live coverage of the race for teh last two years. It has really become a bit of a summer ritual. Wake up, turn on the Tour, watch a bunch of physical freaks attempt to eviscerate each other over 2000 miles of bicycle racing.
Anyway, here's the official Tour website, here's an interactive map of the route, flash version of the route, the link to live coverage, all of which should be enough to make you realize that these people are crazy.