Archive for January, 2007

This Weeks Hero Was Submitted By Mark Bell

LCpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian
22 years old from Lathrup, Michigan
1st Marines 6th Batallion 2nd Marine Division
Oct 21, 2006

Here
is a website that LCpl. Manoukian’s mother set up for her son after he lost his life in Ramadi.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
It Is Foolish And Wrong To Mourn The Men Who Died. Rather We Should Thank God That Such Men Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: Wednesday Hero, Support The Troops, LCpl Nicholas J. Manoukian

Immigration arrests 13 at naval station – I can now this to a growing list where illegal aliens working for defense contractors have been arrested on military bases.

KEY WEST – An investigation by federal authorities last week led to the arrests of 13 individuals at the Naval Air Station Key West, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Among those picked up, the agency said, were Mexican nationals Victor Morales-Echavarria, 24, and Miguel Delangeo, 23, who were undocumented and ”in possession of fraudulent” green cards. The U.S. attorney’s office agreed to prosecute the matter, ICE said.

Two other men were arrested on outstanding state warrants and nine on state fraudulent identifications charges, the agency said.

More than 120 individuals who did not have proper naval IDs were escorted off the base. All those arrested and escorted off base were employed by general contractors, the agency said.

Most recent posting on illegal aliens caught working on military bases.

l:Senator Jeff Sessions (R,AL) has attached an amendment to the Senate Minimum Wage bil

Business lobbyists believe lawmakers will ultimately strip from Senate minimum wage legislation any sanctions against companies caught hiring illegal immigrants. Whether they can keep it out of immigration law is another matter. The Senate, by a 94-0 vote Thursday, inserted a federal contracting ban for businesses that violate immigration laws into a bill that would raise the federal floor on hourly pay from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years,” the AP reported. “Under the provision, offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., companies caught hiring illegal workers while on a federal contract would be banned from government work for 10 years. Other companies discovered with illegal workers would be prohibited from getting federal contracts for seven years.”

Course as you can see business lobbyists are confident they will derail this amendment.

h/t Stein Report

Other news from CAII:

From Brian at the Uncooperative Blogger

Look, Illegal Immigrants are SUPPOSED to be FINED $5000.00 for ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING !! Here is a PICTURE to PROVE it ! It is written in English AND Spanish !!! Now some in Congress want to LOWER the Fine to $2000.00 for their guaranteed pathway to citizenship ( IE To BUY a US Citizenship and have ALL their crimes washed away )

Well, we all know that this is quite the farce!

About Border Angels from Right Truth

Minimum Wage with Illegal Immigration Teeth from Liberally Conservative

Enforcing Immigration Laws – Return to Sender from Liberally Conservative

More Gang Violence in GA Schools from Takeback Georgia

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

Technorati Tags: Illegal aliens, immigration, minimum wage, federal contractors, DHS

I was so relieved to read that Stone Cold was successful with his Air Support request for Polarcom.  Must be a part of the new direction President Bush spoke about with his 2007 SOTU address.

This is a much needed surge for the continuing fight against the insurgents!

You might also want to read about Stone Cold’s recent promotion ceremony. Those Polar Bears do have different rituals don’t they.

Technorati Tags: Iceblog, Iraq, Minnesota, Red Bulls

Yes, the ethanol scam is one of my pet peeves.  It’s like the Global Warming is caused by man scam, if you say a lie often enough people believe the lie.  I think President Bush is buying into the scam for political expediency, encouraged on by his advisors.  I refuse to believe he actually has succumbed to the lie.

Here are some previous stories I’ve covered on the ethanol scam:

Corporate Welfare for Big Agriculture

Higher Prices At The Pump – Blame It On Ethanol Mandates

Corn Ethanol – Fallacies Exposed (not that anyone will listen)

American Energy Independence Plan

From Opinion Journal we read: Very, Very Big Corn (Ethanol and its consequences)

snip….That’s one reason why, as Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren note in the Milken Institute Review, federal and state subsidies for ethanol ran to about $6 billion last year, equivalent to roughly half its wholesale market price. Ethanol gets a 51-cent a gallon domestic subsidy, and there’s another 54-cent a gallon tariff applied at the border against imported ethanol. Without those subsidies, hardly anyone would make the stuff, much less buy it–despite recent high oil prices.

That’s also why the percentage of the U.S. corn crop devoted to ethanol has risen to 20% from 3% in just five years, or about 8.6 million acres of farmland.

snip….No wonder, then, that the price of corn rose nearly 80% in 2006 alone. snip…..It’s even worse for cattle, poultry and hog farmers trying to adjust to suddenly exorbitant prices for feed corn–to pick just one industry example. The price of corn is making America’s meat-packing industries, which are major exporters, less competitive.

snip….As for the environmental impact, well, where do we begin? As an oxygenate, ethanol increases the level of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere and thus causes smog. The scientific literature is also divided about whether the energy inputs required to produce ethanol actually exceed its energy output. It takes fertilizer to grow the corn, and fuel to ship and process it, and so forth. Even the most optimistic estimate says ethanol’s net energy output is a marginal improvement of only 1.3 to one. For purposes of comparison, energy outputs from gasoline exceed inputs by an estimated 10 to one.

And because corn-based ethanol is less efficient than ordinary gasoline, using it to fuel cars means you need more gas to drive the same number of miles. This is not exactly a route to “independence” from Mideast, Venezuelan or any other tainted source of oil. Ethanol also cannot be shipped using existing pipelines (being alcohol, it eats the seals), so it must be trucked or sent by barge or train to its thousand-and-one destinations, at least until separate pipelines are built.

snip….But what about global warming, where ethanol, as a non-fossil fuel, is supposed to make a positive contribution? Actually, it barely makes a dent. Australian researcher Robert Niven finds that the use of ethanol in gasoline–the standard way in which ethanol is currently used–reduces greenhouse gas emissions by no more than 5%. As Messrs. Taylor and Van Doren observe, “employing ethanol to reduce greenhouse gases is fantastically inefficient,” costing as much as 16 times the optimal abatement cost for removing a ton of carbon from the atmosphere.

snip…Not that any of these facts are likely to make much difference in the current Washington debate. The corn and sugar lobbies have their roots deep in both parties, and now they have the mantra of “energy independence” to invoke, however illusory it is. If anything, Congress may add to Mr. Bush’s ethanol mandate requests.

So here comes Big Corn. Make that Very, Very Big Corn. Sooner or later, our experience with this huge public gamble may make us yearn for the efficiency, capacity, lower cost and–yes–superior environmental record of “Big Oil.”

For all you haters or blamers of “Big Oil” and you rabid environmentalists who prevent any new refineries from being built, who block exploration in ANWAR or off US coasts or those who blame the Iraq War on the US dependence on Middle Eastern oil – I’m wondering is Archer Daniels Midland or Cargill going to become your new evil demon of the next decade?  Course the US can’t and doesn’t provide enough corn production for this ethanol scam and corn is currently imported to meet the demand so will there be an outcry on foreign corn?  

Technorati Tags: Ethanol scam, energy, agriculture, oil, agriculture subsidies, junk science

Since all the anti-war Socialist/Anarchist/Communist/Anti-Americans have had their 1960’s redux demonstration Strategy Page lists the Top 10 myths of the Iraq War. The list could easily be longer than ten but that number is manageable and are in no particular order.

1. No Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
2. The 2003 Invasion was Illegal.
3. Sanctions were working.
4. Overthrowing Saddam Only Helped Iran.
5. The Invasion Was a Failure.
6. The Invasion Helped Al Qaeda.
7. Iraq Is In A State of Civil War.
8. Iraqis Were Better Off Under Saddam.
9. The Iraq War Caused Islamic Terrorism to Increase in Europe.
10. The War in Iraq is Lost.

Go to Strategy Page for the details but I think number 10 is important to emphasize:

By what measure? Saddam and his Baath party are out of power. There is a democratically elected government. Part of the Sunni Arab minority continues to support terror attacks, in an attempt to restore the Sunni Arab dictatorship. In response, extremist Shia Arabs formed vigilante death squads to expel all Sunni Arabs. Given the history of democracy in the Middle East, Iraq is working through its problems. Otherwise, one is to believe that the Arabs are incapable of democracy and only a tyrant like Saddam can make Iraqi “work.” If democracy were easy, the Arab states would all have it. There are problems, and solutions have to be found and implemented. That takes time, but Americans have, since the 18th century, grown weary of wars after three years. If the war goes on longer, the politicians have to scramble to survive the bad press and opinion polls. Opposition politicians take advantage of the situation, but this has nothing to do with Iraq, and everything to do with local politics in the United States.

It really is all about politics and power. Not resolve or courage on the part of politicians. Unfortunately there are many American Military lives and Iraqi lives on the line while politicians are denying or attempting to circumvent statements they had previously made.
h/t Instapundit

Technorati Tags: Myths of the Iraq War, Iraq

Many on the Right in the blogosphere have been encouraging everyone to sign “The Pledge”. I haven’t signed this pledge and don’t intend to sign it.
Here’s the text:

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.

The reason I don’t plan on joining in?  I don’t believe in the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).  I haven’t donated to this committee since 2000.  In 2002 when the NRSC supported Arlen Specter in lieu of Toomey for Senator was when I realized this committee had nothing to do with promoting conservative Republican candidates it was only about power or gaining power.  Idealogy was thrown out the window.  The NRSC probably has always been like this and it’s probably why Republicans have such a difficult time retaining power in the Congress. 

From that point on I only donate to specific candidates who support my conservative idealogy.  I have donated to candidates who supported some of my views but not even close to all of them.  My gripe with the NRSC is their meddling with Republican primaries. 

To be honest the National Republican Party leaves a sour taste in my mouth especially now that Senator Martinez has been elected chair.  The 2008 election is going to be a repeat of the 1991 election.  Republicans are going to come up with a weak nominee who is going to be divisive within the Party base and will not engender a rallying focus within the base.  I do believe that Hillary will be the Democrat candidate so any Republican candidate will have to be made of very tough stuff indeed. 

Technorati Tags: The Pledge, NRSC, Republicans

From Flag Gazer we find out about another one of our truly awesome Soldiers.  His name is Todd Larkin. Todd has a few projects going to help the children in Afganistan.

Meet Todd Larkin… Todd is a soldier serving in Afghanistan. He is also a humanitarian and my hero for the projects he undertakes for the Afghan children. He needs our help with these projects.

He is trying to get shoes, mittens, caps, coats and sweaters and other warm clothing to hand out to the children of Afghanistan – warm clothes for those without in the grip of winter. The clothes don’t need to be new, but they do need to be clean. Toys are good, too!!!

BTW – Afganistan is having a record cold winter. Todd also has a blog called Task Force Phoenix.

Flag Gazer has all the details with additional annecdotes including a note written by an Afgani 6th Grade girl in English talking about how great the Coalition Forces are in Afganistan. 

Technorati Tags: Support The Troops, Afganistan Humanitarian Aid, US Military, Todd Larkin

Here’s the story from Newschannel5 of Nashville:

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. Police are on the lookout for a man described as being of Middle Eastern descent who tried to gain access to a firearms plant in Murfreesboro.

Rutherford County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Barrett Firearms Manufacturing plant Thursday. A plant employee reported on Wednesday that a Middle Eastern-looking man had tried get inside the building

Barrett Firearms makes 50-caliber rifles for the military, which has used them in combat since the 1991 Gulf War. The powerful gun is also sold to the general public.

Critics have warned that the rifle could be used by terrorists to bring down commercial airliners or penetrate rail cars and storage plants holding hazardous materials.

The plant worker said the man had asked questions about the plant and began demanding access when the employee did not respond.

The man was asked to leave after he became upset when the employee began to examine his pickup truck.

The sheriff’s office was working with officials at Barrett Firearms and the U-S Department of Homeland Security to pursue any leads.

Here’s some of the scuttlebutt I heard at range practice this morning.

• 2 men of Middle Eastern descent first approached the guard asking about a tour of the plant
• When that didn’t work, they said they were looking to buy steel or metal
• The men had a significant amount of cash with them, more than $10k

Wonder if we’ll ever hear anything more about this mysterious event?

Technorati Tags: Barrett Firearms, Terrorist in the US, Tennessee

The site for the 2007 Milblog Conference is up and running! Go check it out. Andi’s got some info on the panels and confirmed panelists to date.

Bookmark the site and check back often for updates.

2007 Milblog Conference – May 4th and 5th

Technorati Tags: 2007 Milblog Conference

A song about the Patriot Guard Riders and our men and women of Americas armed forces.

Source

Technorati Tags: Patriot Guard Riders, PGR, Honoring Americas Heroes, Support The Troops