LAR Photos Are Found at Defense Imagery

LAR Photos are from "the Department of Defense's premier imagery website,( Defense Imagery. Mil) the location to find all forms of still, motion and multimedia imagery from across the entire DoD enterprise. This includes imagery of operations and activities from throughout the DoD."

Geddie

Corporal Geddie, Headquarters Platoon, Charlie Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion 03/1/2003
Range 407, Camp Pendelton. USMC photo CPL KIBEL M.D.

Fritz, Bauer and Spann

Private First Class Fritz (left), Corporal Bauer, and PFC Spann, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR), Camp Pendleton 02/10/2003 Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
USMC photo : CWO2 B. SEAN FAIRBURN

Trogolo,

Company Master Gunner Sergeant David Trogolo, Delta Company, 4th Light Armor Reconnaissance Battalion-Exercise TANDEM THRUST 5/20/2001 -- Shoalwater Bay training area, Queensland, Australia.
Photo USAF SSgt Jeremy Lock

Convoy to Ramadi

2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Anbar province, Iraq, date 03/11/2005-posted 06/25/09
USMC photo Lance Cpl. Isaac Aguilar

Lipstick

Call Me Ishmael. Some time - weeks actually-I decided that rather than wait quietly for the pasture gates to open for me I would, instead, pass the time working the Christmas season. Having little or no experience with customers in full dress hunting/gathering zeal, I blithely launched myself into the danger zone. I mean how bad could it--was I not the former now retired heavy construction gang leader- able to work day and night in any heat or subfreezing weather? Come on. Already. How bad could it be. Christmas Eve. OMG. Mind numbed by incessant holiday music, I am on my last legs. When who should appear but a customer to inquire if we were going to be open Christmas Day? Christmas Day? I hear my music and question addled brain inquire: (What? it asks- Christmas Day? Christmas Day?! Who, in his right mind, would be opened Christmas Day?) Without thinking, I let slip my corporate poker how-can-I-help-you HAPPY FACE and brightly announce: "Tomorrow is Christmas Day." Lipstick. That's the difference between a pit bull and an unhappy customer whose screaming reply is indelibly etched into my DNA to be BRIEF: "I KNOW WHAT IT IS, I KNOW WHAT IT IS...I ASKED YOU IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE OPEN!!!!


The point of this happy tale is to thank The Goddess of Blogs and Tech Wench at Villainous Company for linking to post Merry Christmas from CAAT1 and starting a 'lanche that included over 200 clicks, 14 comments and blog links by Liberal Guy, Black Five, Neptunuslex and Spouse Buzz. Unheard of for this blog. Plus I finally discovered the automatic link thingy at the bottom of the post. Who knew it was there?

Checking the stats for that post was a wonderful antidote to post holiday stress syndrome. Well, that and the two MDR's shaken, not stirred, minimum daily requirements. HEH. Thank you All. You made my day. This is the most action the wheel bearings on this blog have had in 5 years. I may have to actually grease the bearings this year.

All the best, in the coming year, to everyone and May God Bless, Protect and Keep our Marines Safe!

In Time For Christmas

Marines with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, carry care packages back to their observation post in Now Zad, Afghanistan, Dec. 25. Marines received care packages from throughout the United States just in time for Christmas.
USMC Photo Staff Sgt. Luis Agostini

Mendoza

Cpl. Michael Mendoza, 2nd Platoon, Alpha,
4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
09/08/2009 USMC photo CWO-2 Keith A. Stevenson

Action Drills 29 Stumps

2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 09/08/2009
USMC photo CWO-2 Keith A. Stevenson

Two LAR- Cap Haitien

2nd Marine LAR Battalion in Cap Haitien, Operation Uphold Democracy 9/23/1994.
USMC photo Cpl P.S. Royston

Backues

Cpl. Rodney A. Backues, Charlie Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Karbala, Iraq, June 18, 2005, Operation Spear. Photo Taken: 6/18/2005 Posted Defense Imagery: 7/2/2009
USMC photo Lance Cpl. Shane S. Keller

Two LAR Rawah

Weapons Platoon, Delta Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion-mounted and dismounted patrol on the streets of Rawah, Iraq, March 6, 2007.
USMC photo Sgt. James R. Richardson

POTUS Surrenders American Sovereignty To INTERPOL

Merry Christmas. POTUS "just made it much easier for the International Criminal Court to go after American "war criminals."

At PJ Media-- chilling news--- that POTUS has initiated the first of many "surrenders" of Our American Sovereignty, doubtless to "level" the playing field and to facilitate the trial of former United States President George W. Bush for war crimes. Pajamas Media is all over this story-check it out-don't hold your breath for the lap dogs of the main stream media for coverage.


The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 17, 2009 Executive Order -- Amending Executive Order 12425 EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER 12425 DESIGNATING INTERPOL
AS A PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ENTITLED TO
ENJOY CERTAIN PRIVILEGES, EXEMPTIONS, AND IMMUNITIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983, as amended, is further amended by deleting from the first sentence the words "except those provided by Section 2(c), Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act" and the semicolon that immediately precedes them. BARACK OBAMA THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 16, 2009.

Tafolla-War Pig Maintenance Chief

Sergeant Manuel Tafolla, Maintenance Chief, Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Platoon Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), USS TORTUGA LSD-46 12/10/2002
USMC photo SGT BRYAN REED

On the Difference Between Conservatives vs. Liberals--Best Speech Evah!

Via American Thinker

Jim Gammon:"I came across the speech while rummaging through some of my father's old boxes. My dad is 87 now, and he was in that audience when Admiral Moreell spoke. He was so impressed that he contacted the Admiral afterward and asked for a copy of the text, which is what I found.

Please read the speech and pass it along as widely as you can."

-Jim Gammon

ADDRESS BY ADMIRAL BEN MOREELL (founder and leader of the Seabees -- the U.S. Navy component that built the docks, the airports, and just about everything else our military forces needed to fight and win World War II, often working under fire.)

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION

To the

SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS

1953 ANNUAL MEETING

JANUARY 14, 1953

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ENGINEERS - SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL

Tonight I would like to talk with you about engineers and their significance to our economic and social structures.

My dictionary defines engineering as "the art and science by which the properties of matter and the sources of power in nature are made useful to man in structures, and manufactured products."

We engineers have learned that our unceasing efforts to perfect this art and science are essential for the improvement of our material standards of living. And I believe that we may, with due modesty, point with pride to our professional achievements.

However, my purpose tonight is not to give an accounting of the good works of scientific engineers. For I believe that we should now be more concerned with a "pseudo-engineering" that is developing to an alarming extent among us - a kind of engineering which is quite different from that "science by which the properties of matter are made useful to man." I refer to the profession of "social engineering", whose practitioners are known as "social engineers".

A MASTER PLAN

These social engineers - who appear to be more numerous and, at the moment, far more powerful, than we scientific engineers - are dedicated to the thesis that, by using the force of government, mankind in the mass can be changed and molded to conform to a master plan, in much the same way that engineering materials can be processed in accordance with preconceived designs.

We scientific engineers have the unchanging laws of chemistry, physics, and the other natural sciences to guide our efforts. By means of those laws, when we come to understand them, we can predict the behavior of the materials and forces of nature. But the social engineers either know nothing of nature's immutable laws, or choose to ignore them. Instead, they have their man-made and variable laws of compulsions, prohibitions, and other restrictions on the free actions of individuals. By means of these, they claim, they can compel the behavior of men in a manner that will redound to the good of mankind.

We scientific engineers recognize that the materials we use and the laws we follow come from the Creator - a Power of which man himself is but an infinitesimal manifestation - and that these materials may be used and these laws observed to the advantage of mankind. The "raw material" used by the social engineers is all of mankind itself - and the laws and rules which they follow some from no source other than their desire to remold humanity in their chosen images. Scientific engineers process their raw materials to create products for the service of mankind. Social engineers use their raw material - human beings - to create products designed to serve and please their own fancy - and frequently to satisfy their craving for personal power. And often they do this by appealing to the baser traits of man - laziness, greed, selfishness and irresponsibility.

PLANS AND EXPERIMENTS

We scientific engineers do extensive planning and experimenting. We construct models in order to obtain date with which to predict the behavior of the full-scale prototype.

Social engineers also are given to extensive planning and experimenting. They, too, construct models in order to secure a better idea of how they may control the full-scale project. For example, in 1933 practically an entire State, with all of its people - Tennessee - was selected for what was called "a pilot plant" and "a yardstick". I refer to the Tennessee Valley Authority, a project to which its "social engineer in charge" proudly referred as "a seamless web - the unity of land and water and men", all under his direct authority.

The Chief of the Woman's Auxiliary of the Social Engineers is famed for her experiments with model villages and other "social reforms". From these she moved into the Planning Division of the United Nations where - is collaboration with the master social engineers of other nations - she has been busily planning to apply her experiments on a world-wide basis.

Social engineers who have worked in the field of agriculture have, at various times, set aside tracts of land and all of their inhabitants for test projects. Then, satisfied that they had produced a happier, healthier, and more perfect human being, they have returned to Washington and attempted to place into operation a master plan to transform all of mankind by use of the force of government.

They have built model housing developments. The occupants are carefully selected, house-broken, and taught to conform to certain behavior patterns. If the operation of the models and the conduct of the people placed in them are pleasing to the planners, they demand from government the power to force many others to conform to the standards they have set - standards which they claim will reduce crime, improve morality, and develop a better society. But, actually, experience has shown that almost always the ultimate effects are the direct opposite of those which they claim.

These self-anointed friends of humanity are deeply concerned about your health, your diet, your attitude toward other people, your business, and your job. Ins short, they believe in government-forced control of man in relation to his wages, hours, working conditions, prices, savings, insurance, drinking habits, entertainment, and a host of other problems that every person must face in his daily living.

THE RIGHT TO PLAN

Now, I do not deny to any person the right to make any plan be chooses - whether it be a plan to fly to the moon or a plan to create a superior human being. But I do deny the planner the right to force me, or any other person, to conform to his plan.

We scientific engineers do not need laws to force people to adopt our plans or to buy our products. I believe that each of us is willing to leave the decision to the competitive market where all persons have complete freedom to buy or not to buy, to join or not to join, to invest or not to invest.

But these would-be managers-at-large of society are not willing to extend freedom of choice to others than themselves. They must have the power of government -- the police force - behind their plans or they are helpless. They know that in almost all cases a free people in a free market would reject their wares. That is why they want to abolish the market economy and force people to conform to their plans or to suffer the penalty of fines and imprisonment.

For example, I am an unwilling "stockholder" in the Tennessee Valley Authority. I continue to pay money into that project for the simple reason that the police force will use violence upon me should I refuse. I am willing to sell my share of TVA, and of all similar welfare projects, at a large discount. In fact, I would give my equity to these humanitarians if they would only stop forcing me to subsidize their schemes.

They claim they can "prove conclusively" that the Tennessee Valley Authority is a great financial success which regularly returns a profit to the people of America. If this is so, why do they come to Congress almost every year for additional appropriations? Why do they not offer stock in the open market where the people can have a choice?

The answer is simple: A free people would reject the stock. If this were not so, there would have been no reason to make their participation compulsory in the first instance.

These promoters with the public purse have been planning a Missouri Valley Authority and various other such authorities for many years. And they have been using your money to propagandize the gullible into believing that the projects are economically sound; that they will pay back far more than they cost. If this is so, why do they demand that the police force, government, recruit their stockholders?

GOOD INTENTIONS

Now, these social busy-bodies may have the best intentions in the world. Their personal lives may be above reproach. Their primary motive may be only too "do good for the people". I question neither their intentions nor their sincerity. But I do question their basic belief that good can be accomplished through the use of violence. To illustrate my point, let us consider the French Revolution. The people rebelled against a government that forced them to conform to its decrees on wages, prices, profits, employment, housing, and similar matters.

Now, it would be logical to suppose that the revolters against a government of favoritism would reject favoritism and entrust their social and economic relationships to a market and a society where freedom of choice was controlling.

It is true that some effort was made in this direction in the early stages of the French Revolution. But soon there came to power Robespierre - a man of unquestioned personal integrity and habits - a dedicated humanitarian. He became the foremost "social engineer" of his day. Here is his master plan for re-creating the people of France:

"In our country," he said, "we desire to establish morality, honesty, principles, duties, reason, contempt of vice, pride, greatness of soul, love of glory, good people, merit, genius, truth, happiness, greatness of man, generosity, strength - in short, we desire to substitute all the virtues of a republic for all the vices of a monarchy".

Who can disagree with those noble objectives? Certainly, I do not, any more than I disagree with those of most of our own social planners. But Robespierre had no faith in people. He rejected any thought that the people would develop those desirable virtue by the use of violence; to use the power of government to force all people to conform to his plan for making them better. He became known as the "humanitarian with the guillotine". Those who refused to conform to his concepts of morality and economic behavior were fined or imprisoned or executed.

When it came his own turn to bow to the guillotine, his defense was that of all humanitarians who rely on the force of government for the accomplishment of their good works. He said that his every act had been "for the good of the people"; that he was only trying to help them to peace, prosperity, and happiness.

ADOLF HITLER: SOCIAL ENGINEER

And so it is with all social engineers, including Hitler, Stalin, and our domestic brand. Hitler looked upon people as clay to be molded to his purposes. Some of this clay - human beings - did not meet his specifications. So he destroyed it in much the same manner that a scientific engineer discards defective material. His program of social reform allowed little freedom of choice. He used the force of government to regulate wages, prices, profits, working conditions, unions, rents, housing, education, medical services, social security, production, and a host of other vital matters. And he, too, repeatedly announced that all these things ere being done for "the good of all the people". That is the familiar chant of these "public benefactors". The dictator who "liquidates" a group of persons is practicing social engineering - as is the public official who takes money from one group of citizens and gives it to another group - in the form of public housing or some other socially "useful" project.

Both are doing what they say is "best for the people as a whole". They may differ in their approach, but if you think that our domestic brand is any less determined than the variety, just try deducting from your tax bill your share of the cost of socialized housing in America. First, you will be fined. If you refuse to pay the fine, you will be sentenced to prison. If you resist the officer who is sent to arrest you - well, just what does happen in our country to persons who resist arrest?

RELIGION AND SOCIAL ENGINEERS

Now you may ask: Did our great religious teachers practice social engineering? Was Jesus a social engineer? Recalling that I have defined social engineers as those who would re-make mankind in the mass by using the force of government, my answer is an emphatic no. For Jesus always appealed only to individuals. He asked that each one make a voluntary choice to follow God's way. He said to the individual, "The Kingdom of God is within you. "That is, it does not lie in the group, or in the mob, or in the vote of the majority, but in the individual himself. Nor did Jesus ever appeal, or even suggest an appeal, to the force of government for the accomplishment of good works. Instead, He appealed to each person to reform himself, that he might be born again. He recognized no such thing as "group morality". Rather, He taught that each individual must eventually answer personally for his own deeds of commission and omission, form which it follows that no one can divest himself of his responsibility by hiding it behind someone else or even behind our collective agent - government.

THE AUTHORITY IDEA

All social engineers are devotees of the pagan concept of authority. Their every action show clearly that they do not believe that freedom as a way of life will work.

They believe inherently that free mane cannot possibly be adequately housed, clothed, or fed. By their actions they show clearly that they consider themselves superior in intelligence to the rest of us. For our own good they desire to force the rest of us to live and act and think as they believe we should.

Since they assume for themselves a higher degree of intelligence and morality than the rest of us, I suggest that we examinee their credentials. Who has commissioned them to use us as raw material, to be molded as they see fit? Surely no such commission could be valid unless it were signed by the Almighty Himself. Apparently no social engineer ever stops to consider that this raw material he is remolding is composed of human beings - creatures of God, created in God's image. Or, if he does think about it, apparently he concludes that God's work should be improved upon. It is my belief that God intended men to be free to make their own decisions and to be responsible for the consequences of those decisions. Thus it seems to me that it is an act against God for men to pass laws which destroy individual liberty; which force some persons to conform to the ideas and plans of other persons; which deprive persons of the responsibility for their own acts and for their own welfare.

It seems to me that there is convincing evidence to support my beliefs on this subject. And the basic evidence is found in the fact that no person is physically or mentally or morally identical to any other person. For example, we know that the fingerprints of all persons are different. And these differences - these individualities, these inequalities - carry through all the physical, mental, and moral characteristics of mankind.

THE LAW OF NATURE

This inequality among persons is a law of nature - law which is just as unchangeable and just as necessary to understand as is any other natural law, as, for example, the law of gravity. This particular law is known as the "law of variation", and from the unrestricted operation of this law comes all human progress. The law of variation permits children to be different from their parents. It permits brothers to think differently and to act differently. It permits the existence of both miser and philanthropists, saints and sinners, rich and poor. It is the foundation for all conceivable human relationships. These natural variations underlie all commerce and trade and exchanges of any kind - including all the aspects of social and economic life within a society.

The law of variation permits inventors to invent, managers to manage, and scientific engineers to improve the material well-being of mankind. It permits each person to seek a job or profession which is most suited to his natural talents and his desires. It encourages a voluntary division of labor, with resulting maximum efficiency and greater prosperity for all. Without this variation - this unequalness - our social structure would be similar to that of an anthill or a beehive, where each member is born to do a certain predetermined job, which he does with blind allegiance to his society and with no consideration of personal interests or preferences.

EQUALITY AND POSSESSIONS

The slogan of the social engineer is "equality" and the tools he proposes to use to bring this about are the compulsions and prohibitions of government. But what does he mean by equality? Certainly I am not equal to anyone else. I frequently meet persons who are my superior in intelligence, in morality, in health, and in material possessions. By equality does he mean that we should all have equal intelligence? If so, his arguments should be directed to God. If not equality of intelligence, does he mean that one of the most important by-products of intelligence - material possessions - should be equalized? Or, if he merely intends that some degree of equality of possessions should be achieved, just what degree does he have in mind? If his concept of equality is what he chooses to call "adequate" housing for all, then does not the same principle apply to adequate clothing, food, medical care, entertainment, education, and work for all? And should we not have adequate religious training for all? Surely he does not intend to leave that vital subject to chance! In due time I am quite sure that he will get around to controlling that, too.

When the social engineer uses his compulsions to establish equality or "adequateness" in one area, he may deny vehemently that he intends to establish it elsewhere. In fact, he usually does issue such a denial. But it never works that way. Once it is conceded that people should be forced to conform to the ideas of others, there is no principle on which we can rely to deny the same authority in any area.

EQUALITY AND LAW

It seems to me that the only equality we can logically expect is equality before the law. In that event, no person would be subsidized at the expense of another. There could be no subsidies - for if every person were equal before the law, then the law could not take from some in order to give to others. If we were all equal before the law, there would automatically be a free market wherein no person could use the law to force upon ant other person his concepts of wages, prices, or anything else.

Equality before the law means that no person may steal from another person, defame him, defraud him, injure him, or coerce him in any way. Equality before the law cannot exist until the law recognizes the right of every person to the possessions he has honestly acquired in a free society. There is no equality as long as the law takes from one person against his will to give to another person who has not earned it.

RESPONSIBILITY AND SECURITY

In my opinion, the greatest evil of our times is that so many of us are trying to impose on others our ideas as to how they should live their lives. And when they fail to behave as we think they should, we are tempted to resort to coercion - acting through or agent - government. We apparently see no incongruity in the question, "How can you do good for the people if you just let them alone?"

We need not go beyond our own recent history to find examples of the demoralizing effect of depriving people of the personal responsibility of being free. In response to the urging of our social engineers, many Americans are trying to avoid this responsibility by voting for men who promise to install a system of "government-guaranteed security", a partial return to the old slave laws of some of our Southern States that guaranteed to all slaves "the right to food and raiment, to kind attention when sick, to maintenance in old age." And the arguments used in defense of this present-day trend toward the bondage of a welfare state are essentially the same as those used formerly to defend the bondage of outright slavery.

For example, many of the slaveholders claimed to know what was "best for the slaves". After all, hadn't they "rescued" the slaves from a life of savagery? Our social reformers who advocate "government-guaranteed security" also claim that they know what is best for the people and they say, "After all, haven't the American people shown conclusively that they are incapable of handling the responsibility for their own welfare?"

Many of the slaveholders believed sincerely that the "dumb, ignorant slaves" would starve to death unless their welfare were guaranteed by the masters. And the social engineers say, "Are you in favor of letting people starve?"

But let us consider the emancipated slaves. Many of them were old or crippled or sick. They had no homes, no jobs, and very little education, but - most precious of all - they were free. They were responsible for their own welfare. They had the privilege of finding their own security.

Now, compare the remarkable progress of those former slaves to the lack of progress of the American Indians who have been made wards of the government; who were given state-guaranteed "security" instead of freedom with responsibility. In 1862 most American negroes were slaves. Today they are about as self-supporting and responsible as other American citizens. And in the meantime the Indians, as group, have become less self-supporting and more dependent on government. It has even been claimed that many thousands of Indians will die of starvation unless the government feeds them. If this is true, why is it so?

MISUSE OF RESOURCES

I am aware that many social engineers justify their projects by pointing with horror to some instances of the misuse of human and natural resources in the market economy as it developed in the Western World. I freely admit and decry those abuses. My studies indicate that they were possible only because one group of citizens was able to obtain special favor from government at the expense of others - i.e., government failed in its basic duty to protect the rights of all citizens equally. However, I see no justification in such past errors for setting up other privileged groups and thus prolonging this process which has proved so corrosive to the public morals.

I am sure few will deny that, over the years, there has been a steady, substantial, and voluntary improvement in our social consciousness and behavior. I hold that our hope for continued progress in this area lies in the improvement by the individual of his own moral stature so that he will know what is right and want to do it, voluntarily, not be granting, by votes or otherwise, ever-increasing power and dominion to social engineers to regulate and control our lives, our morals, and our property. That we are justified in expecting even greater developments in morals in evidenced by the current tremendous outpourings of financial and other support for our churches, our charities, our educational institutions, our hospitals, and many other benefactions. The total of the new contributions each year, i.e., not including income on investments, is now estimated to be well in excess of four billion dollars! There is no dearth of beneficence here. Our great error is a lack of confidence in the voluntary acts of free people.

A philosopher friend recently summarized this subject in the following cogent words: "An incalculable amount of harm has been done by those who have gone fourth to reform society. As a matter of fact, there is no way of reforming society except by making individuals better. And no one can make individuals better except the individual himself. If you want to be a reformer, reform yourself. That will keep you busy for a while and lend encouragement to others. Then, when there are significant numbers of transformed individuals, society will be reformed, but not before."

Charlie 4th LAR Out Exercising War Pigs Feb '09

The LAV-25 Also Known Affectionately As The War Pig

affectionately

Merry Christmas From CAAT 1, WPNS CO, 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines. (filmed on site at Alpha 1)

Merry Christmas

Pfc. Jacob W. Hoover, designated marksman, 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment,
USMC photo Sgt. Brian Tuthill

War Pig On Point

Two LAR war pig on checkpoint -Fallujah, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, Nov. 15, 2004.
photo USAF Senior Airmen Christopher A. Marasky

Never. Give. Up.

RIPPED FROM: Dick morris

If they beat us in the Senate, we will fight them in conference. If they beat us in conference, we will fight them in the House. If they beat us in the House over healthcare, we will fight them over cap and trade. We will fight them over immigration and amnesty. We will fight them over the deficit. We will fight them over the debt. And we will fight them in 2010. We will fight them in the House. We will fight them for Senate seats in Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and Arkansas. We will fight them in Colorado and North Dakota and California and Washington State. We will fight them in Illinois and in New Jersey. We will never, never, never, never give up! Our country is at stake!

(more…)

The end can not be far away and Altantis will not matter

that GD Glenn Reynolds again:OMG! CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER? “Today, Hamsher and Grover Norquist, who runs the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, have issued a joint letter demanding the resignation of Rahm Emanuel, and an investigation into Emanuel’s activities at Freddie Mac before the statute of limitations runs out.” Coming next — real Wrath Of God stuff?

Chairman Mao Ornament on Obama Christmas Tree

POTUS Obama and the First Lady have decorated the White House Christmas Tree with an "in your face, America" ornament featuring China's mass murderer Chairman Mao.

Goddess Of Blogs on Ledge

Now would be a good time to sweet talk her off the ledge. She did request help:

"If any of you want to talk me off the ledge, now would be a very good time. It's Christmas, and I have no love for my fellow man."

I'm no help. I just saw Nurse Preen read the riot act to Monte Woolley in: The Man Who Came to Dinner and I'm considering looking for similar employment myself.

Nurse Preen: I am not only walking out on this case, Mr. Whiteside, I am leaving the nursing profession. I became a nurse because all my life, ever since I was a little girl, I was filled with the idea of serving a suffering humanity. After one month with you , Mr. Whiteside, I am going to work in a munitions factory. From now on , anything I can do to help exterminate the human race will fill me with the greatest of pleasure. If Florence Nightingale had ever nursed YOU, Mr. Whiteside, she would have married Jack the Ripper instead of founding the Red Cross!

Hummmm. This a two "shaken but not stirred" problem.

"Hey! What's the code word for today?"

: Anybody? Anybody?(Pause) "DON'T BRING A GUN TO A SNOWBALL FIGHT!" BHAWHAWHA!!!!

Subconscious Intutitive Aiming For Marksmanship

Associate Professor Timothy Kraft, Ph.D., has developed a new gunsight design that relies on subconscious ability. Opti-sight, a UAB-protected innovation, updates a pistol-aiming device that has remained unchanged for more than a century. Opti-sight promises to reduce the time law enforcement, professional and amateur shooters need for target practice to improve marksmanship.

Ft Hood Soldiers Get Lecture on Sensitivity to ISLAM--Gates Gets Letter From Congress

VIA:JAWA REPORTS was among the first to report, along with JihadWatch, to report that terror-tied Islamic speaker Louay Safi was lecturing soldiers at Ft Hood on Islam n. Andy McCarthy at NRO followed up on that reporting, as did other media outlets
Members of Congress have sent Robert Gate a letter:

Editor’s note: The following letter to Robert Gates was received by FSM for publication.

17 December 2009

The Honorable Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense

The Pentagon

Washington, D.C.

Dear Secretary Gates:

It has come to our attention that the Department of Defense has invited Louay Safi, a top official at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), to give lectures on Islam to our troops at Fort Hood. If this is indeed true, we respectfully request that you end this practice.

According to the Justice Department, ISNA is a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization with a network of known and suspected Islamic terrorist organizations spread throughout the world. The Brotherhood and its partner organizations regularly espouse violent jihad and anti-Semitism.

More specifically, ISNA was identified by the Justice Department at the successful Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing conspiracy trial as an unindicted co-conspirator. Literature distributed by ISNA at its annual convention in Washington in July featured books and pamphlets portraying prosecution of terrorist and terror-supporters as “anti-Muslim bigotry;” revisionist history that denied Arab and Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel; and anti-Semitic tracts.

Safi himself has been connected to an entity called the “Safa Group.” Search warrants executed in 2002 were supported by an affidavit alleging its involvement in moving large sums of money to terrorist fronts. He was also caught on a 1995 FBI wiretap of Sami al-Arian. Safi was concerned that an executive order, issued by President Clinton prohibiting financial transactions with terrorist organizations, would negatively affect al-Arian. In April 2006, al-Arian pled guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – a specially designated terrorist organization.

The Muslim Brotherhood is dedicated in its own words to “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands.” What better way to carry out its plans to “sabotage” our efforts than to have one of its own invited to lecture on Islam to the very troops called to defend this country against those the Brotherhood supports. We ask that you immediately stop any lecturing by Louay Safi or ISNA affiliated speakers.

Sincerely,

W. Todd Akin Sue Myrick

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Trent Franks Todd Tiarht

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Jeff Miller

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Phil Gingrey Paul C. Broun

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Rodney Alexander Steve King

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Kenny Marchant John B. Shadegg

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ralph M. Hall

Member of Congress

Brought to you by the editors and research staff of FamilySecurityMatters.org.

Poppies Surrender

Strafed and Bombed by Cobra's and Harriers. Poppy seeds give up.

War Pig Shot Gun Duty

War Pigs coming in after escorting the Paparazzi truck out to witness the airstrike on the Big Pile of Burning Poppy Seeds, 21 July 2009.

LAR War Pigs in Operation Khanjar (Sword Strike)

Raw video footage of LAR War Pigs operating south of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in operation Operation Khanjar (Sword Strike).

Fox 2/7 Now Zad

NASCAR Coca-Cola 600

LAR Marines and war pig during a presentation of participating military sponsored NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 05/28/2000.
Photo LCPL Sean D. Jeter,

Pritchett-3/11

Cpl. David Pritchett, heavy equipment operator,
Headquarters Battery,
3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment,
photo Sgt. Christopher R. Rye

Greatest. Movie. Review. Evah!

So what are slow, lazy, Saturday Mornings for if not for blowing 70 plus minutes on watching the absolute best review of Star Wars and the POS sequels. Anyone with any ambition for film making needs to watch this--it's that good---or better yet anyone still carrying a grudge against loser Star War sequels. HEH.

Thanks Hot Air Blog:"An epic palate cleanser via Ann Althouse and Slashfilm, which quotes the co-creator of “Lost” thusly: “Your life is about to change. This is astounding film making. Watch ALL of it.”

One Five Photo gallery Link---check it out

Newsday. The One Five in photo gallery

War Pigs Ready

First Platoon, Alpha - 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Viper 09/08/2009
29stumps photo Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith A. Stevenson/

KRUGER

Cpl. Brian Kruger, WAR PIG scout 1st Platoon, Alpha Company,
4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
photo Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith A. Stevenson
9/8/2009 29stumps

Zegra, Kosovo 06/27/1999 TWO LAR

2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion--- Lock, Cock and Ready to Rock-- Light Armored Vehicle-25's (LAV-25's) in the village of Zegra. Photo-SGT CRAIG J. SHELL,

UnSung Hero

Frog Marched by the FBI and the Mainstream Media as the fat rent-a-cop who lived with his mother -derided as the Unabuba-bomber who tried to pass himself as an American Hero who saved dozens of lives. Rest in Peace and Birthday Greetings to ya. He sued them all and the pond scum sucking bastions of democracy paid up or apologized.

ANSWERS.COM --Richard A. Jewell (December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard who became known in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Jewell, working as a private security guard for Piedmont College,^[1] discovered a pipe bomb, alerted police, and helped to evacuate the area before it exploded, saving many people from injury or potential death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, Jewell later was considered a suspect.

Despite having never been charged, he underwent what was considered by many to be a "trial by media" with great toll on his personal and professional life. Eventually he was exonerated completely: Eric Robert Rudolph was later found to have been the bomber.^[2][3] In 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue publicly thanked Jewell on behalf of the state of Georgia for saving the lives of those at the Olympics.^[4]

End of a Long Night-Second Platoon, Bravo-First LAR

2nd Platoon, Bravo, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Ar Rutbah, Iraq, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 11/9/2005 photo CPL CHAD H. LEDDY

I Love the Smell Of Chain Guns in The Morning!

2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, 4th Marine Division, rocking out at Camp Pen range # 407 with the M242 25mm Bushmaster and FNMI 7.62mm set for vaporize with extreme prejudice. photo CPL KIBEL M.D., USMCLocation: CAMP PENDLETON

Lascelles

Lance Cpl. Benjamin Lascelles, H and S One Five and a
UH-60 Black Hawk
photo Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris

Velez

U.S. Navy Hospitalman 2nd class Gilbert Velez, Headquarters and Service Company,
1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment,
photo Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris/

Who's Fightin' This War--Martinez

Lance Cpl. Christopher Martinez, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment
photo Lance Cpl. John M. McCall

The Answer Is: Smaller Yankee Gov't.

Ringo and Childs- Fightin' This Friggin' War

Cpl. Ringo and his Marine sidekick, Lance Cpl. William Childs--both with Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, patrol in the Nawa district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 29, 2009. USMC photo LCpl. James Purschwitz

Perez

Cpl. Johnathan Perez, Combined Anti-Armor Team 2,
1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 11/04/09
USMC photo photo Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz

Marine Combat Outpost Sher

Date Taken: 12.15.2009
Produced by Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jimmy Stare Posted: 12.15.2009 08:21

Who's Fightin' This War-Thorton

Sgt. Kevin Thorton 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment
photo Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris

Fun- Tonite! AVATAR!

A 3 hour F'ing lecture on War/Imperialism/Marines?Hollywood/BS /is Big Daddy in on this crap??? woo-who make my day!

Opti-Sight- LEO's expert pistol marksman

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Vision Science Research Center investigator who also is an expert marksman has found a more intuitive way to aim a pistol.

Associate Professor Timothy Kraft, Ph.D., has developed a new gunsight design that relies on subconscious ability. Opti-sight, a UAB-protected innovation, updates a pistol-aiming device that has remained unchanged for more than a century. Opti-sight promises to reduce the time law enforcement, professional and amateur shooters need for target practice to improve marksmanship.

Opti-sight is a precision-milled half-triangle shape that replaces the traditional pistol gunsight. The design relies on subjective contours, an optics principle that explains how the subconscious mind fills in the blanks when the eye sees half of a familiar shape like a circle, square or triangle, Kraft says.

The rear opti-sight notch looks like an incomplete triangle sitting atop the gun barrel. When a shooter looks through the notch, the brain tells the eye where the missing triangle apex should appear, and that apex is the precise point of aim, Kraft says. "This triangular shape that I've created allows the brain to visualize concentric triangles whose imaginary apexes focus the shooter's attention on the exact target bullseye.

"Opti-sight makes shooting very intuitive by allowing gunsight alignment to become subconscious."

Marksmen, especially beginning shooters, will see improvements more quickly with opti-sight than a traditional gunsight, he says.

Currently, pistol sights feature a square post on the front of the barrel that is visually centered inside a notch on the back of the barrel. A shooter uses the two pieces to align the barrel with the target during firing; this method of aiming takes considerable time to master as the brain must work to reconcile inconsistencies seen through the notch, post and down-range target, says Kraft, who competes against some of the nation's best pistoleers and has worked with members of the U.S. Olympic pistol team to test his opti-sight design.

"The way a traditional gunsight works is all very disconnected," he says. "In order to get a good shot off you have to visually scan the gap between the front post and rear sight on the left and equalize that to the gap on the right, then align all that with the center of the target. It is too much for the eye and brain to process."

Kraft's opti-sight design is among the many leading-edge technologies under management by the UAB Research Foundation (UABRF). The responsibility of the foundation is to identify, assess, protect and market commercially viable intellectual property developed at UAB. The UABRF also seeks, negotiates, manages and monitors commercial licensing agreements on behalf of UAB and also ensures compliance with certain government regulations.

When not at the shooting range, Kraft focuses his vision expertise on the physiology and biophysics of the photoreceptors in the retina that send signals to the brain. He and his colleagues in UAB's Department of Vision Sciences and the School of Optometry work in a multidisciplinary vision-research environment to advance the understanding and treatment options for retinal disease.

About the UAB Vision Science Research Center

The UAB Vision Science Research Center promotes collaborative research and advances the scientific knowledge of the eye and central visual pathways in ways that lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of blindness and visual impairment. It is a worldwide center of excellence with dedicated personnel, equipment, laboratory and clinical facilities to continuously support knowledge and the training of new vision scientists.

green scarf

Sahima Sheren, FET, 11/18/2009, Helmend Province.
photo Sgt Evan Barragan

Opti-Sight Improves Shooting for Local LEO's

Ocean Tower 31 stories Implosion South Padre Island, Texas

LAV Christmas

War Pig Chain Gun Ammo

Marines A/Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR), with the ammunition for the 25mm M242 Chain Gun weapon 02/10/2003. Photo CWO2 B. SEAN FAIRBURN

Global Security:

The 25-mm gun produces its best urban target results when fired perpendicular to the hard surface (zero obliquity). During urban combat, however, finding a covered firing position that permits low obliquity firing is unlikely, unless the streets and gaps between buildings are wide. Most shots impact the target at an angle, which normally reduces penetration. With the APDS-T round, an angle of obliquity of up to 20 degrees can actually improve breaching. The rounds tend to dislodge more wall material for each shot but do not penetrate as deeply into the structure. Reinforced concrete walls, which are 12 to 20 inches thick, present problems for the 25-mm gun when trying to create breach holes. It is relatively easy to penetrate, fracture, and clear away the concrete, but the reinforcing rods remain in place. These create a "jail window" effect by preventing entry but allowing grenades or rifle fire to be placed behind the wall. Steel reinforcing rods are normally 3/4 inch thick and 6 to 8 inches apart—there is no quick way of cutting these rods. They can be cut with demolition charges, cutting torches, or special power saws. Firing with either APDS-T or HEI-T rounds from the 25-mm gun will not always cut these rods. The 25-mm gun more easily defeats brick walls, regardless of their thickness, and the rounds produce the most spall. The 25-mm gun is devastating when fired against sandbag bunker walls. Obliquity has the least affect on the penetration of bunker walls. Bunkers with earth walls up to 36 inches thick are easily penetrated. At short ranges typical of combat in urban areas, defeating a bunker should be easy, especially if the 25-mm gun can fire at an aperture. Although the penetration achieved by the two combat rounds—armor-piercing, discarding sabot with tracer (APDS-T) and high explosive, incendiary with tracer (HEI-T)—differ slightly, both are eventually effective. However, the best target results are not achieved with either of the combat rounds. At close range against structural targets, the training round (TP-T) is significantly more effective. The TP-T round, however, has little utility when used against enemy armored vehicles. The APDS-T round penetrates urban targets by retaining its kinetic energy and blasting a small hole deep into the target. The APDS-T round gives the best effects behind the wall, and the armor-piercing core often breaks into two or three fragments, which can create multiple enemy casualties. The APDS-T needs as few as four rounds to achieve lethal results behind walls. When firing single rounds, the APDS-T round provides the greatest capability for behind-the-wall incapacitation. The APDS-T round can penetrate over 16 inches of reinforced concrete with enough energy left to cause enemy casualties. It penetrates through both sides of a wood frame or brick veneer building. Field fortifications are easily penetrated by APDS-T rounds. The APDS-T round creates a hazardous situation for exposed personnel because of the pieces of sabot that are thrown off the round. Personnel not under cover forward of the 25-mm gun's muzzle and within the danger zone could be injured or killed by these sabots, even if the penetrator passes overhead to hit the target. The danger zone extends at an angle of about 10 degrees below the muzzle level, out to at least 100 meters and about 17 degrees left and right of the muzzle. The HEI-T round does not penetrate an urban target as well as the APDS-T, but it creates the effect of stripping away a greater amount of material for each round. The HEI-T does more damage to an urban target when fired in multiple short bursts because the accumulative impact of multiple rounds is greater than the sum of individual rounds. A dual-feed system uses sprockets and extractor grooves to control rounds. A system of clutches allows either sprocket to engage and feed either an AP or HE cartridge. One Bradley ammunition box holds 70 rounds, and the other holds 230 rounds. Each box can hold either AP- or HE-type ammunition. A single 1.5-horsepower DC motor externally powers the 25-mm. The enhanced gun uses a 1.0-horsepower DC motor. For all 25-mm guns, unit maintenance replaces inoperable 1.5-horsepower DC motors with the newer 1.0-horsepower DC motors. The A3's enhanced 25-mm gun has three major components: a chrome-lined barrel, an enhanced feeder, and an enhanced receiver. The gun also has quick-detachable link covers, a larger breach assembly, longer recoil, and a triple-spring drive clutch. It also has a built-in test (BIT) for the feed-select solenoid and gun-drive motor. The feed-select solenoid and the gun-drive motor each contains a jumper wire that enables the on-vehicle BIT. The gunner can choose from three rates of fire: Single Shot - the commander or gunner can shoot about as fast as he can squeeze the trigger. Low Rate - the commander or gunner can shoot 100 rounds a minute, plus or minus 25 rounds. High Rate - the commander or gunner can shoot 200 rounds a minute, plus or minus 25 rounds. The 25-mm gun's impact on typical urban targets seems magnified if the firing is in short bursts. At close ranges, the gunner might need to shift his point of aim in a spiral pattern to ensure that the second and third bursts enlarge the hole. Even without burst fire, sustained 25-mm gunfire can defeat almost all urban targets. The 25-mm automatic gun has eight cycles of function that relate to the bolt position indicator. The BPI shows the crew where the bolt is located the whole time the gun moves through its eight cycles of function: (1)Sear or Charge Cycle. The 25-mm bolt is forward of its rearmost position. The sear engages the master link. As a safety measure, the firing pin remains uncocked. The bolt position arrow points to SEAR. (2) Feed Cycle. Linked ammunition enters the 25-mm gun feeder. The feed sprockets strip the rounds from the links and move the round into the round positioner one at a time. The round positioner pushes the round into the ready position. During the feed cycle, the bolt moves about 25-mm to the rear of the sear position. The feeder rotor rotates one-third of a turn, allowing the round positioner to place a round into the rotor. The position arrow points to FEED or to DON'T REMOVE FEEDER. Absolute hang-fire protection activates in this position. (3) Chamber or Ram Cycle. The rotor stops moving counterclockwise once the round is positioned on the bolt face. The bolt, bolt carrier, and round move forward until the round seats fully in the chamber. The position arrow points to RAM. (4) Lock Cycle. The bolt is in the full forward position and the bolt carrier is still moving forward. The cam pin moving in its channel causes the bolt to rotate counterclockwise. This allows the lugs on the bolt to engage in the recesses of the breech, making a solid lock. Before the round fires, the position arrow points at the red zone. (5) Fire Cycle. The final rotation of the bolt pushes the firing pin tang off the firing pin pawl in the track assembly. This causes the firing pin spring to push the firing pin forward. In its full forward position, the firing pin's tip protrudes 2 millimeters through the bolt face. The indicator arrow points to FIRE. Although the gun requires no gas to operate, it does use 12 mm of recoil to deactivate mechanical interlock. If the breech fails to recoil, the gun stops cycling with the bolt still locked in the breech. The position arrow points to MISFIRE. (6) Unlock Cycle. Once past the MISFIRE position, the master link and slider start to the rear. The slider pulls the bolt carrier with it. The cam pin rotates the bolt clockwise, causing it to unlock from the recesses in the breech. As the bolt unlocks, the arrow points to EXTRACT. (7) Extract Cycle. As the bolt moves to the rear, the fixed T-slot extractors remove the cartridge case from the chamber. The case remains positioned on the face of the bolt. The bolt continues to the rear until it locks in the sear position. As this happens, the position arrow moves from EXTRACT to SEAR. (8) Eject Cycle. The expended case remains in the bolt face until the gunner pulls the trigger to fire another round. When that happens, the bolt moves to the FEED position. The rotor rotates one-third of a turn, feeding a round onto the bolt face and sweeping the expended case into the feeder ejection chute. As the bolt moves forward to chamber the round, the eject arm on the bolt carrier pushes the expended case from the receiver cartridge eject port.