Remember a movie called Red Dawn?

In that movie, a wounded insurgent, played by a young Jennifer Grey, hides a grenade under her bullet-ridden body as she lay dying, so that when the enemy soldier comes to check on her, he gets blown up.

This seems eerily similar to the situation the young Marine faced in that Fallujah mosque, and from the perspective of the movie, I can't disagree with his decision.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 01:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I said earlier that I don't know enough to judge the situation regarding the Marine that killed a wounded terrorist in Fallujah, but according to an al Rueters story, his fellow Marines are rallying around him, even as they support an investigation of the incident. To me, that means they feel that there is nothing to hide.

Charles wonders about the motivations of the NBC reporter who broke the story. I'm not so sure.


Kevin Sites doesn't seem like someone with an anti-military grudge, at least not by what I've see on his web site. While I've never been in combat, I think it would be mighty difficult to be prejudiced against the men you're embedded with, and I can't find any overt anti-Marine bias in what I've seen of his reporting.

Time will tell.

Interestingly enough, some of the MSM seem to be playing this one close to the vest. Maybe the incident will be treated in context after all.

Update: Maybe the Marine shooter should get a Silver Star?

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As I write this, the Dowd's and Krugman's of the left are doubtlessly wringing their hands with macabre delight. A videotape has surfaced apparently showing a Marine in Fallujah firing a shot into the head of a wounded terrorist lying on the floor of the mosque he'd used as a bunker.

The New York Times will run this on the front page for several weeks if they can find a way to justify it, and Dan Rather will make sure it leads every broadcast as long as he thinks it can be used against the administration. The shrieking classes are almost sexually titillated as they ache for another Abu Graib as an excuse to attack a U.S. military they have always loathed.

We will see the still photos and the few brief seconds of video hundreds, if not thousands of times in the days and weeks ahead. What we will not see is the true story, and the media, which is not equipped to handle the truth, will most likely not even try to provide it in their rush to an accusatory climax.

This is what we know.

Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, came under fire from terrorists hiding in a mosque on Friday. 10 terrorists were killed and five more were wounded. The following day, another group of Marines from the same unit engaged in battle, and an embedded correspondent reported seeing fresh gunshot wounds on terrorists that had been injured the previous day.

It was during this second day operation that a group of Marines is seen coming up upon this group of terrorists, and a Marine is heard to yell several times, "He's faking he's dead!" The Marine then fired a single shot, killing the terrorist.

You will probably here most of this part of the story from the mainstream media, right before they try to crucify our soldiers in an almost orgasmic lust.

Here is what they won't tell you.

They won't tell you that shortly before this incident, one Marine was killed and five were injured when a booby-trapped body went off just a block away.

They won't tell you that insurgents that have faked being dead or wounded have risen up to shoot at our troops from behind in this battle. The will probably "forget" to mention that four of the five terrorists in the video had fresh wounds, meaning that after being wounded the first day and left to be taken prisoner, then once again raised arms and tried to kill American soldiers after having once been spared.

I don't know if what this young Marine did was right. I wasn't there. I can't imagine the pressure of days of close quarters battle. I simply don't now enough to form a judgment at this time. I will withhold judgment and let the Uniform Code of Military Justice runs its course.

War is jarringly violent and chaotic. I hope the media can try to understand this as they rush to pass judgment on this Marine, in what is almost sure to be a pornographic display of media hatred for this administration and our soldiers in the field.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 01:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I see the next crop is coming along nicely.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 03:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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While it is far too early to intelligently speculate about the new team Bush will try to assemble for his second term as President, indications from a recent appointee seem to indicate Bush's version of Team America will not accept dissention within the ranks.

Porter Goss, the former spymaster now heading the CIA, is clearing out the deadwood in management. Two more officials "resigned" today from the CIA, and according to a Washington Post article:

Both men are highly regarded by their clandestine service colleagues, said 10 former CIA officials who have worked with them.

Of course, commentary from the CIA to the news just like this is exactly why these men needed to be "resigned."


The CIA is supposed to be a spy agency, which it clearly has not been for the last decade in any effective way. With John McCain calling the CIA a "rouge" agency with a political agenda instead of an intelligence service, Goss is right in telling these paper-pushers to ship out.

The job of the CIA is to provide intelligence, not attempt to sway public opinion.

I'm glad that someone in Washington finally realized that. It's amazing that this was even an issue after the multiple and broad CIA failures noted in the 9/11 Commission Report and other critical reports and books.

Goss, thankfully, understood the importance of having an intelligence service that works for the administration and the country instead of against it. His "can do" attitude is certain to strike fear into career CIA bureaucrats the way another famous Porter did when he took care of business in his own environment 150 years ago. If Goss is any indication of the character of men and women Bush will appoint, Bush's second term is going to be fun to watch and blog.

Update: wretchard of Belmont Club provides an excellent analysis of the CIA culture Goss is trying to reform.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 01:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It has been almost two weeks since 51% of American voters decided to give George Bush a second term as President of the United States. Bush not only won the election with a majority; he picked up support across a wide range of demographics when compared against the 2000 election. In addition, the Republicans not only won the White House, they picked up four seats each in the House and Senate, while deposing Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Liberalism may not be dead, but the public issued a strong admonition against it.

In this charged political atmosphere President Bush and the Republicans feel they have earned some political capital, and they say that they intend to spend it. Let's just hope they decide to spend it on the right things. From what I've seen so far, President Bush has good ideas that his capital is worth investing in, if it doesn't get wasted upon issues with the potential to be costly mistakes.

Gay Marriage Amendment
Quite frankly, this stands to be a Pyrrhic victory, at the very best, and could cost President Bush dearly while stoking the fires of his liberal obstructionist opponents. Most Americans don't feel comfortable with the proposition of a Constitutional amendment that seems to have the sole purpose of limiting the rights of a group of American citizens.

The Republicans need to remember that they did not win the election because of the Religious Right. No, the Republicans won because of moderate voters, Democrat, Republican and Independent, that thought the more conservative values of the traditional Republican party trumped the liberal extremism being displayed by Democrats. If the GOP lets the extremists of the far right drive this amendment, they can expect to lose the popular support that have steadily been gaining over the past few elections. This should be a state's rights issue, and the GOP would be wise to step away from this on the federal level if they hope to pick up more seats in the 2006 elections.

Border Security/Illegal Immigration
The elephant in the room that neither side wanted to discuss during the campaign. The popular excuse has always been that the Republicans don't want to take away cheap labor from Big Business, and Democrats were silent because they tend to consider new immigrants (legal or otherwise) "money in the bank" for a variety of reasons on Election Day. That mindset should have changed in the wake of September 11, 2001.

The 9/11 Commission Report and ongoing intelligence operations show that our borders are exceedingly porous, an unforgivable sin considering what we know and what we suspect may be coming into the country. Bush's response so far has been anemic at best, and embarrassing at worst. We need stronger border security, not amnesty for lawbreakers. Bush's current lackadaisical attitude on the subject may have fatal consequences that could not only cripple his second term, but replicate or exceed the human tragedy of that day in September three years ago.

These are two issues where many of us voted for you despite your position, Mr. President. Don't make us wonder if we wasted our capital on November 2.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 04:04 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I read with some amusement the almost coherent babble on your new web site. I find it quite interesting that you blame "the South" for a Bush re-election, when in fact, the "reddest" counties were in the Midwest and West, including every county bordering your home base of Madison, WI as well. I'm sorry that we can't all be as urbane and enlightened and indeed, mature as you are, but let's try to face some factual problems with your little hatefest, shall we?

The Second Amendment, sir, is about making sure Americans have sufficient arms to prevent tyranny, sir, which would by definition included military-capable arms of the day, including what you erroneously call "assault weapons" in your ignorance of the mechanics of the law and of firearms design.

Today is Veteran's Day, the day we remember those who have fought and those who have fallen for our freedom, and the freedom of others. I thought I would share an appropriate passage from a story I wrote many, many years ago.

The monuments in Washington all seemed false in the cool morning mist. They were big and white and extravagant, yet the tourists cheapened them somehow as they gawked, took photos, and scurried to the next place on their list of things to see. Their attention seemed to fous on what things were rather than why they were. The scene was a poor example of Americana. Even Honest Abe seemed to frown from his throne. Of all the walls of stone only one seemed real.

This wall's long black marble slices into the ground. On it are engraved fifty-eight thousand American names from an undeclared war that no one wants to remember in the jungles of a country half a globe away. There are no ornate scrolls or stenciled directions, no fancy faded pieces of parchment, no self-serving sentiments, just names.

There's also a statue some distance away. Three bronze soldiers stare into the wall, waiting for word of their fellow soldiers, or perhaps morning their loss. The soldiers don't talk; they simply stare. They are all just boys, most of them only six years older than I was then: nineteen.

Under the statue-soldier's gaze, an elderly man lagged behind a tour at the wall. He caressed it and knelt to leave a single rose at its based. He sobbed. He had difficulty standing up. A nearby park attendant helped him and asked, "One of your sir?" The old man shook his head and replied, "Not just one of them. All of them."

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sickness sucks
Bloggins is late and light today. Yesterday's sore throat evolved into today's bronchitis, so off to the physician I went. My doctor always creeps me out a little. He looks too much like Skinner from the X-Files, and every time he puts the flashlight thing in my mouth and makes me say "ah," I half expect an alien probe to Cartman out the other end.

But I have drugs now, so tomorrow I should be better.

Thoughts on liberal succession
This has been handled quite well on various blogs across the 'net, but when you're titled Confederate Yankee you feel obligated to make at least some comment on the subject.

My comment? I advise my liberal friends who want to go this route to stock up on canned goods, bottled water, and Glade plug-ins. Why?

As a reader noted on Powerline, a truly fair and equal succession would occur on a county-by-county basis, turning many metropolitan areas into liberal "reservations."

As these predominantly urban areas are incapable of supporting enough farming and ranching to feed their own populations, starvation is a short-term possibility and a long-term certainty. Granted, the animals in the Bronx and Central Park zoos might provide enough meat for a fraction of the population for a week or two, but I don't think there are any good recipies for red panda anyway.

These same urban areas also rely on watersheds from far away "red" areas for their drinking and flushing needs, making drought, famine and disease probable. 72 hours without water from "red" upstate counties and the Big Apple will start smelling like the Big Diaper.

So think carefully before you make a decision, my liberal friends. We can possibly live without you, but you most assuredly cannot live without us.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Babs is on the rant again. In her post-election missive, she tries to offer hope for the 48% of the country that backed a losing Kerry Edwards ticket by quoting from Thomas Jefferson:

"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt......If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."

"...compleatly under the saddle of Massachusets & Connecticut, and that they ride us very hard, cruelly insulting our feelings as well as exhausting our strength and substance."

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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According to NewsMax (which is about as balanced towards Kerry as the New York Times is towards Bush) Kerry describes in his diary his "meeting with some North Vietnamese terrorists in Paris" in 1970. Of course, I always take anything Newsmax says with a grain of salt.

However, when the article cited by NewsMax in Newsweek supports the exact same story, I start to think that there might be something to this. The last paragraph on the first page of the Newsweek article reads:

[Senator] Edwards played along, but his aides were indignant.
They warned the veep candidate that the story was already out of control and about to get worse. Historian Douglas Brinkley, author of a wartime biography of Kerry, cautioned that Kerry's diary included mention of a meeting with some North Vietnamese terrorists in Paris. Edwards was flabbergasted. "Let me get this straight," the senator said. "He met with terrorists? Oh, that's good."

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It looks like another retiree from the Tiffany Network is soiling his Depends over how some blogs were leaking exit poll data from last Tuesday's election.

Maybe he should try to remember which network tried to determine the course of an election with fake documents and biased bomb stories before he starting preaching in front of his glass house, eh?

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Confederate Yankee. noun. A Southern-born inhabitant of a northern U.S. State.

I infiltrated north of the Manson-Nixon line in 2000 to bring intelligence and perspective to a part of the country steeped in leftist propoganda and outright dowdification. While I have been here, I have noticed that there are differences between Northern and Southern cultures.

Southern rednecks have gun racks.

Northern Rednecks have snowplows.

Southern states have economic growth.

Northern States have unions.

Still, we are more alike than different.

I am here to try to help translate, and provide some down-home wisdom to those who have been deprived of the experience of growing up in the more enlightened, more intellectually stimulating southern region of the country.


Enjoy.

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It seems that San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsome is being offered as the sacrificial offering to the Democrat masses for the failure of the Kerry/Edwards ticket to capture the White House. According to the points-of-view I've seen offered up for the past few days, the near mythic power of the Evangelical was a dormant beast until Newsome decided to allow a few gay marriages.

As this theory apparently runs, the Evangelicals (which makes up about 59 million American voters if you listen to the way the mainstream media spin) felt that the Decline And Fall Of Civilization As We Know It would occur if Bruce and Steve were allowed to place rings on each other's fingers and say "I do."

To hear the media spin it, this barbaric act of exchanging rings was so outrageous that the so-called "morals voters" turned out in droves to reject this travesty of God's Law, and thus projected George W.Bush to the White House based upon their own bigotry and hatred of gays.

Maybe I'm not the typicalBushvoter, but that isn't what I was feeling on the way to the polls Tuesday morning.

Along with about 60% of America, I'm fine with Bruce and Steve having some form of legal and moral contract dedicating their lives to each other. My moral issues went a bit deeper than whether or not each household was composed of an equal number of adults preferring the toilet seat up or down.

My moral issues began with courage, conviction, integrity, and resolve, not gay marriage, or whether or not you beleive in God the same way that I do, or even if you believe in God at all. I found that for me, George W. Bush better exhibited these qualities of leadership better than John Kerry did, almost across the board.

Why?

We've had almost four years to judge George W. Bush in what fate shaped into a remarkable presidential term. To find a true position of leadership in John Kerry's life we have to go back over 30 years to four months in Vietnam, where his superiors and peers gave him less than stellar marks for his performance. These were the moral issues that troubled me, and the majority of American voters.

You see, we aren't just a bunch of bible-thumping rednecks. We have much more depth than the ineffectual intellectuals in the media would like you to believe. Gavin Newsome is just a whipping boy, an excuse. His opinion didn't affect the election in any appreciable way, despite what the media would have you beleive.

Call me crazy, but if you really want to find someone to blame for John Kerry's defeat, I think you might want to start with John Kerry.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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On my drive to work Friday morning I listened to Paul Harvey, who mentioned that according to the 9/11 Commission Report, there were 59 references to al Qaeda activity in this border state. According to Arizona Monthly's feature article this month Al Qaeda Among Us (free registration required),

"...the most important nexus for international jihad outside of Pakistan and the Middle East has been Arizona."

Specific attention is focused on the Islamic Center of Tucson (ITC) which according to the article, seems to little more than an al Qaeda base operating in the continental United States.

When you combine the Arizona Monthly article, to the chilling news that this past July, 25 Chechen terrorists slipped across the border from Mexico into the mountainous regions of Arizona before disappearing, then you have to wonder just how good our security is along our southern borders.

I think the goverment is correct in taking the fight to terrorists where they live and breed overseas, but when you let them in though the back door you open yourself up to dangerous and possibly catastrophic possibilities.

Let's get with the program, Washington.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I noticed with considerable amusement yesterday that according to Jane Smiley, 58 million American voters are complete idiots. Though apparently the victim of social promotion's influence on math skills, she is, of course, referring to the 59,459,765 Americans who chose to re-elect George W. Bush by a comfortable margin and a statistical majority over John Kerry.

In her vile, headlong rush to condemn the majority of American voters who voted red instead of blue, she seems to get her facts just a bit backward.

According to Smiley:

The worst civilian massacre in American history took place in Lawrence, Kan., in 1862-Quantrill's raid. The red forces, known then as the slave-power, pulled 265 unarmed men from their beds on a Sunday morning and slaughtered them in front of their wives and children.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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