I just got a text from Senator Barack Obama....and I am PISSED!

As a career serviceman, I'm a bit bemused by all the importance that gets placed on a candidate's military record.  What really stuns me is that the nation puts the greatest importance on factors that do the least in measuring executive ability.  Further, we forget to put experience in the context of time.  If I'm applying for a management position in the business world, what I did 3 years ago is only marginally relevant, and what I did 3 decades ago is the hallmark of a pathetic resume.  If the experience offered won't fly in business, why should it fly in picking the president?

Alright, you may see this a just a rant, but I am simply sick and tired of hearing the term "commander in chief"!  I am sick and tired of framing our national conversation in terms of national security, then framing national security in terms of military might, then framing our leaders in terms of who has the biggest balls to use that might!  

We spend more money on our military than every other nation in the world combined!  We stage a military presence in 70% of the world's countries.  Yet we seem to be the only country running off the cliff to fight 2 wars, threaten a third (Iran) and  fourth (Korea) and now perhaps a fifth (Russia).  Who knows, Nigeria and who knows where else are just around the corner.  

My lovely girlfriend and I were fortunate enough to attend the 50th Annual Chicago Air and Water Show yesterday, and I would like to dedicate this diary to admiration, respect, and gratitude for all of the brave men and women of our Armed Services.

The air show put on by the U.S. Navy in Chicago yesterday was truly a sight to behold..more on the flip.

I am no writer, but I am going to try to offer my perspectives on the state of our republic. When do we begin to discuss the issues that will shape the future? President Bush was a figurehead that read the teleprompter and could repeat simple phrases. We need to campaign against the Republican Party, not against Bush. He is not worth it.
We need to examine the policies advocated by Republicans and the obvious failures of Republican government. At first glance, the word "incompetence" comes to mind Remember Katrina?  How is that balanced budget going? The War on Drugs? How about deregulation of the financial industry? How is that working for us? Deregulation of the airlines, good idea? Food safety? Foreign Policy? Would the Republicans prefer more or less democracy? Why does The United States hold the most prisoners per capita, in the most profitable prisons in the world? If the leaders of the three main factions in Iraq were to admit to John McCain that The Surge worked, and the USA won the war, can the troops come home?
Who would replace Dick Cheney as Chief Executive in a McCain administration?
I want to see some discussion of ISSUES. The Repubs have a lot to answer for.

There is so much to write about!

I'm still at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.  We're finishing up and getting ready to head back to Fort Bragg in the next few days.

I find reports that the military downplays rape complaints a bit disturbing because the notion flies in the face of everything I stood for during my 25 years in uniform.  Sexual harrassment and rape are not trivial matters, and my experience is that complaints were aggressively pursued.  I hope to offer a supervisor's perspective on the issue.

Before I get started, let's get one thing clear:  the military has sometimes failed to properly address sexual misconduct complaints.  These failures have had outcomes that run the gamut from the unjust to the horrific (including the recent murder of a rape victim).  The responsible chains of command deserve career-ending legal beat-downs, and I hope that is exactly what happens to them.  Do we regard these failures as the norm or the exception?  Are they systemic, unofficial policy or are they isolated breakdowns in leadership?

ARGH!!!

Last night I met a couple of friends (one was a former student) for dinner. We hadn't planned the dinner, but I was in town after meetings and just hangin out anyway.  Relaxed and usually fun, the discussion turned suddenly very sour.  

Note, the former student is planning to vote Obama, so we'd been talking about possible VP picks as we led into this very heated argument.  

Really?  The theme of the day when the Vice Presidential candidate speaks will be Securing America's Future?  

Every Clark supporter knows that Clark's website, begun in 2004, was never WesClark.com the way it was with others running for president at that time.  It was, and has always been, SecuringAmerica.com.  

Every Clark supporter knows that Clark never begins a political speech without first asking every veteran in the audience to stand up and be applauded.

Every Clark supporter knows that Clark was an extraordinarily popular surrogate among people running for Congress because of his military background and that over the past four years he has dedicated himself to aiding the fundraising efforts of Democratic candidates, particularly supporting those who are veterans.

Could he be the vp pick?  

Washington, Aug 16 (Filed with concern by a friend of the AP)

The Obama campaign, demonstrating once again that it is in increasingly serious trouble, reported a dramatic 7 figure decrease in fundraising in July.

As is often the case here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), while in the course of investigating one report of constitutionally questionable activity within our armed forces, we stumble into something else that's just as bad or worse. It happened again this week. One of the thousands of MRFF supporters worldwide -- the indispensable "eyes and ears" who alert us to everything from the most egregious of constitutional violations to articles we might be interested in -- emailed MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein an interview with Air Force Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Cecil Richardson from the August 11 print edition of the Air Force Times. Richardson, as many will remember, caused quite a stir back in 2005 when he was quoted by the New York Times as saying that Air Force chaplains "reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched." I'll get back to Richardson's Air Force Times interview in a minute, but first, here's what else this interview led MRFF to discover.

We have two theaters of occupations of others in destroyed countries, destroyed by us, one in continuing destruction from others before to us now and our broken promises of helping to rebuild as that theater grows more dangerous, the other totally destroyed on the trumped up lies of a twisted ideology of a few, tens of thousands dead and maimed, millions living as refugee's, billions of dollars wasted, stolen, lost in the machine of war profitteering, soldiers serving mutiple tours in both, families of same scraficing as a nation that is not moves along, most not caring what is happening In Their Names.

We call this "The War On Terror" and in the seven years these conflict theaters have been raging all we've created are the hatreds that will feed the ranks of the criminal terrorists leading to damaged National Securities around the globe and more theaters of death, destruction and occupations.

The sub title of this 'War On Terrorism' has been sold to all as a clash of twisted religious ideologies, a 'Religious War', on all sides. Those war hawks supporting and pushing these ideologies, few of them fighting, define everything about these clashes with political and religious labels, those opposed are left to define in same manner.

While we sit around dithering, moaning, and outraged in the face of a corrupt and insane political class, and a Democratic leadership that betrays us at every turn, perhaps some spirit might be drawn from the example of Nigeria's "Uncompromising Sacred Monster."

Fela Anikulapo Kuti died from AIDS in 1997, but his music is still as fantastic, his sympathy for the poor still as moving, and his fierce and relentless speaking of truth to corrupted power still as necessary as it was during his life.

The show is, besides the incredible music and dancing, a dazzling portrait of the man's life and contributions. I can't say enough about the quality of the cast, the band, the direction, the story. For your own sake, please go see it.

Here's Fela's "Zombie" (long music intro, as always, then the meat, though only half the song is here)

This is not really a diary, but I just thought I'd put this up for any fellow Kossacks who might be in or able to get to the downtown San Diego, CA area.

Although they got my stage-name wrong in the info section of the official "My Barack Obama" invitation linked below the fold,  (I'm not a "VJ" and I don't use my real name), I'll be providing the entertainment.

Peace!

Fabio Rodriguez / VT ConQuest (Visual Turntablist)

( a little info about Visual Turntablism - http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/... )

 In case you missed it, a very interesting money story broke today Showing that Obama is out-raising McCain 6-1 among active duty military members serving overseas)( read  Troutfishing's Diary on the rec list)  

This is a VERY big deal, which The McCain Campaign must have recognized, so they rushed to respond.  badly

McCain's campaign says he's been "endorsed by more retired admirals and generals than Barack Obama has military donors."

Which is not only a Lie (CRP esitmates Obama's had at least 854 donors the most generous reading of McCain's "admirals and Generals list" yields a 150 names) but AWFULLY elitist and dismissive of the rank and file soldier no?

but not content to leave it there,  McCain’s campaign unleashes a howler worthy of standing alongside Tom Delay's infamous "I wanted to go to Vietnam but the Army said they were full" whopper

Good news: Pressure from Rep. Waxman to enforce Dr. Kaye Whitley's subpoena to testify on how the DOD is preventing and responding to incidents of sexual assault in the military have paid off: after first blocking her from attending a House committee's hearing, the Pentagon is allowing Whitley to testify. Bad news: the DOD continues to ignore a very specific responsibility they have been tasked with in order to fully address this issue.

I expect that people find it hard to deal with emotionally sensitive issues. I may even expect that many people would want to shield themselves from it.

But I won't tolerate elected and appointed officials who run and hide when they not only have the power to do something about it, they have the explicit responsibility of doing something about it.

One of the more annoying behaviors of our political pundit class is the wholesale substitution of their own views for those of "the voters," or "the military," or "soccer moms," or "people who drink beer." When a talking head states that "the voters" don't care about a candidate's age or that "the military" doesn't trust a candidate who favors diplomacy, they describe large, diverse populations as if they were homogeneous, unified groups. Utterances such as these magically make all diversity and complexity disappear into a smoky cloud of generality.

Crossposted at Strategy '08

The Center for Responsive politics has come out with a new study on donations from military personnel to presidential candidates, and the results are actively embarrassing for Senator John McCain.  Despite McCain's own veteran status and a media narrative that paints him as a foreign policy expert (despite all evidence to the contrary), the troops which have the most on the line have The Center for Responsive politics has come out with a new study on donations from military personnel to presidential candidates, and the results are actively embarrassing for Senator John McCain.  Despite McCain's own veteran status and a media narrative that paints him as a foreign policy expert (despite all evidence to the contrary), the troops which have the most on the line have overwhelmingly favored Senator Obama with their donations.

More Below the Fold.