Negligent Honor

Fox News Article

This story makes my blood boil. Sgt. Rafael Peralta performed his duties with great honor which reflect great credit upon his Nation, his Corps and his family. To have his degree of official recognition down graded on questions of detail and conjecture is the grossest injustice.

For those of you who say, “Sgt. Who?” I will briefly recount the story to the best of my recollection. During the intense room to room combat that was the second battle of Fallujah, Sgt. Peralta volunteered to be a part of a squad of Marines clearing houses. In the process they cleared a house save for one locked door. The Marines stacked up outside the door and Sgt. Peralta kicked the door in. He was shortly felled by rifle fire, bullet wounds to the neck and lower head. He fell to one side of the door as the Marines behind him exchanged fire with the combatants in the room.

A grenade was lobbed from the open door and landed beside Sgt. Peralta. He reached for it and pulled it under his body thus shielding his fellow Marines from grave injury and likely death.

Medal of Honor? I would think so. I thought so when I heard this story the first time, very briefly after it happened. It has been announced that he will instead receive the Navy Cross, which I do not in any way mean to impugn. In this case, it is an unjust honor.

The “Marine who witnesses say covered a grenade with his body to save comrades in Iraq,” deserves better, as does his family. He is being denied, “because the nomination was tainted by reports he was accidentally shot by a fellow Marine.” Whether or not he was felled, mortally wounded, by gunfire does not detract from the act of pulling the grenade under his body to shield his fellow Marines.

It was initially reported that he was wounded by AK-47 fire from inside the room, the origin of the rounds that gravely wounded Sgt. Peralta do not make them any less lethal. There is no such animal as “Friendly fire.”

“The question about whether to award Peralta the Medal of Honor centers on whether the mortally wounded Marine, who was shot in the head and upper body, could have intentionally reached for the grenade and covered it with his body.

There was conflicting evidence in the case of Sgt. Peralta as to whether he could have [pents,] Peralta lay mortally wounded on the floor of a house and grabbed a grenade lobbed by fleeing insurgents. His body absorbed the blast and he died immediately.”

Apparently these Marines have not read the account in, “Lone Survivor” of Petty Officer Second Class Matthew Axelson. During the fire fight which became the largest single loss of life in the history of the Navy Seals this brave warrior was wounded multiple times and indeed one of the wounds, most assuredly from AK-47 fire, was a most traumatic head wound. He fought on. When he and Marcus Luttrell separated the final time, he exhorted, “Marcus, you’ve got to live.”

In the aftermath of the battle, Marcus learned that Axelson was not found where they parted company. Instead he had managed to gain his feet and fought on until he had expended all of his ammunition. A great blow to Marcus.

It is pure conjecture then to assert whether or not Sgt. Peralta could possibly have consciously pulled the grenade under his body. “…Forensic analysis of Peralta's clothing and flak jacket show the grenade was underneath him when it exploded.” Does this board offer conjecture as to how this grenade came to be under Sgt. Peralta? Did the enemy combatants place it there for maximum effectiveness? Did one of the other quick thinking Marines push it there to save himself and his comrades? Of course not, any explanation beside Sgt. Peralta’s act of self sacrifice is absurd and not a little insulting to the intellect of anyone thinking objectively.

I will allow here that the board reviewing this matter felt honor bound by the regulations that are very strict in the awarding the Medal of Honor. If so, I hold them faultless, but it should not leave Sgt. Peralta’s family bereft of what should be bestowed with all pomp and circumstance possible.

Regardless of whether Rafael Peralta was mortally wounded by gunfire from questionable origin is a negligible detail to the level of honor displayed by his final act. We do not award the CMH to Marines for being killed in combat, but rather for conspicuous acts of courage above and beyond the call of duty.

This should not stand.

Obama Off Script

When Barak Obama is not reading from a teleprompter he has the audacity to say some hopelessly stupid things. I don’t even need to list them here, there have been quite a few. You are thinking them now whether or not you support Barak’s bid for the White House.

Given Barak’s propensity for gaffes, what makes people think that he’d be such a great, “Leader of the Free World.” He would be a big hit in Europe, he’s proven that already. However, I would like to remind you that the President does more than read from a teleprompter, and so far that seems to be the only thing Barak’s good at.

I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. He’s boxed himself in by foregoing public campaign funds. I’m opposed to public financing of campaigns, if a candidate’s so great people will support him financially. I think that the only Campaign law necessary is transparency. McCain-Feingold just makes it harder to determine where the money comes from and it limits what individuals can do for a candidate they support. Who’s benefiting from an in depth knowledge of Campaign Law? Certainly not Obama.

Notice that there hasn’t been any benchmark legislation with “Obama” attached to it? I know he’s authored a couple of books about himself. Pretty well written I understand. Why hasn’t he applied this creative potential to reforming Washington? Why hasn’t he brought about change? He hasn’t even tried in the office that he currently holds why would he think that we should give him a higher one?

I’m not a journalist, I’m a blogger. From where I sit (In my bath robe) Obama doesn’t present a very convincing picture of Presidential eloquence, unless of course you compare him to the current occupant of the White House. I’m sure that that’s exactly what Obama wants because he doesn’t match up very well with either slot on the Republican ticket.

Obama is Risk Adverse

During the early years of the Civil War Lincoln was greatly frustrated by a series of Union Commanders who were risk adverse. They risked nothing and they gained nothing but a brutal exchange of casualties between the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Finally he turned to a natural leader named Grant whose greatest insight on military tactics was that the enemy was just as frightened of you as you are of him.

When Grant was given command of the Army of the Potomac the war ground to it’s inevitable conclusion. Because Grant was brilliant? Yes, but so were the Generals before him. The difference was that Grant understood the situation and he took the fight to the enemy, making blunders, but never retreating from imaginary peril, not overly timid.

Obama’s present to the Republican Party was his pick of Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s biggest selling point as a V.P. pick was that he was the “Safe” pick. The choice that could do no harm. John McCain saw an opportunity to take a risk on a little known Governor from Alaska. And the rest is historically consistent with leaders who are risk adverse.

From now until November Obama will continue to play it safe and McCain is going to win this war of attrition.

General Impressions of the RNC Day One (Two)

I thought that the theme of the first night of speeches was well done. I enjoyed Fred Thompson's speech where he displayed his missing fire. I even enjoyed watching Lieberman. The McCains and Bushes came across very well. I wait with great anticipation for things to shift to the Palin show tonight.

I was at my brother's house when that odious gal was grilling the McCain aid. The McCain aid shouldn't have been addressing Sarah Palin's experience, but I'd love to see the same gal go after Newt, or for that matter Sarah. I think CNN would have canceled it's interviews with the McCain Campain after that exchange.

This is War!

I am deeply angered by the MSM attacking Sarah Palin over her daughters pregnancy. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Remember that this may be a contested election but it is not “war,” both sides would do well to remember this. If you are angry, if you are passionate, use it wisely.

This video is of a U.S. Soldier being shot in the chest. He is a U.S. Medic. He survives thanks to his body armor. The shooter was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Guess who treated his wounds?

Ugly things happen in war. Ugly things happen in politics but in U.S. politics, people don’t shout praises to their deity as they pump hot lead into your body.

Ask yourself this question, do you view Hurricane Gustav as a tragedy or an opportunity to paint your political opponents in a poor light. Do you feel the same about War? If you don’t like your answers you need to re-evaluate what you are doing with your life.

Political discussion is the air that democracy breathes. Long live debate, long live passionately held views.

During Hurricane Katrina the Interstates were clogged, people were running out of fuel and becoming stranded in the storms path. A woman driving along saw another SUV with a family very similar to her own. She began to ease over onto the shoulder to see if she could render some aid. When she got close to the stranded vehicle she noticed a sticker from the 2004 election on the SUV. She was so enraged by it that she left the family stranded there. Sound farfetched? I only know of it because she was proud enough of her actions to post it on a popular political site. The controversy caused that site to pull the original post and the thousands of positive responses as well.

If this is a war, which kind of soldier do you want to be? One who shouts in exaltation as he tries to kill his neighbor, or one who disagrees yet still treats them as human.

Could we all agree to tone down the “War Room,” “Shell Shocked,” “In the Trenches,” “Bunker,” mentality and realize this is an election and after November America will survive and you’ll still disagree with your neighbor about politics. In the mean time if you must be a political “Warrior,” why not try to be like the soldier in the video above, who treated the wounds of the man who shot him.

This Is Politics, Not War

I’m a person with passionately held political views. I don’t deny that and I do not intend to change it either. However, I think that some people are kind of confused about the distinction between Politics and War.

This video is of a U.S. Soldier being shot in the chest. He is a U.S. Medic. He survives thanks to his body armor. The shooter was wounded in the ensuing firefight. Guess who treated his wounds?

Ugly things happen in war. Ugly things happen in politics but in U.S. politics, people don’t shout praises to their deity as they pump hot lead into your body.

Ask yourself this question, do you view Hurricane Gustav as a tragedy or an opportunity to paint your political opponents in a poor light. Do you feel the same about War? If you don’t like your answers you need to re-evaluate what you are doing with your life.

Political discussion is the air that democracy breathes. Long live debate, long live passionately held views.

During Hurricane Katrina the Interstates were clogged, people were running out of fuel and becoming stranded in the storm's path. A woman driving along saw another SUV with a family very similar to her own. She began to ease over onto the shoulder to see if she could render some aid. When she got close to the stranded vehicle she noticed a sticker from the 2004 election on the SUV. She was so enraged by it that she left the family stranded there. Sound farfetched? I only know of it because she was proud enough of her actions to post it on a popular political site. The controversy caused that site to pull the original post and the hundreds of positive responses as well.

If this is a war, which kind of soldier do you want to be? One who shouts in exaltation as he tries to kill his neighbor, or one who disagrees yet still treats them as human.

Could we all agree to tone down the “War Room,” “Shell Shocked,” “In the Trenches,” “Bunker,” mentality and realize this is an election and after November America will survive and you’ll still disagree with your neighbor about politics. In the mean time if you must be a political “Warrior,” why not try to be like the soldier in the video above, who treated the wounds of the man who shot him.

Bitter Clinger Votes for Palin to be Heartbeat from the Presidency

I wasn’t sure I was going to vote for McCain until Friday Morning. I respect him, but if he had picked a squishy Republican or a Conservative Democrat, I wouldn’t have voted for him. I don’t want a squishy Republican being the presumptive front runner in four or eight years. I sure don’t want a Democrat to go along with Pelosi and Reed.

Sarah Palin is the kind of person a bitter clinger like me would campaign for. I read on a blog that McCain wants Forbes to be in his cabinet. “Fairtax,” may be a dirty word on the left, but people who want change kind of like it. It’s an “F” word we can rally around.

Enough’s been said about her experience to last a lifetime. The fact that the Republican ticket doesn’t include a lawyer is actually a big plus out here in the sticks. Harping on how unqualified real people are to being elected to high office ain’t helping the Democrat party with typical white people like me.

The fact that Palin is a Woman is supposed to put me off because McCain is pandering to the fact that as a man I like women. This is a problem to you on the left? Men like women. Let me check with my wife…
She likes men. Wow. Is she supposed to vote for Obama because he’s handsome? I won’t. He makes me feel fat in a pair of jeans.

Actually, I hope people don’t think that I want McCain to die, May he live long and prosper, (Just thought I’d throw that reference to high culture in there, so you wouldn’t think I’m ignorant) but Palin isn’t such a bad choice to make sure he’s still breathing. I will note that I don’t want Obama to croak either. Seems a lot of people want McCain to die though.