Yeah, Right, Whatever

This Weeks Soldier Was Requested By Echo9er

Sgt. Maj. Brent "The Rock" Jurgersen
Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division

Active Duty

Not even two near-death encounters deterred Sgt. Maj. Brent Jurgerson's passion and eagerness to serve his country and lead his troops back home.

Jurgersen celebrated his second "alive day" anniversary January 26, 2007. It was a day of mixed emotions for him because on that same day two years ago he was given a second chance to live. It was a day that changed his life forever. While on patrol in Ad Dyuliah, Iraq, two rocket-propelled grenades struck his Humvee. The explosion killed his gunner and left Jurgersen fighting for his life, flat-lining twice on the operating table in Balad.

Afterwards, during a promotion ceremony in August of 2006, Jurgersen was selected for a command sergeant major appointment. Becoming the first full limb amputee student to attend the academy.

You can read the rest of Sgt. Maj. Jurgersen's story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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

(The following is a paid review. This is something new I'm trying.)

Having thirteen year old boys, I can't keep my head in the sand. I'd love to, but that would be just plain stupid. There are far too many things in the world today that can harm my kids or lead them astray. As a parent, I need to know about these things, for several reasons. I can protect my boys, to a certain extent, and I can educate them on the dangers out there. Or, if necessary, I can know the warning signs of something going wrong and nip problems in the bud.

That's where Prevent Delinquency Project comes in. They are a group of volunteers who have set up a website in the hopes of educating parents on how to cut down on delinquency in our country. It seems sad that we need this kind of education, but, that's the reality.

PDP centers around the idea of a F.A.M.I.L.Y. model of parental supervision. Learn, listen, act about sums it up (but they do a better job of explaining it). They also have an impressive list of threats on our children. (OK, I'll admit it- I'm naive. I must be. I had no idea about most of the things on that list.) They also have links to some helpful online resources for parents.

Like I said, it's sad that parents in the United States need this kind of website. You can blame a lot of different things, but the blame doesn't change the situation. Parents need this information. There are too many bad guys and bad things out there.

Radical Islam (is there another kind) declared war on us long before 9/11/01. On February 26, 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed. Seven people (yes, I'm including Monica Smith's unborn baby) were murdered by Ramzi Yousef and his band of thugs. And, yet, 8 years later, when the WTC was attacked again, people mused that it was the first terrorist attack on US soil.

So soon we forget. (h/t to Linda)

It's been a while since I've done a round up, mostly because the stuff in the news hasn't been worth it (I mean, you can only tolerate so much Britney and Anna Nicole without going crazy). I'll go ahead and sort it into catagories for you- I know some of you will skip over the stupid stuff, with good reason.

In fact, let's start with the stupid stuff. I didn't watch the Oscars. Had no desire to watch it. I don't think I saw any of the movies nominated, and I really didn't feel like being a voyeur for the Goracle Love In. But a couple of interesting things did happen, or so I've read:

• Jack went bald for the occasion (and didn't look half bad).
  
• Helen Mirren has been invited round for tea- at the Palace.
  
• Martin Scorsese finally won an Oscar.
  
• In an "entertainment" related story, James Cameron (of Titanic fame) has announced that he found Jesus' tomb (and he was married, had kids, etc. etc. etc.) (There was a very good book - fiction, of course- about something like this. I'll give the ending away, because it's not a big shocker... the tomb - and the body- weren't Jesus'. They were frauds.)
  

Now let's look at a little politics:

• The Council on Foreign Relations, formerly a credible policy group, has decided to add Angelina Jolie to its ranks. (What are they thinking?)
  
• People who weren't alive when there were slaves in this country are apologizing for it.
  
• The headline reads " Is Hillary Afraid of Being Embarassed by Bill?" (I think they forgot one word- "again")
• Also, if Hillary is elected, she's planning on "using the former Presidents as diplomats." (Is that Hill-speak for "get Bill out of Washington as often as possible"?)
  
• In a surprising twist, Al Sharpton's great(x) grandparental unit was owned by Strom Thurmond's great(x) grandparental unit. (No news as to whether or not Sheets Byrd's ancestors owned JC Watt's ancestors or anything like that. I mean, that wouldn't be news, right?)
  

And here's what's new in the world of science:

• Evidently, someone at NASA has watched Armageddon. (Do I really need to explain this one?)
• "Your uncle was a monkey" as an insult may be a more recent occurance, if these scientists are right (which they're not, but still... it's fun to watch people theorize on the impossible... kind of like watching a train wreck).
  
• The ground near Naples, Italy, is rising due to magma movement. (The caldera there is part of the volcanic arc which included Vesuvius.) Another eruption? Not sure, but plenty for geophysicists to go on and on about.
  
• The "Clovis People" were not the first to populate the Americas. We don't know who did, but it wasn't them. (Makes you love science, doesn't it? Especially when they use flawed methodology like carbon dating to figure it out. When living mollusk shells read as thousands of years old according to radiometric dating, you have a seriously flawed methodology.)
• Headline reads "Choreographer of Northern Lights Revealed." Unfortunately, the article goes on to explain the method The Choreographer used to make the auroras so beautiful, not Who made the auroras. (read the lyrics- one of my favorite songs) Oh, well... it's not like I expected anything different.
  

And, in the "Random File":

• Jan Ullrich retires.
  
• Qatar, Oman, and the UAE, in a sudden bout of sanity, have agreed to flyovers by the Israeli Air Force if they want to bomb Iran into the Stone Age. (Don't worry- I'm sure the sanity will be short-lived.)
• King Louie's final speech calls for Bush's impeachment. (And that's different from the rest of his speeches... how?)
• Prince Harry might be a kidnapping target once he gets to Iraq.
  
• Here's a hint for these parents- if you don't like it, GET YOUR KIDS OUT! (reason #4239754 why parents should seriously consider homeschooling.)
  

There you go. Time for more coffee.

Today is the 178th anniversary of the birth of Levi Strauss, inventor of blue jeans (their "official" birthday is May 20^th, 1873).

Make today a casual day!

When I read this headline, I really thought they were poking fun at AlGore. But, no, that was an actually banner at the recent talk given by Gore in Canada.

Evidently, ecoSanity has turned the eco-extremist into their own personal Prophet of Environmental Doom. But, that's ok- officially turning environmental extremism into a religion just confirms what most of us have thought for years- y'all are a bunch of cultists.

"You can't hear that message enough," said Shawn Omstead, attending with his daughter Meredith. "When we watched the movie, the next day we went and replaced all the light bulbs in the house . . . you see the movie and it sticks with you for a bit and then it fades."

"It was not our intention to have a religious approach," ecoSanity group founder Glenn MacIntosh said, "but it was our understanding that it was that kind of movement that people were craving; that kind of spiritual connection in their gut."

With a track record for concern about climate change that extends back to when relatively few were interested, Mr. Gore was "the right person at the right time" when he parlayed his high profile into a successful and sobering documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, last year, Mr. MacIntosh said.

People responded because "they know this is happening, they know it's not good and that it has to stop," he said. "And, at last, the media and the world are beginning to pay attention."

Unfortunately for The Goracle, not everyone is pleased with him.

First, we have a filmmaker who has noticed that The Goracle's Oscar-nominated film, An Inconvenient Truth, does not meet the Academy's "rule 12" and should be disqualified from competition for the Best Documentary award. He's not deluded enough to think that it will be disqualified.

Nonetheless, Gifford, the filmmaker, sees a political agenda behind Gore's predicted success.

Even if material in Gore's film is "proven beyond a shadow of doubt to be untrue," the Academy will not invoke rule 12, because the subject matter is politically correct, Gifford told Cybercast News Service.

"The fact is the Academy doesn't care. The rule is selectively enforced depending on the politics," he said.

Next, we have "Green Business News" (who probably supports The Goracle for the most part) pointing out how his use of "carbon credits" won't work- AT ALL. It's a long article, but here's the conclusion:

He added that such a scenario would not only remove the financial incentive for countries to invest in clean technologies that help them stick to their emissions targets - as it would be cheaper to continue polluting and just buy credits - but it would also discourage investment in carbon reduction projects in developing countries as they would have to pay for CDM approval only to find they could not get a good price for the carbon credits they generate.

But, that's ok. The Goracle won't have to worry, because his loyal disciples don't actually live in a reality based society. They don't actually have individual thoughts- they just chant back whatever mantra they're fed. They'll sit in their "cathedrals" (the university), worship at the altar of Gaia, munch on granola, and soak in every word from their prophet.

But still... "The Goracle"... I like that... that's funny...

Staff Sgt. Kara Opperman
332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron


Staff Sgt. Kara Opperman performs a quality control check Feb. 13 on fuel coming out of a fill stand at Balad Air Base, Iraq. Sergeant Opperman ensures the fuel is safe and meets Air Force specifications before it is used for aircraft and equipment.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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

If you were going to put together a summer reading list for 13 year-olds, what would you put on it? I'm looking for a variety of subjects and genres.

So far, I have the following on the possibles list:

• Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish (an awesome book that I recommend to everyone)
  
• The Language of God by Francis S. Collins
• The Greatest Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Yes, if it's on the final list, if I haven't read it yet, I'll be reading it, too.

Unlike many people, I don't think Bill Gates is evil encarnate or anything like that. Then again, I'm not an OS zealot... I don't care how the computer runs- I just care that it does. On the other hand, as a Seattle liberal, Bill Gates doesn't usually get many brownie points from me, either. (Yeah, I know he's given a bazillion dollars to different charities. And?)

Today, I saw this about Gates and his kids. I think he's on to something.

Gates said he and his wife Melinda decided to set a limit of 45 minutes a day of total screen time for games and an hour a day on weekends, plus what time she needs for homework.

An hour on school days? Not such a bad plan. On weekends? Maybe just an hour is a bit... over the top. All day? I don't like that.

Thoughts? If you have school-aged kids, how long do they get to play on game systems (lump the game consoles and the PC together for this) each school day? What about on the weekends? Does that change during the summer?

I love Mallard.

Baby Amillia started life in the record books.

A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.

Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks.

"We weren't too optimistic," Dr. William Smalling said Monday. "But she proved us all wrong."

Neonatologists who cared for Amillia say she is the first baby known to survive after a gestation period of fewer than 23 weeks. A database run by the University of Iowa's Department of Pediatrics lists seven babies born at 23 weeks between 1994 and 2003.

Amillia has experienced respiratory problems, a very mild brain hemorrhage and some digestive problems, but none of the health concerns are expected to pose long-term problems, her doctors said.

Here's a picture of Amillia a couple of days after she was born (notice the ball point pen next to her for scale):

That's a little baby. Here's a more recent photo:

Keep in mind, she's still tiny, weighing in at just over 4 pounds. (For comparison, babies born under 5 pounds are considered "low birth weight", and Amillia is almost 4 months old. But, then again, if I'm doing the math right, she's still 3 weeks out from her fully baked date.) She'll be on monitors and oxygen for a while, but her prognosis is good.

Decades ago, babies who were born very early had little chance of making it without serious health problems, if they lived at all. By the late 1970s, it was more common, but not routine, for 30+ week babies to have a fighting chance. As each year passes, medical technology, quick, creative thinking by doctors and Divine Intervention help smaller and smaller babies to thrive. (Here's a story about a little boy and how the Little Blue Pill may have helped him.) Where will ingenuity take us next?

Congradulations to the Taylor family, and best of luck in the future. I wonder if they realize that if she's this stubborn this young, then they're in trouble when she hits the teens.

There's been this cute little meme going around- tell six weird things about yourself that most people don't know. It was cute because... well... I hadn't been tagged. Until now. Thanks, Spats.

Hmm... six weird things about me... lemme think...

1. I hate melon. All melon. Anything that tastes like melon. Even artificial melon flavor and nasty melon-scented stuff. Ick.
2. My elbows hyper-extend to a point that's almost gross.
3. If I'm driving long-distance, I'm wide awake. However, if I'm in a car, going a long distance, but not driving, it's very difficult for me to stay awake.
4. I really like sushi. I've even made it on more than one occasion at sushi parties.
   
5. When I was little (we're talking pre-double digits), my favorite band was the Bay City Rollers. I think I had all of their albums at one point. In fact, my parents might still have them stashed somewhere.
   
6. I took ballet, tap, jazz and break dancing classes, thus proving that white chicks can't break dance.
   

I'll be nice and not pass this one on. But, if you want to do it, leave me a link in the comments.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory (with potential blizzard conditions) for Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London, England; and cities to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the United States for July 7th.

What? With Gore's current track record, it would be a safe prediction, right?

So, I have a bunch of blue jeans, and I'm contemplating making purses out of them and selling them (on EBay or maybe craft fairs). Here's my first prototpye:

The "real" ones will be lined and the sewing will be better and there will all different sorts of embellishments.

Yeah, I know the guys aren't interested in this (except from a "hey... you can make money making those?" perspective), but... Ladies... thoughts? I'm not asking for orders. I'm asking for feedback. Appealing? Good things? Bad things? I should stick to cooking and blogging?

From Strange Cosmos:

Excerpts from a Dog's Daily Diary:

8:00am Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30am A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40am walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30am Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00pm Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00pm Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00pm Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00pm Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00pm Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00pm Wow! Watched TV with my master! My favorite thing!

11:00pm Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary:

Day 683 of my captivity: My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and myself are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape.. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the floor.

Day 684 - Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. The audacity!

Day 685 - There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Day 686 - Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released --and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded! The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move.
The captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe....... for now....

Ellicia Stanley & her husband SPC Reid Stanley



I received and email from Wednesday Hero Blogroll member Mary Ann in which she suggested that I profile the spouse of a soldier. Seeing as I'd profiled one such spouse in the past, I though this was the perfect opportunity to do it again. I hadn't read the entire letter before I said yes, but after reading it I'm glad she sent it to me.

I think military families, especially the spouses, while they sign no contract, serve our country just as much as the service member. They give up familiar home ties and relocate all over the country, all over the world. They give up their civilian lives for something bigger than themselves. Ellicia was a military wife for only two and a half years. Before they married, but after 9/11, Reid came to her and told her of his desire to enlist. He wanted to do his part. He tells part of the story in his blog post
http://kafstorm.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-i-joined-army.html

She encouraged him, pushing him so he could meet his goal of serving his country. He did and took his oath in October 2002. By the time they were married in July 2004, Reid was already stationed in Germany. It was 3 months before she could join him there. In a move that, for someone who'd seldom left her hometown in South Carolina, must have come as quite an adjustment. But she did it, as do so many other military wives.

Then came deployment to Afghanistan in May 2005. They spent their first anniversary apart. Reid writes about that anniversary in this post
http://kafstorm.blogspot.com/2005/07/my-hero.html

It was in the sixth month of deployment when Ellicia received the news — she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Devastating. However, in an email to me on the day she received her diagnosis, the phrase she used was, "not stellar news". Understated, calm, steady, no hysteria, it was another challenge to face.

I came to admire her because, I too, had been away from home, (not to a foreign country), with a one small child (not three), and my husband traveling (not in a war zone). Knowing what my experience had been like, I was amazed at how she took it all in stride. Even when faced with a
terminal diagnosis, she faced it all with grace, dignity and humor. All the while supporting her husband, the mission and the country.

Reid was given compassionate leave back to Germany in November 2005. For the next thirteen months they fought their own personal war with cancer…breast, lung…and finally eleven tumors in her brain.

In November 2006 the Stanley's took compassionate reassignment back to the U.S. to Ft. Eustis, Virginia.

On 31 December 2006, Ellicia lost her battle. But her spirit lives on in her husband, her children, and the many people she inspired with her courage.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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

Today, Ana Nicole Smith passed away at the age of 39.

Unfortunately, many people are already picking her life to pieces, being far too crass and cruel, considering the circumstances. She had led a rough life, and had more tragedy and drama packed into it than anyone deserves.

No, she wasn't perfect. Are you? Yes, she made mistakes. Haven't you? The only differences are in the matter of degree and the fact that she made her mistakes in front of the cameras.

Right now, we need perspective. Baby Dannielynn is only 5 months old, and she will soon be thrust into legal battles (over the Marshall estate as well as the paternity question) that could very well carry on until her adulthood. Keep the little one in your prayers. She's going to need it.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Last Tuesday, as President Bush got off the helicopter in front of the White House, he was carrying a baby piglet under each arm.

The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, Salutes, and says: “Nice pigs, sir.”

The President replies “These are not pigs, these are authentic Arkansas Razorback Hogs. I got one for Senator Hillary Clinton and I got one for Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi.”

The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, Salutes, and says, “Excellent trade, sir.”

h/t to C.A. Marks

I'm not going to go into a long, drawn out treatise on Global Warming and why I believe that man has nothing to do with it. I'm just going to say it and be done with it.

First, let's look at a few definitions.

science: (n) a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws

fact: (n) something that actually exists; reality; truth

opinion: (n)a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty

consensus: (n) majority of opinion

theory: (n) a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena

data: (n) individual facts, statistics, or items of information

hypothesis: (n) a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation

scientific law: (n)a phenomenon of nature that has been proven to invariably occur whenever certain conditions exist or are met; also, a formal statement about such a phenomenon

That should give us a good basis for discussion.

Here are the main sources I will use for this. I'm not going to quote ad nauseum from them. Read them for yourself.

Global warning alarmists have reached a consensus that humans are the major contributor to "climate change" (evidently their PR firm has informed them that record cold and snow doesn't help much with their hypothesis). They base their hypothesis on a little over 100 years of temperature data and anecdotal "evidence." These are the same people who told us 30 years ago that humans were pushing the planet into the next Ice Age. These environmentalists say that there is a consensus that humans are negatively impacting the climate on Earth, and we must stop it now.

Looking at archeological and historical evidence, we find a treasure trove of information about the climate over the centuries, not just the past one century. There is evidence of a quick and ferocious Ice Age long ago ( case in point is the wooley mammoth who was quick frozen in ice with dinner still undigested in his stomach). Then there was the very warm period in the Middles Ages, followed immediately by a mini-Ice Age. Where were the SUVs and evil industrial complex that caused those, right?

Once we see, based on facts, that humanity had little to do with the climate changes of the past, then we can look for the real causes of those massive climate shifts. One prevalent theory is solar cycles. Coronal mass ejections and sun spot cycles routinely effect our weather patterns.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to say "trash the Earth all you want." I believe that the Earth has been given to us as a gift to treasure and protect. We were given dominion over the Earth, and that stewardship involves great responsibility.

What it boils down to, in the end, is consensus v. science. They do not coexist. Science is not dependent on prevailing opinion- it is the study of fact. Prevailing opinion (based on conjecture and computer models that are, at times, intentionally programed to give the "right" projections) is that humans are responsible for global climate change. Prevailing scientific research shows that the Earth experiences cyclical climate change.

I think I'll stick with science on this one.

(I'm going to read this book as soon as I can. Every P.I.G. I've read so far has been enlightening as well as entertaining.)

From what I've been able to tell from the bru-ha-ha going on in the blogosphere this week, Presidential candidates are hiring bloggers to work with their campaigns. Well, sign me up!

Here are my qualifications:

• I am actually a registered voter.
  
• I am familiar with proper grammar and the spellcheck button.
  
• I got all As in my writing classes throughout my education.
  
• I'm a quick study most of the time.
  
• I am a pro-life, pro-gun, pro-military, pro-faith, pro-family, pro-capitalism, pro-school choice, original intent constitutionalist conservative.
  
• I'm a published writer (well... if you include the poetry that was published when I was in high school and the cookbook that's almost finished).
  
• I am a stay at home mom who is considering home schooling again, so I am quite conversant on several topics important to the "average American" who doesn't care much about our foreign policy but does care about taxes and education and medical care.
• I am a book junkie, with a varied interest in reading material.
  
• I am also a political junkie, and I can discuss foreign policy without sounding completely ridiculous.
  
• I've had a blog for over 2 years now, and I've managed to not make a whole bunch of enemies.
  
• I have been accused of being hateful, but that was almost always by a liberal who disagreed with my general position on a given topic.
  
• As a rule, I don't resort to emotional outbursts to get my point across.
  
• I try to attack ideologies, not individuals. (There are exceptions. Most of them revolve around mass-murders and the Religion of Peace.)
  
• Foul and/or abusive language is at a bare minimum here, if at all.
  

Now, if you are interested in hiring me as your campaign blogger, I have a few conditions of my own:

• I may sugar-coat something, but I will not lie for you.
  
• You might not have all of the same platform stands that I do, but you'll have to show me plenty of evidence to convince me to support your view.
  
• I might be willing to do some traveling (especially if you actually get the nomination), but most of my work will be done by telecommuting. I have a cell phone, and I know how to use it.
  
• If you're a liberal, please see my first condition.

So, if you're a conservative candidate looking for a blogger for your campaign, send me an e-mail. I just might be your best bet. (notice, not one f-bomb in this whole post... can you say that about... um... other campaign bloggers you might have heard of lately???)

You can purchase one here. Most of the stuff on that site is a bit... PG-13 at best. But this bumper sticker is awesome.

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By LeAnn

On May 9th 2004, SFC Lloyd A. Heinrichs Jr was down at the Ocean front in Virginia Beach when a ‘Swimmer in Distress’ call came in to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Dispatch office about noon. Myself (Gary Couch, Dive 8 ), SFC Heinrichs and Petty Officer First Class Scott Weil of the U.S Navy, volunteered to respond the call. There were a total of 3 people in the water that were being pulled out to sea by the current. The temperature of the water was only around 65 degrees Fahrenheit with the air temperature at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The undertow was very extreme that day with the beach already “Red Flagged” due to the strong currents and excessive waves.

Upon arrival to the scene, SFC Heinrichs and PO1 Weil identified the victims. Without hesitation and with total disregard for their own safety each grabbed a torpedo buoy and entered the water. SFC Heinrichs went for the first victim to the South of 36th Street while PO1 Weil went for the second and third victims, which were hanging on to each other to the North of 36th Street. As I observed SFC Heinrichs and PO1 Weil, once they were waist deep, the current rapidly pulled them out. SFC Heinrichs made his way to the first victim and started fighting his way back to shore. Once SFC Heinrichs reached his victim, he calmed her down, making the attempt to head back to shore. Several times SFC Heinrichs and his victim were rolled under by the enormous waves and undertow. His victim was completely exhausted from the ordeal. Once he reached shallow water, he assisted his victim to shore. The victim was an older heavy-set lady, early forties. The Virginia Beach Fire Department Paramedics placed the victim on a stretcher and the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad took her to Virginia Beach General Hospital.

SFC Heinrichs was extremely exhausted and fatigued from the rescue. He turned to check on PO1 Weil and notice that PO1 Weil had reached the other two victims, a male in his late twenties and a female in her early forties. PO1 Weil was struggling with his two victims giving a hand and arm signal for ‘Help’. The female was almost passive from near drowning, and the male who had initially swum out to help her was becoming a victim himself. Without hesitation, SFC Heinrichs picked himself up and ran back into the water to assist PO1 Weil while PO1 Weil did what he could to keep them calm and afloat until help arrived.

Once SFC Heinrichs reached PO1 Weil and the other two victims, they were all rolled by several consecutive waves, pinning SFC Heinrichs under the two victims. A few moments later, SFC Heinrichs emerged between the victims with both lanyards of the torpedo buoys wrapped around his neck, gasping for air. As the situation went from bad to worse, PO1 Weil tried his best to help SFC Heinrichs with untangling the lanyards from his neck while trying to hold his passive victim’s head out of the water. SFC Heinrichs took a deep breath and submerged himself in the attempt to free his neck. As each wave came over the top of PO1 Weil and the victims, we kept waiting for him to resurface in bated breath not knowing that the lanyards kept tightening around SFC Heinrichs’ neck. While continuous waves were tossing PO1 Weil and the victims, SFC Heinrichs reemerged on the side of the victims. He had been under for over thirty seconds trying to get loose. We began to worry weather or not he was going to come back up. You could hear the heavy sigh of relief from all the EMS personnel on the beach once he resurfaced. He grabbed a hold of the male victim and started for shore. The victims once, on shore, were taken away for medical attention. PO1 Weil and SFC Heinrichs were taken to an ambulance and checked for possible hypothermia and released.

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

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

Does anyone in the MSM have access to a dictionary? Seriously. They just don't get it.

Take, for example, the GOP blocking a cloture vote in the Senate. (Powerline has a nice, concise recap of the whole mess on the Senate floor yesterday.) The MSM (and the Dems in the Senate) said that the GOP was "blocking debate on the Iraqi surge." huh?

Quickly, let's go to the dictionary.

cloture: (noun) a method of closing a debate and causing an immediate vote to be taken on the question.

Let me see if I can explain this so that even the pointy-heads out there can understand it. The Democratic majority in the Senate wanted to push through the nonbinding resolution condeming the President's troup surge plan in Iraq. They didn't want to talk about alternative resolutions put forward by the GOP and even some Dems suffering from temporary sanity. The GOP blocked the cloture motion - they stopped the Dems from blocking debate on alternative resolutions. It's exactly the opposite of what the MSM and the Dems were saying (go figure).

No, I'm not surprised. And I'm not surprised that the mindless sheeple of this country numbly listen to and believe what they're told. I'm just annoyed by it.

Here's your news ticker for today:

• Today would have been Ronald Reagan's 96th birthday.
  
• What did the boat ever do to those sharks?
  
• Not often do you hear stories about eagles attacking people. Scary.
• Darn those evil snowboarders deer. Ouch!
  
• An astronaut goes a little bonkers and all the MSM can focus on is her Depends. Odd...
  
• This is just twisted... but to be expected in a time when human life is so devalued.
  
• If this bill passes, if you get married and don't have kids, then you're not really married. (novel idea, but it's not going to go anywhere.)
• I'm ok with Speaker Lugosi having the use of military aircraft (for security measures)- but not for all of her family(aside from her immediate family) and friends and other California legislators. Let 'em take Delta like the rest of us.
  
• This prof thinks he didn't get tenure because of his race. It's more likely because of his stand on stem cell research.
  
• If you want to go to a zoo (with 180+ species at any one time), just look at your arm. This is going to drive clean-freaks nuts.
  
• Just give me a few minutes alone with this guy and his little toy... please... it won't take me long... really...
  
• The Wonder Spot is getting bulldozed. Bummer.
  

That's it... for now.

Many people remember (unfortunately) the infamous John & Yoko Bed-In. Well, a couple in Mobile, Alabama are doing their own version. But it's just not the same.

During the bed-in, the Seewers still go to work and go about their daily lives as usual. But at night, they sleep in the living room.

Ernie said the process of moving the bed from one room to the other was "rough."

"You take it apart, and you move the couch around and the coffee table around," he said. "It was kind of a big project."

That's not a peace protest. That's a guy who couldn't get his wife to agree with having a tv in their bedroom. Not the same thing.

Is anyone else annoyed by auto-dialers? Your phone rings, you pick it up, and there's a canned voice saying, "please hold for an important message from _____."

It might be a telemarketing company trying to sell you something, or it might be a politician trying to get you to support x, y, or z. Or it could be your bank, letting you know about some new product you can get through them, or maybe a charity asking for a donation.

No matter what it is, if I answer the phone and there's not a real, live person on the other end of the line, I hang up. I don't care if it's a great product or a good cause or whatever. If you want my attention, you have to actually talk to me. I'm just funny that way.

I'm not going to dwell on the '08 Presidential campaigns 24/7 quite yet- election fatigue will knock me out before the Hawkeye Caucai gets here (a little Rush lingo there). But I need to bring up two items and point out that they are actually gems, just waiting to be polished by the right conservative (is that redundant?)

First up, we have Shillary and her opinion of who owns the profits made by corporations.

"I want to take those profits and put them into an alternative energy fund that will begin to fund alternative smart energy alternatives that will actually begin to move us toward the direction of independence."

Uh... Senator Clinton, that's not your money, and it's not going to be any time in the near or distant future. Congress (even a Democrat controlled Congress) would not be stupid enough to pass that kind of tax legislation, no matter how hard to lobby for it. You see, oil companies already have a higher tax burden (according to World Bank) than more than 150 countries. And you want them to give you more? No, Senator. Some of that money went to bonuses. Some went to upgrading the corporate jets. And, believe it or not, most of it goes into R&D, finding newer, cleaner ways to use what they drill out of the ground. Get over it. It's not yours.

Second, we have John "The Breck Girl" Edwards. He's just a gift that keeps on giving. He keeps harping on the whole "Two Americas" nonsense, all the while his 28,000 square foot bungalo is being built in North Carolina. And then, in a move that is probably making Walter Mondale laugh and cry at the same time, Senator Edwards is planning on raising taxes as soon as he gets into office to help fund healthcare.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said taxes should be raised for upper-income people to pay for expanding health care coverage.

As Mondull would tell you if you'd only ask, telling people that you're going to raise their taxes is the easiest way to get them to NOT vote for you. Especially if you announce that you're going to use that revenue to pay for a program that the vast majority of people don't want. (And let's not even get into the fact that health care costs are so high due, in part, to the high number of bogus malpractice cases he and his ilk filed over the years.)

Funny thing is that, in both of these instances, everyone knows that Clinton and Edwards are just playing to the way-left whackos that make up a huge chunk of the Democratic base. The sudden hard right toward center that the Dem's candidate is going to have to make to try to appeal to the rest of the country will be painfully humorous to observe. One can only hope that all of the Dems have the name of a good chiropractor to help take care of that whiplash.

(Scroll down for the first 2 SuperBowl posts.) More first half info- the Bears did not get a first down in the last 18 minutes of the half, and Lovie Smith said that his defense was on the field too much. Uh... yeah...

7:25pm: Kickoff, Colts return it to their own 38. As long as the Colts can maintain 3-4 yards per down, everything will be just fine in the 2nd half. First down- Urlacher isn't not happy about that. I'm not sure I'd want to make him angry. I wouldn't like him when he's angry.

7:29pm: What was that I was saying? Utecht just got clobbered by Urlacher. Took him a while to get off the field. But it was a first down, so his pain was not in vain. (teehee- I made a rhyme.)

7:32pm: Urlacher's blood pressure is climbing. The Colts are reading the D and are taking advantage of them. Addai has been taking most of Urlacher's aggression the last couple of plays- probably because Addai has been carrying/catching the ball and making first downs.

7:35pm: Challenge flag tossed by Dungy- not enough players on D on the field. OK, boys and girls, can you count to eleven? I guess Tony can't, because they were all there. Colts lose the challenge and a time out.

7:38pm: FG Vinatieri. Not pretty, but good. 19-14, Colts.

7:40pm: It looks like Coke just recycled all of the ads they've been playing in theatres. bleh...

7:41pm: Rain still falling. It's slick, but not muddy.

7:42pm: Wow... Rex took the snap 56 minutes after the Bears' last snap. Ouch. He's actually completing passes. I'm worried. I may have to change my opinion of him... nah...

7:43pm: SACK by Booger McFarland. Punt returned to the Colts' 35.

7:49pm: Rhodes breaks a couple of tackles and got them to the Bears' 30.

7:50pm: Bad timing for a face mask, Bears. First and goal at the 10. 2nd and goal... 3rd and goal. Rhodes carries to the 3. FG attempt by Vinatieri is good. Flag on the play. Colts decline. 22-14, Colts.

7:55pm: T-mobile commercial was OLD.

7:56pm: kickoff... flag... personal foul, kicking team. 15 yard penalty.

7:58pm: Nice to know Federline has a sense of humor about himself. And the "but he's got an axe" Bud Light commercial is funny.

8:02pm: Rex almost got intercepted. Gould kicks a FG. 22-17, Colts.

8:07pm: Challenging the "incomplete pass." Now ruled a complete pass. 3rd and 1 (Colts) becomes 1st and 10 after a toss to Wayne. End of third quarter.

8:12pm: 2nd & 13... false starts have been problematic for the Colts today. TO Colts.

8:16pm: Harrison (Colts) limps off the field. Punt goes into the endzone. Bears take over on their own 20.

Random trivia- Peyton and Rex competed against once before at the Orange Bowl. It didn't end well for Peyton.

8:21pm: Hayden intercepted a pass intended for Muhammed and returned it for a TD. Bears are challenging if he stepped out of bounds. Ruling stands. TD, Colts. XP is good. 29-17. Colts.

8:29pm: Rex is having a bad 2nd half- Sanders just interecepted a pass and made it down to the Bear's 41. Colt's ball after offsetting penalties.

8:33pm: Flomax is an old commercial, but... do we really want a new one? Does anyone else want to see less of the one they have?

8:37pm: Colts had to punt it away to the Bears' 8. Let's see what Rex can do with it.

8:43pm: Jackson (43, Colts) down. Helped up. Bears are 4th and 9... Rex passed, it was caught, and then stripped. Colts take over on downs. at the Bears' 46.

8:46pm: Rhodes runs it for the first down at the 32. Where'd Urlacher disappear to?

8:47pm: 2 minute warning. Colts winning 29-17.

8:51pm: Snapple's commercial is OLD. Hey! I thought the Dorito winning commercial was supposed to be on during the 2 minute warning. They goofed!

8:55pm: With one minute left, the Bears are trying to hang in there. It's not working, but they're trying. Rex is trying to run it for the first down.

8:56pm: Dungy just got the ice water shower.

8:58pm: Game over. Colts win.

Post game post coming.

We're heading into halftime, the score is 16-14, Colts. Halftime report, and then Prince. Oh, yeah...

In the first half, the rain did have more to do with the game than I expected. Lots and lots of turnovers, and not the tasty kind. Rex is playing a lot better than I expected, and Peyton's not choking like some people feared.

Oh, joy... here comes Prince. uh... "We Will Rock You" is NOT a Prince song.

"Let's Go Crazy." Not a bad song. Considering the rain, I was hoping for some Purple Rain. (What is that thing on his head?)

"Proud Mary" isn't a Prince song, either... didn't he have enough songs in his discography? The day-glow marching band was kind of cool, though.

Never heard this song before... "The Best of You"... nope... never heard it... Did not need the scream at the end...

Now he plays Purple Rain... most of the kids in the audience don't look old enough to know who Prince is.

OK... he didn't completely stink... but still...

I think I'm going to live blog it... well, as much as I can... sometimes there might not be much to say.

Right now, it's about a half hour until kickoff. Just saw a cute intro about who the players are playing for- Peyton's big brother was on there, as well as a bunch of the players' parents. "Bring the trophy home to Momma." Maybe it's a Mom thing- I thought it was cute.

I'll admit it- I'm cheering for the Colts. I like Peyton. And I don't like Da Bears. Can't help it. As for whether or not the Colts will actually win, the talking heads are saying, because of the rain, Da Bears might win it. Bah... if the game was in Chicago or Green Bay or somewhere equally chilling, then they might have a point. It's going to be wet, not cold. I don't think the weather will have as much of a bearing on the game as some think.

5:08pm (all times Central): team intros... Cool team video intros. More Colts fans than I expected. I had heard that Miami was just crawling with Bears' fans, so I expected more than a few boos. The Bears' fans actually seem quite subdued. Odd... Tony Dungy looks like he just wants to get the game started. Lovie looks like he's having a good time so far...

5:14pm: the spots for the CBS series are going to drive me nuts.

5:16pm: Billy Joel doing the National Anthem... um... he should have done an instumental with the piano... he sounds horrid... Dungy even grimiced at the sound...

5:19pm: Norbit really seems like a stupid movie... how many times will we get to see the commercial? And Jessica Simpson doing more Pizza Hut commercials? well... ok... I guess...

5:21pm: Is there some reason that a company would spend ALL that money for a Superbowl spot, and they don't bother making a new commercial? It just seems... lazy...

5;22pm: during the Captains' intro, Urlacher looked like he was about to go ahead and sack Peyton right then and there just to get things started. Tony Corrente is the ref... dang... I was hoping for the cool ref...

Bears win the toss... Vinatieri to kick off... I predict good things from him tonight.

5:26pm: This is going to be a LONG game. Hester just ran back the kick off for a TD. Geez- he even watched himself on the jumbotron as he ran in... Peyton looks like someone kicked his favorite puppy, and Dungy is not a happy man, either. 7-0, Bears.

5:30pm: Urlacher almost intercepted the first throw. This does not bode well for the horses. Come on, Peyton!

5:33pm: um... if you keep getting false start penalties, you're never going to get the first downs. DAGNABIT- interception, Harris.

5:34pm: rock, paper scissors Bud Light commercial is great! The Doritos commercial "live the flavor" cost all of $12 to make- very cute. The Blockbuster commercial with the the rodents is great! Did we really need to see Quirky Katie Curic? bleh...

5:38pm: The rain is picking up- Mud Bowl in the second half? The good news is that da Bears had to punt. Colts on the Bears' 20...

5:40pm: ok... the Sierra Mist comb-over commercial was disturbing.

5:42pm: The Colts got a first down. Ok, I'm actually surprised. If they can keep up 3 or 4 yards per down, they'll be ok. First down, again... this is more like it.

5:46pm: SWEET! 53 yards for the TD. Pass to Wayne. Tank couldn't get to Peyton in time. Bad snap on the extra point... 7-6, Bears.

5:48pm: the Fed Ex moon commercial got some official laughter from the peanut gallery. The Bud Light auction spot... eh...

5:50pm: Colts recover the kick-off fumble. Peyton, don't sit down quite yet!

5:51pm: Alex Brown stripped the ball... Bears' ball.

5:52pm: The Colts really need to pick up the speed if they're going to catch any of the Bears. Bears on the Colts' 5. ( uh... there's a guy named "Booger"????)

5:54pm: Rex threw a pass... and someone actually caught it! TD, Bears. 14-6, Bears.

5:55pm: snickers commercial- ew.

6:00pm: They're starting to have fogging problems with the cameras. I expect a few glitches in a live show, but that? They should have anticipated that.

6:01pm: 3 Mannings on the field right now... if the Bears had traded for Eli, I think we'd have all of the Mannings in the NFL accounted for in one game.

6:02pm: oops- Rex threw another good pass... and it was caught... force out. First down. FUMBLE- Colts ball on the Bears' 40-something. Rain is no longer just "a drizzle."

6:05pm: Peyton needs to throw it at people who are wearing white, not black. Just sayin'... Punted off, downed at the 4.

6:08pm: Benson and Tait (Bears) are both taking their time getting up. In fact, Benson ran into Tait and decided that resting on the grass for a while is a very good idea. Now, Benson is up- not quite walking straight as he's aimed at the sideline.

6:14pm: I guess they think the game is getting boring- they're starting to show the celebrities in the stands. David Spade is getting drenched- wonder why he didn't rate a suite. End of first quarter. 14-6, Bears.

6:16pm: What was that I was saying about old commercials? The Coke one isn't new. Random trivia- if I'm not mistaken, this is the first time it's rained during a SuperBowl.

6:22pm: kick is good from 29 yards out. 14-9, Bears. (The holder put a glove on- kept the ball from slipping.)

6:24pm: Garmin leads in the "stupid commercial" category with their ode to the Power Rangers.

6:25pm: Lovie and Tony did a Big Brothers/Big Sisters spot. I like it.

6:27pm: Bears went 3 and out... I love it.

6:28pm: another new Doritos commercial... odd... not liking that one so much... And I completely did NOT get the HHR commercial.

6:32pm: Peyton completed pass to Harrison for the first down. That's what they need to keep doing. And now another... I'm liking this...Rhodes pushed in for the TD. XP is good. 16-14 Colts. Finally.

6:35pm: Bud Light slapping commercial- ew. Heart attack commercial- got your attention. The Coke bottle spot was pretty good.

6:41pm: Bears 3 and out again. Woohoo.

6:45pm: The Sprint "connectile disfunction" spot was... tacky.

6:49pm: Fumble recovered by the Bears... grumble...

6:49pm: Fumble recovered by the Colts... I'm getting dizzy...

6:54pm: time out... time out... Vinatieri's kick is no good. Let's go into halftime 16-14, Colts.