Military
R. Lee Ermey Interview (Friday)
Aug 16th
UPDATE 3: Totally bummed I wasn’t able to take part in this due to technical issues (on my end). This was an interesting read, and Ermey is, as always, a gentleman who is always backing our fighting men and women. Check out the full transcript at the bottom of this post, just click MORE to read it…
UPDATE 2: Unfortunately, I missed this call. I dialed in several times but couldn’t get through (think it was a problem with the voip system on my end). I finally got through nearly 50 mins into the call and was informed that it had concluded! So sad, as I wanted to ask Ermey what was his favorite weapon to have fired so far in the series. A basic question that might have been asked before I got to ask it, but that’s what I was most curious about.
Update: I originally listed the day as Tuesday. The call actually takes place this Friday. My apologies.
I’ll be chatting with R. Lee Ermey about his new History series, Lock N’ Load Friday afternoon. Should be fun. Let me know what you think I should ask Gunny!
I’ll post an update here with some information from the call after it takes place, so check back for updates!
Check out Lock N Load on History- new episodes Friday nights!
About R.LEE ERMEY
As a Golden Globe nominee and Boston Society of Film Critics Award-winner for Best Supporting Actor in director Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket (1987)”, R. Lee Ermey is one of the most successful and talented actors working in film and television today.
Ermey spent eleven years in the Marine Corps, Two of which were spent as being a Drill Instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, India Company 3rd Recruit Training Battalion 1965-67, Arrived in Vietnam in 1968 spending 14 months attached to Marine Wing Support Group 17 and 2 tours in Okinawa. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was medically retired for injuries received. On May 17, 2002 he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) by Commandant James L. Jones, becoming the first retiree in the history of the Marines to be promoted. Using G.I. Bill benefits, Ermey enrolled at the University of Manila in the Philippines, where he studied drama. Francis Ford Coppola was filming “Apocalypse Now (1979)” in the area and cast Ermey in a featured role. He has since gone on to star or appear in approximately sixty films.
Lock N Load with R. Lee Ermey (History Channel)
Aug 1st
I posted a promo video before for the new History series, LOCK N LOAD with R. Lee Ermey. I just finished the episode on the machine gun. It’s actually very interesting, and Ermey definitely holds your attention.
He talked about the history of machines guns and how the gun evolved over the years. From the machine gun’s start with American inventor, Dr. Richard J Gatling in 1861, to the most advanced machine guns today, Ermey goes through all of it with his characteristic flare. This guy was a marine, and it shines through constantly.
It’s history geared toward those who love weaponry, so it’s very targeted, but it’s broad enough in its scope (at least from the episode I watched) to appeal to the general history-loving viewer like myself.
Some information I learned from this episode which I found pretty cool. The gatling gun was basically ten guns in one, in that it had ten barrels. What’s the point, I asked? Ermey, of course, answered that quickly- a gun barrel heats up quickly with the force of friction as the bullet travels its length. With ten barrels, not only can you shoot more projectiles in a shorter period of time, but it also allows each barrel to cool as you move to the next barrel and the next until you get back to the first barrel again. The first gatling guns weren’t technically machine guns, as they had to be manually cranked to turn to a new barrel, but they’re fascinating either way.
CHECK OUT Lock N Load on History. New episodes every Friday night at 8PM ET.
Lock N Load with R. Lee Ermey (History- July 31!)
Jul 30th
Check out the new series on the weapons of war. Lock N Load with R. Lee Ermey. Starts July 31 on History!
Jon Stewart’s Absurd Comparison of a Public Healthcare Plan with the US Military Healthcare
Jul 27th
Jon Stewart interviews Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard tonight…he asks Kristol if the American people deserve the same healthcare as the US military. Kristol, since he has common sense, says, “no. No, the general public should not receive the same healthcare the military does.” We give them top notch healthcare because of their service to our country. Stewart, and his zombie audience with him, “ooooohhhhh” over this comment.
Kristol, in the process, says that the military healthcare is run by the government, and that it’s top notch. Stewart then argues that Kristol admitted the federal government could run public healthcare and do a great job at it.
Seriously, Jon?
Let’s take a look at the stats. Wikipedia shows 3 million active members of the US military. Let’s assume that half of them get healthcare and use it. That figure is probably much higher than the actual number who use the government healthcare. So, 1.5 million people use a public healthcare plan that the federal government runs. Thus, that’s proof that ALL Americans deserve the same deal for doing nothing for the country, and on top of that the government could run this program for ALL Americans expertly.
The current US population according to the US Census Bureau is 305 million people. So, Stewart is trying to argue that because there exists a system that covers, at most, 3 million military men and women, and more likely less than half of that, the federal government could easily and efficiently run a system to cover 305 million people. On top of the raw numbers, think about it- military men and women are, generally, in great shape. The public, at large, is fairly out of shape for the most part. The general public would cost, we can assume, twice as much at least and probably much more than that.
What’s worse than this absurd comparison is the socialist-sounding demand that we cover ALL Americans with the same care that military men and women receive. Why would this argument ever make sense? Do Americans, just for being born in this country, deserve free healthcare that is, in no way, truly free? Taxes will go up across the board. The current plan touted by Obama will raise the budget deficits to levels never seen in our nation’s history according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Kristol didn’t defend his comment well, but Stewart made little, if any sense, to begin with. Comparing a system for the military with the general public is laughable, and the demand that we give to all Americans the same service we give to military officers who risk their lives is just plain dumb.
Stewart would fit in well with the Obama administration. I wonder when he’ll leave his place as a “newsman” and join the Obama team? His analogies make about as much sense as Obama’s own plans.
ADDENDUM: The system clearly covers retired members of the armed forces, so the total number would be over the 3 million currently active or reserve, but we’re talking different systems here. The VA would cover those retired members, and there have been some fairly large complaints about the VA system, so I don’t consider that in Kristol’s talk of wonderful care received.
Bruce Campbell from USA Network’s Burn Notice- Conference Call
Jun 1st
I took part in a conference call with Bruce Campbell this afternoon. Here are some of the notes I made. I should have the transcript and a write up tomorrow afternoon hopefully. I am thinking of starting a second site as companion to TheBlueSite based on entertainment, movies, TV, etc. Will make note of that news when it’s ready. Think of any good domain names for that sort of site?? Hit me up in the comments with any suggestions.
Here are the notes from the call. I got tired of taking notes at some point and just gave up…more tomorrow…
TV Mega Site
Bruce has been stuck in genre series. Is this change a purposeful act?
New Media Strategies. Krissie Heckins
Moderate question queue- *1
Recording, will receive copy of transcript.
NiceGirlsTV.com question 2
Question 3- Anne??
Question 4- Anthony BurnNotice.com
tvwithoutpity.com Zach Oats
expo center almost torn down. miami- shoot where else if moved?
bruce lives in oregon.
ONLY show shot regularly in miami. gov crist came to visit them to thank tham. they coould fake fl if they had to
stevie wilson latvstory.com
media blvd magazine next call
blogcritics magazine
ForcesOfGeek.com
What does Bruce know about Sam Axe that no one else knows, not even the writers per se?
Sam is a big reader of fiction and his favorite book is Wuthering Heights. He’s a secret romantic.
Evil Dead will be a remake coming up…he won’t be in it, but he will produce it. Probably will do a Bubba Hotep sequel, but he couldn’t come to agreement with director in the story, so he won’t be in it.
Vagabond, the gypsy life of an actor will be Bruce’s upcoming book in a couple of years.
Bruce has 2 previous books
deadbolt.com beer question with sams lovelife
readjunk.com—can we expect sam axe boody spray??
stu miller gunaxen.com?? beer guy again
kelly rutherford (brisco) is babe a licious to bruce
lastory.com stevie wilson
in florida- bruce has been cycling alot. exploring bike paths and such. florida is very flat. hes a new freak and craves reality= ny times and news. basketball he loves. generic guy stuff
multipleverses.com kate
bruce has his own blog
bruce talks about golden girls and how that show is an example of how tv caters to older people sometimes. not all tv is catered to 14 yr olds. usa has done a good job of doing xharacter based shows, not based on age and beauty. more mature stuff.
He will probably be in Spiderman 4, but Sam Raimi (who is a good friend) usually doesn’t let him know until the last second.
Sam will never get with Michael’s mother in Burn Notice.
NBA Finals- anyone but Kobe Bryant! He wanted Cavs to take it. He wants Orlando to knock Lakers down.
Bruce has directed Hercules, VIP, Xena, and more on TV. He doesn’t want to boss anyone around on Burn Notice, however. So, he doesn’t see himself ever directing an episode of Burn Notice.
FactCheck.Org Working for Obama Campaign Now?
Nov 13th
Looks like FactCheck.Org has decided to join the Obama campaign. They posted a new item Nov 11 claiming that when Obama spoke in support of a civilian security force that he was really talking about the peace corps and the foreign service.
Here’s the relevant section of their article:
I read a quote from Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia which stated that Obama wants to set up a civilian national security force that was similar to the “Gestapo” or the Nazi Brownshirts…
Similar claims have been circulating in right-leaning blogs and conservative Web sites ever since July, when Obama made a single reference to a “civilian national security force” in a campaign speech in Colorado. Obama’s detractors make much of his expansive (and exaggerated) description of such a force as being “just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the U.S. military. They also ignore the context.Obama was not talking about a “security force” with guns or police powers. He was talking specifically about expanding
AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps and the USA Freedom Corps, which is the volunteer initiative launched by the Bush administration after the attacks of 9/11, and about increasing the number of trained Foreign Service officers who populate U.S. embassies overseas.
That’d be great and all, except that’s not at all what Obama said. Speaking in Colorado, he said:
Obama, July 2, Colorado Springs, CO: [As] president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots [from 75,000] and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.
We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy.
We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy.
We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.
We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.
This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.
[emphasis added by FactCheck]
That argument doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Obama was merely wanting to double the peace corps and expand the number of people in the foreign service? Neither groups are security forces in ANY sense of the word. None of these groups are “as strong” as the military in any way. Certainly, none of these groups are as well funded.
The Peace Corps is a waste of money where volunteers go around the world helping with agricultural projects, land management projects, clean water, etc. It’s not a security force. The annulal budget is under $350 million.
Foreign Service is part of the State Dept and is a diplomatic service overseas at US embassies and consulates. I can’t find the exact budget for this orgaization, but the state dept as a whole is under $20 billion.
The US military budget for FY 2009 is over $600 billion.
Clearly none of the organizations Obama mentioned are anywhere near as well funded or as strong as the military. Unless the peace corps members are now carrying rocket launchers and driving tanks. Worse, neither peace corps or foreign service could be considered national security, as both groups are overseas and neither deal with national security.
FactCheck argues the quotes mentioned by most were taken out of context, and they lump them with Obama’s comments about the peace corps and such, but the fact is he was talking about several organizations together, and this civilian security force was a separate group.
There is simply no way to argue that when Obama said he supported a civilian security force as strong and well-funded as the US military he was actually talking about the peace corps. That argument is ridiculous.
Just like Obama’s mandatory requirement that kids do 100 hours of community service a year (which he suddenly changed to a voluntary system), this is the sort of creepy comment that Obama doesn’t have to answer for. FactCheck is supposed to be a fair and objective source keeping politicians and the media accountable. Unless you’re the messiah, then they’ll clearly support your version of things, no matter how preposterous the claim.
To Claim Bush a Failure Confuses the Meaning of “Failure”
Oct 17th
With all the reviews of Oliver Stone’s film, W (which looks like an overly long SNL skit), I keep seeing critics complain that President Bush is a failure, and that the low favorability ratings sort of prove that he’s a failure.
Two things to note in that regard- people are sometimes clueless creatures who can’t make up their minds from one minute to another. One day they love you, the next day they hate you for seemingly no good reason. Let’s face it, most people are self-involved, don’t care to have anything but a cursory glance at the facts, and would rather be watching episodes of Lost or Desperate Housewives than studying politics, history, or the world around them.
To go along with point 1, the fact is to proclaim the man a failure is to totally confuse the meaning of the word itself. After an unprecedented attack on American soil, we went after the terrorist organization who harbored and propped up the thugs responsible. In the process, we freed millions weighed down by the chains of tyranny. A noble goal, no doubt.
After that, it was decided that another murderous despot named Saddam Hussein would be held responsible for 11 years of thumbing his nose at the international community. And this is what most people tend to pass on by when discussing the war that has made Bush, among Americans answering these polls, unpopular to such an extent. To argue that Hussein was just a bad guy misses the point. Hussein invaded a neighboring country, raped and pillaged, and basically pissed off the community of nations. I sometimes wonder if people just forgot that the whole gulf war took place at all.
Now, those who have actually followed history for the past decade+ know that Hussein was given 17 chances via UN security council resolutions to comply with the demands made to him after the end of the gulf war. To say that 17 ignored UN resolutions is a lot is an overstatement like no other. Over the course of 12 years, a brutal man responsible for the deaths of over 1, 000, 000 people (innocents, most of them) thumbed his nose at the world and basically said, ’to hell with you, I’ll do anything I want.’ 1441, the resolution that demanded a full accounting of all weapons programs, records of all destroyed munitions, and complete compliance with international inspectors, was the 17th resolution regarding Hussein’s behavior after the 1991 war in Kuwait and Iraq.
Clearly, the man was never going to step down from his post. He was never going to be talked into complying with weapons inspections through diplomacy. 12 years is a long time to deal with a man who could threaten his neighbors and any country in reach of chemical and biological weapons.
Unfortunately, many Americans have bought into the liberal lie that Bush lied and people died. Of course, bipartisan commissions, history, and basic common sense have proven that no one lied, and that every security apparatus in the world agreed- Hussein posed a threat at some level, he had never fully complied with the dozen and a half resolutions, he still had banned munitions that could be used to threaten the free nations of the world, and he was never going to fully comply with inspectors on the ground in any significant manner.
Bush’s decision to oust a brutal despot who killed 1, 000, 000 people was a noble one. People, of course, become weary, and they do so quite easily. But weariness of war doesn’t make the initial decision to oust the man known ’round the world as the butcher a bad one. It also doesn’t make the man or the mission he spearheaded a failure. To decry the decision to oust the thug, one has to offer a better alternative. The status quo would in no way cut it, and removing all restrictions on the regime would have been a complete failure of moral authority. Free nations cannot allow brutal thugs to threaten other free nations, sitting idly by doing nothing about the situation. Sitting on their hands, just waiting for the situation to somehow get better on its own, tho we know in our hearts no such thing will ever happen.
At the end of the day, it comes down to choices. All of life comes down to decisions. Allow evil to thrive and people to suffer at the hands of such evil, or remove the evil for good, not allowing it to threaten, maim, or destroy ever again. A world with Saddam Hussein, the butcher of Baghdad is a better place, and we have men like George Bush to thank for removing him from the scene. Decisions like that aren’t failures, they’re acts of courage. Unpopular decisions have to be made, and sometimes that makes for unpopular men. Unpopularity, though not such a wonderful thing, doesn’t equal failure.
Illegal Aliens Destroying the Country with Drug Crimes?
Oct 9th
Someone over at HotAir.com noted that if you look at the DEA’s most wanted fugitives site, no matter which region of the country you click on, a large majority of the fugitives are hispanic. The theory is- illegal aliens dominate drug crimes that destroy families, people, lives, property, and more.
Very scary stuff.
I haven’t looked deep into that site, the crimes, what have you, but it does make you wonder.
Good idea to stop those who demand we not enforce our border and the laws associated with it. It’s a good idea to call out those people who attack one side of the aisle for having the nerve to do the unthinkable- demand that we enforce our borders and our laws.
A lot of people want to put their own selfish interests first and the country last. Those are the people that destroy countries from within.
Anti-Christian Bigots Smear Palin on Religion
Sep 8th
There’s been a lot of talk about Sarah Palin’s former church and some videos posted online from the Assembly Of God in her hometown where she attended for years. You won’t see anything racist or anti-American in the videos…that would be the videos of Barack Obama’s church of 20 years that he only left when he was forced to when his nutjob pastor’s comments came into public view. Palin left the church of the various videos in 2004. (Here’s a link to one of the videos that looks to be highly edited.)
The Huffington Post…you know, the liberal site where the commenters frequently praise the deaths of various conservatives in the limelight? They were apparently the first to post the videos, but did they report the situation honestly? It’s HuffPo, so you can guess that they didn’t…they didn’t at all. Here’s how MSNBC reported it:
From NBC’s Michael Levine
As questions have been raised over how thoroughly Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign vetted Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the V.P. slot, it seems the McCain campaign was unaware of a video — available online — in which Palin talks about God’s role in U.S. military action overseas, according to a political operative familiar with the situation.The video, first reported by the liberal blog HuffingtonPost.com, is from a June Palin speech to the graduating class of commission students at Palin’s former church in Wasilla, Alaska. While describing her family, Palin told students about her oldest son, 19-year-old Track, who is set to be deployed to Iraq this month with the U.S. Army. She urged students to pray “that our leaders — that our national leaders — are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God.”
She added, “That’s what we have to make sure that we are praying for: that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”
“It’s pretty uncomfortable stuff,” said the political operative, after watching the video online. “It’s bad. It’s really bad. … It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.”
In addition to talking about Iraq, Palin also referred to God’s role in her work as governor.
“I can do my part in working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline, about a $30 billion project that’s going to create a lot of jobs for Alaska. … [but] I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,” she said. “I can do my job there in developing our natural resources, in doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded. But really that stuff doesn’t do any good if the people of Alaska’s hearts aren’t right with God.”
Clearly Palin is saying the same thing that a billion Christians worldwide say every day= they pray that whatever it is they’re doing that God is ultimately in control. That their actions are, hopefully, in the path of righteosuness. This is basic Biblically Christianity.
Jake Tapper reported that the writers at HuffPo tried to even go further:
The Huffington Post described this as Palin “paint(ing) the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord,” which McCain-Palin spokesman Michael Goldfarb calls “a distortion of what she was saying.”
Only hatred for Palin and her views would lead a person to claim that Palin’s remarks were somehow meaning that the war was a messianic affair in which the US was acting out the will of the Lord. BS all the way down, my friends. It’s obvious what Palin was saying, and it’s not at all outrageous, and it’s not at all unusual. Bible-believing Christians say the same thing all the time…they pray that their actions are the ones that God would approve of, that the things we have put into action are good and worthy of praise by a higher power. We should strive to be more in step with what God would want us to do, and we should pray that what we actually do is in line with the Lord. In other words, we hope that the choices we make are right and good. That’s not a messianic claim, that’s simply good sense.
UPDATE (Sept 11, 2008 @ 8:04PM): Here is the full quote from Palin’s comments on how she prays that what the military is doing is a thing God would approve of:
“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God,” she exhorted the congregants. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”
Some have argued that she’s saying that the US invasion of Iraq was a task that God called us to do, or that somehow she’s proclaiming a messianic call of sorts to war via God’s direction, when in fact she’s merely praying that what we’re doing is right. She’s praying in the hope that the US leaders have sent the soldiers into harm’s way to do a noble and good deed.
You will notice how she clearly says she’s praying that there is, indeed, a plan, and that the current plan (in every day life, and in sending troops into Iraq in particular are in line with what God would want, in line with a plan that would match God’s own plan. In other words, a plan that is noble and right in the eyes of a just and loving God, which is all we can really pray for to begin with.)
When asked about this by Charlie Gibson of ABC News, she replied:
GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.” Are we fighting a holy war?
PALIN: You know, I don’t know if that was my exact quote.
GIBSON: Exact words.
PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.
But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.
That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie.
GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”
So, we have the context of her comment and her prayer. We know that Christians are called Biblically to pray for what is right, and what is right are the things that are right in the eyes of God not the eyes of man. We now have her even further explanation to make sure no one continues to take her obvious comments out of context. That should close the book on this issue, but it won’t…her attackers will claim that she’s making up this fictional story now to cover herself and that the Bible somehow calls Christians to proclaim war is a plan directly from the mouth of God. The facts are in, and that’s certainly not what she was saying at all.
Chutzpah: Obama’s First National Ad Makes Brazenly Bogus Claim
Jun 26th
Barack Obama has more chutzpah than any politician in my lifetime. That’s saying a lot, as Bill Clinton was one of the most brazen men I’ve ever witnessed.
In Barack’s first national television ad called “Country I Love”, he makes a number of claims of what HE has done (it’s always about him, not Congress as a whole). This is the ad:
In the ad, Barack claims “That’s why I passed laws…[I] extended healthcare to wounded troops who’ve been neglected.”
You see Obama with his hand on the shoulder of a guy wearing camouflage.
The tiny print at the bottom of the screen says “Public Law 110-181.” I googled the number and came up with the 2008 Defense Authorization Act which you can read about here.
The record shows it passed 91-1 with 6 not voting. Barack Obama personally extended health benefits to supposedly neglected veterans.
Guess what senator didn’t even bother to show up to vote for this bill?
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