New Changes Afoot!

The veteran is, once again, playing with his blog template. While the vet was certainly a decent troubleshooter, he's never been much of a webmaster. If any of you fine folks can recommend a good place to get a free Blogger template with a patriotic style, please comment. Until then, if things look a bit odd, don't be concerned. The veteran thanks you for your patience.

And Now, a Return to the News...

Lately, the veteran has been off on a few philosophical tangents, as well as bringing you some personal news. The veteran hopes you have enjoyed this foray into his life and his political philosophy. Now, however, it's time for a return to news-based commentary.

A founding Neocon claims the ideology is "now in shambles" (Fukuyama, as reported by Alex Massie), and that it should be dropped as a failed experiment. Francis Fukuyama, a member of the Project for a New American Century (along with Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, et al) pushed as far back as the Clinton administration for regime changes to autocratic nations, such as Iraq. The concept of neoconservatism, born of an altered leninist ideology, has come under massive fire during the last six years. Approval ratings for the President have stayed consistently low for well over a year now, the war in Iraq has become massively unpopular, and members of all sides of the political spectrum have resorted to massive mudslinging attacks in the absence of a definitive solution to the many problems born of this controversial political worldview.

The White House has lost much of the support it enjoyed during the early years of the administration, both from the Congress and from the public at large. Republicans in Congress, especially in the Senate, have been scrambling over the past year to distance themselves from the Bush White House and to adopt a more moderate, mainstream stance on both fiscal and social policies. Even here, in high conservative country (Johnson City, Tennessee), the veteran is seeing fewer and fewer Bush stickers and more anti-war stickers. Thankfully, the "Support the Troops" motto seems to have stuck around, as the veteran dearly loves his brothers and sisters in the Marine Corps and the other branches of the armed services (yes, even the Coasties).

In other news, the controversial sale of six East Coast ports to Dubai Ports World by the executive branch has widened the split between White House officials and the legislative branch. Amid little support from the House and the Senate, President Bush has stated that he will veto any legislation drafted to delay or block the deal. In a newer development, Bush has claimed that he had no knowledge of the agreement until after the fact, but he backs it wholeheartedly and will tolerate no dissent. Questions have arisen concerning the legality of the review process used to evaluate the coming deal, especially whether the administration was required to utilize a longer, forty-five day process instead of the twenty-five day process that occured.

While scattered reports have claimed that port security would be turned over entirely to the Dubai company, owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, President Bush has claimed, in a new development, that customs and other security duties would still be carried out by Americans. While the veteran can clearly see the possible trade opportunities this sale would entail, he also recognizes that security will become a greater risk under this new port management. The average percentage of incoming containers screened runs at only about five percent currently, and this is simply another possible opening for a group, friendly to the government of the UAE, to infiltrate and attack U.S. soil or interests. Leaving all this aside, in the middle of a conflict marked by heavy anti-American sentiment abroad and anti-Arab feelings on domestic soil, this deal simply doesn't make sense politically. There was NO WAY that the administration didn't see the backlash coming from the populace on this one. Some reports (Google it) have gone so far as to claim this deal is the result of personal friendships between administration officials and the Dubai Ports World company. The veteran isn't sure about that, but he's certain this deal never should have come down the pipeline. What were they thinking?

Some excellent info on this controversy can be located over at the highly-controversial, entirely conservative, and very sexy blog of Michelle Malkin.

Personal Update

The veteran isn't going to touch much on the Cheney shooting scandal today (other than to point out that similar circumstances for normal people usually lead to manslaughter charges), but instead, is going to let you, the readers, into his personal life a little.

This has been a spectacularly bad year. This blog usually isn't used for my personal cries for help, but it's bad lately, so I feel I should explain the recent lack of posts.

My birthday's this week. I'll be twenty-six. Yay!
That's the good part. Now for the bad.
My grandmother died a few months ago. You all know about that, if you've read far enough down. It looks pretty well like my father might be next. About two weeks ago, he broke his neck while cutting down a tree. It fell the wrong way, which is a bit of a fluke for him, as he's been cutting his own firewood since before my birth. If that hasn't complicated things enough, he's since been assaulted by pneumonia and a pesky staph infection. He's currently paralyzed from about the waist down, and portions of his upper body aren't working. He's breathing with the help of a tracheotomy, a ventilator, and his stomach muscles. His diaphragm is non-functional. He can move his arms, but has no motor control in his fingers. He re-broke his foot, which was broken the first time only about six months ago. In short, he's in bad shape. He's not quite lucid enough to be considered of sound mind yet (painkillers and antidepressants), but he's been asking for the docs to pull the equipment and let him go. Dad's always been very active, and once said something to the effect that he'd sooner die than sit behind a desk all day. Well, folks, it's looking like he probably wouldn't even be able to do that, at least for several years. He's only fifty-two, and this has come on him in addition to severe diabetes and heart problems. Believe me, I can understand where he's coming from, even if I can't say I've been there. I know that even if (when) I try to talk him out of this, if his mind's set on it, he's going to do it. I don't want my dad to die. Hell, I just finally really got to know him when he quit drinking in 2001, after my return from Japan.

I'm not going to go any further into this, or into the things going on with college and work. I thought you should know, though, and don't think I've forgotten you, even if I don't have time to write much right now. I'll be back soon enough.

-The Veteran

Reprinted with Permission...

The veteran saw this little questionnaire on the site of his bro Poldark Maximus, who is probably one of the greatest somewhat-conservative thinkers of our time. I felt the need to answer a few of these questions...

"So we use Warner and Romney as our examples of candidates who can play +/- 5 feet to the right or left of the yellow line. Examples only, as there will surely be others who emerge. BUT EVEN AMONG THEM, they will need to answer certain “questions” which will then help us choose from among those who would pretend to unite us. Nothing will bore the nation quicker than candidates strenuously agreeing with each other on everything. So how will Romney and Warner respond to these very simple “Questions”?"

1. Is there anything better in life than a BLT? What is it?

-Hardee's Thickburgers. Or, perhaps, the Collosal Burger from Ruby Tuesdays.

2. You see an injured deer on the side of the road in its obvious death-throes. What do you do? A) Drive on down the road B) Call the State Police C) Draw your sidearm and shoot it in the heart D) Call your campaign manager and ask them what action would carry Ohio?

-B

3. Do you pray at your desk, in bed, or in the shower? To whom?

-Wherever I can, and to my own personal understanding of God.

4. Smooth or Ribbed?

-Screw that. Studded. If at all (monogamous relationship)

5. Boxers or briefs? (Women may choose between cotton or silk)

-Boxer-Briefs, also known as Trunks

6. Is the NSA doing God’s work or the devil’s work?

-Andy Kaufman's work. You decide.

7. You meet Jacques Chirac at a bar sipping his drink. You A) Buy him a Bud B) Buy him a Stella Artois C) Buy him a whiskey and tell him to go fuck himself.

-Buy him 151 and coke drinks until I can derive the secret of the nationalized 35-hour work week. Then I slap him on the back of the head before stalking off.

8. You meet Angela Merkel at a bar sipping her drink. You A) Sit next to her and buy her a whatever B) Ask her if she knows the real story behind Ronnie Regan and Maggie Thatcher C) Let her buy you a drink and thank America for liberating the world from Fascists and terrorists at the cost of thousands of American lives.

-B

9. The battery on your pacemaker has run out and you feel your heart stop. You A) Tear through your wallet for a picture of your wife and kids B) Try to remember who you asked to run as VP C) Ask the driver to stop at the next Wal-Mart.

-A

10. One pass, one completion, 30 yards for 100 years of World Peace. Who do you choose? A) Brady B) Manning (Peyton for God’s sake) C) Rothlisberger D) Hasselbeck

-I play football. Watching it on TV just bores me. Sorry.

11. True or False. Smaller states should be merged into larger ones to reduce the total to around 20, saving the American Taxpayer $750 billion a year in stupid and redundant state overhead and taxes.

-In an ideal nation, yes. Sadly, it ain't gonna happen.

12. You find yourself in the middle of a corn field with the sun high overhead and slightly to the North. You whistle and your dog answers, running to where you crouch on one knee as you sift good earth between your fingers. There is no sound other than the wind rustling though the corn husks. Your own sweat cools you as God intended it. You A) Are late for a meeting B) Take out your cell phone and check the stock-ticker C) Remove the batteries from your pacemaker, lie down in the corn, close your eyes and let go.

-A (I'm always fashionably late)

13. The penalty for CEO’s who defraud their shareholders of billions of net-worth and pensions should be A) 10-20 years B) 10-20 amps C) 10-20 minutes of degrading questions from Ted Kennedy or Harry Reid.

-B (I'll take C if it's televised, though, or perhaps a combination of the two)

14. You are in the middle of a dream which has you face down in the muff of your favorite starlet. You A) Thank God for the universally accepted concept (in all religions) of a “freebie” B) Wake up and rip the cat off your face C) Get distracted by some random thought of Nancy Pelosi and ruin this dream for everyone.

-A

15. Ribs or Brisket?

-Brisket AND Ribs.

16. Wet or dry Ribs?

-Hot Sauce.

17. “Compassionate Conservative” or “Hands-off-the Wheel” liberal?

-Pragmatic Moderate.

18. “Scoop” Jackson (D) or Nelson Rockefeller (R) ?

-Rockefeller on Mondays and Jackson on Thursdays.

19. Hubert Humphrey (D) or Barry Goldwater(R) ?

-Goldwater. All the time.

20. Bill Clinton (D) or Hillary Clinton (D) ?

-Slick Willy.

21. Ronald Regan (R) or George W. Bush (R) ?

-Ron Reagan (the son)

22. Angelina Jolie or Kate Beckinsale?

-Which one is on my face?

23. Barbara Streisand or Kathleen Turner?

-Kathleen.

24. Doris Day or Rock Hudson?

-Neither.

25. You are incredibly concerned about the cultural and social fabric of the United States. The Census Bureau predicts the 300 millionth American will come into being in 2006, most likely in the Southwest and most likely illegally. Pentagon planners tell you the country will need 28-30 combat ready divisions for the next 30 years. Northern white boys have slipped into a world of moral equivalency spewed forth by Bill Maher, Al Franken and Howard Dean. You A) GET IT – in one of the greatest Ahha ! moments of your lifetime B) Don’t get it and continue to draft mindless immigration legislation C) Check the batteries in your pacemaker to see if they were made in Guadalajara?

-A

26. True of False. “I know the second verse of ‘America the Beautiful’”

-Oh, beautiful for pilgrim's feet...

27. “ I own … A) a John Deere tractor B) a John Deere hat C) John Deere stock D) all of them and a Kubota front-loader to boot”

-A lawnmower.

28. Jesus, God, Allah and Mohammed are A) Gods and prophets B) Interesting and presumably nice residents of the Middle East dead for roughly 2000 and 1400 years respectively C) The largest cause of death and unrest in the world (perpetrated in the name of peace and eternal salvation) D) Close friends who exchange Christmas Cards in the after-life.

-A and C

29. “I have in my mind today and am willing to discuss … A) the names of my key cabinet appointees B) the names of my Federal judge and SCOTUS appointees C) The names of all White House intern appointees D) The names of those I will pardon in the 8th year of my presidency”

-A and B. C is omitted due to privacy considerations.

30. The worst American President/Governor of the last 5 years was A) Jimmy Carter B) Bill Clinton C) George W. Bush D) Jimmy Carter

-The whole freakin' lot.

31. The Best Invention of the last 20 years was A) Lethal Injections B) memory foam house slippers C) Punch Card voting D) the AFLAC Duck.

-AFLAC!!!

32. The Worst Invention of the last 20 years was A) Title IX B) lights at Wrigley C) “Self Affirmation” as an American religion D) Atlanta Airport E) Al Gore

-The Stairmaster.

33. “ When I can’t sleep at night I … A) Drink warm milk B) Jerk-off for the good of the Republic C) Blog D) first c, then b. “

-D

Hopefully that was as informative for the rest of you as it was for me. Thanks, PM!