Well to make up for missing last week, I’m posting a second Twenty Items.
1.  Minnesota has a publicly-funded Islamic school.  Katherine Kersten of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reports:
TIZA has many characteristics that sugges…

Semper fi, and god bless Gunny Gibson

MB4 on April 11, 2008 at 2:28 AM

I think you are a fake MB4. Most Vets I know would not have a problem telling rank, years and what unit/squad they were in. I can think of a few good men who circulate HA who are like that. Also, it isn’t like people can steal you identity via rank, years and unit/squad if you tell it.

So what will it be?

I Don’t think that I exactly said that I “occupied” Vietnam as there were about 100,000 to 150,000 other guys there when I was there, and I think maybe about 2 or 3 gals, so it would be more like we “occupied” Vietnam or Vietnam “occupied” us.

MB4 on April 11, 2008 at 1:10 AM

Now you’re playing games. I know that you weren’t there by yourself.

Neither you nor any of those other people occupied Vietnam. The US military did not occupy Vietnam. It did occupy Germany and Japan. The concept of ‘military occupation’ has a definition which you apparently don’t understand and refuse to understand. You’re practicing willful ignorance.

Hog Wild on April 11, 2008 at 10:51 AM

Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.

Esthier on April 11, 2008 at 10:07 AM

Marines = Marines
Army = Soldier
Navy = Sailor
Air Force = Airman

Referring to all as a group = U.S. Servicemember

OT: Because of Sgt. Gibson’s successful recovery, it sounds like we’re working on the first cyborg military units. Whoo hoo!!! I bet even the camels are sh!tting themselves! :-)

You may also want to shoot Good Lt, SothernGent and Richard Romano too, baldilocks. No, don’t do that.

MB4 on April 10, 2008 at 11:59 PM

I’m not trying to jump into this, but I thought everyone who served, Marines, Army, Navy, etc., were all soldiers. Is that incorrect?

And if so, is there a general term that applies to all?

Between him and the intro about the SEAL, I’m having to hunt some tissues at my desk.

A Marine’s kneecap was shattered by a sniper bullet in Iraq. Ultimately, he lost the leg — and with a new prosthetic, joined back up with the Corps and is……

One of the finest Petty Officers I ever served with was a felon who was given a choice to join the military or go to prison for Grand Theft Auto. He turned out to be a fine instructor, an excellent nuclear trained sailor, and a fine Man. 9,000 waivers for convictions out of 72,000 folks annually doesn’t bother me if it gets me the kind of sailors I had in 1981.

Your rosy view of the world today is noted with disdain. Try taking off your manure colored glasses sometime and look at the Soldiers and Sailors serving today instead of comparing them to those you so disliked in Vietnam, boy.

…..and then go p*iss up a rope.

Subsunk

And yet, they serve. They enlist in more than the numbers required to sustain the meager force we have. And because of MTV, John (If you are stupid you join the military and end up in Iraq) Kerry, the Media making Britney, Extreme Sports fanatics, and bad conduct athletes the heroes of the younger generation, without a soldier or fireman or cop around to be the responsible good example on TV, we end up with kids (and parents) who think military service is beneath them… too dangerous to join, and yet it is OK to break your neck in Extreme Motocross and other crazy “Jackass” stunts because that is “cool”. When the Dhimmicrats support increasing the size of our military, without advocating a draft, instead of lying and insisting on Retreat in the face of as Evil an ideology as Naziism, Communism, and Fascism ever was, then I will listen to them, and to you.

How about the Dhimmicrats support a platform which requires increasing the size of the Armed Forces back to 2.4 million Active Duty forces instead of the 1.4 million set during the Clinton administration. I was there. I was part of making those cuts from D0Ds bureaucracy.

The only reason our force is stressed is because p*ssies on both sides of the aisle, like you, refuse to insist that in a time of war, our country support a larger military and demand they receive all the finest equipment, and be given complete support for their mission and for their occasional bad conduct in country. If you can’t go whole hog, boy, then don’t open your mouth to say you think it could be done better than it is being done. Put your money where your mouth is. Demand an increase of 1 million in the size of the Armed Forces (back to Cold War days), and then open your pockets to pay for it.

Unwilling to reenlist yourself? (I asked to go back in October 2001 and was denied). Unwilling to pay twice the taxes you currently pay? Unwilling to insist on Victory despite whatever bad press our journalists can think/make up?

Then shut up.

Subsunk

PS, And go piss up a rope, boy.

Anyway, just wanted to say, WHAT a Marine. Am in awe of this man. Am so grateful men like him serve their country so well, and so willingly.

Somebody mentioned his email. A little googling turned it up, and here it is from a Fox related blog if anyone else would like to thank him for his service:

gibsonwespanky@yahoo.com or if that doesn’t work try gibsonwlspanky@yahoo.com

What was your Unit, What Year and MOS while you were in Nam?

upinak on April 11, 2008 at 2:07 AM

What’s in it for me if I tell you?

If I tell you and you say that you do not believe me can we both send a very substantial sum to an intermediary like Allahpundit {and no Allahpundit you wouldn’t get to keep it. Maybe a 1% commission would be in order however], if he would be willing, and then we can settle up per my dd214 that I would send him.

You are so OUT of touch with reality it is Frightening!

You sound silly and almost hysterical. You need to calm down. Take deep breaths.

Don’t you DARE put down anyone else service when you are so damn angry about yourself!

I am not angry about myself and everything I said was logical. If you want to take anything I said as a “put down”, that is your problem.

I am going to ask you and bug you until I get a answer out of you….

Stalker.

What was your MOS and under which Unit were you while in Nam as well as Year!

What do I get if I tell you?

Will it calm you down from your hysteria or not?

If it won’t then I don’t see why I should even tell you.

I am 31 yrs old MB4 and I re-enlisted or re-joined. I have been out for over 10 yrs and guess what, it has changed even in that small 10 yr stint! You don’t have a clue as to what the Army is doing and I don’t think you could care less. I am having to relearn EVERYTHING becuase of different tactics.. and they sure didn’t have anything UP on the INTERNET when I was in last time.

I have not been talking about the latest model of 155 howitzer, I have been quoting experts like 4 start General Cody. Did you miss that? I actually do a lot of quoting around here. I would do more but it upsets some people.

Oh and I am female.. is that a problem for you? Or are you just to ticked off at the fact they let 42 (and it is 45 BTW) yr olds in now?

Your being a female is not a problem for me. Is it for you? It was 42 last I heard. Did they have to raise it again? Why would that “tick me off”?

Until you answer my question…. I don’t think you have any room to talk! And you KNOW I will know if you are lying!

upinak on April 11, 2008 at 1:58 AM

You will. How will you know? Do you hear voices? Why should I tell you if it will be left up to your psychic powers to tell if what I say is correct?

What was your Unit, What Year and MOS while you were in Nam?

MB4 has some isues. Thinks Iraq and Afghanistan is actually Germany/Japan/Veitnam [Vietnam]. I don’t bother anymore.

upinak on April 11, 2008 at 1:39 AM

I don’t have “issues”, and you probably shouldn’t “bother anymore” as you have an exceedingly faulty memory and will probably only get yourself even more confused if you do.

I am one of those who has said that Iraq is pretty much nothing like Japan or Germany. Go back and look at the threads that said they were and maybe you can see the obvious – that I was argueing on the opposing side.

Like Vietnam? There are many similarities.

I don’t think that I have even talked much at all about Afghanistan.

MB4 on April 11, 2008 at 1:49 AM

You are so OUT of touch with reality it is Frightening!

Don’t you DARE put down anyone else service when you are so damn angry about yourself!

I am going to ask you and bug you until I get a answer out of you…. What was your MOS and under which Unit were you while in Nam as well as Year!

I am 31 yrs old MB4 and I re-enlisted or re-joined. I have been out for over 10 yrs and guess what, it has changed even in that small 10 yr stint! You don’t have a clue as to what the Army is doing and I don’t think you could care less. I am having to relearn EVERYTHING becuase of different tactics.. and they sure didn’t have anything UP on the INTERNET when I was in last time. Oh and I am female.. is that a problem for you? Or are you just to ticked off at the fact they let 42 (and it is 45 BTW) yr olds in now?

Until you answer my question…. I don’t think you have any room to talk! And you KNOW I will know if you are lying!

Now say Thank You, MB4.

Subsunk

Subsunk on April 11, 2008 at 12:25 AM

I remember you. You are the Sailor who so ungraciously told me to “Go pi$$ up a rope” some moons ago. At least you seemed to have cleaned up you “salty” language.

You know that’s the “funny” thing about goals, if they are not set very high they are easier to meet. It is no wonder that the services are meeting their goals as with a very small military their goals are correspondingly small. Plus the Air Force and Navy are not exactly engaging in much combat in Iraq, so don’t go all hog wild in counting them too much for purposes of Iraq. The Marines, well they are Marines, for better or worse, they have always been a bread apart.

BTW as to your “But it ain’t happening because it is a game for younger Men”, the Army now takes gents and lady’s up to 42 y/o. Do you have any idea how many tens of millions of Americans are between 18 (17 if H.S. grad) and 42 y/o? Doesn’t sound like it.

You may also not be familiar with all the Army has had to do to keep at current levels.

In 2006, the Army granted eight thousand three hundred and thirty “moral waivers” to new recruits, meaning that it had accepted that number of volunteers with past criminal charges or convictions. The percentage of high-school graduates willing to serve is falling sharply from year to year; so are the aptitude-exam scores of new enlistees. To persuade soldiers and young officers to reënlist after overlong combat tours, the Army’s spending on retention bonuses increased almost ninefold from 2003 to 2006.

You may also have missed this.

“West Point cadets are obligated to stay in the Army for five years after graduating. In a typical year, about a quarter to a third of them decide not to sign on for another term. But last year, when the 905 officers from the class of 2001 had to make their choice to stay or leave, 44 percent quit the Army. It was the service’s highest loss rate in three decades.”

You may also not be familiar with a man named Cody.

General Richard A. Cody graduated from West Point
in 1972, flew helicopters, ascended to command the storied 101stAirborne Division, and then, toward the end of his career, settled into management; now, at fifty-seven, he wears four stars as the ArmyVice-Chief of Staff.

and what he has said.

n 2004, in a little-noted speech, Cody described the Army’s efforts to adapt to its new commitments. (It was attempting to fight terrorism, quell the Taliban, invade and pacify Iraq, and, at the same time, prepare for future strategic challenges, whether in China or Korea or Africa.) The endeavor was, Cody said, like “building an airplane in flight.” Last week, the General appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee and testified that this method of engineering has failed. “Today’s Army is out of balance,” Cody said. He continued: The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply, and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies. . . . Soldiers, families, support systems and equipment are stretched and stressed. . . . Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it. If unaddressed, this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the all-volunteer force and degrades the Army’s ability to make a timely response to other contingencies.

Just to bring you up to speed a bit Sailor, as I don’t want to give you whiplash.

You are not one of those Sailors who wants to “fight” to the last multiple tours Soldier and Marine in Iraq now are you? I hope not as I am not an ex Soldier who wants to “fight” to the last current multiple tours Soldier or Marine in Iraq.

BTW, You may want to read some of McMaster’s “Dereliction
of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam.” sometime.

BTW 2, I am sorry about you sinking you sub. I will have to be sure and send a nice condolences card someday.

MB4 has some isues. Thinks Iraq and Afghanistan is actually Germany/Japan/Veitnam. I don’t bother anymore.

“Bill Gibson” Sat, 1 Mar 2008 09:50:17 -0800 (PST) I have received almost a 1000 emails in the past 8 days I want to say, Thank you so much for the support. It’s truly a humbling experience. Its an honor to serve you and our country.
GySgt Spanky Gibson

Thanks Spanky!