Good stuff going on today – let’s start out with Gawfer, my squid buddy, who got off blogspot and into a sleek WordPress template on a paid server…

I’m going to group all these together, as they all have a common theme: The Invasion of the United States by Armed Members of the Mexican Army!
Old Soldier, GuyK, , and American and Proud.

GuyK just figured out his camera also does videos…

Richard has a question about the migration patterns of birds around his neck of the … lake.

Blackfive has a great lineup – they always have a great lineup – and I will correct my statement – they are decidedly pro-military and quite biased in that regard. They love the military. They support the military. Some of them are still in the military.

Write on the Right displays the inequality of the sexes.

Akinoluna has a tough entry, and some scary thoughts about her fellow Marines.

The Loon gets the lake excited about the Freedom Walk.

Greybeard has re-gained the weight he lost a year ago, and is headed back to the “eatrightandexercise” diet that was successful for him before. Matter of fact, I need to do that too. I’ve re-gained what I lost while talking to him about it…

Speaking of Greybeard, he pointed me to the newest member of my blogroll, RattlerGator. Good read, and thoughtful insight from what looks to be a great addition.

They went on a shooting expedition over at cookiecrumbexpress. Pictures!

Andrew has a thought about television.

Our Sovereign Joy has a good post about tradition.

Amboy Times has a report on the effects of socialism (*cough*obama*cough*) does to a country.

Jenn has an update on the highly awaited Nancy Pelosi book tour…

Political Pistachio had a good show last night – did ya miss it?

Kathi highlights the book “I Will Not Be Broken” on Mail Call! Don’t forget to check out her Wednesday Hero.

Fraud, Phishing, and Misdeeds has good news – the largest fraud ring in history has been broken!

Brother Johnny finished up his series on Nothing Good To Say over on Amazed In His Presence.

the BLOG talks about the roots of genius…

Steve talks about another world on A Sense of Place.

Kris is having noise issues with the restaurant next door on This Is Stoke Newington.

“I Told You So” coming from a redhead? I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you. See what she told us at Samantha Speaks.

Ablur wants you to sit back and let go of your stress for a minute…

BZ has a short post up while he’s more concerned with the health of his Dad. Prayers to the family, BZ.

Some tips to those running for president over on Dumb Looks Still Free.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Has it been a week already? Wow… time flies.

First up (on the random “top of the blogrolls” generator) is Texas Fred with a reiteration on his beliefs about where the WoT should have been, and why going where we did was a mistake. Good read. Oh, and he’s on his new server, too.

In case I haven’t made this clear before, Blackfive is the site for unbiased pieces on anything military.

cube has a piece up on the BLOG about He Who Must Not Be Middle Named.

Regular Ron shares his outlook on the possible shutdown looming in September on Old Right Daily.

Richard (At The Water) shows why he wants to get into digiscoping.

Samantha got the rough end of a conversation when trying to do the right thing.

Old Soldier has a bit of a rant on the money-burning habits of a particular sheik in the Middle East.

Brother Helms on Amazed In His Presence has a series of interesting entries…

GuyK cuts loose on the latest campaign ad flurry over on Charming, Just Charming.

Don’t visit Steve if you have a high jealousy factor of blue skies, clean air, gorgeous panoramas and abundant wildlife. I only go there to report his entries. And yearn to hike the same trails.

Doug reports on an Early Warning Station that is in place to overlook Israel.

Did you know that if you are White then you are considered to be racist? Simply for being White? Check out American And Proud Of It for details. (full disclosure: I am considered to be a bog-dwelling, racist redneck and infidel – and darned proud of it, too!)

Jenn has the McCain ad posted that rips on Obama by comparing him to other media-made darlings.

John Starley has an excellent piece up regarding the spending habits of Congress on Fire of Liberty.

Good Thought of the Day over on Andrew Tallman’s blog.

Akinoluna reflects on what five years is.

BZ has a question for those who still think in America regarding Mr. HopeyChangieness on Bloviating Zeppelin.

Go on up to the tab labeled “All Blogrolls Here” and run down the list. I’m sure you will find something to comment on!

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

StartLogic (which is crap for service, don’t get a website hosted there. ever.) is acting up today. I may or may not be able to do a full round-up. If need be, I will get this up somewhere. I may take up a friend’s offer of space on his new server. Meanwhile, a bit of a theme today:

Bloviating Zeppelin has some really good editorial cartoons up. The top one says it all, I think. Good ol’ Inexperienced Illinois Senator.

Blackfive is always a good read, and there is always something fresh posted there. Just put in on your must-read list, already. Also a big fan of the IIS.

Over at Charming, Just Charming GuyK points to a “Dorwin Award” – may not be what you think, unless you are a big fan of Asimov. IIS alert.

cookiecrumbexpress tells about their outing to the Tick Farm. Nice comparison shots of the 45 and the 9mm. Very nice Mauser action, too. Nothing here about IIS, however.

I’m in agreement with Regular Ron – I don’t like flying, either. Hmm, nothing here about IIS, either.

Greybeard reports on the Building of a Religion over at Pitchpull. Good – back to IIS.

Amboy Times has a message that is not favorable towards a certain IIS.

Didn’t have to go too far in to find the first IIS moment on the BLOG.

Mary is into books and their reviews. She has a terrific selection up in her latest post.

Akinoluna has pictures from her time on Okinawa, and there was a door decorating contest. Honestly, I mis-read the word in her title, and almost tacked on another IIS tag to her entry here. But, since it says “barracks” and not “barack’s” I will resist.

Richard found a turkey vulture, and he didn’t go anywhere near D.C.

Texas Fred has an article posted about drunks who hit cops. Nothing here about IIS either, but give it time.

Political Pistachio has a neat little post about the population of the earth and theories about how long humans have been around. His second post is about – you guessed it! – the IIS.

Ablur would like your input on how the internet has affected the storytelling tradition of humans on Some Things Just Need To Be Said. His second post is also about the IIS.

Put on your boxing gloves – Jenn has entries up about the IIS!!

Bushwack‘s first entry is about the oil reserves under the Alaskan area. The second one is about the IIS. I know, you are very surprised, as was I.

Andrew Tallman gives us his thought of the day.

Third Wave Dave has a post up about a freedom survey. Guess where the IIS’s hometown came in?

Old Soldier has a video about a beer-bottle symphony. And a second article about the IIS.

Brother Helms has a thought on “bumper sticker evangelism” over on Our Sovereign Joy.

Gawfer has a graphic (available on a tee-shirt) regarding the Second Amendment. His second post is about – guess who? – the IIS!

Kathi has birthday wishes for some special people posted on Supporting the Troops.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Be sure to tune in tomorrow at 0700 MST for The O Word on BlogTalkRadio.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Back in the day (younger readers will refer to this era as “pre-history”) when Marines were Marines and Sailors were afraid to talk to them, yes, back when I served, there was a competition of sorts between the branches of the services. That is to say, each one was sure that the others were mere poseurs, wimps, wanna-bes and wash-outs. I served on several posts where there were multiple services (Presidio of Monterey, for one) and it was quite plain to the eye that the differences between the services were deeply ingrained and would never change. (although, given the choice, I would avail myself of the dining facilities of the Navy and the E-clubs of the Air Force as often as possible)

Something seems to have changed over the years. Looking back through several years of memories, it seems that more and more often whenever I come across a veteran, the difference in branch of service just got less and less important. Not less important to the individual, but less important than the fact that the individual had served this country.

I used to only want to talk to Marine vets. Oh, how many personal histories did I dismiss as “not important” because the speaker was not a Marine? I have learned through trial and trouble, time and temerity, that all service histories, taken together, are what makes up the fabric of the Armed Forces as a whole.

Now, I see every veteran as a brother or sister in arms, a comrade with whom I would share my last dollar or fire my last shot to protect. Marine, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or any of the reserve components, have my undying respect and gratitude for their service.

Some might see this as a sign of weakness; other will recognize growth and maturity when they read this. I prefer to think of it as finally realizing that without any of the services, it would be pretty darned tough to have gotten as far as we did as a country.

Although I give my Navy friends grief, they know that I respect them for their service. The same goes for others I have contact with. I may kid and rib, but underneath it all is the basic love for the fellow fighter, the bond that is forged in service for a common goal. We all served this country, in a capacity we thought we were best suited for. The end result is the important thing – freedom still rings.

I’ve said all that to introduce what I’ve been trying to work into a post since I received it almost two and a half weeks ago. The writer is not a Marine (although I think he would have made a good one), and if he had tried to have this conversation with me while we were serving I would have dismissed it and him as irrelevant, since he wasn’t a Marine. A Navy veteran and friend of mine, Gawfer, popped the following piece to me during The O Word on July 11, 2008. I was going to write a post around it, and I have tried (and failed) to expound and expand on the basic idea in this bit of writing, and have gotten nowhere. The original words are the most powerful, and anything I could do to explain it would be an utter failure:

Whether the founders followed the Christian faith or not, they understood that Biblical values formed the basis of the not only the republic but English Law, and that the republic would be destroyed if the people’s knowledge of those values should ever be lost.

This brings me to the head of the spear, so to speak. Understanding that our constitution is man’s interpretation of God’s divine law, one must assume that at times the constitution will fall short of providing adequate solutions to humanistic transgressions. When this occurs, such as the recent ruling against capital punishment extending beyond murder, and the California Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the vote of the people regarding gay marriage, the solution is not to interject one’s opinion or to seek a populous consensus as was done in both cases, but to go to the source of our constitution; divine law.

Because secularism has pervaded our society and our nation has become mostly agnostic, our appointed judges are ruling based on a popular opinion rather than using fundamental principles of interpretation. It is very clear that in both cases, the decisions would have been exactly opposite had they adhered to the basic truths and applied biblical principles to each case. Thankfully, we are still ‘One Nation, Under God’; but that is slowly slipping away.

So, there you have it. Time and age have taken the age off of the animosity between branches of service, but at the same time it has forged a stronger bond between like-minded people. As I mentioned in a comment, when BZ urged me to keep on keeping on, if we don’t all “keep on” there won’t be anything worth keeping.

I just re-read this entry, before posting it. I realize it’s a bit of a mind-bender, and it doesn’t really flow as cleanly as it should, but I’m going to leave it up. After all, it is Monday, and this is the result of several themes that have been roiling around in my head all weekend. Have fun keening the depths of my mind.

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

WordPress wants me to update to version 2.6. Anyone out there done the update yet? Anything I should look out for?

Kathi and Tony went to Arlington for the first time, and they have a slide show up and running of the pictures that Tony took. Well worth the look-see. Kathi also gives a shout out for the Run for the Fallen, going on now.

Brother Johnny T. Helms expounds on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s insistence that islam be included in an interfaith council on religious tolerance with a link to an article explaining the exact opposite should happen on Our Sovereign Joy.

Akinoluna has an observation about death and leave in the Marine Corps.

Richard’s latest entry is on a mother and juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker. Beautiful photography. Did I mention that Richard is responsible for some of the header photos on this blog?

GuyK is his usual, Charming self today – slow start, but then he gets up a head of steam…

Over on Blackfive is photographic proof of troops purposely mimicking the locals in Iraq. Scandalous, I say!

Samantha (aka Hana Matsushita) continues her love letter to/about/for the 24^th MEU in Afghanistan.

The Rogue has a few straight-talking words about Jamie Gorelick. (Don’t know the name? Do a little digging, and find out why Rogue believes she ought to be sitting in the cell next to the Enron folks…) Also check out his essay on Naval ships named after Commanders in Chief…

Texas Fred is his usual fun-loving, rose-colored glasses self today. His entry on raising award-winning pansies is excellent. (just kidding, Fred – don’t change a thing!)

A new addition to my blogroll, Andrew Tallman, is a local radio show host. His show is on 1360 KPXQ in Phoenix, Arizona from 5 to 7 pm daily.

Over on The Old Right Daily is Regular Ron’s viewpoint on the World Court’s declaration that the US should delay the execution of five Mexican nationals held in a Texas Jail. Good reading.

The cookie crumb express has information and a link regarding this year’s Milblogging Conference in Las Vegas.

Oddly enough, over on Take a Stand Against Liberals, Jenn points out the hypocrisy and goofiness of the left. Go figure.

SoCalOilMan’s company is being purchased. Will he have a job? Will he be moving soon? If he moves, will he tell his wife, who is in Montana for three months? Stay tuned…

Today we have BZ’s take on the economy. Be sure to scroll down and check out some pictures he found through his exhaustive research…

Gawfer has a few points on this season’s campaign.

Doug has news about the talks in Israel over on Political Pistachio.

Old Soldier’s latest entry is all wet.

Ablur points to an article that shows that all this cleaning up of the pollution and being green has actually lead to a warming trend… on Some Things Just Need To Be Said.

Third Wave Dave has a video posted that answers the question “How did we get to this point?” Good commentary by Judge Napolitano on how the government is breaking it’s own laws with the “not a bailout” of Fannie and Freddie.

Improv Everywhere pulled off a mirror stunt. Only in New York.

I couldn’t access American and Proud of It – I hope that’s not because of WordPress 2.6!

Greybeard has some “recycling” news on Pitchpull.

Amboy Times has news from the Philippines in regards to how appeasement is working out for them. Don’t forget to scroll down a bit so you can be pointed to Blogrolling. I do apologize if you didn’t get mentioned.

A quick side note – my bass guitar developed a nasty little buzz last night, just before service. I need to figure out what went wrong before I can use it again. Meantime, I used the church’s bass. I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with it, as I started out on that one, but still…

Thank you for stopping by, In God We Trust, God bless you all, Time, Inc. is a bunch of weasels, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!