USS Stark

Twenty Years ago today. (from the book "No Higher Honor" By Bradley Peniston)

Just before sundown on 17 May, an Iraqi pilot in an F-1 Mirage jet headed down the Gulf, scanning his instruments for oil tankers.

The first missile punched through the hull near the
port bridge wing, eight feet above the waterline. It bored a flaming
hole through berthing spaces, the post office, and the ship’s store,
spewing rocket propellant along its path. Burning at 3,500 degrees, the
weapon ground to a halt in a corner of the chiefs’ quarters, and failed
to explode. The second missile, which hit five feet farther forward,
detonated as designed. The fired burned for almost a day, incinerating
the crew’s quarters, the radar room, and the combat information center.

About one-quarter of the crew was incapacitated in the attack. Twenty-nine were killed immediately; eight more died later.

I was onboard the USS Haleakala AE-25 in the Western Pacific when this attack occurred. We immediately, without waiting for orders, starting planning our voyage to the Persian Gulf. We figured that the munitions in our holds would be needed.

Two days later, we were told that we would not be going.

Here’s to absent friends, and keeping your powder dry.

Eternal Father, strong to save,


Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,


Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep,


Its own appointed limits keep.


Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,


For those in peril on the sea!

Thanks Lex for reminding me of this.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Quote of the Day

By Mike at Flopping Aces:

We each have a choice: Submit to the Islamo Fascists or fight
and prevail. Sticking your head in the sand is nothing more than
submission and cowardice.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Attempted Rules Change in the House

Speaker Pelosi is attempting to silence the Republicans in the House. She desires absolute control of the House. She doesn't want the minority party to have a say.

The Motion to Recommit rule has been on the books and unchanged since 1822.   The Rules Committee website says
“The motion to recommit is the prerogative of the Minority party.” 
Thomas Jefferson prepared a rules manual for his own use as President
of the Senate, and the House still uses it for guidance.   At the
beginning of Jefferson's Manual he quotes the Speaker of the House of
Commons from 1728 to 1761:

"It
was a maxim he had often heard when he was a young man, from old and
experienced Members, that nothing tended more to throw power into the
hands of administration, and those who acted with the majority of the
House of Commons, than a neglect of, or departure from, the rules of
proceeding; that these forms, as instituted by our ancestors, operated
as a check and control on the actions of the majority, and that they
were, in many instances, a shelter and protection to the minority,
against the attempts of power."

The
rules of the House are there to protect the Minority from the tyranny
of the Majority.  But Nancy Pelosi is in charge now, and the Rules are
being eliminated.  You do the math.

Comrade Speaker Pelosi wants no opposition to her will. None.   

Powered by ScribeFire.

Fox News: Intelligence suggests missing soldiers are alive

from Hot Air

U.S. aircraft dropped leaflets Wednesday in a thinly populated farming area south of Baghdad, offering a $200,000 reward for any information on three missing American soldiers believed captured by Al Qaeda terrorists.

The new search tactic came as a senior U.S. military official in Baghdad told FOX News there was reason to believe the missing GIs were still alive. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, would only say the assessment was based on intelligence.

Damn, it's hard to type with crossed fingers.

I'm still praying for them.

Iraqslogger had reported this a few days ago:

The “source” told the newspaper that the attack took place in Shwaisha, 30 kilometers west of Mahmudiya. The US troops were riding two Humvee vehicles, stationed on a bridge over the Euphrates River, the source – who spoke under the condition of anonymity – said.

The attack occurred while the US patrol was “exchanging its position with a replacement patrol,” the source claimed. An armed group, which al-Hayat did not identify, attacked the US troops with mortar shells, causing the death of 5 soldiers, while the remaining three “fled to an unknown location.”

The source added that it is still unknown whether the missing soldiers were captured by the same group that attacked their patrol…

What is notable in the al-Hayat report is that the security source affirmed that the three soldiers were “missing and not captured;” adding that “al-Qa’ida is “claiming a victory for itself that it did not achieve.”

Powered by ScribeFire.

Wisedom from a Democrat

Yes, wise words from a Democrat. It is hard to believe but some Democrats do understand the real world.

From Ed Koch (D).

Because the Democrats are forcing an end to the struggle in Iraq, we must now prepare to fight terrorism in our homeland for the next thirty or more years. This is a war of civilizations. The Islamic terrorists worldwide want to destroy the U.S. and every other Western nation, along with moderate Muslim nations, e.g., Egypt, Jordan, etc. Our very survival as a nation is involved. Will we have the courage and will to do all that will be necessary to prevail?

During the Cold War the pols in Washington were mostly united in support of this goal. But now the Democrats are not. There is no safety for the weak and foolish. When you seek to end a war without substantially achieving your essential goals by simply ceasing to fight, it is often a form of surrender. And that’s the way the Democrat-imposed outcome in Iraq will be understood around the world, especially by our enemies.

Yep, the former Mayor of New York, Ed Koch, understands.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Democrats Blinked

From Congressman Cantor

House Republicans are shutting down the floor, because the Democrats are threatening to change a rule and deny Republicans any opportunity to offer a motion to recommit on the "paygo" provisions of their legislation.
That’s a lot of wonky talk; bottom line - the Democrats are preventing their Members from having to vote on the tax increases that they are trying to impose on the American People.

It is simply stunning that House Democrats want to change the germanenss rule on motions to recommit; this would be the first change to the germaneness rule since 1822.

Check back for updates. We will be updating on this showdown as it unfolds.

UPDATE: Rep. Westmoreland just moved for a recorded quorum call, then a motion that the committee will rise. Expect to see more of these…

House Democrats Just Blinked

House Democrats wanted to change the rules to make it easier to raise taxes. They wanted to hide their Members from a direct vote on the tough issues. They wanted to change rules on minority floor rights that have been in place since 1822.

They failed.

Today, House Republicans stood united and successfully fought against the House Democrats’ ill-advised rule changes, by reducing all business on the House Floor to a crawl. We used a creative set of motions and other parliamentary techniques to bring the fight.

In the end, House Democrats lost and the American People won.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Good, Good....

From The Tank on National Review Online

al-Qaeda Captors Cornered Near Baghdad, No Word On Soldiers [Steve Schippert]

The al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists who captured three US Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division are reportedly cornered in a rural area near Baghdad. From the story developing:

"Right now our focus is on searching for the missing soldiers, and we're trying to isolate the areas where we think they could be," said Army Maj. Kenny Mintz, the brigade operations officer for the 2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division in a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.

"The (captors) don't have freedom of movement; if they have the soldiers, they can't move them from where they are. We're doing a deliberate search of the areas for the people responsible for the soldiers we're looking for," he said.

Powered by ScribeFire.

One word about 2008

F R E D