Kelly Smith Weblog Aficionado: Just a guy vs. Life

Being a pessimist in America is chancy..... Anything can happen...... ......anything.

Repeal Day.... December 5th, 1933 was the day that Prohibition was repealed. At 2100 hours on that day, in honor of that amendment, local establishments began serving spirits. Kinda cool......at that point, the Mob had to look for other sources of income. I think I'm gonna go get a Maker's and Coke ....

Memorial Day 2007 How should Memorial Day be celebrated? I am not sure, as a veteran, and fortunately as a leader who has not lost a man in this miserable conflict, I can't tell you. I did think of all who have died to date, and I even said a prayer for them before I rolled out yesterday. But, in catching the fleeting news glimpses on AFN while I was in the chow hall, it seems as if those on the campaign trail are using this day to prove some particular point. I couldn't tell you how they should be observing Memorial Day, but I have a better grasp of how they should NOT be observing it. The G.I. is not a rope to be tugged back and forth for political gain. The G.I. should not be spoken of as if he is a child, or a hapless mute. The G.I. should not be spoken FOR, save by his military leaders. All of this you support the troops, or you do not support the troops is not done in the best interest of the troops, it is done in the interest of proving a particular point. There are some...

The Thought Police: a necessary function for our safety? Please take a look at this video and tell me what you think. When I saw this, obviously I was shocked, but even more than that, I started trying to frame my thoughts into the context of what I do for a living. Obviously in this country people have a right to express their opinion on everything that goes on. I am happy we don't live in a police state where so many things are censored and forbidden. However, I don't think that we should overlook people like this, the "Miami 7", or any other nutcases out there that are Anti-American. I don't believe that the United States has done everything properly over the years, but I do believe in the inherent "goodness" in America as a whole. So, should we kick the doors in of these people and haul them off to some austere prison complex for creating such a hateful and radical video? Certainly not, but I do think that they should be watched very closely, and...

Jay Leno hosts Ann Coulter tonight.... Jay Leno will be hosting Ann Coulter on the Tonight Show this evening. Along with her will be comedian and raconteur George Carlin. Some people are saying that Jay will probably need referee stripes. I am sure that Carlin will draw first blood, because he is an anti-establishment sort of guy, but Coulter is no slouch. She has a scornfully derisive tone that knows no match on the right. I think she is even more harsh than Savage. Someone is probably going to get owned, but I wouldn't try and lay odds on either one...it will be a toss up tonight.

AIRSTRIKE KILLS AL-ZARQAWI I just wonder it this will escalate, or downsize the insurgent movement in Iraq? The reason I ask this is because often times when there is a loosely organized movement with a figurehead in charge, as is the case with the Iraq insurgency' it is very difficult to launch a "decapitation strike" with much success. Either, it wiil have no effect because he actually didn't have the command and control he boasted about, or it will escalate because people will start doing dumb shit in the "name of Sheik Al Zarquawi" or something inane like that. I am happy that Nick Berg has been avenged, but I wanted Zarquawi to be either shot with small arms fire, or captured. The lunatics will try and martyr him and boast about how "Soldiers could not get him, only big bombs." I mean come on, we saw the video, the guy's weapons craft sucked. **UPDATE** [From ABC News.com] Oil exports from Iraq have failed to return to pre-war level due to...

Conscientious Objector buried with full military honors.... Desmond Doss died Sunday in Piedmont Albama at the age of 87. Mr. Doss was a conscientious objector, the sort of person who usually was derided as a coward during the WWII era in which he served. He stuck to his convictions though, and refused to carry a weapon, and refused to take part in killing. Those were his convictions prior to his entrance into the military, and he maintained those standards during the war. You may ask, "What is the difference between this guy and anybody else who objects to taking part in violence?" The point is, Mr. Doss was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for wartime service during WWII. This excerpt from a CNN Story encapsulates the sort of man that he was. Medal of Honor Society records show he was among 3,442 recipients of the nation's highest military honor. While under fire on the island of Okinawa, Doss carried 75 wounded soldiers to the edge of a 400-foot cliff and...

Can you smelll-l-l-l-l-l- what the ROK is cookin'? Man, Korea stinks...and when I say stink, I mean funky. Since I stepped off the plane my olfactory senses have been assaulted with no mercy. Apparently a hot commodity in Korea is feces. When I did my initial site recon where my company will be, I noted that on the port-o-lets there was a sign that said, "Do not waste waste." No, they were not being redundant, they were simply letting us know that feces of all sorts, human, cow, pig, dog, or whatever is used as fertilizer. Anybody that knows me, knows what a keen sense of smell I have, consequently it makes me particularly sensitive to lets say....umm...pungent odors. I was taken to a restaurant by a gentleman by the name of Young Gap You who is a DOD contractor. Young was raised in the states, is an American Citizen, but has been living back in Korea for the last 5 years for work reasons. Anyway, we went to a restaurant, which was really cool by the way. It was j...

Korea Trip....Day 3 Well, I am into Day 3 of my trip, and I still have a few more until my unit gets here. Part of the problem of being advanced party is not knowing whether it is going to be "feast or famine" once you arrive. I am in waiting status to see what needs to be done before the rest of the Soldiers arrive. I will have a little bit of work to do tomorrow, but we shall see how that turns out. There were several plan changes today. Korea time, it is now 11:10 p.m. and I am trying to see how long I can stay up so that I can finally sleep all the way through the night. I just talked to my wife and my mother a little while ago, and they seem to be doing well. I have only been able to talk to my oldest, but I haven't been able to talk to my other two children. Got a little bad news yesterday, twice over, but all we can do is realize, react, realign, and respond as best we can. I didn't bring my digicam on this trip, because I thought that once we headed ou...

TDY South Korea.....Seoul..... I just got to my room about 15 minutes ago, my watch, which is still set on Eastern Standard time says 8:27 a.m. In reality, it is 10:27 p.m. here. I tried to send out a few emails to my wife, but I am not sure if my VPN is working correctly or not. I am hungry, and I am not sure whether or not I should make myself go to sleep or not. I am wide awake, but I have a peculiar "hangover" feeling. The flight was only 15 hours, but the total travel time is now hitting the 27th hour. Advanced party sucks....Hopefully I will be over jet lag by the time the rest of my unit gets here. I love you, Renee....I love you Devon...I love you Robbie....I love you Alexandra. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday to my big Sis! Gotta go...on a quest for food.

Gubernatorial and Mayoral races around the country..... I would say that the elections around the country are probably going to be heavily influenced by the President's popularity.....or lack thereof. VA is in, and Tim Kain (D) looks like he is going to be the winner. I am not going to be able to stay up and watch what is going on, work is too early in the morning for me. As a military man, staying up late is not a good thing. We only do more before 9:00 a.m. because we get up so freakin' early. Check out the progress at this link: Race coverage Virginia is a veritable bastion of Republican Strength, and an upset loss during the mid term could be a harbinger of many more disappointing things to come for the Grand Old Party. I will post more about this later on. Good night all, I have a full day tomorrow.

The Pledge is now unconstitutional..... I used to say, "What the hell is next?" any time I heard something shocking, but I am afraid to do that now. Read the full story here. Full Story

Hurricane Katrina and the "NO" vote.... Many people are lashing out at the federal government about its response, or lack thereof regarding Hurricane Katrina. The blame game has been tossed back and forth between the local, state, and federal government. Some people have brought up issues of race being a factor in the slow response, and some have cited a lack of preparedness on the local government. One thing that is certain, however, is the fact that this event will be talked about for a long time to come. I did notice, with particular interest that 11 members of Congress voted against a 51 Billion dollar Katrina relief spending bill. All were Republican. I wouldn't go so far as to claim that this shows a "lack of compassion" on the part of the Party on the whole, but seeing as this is one of the worst natural disasters to occur in the United States, you have to ask about the reason behind the "No" vote. Some of the Republicans who voted against...

Justice Rehnquist is dead... If you thought that things were contentious before, we haven't seen anything yet........ Full Story

Black Republicans Recently Harry Belafonte blasted blacks in George Bush's higher administration as being "tyrants". He earlier raised eyebrows by stating that Colin Powell was a House Negro. Other well known people such as Al Sharpton have labeled any people who align themselves with the Republican Party, or with conservative ideals as being black in physical characteristic only. As if, there is some litmus test of socio-political thought that allows you to be a card-carrying member of the black race. I myself am a Democrat, and I am more of a centrist on issues. But, overall when it comes to social issues I consider myself to be liberal. I have no problem calling myself liberal, and it irks me when people rename themselves as "progressives" to avoid the "scourge of being declared a liberal". I recognize the ebb and flow of political and cultural tides here in the United States, and I remember when the Republicans were the minority party, the idea of ...

Another Fallen Guardsmen.... Unfortunately one of my duties as a staffer for Joint Forces Headquarters is to handle some of the processes that are in place when our soldiers die. Today I went to my first funeral for a KIA (killed in action) Soldier. The Soldier's name was SGT Ryan Montgomery. Montgomery was from Greensburg, a small town in Central Kentucky. Montgomery was in a Field Artillery oufit that was tasked with force protection and convoy security missions around Baghdad. On July 3rd Montgomery fell to a roadside bomb. Very sad, but not as sad as the disruption that almost occurred at his funeral. Last night I went to a bar to unwind after work, a guy at the bar wearing a suit and a tie struck up a conversation with me, and we inevitably started talking about "work", he was intrigued when I told him that I was a Second Lieutenant. He immediately started asking whether or not I had heard about, or knew the latest soldier from the Kentucky Guard that had been killed...

Happy 229th Birthday, America! This was the scene in front of my house just a little bit before 10:30 p.m. on the 4th of July.

The reason I have not supported gay marriage(reposted by request from February 2004).... I don't support gay marriage for one reason, and one reason alone. I discovered that I had a prejudice bias against the homosexual lifestyle. Don't worry....you haven't run across a racist, homophobic, sexist individual's weblog, I am simply stating the reason why I don't support it. I never made a conscious effort to like or dislike homosexuals, I suppose that there was always a level of unconscious indifference regarding them. I was always quick to say, "Hell, I'm not homophobic, what someone does in the privacy of their own bedroom doesn't bother me." But for some reason the gay marriage issue has, and I had to do some soul searching in order to find out why. I suppose that the urge to chastise homosexuals starts at an early age. I knew to call the boys who could not run fast, catch a ball, or take a punch without crying, "sissies" when I wa...

Should Karl Rove Apologize? Should Durbin? Everyone wants an apology when they get their feathers ruffled, but really, what good does it do? The Republicans want Durbin to apologize, the Democrats want Rove to apologize, but where does it end? The fact of the matter is that all of this bickering in the press accomplishes nothing. I think Democrats hurt themselves by reinforcing the notion that they are touchy-feely when they complain about such things, or when they liken conservatives to Nazis. Conservatives reinforce notions that they are arrogant, short-sighted, and indifferent when they call liberals or people who do not have their viewpoints "Anti-American." The bottom line is that we need the polar struggle in American politics to keep some semblance of stability. I don't think that Rove or Durbin should apologize, but they should make pointed comments, not blanket comments. In the case of Durbin, he needs to realize that there are Conservatives in Iraq right n...

I think Lashawn Barber got it wrong this time.... Everyone has been talking about the latest report from Amnesty International, the prison scandal, and the Koran desecration scandal in Cuba, and everyone seems to have a different opinion. Lashawn Barber is a conservative blogger who is tired of all of the press surrounding the scandal. In that regard I agree with her, I am not only tired of, but fearful of the attention that this brings. Lashawn seems to feel that kowtowing to the outcries from the different Muslim groups, or spending time investigating our military is a waste of time and shows some inherent weakness. She also says it speaks to the fact that liberalism is a mental disorder. I'm now convinced that liberalism is a mental disorder. Another one of the quotes that she uses is, Despite what they may say, Muslims are and have always been on a mission to conquer and kill infidels. They've been doing it for centuries and will continue until we're all dead, or t...