Kelly Smith Weblog Aficionado: Just a guy vs. Life

Never mind the Homeland, is your home secure? Brian J. Doyle: All-American loser. Apparently the genius pictured above is the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Kind of ironic that someone who works for the DHS is a severe threat to any home that happens to house pubescent girls. It seems that this genius thought it would be fun to initiate a conversation with a girl who he thought was a fourteen year old girl. Luckily for society-at-large, it was a sheriff's deputy who was baiting herself to be approached by pedophiles. Apparently this guy is 55 years old, and a divorced father. Just like a DUI charge, you are rarely caught on your first offense. There is no telling how many other children he has approached. Well, I would say that we are about to have a new GS level job opening at DHS. I realize that he is innocent until proven guilty, but this one looks bad. Here is an excerpt of the news story. Judd said that Doyle, in the first conversation, told th...

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...

Something about Michelle Malkin..... Do you know what I think about Michelle Malkin? Being a liberal sort of guy, my appraisal of Michelle Malkin is not much different than the average guy. I don't agree with her politics, her ideology, or her world view. I am not sure that I would be in diametric opposition to everything that she says, but we would probably disagree about a number of things. I don't think she is the scornfully derisive soul that Ann Coulter is. (Plus she has much better glamour shots on her page than Coulter.) But I tell you this much, I don't think about Michelle Malkin all of the time. Apparently someone does though. A person tracked her flight time, as well as her post times to "prove" that someone else does her posting for her. That may or may not be true, but I have to ask. "What difference does it make?" This sort of nitpicking on minor subjects is a signature maneuver that my party makes. When he could have been devot...

TDY is over...and so is Company Command.... Well, the TDY trip is over, no more smelly sewage, MRE's, or sleeping in the cold. However, this will more than likely be the last time I am at HHC, and it is the last time that I will be in command. The feeling is bittersweet, I am ceding company command, and going into a position with the BCT. Back to Iraq again...I suppose it was inevitable. Financially I feel good about everything, my wife is okay, my kids will be okay, but I am worried about how my mother will take things when I tell her about my upcoming deployment. The time here on the Peninsula is approximately 1105 HRS, and I will be heading out the door at 0400 HRS. I can't wait to get home and see my little ones. I can't wait home to see my wife either. It has been a looong 3 weeks. I know I will be jet-lagged as hell, but I can't wait to get there. As soon as I get home and can get these pictures developed off of this cheap-ass disposable camera, I will po...

I will pray for Abdul Rahman... Since I have been on this mission in Korea I have had less access to the internet than what I am accustomed. I got a chance to get on line a little while ago, and I happened across an article on CNN that talked about a born-Muslim who converted to Christianity approximately 16 years ago. He lived in Germany for a time, and converted then. It seems that his family turned him over to the authorities in Afghanistan because it is against the vaunted "sharia" law. The United States, Great Britain, and even the Pope have asked that this case be dropped out of respect for religous freedom. But, the Clerics in Afghanistan have demanded for this man to be executed unless he denies Christ and reverts to Islam. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all about respecting culture, and I do my best to not look at other customs and religions with an air of superiority, but in this instance I think it is time for Aghanistan to step out of the Dark Ages and show app...

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.

3:47 a.m.....Why am I awake? And I have actually been awake since acout a quarter after 2. My allergies are hammering me, and I don't feel sleepy at all. What's wrong with me?

Gordon Parks dead at 93... Gordon Parks, who I think of as the original "Renaissance Man" is dead. A person who made his way in life, originally as a laborer, piano player, and waiter ended up making a name for himself as a professional photographer with Vogue, and Life magazine. Imagine...buying a camera for about 6 bucks, and challenging the editors of vogue magazine to give you a shot. What was even more amazing than the "good eye" that he had, was the fact that he was able to convey a social commentary in his photographs for Life Magazine. His photographs of poverty-stricken people and places is a testament to his skill, and his ability to capture the gritty rawness of city life. He will truly be missed.

The Jordan legacy....continues. I got this video from the Volokh Conspiracy and he said it best. "I didn't think that a video about Michael Jordan could give me chills anymore....I was wrong." While I did get thrills thinking about this video, it kind of left me feeling wistful.....Jordan on the sidelines, never to fly again.

My Inner Captain... Get up Lieutenant! I find that I am in need of a lot of self-motivation lately because of some of the obstacles I am facing. The best way I motivate myself is to picture myself in the position that I want to be in, and I talk to myself as if I am already there, or as if I am "that person." I know, rather strange but it helps when things seem hopeless. If I deploy with the BCT, then I could perhaps make Captain within the year, but I have a lot of correspondence and physical conditioning to do before I would even attempt to put a promotion packet in. Some mornings when I am laying there, and I feel sooooo tired, I really want to just say, "to hell with it." But, I have to call on my inner Captain.... Inner Captain: "Get up Lieutenant." ME: "Go to hell..." Inner Captain: "Damnit! You are talking to a Captain, Soldier!" ME: "Go to hell...Sir?" Inner Captain: "Wrong freaking answer, you! Get out of that ra...

Bad Granny.... Apparently a 36....yes, I said it....36 year old Grandmother left her granddaughter in a car to perish in sweltering heat. I was shocked that someone could be 36 years old and have a grandchild. What was even more shocking was this woman's photo. Just by looking at it, it would appear that she had kept a daily regimen of Jack Daniel's, methamphetamines, and truck stop waitressing to achieve this look. Damn. The woman is a year older than me! This is amazing!

The "N" word..... Unbelievable use of a derogatory word by of all people....a high school teacher. The N(igger) Word [More to follow....]

The Study Session... My wife was up studying last night for a test in one of her night school classes. I tried to get my daughter settled down for the night so Renee would not be interrupted. As usual, Alex rebelled with an incessant cry of, "But I don't wanna go to bed!" I let Alex go downstairs to give Renee, "Hugs and sugars.", and I didn't hear anything for a while. I went downstairs and discovered this sight. Pretty cute, huh?

Valley of the Wolves, Iraq... What are Billy Zane and Gary Busey thinking about? Movie Trailer Apparently the Turkish film industry has spent the largest amount for a movie in their history. Approximately 10 million dollars. The movie is about a "savage" group of American Soldiers. The Soldiers kidnap people randomly, shoot up a wedding, and take people to Abu Ghraib prison and stack them like cord wood. After that, a Jewish-American doctor played by Gary Busey, removes their internal organs and sells them. Apparently some of the prisoners are actually Turkish citizens who are not guilty of terrorist acts. One of the Turkish guys kills himself to preserve his honor, not before sending a desperate plea to some larger-than-life Turkish intelligence Officer. In steps a gravelly-voiced, smartly-dressed guy who basically annihilates the Americans. OH! The Americans, I forgot, their commander is none other than Billy Zane, who doesn't wear a uniform, but wears some kind of a du...

Rest in Peace Coretta Scott King....

I'm TDY again, and I am in my room listening to the State of the Union Address. I just heard that Cindy Sheehan is the invited guest of Lynn Woolsey and has been arrested. My first thought was, "What has that jackass done now?" But, I am going to reserve further comment until I hear the whole story.