April 29, 2007
A Self-Congratulatory Moment
May 16, 2007 will mark the second anniversary of the Matt's Today in History. If you listen to the podcast on a regular basis, please consider sending me an e-mail listing your favorite episodes. If I receive enough responses, I will have a "Top 10" show during that anniversary week. If you are set up to record audio and would like to send some thoughts or a show intro, please feel free to do so (make sure you plug your site/podcast/business).
April 28, 2007
Honoring The Fallen
Marine Cpl. Willie P. Celestine Jr.
No biographical information at this time.
Army Spc. Jeremy E. Maresh
24, of Jim Thorpe, Pa.; assigned to C Battery, 1st Battalion, 213th Air Defense Artillery, Spring City, Pa.; died April 24 in Baghdad in a non-combat-related incident. His death is under investigation.
Army Pfc. Garrett C. Knoll
23, of Bad Axe, Mich.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died April 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location. Also killed were Spc. Michael J. Rodriguez, Spc. Jerry R. King, Sgt. Michael L. Vaughan, Sgt. Brice A. Pearson, Sgt. Randell T. Marshall, 1st Lt. Kevin J. Gaspers, Staff Sgt. Kenneth E. Locker Jr. and Staff Sgt. William C. Moore.
April 26, 2007
Defeat By Any Other Name
In a bold wartime challenge to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Congress cleared legislation Thursday to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later. The White House dismissed the legislation as "dead before arrival."
Call it what you will: withdrawal, cut and run, retreat, defeat, surrender---the Democrats in Congress have embraced losing Iraq. What's worse is that they are not doing it because it makes for sound foreign policy, but because defeat in Iraq helps them politically. That's the party they have shaped: defeat is victory. George Orwell, call your office.
Knowing what we know now, should we have invaded Iraq? Probably not, but that debate is now moot. WE BROKE IRAQ AND WE HAVE TO FIX IT. Leaving Iraq now will guarantee anarchy and, eventually, another despot or a radical theocracy. We have nothing less than a moral obligation to at least try to set things right. It may take 10 years. Or 15. 54 years after the truce was signed stopping the Korean War, tens of thousands of Americans are still in South Korea. This is the cost.
Honoring The Fallen
Pfc. Garrett C. Knoll
23, of Bad Axe, Mich.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
Spc. Michael J. Rodriguez
20, of Sanford, N.C.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
Spc. Jerry R. King
19, of Browersville, Ga.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
Sgt. Michael L. Vaughan
20, of Otis, Ore.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
Sgt. Brice A. Pearson
32, of Phoenix, Az.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
Sgt. Randell T. Marshall
22, of Fitzgerald, Ga.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 23 in Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
These men died together.
April 25, 2007
Honoring The Fallen
Marine Lance Cpl. Dale G. Peterson
20, of Redmond, Ore.; assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 23 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.
Army Pfc. Jeffrey A. Avery
19, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; assigned to the 571st Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died April 23 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated during checkpoint operations.
Army Staff Sgt. Steven R. Tudor
36, of Dunmore, Pa.; assigned to the 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using indirect fire during combat operations.
Army Cpl. Ray M. Bevel
22, of Andrews, Texas; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died April 21 in Yusufiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat patrol operations.
April 24, 2007
Honoring The Fallen
Army Sgt. William W. Bushnell
24, of Jasper, Ark.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during combat operations.
Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper
34, of Baltimore; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when he came in contact with enemy forces using a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire during combat operations.
Army Pfc. Christopher M. North
21, of Sarasota, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire during combat operations.
Army Pvt. Michael J. Slater
19, of Scott Depot, W.Va.; assigned to the 407th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died April 21 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle rolled over during combat operations.
April 23, 2007
The Prissy Victory
Nicholas Winset was fired from Emmanuel College in Boston last week for leading a discussion about gun control and what he termed "prissiness" in our society. Professor Winset responded with a rambling 4-part video on YouTube.
Winset hit the nail right on the head, but no one is comfortable with facing the reality of his words. The only person who stood up to the crazed gunman at Virginia Tech last week was Liviu Librescu, a holocaust survivor who gave his life so his students could escape. While none of us knows what we would do in a similar situation, does it bother you that no one fought back? If you were being lined up against a wall to be shot, would you offer resistance?
You know "prissy" people; you probably work with some. They are the people for whom any strong emotion is a sign of instability. Any strongly-held belief is a sign of dangerous fundamentalism. Supporting a cause larger than oneself is foolish; support of one's nation is jingoism. Life is to be lived in the safe middle, where nothing is felt, everything is analyzed and no one is loved, hated, adored or abhorred.
I'm about to blame this on liberalism, so get your keyboard warmed up. Do you know what the politically correct response to a robber in your home is? Go hide and let him take what he wants. I'm not kidding. Logically applied to Virginia Tech, the student body did exactly the right thing: they offered no resistance---and they died. Five students (or fewer) acting together could've ended the entire thing. I was not in college when I was 18-22, so I have no idea what my attitude would've been had I been in that situation with other students. However, I can say that the men I was serving with when I was that age would not have stood idly by while someone picked us off one at a time. To quote Bernie Mac, "there'd be some furniture movin' goin' on up in there."
I'm not trying make light of the situation. My hope and prayer is that the tragedy at Virginia Tech does not reflect our society as a whole.
Forget The Uncomfortable
The victims of the Virginia Tech shootings were honored via Presidential order last week; all flags were to be flown at half-staff until yesterday (April 22nd). When I heard of this, my first thought was of all the men and women who have died over the course of the last five and a half years serving their nation in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locales.
Evidently, I am not the only person who noticed. The simple truth is that the casualties of the War on Terror have become background noise. It's much more important to know who was voted off 'American Idol' or which celebrity arrived at the club sans panties than it is to know the names of those who have given all in the service of this nation. For us.
So, starting today, I will list the names of any American military member who dies in a combat zone. If I can find a biography, I will include that also. It's the least I can do, and I should have started doing it long before now. Here are the first two heroes:
Army Sgt. Alexander Van Aalten
21, of Monterey, Tenn.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Apr. 20 in Sangin, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when a land mine detonated near his unit during combat operations.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffery A. Bishop
No biographical information available at this time.
April 22, 2007
April 20, 2007
I've been listening to the audio version of Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. It is easily the most enthralling non-fiction work I have heard or read in over a year. Wright spent more than five years interviewing people all over the world, including members (past and present) of Al-Qaeda. The story he tells is both riveting and revealing.
First, it is important to realize that the tired liberal diatribe that our CIA created Osama Bin Laden while he was fighting in Afghanistan is complete BS. Bin Laden was a bit player who came to the war late and saw combat on less than a handful of occasions. Most of the Arabs who went to fight against the Soviets were idealists, rich kids who either wanted to become martyrs or simply return home with tales of danger and adventure. Bin Laden genuinely believed in the cause, but he just a face in the crowd.
Second, I believe we need to drop the idea that, somehow, we can rationally negotiate with radical Islam. It is comfortable for us, on some level, to think of all people as being just like us: satisfied to live life, work hard, raised children, retire happy. The sad fact is that there are people out there who hate the West, and Americans in particular, because of everything we are. They despise democracy because it gives people the opportunity to make their own choices, something they believe runs contrary to what God wants. They hate the fact that women are considered equal to men in our society. They hate the fact that we accept all religions, regardless of their canon. We will never be able to negotiate with people who don't want land or power or natural resources; they just want us dead.
Al-Qaeda will one day fade away, but the ideology it represents will not. Radicalism among Muslims existed before Al-Qaeda and it will exist after the group disappears into history. The urge for a world-wide caliphate and jihad against unbelievers will be with us for a long, long time. And the war will continue.
April 17, 2007
Greater Love
Virginia Tech University Prof. Liviu Librescu, described as a family man who once did research for NASA, sacrificed his life to save his students in the shooting rampage yesterday.
"When he heard the gunfire, he blocked the entrance and got shot through the door," his daughter-in-law Ayala Schmulevich said.
"He realized he had to save the students," she said. "That was the kind of man he was."
The hero educator was beginning a class on solid mechanics when all hell broke loose on the second floor of Norris Hall.
First came the terrifying gunshots from a classroom next door.
"It wasn't like an automatic weapon, but it was a steady 'pow,' 'pow,' 'pow,' 'pow,'" student Richard Mallalieu, 23, told The Washington Post. "We didn't know what to do at first."
The students in the class dropped to the floor and started overturning desks to hide behind as about a dozen shots rang out, he said.
Then the gunfire started coming closer. Librescu, 77, fearlessly braced himself against the door, holding it shut against the gunman in the hall, while students darted to the windows of the second-floor classroom to escape the slaughter, survivors said.
Mallalieu and most of his classmates hung out of the windows and dropped about 10 feet to bushes and grass below - but Librescu stayed behind to hold off the crazed gunman.
Alec Calhoun, 20, said the last thing he saw before he jumped from the window was Librescu, blocking the door against the madman in the hallway.
He died trying to protect the students.
Librescu taught aerospace and ocean engineering but focused much of his time on research.
He leaves a wife and two sons. His family is planning to bury him in Israel.
April 16, 2007
Terror In Virginia
By now you know that over 30 people have been killed on the campus of Virginia Tech. Over the next few days, we will see the massacre examined from every angle, so I will not do so here other than to make a single, solitary point that will probably be ignored by the mainstream media.
I can't help but wonder how today would have been different if one or more of the students near the shooter had been carrying a concealed weapon. Early reports indicate that the shooter had two handguns on his person, so depending on what type of weapons they were, he probably had to re-load. One motivated person with a pistol could have saved lives.
Some will make the argument that an armed population is an invitation to friendly fire and more crimes of passion. Maybe that's true. But do you think any gun control law on the books would've stopped this nutcase from killing nearly three dozen people, or do gun control laws only serve to keep victims unarmed?
April 15, 2007
The Beat Goes On
Michael Moore, working on his next piece of propaganda geared towards the ignorant, is pulling yet another inane stunt. While Mikey's in Havana, do you think he'll ask the medical professionals what happens to HIV/AIDS patients in Cuba?
They are sent to concentration camps ("sanitoriums", as the Cuban Ministry of Health calls them).
Good work, Mikey---good work.
April 12, 2007
April 10, 2007
England Expects Every Man Will Do His Duty
I've been thinking about the 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines this week. It's very easy for me to sit here and say, "I'd never let them use me like that" or "There's no way they would've taken me." The fact is that unless you've had a gun pointed at your head, you have no idea how you'd react. We'd all like to think we would react with calm, dignified, courage. We also know that not everyone would be so well put together.
I think the seizure of these sailors and marines says a great deal about the state of European defense posture in the face of Islamo-fascist terror. The Iranians have never made an attempt to grab American sailors under similar circumstances, mainly because they know that retribution would be swift and debilitating. The Royal Navy, the force that ruled the seas for more than 300 years, allowed itself to be bullied by a nation whose navy would've been ignored by Her Majesty's ships 60 years ago.
I have an immense amount of respect for our British allies, but when the face-off with Iran comes (you know it's on the way), I believe we will be staring down the barrel alone.
April 09, 2007
You Have Been...
There's a great scene in the movie 'Tombstone' in which Turkey Creek Johnson turns to Doc Holliday (who is in the middle of hacking up a lung) and says something like:
Johnson: "Doc, you've got no business being out here. Why do you do it?"
Holliday: "Because Wyatt Earp is my friend."
Johnson: "Hell, I've got lots of friends."
Then there's a long pause before Holliday responds:
"I don't."
I have written here before about my definition of the term 'friend' because I believe it is overused. The truth is that many people use 'friend' when they mean 'acquaintance'. They see friends as people with whom you work or drinking buddies. Often, that is the extent of the relationship.
I've always thought friends to be people who know me well enough to predict my actions or know when I'm angry, sad, excited or happy just by hearing my voice. They are loyal, a quality that seems to be lacking in many modern 'friendships'. They make me want to be my best self by challenging my present being. They do not have to be physically close; most of the people who I call friends live far away. But even if we don't speak for months, there is no loss of continuity. They are in my thoughts daily.
So there are not many people who I consider friends. That's not to say there aren't people around me who are nice and fun to be around. But the people who have taken that next step are rare. And I've done a pretty crappy job of staying in touch with them. You know who you are.
I realized tonight, as Kelli and I had dinner with two friends, that I have been taking so many wonderful people for granted. I have let the craziness of everyday life steer me away from phone calls and thoughtful e-mails. But nothing is worth losing touch.
I will do better, because you are worth it and I would not be the person I am without you.
April 08, 2007
April 05, 2007
Six Degrees Or Less
The newest episode of Matt's Today in History (see below) deals with the crash of a C-5A Galaxy cargo aircraft in April, 1975. The aircraft was carrying orphans and their escorts to a new life in the United States; half the people on board died. I mentioned that the plane's pilot, Captain Dennis Traynor, and his crew did a remarkable job in an almost impossible situation.
This morning I went to check my e-mail as usual. At the top of my inbox was an e-mail from Colonel Traynor, USAF, Retired. He said little; he mainly just thanked me for keeping the memory alive. A friend of his listens to the podcast and sent him the .mp3 to listen to.
Wow. I e-mailed him back, thanking him for his service and telling him that no one mentioned in one of my shows has ever written (most of them are long gone). I told him I have about a million questions about his career, etc., but that I didn't want to take up his time. I would love to do an interview with him, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to ask. After all, the memories of that day are probably still painful and a man like Colonel Traynor probably believes he could have done more, even though he pulled off a miracle by doing the flying he did. If nothing else, I would love to just talk to him.
The Call For Hostages
This post on DRPK Studies gives us a brief, interesting look at how North Korea is handling its diplomats around the world: by holding their children as tacit hostages. The fact that not everyone is playing along tells me that there may be more going on in the Hermit Kingdom than we realize. There were rumors a few weeks ago that Kim Il Jong (The Dear Leader.....hahahahaha) is under house arrest and a hardline military group is running the show. If true, it would explain the sudden urge to have the diplomats' kids at home to ensure no one spills the beans or starts working for the good guys.
The day North Korea collapses will be the beginning of one of the saddest times in recent human history. The misery and suffering being endured by the average North Korean will be seen for the first time as unbelievable in severity and magnitude. Those who called for talks, talks and more talks instead of substantive action will finally look cruel.
April 03, 2007
No Title Is Adequate
I give up.
LONDON (AP) - Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all.
In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.
"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.
"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."
Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.
Richards, one of rock's legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him.
"I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it's a way of life," he was quoted as saying.
"I've no pretensions about immortality," he added. "I'm the same as everyone ... just kind of lucky.
"I was No. 1 on the `who's likely to die' list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list," Richards said.
I mean.....................damn.
April 01, 2007
The Mills Commission Report, April 2, 1908
Thanks to Bob Wright of the Baseball History Podcast for guest hosting this episode. You can find Bob's show at bhp.libsyn.com . Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's worth your time. Plus, I can vouch for the fact that Bob is a great guy.