http://www.mudvillegazette.com/ en-us 2012-10-29T11:25:10-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034569.html Greyhawk 2012-10-29T11:25:10-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034568.html While waiting to watch the 2012 Joe Biden/Paul Ryan debate, here's a quick look at a Joe Biden (2007) vs Joe Biden (2009) debate. No one wins that one - ol' Joe was wrong both times. (Original post with that video here.)... Greyhawk 2012-10-11T15:36:24-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034567.html October 3, 1993 - actual footage from the "Blackhawk Down" mission in Somalia: October 7, 1993 - President Clinton announces a surge of US troops in Somalia, but also a March 1994 withdrawal date for all US troops there:Recently, General Colin Powell said this about our choices in Somalia: "Because things get difficult, you don't cut and run. You work the problem and try to find a correct solution." I want to bring our troops home from Somalia. Before... Greyhawk 2012-10-03T12:12:15-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034566.html You've probably heard a bit (perhaps a lot - and will likely hear more) about the troops President Obama brought home from Afghanistan recently. You'll hear less about the troops President Obama sent to Afghanistan to replace them - but here's a report on several thousand of them. "It's a revolving door..."The recent end to the US troop surge in Afghanistan has reduced the overall number of American troops on the ground, even as some new faces have arrived.... Greyhawk 2012-10-02T11:06:24-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034565.html "U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan reach 2,000" proclaims the headline over this October 1, 2012 story.KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The killing of an American serviceman in an exchange of fire with allied Afghan soldiers pushed U.S. military deaths in the war to 2,000, a cold reminder of the perils that remain after an 11-year conflict that now garners little public interest at home.Every death is a tragedy, of course, but that claim that Afghanistan "garners little public interest at home"... Greyhawk 2012-10-01T12:52:07-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/033850.html (Note: Originally posted in August, 2010 - reposted now because it's that time of year again.) Via yesterday's email:Today, August 6th, marks the 65th anniversary of the American bombing of Hiroshima. Monday is the 65th anniversary of Nagasaki. To commemorate those dates, LIFE.com has created a gallery of never-seen pictures by LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Bernard Hoffman, and J.R. Eyerman -- all three of whom were there, on the ground, very shortly after both cities were destroyed.Apparently we really lit... Greyhawk 2012-08-08T15:08:32-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034562.html Milblogger Sgt. Eric E. Williams, on coming home from Afghanistan:This deployment is coming to an end, in a few days we will be on a plane back to the United States to rejoin our family and friends and to try to readjust to a certain semblance of what we think life should be. The truth is everything has changed, we collectively have changed. We have changed as people, as an army, as citizens of the United States. We face uncertainty... Greyhawk 2012-07-26T10:06:04-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034561.html "Managers and Supervisors: To lower morale and production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work." Sound familiar? If so, perhaps you can identify the business plan containing that quote and these:(a) Organizations and Conferences (1) Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions. (2) Make "speeches," Talk as frequently as possible and at great length., Illustrate your "points" by... Greyhawk 2012-07-17T13:33:40-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034560.html In 1826, Thomas Jefferson was invited to attend the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to be held that July 4th in Washington, DC. With his health failing at age 83, he sent his regrets in a letter to Washington Mayor Roger C. Weightman. This was the last letter written by Jefferson, who died ten days later - on July 4, 1826... More here.... Greyhawk 2012-07-04T13:46:31-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034557.html "US veterans to return war medals in protest""I think it's something that many of us are conflicted about, but we also feel like this is the right action to take," he noted, adding that there was a lot of consensus on the returning of the medals. "It is a sacrifice, but it's one that we feel is worth it."Actually, it's a sacrifice worth about five bucks on ebay. They're "giving back" something you can pick up in a surplus store.... Greyhawk 2012-05-16T10:19:42-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034556.html Unhappy senator:[Senator Feinstein] said the leak to AP "jeopardizes" the agent and that it could not have come from Congress since she and House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) had not been briefed on the operation.Unhappy representative:Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said Obama did not "play [it] straight" with him. "They [did] not notify Congress, which is, by the way, law, under the National Security Act of 1947," he said on CBS's Face the Nation. "They're obligated to do it."Meanwhile,... Greyhawk 2012-05-14T09:53:29-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034552.html ...is like sending sand, sez I. (But I doubt anyone ever had the heart to tell "Big Hy" that. "Thank you, sir" is a better response.)... Greyhawk 2012-05-01T11:22:27-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/031311.html My good friend Robert Stokely sent an email update to this story from a few years ago: "Now a 1st LT and on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1300 hours, Elijah Carroll will graduate Ranger School at FT Benning. I hope to be there.... Mike would expect me to go." Congratulations, Lt Carroll. And thank you, Robert, for all you've done and been through over the years, too. I'm more than proud to call you friend. Robert's 2008 story... Greyhawk 2012-04-26T16:05:43-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034551.html "But next week's visit is an official one as commander-in-chief..." sez "A White House official speaking on background..." His Fort Stewart visit provides an opportunity for the president to try to shape news about his handling of the military in Afghanistan in light of recent events. His administration has been apologizing for the murder of 16 citizens there by an American soldier on a rampage, reports that copies of the Koran were burned and the recent revelation of 2-year-old... Greyhawk 2012-04-25T10:01:15-05:00 http://www.mudvillegazette.com/034550.html How the LA Times explained their decision to publish gruesome photos in the "Bush era": These days they've found other reasons:He said the photos point to a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops. He expressed the hope that publication would help ensure that alleged security shortcomings at two U.S. bases in Afghanistan in 2010 were not repeated.The bigger reason for those (or any other examples through the years) is that snuff... Greyhawk 2012-04-19T09:26:27-05:00