Who are you people?

I've developed a disturbing trend. Its disturbing because of what I spent so much of my life doing, that being, a soldier. One takes up the uniform and weapon of America's army because one is called to it and stays over 20 years and retires because they are duty bound to do it. You stay because you accept the burden of protecting all of the peoples and all of the lands and of course the sanctity of the Constitution. Its nearly religious in its depth and energy. When you retire from the military a loss of this central purpose is one of the problems you must overcome.

I think I'm over that loss of purpose. Now, I'm trying hard to not feel like I wasted all those years of my life.

What has become of this country? I don't recognize it anymore. The America of my youth seems like something from a dream, like it never happened or could happen. I have no sense of kinship with anyone outside my home state. I look with general disgust at the rest of the country. I would no more shed blood on behalf of someone in New York then I'd get a root canal with no pain killers. We no longer share any connection. What do I have in common with someone from California other then our living in America? Shared experiences you might say, but no, not even those exist. Someone from Oregon is as alien to me as someone from Croatia.

On second thought, I defended my family all those years. That will just have to do I guess because what else could I do.

Visitors so late, wonder who it could be? OBL

I have a confession, and I'm hoping I'm not the only one. When I heard OBL was dead, I wasn't all that concerned. It was a "meh" moment as my son might say. What effect has this guy really had on the enemies war effort? I have my doubts that he has had any effect other then his own symbolic leadership. So when I woke up and saw the deck apes had got him, I wasn't doing a jig or praising some religious honcho or anything. I just went back to getting ready for work, nothing had really changed. The long war continues, one symbol is dead but another will step up and take his place, of this I have no doubts at all. The religion of perpetual rage will continue unabbetted in its desire to turn back the clock to the middles ages, and we will continue to resist this idiot thinking. Celebrate later, tie your boots tight, and adjust your ruck straps, stay focused because the enemy is still there waiting on their chance to meet Allah. Be a good trooper and oblige them, its the neighborly thing to do.

All Better Now

I went and saw the Doc. We have several Docs on staff where I work and I strolled into the office of the eldest Doc and asked for a minute of his time. 1 Hr and 25 minutes later I walked out feeling a bit better. he said the things I thought he would say, PTSD, stress, stunted emotional response, to much compartmentalizing. It all made sense to me so I let him ask his questions and give me his answers. I never gave much thought to most of it before but I concede that maybe I was wrong in that so I'm trying hard to do what he said to do. What did he say to do? Oddly enough, laugh more, cry some and just lighten up. I am....serious to be polite. Intense may be more accurate. So, saying lighten up made sense, because its just not something I do. The logic seems sound. I do feel better, its like he gave me permission not to give a shit about every little detail anymore. Its kinda liberating to be honest. My beautiful wife of 28 years dropped a large bowl of chopped, and sugared strawberries, all ready for application to some very nice vanilla ice cream, right square in the middle of the kitchen floor last night. I can confirm the blast radius of strawberries is about 3 meters. What a mess. There was a time when I would have stressed about it, I would have worried about the waste of 13 dollars worth of strawberries, but last night, I laughed my ass off for a good 10 minutes. It felt great! The shadows seemed to slide further away with each passing second of just plain silly laughter. Doc is right and I am man enough to admit it. Besides I got to clean the strawberries off her legs, she's got great legs so all ends well and is well.

Time Catches Even The Fleetest of Foot

There's something wrong with me. I don't mean like cancer or something like a disease which makes people gasp and cover their mouth. I mean in my head. No, I don't want to kill puppies or anything like that but none-the-less there is something going on up there and I don't like it one bit. It took 25 years for it to catch me, 25 years of me believing I had it all comfortably tucked away behind all that junk in my mind. It was suppose to be buried behind my first bike and the time I dropped a coke bottle and cut my fingers trying to clean it up. Its a bad thing and bad things are tenacious and thorough. It took 25 years for it to surface but here it is and I don't know what to do about it. When I close my eyes I see them and I hear them and sometimes I smell them. I feel the panic like it is happening all over again and I feel the stomach churning that comes with that set of sorrows. I see their faces and I hear their screams and it rends at my very soul. Sleeping is becoming increasingly difficult because that's when it all comes back the strongest. I will awake, sweaty, winded and looking for cover and concealment. Three, sometimes four times a night. I was so smug when we came back, the others cried and yelled but not me. I was made of ice and rolled steel. Nothing could phase me, I was the perfect Scout. Look at them, I thought, they wallow in weakness, but not me, I am impervious to all this emotional nonsense. I was so foolish, and now my chickens have returned to roost. I don't know why I write this now, maybe I need to tell someone. My wife doesn't know and I wouldn't dream of telling my friends, but maybe I need to tell someone even if its a someone I will never really meet. I'm tired and I really need more rest so as to marshal the strength to but this crap back in the ground. I am Finrod, and Finrod doesn't do this stuff. Thank You for listening.

Psst Look Here, This is Quality Stuff

For Spockgirl and any other foodies who may be lurking about. I give you Coq Au Vin or Chicken and Wine in English. This recipe is a sort of test of French cooking skills, but here I've reduced it to something easy and fun to make. By the way, it smells incredible as it cooks.

Crockpot Coq Au Vin

Part One

8 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

1 ¾ Cups Red Wine

1 Cup Chicken Broth

1 Teaspoon Salt

½ Teaspoon Black Pepper

3 Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine

8 Ounces Baby Carrots

8 to 10 Pearl Onions (Use the real ones from the produce dept, they taste better then the canned kind)

6 Strips of Bacon Cooked and Chopped or Crumbled

Bouquet Garnier

This is either a pack of herbs wrapped in cheese cloth or in a Tea Ball, I use a Tea Ball, anyway, put 2 sprigs (or 3 Teaspoons of Chopped) Parsley, 2 Bay leaves and 2 teaspoons of Thyme in your Bouquet.

Put all of this in your crockpot or slow cooker and put it on low heat. Now….walk away. It needs to cook for 6 hours. Your house is gonna smell marvelous….

Part Two

Remove the bouquet after the 6 hours have passed; make a mix of 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons water. Remove any grease from the top, thighs have allot of fat and this may not even be necessary but check. Add 8 or 16 ounces of button mushrooms (Depends on how much you like mushrooms) and your water and flour mixture. Stir gently and cook on the high setting for 30 minutes. It will thicken and smell even better. Traditionally this is served with potatoes but it’s basically a stew so those aren’t really needed. It’s also traditionally served in a large low soup dish which I do recommend. Cook or get some French bread (For sopping the sauce) and enjoy. You’ve now cooked one of French Cooking’s great tests of skill, Coq Au Vin or Chicken and Wine. But don’t tell a Frenchman how you did it, the shock would kill them.

Thanks Brother

Had a death in the family. My wife's only brother. I'm not sure why I qualify him that way but it seems the natural thing to say. Chuck was a good guy and I liked him because he seemed to like me. He wasn't a saint by any means, and lived a very hard life for the first half but he got pretty close to being right for the second half. So, I give him his due and thank him for the time he spent here and what he did in that time. I have always had a problem with grief, the problem being that my father beat the whole grief thing outta me as a child. Good training for my years as a soldier but piss poor for my years as a human being, father and husband. People cry and I get confused. Why do they cry, tears will change nothing, but that doesn't seem to stop them. I think it brings a release, a release from the pain. I used to wonder where my release was, but I think I have been given a gift of sorts. When they cry they need someone to watch over them, to do the laundry and shopping and cooking and make the calls they hate to make, I am that someone. So I'll hug them and bring them food and nod when they weep because that's what I do. I've got your back. So I'll grieve in my own way and say, thanks Chuck, you were a good brother in law, I am truly glad to have known you. Now I have to run to the commissary buts it ok because dinner will be one of my best recipes.

"Where did all the Republicans go....long time passing"

Lets spend a minute talking about the SOTU or the State of the Union Address if your not all cool and stuff and this ridiculous seating nonsense. Look Republicans, the issue is simple. The democrats got their ass handed to them by those silly voters, in part, because they did a whole laundry list of stuff the voters clearly said they didn't want them to do. N0w they are trying to do a 180 and show those same voters that they are the party of inclusion and understanding. One of the first things you learn as a soldier is, NEVER DO WHAT THE BAD GUYS WANT!!!! If the left wants to sing kumbyah (sp?), then let them do it by themselves on their side of the aisle. Do not enable them any further and do not validate anything they want or say. If a leftist tard says the sky is blue, argue with them that it is actually white and the blue is an optical illusion. Guys, you won, act like it, and if thats too much, we can arrange for your replacement.

Maybe It Won't Be So Bad

Maybe we should be number 2 in the world. No, stop and think about that. I have a buddy who fixes things. People always glad-hand him when he fixes their things and says "You're the man!", where as he responds with "Nope, I'm the Guy, the Man has too many responsibilities and rules. Everybody wants to have a Guy." Perhaps this should be our national strategy. Lets be "The Guy", not "The Man".

What has our status really done for us lately? Pretty much nothing. Some shithole gets a flood and what do the cameras show, some guy yelling about "Where is the Americans?" Nobody asks where the chicoms are or when the chicoms are sending aid. We have shed blood, sweat, and tears for the world. No nation or collection of nations has sacrificed so much for others as has America and what has it gotten us? Not a damn thing but a validation of Murphy's Laws of Combat, Law #1, "If you take more then your fair share of objectives, you'll have more then your fair share to take." I have become so hardened by the rest of the planet that my passport would be better used as a coaster for my drink then for travel right now.

So maybe, being Number 2 wouldn't be so bad. We could get a rest and maybe get our own house in order. Let someone else send its son's and daughters to far away lands to die for some group that hates you anyway. Let someone else spend billions on flood relief for a bunch of folks who refer to you as "The Great Satan". Yeah, I wanna be the "The Guy", everybody wants to have a Guy. That way you can always say, "Relax, I know this Guy."

Ita is ends ut totus res operor

DADT ends and I feel so much sorrow for what is about to happen to my Army. To all the gay soldiers who placed their needs and wishes above the nation's, I hope your happy. Reap what you have sown because now its going to get really bad.

The Tao Continues

"Hate or scorn are not linear. The true man has options when he has had a major wrong done to him. You may enter into "conflict" with the offending party or you may choose to declare them "persona non Grata". The choice is yours to make, but take care in your choice. Weigh your courses of action, but know that you must choose."

You have to repay someone who has done you wrong, its just that simple. That is what this part of the Tao really boils down to. People who screw you, will do it again unless you make it uncomfortable for them.

The Tao of Finrod

I am a peculiar fellow at the best of times. I laugh when it isn't really appropriate and I don't laugh when everyone else is laughing. Over time I've learned to recognize what you think is funny and laugh on queue but I miss it sometimes. I don't really get emotional or weepy. I'm a bit of a stoic you might say. Over time I've written, in my head, rules that I live by and generally I stick by them. Lately though, I've had this odd desire to write the rules down on paper and even to share them. A moment of weakness I suppose but it even happens to me. I am going to post some of these rules here, the Tao of Finrod if you will. So, here is the first of the Tao of Finrod:

When wrong is done to you, an assessment must be done. You must do this quickly and clearly.Was the wrong done by accident or was it purposefully done? Once the assessment is done you must choose a course of action. Minor wrongs, those done by accident or lacking purpose may be overlooked. Major or great wrongs, those done with purpose, poor intent and deliberate effect cannot be overlooked. Major wrongs must be repaid with scorn and hate. Major wrongs cannot be forgiven lest they come from kith or kin and then only rarely.

On Matters of Math

It seems likely that DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) will be repealed, if not now then in the near future. When that day comes, everyone will pat themselves on the back in an effort to acknowledge their incredible coolness. All will shout to the world that America is now officially cool and open and accepting and stuff. The world will then sing songs to America's greatness and ... no they won't, the world will still hate us but that's another post for another time. I think repealing DADT is a bad idea and let me explain why.

Math is a cruel bitch at the best of times and this is one of those times. One of the arguments used by the left for this repeal is the loss of skilled service members from the military because of their sexual orientation. Many numbers are batted about with a good center mass number somewhere in the 2000 range. I'm cool with that number, I think its probably too high but whatever, we'll use it. There you go, 2000 it will be. I am going to use the Army for our example here because the Army is what I know about, sorry jarheads, deck apes, and zoomies. There are 241 recruiting companies in the US Army Recruiting Command. They cover the entire nation to include Germany and American protectorates in the Pacific rim. Let us speculate a little. Lets say that each recruiting company looses 1 enlistment each month because of the repeal of DADT. One enlistment is not much is it? I see you grabbing your calculator, let me help, that is nearly 3000 lost enlistments each year. Oh my, that's 1000 more then our 2000 lost folks isn't it? This is just the Army. I assure you, people are already saying they plan on leaving the service and are definitely not recommending it to others. Some are talking out the side of their necks, but if even 10% are not, we have a problem. If math is your argument, you've lost, repeal will cost too damn much.

I don't give 2 bits about who you put your junk into after duty hours and in the privacy of your home. But I do care about the body I dedicated 22 years of my life to. People have no right to serve in the Armed Forces, none whatsoever. So what, you want to serve, goody for you, I want to be a porn star but we must all live with disappointment.

Say what?

I am mystified. Really, I am. It is the equivalent of throwing 6 interceptions in a game that the opposing team scores on each time and the coach blaming the kicking team. How can you be that clueless? How can something so simple be so badly misinterpreted? Well, you will have to ask the democrats because they have some serious comprehension issues going on right now.

Tuesday was simple. The voters don't like what your doing. It had nothing to do with messaging or the comprehension level of the electorate. It was and is entirely the feeling among the peoples that what you did was bad and needs to be corrected. The simplicity of this is hard to miss. But, the left seems to believe that the core problem was one of salesmanship and message. While I enjoy watching this slow motion train wreck, the constant whining about messaging is getting on my nerves.

If the democrats continue this tact then 2012 is going to be another blood bath with the white house also being a victim. I do want them to loose but I value the strength of my enemies. If my enemy is week and powerless, then my victory is meaningless. I need the left to get their crap together so we can smash them again and drive them before us and listen to the lamentations of their women.

Black Tuesday

Here we are, at the cusp of change. Tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for, the mid term elections are upon us and I am happy as hell. The left is going to get its ass handed to it and I am looking forward to spending Tuesday evening in a state of joy. I want to see democrats crying in the streets and committing some sort of grief ritual that includes moving out of the country, but I know that's probably a bit much to hope for or expect.
No, instead we'll hear all about how this is just people being unreasonable, because that whole, your stupid tactic always works. I am constantly amazed by the left, their complete inability to look long and hard at their own numbers and realize that the tactic of "If you were intelligent, you'd vote for us." just doesn't frakking work and just pisses people off. Pissed off people don't really like being treated like slightly retarded children, and that is the democrats biggest problem, how they view most of John Q. Public. Americans are not stupid, they like to ask questions and they like answers even more. No one is seriously against health-care in America. Everyone wants the system to be fixed and tweeked, but folks want you to close the loop and explain how your plan fixes things and how your going to pay for your plan.
I'll be at the polls first thing in the morning and you should be too.

Hi there!

I have returned from my self imposed hibernation from this site and how things have changed. Actually my hibernation was sorta needed to get over that whole knee problem which turned out to be 3 meniscus tears and 3 bone spurs. Yep, I have some cool new scars to show off.
A rundown of events is in order. Lets see, Tuesday is the end of the world according to everyone who lives in leftist fantasy land, and considering unicorn season opens on Wednesday, maybe it is the end of the world. AQ is getting froggy again, which isn't surprising considering killing them is the only way to stop them and we haven't killed all of them yet.
Political ads have really devolved, they all amount to someone simply saying "He/she is a poo poo head." I got one of those really annoying phone calls, annoying because I was in the bathroom at the time, asking me to vote for Rob Miller, which is really dumb as shit because other then Rob Miller being a democrat tard and not being Joe Wilson, I have no frakking clue what the hell Rob Miller stands for, because all his ads are summed up as "Joe Wilson is a poo poo head." I just don't understand how these idiots think this will work, but apparently they do because that's all that I see.
I shall endeavor to write something deep and profound but in the meantime, something for the leftist out there.

Hello

Wow, I've been a major lazy bastard haven't I. Lets see, what has occurred since I posted last...Obama has saved the universe a couple of times, seriously just ask Chris Mathews...Arizona was invaded by members of the SS who have turned it into the 4th Reich who's sole goal is the oppression of Mexicans...BP screwed the pooch and blew off some safety stuff which resulted in an oil rig going boom and the gov't apparently ignored that stuff because there was some money moving around...I screwed up my knee which is such an absolute and utter pain in the ass, I can't adequately describe how tired I am of this crap. So did I miss anything of note? I really should pursue being a journalist (parasite), this writing stuff is easy and somewhat therapeutic. I may be the only one reading it but it makes me feel better when I do.

New Orleans

Congrats to the Saints for their win in the Super Bowl. It was a great game to watch for me, primarily, because I can't stand Peyton Manning. He played for the Vols in college and I'm a Gator man so there you go. Now, about the Saints and all this healing bullshit. If you are so shallow and devoid of purpose and meaning in your miserable little exscuse for a life that your hometown team winning a game you couldn't afford to go to, is some kind of healing experience for you and your pathetic, self destructive city then you need to find a highway and play marbles in it. Can we now put a big frakking period on this whole New Orleans thing. The very high paid athletes won a game and will now go back to their homes outside of your frakked up city so feel healed and STFU. I am so tired of constantly hearing about New Orleans. Can we just put it away now. They're healed and great for them now go away.

Poor winners

Ok I admit it, I'm not so much happy that Brown won the seat as I am that the dems are miserable. I wouldn't give a frak if Micky Mouse won the seat as long as it made the dems cry. I like it when they cry, its funny and heartwarming and makes me think of puppies and stuff. People really aren't tracking when it comes to my dislike of those people. They are the enemy, plain and simple. Anytime the enemy takes a hit, its a good thing. Now about Haiti, let me reiterate my position on Haiti for the slow learners in the back, "Frak Haiti"

Your Luck Sucks, but...

Haiti, your luck sucks. It does...really it does. But thats not my problem. I really am not interested in what has happenned in Haiti, and I know someone is gonna boo hoo about how cold hearted I am and blah blah blah but I don't really care about Haiti. How can I watch as Billions of dollars are spent and will be spent on rebuilding that utter shithole when we can't afford to repave roads or rebuild schools right here in the US. Those dollars being spent are in part my dollars and I don't want them being spent in Haiti. Apparently the most awesome president of all time, our very own telepromter Jesus is sending the 82nd to Haiti. Good move, its not like those guys haven't been on a deployment lately. They should go because they've just been sitting on their frakking hands at Ft Bragg. I've got bad news for my softer friends, the world hates us, and even if we turn Haiti into the garden of eden with our money and people, the world will still hate us.

The Left

I am, generally, a fairly unpleasant person. Seriously! I have been told dozens of times, “When I first met you I thought you were a total asshole but once I got to know you …” The social niceties are not something I give much time to or pay a great deal of time worrying about. This attitude allows me to be honest in my dealings with people. Nobody expects Finrod to be nice, so when I say I think someone is a waste of good genetic material, no one is really surprised and some are even appreciative. Honesty is liberating in social interaction. Be truthful in word and deed, those are good words to live by, which leads me to “The Left”. Now I don’t mean left like left hand, left lane, leftovers, I mean “The Left “as in the political left. These are the people who have plagued me my entire life. Background is essential here in understanding how much I hate these people. I was a boy when I watched my father return from Vietnam and was pelted with trash by “peace activists” for being the devil incarnate. I was a teenager when we were stationed in Germany and a mob of “peace activists” roamed through our gov’t housing, laying waste to anything at hand, protesting our presence in Germany because we were the devil incarnate and those nice Soviets didn’t really mean us any harm. When I say I hate these people, I’m not being dramatic, I hate these people with a hate reserved for people like Hitler and Stalin. The other day, someone talked to me about how the two sides need to talk and learn to understand each other. What’s to understand? What’s there to talk about? I have no interest in talking, I want to defeat them, completely, utterly, and finally.