"The Lonely Walk"

While our broken media is busy wanking, bug-eyed over a new sex "scandal" in government, it's worth remembering that there are selfless, heroic members of our armed services dying daily:

"Just as the details were emerging of a sex scandal involving Gen. David Petraeus that the media was calling 'explosive,' Staff Sgt. Kenneth Wade Bennett took what bomb disposal experts call 'the lonely walk' toward an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Bennett was on his third combat tour there and this time he had left behind a pregnant wife and a 2-year-old daughter. A snapshot taken of him and his daughter, Lila, just before he deployed in September showed the two of them walking hand in hand away from the camera.

'No bye bye, Daddy,' the girl said. 'Don’t go away.'

'One more time, honey,' he told her."

The full article is here, along with the last snapshot taken of Sgt. Bennett and his daughter. Is it possible to read the story without choking up?

START Stopped & Obama in Portugal

-- The Russians are mystified why the START treaty has apparently been stalled by the likes of Sen. Jon Kyl (Rethug-crAZy). What they need to know is that it's not about the treaty, it's about giving Obama anything that could be construed as a victory.

-- Meanwhile, Obama is attending the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, where it's expected the alliance will set a goal of ending its combat role in Afghanistan by 2014 or sooner. A partial NATO troop drawdown will begin in July 2011.

Fire, Aim, Ready!

It would appear that the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley "Loose Cannon" McChrystal, will be (no pun) fired after numerous derogatory comments that he made about the President, Vice President, Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and numerous other senior Administration and military figures appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. Wow, nothing like burning bridges on the way out. Obama is reported to be furious after seeing Loose Cannon's remarks, and wants a face-to-face with him tomorrow at the White House. Loose Cannon has already "apologized" to everyone for the comments, but the damage is done (he must have the same PR guy as Joe "Not A Smart 'Un" Barton).

This wouldn't be the first time for the General to find himself accused of insubordination. In a speech in London last fall, Loose Cannon preempted the Administration's decision on troop levels by publicly identifying a troop level that he wanted. Now, Loose Cannon may have fired his last, ill-advised salvo.

(photo: Now they tell me to button my lip)