from a friend in Iraq: Al-Faw Palace

Here's a picture of the largest re-enlistment ceremony ever, July 4, 2008, at Al-Faw Palace on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. The place is huge. What can we say?

WOW!!!

Check out the world-famous Fish at Al-Faw Palace, too. Hat tip here.

George Clooney on Darfur

Actor/Activist George Clooney met with President Obama and VP Biden to discuss intervention in Darfur.

The actor, who made a documentary highlighting the Darfur conflict and has been outspoken on the issue, said it was "nice to hear" that the region is a priority for the Obama White House.

"There was some concern that this could fall off the radar," he said. "There's quite a few other things [the administration is tackling], but they assured me this is high on their agenda."

He also delivered to Mr. Obama 250,000 postcards from Americans who want the new president to help end the crisis in Darfur.

OYE Comment: Mr. Clooney clearly believes entering the war in Darfur as a noble cause. Yet noble causes still produce dead and wounded. Nowhere on his organization's website did we read that he encourages enlisting in The Military if the United States chooses to become involved in the conflict. So we ask Mr. Clooney are you going to encourage those that support your organization's goals to Be A Man! Enlist! Or would he be content with battles being fought as long others' boots are on the ground.

Note: George Clooney is past the age of 41. He personally is no longer eligible to enlist.

Bush Appointees passing out resumés

From the WSJ:

The jobless rate is hanging high -- for many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees who served President George W. Bush. Finding work has proved a far tougher task than those appointees expected.

"This is not a great time for anyone to be job hunting, including numerous former political appointees," said Carlos M. Gutierrez, Mr. Bush's commerce secretary. Previously chief executive of cereal maker Kellogg Co., he hopes to run a company again because "I have a lot of energy."

OYE Comment: Certainly out of 3,000 people who served under President Bush some are still eligible to again become federal employees by serving Our Country in uniform.

Good News

Enlistment up across the board.

Despite the war in the Middle East, enlistment numbers nationwide are on the rise, experts say. The Army National Guard signed up almost 10,000 new soldiers last month, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Numbers released Feb. 10 by the DOD show the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines exceeded January's recruitment goals by 100 percent or more.

Capt. Timothy Dugan, spokesman for the Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Battalion, said in New Jersey there was a 20 percent increase for active-duty Army and a 19.3 percent increase for the Army Re-serves from 2008 to 2009.

OYE Comment: We thank those that have stepped up at the beginning of this year to serve Our Country. We did attempt to find Young Republicans that have contributed to this ground swell of recruits but our searches turned up nothing.

College Republicans Fresh Start

We've tried to help them. Really, we did. We pointed them in the right direction to earn credibility by backing up their war-happy mouths by enlisting, but they never saw the connection.

Now after a humbling election, ridiculous street theatre, and strange scandals the College Republicans know a sea change must come for them to remain relevant to become future leaders for Our Country.

Soooooooo.............all they did was update their website, encourage signing up for E-mail updates and ask for some loot.

OYE Comment: Leadership starts from the top. We don't believe that the National Chairman for the CR's, Charlie Smith, has the fortitude to guide his subordinates back to prominence on a national stage. Hopefully the CR's will be able to find someone within their numbers with the credibility and capacity to guide them back to relevancy.

It's Leigh!

It appears that long-time OYE commenter, Leigh Wolf, was exercising his 1st Ammendment right.

OYE Comment: Has it always been this way, Leigh? Have your buddies always hid behind you to let you do the talking?

License Plate of the Month: Florida

Deferments for Darfur?

Raj Purohit and Howard Salter of the Baltimore Sun call on President Obama to intervene with the conflict in Darfur.

By doing so, Mr. Obama would address a serious human rights crisis at the dawn of his presidency while also sending a clear signal that the U.S. is ready to once again lead by example. The implementation of a peace agreement would likely include:

•A long-term U.N. peacekeeping group in the region.
•Complete demilitarization of the militia groups.
•Governance concessions by the Sudanese central authorities.
•Transfer of two other alleged war criminals - former Minister of State for the Interior Ahmed Haroun and janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb - to the ICC.

Bold leadership and action would mark a significant break from the position of President Obama's predecessor. While President George W. Bush called the killings in Darfur "genocide," his administration failed to take action to stop the violence. Human rights activists and the millions of Americans who have risen up to demand an end to the killing in Darfur have high hopes that the Obama administration will act differently.

OYE Comment: "Bold leadership and action" are indeed characteristics necessary to help end the killing in Darfur. What is also necessary are Servicemen that will likely be involved in combat. We asked Mr. Purohit and Mr. Salter if they've ever worn a uniform or if they've encouraged their eligible-to-serve peers/family members to enlist, and, just like the 95% of the Young Republicans we've contacted over the years, we did not receive a response.

Letter to the President

Combat Veteran Alex Horton's open letter to President Obama:

For years, you have spoken extensively about the need for a more robust civil service program in the country. I cannot think of a greater civil service than serving in the military, especially in a time of war. For eight years, soldiers have sacrificed their bodies, minds, and in the most tragic of cases, their lives, to complete the mission. We have stared into the black abyss of war to see an inner reflection of triumph and tragedy. There are pieces of us, physical and otherwise, that are left on the battlefield forever. That is what we gave up for this nation. Now that the war in Iraq is coming to a close, it's time to end the recalls immediately. Every soldier in the military stands ready to report, mobilize and deploy in any corner of the world in 96 hours or less. The abrupt cancellation of the Presidential Reserve Call Up Authority and subsequent orders would seem effortless in comparison to what soldiers stand ready for each and every day.

"Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism. Because America's commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end."

The words above should look familiar. You said them on the presidential campaign trail as my unit conducted combat patrols in the fifteenth month of our tour in Iraq. It must be realized that above all else, the American soldier is the most valuable thing this country has to offer.

'best decision he made was 30 years ago'

BG Arnold Gordon-Bray (far right in pic) on ROTC.

“I’ve been to 42 countries and six continents,” said Bray, who has served with both the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. “I continue to be challenged ... every day.”
Bray is deputy commander of the Army’s Cadet Command, headquartered at Fort Monroe, Va. The command oversees the Army’s Junior ROTC programs in high schools and the Reserve Officer Training Corps at colleges and universities.
Bray said the Army’s goal is to commission 80 percent of its officers out of ROTC programs at colleges and universities. Men and women who are ROTC members become Army 2nd lieutenants when they graduate.“You get a chance to be a junior executive in the nation’s biggest corporation,” Bray said. “When you walk out of college, you’re ready to lead 42 men (a platoon).”

OYE Comment: Let's hope Columbia University gets the message.

We Get Threats

(to be seen in a future episode of To Catch a Predator)

Buck from Texas has kindly offered to give out 200 free, yellow "pull out of Iraq, violate 2nd amendment rights shirt(s)". Intrigued at his bold offer we thought he must have been a combat hardened Veteran that eats dirty-effin-hippies for a little protein before working out.

....and then we saw his video.



Judging by his 'PhD mouth' we became skeptical that Buck could have been included with our Best and Brightest so we asked him "have you served our country in uniform? Or do you have intentions of doing so?"

Here's the response in our email box today:

Quite simply.... no. And what of it? I have answered your question directly. Now answer mine if you have the balls. Dont duck it like a democrat party Obama supporting pussy. Was my father's and my grandfather's service in WWII and Vietnam ENOUGH sacrafice for me (their son and grandson) to freely support the Iraq war now? YES OR NO? Dont give me BULLSHIT you Michael Moore wanna be! Answer the goddam question. Because if your answer is NO, I would not mind kicking your ass!

OYE Comment: We remember the last time we hid behind our elders accomplishments. It was age 17 while still in high school. Also, we wish to thank Buck for pointing out that he is the "son and grandson" of his father and grandfather. We were perplexed at how you are related when you only refer to them as "father" and "grandfather".