Off topic, but on principle

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty," --Bill Maher.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.

Ben Quayle: Daddy 'War'bucks comes through

We're not surprised that Ben Quayle, 33, healthy and heterosexual, and son of the former Vice President, has raised a lot of money seeking the Republican nomination for Arizona's Third Congressional District in the Phoenix area.

Why? Because he didn't raise it. Daddy did. From all his friends from the Bush "41" Administration.

Of note: Former SecDef Donald Rumsfeld donated $1,000 to Ben Quayle, the same amount he donated to Daddy's Girl, Ethan Hastert. We recall SecDef Rumsfeld's statement to a U.S. soldier in Kuwait, that "you go to war with the army you have."

Well, we know now that that army did not include two prominent healthy heterosexual young men, Ethan Hastert and Ben Quayle. We conclude that Mr. Rumsfeld probably gave less than half the legal maximum [$2,400] just to be polite.

OYE Comment:

Are we impressed with Ben Quayle's campaign account? No, because it's really not his own accomplishment.

What Central Michigan University students are doing right

Operation Yellow Elephant appreciates the engaged discussion, in comments and via e-mail, on yesterday's post which is very much on our topic. So, giving credit where credit is due [and recognizing the space limitations on the original story in the campus newspaper], we appreciate the following about Central Michigan University [CMU]:

Support from Back Home . . .

The Michigan Army National Guard's 125th Infantry Division's Company C of Wyoming, MI (near Grand Rapids) has deployed to Afghanistan; we applaud such demonstrations of community support, including the t-shirts and donations to cover the shipping [which is not cheap]. Furthermore, we know from personal experience that the best thing you can do to Support Our Troops is to send something homemade.

. . . and from your Buddies

We understand that only part of the unit is deployed, and that many of its other current or recent members [i.e., veterans] are now students at CMU; some of them may be going later. It appears that they are encouraging their campus friends also to support their buddies downrange, and this is to be commended. Frankly, if more people in our country personally knew someone wearing the uniform, or recent veterans, our country would be better for it.

Bipartisanship is great!

Although the article only discusses Republicans, and the CMU College Republicans organized the event, one comment indicates that the CMU College Democrats also showed up. We commend this kind of cooperation by both organizations.

Some have served, or committed to doing so

We thank CMU student veterans for their service, and salute those in ROTC/OCS/something similar for their commitment to serving in the future.

Not everyone is eligible to serve; many do what they can

This blog focuses exclusively on military-eligible young men [healthy heterosexuals; the maximum age to enlist without prior service is 41-or-under]. Those not eligible to serve are basically off the hook with us - we appreciate all that they do to Support Our Troops!

OYE Comment:

We'll continue with this discussion in the coming days.

The clueless Central Michigan College Republicans

Instead of sending their own asses into combat they'll send a banner with signatures.

College Republicans held the second “Salute to the Troops” event Wednesday in Central Park, next to the Charles V. Park Library. A banner was supplied for students to sign and send to the Michigan Army National Guard’s 125th Infantry Division’s Company C of Wyoming, stationed in Afghanistan.

As usual they toss out the "well I know lots of people in uniform" line as though that somehow insulates them from considering to serve.

“I know lots of people in the military — I’ve got family in the military and friends right here at CMU who are about to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Travis Faber, Battle Creek senior and member of the College Republicans.

And here's another one that has a friend of a friend that served.

Kevin Cotter, Republican candidate for State Representative of the 99th District, attended and said he knows someone nrecently out of the military. He said he thinks it will mean a lot to the troops.

“I think it also is good to bring awareness to the students here on campus as they see this and sign — it brings it to the forefront of their mind the sacrifices that others are making to protect our freedoms,” Cotter said.

At least they were able to raise some loot for the troops. A full $23.91. Barely enough to get a College Republican drunk on $4 pitcher of beer night.

“It takes half a second to sign your name to something that will hopefully bring a lot of joy to somebody that’s over in a country really far away from here,” Faber said.

The total amount of donations made was $23.91 and about 517 signed the banner.

If you want to have a look at these jokers here's their Facebook page.

Veterans Lobby Day on DADT: May 10-11, Washington, DC

Operation Yellow Elephant strongly endorses Veterans Lobby Day, May 10-11, Washington, DC, presented by Servicemembers United and the Human Rights Campaign, to urge Congress to get rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

This is a one-time-only event to Seize the Moment!

All Americans, including civilian supporters, are invited and most welcome. Let's do whatever we can to bring our country back together.

Vets Experiencing Employment Difficulty

Sad times when putting Military experience on a resumé hurts chances of getting a job. (via)

“I thought my combat leadership would outweigh boardroom experience,” the 32-year-old said. “But apparently it does not.”

At least part of the reason for that, say veterans groups, is a lingering stigma among some employers who worry what else combat troops carry with them: post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, or similar mental health problems. Tryon said he heard that concern in several job interviews.

Earlier this week a group of lawmakers led by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., pushed once again to undo that stereotype, proposing legislation to help veterans better showcase their skills to potential employers through job training programs, expanded GI Bill benefits and career counseling advice.

OYE 108: Send Something Homemade

Other than sending something specifically requested, the very best way anyone can Support Our Troops is to send something homemade. It's always welcome. If you don't personally know anyone deployed or similarly in a remote location, well, ask around. A friend of a friend is good enough, but please have your friend introduce you [maybe via e-mail] first, and confirm it's OK, so they'll know who you are.

Here are some tips:

Send cookies, brownies, fudge, whatever you can make. If you're using a brownie mix, please jazz it up with nuts, chocolate chips, etc. No alcohol [fake flavoring is OK but pls include the empty package as proof]. Make a large quantity because they'll share it with the entire unit.

Cut into small pieces, so there are plenty to pass around AND so that even those in a cube 14-16 hours/day can enjoy.

Wrap up to four pieces in Saran wrap, then put a couple of those into a small Ziploc bag, then put a couple of those into a larger Ziploc bag. This keeps them fresh.

A USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, size medium, costs $11.35 [rate updated JAN 2012 but please check at usps.com or at the post office]. [prior to DEC 2011:] If there's any empty space and you're sending it to Camps Liberty, Slayer or Victory outside Baghdad, Iraq, please include stale bread-type items for The Fish.

The large Customs Form [PS Form 2976-A] is required. I just write "Homemade Goodies, NCV [No Commercial Value]." If applicable, I also add, "Empty Flavoring Bottle, NCV."

If you're sending via APO/DPO/FPO, Country of Destination is USA, on the box and on the Customs Form. If you write the actual country of destination, it'll be diverted to international mail and cannot be expected to get where you sent it.

Please include a note with your name, snail mail and e-mail addresses. But if they're really busy and can't send a card, don't worry if the thanks are in an e-mail.

Everyone shares everything and they'll be gone in an hour, but the warm fuzzy feeling of love from home will remain with the group for an awfully long time.

More on Solicitor General Elena Kagan and the Supreme Court

The great American tradition of robust, uninhibited debate continues in the Washington Post.

Here's our question:

Does Elena Kagan personally know any enlisted servicemembers or junior officers, those most at risk in combat?

Does she know any recent veterans?

OYE Comment:

Because if she doesn't, she's unlikely to "get it."

Supreme Court and Military Recruiting

Although we're likely weeks away from learning who President Obama will nominate to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice, John Paul Stevens, one name seems to keep popping up that we're not exactly enthused about- Elena Kagan, the former Dean of Harvard Law, appears to be on many of the short lists to fill the soon-to-be-available seat, particularly since she last year interviewed for the slot now held by Sonia Sotomayor.

No one at OYE can claim to be an expert in law. Besides fighting speeding tickets at night court we have very little experience in our legal system. What troubles us is her position on ROTC from this letter she wrote in 2005:

I continued this exception in effect, for the same reasons, through the 2003 and 2004 fall recruiting seasons. In the meantime, a consortium of law schools and law school faculty members (FAIR) brought suit challenging the Defense Department’s policy on constitutional grounds. Harvard Law School is not a member of FAIR, but 54 faculty members, including me, filed an amicus brief in that suit articulating different, statutory grounds for overturning the Department’s policy. In November 2004, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision in the FAIR case, holding that the Defense Department’s policy violates First Amendment freedoms. The Supreme Court granted review of this decision; the Third Circuit’s ruling is stayed pending the Supreme Court’s decision, which is expected later this year. (Much the same group of HLS faculty members, including me, will file an amicus brief tomorrow in the Supreme Court litigation. I also understand that the University expects to join an amicus brief filed by Yale and other universities.) Although the Supreme Court’s action meant that no injunction applied against the Department of Defense, I reinstated the application of our anti-discrimination policy to the military(after appropriate consultation with University officials) in the wake of the Third Circuit’s decision; as a result, the military did not receive OCS assistance during our spring 2005 recruiting season. My hope in taking this action was that the Department would choose not to enforce its interpretation of the Solomon Amendment while the Third Circuit opinion stood. Over the summer, however, the Department of Defense notified the University that it would withhold all possible funds if the Law School continued to bar the military from receiving OCS services. As a result, I have decided (again, after appropriate consultation) that we should lift our ban and except the military from our general non-discrimination policy. This will mean that the military will receive OCS assistance during the fall 2005 recruiting season.

I have said before how much I regret making this exception to our antidiscrimination policy. I believe the military’s discriminatory employment policy is deeply wrong – both unwise and unjust. And this wrong tears at the fabric of our own community by denying an opportunity to some of our students that other of our students have. The importance of the military to our society – and the great service that members of the military provide to all the rest of us – heightens, rather than excuses, this inequity. The Law School remains firmly committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all persons, without regard to sexual orientation. And I look forward to the time when all our students can pursue any career path they desire, including the path of devoting their professional lives to the defense of their country.

We share Ms. Kagan's sentiments on The Military discriminating against gays, yet we do not endorse the idea that a university should in turn discriminate against students that wish to pursue Military Service after college.

Our Country can do better. Hopefully President Obama will choose to pass on Ms. Kagan once more.

Ben Quayle on Fox News March 31

Note: We think this was broadcast March 31, 2010. The Ben Quayle segment is the first 2:35 only; the rest is ads.

Ben Quayle Speaks for Himself

Veterans Campaign comes to Washington!

The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management is hosting Veterans Campaign April 24, an all-day workshop in how to run for office. Princeton University hosted the first event (see participants above) last fall.

Our Commitment to Veterans

Veterans Campaign is the first ever non-partisan, non-ideological training program aimed exclusively at preparing veterans to run for public office. Our goal is to demystify the process of campaigning for elected office and encourage more veterans to continue their legacy of public service by running. Our program participants will learn the skills necessary to campaign for office at all levels of government. Past workshop topics have included: organizing a campaign, issue development, fundraising, public and media relations, getting out the vote, and much more.

At Veterans Campaign we believe that our country’s veterans are a valuable yet untapped resource of potential elected leadership. Veterans possess many qualities our country needs in its public officials. They have outstanding leadership experience, are capable of succeeding in the face of adversity, and intimately understand the human consequences of Washington’s foreign policy decisions. Most importantly, they have demonstrated their willingness to put America and its citizens before their own well-being. Today more than ever, our country needs more veterans in public office.

If you are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces and are interested in running for elected office, we hope you will consider attending our training.

Veterans Campaign History

Veterans Campaign was initiated by a group of graduate students at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, with the support of two visiting faculty members who had formerly been members of Congress. Some of the members have military experience, while others have staffed and managed political campaigns. Members hold different ideological and partisan beliefs, but all share the conviction that having more veterans in public office will benefit the United States. To that end, Veterans Campaign is committed to training veterans to seek, campaign for, and win positions in elected office.

OYE Comment:

Like Veterans Campaign, Operation Yellow Elephant is a non-partisan grass roots citizens initiative to support our national leadership. We very much endorse these efforts to ensure that our future leaders have the courage of their convictions.

Photo tip.

Scumbags

At this point it's a bit of old news, but still noteworthy.

Perhaps if they'd had some loved ones on the ground in uniform they may have thought things through a little bit. Instead all we get is a dismissive "whoops" from these assholes.

Moderator Grover Norquist then asked Rohrabacher to provide a “guesstimate percentage of Republicans in Congress who would share that view — not that they opposed the President at the time, but today looking back.” Rohrabacher replied that “everybody I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now”:

ROHRABACHER: Well, now that we know that it cost a trillion dollars and all of these years and all of these lives and all of this blood, uh, I don’t know many…

NORQUIST: Looking for a number. Two-thirds? One-third?

ROHRABACHER: I, I can’t. All I can say is the people, everybody I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now.

NORQUIST: That’s 100 percent.

Norquist then turned to McClintock, asking “what percentage”:

NORQUIST: Of Republicans in Congress, who would agree with the general analysis here that it was a mistake and/or we should go in.

MCCLINTOCK: I think everyone would agree Iraq was a mistake.

NORQUIST: Two hundred percents. Ok, we’re going to average these.

MCCLINTOCK: And, you know, again, I think virtually everyone would agree going into Afghanistan the way we did was a mistake. How many share my, my cynicism over this idea of a resolution of force, which I can’t find anywhere in the Constitution. And how many believe that in those rare cases where we go in, we put all of our resources behind our soldiers, I would say certainly more than half of the Republican caucus probably believe that.

Asked for a number by Norquist, Duncan refused to say, but shared an anecdote of how unpopular the war is politically in his conservative military district.

"Turning Our Backs on Heroes"

From Bob Herbert. (H/T: Todd)

There is a strong tendency, in our collective national consciousness, to give short shrift to the many thousands of Americans who are suffering grievously as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The wars have become like white noise in our culture. They hit the front pages from time to time, and there are evenings when some aspect of the wars are featured on the national news telecasts. But we have no real sense of the extraordinary sacrifices that have been made by the young men and women who are fighting these wars in our name.

The agony for many of the wounded has been all but unbearable — those who have lost limbs or been paralyzed or horribly burned, or who lost their hearing or eyesight.

More Jaybird

Our favorite coward Jason Mattera is doing his best Paris Hilton act by getting as much camera time as possible. He recently harassed Senator Al Franken over a provision in the Health Care Law designed to help children grow up more physically fit.

DK has a complete takedown of this common dope:

But if that weren't enough, let's examine exactly what provisions of the health care law Mr. Mattera is so incensed with.

The first provision: tax incentives designed specifically to promote fitness in schools and reduce childhood obesity. It doesn't take the most brilliant health care policy expert in the world to point out that the childhood obesity epidemic is a serious concern--not just medically, but fiscally as well. Childhood obesity has significant correlations to expensive, chronic conditions such as diabetes. Healthy children, on the other hand, usually become healthy adults--the type who produce far less strain on the health care system. From a purely logical standpoint, then, it makes significant sense for the government to invest in children's health.

Mr. Mattera, however, seems to disagree. It is hard to know whether this is because he hates government, hates children, or both. Perhaps if Mattera had a child in public school, he might be more concerned about whether or not that child could receive a healthy meal, or get a chance to exercise. In either case, Sean Hannity and the rest of the conservative media movement have absolutely no problem with reviling this particular provision.

For the most part this post is way off topic for what we cover. We just wish to point out that there's a reason why Mattera disagrees with this provision: Jason Mattera hates fitness. See this post from OYE's past. If you roll the below video up to the 1:58 mark you will find Jason not able to complete a proper pushup.



Although Mr. Mattera appears to be at a proper body weight, it is evident that he lacks the muscle mass to overcome gravity and push himself up from the earth. We've encouraged Jason to enlist in the past, to help strengthen his body in boot camp, but somewhere along the way we concluded he'd rather face old, doughy Congress Critters than enemies in combat (but we're certainly not above mocking him).

Ben Quayle Announces Run for Congress

Over six weeks after his father, the former Vice President, spilled the beans, 33-year-old healthy heterosexual Ben Quayle is announcing his candidacy for the House of Representatives in Arizona's Third District in the Phoenix area. The Republican Primary is August 24.

Here's Operation Yellow Elephant's comments on our topic in his statement:

Why I'm Running for Congress

Now more then ever a new generation of leadership is needed in Washington and I hear that call. I’m running for Congress because I can’t sit back and watch from the sidelines while the country I know and love is taken down an unsustainable path – a path where government takes more control of our everyday lives and the burden of out of control spending and irresponsibility puts our nation at risk. [Emphasis added]

OYE Comment:

Ben, haven't you been "watching from the sidelines" of the Global War on Terror [GWOT] for, like, seven years under a President of your own party, which also controlled Congress for most of that time? Why the change of heart?

And that’s why I’m stepping up now and running for Congress – Because I will fight to restore accountability and fiscally conservative values in Washington.

OYE Comment:

Ben, while the Federal budget deficit is off-topic for this blog, if you sat out the GWOT, how can your future constituents be assured that you will "fight"?

For the past month, I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in the 3rd Congressional District that worry about the future of their family, our state and our nation. I understand their fear and pessimism because it’s rooted in the fact that our current leaders ignore our voice and instead take our nation in the direction of big government. But we can’t let this fear and pessimism cause inaction. Now is NOT the time for inaction. Now is the time to keep the faith, that we the people, must join together and restore the American way. It’s the optimism and faith of the American people which has always determined our resolve. It has enabled us to overcome many obstacles in the past, and I believe that by keeping the faith and sending a message to the establishment this November, we will prevail. We must reclaim the belief that our country’s greatness comes from its people, not from the government.

OYE Comment:

Ben, while most of the above is off-topic for this blog, we cannot help but note that "fear and pessimism" caused your "inaction" during George W. Bush's leadership of the GWOT. At least, that's the conclusion we have drawn, since you never responded to our questions.

I’m the fourth generation in my family to live and work in Arizona. I have deep ties within this state and within this district. Arizona has always embodied the western Ideal of hard work and freedom. I’m fortunate to live in a state that, on a daily basis, reminds me of America’s freedom and potential. My great grandparents, grandparents, parents and siblings have all lived in the third congressional district. I’m getting married here in next week and will start a family soon. I want to be sure that our our children will have the same opportunities that our parents and grandparents had and that they grow up in the same America that I did. As Congressman from the third Congressional District, I promise you I’ll fight to make this country and state great again. Our children and grandchildren deserve that America.

OYE Comment:

Ben, while we congratulate you on your upcoming marriage to Tiffany, your promise that you will "fight" frankly rings hollow.

But I can’t undertake this restoration alone – because this campaign isn’t about me. It’s about all of us and what we can do to reclaim our country and put us back on the right track. It won’t be easy — nothing our country has resolved to do ever was –but it’s time for us to join together and restore this great nation. It’s the only way our country’s future looks brighter than the past. I hope you’ll all join and support me in this journey.

OYE Comment:

Ben, what can and will put our country back on the right track is credible national leadership. But we do wish you and Tiffany well in your future life together.

OYE Update: Photo tip to Phoenix New Times, the only media outlet that bothered to show up for the actual announcement.