BlackFive

If anyone is in the St. Louis area, and would like to get together, drop me a line. It seems the day job may be sending me that way next week. Provided they do, it would be a pleasure to meet up with any of you in that area.

LW

UPDATE: I only have e-mail addys/e-mail from two people so far, so e-mail me and I will get info out this afternoon. Com will be spotty starting about 1500 eastern today, so..

This is part of a series of interviews sponsored by Baen Books with some of today's top military science fiction writers.

Lawyer, bus driver, and best-selling author: these are just a few of the jobs David Drake has done over the years. Best known to many for his "Hammer's Slammer's series," David actually covers a range of genres and interests, and includes among his credits a major in Latin. Though I doubt he remembers it, many years ago he translated a version of "Ave Imperator" that I still use and get away with simply because so few know Latin. His works are too numerous to list, but include Hammer's Slammers, Redliners, Lord of the Isles, the Northworld Trilogy, and the humorous look at life Grimmer Than Hell.

In this segment, you learn a bit more about his service in Vietnam and Cambodia, his thoughts on how Blackhorse is the best and units that "suck hind teat," and how he came to write military science fiction. Part One can be found here and Part Three can be found here. Please enjoy.

LW

UPDATE:

Now that I have been fairly chastised in the comments , I am absorbing and learning I promise my brothers.

BuTTT,

I stand by my previous BS statement as to one of the biggest factors in this rocket sled to hell. We opened the credit markets and all fed at the trough, which validates Gryph's point that stats wise, whites took most of the bad idea loans. That should happen as there are more poor white people over all. But my point was that the markets were loosened to force lenders to stop redlining and lend money to people (minorities) of all flavors as it is illegal to discriminate.

So they did, and it blew up and it sucks.

The question is whether giving Congress 3/4 of a Trillion dollars to waste to appease the people they were pandering to is a good idea. I think not and I understand that means pain.

Cordially,

Uncle J

This train is rockin through the flatlands to DC

Just Kidding! But I do have kudos for the rejection of the BS Bailout for Bloated Bureaucrats and Businessmen. F**K 'em. Congress and the left created the sub-prime mortgage market when they collected data that said minorities get fewer mortgages than whites. They blackmailed the finance markets and changed the rules so minorities would get more loans. Well they did and so did other less-qualified buyers, hence the term sub-prime and they all bought really nice houses for nothing down. Great idea there liberals.

So now this whole fiasco does what fiascoes do, and people are surprised? So lets go back to the days where people live in houses they can freakin' afford and banks make sure people can pay for what the TV tells them they want. This isn't a financial crisis as much as affirmative financial action gone wild.

Just sayin'...

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Brinkley exits the rear hatch of a CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter as he moves to his position to provide security on Combat Outpost Rawah, Iraq, Sept. 16, 2008. He is assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, which is conducting a joint search with Iraqi soldiers to search for a known improvised-explosive-device maker.  U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray

This is part of a series of interviews sponsored by Baen Books with some of today's top military science fiction writers.

Lawyer, bus driver, and best-selling author: these are just a few of the jobs David Drake has done over the years. Best known to many for his "Hammer's Slammer's series," David actually covers a range of genres and interests, and includes among his credits a major in Latin. Though I doubt he remembers it, many years ago he translated a version of "Ave Imperator" that I still use and get away with simply because so few know Latin. His works are too numerous to list, but include Hammer's Slammers, Redliners, Lord of the Isles, the Northworld Trilogy, and the humorous look at life Grimmer Than Hell.

In this segment, you get to meet David and learn a bit about him and some of his favorite authors growing up. I'm trying a different rendering method to bring out the audio, which is quite good despite the jets coming in overhead every so often. Hope you enjoy, and there are several more segments to come, starting with Part Two.

LW

For those of you who watched Friday night's debate between McCain & Obama, you'll know there was an exchange over which candidate's position had more authority because of the bracelet he wore than the other.  Background from Jake Tapper on the bracelet issue here.  My take is that McCain used an appeal to my emotions to score a point against his opponent, Barack Obama.  It's a well known, effective, but unfair debating tactic.  An appeal to emotion can be used to justify almost anything, after all, and they keep people from getting to the truth, from arriving at objective decisions.  If Obama had come out against these kinds of unfair emotional attacks, or flat out got angry and said he wouldn't take advantage of someone's personal tragedy to guilt people into supporting his political agenda, I'd have more respect for him. 

But he didn't, and I don't. 

What he did is respond in kind to McCain's gut punch with this sort of a fey, pathetic, open fisted slap that fell flat because he didn't actually believe the lie he was telling; if you're going to make an unfair appeal to my emotions, you had better know the name of the soldier whose memory you are manipulationg and his story, and be able to speak of that story with authenticity.  What it boils down to is this:  My views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are different from those of my Mother or Father.  Casey Sheehan's views on the war in Iraq -- having re-enlisted before volunteering to go on the mission he was killed on -- were demonstrably different from his mother Cindy's.  And for all I know, the views of Matt Stanley and Ryan David Jopek were different from those of their Mothers, too.  Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines aren't victims.  They aren't kids.  And they don't need their parents to speak for them.  So please, if you're a politician, argue your position based on its merits.  And if you choose to wear a bracelet, do it as a private thing in honor of a fellow American's service and sacrifice.  And then leave it at that.  Don't reduce it to another piece of cheap jewelry.

-- Uber Pig, Out

Haole Wahine has a story about COP Lybert and how it came to be and what it means now.

Tanker Babe has a piece as well and scroll down to hear that she & kev are in Italy for the 2nd of the 503rd's welcome home party.

I score last night a tie. McCain was fine and not cranky at all. Obama didn't screw anything major up.

Obama was working so hard to hit his talking points he didn't come across as likeable as usual. McCain did a good job of appearing capable. But all in all no minds were likely changed and this race is gonna be tight and therefore ugly. Game on.

I adapted my DouChe' shirt with some Obama flair. I love the rainbow flash for the beret. They love me here.

Meet Neil, a freshly-minted UW grad who has a solid head for national security but somehow manages to stay on the Hope&Change Express. We talk about many politicalities.

Podcast is here.