A Soldier's Message To The Democratic Party Leadership

Cpl. Chris Mason was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

He produced this video on November 12th 2006 at FOB Summerall.

He recorded this video message for the Democratic Party Leadership before he was killed in action in Iraq on November 28th, 2006 by an Al Qaeda terrorist. He was laid to rest December 12th 2006, exactly thirty days after making this video.

The video just recently worked its way to his father on March 23rd 2007 and he posted it on the internet for him. It reflects his beliefs about the war in Iraq, the people of Iraq, freedom, why he joined the US military, what he expected after joining the military, and if the warriors lost in the war will be lives wasted.

One Of These Days...

I'm going to break a huge news story on this blog.

I'm talking story of the century here.

Unfortunately no one will believe me. Despite my constant insistence that I never lie and that things I say really do make sense.

It will be your loss though, for you will be unable to use this vital piece of information to your advantage, and I will.

On second thought, if I can use this to my advantage, why would I ever tell you? It's not like I make money off this blog and its not like I care about my journalistic credibility.

Forget it then. I will not break any huge news stories on this blog.

If my sources give me anything good, I will sit at home content in my advanced knowledge of world events, modifying my plan for world domination while you will sit at home blissful in your ignorance.

That will probably work out best for the both of us.

Could You Step It Up A Notch?

It always seems strange to me how easily I am able to vanquish the cohorts of ten to twenty anonymous ninjas that frequently attack me during my daily routine. Do these men not practice? Do they take no pride in the historic art of ninjitsu? Who purports to be the trainer of these slobs? Is wishing for my ninja enemies to be better trained too much to ask for?

It usually only takes one blow to incapacitate these so called "ninjas." Why don't they know how to take a hit? I would gladly spend a day at their training facility and hit them at half or three quarters strength to toughen them up. They can never block my attacks either. Its just one swing and they are down. Pathetic.

Also, there is the issue of tactics. They always seem to attempt to encircle me and then only to come in one at a time. I thought the whole point of surrounding someone is that you can all attack in a well orchestrated flurry of destruction, but, no, that would take some kind of coordination. That would clearly be beyond these hacks. I think that my enemies just pick people up off the street and put them in black uniforms. Any respectable master would weep upon watching these farcical attempts at the martial arts.

Seriously, this is starting to get depressing...

Could you at least spare me the dignity of a worthy opponent?

So many questions...

Movie Review: 300

My friend Kevin and I went to the IMAX in Dallas and saw 300 today.

I had been looking forward to watching this movie ever since the first previews and after finally seeing it - I wasn't disappointed.

I know enough about history to realize that the movie isn't terribly accurate, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable.

300 is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. where Leonidas, King of Sparta, and three hundred warriors confronted the overwhelming forces of Persian ruler Xerxes.

To me it seemed more than just a modern action-packed tale of the Battle of Thermopylae, it seemed an allegory that fits the current struggle against militant Islamists.

In the movie Sparta is depicted protecting the Western Enlightenment principles of reason, freedom, and liberty from the mysticism and tyranny of the Persian empire.

Remind you of anything?

If that doesn't do it for you, the Persian hordes resemble Muslim jihadis, all except the Persian Immortals, who were obviously modeled after Japanese Samurai right down to their swords.

Given that he wrote the story in 1999, I don't think Frank Miller was trying to symbolize President Bush or Muslim jihadists or any current events, but the parallels are hard to miss. Apparently the reason this movie is so pro-freedom is due to Frank Miller's personal views.

The Spartans finds a way to work around spineless politicians who wanted Sparta to submit to Persian imperialism. Fortunately, the heavy losses sustained in that battle didn't dishearten Sparta (or Greece), it served to stiffen their resolve and resulted in their ultimate triumph over the fascism of Persia.

The United States of America can likewise defeat the forces of totalitarian Islamism if we can ignore the voices of cowardice from the Left and remain steadfastly dedicated to victory over those who seek to subjugate or eradicate us.

Yes, we are in the midst of a difficult war, but the odds are firmly in our favor if we can simply have the fortitude to endure. We need our elected leaders to push for victory, not defeat.

Go see 300! If you don't like it, you probably hate America.

You Got Shatner On My Reznor!

While I'd probably prefer my Vulcan mind-meld to come from someone like Commander T'Pol, to each his own...

Operation America Rising

"Operation America Rising" Plans to take place on July 7th 2007 in every state capitol in America at the same time. It's planned to be a gathering of Americans who support the soldiers that are fighting for our freedom all over the world.

A rally of this magnitude requires the help of Americans all over the country. They need leaders to organize their state rally and volunteers to assist the state leaders. They will need entertainers, speakers, and sponsors to make this the largest support the troops rally in history.

Check out their official website...

Pirates Of The Caribbean - At World's End

Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me...



Enjoy the trailer and check out the official website...

Old Grandma Hardcore...

On February 1st 1936, in the fair city of Cleveland, Ohio: Barbara Ann St. Hilaire was born Barbara Ann Sobodosh.

Sometime during the mid seventies she discovered something at a bowling alley that resembled table tennis on a television.

On that day, that unrecorded yet monumental day: a new creature, "Old Grandma Hardcore," came into this world.

This is Old Grandma Hardcore, a console gamer whose video game exploits are chronicled by her 24-year-old grandson blog...



Old Grandma Hardcore's grandson says - she has had two knee replacements and countless surgeries. If you were to see her in a grocery store you would see a old, Midwestern diabetic with thick glasses held up by a crutch or a shopping cart stumbling along smiling at everybody.

She's polite, a safe driver, mother of five and grandmother of twelve. She's great, but if you get her in front of a video game she likes, she becomes a monster; a demon who craves the blood, no, the life-force of her enemies manifested as a swear happy old lady in a comfy chair.

She has destroyed many controllers in frustration, already wore out two PS2's, and will gladly walk into a Gamestop or EB Games with the swagger of one with more knowledge about games and gaming than the teenager behind the counter can ever hope to amass.

Game on Old Grandma Hardcore!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's time once again to dust off your shamrocks and test your Irish luck, cause we're all green on St. Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick, the Roman Catholic patron saint of the inebriated.

Today is the day where we mourn a great man, a humble and courageous man by drinking a whole bunch of green alcoholic beverages and by gathering with friends and family to have fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Carmen Sandiego - Uncensored

One of Season's favorite things on television as a kid was the popular children's game show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"



Yeah, yeah I know there's been a lot of video postings latley, but it's a lot easier than typing something up so deal with it.

I just can't get Rockapella out of my head now though!!!

Spring Break - Girls Gone Wild!

I really meant Girls Gone Grabblin'...which, of course, is is the practice and sport of fishing for catfish using only one's bare hands.

Only four states have laws explicitly permitting handfishing: Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

In some states, like Texas, the act could net the angler a fine of up to five hundred dollars.

That headline will probably bring some traffic to my blog though. ;)

Happy Spring Break! Enjoy the video!

SeaWorld San Antonio - Heroes Salute

This last weekend we went down to SeaWorld San Antonio and received a nice surprise. Since we are a military family we were given free admission to the park as part of the “Heroes Salute” promotion sponsored by Anheuser-Busch.

That saved us approximately one hundred and fifty dollars! Thanks!

The offer is good for active duty military, active reservists, Coast Guard, National Guardsmen and as many as three direct dependents. To receive the free admission, military members may register online at www.herosalute.com or at the entrance of participating parks. You will be required to show your Department of Defense photo ID.

We attended all the shows: Viva, Believe, The Rockin' Ski Party, The Cannery Row Caper, and Pirates 4-D. Before each of the major shows, the entertainers asked the people in the crowd to stand if they served in the military or if they were family of someone serving. Then the crowds broke into applause and cheers. It was really nice to be appreciated like that. It was probably the first time in a long time that I felt honored in such a way by the civilian world.

We also saw the clydesdales, fed a dolphin, visited the sharks and rode our first ride together: The Rio Loco - which was an exhilarating river rapids ride that got us soaked! It was a lot of fun!

So, What Day Is It Today Jasper?

It's NWA Day...



That's a clip of Adam Buxton from a BBC sketch show called Rush Hour featuring a character called "Rock Dad" who tries to indoctrinate his young son with his musical tastes.

Actual lyrics to the NWA classic F**k The Police can be found here...

Good News...Bad News...

During my first enlistment I was lucky enough to be assigned to a cohort Infantry unit - that meant that we attended basic training, AIT, were assigned to our first duty station and eventually went to fight in the first Gulf War together. After being together for all that time we became a very close unit, but as the years progressed I lost contact with some of my buddies from that enlistment.

Two of my best friends from that time were Mark Chance and James Sikora. Through the wonders of the Internet though I was able to connect with a long lost friend after thirteen years. Chance happened to be looking up Peter Swano, a friend of ours who passed away in Iraq, and came across my blog.

Me, Chance & Sikora with one of the platoon's captured Iraqi T-72 tanks

After a couple of e-mails I mentioned a friend of ours, Kelley, as being one of the last people I had been in touch with from our old platoon. Unfortunately during one of Mark's searches on the Internet he had also recently learned that Adam Kelley committed suicide...

Sikora & Kelley with some Iraqi kids during Operation Provide Comfort

According to the article he had survived the Persian Gulf War but not the aftermath of his combat experience while engaging elements of the Tawakkulna division of the Iraqi Republican Guard. The mental trauma of post-traumatic stress disorder eventually did him in.

The article is very moving and mentions an account of one of the incidents that really troubled Kelley - when he watched our friend, Swano, die. All the times Kelley and I had talked and I never knew that he had witnessed that particular event. We had been on opposite ends of the battlefield when it happened. It's a very graphic account and I had a hard time reading about it. Swano was a good friend and my roommate while we were stationed in Germany. Kelley was a gentle and soft spoken guy, but I never realized how bad the war had affected him. I wish Kelley would have spoken with me about it though, perhaps it could have helped...He will be remembered.

I don't often speak about my combat experiences and I don't feel like I have PSTD, but I've had nightmares about things that happened and have felt the regret and loss of loosing a friend in combat. If anyone comes across this blog and needs to talk to someone I'll be happy to listen. I was in the military for ten years and have been on three combat deployments.

I hope that I may be able to get back in touch with others from my old platoon without any more bad news. It's terrible that a veteran of a war felt like he had no other option than suicide.

And Now For Something Completely Different…

Another OK-Go video...enjoy!

The Worst Principal Ever Award...

And the Award goes to:

Principal John Acerra - Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, PA.

The fifty year old man was found in his school office naked and watching gay porn with sex toys at the ready.

Bizarre, well hold on...it gets worse...

The reason they caught him in this compromising position (literally) is because he had agreed to sell meth to a police informant and they raided his office "minutes later". He was selling crystal meth out of his school office! Naked. With gay porn and dildos...

Principal John Acerra walked the hallways at Nitschmann Middle School joking with students or calling them by their nicknames, he appeared to be the coolest principal in the Bethlehem Area School District.

Clad in a smartly tailored suit and black turtleneck sweater, he exhibited a warm, funny demeanor and was more likely to give a lesson than a punishment to a student who had gotten into trouble.

His bosses considered him visionary, students saw him as a friend, and parents could tell he cared about their children.

Police said there was no proof that Acerra was selling drugs to students, and an informant said he sold to them from his school office on weekends and after school hours sometimes."

This is what really bothered me about the story: "people who worked with him, including some of his friends, weren't surprised that the kind, free spirit they knew was arrested Tuesday night in his school office on charges of selling crystal methamphetamine to a police informant, said Karen Dolan, a district teacher who spent 11 years at Nitschmann.

Over the past five years, the times he arrived hours late for school, missed school altogether, kept himself hidden behind the frequently locked office door or showed up at school activities dressed like a teenager all pointed to a life in free-fall, said Dolan, who is also a Bethlehem councilwoman.

So why didn't anyone say or do anything? This wasn't the janitor of the school...it was the principal in charge of hundreds of children...

I believe anyone working with children the school boards need to incorporate mandatory psychological evaluations in addition to the criminal and child abuse background checks...

If anything seems wrong...then we'll just turn them over to my homeboy for interrogation...