The Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Fairfax, VA (12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive) is having a sale, but that’s not the reason I’m mentioning it.

From 3-5 PM, LtCol Seth Folsom will sign his two memoirs — “In the Gray Area: A Marine Advisor Team at War”, and his award-winning “The Highway War: A Marine Company Commander in Iraq.”  Both of LtCol Folsom’s books are excellent, and I can’t recommend them enough.

He also happens to be an old friend of yours truly.

Profiling is “bad.”

Oh, really?

It is politically incorrect. It can (and historically has, in many notable and horrible instances) be abused. But profiling isn’t bad per se. It’s a tool, and one that countries like Israel use to great effect.

Instead of setting up a system that puts in checks and balances so that profiling doesn’t get abused, our TSA has instead chosen to use a system that is politically correct. We don’t screen travelers based on “profiling.”

Gee, how’s that working for us?

Here are brief profiles of two individuals I know personally who were selected out from flight lines for special extensive screening in the last year, based on the TSA’s current screening methodology. Both were plucked out of their passenger queues and escorted into private rooms for a thorough physical check, all their carry on and checked baggage was completely gone through, and both had extensive questioning and had records checks done on them before they were allowed to board their flights.

Person #1.

• Gender: Female
• Age: 75+
• Race: Caucasian
• Religious Affiliation: Mormon
• Education: High School
• Occupation: Retired homemaker
• Citizenship: United States (natural-born)
• Criminal History: none
• Group associations: Volunteers at Mormon temple regularly
• Round-trip ticket: Yes
• Luggage: Yes
• Bought Ticket with cash: No

For rest of post, see The Shovel Awards.

He set up a blog over here to keep us up-to-date on his progress.

Interesting stuff for us Navy-types.

Drop by and say “Hi” if you get a chance.

Former Nova Scotian Cheryfa

“I want millions, seriously,” Ms. Jamal said Wednesday in a telephone interview from her Mississauga, Ont., home.

“I know it sounds greedy, but I don’t care. I want millions for what the kids have suffered and how much we’ve aged in this process.”

Perhaps the poor dear is a little confused. While it’s true that Herman Kaglik, Donald Marshall and Guy Paul Morin were all awarded in excess of $1 million as compensation in wrongful conviction settlements, those men were actually wrongfully convicted and spent from four to ten years in jail for crimes they didn’t commit. And, by the by, Norman Fox only recieved a paltry $275,000 after spending 10 years in jail. Maybe your man is more in line with Richard Norris and Wilfred Truscott ($507,000 and $36,000, respectively).

Or maybe not. Norris and Trescott were actually convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. Your man wasn’t. Neither were they implicated in a terror plot in a post 9/11 world. Trust me, Cheryfa, when I say that many Canadians would be much more sympathetic to the ordeal that you and your family experienced if the first words out of your mouth weren’t “I Want Millions, Seriously”.

Seriously.

And as to your comments about not really missing Halifax, as it “would be very difficult” for you, “dressed how [you are] to go about [your] day” here”, let me tell you this; although there aren’t a lot of women wearing full veils here, it’s highly unlikely that you would be harassed or otherwise disturbed as you went about your daily business. In case you hadn’ t heard, Maritimers tend to be friendly folks.

But wait, you know that, seeing as how you use to be one, right? Come to think of it, maybe you are better off where you are.

And best of luck with that lawsuit, eh?

 Cross-posted at Free Falling

“The agony is in the loss of all the “small” things, which really aren’t small at all, like going to bed and waking up together, watching him sit on the floor and play with the dogs, day-to-day conversations about the grocery list and the news. Living with your best friend and love of your life is a beautiful thing and is made up of all those mundane details, and I will miss it all profoundly.

But you can’t feel sorrow like this without truly loving someone, and I figure, it’s worth it. I know it is, and I feel incredibly lucky to adore someone so much that his absence feels like a hole in my soul.”

If you’ve never read Rachel Lucas, now would be a good time to start.  The love of her life – Rupert (not his real name) – has been called up as part of the Guard Service and is currently going thru re-orientation training on an Army base somewhere. 

Over 10 years since he went inactive, Rupert was called back to serve – and he went even though it would interfere tremendously with the next stage of his education and career. 

read more…

About two months ago, I wrote this:

I’ve read passing references to these vile plans for awhile, and like some half-remembered bad dream I’ve tried to ignore them, maybe hoping IVAW wasn’t really planning what headlines implied. But today John linked them and I finally read their website. Until that point, I’d thought “Winter Soldier” was merely critics’ characterization of the plans [not the actual name].

I suppose there’s consolation to be found in this: 1) They don’t seem to realize they will destroy any goodwill non-IVAW-member veterans might have had for the organization and its members, and 2) They’re making their intentions and ideological allegiances crystal clear to the rest of us. [snip]

There are no words to express my disappointment and rage at what I fear is to come…

What could the “vile plans” have been that provoked such a response in me? Well, if you click that “these” link in that quote today, this is what you’ll find:

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan – and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans’ health benefits and support.

Cool! Except for the “GI resistance movement” part, it sounds a lot like a Milblogger Conference.

Except that’s not what it said on January 19, 2008 when I first wrote about Winter Soldier II.

The rest at my place.

Vets for Freedom is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and headed up by Pete Hesgeth. Their mission is “to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq.” The non-partisan part? Their board of advisers includes Joe Liberman, Lindsay Graham and Ralph Peters, as well as members of the Brookings Institution and Council on Foreign Relations.

Point is, they are kicking off the “National Heroes Tour” in San Diego tomorrow (Friday) to draw attention to their mission as they travel to Washington, DC to meet with legislators ahead of General Petraeus’ expected testimony in April. Events will include appearances/speeches by heroes like Bud Day, Marcus Luttrell and David Bellavia, as well as local heroes. There will be a book signing in Pendleton in the morning, then a party on the deck of the Midway Museum at 6:30 p.m., including a parachute team landing and F-18 flyover, and music and food until 10:00 (Hugh Hewitt will be broadcasting from the ship starting at 3:00).

All events are free. Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive and I will be there to cover the news for the milblogs. Maybe if enough of the local Neptunus Lex/TFD readers plan to show up, we could talk Lex into coming…

Hope to see you there!

As I mentioned to Fliterman in comments at Neptunus Lex, I recently had the opportunity to conduct a one-on-one interview with Ambassador Charles Ries, the senior American in Iraq responsible for economic matters. It was a fascinating interview, and the overview/introduction is now posted.

Yesterday I also had the chance to speak through my flu-induced haze with a senior officer of the 3rd Infantry Division (currently deployed to Iraq), the division’s Deputy Commanding General, BG Jim Huggins. Like the Ries interview, results are posted at The Castle.

Keep your eyes open, ’cause the fun isn’t over yet–next week I expect to interview Major General Rick Lynch, and my name was reportedly put forward this morning in response to a blogger-focused inquiry from D.C.-level military leadership.

Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out whose life I’ve been living recently, ’cause it sure ain’t mine!

Thx to Uncle Jimbo and Chap. I liked it, and now it’s your turn.