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My soldier had confirmation last week that he would indeed be deploying to Afghanistan next year. Bear in mind that we are supposedly going through a 'drawdown' in Afghanistan through 2014. But then again, we've now signed an agreement with Afghanistan to help them 'police' things for ten years (at least) after that.When will we figure it out?Did you know that one of the largest deposits of lithium in the world is supposedly in Afghanistan?...

Sometimes, the politics are just too much.I know who to hang with from the 13-y-o crowd!:Just for fun:And then there was another one:Peace out, and have a great weekend!...

I'm cross-posting, but this deserves your attention as the BS in this political world is astounding.Got a phone call this week from my soldier. This time it was a request for his dress uniforms to be sent in time for an inspection coming up now that he has his 'permanent' post. By the way, he's in climate shock since he's used to Southern winters and is on a base in the North. When you're accustomed...

Forgive me for cross-posting, but this is an issue about which I feel rather strongly these days.You won't get his on network news, so I feel rather obligated to show it here. If you have a delicate stomach, read it anyway.http://www.untilmysoncomeshome.com/2012/03/john-lindsey-et-al-how-do-you-sleep-at.htmlOh by the way, this contains graphic content. As Lindsey Graham would say, you just need to push through it....

This could also be subtitled "The Wandering Eye of Newt"I know I personally suffer from Adult-Onset Attention Deficit (AOAD), but has the Tea Party buried their heads in their rectums these days? I know it was soooooo last century when the Newtster was House Speaker, but seriously, this man got a standing O last night for calling out the moderator for daring to question his despicable, hypocritical adulterous practices.   The reason I bring up...

This may very well prove that there is a God and he is merciful: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/19/breaking-perry-to-drop-out-thursday/?hpt=hp_t1&hpt=hp_c1 http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/19/10189602-perry-to-drop-out-of-gop-presidential-race-endorse-gingrich This has certainly not come a moment too soon. Now the main problem will be getting him the hell out of the Governor's mansion ... oh wait, he hasn't been there for a couple of years either. How about we just cut off his freaking allowance(s), duct tape his mouth, and make him go live in a Tibetan monastery...

Perhaps you've heard. Our CongressNerds are doing the "gavel in/gavel out" thing and holding pro forma sessions trying to prevent the POTUS from making recess appointments for positions which have been vacant for months.From Wiki: "The term pro forma is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctory, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine."The use of the pro forma...

I received this in an email from a friend of mine:In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years.In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years.Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror.These are unbelievable statistics.Over time, fewer and fewer people have shouldered more and more of the burden and it is only getting worse. Our troops were sent to war in Iraq by a Congress...

I saw a program this morning that portrayed a doomsday scenario of a nuclear weapon being detonated in the DC area and the series of events that would take place to begin rescue,  recovery and continuity of government.Seriously, we know that within a certain radius, there will be no such thing as recovery, but they did go on to talk about the super secret series of events that would take place to ensure COGCON 1...

Start the weekend with a jam:This punk is 13.Awesome....

I moved the blog, for those interested:http://www.untilmysoncomeshome.com/2011/11/17-days-and-wake-up.htmlHope to see you there!...

I ran across something interesting and rather provocative recently - a website called www.ghettophysics.com.It came through from a "What the Bleep" link that I've had for a while, so if this kind of quantum physics, one-world, personal accountability, make-it-happen-yourself philosophy isn't for you, then you may be on the wrong blog. :-)Ghetto Physics aligns pretty well with the Occupy movement that is going on right now. As a matter of fact, if you're participating in...

I could tell from my son's last letter that he was back in the Valley of Homesick again. This may be occurring about every 3-4 weeks. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the exhaustion he's probably feeling from the long days, odd hours, total lack of control over his own life, and dearth of female companionship. That would be military life.Family Day is coming up, but I won't be able to make...

You may have heard of something called SERE training if you know someone in the military. SERE stands for Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape. It's a 3-week course at Fort Bragg that trains soldiers in survival fieldcraft, evasion techniques, resistance to interrogation, and escape. The training is geared to what an evading soldier may need to know to be able to return to "friendly" control and, at the same time, not be detected by the enemy. Realism is crucial...

This week, my son turns 21. This will be the first birthday for which I have not been able to tell him "happy birthday" on his birthday, but I'm guessing it won't be the last.Birthdays became a pretty big deal for me with his arrival. I began to call MY mother on my birthday and thank her for bringing me into the world. It was as much her day as it was mine because it...

I received a nice surprise Sunday morning - a 37 min, 4 sec phone call at 9:33 AM from a number I didn't recognize. As I was hoping it might, it turned out to be my soldier son.After chastising him initially for only calling his dad several days prior when he received his replacement cell phone and not calling his mother to tell her he received it (you know, the mother who replaced the lost cell phone, pays...

With the recent political discourse on illegal immigrants, amnesty, in-state tuition, etc., let's have a real discussion based upon reality. If a child was brought to this country illegally, yes, he could certainly attend any school here with no questions asked. It wouldn't matter if his parents actually left the country and left him here to live with someone else, he could still attend public school with no problem. Okaaaay. If he were adopted by...

My soldier had his first "sick call" last week. I'd gotten a letter from him saying he felt like he was swallowing razorblades, and something was going around the barracks because several of the guys in his battalion had been sick previously. I'm guessing he was missing Dr. Mom at some point as I don't imagine his DS was quite as sympathetic as I might have been. The dichotomy may have been something like this:...

I received a 3-page letter this time. 3 pages, albeit small ones. Other than a required paper for college, I'm sure that's the most my son has ever written in one sitting. I know that as of the first two weeks he was in, I had already received more letters from him than I had in the preceding almost-21 years. You may not be surprised to learn, however, that this is a young man who...

I have had a few days to ponder the current 'situation' of my son being in the military. I obviously have my own perspective; I'm doing my best to see things from his perspective; and I honestly haven't thought too much about other people's perspectives so far, but a couple of things happened this week to make me stop and think about what it might mean to others. I got a letter from his Company...