Kaboom: He's Back!!!!

I have some fantastic news! For those of you that have read this blog from the beginning, you've heard of LtG (a.k.a. Matt Gallagher) and his "Kaboom" blog. Just to recap, LtG was a blogging as a platoon leader in Iraq, recounting the "adventures" of his unit (which he named the "Gravediggers"), when he was ordered to stop blogging. LtG's posts were pithy, informative, descriptive, sometimes sarcastic, and always entertaining. I, among many, was extremely disappointed when he was forced to shut down the blog.

Well, here's the good news....LtG is back! A book based on his blog and his experiences in Iraq is scheduled for publication on April 1st. (He swears this is not an April Fool's joke.) Based on LtG's blog writing, I'll recommend this new book to you, sight unseen. (You can pre-order it on Amazon.com by clicking this link.) He's also posting on Kaboom, again! Good luck LtG!!!

h/t RedBull Rising

Blogging

I haven't posted in quite a while; for a number of reasons. My life has been going through a lot of changes in the recent months and I've been "dealing" with some of those changes. I have to be careful about sharing any of the things that have been happening in my personal life, or sharing my personal thoughts, on this blog; because once it's on the internet....it's on the internet and people can use it against you. (No, I'm not paranoid; it's happened.) Unfortunate, but true. So....even though I'm sticking to my resolution to become a happier, optimistic person; I also have to be a realist. I'll have to avoid some topics, but I'll try to be better about posting those thoughts I can share. I still want to be a part of that continuing blog conversation.......

BT's Circular Saw

At the side of this blog, I link to a number of blogs that I personally enjoy. The War on Big Tobacco is one of them. Big Tobacco is a "somewhat" irreverent Army Sergeant currently deployed to an unknown FOB somewhere in Iraq. His posts are sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, but always well-written. I wanted to highlight one of his recent posts...about a circular saw. Go read it, it's good stuff! Keep it coming BT!

Strike Up the Band!

My friend CJ, who writes at A Soldier's Perspective, has hit on a wonderful idea to celebrate Veteran's Day. He's issued an open letter to milbloggers to join him at the YouServed Blog for a virtual Veteran's Day Parade. Cool, huh! So, for you milbloggers who read this humble blog...let CJ know you'll join the parade, everyone who participates will generate dollars for a worthy charity, VALOUR-IT. For you non-bloggers, come on over to watch the parade. It'll be a blast! Here's CJ's letter:

Virtual Veteran's Day - An Open Letter To Milbloggers
October 7th, 2008 by CJ

Greetings fellow milbloggers and assorted opiners of liberty!! For those that don't know me, you haven't had your head in the sewage much and I applaud you for it. For those that do, I apologize again. I write this to ask for your help in arranging a virtual Veteran's Day Parade that will be hosted on the YouServed blog and I would like to enlist your help (yes, even if you are/were commissioned, you're being enlisted for THIS cause!).

Here's what I need from you. First, of course, is participation. This hasn't been done before and if we pull this off I may have a shot at being the next writer for Blackfive during the upcoming television series "So You Think You Can Blog For Blackfive"!!

We'd like to get at least 30 participants for the "parade", but the more the merrier. For every participant I can get, the VA Mortgage Center will donate $20 to VALOUR-IT. That's right, for EACH participant.

Second, I need you to contact other milbloggers and ask for their participation. For blogs like ASP, Mudville Gazette, and Blackfive where there are multiple authors, each participant will count as a separate person for this purpose.

Finally, I need each milblogger to provide the following information:

Name or screenname
Blog URL
Character "float" you'd be and why you picked it (for example: Snoopy because he was the Red Baron - a veteran like no other!!)
Personal thoughts about Veteran's Day.

You can either send me the picture you'd like to use for your float or we can make one to use. The picture can be something you create or just an image you like that reminds you of Veteran's Day and speaks to your "float". Please forward this post to your favorite milbloggers and have them contact me if they're interested. Share this on YOUR blogs and snatch this up into emails to milbloggers as well. The deadline for this is November 4th - one week prior to Veteran's Day.

The Milbloggies are Here!

Nominate your favorite military blog for the Milbloggies Awards! These awards, sponsored by USAA, recognize military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year.

Here are the Rules and Instructions:

Nomination and Voting Overview

1. A military blog can be nominated ONLY once by the same registered user. However, a user can nominate as many military blogs as they wish. All nominations must be submitted online through Milblogging.com by 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008.

2. The top five nominees in each branch category will be announced on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 and those nominees will move into the Voting Phase beginning September 11th, 2008.

3. Nominees may be military blogs that belong to the following branch categories in the Milblogging.com database:

U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Military (Parent)
U.S. Military (Spouse)
U.S. Military (Veteran)
U.S. Military (Supporter)
U.S. Navy

4. To nominate and/or vote for a military blog, you must be signed in to the website. Registration is quick and free and you will not receive any SPAM. This helps maintain the integrity of voting by reducing possible click fraud. To place your nomination, simply click on the listing in the Milblogging.com database, and click the Nominate button that appears at the top of the military blog profile.

5. To vote for a military blog (once the nomination phase is over), a chart will be published that includes the top nominees in each category, along with the ability to vote. Voting will close on Sunday, September 14th at 11:59 PM EST.

6. Winners will be presented awards at the 2008 Milblog Conference in Las Vegas on September 20th at the Blog World Expo. Winners are not required to attend the conference in order to receive their awards.

Click here to view the current branch nomination standings

My Magnificient Seven

WOW! Ky Woman, who blogs at Little Drops . . . Into the Pool of Life has given me a blogger award. She's listed this blog as one of seven she admires . . . boy does that make me feel humble; particularly when you look at the other six blogs! I'm thankful that anyone would include me in their company. So many thanks to Ky Woman, and please go check out her blog . . . it's awesome!

Now like many awards, this one has rules. They are: 1) you have to link to the person who gave you the award; 2) you pass on the award to at least 7 people; 3) then you let them know that you awarded them this "I Love Your Blog" award.

So . . . here are my "Magnificent Seven:"

1. A Soldier's Perspective
2. The War on Big Tobacco
3. Villainous Company
4. Grim's Hall
5. Jarhead Online
6. Lt Nixon Rants
7. In From the Cold

Folks, this is for you



There are many more I could mention, and I link to some of them on my "Of Counsel" blogroll...for example, some of my relatives have fantastic "mommy blogs," and I'd love to give them one of these awards, publicly. But since I blog under a pseudonym, for lots of reasons, I probably shouldn't "blow my cover." Anyway, check out these "Magnificent Seven." You won't be disappointed!

Abdicating Gatekeepers

Cassandra, who blogs at Villainous Company, has a post titled Palin v. The Gatekeepers that discusses how the mainstream media have completely abdicated their self-identified role as "gate-keepers" and taken up advocacy journalism; particularly in the way they've responded to Governor Palin's nomination. Her analysis is thoughtful, well-documented, and (IMO) right-on-the-mark! I'd recommend a jump over to her blog and read the whole post, but her conclusion is wonderful:

There is no "war on the press". For years now, the press has had a running war on their political opponents. The unpalatable truth here is that more than half of the American public now believe you are out to get Sarah Palin.

This should give the media pause because you own the megaphone.

If you are honest, if you really care about covering the news (as opposed to waging ideological war on your opponents), perhaps you need to steel yourselves to take a long, hard look at the way you are doing your jobs. You have lost the confidence of the public you serve. That is no accident.

Accountability is not just for those you claim to watch. Those who claim the right to be above the law had better be able to demonstrate some ability to police themselves.

In a system where everyone else must submit to checks and balances, who provides the check over your power to ruin lives and reputations, if the media are above the law? You'd better come up with a good answer.


AMEN, Cassandra, AMEN!

BTW, in this post Cassandra discusses bloggers and their contribution to the "infosphere." She elegantly explains why she started blogging. When I read this paragraph, I thought she could read my mind. People blog for different reasons, but Cassandra captured what I've been trying to tell people about my motivations for starting this blog:

Blogging is, as I wrote many years ago, a vigorous conversation over the backyard fences of America and it has renewed and revitalized our interest and participation in civic life in a way that is particularly heartening in this era of political apathy and cynicism. It took a former housewife and mother with no interest in politics and turned her into an avid follower of current events, conversant with both foreign policy and economic trends. It got me engaged.

Like Cassandra, writing these posts has taken me out of my "comfort zone" and allowed me to enter the "great conversation" in the blog-o-spnere. I've become interested and engaged. Is that a good thing?

Why Blog?

Since I started this blog, I’ve had people ask me why I wanted to blog. After thinking about it for a while, I realized have a number of different reasons for deciding to join the blogging community. I’ve been addicted to reading blogs (mostly milblogs or writer’s blogs) for about a year and I’ve found that I’ve been adding more and more comments to the blogs I read; rather than just “lurking” and reading the blog post and its comments. I’m not so full of myself that I think I know it all, but I do know some things and think that I can add to the general conversation “out there.” So, instead of “lurking,” I’ll blog.

That’s one reason, and frankly, a surface reason, one I’d give to a relative stranger. There are other reasons, more “under the surface” relating more to who I am. You see, I learn something when I read blogs; something about the person writing the blog, something about the topic of the post, or something about how the post is written. It’s interesting to feel like you’ve been able to get to know someone you’ve never met; just because you’ve been able to follow that young man entering a war zone for the first time, see him confront the danger and boredom that characterizes conflict and watch him as he grows into a leader of men. It’s interesting to see the war on terror from the point of view of those confronting it; where it’s real, up close, and personal. It’s interesting to see the different ways that mothers and young wives write to offer support to other wives and mothers. You see learning never ends, and blogging is just another way to learn and to share ideas on a wider scale.

And that’s the final reason. Sharing. Sharing has always been difficult for me (just ask my sisters). I have lots of acquaintances and know lots of people. But I have few true friends; you know. . .the type of friends with whom you feel comfortable sharing the thoughts and ideas that make up who you really are. So, I thought if I started to share those thoughts and ideas through a (relatively) anonymous blog, it would get easier to open up to people I care about; kinda like how it’s easier to talk to someone when you’re riding in a car. So, consider this “blog-therapy” in a way; my way of learning what I should have learned in Kindergarten; how to share.