Just home from work not long ago, and grabbed a beer and turned on the news.

Story just being discussed as news comes on is regarding an Iraqi ambush against US military, and the enemy combatants were American trained Iraqi police! We are spending who nows how much it is now, and losing American lives and limbs, and the people that we are training/helping(?) are then turning the guns on us. And Bush still thinks the surge is working?

Then the following story was with regard to McCain being counted out of the coming presidential campaign due to his lack of money, and supporters. He was shown giving a speech, and the news reporter commented that the gist of his speech was attacking Democrats and Hilary Clinton for shifting their focus away from the threat of Al-Queda, or ignoring it. Excuse the shit out of me, but if I remember correctly, Pres Bush was given the green light to send our troops to war in Afghanistan to go after OBL and his Al-Queda cohorts; and then, Bush (Cheney) decided to shift the focus to Hussein and his oil fields using trumped up rationale, driving the deficit sky-high for war spending, and driving many would be recruits to the armed services away after they saw the way Bush betrayed them. Our military readiness is an an all time low, equipment orders are backing up, recruitment is down, I am now hearing on the radio for the first time in my life I can remember advertisements telling us how good the Guard is for your sons and daughters, and Bush wants to send even more over even with everyone telling him he is wrong. And McCain has been there right along side Bush saying "Rah Rah", after all this bullshit the last four years, and still is trying to blame Democrats for Bush mistakes.

So McCain, kiss my ass. Any ideas I may have had of you being your own man are now gone. I have woken up.

JACK KEMP, where the hell are you?

McCain is essentially out of it. His top staffers have left him, he has $2 million in assets with a reported $1.5 million in debts. His pandering to the right and views on the war cost him the independent vote, and his views on immigration and torture (the latter, at least, his most admirable characteristic) cost him supporters on the right. He may even be in trouble for soliciting funds from the Senate cloakroom (though the most interesting point on that is who snitched).

Stick a fork in him. From a near shoe-in to near ignominy. An incredible collapse of political fortunes.

The US army fell short of its recruiting goal in June about 17% That's two months in a row that the enlistment effort has faltered. That's the first time since 2005 that recruiters missed their goals two months in a row.

Although they are still ahead for the year. Something needs to change. We should have focused more of our resources on Al-Quida instead of here in Iraq going after Hussein. Now al-Quada is rumored to be stronger then ever, and Iraq is still an unstable mess.

Stars and Stripes

:devil

That's the real (well, one of many) shame in all this, Trikki. Afghanistan was going well, al-Qaeda on the run, the Taliban driven back. 4 years later we've lost what ground we gained. And now we find out that last November, CIA director Hayden told the ISG in private that the Maliki government could not stand, that Iraq was basically irrecoverable. Since then, 700+ US forces have died. Why?

I agree with Trikki.

How no-bid contracts have endangered (http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=576) our forces.

Makes ya want to take those company's chief officers out to the range and have them hold up some targets for ya.:devil

Reminds me alot of the S&L scandals. these contracts were not issued with the thought that anything concrete was gonna be delivered. they where given as favors so the robber barons and thier friends could have access to the public pocket!
Force protection? sounds like a shill thrown together in a hurry because a promose was made"put a corp together i'll make sure ya get a contract". total BS.
Really we all know that company's like GM and Ford lack the assest/resources to ramp up a division to handle the needs of our military. well that and of course the state of Michigan doesnt have enough immigrant labor to properly staff said division!
OK i'm ranting now sorry.
As far as McCain it's pretty sad to see really. I still think that deep down he's a good man. but he's the one who shifted his "Ideals" for political purposes and gains.
Sadly he backed the wrong horse and even worse whipped it long after it was dead.