The noise level is reaching election pitch...

Media is sounding alarms over the shootings, but not enough sorrow. Their entertainment isn't changing from murders, shootings, violence, solving crimes, sex, and the romance of going wrong to presenting moral, uplifting and enriching products to fill the screen. Yes, I do know where the Hallmark Channel is, but I don't normally watch that, and I don't watch most of the trash either, I have too many DVDs and videos with what is enriching when I have the time to be entertained.

Time magazine's cover offered the way to victory in Afghanistan, but I remember the victory in Vietnam they supported and I know Vietnamese that suffered for it. The picture was good, and if that military man would only take his cigarette smoking twenty-five feet away from the doorway it will be legal in Washington State (if he were a prisoner he couldn't smoke).

My wife watching a Korean soap opera commented on my girl friends (you know who you are out there) and I looked at her and laughed - then realized that four couples on the show were talking about their cheating spouses and love interests. Asians have a completely different take on civilized behavior, but because she is presented with the various situations she puts her husband (once a fine figure of a man) in their position and gets a bit miffed and jealous - and I am not worthy of being written into a drama - certainly not about the war between the sexes. It made me think of one of my war stories.

I participated in Vietnam, mostly on a firebase in the middle of nowhere. And there were some Vietnamese that wanted me dead and gone and did discourage me and my fellows from staying - only two major rocket attacks during my ten months there - four rockets each time, four months between reloads, only one did significant damage to a personnel bunker - but I only needed the one to become really impressed with 122mm rockets, knowing the Soviets launched them in salvos. A sister firebase not far away, Firebase Mary Ann, was attacked by sappers in the night and it was up close and personal and not for America a good day. When the Monsoon showed up and the roads washed into muddy mess, and the helicopters couldn't fly for resupply we ate through the food to the C-rats, so that was my war, not much but all mine.

A Major from Battalion came out to inspect, visit, see the Battery and the troops - one of those things good officers will do. He met our commander and First Sergeant, asked questions, looked at the CP, the mess hall, the maintenance area, (probably the facilities for body functions - the officers had a special separate one - although the burning waste smelled the same), and then he started looking into the personal personnel bunkers, to see how we slept, pictures on the walls, books we read and stuff we valued. He did finally lose it, his temper and his cool, when he saw the hunting bow with broadhead arrows one of the gun bunnies had mounted on a twelve by twelve support beam above his bunk. The Major couldn't believe we didn't have better and complete weapons control like they did in the super large headquarters support base where he came from. He tore the bow and arrows from the beam and ranted and raved about the lack of discipline and leadership - and took himself and his good leadership to his aircraft and off our firebase.

I went to the rear twice, once for a two week leadership school, and once for a promotion board, and both times I had to put on my shirt (and wear it all day!) and turn in my M-16 rifle and ammunition until I got ready to leave, or we would be under attack and I would get to line up and be re-issued the rifle and weapon and told where to go fight. That go fight wasn't practiced so I could spend all my time drunk or drugged out of my mind (I didn't) when I didn't have to pay attention to school or my future. They did have a pretty big fraggin' problem in that large headquarters and support base - any is a large problem, but that base was much more than it was at the little base I lived at, and the Major was very aware of how little protection all those locked up weapons and ammunition did for him as he walked the night between the O Club and his hooch, or trailer. On my firebase in the middle of NOWHERE someone threatening another soldier with a weapon wasn't tolerated - we tolerated drug abuse, drunks, disrespect of a humorous vein (smile when you say that), but someone grabbing a weapon with ammunition (all of our weapons had ammunition) would be jumped on by eveyone close, weapon taken, soldier secured and a helicopter and MPs called for to remove said threat. Never got to shoot outs, mostly whatever was the trouble got fixed off base by doctors and UCMJ.

So I don't care if everyone gets issued a weapon and ammunition, and they are responsible for their use and conduct, been there and done that and we didn't wear t-shirts until the cold rains returned. About that registering weapons thing, I have always carried my weapons with numbers registered, and when the government in its greatness issues me a fine modern or historic semi-automatic or automatic (although that is not my first choice) rifle or machine gun I will honor their numbers all my days. Time for breakfast and I never did get to my point, what you think is keeping you safe in major cities Chicago, New York, Washington DC, isn't - Seattle with concealed carry and stuff has a much lower murder rate than those cities and it isn't because of the Latte stands where the lasses wear so little...