Multimedia message

Happy Birthday America

Let's have a party!

First I need to gather the music ...

US Marine Band - Marine's Hymn and Stars and Stripes

Lena Horne - The Best Things in Life Are Free, From This Moment On, and I'd Do Anything

Dwight Yoakam - Streets of Bakersfield and Merle Haggard - Okie From Muskogee

The Stylistics - Betcha By Golly By Wow and I'm Stone in Love With You

The Pussycat Dolls - Sway

Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA

Johnny Cash & June Carter - Walk the Line, Jackson, Ring of Fire and It Ain't Me Babe

Ray Charles - America the Beautiful, What'd I Say and Georgia on My Mind

Frank Sinatra - The House I Live In, The Birth of the Blues, The Song is You and Night and Day

The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go, Stop In the Name of Love and You Keep Me Hanging On

Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

Cake - I Want a Girl with a Short Skirt and a Long Jacket

Dean Martin - Return to Me and Ain't That A Kick in the Head

Darryl Worley - I Will Hold My Ground and Have You Forgotten

The Doors - Light My Fire

Nancy Wilson - The Best is Yet to Come and Do You Still Dream About Me?

Anybody want to add any suggestions to the play list?

Want to have some fun this summer?

On my other site, I've got lots of suggestions

Los Angeles

San Francisco Bay Area

San Diego

Palm Springs & the Desert

Monterey & Santa Cruz

Lake Tahoe, Yosemite & the Sierras

Orange County

San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara

Sacramento, Gold Country & the Valleys

North Coast & Wine Country

Inland Empire


I've got a bunch of ideas for Hawaii

and a handful of ideas for other places around the country and the world :
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Washington D.C., Georgia, Maryland,
Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Mexico, Canada and Spain

If you've got anything to add, email me at thingsyoushoulddo -at- hotmail.com

Thanks!

Airstrike Remix

Check out this fantastic video


And more from the Mil Bloggers
Blackfive - the Paratrooper of Love

Here is One Marines View

In the post just before this one I talked about “Supporting the Troops”. If you don’t have the time to go to Anysoldier.com but want to still show your support for the troops, you can look on the far right Colum and donate quickly by clicking on “Donate Cigars”. Once we have a respectable amount we will purchase stoags for service members in Iraq and the ship them over to them. We will then put their pictures of them smoking your cigars here! Wet wipes are great, Gatorade is better but stoags are the heat!!!


Click on the donate button, then send us your alimony you were going to pay to your “other”, then stand by!!! Nothing beats shooting at bad guys while enjoying a cigar!!!


I challenge any cigar store out there to match what we buy!!! C’mon fellas, they are Marines!!!


Semper Fi……….


Time for a C-Gar!

Posted by Capt B at 05:35 PM | June 7, 2006

U.S. strike kills Iraq terror chief al-Zarqawi

From staff and wire reports

BAGHDAD — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the top target of the military coalition supporting the country's nascent democracy, was killed Wednesday in an airstrike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.
Jubilant officials from several countries described al-Zarqawi's death as a major victory in the war on terror. He was linked to a series of terrorist bombings and executions not only in Iraq, but also in his native Jordan.

The leader and seven aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman, were killed Wednesday evening in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala, just east of the provincial capital of Baqouba, officials said.

"Zarqawi has met his end and this violent man will never murder again," President Bush said Thursday morning at the White House. He called al-Zarqawi's death "a severe blow to al-Qaeda and a victory in the global war on terror."

More Info from the Mil Bloggers & their friends
Captain's Quarters
Mark in Mexico
Greyhawk
Baldilocks
Citizen Smash




Smash posts:

Ding-Dong, Zarqawi's Dead

[SMASH]
Had a minor case of food-induced insomnia early this morning, so I decided to check the headlines on my mobile phone...

Boy, am I ever glad I chose the rich chicken mole at that mexican restaurant last night for dinner!

ZARQAWI IS DEAD!

GOOD RIDDANCE M---ER F----ER!

WOOHOO!

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system.

Powerline posts:

The meeting ended early

Here is the Centcom press release announcing the successful strike that killed Zarqawi and his colleagues in Iraq yesterday:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General, announced the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in the following statement during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad June 8:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Coalition Forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house.

“Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baqubah when the air strike was launched.

“Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of Multi-National Division North, arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition Forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars.

Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and Coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq. He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis. Al-Zarqawi’s death is a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.

“Although the designated leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity. Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq.”

Congratulations to all those serving in Iraq and elsewhere who enabled our forces to administer justice to Zarqawi with skill and precision.

Greyhawk Posts:

After the air strikes, CoalitionForces launched 17 raids against terrorist targets in Baghdad "within hours" of identifying Zarqawi, uncovering a "treasure trove" of intelligence information. The targets were previously being exploited to track Zarqawi's movements. Now the Coalition is pushing rapidly to roll-up the al Qaeda network in Iraq.

And the press is so busy trying to get stories about coalition deaths in Iraq to "balance" the Zarqawi story that they've missed it. The announcement of the Ministers of Defense and Interior is being ignored too, or mentioned briefly and "balanced" with references to how long it took. Arguably that's information significant only to the handful of people outside of Iraq who know what's going on in Iraq - but it's huge news.

But back to the 17 (so far) raids. Imagine how many known operators and locations have been watched - even at some cost - in order to make this day happen. Now it's go time on them, and with intel gained there other dominoes are likely to fall.

Mark in Mexico posts:

ADDENDUM: Youssef M. Ibrahim, Jul. 25, 2005:
The world of Islam is on fire. Indeed the Muslim mind is on fire. Above all the West is now ready to take both of them on.

The latest reliable report confirm that on average 33 Iraqis die every day, executed by Iraqis and foreign jihadis and suicide bombers, not by U.S. or British soldiers. In fact, fewer than ever U.S. or British soldiers are dying since the invasion more than two years ago. Instead we now watch on television hundreds of innocent Iraqis lying without limbs, bleeding in the streets dead or wounded for life. If this is jihad, someone got his religious education completely upside down.

Do the cowardly jihadis who recruit suicide bombers really think they will force the U.S. Army and British troops out of Iraq by killing hundreds of innocent Iraqis? U.S. troops now have bases and operate in Iraq but also from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman?

The only accomplishment of jihadis is that now they have aroused the great "Western Tiger." There was a time when the United States and Europe welcomed Arab and Muslim immigrants, visitors and students, with open arms. London even allowed all dissidents escaping their countries to preach against those countries under the guise of political refugees.

Well, that is all over now. Time has become for the big Western vengeance.

What is more important to remember is this: When the West did unite after World War II to beat communism, the long Cold War began without pity. They took no prisoners. They all stood together, from the United States to Norway, from Britain to Spain, from Belgium to Switzerland. And they did bring down the biggest empire. Communism collapsed

In this new cold and hot war, car bombs and suicide bombers here and there will be no match for the arsenal those Westerners are putting together - an arsenal of laws, intelligence pooling, surveillance by satellites, armies of special forces, and indeed allies inside the Arab world who are tired of having their lives disrupted by demented so-called jihadis or those bearded preachers who under the guise of preaching do little to teach and much to ignite the fire, those who know little about Islam and nothing about humanity.

Last month I went to our CEO trip in Cabo San Lucas, the sales achievement award trip of my company. I swam with the dolphins, saw Sammy Hagar perform, played in a golf tournament, ate and drank at The Office, danced the mambo at The Mambo Cafe and in general had an excellent time.

The Guest Speaker for the trip was Andy Andrews, who was marvelous.

What could this one man possibly have to say that is important enough for the Commander of the Allied Air Forces to ask his help? Why did every senior leader the United States Air Force has in Europe and the Middle East recently assemble in one room—at one time—to hear him speak?

Who is this man, that he would walk the golf course with Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez as she played her last tournament as a touring professional? Why was he invited to spend an afternoon with General Norman Schwarzkopf and his son, who was about to depart for college? What would he be asked to discuss with a ninety-one-year-old Bob Hope alone by the swimming pool in the entertainer’s back yard?

Hailed by a New York Times writer as a “modern-day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America,” Andy Andrews is an internationally known speaker and novelist whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has been received at the White House and has spoken at the request of four different United States presidents. His two-hour PBS special is entitled Andy Andrews: The Seven Decisions and is now airing nationally to incredible reviews.

Andrews’s best-selling book, The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, is an international sensation, remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for four and a half months and being translated into nearly twenty languages. Featured on ABC’s Good Morning America as a book-of–the-month selection, The Traveler’s Gift is the stunning story of one man’s search for meaning and success in life by traveling back into time and conversing with seven historic individuals. Its message of hope, faith, and perseverance is transforming thousands of lives worldwide every day, spawning a teen version, The Young Traveler’s Gift; The Traveler’s Gift Journal; a home study audio program, Timeless Wisdom from the Traveler; and life-study curriculums in high schools, mental-health organizations, and prisons nationwide.

Andrews lived a relatively normal life until the age of nineteen, when both his parents died—his mother from cancer, his father in an automobile accident. “I took a bad situation and made it much worse,” Andrews says with a rueful smile, referring to choices he made during this tragic period of his life. Within a span of several years, the young man found himself literally homeless (“before that was even a word!” he says), sleeping occasionally under a pier on the gulf coast or in someone’s garage.

It was at that time when Andrews asked the question that would focus his search for what would ultimately affect millions of people. The question? “Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?” To find the answer, he first went to the library. There, over time, he read more than two hundred biographies of great men and women. How did they become the people they were? he wondered. Were they simply born this way? Or were there decisions made at critical junctures in their lives that led to such success? The young Andrews finally determined that there were seven characteristics that each person had in common. “What will happen,” he mused, “if I study these seven common denominators and harness them in my own life?”

The rest is history. “The Seven Decisions,” as he calls them, were the engines used to carry Andrews’s life in a different direction. And twenty-plus years later, these same Seven Decisions became the outline around which he built the story of The Traveler’s Gift and the basis of his PBS Special.

Bob laughed at me because I cried through at least half of Andy's presentation. Yes, I am a mushball.

When we got home, we each received an autographed copy of The Traveler's Gift. I've been reading it (repeatedly) at lunch.

The Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success (the book's subtitle) are:

The buck stops here.
I will seek wisdom.
I am a person of action.
I have a decided heart.
Today I will choose to be happy.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.
I will persist without exception.


Some of these things are easier to commit to then others. For me, the hardest is forgiveness - both forgiving myself and others. But I'm trying.

Mexican Marinade

This is a great marinade and flavor enhancer for tofu and for any vegetables that will be roasted or baked.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon minced serrano peppers
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a glass or ceramic bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to one month.

--from The Rancho La Puerta Cookbook - 175 Bold Vegetarian Recipes from America's Premier Fitness Spa by Bill Wavrin

Jarhead Red

Firestone Vineyard is proud to offer Jarhead Red as a perfect match for Memorial Day barbecues and summertime grilling.

Jarhead Red was conceived by Adam Firestone (CAPT USMC 1984-91) and vineyard foreman Ruben Dominguez (SGT USMC 1979-84). It is a robust, Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine with rich black fruit flavors.

Net proceeds from Jarhead Red benefit the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, which provides educational assistance to children of U.S. Marines, with special attention given to children of fallen Marines. Visit www.JarheadRed.com for more information.

Isn't this truly obnoxious



The text on this banner reads Discover a Place Before The President Starts a War There Search from Here - Kayak.com.

Imagine, this is not a political site, this is a business. Guess they are writing off the red states. Or in their arrogance, they think that conservatives don't travel.

Here's the message from the affiliate site of Kayak.com

Congratulations! You have been approved into the Kayak.com Affiliate Program!

Created by co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, Kayak.com is a search engine that helps consumers find great travel deals from over 100 other travel sites.

Our Affiliate program gives you 50 % of the revenue we generate from visitors who are sent to us from your site.

We offer a variety of links and link types. We recommend using our popular (and high conversion) Dynamic Rich Media search box.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at partners@kayak.com with any questions.

Thank you for your participation in the Kayak.com affiliate program, and we look forward to a rewarding partnership with you!

I had one of their banners up on my Things You Should Do website, something with a normal message, but I went searching to find a banner I could post that was a different size when I stumbled across this one. I semt the affiliate manager an email last week expressing how offensive this banner was, but I received no reply (it figures)

Perhaps other bloggers might want to tell the founders of Orbitz, Travelocity & Expedia how offensive their marketing is.

Calling themselves the new Internet travel "dream team," a group of online travel experts has launched a Norwalk-based Web site to take on the companies they helped develop into industry giants. Former executives from Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia and Intuit have created Kayak.com, an online travel search site with its headquarters on Marshall Street /snip/ Kayak.com's founders include Steve Hafner, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kayak.com and a co-founder of Orbitz Inc. in 1999. /snip/ The Kayak.com team also includes Chairman of the Board Terry Jones, the former president and chief executive officer of Travelocity.com, which he helped found in 1996; and Greg Slyngstad, director, former senior vice president of destinations and lodging at Expedia.com, which he helped found. Also Keith Melnick, formerly a manager at the Boston Consulting Group, where he served on the launch team of Orbitz; Matt Mancuso, former corporate controller at Hotwire, which he helped found in 2000; and Drew Patterson, former director of pricing, distribution and e-commerce for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he oversaw formation of Travelweb, a hotel industry consortium to distribute net rate inventory.

I've posted before about my pal Minnesota Stacy, the former Vikings Cheerleader. Here's a post she sent me about their recent reunion.


Go to a Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader Reunion


Here's a report from Mark Rosen, Sports Director and Anchor of WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota

You Can Go Home Again

Apr 23, 2006 7:18 pm



It's a safe assumption most of you have attended one or more of your high school reunions. I graduated from St. Louis Park High school in 1970 and have attended my 10, 20 and 30-year reunions. They were all special and weird in their own ways.

This weekend, I was asked to host a different sort of reunion: the 50th reunion of the St. Louis Park Parkettes, one of the first high school dance lines in the state of Minnesota. If you watched the Vikings play football, especially in the late '60s and '70s at Met Stadium, you would remember the Parkettes as the "official" dance team of the Vikings, long before "professional cheerleaders" took over.

Back in high school, most of these girls were the really "cool" girls. Guys like me didn't have the courage to speak to most of them, to say nothing of asking any of them out on a date. So here I was some 35 years later, at the podium of the Marriott Hotel in Minneapolis, facing a "roomful" of Parkettes.

I've interviewed everyone from Sandy Koufax to Michael Jordan, but I was never as nervous as I was looking around the room and seeing my class of Parkettes staring back at me.

It was great fun. I mean, I actually spoke to Andi Harris, the queen of the Parkettes in 1970, and in my speech said that moment was every bit a "Do You Believe in Miracles" as actually covering the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980. She said my comments earned her a lot of brownie points with her husband.

I am very proud to have graduated from St. Louis Park, with some terrific classmates, including the amazing columnist and author Thomas Friedman. That pride came through loud and clear in the words and feelings of everyone in attendance at the Parkette reunion.

For those three hours we all proved you can go home again. And for one night, I was the luckiest man in the world to be the chosen one to host their reunion. Now I can go on with the rest of my life.

I'm trying to get Stacy to write about the Things You Should Do in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I know their won't be as many things worthy of mention as there are in California, but going to the 150th Anniversary Party of Miller Beer (which I was invited to and should have gone if I wasn't so lame) and partying at Lake Minnetonka certainly deserve a mention.