This Is Not A Democracy, It's A Republic........
I am deeply sorry this ended this way. SSgt Maupin and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.
I too feel a great remorse that this ended this way for them, my thoughts and prayers are for the family of this brave heroic soldier.
Me too.
I always hoped he would be found alive. Wasn't likely but I did hope it. I hope the Maupin family can get a little comfort knowing he is coming home. I read that they have always thought that he was not alive. They do great work in support of Military families.
Is it depressing, or inspiring, or both? I say both.
Texas Fred said it best:
"Rest in Peace Matt, you served bravely and you did your duty, you’re coming home now, and your Mom and Dad can have some peace in just knowing your fate, I hate the word closure, but for lack of a better word, maybe they can finally have some closure."
I am sorry for their loss, but am thankful for men and women like Matt who are willing to stand between my family and an enemy that desire to kill them.
HOOAH! Matt...
I am sorry to read this news. I subscribe to Navy Times and have seen SSGT Maupin's face every week in "The Human Toll" under the heading of "missing".
Rationally, I thought he was dead, but you always have hope.
I'm sorry for SSGT Maupin's death and for all of the other men and women in uniform who've given their lives for this country and for the Iraqi people.
Sorry I took so long getting over here Jenn, my computer was down all day and now I am wanting a spicy curry and I have a weird desire to worship a cow... 
Thanks for posting this and thanks to all of your wonderful readers for their comments...
I have links to all comment makers posted on the bottom of the Matt post on my blog, and again, thank you ALL, Rest in Peace Matt..
As a rare example of a leftie prepared to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous conservatives, I would like to say that I do not consider the soldiers to be cannon fodder or baby killers – actually, I'd rather they stayed alive and came home to look after their families.
I don't blame them, I blame the cowards that sent them. Saddam Hussein was a bastard, but this was not the way to get rid of him.
I also blame the system that leaves a significant proportion of young people with so little choice in their lives that the military is their only way out of the poverty traps set by a deliberately run-down pubic education system.
Cheers
Elroy
You guys really have to stretch to keep you feigned outrage at a peak. I'm a liberal and I don't consider the soldiers cannon fodder or baby killers. You're an idiot if you think all lefty's think that. I do however believe those who have fallen died for a flawed agenda and not for our freedom.
Between Elroy basically parroting John Kerry's immortal "stuck in Iraq" quip, and Dan and his inability to just STFU and have a moment of silence, I am not, I repeat not shocked.
It's not hard to miss that they claim they aren't the typical "cannon fodder" anti-war liberals ... yet they use a post designed specifically for remembrance and honor to spew their hatred of anything not them.
Disgusting.
Somehow, I think, the last thing that kid wanted to do was rest in peace. That is why I value his sacrifice.
Elroy and DG have absolutely no shame! I have higher regard for pond-scum.
Saddam Hussein was a bastard
So are you. Your point?
RIP SSgt. Maupin. Thank you for your service.
Obviously, Elroy should do a little more research before blindly regurgitating his "progressive" talking points.
Rest in Peace my Brother!
And thank you for your service!
May you be welcomed by the angels in Heaven to that place reserved just for men like you!
Elroy, from a Vietnam vet, kiss my ass. That diatribe was pathetic. Typical of a 2 face liberal hypocrite.
You libs are glad we get killed. You wished more of us died. You only use us as pawns in your sick political game.
WE DO NOT WANT TO COME HOME UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!!!
Wouldnt you like to see some moonbat hit someone with their antiwar sign and get it wrapped around their necks by some brave GI Joes parents
Elroy and those like him just do not get it. They never will.
Damn that evil Haliburton!
Elroy is from down under. So crawl back down under the rock from which you came you disrespectful piece of guano.
Peace be with Matt and his family.
ElBoy and Dan Gutless: It is a just fight and it is for your freedom, regardless how ignorant you and other moonbats are to "get it". Enough said.
Thanks to Matt and others who sacrificed it all and thanks to all who have, are or will serve in our military.
Not everyone gets their politics from the MSM, MTV and other such irresponsible outlets. Some of us were born with the ability to operate the gray matter we were born with and choose to do so.
Rest in peace, sergeant, and thank you. And thanks to all of you who have served and made sacrifices for this country and its people. I have nothing but the highest regard for you and your families.
Elroy, Danny, give it a rest. Your endless parroting of that same old bullshit is vile and out of place in this post.
The reactions to my post are most intriguing, if not a little bizarre. Let’s have a look at the nuttier ones.
‘You guys really have to stretch to keep you feigned outrage at a peak. I'm a liberal and I don't consider the soldiers cannon fodder or baby killers. You're an idiot if you think all lefty's think that. I do however believe those who have fallen died for a flawed agenda and not for our freedom.’
I’m not feigning anything. I told you the truth. Why do Republicans think it is perfectly acceptable to tell me what I think?
And what other lefties think is irrelevant; I do not speak for them. I speak for myself. And I agree with you that they died for a very flawed agenda and not for our freedoms, but you’d better keep that kind of talk quiet around here – speech ain’t so free where Republicans are concerned. ‘There should be limits on freedom’ said GWB, and I think they’ve taken it to heart somewhat.
‘Between Elroy basically parroting John Kerry's immortal "stuck in Iraq" quip,
Wow, Jenn, you’re still flogging that old Kerry ‘Stuck in Iraq’ canard! I thought you were smarter than that, but it seems you are stuck in the group-think mode of your peers.
Just to remind you, Kerry ‘mis-spoke’. You know about mis-speaking don’t you? That interesting rhetorical flourish pioneered by Reagan, refined to a fine art by devotee GWB on a daily if not hourly basis and now being carried into the twightlight zone by McCain? Yes, I thought so.
I remember seeing Sean Hannity excuse some monumental conservative gaffe by saying, well, y’know, radio hosts, politicians, we talk a lot, hundreds, thousands of words a day, we’re gonna make mistakes, like it really didn’t matter.
I might also remind you that the text of the speech Kerry mis-spoke was distributed to the press with the remark intact, so I guess it’s your turn to be obtuse. I know this is an old battle, but if you are going to keep catapulting the propaganda expect to be called on it – repeating the lies cannot work if someone repeats the truth.
‘It's not hard to miss that they claim they aren't the typical "cannon fodder" anti-war liberals’
I’m not. Sorry to disappoint you and fail to conform to your stereotyped idea of what a leftie believes. Imagine! You might have to think for yourself now!
‘yet they use a post designed specifically for remembrance and honor to spew their hatred of anything not them.’
Who was it that politicized this post? Well? Who took a post ‘designed specifically for remembrance and honor’ and made it into an excuse for some gratuitous and uncalled for lib baiting and bashing? Huh? Good lawks-a-mighty it was…Jenn!
Y’see Jenn, when you write things like ‘For the Moonbats who like to call them cannon fodder, liken them to baby killers, spit on them via words, hurtful words and shameful protests, even you need to stop just for a moment and think about these brave men and women. Men and women who fight an enemy who would gladly see each and every Moonbat, Neo-Con, Libtard, Wingnut and free man and woman dead’ it tends to foster the impression that your intentions are not entirely honorable.
‘Dan and his inability to just STFU and have a moment of silence, I am not, I repeat not shocked.’
Y’see? The irony is somewhat overwhelming. If a ‘moment of silence’ is what you want then have one and don’t turn it into a pre-emptive strike against your perceived enemy.
‘Disgusting’
Yes, I know, but Jenn will do these things.
‘Elroy and DG have absolutely no shame! I have higher regard for pond-scum.’
OK, I’m attacked for saying that I don’t want soldiers to die but it’s me that has no shame? Sheesh! And don’t knock pond-scum, it’s your ancestor. And mine.
‘Saddam Hussein was a bastard’
Indeed.
‘So are you.’
I don’t think so, but I’ll call my mother to make sure. One has to do one’s research.
‘Your point?
’
That the war was unnecessary. Your point?
'Obviously, Elroy should do a little more research before blindly regurgitating his "progressive" talking points.’
Obviously, Henry should do a little more research before blindly regurgitating his ‘regressive’ talking points – just because the Heritage Foundation says something’s so doesn’t mean it is.
You know what I do if I read something interesting? I try to prove it wrong, be it a claim by the left or the right. For instance, this gentleman read your figures, as did I, and then he set out to see if they are correct. He found holes. Read about them here.
http://thatotherpaper.com/
austin...like_we_thought
I link to this because I do not have the time to reinvent the wheel; this is an acceptably brief rebuttal to the Heritage Foundation statistics that conservatives approach with a deference bordering on the religious. If you wish to promote this line, make sure you are fully aware of all and any arguments to the contrary.
‘Elroy, from a Vietnam vet, kiss my ass.’
With respect, I’d rather not and, truth be told, I really don’t think you’d want me to.
‘That diatribe was pathetic.’
Diatribe? That was hardly a diatribe. A diatribe is defined as being long, which it wasn't, and nasty, which it also wasn't – so either get yourself a new dictionary/thesaurus or stick to words you understand.
‘Typical of a 2 face liberal hypocrite.’
There you go again.
‘You libs are glad we get killed.You wished more of us died. You only use us as pawns in your sick political game.’
Um, no, I’m not. I don’t want anyone to get killed. OK? No one. This information might not sit well with your distorted view of what libs do actually think, but the fact is that many lefties are pacifists who oppose war across the board.
I don’t wish more military had died, I regret that anyone has died, but the left can hardly be accused of using the military as pawns in a sick political game; you should be looking at those that started the game in the first place to promote their ideological agenda.
‘WE DO NOT WANT TO COME HOME UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!!’
Well, again with respect, you aren’t there so maybe you should leave that kind of statement to those that are. However, maybe you could tell me what the job is? So far you have managed kill unknown hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, kill thousands of your military and maim tens of thousands more, destroy the country’s infrastructure and cause a civil war, so excuse me if I’m not entirely clear about the military objective.
If the job is to fill the coffers of the US private sector and make Iraq safe for Iran, then mission accomplished! If the job is to not find WMD, then mission accomplished! If the job is to create Geneva on the Tigris, even your Commander-in-Chief admits that this won’t happen, so mission unaccomplished but two out of three ain’t bad!
If, however, the job is to turn Iraq into a series of military bases and control the oil then you won’t come home for a while. McCain says 100 years but I’m thinking it will be more like 30 years, the life of the new oil laws that the Maliki government are currently so reluctant to pass.
‘Elroy and those like him just do not get it. They never will.’
Don’t get what? That your government went to war with Iraq to, control its oil supply, pillage its industry, construct bases in the ME and privatize the military ?
The only thing I don’t get is how y’all think this is being done out of altruism.
‘Damn that evil Haliburton!
’
Damn them indeed. Crooks, thieves and charlatans.
‘ElBoy and Dan Gutless: It is a just fight and it is for your freedom, regardless how ignorant you and other moonbats are to "get it".’
How is it for my freedom?
If I don’t ‘get it’, why don’t you give it to me?
‘Elroy is from down under.’
Then my country is a fully paid up member of the coalition of the wiling. Furthermore, my family has suffered bereavement via Iraqi IED so I am not entirely divorced from the reality of this war.
‘So crawl back down under the rock from which you came you disrespectful piece of guano.’
Hmm. It seems to me that the very nature of guano would dictate that it should be found on the top of the rock, not underneath, but anyhoo…
‘Not everyone gets their politics from the MSM, MTV and other such irresponsible outlets.’
Certainly not me. I do watch FOX News, but it only seems to have the opposite effect.
‘Some of us were born with the ability to operate the gray matter we were born with and choose to do so.’
Yes, some of us were.
Elroy, Danny, give it a rest. Your endless parroting of that same old bullshit is vile and out of place in this post.
I don’t know what bullshit you are referring to, but I repeat that if you want to get upset about politics finding its way into this post then I suggest you aim your ire at Jenn as it is she that made it political, not me.
Cheers
Elroy
So elroy, have YOU ever been to Iraq?????
YES, or NO???????
So elroy, have YOU ever been to Iraq?????
YES, or NO???????
I don’t think so, but I’ll call my mother to make sure.
Don't bother. I'll ask her before she leaves in the morning.
Elroy - how dare you post here again. We GET that you have no respect for our fallen Heros, but for you to actually have the gall to try and dignify your disrespect is disgusting.
You're just like that jerk Phelps.
Um, Elroy, THAT's the bullshit I was referring to. The fact that you don't see it as such is an indication of how ingrained your conditioning is. Stop drinking the purple Kool-Aid, Elroy! It's warping your ability to reason.
And blaming Jenn for "starting it" doesn't hold water. Her blog, her home, her rules. Suck it up, and get over it. And why do you believe she was addressing you? Could it be that you DO recognize your Moonbat status?
As well as you can put the words together, I find you to be incredibly long-winded, unjustifiably arrogant, and oh so tiresome. Your arguments, while full of 'detail', are still the adult equivalent of "I know you are, but what am I?" Perhaps you have a future in broadcasting. Or politics.
Windbag.
And I prefer not to engage you, not because I can't, but because it would be useless. Anyone who can say "I declare to you, all Nanny-State fuckery isn't a bad thing" is not someone that can be reasoned with. Declare all you want, your declarations are meaningless. Any REASONABLE person would recognize that Nanny-State legislation (whatever it's source, left OR right) is antithetical to freedom itself. So what does that make you?
CHEERS yourself, Elroy. Go in peace.
I apologize, Elroy. I didn't know you were from Down Under.
But,in that case, I don't give a fuck about your freedom or your opinion of our gov't or our GWoT.
So, I can just skip your comments completely from now on.
This week's looking up already!
Miss Jenn called elroy, Pete. Which means he's not from down under (under a rock, maybe) but from Arkansas. and he's still a pig!
Boy, what a lot of bullshit propaganda that I did not waste my time reading. I looked at the bottom & saw elroy & did not waste my time.
I considered the source.
Good old Southern Hospitality...
Elroy is an Aussie.
Elroy is an Aussie.
Jonathan
I'll take your word for it - he's still a classless hack.
I see I'm not the only one to notice Elroy's gratuitous arrogance, but I can't decide if it's worse than his intellectual laziness.
LMAO!! Citing a Ted Rall "analysis" is supposed to be impressive? The guy's a cartoonist. Figures you'd cite him as a legitimate source of information. Acceptably brief rebuttal? Maybe in the magical land of Oz. Rebuttals don't qualify as original research.
Like a typical "progressive" (oops, sorry what a racist thing for me to say), you bring absolutely nothing to the table to back up your claims of soldiers having "so little choice in their lives that the military is their only way out." Yeah, I know Rall was referring to a study done by NPP. I have a real hard time believing a group is "non-partisan" when it admittedly receives 75% of its funding from groups like The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Family Fund, Educational Foundation of America, Wellspring Fund/Peace Development Fund, Tides Foundation, and the list goes on... Oh, and the NPP refers to The Southern Poverty Law Center in their report... ROFL!! Pathetic.
"You know what I do if I read something interesting? I try to prove it wrong, be it a claim by the left or the right." Then you must have done some research into the claims of groups like the SPLC and NPP that the soldiers are "poor and uneducated". What did that yield? If you wish to promote this line, make sure you are fully aware of all and any arguments to the contrary. Here, I'll point you in the direction of some more research. I'll save you some time and skip to the good part:
Since the all-volunteer force began, the military has sometimes had trouble recruiting and retaining sufficient volunteers in peacetime, and their quality has varied. However, the AVF has attracted a greater proportion of recruits with high school diplomas or with AFQT scores at or above the median than in the youth population as a whole or than the services obtained through the draft during the Vietnam War. In 2006, 91 percent of recruits were high school graduates, compared with 80 percent of U.S. residents ages 18 to 24. Moreover, 69 percent of recruits scored at or above the 50th percentile (relative to the overall U.S. youth population) on the qualification test. Experience levels in the military have also risen during the years of the AVF, as initial enlistment periods have grown longer, on average, and retention rates have increased.
Come back when you actually have something to bolster your spurious claims.
Oh yeah, my putting "progressive" in quotes indicates they're the opposite. I'll just apply the same concept to your reference to "regressive" in quotes.
Progressive = Feudalism
I had my moment of silence. Yes this another horribly sad loss. Yes, the soldiers over there are brave and courageously doing their job.
No - this is not an honorable war. It was started based on lies, overestimates, and guesses - let alone the lack of planning for the outcome. Witness will try to claim the opposite, but once again will just be wrong.
Clearly we disagree. Why does anyone who not follow your ultra-right ideological views have to be subject to your vitriolic rants. Elroy has fairly clearly articulated his points, but rather than try to explain your position, you attack him with personal insults and Rush Limbo quotes.
Ahh, why bother...
So wageslave, have YOU ever been to Iraq????????
WS is the same as the aussie - just wants to spit on a soldiers grave.
Well, I reread Elroy's first comment and realized that because I was so prepared for his typical left sided America-hating rant, I miss read what he said.
My mistake, my apologies.
But I'd also like to point out there isn't an individual here who wouldn't also like to see this war end, but with the understanding that it can't be over without defeating our enemy.
As been said many times and many ways, this is an unconventional war fought against an unconventional enemy motivated by an uncompromising ideology that cannot under any circumstances be allowed to exist unchecked.
The sole premise (and I can support this forthcoming statement) of this ideology known as Islam is to kill or subdue any person that does not subscribe to that way of thinking. The current focus is a geographical location known as Iraq and Afghanistan, but will likely change within the decade.
Let's not lose sight of who our enemy is.
Again, Elroy's got nothing.
Just another hit-and-run moonbat.
Oh, Henry – so predictable, shooting the messenger. So what if the information comes from Ted Rall? So what if it comes from Walt Disney or Mickey Mouse? It's the content, dummy! Address he content!
You might not trust information from a group which receives 75% of its funding from groups like The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Family Fund, Educational Foundation of America, Wellspring Fund/Peace Development Fund, Tides Foundation etc, but I am equally as suspicious of the Heritage Foundation which is propped up by
the late Joseph Coors, Amway, the Bradley foundation, the Olin foundation, the Scaife foundation, Chase Manhattan Bank, Dow Chemical Company, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Mobil, and Procter & Gamble among others, so I guess we're back to square one. Actually, I would say that on the partisan stakes, the Heritage Foundation wins the cup cakes!
It's easy enough to impugn motives but that does not address the facts, so here's the question: are the figures and stats Rall quotes correct? Or is the Heritage Foundation right? How can we tell?
Here's the thing, Henry; you offered up the Heritage Foundation figures and I offered up a rebuttal, so I suppose it's now up you.
Or have you got nothing?
Gawfer, this war is not an unconventional war fought against an unconventional enemy; it has all happened before.
And is the war motivated by an uncompromising ideology that cannot under any circumstances be allowed to exist unchecked? Or is it driving the spread of said 'uncompromising ideology'?
Or is the uncompromising ideology that cannot under any circumstances be allowed to exist unchecked the extremist christian capitalist doctrine of Bush et al? After all, The sole premise (and I can support this forthcoming statement) of this ideology known as capitalism is to kill or subdue any person that does not subscribe to that way of thinking. The current focus is a geographical location known as Iraq and Afghanistan, but will likely change within the decade.
Just depends which side of the divide you're on.
Cheers
Elroy
Hey elroy, have you ever asked a REAL OIF Veteran, someone who's actually BEEN to Iraq, what's REALLY happening there?
Hey Paul, the original name for Operation Iraqi Freedom was Operation Iraqi Liberation, but the wags at the state department didn't get away with it.
Cheers
Elroy
Sorry elroy, but it was ALWAYS Operation Iraqi Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask me, I WAS THERE!!!!!!!!!!
So, have YOU ever been to Iraq???
YES, or NO???????????????????
"Or is the uncompromising ideology that cannot under any circumstances be allowed to exist unchecked the extremist christian capitalist doctrine of Bush et al? After all, The sole premise (and I can support this forthcoming statement) of this ideology known as capitalism is to kill or subdue any person that does not subscribe to that way of thinking. The current focus is a geographical location known as Iraq and Afghanistan, but will likely change within the decade.
Just depends which side of the divide you're on."
Elroy, your head is so far up your ass you can now self perform complete visual colonoscopies.
Let's have a brief look at what the 'other side of the divide' is motivated by:
The Qur'an commands Muslims not to befriend Jews or Christians:
"O ye who believe (Muslims) take not the Jews or the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he among you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them." (Surat Al-Maidah 5:51)
It commands Muslims to fight Jews and Christians:
"Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (Mohammed) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (Surah At-Taubah 9:29)
(Jizyah BTW, is a special high tax to be paid only by Jews or Christians who do not want to renounce their religion and convert to Islam (this Qur'anic Law is still practiced today in much of the Muslim world)).
The Qur'an commands Muslims to convert non-Muslims to Islam by force:
"Kill the Mushrikun (polytheists, Christians and non-Muslims), wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush. But, if they repent and perform As-salat (public prayer with Muslims) and give Zakat (Islamic alms), then leave their way free. Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful." (Surat At-Taubah 9:5)
These are only a couple of references that abound in their driving text. For more, please visit a recent post I put up about the movie ‘Fitna’ here: http://gawfer2001.blogspot.com/2...8/03/
fitna.html
In conclusion, might I suggest a Plexiotomy? It’s a procedure where a Dr. inserts a small sheet of Plexiglas into the naval region of your tummy to accommodate vision for those whose heads are up their asses.
MORON! And to thank I provided an apology for misunderstanding you. Turns out, I was right all along.
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