Target Centermass

Day: March 22, 2006

  • Military Cheesecake and Eye Candy

    First, the cheesecake, and we do have two sweet collections of moving and motivating photos.

    Now for the oh-so-very-tasty military eye candy. The Jawa Report‘s Dr. Rusty brings us a visual comparison of the militaries of several nations. He also presents an intriguing survey for those interested. It does seem that Dr. Rusty have overwhelmed some hosting services; luckily, he points us to this forum thread where many other examples can be found.

  • Carnival of Liberty XXXVII

    This week’s installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community’s Carnival of Liberty is up over at Forward Biased. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.

  • Senators Seek Smoother Military Voting

    Through all of the recent moves on election reform, it does seem as though the military has been overlooked. There may soon come a remedy to ease the balloting process for troops abroad.

    Twelve senators are asking Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to make it easier for troops abroad to vote, saying the current system is outdated.

    Seven Republicans and five Democrats wrote to Rumsfeld this month, asking the department to create a new voting system that would allow members of the military to easily “request, receive, download and print” absentee ballots regardless of their location.

    Under the current system, members of the military must contact local officials by regular mail and request a ballot, which is then mailed to them. The voter then must fill out the ballot by hand and send it back to his or her state, again by regular mail.

    “Military absentee voting is still conducted in the same way it was conducted during World War II and the Korean War,” the senators wrote.

    A Pentagon spokeswoman would not comment on the letter, saying it is Pentagon policy not to comment on correspondence between the secretary and members of Congress.

    Samuel Wright of the National Defense Committee, a group that advocates for electing more veterans to Congress, said he has counted 7,838 different state and local election offices that administer federal elections and communicate with troops overseas.

    Wright said it would be ideal if military abroad could receive ballots by e-mail, fill them out and send them to their local election offices by regular mail.

    “The military voter is a moving target,” said Wright. “The current system requires that they have to find the voter.”

    Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., prepared the letter and is planning legislation that would make the process easier.

    I don’t know about printing out email ballots, but certainly something can be done to improve an obviously antiquated system. Here in Texas, I now have several weeks prior to election day to cast my vote at any balloting location in my home county; certainly there is a way to facilitate the electoral voice of our uniformed citizens serving away from the homeland.

  • On Sheehans and Headstones

    Despite my willingness to blog about the foolish shenanigans of Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan, I thought it wise to completely refrain when Gateway Pundit questioned the lack of headstone at the gravesite of her son, the fallen Army SPC Casey Sheehan.

    I decided the matter was far too personal for my taste, this despite the fact that Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan had already decided to use young Casey’s grave site for a magazine photo-op.

    Now, there is a video by Michelle Malkin of the demonstrations in D.C. marking the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion (hat tip to Ace). In the video, which I recommend for a good look at the utter silliness and idiocy of the hardcore anti-war movement, I was dismayed that Ms. Malkin asked Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan about the lack of headstone at Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan’s son’s grave. I found it in bad taste, but thankfully the matter was not pressed.

    Still, as bad as the moment was, it was an open opportunity for Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan to silence or rise above what should rightly be a personal and family issue. Instead, as the video continues, Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan decided to utilize the headstone issue during her address to the “crowd,” blatantly stating that she had been too busy serving a calling that her son did not stand for to honor his death in one of the simplest and typically fundamental manners of American society. She could have ignored the matter or given a differing justification. Instead, Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan once again chose to try to use her son’s grave for political advantage.

    Disgusting.

    Simply … disgusting.

    I feel dirty even writing about this matter. As an “Out, out, damn spot” hope for cleansing, I will link again to a true tribute to the soldier and hero that was and will always be Casey Sheehan.