Saturday, 19 January 2008
 

Russ Vaughn: Electile Dysfunction

It’s abundantly clear and I charge without fear
Nor the slightest degree of compunction,
Proven night after night both on left and on right,
Our media have electile dysfunction.

While hoping to score they’ve become such a bore
With their overdone, nonstop production.
So we’re starting to balk at their unending talk;
We’re weary of endless seduction.

The hooray and hearsay, the pestering foreplay
Their tempting has lost its direction;
It will be with some glee when we actually see
The media finally get an election.

Russ Vaughn

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 19, 2008 at 01:58 PM in Poetry, Politics, Politics and National Defense, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saturday, 23 June 2007
 

Bastante es bastante.

I've linked to this in the past but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's appeared on this site.

Bastante!
Russ Vaughn

[Spanish to English, bastante adj.: 1. enough  adj.]

We’re with you, George, through thick and thin
We support you still in the mess you’re in,
But enough’s enough and as they say
Bastante! down old Mexico way.
We’re sick of our laws being totally ignored
As our torero, George, you’re getting gored,
Sly foxes laired south of our border
Have reversed the natural feeding order.

This lawlessness on the Rio Grande,
Now threatens us throughout our land,
[Read on.]

Contributed by Bill Faith on June 23, 2007 at 04:31 PM in Immigration, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, 03 April 2007
 

Wild Irish Rose 
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

What is that stench wafts ‘neath the nose?
Is it ABC’s Wild Irish Rose?
Must we endure this big broad’s ranting,
That has the liberal loon’s all chanting?
Dubya brought those towers down,
Claims this crazy corpulent clown.
Is our rotund Rose blatantly batty,
Or just hates the world ‘cause she‘s a fatty? ...

Read the whole thing here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on April 3, 2007 at 11:48 AM in Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 22 March 2007
 

Hipocralypse Now!
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

The Oscar’s burnish slowly wanes, 
That which bathed those tinsel clowns,
As cleaners tease the Kool-Aid stains
From tuxedos and designer gowns;
Sullied in salute to Hipocralypse,
A liberal religion newly forming,
Fired with fervor from messianic lips,
Big Al’s Church of Global Warming. ...

Read the whole thing here, then while you're in the mood for "Global Warming" poetry, check this out, and while we're on the subject check out my updated post here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on March 22, 2007 at 05:00 PM in Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 16 March 2007
 

"You Ain't Gonna Touch This Wall" -- The MP3

You read it here, listen to it here, or to the slightly tamer "radio version" here. Buy a copy at The Gathering of Eagles Store.

Contributed by Bill Faith on March 16, 2007 at 01:35 AM in Caring about our troops, Gathering of Eagles, Music, Russ Vaughn, The American Warrior, US Air Force, US Army, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps, US Navy, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, 28 February 2007
 

Kerry & MSM Continue To Contaminate History

Why is it when John cooks no one is eating?
Why is it when he grills that no one dines?
This fool can’t stop his foolish self-defeating,
He skews himself quite nicely on his tines.
John boldly grills this Bush selection;
This Ambassador to Belgium he will roast;
Flogging his post-election erection,
For the Swift Boat guys who made him toast.

Heh, heh….God, I love those Swift Boat Veterans: true American heroes, all.

Russ Vaughn

So, electile dysfunction leaves you with a post-election erection? Gonna have to remember that one.

***

John Kerry Grills Belgium Ambassador
Nominee Over Swift Boat Donation 

WASHINGTON —  A Senate hearing that began with glowing tributes to a St. Louis businessman and his qualifications to become ambassador to Belgium turned bitterly divisive Tuesday after he was criticized for supporting a controversial conservative group.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., grilled nominee Sam Fox about why he donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential race. The group of Vietnam veterans made unsubstantiated [Like hell! -- BF] allegations against Kerry — then the Democratic presidential nominee — and charged that Kerry did not deserve the medals he won in the Vietnam War.

"Might I ask you what your opinion is with respect to the state of American politics as regards the politics of personal destruction?" Kerry asked near the end of the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. ...

***

Kerry & MSM Continue To Contaminate History
Bruce Kesler

Hardly anyone pays any serious attention to John Kerry anymore, having repeatedly demonstrated his buffoonery.

However, John Kerry is still a United States Senator, holding powerful committee positions for the Senate’s majority party. The liberal allies of his points of view in the media are still the dominant chroniclers and influencers of public views. Thus, Kerry still has substantial influence on current policies and opinions that will shape our future.

The latest example is the Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on the nomination of Sam Fox as ambassador to Belgium. John Kerry demanded that Fox, who donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, renounce “the politics of personal destruction." According to the Associated Press report, “Kerry said the incident raised questions about Fox's fitness to serve as an ambassador.” The AP report continued:

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a presidential hopeful and chairman of Tuesday's hearing, said he found Fox's responses "unsatisfying." He said he would have preferred if Fox admitted it was a mistake to contribute to the Swift Boat group.

The AP reporter inserted his view that the Swiftee charges against Kerry’s military record in Vietnam were “unsubstantiated allegations.”

Kerry, Obama, and the AP reporter, thus, perpetuate one of the most egregious misrepresentations of history in modern journalism.

With extremely little exception, the major media refused to investigate the testimony and depositions by almost all of the veterans who served with Kerry in Vietnam. Despite certain Kerry claims, like his invented Cambodia excursion, being absolutely proven false, and substantial evidence that many of his other self-exaggerations were also false, the major media during the 2004 campaign and since have adopted the word “unsubstantiated” to describe the Swiftees’ charges and evidence.

Investigative columnist Thomas Lipscomb detailed much additional evidence substantiating the Swiftees’ charges. Lipscomb, who was also the founder of Times Books, which published the hardcover edition of the Pentagon Papers, brings an important perspective to this media malfeasance. In an interview with me, Lipscomb says: [Read the whole thing.]

***

Tom Maguire: Surely This IS Not The Ass-Kicking He Promised?

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 28, 2007 at 09:46 PM in Jean Fraud Kerry, Poetry, Politics, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Your tax dollars at work

Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
By Mike S. Adams. Hat tips: Russ Vaughn, R J Del  Vecchio

Yesterday afternoon, I logged on to the "Global War" blog (global-war.bloghi.com) of Associate Professor Julio Pino – a Muslim convert who teaches at Kent State University. The heading for the site used to read "The Worldwide Web of Jihad: Daily News from the Most Dangerous Muslim in America." Now it reads "Are You Prepared for Jihad?" IN THE NAME OF OBL. 2007: THE YEAR OF ISLAMIC VICTORY!"

Hardly able to believe what I was reading, I called Pino at his office in Ohio around 4 p.m. According to his secretary, he had not been at work that day (he only has office hours two days of the week). He was drawing a paycheck from the people of the State of Ohio while trying to launch a Jihad against people like me. In fact, just five minutes before I called he posted an entry under the title "Crusaders Can’t Take Anymore in Afghanistan!" 

Pino began his morning of not going into his office at Kent State by penning a post under the title “Frightened British Crusaders Rush More Troops to Occupied Afghanistan.” Using terms like “occupation” and “Crusaders” it isn’t really necessary to read these posts in order to ascertain who this employee of the State of Ohio is rooting for in the War on Terror. ...

Many people believe that Julio Pino deserves to be fired because of his public statements about the War on Terror. I disagree. A simple firing is too light a punishment.

Dr. Julio Pino, for his decision to "provide battle dispatches, training manuals, and jihad videos to our (enemies) worldwide" deserves to be arrested and sent to an island off the coast of North America, striped naked, interrogated, and, if necessary, tortured to ascertain the extent of his involvement in assisting our enemies.

After we are done with him, he is free to return to Ohio. That is unless, of course, he is found to be something more than a professorial pansy posing as a genuine Jihadist.  ...

R J Del Vecchio writes:

Read this column and you, too, can be depressed by what goes on in this country.  The hell with tolerance, dammit, time is here to come down hard on those who rejoice in their hatred and destructive intentions towards us all. ...

I want this guy dropped into the mountains of Pakistan with an "Osama is a fag" T-shirt superglued to his torso.  Maybe with one of the Danish cartoons printed on the reverse side of the shirt for good measure.

Russ Vaughn wants to know: "And taxpayers are underwriting this shit?"

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 28, 2007 at 07:43 PM in Islamism Delenda Est, R J Del Vecchio, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, 26 February 2007
 

Russ Vaughn comments on "We Were Soldiers ..."

Russ has been kind enough to give me permission to post part of the email he sent CSM Marshall after reading Review - "We Were Soldiers":

Continue reading "Russ Vaughn comments on "We Were Soldiers ...""

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 26, 2007 at 02:46 AM in Movies, Russ Vaughn, The American Warrior, US Army, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Saturday, 24 February 2007
 

"You Ain't Gonna Touch This Wall"

"Let us make it clear, we've all come here
To defend our long-dead brothers;
And understand you ain't layin' a hand
On our Wall you leftie mothers."

THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN - Short Sleeve T
Starting at: $24.00

This is the one you've all been waiting for. It's powerful in it's imagery, and we believe it's what the Gathering of Eagles event is all about!

Russ Vaughn wrote "You Ain't Gonna Touch This Wall" as [one of] his contribution[s] to the event.

Artwork was a collaboration of the wife of a Vietnam vet, the son of same, and the son of a Vietnam vet and Vietnamese mother! Everyone's heart is in this one.

Due to the nature of the content of this shirt, it is not customizable. It is available in white, long or short sleeves. This item is short sleeve.

Large images are available (please be patient while they load)

FRONT OF SHIRT is here

BACK OF SHIRT is here

(I'm including the front and back images below the fold in this post.)

"You Ain't Gonna Touch This Wall" has been sitting on the Old War Dogs server as draft post for three days now and I've had a hell of a time making myself wait till the right moment to post it. I'll include a copy of the words from Russ's draft below the fold.

A larger view of the front of the shirt:

A larger view of the back of the shirt:

And here's Russ's post that he saved as a draft and asked me to sit on till Ty had the shirts ready:

You Ain't Gonna Touch This Wall

Look, boy, you're free to demonstrate,
March up and down this Mall;
But, son, I'm gonna set you straight,
You ain't gonna touch this Wall.

You shout and scream all you want,
On all that we'll give a pass;
But you try some Wall-defacing stunt,
And, son, I'm gonna kick your ass.

(Chorus)
Let us make it clear, we've all come here
To defend our long-dead brothers;
And understand you ain't layin' a hand
On our Wall you leftie mothers.

Drag out that traitor, Hanoi Jane,
To screech at you pinks and commies,
And Cindy Sheehan to exploit her pain,
The Barnum of Gold Star Mommies.

And, son, you hear this loud and clear,
Don't you even think about spittin'
Less you want that smart mouth busted here,
And believe me, we're not shittin'.

(Chorus)
Let us make it clear, we've all come here
To defend our long-dead brothers;
And understand you ain't layin' a hand
On our Wall you leftie mothers.

Because of you losers we lose our wars,
Our warriors are left to bleed,
Cause of Jane and Cindy, these media whores
With their camera-craving creed.

So follow these traitors, these loser bitches,
Let them lead you to your fall;
But I promise you, son, you're gonna need stitches,
You even get close to this Wall.

(Chorus)
Let us make it clear, we've all come here
To defend our long-dead brothers;
And understand you ain't layin' a hand
On our Wall you leftie mothers.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 24, 2007 at 03:55 PM in Caring about our troops, Gathering of Eagles, Music, Poetry, Russ Vaughn, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 23 February 2007
 

An Alphabetical Guide To My Our Russ Vaughn Collection

Updated 2007.02.23

Before the Old War Dogs site existed I used to post everything Russ wrote at Small Town Veteran and maintain an alphabetical index of my collection. I let things slide a little while I was busy setting up OWD and it took me till now recently to get around to bringing my index up to date. Enjoy:

Continue reading "An Alphabetical Guide To My Our Russ Vaughn Collection"

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 23, 2007 at 02:28 AM in Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fly High You Eagles, Soar
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

Fly high you Eagles, soar,
On you we all depend.
To serve, to stand, support our war,
Our fallen to defend.
Stand firm, stand brave before our Wall;
Deal those a sorry fate,
Who answer Fonda’s hateful call:
Our nation they must hate.

Fly high you Eagles, soar,
Your keen eyes see below,
The leftist fools oppose this war,
To them no low’s too low.
They seek our Wall to desecrate,
To enhance their losing cause;
They seek to doom our nation’s fate;
They see nothing but our flaws.

Fly high you Eagles, soar,
Above those who seek defeat,
Who seek submission, nothing more,
To a terror they can’t meet.
They falter when the course is long;
They’re weak-willed, failed and bitter;
Got it all entirely wrong,
So typical of a quitter.

Fly high you Eagles, soar,
Stand proud before our Wall;
You are the nation’s heart, the core,
The essence of us all.
Know that we stand there with you,
In spirit and in soul,
America’s not lost, not through,
We’ve a long, long way to go.

Fly high you Eagles, soar, from your lofty, special station,
Know this is true forever more; you’ve the blessing of your nation.

Russ Vaughn
Vietnam Veteran

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 23, 2007 at 12:52 AM in Caring about our troops, Gathering of Eagles, Poetry, Russ Vaughn, The American Warrior, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 22 February 2007
 

Russ Vaughn: The Veteran in the Wall

A Russ Vaughn classic from The Kerry War, appropriate, I think, all over again.

The Veteran in the Wall

Here I lie within this wall,
And cry out to be heard.
I committed no crimes
I served,
Purely and simply,
I served,
Bravely and honorably.
I did not serve any political belief,
I served my country.
I gave up every good thing that I had,
And volunteered for this fierce duty,
To do the will of this nation
To defeat an enemy
That threatened our well-being.
So here I lie, moldering,
Wondering, wondering,
Will ever my voice be heard?

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Yes, brave warrior, your voice will be heard, when the eagles gather. You have our promise.

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 22, 2007 at 01:30 AM in Caring about our troops, Gathering of Eagles, Poetry, Russ Vaughn, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 16 February 2007
 

An Honorable Profession

Russ Vaughn emails:

One day a fourth-grade teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living.  All the typical answers came up -- fireman, mechanic, businessman, salesman, doctor, lawyer, and so forth.

However, little Justin was being uncharacteristically quiet, so when the teacher prodded him about his father, he replied, "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men, and they put money in his underwear.   Sometimes, if the offer is really good, he will go home with some guy and stay with him all night for money."

The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some exercises and then took little Justin aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"

"No", the boy said, "He works for the Democratic National Committee and is helping to get Hillary Clinton to be our next President, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 16, 2007 at 02:45 AM in Hillary Clinton, Politics, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, 06 February 2007
 

Russ Vaughn: "Force Multipliers"

Some of you may remember seeing this before but I'm guessing a lot of you haven't, and even if you have it's been a while. The last time I know of that it was posted was here a little over 13 months ago. With Arkin and those al-NYT imbeds having shown their they're asses like they have recently I think it probably fits a lot of people's moods these days.

Force Multipliers

Wikipedia: force multiplier - a military term referring to a factor that dramatically increases (hence multiplies) the combat-effectiveness of a given military force.

In Iraq an IED explodes,
An American soldier dies,
But that blast will grow as the media blow
It up before our eyes.
And trumpet to the watching world,
These fifth column falsifiers,
Like sheep they bleat we face defeat,
Our foe’s force multipliers.

Osama and his minions know,
In combat they can’t beat us;
So they hope and pray will come a day,
Our own media will defeat us.
Ignoring all the good we’ve done,
Liberals focus on the gore,
On losses mounting and body counting,
To prove we’ve lost this war.

Continue reading "Russ Vaughn: "Force Mulitpliers""

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 6, 2007 at 12:20 AM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Media Malpractice, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, 04 February 2007
 

Russ Vaughn: "Unbound by Honor"

Russ wrote this especially for Michelle Malkin's site but it's been a couple of days since we sent it to her and I'm giving up on hearing back from her. This was written in response to "The NYTimes' unspeakable violation". You'll also want to read her follow-up post, "Lt. Gen. Odierno writes to the NYTimes." Sgt. Hook's comments here are also worthy, as are SuperToad's here.

Unbound by Honor

Bound by honor, a sergeant's creed,
One observed to his bitter end,
Honored by buddies in word and deed
To honor their dying friend;
But the New York Times has no such care,
From nothing they'll refrain,
To show our enemies everywhere,
Our young sergeant's dying pain.

Vile bottom feeders such as these,
Supposedly seeking truth,
Sensation seeking sorry sleaze,
Violate our valiant youth.
No sense of honor have they,
Unlike the men they cover,
Seeking a slick and sleazy way,
Like wraiths of death they hover.

Continue reading "Russ Vaughn: "Unbound by Honor""

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 4, 2007 at 11:29 AM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Media Malpractice, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 01 February 2007
 

The Eagle and the Serpents
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

Such discord now ‘tween you and us,
Mainstream Media and populace:
You envenom all that we hold dear,
And revel in those things we fear.
You denigrate our national pride
Taking always now the others’ side.
A Media mamba, a poisonous pest
That lurks within our Eagle’s nest.

You arrogant adders puffed with pride,
We know truth’s on our Eagle’s side;
And care not what you snakes declare,
We’ve had it with your venomous fare.
Our Eagle soars above your wrath,
Your tortured, twisted serpents' path.
From your low crawl, you fail to see,
Our Eagle strikes have set men free.

Continue reading "The Eagle and the Serpents"

Contributed by Bill Faith on February 1, 2007 at 04:20 PM in Media Malpractice, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, 29 January 2007
 

Today's Russ Vaughn Classic

With Jean Fraud Kerry and Hanoi Jane both showing their asses like they have recently Russ emailed to suggest it might be time to recycle some of his older things, a lot of which he wrote in honor of them and their ilk. It's been a little over two years since I last posted this one.

How many Liberals does it take to win a war?

How many of you Liberals does it take to win a war?
Well how the hell can we tell? You won’t fight one anymore.
You say that you support the troops, but the truth’s plain as your face,
You’d pull us from the battle,  march us home in full disgrace.
You’ve no stomach for the fighting, got no mettle, got no pluck;
If you ran this war on terror, we’d be a very well plucked duck.
The wolves of Jihad smell your dread, can smell your craven breath,
And emboldened by the fear they scent, lust for our bloody death.

“But wait,” you protest piously, “We are fighters for the poor.”
Might we suggest you start to fight, before wolves come through the door?
Do you think they’ll still believe in you, your poor, your gays, your blacks,
When the wolves run wild among them, sinking fangs into their backs?
Think then that they’ll be caring, when they’re counting out their dead,
We inflict pain upon a captive wolf to learn what’s in his head?
Do you really think, you bleeding hearts, when they bleed in scarlet torrents,
They’ll care we cage the savage wolves, search lairs without signed warrants?

Continue reading "Today's Russ Vaughn Classic"

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 29, 2007 at 02:39 PM in Moonbat Madness, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, 28 January 2007
 

We won't forget, Jane

After yesterday's moonbat convergence in DC Russ Vaughn wrote to suggest it might be a good time to republish something he sent me last spring. This was previously posted here. (I'm sorry to say the site has fallen into a state of disrepair since I abandoned it to start Old War Dogs and this site).

Forever Green

Jane Fonda seeks exoneration,
Forgiveness from her traitored nation.
What say you warriors fought that war?
Is forgiveness due that wartime whore?
So rich, so smart, she thought she knew
Much more than us, we bloodied few.
So smug, self-serving, seeking fame,
The rich bitch played her seditious game.

A game that cost me many friends,
Many, thanks to Jane, came to bad ends.
I’ve borne scars forty years or more,
From lies laid on me by this whore.
Self-serving now she sells her tale,
This traitor who should be in jail.
Is it within our souls to grant her grace?
Our souls shout, “No… spit in her face!”

So self assured, she played high stakes,
Telling American prisoners, “That’s the breaks.”
She accused brave men of heinous crimes,
Which were disproved in future times.
And now our country knows the truth
Jane Fonda betrayed us in our youth.
She asks us now to read her book,
Americans, the folks this bitch forsook.

So now she crawls, her conscience bare,
To tell us she screwed up back there.
Well, hell, we knew that way back then,
This Hanoi Jane who helped them win.
It was glory then for this airhead star,
But forever now she’ll bear the scar
A scarlet letter she’ll now wear,
A stench forever in her hair.

So Jane, dear, you must realize,
You’re the devil in a helmet in our eyes.
When Vietnam vets raise up their toasts
It’s to damn your soul, to salute our ghosts.
We swear, we living, to our long-dead brave,
We’ll live to piss upon your grave.
So Jane, good fortune, unforeseen,
Your traitor’s grave will be forever green.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Click here to see an alphabetical index to my/our extensive Russ Vaughn collection. I'll be reviving more Hanoi Jane and Jean Fraud Kerry things in the next few days but you're welcome to "read ahead."

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 28, 2007 at 01:52 AM in Hanoi Jane, Moonbat Madness, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 11 January 2007
 

Combating Inanity
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

[Or, "Old War Dogs teach new tricks." -- Thanks, Thomas. Love that title -- BF.]

This past year I came up with an idea that, strangely enough, bore fruit: I knew that there had to be lots of other old vets out there like me who had overcome their fear of computers and the Internet to discover that these are tools which can be used effectively to expand on the knowledge gained from our military experiences to provide unique insights and perspectives to the millions of web viewers who’ve not been there nor done that. I looked at it as a situation of old dogs learning new tricks, and out of that, through the dedication and skills of Bill Faith, owner of Small Town Veteran blog and volunteer webmaster for this endeavor, was borne our blog, www.oldwardogs.us.

To our delight we have become a site of some note in the military blogosphere, due, I’m sure to the fact that we have member Dogs from every major conflict from WWII to the present. We don’t have any generals or admirals yet as contributing Dogs (the major networks have all those guys) but we do have a couple of senior officers, large unit commanders, a sergeant major, some NCO’s and a few draftees who served their time and are proud now that they were called by their government. Some of our Dogs have PhD’s and some of those lacking such academic qualifications have the offsetting benefit of extensive combat experience. We’re an eclectic, mongrel bunch at Old War Dogs.

Which brings this Dog to his point. In the midst of all the discussion and dissension regarding our situation in Iraq, it is becoming readily apparent that one of the most insidious flaws of my war in Vietnam, that is, senseless, bureaucratic influence upon the rules of engagement, is once again being resurrected by politically expedient commanders in this current conflict, and this Old War Dog feels compelled to bark.

Continue reading "Combating Inanity"

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 11, 2007 at 02:19 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Russ Vaughn, Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wednesday, 27 December 2006
 

Pressious Planning 
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

In cool, dark, early morning air,
Their growls betray that they are there.
Then come their baying blood lust sounds,
No prey will live survive their grounds.
They seek their sacrificial goat,
A victim they can seize by throat,
They're in full cry, the American press,
The king must die, no more, no less. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 27, 2006 at 05:04 PM in Media Malpractice, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, 24 December 2006
 

To Our Sheepdogs
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

It’s so easy to forget them there,
As we warm beside the fire,
Those spread so far out everywhere,
Those sent to man the wire.
Patrolling on the front line,
As peacefully here we bask,
Protecting what is yours and mine,
That’s their hard, dreary task. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 24, 2006 at 01:53 PM in Christmas, Poetry, Russ Vaughn, The American Warrior | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 21 December 2006
 

Teherani Johnni
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

The gift that keeps on giving,
That’s what John Kerry is;
As long as that fool’s living,
He’ll keep us blogs in biz.
Big John’s too dumb to ever get
His big foot from his mouth;
So at ease, relax, you Swiftvets,
His campaign’s headed south. ...

He began his long tradition,
While still wearing Navy blue,
Of practicing sedition,
Against vets like me, like you.
As a second john in Paris,
He courted Madame Binh,
Who hooked her nail in his naris,
And sent her songbird home to sing.  ...

Read the rest at Old War Dogs.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 21, 2006 at 02:30 AM in Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 15 December 2006
 

Ho, Ho, Ho (Chi Minh)! Kerry, Kerry, Christmas!

I was just going to let lying dogs sleep and not post this one this year. Dumb ass hasn't learned a thing so I guess he's still in season.

The Night Before Christmas (Cambodian Version)

Twas the night before Christmas and we were afloat
Somewhere in Cambodia in our little boat.
While the river was lightened by rockets red glare
No one but the President knew we were there.

The crew was all nestled deep down in their bunks,
While the Spook and I watched the sampans and junks.
Our mission was secret, so secret in fact,
No one else would remember it when we got back.

When out on the water there arose such a clatter
I leaped down from the bridge to see what was the matter.
The incoming friendly was starting to flash
And I knew that the ARVN's were having a bash.

The snap of friendly fire on the warm tropic air
Convinced me for sure no one knew we were there,
On a clandestine mission so secret it's true
That I'm still convinced only Tricky Dick knew.

While I huddled for safety in the tub on the bow,
I thought of a title, "Apocalypse Now."
To give to the films I was I making each day
To show all the voters when I made my big play.

As I sat there sweating in my lucky flight jacket,
Spook said, "Merry Christmas!" and tossed me a packet.
And what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a new lucky cap, which I still have right here.

I keep it tucked here, in this leather brief case,
Just sharing with the press its secretive place
As I regale them again with my senate refrain,
That Christmas in Cambodia is seared into my brain.

Don't bother to quibble with history my friend,
By pointing out Johnson was President then.
Don't listen to Swiftees who try to explain,
For I tell you that night is seared into my brain.

Down Hibbard, down Lonsdale, and you too O'Neill,
So you don't remember? Well it's something I feel.
I don't need all you Swiftvets to support my campaign,
Cause Christmas in Cambodia is seared into my brain,

Into my brain, into my brain, into my brain...

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 15, 2006 at 10:00 AM in Christmas, Jean Fraud Kerry, Poetry, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, 06 November 2006
 

Kerry’s Colors
Contributed by Russ Vaughn

I spent all day today making calls at Camp Pendleton, many of them down at the Battalion Aid Station level and I’m here to tell you, if these young Navy and Marine personnel I’m dealing with were any smarter it would be scary. They are far and away better educated and better trained than we ever were.

I’m exhausted, kicked back in my hotel room with a glass of Chablis, watching Hannity and Colmes, and just heard Tom Delay characterize Kerry as the gift that keeps on giving.

Continue reading "Kerry’s Colors"

Contributed by Bill Faith on November 6, 2006 at 06:14 PM in Jean Fraud Kerry, Politics, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What ever happened to patriotic reporters?

Email from Russ Vaughn:

Treasonous Media

From today's Wall Street Journal:

The changes came to a head in January 1968, when Communist forces during the Tet holiday launched a major attack on South Vietnamese cities. According to virtually every competent observer, these forces met a sharp defeat, but American press accounts described Tet instead as a major communist victory. Washington Post reporter Peter Braestrup later published a book in which he explained the failure of the press to report the Tet offensive accurately. His summary: "Rarely has contemporary crisis-journalism turned out, in retrospect, to have veered so widely from reality."

Even as the facts became clearer, the press did not correct its false report that the North Vietnamese had won. When NBC News producer Robert Northshield was asked at the end of 1968 whether the network should put on a news show indicating that American and South Vietnamese troops had won, he rejected the idea, because Tet was already "established in the public's mind as a defeat, and therefore it was an American defeat."

Here's one Vietnam vet who'd like to have a few minutes alone with Robert Northshield to firmly establish something in his mind. The rest of a good piece on our treasonous media is here:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203

Russ Vaughn

***

The Press at War
What ever happened to patriotic reporters?
BY JAMES Q. WILSON

We are told by careful pollsters that half of the American people believe that American troops should be brought home from Iraq immediately. This news discourages supporters of our efforts there. Not me, though: I am relieved. Given press coverage of our efforts in Iraq, I am surprised that 90% of the public do not want us out right now.

Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2005, nearly 1,400 stories appeared on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news. More than half focused on the costs and problems of the war, four times as many as those that discussed the successes. About 40% of the stories reported terrorist attacks; scarcely any reported the triumphs of American soldiers and Marines. The few positive stories about progress in Iraq were just a small fraction of all the broadcasts.

When the Center for Media and Public Affairs made a nonpartisan evaluation of network news broadcasts, it found that during the active war against Saddam Hussein, 51% of the reports about the conflict were negative. Six months after the land battle ended, 77% were negative; in the 2004 general election, 89% were negative; by the spring of 2006, 94% were negative. This decline in media support was much faster than during Korea or Vietnam. ...

... Suppose the current media posture about American military and security activities had been in effect during World War II. It is easy to imagine that happening. In the 1930s, after all, the well-connected America First Committee had been arguing for years about the need for America to stay out of "Europe's wars." Aware of these popular views, the House extended the draft by only a one-vote margin in 1941. Women dressed in black crowded the entrance to the Senate, arguing against extending the draft. Several hundred students at Harvard and Yale, including future Yale leader Kingman Brewster and future American president Gerald Ford, signed statements saying that they would never go to war. Everything was in place for a media attack on the Second World War. Here is how it might have sounded if today's customs were in effect:

December 1941. Though the press supports America's going to war against Japan after Pearl Harbor, several editorials want to know why we didn't prevent the attack by selling Japan more oil. Others criticize us for going to war with two nations that had never attacked us, Germany and Italy.

October 1942. The New York Times runs an exclusive story about the British effort to decipher German messages at a hidden site at Bletchley Park in England. One op-ed writer criticizes this move, quoting Henry Stimson's statement that gentlemen do not read one another's mail. Because the Bletchley Park code-cracking helped us find German submarines before they attacked, successful U-boat attacks increased once the Germans, knowing of the program, changed their code.

January 1943. After President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill call for the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers, several newspapers criticize them for having closed the door to a negotiated settlement. The press quotes several senators complaining that the unconditional surrender policy would harm the peace process.

May 1943. A big-city newspaper reveals the existence of the Manhattan Project and its effort to build atomic weapons. In these stories, several distinguished scientists lament the creation of such a terrible weapon. After Gen. Leslie Groves testifies before a congressional committee, the press lambastes him for wasting money, ignoring scientific opinion, and imperiling the environment by building plants at Hanford and Oak Ridge.

December 1944. The German counterattack against the Allies in the Ardennes yields heavy American losses in the Battle of the Bulge. The press gives splashy coverage to the Democratic National Committee chairman's assertion that the war cannot be won. A member of the House, a former Marine, urges that our troops be sent to Okinawa.

August 1945. After President Truman authorizes dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, many newspapers urge his impeachment.

Thankfully, though, the press did not cover World War II the way it covered Vietnam and has covered Iraq. What caused this profound change? Like many liberals and conservatives, I believe that our Vietnam experience created new media attitudes that have continued down to the present. During that war, some reporters began their coverage supportive of the struggle, but that view did not last long. Many people will recall the CBS television program, narrated by Morley Safer, about U.S. Marines using cigarette lighters to torch huts in Cam Ne in 1965. Many will remember the picture of a South Vietnamese officer shooting a captured Viet Cong through the head. Hardly anyone can forget the My Lai story that ran for about a year after a journalist reported that American troops had killed many residents of that village.

Undoubtedly, similar events occurred in World War II, but the press didn't cover them. In Vietnam, however, key reporters thought that the Cam Ne story was splendid. David Halberstam said that it "legitimized pessimistic reporting" and would show that "there was something terribly wrong going on out there." The film, he wrote, shattered American "innocence" and raised questions about "who we were."

The changes came to a head in January 1968, when Communist forces during the Tet holiday launched a major attack on South Vietnamese cities. According to virtually every competent observer, these forces met a sharp defeat, but American press accounts described Tet instead as a major communist victory. Washington Post reporter Peter Braestrup later published a book in which he explained the failure of the press to report the Tet offensive accurately. His summary: "Rarely has contemporary crisis-journalism turned out, in retrospect, to have veered so widely from reality."

Contributed by Bill Faith on November 6, 2006 at 02:22 PM in Media Malpractice, Russ Vaughn | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Wisdom from Warriors

Russ Vaughn emails:

Tell me this Marine "Gunny" isn't a smarter, wiser man than John Kerry:

"I really honestly believe in what we are doing in Iraq. I believe in the spread of democracy," said Lasater, the gunnery sergeant and father of three boys younger than 9. "Kerry's statements just confound me. We will win this war.

"We can't let the men and women that have died there, die in vain," he said. "Don't erect a war memorial for these guys. If there is a war memorial, then let that be a democracy in Iraq."

More wisdom from young warriors here:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_478308.html

Russ

***

Troops Speak Out Against Withdrawal
Ed Morrissey

We have heard a lot from the Democrats in this election season about supporting the troops by withdrawing them from Iraq. Terms like "phased redeployment" and "event horizon" have been thrown around by critics of the war. However, the people that will have to execute those maneuvers do not have much enthusiasm for them, the Washington Post reports:

For the U.S. troops fighting in Iraq, the war is alternately violent and hopeful, sometimes very hot and sometimes very cold. It is dusty and muddy, calm and chaotic, deafeningly loud and eerily quiet.

The one thing the war is not, however, is finished, ...

Not only do they see "phased redeployment" as a potential disaster, they see an improvement in the situation in Iraq. One New Jersey officer recently returned to Iraq for the first time since 2003 and tells the Post that Iraq had made real progress. A self-proclaimed liberal, he said, "Pulling out now would be as bad or worse than going forward with no changes," and predicted an end to democratic self-government almost immediately. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on November 6, 2006 at 10:05 AM in Jean Fraud Kerry, Russ Vaughn, The American Warrior | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack