this Veteran life

President Obama's Grade: Failing (so far)?

According to Jeremy Lott at Politico President Obama is not doing so well on the domestic front and sees little to be encouraged about.  He writes:

For the first several months of his presidency, Obama has labored to deliver on that pledge. He pushed a controversial stimulus bill through Congress to help rev up the economy, turned Bush’s reluctant bailout of Chrysler and General Motors into a giant government auto buyout and appointed a record number of “czars” to help regulate bureaucracies in both public and formerly private sectors.

Then, Step 2. Obama is trying to fundamentally alter the American economy by backing sweeping environmental, labor and health care legislation. He wants to change the way Americans consume energy, unionize and see their doctors.

So far, he’s failing miserably.

I thinks it's too early to be talking failed Presidency especially given how well historically President Clinton turned things around after the 1994 mid-term elections and his failure to pass comprehensive health care reform.  Stranger things have happened in politics.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27134.html#ixzz0RB3tOEQx

Tennessee Football in Review - Week 2

"I've got a bad feeling about this." - Han Solo

UT 15 v. UCLA 19

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I really needed a couple of days to think about this game before I wrote anything.  I had to wonder after that performance against UCLA's defense if Tennessee's offense was going to revert back to it's 2008 form or if the game was a fluke.  I'm still not sure.  Tennessee's offense played slow, weak, and uninspired football on Saturday.  It averaged 2.6 yards per carry and QB Jonathan Crompton went 13 for 26 with 3 (consecutive) interceptions.  He was also sacked three times.  Credit UCLA's defense for playing the Vols tough the whole game. 

Tennessee's D again came out and played well and did everything that was asked of it.  It kept the Vols in the game and was consistently attacking UCLA's QB Prince.  At one point Prince had his chin bloodied (later determined broken) by a hit from a UT defensive lineman.  Perhaps most encouraging was that our D held UCLA to 85 net rushing yards.  But it was not enough and UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow got the best of his former co-worker (from USC) Lane Kiffin and the win. 

Bottom Line: UT needs better QB play and more push from the offensive line to even have a smidgen of a chance to beat Florida this weekend.

and now The Run Down:

Game Stats at UTSports.com

Rocky Top Talk questions Crompton's after game comments.

Former UT football coach Phil Fulmer says Kiffin needs to backup his brash talk in the SEC. 

Chris Low likes TN's 2010 recruiting class but so much on Crompton.

GoVolsXtra says it's all eyes on the QB's this week. 

Tennessee Football in Review - Week 1

"Great job kid now don't get cocky"  -Han Solo

UT 63 v. Western Kentucky University (WKU) 7

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The Lane Kiffin era started out with a bang as my Tennessee Volunteers routed WKU who played their first game as a Football Bowl Subdivision team.  There was alot to proud of in this opening day win (first since 2006).  The retooled offense took 15 minutes to really get going as WKU held them scoreless for the first quarter.  But come the second quarter the Crompton led offense had scored 63 points when it was all done. 

Jonathan Crompton expelled the ghosts from last year's nightmare as he went 21 of 28 for 233 yards and 5 touchdowns.  That was one more than he threw for all last season.  Montario Hardesty ran behind an offensive line that overpowered and physically manhandled WKU's defensive line to gain 160 yards on 18 carries.  The most encouraging aspect of this game was the play of UT's freshman class.  Running back stud Bryce Brown ran for 104 yards on 11 carries.  WR Marsalis Teague caught 6 passes for 86 yards and David Oku scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. 

Not to be outdone Monti Kiffin's defense held WKU to just 83 total yards.  WKU only got 6 first downs (to UT's 34) for the game and had not gain any positive yards by halftime.  Absent was Heisman candidate Eric "Captain Crunch" Berry but not by any fault of his own.  The WKU offense never threw in his direction and couldn't since the defensive line outplayed the WKU offense.  WKU's quarterback spent more time running from the opposing team and on his back than he did passing in Berry's general direction. 

Overall a great performance and something to hang your hat on.  But this isn't the time to get overzealous with a win against a very sub-par opponent. 

Next week brings an even bigger challenge as UCLA comes to visit the Vols in a rematch from last year's opening loss.  That reminds of another quote:

"Revenge is a dish best served cold"  - Klingon Proverb

Bottom Line:  UT needs to keep playing and grooming these talented freshman to help establish a championship cadre of talent. 

and now The Run Down:

Official game stats here.

Rocky Top Talk sees a little Steve Spurrier in Lane Kiffin. 

Lane Kiffin knows only acceleration. Late in the game, my Dad, who's been doing this a lot longer than me, sent me a text mentioning that Kiffin's got some mid-90s Spurrier in him, running up the score. You know what?  I think we'll take some of that around here. 

John Adams at Go Vols Xtra likes Lane Kiffin's "killer instinct".

Kiffin won't settle for less. For example, take Brown's 34-yard run late in the third quarter. Kiffin celebrated by taking him out of the game. "I was disappointed in his long run, the way that he finished it," Kiffin said. "We pulled him because he ran out of bounds. "He didn't finish in the style we play with here. That was disappointing, but he'll learn." You also learned something about Kiffin. The baby-faced 34-year-old head coach has a killer instinct.

ESPN's Chris Low gives a helmet sticker to Jonathan Crompton.

The Tennessean likes how Kiffin kept his cool in his first college football game.

Ms. Thelma comes to Washington

Kari and I spent this weekend doing what many couples do in the area, hosting guests and showing them around DC.  But this time was a special since we were able to take Ms. Thelma into the city and show her the White House, WW2 Memorial, Korean War Memorial, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial.  Whew.

 Ms. Thelma is a very important woman in my life.  I call her my spiritual grandmother and I've know her since I was a little child.  She met my father when he was working at LSU-Shreveport and they established a close friendship.  She quickly became our baby sister and accompanied our family on our summer trips to Hilton Head, SC.  She has been on just about every trip for the last 25 years.  She has helped raise three Bogue children and is now helping raise the next generation.  We consider her an integral apart of our family and were excited about showing her around DC since she's never visited before.

It was very much a bittersweet moment for her to visit the White House where the first African-American President resides.  She was so excited to see everything and even got around pretty energetically for an 82 year old woman! 

Video Game Memorial to Veteran Son

A father to a fallen soldier left an interesting memento on his son's grave that I thought touching:

During a well-attended ceremony back home in Monmouthshire on what would have been the fallen soldier's 22nd birthday, Private Hunt's father, Phillip, commemorated the time they spent together playing Call of Duty: World at War.

Along with flowers and other items, a copy of the game was laid at the site of the memorial service. A handwritten not attached to the game read:

Happy Birthday 'Hunty'. Play you again one day. Dad.

Good News: Ladies still love the Alpha Male

I'll admit I don't watch Mad Men but was intrigued by this article on Pop Vox on why women love (or better yet lust over) Jon Hamm of Mad Men even though he has some pronounced character flaws on the show. 

"A man's man. A virile man. A masculine man. Strong terms. And ones that would make our postmodern gender-studies professors blush. After all, we're the generation of women who grew up beating the boys in math class, reading Judith Butler (by choice or by force), celebrating "Grrl" power. Traditional male-female roles were going out the window while we were still toddlers. And maybe that's why we feel a little guilty when we stop to admit to ourselves why Draper excites us. Because we're not supposed to be using those terms anymore to describe our desires. Those words threaten a backsliding—they hint at some deep, unspoken turbulence; that, as if by saying we want a "real man," we threaten to erase all the gains our mothers made in terms of equality in the workplace and the home. "

Does this mark the beginning of the end for the absurdity that is the metro-sexual craze?  Let's hope so.  The comments are also interesting to read. 

H/t: Instapundit

Battle for Fallujah Comes to Video Games

Two things which I like to write about have converged together.  Video game maker Konami has announced that they are making a video game based on the fight for Fallujah by the USMC in 2004.  Being both an Iraq War veteran and a gamer this is really intriguing to me:

The announcement of Six Days in Fallujah resulted in outrage and anger from various quarters but support for the game is being expressed by gamers with an added layer of credibility - veterans of the war in Iraq.

Within 24 hours of the game's announcement, anti-war groups, parents of soldiers killed in the war and veterans of the original invasion of Iraq expressed strong disapproval of Six Days in Fallujah, concerned that by turning it into a game Konami will either trivialize the battle and the sacrifices made by soldiers who fought it or glorify the indiscriminate killing of civilians and incite Muslim fanatics to seek revenge. Some have even called for it to be banned, despite the fact that virtually nothing is known about how the game will actually present the subject matter.

But at least some soldiers feel very differently about the game. "As a combat veteran and as a gamer, I have no problem whatsoever with the game," Sgt. Casey J. McGeorge, who served three tours in Iraq, told G4. "As long as it's made as realistically as possibly, I believe that this could be a good thing for both combat veterans and for the war in general."

It's understandable that some would find this offensive and disrespectful but I would have to disagree with them. I think as long as the game is historically accurate and respectful to those who served then I don't have a problem with it.  In fact it might serve as a different type of historical document we use  to look back on the vicious fight that was Fallujah.

UPDATE: Well apparently not everyone thinks like I do!  Konami has pulled the plug on its Fallujah game after a slew of negative responses from members of the military and veterans.  Their concerns are certainly understandable but I would've like to see this game made.