Since I'm still in the "introductory" mood...

One of the biggest recent phenomenons in Internet life seems to be the rise of the "Milbloggers": active and former soldiers who use the concept of web-logging to provide a military viewpoint to current affairs that was once sorely lacking. I am honored to share a couple of them with you here.

Blackfive shares the story of a soldier, a cop, and a gentleman, who has decided that there is a good way to die.

Jason Van Steenwyk plays his role as a watchdog of the media to the hilt. If a newspaper or TV broadcast gets something wrong in their coverage of the military, you can bet he finds it before they do.

Look, I promise, I'll have something original to say eventually.

And now to introduce you to some friends of mine...

Okay, so they have no idea I exist. But I like 'em anyway.

I made mention in my self-introduction that my political tendencies aren't exactly "leftish". I got most of that from my parents, and a goodly chunk of the rest came from my time in the Service. And I am greatly pleased to report that I ain't "da only one in da nay-buh-hood" that feels this way.

The following is a partial list of commentators whose words I will be sharing with you here from time to time. They can all be found at Town Hall.

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Michelle Malkin checks in with a piece about how things are going down on the border. (Chile powder, anyone?)

Mike S. Adams supplies us here with a very informative piece on two mysterious new diseases which are currently riding roughshod over college campuses nationwide.

Oliver North has solved John Kerry's war record problems. John just has to do one little thing....

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Okay, that'll do for the moment. More later.

---Stander

Buenos nachos, mein freunds!

Stander here.

I can already hear it......"WHO???"

Well, here's where you find out. A little bit, anyway.

As you've certainly already figured out for yourselves, you have the honor of reading the inaugural post for this here little claimstake. Yay me. {:O) Herein, you'll get a little taste of what to expect in the days to come, and a bit of insight into what kind of a loon I must be to be doing something like this.

For those of you who consider yerselves political, let's cut to the chase right 'ere and now....I am a former soldier and Gulf War veteran with rather conservative leanings. There. I said it. You may fire when ready.

Onward.

I'm also an inveterate drummer and, as such, I fancy myself to be an appreciator of all things rhythmic. (Which, of course, means that I actually work in financial processing. Go figure.) No, really...I love to drum, I love to listen to drums, I tend to drum on countertops and things when I'm not......uh......drumming on other things, etc. You get the picture....I truly am a knuckle-draggin' tree-huggin' ground-pounder. I have had some training in other instruments as well (a lot of it self-taught and "listen-learned"), but let's face it -- beating on inanimate objects with a couple of chunks of wood or just plain mano a mano always was, and always will be my first love. (Hey, you....yeah, you in the third row back....stop snickering or leave the room, okay?)

I also happen to have been raised by (and I mean this in the best way possible) an old-school Iowa farm girl who has very solid ideas about what is best in life and what isn't, and the world's last true grand-champion Boy Scout. Seriously. Over 50 years a Scouter, man and boy. If you know what the Silver Beaver is, you know what I mean. And it was presented to him by his father, who took it off his own neck to give it to him. That's how into it he was.

I said that to explain this...I was raised around a certain set of values and expectations that, sadly, seem to be all but vanished anymore. Which is why I'm trying to pass them down to my own son in turn. I'm meeting with....well, let's call it a "variable success rate"....but I think some of it is starting to sink in. God, I hope so.

Thankfully, his mother is of a similar bent as I (if, perhaps, a bit more direct in her methods), so we think we have it a little ahead. At least until the day we realize that he's WAAAAYYYY smarter than we were at his age. Hell, he's almost smarter than we are NOW. Scary, huh?

Well, I'll leave off the drooling for the moment. Just thought I'd introduce meself, say "howdy-doo", that sorta thing. I'll pull some more stuff outta my fifth point of contact as the days progress, I promise.

Cheers 'til then, y'all.

---Stander

Testing, testing....check, check....1,2,3,4....

Bear with me, folks....just getting this started. (Hey----bring up mike 2....where's the damn monitors!?....)