THE BIRDS

People send me all kinds of stuff to post in STORMBRINGER and I appreciate all the support I get. Most of the material sent is political, Tea Party-themed - which is great, although I usually tend to wave off politics because it's done elsewhere, and I don't have time enough to dedicate the energy & creative juices to do it right.

STORMBRINGER is a military blog, primarily dedicated to honoring heroes of the great US / UK / ANZAC / CANADA / ISRAEL Alliance in this conflict forced upon us by the Evildoers of Islamic Fundamentalism. Themes include reports on international security, great battles and notable events of military history, the greatness of Ancient Greece and Rome (and how the civilization of Ancient Rome still exists and prevails), the story of United States Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) and of course from time to time bits of my personal philosophy; inspired by Aristotle, Cicero, Atilla the Hun, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Ayn Rand and Rush Limbaugh, to name a few.

An essential ingredient of my personal philosophy - a.k.a. The Philosophy of STORMBRINGERISM - is what Ayn Rand refers to as laizee-faire capitalism. The phrase laissez-faire (pronounced: lah-zay-fair) is French and literally means "let do", but it broadly implies "let it be", or "leave it alone." In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies.

Also from Ayn Rand, I embrace the concept of Human Exceptionalism; the belief that human beings have special status in nature based on their unique capacities. This belief is the grounding for some naturalistic concepts of human rights. Taking it a step further, Rush Limbaugh describes the philosophy of American Exceptionalism: the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations. This stems from our emergence from a revolution, and the uniquely American ideology, based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. This observation is traced to Alexis de Tocqueville, the first writer to describe the United States as "exceptional."

STORMBRINGERISM is also about the Cult of the 1911 and the individuals right to self-defense - up to and including lethal force - is a justifiable defense in a court of law:

The unwritten clause in my life insurance policy.

But, you say, how does this include the Great Alliance; our worthy allies the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel?

Simple: the American experience would not have been if the foundations of Democracy had not been laid in Britain, and before that in Ancient Rome, and before that Ancient Greece. In that, the UK is the Mother Country - has been and always will be - and by default this makes Canada, Australia and New Zealand our brothers and sisters.

But . . . but . . . what about tiny (yet MIGHTY) Israel?

Israel is the oldest country, and at the same time the youngest. The ancient Egyptian Empire and civilization has come and gone . . .

Nobody speaks in hieroglyphics anymore.

. . . and the people who built the pyramids are not the same folks who live in Egypt today. Likewise Babylon . . .

Nobody speaks in cuneiform anymore.

. . . it is gone, ground into the dust, even less of it left than in Egypt. There is still a Syria, but the ancient Assyrian Empire is dead and gone and it's people flung far and wide across the globe in diaspora.

Of these ancient kingdoms and empires of the Old Testament, only Israel remains, the smallest - yet most powerful - of all the countries of the Middle East.

The oldest country in the Middle East is also the only modern democracy in the Middle East.

Modern Israel exists because of Britain and the United States - if it was up to the rest of Europe and the Middle East there wouldn't even be anybody left to occupy a State of Israel. The Islamists - al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Mullah-led theocracy of Iran - view Israel as a Western foothold in their territory, much like the Crusader Kingdoms a thousand years ago. They - the radicals who have hijacked Islam - consider it only a question of time until they drive the Israelis into the sea and get that land back.

As such, Israel is with us, or like the Israeli girls say:

"Don't worry America - ISRAEL IS BEHIND YOU ! ! !"

"VISIT ISRAEL BEFORE ISRAEL VISITS YOU."

While we're on the subject of girls, women, chicks, sheilas, females, and members of the opposite sex - Israeli or otherwise - there was a bit of resistance when I first introduced the BIRDS OF STORMBRINGER; on the grounds that this would affect the way people view STORMBRINGER as a serious literary outlet - to which I replied "When did anybody take STORMBRINGER seriously in the first place?"

Here's the deal with The Birds: my brother is a journalist for an afternoon paper in a large American city in the Northeast. It's a tabloid format; he takes himself seriously so of course I always tease him; "If your paper was on the other side of the Atlantic, there'd be a Page 3 Girl." Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson: NSFW

Bar Refaeli from Israel was the first Bird featured in STORMBRINGER.

When I first signed up, SOLDIER Magazine always had a bikini babe featured on the back cover. Sometime toward the end of my first tour I picked up a copy of SOLDIER and flipped to the back page. Staring back at me was a sergeant; all cami'd up and in full battle rattle - talk about taking a hard dose of reality. The Birds of STORMBRINGER are a throwback to an earlier, simpler time when it was okay for a warrior to tape a pinup girl in his wall locker, or depict one on the nose of his mighty war machine:

Most of the Birds are fully-clothed compared to THIS Bird.

OK now we've covered THAT subject to death, let's get on with the weekly BLOG ROLL:


CHRIS ROCK DISSES THE TEA PARTY: "Tea Party is full of racists . . ."
What exactly are you basing that on, Chris?


Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price (Democrat) Tells Citizens, 'All Of You Are White! Go To Hell!'
These are the same folk who say the Tea Party full of racists.


TSA agents busted at JFK Airport for stealing $160,000 from checked bags.

I remember the Democrats insisting that airport security had to be a part of the Government because "Government equals professional" . . . I say: "This is your Government taking care of you."


CARTER: "Muslim Brotherhood nothing to be afraid of . . ."
Jimmy Carter should know; he never met a dictator or a terrorist he didn't like.


News networks may yank female reporters out of Egypt after rape of Lara Logan by Muslim mob.
Lara Logan was brutally raped by an Egyptian mob chanting "Jew! Jew!" in a crowded public square while covering the chaos in Cairo - tell me about that Muslim Brotherhood again, Mistuh Jimmuh?.


Egypt's Health Ministry says 365 killed in unrest . . . Labor unrest hits Egypt's strategic Suez Canal


ABCNEWS Correspondent Beaten in Bahrain Protests: At Least 2 Dead in Crackdown; ABC's Miguel Marquez Roughed Up.

The Fat Lady hasn't even BEGUN to sing on this Arab unrest thing yet . . .



. . . . . . . . . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS



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PRINCIPLES FOR A STRONG WESTERN CULTURE

The Charter of Blog STORMBRINGER includes, amongst other things, to explore and celebrate all that is good and positive of our great Western Civilization, from it's early beginnings in Ancient Greece and Rome through the centuries to our modern era.

There is reason for this, beyond art for arts sake; it is tied directly to the very survival of our society as we know it.

Let us consider the circumstances of our present-day situation; the breakdown of all rules and norms, the social degradation and moral decay that is all around us, the shock and outrage visited upon us daily by the destructive forces that present themselves as agents of change - do I have to list them for you here? - and of course the clash of our civilized society against the forces of Barbarism represented by radical Fundamentalist Islam.

We must teach our unique Western Culture to our children, or we are doomed to lose it. We must defend our Western Culture by celebrating it, proudly proclaiming it for what it is: the greatest creation of Human Civilization, born in Ancient Greece and Israel, fought for at Marathon and Thermapylae, from whence sprung Democracy, Rule of Law, and Freedom of Thought.

Thermopylae: "Go tell the Spartans that here, in accordance to their laws, three hundred lie . . ."

The focus is on our shared Judeo-Christian heritage, and the principles ensconced in the Old and New Testaments, Aristotle's Theory of Happiness, Plato's Republic, the legacy of Cicero, Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution; and that the freedom of the individual citizen versus an oppressive government is the first value adopted and never abandoned.

Freedom of the individual from tyranny is the theme of the Bill of Rights; the first ten amendments to the Constitution, of course. And of those ten amendments, the one which guarantees all of the others is the Second Amendment.




In keeping with the philosophy "If you aren't a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem," STORMBRINGER presents:


PRINCIPLES FOR A STRONG WESTERN CULTURE


Culture: A way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols — modeled by its leaders and internalized by its members — and passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

Implied in this definition is the notion that Western Civilization was designed, built, and operated (and intended) to provide stability, freedom, and productive citizenry, and that the concepts of our culture applies to every single individual in the Western World.

The strength of a society’s culture could lie anywhere along a broad continuum, depending on the degree to which the attributes of that culture are embraced. Even though Culture itself is a somewhat intangible concept, it is possible to determine, based on observable attributes, whether a society tends toward one end of the continuum or the other.

Preserving and defending a Culture's heritage is a collective responsibility. No one in the society is exempt from this obligation.



The following are the Principles for a Strong Western Culture:


1. Everyone is personally responsible for the impact of their individual actions upon the health and welfare of Society - and ESPECIALLY their influence upon the younger generation.

2. Leaders demonstrate commitment to the defense and survival of our Western Civilization.

3. Trust permeates the Rule of Law; Trust, but Verify.

4. Good, Sound Judgment and Decision-making is lauded and admired, not villified.

5. Western Culture is recognized as special and unique.

6. A Questioning Attitude is cultivated; our collective quest for Truth and Freedom undergoes constant examination.

7. The Rituals, Symbols, and Traditions of our Culture are honored, and embraced.

8. Faith, Hope and Charity are the three Pillars of our Society.


To Be Continued . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS

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ADMIN NOTE

Hey Y'all:

I just deleted a comment beneath the post GUNNED DOWN IN VEGAS, due to its incendiary nature.

This is the first time I have taken such an action here on Blog STORMBRINGER - I am not about Political Correctness and I damn sure am not about censorship; calling for the citizenry to exact bloody revenge on cops is where I draw the line, however.

This is not within the bounds of a lawful, civilized society; in fact, these are dangerous thought patterns. To the (anonymous) author of that comment I say: go get your own blog - STORMBRINGER is not a soapbox for revolutionaries, and this is not where we are going with this thing.

While we're on the subject of comments, I get some real juicy ones over at FrumForum. A certain reader over there (who has a bone for me apparently) has accused me of being a racist for letting stand a comment here on STORMBRINGER that compared Michelle Obama to a Klingon. I let it stand because it was harmless, and it was funny, besides. Like I said I am not PC and I don't believe in censorship - I'll leave the book burnings, re-education sessions and political correctness to the Nazis, Communists and liberals in places like Berkeley.

Over the years I've been called lots of things - from way before the Internet even existed, as we know it. I've been labeled a Nazi (pretty funny when you consider all my time on the ground in Israel), a babykiller (that was in a Lesbian bar in Key West a couple of years after the Desert Storm aura wore off and the liberals were back on script- funny story, I'll tell it sometime), a racist (this despite the fact I am in a bi-racial marriage), and a mercenary. OK I can live with that last one, despite the fact that it is not exactly true - there are SOME things I simply won't do for money.


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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20th- / 21st- CENTURY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOANALYSIS

TROUBLED THINKER


Slavoj Žižek, 59, was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a professor at the European Graduate School, international director of the Birkbeck Institute for Humanities in London and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana's institute of sociology. He has written more than 30 books on subjects as diverse as Hitchcock, Lenin and 9/11, and also presented the TV series The Pervert's Guide To Cinema.

You can learn more about this troubled soul HERE.


HOKAY STORMY FANS, HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO:


A) Whip out a pencil and take the test below:


1. When were you happiest?

2. What is your greatest fear?

3. What is your earliest memory?

4. Which living person do you most admire, and why?

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

7. What was your most embarrassing moment?

8. Aside from a property, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?

9. What is your most treasured possession?

10. What makes you depressed?

11. What do you most dislike about your appearance?

12. What is your most unappealing habit?

13. What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?

14. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

15. What do you owe your parents?

16. To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?

17. What does love feel like?

18. What or who is the love of your life?

19. What is your favourite smell?

20. Have you ever said ‘I love you’ and not meant it?

21. Which living person do you most despise, and why?

22. What is the worst job you’ve done?

23. What has been your biggest disappointment?

24. If you could edit your past, what would you change?

25. If you could go back in time, where would you go?

26. How do you relax?

27. How often do you have sex?

28. What is the closest you’ve come to death?

29. What single thing would improve the quality of your life?

30. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

31. What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

32. Tell us a secret.


B) Finished? Good job! Now click over to HERE and compare yourself with a real deep thinker.


C) If you like, you can click HERE and compare yourself to the STORMBRINGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . S.L.