ATLANTA – A driver crashed a car through the lobby of the CNN Center early Friday morning.Except the person being interviewed is a woman, too. The reporter is taking it with a fair amount of grace:
Police responded to the Marietta Street side of the building at about 4:15 a.m. A Mercedes convertible with a Florida tag had crashed through the glass entrance. It ended up all the way inside the lobby.
It is unclear if it was done on purpose or if it was just an accident.
“Clearly if this woman says I look tacky, it has to be true,” she tweeted.
From a security perspective, this is exactly the right thing to do. Unplug from the matrix.After saying earlier this week that it was investigating reports of a data breach related to payment cards used at its locations, P.F. Chang's China Bistro confirmed on Thursday that credit and debit card data has been stolen from some of its restaurants.Interestingly, the company also said that it has switched over to manual credit card imprinting systems for all P.F. Chang's China Bistro branded restaurants located in the continental United States.
...In an FAQ posted to its website, the company explained that it has temporarily ditched its electronic Point-of-Sale System in favor of old-school “imprinting devices” to process payments while the company gets the situation under control and understands the scope of the attack.“All P.F. Chang's China Bistro branded restaurants in the continental U.S. are using manual credit card imprinting devices to handle our credit and debit card transactions,” the company said. “This allows you to use your credit and debit cards safely.”
Take a little time for sunshine,
take a whole lotta time for love.
Take time to praise and thank
heaven up above.
Take your life as it may come,
cause boy it'll be gone soon.
Take a little time for Howlin' at the Moon
Somebody said keep your eyes open
gotta keep your feet on solid ground.
Ya gotta take time to take a real good look
at everything you found.
Gotta make music....
gotta make music...
Raise your voice with Joy every day.
Got a lot to live for,
you got a life time to stay.
So I'm trying to keep my eyes open
Gotta live my life from day to day
But seems that life's unhappiness
can't but lead me astray.
Take a little time for sunshine,
take a whole lotta time for love.
Take time to praise and thank
heaven up above.
Take your life as it may come,
cause boy it'll be gone soon.
Take a little time for Howlin' at the Moon
“The ship exceeded all expectations and performed wonderfully. She is faster than we thought she would be, she turns easier, and she handles really well. We could not be more pleased,” said Capt. Kip Files, the 22nd master of the Morgan. “There is no one alive today who has sailed one of these whaleships who can tell us how they perform, so we really learned a lot today. We have a great voyage ahead of us.”We visited her in Mystic seaport back in 2009, and the restoration work had been under way for quite some time even back then. This has been a labor of love, but the result is magnificent:
The National Historic Landmark vessel has been a static exhibit at Mystic Seaport since 1941 and has not sailed since the early 1920s.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
- Sun Tsu
Greenpeace activists are celebrating today, after their protests led to the halting of plans to build a massive renewable powerplant which would have supplied clean, green, low-carbon electricity in huge quantities.It seems like that's the point, or something. You know, I'll start taking this whole CO2 climate change thing more seriously when they do ...
"Today, we celebrate," Greenpeace chief MatÃas Asún told reporters, following a decision to withdraw government permission for the Hidroaysén project. The project would have generated as much as 18,430 gigawatt-hours annually - roughly six times as much as the huge offshore London Array windfarm planned for the Thames Estuary.
...
“The big winners here are the environmentalists but the big losers are the consumers,” Chilean Senator Iván Moreira told press including the Santiago Times following the government’s decision on Tuesday. “Currently there are few energy projects in the country so electricity costs will rise and these will affect ordinary people most.”
In the dark recesses of the world, under the cover of jungle, underwater, are cities, cultures and beings that vanished for no known reason. The dinosaurs, creatures so large that it seems only plausible that they would only have died out by something as major as an asteroid, gone, only to be brushed from the earth by those that study the bones.It's the blink of the eye from Senatus Populusque Romanus to Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. Our miserable political class fiddles while the Res Publica burns.
There are Mayan cities that emptied overnight, the way a chrysalis of a butterfly is left behind, empty, stark in it's primitive beauty. So much still there, the monuments, and granaries, terraces and temples, structures of empiric power and small dwellings formed by families united by generations. Emptied with no anthropological clue as to riot, invasion or deadly disease carried in on silent winds.
Actually, this captures motorcycling precisely, and may explain the overlap between the pilot population and the biker crowd. That moment of equilibrium - to me at least - often comes when you roll that power on.I spent much of my early adulthood as a jet pilot, learning very quickly that, not only can't you always save the world, sometimes you cannot even save yourself. But the effort is often worth it. If you're lucky, your brushes with life will only leave a few small physical scars. If I raise up my bangs, right at the hairline, there’s a tiny, faint scar from a tumble off my bike down a hill as a kid. There's a small ding in my forehead where the bungee cord of the J60-P-3 turbojet engine cover whacked me on the ramp at warp speed when I lost the wrestling contest with it. But for most people, like me, the bigger scars are internal, and you only touch them softly, with trepidation, not remorse, in the late night hours of "what if’s."Pilots get that. Adventurers get that. So, usually, does anyone who has challenged their fears. There are times when it seems as if the world is going to pieces around you, a sense of this enormous elemental power beyond your reason or control. You think "what am I doing; this is nuts!" As you squeak past the reaper one more time, you say “well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought” already planning on when you will chase the experience again. For you are called to the altar of the infinite, the bread of life on the tongue, tasting faintly of salt, the sweetness, just underneath. It's reaching your hand out to receive glory even as your world cranks up to red line with the knowledge that if mistakes are made, there will be no saving grace; you may be lost. But if are not, then the world will, for that instant, have one moment of equilibrium, of order, of peace.
A quiet morning walk doesn't just carry you across the local landscape, it takes you across the landscape of memory, to places long past which we can only visit in our dreams. Jack has been gone these twenty years now, but I still hear his deep throated bark, outraged at the swimming otter's insolence. #1 Son hasn't been eight years old for ever and ever, but I still hear his child's voice rising with outrage that the bird is back at the pond. I hear the frustration in the voice of young #2 Son, asking where the beaver is, knowing he is about to be delighted when he finally catches a glimpse of it.This mirror of Barkley isn't about him, at least if we read it for what it says to us. About us. Brigid sure has a rare talent to write a book about me and Jack, and a young #1 Son, and a younger #2 Son, and Ivan the Terrier.
Ivan the Terrier loves these walks. The chance to sniff around, to catch new smells and sights from a place that's not his yard keeps him mentally sharp. The walk through old but cherished memories is good for me, too. Even if the path is crowded with Jack and some small children.
ACCOUNTABILITY, n. The mother of caution.
- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
"The United States of America has become a war zone," he said. "There's violence in the workplace, there's violence in schools and there's violence in the streets. You are seeing police departments going to a semi-military format because of the threats we have to counteract. If driving a military vehicle is going to protect officers, then that's what I'm going to do."Pulaski County has a population of 13,402. Here's where you find this domestic Fallujah:
Eugene Goostman, a computer programme made by a team based in Russia, succeeded in a test conducted at the Royal Society in London. It convinced 33 per cent of the judges that it was human, said academics at the University of Reading, which organised the test.Nothing in the story as to whether the program claimed to be a Nigerian Minister of the Treasury.
It is thought to be the first computer to pass the iconic test. Though other programmes have claimed successes, those included set topics or questions in advance.
A version of the computer programme, which was created in 2001, is hosted online for anyone talk to. (“I feel about beating the turing test in quite convenient way. Nothing original,” said Goostman, when asked how he felt after his success.)
The computer programme claims to be a 13-year-old boy from Odessa in Ukraine.
I’ve updated our comparison of 90 climate models versus observations for global average surface temperatures through 2013, and we still see that >95% of the models have over-forecast the warming trend since 1979, whether we use their own surface temperature dataset (HadCRUT4), or our satellite dataset of lower tropospheric temperatures (UAH):The models are simply terrible - two out of 90 are close to the actual recorded temperatures over the last three decades, and they're getting worse over time, not better. In fact, AR5 weakens the case for global warming:
Whether humans are the cause of 100% of the observed warming or not, the conclusion is that global warming isn’t as bad as was predicted. That should have major policy implications…assuming policy is still informed by facts more than emotions and political aspirations.
Figure 1 shows that observations particularly since 2005 are on the low end of the envelope that contains 90% of the climate model simulations. Observations in 2011-2012 are below the 5-95% envelope of the CMIP5 simulations. The trend in the model simulations is substantially larger than the observed trend over the past 15 years.
Emphasis mine. The observed temperatures are no longer within the error bands of the model projections. The idea that this unexplained hiatus will suddenly end and temperatures for the rest of the century will increase even faster than the IPCC projected is certainly novel but is hard to justify.
Figure 1. After expecting an increase of 0.2oC per decade in the early decades of the 21st century from the AR4 statements, the rate of warming over the past 15 years is only ~0.05C.
- The IPCC AR5 bases its projection for the period 2016-2036 of 0.10 to 0.23oC per decade on expert judgment, rather than on the climate model results
- The IPCC does not have a convincing or confident explanation for the hiatus in warming.
Carbon how many years you been in LE?As a point of fact, the baby was visiting with this parents from out of town. No drugs were found in the house.
How many Warrants you serve?
Do you know why LE uses no knock?
I'm glad with all of your years of experiance [sic] and training you have such a strong oponion. [sic]
Parents did that to their child not the officers.
But I disagree that nobody should go to jail. Prison is designed not only as a punishment, but to set an example that will deter other fascist scum.If you have a strong stomach, read the Law Enforcement Forum thread to get a sense of just how many "Peace Officers" could use some deterrent.
Sure I think about you now and thenHitting the beach on D-Day meant that you hadn't drowned, your kit and weapons dragging you down under the rolling sea. Surviving that meant that you had to only deal with German machine guns and mortars and artillery. That day saw the death of not just thousands of lives, but thousands of dreams. It's a sad statement on the degraded state of this Republic that it needs a schlocky Country music song to make us think on that.
But it's been a long long time
I've got a good life now I've moved on
So when you cross my mind
I try not to think about
What might have been
'Cause that was then
And we have taken different roads
We can't go back again
There's no use giving in
And there's no way to know
What might have been
We could sit and talk about this all night long
And wonder why we didn't last
Yes they might be the best days
We will ever know
But we'll have to leave them in the past
So try not to think about
What might have been
'Cause that was then
And we have taken different roads
We can't go back again
There's no use giving in
And there's no way to know
What might have been
That same old look in your eyes
It's a beautiful night
I'm so tempted to stay
But too much time has gone by
We should just say goodbye
And turn and walk away
And try not to think about
What might have been
'Cause that was then
And we have taken different roads
We can't go back again
There's no use giving in
And there's no way to know
What might have been
No we'll never know
What might have been
 |
| Image via La Wik |
On the morning of July 17, a 21-year-old telegraph operator named Elizabeth Teass went to work as usual. The telegraph office was located in Green's Drug Store. She switched on her machine, pressed a key that rang a bell in the hub office at Roanoake, and typed a "Good morning" message.Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Amen.
Back came a message from Roanoake, "We have casualties," and then the machine started printing a telegram. A sequence number, a name and address, and then the sinister words THE SECRETARY OF WAR REGRETS TO INFORM YOU.
Elizabeth had received casualty telegrams before. But this time, when the telegram ended, the machine did not stop. Another message header and then again THE SECRETARY OF WAR REGRETS TO INFORM YOU.
As the teleprinter clacked out telegram after telegram, she sat there in increasing horror, taking the narrow strips that emerged from the machine and glueing them to the message forms.
So for those fascinated by Tolkien the artist, the commentary is sheer delight. It also (and perhaps most importantly) contains some passages of writing in Tolkien's best and most profound style - where his deepest personal concerns come very close to the surface (from pp 349-50):If you're a fan of the Master, RTWT.
But the special situation of the English - a people amid the ruins, cut off from their old lands, the lands of the heroes of their ancient songs, and gradually as their knowledge grew feeling themselves to be in the Dark Ages after the departure of the glory of Rome - gave special poignancy to this feeling, and special pictorial vividness to it.
Both of the passages from Beowulf... are filled with the vision of deserted and ruined halls... "he sees... the hall of feasting, the resting places swept by the wind robbed of laughter - the riders sleep, mighty men gone down into the dark..."
Nobody would have better understood or been better able to play Hrothgar's part than [King] Alfred - who won his mother's praise for... the lays of his northern heroic fathers - and yet felt himself almost alone in the Dark Age, attempting to save from the wreck of time some sparks surviving from the Golden Age, from Rome and the mighty Caesars and builders of that fallen world.
Last year Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) introduced Senate Joint Resolution 19, a proposed amendment to the Constitution. Describing the amendment as an effort to “advance the fundamental principle of equality for all,” and “to protect the integrity of the legislative and electoral processes,” it would in substance modify the First Amendment. Specifically, it would give Congress the power “to regulate the raising and spending of money” in federal elections, including by limiting contributions to candidates for federal elections and expenditures by, in support of, or to oppose those candidates.Fortunately, there are still a few of the great First Amendment lions left to call this for what it is.
Libpurple was written by people who wanted their open source chat client to talk to every kind of instant messaging system in the world, and didn’t give a shit about security or encryption. Security people who have examined the code have said there are so many possible ways to exploit libpurple there is probably no point in patching it. It needs to be thrown out and rewritten from scratch. These aren’t bugs that let someone read your encrypted messages, they are bugs that let someone take over your whole computer, see everything you type or read and probably watch you pick your nose on your webcam.My only criticism of this post is that it isn't terrifyingly pessimistic enough. If you boot it, they will come. Remember, you're reading this from a computer screen right now.
This lovely tool, OTR, sits on top of libpurple on most systems that use it. Let me make something clear, because even some geeks don’t get this: it doesn’t matter how good your encryption is if your attacker can just read your data off the screen with you, and I promise they can. They may or may not know how to yet, but they can. There are a hundred libpurples on your computer: little pieces of software written on a budget with unrealistic deadlines by people who didn’t know or didn’t care about keeping the rest of your system secure.
Security and privacy experts harangue the public about metadata and networked sharing, but keeping track of these things is about as natural as doing blood panels on yourself every morning, and about as easy. The risks on a societal level from giving up our privacy are terrible. Yet the consequences of not doing so on an individual basis are immediately crippling. The whole thing is a shitty battle of attrition between what we all want for ourselves and our families and the ways we need community to survive as humans — a Mexican stand off monetized by corporations and monitored by governments.Even classified networks get hacked. I'm still the #1 Google result for "How to hack a classified network"**. If the Defense Department - with all their skilled security d00ds and financial resources - if they can't keep themselves safe, then what chance do you have?
If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.Good morning. ;-)
- Sun Tsu
The others are as good.13. The owners of the country club were not happy about the explosions on the golf course.
The climactic scene of Murray’s gopher-killing plastic explosives knocking in Danny’s putt to win the un-friendly wager between Al Czervik (Dangerfield) and Judge Smails (Knight) were real pyrotechnics set aflame at Rolling Hills. To pull off the effect, an artificial green was rigged with several incendiary packs and put into place between two fairways.
This was news to the owners of the country club, who had made it clear to filmmakers that the outrageous climax couldn't be shot anywhere near their golf course. To get them to “comply,” producer Jon Peters invited them out for a swanky lunch away from the country club to “thank them for letting the film use the location.” Ramis then had the special effects crew blow up the fake green while they were away. The fireball from the explosion was so large that a pilot landing a plane at nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport radioed in to air traffic control that he thought he might have witnessed a crash.
This unpatchable hell is a problem with many fathers, from recalcitrant vendors to customers wary of -- or hostile to -- change. But with the number and diversity of connected endpoints expected to skyrocket in the next decade, radical measures are fast becoming necessary to ensure that today's "smart" devices and embedded systems don't haunt us for years down the line.This is a real problem. As desktop security has improved over the last decade (and improved it has, despite being spotty at best), the Bad Guys have looked for easier targets. A home router is a natural target, for several reasons:
Trouble close to home
The problem of unsupported or undersupported devices hits close to home for millions of broadband users in the United States and Europe. Broadband routers humming away peacefully in attics and home offices have become the latest targets of sophisticated cyber criminal groups.
A string of incidents in recent months have underscored the vulnerability of this population of loosely managed and configured devices. In March, the security consultancy Team Cymru warned that hackers had compromised some 300,000 small- and home-office broadband routers made by firms D-Link, Micronet, Tenda, and TP-Link, among others.
“We believe they were criminally negligent because of the children,” Mawuli Mel Davis said.“This isn’t police work. This is cowboys.”Meanwhile, the Governor's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have gotten involved:
Davis and others held a midday vigil for the child, Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh, outside Grady Memorial Hospital Monday. Worsening health postponed surgery to repair the deep chest wound caused when a flash-bang grenade landed on thew child’s pillow in the play-pen where he was sleeping. He also suffered severe burns on his head and face.
Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday he’s awaiting an investigation of the botched drug raid in Habersham County that left a child on life support to determine if any executive action or state legislation is needed.Translation: everyone in the area is fixin' to throw the Habersham County Sheriff under the bus. Can't blame them, really; the baby has a 50/50 chance of surviving.
“Any time you have bad facts like this one, it does give you cause for concern,” Deal said. “It’s one of those things that require a thorough investigation … to know what if anything we can learn from it.”
Habersham County District Attorney Brian Rickman said he is investigating whether any officers violated the law when they used a controversial “no-knock warrant” for a raid on on Cordelia house Wednesday.
A criminal finding would require officers to have acted recklessly or illegally but he said he expected the raid will prompt an investigation into no-knock warrants and tactics, Rickman said.
I had a very interesting conversation with Mountain Circuit District Attorney Brian Rickman on today’s show, starting with his take on this statement from Sheriff Joey Terrell:That last link is from talk radio host Michael Graham's blog, now in Atlanta* on News Radio 106.7 FM from 8:30 to Noon. I listened to him in Boston, and he's very smart and very funny. I'll tune in when I can, and program 106.7 into my car radio. Graham asks some questions that need answers:
Terrell said both the district attorney and Georgia Bureau of Investigation have said there was no wrongdoing on the SRT’s part.Uh…no. DA Rickman told me on the air today he never said anything like that to the sheriff. According to Rickman, he had a brief conversation with Terrell, had been given virtually none of the facts and was awaiting all the details before making any judgments. And he unequivocally denied ever giving the Habersham County cops a clean bill of health.
“I’ve talked to the D.A., I’ve talked to the GBI,” Terrell said. “I’ve given them the whole information and they say there’s nothing else we can do. There’s nothing to investigate, there’s nothing to look at. Given the information given, GBI’s SWAT team would have done the exact same thing – they’d have used the exact same scenario to enter the house.”
Say what you want about Barney Fife, but he never got anyone killed.The answer to all those questions is the same: because it's fun to dress up like Navy SEALs and form a stick. Or maybe the Sheriff's department just read blogs. But I disagree that nobody should go to jail. Prison is designed not only as a punishment, but to set an example that will deter other fascist scum.
So what agency in Georgia is going to answer the REAL questions?
Once again, the goal isn’t to turn these cops into criminals. It’s to hold them accountable for their actions, policies and consequences. Nobody needs to be prosecuted, but someone definitely needs to be fired.
- Why a “no-knock” warrant on a low-rent meth dealer well-known to the cops?
- Why bust in at 2AM? What’s wrong with 2pm?
- Why throw incendiary devices into a home when the perp isn’t even there? Did the cops have ANY intelligence before acting?
- Why throw a flashbang into a bedroom? Into a crib? Did the cops not know a family was in the house? Did the cops have any ACCURATE intelligence before acting?
- Why was the “no-knock” warrant issued in the first place? What did the cops tell the judge? Or is the judge a “Let’s Roll!” type, too?
A new opt-in audio recognition program listens to what mobile users are hearing — via TV, radio, etc. — and suggests a status update when it recognizes the sound.What could possibly go wrong? Even a marketing rag considers the downside:
...
Facebook could use the data to recognize a TV show, for example, in order to deliver related ads on the social platform. On the flipside, Facebook could offer that data to TV partners that want to deliver targeted ads in real time based on when users on Facebook are watching.
Still, there's also the possibility that the idea that Facebook is listening in could creep out a significant number of users.Gee, ya think? I'm not even a user (can't remember the last time I logged in to Facebook) and I'm totally creeped out:
The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents.But fear not, Citizen. Facebook doesn't share data with the NSA. Oh, wait:
The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian.Wonder if they'd want to know if you listened in to "right wing hate" talk radio, or maybe "domestic terrorist" Squirrel Report? I don't.
...
In the document, the NSA hails the Prism program as "one of the most valuable, unique and productive accesses for NSA".
It boasts of what it calls "strong growth" in its use of the Prism program to obtain communications. The document highlights the number of obtained communications increased in 2012 by 248% for Skype – leading the notes to remark there was "exponential growth in Skype reporting; looks like the word is getting out about our capability against Skype". There was also a 131% increase in requests for Facebook data, and 63% for Google.
A stranger from the land of Woot came to Master Foo as he was eating the morning meal with his students.Their guardians are incompetent. So let's give them more power, and military SWAT gear, and armored vehicles. What could possibly go wrong?
“I hear y00 are very l33t,” he said. “Pl33z teach m3 all y00 know.”
Master Foo's students looked at each other, confused by the stranger's barbarous language. Master Foo just smiled and replied: “You wish to learn the Way of Unix?”
“I want to b3 a wizard hax0r,” the stranger replied, “and 0wn ever3one's b0xen.”
“I do not teach that Way,” replied Master Foo.
The stranger grew agitated. “D00d, y00 r nothing but a p0ser,” he said. “If y00 n00 anything, y00 wud t33ch m3.”
“There is a path,” said Master Foo, “that might bring you to wisdom.” The master scribbled an IP address on a piece of paper. “Cracking this box should pose you little difficulty, as its guardians are incompetent. Return and tell me what you find.”
Someone close to me asked why I was fascinated with the science of bones. I didn't answer him at the time, but I will now. I have studied bones untouched by anything but time. I have studied bones in fragments, co mingled with hundreds of others, burned and broken and laid bare to the elements. Still, I am always fascinated by the strength of that which is unfleshed. They are what lies at the center of us, not the heart, but that part of us that is the last thing to ever be dissolved, even if cut or disassembled or burned. It is the hardest, strongest most unwavering part of us, that which supports us, the last piece of us that remains of this earth, when everything else is lost. It's the surviving remnant of all that was dear to us.My Brother-From-Another-Mother* ASM826 asked:
And did this revelation still your Muse?No. It seems to have summoned her, when my steps faltered and looked to fail. We are surrounded by more than we can see. Indeed, this has been known for millennia: the non-canonical (and very possibly heretical) Gospel of Thomas spoke of this 2000 years ago:
The Kingdom of the Father is spread upon the Earth, and men do not see it.Brigid, you are my Sister-From-Another-Mother, but we've had that conversation before. Thank you for this timely gift, and thanks to B-F-A-M ASM826, and 2cents, and all the rest. None of us are as strong as all of us. Thank you for letting me know that we don't stand alone. We stand alone together.
There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.Test pilots are a strange breed. They take a new, unproven airplane up in the sky and force it into impossible situations. On purpose. Their job is to make the plane stop flying.
- Sir Francis Bacon
Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God?
- John Wesley
You can spend your whole life building,
Something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away,
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray;
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway,
I do it anyway
This world’s gone crazy
And it’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today.
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart,
For all the right reasons,
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway
God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway,
Yeah I do it anyway
You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway,
Yeah sing it anyway
Yeah! Yeah!
I sing, I dream, I love
Anyway
 |
| Sgt First Class Jared Monti, 1975-2006 |
Eighty-Nine Cents in the ash traySgt First Class Jared Monti's Medal Of Honor citation reads:
Half empty bottle of Gatorade rolling in the floorboard
That dirty Braves cap on the dash
Dog tags hangin’ from the rear view
Old Skoal can, and cowboy boots and a Go Army Shirt
folded in the back
This thing burns gas like crazy, but that’s alright
People got their ways of coping
Oh, and I’ve got mine
I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Til all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck
I leave that radio playing
That same ole country station where ya left it
Yeah, man I crank it up
And you’d probably punch my arm right now
If you saw this tear rollin’ down my on face
Hey, man I’m tryin’ to be tough
And momma asked me this morning
If I’d been by your grave
But that flag and stone ain’t where I feel you anyway
I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Til all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck
I’ve cussed, I’ve prayed, I’ve said goodbye
Shook my fist and asked God why
These days when I’m missing you this much
I drive your truck
I roll every window down
And I burn up
Every back road in this town
I find a field, I tear it up
Til all the pain’s a cloud of dust
Yeah, sometimes, brother sometimes
I drive your truck
I drive your truck
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
I drive your truck
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.
Sergeant First Class Monti distinguished himself at the cost of his life while serving as a team leader with the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on 21 June 2006. On that day, Sergeant First Class Monti was leading a mission to gather intelligence and to direct fires against the enemy in support of a squadron-size interdiction mission. While at an observation position on top of a mountain ridge, Sergeant First Class Monti’s sixteen-man patrol came under attack by a superior force consisting of as many as 50 enemy fighters. On the verge of being overrun, Sergeant First Class Monti directed his patrol to set up a hasty defensive position behind a collection of rocks. He then began to call for indirect fire from a nearby support base; accurately bringing the rounds upon the enemy who had closed to within 50 meters of his position. While still calling for fire, Sergeant First Class Monti personally engaged the enemy with his rifle and a grenade, successfully disrupting an attempt to flank the patrol. Sergeant First Class Monti then realized that one of his Soldiers was lying wounded and exposed in the open ground between the advancing enemy and the patrol’s position. With complete disregard for his own safety, Sergeant First Class Monti moved from behind the cover of the rocks into the face of withering enemy fire. After closing within meters of his wounded Soldier, the heavy volume of fire forced Sergeant First Class Monti to seek cover. Sergeant First Class Monti then gathered himself and rose again to maneuver through a barrage of enemy fire to save his wounded Soldier. Again, Sergeant First Class Monti was driven back by relentless enemy fire. Unwilling to leave his Soldier wounded and exposed, Sergeant First Class Monti made another attempt to move across open terrain and through the enemy fire to the aide of his wounded Soldier. On his third attempt, Sergeant First Class Monti was mortally wounded, sacrificing his own life in an effort to save his Soldier. Sergeant First Class Monti’s acts of heroism inspired the patrol to fight off the larger enemy force. Sergeant First Class Monti’s immeasurable courage and uncommon valor were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, 3d Squadron 71st Cavalry Regiment, the 3d Brigade Combat Team, the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and the United States Army
