And You Think Your Job Sucks?

When I got the call from the school system for a temporary 1-year job, I was strongly inclined to decline. Did I say strongly? Perhaps that word is not emphatic enough. I dearly wanted to scream “Oh, HELL, NO!” and slam the phone down, but SwampMan had strongly counseled me that he was not at all happy about my decision to go into business with my ex-daughter-in-law doing children’s rooms. He had a point in that in the middle of a bad recession/beginning of a depression like this, there are not many people thinking about paying for people to decorate their children’s rooms, so just get over it.

So, I didn’t follow my first inclination of slamming down the telephone and running and hiding under the bed so they couldn’t come find me. I called SwampMan (big mistake) and told him about the job offer and my reservations about it.

“TAKE IT.”

“This is going to be a *very* bad job. Any time the ratio of staff to students is less than 1:10, that is a bad, bad sign. Here, the ratio is damn near 1:1.”

“Quit whining and take it. They’re in what, 4th or 5th grade? How bad could THAT be? Besides, what other paying jobs are available?”

How bad could it be? Maybe he was right. Maybe they were all little angels that just needed 1:1 staffing because…..umm……well, I couldn’t think of a good reason. I already knew from last year’s foray into kindergarten that children are highly protected but the staff is on their own. And there will be hell to pay if any of the little darlings that are attacking tooth and nail sustain a bruise while they make spirited attempts to break somebody’s finger. If there is an effective technique to ensure compliance, we can’t use it. If the children are out of control, then it is our fault and we did something wrong, and we better search our conscience for what it was.

Children, especially children that have cognitive problems, are very quick to learn that they can run wild and act like fools and kick and hit and spit and bite and the teachers cannot do anything about it.

I was, therefore, not terribly surprised on the first day when I was slapped, pinched hard twice, had a toy shovel of sand thrown in my face on the playground, and turned around just in time to catch a chair that was aimed at my head, thrown by a little cherub in time out who had no earthly reason to throw it at me except I was in her line of sight and had my head turned away.

I told SwampMan that I was going to be in the ER before the week was out because ALL the children bit, hit, scratched, and threw heavy objects with intent to harm. When they are not trying to harm each other, they try to hurt us and, in fact, we are the preferential targets because they know that their classmates will kick, hit, scratch, bite and throw chairs BACK. We cannot. He did not believe it.

The second day, I was standing beside a student when his crayons were flung violently across the room. When I reflexively looked over to see if anybody had been hurt by flying crayons, Cujo the crayon thrower latched onto my arm and bit the crap out of it, removing a chunk of skin and some flesh, grinding in his rabbit sharp teeth and powerful jaws in order to do the most damage. I waited until he finished, then I spun him around and pinned his arms behind his back to keep from getting pummeled and bitten further and waited out the kicking over of desks, shelves, anything within reach of his feet, and the backwards head butting that ensued. After the brief period of insane rage had passed, he was back to normal. I went to the office for wound dressing so I wouldn’t bleed all over the classroom.

Later that day, I was back in the office for another wound dressing for a more severe bite. This one necessitated a trip to an ER clinic after work where I was asked the breed of the dog that bit me.

The next day was fairly uneventful with just routine scratching, pinching and kicking incidents for me. Another woman was head butted in the face and cut the inside of her lips on her teeth. There was not a lot of learning going on, but no major mayhem, either (which erupts when the kids are pressed to do anything) for which I was happy. I *say* no major mayhem; the woman with the cut lip was definitely injured but no teeth were knocked loose which, in our class, was considered a good day.

On Friday, the day started out with another rage incident in which I prevented “my” student from maiming another much smaller student, a girl, who had apparently touched her foot against his under the table. The first I knew that anything was amiss was when his milk was thrown violently across the room and I had a heavy metal chair thrown at my head (ha, missed!) and again savagely bitten up and down my arm (this time I had padding on my arms because they were still oozing and swollen from the last bites). He managed to bite through in one spot near my wrist drawing quite a bit of blood that soaked through the padding, kicked, and, when I had him stretched out with his arms behind his back so that he could no longer reach me with teeth, fists, or feet, sustained repeated head butts to the chest. (Shopping note: I need to buy *very* heavily padded bras instead of the athletic variety. I have bruises y’all wouldn’t believe! You know everybody’s going to be talkin’ ’bout how I done went and got a boob job if I suddenly turn up in a double D size and how the schools must be paying their employees waaaay too much. The reality is that I can barely afford livestock feed, gas, and groceries on my salary.) SwampMan tells me I’m working for the insurance. I told him I wouldn’t need the insurance if I weren’t working!

I will count any day as successful now when I don’t have to report to the ER. Another woman in class had the misfortune to be working with one student when another tapped her for attention. When she turned, she was headbutted in the nose and had to be driven to the emergency clinic for a possible broken nose.

Why are the kids so frustrated? Well, they have severe communication problems. (They either can’t talk at all, babble things that make no sense, or only have the capacity for 1 or 2 word sentences, the vocabularly of an 18-month-old child.) When they want something and we don’t understand what it is, they attack. When they are mad at another kid, they attack. If their mom packed something in their lunch they didn’t want, they attack. Often we don’t know why for there are no antecendents for this behavior that we know of and for every incident, we have to painstakingly go back and try to find why. (As you may have guessed, there is a LOT of paperwork.) Maybe they have a tummy ache. We just don’t know. These are children that are happy and smiling one instant and biting the crap out of somebody (me) the next.

I have to be constantly on my guard because the child I’m assigned to is, in my estimation, quite capable of severely injuring one of the students (or other adults) in one of his rages. I guesstimate his weight at @ 150 lbs., and it is quite difficult to get him under control without causing him pain or leaving bruises. When he comes back to his senses, he cries when he sees my bleeding wounds, says “bite” pointing to my wound(s), and hangs his head, tears streaming down his face, and then kisses the booboo, hugs me, and asks “better?” anxiously. Of course I hug him and reassure him that I am just fine now and that the kiss fixed me right up but if he feels mad, he needs to go off by himself or tell me “mad” or show me “mad face” instead of biting.

I’m considering getting leather or metal wrist guards and kevlar carving gloves because he’s avoiding the padding now and trying to take out the fingers and wrists.

The Holder File

Two articles of interest in the ever-expanding collection of links that I call, “The Holder File:”

1) First, an excellent piece by NRO’s Andrew McCarthy, Eric Holder’s Hidden Agenda. A case of ‘hidden in plain view,’ methinks.

2) And second, from CNet,    Bill would give president emergency control of Internet.  Probably more appropriate to DHS than DOJ, but all thugs look alike to me.

—–

While Cap’n Tax, ObamaCare, and record spending/record deficits grab the headlines and attention of the public, the DOJ continues to up the ante in the culture war…  Here’s a running list of linkage.

DOJ declares war on DOMA.

Sheriff Joe asks for investigation,

Black Panthers in Philadelphia,

DOJ blocks Georgia from checking citizenship of voters,

DOJ allows non-citizens to register to vote in Georgia,

Holder Reverses Mukasey Ruling on Aliens’ “Right” to Counsel in Removal Cases,

DOJ reverses course on Miranda rights for Gitmo detainees,

Eric Holder’s controversial 2nd Amendment views,

Holder:  US a nation of cowards,

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister’s sermon about homosexuality would be protected by a proposed new federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn’t be. ,

ATF sent to FFL dealers in Tennessee and Nontana telling them the Bureau was overriding the state’s Firearms Freedom Act, and would continue to impose federal requirements in disregard of state law.,

The DOJ surrender to the jihad continues,

Holder’s Justice dept:  All politics all the time,

Holder pushes for investigation into CIA interrogations,

DOJ threatens Oklahoma over English-only vote,

Katrina +4

Tivoli Hotel

Biloxi Grand

FBC Gulfport

signage

signage

more photos at Gulf Coast News

‘We’re heading into nut country’

Ed Morrissey, writing at Hot Air ….

Jack Kennedy was killed in an open car in Dallas in the midst of the most hated–it’s like the mood we’re in right now. [Chris Matthews]

Well, except for that pesky fact that John Kennedy was assassinated not by some “un-American” conservative angry at government expansion, but by an avowed Communist, as Mark Finkelstein points out at NB.

In fact, it was the Texas Democrat party that President John Kennedy went to Dallas to visit, and had characterized to an aide as, “We’re heading into nut country,” nearly 46 years ago.

JFK had gone to Texas to attend fundraisers, and to try and heal the wounds in the South that came as a result of his administration’s agenda. It was a record, except for a few memorable moments, that was largely unremarkable.

The imaginary John Kennedy is remembered by Matthews and millions of others as one of the greatest ever. That his youngest brother is lionized by these same people is no great surprise.

related:

Edward Kennedy – KGB collaborationist, Human Events, 12/08/2003

Ted Kennedy, NNDB

British MOD cancels Michael Yon embed

Reporting from Helmand Province, Afghanistan:

The British Ministry of Defence cancelled Michael Yon’s embed privileges, shortly after Yon posted today’s report.

Read it here:  “Bad Medicine“

And be sure to hit Mike’s tip jar while you’re there!

Another nominee, another tax scofflaw

This time, it’s former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, Obama’s nominee for Trade Representative.

The Senate Finance Committee on Monday revealed that President Barack Obama’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, had failed to pay $10,000 in taxes over the span of three years beginning in 2005. The panel report comes after several other nominees faced controversy over tax issues.

Kirk, a former Dallas mayor, failed to report as income $37,750 in honoraria collected for 16 speaking engagements at Austin College, his alma mater, for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He also deducted NBA Mavericks tickets worth $17,382 as entertainment expenses in 2006, 2006 and 2007, but has substantiated only $9,900 of the expenses.

What is it with these people?

Why can’t Obama  find some law-abiding people to serve in his administration?

How many is this now?  I’ve lost count.  But, maybe that’s the point.  The shock value of the President hiring tax cheaters has diminished with each passing revelation.

Shame.

My Lai Apology – Wm L. Calley

from MSNBC …

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Speaking in a soft, sometimes labored voice, the only U.S. Army officer convicted in the 1968 slayings of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai made an extraordinary public apology while speaking to a small group near the military base where he was court-martialed.

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai,” William L. Calley told members of a local Kiwanis Club, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported Friday. “I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”

read it all

Øbama Is A Liar!

While I believe the title to this post is true in general, the focus for now is his lying in order to complete a governmental power grab over our daily lives.

I will list and document a plethora of lies he has told recently, but not an all inclusive list. While a plethora is “superabundance,” it is by no means as extensive as his ability to prevaricate.

Here is a complete list of all the industries in the U.S., as of 14 Aug 09.
These industries are ranked by profitability, as indicated in the far right column labeled “net profit margin.” Scrolling down, you will find the Health Insurance Industry ranks #86 on this list. A simpler chart is present here.

According to president Øbama this past month:

“There have been reports just over the last couple of days of insurance companies making record profits, right now,” Obama said during a prime-time news conference. “At a time when everybody’s getting hammered, they’re making record profits, and premiums are going up. What’s the constraint on that? … Well, part of the way is to make sure that there’s some competition out there.”

Not only false, but an outright intentional lie disguised as a criticism of the “greedy” insurance companies.

Just a few days ago, Øbama was in Porstmouth, N.H., where, among other things, he claimed:

I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter … I believe it would be too disruptive.

Video.

Another blatant lie!
Here is what he said last June while campaigning for president.

I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.

Video.

Blog Break

This Week Forty Years Ago, The Movie ‘Woodstock’ Was Filmed.

The movie was made by a cast of dozens of performers, and a few hundred thousand extras. As a result, the movie made many millions of young people believe, or prevaricate, that they had actually attended the movies filming.

I won’t go into the numerous problems encountered with the movie’s production, the lack of food, water, shelter, hygiene facilities, and money for paying the cast. Nor will I discuss the burden placed on the local community. This movie was about the sound track, not the cast. I should mention there were many well known performers that did not wish to participate in its filming, such as Jethro Tull, as Ian Anderson is quoted as saying he “didn’t want to spend [his] weekend in a field of unwashed hippies”. Who could argue with such flawless reasoning? Many other famous performers, such as Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Moody Blues, and The Doors, chose to not attend for numerous reasons, but most because they viewed it as just another outdoor festival, not realizing it would be one of the most viewed movies of all time, and a soundtrack that still endures.

I’m certain the viewers have their favorite performances from the movie, as I have mine. In particular, I thought Canned Heat was fantastic with their version of “Lets work together.” As was Richie Havens “Freedom,” Jimi Hendrix (Gypsy Sun and Rainbows) memorable performance of “The Star Spangled Banner,” along with Joe Cocker’s “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

But for me, the most amazing performance and the one that would have brought the house down, had it been indoors, was the performance of Ten Years After.

It was a rock and roll song perfect in every way! Great beat and timing, superb musicianship, with the strong blues origins found in rock and roll. That it was filmed at night added to the excellent performance.

While there will be many discussions all this week about the supposed festival that took place, the music and the movie is what most have known, and will continue to know for quite some time.

Please feel free to add links to the performances you found most appealing and entertaining. However, if any hippies add the Joan Baez commie/union organizing song “Joe Hill,” I will delete it.

Oh…and I was not there for the filming.

*Cross posted*
At LGF2.

Cracking The Code: HealthCare Edition

This is definitely gonna get “Flagged”

Heh™ (thanks to ECR)

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "Cracking The Code: HealthCare Edition", posted with vodpod

Update: WH Enemies List?

Obama’s curious change of heart on voter “engagement”

“What we’ve learned is when the American people don’t pay attention, Washington gets into a whole lot of mischief,” Obama said. “And when we do pay attention, good things happen.”

Barack Obama, on the campaign trail in Claremont, NH, 3/19/07

Then-candidate Obama encouraged voters to “get engaged.”

Now, President Obama and chief of staff Emanuel are doing their best to intimidate and suppress opponents of his scheme to take over one-seventh of the US economy.

But, it certainly isn’t the first time, as Lee Carey reminds us …

“Missouri top prosecutors announced this week that they will threaten and prosecute critics of Barack Obama. St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce and St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch are threatening to bring libel charges against those who speak out falsely against Barack Obama.

Is there any doubt that this man is compiling an enemies’ list using the flag@whitehouse.gov address?

Update: WaTimes makes the same point, without actually saying it. Neat trick. You guys are gonna get “Flagged”. Henh.

Indian Plant Helps Maintain Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Balanced

The extract of an Indian plant called Gymnema sylvestre helps maintain blood sugar and cholesterol at normal levels.

The new extract, OmSanA, is a concentrated form of Om Santal Adivasi (OSA), the active compound found in the G. sylvestre leaf. The extract is offered in vegetarian capsule form and helps maintain normal blood sugar levels and normal cholesterol levels naturally. According to clinical studies, results are achieved in as little as 30 days; no side effects have been reported to date at normal daily dosages (500 mg -750 mg).

Source: hospimedica.com

Certainly an interesting sounding product:  “natural”, “holistic”, “vegetarian”, all the popular buzz-words.  In fact, the article cites clinical studies, but fails to provide a link, other than to the corporate site which markets the product. “Major Scientific breakthrough … may provide new therapy for type 2 diabetes”

After more digging, I was unable to find any published research which supports the company’s claims.  Several related articles mention the research done at King’s College, London, and one in particular which said that the research was “not published in a peer-reviewed journal.”

More:
Search engine results;  Gymnema sylvestre wiki

NowPublic

Tags: Science | Wisconsin | Health | food | Disease | plant | Vegetarian | blood | INDIAN | SUGAR | CLINICAL | Alternative Medicine | cholesterol | Food Safety | Sylvestre | OmSanA

William “Ice-Man” Jefferson:GUILTY!!!

From nola.com:

The prosecution team scoffed at the notion that Jefferson had anyone to blame but himself, portraying Jefferson as a relentless shakedown artist.

“He never let an opportunity to demand a bribe payment pass him by,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Bellows in her closing argument.

The jury was comprised of six white women, two white men, two black women and two black men.

Ain’t it the truth!??!
It took longer than it should have, but justice has been served.
One reporter on Fox News said that with the sentencing phase to come, “Ice-Man” could face up to 245 years in prison.
Perhaps he should take up a hobby.
The guitar?

Did Obama violate the Privacy Act of 1974?

According to 5 U.S.C. § 552a, United States agencies, including the Executive Office of the President shall, “maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.”

Perhaps one of our lawyer friends might want to weigh in on this. Did the White House actions in yesterday’s solicitation of “fishy” information about the health care bill constitute a violation of the Privacy Act?

h/t Grouchy

Obama can’t be bothered to read the healthcare bill

from today’s WH briefing …

Q At some point in the legislative process will the President read the entire health care bill?

MR. GIBBS: I assume the President will study the details of the proposal, and will be — he’s a highly informed individual.

Q But he won’t take time to read it front to back —

MR. GIBBS: I don’t know what his vacation plans are currently. Will you read the health care bill cover to cover?

Q Yes.

MR. GIBBS: Excellent. Well, great. I’m right up the hall to the left.

Link

Wonderful.

Our “highly informed” president won’t even take the time to read the bill.

What are the chances that we can have at least 72 hours to review the damn thing before it is voted on?

These clowns must go.

In the meantime, go to ReadTheBill.org and show your support for H. Res. 554 which would mandate that Congress post legislation for  72 hours prior to voting on it.

Dress warmly comrade, and report to the Komissar

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.  Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Thought crime is a serious offense in Obama’s America.

Speaking truth to power is no longer necessary, since Obama is both the truth and the power. /s

Related:

@ Blogmocracy

@ Israpundit

Update: Senator John Cornyn weighs in ……

“I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests”

“You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.”

Real America Still Exists! A Ride-along!

One of the pleasures in blogging is sharing information and stories with many people, and in return, they share theirs. Often those exchanges produce genuine gems, as happened after emailing a long time friend and a USAF vet I had the honor of serving with, Grandpa Bob. The video at the end of this post is one of those gems.

I remember what it was like growing up in this wonderful country, where nearly everyone shared the values of small town U.S.A. Values such as caring about others, decency, honesty and respect. Those values still exist throughout this great country, they just don’t get the recognition they deserve from a celebrity and disaster obsessed media.

The email from my friend, which included the link for the following video, came with a few paragraphs from the original posting by Georgia State Rep. Steve Davis.

Killed in action the week before, the body of Staff
Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to
Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of
Atlanta, on June 11, 2009. The Henry County Police
Department escorted the procession to the funeral
home in McDonough, Georgia. A simple notice in local
papers indicated the road route to be taken and
the approximate time. This was filmed during the
procession by a State Trooper.

Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no
longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice
outside the military. Be it known that there are many
places in this land where people still recognize the
courage and impact of total self-sacrifice.. Georgia
remains one of those graceful places. The link below is
a short travelogue of that day’s remarkable and painful
journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some
of your faith in people restored. Please share widely.

Here is the video in all its glory.

Seeing those people lining the highways and streets for a brave young soldier, who most never knew, is a reminder of the real America that exists and of the kind and generous people that inhabit it.

America is still at war with the enemies of our freedom and liberty, despite the silence on the subject by the “state run” media. As long as our young men and women, and their loved ones, are sacrificing for us, we as citizens must always remember and honor them.

Upon these two laws doth every commandment hinge-that we love God, and that we love each other. There is no better example on earth of this unconditional love than the American soldier. They would die for their friends, true, but even more heart-breaking and remarkable about such men is that they also live with what they’ve had to do.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

*Cross-posted*
At LGF2.

A Hero Is Honored:U.S.S. Jason Dunham Christened

This event should have dominated the news today.

Jason Lee Dunham, born and raised in Scion, NY, was destined to be a Marine. Jason’s birthday was the same as the USMC, 10 Nov., and in typical fashion of a hero, he extended his enlistment so he could serve a full combat tour with his fellow Marines, making a personal vow to get all the members of his squad home alive. All did, but Jason, who lingered for eight days before the Lord called him home, while his parents, Gen. Michael Hagee, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John L. Estrada stood by his side.

One of the few stories on this important event, came from the AP.

After composing herself and taking a deep breath, Deb Dunham smashed a bottle of champagne over the bow of the 510-foot warship Jason Dunham, then held the bottle aloft before a cheering crowd of more than 1,500 people.

She was joined by the Marines who served with her son, by her husband, Dan Dunham, and their daughter Katelyn Dunham. Two other Dunham boys also were in the audience.

Retired Gen. Michael Hagee, a former Marine commandant who was with the Dunhams when their son died at Bethesda Naval Hospital days after the explosion, said Jason gave the “gift of valor.” Hagee said the warship will serve as a reminder that freedom “is paid for by the men and women who wear the cloth of this nation.”

“They are willing to give up everything that is important: love, marriage, children, family, friends,” Hagee said of the 22-year-old Marine. “I can tell you I’ve always stood in awe of that.”

From Breitbart.

While Dunham’s name will always be synonymous with his actions on April 14, 2004, his parents remember a young man who wasn’t perfect, growing up in the small town in western New York. He excelled at sports but wasn’t the best student. He often forgot to take the trash out, they said.

But he always had a tendency to look out for others.

“Jason had the biggest heart on this planet. He was always looking out for everybody else and their welfare. When they were sad, he would make them laugh. He was that way all through his childhood growing up, and in the Marine Corps also,” Dan Dunham said.

I can feel and hear Mrs. Dunham’s sigh in my heart, as she struck the newest ship in the Navy fleet with the champagne bottle. The ship which will bear his name, and also serve and protect its crew, as Jason would have done. I feel a mixture of pride and sadness, knowing that Jason has been honored this way, after honoring us with the greatest sacrifice of all.

Thank you Jason, for being there for us, and your fellow Marines.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Dunham, for allowing us to share the life and memory of your son.

Here is the official MoH citation, on Jason, and the other three recipients of this award in Iraq.

Rank and Organization: Corporal, United States Marine Corps
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Godspeed, good and faithful Marine.

*Cross-posted*
At LGF2 and Urban Grounds.

RHCP 4-fer

From the magic stacks of wax at I Love Music!