A search team on Sunday found the body of the Air Force major killed in Haiti after his hotel collapsed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, his family said.

Maj. Ken Bourland had not been heard from since the Jan. 12 earthquake after he sent an e-mail to his wife from his hotel room minutes before it hit. He and six other members of U.S. Southern Command had flown to Haiti on the day of the earthquake to attend a disaster relief conference.

Our thoughts and prayers to the family.

His final appearances at Mudville as a living person will be his role as "guy who threatened to cut military funding unless they'd give Nancy Pelosi a plane". Prior to that, his efforts last fall to raise taxes. ("The tax should be paid by all taxpayers, with rates ranging from 1 percent for lower wage earners to 5 percent for the wealthy.") But whether you think you pay too many taxes or too few, Jack Murtha got more of your tax dollars than anyone else. (At that time he was also being investigated for "ethics violations.")

Now he's dead. So this quote on Afghanistan might be his last on the topic of war: "I'm not sure there's a threat to our national security." Maybe he thought his gallbladder was nothing serious, either.

The Washington Post: "He was revered among Democrats."

Critics dubbed Rep. Murtha, the chairman of the powerful subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, the "King of Pork" for the volume of taxpayer money he could direct to the area around his home town of Johnstown. Most of the largesse came in defense and military research contracts he steered to companies based in his district or with small offices there.

I will pause now to say something nice about him: he was never convicted.

"Murtha was beloved by his constituents for tapping billions of dollars in federal funds to seed new industries there," reports the Post. That might be true - he could call them "racists and rednecks" and still be re-elected. I don't know if any of them actually voted for him - but he was always reelected.

In the 2008 election, Democrats had to burn a last-minute half million dollars in response to a strong campaign from Murtha's opponent, in what they thought was an easily held district - despite Murtha's "best efforts" on the "campaign trail":

Rep. John Murtha's opponent in the 2008 election claims the Pennsylvania congressman's chief of staff has threatened to have him recalled to active duty and court-martialed for campaigning while in the military, which is in violation of military code.

Bill Russell, an Iraq war veteran who served with the Army, told FOXNews.com that Murtha's chief of staff, John Hugya, made the threat on two occasions -- first to his former commanding officer and then to his face in March.

Russell has now issued a statement requesting prayers for Murtha's family.

The Post story neglects to mention that Murtha called several Marines killers, that they were absolved, and that they in turn sued him for libel - along with various other reasons that most veterans consider him "the second ex-Marine."

But who cares - he's dead.

A blast from Mudville' past - back in 2006, Congressman Jim Moran had arranged a "Town Hall" meeting in his Virginia district just outside of D.C. One invited guest was Jack Murtha - other invited guests were Iraq Veterans Against War members who were brought in to appear as local veterans there to say wonderful things about Murtha and Moran's anti war stands.

Most of Murtha and Moran's talking points from this event are from 2003-2004 - not enough armor, Abu Ghraib was a result of poor training, troops aren't getting medical care, only poor people join the army - we've debunked them all here over the past several months. As the Post noted, MoveOn.org sent e-mails to opponents of the war urging the faithful to attend. And although several Iraq war veterans turned activist made the long trek to cheer him on, an actual "local vet" also made an appearance...

Surprise!

And just before the end of the meeting, Vietnam veteran General (retired) Louis C. Wagner approached the mic.

Enough of the past - on to the future:

According to state law, the governor has ten days once the vacancy is officially declared to decide on the date for the special election, which can come no sooner than 60 days following that proclamation.
<...>
Prior to Murtha's passing, there were two Republicans in the race: 2008 nominee Bill Russell and businessman Tim Burns. It remains to be seen whether either or both men run in the special election although, regardless, it is a certainty the field will grow as ambitious Republicans (and Democrats) see the chance to get to Congress in an abbreviated campaign.

The story also notes that "Murtha's passing comes at a tenuous time for House Democrats as they seek to convince some of their older members to re-up for another term in the face of what looks to be a difficult national political environment for the party."

Chapter one: the locals

Our story begins with the sort of tragic child abuse story that appears in local papers all too often. This one was from the Nisqually Valley (Washington) News - a report of an arrest made on January 31.

Man suspected of beating 4-year-old
By Megan Hansen

A Yelm man was arrested Sunday [January 31] for allegedly beating and torturing his daughter. Police said they found the child covered with bruises.

Officers were dispatched around 2 a.m. to Umptanum Road behind Safeway for a report of a disturbance.

Joshua R. Tabor, 27, was allegedly walking up and down the street with a helmet, saying he was going to bust windows, said Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil.

He appeared to be intoxicated.

When police arrived they discovered Tabor's 4-year-old daughter had locked herself in a bathroom.

Tabor's girlfriend allegedly told police that Tabor has an anger problem and beats his daughter, Stancil said.

The child was interviewed and photographs were taken of the bruises that covered her body.

During the investigation it was also discovered Tabor may have held the girl's head, backward, in a sink of water because she wouldn't say her ABCs, Stancil said.

The Seattle-Tacoma News Tribune added additional details, including that the suspect was "a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier."

Anger over alphabet ends in arrest
Charged: Man accused of dunking 4-year-old

According to court records:

Tabor's girlfriend told Yelm police that Tabor beats his 4-year-old daughter and that the child's back was covered in bruises. The girlfriend reported that the 4-year-old had locked herself in a closet because she was afraid of her father.

The girlfriend also reported that when the child wets herself, Tabor "makes her sit in the urine-soaked clothes" until he gives her permission to change.
<...>
Tabor spoke to a Yelm police officer and said that he and his girlfriend had "held her down on the counter and submerged her head into the water three or four times until the water came around her forehead and jawline." He said that she was face-up when her head was in the water. He added that they gave this punishment for the 4-year-old "refusing to say her letters."

Tabor was released Monday from the Thurston County Jail after posting $10,000 bail. He is restricted to base at Lewis-McChord as a condition of his release.

The "dunking" was an important point because - as the Nisqually Valley News had reported - "Tabor was arrested for third-degree assault of a child, but police are requesting charges be increased to second-degree assault of a child because of the alleged water incidents." And "they are also asking the prosecutor to charge Tabor's girlfriend, who he said helped hold the girl down in the water." And according to the News Tribune: The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office filed a charge of second-degree assault of a child against Joshua Ryan Tabor, 27, on Tuesday.

As to why he chose dunking her in the sink "until the water came around her forehead and jawline" - "Tabor allegedly admitted to police that he did it because he knew she was terrified of water."

And there you have it. Tabor's arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 16. Until then he is confined to post. It's a tragic story, and it happens all too often. As a parent, it's horrifying and unforgivable and a reminder that ability to have children and ability to raise children are two different things - and that some thankfully small percentage of people just barely qualify as "people". There are some in your neighborhood and mine. That's one of the reasons when it happens in your neighborhood, it isn't news in mine.

Chapter two: Tabloid data (in which our story sets out for Britain to seek it's fortune)

Somehow the British tabloid Daily Mail heard the child abuse story, and one week after the arrest they found a way to make news from Nisqually Valley an international sensation: add "waterboarding" and CIA" to the mix.

U.S. soldier 'waterboarded his own daughter, 4, because she couldn't recite alphabet'

A soldier waterboarded his four-year-old daughter because she was unable to recite her alphabet.

Joshua Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was so angry.

"The practice of waterboarding was used by the CIA to break Al Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo Bay," the Daily Mail helpfully adds. "Detainees had water poured over their face until they feared they would drown. President Barack Obama has since outlawed the practice."

But they also include a description of what allegedly did to his daughter. The story even includes a photo captioned "Human rights activists demonstrate waterboarding in front of the Justice Department. A soldier father stands accused of waterboarding his daughter because she couldn't recite the alphabet" - even though the photo itself is proof that what Tabor is accused of isn't waterboarding.

But that's what tabloids do. Here's the front page of the Daily Mail's web site, here's a list of libel suits that have been filed against them in the recent past - that has no bearing on this particular story, just an indication of how they do business. This is no secret - "Brangelina's Secret UFO Sex Diet" sells - especially with added Beckham quotes. "Man beats kid near Seattle" doesn't draw the average housewife's attention away from the Snickers bars in the checkout lanes - unless he used secret CIA waterboarding techniques.

Fortunately, no one's really that gullible. (/kidding)

Chapter 3: Back in the USA (In which our week-old story makes it's way back across the Atlantic to it's home country, reborn.)

"Money see, monkey do. And the chimp in chief made it a household word," explains the American web site Political Carnival in their endorsement of the Daily Mail story. Fortunately no one reads... wait - "Joshua Tabor admitted to police that he used a CIA torture technique on his 4-year-old daughter because he was angry she couldn't recite the alphabet. (h/t The Political Carnival)" reports Alan Colmes (fomerly of Fox News). So now we have a man admitting he used a CIA technique? Astoundingly, Colmes uses the Daily Mail photo, too - but doesn't quote the portion of the story that reveals this isn't what the father is accused of doing.

The Daily Beast web site links the Daily Mail story too, and adds another twist: "He chose waterboarding--the CIA torture technique that simulates drowning and has been banned by the Obama administration--because he knew the girl was terrified of water."

AOL News Filter ("With so many news aggregators out there, who can keep up? AOL News filters the filters to steer you to the headlines that really matter" reads their banner) announces "The Daily Beast picks up a story from Britain's Daily Mail, reporting on a U.S. soldier who allegedly waterboarded his 4-year-old daughter." The AOL roundup includes several stories - but the overall headline is "The Filter: Soldier Accused of Waterboarding Daughter".

One of the people who writes at The Atlantic using the name Andrew Sullivan writes "A US Soldier Waterboards His Own Child." He (I believe all the "Andrew Sullivans" are he) calls the Daily Mail a "populist paper" (the original Andrew Sullivan is British - so he should know) but is mostly concerned that Marc Thiessen might claim "she wasn't really "waterboarded" as the professionals do it." I have no idea who Mark Theissen is, but if he does make that claim it's because it's true, and apparently at least one of the "Andrew Sullivans" knows this. (Does his willingness to acknowledge up front that he's wrong somehow increase the truthiness of what he writes?)

But more hilariously, "Andrew Sullivan" further notes that "No US paper has yet to report the story. Why am I not surprised?" Except that US papers broke the story a week ago - a British paper twisted it into a form suitable for international news of the tabloid variety, and not only are lefty bloggers and web sites falling for it, but the New York Daily News, Fox News, and ABC all have the "waterboarding" headlines now, too. (ABC News adds that the suspect served in Iraq!!!!)

With at least three "Andrew Sullivans" you'd think at least one of them could have checked that.

But there you have it - that's how "news" is made in America today.

And if you ever doubted that leftists are convinced that American soldiers are "monkeys" who would torture their own children because of Bush, now you know a little more about that, too.

Oh, and free advice to any potential lawyer in this case: ignore the people quoted above, don't try to blame Bush.

Story tip: Miss Ladybug.

(Instant update: Fox has re-written their story to eliminate the false "waterboarding" claim. You can see their original headline here)

Elsewhere:

Villainous Company

Confederate Yankee

And update: this is Mark Thiessen. Now I know.

Why, that's Harry ("the war is lost") Reid's seat. (Or the people's, depending on your point of view.) I can think of no other I'd more enjoy seeing defeated by a veteran.

"At this point I would just say, stay tuned," Lippold said in a brief interview. "Nevada clearly needs more experienced leadership than candidates who are in the race right now are capable of providing."

As related in that story at Argghhh (with more promised to follow), before he became Governor of Indiana Whitcomb served in the Pacific during WWII.

He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1941 and made an aerial navigator. He served two tours of duty in the Philippines and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. During the Battle of the Philippines, Whitcomb's base was overrun; he was captured by the Japanese and was beaten and tortured by his captors, but was able to escape. Recaptured a few days later, he escaped a second time and was hunted for several more days but was able to evade his pursuers. He escaped by swimming all night through shark infested waters to an island unoccupied by the Japanese army. He made contact with the Filipino resistance and fought with them for two years, loosing his vision in one eye, severe hearing loss, and injuring his back in the progress. He was eventually able to secure passage to China under an assumed name where he made contact with the United States Army and was repatriated in December 1943. He wrote a book about his experience entitled Escape from Corregidor, published in 1958.[2][3] He was discharged from active duty in 1946, though he remained in the reserve military forces until 1977 holding the rank of colonel.

That Wikipedia bio also explains why I hadn't heard of him in years - his life after the Governor's office was almost as interesting as his life before. But the happy discovery he was alive and kicking set me searching the internet, wondering if his book was still available.

The bad news - it's out of print.

The good news - it's available online in its entirety for free. Click here to read & enjoy. (Or here for a pdf version.)

"This ability of our American youth to adjust from the quiet American home to the hardships and grimness of the battlefield is a quality that I have often marveled at and long admired," wrote Marine Lt. General Field Harris in the 1958 introduction. "He has been described in some quarters as soft and not able to take it. However, it has been my observation that, given the proper tools and training, he is the equal, perhaps the superior, of any fighting man in the world. Maybe it is our competitive sports and competitive way of life that develop this quality, but whatever it is, the American serviceman is tops in my book."

Aside from the very interesting reading offered by this book, I feel that it cannot help stirring up a quiet pride in the breast of every American parent whose boy has participated in our wars. These boys asked for so little and gave so much.

...even the elitist snobs who didn't laugh until they saw the third one (which is what makes the third one actually funny - but they won't get that joke, either).

So what's the next topic to laugh at her about? She vacuums her own floors?


Update: Palin laughs. And more funny stuff here.

Another reason to cheer for the Colts - they hold their players to higher standards than the Naval Academy.

Which is good news for those interested in news from Afghanistan. I linked his latest entry in the previous post, but it deserves more attention.

We have a little phenomenon in the Army called, "Badge-hunting." Although mid-grade officers, very senior NCO's and fobbits are most often accused of it, everyone wants their "stinking badges." It affects how those who haven't yet "gotten some" go about their business. They are looking for the fight that will earn them their combat badge, either the CIB (Combat Infantry Badge) or CAB (Combat Action Badge). Medics are less likely to go way out of their way to get their CMB (Combat Medical Badge), but if they earn it, they want it.

You have a tendency to find what you are looking for. Sometimes, it gets extreme.

An example follows - read the whole thing.

(As usual, via the Mrs, who's always first.)

It seems you can't read (or watch) a news report on Afghanistan lately without encountering something new and different - radical, even - about our approach to war.

Like this unusual example of advertising in the Washington Post:

NATO ministers, commanders advertise planned offensive in southern Afghanistan

ISTANBUL -- For the upcoming Battle of Marja, the element of surprise has already gone by the wayside.

Although Rasmussen said he could not go into details "for security reasons," other NATO officials said an allied force, led by U.S. Marines, was preparing for an assault on the town of Marja, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. Senior military officials began touting the offensive, the first operation since a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan, even before President Obama announced in early December that he would be sending more forces to the country.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, said the offensive would start "relatively soon." When asked why he and other commanders were being so open about their plans, he said it was partly to try to persuade as many Afghans as possible in Marja to throw down their arms and side against the Taliban.

"If they want to fight, then obviously that will have to be an outcome. But if they don't want to fight, that's fine, too," he told reporters Thursday. "We'd much rather have them see the inevitability that things are changing and just accept that. And we think we can give them that opportunity. And that's why it is a little unconventional to do it this way."

The plan has indeed been advertised. Admiral Mullen mentioned Marja during a pre-Christmas visit to Afghanistan,

Marja - a region west of Kandahar - remains a Taliban hotbed. "It's been very clear for weeks now for the need to clear out Marja, and that's going to happen," Mullen said. "It's going to happen at a time and place of our choosing, but it's going to happen."

...and multiple news articles on the pending offensive have appeared since.

Some may question the wisdom of the approach, but certainly announcing our intent is not a radical new concept. The November 2004 attack on Fallujah was undoubtedly the most widely telegraphed punch ever thrown in the history of warfare - at least since the first battle for Fallujah - even though no one expected the enemy would choose peace there.

But as for the wish that a potential enemy will "see the inevitability" rather than choose to fight - as much as some might be disappointed in that outcome it's something we should all want. Similar sentiments were expressed in a less newspaper-friendly way by Marine General James Mattis in Iraq in 2003:

After the invasion he sent home his tanks and artillery pieces and went to Iraqi military leaders in each area his troops were in."I come in peace," Mattis recalled telling them. "I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all."

In fact, little has changed from our approach to the battlefields of Iraq to the battlefields of Afghanistan. Follow the Fallujah link above and you'll find this post-battle quote from 2005:

"We're mostly known for killing the bad guys" says Lt. Col. Harvey Williams, a reserve officer with the Marine 5th Civil Affairs Group. But killing alone can't defeat the insurgency. Win over the populace or lose the war.

And explanations of exactly that approach were appearing in newspapers as early as 2003 - where they were dismissed as an illegal Bush administration propaganda effort directed at the American public.

What has changed - and clearly - is the tone of newspaper coverage. And the certain knowledge in the minds of those who would potentially lead or encourage a bloody opposition to US and Afghan forces in Marja or elsewhere that General Mattis wasn't bluffing.

In that regards, it's a damn good thing, one might correctly conclude, that we didn't abandon Iraq.

Audio at the link.

Update: a missive on accountability from the Sniper here.