"...do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..."

"For the good of the Air Force, for the good of the armed services and for the good of our country, I urge you to reject convention and careerism..."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Maxwell AFB, April 21, 2008

"You will need to challenge conventional wisdom and call things like you see them to subordinates and superiors alike."
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, United States Air Force Academy, March 4, 2011

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Post 911 GI Bill is Incredibly Generous!


Just did a TAP class talking about the benefits.  Wow.  Staggeringly generous of the American people and it has only gotten better over time.  I recommend that all veterans who have this benefit ensure they use it at the soonest.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Dr. King and Malcolm X - The Best America Had to Offer


Today is Dr. King's birthday.  What an amazing American who personified public service, without ever being paid by taxpayer money.  Malcolm X doesn't get the same praise, but he is the Yin to Dr. King's Yang and the two were a team despite disagreements on methodology.

Both cared deeply about our flawed nation.  Both sacrificed everything for it.  Not just their lives, but also their lives.  Martin and Malcolm were two of the very finest Americans to ever live.

Both were murdered by Americans.  And both were treated as the enemy by the American government's intelligence/surveillance industry despite the wishes of political figures like John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.  And as often happens when great men who challenge power and corruption are no more, lesser men in government service pervert and distort and attempt to destroy their message.

Dr. King and Malcolm X, and their families, deserve an incredible debt of gratitude from the American people for their service to our nation.

And we have the responsibility to not piss all their sacrifices and gains away.  Particularly those of us paid to be public servants.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Brandon Bryant, Drone Star, a Liar and a Plagiarist


Outright lies, and the lies that come from stealing the words of another and pawning them off as your own.  When it comes to dishonesty, Brandon Bryant has it all.  He plagiarizes comic books as part of his lofty, and contradictory, proclamations to the public.

To see the depth of his self described "imagination" take a look at this lie he told about the FBI first calling him.  See if you can spot the lie about who, he claims, the FBI told him was targeting him.

He will say anything for five minutes of fame.  It seems Tonje Hessen Schei has helped Brandon Bryant, the former Predator sensor operator, find his calling... saying anything the script tells him to say regardless of truth.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

PickYourBattles.Net Coming to an End - Standby for Decommissioning


This is the final year, the final few months actually, of this eight year blog.  Soon I will leave public service and this avenue of discussion will accordingly be decommissioned.

I am very much looking forward to gardening and raising honeybees and enjoying the nation rather than battling to protect it from threatening ideas and un-American values.

It will be great to finally go home.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Brandon Bryant, Thy Foul Throat


The four minute video above shows a clear lie told by Brandon Bryant, as he changed his story for a foreign audience.

And here is a guest post I wrote for the blog, This Ain't Hell, about Brandon the Drone Deceiver.

It sure would be nice if media, and journalists like Jeremy Scahill, and lawyers like Jesslyn Radack were to refuse to ally themselves with liars just to push a narrative.  I can't believe they think that is a good idea.