Da Hawg Frog Blog

This video starts with a short commercial, then moves right a long to the feature. Everyone enjoys a creepy movie at Halloween. This is the full length movie, not an excerpt. Enjoy.

Merril Sandoval

For decades these men lived in anonymity. After their heroic service to this country during the Second World War they returned to their homes and kept quiet about their great sacrifices and achievements. It wasn’t until the movie, “Windtalkers” came out that the general public became aware of the service these men rendered to their country.

Recently some of them men were honored at the Museum of Flight. As this recognition comes most of the Code Talkers have passed on.

November 17, 2004 Navajo code talker, Sam Billison died. Sam returned from his duties in the Pacific and returned to school. A few years ago he revealed some of the methodology used by the code talkers.

In 1942, Billison explained, Japanese cryptographers were breaking U. S. military codes seemingly at will. To combat the problem, Philip Johnston suggested a novel solution. A World War I veteran and engineer, Johnston, as the son of missionaries, had grown up on a Navajo reservation and knew the language, a subtly inflected tongue. He suggested devising a code from the unwritten language, which was hardly spoken outside the Navajo Nation. Camp Pendleton [in California] became the testing site and later training ground.

The Marines initially recruited 29 Navajos ages 16 to 18 and told them to come up with a code incomprehensible even to other Navajos outside the program. They gave aircraft the names of birds, naval vessels the names of fish, and land vehicles the names of animals. A dive bomber was the Navajo name for “hummingbird,” a destroyer was a “shark,” a tank a “turtle,” a torpedo a “potato” and an amphibious vehicle a “frog.”

For the multitude of words without Navajo equivalents, including place names such as Guadalcanal, the group spelled them out using a Navajo word for each letter — ‘ant’ for ‘A’, etc. To keep the Japanese, who never broke the code, from deciphering anything from repeated sounds, each letter of the alphabet was represented by an accepted set of three alternating Navajo words. So ‘A’ might be expressed as ‘ant’, ‘ax’ or ‘apple.’ (Source: )

Another code talker, Merril Sandoval, explained what motivated him to serve. Merril, like Billison has Walked On and he is missed.

Merril’s desire to join the Marine Corps was fueled by his brother Sam’s enlistment in May, 1942-however his father was reluctant to let the younger boy join until the following year when Merril turned 16.

“‘Go, get your brother and bring him home,’” Gary Sandoval, Merril’s oldest son, quoted Julian Sandoval. “But the two never did see the other.”

The Sandoval brothers, like other Navajos enlisted in the Code Talker training program, attended basic training in San Diego before radio communications training at Camp Pendleton, sealing his military career as a Code Talker-Merril served the Second and Fifth Marine Divisions. (Source: nhonews.com)

After returning to his homeland in the Navajo nation Merril got on with his life. He raised his family and asked nothing in return for his service. Then one day he decided to apply to the VA for a home. In typical fashion the VA screwed up.

Gary told of how his father had waited almost his entire life to apply for a Veteran’s Affairs home-and how one day Merril called him to tell him that two semi trucks had dumped the parts of the house in the yard.

“‘What am I going to do? I’m 80 years old, how can I build a house?’ Dad said. I came over and helped unload the trucks, and then we hired private contractors to help put up the foundation,” Gary said. “A reporter wrote a story about this, and through this we met a savior-Robert Bowman and his sons Justin and Craig-who volunteered to build his house free of charge.”

The recognition these men so richly deserve is long overdue. It is a shame it comes so late in life for them. The debt owed them can never be repaid.

An alarming number of Marines are dying in motorcycle deaths. The trend has become of great concern to the Corps commanders. Now the top brass is looking into the reasons behind the problem.

Twenty-five Marines have died in motorcycle crashes since last November — all but one of them involving sport bikes that can reach speeds of well over 100 mph, according to Marine officials. In that same period, 20 Marines have been killed in action in Iraq.

The 25 deaths are the highest motorcycle death toll ever for the Marine Corps.

Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told CNN that commanders are trying to drill down on what “we need to do to help our Marines survive on these sport bikes.” (Source: CNN)

Is it the choice of bikes that is causing this alarming increase? Or is it the need for adrenalin rushing speed that makes these veterans turn to motorcycles for their fix?

After World War II thousands of veterans returned home and sought out Harley Davidsons and Indians to ride. The freedom of the road and the rush of speed lured many into the biker lifestyle. Many of the oldest motorcycle clubs in this country were formed by returning veterans. Lets just hope this new generation of biker/veterans survive the transitions from active duty to road warriors.

Meanwhile the Marines are requiring that its members who ride attend safety courses. This is a good idea. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has been offering courses in safe handling and riding practices for a long time. No matter how new or how long a person has been riding they come away from these courses with life saving techniques for survival on the road.

Military officials say they’re not sure why the deaths are on the rise. They initially believed the accidents might involve mostly young Marines and sailors around 18 or 19 years old. But Navy statistics show that five of the victims were 25, the most prevalent of any age involved in the crashes. And two 40-year-old sailors were killed in motorcycle crashes.

Gen. Amos said the Marines have seen a similar trend.

But he says the new training seems to be working: Of the 300 young men and women who have gone through the sport-bike course, only three have had accidents.

The safety course instructors said some Marines who go through the training decide the sport bike is not for them. (Source: CNN)

The fatalities aren’t confined to just the Marines either. The trend is up in the Navy also. Lets hope that the measures taken by the military brass will save some lives.

For all those Reagan Democrats, something to think about.

Actually it was the Reagan administration with its union busting and industry deregulation that put into motion the economic disasters we are experiencing today. It has taken decades for the GOP to dismantle and destroy those safe guards put into place by the Roosevelt administration. Unfortunately, today we have no one of the caliber of Roosevelt to come up with a solution.

For those who were paying attention the Third Party Candidates held a debate Thursday at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. The participants were Ralph Nader, Independent Party and Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party. Bob Barr, Libertarian and Cynthia McKinney, Green Party could not make it. Journalist Chris Hedges moderated.
The debate was civil and informative. There was none of the nonsense witnessed in the Republican/Democratic debates. The candidates were respectful and refrained from the mud slinging and misdirection so prevalent in the Major Party debates. The United States Commission on Presidential Debates have done a great disservice to this country by not including these candidates in their broadcast debates. But after watching them you can understand why. Nader and Baldwin answered the questions asked and gave well thought out solutions to how to handle the many problems we face today.
For those of you who are interested the following video is the debate in its entirety.

This country has been dominated by the two major parties far to long. This system has been institutionalized by the Commission on Debates refusal to include viable third party candidates in their coverage. The loosers are the American people.

I’ve been plagued by weird dreams lately. You know, dreams about endless war, stock market crashes, terrorists in the senate, etc. They’ve just gone on and on. I thought I’d share this one with you.

Actually I thought this was a pretty clever video. For those of us that are advocates for third party candidates it holds a special meaning. Da Frog isn’t satisfied with either of the major party candidates and his vote for the candidate of his choice could end up tipping the scales, for better or worse.

Massive raids on the Mongols Motorcycle Club in six states threaten the demise of the organization. Tuesday raids were carried out on Mongols clubhouses and private homes in an attempt to curb the club’s alleged criminal activities.

Dozens of burly, tattoo-covered members of the Mongol motorcycle gang were arrested Tuesday in six states after a three-year investigation in which undercover agents infiltrated the notorious group.

Law enforcement agents said the arrests could herald the end of the Mongol Motorcycle Club, a Southern California-based group of 600 or so members that claims to be a social club but that prosecutors say is a criminal gang involved in murder, torture, drug trafficking and other offenses.

“This is one of those celebrated investigations in which the organization from top to bottom has been charged and targeted,” said Michael Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“It puts a stake in the heart of the Mongols.” (Source: CNN)

The Mongols were the target of a three investigation by authorities. This is not the first time that motorcycle clubs have been infiltrated and prosecuted by the ATF and other federal law enforcement organizations. But authorities are hoping that this recent operation will be a death knell for the Mongols.

The sweep, dubbed Operation Black Rain, was to continue throughout the day Tuesday, agents said.

Among those arrested were the gang’s former national president, Ruben Cavazos.

Hoffman said the Mongols had been recruiting members of Los Angeles street gangs to assist in their operations. The Mongols are primarily Latino and formed because the Hells Angels refused to allow Hispanics.

The indictment describes a tightly organized group that routinely engages in violence and sometimes attacks black people. It commits robberies, steals motorcycles and funds itself in part by stealing credit card account information, the indictment said.

The club was infiltrated by members of the ATF. Past Mongols president, Roger Pinney, commented that the club was not the problem, but rather its leadership.

Another former Mongols national president, Roger Pinney, alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that Cavazos was the problem, not the club in general.

“They were just on the verge of cleaning up their act,” said Pinney, who is no longer a member and is serving probation from his role in an infamous brawl at Laughlin, Nevada, in 2002 in which three people died. “It’s not a club-run deal. It’s individuals who are the ones who decide to commit crimes.”

Pinney said he warned other club members that Cavazos was trouble.

“He was throwing all the good members out and bringing gang members in,” Pinney said. “He was trying to be a drug lord or something.”

Pinney doesn’t believe the raid will force the Mongols off the road. “The Mongols aren’t going away, and neither are the Hells Angels,” he said.

This is just another incident in the long struggle between rival motorcycle clubs. Over the past couple months violence has broken out in Glendale and San Francisco.

UPDATE: In a bizarre twist of legal maneuvering the DoJ has announced they are seizing the Mongols colors. That’s right, they are stripping the club of its trademark patch. This is confiscation of intellectual property and not completely unheard of. There is boasting that now anyone seen wearing the Mongol’s logo can have the vest taken from their backs and confiscated. Yeah, right. It is a lot easier for the attorneys at the DoJ to rule the Mongols trademark forfiet than it ever will be to remove the clubs cut. Lots of luck on that one guys. Reminds you of when the feds went after Al Capone. They didn’t convict him of the murder, racketeering and extortion, they got him for tax evasion. So after three years of investigation they nail them for trademark violation amongst other things?

The racketeering indictment seeks the forfeiture of the trademarked “Mongols” name, which is part of the “patch” members wear on their motorcycle jackets.

“In addition to pursuing the criminal charges set forth in the indictment, for the first time ever, we are seeking to forfeit the intellectual property of a gang,” said United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien. “The name ‘Mongols,’ which is part of the gang’s ‘patch’ that members wear on their motorcycle jackets, was trademarked by the gang. The indictment alleges that this trademark is subject to forfeiture. We have filed papers seeking a court order that will prevent gang members from using or displaying the name ‘Mongols.’ If the court grants our request for this order, then if any law enforcement officer sees a Mongol wearing his patch, he will be authorized to stop that gang member and literally take the jacket right off his back.” (Source: US Attorney’s Office)

I got a feeling this is going to get interesting.

Everyone is talking about Colin Powell again. He has endorsed Obama. This is an endorsement the Obama camp should really look into. Colin Powell was a political general who’s career was guided by opportunism. It all started with his fraudulent testimony and evaluation of the My Lai massacare. I’ve written about General Powell’s spotty past before and don’t think an endorsement by him will do Obama much good. I’d sure as hell hate to see Powell in Obama’s cabinet.
Colin Powell was a chief enabler of the Bush administration’s coup d’etat in Haiti. He was responsible for putting Gerard Latortue into power after expelling the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This is just another disgrace in the long legacy of Colin Powell.

History will record that the first Black U.S. Secretary of State personally engineered the theft of the national sovereignty of Haiti, the world’s first Black republic and the second nation in the western hemisphere to free itself from European rule. Such is Colin Powell’s horrific legacy – an historic shame and blight on the collective honor of Black America.

Powell returned to the scene of his crime last week to assure Gerard Latortue, the evilly buffoonish U.S.-installed interim Prime Minister, “We are with you all the way” – words of encouragement to a man who is said to have estimated it will be necessary to kill 25,000 people in the capital alone to stop calls for the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (see , “A Clandestine Interview from Haiti: Resistance in the Slums of Port-au-Prince,” October 14, 2004).

As if to honor the Secretary, Haitian police killed four men from Aristide’s Lavalas party who they claimed started a gun battle while Powell visited the National Palace. But who knows the real circumstances? Haiti is drenched in blood. “The background is that they’re massacring Lavalas supporters on a daily basis now in most of the Port-au-Prince port areas. People are afraid to come out of their homes,” said Ira Kurzban, an Aristide attorney. “What’s happening in Haiti is what’s happening in Iraq: It’s just total chaos, except there are no U.S. troops on the ground.” (Source: Mindfully.org)

Has everyone forgotten his great lie in the UN Security council? White powder, anthrax, WMDs?  Who needs Colin Powell and his bullshit? Is Ralph Nader the only candidate with any integrity? This is one of the reasons that the two party system is such a failure. No real choice.

Don’t you just love it? The McCain camp is robo calling the hell out of us with nonsense about a “washed up terrorist” and massive voter registration fraud perpetuated by Acorn. Then you turn around and read this.

Dozens of newly minted Republican voters say they were duped into joining the party by a GOP contractor with a trail of fraud complaints stretching across the country.

Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed. (Source: LA Times)

Then the thugs have the audacity to whine about Acorn. Acorn does nothing more than send out a bunch of low paid canvassers to register voters. They get paid by the number of registrations they fill out. By law Acorn must submit all the forms, regardless of whether they believe them to be erroneous or not. But the RNC in California is deliberately committing fraud by duping people into registering as Republicans when they think they are filing a petition. Hypocrites.

I am not a Republican,” insisted Karen Ashcraft, 47, a pet-clinic manager and former Democrat from Ventura who said she was duped by a signature gatherer into joining the GOP. “I certainly . . . won’t sign anything in front of a grocery store ever again.”

It is a bait-and-switch scheme familiar to election experts. The firm hired by the California Republican Party — a small company called Young Political Majors, or YPM, which operates in several states — has been accused of using the tactic across the country.

Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties say they are investigating complaints about the company. (Source: LA Times)

Meanwhile the Obama camp has raised challenges to the McCain allegations against Acorn. It gets interesting here because this all goes back to the mass firings of nine U.S. Attorneys by the Bush Administration.

A special prosecutor appointed by Mukasey already is looking into whether improper political considerations influenced the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. At least one prosecutor was fired following Republican complaints that he didn’t aggressively pursue allegations of voter fraud against ACORN.
Bauer said the news leaks are part of a coordinated effort by McCain’s presidential campaign and Republicans. They are “fomenting specious vote-fraud allegations and there are disturbing indications of official involvement or collusion,” Bauer said.
“It is apparent,” he wrote, that law enforcement officials are serving “improper political objectives” that could inhibit voter participation in the Nov. 4 election. The aim is to “suppress the vote and to unduly influence investigations and prosecutions,” Bauer wrote. (Source: Bloomberg)

And then there is the head of a California RNC voter registration group arrested for what? Voter fraud of course.

The head of a voter registration group hired by the California Republican Party was arrested over the weekend for allegedly lying about his address in the state in order to vote illegally, the office of California’s secretary of state announced Sunday.

Mark Anthony Jacoby, the owner of a signature-gathering firm called Young Political Majors, was taken into custody by Ontario police just after midnight Saturday and booked with a felony punishable by up to three years in prison.

Jacoby allegedly registered himself at his childhood home in Los Angeles, even though he no longer lives there. It is voter fraud to register if ineligible and perjury to provide false information on a voter registration card. Jacoby was charged with two counts of each relating to his 2006 and 2007 registration. (Source: Fox News)

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad when this whole election is over with. Every time I answer my phone it is some politician or another is telling me lies and pandering for my vote. Hell, even Sara Palin called me the other night. I thought I’d died and gone to hell.

Today everyone is looking for someone to lead us out of the economic morass that the Bush administration and the “deregulators” of the GOP have gotten us into. Earlier in the 20th century we faced another bank failure across this country that left the nation destitute. It was then, like it is now, the result of poor management and lack of regulation that brought us to economic disaster. Then we had real leadership in our government. Leadership that offered solutions and put into place legislation that insured our survival for the next 75 years. Now we have none and no one seems to have a solution. Listen to Franklin D. Roosevelts fireside chat explaining the steps his administration took to straighten out the situation.

The depression lasted a long time and it took a lot of effort on everyone’s part to pull the country out of the morass they found themselves in. This nation has, unfortunately, forgotten the lessons learned from the Great Depression and over the past 30 years we have had administration after administration who have done their best to overturn the reforms and laws put into place that brought us from the darkness of depression to become the worlds greatest economic power. In part two of President Roosevelt’s chat he further explains what we all have to do to recover.

The similarities between what happened in the 1930s and what is going on today have many parallels. And many of the people in office today are responsible for the failure of our monetary system today. We need to look to the past and realize that this is not the first time we’ve faced this challenge and that each time we have it was because not enough regulation was in place to curb the greed of Wall Street.
FDR is gone. His policies and the laws he brought into being have been systematically dismantled by the generations of politicians who’ve followed. We have no one but ourselves and congress to blame for our dilemma today. We’ll find no leadership like FDRs in our president’s office today. It is time we change direction and take the country back from the special interests and lobbyists. It is time the government answer to the people.