I’m a vet. You’re a vet. Practically all of us are vets! Happy Veterans’ Day to all:

• The Japanese are still reeeeeeally sensitive about the nuke issue as evidenced by the hissy hit they threw when one of our nuclear subs visited a Japanese port yesterday.
• Obama with Tammy Duckworth, director of Department of Veterans Affairs for Illinois who lost both her legs in Iraq, honors veterans today.
• Today is the 90th (!!) anniversary of the end to WWI.  Remember that war?  World War ONE?
• The military is asking Obama to spend LESS money on them?  No shit.
• Continuing signs of improvements in Iraq.  C’mon Iraqi people!  We know you can do it!
• On the other hand, Iraq’s neighbor is still making us grumble.
• Veteran’s Day marks the launch of the U.S. Army’s new recruitment campaign, “Straight From Iraq”.

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The following is a paid review and is completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid. If you’re interested in having me review your site or product, please message me via my contact page.

During these hard economic times, most of us are beginning to seriously evaluate our finances and how to get them under control.  And let’s be honest here, not everyone has good credit either.  No longer can our debts wait another day without us making a game plan to resolve them.  That’s why I was compelled to check out the Bad Credit Loan Shop.

I think the most important thing to realize about BadCreditLoanShop.com is that they don’t actually give loans for bad credit.  Instead, they’re an information portal for you to research on how to get a loan.   The information provided is for people who are looking for a bad credit auto loan, mortgage loan, or any type of personal loans.

The first thing I did when I visited the site was click at the big green arrow on the bottom of the page where it says, “Begin Here”.  That seems like the most logical place to go, right?  Apparently not.  The link clicked out to a warning message from Commission Junction advising me that the user has been suspended from the affiliate network.  Yikes.  Not exactly a good start.

Next I went to the Site Menu to get some more information on loans because that’s essentially the purpose of the site.  The most useful link for me was the FAQ of home equity loans.  With todays real estate market, a lot of people are going to be researching this topic.  The site gives you the bare bone basics on home equity loans.  It’s just enough information to wrap your head around it but not enough information to speak fluidly about it with a loan agent.

The one kudos I’ll give BadCreditLoanShop.com is their link to VA mortgage loans.  As a veteran, I instantly found that link appealing and appreciated the direct link to apply for a VA loan.  Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly see how that related to getting a “bad credit loan”.  It wasn’t related to the site’s niche but appreciated none-the-less.

I think the important thing to keep in mind when visiting BadCreditLoanShop.com is that it’s for informational purposes only!  They may help lead you in the right direction but realize that the site is essentially set up as an affiliate for other programs and is there simply to pool loan resources.

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There’s been an ongoing discussion here between myself and reader “An_Arab” about how justified the insurgents are or or not in attacking U.S. troops, and how justified the U.S. is in fighting the insurgents.

But with the security agreement between the U.S. and the government of Iraq that would allow U.S. troops to continue operating in Iraq still pending- meaning that if it’s not signed by Dec 31st all U.S. activities in Iraq would have to cease until an agreement is reached, and an incoming President Obama who has pledged to withdraw combat troops within 16 months of taking office, there is still one thing on everyone’s mind- the security of Iraq.

Something that was reinforced today in Baghdad, not in an attack on U.S. forces, not with a placed roadside bomb, but in twin violent suicide bombings that killed at least 28, injured roughly 68, and destroyed store fronts, and a bus full of school girls.

A suicide bomber struck Monday in a crowd gathered at the site of an explosion that moments earlier had damaged a bus filled with schoolgirls, with both blasts killing at least 28 people and wounding 68 others, authorities said.

Also Monday, a female suicide bomber attacked a security checkpoint in downtown Baqouba, killing five people including a local leader of Sunni group opposed to al-Qaida, police said. Fifteen other people were wounded in that explosion, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

The twin blasts — the deadliest in Baghdad in months — occurred during the morning rush hour in the mostly Shiite Kasrah section of Azamiyah neighborhood in the northern part of the Iraqi capital. They shattered storefronts along a crowded street and set fire to more than a dozen cars.

Police said the first explosion damaged a minibus carrying young girls to school. The second happened when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in the middle of a crowd that had gathered around the vehicle.

Associated Press Television News video showed the minibus pocked with shrapnel marks with the floor soaked in blood. Girls’ shoes were scattered about amid the wreckage.

Ahmed Riyadh, 54, owner of a nearby grocery, said called it a ”vicious attack” that ”did not differentiate between Shiites and Sunnis.”

”We are fed up with such attacks and we want only to live in peace,” he said. ”The politicians should work hard and set aside their differences to stop the bloodshed.”

Nothing I can say in debate can illustrate nearly as well as this that the insurgents are not “justified” in their violence.  There are no political aims gained from events such as this.  This is violence for the sake of violence.  The average person on the street in Iraq doesn’t want violence no matter who is initiating it, they want what every person wants, peace and prosperity.

While I don’t agree with every move the U.S. military has made in Iraq, I could never sympathize with anyone who would kill so indiscriminately.  So there it is dear readers… better than any argument I could ever make, illustrated in real life.

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The weather is turning to crap across most of the country but the general vibe is that many of are still surviving on the election high from earlier this week.

So pull the covers up and hide away with this link depot:

• If you haven’t seen Obama’s Flickr page yet, go check it out.
• There’s a new addition to the Urban Dictionary: “Obama Babies”.  So named from the children conceived after Obama was proclaimed President by way of celebratory sex.
• Got the post election blues?  CNN teaches us how to turn that political frown up-side-down!
• WTF link of the day: Eight year old boy accused of killing his father and another man.
• Meet Mayor Stu Rasmussen of Oregon; the nations first transgendered mayor.
• Pelosi says what most of us have thought from the start:  Voters simply misunderstood California’s Prop 8.  And Courtney Love confirms it.
• Four days after the election of Barack Obama as President and Iraq policy has already started to shift.

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I’ve been watching the responses of various friends and acquaintances in regards to the news of the Election outcome, and it’s brought me to one conclusion. There’s something I need to say to all of you…

CHILL THE FUCK OUT!!!

Obama won, if you love it- great. If you hate it- fine. But everyone needs to chill the fuck out some.

McCain supporters, sucks for you that your guy lost, but he did. Crying racism, anti-christ, liberal media, and flat out End of the World isn’t going to suddenly make him President. He lost for many reasons, many of them his own, now is the time to accept it, deal with it, and get back to focusing on the big problems our country faces (and I swear to god if I hear one of you say “having an a-rab in office is the big problem our country faces” I will kick the shit out of your face, ok?) now we need to all buckle down and work on- the economy, lack of U.S. businesses, energy reform, foreign policy, etc… We all need to do it together. Continuing to hold on to negative bipartisan feelings will not do the country any favors.

Obama supporters, you have to understand that some of McCain’s die-hards are going to completely fucking hate you for a while. There was a whole lot of emotion invested by both sides, a borderline religious fervor, and so those feelings are going to have to cool with time, patience, and understanding. Of course, when most of you tout Obama as pretty much the second coming, of course there will be those who see him in the opposite light. He’s a man. Our country has come a long way in electing a minority into head office, in a race that has also prominently featured females, so it’s been a great day for progress, but in the end we still elected a human being. He’s not a god people, you can relax. And just because the color of the skin of the man in office has changed, doesn’t mean anything else has… yet. Just like I told McCain’s supporters above, we’ve not even STARTED fixing the country yet. Tighten your belts, buckle down, and get ready for the hard part. Casting your vote was easy, what comes next won’t be, but we still all need to work to make the changes needed to bring this country to an even higher plateau than it’s known before. So don’t get all cocky cuz your guy won. We’re not out of the woods yet.

Again, please, I beg of you. For the good of the country, everyone calm the fuck down. There’s a great potential future for our country but blind hate or blind adoration will not get us there. Hard work, and working together, will.

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