Sunday, January 21, 2007
Woo-hoo! It's snowing in Shenandoah Valley!
Finally! First snow of the winter!
It's finally here ... the first snow of winter in the Shenandoah Valley! A blanket of white is creating a beautiful winter wonderland on the mountains and fields, lining tree branches and settling on the backs of cattle on a nearby farm as they graze unfazed at the weather around them.
The temp at my house was 24 degrees this morning and the gray sky looked like snow when the first flakes began to drift down around 9:00. I was getting in my vehicle to head out and, as I drove our rural mountain road, the snow quickly picked up so that by the time I was on the Libby Loop, "snow snakes" were swirling on the roadway. Since temps have been freezing and in the teens the past few days, the ground was frozen and the snow was not melting as it hit the pavement. Within an hour there was at least an inch of packed snow on the road ... slick and treacherous for those still zipping along at the speed limit.
We've all been waiting for it. Young employees at a Staunton restaurant had their noses pressed to the windows gazing out at the snowy scene before them ... and I gave them a thumbs-up as I walked by. I'm happy to see it, too! Excitement hung in the air as out-of-towners expressed surprise at the heavy snow ... after all, it arrived three hours earlier than forecasters had predicted.
As I returned back to my house the homey smell of wood smoke hung in the air ... the woodstove was cranking out heat to combat the cold drafts creeping in around the edges of the house. The snow lights were on, the chili pot was going, and all my family was back in safe harbor ready to stay close and enjoy the storm.
My snowboarding kids have already checked with Massanutten where three slopes are open and they're busy making snow to go with the natural stuff. The kids and their friends will be on the mountain tomorrow night ... it's unusual to be hitting the slopes for the first time this late in the season. Everyone is going to be heading in that direction....
Meanwhile we're all in for today, warm and snug, for a movie/game board day together. As I look out the window the snow is heavy and coming down at the rate of about 1" an hour. Looks good to me!
Woo-hoo! It's snowing in the Shenandoah Valley!
It's finally here ... the first snow of winter in the Shenandoah Valley! A blanket of white is creating a beautiful winter wonderland on the mountains and fields, lining tree branches and settling on the backs of cattle on a nearby farm as they graze unfazed at the weather around them.
The temp at my house was 24 degrees this morning and the gray sky looked like snow when the first flakes began to drift down around 9:00. I was getting in my vehicle to head out and, as I drove our rural mountain road, the snow quickly picked up so that by the time I was on the Libby Loop, "snow snakes" were swirling on the roadway. Since temps have been freezing and in the teens the past few days, the ground was frozen and the snow was not melting as it hit the pavement. Within an hour there was at least an inch of packed snow on the road ... slick and treacherous for those still zipping along at the speed limit.
We've all been waiting for it. Young employees at a Staunton restaurant had their noses pressed to the windows gazing out at the snowy scene before them ... and I gave them a thumbs-up as I walked by. I'm happy to see it, too! Excitement hung in the air as out-of-towners expressed surprise at the heavy snow ... after all, it arrived three hours earlier than forecasters had predicted.
As I returned back to my house the homey smell of wood smoke hung in the air ... the woodstove was cranking out heat to combat the cold drafts creeping in around the edges of the house. The snow lights were on, the chili pot was going, and all my family was back in safe harbor ready to stay close and enjoy the storm.
My snowboarding kids have already checked with Massanutten where three slopes are open and they're busy making snow to go with the natural stuff. The kids and their friends will be on the mountain tomorrow night ... it's unusual to be hitting the slopes for the first time this late in the season. Everyone is going to be heading in that direction....
Meanwhile we're all in for today, warm and snug, for a movie/game board day together. As I look out the window the snow is heavy and coming down at the rate of about 1" an hour. Looks good to me!
Woo-hoo! It's snowing in the Shenandoah Valley!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Sleeping giant beginning to stir ... Victory in Iraq!
"We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."
President George W. Bush, 2001
Silent Majority beginning to speak up....
My telephone rang at 7:30 this morning. It was the manager of a local store that I frequent and, when I answered, he very boisterously said, "Good morning! I want one of those signs!"
I knew the story had hit the morning newspaper.
Earlier this week I submitted letters to the editors of local newspapers asking folks to put an electric candle in their windows if they supported the troops.
Frustrated with the lack of accurate coverage in the news and left with no voice in the mainstream media, local residents had discussed how they could publicly show support for the troops, the war, and President Bush.
A friend called with the idea of the candles in the windows. Another friend contacted me about a WIN THE WAR sign he had put together after watching the President's speech asking to send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.
The sleeping giant known as the Silent Majority was beginning to stir....
A reporter with the Staunton News Leader called after reading my letter to the editor and was interested in pursuing the story. After explaining how the idea came to be, I put her in contact with other area residents. She contacted them and talked with them about their reasons for displaying candles in their windows and signs in their yards ... and put together a story that appears in today's edition, Candles support troops; signs call for victory.
A friend called with the idea of the candles in the windows. Another friend contacted me about a WIN THE WAR sign he had put together after watching the President's speech asking to send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.
The sleeping giant known as the Silent Majority was beginning to stir....
A reporter with the Staunton News Leader called after reading my letter to the editor and was interested in pursuing the story. After explaining how the idea came to be, I put her in contact with other area residents. She contacted them and talked with them about their reasons for displaying candles in their windows and signs in their yards ... and put together a story that appears in today's edition, Candles support troops; signs call for victory.
The reporter talked with a 22-year-old who has a candle in the window for her friend, Lance Cpl. Nate Salatin of Augusta County who is currently deployed to Iraq ... she talked with the mother of a 22-year-old Army lieutenant who will most likely be deployed to Iraq within the year ... and still another who was the mother of a young man who recently returned after deployment to Afghanistan. All strongly back the troops ... all believe in the mission ... all understand and support the President.
Update: New related story here.
"I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people."
"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended."
President George W. Bush, 9/11/01
The Mouse Story....
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered ... but he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.
"There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap-- alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
REMEMBER: EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.
One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend.
My mom passed this on to me....
"What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered ... but he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.
"There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap-- alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
REMEMBER: EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.
One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend.
My mom passed this on to me....
Friday, January 19, 2007
Hezbollah terrorist cells inside America....
Forget al Quaeda ... beware of Hezbollah
Saturday on Fox News Channel ...
Smokescreen: Hezbollah Inside America. Saturday, January 20, 2007. 8pm ET. Hosted by David Asman.
Money laundering, smuggling, and ID theft - all done through Hezbollah terror cells in the U.S. Fox follows the money trail as millions of dollars in legal cash is moved from our country to deep inside the heart of Lebanon. Now, in this exclusive investigation, Fox exposes this network of well-trained, highly organized criminals.
It begins at the heart of tobacco country in North Carolina. Read more here.
• Video: Infiltrating the Charlotte Hezbollah cell
• Video: Taking down the Charlotte Hezbollah cell
• Photoessay: Smokescreen: Hezbollah Inside America
Saturday on Fox News Channel ...
Smokescreen: Hezbollah Inside America. Saturday, January 20, 2007. 8pm ET. Hosted by David Asman.
Money laundering, smuggling, and ID theft - all done through Hezbollah terror cells in the U.S. Fox follows the money trail as millions of dollars in legal cash is moved from our country to deep inside the heart of Lebanon. Now, in this exclusive investigation, Fox exposes this network of well-trained, highly organized criminals.
It begins at the heart of tobacco country in North Carolina. Read more here.
• Video: Infiltrating the Charlotte Hezbollah cell
• Video: Taking down the Charlotte Hezbollah cell
• Photoessay: Smokescreen: Hezbollah Inside America
Victory in Iraq!
WIN THE WAR ... Victory in Iraq!
"Conversation with a soldier ... Part 1"
"Conversation with a soldier ... Part 2"
Next: "Conversation with a soldier ... Part 3"....
"Conversation with a soldier ... Part 1"
"Conversation with a soldier ... Part 2"
Next: "Conversation with a soldier ... Part 3"....
Put candle in window to support troops
A way to show your thanks....
Here in the SWAC area we are huge supporters of our troops. Those guys volunteered to go into the military to protect us and our families, and we have many from this area who are active military, in the reserves, or are veterans.
The true story of the war, as told by the men coming back, is not printed in the MSM. Those who support the war don't get equal coverage from the MSM.
How can we let the world know that we support the troops and we thank them for their sacrifice in protecting us? Many people don't like to stand on a street corner with an American flag and a "Support the Troops" sign for a variety of reasons -- they have to work, they have young children, they are intimiated by the anti-war protesters.
Here's something we can all do to show our support.
Put an electric candle in the window.
Mine is already there.
It's for Nate who is still in Iraq, for Herb who just came home from Iraq, and all the others. It's my way of saying...
Thank you.
WIN THE WAR! Victory in Iraq!
Frustrated at the mainstream media's slanted coverage of the war in Iraq without regard to everything good accomplished by American troops in that region of the world, and disgusted at an anti-war sign in a nearby yard, local residents in Staunton made their own signs:
WIN THE WAR!
This is their way of showing support for our troops and thanking them for their sacrifice in keeping us free and safe, and a way to show support for their Commander-in-Chief, President George W. Bush.
Americans are getting fed up with the constant negative doom-and-gloom representation of the war. But, unlike Vietnam War era, these citizens are speaking up!
Start a trend! Make a sign for your yard to WIN THE WAR. Put an electric candle in the window to say thanks to the troops.
Take the politics out of the war. Let's WIN IN IRAQ!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
WIN THE WAR! Victory in Iraq!
Frustrated at the mainstream media's slanted coverage of the war in Iraq without regard to everything good accomplished by American troops in that region of the world, and disgusted at an anti-war sign in a nearby yard, local residents in Staunton made their own signs:
WIN THE WAR!
This is their way of showing support for our troops and thanking them for their sacrifice in keeping us free and safe, and a way to show support for their Commander-in-Chief, President George W. Bush.
Americans are getting fed up with the constant negative doom-and-gloom representation of the war. But, unlike Vietnam War era, these citizens are speaking up!
Start a trend! Make a sign for your yard to WIN THE WAR. Put an electric candle in the window to say thanks to the troops.
Take the politics out of the war. Let's WIN IN IRAQ!
Victory in Iraq! Conversation with a soldier ... Part 2
Part 1 here
He volunteered to serve his country after 9/11 ... reenlisting at the age of 40 to fight Muslim terrorists who attacked America and killed 3,000 innocent people that day. He spent a year at Guantanamo Bay guarding military prisoners before deploying to the war zone in January 2006.
He's an American soldier who returned home from Iraq less than two weeks ago after serving a year in the desert with men half his age. During his time in Iraq he grew in his religious faith and in his love for country. His blood probably runs red, white, and blue in his veins ... he's that patriotic. He doesn't suffer fools easily ... but his heart is as big as the mountain he lives on. He gladly shares both his faith and his patriotism with younger soldiers who look to him for leadership and protection.
Is this another Vietnam?
This is not another Vietnam, he emphasizes.
This is an all-volunteer military ... everyone has volunteered. The United States government can send you anywhere it deems necessary at anytime ... that is understood when you sign up. These men and women have volunteered to go in harm's way ... it's what they do ... especially those in the combat areas of the military. They are the guys who stand out there with rifles and machine guns to do their job when their country allows them to.
Propaganda against the United States is everywhere in the Middle East. Insurgent terrorists, most not from Iraq, appear on al Jazeera TV. He reemphasizes how much the American press does not publicize the atrocities of Saddam Hussein nor the good that has been accomplished and continues to be accomplished by American forces ... an underhanded propaganda.
He's convinced the media are trying to get John Q. Public to quit in Iraq because the public does not understand this type of conflict. The enemy is everywhere and, yet, the enemy looks just like everyone else ... wearing no uniform ... sliding across the border from Iran to do terrorist deeds for a few dollars.
Many Americans don't care
Political correctness, he says, does not belong in the U.S. playbook. Political correctness came from people who want subjects, not free-thinking responsible citizens.
America is full of "subjects" who want comfort, safety, and security ... and they are willing to trade their liberties and freedoms for comfort, safety, and security.
Americans, he says, can't get their heads out of their football games or wrestling or reality TV or X-Box long enough to concern themselves with national security and elections. They don't care. They're happy being subjects. They are desensitized to the way things happen in the real world and are used to immediate satisfaction, immediate pleasure, and want absolute closure.
Many Americans don't understand that the war on terrorism is an on-going battle even though they were warned of that by President George W. Bush immediately after 9/11.
The Founding Fathers were subjects of Great Britain and didn't like it. They fought for their freedom ... and through freedom they became citizens.
Our country and our values, he says, are worth fighting for ... but we're held back by pacifists, non-committal people who have no passion for this country and have no interest in preserving it.
However, if another 9/11 occurs they will be some of the first crying in the streets -- victims --looking for people like our military friend and others who are interested in helping people by keeping the bad guys away from them.
Iraqis thank Americans daily for freedom
He worked with the Army MPs in Baghdad protecting high-profile Iraqi politicians ... he's learning the language and culture ... he's been inside the palaces and watched the night sky from the roof tops. He has looked out over the Tigris River ... been in the homes of the Iraqi people ... and he has heard them thank Americans for their freedom.
He says the Iraqis thank the soldiers daily for setting them free. They are very, very grateful to the Americans for releasing them from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, something they could not do themselves because they were oppressed. We freed the oppressed. And, yes, he realizes it wasn't the only oppressed country in the world ... but now there is one less.
Hussein's wretched work
He got to know people who were personally affected by Hussein's gruesome works. There was mass genocide. Citizens were gassed. Thousands were tortured. Thousands disappeared. Thousands died.
He met family members of citizens who were fed to the lions. Yes ... fed to the lions. Have you heard that on the news? He saw the cages where the lions were raised ... lions that were used by Hussein on Iraqi citizens he perceived as enemies ... Iraqi citizens who were literally fed to the lions ... left to be torn apart and devoured by the man-eating beasts.
It was a violent world for Iraqis who were considered enemies of Saddam.
Some say it's a violent world today with random bombings from outside insurgent terrorists ... but the people of Iraq are grateful for their freedom.
He volunteered to serve his country after 9/11 ... reenlisting at the age of 40 to fight Muslim terrorists who attacked America and killed 3,000 innocent people that day. He spent a year at Guantanamo Bay guarding military prisoners before deploying to the war zone in January 2006.
He's an American soldier who returned home from Iraq less than two weeks ago after serving a year in the desert with men half his age. During his time in Iraq he grew in his religious faith and in his love for country. His blood probably runs red, white, and blue in his veins ... he's that patriotic. He doesn't suffer fools easily ... but his heart is as big as the mountain he lives on. He gladly shares both his faith and his patriotism with younger soldiers who look to him for leadership and protection.
Is this another Vietnam?
This is not another Vietnam, he emphasizes.
This is an all-volunteer military ... everyone has volunteered. The United States government can send you anywhere it deems necessary at anytime ... that is understood when you sign up. These men and women have volunteered to go in harm's way ... it's what they do ... especially those in the combat areas of the military. They are the guys who stand out there with rifles and machine guns to do their job when their country allows them to.
Propaganda against the United States is everywhere in the Middle East. Insurgent terrorists, most not from Iraq, appear on al Jazeera TV. He reemphasizes how much the American press does not publicize the atrocities of Saddam Hussein nor the good that has been accomplished and continues to be accomplished by American forces ... an underhanded propaganda.
He's convinced the media are trying to get John Q. Public to quit in Iraq because the public does not understand this type of conflict. The enemy is everywhere and, yet, the enemy looks just like everyone else ... wearing no uniform ... sliding across the border from Iran to do terrorist deeds for a few dollars.
Many Americans don't care
Political correctness, he says, does not belong in the U.S. playbook. Political correctness came from people who want subjects, not free-thinking responsible citizens.
America is full of "subjects" who want comfort, safety, and security ... and they are willing to trade their liberties and freedoms for comfort, safety, and security.
Americans, he says, can't get their heads out of their football games or wrestling or reality TV or X-Box long enough to concern themselves with national security and elections. They don't care. They're happy being subjects. They are desensitized to the way things happen in the real world and are used to immediate satisfaction, immediate pleasure, and want absolute closure.
Many Americans don't understand that the war on terrorism is an on-going battle even though they were warned of that by President George W. Bush immediately after 9/11.
The Founding Fathers were subjects of Great Britain and didn't like it. They fought for their freedom ... and through freedom they became citizens.
Our country and our values, he says, are worth fighting for ... but we're held back by pacifists, non-committal people who have no passion for this country and have no interest in preserving it.
However, if another 9/11 occurs they will be some of the first crying in the streets -- victims --looking for people like our military friend and others who are interested in helping people by keeping the bad guys away from them.
Iraqis thank Americans daily for freedom
He worked with the Army MPs in Baghdad protecting high-profile Iraqi politicians ... he's learning the language and culture ... he's been inside the palaces and watched the night sky from the roof tops. He has looked out over the Tigris River ... been in the homes of the Iraqi people ... and he has heard them thank Americans for their freedom.
He says the Iraqis thank the soldiers daily for setting them free. They are very, very grateful to the Americans for releasing them from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, something they could not do themselves because they were oppressed. We freed the oppressed. And, yes, he realizes it wasn't the only oppressed country in the world ... but now there is one less.
Hussein's wretched work
He got to know people who were personally affected by Hussein's gruesome works. There was mass genocide. Citizens were gassed. Thousands were tortured. Thousands disappeared. Thousands died.
He met family members of citizens who were fed to the lions. Yes ... fed to the lions. Have you heard that on the news? He saw the cages where the lions were raised ... lions that were used by Hussein on Iraqi citizens he perceived as enemies ... Iraqi citizens who were literally fed to the lions ... left to be torn apart and devoured by the man-eating beasts.
It was a violent world for Iraqis who were considered enemies of Saddam.
Some say it's a violent world today with random bombings from outside insurgent terrorists ... but the people of Iraq are grateful for their freedom.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Open your eyes!
If you care about national security you must read Spank That Donkey's post Goode Bashers: Al Jazerra Itself Has a Message For You.
Other terrorism-related posts include Johnathan Maxfield's "24" Understands, General Grievous' Dog's I Can Only Answer With One Word: Victory, Kilo at Spark It Up!!! has Troops Respond to Bush Plan, and Alton at I'm Not Emeril has Spend 12 Minutes With Your Eyes Wide Open.
It's difficult to understand how anyone can continue to ignore the danger.
Thoughts from the Valley....
Winter is back in the Shenandoah Valley. It was 14 degrees at my house this morning .... brrr. But it was a welcome brrr. I actually was able to put on a turtleneck again to ward off the cold after days of 60- and 70-degree weather. The woodstove is cranked and the heat is appreciated.
I was out early and made several observations as I drove the Valley.
Kids wear the darndest things ... it was 14 degrees and I was bundled in heavy coat and gloves. As I pulled into the parking lot of a college campus, I noticed a student walking toward the building on his way to class with shorts on. Shorts! O-kay....
Gasoline at the Pure station in Ft. Defiance was $1.99 a gallon. Not bad. Spank That Donkey told me he found gas in Bath County for $1.89 over the weekend. Even better.
South of Ft. Defiance I noticed the cold hadn't stopped the Willow Spout from flowing ... but the runover water in the trough had frozen into long icicles reaching to the ground which made a very wintry-looking picture.
I got a scare following a jeep that was driving ahead of me. In this neck of the woods we have many blind curves that wrap around mountains -- you'd better stay on your side of the road. The driver of the jeep was distracted by something he was doing and crossed the double solid lines in the road going around a particularly wicked curve. Dangerous ... to him and any possible oncoming vehicle. He was lucky. No one was coming.
Back home ... bright sun and a high in 30s today. With this cold expected to last the week the ski resorts will be able to make snow. That's a good thing. Now if we could just get some of the natural stuff....
I was out early and made several observations as I drove the Valley.
Kids wear the darndest things ... it was 14 degrees and I was bundled in heavy coat and gloves. As I pulled into the parking lot of a college campus, I noticed a student walking toward the building on his way to class with shorts on. Shorts! O-kay....
Gasoline at the Pure station in Ft. Defiance was $1.99 a gallon. Not bad. Spank That Donkey told me he found gas in Bath County for $1.89 over the weekend. Even better.
South of Ft. Defiance I noticed the cold hadn't stopped the Willow Spout from flowing ... but the runover water in the trough had frozen into long icicles reaching to the ground which made a very wintry-looking picture.
I got a scare following a jeep that was driving ahead of me. In this neck of the woods we have many blind curves that wrap around mountains -- you'd better stay on your side of the road. The driver of the jeep was distracted by something he was doing and crossed the double solid lines in the road going around a particularly wicked curve. Dangerous ... to him and any possible oncoming vehicle. He was lucky. No one was coming.
Back home ... bright sun and a high in 30s today. With this cold expected to last the week the ski resorts will be able to make snow. That's a good thing. Now if we could just get some of the natural stuff....
Victory in Iraq! Conversation with a soldier ... Part 1
Returning home from war
He just returned from the battlefield of Iraq less than two weeks ago and sports a tan from months in the desert. He's been in the Army, the Reserves, and the Army National Guard. He's worked with the Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
He reenlisted in 2001 after 9/11 occurred because he knew Muslim terrorists had attacked this country. He had studied those people ... he had read all about them ... and he knew they were behind the attacks.
He relishes his mountain home ... basks in the love of family and friends ... and yet he feels the call to protect this country he loves from a vicious enemy.
He is willing to sacrifice time with his family, time on the mountain, to go halfway around the world because he would rather fight terrorism in the desert sand than fight it on the streets of Staunton. And if you don't think that can happen, he says, you're naive and have no sense of the real world.
He makes no apologies for his political affiliation ... Republican.
He angers at the lack of factual coverage in the mainstream media which leaves Americans with a negative impression of how the war is going in Iraq. He pounds his fist into his hand to make a point. In his military uniform he is all business.
But he can get a tear in his eye at the sight of an American flag waving in the breeze ... at the sight of everyday Americans standing on a street corner showing support for him and his fellow warriors ... at friends and family welcoming him home from war on a cold, rainy night.
He is ... an American soldier.
He lives in the mountains of western Virginia ... but he spent a year in Baghdad protecting and talking with the highest ranking Iraqi government officials ... the President, Vice Presidents, Prime Minister.
He has thoughts to share. Just ask him. He will tell you. But he is also mindful of the uniform he still wears.
This is a war we can win
We talked the morning after President George W. Bush's address to the nation asking for an additional 20,000 troops to go into Iraq. I wanted his perspective of the situation and whether the President's plan would work.
His first response: The troops need to have their hands untied and allowed to fight this war. No political correctness, no kid-glove treatment, no we-might-offend-someone attitude. This is war ... and war means breaking things and inflicting hurt.
In his opinion it's almost too late for that. However, that doesn't mean we won't succeed or can't succeed. This is a war we can win.
But those 20,000 troops need to know what their mission will be. There's nothing wrong with beefing up the troops if they are used effectively ... they need to eliminate the insurgent terrorists whose only job is to kill GIs. It needs to be done. Exterminate them. They are trying to kill American troops. Let our military do what they need to do.
He bristles when anti-war protesters and Democrats are mentioned. He feels betrayed by both.
He also feels the American people abandoned the military with their actions last November when they turned leadership of this country over to Democrats. It was like a vote of no-confidence ... as if they had no recourse other than throwing up their hands and giving in.
The public abandoned the military.
He repeated that a number of times. The unwashed masses of the U.S. elected legislators who were interested in nothing more than just plain getting us out of Iraq ... bringing the military back ... and not worrying about finishing the mission.
It's all political, he says. The Democrats have no plan other than to just withdraw -- cut and run -- so they can make a statement to the President.
No matter how much they proclaim to "support the troops" ... the troops don't feel that support as long as Congress doesn't back the mission and what they have done and are doing.
Iraq is a stronghold in the Middle East. We went in and toppled a dictatorship. The people are grateful, and we need to stay there to finish the job.
He just returned from the battlefield of Iraq less than two weeks ago and sports a tan from months in the desert. He's been in the Army, the Reserves, and the Army National Guard. He's worked with the Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
He reenlisted in 2001 after 9/11 occurred because he knew Muslim terrorists had attacked this country. He had studied those people ... he had read all about them ... and he knew they were behind the attacks.
He relishes his mountain home ... basks in the love of family and friends ... and yet he feels the call to protect this country he loves from a vicious enemy.
He is willing to sacrifice time with his family, time on the mountain, to go halfway around the world because he would rather fight terrorism in the desert sand than fight it on the streets of Staunton. And if you don't think that can happen, he says, you're naive and have no sense of the real world.
He makes no apologies for his political affiliation ... Republican.
He angers at the lack of factual coverage in the mainstream media which leaves Americans with a negative impression of how the war is going in Iraq. He pounds his fist into his hand to make a point. In his military uniform he is all business.
But he can get a tear in his eye at the sight of an American flag waving in the breeze ... at the sight of everyday Americans standing on a street corner showing support for him and his fellow warriors ... at friends and family welcoming him home from war on a cold, rainy night.
He is ... an American soldier.
He lives in the mountains of western Virginia ... but he spent a year in Baghdad protecting and talking with the highest ranking Iraqi government officials ... the President, Vice Presidents, Prime Minister.
He has thoughts to share. Just ask him. He will tell you. But he is also mindful of the uniform he still wears.
This is a war we can win
We talked the morning after President George W. Bush's address to the nation asking for an additional 20,000 troops to go into Iraq. I wanted his perspective of the situation and whether the President's plan would work.
His first response: The troops need to have their hands untied and allowed to fight this war. No political correctness, no kid-glove treatment, no we-might-offend-someone attitude. This is war ... and war means breaking things and inflicting hurt.
In his opinion it's almost too late for that. However, that doesn't mean we won't succeed or can't succeed. This is a war we can win.
But those 20,000 troops need to know what their mission will be. There's nothing wrong with beefing up the troops if they are used effectively ... they need to eliminate the insurgent terrorists whose only job is to kill GIs. It needs to be done. Exterminate them. They are trying to kill American troops. Let our military do what they need to do.
He bristles when anti-war protesters and Democrats are mentioned. He feels betrayed by both.
He also feels the American people abandoned the military with their actions last November when they turned leadership of this country over to Democrats. It was like a vote of no-confidence ... as if they had no recourse other than throwing up their hands and giving in.
The public abandoned the military.
He repeated that a number of times. The unwashed masses of the U.S. elected legislators who were interested in nothing more than just plain getting us out of Iraq ... bringing the military back ... and not worrying about finishing the mission.
It's all political, he says. The Democrats have no plan other than to just withdraw -- cut and run -- so they can make a statement to the President.
No matter how much they proclaim to "support the troops" ... the troops don't feel that support as long as Congress doesn't back the mission and what they have done and are doing.
Iraq is a stronghold in the Middle East. We went in and toppled a dictatorship. The people are grateful, and we need to stay there to finish the job.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Victory in Iraq!
"You'll never get a Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"
-- Capt. Henry P. Crowe, USMC
Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943
-- Capt. Henry P. Crowe, USMC
Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943
Put a candle in the window for our troops
A way to show your thanks....
Here in the SWAC area we are huge supporters of our troops. Those guys volunteered to go into the military to protect us and our families, and we have many from this area who are active military, in the reserves, or are veterans.
The true story of the war, as told by the men coming back, is not printed in the MSM. Those who support the war don't get equal coverage from the MSM.
How can we let the world know that we support the troops and we thank them for their sacrifice in protecting us? Many people don't like to stand on a street corner with an American flag and a "Support the Troops" sign for a variety of reasons -- they have to work, they have young children, they are intimiated by the anti-war protesters.
Here's something we can all do to show our support.
Put a candle in the window.
Mine is already there.
It's for Nate who is still in Iraq, for Herb who just came home from Iraq, and all the others. It's my way of saying...
Thank you.
"24"
Okay, I admit it. I'm one of the handful of people who don't watch the TV show "24." I hear Rush talk about it and my friends discuss it ... but I don't watch much on TV.
So when the new "24" season started this week a friend said I absolutely must watch! I protested that I had not seen the previous five seasons; wouldn't it be a handicap not knowing the background of the show?
No, he insisted, I didn't need the other seasons ... as long as I started with the first episode of this new season.
Well ... I missed it. I was at the computer Sunday night and on the phone and next thing I knew ... I had missed the show. Oh, well....
But then I remembered ... we have the California TV stations that televise network shows three hours behind the east coast. I still could catch it.
Involved at the computer, I forgot until it was 20 minutes into the show. I turned on the TV and started watching ... a guy was tied in a chair (Jack?), he was being interrogated, he had blood running down the side of his head as if he had been bashed with the butt of a gun or something ... and then the interrogator took a long, slim rod and stabbed it into the man's back ... the man gasped and slumped ... and he was dead. I jumped in my chair. Geez.
Next thing I knew that same man (Jack?) was with the interrogator in a room with another man tied in a chair. Wait! Did I miss something while I was typing away at my computer? Jack wasn't dead? The interrogator was his friend? Who was the guy tied in the chair? Must be the bad guy because Jack was trying to get information from him ... he did something (tightened a tourniquet on the man's wrists?) to make the man flinch and yell in pain. Jack quit torturing the guy and the other fella asked why. Jack said the man didn't know anything and, when asked why he thought that, he said he could see it in the man's eyes.
The "interrogator" looked at Jack, looked at the man in the chair, looked at Jack again, then picked up a knife, slowly walked over to the man in the chair, and in one quick movement stabbed him in the knee.
I physically jumped in my chair. The man tied up in the chair screamed in pain and, with an added twist of the knife, started singing like a bird ... names, places, whatever info they were looking for was now being spilled. Jack watched, somewhat startled, then looked at the interrogator and said something like, "I don't know how to do this anymore."
Oh, man. I've decided this is definitely a guy show.
Maybe I just haven't given it enough of a chance ... maybe if I had watched from the beginning of the series ... maybe if I had watched from the beginning of that night's show. I admire that they are going after the bad guys ... and I have NO problem with what they're doing to get information because obviously whimpy tactics don't work.
But I'd rather watch Fox News or National Georgraphic. I turned off "24" and went back to work on the computer.
I'm sure my friend is going to try and get me to watch again. He has taped it and I may give it a try....
So when the new "24" season started this week a friend said I absolutely must watch! I protested that I had not seen the previous five seasons; wouldn't it be a handicap not knowing the background of the show?
No, he insisted, I didn't need the other seasons ... as long as I started with the first episode of this new season.
Well ... I missed it. I was at the computer Sunday night and on the phone and next thing I knew ... I had missed the show. Oh, well....
But then I remembered ... we have the California TV stations that televise network shows three hours behind the east coast. I still could catch it.
Involved at the computer, I forgot until it was 20 minutes into the show. I turned on the TV and started watching ... a guy was tied in a chair (Jack?), he was being interrogated, he had blood running down the side of his head as if he had been bashed with the butt of a gun or something ... and then the interrogator took a long, slim rod and stabbed it into the man's back ... the man gasped and slumped ... and he was dead. I jumped in my chair. Geez.
Next thing I knew that same man (Jack?) was with the interrogator in a room with another man tied in a chair. Wait! Did I miss something while I was typing away at my computer? Jack wasn't dead? The interrogator was his friend? Who was the guy tied in the chair? Must be the bad guy because Jack was trying to get information from him ... he did something (tightened a tourniquet on the man's wrists?) to make the man flinch and yell in pain. Jack quit torturing the guy and the other fella asked why. Jack said the man didn't know anything and, when asked why he thought that, he said he could see it in the man's eyes.
The "interrogator" looked at Jack, looked at the man in the chair, looked at Jack again, then picked up a knife, slowly walked over to the man in the chair, and in one quick movement stabbed him in the knee.
I physically jumped in my chair. The man tied up in the chair screamed in pain and, with an added twist of the knife, started singing like a bird ... names, places, whatever info they were looking for was now being spilled. Jack watched, somewhat startled, then looked at the interrogator and said something like, "I don't know how to do this anymore."
Oh, man. I've decided this is definitely a guy show.
Maybe I just haven't given it enough of a chance ... maybe if I had watched from the beginning of the series ... maybe if I had watched from the beginning of that night's show. I admire that they are going after the bad guys ... and I have NO problem with what they're doing to get information because obviously whimpy tactics don't work.
But I'd rather watch Fox News or National Georgraphic. I turned off "24" and went back to work on the computer.
I'm sure my friend is going to try and get me to watch again. He has taped it and I may give it a try....
Monday, January 15, 2007
When will it snow?
Here in the Shenandoah Valley it has been 70 degrees the past two days. While it's nice to have mild weather, we're looking for winter ... which seems to be AWOL this year. Wintergreen and Massanutten ski resorts can't open the slopes -- not enough snow and not cold enough to make snow.
When my children were young we used to read a beautifully illustrated children's book called "When Will It Snow?" which was written and illustrated by Bruce Hiscock. The dedication in the front said, "To my good friends, and to everyone whose spirits soar when the first snowflakes fall."
That's us!
We are waiting for the first snowfall. Weather forecasts promise cold weather moving in tomorrow which means the resorts may be able to make snow.
My snowboarding kids haven't been able to hit the slopes this winter. The sleds are idle waiting to make the first run down our hilly backyard ... the snow lights are waiting to illuminate the night for sledding and exploring in the woods ... the fire pit is waiting to come to life to ward off the chill.
We're all ready. The only question is ...
When will it snow?
When my children were young we used to read a beautifully illustrated children's book called "When Will It Snow?" which was written and illustrated by Bruce Hiscock. The dedication in the front said, "To my good friends, and to everyone whose spirits soar when the first snowflakes fall."
That's us!
We are waiting for the first snowfall. Weather forecasts promise cold weather moving in tomorrow which means the resorts may be able to make snow.
My snowboarding kids haven't been able to hit the slopes this winter. The sleds are idle waiting to make the first run down our hilly backyard ... the snow lights are waiting to illuminate the night for sledding and exploring in the woods ... the fire pit is waiting to come to life to ward off the chill.
We're all ready. The only question is ...
When will it snow?
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Hey MisLeader ... here's the template....
The Slantin' MisLeader seems to think conservative bloggers, using a template such as the one above, are participating in mindless group-think.Look at the message in this "template." It's a message to Americans who have stuck their heads in the sand about the danger to our country from Muslim terrorists who want to kill us. It's doesn't get any plainer than that.
Many democrats in power don't seem to understand the alarming reality of terrorism -- perhaps they need another 9/11 to demonstrate to them the tenacity of our enemy -- or, proabably more accurately, they don't care because they have a political agenda to push and national security is perceived as a Republican issue.
Because of that, many dems act as if they would rather win the political war as opposed to the world war we are currently engaged in.
Many Americans also don't seem to understand the alarming reality of terrorism ... perhaps because the MSM doesn't feel it's necessary to remind them?
In my opinion the film footage of the Twin Towers being attacked and crumbling should be shown every day of our lives. The photos and footage of the Pentagon with a huge gaping hole in the building should be shown daily.
The photos of that Pennsylvania field where Flight 92 went down should be shown over and over as a reminder that there are Americans willing to stand up and fight the enemy ... with their lives ...
... and we don't even want to be reminded of it by a template banner.
I wonder: What part of "They want to kill us" do the dems and MisLeader not understand?
And why would educating the public about the danger of terrorism so infuriate the MisLeader?
Perhaps they want to keep us all in denial and ... group think?
Hey MisLeader ... repeat this!
Hey, MisLeader ... repeat after me....
macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good....
Sound familiar?
It's the template of the Slantin' MisLeader ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good....
macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good....
Sound familiar?
It's the template of the Slantin' MisLeader ... macaca ... Republicans bad, dems good....
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Hey MisLeader ... who's being repetitive?
Propaganda? I don't think so.
The Slantin' MisLeader once again gets it wrong. Do they even read what they write?
" ... many of them [conservative bloggers] are just repeating the same message. That's not blogging, it's propaganda...."
Oh, real-ly?
In school I thought repetition was called learning.
Let's think back to the fall campaign when the lefty bloggers repeated messages complete with exact same photo and same text over and over on various liberal posts. The purpose was repetition so someone -- the MSM? -- would take notice. And what were they blogging about? Their candidate for Senate.
Conservative bloggers took note. Lesson learned. The way to get the attention of readers was to repeat it over and over and over. Bingo! It must have worked because the MisLeader noticed.
And what was it the conservative bloggers were blogging about? NATIONAL SECURITY. The war. The terrorists. They were trying to educate readers who had stuck their heads in the sand.
It's been said that to get someone to remember something use the rule of three: say it once, then twice, and by the third time it begins to stick.
Who is being repetitive? The MisLeader blog seems to go off on the same rant and talking points against conservative bloggers on a regular basis. ~yawn~ Perhaps they need to read the lefty blogs more so they will see what the libs are writing.
Here's a point for the MisLeader: Their resident bloggers are paid staff.
Conservative bloggers are volunteers blogging in their free time.
The Slantin' MisLeader once again gets it wrong. Do they even read what they write?
" ... many of them [conservative bloggers] are just repeating the same message. That's not blogging, it's propaganda...."
Oh, real-ly?
In school I thought repetition was called learning.
Let's think back to the fall campaign when the lefty bloggers repeated messages complete with exact same photo and same text over and over on various liberal posts. The purpose was repetition so someone -- the MSM? -- would take notice. And what were they blogging about? Their candidate for Senate.
Conservative bloggers took note. Lesson learned. The way to get the attention of readers was to repeat it over and over and over. Bingo! It must have worked because the MisLeader noticed.
And what was it the conservative bloggers were blogging about? NATIONAL SECURITY. The war. The terrorists. They were trying to educate readers who had stuck their heads in the sand.
It's been said that to get someone to remember something use the rule of three: say it once, then twice, and by the third time it begins to stick.
Who is being repetitive? The MisLeader blog seems to go off on the same rant and talking points against conservative bloggers on a regular basis. ~yawn~ Perhaps they need to read the lefty blogs more so they will see what the libs are writing.
Here's a point for the MisLeader: Their resident bloggers are paid staff.
Conservative bloggers are volunteers blogging in their free time.
"We're Americans."
How can we not believe in the greatness of America? How can we not do what is right and needed to preserve this last best hope of man on earth? After all our struggles to restore America, to revive confidence in our country, hope for our future -- after all our hard won victories earned through the patience and courage of every citizen -- we cannot, must not and will not turn back. We will finish our job. How could we do less? We're Americans."
--President Ronald Reagan, 1984
Friday, January 12, 2007
Excellent posts from Johnathan Maxfield
Johnathan Maxfield is back in the saddle and blogging on a regular basis. He has two excellent posts today:
-- Dems: Think Like Patton ... or Die Like Hitler
-- In Jesus' Name
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 9
"All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing." --Edmund Burke
Post 9/11: This Is The New Reality
- We are in for the fight of our lives.
- That we have not yet had another terrorist attack in the United States is remarkable, but it will happen. Al Queda keeps its promises.
- How do I know this? I was born in Lebanon and raised as a Christian. When the Lebanese Civil War broke out, our family, and our Maronite community came under vicious attack by Islamic extremists.
- They promised to destroy us, and as you know from the recent war in Lebanon, the country is now nearly Islamic.
- I was nearly killed by a mortar. Our home was destroyed. We lived in a bomb shelter for seven years. Most of my childhood friends were killed. That’s how I know.
- We must make the connection between individual safety and a strong national defense, increase civic preparation and political responsibility, and train all Americans to become defenders of our community safety and national security.
- Anguish struck the citizens of the United States of America on 9/11 as a
handful of hateful men murdered nearly 3,000 innocent people. A heavy pall of grief covered our nation. - Many of us wondered if we'd ever laugh again.
- But 9/11 wasn't the only act of terrorism. Bali, London, Madrid, Jerusalem...the list goes on and on. Yet the West does not fully realize the bloodthirsty intentions of the menace of fundamental Islam.
- This enemy -- is relentless. It is determined.
--Brigitte Gabriel, Founder, American Congress for Truth
Brigitte Gabriel is an author, speaker and expert on the Middle East conflict. Ms. Gabriel began her career as news anchor for “World News,” an evening Arabic news broadcast for Middle East Television seen throughout Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Cyprus and Lebanon. She covered the Israeli security zone in Lebanon and the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank. Her work is of international scope having brought her in contact with world figures such as Margaret Thatcher, George H. Bush, Queen Nour El Hussein, Itzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
Ms. Gabriel immigrated to the United States in 1989 and started a television production and advertising company. Her clients included ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, Discovery, TLC, History Channel, “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “20/20,” “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America” to name a few.
After the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 Ms. Gabriel founded American Congress for Truth.org, a non profit organization dedicated to educating millions of uninformed Americans about the threat of radical Islam to world peace and national security. She is a member of the board of Advisors of the Intelligence Summit and lectures nationally and internationally about terrorism and current affairs. Gabriel is the author of the book, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. She is a regular guest on national TV news channels and various radio stations. She speaks four languages, Arabic, French, English and Hebrew.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 8
Did you know 12 Americans are killed every day by illegal aliens? That adds up to 4,380 per year.
If you add them up since 9/11/01, it totals 21,900 Americans murdered by illegal aliens.
Where's the outrage by the anti-war protesters who like to display the number of soldiers killed in Iraq? Where's the outrage by the mainstream media that recently headlined the fact that fatalities had passed 3,000?
I'm waiting.
Anti-war protesters ... predictable 1960s leftovers
Anti-war protesters in StauntonThe President went on national television last night to ask for an increase in the troops in Iraq ... and laid out his reasons why he and those running the war felt it was necessary.
Surprise, surprise. The dems were against it. Nancy Pelosi was for it before she was against it. Now she's walking the Party line -- in lockstep with her colleagues -- and opposing increasing the number of troops.
The always-predictable anti-war Coalition for Peace and Justice, a group that looks as if they were left over from the 1960s, was out in Staunton today to protest the President's request ... except they didn't make it look very "anti." They had their token American flag (after hearing our Support the Troops side always pointing out how we had all the flags and they had none), a sign that said "Support the Troops," and a sign that said "Protect the Troops." One guy had a sign that said, "Peace" with a peace sign on one side and "God bless the world" on the other side. Then they had their "End The War" signs.
At the beginning of their protest they had about 20 people present for the obligatory photo shoot and interviews by the local media. But, amazingly, when the media left....
The photo above shows how many were left when there were no cameras or microphones around.
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 7
Why Does Our Struggle Matter? It Matters Because...
- If we don't win the war against Islamofascism other issues won't matter at all.
- We won't have an economy to worry about.
- We won't have equal rights for all.
- We won't have our cherished freedom.
- And we will live under Sharia Law.
We Must Win This War
- The enemy loves death -- far more than we love life.
- The enemy uses children as human bombs, mothers as suicide bombers, men driven by the glory of death and the promise of eternal sexual bliss in heaven...and martyrdom on earth.
- This is the enemy reality: murder and death of "infidels" by any means for the glory of Allah.
- The pain-rich attack of 9/11 changed most Americans lives forever, but it struck an especially sensitive chord with me. It reminded me that the entire world is under brutal threat and physical attack by the same radical Islamic ideology that massacred “infidels” in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
- The American Congress for Truth (ACT) was formed in June 2002 to clear away the fog of the brutal attack of September 11, 2001. Our purpose is to preserve our cherished values and freedoms.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 6
How many radical Muslims are there?
Some lefty bloggers have questioned why conservative bloggers insist on pointing out the dangers of Islamic terrorism. They have attempted to shut down debate by calling us bigots, Islamophobics, and xenophobics.
By accusing and intimidating, they are promoting the "head in the sand" syndrome that is already prevalent in American society. They have been very vocal in their scorn of anyone trying to investigate and inform others about this very serious issue. They have questioned our facts citing there are 100 million radical Muslims worldwide.
Where did that number come from? Various sources estimate the Muslim population worldwide at 1.2 to 1.5 billion. Experts have said only 10% of that number represent the radical portion of Islam. If true, that would total 100 million Muslims ready to go to war and create chaos in the world.
100 million.
That's a staggering number to wage jihad against the world and America.
I would remind people that 9/11/01 was real. It was the worst attack ever on our homeland.
Radical Muslims want to kill us because they hate us. They hate us because we are infidels (unbelievers) ... we don't practice the same religion or lifestyle they do. For that they feel we must pay with our lives.
Now that's something to think about.
Poliltical Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 5
Why was America attacked on 9/11? Why did Osama bin Laden declare war on the U.S.?
The United States is perceived by Muslims as the leader of the western world ... and we are an overwhelmingly Christian nation. We are ... the infidels (unbelievers).
The mission of bin Laden and radical Islam is to violently overtake the world through terrorism ... kind of a modern-day crusade. Even now there are groups around the world and in the United States plotting and planning.
Steven Emerson, author of American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, wrote about an incident on Christmas Day in 1992 when he accidentally stumbled upon a meeting of the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) at the Oklahoma City Convention Center. At the time he was a reporter for CNN so his journalistic curiousity was aroused when he noticed groups of men dressed in traditional Middle Eastern clothing standing around on the street outside the convention center. Wandering inside, he discovered vendors selling radical materials including books calling for the extermination of Christians and Jews and preaching about jihad against the West ... and even children's coloring books with titles such as "How to Kill an Infidel."
Because he was not Muslim he was denied entry into the meeting ... but he found a "recent convert" group where someone "sponsored him" and he was able to enter. Once inside, he was shocked at the hate-speech against Jews and the Western World ... including a speech from a leader of Hamas, the largest militant Palestinian group in the Middle East, whose mission is the destruction of Israel.
Throughout the speeches there were shouts of "Kill the Jews" and "Destroy the West" coming from the audience.
This was in Oklahoma City ... in the middle of the United States of America.
Resources: Here; Moving the Masses: The Rise of Militant Islam in the St. Croix Review, December 2006; American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us by Steven Emerson.
President Bush addresses nation tonight
President George W. Bush addresses the nation at 9:00 tonight with his plan for Iraq. It will be carried live on Fox New Channel, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
"The president of the United States gets this. I think he sees the moment that we are at in the larger war on terrorism and the significance of how we conclude the war in Iraq, how devastating it would be to Iraqis, to the Midle East, to America if we simply withdrew. He needs our support."
Senator Joe Lieberman (regarding Iraq policy in general and calls for a "surge" in particular, Richmond Times-Dispatch Enough Said)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
"Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West"
I'm Not Emeril has a must-read post that tells the impact of terrorism on us all and the safety and security of our country ... our families .... our children. Do yourself a favor and watch it.
SWAC Girl had this related post last fall about "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West."
Oprah concerned about schooling ...
"I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools [in the U.S.] that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn't there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms, so they can go to school."
--TV host Oprah Winfrey on the opening this week of her new leadership academy for girls in South Africa
--TV host Oprah Winfrey on the opening this week of her new leadership academy for girls in South Africa
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 3
"The question that should be asked is, 'Can we stop the global mass movement that is now riding within Islam?' To answer that question, we must understand ourselves as well as the enemy we are fighting."
--Melvin E. Kriesel, Retired U.S. Army Colonel (commanded Special Forces, Military Intelligence & Psychological Operations Units)
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 2
Possible future terrorist attack locations have been identified in court testimony from terrorist suspects. Those locations include:
- International Monetary Fund building in Washington, D.C.
- World Bank building in Washington, D.C.
- New York Stock Exchange
- Citigroup buildings in New York
- Prudential building in Newark, NJ
Methods of attack?
- Limousines parked next to or under targeted location packed with explosives.
- Arson
- Hijacked oil tankers
- Igniting gas cylinders
- Airplanes
The objective?
- To kill as many innocent civilians as possible.
Political Correctness Will Kill Us ... Part 1
Islamic murders - Holocaust? - around the world: This is but a tiny list of some of the atrocities that have occurred....- United States of America: 3,000 innocent people killed by Muslim terrorists on 9/11/01. America finally wakes up ... only to fall back into slumber.
- Thailand: Juling Kamphongmoon, a Buddhist elementary art teacher, whose skull was shattered after being brutally beaten by a Muslim mob, died January 8, 2007, after spending eight months in a coma. The mob was angered by the arrest of two suspected Muslim rebels.
- Thailand: 1,900 people killed since 2004 in Islamic Separatist Movement.
- Holland: Murder of Theo Van Gogh in 2004 by a Muslim Dutch Moroccan, born and educated in Holland, who considered a film by Van Gogh ("Submission") insulting to Islam. He was shot and his throat was slit.
- Pakistan: Missionaries, priests, and nuns are being murdered by radical Islamists.
- Egypt: Coptic Christians being murdered by the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Indonesia: Over 1,000 Christians have been murdered in the past 10 years as the islands are being "cleansed" of Christians by Muslim Komando Jihad troops.
- Indonesia: Half a million people of Christian and other religions have been driven from their homes by Muslim Komando Jihad troops.
- East Timor: Muslims killed over 100,000 Catholics in the 1970s.
- The Sudan: Where Sharia law is in effect, Christians are being murdered by Muslims.
- Darfur Province: Over 100,000 tribal members murdered so far by Muslim Janjaweed fighters.
- Nigeria & Kenya: Christians who resist Sharia law being murdered by Muslims.
- Iraq: Christians are currently being taunted and slaughtered by Muslims.
- India: Commuter train explosions set off by Islamic terrorists killed 175 people and injured 500 in July 2006.
- Spain: Islamic terrorists blew up trains in Madrid in March of 2004, killing 192 and injuring hundreds.
- Casablanca: Muslims murdered 45 people in 2003 bombings.
- Britain: Muslim terrorists bombed commuter trains and a double-decker bus during London's rush hour in July 2005, killing 38 and injuring 700.
- Bali: Islamic terrorists detonated a car bomb at a nightclub that killed 182 people and injured more than 300. Most of those killed and wounded in the October 2002 bombing were Australians, British, and other foreigners.
See new post by Spank That Donkey about Muslim "no-go" zones in France, areas of heavy Muslim populations where French law does not apply.
"It is becoming clear that we can no longer tolerate the politically correct behavior and speech codes that prevent us from honestly examining and openly discussing the threat posed by militant Islam. Political correctness blinds us to the fact that the Muslim religion is being used to support a murderous ideology that seeks to impose an islamic utopia on the world. It also explains our reluctance to use all available means to confront the threat from Islam.Simply stated, there is a pacifist strain within the West that argues for understanding, tolerance, and 'dialogue' with the terrorists. By now it should be clear that there can be no dialogue with these men."
--Melvin E. Kriesel, retired U.S. Army Colonel who commanded Special Forces, Military Intelligence and Psychological Operations units (The St. Croix Review, December 2006)
Monday, January 08, 2007
Muslims ... and "infidels"?
Badrose posts about an incident in Thailand that shows the violent side of the "peaceful" Muslim religion ... and asks the question, "If you can't get along with the Buddhists, who can you get along with?"
654th MP Company Home From Iraq
Richmond-based Military Police Unit for Army National Guard
Homecoming from Iraq
January 7, 2007
"What a wonderful sight."--SSgt. Herb Harman, 47, Augusta County, when seeing his home and family and friends after serving the past year in Iraq
"We are so blessed to live in the land of liberty."--Sgt. Michael Putnam, 48, Williamsburg, 654th MP Company, Army National Guard, just back from Iraq
"You grow up in a big way when you have responsibility for other people's lives." -- Spc. Michael Goodrich, 20
Homecoming Greeting for Herb
Hundreds of family members, friends, and grateful Americans turned out in Richmond at the Virginia War Memorial as the 150 men of the 654th MP Company of the Army National Guard arrived on buses escorted by the thundering roar of dozens of Harley-Davidsons, with American flags waving, ridden by Patriot Guard Riders from all over the state.
Just back from Iraq, the men of the 654th had spent the past year in Iraq training Iraqi police and working with the Navy Seals and Air Force to provide protection for high-level Iraqi government officials. No men were lost in the dangerous operation; they all returned home.
Herb's wife, Jan, and daughter, Kelsie, and other family members were in the crowd at the War Memorial, and then caravaned home to Augusta County where more family and friends waited for his return. It was a happy tearful homecoming for one of our own.
Richmond Times-Dispatch has coverage here with a photo of Herb, Jan, and the newest grandbaby, Kylie.
Welcome home, Herb!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Toto, we're not in Iraq anymore!
The Shenandoah Valley
Welcomes Home
SSgt. Herb Harman!
Augusta County, VA
~ Our American Hero ~
It wasn't difficult for SSgt. Herb Harman to know he wasn't in the desert of Iraq anymore.
Arriving home to the Shenandoah Valley this evening, he was greeted with a steady downpour, temperatures holding in the 30s, and a fogged-in Afton Mountain.
A "Welcome Home Hero Harman" sign along with American flags and a "We Support Our Troops" sign welcomed him as he arrived at his neighborhood located on a gravel road winding up the side of a mountain in Augusta County. White twinkling Christmas lights hung from the eaves of the house and a lighted Christmas tree could be seen through the front window. American flags lined the driveway and porch as friends and family poured out of the house to welcome him home.
Thanks, Herb, from all of us in Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro, for the sacrifice you gave for our freedom. And thanks to your family for their sacrifice while you were gone.
He's back!
Ready to welcome Herb back from Iraq!
Welcome Back from Iraq!
SSgt. Herb Harman
654th MP Company, Army National Guard
Our "Man in the Sand"
American flags wave at Harman householdJanuary 7, 2007
American flags are in place at the entrance to the Harmans' neighborhood and at their house. Christmas decorations, left in place after the holidays, are lighted and ready for his return. Family, neighbors, and friends are gathering for a party to celebrate Herb's safe return from a year in Iraq with the 654th MP Company of the Army National Guard. It's time to welcome home one of our American heroes!
Jihadist terrorists
"Jihadist terror: These guys aren't just playing Parcheesi. They want to slit our throats, take our women, and set up a worldwide caliphate. And the American public just doesn't seem to get it."
--Ross Mackenzie, Retiring Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 7, 2007
--Ross Mackenzie, Retiring Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 7, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
WELCOME HOME FROM IRAQ!
Welcome Home from Iraq!
654th MP Company
U.S. Army Reserve
SSgt. Herb Harman, Churchville, VA 654th MP Company - "Four-One Element"
The baddest of the bad....
Welcome Home Celebratation
Virginia War Memorial
Richmond
Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 3:00 p.m.
Everyone is encouraged to welcome our heroes home from Iraq!
Herb Harman will be welcomed in Augusta County
when he arrives Sunday evening.
(Photo by RightsideVA)
UPDATE: Flora at UCV has a great write-up about this.
In memory of my dad on his birthday ... one of the Greatest Generation
WW II Navy veteran from USS Wisconsin
He was born January 6, 1924 ... 83 years ago today ... during a depressed time in America. He was a country boy, the oldest of five children, who quit school after the eighth grade so he could work to financially support his family. He never finished high school and, yet, he was one of the smartest men I ever knew.
He was part of the Greatest Generation ... those men who rose to the call and served during World War II. He helped save America ... and the world ... from communism and tyranny. He served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific, living onboard the USS Wisconsin from 1944-1946. He passed away in 1975 at the young age of 51.
He was an American hero. He was ... my dad.
He pulled himself out of an impoverished background and made something of his life. After the war, he married, raised three daughters, and worked at the same company for 30 years. He was strong in his faith, teaching Sunday School and serving as a deacon in our church. He lived the life that he and his fellow veterans had sacrified to provide for us.
Dad loved to camp in the Shenandoah National Park and he passed that love on to my sisters and me. We grew up camping at Big Meadows and Loft Mountain, hiking the trails and learning the history of the area. He was the first naturalist I knew. He taught us to "take only pictures; leave only footprints." He admonished us if we picked a flower ... "leave it for the next person to enjoy"... and recycled before the word "recycling" became vogue. We were taught to conserve ... reuse ... preserve.
During the war my dad served on the USS Wisconsin. At the age of 20 he shipped out in April 1944 on the newly commissioned battleship ... and that was where he lived until the age of 22. He was involved in some of the worst battles in the South Pacific ... a young man from Virginia who was part of the crew that fired the 16-inch guns that rained shells onto Tokoyo, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines ... and brought down Japanese airplanes.
The timeline of the USS Wisconsin's service in World War II between April 16, 1944 and April 1, 1946 -- the years my dad was one of the young sailors on board:
1944:
April 16 - Commissioned Philadelphia Naval Yard.
July 7 - Departed Norfolk, VA, for shakedown cruise to Trinidad, British West Indies.
September 24 - WISCONSIN sailed for the West Coast, transited the Panama Canal.
October 2 - Reported to the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet and dropped anchor at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
December 9 - Joined Admiral F. Halsey’s 3rd Fleet.
December 13 - WISCONSIN acting as support unit to the carriers performed its mission of rendering Japanese facilities at Manila useless.
December 14-16 - WISCONSIN earned her 1st Battle Star in the Leyte Gulf.
December 17 - A severe typhoon developed in which we lost destroyers USS Hull (DD-350), USS MONAGHAN (DD-354) and USS SPENCE (DD-512) all capsized and sank. WISCONSIN proved her seaworthiness as she escaped the storm unscathed.
1945
January 3-22 - WISCONSIN armed with heavy antiaircraft batteries performed escort duty for TF 38’s fast carriers firing air strikes against Formosa, Luzon, and the Nansei Shoto to neutralize Japanese forces there and to cover the unfolding Lingayen Gulf operations. Those strikes included a thrust into the South China Sea in the hope that major units of the Japanese Navy could be drawn into battle. She earned her 2nd Battle Star in Luzon operation.
January/February - Subsequently assigned to the 5th Fleet when Admiral Spruance relieved Admiral Halsey, WISCONSIN moved northward to strike at the Tokyo area on the Japanese home island of Honshu. This attack on the enemy’s capital was to provide strategic cover for the invasion of Iwo Jima by cutting down the Japanese air force and wrecking industrial plants.
February 16 - WISCONSIN, as supporting unit, approached the Japanese coast under the cover of adverse weather conditions and again achieved complete tactical surprise.
February 17 - WISCONSIN supported landing operations against Iwo Jima.
February/March - WISCONSIN earned her 3rd Battle Star for Iwo Jima operations.
March 14 - WISCONSIN’S task force stood out of Ulithi for Japan. Its mission was to eliminate airborne resistance from the Japanese homeland to our forces invading Okinawa.
March 17 - WISCONSIN earned her 4th Battle Star in the Okinawa operation.
March 24 - WISCONSIN trained her 16-inch guns on targets ashore on Okinawa. Together with the other battlewagons of the task force, she pounded Japanese positions and installations. The task force was wholly concerned with protecting our landing operations.
April 12 - WISCONSIN bristling with 5" 40mm and 20mm guns, together with other units of the screens of the vital carriers, kept the enemy at bay or destroyed him before he could reach his targets.
April 17 - Ship’s gunfire knocked down 3 enemy planes.
June 4 - A typhoon was swirling though the Fleet. WISCONSIN rode out the storm again unscathed, but three cruisers, two carriers and a destroyer suffered serious damage.
June 8 - WISCONSIN’S seaplanes landed and rescued a pilot from a downed plane off the USS Shangri-La (CV-38).
June 13 - The WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Leyte Gulf for a period of repair and replenishment.
July 1 - Admiral Halsey’s 3rd Fleet fast carrier forces, now the greatest mass of sea power ever assembled, steamed northward to wage a tremendous pre-invasion campaign of destruction against every Japanese facility which could be used for prolonging the war.
July 15 - WISCONSIN participated in the bombardment of Muroran, Hokkaido, and her great 16" shells wrecked steel mills and oil facilities in the city.
July 17 - WISCONSIN blasted the Hitschi Miro area of the Honshu coast, northeast of Tokyo.
July-September - WISCONSIN earned her 5th Battle Star for the Operations against Japan.
September 5 - WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Tokyo Bay. She had been continuously at sea on the front line for periods of months at a time and had steamed 105,831 miles since her commissioning. She was credited with shooting down three enemy planes and assists on four others. She had refueled 150 destroyers at sea and had participated in every pacific naval operation since she joined the fleet in December 1944. For his services as commanding officer, Captain Roper was awarded the Legion of Merit.
September 22 - WISCONSIN embarked home-coming GIs at Okinawa and departed on the 23rd
October 4-9 - Stayed over at Pearl Harbor for 5 days.
October 15 - Arrived San Francisco
1946
January 11-13 - WISCONSIN passed through the Panama Canal
January 18 - WISCONSIN arrived Hampton Roads, Va.
February-March - WISCONSIN cruised to Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
Summers months - WISCONSIN returned to Norfolk for a yard overhaul.
Source: USS Wisconsin Official Website
Thanks to the veterans, including my dad, who helped save our freedoms.
He was born January 6, 1924 ... 83 years ago today ... during a depressed time in America. He was a country boy, the oldest of five children, who quit school after the eighth grade so he could work to financially support his family. He never finished high school and, yet, he was one of the smartest men I ever knew.
He was part of the Greatest Generation ... those men who rose to the call and served during World War II. He helped save America ... and the world ... from communism and tyranny. He served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific, living onboard the USS Wisconsin from 1944-1946. He passed away in 1975 at the young age of 51.
He was an American hero. He was ... my dad.
He pulled himself out of an impoverished background and made something of his life. After the war, he married, raised three daughters, and worked at the same company for 30 years. He was strong in his faith, teaching Sunday School and serving as a deacon in our church. He lived the life that he and his fellow veterans had sacrified to provide for us.
Dad loved to camp in the Shenandoah National Park and he passed that love on to my sisters and me. We grew up camping at Big Meadows and Loft Mountain, hiking the trails and learning the history of the area. He was the first naturalist I knew. He taught us to "take only pictures; leave only footprints." He admonished us if we picked a flower ... "leave it for the next person to enjoy"... and recycled before the word "recycling" became vogue. We were taught to conserve ... reuse ... preserve.
During the war my dad served on the USS Wisconsin. At the age of 20 he shipped out in April 1944 on the newly commissioned battleship ... and that was where he lived until the age of 22. He was involved in some of the worst battles in the South Pacific ... a young man from Virginia who was part of the crew that fired the 16-inch guns that rained shells onto Tokoyo, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines ... and brought down Japanese airplanes.
The timeline of the USS Wisconsin's service in World War II between April 16, 1944 and April 1, 1946 -- the years my dad was one of the young sailors on board:
1944:
April 16 - Commissioned Philadelphia Naval Yard.
July 7 - Departed Norfolk, VA, for shakedown cruise to Trinidad, British West Indies.
September 24 - WISCONSIN sailed for the West Coast, transited the Panama Canal.
October 2 - Reported to the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet and dropped anchor at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
December 9 - Joined Admiral F. Halsey’s 3rd Fleet.
December 13 - WISCONSIN acting as support unit to the carriers performed its mission of rendering Japanese facilities at Manila useless.
December 14-16 - WISCONSIN earned her 1st Battle Star in the Leyte Gulf.
December 17 - A severe typhoon developed in which we lost destroyers USS Hull (DD-350), USS MONAGHAN (DD-354) and USS SPENCE (DD-512) all capsized and sank. WISCONSIN proved her seaworthiness as she escaped the storm unscathed.
1945
January 3-22 - WISCONSIN armed with heavy antiaircraft batteries performed escort duty for TF 38’s fast carriers firing air strikes against Formosa, Luzon, and the Nansei Shoto to neutralize Japanese forces there and to cover the unfolding Lingayen Gulf operations. Those strikes included a thrust into the South China Sea in the hope that major units of the Japanese Navy could be drawn into battle. She earned her 2nd Battle Star in Luzon operation.
January/February - Subsequently assigned to the 5th Fleet when Admiral Spruance relieved Admiral Halsey, WISCONSIN moved northward to strike at the Tokyo area on the Japanese home island of Honshu. This attack on the enemy’s capital was to provide strategic cover for the invasion of Iwo Jima by cutting down the Japanese air force and wrecking industrial plants.
February 16 - WISCONSIN, as supporting unit, approached the Japanese coast under the cover of adverse weather conditions and again achieved complete tactical surprise.
February 17 - WISCONSIN supported landing operations against Iwo Jima.
February/March - WISCONSIN earned her 3rd Battle Star for Iwo Jima operations.
March 14 - WISCONSIN’S task force stood out of Ulithi for Japan. Its mission was to eliminate airborne resistance from the Japanese homeland to our forces invading Okinawa.
March 17 - WISCONSIN earned her 4th Battle Star in the Okinawa operation.
March 24 - WISCONSIN trained her 16-inch guns on targets ashore on Okinawa. Together with the other battlewagons of the task force, she pounded Japanese positions and installations. The task force was wholly concerned with protecting our landing operations.
April 12 - WISCONSIN bristling with 5" 40mm and 20mm guns, together with other units of the screens of the vital carriers, kept the enemy at bay or destroyed him before he could reach his targets.
April 17 - Ship’s gunfire knocked down 3 enemy planes.
June 4 - A typhoon was swirling though the Fleet. WISCONSIN rode out the storm again unscathed, but three cruisers, two carriers and a destroyer suffered serious damage.
June 8 - WISCONSIN’S seaplanes landed and rescued a pilot from a downed plane off the USS Shangri-La (CV-38).
June 13 - The WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Leyte Gulf for a period of repair and replenishment.
July 1 - Admiral Halsey’s 3rd Fleet fast carrier forces, now the greatest mass of sea power ever assembled, steamed northward to wage a tremendous pre-invasion campaign of destruction against every Japanese facility which could be used for prolonging the war.
July 15 - WISCONSIN participated in the bombardment of Muroran, Hokkaido, and her great 16" shells wrecked steel mills and oil facilities in the city.
July 17 - WISCONSIN blasted the Hitschi Miro area of the Honshu coast, northeast of Tokyo.
July-September - WISCONSIN earned her 5th Battle Star for the Operations against Japan.
September 5 - WISCONSIN dropped anchor in Tokyo Bay. She had been continuously at sea on the front line for periods of months at a time and had steamed 105,831 miles since her commissioning. She was credited with shooting down three enemy planes and assists on four others. She had refueled 150 destroyers at sea and had participated in every pacific naval operation since she joined the fleet in December 1944. For his services as commanding officer, Captain Roper was awarded the Legion of Merit.
September 22 - WISCONSIN embarked home-coming GIs at Okinawa and departed on the 23rd
October 4-9 - Stayed over at Pearl Harbor for 5 days.
October 15 - Arrived San Francisco
1946
January 11-13 - WISCONSIN passed through the Panama Canal
January 18 - WISCONSIN arrived Hampton Roads, Va.
February-March - WISCONSIN cruised to Guantanamo Bay Cuba.
Summers months - WISCONSIN returned to Norfolk for a yard overhaul.
Source: USS Wisconsin Official Website
Thanks to the veterans, including my dad, who helped save our freedoms.
Back from Iraq!
SSgt. Herb Harman, Churchville, VA
Coming home from Iraq Sunday!
Coming home from Iraq Sunday!
SSgt. Herb Harman, U.S. Army ReserveAugusta County Fair - August, 2006 while home on leave
Herb is back from Iraq! Our "Man in the Sand" will be arriving at his home in Churchville, VA, Sunday ... and many friends, neighbors, and local Republicans will be there to welcome him! Several dozen American flags will line the route to his house as well as Welcome Home signs.
His family has kept the Christmas tree and decorations up for his return so there will be a celebration Sunday night in Augusta County!
Herb ... welcome home, friend.
Thank you for your service to our country. You are a true American hero.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Mud-slinging again during fall campaign?
As more political campaigns hire "netroots" coordinators to blog for them, will we see more of the mud-slinging that was so evident during the 2006 campaign? Renaissance Ruminations has some thoughts about it in this post.
Back from Iraq!
SSgt. Herb Harman, Churchville, VA, coming home Sunday
Back from Iraq!
SSgt. Herb Harman, U.S. Army ReserveAugusta County Fair - August, 2006 while home on leave
Herb is back from Iraq! Our "Man in the Sand" will be arriving at his home in Churchville, VA, Sunday ... and many friends, neighbors, and local Republicans will be there to welcome him! Several dozen American flags will line the route to his house as well as Welcome Home signs.
His family has kept the Christmas tree and decorations up for his return so there will be a celebration Sunday night in Augusta County!
Herb ... welcome home, friend.
Thank you for your service to our country. You are a true American hero.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Ben Cline Townhall Meeting
Delegate Ben Cline25th House District Representative
Townhall Meeting - January 4, 2007
Addressing a group of constituents, Delegate Ben Cline answered questions during a townhall meeting at the Augusta County Library in Fishersville. Issues of interest included transporation, education, payday loans, I-81 and Rt. 29 thoroughfares, state employee issues, and more.
Whitney Duff, Director of Americans for Prosperity, shared the purpose for AFP and how they expose pork in the state budget which allows for less tax increases and better use of public funds.
Area elected officials are meeting with their constituents in preparation for the General Assembly Session which begins on Wednesday, January 10. This year's "short" session will last for 45 days.
Koran was formerly owned by Jefferson
So ... Keith Ellison used Thomas Jefferson's Koran for his official swearing-in photo. All accounts made it sound as if the book was lent by Monticello right out of Virgil Goode's 5th District.
But, no, it is the property of the Library of Congress who lent it to Ellison, according to the Washington Post. The Library of Congress lends books to VIPs for special occasions.
Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library, grew up in Ellison's District in Minnesota.
So ... did Ellison just happen to ask if perhaps there was a copy of a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson available from the Library of Congress ... or did Dimunation perhaps clue him in?
Just wondering....
More background on Jefferson's Koran:
- Thomas Jefferson and Islam by Virginia Virtucon
- Game, Set, Match: Muslim War against the West by Spank That Donkey
But, no, it is the property of the Library of Congress who lent it to Ellison, according to the Washington Post. The Library of Congress lends books to VIPs for special occasions.
Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library, grew up in Ellison's District in Minnesota.
So ... did Ellison just happen to ask if perhaps there was a copy of a Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson available from the Library of Congress ... or did Dimunation perhaps clue him in?
Just wondering....
More background on Jefferson's Koran:
- Thomas Jefferson and Islam by Virginia Virtucon
- Game, Set, Match: Muslim War against the West by Spank That Donkey
Muslim terrorism attacks 1961-2001
Muslims have been commiting acts of terrorism throughout history. Listed below are multiple worldwide attacks between 1961 and 9/11/2001:
1960s
First U.S. Aircraft Hijacked, May 1, 1961 / Ambassador to Guatemala Assassinated, August 28, 1968
1970s
U.S. Agency for International Development Adviser Kidnapped, July 31, 1970 / Munich Olympic Massacre, September 5, 1972 / Ambassador to Sudan Assassinated, March 2, 1973 / Entebbe Hostage Crisis, June 27, 1976 / Iran Hostage Crisis, November 4, 1979 / Grand Mosque Seizure, November 20, 1979
1980s
U.S. Installation Bombing, August 31, 1981 / Assassination of Egyptian President, October 6, 1981 / Murder of Missionaries, December 4, 1981 / Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut / April 18, 1983, Naval Officer Assassinated in El Salvador, May 25, 1983 / Bombing of Marine Barracks, Beirut, October 23, 1983 / Naval Officer Assassinated in Greece, November 15, 1983 / Kidnapping of Embassy Official, March 16, 1984 / Hizballah Restaurant Bombing, April 12, 1984 / Golden Temple Seizure, June 5, 1984 / Kidnapping of U.S. Officials in Mexico, February 7, 1985 / TWA 847 Hijacking, June 14, 1985 / Air India Bombing, June 23, 1985 / Soviet Diplomats Kidnapped, September 30, 1985 / Achille Lauro Hijacking, October 7, 1985 / Egyptian Airliner Hijacking, November 23, 1985 / Aircraft Bombing in Greece, March 30, 1986 / Berlin Discoteque Bombing, April 5, 1986 / Kimpo Airport Bombing, September 14, 1986 / Bus Attack, April 24, 1987 / Downing of Airliner, November 29, 1987 / Servicemen's Bar Attack, December 26, 1987 / Kidnapping of William Higgins, February 17, 1988 / Naples USO Attack, April 14, 1988 / Attack on U.S. Diplomat in Greece, June 28, 1988 / Pan Am 103 Bombing, December 21, 1988 / Assassination of U.S. Army Officer, April 21, 1989
1990s
U.S. Embassy Bombed in Peru, January 15, 1990 / U.S. Soldiers Assassinated in the Philippines, May 13, 1990 / Attempted Iraqi Attacks on U.S. Posts, January 18-19, 1991 / Kidnapping of U.S. Businessmen in the Philippines, January 17-21, 1992 / Bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, March 17, 1992 / World Trade Center Bombing, February 26, 1993 / Attempted Assassination of President Bush by Iraqi Agents, April 14, 1993 / FARC Hostage-taking, September 23, 1994 / Air France Hijacking, December 24, 1994 / Attack on U.S. Diplomats in Pakistan, March 8, 1995 / Tokyo Subway Station Attack, March 20, 1995 / Bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995 / Kashmiri Hostage-taking, July 4, 1995 / Jerusalem Bus Attack, August 21, 1995 / Attack on U.S. Embassy in Moscow, September 13, 1995 / Saudi Military Installation Attack, November 13, 1995 / Egyptian Embassy Attack, November 19, 1995 / Kidnapping in Colombia, January 19, 1996 / Tamil Tigers Attack, January 31, 1996 / IRA Bombing, February 9, 1996 / Athens Embassy Attack, February 15, 1996 / ELN Kidnapping, February 16, 1996 / Hamas Bus Attack, February 26, 1996 / Dizengoff Center Bombing, March 4, 1996 / West Bank Attack, May 13, 1996 / USAID Worker Abduction, May 31, 1996 / Zekharya Attack, June 9, 1996 / Khobar Towers Bombing, June 25, 1996 / Red Cross Worker Kidnappings, November 1, 1996 / Paris Subway Explosion, December 3, 1996 / Abduction of US. Citizen by FARC, December 11, 1996 / Egyptian Letter Bombs, January 2-13, 1997 / Empire State Building Sniper Attack, February 23, 1997 / ELN Kidnapping, February 24, 1997 / FARC Kidnapping, March 7, 1997 / Israeli Shopping Mall Bombing, September 4, 1997 / Murder of U.S. Businessmen in Pakistan, November 12, 1997 / Tourist Killings in Egypt, November 17, 1997 / FARC Abduction, March 21-23, 1998 / Somali Hostage-takings, April 15, 1998 / U.S. Embassy Bombings in East Africa, August 7, 1998 / Colombian Pipeline Bombing, October 18, 1998 / Armed Kidnapping in Colombia, November 15, 1998 / Ugandan Rebel Attack, February 14, 1999 / FARC Kidnappings, February 25, 1999 / Hutu Abductions, March 1, 1999 / ELN Hostage-taking, March 23, 1999 / ELN Hostage-taking, May 30, 1999 / Shell Platform Bombing, June 27, 1999
2000s
Diplomatic Assassination in Greece, June 8, 2000 / ELN Kidnpapping, June 27, 2000 / Kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan, August 12, 2000 / Attack on U.S.S. Cole, October 12, 2000 / Manila Bombing, December 30, 2000 / Tel-Aviv Nightclub Bombing, June 1, 2001 / Hamas Restaurant Bombing, August 9, 2001
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Homeland, September 11, 2001
H/T to RightsideVA
1960s
First U.S. Aircraft Hijacked, May 1, 1961 / Ambassador to Guatemala Assassinated, August 28, 1968
1970s
U.S. Agency for International Development Adviser Kidnapped, July 31, 1970 / Munich Olympic Massacre, September 5, 1972 / Ambassador to Sudan Assassinated, March 2, 1973 / Entebbe Hostage Crisis, June 27, 1976 / Iran Hostage Crisis, November 4, 1979 / Grand Mosque Seizure, November 20, 1979
1980s
U.S. Installation Bombing, August 31, 1981 / Assassination of Egyptian President, October 6, 1981 / Murder of Missionaries, December 4, 1981 / Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut / April 18, 1983, Naval Officer Assassinated in El Salvador, May 25, 1983 / Bombing of Marine Barracks, Beirut, October 23, 1983 / Naval Officer Assassinated in Greece, November 15, 1983 / Kidnapping of Embassy Official, March 16, 1984 / Hizballah Restaurant Bombing, April 12, 1984 / Golden Temple Seizure, June 5, 1984 / Kidnapping of U.S. Officials in Mexico, February 7, 1985 / TWA 847 Hijacking, June 14, 1985 / Air India Bombing, June 23, 1985 / Soviet Diplomats Kidnapped, September 30, 1985 / Achille Lauro Hijacking, October 7, 1985 / Egyptian Airliner Hijacking, November 23, 1985 / Aircraft Bombing in Greece, March 30, 1986 / Berlin Discoteque Bombing, April 5, 1986 / Kimpo Airport Bombing, September 14, 1986 / Bus Attack, April 24, 1987 / Downing of Airliner, November 29, 1987 / Servicemen's Bar Attack, December 26, 1987 / Kidnapping of William Higgins, February 17, 1988 / Naples USO Attack, April 14, 1988 / Attack on U.S. Diplomat in Greece, June 28, 1988 / Pan Am 103 Bombing, December 21, 1988 / Assassination of U.S. Army Officer, April 21, 1989
1990s
U.S. Embassy Bombed in Peru, January 15, 1990 / U.S. Soldiers Assassinated in the Philippines, May 13, 1990 / Attempted Iraqi Attacks on U.S. Posts, January 18-19, 1991 / Kidnapping of U.S. Businessmen in the Philippines, January 17-21, 1992 / Bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, March 17, 1992 / World Trade Center Bombing, February 26, 1993 / Attempted Assassination of President Bush by Iraqi Agents, April 14, 1993 / FARC Hostage-taking, September 23, 1994 / Air France Hijacking, December 24, 1994 / Attack on U.S. Diplomats in Pakistan, March 8, 1995 / Tokyo Subway Station Attack, March 20, 1995 / Bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995 / Kashmiri Hostage-taking, July 4, 1995 / Jerusalem Bus Attack, August 21, 1995 / Attack on U.S. Embassy in Moscow, September 13, 1995 / Saudi Military Installation Attack, November 13, 1995 / Egyptian Embassy Attack, November 19, 1995 / Kidnapping in Colombia, January 19, 1996 / Tamil Tigers Attack, January 31, 1996 / IRA Bombing, February 9, 1996 / Athens Embassy Attack, February 15, 1996 / ELN Kidnapping, February 16, 1996 / Hamas Bus Attack, February 26, 1996 / Dizengoff Center Bombing, March 4, 1996 / West Bank Attack, May 13, 1996 / USAID Worker Abduction, May 31, 1996 / Zekharya Attack, June 9, 1996 / Khobar Towers Bombing, June 25, 1996 / Red Cross Worker Kidnappings, November 1, 1996 / Paris Subway Explosion, December 3, 1996 / Abduction of US. Citizen by FARC, December 11, 1996 / Egyptian Letter Bombs, January 2-13, 1997 / Empire State Building Sniper Attack, February 23, 1997 / ELN Kidnapping, February 24, 1997 / FARC Kidnapping, March 7, 1997 / Israeli Shopping Mall Bombing, September 4, 1997 / Murder of U.S. Businessmen in Pakistan, November 12, 1997 / Tourist Killings in Egypt, November 17, 1997 / FARC Abduction, March 21-23, 1998 / Somali Hostage-takings, April 15, 1998 / U.S. Embassy Bombings in East Africa, August 7, 1998 / Colombian Pipeline Bombing, October 18, 1998 / Armed Kidnapping in Colombia, November 15, 1998 / Ugandan Rebel Attack, February 14, 1999 / FARC Kidnappings, February 25, 1999 / Hutu Abductions, March 1, 1999 / ELN Hostage-taking, March 23, 1999 / ELN Hostage-taking, May 30, 1999 / Shell Platform Bombing, June 27, 1999
2000s
Diplomatic Assassination in Greece, June 8, 2000 / ELN Kidnpapping, June 27, 2000 / Kidnappings in Kyrgyzstan, August 12, 2000 / Attack on U.S.S. Cole, October 12, 2000 / Manila Bombing, December 30, 2000 / Tel-Aviv Nightclub Bombing, June 1, 2001 / Hamas Restaurant Bombing, August 9, 2001
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Homeland, September 11, 2001
H/T to RightsideVA
Apologize for slavery?
Should Virginia apologize for slavery? Should we apologize to American Indians?
I'm of Irish descent. Should we also apologize for the way Irish immigrants were treated when they came to America?
Where does it end?
Just asking....
I'm of Irish descent. Should we also apologize for the way Irish immigrants were treated when they came to America?
Where does it end?
Just asking....
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Where's the MSM on positive Bush acts?
Today's Richmond Times-Dispatch has a letter to the editor from a father who put his son on a plane on Christmas Day going back to Afghanistan to join his Unit. In his letter he wrote:
Christmas morning George Bush spent a lot of time on the phone calling servicepeople all over the globe, thanking them for their service.
Where was that headlined all over the front pages of newspapers and on MSM/cable outlets? Instead of showing the President in a positive light, they would rather pound down on him in a constant barrage of negatives.
Where is the warm, rosy glow we should feel about being Americans ... kind of like World War II and what my parents told me about how America pulled together?
The appearance to the world is that we are not together. We are allowing the enemy to see a crack in our unity and, therefore, embolden them to continue to attack us.
We are a united states. We should be united in our front to the world. However, with the daily negative reports through the MSM -- and with the "mob mentality" that takes over when people hear and/or see something enough -- it is no wonder the President's poll numbers are down. It is no wonder the "majority" of Americans are perceived as now being against this war. All they hear are all the reasons to be against it and none of the reasons why we're succeeding.
The MSM should show our President in the positive acts that he does on a daily basis. They should show the positive returns in Iraq and Afghanistan that have occurred because of our military. They should show soldiers and Marines who are proud of what they are accomplishing around the world.
Give us back our "morning in America." I'm tired of the doom and gloom of the MSM and lefty democrats.
Christmas morning George Bush spent a lot of time on the phone calling servicepeople all over the globe, thanking them for their service.
Where was that headlined all over the front pages of newspapers and on MSM/cable outlets? Instead of showing the President in a positive light, they would rather pound down on him in a constant barrage of negatives.
Where is the warm, rosy glow we should feel about being Americans ... kind of like World War II and what my parents told me about how America pulled together?
The appearance to the world is that we are not together. We are allowing the enemy to see a crack in our unity and, therefore, embolden them to continue to attack us.
We are a united states. We should be united in our front to the world. However, with the daily negative reports through the MSM -- and with the "mob mentality" that takes over when people hear and/or see something enough -- it is no wonder the President's poll numbers are down. It is no wonder the "majority" of Americans are perceived as now being against this war. All they hear are all the reasons to be against it and none of the reasons why we're succeeding.
The MSM should show our President in the positive acts that he does on a daily basis. They should show the positive returns in Iraq and Afghanistan that have occurred because of our military. They should show soldiers and Marines who are proud of what they are accomplishing around the world.
Give us back our "morning in America." I'm tired of the doom and gloom of the MSM and lefty democrats.
So you think you're supporting the troops by protesting? Think again....
Letter to the Editor
Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 3, 2007
Critics Should Give Badmouthing a Break
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
On Christmas Day, I returned from Richmond International Airport after dropping off my son Andrew so he could catch a flight back to his unit in Afghanistan. He has been deployed over there for almost a year and should be leaving for good in several months.
Putting Drew on that flight was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of those wonderful folks in the Richmond area who were so kind to my son while he was home on leave.
As a Vietnam-era vet I can remember being spit on while in uniform in downtown Richmond. Most of the people in Richmond went out of their way to make my son feel welcome and congratulated Drew for being the hero he really is. I will always be grateful to those folks.
I would request that those people who have used this war as a political tool give me a short rest from their demeaning behavior toward our country, our armed forces, and our president.
Christmas morning George Bush spent a lot of time on the phone calling servicepeople all over the globe, thanking them for their service. Those who constantly badmouth these United States did nothing to help. They should be ashamed of themselves. I would ask them please to have a modicum of decency to shut their mouths until my son comes home. Until you know the pain of sending your son back to war, you are not qualified to comment. My son and hundreds of his friends made it possible for them to enjoy this Christmas Day.
K.G., Manakin
[Our thanks to this dad for his Vietnam service to our country, and to his son for his current military service. Our prayers are with him and his family as he stands guard in Afghanistan to keep us safe.]
Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 3, 2007
Critics Should Give Badmouthing a Break
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
On Christmas Day, I returned from Richmond International Airport after dropping off my son Andrew so he could catch a flight back to his unit in Afghanistan. He has been deployed over there for almost a year and should be leaving for good in several months.
Putting Drew on that flight was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of those wonderful folks in the Richmond area who were so kind to my son while he was home on leave.
As a Vietnam-era vet I can remember being spit on while in uniform in downtown Richmond. Most of the people in Richmond went out of their way to make my son feel welcome and congratulated Drew for being the hero he really is. I will always be grateful to those folks.
I would request that those people who have used this war as a political tool give me a short rest from their demeaning behavior toward our country, our armed forces, and our president.
Christmas morning George Bush spent a lot of time on the phone calling servicepeople all over the globe, thanking them for their service. Those who constantly badmouth these United States did nothing to help. They should be ashamed of themselves. I would ask them please to have a modicum of decency to shut their mouths until my son comes home. Until you know the pain of sending your son back to war, you are not qualified to comment. My son and hundreds of his friends made it possible for them to enjoy this Christmas Day.
K.G., Manakin
[Our thanks to this dad for his Vietnam service to our country, and to his son for his current military service. Our prayers are with him and his family as he stands guard in Afghanistan to keep us safe.]
"Separation" of church & state?
Thought of the Day from Jerry Fuhrman (From On High):
Isn't it odd that the very people who whine and moan about Christians intruding on that wall of separation between church and state are the same people who have been thundering of late that Muslim Congressman-to-be Keith Ellison is justified in his use of the Koran in a Congressional ceremony?
Isn't it odd that the very people who whine and moan about Christians intruding on that wall of separation between church and state are the same people who have been thundering of late that Muslim Congressman-to-be Keith Ellison is justified in his use of the Koran in a Congressional ceremony?
Islam ... religion of peace?
I'm Not Emeril has a must-read post titled Is Islam Truly a Religion of Peace? Or is it a Piece of Religion? He begins by saying:
We've all heard lately about how Islam is the "Religion of peace", most recently from Virgil Goode's detractors on the left. Let me make this clear, Virgil has yet to condemn anyone of the Islamic faith, much less Mr. Ellison.
As the issue of Muslims and homeland security heats up, this is a well-researched article on the subject that needs to be read.
We've all heard lately about how Islam is the "Religion of peace", most recently from Virgil Goode's detractors on the left. Let me make this clear, Virgil has yet to condemn anyone of the Islamic faith, much less Mr. Ellison.
As the issue of Muslims and homeland security heats up, this is a well-researched article on the subject that needs to be read.
Shenandoah Valley winter woods....
Shenandoah Valley Winter Woods
The winter woods were calling me today ... and I walked and explored for a short while. I've got to take the time to spend outside because it is a great opportunity to be in the woods.
*****
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Chris Saxman's Townhall Meeting
Delegate Chris SaxmanTownhall Meeting, Staunton City Hall
January 2, 2007
Delegate Chris Saxman held a townhall meeting at Staunton's City Hall where a group of constituents were on hand to ask questions about everything from health care to transporation to state workers' benefits to payday lending institutions to the number of terms someone should be governor in Virginia.
(For the record, Chris is undecided about gubernatorial terms and sees merits on both sides.)
A TV-3 interview was broadcast live at 5:35 p.m. followed by an interview and coverage by NBC-29. The Staunton News Leader and Waynesboro News-Virginian were both on hand to cover the meeting.
The General Assembly opens Wednesday, January 10, for a "short" session which will last approximately 45 days.
(For the record, Chris is undecided about gubernatorial terms and sees merits on both sides.)
A TV-3 interview was broadcast live at 5:35 p.m. followed by an interview and coverage by NBC-29. The Staunton News Leader and Waynesboro News-Virginian were both on hand to cover the meeting.
The General Assembly opens Wednesday, January 10, for a "short" session which will last approximately 45 days.
Monday, January 01, 2007
2007 - Happy New Year, Nate ... Semper Fi
Lance Cpl. Nate Salatin, USMC
Currently stationed in Iraq
From Augusta County, VA
Our prayers and thanks go to all our troops in Iraq, around the world, and stateside.
God bless as you protect the Homeland.
Be safe ... stay strong.
Semper Fi.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)