God Bless America

The Joe Cook Ad

2008-09-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Many thanks and mega-dittos to Rush Limbaugh for the following story:

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This is such a great thing. I found it on YouTube yesterday. There is mild controversy surrounding this ad because it is suggested by Democrats that it was paid for by John McCain and his campaign. It has not been. It was not paid for by anybody other than the man who did it. His name is Joe Cook, and Joe Cook is an injured Iraq war vet, lost his lower leg, foot. But you don't know that until the end of the piece. The piece starts with a tight shot of Joe Cook in an outdoor setting, he says what he says, at the end of his remarks, Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA comes up as Joe Cook turns around and walks away, and that's when you learn that he is an injured Iraq war vet. I want you to listen to this, particularly on this, the anniversary of 9/11.

Dear Mr. Obama: Having spent 12 months in the Iraq theater I can promise you, this was not a mistake. I witnessed firsthand the many sacrifices made by the people of Iraq. Those sacrifices were not mistakes. Iraqi people are just like us. They want a chance to live in a secure world, free from tyranny, free from terrorism, free to prosper, free to raise their children and pass on a future. Are they better off today than they were in 2002? You bet. I've seen many men sacrifice their lives for the Iraqi people. They died for a purpose, not a mistake. They died giving hope. They died promoting freedom. Do you rescue a fireman just as he's about to save a child? When you call the Iraqi war a mistake, you disrespect the service and the sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom. Freedom carries with it a price. Because you do not understand nor appreciate these principles, sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president. He, too, made a huge sacrifice promoting freedom, because he understands the fundamental truth, freedom is always worth the price. (playing of Lee Greenwood song)

RUSH: That was Army Specialist Joe Cook, an Iraq war veteran, wounded by an IED in Iraq May 2007, lost his left foot and leg six inches below the knee. And you see him walking away after making his remarks here. He's walking on a dirt road in an outdoor setting. And everybody is saying McCain paid for it. McCain did not pay for this. This is not a paid-for by McCain campaign ad.
END TRANSCRIPT

Read the Background Material...
• YouTube: Dear Mr. Obama

8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001

2008-09-11T13:51:00.007-07:00

8:46 a.m., the first plane crashes into one of the Twin Towers. Most of us remember where we were at the very moment. But, some of us have forgotten what 'they' did to us.

Never forget!

All That My Father Asked of Me

2007-10-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

This article appeared in the Washington Post on Sept. 30th. I received it in an e-mail and was impressed with the writer's strong beliefs in family and country. I, also work for TSA. I had similiar reasons for making my career switch. But, I don't know if my reasons hold as much value as Mr. Lim's or that I could have expressed them as eloquently as he did.

In the least, we are both honoring our fathers and serving our country.

All That My Father Asked of Me
Sunday, September 30, 2007; Page B08

Although our family left South Korea to begin a new life in America over 30 years ago, I didn't know that my North Korea-born father was such an American patriot until the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

While I was growing up, my father was the epitome of the silent type, never raising his voice yet guiding his children by how diligently he worked as the owner-operator of a tiny dry cleaning business in Yonkers, the blue-collar New York City suburb.

He left at 6 in the morning and returned home at 8 at night with the dirt and smell of his work clinging to him. Even in the face of some business or family crisis, he would be silent, offering no excuses and exhibiting no emotion. The next morning, he would go off to face the mounds of clothes as usual.

My father rarely talked about his childhood in Pyongyang. He never mentioned that he had been accepted to medical school in Moscow on a full scholarship before the Korean War obliterated that option. He never talked about escaping alone to the South when he was 16, and he still doesn't know what happened to his mother and baby sister. He never talked about fighting in the Korean War at 17, though when my brother and I were little, he let us play with the scar that a North Korean bullet left across his chest.

These details we got in rare bits and pieces from our Mom, who isn't exactly voluble herself.
I never even knew my father spoke six languages -- Korean, English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Russian -- until I was in college. And there I was, all smug about being able to speak Korean, English and some Spanish.

This was the father I knew -- silent, hardworking and very Korean -- until he called me a few months after Sept. 11 and told me to come home. For the first time in memory, he said he wanted to talk to me.

So I was on the next plane to New York. When I arrived, expecting the worst, it was past midnight. My father was waiting in his car. He said he wanted to go for a drive into the city and handed me the keys. He told me to head downtown along Fifth Avenue.

All the way, he was quiet. But as we approached Washington Square Park, I stopped the car without my father having to tell me to. The absence was so striking. The twin towers of the World Trade Center, usually framed by the Washington Square Arch, were gone. There was just an eerie glow where they used to be.

Then, for the first time in my life, my father asked me for a favor. He asked me to quit my job and go to work for the U.S. government, in whatever capacity it would take me.

My initial reaction was to dismiss this as ridiculous. I was chief of staff for the founder of an international consulting firm and the fastest-rising executive in the company's history. I had a guaranteed, financially secure future. This was the American dream for which my parents had sacrificed all their lives. And he wanted me to go back to school and apply to become a government bureaucrat?

Like any other American, I was deeply affected by Sept. 11. Three students from my high school were killed that day. But this was out of the question. I couldn't give up what I had worked so hard for.

Then he said something that stopped my breath. He said: "Please." My father, who, along with my mother, had slaved in a stifling dry cleaners for more than 20 years for his children, felt the need to say please to his son.

He talked about gratitude. His gratitude to America for allowing a North Korean orphan to take care of his family and send his sons to the best schools in the world. His sense of thankfulness at being granted the freedom and privilege to make his life worthwhile for his family. He said that real patriotism came from acting on your sense of gratitude for your country, not just talking about it. Having one of his sons contribute to the protection of America was his only way to pay back what he had received. I hadn't known my father was such an eloquent man.

So, finally, this June, I began my new life as a bureaucrat, working at the Transportation Security Administration. Along with 50,000 proud colleagues, I am responsible for safeguarding America's freedom of movement for both people and goods.

My father is quietly ecstatic and plans, finally, to retire. He is 75. And he is a Korean American patriot.

-- Jason Lim
Arlington
The writer is undergoing orientation as a program analyst at the Transportation Security Administration. His e-mail address isjason@jasonlim.net.

Mark Cuban is a Jerk!!!!

2007-09-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

....and, I'm not the only one who thinks that. Read the following from Pat Dollard. I couldn't have said it any better, than he did.

I know that the troops fight for the right of De palma and Cuban to say what they want. But, how dare they, and how can they, smear the young men and women who fight for them.

Cuban and De Palma don't care about the military or even Iraqi civilians. For those two jerks, it's all about making a buck.

The Man Behind The De Palma Smear: Mark Cuban Declares War On The Troops
September 2nd, 2007

Posted By Pat Dollard.

Mark Cuban

Billionaire Mark Cuban has decided to put all of his weight behind a campaign to smear US troops in Iraq as “monsters’. Cuban has decided that De Palma’s film “Redacted” must be seen as the cornerstone of his and De Palma’s self-declared anti-victory campaign against America and her troops fighing in Iraq. Cuban’s company Magnolia Pictures will be bringing this propganda campaign to a theater near you this winter. According to a source close to Cuban, the decision for Magnolia to develop, finance and distribute the film was personally made by Çuban.

Cuban has a full producer credit on the film, and DePalma shot it on HiDef video at Cuban’s request, in order for it to qualify as fodder for Cuban’s hi-def cable channel. So far neither he or DePalma have explained how they can be “bringing the truth of the Iraq war to the American people”, as Louie DePalma has said, when neither of them have ever been to Iraq, filmed any of “Redacted” in Iraq, or spent one minute with any soldier in Iraq. Clearly they are only bringing you their imagined propagandists’ reality of Iraq. Both had the opportunity to go, both declined.

They have chosen the coward’s path in a quest for legitimacy as spokesmen for the Iraq war, and as such both have failed in that quest. Indeed, they are left standing as laughingstocks. Their reach has exceeded their grasp. Cuban is a jet-set, armchair “Iraq Truther” who made sure not to have his private jet stop anywhere near Iraq. But he and DePalma are more than anxious to bring you the “reality of the Iraq war”. LMFAO.

DePalma chilling in five star luxury while debuting his film to Europeans, nowhere near Iraq

( In case you haven’t heard of him, billionaire Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks and supports the campaign against Global Warming by travelling in his private Gulf Stream V jet. He also decided to distribute the 9-11 paranoid conspiracy “Truther” film, “Loose Change”.)

DePalma said that going in it was his intention to make a film that would nauseate the American people, and thereby lead to a US withdrawal from Iraq. Well the only way for him to pull that off is if his film makes the case that the anomolous rape it fictionalizes is not actually an anomoly, but a “typical” snapshot of the US military’s behavior. In short, he would have to make his “troops-as-monsters” conceit appear to be typical of the troops, not atypical. This reveals a desire to create something that is nothing short of a willful and intentional smear built upon a lie.

It also means that he decided not to look at Iraq for what it was, but to find something - anything - in it that would allow him to advance his propaganda campaign. Well Louie DePalma gave the game away when he confessed his excitement at his initial discovery of the rape story: “I knew I had a story!”. Now if that doesn’t mean “A story to suit my propaganda interests!”, then what does it mean?

The best defense DePalma has been able to muster about the lack of direct military reality in his film is “I had plenty of real stuff to put in but I didn’t put it in, and can’t show it to you to prove it, because my lawyers won’t let me”. That kind of bullshit pr spin may fly in Hollywood, but it isn’t flying here on earth. If you’ve got the goods, Louie, show them. It would appear quite clear why you haven’t already.

None of the troops in Mr. DePalma’s film are real. They are as imaginary as he and Mr. Cuban’s balls.

Close to a year ago, Daily Kos ran a featured post declaring that it was time to attack the troops if the anti-victory movement was to succeed. Clearly DePalma and Cuban took the cue.
More to follow…

UPDATE: Debbie Schlussel caught this early.:
… Billionaire NBA Owner/Producer Mark Cuban can’t take the heat from Schlussel readers with complaints over this anti-American troops film. Read the comments section on this post, in which Cuban writes that he’s setting his filter to delete all complaints about this movie. Hey, Mark, you know what they say about your promiximity to the kitchen when you can’t take the heat . . . .

Read Schlussel’s February Post

Remembering D-Day

2007-06-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Military Reflects on D-Day Heroism

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was among hundreds of people who walked today above the windswept cliffs and paused among fog-shrouded headstones here to honor those who died during the D-Day invasion.
Full Story

MORE D-DAY CONTENT
The Leaders of D-Day
Eisenhower's D-Day Message
Soldiers' First-Hand Accounts of D-Day
D-Day Battlefield Maps
Good, Better, Best D-Day Movies
D-Day Veteran Recalls Historic Day
How D-Day Unfolded on June 6, 1944

THIS WEEK IN MILITARY NEWSREEL HISTORY

D-Day Invasion at Normandy
This vintage newsreel documents history's greatest invasion. D-Day: June 6, 1944. This archival footage was provided by The Military Network. To learn more, go to the Lou Reda Productions website.
FEATURED D-DAY SLIDESHOW

D-Day: June 6, 1944
More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day's end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy.
Watch Slideshow Slideshow Gallery

My Butterfly Effect

2007-05-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

I took this picture a few days ago. I had come to a stop, on the drive home from work, and I noticed this butterfly, a Monarch.

Every Spring, I watch for them, as they travel back to the North, just as I do every Fall, when they make their way through Texas on the way to Mexico for the Winter.

I am a cancer survivor and they remind me of the brevity and beauty of life.

The average life span of a butterfly is 20 t0 40 days. I believe that the Monarch butterfly may live as long as six months. I'm not sure. I once thought that my own life might not last anymore time than that.

After my radiation and chemo treatments were over, I had new hope and a new appreciation for life. That first spring, after my treatments, was remarkable for it's beauty. The trees were budding in beautiful shades of green against a deep azure sky. The fields were blanketed with spring flowers and, visiting the flowers, were the butterflies. New life was everywhere.

I have seen things, in nature, in finer detail and more vivid hues, ever since.

Monarch butterflies effect me that way.

Former American Soldier Wins Prize for Book Based on Blog

2007-05-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

US soldier's Iraq frontline blog wins prize

(from Breitbart.com)

May 14 09:51 AM US/Eastern

An American soldier's graphic account of his deployment in Iraq, detailing the firefights and frustrations of frontline life, has won a prize for books based on blogs, organisers said Monday.

Colby Buzzell's "My War: Killing Time In Iraq", the winner of this year's Lulu Blooker Prize, grew out of an online journal which he started in 2004 while serving as a machine-gunner based in Mosul, northern Iraq.

The blog ran for just eight weeks before being shut down by the US military, but by then it had been widely picked up by the media and publishers offered Buzzell a book deal when he left the army in 2005.

His uncompromising style, peppered with profanities and misspellings and inspired by authors such as Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut, gives readers glimpses of military life that rarely emerge from official sources.

One entry, entitled "Men In Black", related a street battle as US soldiers were hunting down those responsible for firing mortars at their base.

Buzzell, 31, described being ambushed by a man "dressed in all black, with a terrorist beard" shooting an AK47 machine gun at him.

"I heard and felt the bullets whizz literally inches from my head, hitting all around my hatch and making a ping, ping, ping sound," he wrote.

Just afterwards, "all hell came down around us" as "everywhere started unloading on us," he added.

"I kind of lost it and was yelling and screaming all sorts of things, mostly cuss words. I fired and fired and fired and fired at everything," he wrote.

After the battle, Buzzell confided his fears of having inadvertently shot innocent people to a senior, who told him to "put all the things that bother you and keep you awake at night and clog your head up into a shoebox, put the lid on it and deal with it later."

"I pretty much started blogging just out of boredom," Buzzell told AFP.

"I was bored in between missions but over time I realised it was therapeutic, it helped me to live out a lot of feelings."

He added that the US military was getting tougher with bloggers as levels of discontent with the Iraq war were increasing.

"A lot of soldiers over there don't want to be there, they want to get home, so if you have soldiers saying it's not going well, they will get a sense of that and I think the military is kind of scared," he said.

His book, which has been translated into seven languages, beat 109 other entries from 15 countries to win the 10,000 dollar (7,383 euro) prize.

Other frontrunners included "My Secret: A PostSecret Book" by Frank Warren, which features a collection of postcards on which people confess their most closely-guarded thoughts.

Here is a link to Buzzell's 'Men in Black' video. It is an outstanding, very well done video and worth seeing:

http://cbftw.blogspot.com/2004/08/men-in-black.html

A Religion of Peace?

2007-05-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have tried to avoid commenting on Muslim radicals, not wanting to appear predjudiced against Islam. I firmly believe that every human being has the right to practice their individual belief. I'm sure that every religion has it's fundalmentalist radicals. But, I can think of no religion, other than Islam, that urges it's children to behead or kill. as in these two stories:

Jihadist Video Shows Boy Beheading Man

KILI FAQIRAN, Pakistan (AP) - The boy with the knife looks barely 12. In a high-pitched voice, he denounces the bound, blindfolded man before him as an American spy. Then he hacks off the captive's head to cries of "God is great!" and hoists it in triumph by the hair.

Hamas 'Mickey Mouse' Wants Islam Takeover

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas militants have enlisted the iconic Mickey Mouse to broadcast their message of Islamic dominion and armed resistance to their most impressionable audience—little kids.

How can anyone say that this is our fault, that we are creating terrorists? Do you hate anyone else so much that you would turn your sons and daughters into killers?

Global Incident Map.com

2007-05-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, alerted me to GlobalIncidentMap.com, a website that posts "A Global Display of Terrorism and Other Suspicious Incidents" on a map. The site is updated every 420 seconds. Highlighting an icon give you the information on that incident. It is a very intriguing site and worth a visit.

Another reason why I don't vote Democrat.

2007-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid, has decided to piss on the honor and pride of the United States military and given more hope to our country's enemies, with this statement:

"I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week."

The Story:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070419184534.ileoeb47&show_article=1

Oh, and one more thing Harry,

Same to you!!!

Early Spring, 2007 in Flower Mound, Texas

2007-03-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

Rocks and Dirt

2007-03-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

I received this e-mail from Robert Stokely, who lost his son, Sgt. Mike Stokely, killed in action 16 Aug 05, south of Baghdad. He is asking for help for Marcia Kincaid, mother of fallen hero, Pfc. Aaron Kincaid. The request is simple and is explained in the e-mail. I thought that the best way that I could help was to post the e-mail in this blog. If you can help Mrs. Kincaid, please do so. Thank you.

People think I am strange, some even think I might have lost my mind, especially since Mike died.

They really look at me strange when it comes to my affection for rocks and dirt. But maybe they think so because they don't see it the way I do. The Bible talks about God forming man out of the clay of the earth and that our bodies will return unto the earth when we die. David slew Goliath with a small, smooth rock, and the Romans attempted to seal the tomb of Jesus with a large stone. Pharoahs are buried in stone pyramids, and in times past, streets of the early towns of America were paved with "Belgium Blocks" - blocks loaded aboard sailing vessels in Europe to provide ballast during the return trip to America. Gold and Diamonds are just a few of the precious rocks man seeks, even to this day, and let us not forget that the difference between a well fed nation and one that starves is fertile soil.

But for me, it comes down to personal that are real experiences in my life. I like to tell stories about Mike growing up because he was so much fun to be around, and it was not a question of if, but when (an usually quite often) he would do or say somethng to make you laugh. He was full of life every waking moment. When he was three, he and I were spending the night with Momma Chris and Daddy Jim Overton. They were "my other mom and dad" and Mike got his middle name from Daddy Jim - "James".

Daddy Jim loved to cook, especially breakfast on the weekend. Mike and I spent the night there a lot qnd one Saturday morning, Daddy Jim fixed waffles and decided to add pecans to the batter. Mike, then 3, sat at a little table in the corner of the kitchen. I took the first waffle off the iron, buttered and cut it up and coated it with syrup - just the way he liked it. He dug in, but suddenly, and indiscrimantly, spit it out with a disdainful exclamation "PHOOEEE - dese things got rocks in em' !!" After we got through laughing till we cried, Daddy Jim and I tried to convince him it was o.k., they didn't have rocks, just pecans. He would have none of it and we had to fix him a waffle without "rocks". He was suspect of anything in his waffles after that.

When our family left Mike at Ft. Stewart GA after the departure ceremony for Iraq, May 14, 2005, I carried away a baggie of sand from where we last stood and embraced in a bear hug of love, as it turned out, for the last time. When we buried Mike on August 27, 2005, I placed a rose with a note telling him I loved him on his casket and kissed it one last time before they sealed his vault. As I walked away, I carefully knelt, scooped up some dirt from his grave and place it the tissue that held my tears. Such is in a drawer I open every morning when I get dressed, and I take a moment to remember, and touch the baggies.

In the weeks and months after that, it became an urgency to have a small rock and some sand from the place where he died. I shared that with contacts here and in Iraq. One day, a manilla envelope arrived post marked APO Baghdad. It contained a note saying "from where Mike died" and two baggies, one with sand and one with a few small rocks. It is still a life mission that I go to that spot where Mike died and kneel with respect and touch that ground where he fell. God willing, I shall, no matter how old I might be.

In the last few weeks, I have driven hard to help get rocks for Marcia Kincaid, mother of fallen hero PFC Kenneth "Aaron" Kincaid. Marica is working feverishly on a memorial rock garden in honor of Aaron in her back yard. She wants to have a rock from all 50 states and any other country somebody can get for her. Just a simple rock (grapefruit size preferably, two if you can). She wants to have the garden complete and ready to dedicate by April 1 - Aaron's Birthday. We have ten days and she still needs some rocks - Oklahoma, Delaware, Maryland, DC, North Dakota and Alaska.

Rocks are cheap and priority postage isn't that much, compared to what she has given. My address is 100 Fountainhead Way, Sharpsburg GA 30277 (No need to keep this secret - I am too easy to find anyway). If you want to help, and don't worry if we get more than one from each place, please do so. Be sure to put a note in there so Marcia will know who sent it and can write you back.

Today, someone asked me why this is so important to me. It just is.

Robert Stokely

proud dad SGT Mike Stokely

KIA 16 Aug 05 near Yusufiyah south of Baghdad

US ARMY E Troop 108 CAV 48 BDE GAARNG

and proud to be the dad of Wes and Abbey Stokely

Political video smackdown

2007-03-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

From The San Francisco Chronicle, comes this story:

It may be the most stunning and creative attack ad yet for a 2008 presidential candidate -- one experts say could represent a watershed moment in 21st century media and political advertising.

.
Yet the groundbreaking 74-second pitch for Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, which remixes the classic "1984" ad that introduced Apple computers to the world, is not on cable or network TV, but on the Internet.

.
(To see the video, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo)

It isn't from Obama's people, but, it is very well done. I wonder what Hillary's reaction is?

The Rest of the Story:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/18/MNGHNONEPS1.DTL&feed=rss.news

"I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character...."

2007-03-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

The title of this post comes from the appeal of William Barret Travis, in his request for help in defense of the Alamo. As a Texas resident, I could not forget, that, today is the anniversary of it's fall to the forces of General Santa Anna.

Travis' appeal was too late. But, the core of it's appeal still resonates today.

"The enemy has demanded surrender.." and "..in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character...", we should "...never surrender or retreat."

Commandancy of the Alamo Bexar, Feby 24th, 1836

.
To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World--

.
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots

I am besieged with a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison is to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly over the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a solder who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country.

.
VICTORY OR DEATH

.
William Barret Travis Lt. Col. Comd't

.
P.S. The Lord is on our side -- when the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn -- We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Tell Us How You Really Feel

2007-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

The following article is from the New York Post. In it, Newt Gingrich rips Hillary a new one.

.
NEWT RIPS 'NASTY' HILL
DROPS NICE-GUY APPROACH TO 'RUTHLESS' RIVAL
By MAGGIE HABERMAN

March 1, 2007 -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich yesterday called Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "a nasty woman" who runs an "endlessly ruthless" campaign machine.

.
The conservative Republican made the surprising comments - after months of taking care not to trash the Democratic presidential front-runner - in a wide-ranging New York Post editorial-board interview.

.
Asked whether Americans are ready to elect Rudy Giuliani - a leader, the questioner noted, whom Ed Koch had called a "nasty man" - Gingrich shot back, "As opposed to a nasty woman?"

.
Gingrich added that he thinks she'll be the nominee, and cited the battle between Clinton's camp and Sen. Barack Obama's team last week over Obama donor David Geffen bashing the former first couple.

.
"Nobody will out-mud the Clintons," said Gingrich, who added that he'll decide in the coming months whether to run for the White House.

.
He called Clinton's political team one of the most "talented" in U.S. history, but "endlessly ruthless."

.
"You can't beat them tactically . . . They're too relentless, they're too well-organized, they have too big a machine and they'll just grind you down," he said.

.
"If they think [Obama] is a real threat, they'll just grind him up."

.
Gingrich's harsh comments about Clinton were surprising because he has complimented her abilities and worked with her last year on a health-care initiative.

.
Clinton campaign spokesman Blake Zeff cited several instances in the last year where Gingrich had kind words for the senator. "Before Mr. Gingrich started running for president, he repeatedly praised Sen. Clinton," Zeff said. "We take him at his word then."

.
During the Post session, Gingrich also:

.
Dubbed Obama a great "counterimage" to Clinton, but said he doesn't think the Illinois Democrat can win. "If the country wants therapy, they're going to elect Obama," he said.

.
Said the GOP needs to nominate a Ronald Reagan-type candidate and added, "I think it's not an accident that Giuliani is running as well as he is in the polls."

.
Gingrich called New York's evolution under Giuliani "a tremendous story . . . It's a different city."

.
Warned that the GOP is in the "early stages of an enormous transition" and suggested electability is an issue for Republicans.

.
"A normative Republican running like a traditional Republican, which means a non-Reagan Republican, and trying to beat Hillary by being negative is hopeless," he said.

.
Last night, at an election forum at Cooper Union, Gingrich and former Gov. Mario Cuomo agreed on the need for more meaningful debates by the presidential candidates in 2008. Gingrich called for nine weekly 90-minutes debates between the two nominees before Election Day.

.
maggie.haberman@nypost.com

WHAT A SWEET, WONDERFUL PERSON THE HILDABEAST IS.

2007-03-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

Quotes attributed to Hillary.

Cheers to the Truth!

.
"Where is the G-damn f**king flag? I want the G-damn f**king flag up every f**king morning at f**king sunrise."

(From the book "Inside The White House" by Ronald Kessler, p. 244 - Hillary to the staff at the Arkansas Governor's mansion on Labor Day, 1991)

"You sold out, you mother f**ker! You sold out!"

(From the book "Inside" by Joseph Califano, p. 213 - Hillary yelling at Democrat lawyer.)

"It's been said, and I think it's accurate, that my husband was obsessed by terrorism in general and al-Qaida in particular."

(Hillary telling a post-9/11 world what a 'great' commander in chief her husband was; Dateline, NBC 4/16/2004.)

"I have to admit that a good deal of what my husband and I have learned [about Islam] has come from our daughter."

(TruthInMedia.org 8/8/1999 - Hillary at a White House function, proudly tells some Muslim groups she is gaining a greater appreciation of Islam because Chelsea was then taking a class on the "religion of peace")

"F**k off! It's enough that I have to see you shit-kickers every day, I'm not going to talk to you too!! Just do your G*damn job and keep your mouth shut."

(From the book "American Evita" by Christopher Anderson, p. 90 - Hillary to her State Trooper bodyguards after one of them greeted her with "Good morning.")

"You f**king idiot."

(From the book "Crossfire" p. 84 - Hillary to a State Trooper who was driving her to an event.)

"If you want to remain on this detail, get your f**king ass over here and grab those bags!"

(From the book "The First Partner" p. 259 - Hillary to a Secret Service Agent who was reluctant to carry her luggage because he wanted to keep his hands free in case of an incident.)

"Get f**ked! Get the f**k out of my way!!! Get out of my face!!!"

(From the book "Hillary's Scheme" p. 89 - Hillary's various comments to her Secret Service detail agents.)

"Stay the f**k back, stay the f**k away from me! Don't come within ten yards of me, or else! Just f**king do as I say, Okay!!!?"

(From the book "Unlimited Access", by Clinton FBI Agent in Charge, Gary Aldrige, p. 139 - Hillary screaming at her Secret Service detail.)

"Many of you are well enough off that [President Bush's] tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to have to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

(Hillary grandstanding at a fund raising speech in San Francisco; SFGate.com 6/28/2004.)

"Why do I have to keep proving to people that I am not a liar?!"

(From the book "The Survivor," by John Harris, p. 382 - Hillary in her 2000 Senate campaign)

"Where's the miserable c*ck sucker?"

(From the book "The Truth About Hillary" by Edward Klein, p. 5 - Hillary shouting at a Secret Service officer)

"No matter what you think about the Iraq war, there is one thing we can all agree on for the next days - we have to salute the courage and bravery of those who are risking their lives to vote and those brave Iraqi and American soldiers fighting to protect their right to vote."

(Was posted on Hillary Clinton's senate.gov web site on 1/28/05)

"Put this on the ground! I left my sunglasses in the limo. I need those sunglasses. We need to go back!"

(From the book "Dereliction of Duty" p. 71-72 - Hillary to Marine One helicopter pilot to turn back while en route to Air Force One.)

"A right-wing network was after his presidency...including perverting the Constitution."

(To Barbara Walters about the Republicans who impeached her husband; 20/20, ABC 6/8/2003.)

"Son of a bitch."

(From the book "American Evita" by Christopher Anderson, p. 259 - Hillary's opinion of President George W. Bush when she found out he secretly visited Iraq just days before her highly publicized trip to Iraq)

"What are you doing inviting these people into my home? These people are our enemies! They are trying to destroy us!"

(From the book "The Survivor" by John Harris, p. 99 - Hillary screaming to an aide, when she found out that some Republicans had been invited to the Clinton White House)

"I mean, you've got a conservative and right-wing press presence with really nothing on the other end of the political spectrum."

(C-Span, 1/19/1997 - Hillary complains about the mainstream media, which are all conservatives in her opinion)

"Come on Bill, put your dick up! You can't f**k her here!!"

(From the book "Inside The White House" by Ronald Kessler, p. 243 - Hillary to Gov. Clinton when she spots him talking with an attractive female at an Arkansas political rally)

"You know, I'm going to start thanking the woman who cleans the restroom in the building I work in. I'm going to start thinking of her as a human being."

(From the book "The Case Against Hillary Clinton" by Peggy Noonan, p. 55)

"You show people what you're willing to fight for when you fight your friends."

(From the book "The Agenda" by Bob Woodward, ch. 14)

"We are at a stage in history in which remolding society is one of the great challenges facing all of us in the West."

(From the book "I've Always Been A Yankee Fan" by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 119 - During her 1993 commencement address at the University of Texas)

"The only way to make a difference is to acquire power"

(From the book "I've Always Been A Yankee Fan" by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 68 - Hillary to a friend before starting law school.)

"We just can't trust the American people to make those types of choices.... Government has to make those choices for people"

(From the book "I've Always Been A Yankee Fan" by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 20 - Hillary to Rep. Dennis Hastert in 1993 discussing her expensive, disastrous taxpayer-funded health care plan)

"I am a fan of the social policies that you find in Europe"

( From the book "I've Always Been A Yankee Fan" by Thomas D. Kuiper, p. 76 - Hillary in 1996)

To Our Troops We Must Remain Faithful.

2007-02-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

February 16, 2007
To Our Troops We Must Remain Always Faithful
By Rep. Sam Johnson

(Note: The following is the text of remarks delivered by Rep. Johnson on the floor of the House of Representatives Feb. 16, 2007)

You know, I flew 62 combat missions in the Korean War and 25 missions in the Vietnam War before being shot down.

I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force for 29 years, attending the prestigious National War College, and commanding two air bases, among other things.

I mention these stories because I view the debate on the floor not just as a U.S. Congressman elected to serve the good people of the Third District in Texas, but also through the lens of a life-long fighter pilot, student of war, a combat warrior, a leader of men, and a Prisoner of War.

Ironically, this week marks the anniversary that I started a new life - and my freedom from prison in Hanoi.

I spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. I flew out of Hanoi on February 12, 1973 with other long-held Prisoners of War - weighing just 140 pounds. And tomorrow - 34 years ago, I had my homecoming to Texas - a truly unspeakable blessing of freedom.

While in solitary confinement, my captors kept me in leg stocks, like the pilgrims... for 72 days....

As you can imagine, they had to carry me out of the stocks because I couldn't walk. The following day, they put me in leg irons... for 2 ½ years. That's when you have a tight metal cuff around each ankle - with a foot-long bar connecting the legs.

I still have little feeling in my right arm and my right hand... and my body has never been the same since my nearly 2,500 days of captivity.

But I will never let my physical wounds hold me back.

Instead, I try to see the silver lining. I say that because in some way ... I'm living a dream...a hope I had for the future. "From April 16, 1966 to February 12, 1973 - I prayed that I would return home to the loving embrace of my wife, Shirley, and my three kids, Bob, Gini, and Beverly...

And my fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when - not if - we returned home.

We would spend hours tapping on the adjoining cement walls about what we would do when we got home to America.

We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it... We decided that we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all.

So - little did I know back in my rat-infested 3 x 8 dark and filthy cell that 34 years after my departure from Hell on Earth... I would spend the anniversary of my release pleading for a House panel to back my measure to support and fully fund the troops in harm's way....and that just days later I would be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives surrounded by distinguished veterans urging Congress to support our troops to the hilt.

We POWs were still in Vietnam when Washington cut the funding for Vietnam. I know what it does to morale and mission success. Words can not fully describe the horrendous damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground.

Our captors would blare nasty recordings over the loud speaker of Americans protesting back home...tales of Americans spitting on Vietnam veterans when they came home... and worse.

We must never, ever let that happen again.

The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors.

Our troops - and their families - want, need and deserve the full support of the country - and the Congress. Moms and dads watching the news need to know that the Congress will not leave their sons and daughters in harm's way without support.

Since the President announced his new plan for Iraq last month, there has been steady progress. He changed the rules of engagement and removed political protections.

There are reports we wounded the number two of Al Qaeda and killed his deputy. Yes, Al Qaeda operates in Iraq. It's alleged that top radical jihadist Al-Sadr has fled Iraq - maybe to Iran. And Iraq's closed its borders with Iran and Syria. The President changed course and offered a new plan ...we are making progress. We must seize the opportunity to move forward, not stifle future success.

Debating non-binding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy.

The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops...Just ask John Murtha about his 'slow-bleed' plan that hamstrings our troops in harm's way.

Now it's time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home - and those who fought and died in Iraq - so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it...and we must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us.

Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past... instead learn from them.

We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way...To our troops we must remain...always faithful.

God bless you and I salute you all. Thank you.

Page Printed from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/to_our_troops_we_must_remain_a.html at February 17, 2007 - 06:59:53 AM CST

Mrs. Clinton is not President!

2007-02-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

One sunny day in 2008, an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue , where he'd been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet with President Hillary Clinton."

The Marine replied, "Sir, Mrs. Clinton is not President and doesn't reside here."

The old man said, "Okay," and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President HillaryClinton ".

The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mrs. Clinton is not President and doesn't reside here."

The man thanked him and again walked away .

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same Marine, saying "I would like to go in and meet with President Hillary Clinton."

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mrs. Clinton. I've told you already several times that Mrs. Clinton is not the President and doesn't reside here. Don't you understand?"

The old man answered, "Oh, I understand you fine, I just love hearing your answer!"

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow."

Size Does Matter!!

2007-02-08T06:10:00.000-08:00

Speaker Pelosi wants a big one!

Click here (left) and here (right) for the story.

Click here for a big one.

NEVER ASK A MEXICAN GRANDMA A QUESTION

2007-02-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

LAWYERS SHOULD NEVER ASK A MEXICAN GRANDMA A QUESTION IF THEY AREN'T PREPARED FOR THE ANSWER:

IN A TRIAL, IN A SMALL TOWN in TEXAS , A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY CALLED HIS FIRST WITNESS, A MEXICAN GRANDMOTHER, AN ELDERLY WOMAN TO THE STAND. HE APPROACHED HER AND ASKED, MRS. SANCHEZ,"DO YOU KNOW ME?"

SHE RESPONDED, "SI, I MEAN, JESS I KNOW YOU MR. WILLIAMS. I KNOWN YOU SINCE YOU WERE A CHAVALITO AND FRANKLY YOU'VE BEEN A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT TO ME. YOU LIE, YOU CHEAT ON YOUR WIFE, AND YOU MANIPULATE PEOPLE AND TALK ABOUT THEM BEHIND THEIR BACKS. YOU THINK YOU'RE A BIG SHOT WHEN YOU HAVEN'T THE BRAINS TO REALIZE YOU WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO NOTHIN' BUT A TWO BIT PAPERPUSHER. YES I KNOW YOU."

THE LAWYER WAS STUNNED. NOT KNOWING WHAT ELSE TO DO, HE POINTED ACROSS THE ROOM AND ASKED, MRS. SANCHEZ, DO YOU KNOW THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY?

SHE AGAIN REPLIED, "WHY JESS I DO. I'VE KNOWN MR. RODRIGUEZ SINCE HE WAS A CHAVALITO TOO. HE'S LAZY, GORDO, AND HE HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM. HE CAN'T HAVE A NORMAL RELATIONSHIP WITH NOBODY AND HE HAS THE WORST LAW PRACTICE IN THE STATE. HA! AND NOT TO MENTION HE CHEATED ON HIS WIFE WITH THREE DIFFERENT PUTAS. ONE OF THEM WAS YOUR WIFE. YOU MEMBER? I KNOW MR. RODRIGUEZ, HIS MAMA IS NOT PROUD OF HIM."

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY ALMOST DIED. THE JUDGE ASKED BOTH COUNSELORS TO APPROACH THE BENCH AND IN A VERY QUIET VOICE SAID, "IF EITHER OF YOU PENDEJO'S ASK HER IF SHE KNOWS ME, I"LL SEND YOU TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR."

Soldiers, kids share storytime

2007-02-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

This story is from the Dallas Morning News. It is a great program, that is offered at DFW Airport, where I work. I have heard the USO volunteers offering the program to soldiers. The DFW USO does a wonderful job in supporting and helping our troops in every way.

Click on the Video link in the rest of the story. It is worth watching.

Soldiers, kids share storytime
11:58 AM CST on Sunday, February 4, 2007

By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News
kgoolsby@dallasnews.com

In the final minutes before his deployment to Iraq last month, Army Pvt. Larry Levy sat down for some quality time with his 5-year-old son, Sterling. He first read his son a book, chuckling as he turned the pages and talked about the pictures.
.
But when he closed the book, Pvt. Levy's voice turned serious.
.
"You know where Daddy's going, Bubba," Pvt. Levy said. "You know Daddy's got to go to Baghdad to fight the bad guys."
.
The father paused and took a ragged breath. When he spoke again, his voice choked with emotion.
.
"I need you to do good in school," the Arlington native said. "Take care of your mom and sissy."
.
There was no response from Sterling. Pvt. Levy would be in Iraq before his son heard that heartfelt message, recorded as part of the United Service Organization's United Through Reading program at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
.
Since August, more than 400 troops passing through the airport on their way to war have paused to record books for their children. The recordings, punctuated with special messages and occasional tears, are shipped to each child along with the books that are read.

The Rest of the Story

Saddam Morgue Video

2007-02-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

This new video of Saddam in a morgue has recently popped up on Baathist web sites.

Warning!!

Not for the faint of heart!

Click here to view video.

Another Reason to Vote For Duncan Hunter

2007-01-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

Duncan Hunter Press Release: Hunter Introduces Bill To Pardon Convicted Border Patrol Agents

"Washington D.C. - Today, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) introduced the Congressional Pardon for Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean Act. The legislation pardons convicted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who reported to prison yesterday to begin serving 11 and 12 year sentences respectively. The conviction derived from an incident involving their efforts to apprehend a drug smuggler on the international border with Mexico.

"The Border Patrol is America's first line of defense against the constant and unrelenting efforts of drug and human smugglers to illegally enter the United States," said Congressman Hunter.

"Agents Compean and Ramos fulfilled their responsibilities as Border Patrol agents and rightfully pursued a suspected and fleeing drug smuggler. It is irresponsible to punish them with jail time."

.
"The security situation on our Southern land border requires a strong law enforcement presence. This conviction demoralizes our nation's Border Patrol and sends a clear message that we are not serious about protecting our borders and enforcing our immigration laws. "

.
"We cannot turn our back on Agents Compean and Ramos or the rest of the men and women proudly serving in the U.S. Border Patrol. These two agents deserve our full support and the Congressional pardon provided by this legislation."

.
In addition to introducing the Congressional Pardon for Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean Act, Congressman Hunter contacted the Federal Bureau of Prisons and personally requested that Agents Compean and Ramos be segregated from the general prison population in order to ensure their safety."

Obama Osama?

2007-01-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

Before anyone gets to excited, the name Obama Osama comes from a Ted Kennedy gaffe. I received the following in an e-mail. So, I'm not sure how much credence to give it. But, if true, it causes me some concern.

Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black Muslim from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white atheist from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a radical Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama attended a Muslim school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school."

Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Osama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the radical teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.

Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background.

Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.

Sizzlin', Baby!

2007-01-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

When I first heard of the 'burkini', I thought that it was a joke. But, it is the real deal. I find it hard to believe that some fanatic muslims are offended by it. They should be delighted with the burkini and looking forward to Spring Break.

Australia's burkini set to put Muslim women in the swim

Posted on Monday, January 15, 2007 (EST)

What do you get when you cross Australian beach culture with a desire to remain clothed in a way acceptable to Muslim women? If you're designer Aheda Zanetti, you get what she says is the world's first two-piece Islamic swimsuit, the burkini.

While other Islamic swimsuits exist, Zanetti says her light-weight, head-to-ankle costumes are the first to be streamlined down to a two-piece suit incorporating a head covering.

With Australian beaches full of girls in skimpy bikinis and revealing one-pieces, there was a "hole in the market that needed to be filled" for more modest beachwear, she said.

"A lot of girls were missing out, a lot of women were missing out, on a lot of sporting activities, including swimming," Zanetti told AFP from the clutter of her southwestern Sydney shopfront.

The Rest of the Story