The Liberty Tree

Do you remember The Liberty Tree and the story that surrounds it? There was an old elm tree that stood in Boston Commons in the days before the American Revolution. It was a beautiful old tree that became a real rallying point – a symbol really - for the growing resistance to the rule of England over the feisty American colonies. Called ‘The Liberty Tree,’ it was often decorated with banners and lanterns by ‘the resisters’ and used in communicating their secret messages to each other. Their meetings were regularly held there to express views against the Crown and to vent frustrated emotions.

When the news of The Liberty Tree spread throughout the colonies, local patriots in each of the 13 colonies formed a ‘Sons of Liberty’ group (or network of sorts) and identified a large tree to be used as a meeting place. In those times, holding an unauthorized assembly was really dangerous business that carried threats of imprisonment or death so the usual places to plot and plan were out of the question. But, the casual appearance of a group chatting beneath a tree seemed much, much safer!

As resistance to the British grew, flags bearing a representation of The Liberty Tree were flown to symbolize the unwavering spirit of liberty itself. These flags were later a common sight during the battles of the American Revolution.

The British made The Liberty Tree an object of great ridicule and scorn. However, the ridicule and scorn were simply ‘just words’ and many from that day forward said it was under The Liberty Tree that America was born, giving its sons and daughters a legacy of liberty.

Liberty is Under Attack.

Today, our country faces a threat from abroad and a threat - in the form of ideological conflict - from within. With the coming of a new administration and the promise of a more bloated and opportunistic government, the need for citizens to resist complacency and to let their voices be heard, has led to a rekindling of the spirit that founded The Sons (and Daughters) of Liberty.

We at Right Pundits have established a network comprised of blogging patriots who understand that it is the duty of each of us to champion the principles of liberty, freedom, an educated engaged citizenry and representative government. Our network is called ‘The Liberty Tree’ and we are asking you to join us!

In becoming a member of The Liberty Tree Network, you will join an informed community of bloggers that, instead of offering nothing but clever yet empty rhetoric, will actively support and promote liberty, civic responsibility, national security, and the American heritage as our Founding Fathers intended.

We will actively work to expose lies and propaganda of incoming administration and the main stream media while being diligent to maintain honor, truthfulness and integrity in our own reporting.

Join us. Email us at libertytree [at] rightpundits [dot] com and join the strong and growing movement to preserve Liberty as our forefathers did.

Your blog posts titles will be displayed on all the other blogs participating in in The Liberty Tree network.

Tags: liberty tree

A lot of people on the left are having a great time making fun of the fact that just following Palin’s turkey pardon, she gave a press conference outside of the turkey house and there were turkeys having their heads chopped off right behind her in full view of the cameras.

Here’s the video. If you have never been on a farm and are squeamish, you might not want to watch the video.

Like I said, the left blogsphere is having a ball with this. They are loving using this as an example of how Sarah Palin is a brutal, insensitive and not too bright person. Of course, they will undoubtedly be eating turkey, or some vegan version of turkey, for Thanksgiving. The only difference is they are likely to get their turkey frozen and completely unrecognizable as a turkey, neatly packaged from the grocery store.

Just so you know, turkeys DO come from somewhere.

al-Qaeda Message to Obama

al-Qaeda is not showing the love for Barack Obama. Its pretty disappointing seeing as how the Obama administration would bring about world peace. So far, it seems that world peace might be slightly out of his grasp for the moment anyway. He might have to work a little harder at it than merely being elected.

The left is so funny in how they think the rest of the world looks at things the same way Americans do. Like they were shocked when Venezuelan President and Petty Dictator Hugo Chavez called Obama ‘that black guy’ and the President of Italy referred to him jokingly as having a tan. The left thinks the rest of the world has the same politically correct sickness that Americans are afflicted with. But they aren’t. In fact, I would venture to guess that they don’t get the whole American guilt thing at all.

So now we have al-Qaeda taking their turn to put Obama to the test. Ayman Zawahiri is the heir apparent to the al-Qaeda organization should it ever be confirmed that Osama bin Laden is actually dead. He’s the only al-Qaeda person we’ve heard from in a while. Now he has come out and called Barack Obama a ‘House Negro’ or ‘House Slave’, depending on the transcription.

You can read the full transcript here. It basically translates to say, ‘I slap you across your face with my glove you infidel cur! Ha! Find me if you can! hahahahahahaha’

Of course, the purpose of the al-Qaeda challenge to Obama was undoubtedly as much for the Jihadists followers of al-Qaeda than for Obama. He was obviously letting his followers know that the ‘Great Satan’ is STILL the ‘Great Satan’. It also informs them that Obama winning the war is proof that Americans are surrendering in Iraq and al-Qaeda has won that front in the war.

Of course, this could be a good thing. It might be that the left will finally understand that we ARE at war! At least, they’ll be awfully mad that someone insulted their demagogue. You know what happens on the internet when someone isn’t drinking Obama’s koolaid - can you imagine what they will do about THIS!?!

The 60 million dollar question is how will Obama handle all this challenge. Not just this one, but the ones coming from all corners of the earth. After all, he did promise to understand and appreciate our enemies more so they’d be less angry with us bringing about peace on earth. Here’s what he said shortly after we were attacked by misunderstood, disenchanted, hopeless, angry young men who had been mistreated by the United States on 9/11/2001.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores.

See! If only we understood them better. But wait. Obama does! Then why do they hate him? Oh. I do worry about what will come from this inexperienced man becoming the most powerful man in the world. The last time we faced this kind of crisis of leadership was when John F. Kennedy was tested by Russia. But things happen so much faster now than they did back then. The problem is, will we have time to act. Even worse, will we have time for Barack Obama to think through every aspect of every permutation of every reaction and then discuss with his 300 foreign policy advisers before he does anything. We’ll all be ashes and dust by the time he talks it out.

Oddly, I just learned what that term was tonight shortly before I got an email from mine. The coincidence of that seemed sort of odd to me!

A Googleganger is a completely made-up word that you won’t find it in your favorite dictionary … yet. The word is taken from the German word ‘doopleganger’ which means ‘double-goer’. The meaning is suggesting an eerie similarity between people in appearance or identity.

So taking doopleganger and referring to Google we have ‘Googleganger’ which what happens when you google your own name and find one or more people with the exact same name in the search engine results.

Voila!

I’ve been aware of my googleganger for a while now. She lives on the other side of the country and is a fitness expert. I’ve read her website, seen her pictures and browsed books she has for sale. That’s as far as I ever took it or thought about it. Until a couple of hours ago.

At some point this evening I became aware of the term googleganger for the first time. Then, not an hour later, I got an email from mine. It made me wonder if she had read the same article and googled her name to see if she had one. That would be me.

It sounds kind of cool in a way, especially when you have an unusual name. I mean, if your name is John Doe, there might be too many googlegangers to get too excited about it.

On the other hand, it could create problems. For instance, my googleganger is publishing a new book. It turns out that our views on the issues I write about here are quite different than hers. Polar opposites might be more to the point. Therefore, she very nicely asked if there was something we could do about that because is concerned that our identities will get confused. Can’t imagine why THAT would bother her!

So, today you have learned a new new-age term. Its likely to get more well known as the internet continues its unlimited expansion. Meanwhile, I have to figure out how to deal with the issue of mistaken identity that is concerning my new acquaintance.

Who is your googleganger?

Work Never Ends!

Sometimes when I read the comments on this blog and others where I participate, I’m a little astonished at how many people seem to think that life is supposed to be ‘fair’ (whatever that means). People seem to think that whatever is going on is what will continue to go on forever. We take our prosperity and comfort for granted when, in fact, we are blessed beyond description and have more than any other civilization could have ever imagined possible. Still, we take it for granted as though it could never come to an end.

Of course that’s not at all the case.

Over a year ago I lost my job in a particularly brutal way. It was a job I had been at for many years. I had been the CEO of a successful non-profit agency. The thing was, it became too successful. Some of my board members decided to make it ‘for profit’ while still calling it ‘non-profit’. There was a lot of intrigue, back-stabbing, secrets and under handed scheming and manipulating. The makings of a nasty little novel based on the extent to which people will go for greed and power.

I was offered the opportunity to get in on the deal, but foolishly stood on principle and refused. I told the parties involved at the time that it simply wouldn’t work. When you change a non-profit into a ‘for profit’, even if you don’t admit to anyone that its for profit, then it changes the entire dynamic of the organization. Then decisions are made because of money as opposed to what the organization was there for, to take care of the needs of the people it was set up to serve. And if you are interested in making a profit, you will lose it by TRYING to make a profit.

I know that concept is counter-intuitive. But it had been my experience that the more I focused on making money the less the organization made. The more I focused on the purpose of the organization, the more money we made. People felt good about making donations to an organization in which they knew they donations were being used in a responsible manner. People would talk to me and felt comfortable entrusting their gifts to my discretion in how they were used. I told the board members involved that when that stopped, the donations would stop, rumors would start to spread and more donations would stop. Even though they were successful business people, you can’t run a charitable organization in exactly the same way you run a carpet company. You have to use good business practices, but there is an entirely other layer of dynamics that makes a charitable organization function well. They scoffed and said they were successful business people and I couldn’t tell them how to market the property and how to run the business. They were determined to make a profit on it.

There were other issues, of course. The board member behind the whole thing had a close friend who needed a job. Coincidentally, that woman got my job. Surprise, surprise. I knew some personal things about some the board members that I’m sure they didn’t like that I knew. I’m certain it made them uncomfortable considering that I wasn’t eager to join them in their big secret. So they had nothing to hold over me to keep me quiet.

Then they fired me and threatened me with a lawsuit if I told anyone what they were doing. I left, I haven’t and I still won’t. This is the most I’ve told - but frankly I don’t care anymore. I decided to just move on with my life.

The problem is that things are falling apart there now. They are hording donations and then having yard sales with what people have donated. This is angering people and rumors are starting in the community. They have gone on and fired most of the staff, cutting it down to a skeleton staff to save expenses. They have done their marketing thing, spending lots of money on glossy brochures and ads - the opposite of the comfortable hominess that had at one time attacked people to it. They hired an expensive marketing person whose sole job is to get people to leave the organization money in their wills. We used to get bequests because people liked how it was run. I understand they have gotten none since they hired this person.

Donations have dropped off. Funds have been cut. People are mad their donations are being turned away or sold in a yard sale and my phone is ringing off the hook.

People are calling me. I haven’t been there in over a year. And its been increasing over the last month. People want to know what is going on over there. I don’t know. I tell them they will have to call there if they have concerns. My former employees are calling asking what they should do about this, that or the other. They tell me one of the people the board hired in my place doesn’t know what she’s doing. She was a business woman, but didn’t know anything about non-profits and didn’t trust anyone to tell her. I tell them they need to talk to her, that I can’t tell them how to handle things there. Tonight one called and asked me to help them. She said things were miserable there and the place was falling apart. I told her I couldn’t help her. They need to work with things the way they are now.

They were so ugly to me when I left. I’ve been tempted to call some board members and tell them they need to give me a salary for dealing with all these phone calls and, oh by the way, they’ve got a problem on their hands. Another part of me feels bad that things are so bad there that people are calling me. Yet another part of me feels a little vindicated that I was right, they were wrong and they are suffering for treating me so badly. Then I feel guilty for feeling that.

I’ve said more here than I should. Its just on my mind.

What do you tell former employees when you want the gossip but don’t want to interfere with the new person? Then again, you really do because it was all so ugly and unfair to begin with. I know the answer I guess. I just find it perplexing that they are calling me and at some level I resent that one more second of my time is taken up by that place. If they hadn’t cheated me out of all the money they owed me I would be more charitable towards them. But they did and I’m not.

Southern California Fires

Right now, people are watching the Yorba Linda Fire, Brea Fire, Sylmar Fire, Anaheim Hills Fire and the Corona Fire. I’m sure there are more, but those are the ones I’m aware of at the moment.

The fire burst through the foothills of the Angeles National Forest overnight and burned through the San Fernando Valley. It has burned over 6,500 acres and over 10,000 residents under mandatory evacuation orders.

Los Angele Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said that this fire has destroyed more homes than any fire in the area over the past decade. Its not just the multi-million dollar homes that are being talked about on television there are also mobile home parks and everything in between being destroyed by the fire. The heat is so intense that the police and firemen have not been able to do any searches. They will have to wait for the ground to cool.

The Santa Ana winds have kicked up the Orange County fires and there are several separate fires that are having to be dealt with.

Videos of the fires are below the jump.

Grandbaby

This is the photo taken of the sweet little one a month ago. They went back to the doctor the other day and still can’t tell the baby’s gender. In the photo above, the little one had just taken his or her thumb out of his or her mouth when the photo was taken. So you can see his or her little fist.

One thing I’ve noticed about German doctors is that they won’t confirm anything until there is absolutely no doubt about it. They wouldn’t confirm my daughter-in-law was pregnant until she had reached a certain point in her pregnancy, in spite of her repeatedly having positive pregnancy test. Now they won’t confirm whether or not its a boy or a girl. I’m suspecting that they’ve seen enough of these ultrasounds to have a good idea of which it is, but they seem to prefer to not say anything until there is no question at all.

The baby seems like he’s reclining there quite comfortably allowing his mama to meet his every need … which makes me think its probably a male (JUST KIDDING!).

I’m amazed at the level of definition in the photo. When I was pregnant they did one ultrasound during the pregnancy and you couldn’t tell a thing from it. Apparently now they do one at every visit.

Baby is developing well according to the doctor. I’m sure he meant extraordinarily well, but they have to remain unbiased. I’m very surprised at how fond I am of a little creature I’ve never seen except in the photo above. Once I got my mind wrapped around the idea of being a grandparent, I have found myself thinking about the little thing and having very protective and warm feelings towards the baby. That seems strange considering that she/he hasn’t even been born yet.

I think he or she looks just like my son, only German. Ha!

Ann E. Dunwoody

Ann E. Dunwoody was confirmed by the Senate in July and promoted by President George W. Bush on November 14, 2008 to Full General, becoming the first Four-Star General. There was a celebratory mood during and after the ceremony for this history making event.

Both General Dunwoody’s father and husband showed up in support of her accomplishment. Her husband is retired Air Force Colonel Craig Brotchie, which means she outranks him by a long shot. During the ceremony, she gave him a hat that read ‘boss’, so it looks like they’ve got the ranking thing worked out. Her father is retired Brigadier General Harold H. Dunwoody (pictured below in a wheelchair). So she outranks her father as well. None of the men in her life seemed threatened by her rank, but encouraged her for her accomplishments, talent and aspirations.

She was promoted by as Republican President just as the first one-star female General was. Anna Mae Hays was promoted 38 years ago by President Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, the Republican party is still defined by the democratic party as the ‘party of old white men’ even though that is in no way true.

Read Ann E. Dunwoody’s biography.

A couple of good Ann E. Dunwoody quotes:

“I am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement, I grew up in a family that didn’t know what glass ceilings were. This nomination only reaffirms what I have known to be true about the military throughout my career that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform.” ~ Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody

“There is no one more surprised than I — except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, ‘Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.’” ~ Lieutenant General Ann Dunwoody

Ann E. Dunwoody - Photos

Tags: ann e dunwoody

Mike Christian

John McCain has often told the story of one of his fellow prisoners during the years he spent in the Hanoi Hilton. Mike Christian was a Vietnam War POW with John McCain and the two shared quarters for some time. The story is about Christian’s love of country and of his fellow prisoners of war. He had sewn a flag into the inside of his clothing and the POWs pledged allegiance to the homemade flag every morning. Eventually the Vietcong discovered the flag, they destroyed it and beat Christian. Following the horrific beating, Christian was returned to the cell. After some nursing aid from McCain and other prisoners, Christian sat up and started fashioning another flag into his clothing.

I won’t repeat the entire story here. You can read it and listen to McCain tell the story below.

Listening to John McCain tell the story has gotten a lot of people curious to learn more about Mike Christian, including me. I found a statement from him that I found particularly poignant in today’s environment.

My pilot was Lt. Lewis Irving (Irv) Williams. We were shot down 24 April 1967 at Kep Airfield about 30 miles northeast of Hanoi.

I frequently found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I got to know the Vietnamese and their methods quite well during five major and various minor pain sessions. Their attempts at propaganda and indoctrination taught me, as it did so many, just how strongly I support the ideals and policies of my country and our system of government. I learned a great deal about myself and my fellow man. I saw Americans function under conditions of great stress and report with pride their tremendous courage and resourcefulness . Perhaps the two strongest lessons I learned are: One, look around and find those who love you. Be aware of their love and react to it while you still can. Two, the International Communist Revolution is a deadly serious business and we MUST become aware of it. We need not panic, but we absolutely must deal with communism from a position of strength. Peace at any price politics will destroy us.

Michael Durhen Christian was born on October 7, 1940 and died in September 1983. He was 43-years-old. He was from Huntsville, Alabama. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Christian of Huntsville. He had a sister, Pat and a brother Larry.

He attended Butler High School in Huntsville. He went to the University of Alabama and then transfered to Purdue University and got his degree in 1964. He enlisted in the Navy on January 28, 1958 and entered the Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program (NESEP) which is a commission program. He spent a year and a half in the surface Navy in the USS Dahlgren DLG-12, received B/N Wings in 1966, A-6A B/N in VA-85 aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63).

He was a A6A pilot and a member of Attack Squadron 85, USS Kitty Hawk and his rank was 02/US Navy. Lieutenant Commander Christian was shot down over North Vietnam on April 24, 1967 and became a prisoner of war. He was moved around to different locations in North Vietnam until he was placed in the Hanoi Hilton for the duration of his imprisonment. He was released on March 4, 1973 after 6 years of imprisonment. He was one of 591 Americans released from Vietnamese prisoner of war camps in 1973.

He had been awarded two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, four Air Medals, the Legion of Merit, and the Navy Commendation Medal.

Christian was married to Charlotte Strong Christian of Virginia Beach, Virginia. They had three children, Deborah Kaye, Sandra Dawn and Pamela Joan. Christian died in a fire at his home in Virginia Beach. He attempted to get out of the house, but bars on the windows prevented him for being able to escape the fire.

You can read more about Lieutenant Commander Christian’s imprisonment here.

Mike Christian - Photos

Let me tell you what I think about our Pledge for Allegiance, our flag, and our country. I want to tell you a story about when I was a prisoner of war. I spent 5 ½ years in the Hanoi Hilton. In the early years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell.

In 1971, the North Vietnamese moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change. And was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans, led by people like Nancy and Ronald Reagan, on behalf of a few hundred POWs, 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men moved into my cell was Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn’t wear a pair of shoes until he was thirteen years old. At seventeen, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He later earned a commission. He became a Naval flying officer, and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation for the opportunities this country — and our military — provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

The uniforms we wore in prison consisted of a blue short-sleeved shirt, trousers that looked like pajama trousers and rubber sandals that were made out of automobile tires. I recommend them highly; one pair lasted my entire stay.

As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a piece of white cloth and a piece of red cloth and fashioned himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he sewed the American flag on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s shirt on the wall of our cell, and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know that saying the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important or meaningful part of our day now, but I can assure you that – for those men in that stark prison cell – it was indeed the most important and meaningful event of our day.

One day, the Vietnamese searched our cell and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, called for Mike Christian to come out, closed the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours.

Then they opened the door of the cell and threw him back inside. He was not in good shape. We tried to comfort and take care of him as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs in each corner of the room.

After things quieted down, I went to lie down to go to sleep. As I did, I happened to look in the corner of the room. Sitting there beneath that dim light bulb, with a piece of white cloth, a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. Sitting there, with his eyes almost shut from his beating, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was for us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

Duty, Honor, Country. We must never forget those thousands of Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, made those words live for all of us.

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona)

Kellie Pickler

I know this is not new news, but I saw it a while ago and thought it was good enough to post about. Whether or not you are a fan of Kellie Pickler’s, I hope you can appreciate how much she cares about our Troops. Obviously, not everyone in hollywood does.

She went to Iraq in December of 2007 and spent a few days traveling from FOB to FOB and base to base. She entertained the Troops and spent time getting to know them and what they are doing. She rode in a tank, helicopters, helped with a re-enlistment ceremony and a promotion.

There were several highlights to her Iraq diary, but I have to say the Hungarian Soldiers giving her a Hungarian flag was pretty funny. In case you don’t know why that’s funny, when she was on ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader’ she didn’t know that Hungary was a country. The Hungarians made sure she’ll never forget that again!

While Pickler was in Iraq, she kept a video diary of her trip. I have it all here (under the fold) for you to view. Enjoy.

Tags: kellie pickler, uso

John McCain on Jay Leno

I was very pleased that John McCain used a portion of his first interview following the election to defend Sarah Palin. I think he could have gone further, but it appears to me that he sees the hubbub about her wardrobe, etc as being silly nonsense that’s hardly worth talking about.

As he said, everybody who says something ‘anonymously’ to the press is suddenly a ‘top adviser’ or ‘high up in the Republican Party’. He did, however, have nothing but praise for Palin and her family. He didn’t think that the outcome would have been different with someone else as his running mate and he believes she along with some others will be the future leaders of the Republican Party. He named Bobby Jindal and Tim Pawlenty in particular.

LOS ANGELES — John McCain said Tuesday that Sarah Palin did not damage his presidential bid, and he dismissed as typical campaign sniping anonymous criticism aimed at her following their crushing defeat.

“I’m so proud of her and I’m very grateful she agreed to run with me. She inspired people, she still does,” McCain told Jay Leno during an “Tonight Show” interview taped for broadcast Tuesday night. “I couldn’t be happier with Sarah Palin.”

Asked by Leno about griping about Palin from unidentified McCain operatives in the days following the election, the Arizona senator said, “These things happen in campaigns.

“I think I have at least a thousand, quote, top advisers,” he scoffed. “A top adviser said? I’ve never even heard of … a top adviser or high-ranking Republican official.”

However, McCain never directly addressed the embarrassing controversy over Palin’s expensive campaign wardrobe purchased by the Republican National Committee, or statements by unidentified McCain aides who have reportedly said she was not prepared on foreign policy.

The Alaska governor has said in interviews she did not ask for, or want, the $150,000-plus wardrobe for her and her family.

He disputed that a different vice presidential pick would have changed the outcome against Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

At campaign rallies, “The people were very excited and inspired by her. That’s what really mattered, I think,” McCain said. “She’s a great reformer.”

McCain’s appearance at Leno’s Burbank studio was scheduled to coincide with Veterans Day. It was the former naval aviator’s 14th appearance on “The Tonight Show” but his first TV interview as a vanquished presidential candidate.

One of the things I like about Greta Van Susteren is that she doesn’t play ‘get cha’ with her interviews. Instead, she seems to try to get to know the person she’s interviewing and give the people watching an opportunity to get to know her. Its not an ego contest as much as an effort to get and provide information. What a novel thought for a news anchor!! /sarcasm

Here is the second segment of the interview. I posted on the first part yesterday.

Too bad this wasn’t aired prior to the election. But then, much of the media didn’t seem particularly interested in much more than getting their man elected and making Palin look as bad as they possibly could. So there ya go.

Sarah Palin remains a threat to the status quo in Washington and the slander will continue. I’m glad she’s got an avenue to get her own voice heard. We really need this kind of change in Washington instead of the same corruption that has turned cities like Detroit and Chicago into their very own mini third world countries.

Ahmadinejad

The Obama team say they are looking at a ‘regional’ solution to the war in Afghanistan. Of course, the ‘war’ in Afghanistan is a front in the larger Global War on Terrorism, but I’m not at all sure that the Obama people understand that.

There are a couple of clues in this administrations statements that give us a clue about what we are in for during the next couple of years. Here’s some of the clues:

• They want to initiate talks between “reconcilable” members of the Taliban and Hamid Karzai, the elected representative of the Afghan government. What I wonder is how they will fit in the ‘talks’ with the Taliban. Would that be before or after they finish their daily executions of villagers who don’t help the kill American Soldiers?
• They are slamming the Bush administration for allowing ‘ideological constraints’ and an ‘unrealistic’ goal of building a democracy in Afghanistan from dealing with the war effectively. Would that be the ‘ideological constraint’ of having a problem with women being hung and/or shot in the back of the head if the wind blows their burka up over their ankles? I’m just wondering.
• Obama’s people believe they can REASON with the Afghan people to reject the islamic extremism. I guess he forgot that if they reject them they get killed, their families get killed and their neighbors get killed. They might be willing to reject islamic extremism the very minute they know an American Marine will stand guard over them.
• They are putting the focus on ‘catching’ Osama bin Laden. He has become pretty much irrelevant and powerless, but having the President of the United States uttering his name all the time and committing the LIVES of U.S. Soldiers to find him will give him renewed clout and power in the islamic jihadist world.

Okay. Are you sitting down? I’m asking because here’s the big one.

• Obama’s people want to bring in regional help in the war. They are looking to Iran for HELP in the war! They say they will work with Iran to bring peace to the area. They say we have a common goal with Iran which is to make the Sunnis disappear from the area.

I have a news flash for Obama’s people. Iran is already involved in the war. If you think they are sitting behind their borders wringing their hands then you are even more naive than previously proven.

An empowered Iran is a nightmare for us all. If Obama and his people actually listen to what Iranian President Ahmadinejad keeps telling us it might help. Obama says he wants better communication with Iran. Then I say PLEASE listen to them. They want to kill us. That’s what he says and what he appears to be making every effort to do.

People say they voted for Obama because they were bored with Bush. Well. We might just get what everyone wanted. We might just have more excitement than we can stand here shortly.

For that, I hope and pray that God will continue to look favorably on us in spite of our misguided, dangerous and self centered choices.

Tags: iran, barack obama, afghanistan

Soldier Son Veteran

This is the first Veterans Day in which my own son is a Veteran. I suppose he was last year, but he was still in the war zone last year. My father, my husband, my uncles and now my son have all served our country with honor.

Thank you to all veterans. God bless you all.

Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don’t just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.

~ Zell Miller, 2004 Republican National Convention Address

In the first part of the interview, in the video below, Sarah Palin addresses some of the accusations that have been leveled against her in the media while she has not had a chance to defend herself or even explain anything. She does seem to have some frustration with the main stream media and what she called ‘people sitting in their mama’s basements in their pajamas blogging’ who have leveled charges against her that have been apparently made up out of thin air. Even worse, when she has provided evidence to set the record straight it either hasn’t been reported or was not reported for days giving the lies time to sink in before a correction was made.

She talks about the ‘anonymous sources’ that have claimed to be from McCain’s campaign and leveled charges against her. She talked about the charges she didn’t know Africa was a continent or the countries that make up NAFTA. She seemed most frustrated with the malicious things said about her children. She did, however, acknowledge that this is politics, unfortunately, and you have to be prepared for the heat if you step out into the public eye.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the interview tonight. Sarah Palin and her family are charming and have good heads on their shoulders. She understands the fuss about her isn’t about her, per se, as much as it is about what she represents.

Frankly, I think that the continued attacks on her are evidence that she remains a threat. I also believe that the threat she represents is not to just one political party or the other. She is REAL change and many in Washington don’t want the kind of change she and John McCain would have brought about. McCain openly talked about ending corruption and ‘making them famous’ of anyone who asked for excessive pork. I think that both McCain and Palin have a reputation of going against the grain, being intolerant of corruption and having the courage to confront it and deal with it. It seems to me that an awful lot of people who have made themselves, their family and friends wealthy off of tax payer dollars would not want those type of people running things in Washington.

So they picked the safer choice, a man who asked for record breaking amounts of pork his very first year in the Senate. They went for Obama who owes favors to the people who have funded him for all these years. McCain and Palin didn’t take the money and don’t owe favors. They were the REAL change and not the safe choice for people who want business as usual in Washington.

And so. The attacks continue against Palin and she continues to stand up regardless of what they throw at her. McCain has told his campaign staff to stop talking if any of them are. He has sent out his senior campaign advisers to defend Palin. However, I am still waiting for McCain to come forward and make a strong statement in her defense. Its past time for him to do that. He is making his first public appearance tonight on Jay Leno. I hope he will take this matter in hand tonight.

Meanwhile, enjoy the video.

This before now unnamed person in McCain’s campaign accused her of refusing to prepare for debates, said she didn’t know Africa was a continent and was just basically a dumb, ignorant, ditsy female who was chosen for her looks and charisma rather than her talent and capabilities.

Now the guy who has made all these allegations has decided to come forward and take his claim to fame and throw in more accusations just for the fun of it. He has even been quoted on celebrity blogs spreading rumors about Joe the Plumber and various women along the campaign trail.

His name is Martin Eisenstadt and he doesn’t exist. He’s a hoax. He managed to pull off an elaborate hoax. He set up a website and even created a website for the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy, which also doesn’t exist. Someone obviously has way too much time on his hands and is even now rolling on the floor laughing in his grandmothers basement as he watches the uproar he created and damage he did to Sarah Palin’s reputation and John McCain’s campaign.

Unless, of course, it was set up by Obama believers, which is entirely possible. But then, those same people would also be laughing in their grandmothers basements at the big hoax they pulled off.

These rumors and accusations have managed to make their way into news reports on main stream news organizations and countless left wing blogs. Of course, many right wing blogs have picked them up as well. Now they all are having to acknowledge that Martin Eisenstadt doesn’t exist and this whole thing has being nothing more than a Palin accuser hoax. At least some of the blogs are retracting the stories.

Its no surprise that MSNBC ran with the story.

It would be good to remember that whoever controls the media, controls the world. That’s kind of a scary thought in this advanced media world.

The Kiss
Alfred Eisenstaedt: Times Square V-J Day Photo

A while back I wrote about a sailor, Glenn McDuffie, who came forward to say he was the sailor in the famous Times Square V-J Day photo. He is one of ten or so sailors who have come forward over the years to claim to be the Sailor in the famous photo. We also have nurses who claim to be the nurse in the photo.

The photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt, has said he just doesn’t know who was in the photo. In the excitement of the day, he took photos and neglected to stop to get the names of the people he was photographing. So the subjects of award winning photo have remained a mystery all these years. With both of their faces more or less obscured in the photo, its just hard to know.

Ninety-year-old Edith Shain has claimed to be the nurse in the photo. On Tuesday, she will ride at the head of a group of World War II veterans in a Veterans Day parade. She posed for pictures with some actors dressed as Sailors when she donned her nurses uniform and took in the musical ‘South Pacific’.

“As for the picture,” she says, “it says so many things — hope, love, peace and tomorrow. The end of the war was a wonderful experience, and that photo represents all those feelings.”

Sailor and Nurse 63 Years Later

Tags: alfred eisenstaedt, the kiss

The video was shot as part of a documentary by a Swedish television crew. It has been making the rounds on the internet and inspired outrage and anger by many who have watched it. One little girl tells the teacher that the reason she is for John McCain is that her parents are. The teacher tells her that McCain will keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years and since that little girls father is a Soldier that he will be away in Iraq for 100 years.

The classroom discussion begins with Harris asking the class who they support for president. When two students say McCain, she responds with “Oh Lord” and “Oh Jesus.”

She asks them why they are you pulling for McCain or Obama. One student says she supports Obama because “he is making good changes” like “not having a fight between Iraq, and having soldiers killed.”

“So in other words,” Harris says, “Barack is going to end that war in Iraq.”

One girls says she supports McCain. When asked why, she tells her teacher “I think it’s because of my parents are going for him, too.’’

Harris points out that the girl’s father is in the military, then says to the class that Iraq is a “senseless war.”

“And by the way,” Harris tells the girl, “the person that you’re picking for president said that our troops could stay in Iraq for another hundred years if they need to. So that means that your daddy could stay in the military for another hundred years.”

The girl appears to be embarrassed and doesn’t respond.

Diatha Harris claims that the video is edited to make her look bad. Meanwhile, the school principle and superintendent are looking into the incident.

There are a couple of major problems we have in this country right now. One is that our educational system seems to be heavily influenced by far left political views. The other is that the media evidentially leans heavily to the left. Both of these areas have enormous influence on the thinking and views of the public.

If children are educated by teachers who use subtle brainwashing techniques to influence their thinking, embarrass them when they have opposing views, tell them their parents will be away for 100 years if they have one view or the other, then our students will gradually move towards the left in spite of the influence of their parents. Then to make matters worse, the main stream media pumps 24/7 slanted coverage into our homes that has given up even the facade of unbiased coverage.

How do we fix this problem when we simply watch the the movement to the hard left with anger but no action? We continue to tune in to the far left news agencies and give them credibility regardless of our outrage at their biased reporting.

When any group has control of the schools and the news, then they have control of the people. Our apathy and taking our rights and privileges for granted have put us in a situation in which many of those rights and privileges are being taken away right from under our eyes.

Watch Diatha Harris work her students, using fear and shaming those who disagree with her and praising those who agree with her.

Bay of Bengal - Map

There is a naval standoff happening in the Bay of Bengal. Myranmar and Bangladesh are at odds over who owns the rights to search for and extract natural gas and oil along their maritime boundaries.

The Bay of Bengal conflict has been building for years. Officials from both countries have been in talks for years over who owns the Bay and therefore the rights to resources that are discovered there. At this point official from Bangeldesh are reporting that the South Korean firm, The Daewoo-Myanmar company, hired by Myranmar to search for oil, is starting the process of withdrawal from the area as conflict between the two countries is escalating. The Myranmar government is stating that they are only stalling temporarily while the two countries sort out their differences.

Both countries are public saying they are searching for a peaceful solution to the problem and both have approached China, an ally of both countries, to mediate. However, both countries have put their armies on alert and have deployed naval war ships to the area.

Neither of these nations is a naval superpower. Both fleets are largely composed of patrol boats, many armed with those ubiquitous Chinese anti-ship missiles. Each nation is believed to have a frigate or corvette sized ship at the scene, as well as some missile armed patrol boats. If it came to violence, the C802 missiles could make quick work of ships on both sides. The older missiles, less so.

The last time the C-802 was used in combat, was two years ago, against an Israeli warship. Two C-802s were fired at an 1,100 ton Israeli corvette off the coast of Lebanon. One hit the helicopter hanger, but the warhead failed to go off. The fire on the Israeli ship was caused by the half a ton of missile crashing into it, and unburned rocket fuel. The other C-802 homed in on a nearby Egyptian merchant ship, and sank it (the warhead on that one did detonate). The Israeli anti-missile system was not turned on because it was found to interfere with the electronics on Israeli warplanes operating in the vicinity. This is also an increasing problem in modern warfare. There are so many electronic gadgets transmitting, that there are more cases of signals, literally, getting crossed.

The C-802 is a 20 foot long, 360mm, 1,500 pound missile with a 360 pound warhead. The Israeli warship carries electronic defenses against anti-ship missiles, as well as a Phalanx auto-cannon. This systems is supposed to be turned on whenever the ship is likely to have an anti-ship missile fired at it. The Phalanx radar can spot incoming missiles out to about 5,000 meters, and the 20mm cannon is effective out to about 2,000 meters. With incoming missiles moving a 250 meters a second, you can see why Phalanx is set to automatic. There’s not much time for human intervention. The Bangladeshi and Myanmar ships don’t appear to have any missile defenses.

The C-802 needs to work with a radar that can track the target. The C-802 fired in Lebanon apparently used Lebanese government coastal radars for this. The Bangladeshi and Myanmar ships warships have radar on board for this. The C-802 is 30 year old technology, and many of them are quite old. With age comes reliability problems. Bangladesh has many older models of Chinese anti-ship missiles (like the half ton SY-1 Silkworm), and these have been unused for quite some time.

The world is an unstable place right now. We have a naive and ill prepared president. The world sees this and begins to vie for their own places in the new pecking order.

God help us all.

Lawrence Joel

Sergeant First Class Lawrence Joel was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 9, 1967. He was presented with the medal by President Lyndon Johnson at the White House for his service in the Vietnam War.

Joel served honorably in the Korean and Vietnam War. However, on November 8, 1965, he was serving as a medic and became involved in Operation HUMP, a violent, desperate battle under the triple canopies of the Vietnamese jungle that took the lives of 48 American men and 414 Viet Cong. The citation of his actions is included below.

He is being remembered and honored for his service to the country 43 years ago today.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp6c. Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gunfire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self-administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Through this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his pain, he continued his search for wounded, exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating 13 more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of one man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As 1 of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, Sp6c. Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gunfire to the wounded men. After the 24 hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered 410, snipers continued to harass the company. Throughout the long battle, Sp6c. Joel never lost sight of his mission as a medical aidman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. Sp6c. Joel’s profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

Lawrence Joel was born on February 22, 1928 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He attended Atkins High School there. He was in the Merchant Marines for one year. When he was 18 years old, in 1946, Joel went to New York City and enlisted in the United States Army. He became a career military man.

Joel served as a medic in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. During the Vietnam War, he served as a specialist five with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. This unit became famous because of a song that was written about a fierce battle they were involved in, The 8th of November. It was during that battle that Joel distinguished himself in battle, earning the Silver Star and Medal of Honor. He became the first living black man to receive the Medal of Honor since the Spanish-American War in 1898.

The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is named in his honor. There is a Joel Auditorium at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Army clinics at Ft. McPherson, Georgia and Ft. Bragg, North Carolina are all named in honor of Joel.

Joel died on February 4, 1984 from complications of diabetes. He was 55-years-old. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, section 46, lot 15-1.

Lawrence Joel - Photos