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April 30, 2008
Hillary to Appear on O'Reilly Tonight
Just an FYI or maybe a warning. haha
My guess is O'Reilly will cave.....and she will cackle.
I wish he would ask her hard questions, but I doubt it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (10)
Marines Launch Operation In Southern Afghanistan
Marines Strike Taliban-Controlled City
Force Of Several Hundred Launches Operation In Southern Afghanistan
U.S. Marines in helicopters and Humvees flooded into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan's most violent province early Tuesday in the first major American operation in the region in years.
Several hundred Marines, many of them veterans of the conflict in Iraq, pushed into the town of Garmser in predawn light in an operation to drive out militants, stretching NATO's presence into an area littered with poppy fields and classified as Taliban territory.
U.S. commanders say Taliban fighters have been expecting an assault and have been setting up improvised explosive devices in response. It wasn't known how much resistance the Marines would face in Garmser, where the British have a small base on the town's edge but whose main marketplace is closed because of the Taliban threat.
The assault in Helmand province - backed by U.S. artillery in the desert and fighter aircraft in the sky - is the first major task undertaken by the 2,300 Marines in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which arrived last month from Camp Lejuene, North Carolina for a seven-month deployment. Another 1,200 Marines arrived to train Afghan police.
Maj. Tom Clinton, the American commander at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, a British outpost 10 miles west of Garmser, said the Taliban had undoubtedly seen the Marines moving into the area in recent days.
But he said the fact that the Marines were assaulting the town by helicopter and were moving through by foot was likely a surprise.
"There's all kinds of reports of (Taliban) commanders telling their guys to grab their stuff and get out there" to fight, said Clinton, 36, of Swampscott, Massachusetts. "It's no secret they know we're here. It's just a question of when and where" an assault would happen.
The Marines' mission is the first carried out by U.S. forces this far south in Helmand province in years. An operation late last year to take back the Taliban-held town of Musa Qala on the north end of Helmand involved U.S., British and Afghan forces.
Helmand province is the world's largest opium poppy-growing region and has been a flashpoint of the increasingly violent insurgency the last two years. British troops - who are responsible for Helmand - have faced fierce battles on the north end of Helmand.
Most U.S. troops operate in the east, along the border with Pakistan, but Britain - with 7,500 troops - and Canada - with 2,500 troops in neighboring Kandahar province - have not had enough manpower to tame the south.
Militants set off more than 140 suicide bombs. Taliban fighters have been increasingly relying on roadside bombs and suicide attacks after being routed in force-on-force battles in the past.
"I think if it was me I'd be laying a ton of IEDs down and leaving some guys behind to shoot and run. I don't expect a lot of leaders to stay around," Clinton said of the number of fighters the Marines might face.
Marines had prepared on Monday by cleaning weapons and handing out grenades. The leader of one of three companies involved - Charlie Company commander Capt. John Moder - said his men were ready.
"The feeling in general is optimistic, excited," said Moder, 34, of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. "They've been training for this deployment the last nine months. We've got veteran leaders."
Many of the men in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit served in 2006 and 2007 in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province in western Iraq. The vast region was once al Qaeda in Iraq's stronghold before the militants were pushed out in early 2007.
Moder said that experience would inform how his men fight in Afghanistan. "These guys saw a lot of progress in Ramadi, so they understand it's not just kinetic (war fighting) but it's reconstruction and economic development."
But on the initial assault, Moder said his men were prepared to face mines and improvised explosive devices and "anybody that wants to fight us."
One Marine in Charlie Company, Corp. Matt Gregorio, a 26-year-old from Boston, alluded to the fact the Marines have been in Afghanistan for six weeks without carrying out any missions. He said the mood was "anxious, excited."
"We've been waiting a while to get this going," he said.
And this...............
1st Lt. Adam Lynch, 27, served in 2006 and 2007 in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province in western Iraq. The vast region was once al-Qaida in Iraq's stronghold before the militants were pushed out in early 2007.
Lynch expects the Marines, who arrived last month on a seven-month deployment, will help calm Helmand as well.
"If you flood a city with Marines, it's going to quiet down," Lynch said in between sets of push-ups on Helmand province's sandy ground. "We know for seven months we're not here to occupy, we're just here to set conditions for whoever comes in after us."
Taliban fighters have largely shunned head-on battles since losing hundreds of fighters in the Panjwayi region of Kandahar province in fall 2006, and it's not clear that Taliban fighters will stay to face the Marines in regions they operate.
The Marines' presence in southern Afghanistan is a clear sign that neither Britain nor Canada _ which operates in nearby Kandahar province _ have enough troops to control the region. But commanders and troops say the countries are working well together.
British Capt. Alex West helped deliver supplies to a remote and dusty firebase in Helmand province about a week ago.
"We spent the last operations borrowing kit (gear) off you, so it's about time you borrow stuff from us," said West, 29, of Colchester, England. "All of us have been in operations where the American have helped us, so we're happy to help."
Wild Thing's comment........
This video has various stories about our troops as well. Thank you all that are serving our country, prayers for your safety.
There is a pause after each story on the video.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:44 AM | Comments (2)
No Fairytale When It Comes To Obama
They all hate America, they all want to destroy America as we have traditionally known it, they all want the United States to retreat in the war, and they all want to make over the United States into a marxist/socialist/collective nation.
And they all support, endorse, and/or are well disposed (either friends and mentors and advisors to B. Hussein Obama who wants to be President of the United States of America.
Obama's own core ideology/theology, which dove tails with all of these individuals and groups, this says all you need to know about the man.
All of this add to Obama's actions in not saluting the US Flag during the National Anthem, and his refusal to wear a US flag pin on his lapel, calling it "false" patriotism.
One last thing, we all know that a person is who they associate themselves with and Obama would not have any of these in his life if he did not agree with them. Obama has and will destroy Obama and he has only himself to blame.
Obama is the apex and absolute face of the enemy within in this country.
If anyone has someone that should be added to the list or information to add to the dated area please feel free to let me know. I thought it might be good to have a reference list of the cast of characters and facts about Obama.
The only reason I am not doing a list like this for Hillary is her list would have to be a book. LOL With all the 'gates'
(file gate, travel gate, bimbo gate etc. and the list of deaths surrounding them it would be just too big a file).
~ Wild Thing
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William Ayers
(Weatherman Underground bomber, unrepentant domestic terrorist)
Frank Davis
(Member Communist Party USA, Early mentor to Obama)
Jeremiah Wright
(Black Liberation militant, racist, and Pastor)
Wright is a bigoted, hate-filled, anti-American, race-bating, marxist sack of Bravo Sierra parading around as the preacher of a perverted, absolutely sacreligous interpretation of Christ that turns the Truth of God into an absolute lie.
Louis Farrakhan
(Nation of Islam Leader, racist, anti-American)
Cornel West
At the Apollo Theater fundraiser, Obama was introduced by the radical Marxist professor, racist and self-styled rapper, Cornell West, as "my comrade:.
Tony Rezko
(Corrupt Financier, ties to Terror Financing)
RailaOrdinga
( Islamic Candidate, Kenya, Obama's Cousin)
Daniel Ortega
(Marxist Sandinista Leader. Nicarauga)
Raul Castro
(Hard-line Communist Leader, Cuba)
Communist Party Illinois
(US Communist Political Party)
Socialist Party USA
(Marxist Socialist Political Party)
The New Black Panther Party
(Black Militant Organization, anti-American and racist)
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is representing several of the Gitmo detainees (such as Majid Khan) in court. Not only are they representing individual terrorists, but they are also coordinating all the legal representation for most of the detainees -- more than 500 pro-bono lawyers.
More than 80 attorneys who have been offering free-of-charge legal services to Guantánamo detainees supporting Obama for President.
Muslim American Society (MAS) is an organization with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
MAS' magazine, The American Muslim provides a snapshot of where MAS really stands on terrorism. The March 2002 issue includes a fatwa endorsing suicide bombings against Israelis, which states that "martyr operations are not suicide and should not be deemed as unjustifiable means of endangering one's life." The fatwa goes on to say that in suicide bombings, "the Muslim sacrifices his own life for the sake of performing a religious duty, which is jihad against the enemy."
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Obama 1980
In his first memoir, "Dreams," Obama included a description of black student life at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
" I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."
1983 "Obama once described the white race as "that ghostly figure that haunted black dreams."
2001
Obama is protective of civil rights for Muslims in the U.S., saying, "In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging," he laments. "I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."
2001
Obama sponsors Illinois Senate Bill 750 creating the "Halal Food Act," providing for inspections by the Department of Agriculture to ensure that all food labeled Halal is prepared according to Islamic law.
2003
Obama calls the Iraq war "a botched and ill-advised U.S. military incursion into a Muslim country."
2006
In August, Obama took a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa. While he was in Somalia, he was photographed in full Muslim regalia.
2006
In October, Obama publishes "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," which details his views of politics and his vision for the future of the U.S. government and its people.
“Malcolm X’s autobiography seemed to offer something different,” Obama wrote. "His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me; the blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will."
He added: "Malcolm’s discovery toward the end of his life, that some whites might live beside him as brothers in Islam, seemed to offer some hope of eventual reconciliation."
2007
On January 16th, Obama says he is taking a first step toward running for president next year.
"I will be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee," the Illinois Democrat said, adding that he will announce his final decision February 10 from his hometown of Chicago.
2007
On January 24. the Obama Exploratory Committee released the following statement, "To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago.
This statement is amended by the campaign on March 14th, to say, "Obama was never a practicing Muslim."
2007
January 26th, George Soros says he is supporting Barack Obama.
2007
February 10th, Obama, standing in front of a cheering crowd, formally announces he is a candidate for the Office of the President of the United States of America.
In his speech, he lauds what he called the founding fathers' "genius" in creating a system of government that can be changed.
Please notice, the change Obama speaks of is changing the system of government.
2007
On February 27th, Barack Hussein Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth."
In an interview with Nicholas Kristof, published in The New York Times, Obama recited the Muslim call to prayer, the Adhan, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent."
The opening lines of the Adhan (Azaan) is the Shahada:
"Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet... "
According to Islamic scholars, reciting the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith, makes one a Muslim. This simple yet profound statement expresses a Muslim's complete acceptance of, and total commitment to, the message of Islam.
Obama knows this from his Quranic studies -- and he knows the New York Times will publish this fact and it will be seen throughout the Islamic world.
2007
March 13th
Obama says that the lives of more than 3,000 American soldiers killed in Iraq had been "wasted." (video)
Within a day, Obama apologizes for saying troops' lives were "wasted."
2007
Cornel West was on fire. Bobbing in his chair, his hands sweeping across the stage, the brilliant and bombastic scholar was lambasting Barack Obama's campaign. Before a black audience, at an event outside Atlanta called the State of the Black Union, West was questioning why Obama was 600 miles away, announcing his bid for the White House in Springfield, Ill. Did he really care about black voters? What did that say about his willingness to stand up for what he believes?
To know who Cornell West is and what he is about see this video.
At the Apollo Theater fundraiser, Obama was introduced by the radical Marxist professor and self-styled rapper, Cornell West, as "my comrade."
What did Obama promise the radical Cornell West to gain his support? Obama chooses to be introduced by one of the most radical Marxists in America as, "my comrade?"
VIDEO of this event
2007
Obama speaks to the La Raza group to get their vote.
The La Raza movement teaches that Colorado, California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and parts of Washington State make up an area known as "Aztlan" -- a fictional ancestral homeland of the Aztecs before Europeans arrived in North America. As such, it belongs to the followers of MEChA. These are all areas America should surrender to "La Raza" once enough immigrants, legal or illegal, enter to claim a majority, as in Los Angeles. The current borders of the United States will simply be extinguished.
But it won't end with territorial occupation and secession. The final plan for the La Raza movement includes the ethnic cleansing of Americans of European, African, and Asian descent from "Aztlan."
No surprise here -- a Marxist addressing Marxists
2007
Cornel West was on fire. Bobbing in his chair, his hands sweeping across the stage, the brilliant and bombastic scholar was lambasting Barack Obama's campaign. Before a black audience, at an event outside Atlanta called the State of the Black Union, West was questioning why Obama was 600 miles away, announcing his bid for the White House in Springfield, Ill. Did he really care about black voters? What did that say about his willingness to stand up for what he believes?
"He's got large numbers of white brothers and sisters who have fears and anxieties and concerns, and he's got to speak to them in such a way that he holds us at arm's length," West said, pushing his hand out for emphasis. "So he's walking this tightrope." West challenged the candidate to answer a stark set of questions: "I want to know how deep is your love for the people, what kind of courage have you manifested in the stances that you have and what are you willing to sacrifice for. That's the fundamental question. I don't care what color you are. You see, you can't take black people for granted just 'cause you're black."
A few days later, West was sitting in his Princeton office after class when the phone rang. It was Barack Obama. "I want to clarify some things," the candidate calmly told the professor of religion and African-American studies. Over the next two hours, Obama explained his Illinois state Senate record on criminal justice and affordable health care. West asked Obama how he understood the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and interrogated him about a single phrase in Obama's 2004 Democratic-convention speech: that America was "a magical place" for his Kenyan father. "That's a Christopher Columbus experience," West said. "It's hard for someone who came out of slavery and Jim Crow to call it a magical place. You have to be true to yourself, but I have to be true to myself as well." A few weeks later, the two men met in a downtown Washington, D.C., hotel to chat about Obama's campaign staff.
Just a month after ripping into him onstage, West endorsed Obama and signed up as an unpaid adviser.
2007
On April 8th, Obama shows his Muslim/Palestinian solidarity and sensitivity, by telling Muscatine, Illinois Democratic party activists that he supports relaxing restrictions on aid to the Palestinian people.
He said they have suffered the most as a result of stalled peace efforts with Israel. "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people."
2008
Why isn't Barack Obama's speech, which he touts on his presidential website, being used as exhibit A, not only for using words that reach out to his community, but also as an example of how he's using race whenever he can and when it suits his needs and benefits his candidacy?
As the South Carolina primary campaign built to a climax, Obama addressed a largely African-American audience in Sumter.
In this video, Obama drops his eloquent Harvard accent, and says, "They're trying to bamboozle you. It's the same old okie-dokie. -- Y'all know about okie dokie, right? -- They try to bamboozle you. -- Hoodwink ya. Try to hoodwink ya. Alright. -- I'm having too much fun here. ... "
This speech had been borrowed from one of Obama's heroes, Malcolm X, who said, "You've been hoodwinked. You've been had. You've been took. You've been led astray, led amok. You’ve been bamboozled."
It is strange that a candidate, who belongs to an "Afrocentric" church, that bestows awards on Louis Farrakhan, would borrow from Malcolm X, who was a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, right before complaining about e-mails claiming he is Muslim.
2008
On January 31st, Obama told a French magazine in an interview that if he wins office, he will hold a summit with Muslim countries to better the United States' image in the world.
"Once I'm elected, I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the gap that grows every day between Muslims and the West."
2008
On the evening of March 4th, Obama said that America, under his Presidency, will stop being a "bully." (Video)
He also said an Obama presidency would work to regain the trust of Muslims worldwide with Washington-led aid programs in Muslim countries.
2008
March 12, Fox News had video and story about Obama's mentor, Jeremiah Wright, the video deeply racially confrontational.
2008 March 12th
Ramadan Adassi, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades terror group in the West Bank's Anskar refugee camp, pointed to Obama's rise to stardom as "an important success. He won popularity in spite of the Zionists and the conservatives."
2008
March 14th
Presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday repudiated what he called "inflammatory and appalling remarks" made by his Chicago pastor.
Obama said he had not been present during the sermons in question.
Obama told MSNBC, "Had I heard them in church I would have expressed that concern directly to Rev. Wright."
Please note, he says that he would have expressed concern, not repudiate, the words
Yet, in this video, "the Rev" places Obama in the congregation, by saying, "There is a man here, who can take this country in a new direction" and he points at him.
In the next clip, during Wright's 2007 Christmas services, Wright rails, "Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a process that is controlled by rich white men, Hillary can never know that, Hillary ain't ever been called a nigger!"
While Wright rails, "Bill did us like he did Monica Lewinsky," Wright's successor, Otis Moss III, jumps into the picture frame, attempting to high-five "the Rev."
Barack was in Chicago for Christmas 2007 and Wright is addressing him from the pulpit. Will Barack say me didn't attend Christmas services?
When Obama said, "Had I heard them in church ..." Obama lied. He listened to Wright's sermons for 20 years.
These two men, Obama and Wright, are two peas in the same pod.
And before I get feedback from the loony libs, remember, it was Obama, himself, that wrote these words in "'Dreams of My Father," -- "I found solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother’s race."
And, please notice the congregation in that video. They are going nuts during Wright's preaching. All of them believe this "evil white man" crap and eat it up.
2008
March 31st
An anti-white and virulently anti-Semitic black supremacist party has once again endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on the presidential candidate's own website.
Following criticism earlier this month of an online endorsement from the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), Obama's campaign removed the controversial organization from the presidential candidate's official website. The NBPP had been a registered team member and blogger on Obama's "MyObama" campaign site.
Shabbazz chalked up the Obama campaign's initial removal of his NBPP endorsement from the website to "the game of politics."
"The Obama camp's move to remove our blog doesn't mean much because I understand politics. We still completely support Obama as the best candidate."
But the NBPP endorsement was reposted on Obama's official website today.
Malik Zulu Shabazz, NBPP national chairman, who has given scores of speeches condemning "white men" and Jews, confirmed his organization's endorsement of Obama in a recent interview with WND.
"I think the way Obama responded to the attack on him and the attempt to sabotage his campaign shows true leadership and character. He had a chance to denounce his pastor and he didn't fall for the bait. He stood up and addressed real issues of racial discord," stated Shabazz.
Shabazz boasted he met Obama last March when the politician attended the 42nd anniversary of the voting rights marches in Selma, Ala.
"I have nothing but respect for Obama and for his pastor," said Shabazz, referring to Jeremiah Wright.
2008
April 7th
Skibo’s risers were packed with community members and students from many of Pittsburgh’s universities. The rally was staffed by volunteers from a number of Carnegie Mellon student organizations, including Carnegie Mellon Students for Barack Obama, Student Senate, AB Political Speakers, and College Democrats.
While the crowd was indeed diverse, some students at the event questioned the practices of Mrs. Obama’s event coordinators, who handpicked the crowd sitting behind Mrs. Obama. The Tartan’s correspondents observed one event coordinator say to another, "Get me more white people, we need more white people." To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, "We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though."
"I didn’t know they would say, 'We need a white person here,'" said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. "I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright."
2008
April 9th
A group of young men in Gaza gather before each primary in support of Senator Barack Obama. These well-dressed young men, looking vastly different from the street photos of the poor and depressed we usually see, meet in an internet cafe and make random phone calls to American voters, urging a vote for Obama.
2008 April 10th -- It was a celebration of Palestinian culture -- a night of music, dancing and a dash of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and PLO operative, who was leaving town for a job in New York.
A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
Obama's presence at such events, as he worked to build a political base in Chicago, has led some Palestinian leaders to believe that he might deal differently with the Middle East than either of his opponents for the White House.
2008
April 10th
Shocking New Obama Audio/Video has surfaced.
2008
April 11th -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday it was not his place to criticize former President Jimmy Carter if he were to meet with Hamas.
2008
April 13th -- Two years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US government in February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen. Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts for his newest cause -- Barack Obama for President.
El-Hady has his own dedicated page on Barack Obama's official website, chronicling his fundraising on behalf of the Democratic Party presidential candidate (his Obama profile established on February 19, 2008 -- two years to the day after Kindhearts was raided by the feds). Not only that, but he has none other than Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, listed as one of his friends, one of her 224 listed friends.
Last summer, El-Hady was questioned by the FBI concerning his knowledge of possible conspirators in a UK-based terror plot.
2008
April 16th -- While Sen. Barack Obama sought to improve his relationship with the Jewish community today by meeting with leaders Philadelphia, but comments by a Hamas political adviser this weekend could potentially hurt the Democratic presidential candidate.
During an interview on WABC radio Sunday, top Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said the terrorist group supports Obama’s foreign policy vision.
"We don’t mind -- actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance," Yousef said in response to a question about the group’s willingness to meet with either of the Democratic presidential candidates.
2008
April 26th
Obama campaign quietly removed from its official website a page managed by a fundraiser tied to the Islamic terrorist group Hamas, its official blogger has come under attack as a "hardcore Marxist" for hanging a Communist Party flag in his Harvard campus apartment and publishing in a self-professed 'revolutionary Marxist' journal.
2008
April 28th
Fox News reported that Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor and mentor to Obama is now being guarded by members of the goon-squad from the Nation of Islam. According to Wright, he has received threats.
2008
April 28th
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright said Monday that he will try to change national policy by "coming after" Obama if he is elected president.
The pastor also insisted Obama "didn’t denounce" him and "didn’t distance himself" from Wright’s controversial remarks, but "did what politicians do."
Wright implied Obama still agrees with him by saying: "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was [portrayed as] anti-American."
2008
April 29th
Reverend Wright's appearance before the National Press Club
2008
April 28th
Reverend Wright's appearance before the National Press Club ....How bad was Reverend Wright's appearance before the National Press Club this morning? Bad enough that even CNN contributor Roland Martin—who yesterday enthused about Wright's address to the Detroit NAACP, who gave Wright's chat with Bill Moyers an 'A'—flunked it with an 'F.' Bad enough that David Gergen condemned it as "narcissistic almost beyond belief." Bad enough that, introducing a panel discussion of the speech, the palpably distressed CNN Newsroom host Tony Harris let out an audible groan of "ah, boy," and later wondered how much damage had been done.
reaction to his speech ....VIDEO HERE
2008
April 29th
Obama holds press conference to attempt to save his political run for President from the remarks of Rev.Wright. Obama denounced his former pastor in unmistakable terms.
Sources:
Google search engine
YouTube
newspapers online
Obama File
Obama's campaign website
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (17)
Military NASCAR Sponsorships
Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a Navy-sponsored car he will drive at a future race during a ceremony at the Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo by Mark Almond)
Military Hopes NASCAR Sponsorships Rev Up Fans' Interest
TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR racing is a sport built around loyalty to the product brands that sponsor racing teams.
It's a loyalty stronger than in most other major sports. Fans of driver Tony Stewart are more likely to eat at Subway than New York Yankees fans are to wear Adidas shoes.
The idea of a company brand becoming an athletic logo has also attracted branches of the military to become NASCAR sponsors.
The Army and National Guard each sponsor a car in the top Sprint Cup Series, and the Navy sponsors a car in the Nationwide Series.
Recently, the Navy announced that well-known driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a Navy-themed car in a Sprint Cup race next month to call attention to registration for a new Navy boot camp.
"It's not just a car going around the track," Navy representative Andrea Ross said. "People who follow NASCAR are more likely to use a product. If Jeff Gordon drinks Pepsi, (his fans are) more likely to drink Pepsi. There's a lot of sponsorship loyalty."
Along with the immediate brand recognition of having a logo painted all over a race car, the armed forces see recruiting opportunities when they set up interactive sponsor displays at a track. Displays are staffed by members of the military branches and offer a casual environment that a recruiting office could never supply.
Chief Tem Frierson was working at the Navy booth at Talladega Superspeedway over the weekend in conjunction with the Aaron's 499 Spring Cup race. The most common question, Frierson said, is, "Are you actually in the Navy?"
"They have this idea of the Navy SEAL or that we're only involved in warfare and they have this picture and it seems like something untouchable," Frierson said. "It's a lot more relaxed environment (at a track). It's not overbearing. They're just here to investigate and hopefully through talking to me or someone in my team they are able to put to rest some of the misconceptions."
Many NASCAR fans fall into the armed forces' target demographic of someone who either might sign up or be an "influencer" — a family member or teacher who could suggest the armed forces as an option to someone in the desired age range.
"We're talking to grandparents, the mothers, the fathers," said Navy Chief Angel Torres. "When they come in, they hear about our life experiences. Maybe we can share that and they say, 'Wow, I would really like that for my son.'"
Of the 10,000 people who pass through a display on a typical race weekend, the Navy anticipates developing approximately 300 leads for recruits.
Financially, the race sponsorships are a boon for the services, as well. The Navy spends about $6.5 million from its publicly funded general advertising budget to sponsor Brad Keslowski's No. 88 JR Motorsports car and to set up the interactive displays. Ross estimates the Navy has already received nearly $6 million worth of advertising exposure after eight races.
"What we're looking for in this program is brand awareness, recruiting and retention," Ross said. "At the end of the day, we look at all these metrics to decide if our participation in the sport is worthwhile. Where we are right now with our partnership with JR Motorsports, we feel it is."
Earnhardt, the owner of JR Motorsports who drives the National Guard car in 17 races a year on the Sprint Cup circuit, announced Friday a new initiative to help recruitment for the Navy with the formation of an 88-person boot camp in Illinois.
Earnhardt will drive a specially designed Navy car at the Carquest Auto Parts 300 on May 24 in Charlotte, N.C., where the first-come, first-served registration for the camp will begin.
"It's the first time we've ever partnered with a celebrity industry leader in a call to action service," said Capt. Jack Hanzlik, chief of naval personnel.
The partnerships between the armed forces and NASCAR allow the various branches of the military to tap into a fan base that is highly patriotic.
And it's large.
"The venue itself offers a huge crowd," said Maj. Anton Alston of the Army, which sets up its Strength in Action zone at 25 races. "That opportunity allows us to connect with the American public. And they're patriotic. It's a great educational tool for us."
Wild Thing's comment........
Good for the military and for NASCAR. think the Army’s been doing this as a full time sponsor for five years and the National Guard for at least four.The Border Patrol has a race car too and I think the Marines as well. The Coast Guard used to have a car too, not sure if they still do or not.
All five branches were on Winston Cup cars in the mid 1980’s.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (5)
Traitor Carter Allowed Back in USA Does Interview
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Part ONE
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Part TWO
U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick said of Carter, “His actions reward terrorists, lend support, and provide legitimacy to their belief that violence will eventually get them what they want.” Myrick called on Secretary of State Condi Rice to revoke Jimmy Carter’s passport.
I wish they would do what U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick has said. Carter is a willing participant in terrorist politics. He went into the Middle East with his eyes wide open and knowing exactly what he wants to do: cause havoc for the Jews and for Israel. Carter is a vicious anti-Semite! If there wasn’t a Hmas and a PLO opposing Is. Carter would gladly help create them.
And another thing, whenever Jimmy Carter wants press coverage he should be asked about his support for Mugabe, his role in inserting Mugabe in the poisition
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (8)
April 29, 2008
Press Conference from Obama Regarding Wright
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VIDEO of Obama PRESS CONFERNECE
VIDEO ......go to this site and click on video. I will post one of it later when it shows up on YouTube. This is the only one I could find right now. Thanks.
Here it is at YouTYube. I will leave the other link above in case anyone is watching it as I add this.
Wild Thing's comment........
When I watched Rev. Wright yesterday with his speech at the National Press Club, I thought he is an angry hateful man who mocked the question reader and acted like a childish ranting idiot.
Obama resorting to damage control. You would think he would that have said that stuff back when the Wright tapes first aired. Obams is now having a “revalation” in order to remain politically viable.
It's all about this being an "insult to what we are trying to accomplish in this campaign".
It's all about Obama and what is convenient to him. How about loving your country? He’s claiming Wright has changed. Not the same man he’s know for 20 years.
His loyalty and preference to the radical black religious nuts are obvious and he's paying the cost.
Now we know the reason why Rev. Jeremiah Wright has The Nation bodyguards. To keep the crazy supporters of Obama away from him.
It has become obvious, too obvious to Americans of all stripes that Wright is hate-filled and anti-American.
Obama's lame attempts to distance himself, though probably orchestrated for just this purpose, will not wash. Wright has just been too close for far, far too long. Since his ties to Obama are so deep and long standing, people are now looking at what Wright actually teaches, his ideology and theology, and what Obama has listened to for the last 20 years.
Wright teaches Black Liberation Theology that was the creation of the black radical James Hal Cone, who took the Latin American Liberation Theology that had been created by Marxists to lure poor catholics into their "revolution" (because they knew their totally Godless marxism would not work), and revamped it for blacks in America.
It is a hate-filled, bigoted, anti-American, race bating, marxist construct. Here is what it's creator, James Hal Cone, says about it, the same James Hal Cone who Wright constantly refers to and holds up as an icon:
"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community ... Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love."
Wright is very cagy and smart, many times smarter than Baraq. He knows exactly what he is doing. I couldn't tell you why, though.
Wright got to where he is with his fortune without the aid of affirmative action. The Obamas have had the affirmative action crutch their whole lives and it has crippled them.
Man, oh MAN, this guy cannot seem to speak clearly what he really thinks...stammer and stutter...
Now we WAIT to see how Wright handles THIS!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 PM | Comments (7)
Democrats and Gas Prices
Now that the Democrat Party leadership has started into it usual lying about Gas prices, here is a bit of useful info.
The only thing is with this map tha I noticed is that let's say Florida it is wrong because the various 67 counties each have their own COUNTY gas taxes. These range from 1 cent to 12 cents.
Please CLICK map to enlarge
Here is Chuck Schumer's voting record on energy & oil policies:
* Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
* Voted YES on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
* Voted YES on factoring global warming into federal project planning. (May 2007)
* Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)
* Voted YES on $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas. (Oct 2005)
* Voted YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)
* Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
* Voted NO on Bush Administration Energy Policy. (Jul 2003)
* Voted YES on targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010. (Jun 2003)
* Voted YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill. (Mar 2003)
* Voted NO on drilling ANWR on national security grounds. (Apr 2002)
* Voted NO on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months. (Mar 2002)
* Voted NO on preserving budget for ANWR oil drilling. (Apr 2000)
* Voted YES on ending discussion of CAFE fuel efficiency standards. (Sep 1999)
* Voted NO on defunding renewable and solar energy. (Jun 1999)
* Keep efficient air conditioner rule to conserve energy. (Mar 2004)
* Rated 100% by the CAF, indicating support for energy independence. (Dec 2006)
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 PM | Comments (6)
And God Said Let There Be Oil
The human being prayed to God for help.
The Lord gave him a brain with more intelligence
then any species on earth.
The human began with the wheel to the promise of
wonderful progress to his kind.
So the Lord gave the human OIL from the earth
because He saw the human could handle it safely.
But the human put it in the hands of terrorists and
the human got into bad trouble which angered the
Lord God.
And He started to punish the humans by making
them think they have such great intelligence that
the humans started to sacrifice their food supply
to do the Lord's work.
Then the human prayed to the Lord God for HELP.
The Lord said ,
" I gave you OIL, now use it right, DON'T TREAD ON ME!"
Angry Old Salt
Listening to Rush this moning do a great job on telling off Schumer
and the democrats about oil and gas. So Chrissie told me to write
what I was telling her. She is posting this for me since I only used
a computer once to send an email. Love watching her on the
computer but rather she do it then me. LOL
Hi to all our friends at her
blog. ~ Nick
Posted by Angry Old Salt at 01:25 PM | Comments (18)
DNC Ad Shows U.S. Soldiers Being Blown Up
Outrage: DNC Ad Shows U.S. Soldiers Being Blown Up
The Democratic National Committee has sparked outrage among veterans and others across the internet by running an anti-John McCain ad that shows U.S. soldiers being blown up.
After the new ad’s voice-over castigated McCain for suggesting that the United States may stay in Iraq for “maybe 100” years, the footage becomes shocking.
The DNC ad then shows an explosive device detonating near two soldiers standing beside a palm tree. The two soldiers disappear in an explosive fireball. The video also shows images of burning vehicles.
The DNC ad
The footage appears similar to film taken by jihadists who videotape IED explosions that kill American combat troops. The jihadists place the video on the internet to tout their "kill Americans" campaign success. The Army estimates that more than 6,500 jihadist Web sites promote violence against America and American troops.
Many U.S. media outlets have refused to air excerpts from such videos for several reasons - including out of respect of the servicemen and women depicted in the videos.
The DNC apparently does not agree. Calls to the DNC for comment and for information about the footage went unreturned.
The Republican National Committee harshly criticized the ad, stating: “It is becoming clear that [DNC Chairman] Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee will say and do anything to defeat John McCain.” The RNC demanded that the ad be stopped.
The McCain campaign and the RNC contend that the Democrats have been distorting McCain’s comment that the United States may remain in Iraq for "maybe 100” years. Such critics say McCain’s comments have been taken out of context.
The Associated Press reported that he actually went on to say:
“As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it's fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al-Qaida is training, recruiting, equipping and motivating people every single day."
Republicans also allege that the DNC violates federal election law by coordinating its ad campaign with the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns.
The RNC counsel has sent letters to the heads of NBC, CNN, and MSNBC demanding the ad be pulled.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
This is sickening! And a total outrage. Democrats can burn in hell!
Democrats have no idea just how good they have it in this wonderful country; and, they are clueless as to how desperately miserable THEY would be, if they ever reach their Marxist, collectivist "Utopian" goals.
The footage appears similar to film taken by jihadists who videotape IED explosions that kill American combat troops. The jihadists place the video on the internet to tout their “kill Americans” campaign success. The Army estimates that more than 6,500 jihadist Web sites promote violence against America and American troops.
This quote is from Ann Coulter's book........
"Americans cannot comprehend how their fellow countrymen could not love their country. But the left's anti-Americanism is intrinsic to their entire worldview. Liberals promote the right of Islamic fanatics for the same reason they promote the rights of adulterers, pornographers, abortionists, criminals, and Communists. They instinctively root for anarchy against civilization. The inevitable logic of the liberal position is to be for treason." -- Ann Coulter, P. 292 Treason
....Thank you Les for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (12)
Jeremiah Wright Takes Questions At National Press Club
**** The three video's are taken after Wright gave his speech at the National Press Club.****
Jeremiah Wright Takes Questions At National Press Club
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
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Wright’s Security Provided By Nation Of Islam
It’s been confirmed: Jeremiah Wright’s bodyguards are Nation of Islam.
And regarding his speech that happened before the above videos of Q % A.
Wright's Voice Could Spell Doom for Obama
washington post
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, explaining this morning why he had waited so long before breaking his silence about his incendiary sermons, offered a paraphrase from Proverbs: "It is better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
Barack Obama's pastor would have been wise to continue to heed that wisdom.
Should it become necessary in the months from now to identify the moment that doomed Obama's presidential aspirations, attention is likely to focus on the hour between nine and ten this morning at the National Press Club. It was then that Wright, Obama's longtime pastor, reignited a controversy about race from which Obama had only recently recovered - and added lighter fuel.
Speaking before an audience that included Marion Barry, Cornel West, Malik Zulu Shabazz of the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam official Jamil Muhammad, Wright praised Louis Farrakhan, defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, repeated his view that the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, stood by other past remarks ("God damn America") and held himself out as a spokesman for the black church in America.
In front of 30 television cameras, Wright's audience cheered him on as the minister mocked the media and, at one point, did a little victory dance on the podium. It seemed as if Wright, jokingly offering himself as Obama's vice president, was actually trying to doom Obama; a member of the head table, American Urban Radio's April Ryan, confirmed that Wright's security was provided by bodyguards from Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.
Wright suggested that Obama was insincere in distancing himself from his pastor. "He didn't distance himself," Wright announced. "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was anti-American."
Explaining further, Wright said friends had written to him and said, "We both know that if Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected." The minister continued: "Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls."
Wright also argued, at least four times over the course of the hour, that he was speaking not for himself but for the black church.
"This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright," the minister said. "It is an attack on the black church." He positioned himself as a mainstream voice of African American religious traditions. "Why am I speaking out now?" he asked. "If you think I'm going to let you talk about my mama and her religious tradition, and my daddy and his religious tradition and my grandma, you got another thing coming."
That significantly complicates Obama's job as he contemplates how to extinguish Wright's latest incendiary device. Now, he needs to do more than express disagreement with his former pastor's view; he needs to refute his former pastor's suggestion that Obama privately agrees with him.
Wright seemed aggrieved that his inflammatory quotations were out of the full "context" of his sermons -- yet he repeated many of the same accusations in the context of a half-hour Q&A session this morning.
His claim that the September 11 attacks mean "America's chickens are coming home to roost"?
Wright defended it: "Jesus said, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic divisive principles."
His views on Farrakhan and Israel? "Louis said 20 years ago that Zionism, not Judaism, was a gutter religion. He was talking about the same thing United Nations resolutions say, the same thing now that President Carter's being vilified for and Bishop Tutu's being vilified for. And everybody wants to paint me as if I'm anti-Semitic because of what Louis Farrakhan said 20 years ago. He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century; that's what I think about him. . . . Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this color."
.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I think Wright wants to throw Obama under the bus. Wright is such a what a snarky, cocky SOB and loaded with enough hate for 10 people.
Get this during the question period after he gave his speech. C Span just put up the numbers for callers:
African-Americans -—phone number
Others -—phone number
I am not kidding!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)
"Being undocumented not a crime"
Top federal prosecutor in NJ: Being undocumented not a crime
New Jersey's top federal prosecutor told a Latino group it's a civil offense — not a crime — for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation, a comment that a spokesman later said was aimed at a narrowly worded question.
U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, widely considered to be a leading GOP contender for governor next year, spoke Sunday in response to a question on illegal immigration at an open forum that grew heated. He said living in the U.S. without immigration paperwork is "an administrative matter" that federal immigration officials are supposed to address through deportation.
"Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. attorney's office should be doing something about," Christie was quoted as saying in The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday editions. "It is not."
Christie stressed that lacking immigration documents is not a crime unless the person was previously deported.
Critics quickly categorized Christie's remarks as soft on illegal immigration.
In a statement clarifying the remarks, Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said that although lacking documents is not necessarily a crime in itself, it is a federal misdemeanor to enter the country without going through the proper immigration channels, or to enter by using fraudulent documents.
Christie "did not say, nor did he mean, that entering this country through any means other than the appropriate immigration channels, or to enter by using fraudulent documents.
Christie "did not say, nor did he mean, that entering this country through any means other than the appropriate immigration channels is a lawful act. It is not," Drewniak said in a statement.
An immigrant could be in the country illegally without making an illegal entry or using fraudulent documents if he or she overstayed a visa.
Christie, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001, made the remarks during a community forum organized by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey.
He told the audience it doesn't take a "genius" to see there's a serious immigration problem in this country and that the U.S. needs tighter border security.
"If there are people out there committing crimes, they should be dealt with," he said. "If there are undocumented people running around, then Immigration and Customs Enforcement should do their jobs."
Edward Correa, a member of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said the dozens of people who attended Christie's speech had a mixed reaction to his comments.
In 2005, U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner introduced legislation to criminalize any undocumented status. Though the attempt was unsuccessful, it triggered massive pro-immigrant marches across the nation.
Wild Thing's comment........
U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie needs to go back to law school. All those people who snuck across the US border are CRIMINALS.
...Thank you Lynn for sending this article.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (6)
Obama Needs To Answer
Wild Thing's comment........
Some interesting questions for Obama presented in this video. The same questions many of us have been wondering about as well.
Like it asks and this is curious for sure.
Interesting how he never mentions when or who baptized him. However, knowing that his personal history is one of being a Muslim, I doubt if anyone baptized him since once you are a Muslim you stay a Muslim... under penalty of death. It is common knowledge that his father and step father were Muslims. That being the case, Islam considers Obama a Muslim. Once a Muslim, always a Muslim. If you convert, you are an apostate and this Islam punishes by death. And conversion to Christianity would have been marked by baptism. Had he been baptized, he would have made mention of it when referring to the baptism of his children.
Check out what Obama has said about becoming a Christian:
"I went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. And I heard Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright deliver a sermon called "The Audacity of Hope." And during the course of that sermon, he introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, He would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in Him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn't suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works." [Speech, 6/23/07]
Interesting that something this important there is no actual date. HIs website says........
"It was at Trinity United Church of Christ here, in the late 1980s, that Senator Obama says he found religion."
On being baptized Obama says ( this is also at his website....where do you see he says he was baptized? It is not there!!!
In the Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote, "I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized." In 2004, he "attend[ed] the 11 a.m. Sunday service at Trinity in the Brainerd neighborhood every week -- or at least as many weeks as he is able. His pastor, Wright, has become a close confidant." When asked about his decision to be baptized, Obama said "Kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me," he said of his walk down the aisle of the Trinity United Church of Christ. "I submitted myself to his will and dedicated myself to discovering his truth." [Audacity of Hope, p.208, Chicago Sun Times, 4/5/04; AP 6/28/06]
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (4)
April 28, 2008
"We could even do it on the back of a flatbed truck"
Hillary Clinton, invoking the drama of a lusty street fight, repeated her challenge to Barack Obama for a debate free of moderators or a set agenda.
“We could even do it on the back of a flatbed truck. It doesn’t even need to be in some fancy studio somewhere,” she told a campaign rally on the banks of the Cape Fear River.
Her rival for the Democratic Party presidential nomination has deflected the request and said he would debate her after primary votes in Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.
“We need a president on day one ready to be our commander in chief, ready to turn our economy around. That is why I have to say I am very, very regretful that my opponent will not agree to a debate in North Carolina, because I think these issues are worth debating,” she said, goading her opponent for not being ‘tough’ enough.
“Tough questions in a debate is nothing like the tough decisions you’ve got to make in the White House…no moderators, just the 2 of us on a stage for 90 minutes.”
Wild Thing's comment........
“We could even do it on the back of a flatbed truck. It doesn’t even need to be in some fancy studio somewhere,”
LMAO I can't help it, this hit my funny bone how she said this. Hilarious! That's a visual I just didn't need! And oh wait, wait....... maybe it can be driven by illegal aliens!!!
Other then the scary part of WHO we have running. This has been the most entertaining election year ever! hahahahaha
Can you imagine some kind of movie, and the cast??? Rev. Wright screaming his G_D damn America, and the things he said about Hillary and the N word etc. Michelle Obama and her "I am for the first time proud of America." Bill entering the fray with his remarks, Hillary and her sniper fire story totally untrue. Obama and his I went to that church for 20 years but never heard those kinds of sermons and his terrorists backing him and terrorist Ayers friend etc.
Too many things to even list in this comment....but never ending. And add in John McCain with his "my friend " saying all the time and his wimping out about the ole Rev..'s video and other things. Doing the old " Rodney King" BS like "Can't we all just get along."
And then Hillary saying Obama could be her VP as long as she is on top. hahaahha
And now this about the flat bed truck. LMAO ok I just can't help it.
Whew just too much and no one could make this stuff up, no one would believe them. LOL
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:27 AM | Comments (10)
The Enemy Within Writes:FUCK the Troops
FUCK THE TROOPS
“The BEAST: America’s Best Fiend”
A Beastly Opinion
Buffalo, New York
Editor & Art Director:
Ian Murphy
ian@buffalobeast.com
So, 4000 rubes are dead. Cry me the Tigris. Another 30,000 have been seriously wounded. Boo fucking hoo. They got what they asked for—and cool robotic limbs, too.
Likely, just reading the above paragraph made you uncomfortable. But why?
The benevolence of America’s “troops” is sacrosanct. Questioning their rectitude simply isn’t done. It’s the forbidden zone. We may rail against this tragic war, but our soldiers are lauded by all as saints. Why? They volunteered to partake in this savage idiocy, and for this they deserve our utmost respect? I think not.
The nearly two-thirds of us who know this war is bullshit need to stop sucking off the troops. They get enough action raping female soldiers and sodomizing Iraqi detainees. The political left is intent on “supporting” the troops by bringing them home, which is a good thing. But after rightly denouncing the administration’s lies and condemning this awful war, relatively sensible pundits—like Keith Olbermann—turn around and lovingly praise the soldiers’ brave service to the country. Why?
What service are they providing? I don’t remember ordering 300,000 dead Iraqis—although I was doing a lot of heavy narcotics back in ‘03. Our soldiers are not providing a service to the country, they’re providing a service to a criminal administration and their oil company cronies. When a mafia don orders a hit, is the assassin absolved of personal responsibility when it’s carried out? Of course not. What if the hit man was fooled into service? We’d all say, “Tough shit, you dumb Guido,” then lock him up and throw away the key.
As a society, we need to discard our blind deference to military service. There’s nothing admirable about volunteering to murder people. There’s nothing admirable about being rooked by obvious propaganda. There’s nothing admirable about doing what you’re told if what you’re told to do is terrible.
We all learned recently that the Bush administration instituted its policy of global torture during quaint White House meetings. And we already know this war was started with lies. Shame on them. But what about the people who physically carry out these atrocities? We’ve seen bad apples punished and CEO despots walk free, but all verbal and written denouncement is focused on our leaders. Surely, they deserve that and more—decapitation, really. But why can’t we be critical of the people who have actually tortured and murdered hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens? We deride private contractors like Blackwater for similar conduct—why are the troops blameless?
Take John McCain, or “McNasty,” as they called him in high school. While the conventional wisdom says that Obama gets a pass from the media, McCain is clearly the least scrutinized presidential candidate. He diddles lobbyists, sings about bombing Iran and doesn’t know Shiite from Shinola, yet he remains unscathed, cloaked in his Vietnam “hero” legend.
Again, what is heroic about involving one’s self in a foolish war, being a shitty pilot or getting tortured? Yeah, it must have sucked, but getting your ass kicked every day for five years doesn’t make you a hero—it makes you a Bad News Bear.
Here’s where America’s military lust becomes a true perversion. If we truly valued military prowess, John McCain would be viewed as a failure. But duty alone is enough to inspire our gratitude. Hence the left’s tendency to obligatorily praise the troops while decrying the sum of their actions. Good thing, too, because this war is unwinnable.
George Washington warned that the biggest threat to the young United States was in keeping and deploying standing armies. An overextended military is a drain on any nation—eventually it will break. It also pisses off the people your army is standing on. We’ll never heed this warning and break the cycle of violence, so long as military service is so reflexively praised.
People want to be respected. And in a country with an abysmal education system and disappearing economic opportunities, they seek respect wherever they can find it—as street corner toughs or as government-sanctioned thugs. It beats McDonald’s. But this kind of victim-of-circumstance-sympathy for the troops turns them into automatons, neither deserving of praise or damnation. Disregarding the Stop Loss back door draft travesty, they had a choice.
We’re a squeamish people; we eschew heated debates and, in principle, strive for political correctness when arguing with those who hold contrary views. The left does anyway; the right makes no such pretense. That’s one of the reasons liberals have taken such a beating in the last few decades.
As plainly stupid as religious belief or participating in immoral and illegal wars may be, the castrated left can only argue against these things by appealing to reason. In America, that fails every time. We respond best to partisan venom and ad hominem attacks.
The right has no problem painting their opponents as cowards or godless heathens, but liberals—instead of sticking to the merits of their arguments—fight those accusations by leaning right, praising god and guns, and pandering to the people who cling to them. The left has taken to appeasing bullies as their only course to victory. And that’s no victory at all.
Liberals need to start calling a moron a moron—and openly mocking that moron if his positions or actions are indefensible. Just as Limbaugh or Hannity insults the left, tilting the battlefield so liberals are left scrounging for their patriotic bona fides, the left must begin attacking stupidity whether in the form of religious nonsense, “free market” capitalism or military worship.
Instead of blowing the troops every chance we get, to prove our patriotism and insulate ourselves against attacks from the right, liberals should grow a pair and start dishing the damnation.
How despicable must a military campaign be before Americans turn on their beloved troops? After chiding the “War on Toddlers” as fool-headed and pointlessly barbaric, would Keith Olbermann still thank the troops for their service? After the “Great Grandmother Slaughter of 2010,” will the press remove the fat military cock from its mouth? Following “Operation Murder Fluffy Kittens,” will the left finally nix the “honored service” crap? No. No, they won’t.
Condemning the “troops”—a term coined during the Gulf War—is almost unthinkable. And it won’t win you any awards. “Troops” are a monolithic entity, a cohesive group of pride-inspiring order-takers. Whereas an individual soldier is accountable for his or her actions, the “troops” are too abstract to blame. For Americans, there are only bad apples, never bad orchards.
But what kind of world would we rather live in: one where fools are admired for being fooled and murderers are extolled for murdering, or one where we have the capacity to step back and say, “I don’t care who told you to do what and why; you’re still an asshole!” Personally, I’d rather live in a world where people who act like retards are treated like retards: executed in Texas.
Americans fear the truth. It’s the slipperiest slope of all. Once we start extending responsibility beyond those who gave orders to those who took them, it won’t be long before we’re blaming ourselves. And we can’t have that.
Well, guess what, kids? The Iraq debacle is a pointless bloodbath—and every time you applaud those who “bravely” fill that tub, you’re soaking in it.
Wild Thing's comment........
Remember in the Bible The Beast is 666!
The “Beast” is a rag underground newspaper in Buffalo,N.Y., it is free, but of course it's free they have to give it away, who would want to buy one of these so called papers. No decent person would pay for this trash. Unfortunately there are those like Ian Murphy that join him in being the enemy within our country.
I wish this Ian would just put one toe on our property! This person will be holding hands with Hanoi Jane, John Kerry, John Murtha and others like them when their day finally comes.
Well my hands are shaking I am so angry.
The Beast rag is something I never heard of, nor have I heard of this Ian person. But I want to know about our enemy.
Maybe just maybe this POS will one day be kneeling in front of a few hooded terrorists, and I will not shed one tear, nor say a prayer for him or his lost soul. NO WAY! But I will sigh and take a deep breath and say out loud, it took you long enough!!!!!!!!!
.....Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (20)
Patriot Guard Welcomes Home SSG Keith Matthew Maupin ~ Rest in peace, faithful patriot!
Some notes from PGR:
"Just got home . It was a great experience to see the crowds that turned out for Matt . PGR PRIDE ... thats what we showed them today . I heard that Law Enforcement estimated 2500 bikes . I counted several long stretch limos & 24 Motor Patrolmen in the procession . When the bikes were parked downtown they streched five Cincinnati city blocks . What a sight ."
April 27, 2008
Cincinnati, OH
Video's of the Funeral Procession with the PGR and other supporters. You can see the many bikes going by.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YRuoJq3Mp-8
Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin was remembered in a public funeral ceremony at Great American Ball Park, April 27th,
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Thousands attend Ballpark funeral held in Ohio for long-missing soldier (Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin)
Military workers and supporters from across the country joined in memorials Sunday for a slain Army reservist who had become a poignant picture of the war in Iraq after he was captured by insurgents.
Thousands walked past Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin's casket during a daylong visitation at a civic center in Clermont County, east of Cincinnati, where he grew up. Many of them headed to Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, for an afternoon memorial service.
The crowd occupied the lower portion of the 42,000-seat stadium, behind home plate, stretching from first base to third.
Maupin's flag-draped casket was on a platform in the area of the pitcher's mound. The only people on the field were members of the 338th Army band and about 100 family members, military representatives and dignitaries.
"Matt Maupin was the all-American kid," said retired Lt. Gen. James Campbell, representing the Army at the service. "We are so proud of you. You have served your country with honor and distinction."
Maupin's remains were found in Iraq last month, nearly four years after he was captured when his fuel convoy was attacked near Baghdad on April 9, 2004. He became the face of the war for many Americans after the Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape in April 2004 showing him wearing camouflage and a floppy desert hat, sitting on a floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
Members of his unit, the Illinois-based 724th Transportation Co., were among those on the field Sunday.
"In his service, he became a son to all of Batavia and a son to all of Ohio," said Gov. Ted Strickland. "The Maupins heard the prayers of people from across the state and across the world."
Maupin, a 20-year-old private first class when he disappeared, was listed as missing-captured until a tip from local Iraqis led to the discovery of his remains on the outskirts of Baghdad, about 12 miles from where the convoy was ambushed.
The Army had promoted Maupin three times since his capture, to keep his military career on a par with his contemporaries in case he survived. At a private ceremony with his family on Saturday, the Army awarded Maupin the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, the POW Medal and other commendations.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (8)
Gangster Kid Threatens To Kill President Bush!
.
Wild Thing's comment..........
Shocking!!!!
This is what parents allow a child to do and say? I would arrest the parents if he has them and lock up this kid terrorist and his parents for LIFE!
It was on YouTube according to the site, and was taken down. I understand why but I also feel it should be seen and exposed and maybe the authorities will take this seriously and do something about this kid. If he gets away with this threat he is making he will grow up to think it is ok and could very well do even more then threats.
.....Thank you RAC for sending this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (14)
April 27, 2008
President Bush At White House Correspondents' Association Annual Dinner
Bush tweaks candidates at correspondents' dinner
Breitbart
WASHINGTON
President Bush poked fun at his potential successors Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner.
"Senator McCain's not here," Bush said of GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain. "He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he's not alone. Jenna's moving out too."
Bush then referred to scandals that have dogged the campaigns of the two remaining Democratic candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, in explaining their absence: "Hillary Clinton couldn't get in because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church."
The president admitted to being "a little wistful" in his final appearance at the dinner, showing video clips of his routines from previous years. He finished by conducting the U.S. Marine Band in a medley of patriotic marches.
Bush was followed by Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS' "Late Late Show." He's from Scotland, but now an American and during his routine, he mentioned why he came to America. Well, he mentioned also why he didn't go to Canada after his relatives suggested he go there...
"Canada, It's not the party, it's the apartment above the party..."
"We're [America] down here all dancing, and they're up there saying 'can't you keep the noise down.' We're like, come to the party Canada. We're like, 'Mexico wasn't invited but they're coming anyways.'"
There are three parts to Craig's speech as the host:
Wild Thing's comment........
Wow it took me forever to find video's of this. haha It was on C-Span but they stopped the link for the live video after they showed it twice on TV. So I had to search for it and here I thought it would be an easy find. hahahaaha
Never give up. LOL It was worth the hunt.
Anyway, I loved how Bush did his jokes about McCain, Hillary and Obama. heh heh He did good and I am glad he said what he did, little jabs of truth.
Craig did a good job as host too. I am glad he has become an American, he is a pretty funny comedian/host. I doubt he leans toward being a Republican but even so he did a good job for the dinner as host. He was funny too.
This is the last White House Correspondents' Association Annual Dinner for Bush. The way the election this time, with such horrible people running for President, it felt good tonight to be able to see this one and laugh and smile too.
The next President we have will not be one we had wanted, that I can be sure of. So I thought you all might enjoy seeing this as well.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:24 AM | Comments (10)
The Troops " Gotta Dance" ~ Loving it!
Wild Thing's comment........
LOL I love this! Bursting with pride in our troops and so happy when I see them getting to have some fun like this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (3)
Another Obama Marxist To Add To The List
Another Obama Marxist
By Lance Fairchok
Barack Obama has a thing for Marxists. He befriends them, listens to their counsel, and he even hires them to work in his campaign. And they seem to feel the warmth.
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, who led a revolution there in 1979, says Barack Obama's presidential bid is a "revolutionary" phenomenon, and Americans are "laying the foundations for a revolutionary change."
A captured computer revealed that an unknown person chatted with Marxist FARC guerillas on Obama's behalf (they believed), stating he would be the next President and US policy towards Columbia would change.
Frank Marshall Davis, a dear Obama friend and mentor was as a member of the Communist Party USA. Barack Obama just seems to attract Marxists.
If the people he surrounds himself with are any indication of his core beliefs, a higher capital gains tax to punish the rich, even if it diminishes actual tax revenue, may be only the beginning. Obama's Official campaign blogger, Sam Graham-Felsen, a former writer for the leftist Nation magazine and a contributor to the Socialist Viewpoint, is certainly a believer in class warfare.
"The capitalist ruling class of the United States exercises a virtual dictatorship not only over American society, but also over the entire world. This capitalist class rule is the basic cause of the poverty, wars and the degradation of the natural environment.After being expelled from Socialist Action in 1999, we formed Socialist Workers Organization in an attempt to carry on the project of building a nucleus of a revolutionary party true to the historic teachings and program of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. "
The product of a Harvard education, Sam is an admirer of anti-American academic Noam Chomsky, a hypocrite and fraud masquerading as a political philosopher. Mr. Chomsky, perhaps admired by Obama as by his official blogger, is fond of visiting dictators and terrorists and giving speeches blaming all the worlds' ills on America. All while accepting defense department contract dollars as a linguist. Chomsky was an ardent supporter of Pol Pot, and to this day denies a holocaust occurred in Cambodia (1.67 million died). He is unrepentant about the horrors his vile ideology encouraged and supports Hamas and Hezbollah with the same willful blindness today.
In an article in the Harvard Crimson, Sam writes of his hero:
"For me, hearing Chomsky speak for the first time was a life-changing experience. His ability to take preconceptions and destroy them-to completely remodel one's understanding of reality with cold, hard facts-blew me away. When I left what was then the ARCO Forum last fall, I felt as though I had been through the Matrix and back. Chomsky really has this effect because he bombards you with evidence and logic, not empty rhetoric. It is nearly impossible to hear him or read him-once you've actually checked his facts yourself (he even cites page numbers in public addresses)-and deny what he's saying."
Sam Graham-Felsen, hired to run Obama's blog, writes about Noam Chomsky in a Marxist publications that openly calls for revolution against the American government. This is a Presidential candidate's choice to run the on-line portion of his campaign. That speaks volumes of his character and worldview. Contradicting what he says in public, Obama is surrounding himself with poeple who never seem to learn that their absurd ideologies end in misery and ruin.
Sam is young and has much to learn, so we can forgive his silly hagiographies, the ones about Chomsky and the ones about Obama. His hero worship is eager and emotional and completely without substance, much as Obama's campaign promises are without substance. Obama is a community organizer in the Saul Alinsky mold, and knows where to get people like Sam who have energy and drive. His staff is nothing if not energetic. He even cut his activist teeth in Chicago, the stomping grounds of Alinsky and so many others in the "progressive" community. One wonders why the windy city still has a murder rate higher than Baghdad, after so many years of enlightened activism.
The adults in the Obama campaign expect us to believe that a campaign staff filled with Marxists and radicals does not reflect the candidate. We are supposed to believe that ideologues who distain America and Americans can improve the system that has brought humanity more prosperity and well-being than any nation before it. Speaking out of both sides of their mouths, they tell us we are great, and then insist we must change because we are responsible for all the bad things that happen in the world. That alone should anger the electorate enough to defeat them. The change Obama will bring will not be the change America needs or expects. It will be the change of naive adolescents, which think Noam Chomsky wise.
"We continue to have an optimistic outlook about the revolutionary potential of the world working class to rule society in its own name-socialism. We are optimistic that the working class, united across borders, and acting in its own class interests can solve the devastating crises of war, poverty, oppression, and environmental destruction that capitalism is responsible for. "- The Socialist Viewpoint
Wild Thing's comment........
Obama’s errors in judgment concerning the people he associates with are mind boggling. And another scary thing, the media, we hear them pushing Obama like no other candidate I can remember has even been pushed. The only answer there can be is that they do get it and this is the "change" they want. And they’re all jockeying to be the new TASS and Pravda.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (14)
Obama Praising His Pastor Jeremiah Wright
Obama speaking at a conference of black clergy at Hampton University June 5, 2007
This is from last year, a few of the comments by Obama about Wright: " the guy who councils me" , " a great leader".
Wild Thing's comment........
I found this last night and I thought this was interesting, when we have hear Obama say Wright was not his mentor when he is also on other video's saying Wright was a mentor to him.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (6)
April 26, 2008
Bitter Obama "Fed Up" With Questions About His Patriotism
Obama "Fed Up" With Questions About His Patriotism
KOKOMO, IND.
Questions surrounding Barack Obama’s patriotism resurfaced today at a town hall meeting, when a voter asked him to address rumors that he does not salute the flag. Obama strongly denied the allegation, calling it a “phony issue” and a lie.
“It’s a lie. So anybody who tells you out there that I disrespect the flag, that I don’t salute the flag, that I don’t say the pledge of allegiance, that you know don’t wear flag pins, don’t listen to them,” Obama said. “Look at what I do and look at what I say and my commitment to making this a stronger country and I get pretty fed up with people questioning my patriotism.”
Obama blamed the rumors on an incident at the Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa last summer, where he said he listened and sang along to ‘Star Spangled Banner’ but didn’t put his hand over his heart.
“I acknowledged the mistake of not having put my hand over my heart during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner,” Obama said.
“I’m gonna look at all of you at a ballgame one time to see if you always get it right.”
Obama also tried to turn the table around on Hillary Clinton’s argument that he does not have adequate experience to be president by questioning what she has done with hers. He used health care policy as an example of what he says is Clinton’s inability to reform Washington.
“Now here’s where the difference between Senator Clinton and myself come in, because you know she’s making a similar claim, you’ve got to ask yourself why is it we haven’t gotten health care reform?,” Obama said. “I mean, all these folks who talk about how much experience they’ve got, why is it that we haven’t been able to get it done?”
He also told the crowd that a vote for his opponents would be a vote for the “same old thing.”
“So, Indiana you’ve got a decision to make, we can keep on doing the same old thing with the same old folks the same old ways and hope somehow that we’re gonna get a real change, or we can make a decision that we are gonna to bring about a new America, with a new politics and new leadership.”
Wild Thing's comment........
So the widdle boy is getting upset! Someone call the waaahmbulance. haha
But wait I think I hear a voice calling from the back of the room, it is, oh yes, why it's John McCain on the way to apologize for the question.
" a new America, with a new politics and new leadership"
These words are truly frightening coming from Obama.
“I’m gonna look at all of you at a ballgame one time to see if you always get it right.”
Uh, hello... you're running for POTUS, you arrogant donkey.
Sheesh, ya pipsqueak, a president faces more challenges than a few uncomfortable questions. If you can’t handle a wee measure of “heat”, then you don’t belong anywhere near the kitchen.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (16)
History Lesson ~ LOL
SAM KINISON AS PROFESSOR TURGUSON IN BACK TO SCHOOL.
Sam Kinison as Professor Turgunson in " Back to School".
LMAO I have always loved this scene.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:54 AM | Comments (6)
Why Obama Is Dangerous With Defense Cuts He Wants
Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it. (i.e. not win it)
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States.
**Note: the video missilethreat.com has is the ORIGINAL youtube video of Senator Obama discussing his plans to cripple the US militarily. It comes from the Obama camp itself. There is another, titled, "In 52 seconds why Obama can never win the general election". However, though it is being circulated far more widely (millions of hits vs thousands), it is a poor quality. I posted the other one months ago, but this one has better audio and is the original.
"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems."--Barack Obama
What the heck, "unproven" missile defense systems???
B. Hussein Obama should check THIS out!
(U.S. Dept of Defense video of shootdown of US spy satellite)
2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test:
The 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test was conducted by China on January 11, 2007. A Chinese weather satellite — the FY-1C polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series, at an altitude of 865 kilometres (537 mi), with a mass of 750 kg[1] — was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling with a speed of 8 km/s in the opposite direction[2] (see Head-on engagement). It was launched with a multistage solid-fuel missile from Xichang Satellite Launch Center or nearby.--wikipedia: see "2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test"
From "45 Communist Goals":
Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35
January 10, 1963:
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
'Goals' 4-45 can be found here or at many other sites through a web search for "45 goals"
New Pentagon Report: China's Growing Military Space Power
By Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
March 6, 2008
To read the entire publication [29.67MB/pdf], go to (U.S. Dept of Defense)
GOLDEN, Colorado
A just-released Pentagon report spotlights a growing U.S. military concern that China is developing a multi- dimensional program to limit or prevent the use of space-based assets by its potential adversaries during times of crisis or conflict.Furthermore, last year's successful test by China of a direct-ascent, anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon to destroy its own defunct weather satellite, the report adds, underscores that country's expansion from the land, air, and sea dimensions of the traditional battlefield into the space and cyber-space domains.
Although China's commercial space program has utility for non- military research, that capability demonstrates space launch and control know-how that have direct military application. Even the Chang'e 1 — the Chinese lunar probe now circling the Moon — is flagged in the report as showcasing China's ability "to conduct complicated space maneuvers — a capability which has broad implications for military counterspace operations."
New York Times, Monday, March 17, 2008
"Russia has objected strenuously to the antimissile system, calling it a threat to Russian security despite American assurances. President Vladimir V. Putin has threatened to point missiles at Eastern Europe if the system is built. Mr. Gates said that while the United States would not grant Russia a veto over missile defense sites in Europe, the Bush administration was willing to guarantee that neither the radar proposed for the Czech Republic nor the 10 missile interceptors proposed for Poland would be turned on until Iran had proven it had a missile that could reach Europe."
"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems."
"I will not weaponize space."
"I will slow our development of future combat systems."
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
Source
Hoover Digest
..."the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
Russia, China flex muscles in joint war games
Reuters: Aug 17, 2007
CHEBARKUL, Russia (Reuters) - Russia and China staged their biggest joint exercises on Friday but denied this show of military prowess could lead to the formation of a counterweight to NATO."Today's exercises are another step towards strengthening the relations between our countries, a step towards strengthening international peace and security, and first and foremost, the security of our peoples," Putin said.
Fighter jets swooped overhead, commandos jumped from helicopters on to rooftops and the boom of artillery shells shook the firing range in Russia's Ural mountains as two of the largest armies in the world were put through their paces.
The exercises take place against a backdrop of mounting rivalry between the West, and Russia and China for influence over Central Asia, a strategic region that has huge oil, gas and mineral resources.
Russia's growing assertiveness is also causing jitters in the West. Putin announced at the firing range that Russia was resuming Soviet-era sorties by its strategic bomber aircraft near NATO airspace.
U.S. Navy Intercepts Russian Bombers Flying Near Ships
Monday, February 11, 2008
WASHINGTON U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers flying unusually close to an American aircraft carrier in the western Pacific during the weekend, The Associated Press has learned.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (14)
In Country With Some AirStrikes and Laser Bomb Strikes
Airstrike On Insurgents Filmed By Marines
Happy Birthday Soldier ~ Laser guided bomb strike on Iraqi building
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (8)
April 25, 2008
Rino McCain and His Ilk Say ~ And I Say
This article is such a good example of some of the things that are WRONG with my Republican party and why we don't have a conservative to vote for.
I going to post it and take it apart to give my take on some things. The parts of the article will be in quotes and my take on it will be in bold.
North Carolina Republican leaders are standing by a TV ad critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama despite dissension in their own ranks and one station's refusal to air it.
Republican National Committee member Linda Shaw said Thursday she was shocked that her colleagues decided to produce and air the ad, which shows Obama with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and a clip of Wright's anti-U.S. comments. "I do not support it," Shaw said. "I had nothing to do with it ... and I'm very disappointed." Shaw, a longtime party leader, said she repeatedly urged state party chairwoman Linda Daves to withdraw the spot.
This Linda Shaw person is SHOCKED? This is a response a follower of Wright would have NOT a Republican. And damn sure not a conservative. And it says she is a longtime party leader. God help us no wonder, hey Linda Shaw maybe it is time to go and join the party of PC religion, the party of the left that LOVES to take freedom of speech away. Wright had freedom of speech to say what he did then you better believe we have that same right, and we that didn't like what he said have the same right to point it out.
As for their state party chairwoman Linda Daves , I am proud of you!!!
I cannot dictate to the North Carolina Republican Party what their message is, but I condemn it and I can appeal to the overwhelming majority of Republicans in the state of North Carolina," McCain said while campaigning in New Orleans.
Oh wow McCain condemns it! I am shaking in my boots I am so afraid of this Manchurian candidate.
Democratic party officials have criticized the ad. On Thursday, state Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek urged Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole to use her power to keep it off the air. "As the highest-ranking Republican in the state, you have both the ability and responsibility to erase this stain on our state," Meek said in a letter to Dole. "Your silence tells North Carolinians that you will also sanction similar gutter tactics in your own campaign." Dole said in an interview that she didn't want to get involved. "I am concentrating on getting my work done here in the Senate, and I'm just not going to get into refereeing a third-party political ad that has nothing to do with my race," she said.
Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek calls the ad a stain on their State? LMAO oh like Obama and his America hating wife are not a stain on our entire country!!!!
And hey Lizzie Dole, you don't want to get involved. Too bad beotch! We are at war to save America from the enemy within, our troops have their lives on the line 24/7, and you can't get involved by giving even an opinion about the ad? You say it is because it has nothing to do with YOUR own political race. Let me get this straight, you are an American right? Your race, your position in the Senate exists in OUR country the USA right? You are a citizen of this country right? Then how the hell does it not have something to do with you as well, oh and you are also a Republican right? LOL Sure keep drinking the liberal, rino kool-aid, you have been on thin ice for awhile now anyway. And what the heck...Third party? Where the heck is a third party mentioned? Unless she means that Wright is a third party to her.
Obama's campaign questioned McCain's efforts to get the ad off the air.
"The fact that Senator McCain can't get his own party to take down this misleading, personal attack ad raises serious questions about his promise to the American people that he will run a civil, respectful campaign," said Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan.
Just a heads up FYI for you Hari Sevugan. McCain is NOT a representative of the conservative base of the Republican party. You have the same thing in your own party with the conservative democrats like Zell Miller vs. the terrorist loving, military hating, freedom destroying, taxes up our wazzo loving socialist/communist progressive Pelosi, Murtha. Reid, Obama, Hillarites in your party.
Therefore there is NO way McCain speaks for me now, in the past or in the future as long as he has ass parked on your side of the aisle. Got that Obama breath!!!!
Just one more thing haha.....when oh when is McCain going to stop bashing, attacking conservatives and kissing up to the Democrats????
....Thank you Mark for sending this article to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (16)
Man Up McCain!
Yep I am ticked at McCain....again. haha
He's not attempting to elevate any discourse. He's trying to impose his phony self righteous, sanctimonious senatorial collegiality on those running against Democrats. His hollow castigation's reveal his hypocrisy . He devotes way too much effort going after those he expects to accept him. But he will pay the price. Unfortunately, so will America.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:01 PM | Comments (8)
McCain Tells Off NC Republican Party Regarding Ad
WASHINGTON
Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain accused North Carolina's Republican Party of being "out of touch with reality" over its refusal to pull an advertisement criticizing Democrat Barack Obama.
In an NBC interview aired on Friday, the Arizona senator said he has done all he can to persuade the state party to cancel the television ad that criticizes Obama as "too extreme" because of controversial remarks made by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
"They're not listening to me because they're out of touch with reality and the Republican Party. We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and this kind of campaigning is unacceptable," McCain told NBC's "Today" Show.
"I've done everything that I can to repudiate and to see that this kind of campaigning does not continue," he added.
Asked if the state party's unwillingness to heed his call raised questions about his leadership, McCain replied: "I don't know exactly how to respond to that."
North Carolina is one of two states holding the next crucial Democratic primaries on May 6 in the tight race between Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to oppose McCain in the November presidential election.
But the state party served notice that the ad would air.
Wild Thing's comment........
McCain is the one who is " out of touch with reality" !!!!!
McCain is SUCH a Jackass! Doesn't he know that Lincoln JAILED the Copperhead Democrats who were trying to sabotage the war effort????? Lincoln certainly didn't worry about "respecting" his political enemies. He crushed them!
I think that lady from the North Carolina GOP (Linda Danes?) should run in McCain’s place—she seems to have more of a set than he does.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 PM | Comments (11)
Bush Administration Targets Language In War On Terrorism
.
‘Jihadist’ booted from U.S. government lexicon
WASHINGTON
Don't call them jihadists any more.
And don't call al-Qaida a movement.
The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language.
Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too.
The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.
For example, while Americans may understand "jihad" to mean "holy war," it is in fact a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do good, says the guidance prepared for diplomats and other officials tasked with explaining the war on terror to the public. Similarly, "mujahedeen," which means those engaged in jihad, must be seen in its broader context.
U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."
"Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says.
'Official use only'
Language is critical in the war on terrorism, says another document, an internal "official use only" memorandum circulating through Washington entitled "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism Communication."
The memo, originally prepared in March by the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center, was approved for diplomatic use this week by the State Department, which plans to distribute a version to all U.S. embassies, officials said.
"It's not what you say but what they hear," the memo says in bold italic lettering, listing 14 points about how to better present the war on terrorism.
"Don't take the bait," it says, urging officials not to react when Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida affiliates speak. "We should offer only minimal, if any, response to their messages. When we respond loudly, we raise their prestige in the Muslim world."
"Don't compromise our credibility" by using words and phrases that may ascribe benign motives to terrorists.
Some other specifics:
* "Never use the terms 'jihadist' or 'mujahedeen' in conversation to describe the terrorists. ... Calling our enemies 'jihadis' and their movement a global 'jihad' unintentionally legitimizes their actions."
* "Use the terms 'violent extremist' or 'terrorist.' Both are widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy."
* On the other hand, avoid ill-defined and offensive terminology: "We are communicating with, not confronting, our audiences. Don't insult or confuse them with pejorative terms such as 'Islamo-fascism,' which are considered offensive by many Muslims."
The memo says the advice is not binding and does not apply to official policy papers but should be used as a guide for conversations with Muslims and media.
Caution against 'grandiose descriptions'
At least at the top level, it appears to have made an impact. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who once frequently referred to "jihad" in her public remarks, does not appear to have used the word, except when talking about the name of a specific terrorist group, since last September.
The memo mirrors advice distributed to British and European Union diplomats last year to better explain the war on terrorism to Muslim communities there.
It also draws heavily on the Homeland Security report that examined the way American Muslims reacted to different phrases used by U.S. officials to describe terrorists and recommended ways to improve the message.
Because of religious connotations, that report, released in January and obtained by AP this week, counseled "caution in using terms such as, 'jihadist,' 'Islamic terrorist,' 'Islamist,' and 'holy warrior' as grandiose descriptions."
"We should not concede the terrorists' claim that they are legitimate adherents of Islam," the report said, adding that bin Laden and his adherents fear "irrelevance" more than anything else.
"We must carefully avoid giving bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders the legitimacy they crave, but do not possess, by characterizing them as religious figures, or in terms that may make them seem to be noble in the eyes of some," it said.
Wild Thing's comment..........
You just know I am not liking this.
My comment will be brought to you via the 1st Amendment, thank you ever so.
If not jihadists, how about bitter Muslims who cling to guns/swords and religion.
All of this political correctness is literally an open door to the deaths of more innocent Americans (civilian and military).
So what are we to call the Gaza Strip palis and Hamas, are we to rename them Obamamaniacs? Since they have stated they support B. Hussein Obama 08.
Until we get a President who will deal with that reality, we will not fight them as effectively as we should. And I will include in this our open borders.
Does this trump freedom of speech, ,maybe not among us but certainly among those that got the memo's sent out.
What a crock.
So the government says I can not call these MUSLIM SCUM BAG Islamic extremists “jihadists” or “mujahedeen,” err...what was that JIHADISTS OR MUJAHEDEEN.
If we can't call them what they are, then we might as we stop fighting with them. How about calling them "our future rulers"? That shouldn't offend them. What kind of war is this, where we are afraid of describing our enemy?
These jihadists must be laughing their a$$e$ off as they contemplate the simpering fecklessness of the politically correct infidel clowns whom they are bent on obliterating.
This largest jihad in world history is highly, wildly successful, and, it is in the later stages as published by the Muslim Brotherhoods masterplan discovered in Switzerland in 1991 and published for all that want to read it.
This foolishness, as the EU has also adopted for all its officials, will have no effect on the Muslim plan. While they fight among themselves as well, the plan goes on with steady progress. Sharia financial banking will bring Sharia law to the West thru financial institutions if nothing else. Already 30 percent of the London exchange, 20 per cent of the NASDAQ, and the presence of a Sharia law oriented Muslim advisory board for the Dow Index and the establishment of Islamic banks in Europe are advancing Sharia law rapidly. Of greater import is the decision to downplay the clear and present danger this jihad represents for the United States by refusing to identify it by the correct terminology to our own population.
At a house hearing on Darfur on C Span last night, the directive on the avoidance of jihad, Islamist, islamofascism was clear...all these were replaced by the term ‘bad actor or bad actors’ by Negroponte, Boxer, Mendez, etc.
Such neutering of correct descriptive terms will weaken our own ability to defend ourselves as it will at the same time have no effect on this jihad which is on every continent and growing.
It is preposterous that our State Dept., copycatting the EU which is becoming Sharia oriented more daily, has decided to call jihad ‘bad acting’.
Maybe the EU will now copycat the US state department. Will the US political parties attempt ‘one upsmanship’ and move further to readdress jihad as ‘childish historical behavior’?
I am sure you all remember this movie that was made........
Obsession is a film about the threat of Radical Islam to Western civilization. Using unique footage from Arab television, it reveals an 'insiders view' of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination.
This just part V of a 10 part video series. The film Obsession is also on DVD.
CLICK HERE to see part V of Obsession
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (23)
Once You Go Rino You Can't go Back ...Newt Gingrich and Pat Robertson
.
Al Gore is launching a $300 million, bipartisan campaign to try to push climate change higher on the nation’s political agenda.
This ad is part of the "We Can Solve It" global warming ad campaign sponsored by former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.
While Reverend Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson have different views on most issues, when it comes to the urgency of protecting the planet, they agree.
"I am honored that Al Gore asked me to be a part of this campaign urging people to take care of the planet," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcast Network. "It's just common sense that we ought to be good stewards of the environment and do everything within our power to protect this fragile planet that we all live on."
Rush discusses these two video's:
"But it's bull that they're "coming together" on this issue. Nope -- Newt's caved. Newt's moving across the aisle. They're not "coming together." Pelosi didn't move an inch!I mean, we're accepting liberal premises again. We're accepting premises that the Democrats put forward, and then we do one or two things: We either run to embrace them to show the rest of the American people that, "We care, too! We care about saving the forest and the world and the environment, because we agree that we're destroying it," or we'll tweak their proposal a little bit and try to add what we think is a conservative twinge to it. I knew this was going to happen. Al Sharpton is doing one of these with Pat Robertson. They didn't ask me to do one. I've been asked to do stuff like this before about different things but they didn't ask me -- and I wouldn't have, rest assured. "
Private contributors have already donated or committed half the money needed to fund the entire campaign, he said. While Gore declined to quantify his contribution to the effort, he has devoted all his proceeds from the Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” the best-selling companion book, his salary from the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and several international prizes, such as the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which add up to more than a $2.7 million. Paramount Classics, the documentary’s distributor, has pledged 5 percent of the film’s profits to the group, and some of the money raised through the 2007 Live Earth concerts will help the campaign, along with Gore’s proceeds from an upcoming book on climate change.
...former Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.), a board member of the two-year-old alliance....
...the group aims to enlist 10 million volunteers through a combination of network and cable commercials, display ads in magazines ranging from People to Real Simple, and online social networks.
...Cathy Zoi, the Alliance for Climate Protection’s chief executive...
...League of Conservation Voters president Gene Karpinski, whose group is supporting the effort...
...The new effort comes at a time when the three remaining major party presidential candidates — Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) — have all endorsed federal limits on greenhouse gases, virtually ensuring that the next occupant of the White House will offer a sharp break from President Bush’s climate policy.
All three have discussed global warming with Gore in phone calls over the course of the past few months. While McCain backs a more modest plan than that favored by the Democrats — he supports a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by 2050, compared with Obama and Clinton’s vow of an 80 percent cut during that period
Gore, who backs a 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by mid-century...”
.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Once one of these jerks shows us he is a rino in any way there is no way imo he can go back to being a conservative.
Buy your hip boots now 'cuz they're gonna be in short supply. It's about to get piled reeeeeeeeal deep!
When you accept the premise, then it’s just a matter of negotiation about how much freedom we lose to global socialism.
Like the old joke, “Madam, we’ve already established what you are, now we’re just negotiating price.”
.
And look at this that Lynn sent me.......
'Forget global warming, prepare for Ice Age'
SUNSPOT activity has not resumed up after hitting an 11-year low in March last year, raising fears that - far from warming - the globe is about to return to an Ice Age.
Astronaut and geophysicist Phil Chapman, the first Australian to become an astronaut with NASA, said pictures from the US Solar and Heliospheric Observatory showed no spots on the sun.
He said the world cooled quickly between January last year and January this year, by about 0.7C.
"This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record, and it puts us back to where we were in 1930," Dr Chapman writes in The Australian today.
"If the temperature does not soon recover, we will have to conclude that global warming is over."
My guess is that the odds are now at least 50:50 that we will see significant cooling rather than warming in coming decades," he writes
for the rest of the article go here
....Thank you Lynn for the article.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (18)
Wright Breaks Silence ~ says attacks 'unfair'
(CNN)
In Jeremiah Wright's first television interview since clips of his controversial sermons circulated the Internet, Barack Obama's former pastor says his words were unfairly taken out of context for 'devious' reasons.'
In an interview on PBS set to air Friday, Wright expressed frustration with how his sermons had been portrayed by the news media and critics of Obama's White House bid.
“I felt it was unfair,” he told PBS' Bill Moyers according to released excerpts. “I felt it was unjust. I felt it was untrue.
I felt that those who were doing that, were doing it for some very devious reasons.”
Some of Wright's past sermons came under fire after a news report turned some of his most contentious comments into a YouTube phenomenon last month. In one, the minister said America had brought the September 11 attacks upon itself. In another, he said Clinton had an advantage over Obama because she is white. He also accused the U.S. government of adopting policies to systematically oppress African-Americans.
Obama immediately rejected the comments, though critics charged the Illinois senator should have denounced the minister long ago. In a widely-praised speech on race relations, Obama said he could no more disown Wright than "I can disown the black community."
Speaking to PBS, Wright did not recant his past sermons. "The persons who have heard the entire sermon understand the communication perfectly," he said.
"The message that is being communicated by the sound bites is exactly what those pushing those sound bites want to communicate," he said, adding later, “I think they wanted to communicate that I am unpatriotic, that I am un-American, that I am filled with hate speech, that I have a cult at Trinity United Church of Christ — and by the way, guess who goes to his church, hint, hint, hint? That’s what they wanted to communicate.”
Wright also said he has never discussed politics with Obama.
“He goes out as a politician and says what he has to say as a politician. I continue to be a pastor who speaks to the people of God about the things of God.”
UPDATE:
from the Chicago Tribune article HERE
Moyers is a member of Wright's denomination, the United Church of Christ.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
Liberal Bill Moyers will be doing the interview on PBS.
I guess Wrigiht just could not stand to be out of the limelight much longer. LOL I love how he says the words were twisted around. hahahahhaa Oh Pleazzzzeeeeee
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (10)
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman: "Jimmy Carter's a Bigot"
Israel's UN ambassador calls Jimmy Carter 'a bigot'
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria.
Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters.
The diplomat was questioned about problems facing his country during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters lasting more than an hour. The briefing was sponsored by The Israel Project, a Washington-based, media-oriented advocacy group.
The ambassador's harsh words for Carter came days after the ex-president met with Mashaal for seven hours in Damascus to negotiate a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers. Carter then called Mashaal on Monday to try to get him to agree to a one-month truce without conditions, but the Hamas leader rejected the idea.
The ambassador called last weekend's encounter "a very sad episode in American history."
He said it was "a shame" to see Carter, who had done "good things" as a former president, "turn into what I believe to be a bigot."
Telephone calls by The Associated Press to two Atlanta numbers for Carter were not immediately returned Thursday.
Wild Thing's comment........
I am a fan of Gillerman he has always been so good. LOL But Dan Gillerman is being way too polite. haha
Because I was thinking sorry ass traitor that should be denied re-entry into this country, myself. Better yet Carter is a Jew-hating bastard! Carter hates anything about Israel and embraces terrorists before he embraces our allies.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (12)
April 24, 2008
New Obama Crime Record Commercial Video
ExposeObama: New Obama Crime Record Commercial video
ExposeObama.com put together this commercial highlighting the Democrat front-runner’s soft record on crime.
ExposeObama had some heavy hitters on board to help put the video together, including Floyd Brown. Floyd Brown was the man who created the Willie Horton ads which brought the truth about Mike Dukakis directly to the American people.
Wild Thing's comment......
On Fox News last night they were telling that between Friday night and early Monday morning, 36 people were shot in Chicago, nine fatally, and two people were stabbed, in Chicago Obamaland. Gang areas and gang related but they know they have a Senator like Obama that is not strong on crime and that does make a difference.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (18)
RNC and John McCain Condemn N.C. Anti-Obama TV Ad
This ad entitled "Extreme" released by the North Carolina Republican Party opposes Bev Perdue and Richard Moore for Governor.
The North Carolina Republican Party is preparing to unveil a television ad which functions on two levels: paint Obama as "extreme" for attending Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Rev. Wright made incendiary comments and knock Democrats Bev Perdue and Richard Moore for endorsing someone as "extreme" to North Carolina as Obama.
There' s no real money behind the ad right now. NC Republican Party spokesman Brent Woodcox told ABC News the party will make a final decision about the ad buy on Monday.
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, of Arizona, moved quickly on Wednesday to reject the ad.
"I have been committed to running a respectful campaign based upon an honest debate about the great issues confronting America today. I expect all state parties to do so as well. The television advertisement you are planning to air degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats," said McCain in a letter to the North Carolina Republican Party Chair Linda Davis.
McCain demanded that Davis discontinue plans to run the ad:
"It is imperative that you withdraw this offensive advertisement."
Wild Thing's comment........
The ad is certainly truthful: Obama is extreme. And McCain once again shows the same timidity he showed in 2004 with his failure to not criticize his buddy Kerry, and how he (McCain) opposed the ads by the Swifties who told the truth about Kerry. McCain hit another low when he characterize the SWIFT Boat vets commercial about John Kerry as "dishonest and dishonorable".
This IS legitimate information in a campaign for President of the United States. He should not deligitimize the information as being off limites in the campaign. And it is relevant information.
This is why we need Hildabeast in there to the bitter end. McCain wont fight Osama Obama but she will!
UPDATE I just saw while posting this:
NC GOP defies RNC and McCain, will air ad
The North Carolina GOP will still run an ad featuring Barack Obama's pastor despite the pleas of the RNC and John McCain himself, according to a spokesman for the state party."Yes, the ad will air," said Brent Woodcox, communications director for the North Carolina GOP.
RNC chairman Mike Duncan has been in contact with the state party asking them to not run it and McCain sent an unequivocal email to the North Carolina GOP chairwoman urging the same.
Also, Woodcox sent over a defense of the spot, which I've updated in the original post with the ad down below.
UPDATE: ad gets pulled
anyone getting dizzy?
North Carolina Republicans pull anti-Obama ad
North Carolina's Republican Party on Thursday withdrew an advertisement critical of Democrat Barack Obama's links to a controversial preacher, Republican John McCain's campaign said.
McCain senior adviser Charlie Black said he had been informed by the Republican National Committee's representative in North Carolina, that the state party had agreed to withdraw the ad.
McCain, the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee, had appealed to the state party to withdraw the ad, saying he wanted to run a respectful campaign.
This is so confusing and it is all because of McCain. grrrrrr
There is also this they both seem to be around the same time period so who knows what will happen.:
In a letter his campaign released to Linda Daves, chairwoman of North Carolina’s Republican Party, Mr. McCain said the advertisement “degrades our civics and distracts us from the very real differences we have with the Democrats.”
Mike Duncan, the chairman of the Republican National Committee who was traveling with Mr. McCain on Wednesday, said he had a left a message with Ms. Daves also asking that the advertisement be pulled.
But Brent Woodcox, communications director for the state party, said it still planned to broadcast the commercial, although for how long and how extensively throughout the state had not yet been decided.
....Thank you Mark for the link.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (20)
Congratulations General Petraeus On The Nomination
Bush Nominates Petraeus To Lead Central Command
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and the public face of the war effort there, became President Bush's nominee yesterday to supervise U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia as head of Central Command, putting him in position to oversee American strategy in Iraq for years to come.
Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who worked closely with Petraeus as the No. 2 commander in Iraq until two months ago, was nominated to receive a fourth star and to take Petraeus's current job as the leader of Multi-National Force-Iraq.
Together, the moves would elevate the two military officers most responsible for executing last year's new counterinsurgency strategy and "surge" of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Senior officials said the shifts in top command are aimed at minimizing disruption to the military campaign in Iraq, at a time when security there remains fragile, and as the prospect looms in Washington of major changes in Iraq policy after the U.S. presidential election in November.
"This arrangement probably preserves the likelihood of continued momentum and progress," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in announcing the nominations at the Pentagon yesterday morning. Referring to Odierno as Petraeus's "right-hand man" and pointing to the officers' close relationships with U.S. and Iraqi commanders, Gates said the decisions will "provide some continuity for a new administration," though he added that the next president will "always have the opportunity to make a change."
In a pattern similar to that of World War II, the nominations mark the ascent within the military of a generation of Army division commanders who rose to prominence as combat leaders during multiple battlefield tours. Petraeus led the 101st Airborne Division during the Iraq invasion, then returned as a three-star general overseeing the building of Iraqi forces before taking his current job -- in all, spending nearly four of the past five years in Iraq. Odierno led the 4th Infantry Division in the Sunni Triangle early in the war and returned to Baghdad as the top commander for day-to-day military operations.
Gates also announced that his senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, will replace Odierno as Bush's nominee to become the Army's vice chief of staff. Chiarelli, a veteran of two commands in Iraq who has written articles advocating fresh thinking within the Army, would run the service day-to-day and would seek to manage the strain on the force from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gates said he hopes the Senate will confirm the nominees before Memorial Day.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I am very happy for GEN Petreus on the recommendation for the CENTCOM. My understanding is that as CENTCOM Commander, he will have direct command of all forces in the Southwest Asian theater -- including Iraq but not limited to Iraq. So if Iran is put on the table, it will be on CENTCOM's table.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (10)
Olmert and Syria Say Progress on Golan Heights
Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights a strategic plateau that overlooks a swath of northern Israel.
The Golan Heights rise from 400 to 1700 feet in the north-eastern section of the country. Israel's highest mountain, Mt. Hermon is located here. The plateau was once actively volcanic and the northernmost points remain weathered and desolate. The Golan overlooks the Hula Valley,one of Israel's richest agricultural area.
The Golan is perhaps one of the most beautiful regions of this exquisite country.
The Golan Heights is arguably the most strategically important region in the country. It extends like a finger between the boarders of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. This area has been crucial in the past in maintaining an effective defense system in Israel. Syria controlled this area from 1948-1967, but when the Six Day War began Israel gained control of the region.
Report: Olmert ready to cede Golan
Israel reportedly has agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights as part of a peace deal with Syria.Shams-Press, a semi-official Syrian news Web site, reported Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed in principle to a Turkish plan for renewed peace talks between Jerusalem and Syria.
The negotiations, according to Shams-Press, would be predicated on Israel's willingness to return the Golan to Syria.
Olmert's office declined comment on the report, which caused an uproar in the right-wing opposition and among some members of the Israeli coalition government.
Olmert has voiced willingness to restart talks with Syria that stalled in 2000, but on the condition that Damascus first disengage from Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has conditioned new negotiations on Olmert accepting his bedrock demand for a full return of the Golan, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
And this has more information:
Israel and Syria Hint at Progress on Golan Heights Deal
JERUSALEM — Peace overtures between Israel and Syria moved up a gear on Wednesday when a Syrian cabinet minister said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel had sent a message to President Bashar al-Assad to the effect that Israel would be willing to withdraw from all the Golan Heights in return for peace with Syria.
The Syrian expatriate affairs minister, Buthaina Shaaban, told Al Jazeera television, “Olmert is ready for peace with Syria on the grounds of international conditions; on the grounds of the return of the Golan Heights in full to Syria.” She said that Turkey had conveyed the message.
Israeli officials did not deny the statement from Damascus but would not confirm it either, offering a more general, positive reaction. “Israel wants peace with Syria; we are interested in a negotiated process,” said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Mr. Olmert. “The Syrians know well our expectations, and we know well their expectations.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Damascus newspaper Al Watan reported that the Israeli offer was relayed to Mr. Assad by the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by telephone on Tuesday. Mr. Olmert had told Mr. Erdogan that “Israel was ready to withdraw completely from the Golan in exchange for peace with Syria,” Al Watan reported.
Withdrawal from the Golan Heights is a contentious issue in Israel. The territory is a strategic plateau that overlooks a large swath of northern Israel. Israel has objected to past Syrian demands for access to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a main water source for Israel.
After visiting Damascus this week, former President Jimmy Carter said that there were only a few details left to work out on a full peace treaty between Israel and Syria, but that the Bush administration was discouraging Israel from proceeding because of other American concerns about Syria, especially related to Iraq.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Olmert just doesn’t learn. Golan Heights was a good place for terrorists to launch missile attacks against Israel, because prior to Israel's winning the area in 1967, terrorists did exactly that. A lot of Jewish blood was spilled to capture the Golan.
Also Golan Heights provides or controls a substantial portion of the water in the Jordan River watershed, which in turn provides a portion of Israel’s water supply. The Golan Heights are the source of about 15% of Israel’s water supply.
You can see just about all of Israel from there.. whoever controls the heights controls Israel.....
This is insane!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (14)
Saddam's ex-deputy in Syria Leading Insurgents In Iraq
A wanted poster, released by the US-led coalition in Baghdad in 2003, shows Saddam Hussein's number two, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, offering 10 million dollars for his capture.
RIYADH
Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, who tops the Iraqi government's list of most-wanted fugitives, is in Syria from where he leads the insurgency in Iraq, an Iraqi official said in remarks published Wednesday.
"We have precise and definite information. Izzat al-Duri is in Syria, we know it. He funds several terrorist groups and leads a Baath group," national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
"We spoke about this to the Syrians several times. They deny his presence (in Syria) despite the evidence we have," he said.
Duri, the most senior official in the ousted Saddam Hussein regime to be still on the run, heads a 41 most-wanted list released by the Iraqi government in 2006 with a 10-million-dollar bounty.
He was Saddam's number two under the former Baath regime and is considered an operational leader with close ties to anti-US insurgents.
Wild Thing's comment........
Sickening! I would love for us to drop a bomb right on this guy while he is saying one of his prayers.
There was an announcement earlier that he was captured but it is a false rumor. This is the lastest from the military.
"The US military on Wednesday denied reports it is holding Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the number two under Saddam Hussein."We are aware of media reports that Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri has been captured," the military told AFP in an email.
"At this point, we can say that he is not in coalition custody and we have no reports that he was captured by Iraqi security forces either."
Al-Arabiya television channel reported that a man suspected to be Duri, who tops the Iraqi government's list of most-wanted fugitives, has been captured in Iraq."
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)
April 23, 2008
B.Hussein Obama's Logo New Look of Presidential Seal?
Link to page at Obama's webtsite HERE
It is also listed here as a download at his site
We have the flag pin issue with B. Hussein Obama, he won’t cover his heart during the National Anthem, and he thinks the God-fearing are “bitter.”
It seems Barak Obama has some explaining to do about a revised presidential seal on his website that shows an American flag being pierced by an arrow. The logo also shows what appears to be an American Eagle in retreat and a rising moon.
Looking at it there is an arrow or spear through the stars and stripes of the USA, the flag is depicted torn, an eagle is turned away from and is departing from over the flag symbol, a moon is rising over the USA stripes in a dark night, and above the frame, top right, the curve of the wings of an eagle are depicted from the rear, as it is seen lifting, to fly away.
The arrow can be seen piercing the flag on the lower right with the point coming thru just behind the Eagle.
Here is a CLOSE up of the image:
Here is the Official Presidential Seal with Eagle holding the arrows
Wild Thing's comment.......
What the heck, who designed this? One of his terrorists supporter friends?
This makes me sick to see his Obama circle in the center of it as well as the other changes he has made to it. I guess he can't wait to get his slimy ugly hands on the Presidential Seal.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (20)
Large Cache Found with Iranian-Marked Weapons
An Iraqi soldier with the 1st Iraqi Army examines one of more than 160 mortars found during Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra April 19. Some of the markings on the weapons indicate a manufacturing date in 2007. U.S. Army photo.
Iraqi Army Soldiers Discover Large Cache with Iranian-Marked Weapons
BASRA
The Iraqi Army discovered a large weapons and munitions cache in a house located in the Al Hyyaniyah area of Basra April 19.
Soldiers from the 1st Iraqi Army discovered the cache during the search phase of Operation Charge of the Knights. The cache consisted of a large number of weaponry with Iranian markings.
The cache included a 240 mm high-explosive war-head and approximately 160 mortars. Some of which were less than 12 months old.
The cache also contained approximately 25 artillery shells, more than 20 complete improvised explosive devices, large quantities of IED components, several explosively formed projectiles and dozens of grenades and fuses. Also included was more than 20 blocks of plastic explosives, homemade anti-personnel mines packed with ball bearings, hundreds of meters of detonation cord, improvised rocket launching rails, and thousands of rounds of small-arms ammunition.
Operation Charge of the Knights is ongoing with the Iraqi Army working in conjunction with the Iraqi Police to maintain pressure on Special Groups and criminal elements by denying them sanctuaries and safe havens through Basra and Iraq.
“Operation Charge of the Knights has been an Iraqi planned and executed operation from the very start,” said Lt. Col. Neil Harper, deputy public affairs officer for Multi-National Corps - Iraq. “The Iraqi Army demonstrated their capability to protect the people of Basra against Special Groups and criminal elements that are ignoring the rule of law.
“The success in finding these large caches was also due in part by numerous tips from concerned local Iraqis. This is another great example of Iraqis dealing with their own issues, and they should be admired for their bravery,” Harper said.
Wild Thing's comment........
Are those shells still in their individual shipping containers????
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (16)
Our Troops Update After Raid in Sadr City
This edition features stories on the operational update after a raid in Sadr city and the continuing training of the Iraqi forces, a Joint Air Assault Mission and MP's who patrol on foot to connect with the community. Hosted by Tech Sgt. Greg Bluethmann.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
Hillary Clinton Wins Pennsylvania Democratic Primary
Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday.
CLINTON 55%
OBAMA 45%
Pennsylvania Precincts Reporting 96% ( at the time of this posting)
CLINTON 1,202,096
OBAMA...987,518
Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday, buoyed by support from women and blue-collar voters and pushing her duel with Barack Obama on to Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.
Amid brisk turnout, Clinton won a victory that many polls had predicted and which the New York senator had to have. The ultimate margin hovered around double digits — Clinton led 55 percent to 45 percent with nearly 80 percent of the vote counted — but no matter the numbers, her campaign insisted that a victory was a victory, particularly amid a spending onslaught by a more financially more robust Obama campaign.
Wild Thing's comment........
Operation Chaos should continue at full speed. Hillary is broke. The media hates her. And her party has turned their backs on her. If she continues like this what we'll start to see is an all out brawl. Imagine how worried Howard Dean and Barack Obama are right now! heh heh
The point of Operation Chaos, is to continue to allow the deep divisions that now exist in the dem party. The Republicans didn’t cause this “civil war” within the dem party, but it now exists, so why not prolong it, if possible.
New exit poll data?
1 in 5 Dems is going to sit it out or vote for McCain if his/her candidate loses. Each Dem in emminently unqualified and fatally flawed to the point that they will both be toast after a bloody, scorched Earth Nominating Convention in Denver.
The demoncrat party is one big mish-mash of every disaffected, empty hand out for something free, mentally unstable, congenitally damaged group and sub group known to mankind.
It's held together by smoke and mirrors, lies, money, special favors and promises un-kept. It's fun watching these freaks pile on the hate and animosity.
Like Rush said: " We can not beat Hussein on what he has done we need to defeat him because of what he will do. He would probably make Rev. Wright Sec. of State and Bin Laden Sec. of Defense."
The bottom line for me is that I can't stand Hillary or Obama but then I am not a Democrat. I am no fan of McCain either, it is awful feeling like this and not being able to get excited about a candidate.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (12)
April 22, 2008
Muslim call to adopt Mecca time
Muslim call to adopt Mecca time
By Magdi Abdelhadi
BBC Arab affairs analyst
Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth.
Mecca is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers.
The call was issued at a conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar under the title: Mecca, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice.
One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Mecca's was in perfect alignment to magnetic north.
He said the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Britain was a big colonial power, and it was about time that changed.
Mecca watch
A prominent cleric, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Mecca was the true centre of the Earth; proof, he said, of the greatness of the Muslim "qibla" - the Arabic word for the direction Muslims turn to when they pray.
The meeting also reviewed what has been described as a Mecca watch, the brainchild of a French Muslim.
The watch is said to rotate anti-clockwise and is supposed to help Muslims determine the direction of Mecca from any point on Earth.
The meeting in Qatar is part of a popular trend in some Muslim societies of seeking to find Koranic precedents for modern science.
It is called "Ijaz al-Koran", which roughly translates as the "miraculous nature of the holy text".
The underlying belief is that scientific truths were also revealed in the Muslim holy book, and it is the work of scholars to unearth and publicise the textual evidence.
But the movement is not without its critics, who say that the notion that modern science was revealed in the Koran confuses spiritual truth, which is constant, and empirical truth, which depends on the state of science at any given point in time.
Wild Thing's comment........
LOL You just can't make this stuff up.
"Muslim scientists "
Hahahahha....Haw Haw haw
Muslims telling time......The big sword is on the 5, and the little sword is on the 2.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (23)
Another Terrorist Supporter For B. Hussein Obama
Two years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US government in February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen. Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts for his newest cause - Barack Obama for President.
El-Hady has his own dedicated page on Barack Obama's official website, chronicling his fundraising on behalf of the Democratic Party presidential candidate (his Obama profile established on February 19, 2008 - two years to the day after Kindhearts was raided by the feds). Not only that, but he has none other than Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, listed as one of his friends, one of her 224 listed friends.
But his leadership of Kindhearts is not the only thing that has brought him scrutiny by federal law enforcement officials. Last summer, El-Hady was questioned by the FBI concerning his knowledge of possible conspirators in a UK-based terror plot.
Hatem El-Hady's interest in "change" is understandable. Following the closure of Kindhearts, he said in response to the government's closure of his organization:
"It's dirty politics," said Dr. Hatem Elhady, chairman of the board of KindHearts, which raised $5.1 million in 2004. "They do not like the way things are going in Palestine. They do not like the election results. But that is not our problem. Our problem is providing aid to people in desperate need of help."
The Department of Justice had a very different version of events. According to the DOJ, Kindhearts assumed the role of lead terrorist fundraising in the US after the government had closed other such Islamic "charities".
Not only was Kindhearts engaged in providing funds for HAMAS in Lebanon and the West Bank, it had hired as a fundraising specialist the man identified as the designated HAMAS bag man in the US, Mohammed El-Mezain.
* KindHearts’ Director of Domestic Programs, Khalifah Ramadan. Ramadan was a training and evaluation consultant for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), two large Muslim organizations based in the United States that have links to overseas terror groups.
* KindHearts’ Representaive, Omar Shahin. Shahin was an Imam for the Islamic Center of Tucson (ICT), the former home of numerous terror operatives, including Wael Jelaidan, who later helped found Al-Qaeda.
* KindHearts’ Representative, Wagdy Ghuneim. Ghuneim, an Egyptian cleric, has been featured in KindHearts fundraising dinners for 2002, 2003 and 2004. During a rally at Brooklyn College, in May of 1998, Ghuneim attempted to persuade the crowd to support violent jihad and labeled Jews as “descendants of the apes.”
* KindHearts’ Representative, Hatem Bazian. Bazian is an Islamic Studies instructor and a member of the faculty of Near Eastern Studies at UC Berkley. In April of 2004, during a San Francisco anti-war rally, Bazian, a native Palestinian, called for an “intifada” against the United States. This was just two months prior to Bazian being featured in a KindHearts Fundraising Dinner, entitled ‘Palestinians in agony!’
* KindHearts’ Manager in Lebanon, Haytham Maghawri (a.k.a. Haytham Fawri). Maghawri, the past Social Services Director for HLF, according to the Treasury Department, “collected [KindHearts] funds and sent them to Hamas and other Salafi groups.” [One of the recipients of KindHearts funding was Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) Usama Hamdan, a leader of Hamas in Lebanon.
And two months before Kindhearts closure by the US government, Beila Rabinowitz had revealed that the South Asia Division Coordinator for Kindhearts, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, had known ties to al-Qaeda, even conducting a 10-day tour with officials for the Tablighi Jamaat organization, which the New York Times had described as "a springboard for militancy" and a "recruitment" center for Al-Qaeda.
Barack Obama has promised change. And as indicated by the public support that his candidacy has received by accused terrorist fundraiser Hatem El-Hady, Obama's version of change that terrorists and their US supporters can believe in.
Wild Thiing's comment........
I guess if we go by how many already support Obama there will be more before this is over. What a nightmare Obama and his wife are and will be if elected.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:50 AM | Comments (16)
Guns and God? Hell, yes
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we’ll all stay free
Praise the Lord and swing into position
Can’t afford to be a politician
Praise the Lord, we’re all between perdition
And the deep blue sea
Yes the sky pilot said it
Ya gotta give him credit
For a sonofagun of a gunner was he
Shouting Praise the Lord, we’re on a mighty mission
All aboard, we ain’t a-goin’ fishin’
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we’ll all stay free
Praise the Lord (Praise the Lord) and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord (Praise the Lord) and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord (Praise the Lord) and pass the ammunition
And we’ll all stay free
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we’ll all stay free
.
Mark Steyn: Guns and God? Hell, yes
Obama attacks two of the things that elevate the U.S. above places like Europe
Our lesson today comes from the songwriter Frank Loesser:
"Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition."
Or as Barack Obama and his San Francisco pals would put it: God and guns. Loesser got the phrase from Howell Forgy, a naval chaplain at Pearl Harbor, who walked the decks of the USS New Orleans under Japanese bombardment, exhorting his comrades. When the line came to Loesser's ears, he turned it into a big hit song of the Second World War:
"Praise the Lord and swing into position
Can't afford to sit around a-wishin'…" – which some folks sang as "Can't afford to be a politician." Indeed. Sen. Obama's remarks about poor dumb, bitter rural losers "clinging to" guns and God certainly testify to the instinctive snobbery of a big segment of the political class. But we shouldn't let it go by merely deploring coastal condescension toward the knuckledraggers. No, what Michelle Malkin calls Crackerquiddick (quite rightly – it's more than just another dreary "-gate") is not just snobbish nor even merely wrongheaded.
It's an attack on two of the critical advantages the United States holds over most of the rest of the Western world.
In the other G7 developed nations, nobody clings to God 'n' guns. The guns got taken away, and the Europeans gave up on churchgoing once they embraced Big Government as the new religion.
How's that working out? Compared with America, France and Germany have been more or less economically stagnant for the past quarter-century, living permanently with unemployment rates significantly higher than in the United States.
Has it made them any less "bitter," as Obama characterizes those Pennsylvanian crackers? No. In my book "America Alone," just out in paperback and available in all good bookstores – you'll find it in Borders propping up the wonky rear leg of the display table for the smash new CD "Michelle Obama And The San Francisco Macchiato Chorus Sing "I Pinned My Pink Slip To The Gun Rack Of My Pick-Up,' 'My Dog Done Died, My Wife Jus' Left Me, And Michael Dukakis Is Strangely Reluctant To Run Again,' Plus 'I Swung By The Economic Development Zone Business Park But The Only Two Occupied Rental Units Were Both Evangelical Churches' And Other Embittered Appalachian Favorites."
Where was I? Oh, yes. In my book "America Alone," I note a global survey on optimism: 61 percent of Americans were optimistic about the future, 29 percent of the French, 15 percent of Germans. Take it from a foreigner: In my experience, Americans are the least "bitter" people in the developed world. Secular, gun-free big-government Europe doesn't seem to have done anything for people's happiness. Consider by way of example the words of Keith Reade. He's not an Obama speechwriter, he's a writer for the London Daily Mirror. And the day after the 2004 presidential election he expressed his frustration in an alarmingly Obamaesque way:
"Were I a Kerry voter, though, I'd feel deep anger, not only at them returning Bush to power, but for allowing the outside world to lump us all into the same category of moronic muppets. The self-righteous, gun-totin', military-lovin', sister-marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', nonpassport ownin' rednecks, who believe God gave America the biggest d*** in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land 'free and strong.'"
Well, that's certainly why I supported Bush, but I'm not sure it entirely accounts for the other 62,039,073 incontinent rednecks. Reade, though, does usefully enumerate some of the distinctive features that separate America from the rest of the West. "Self-righteous"? If you want a public culture that reeks of indestructible faith in its own righteousness, try Europe – especially when they're talking about America: If you disagree with Eutopian wisdom, you must be an idiot.
Obama and far too many Democrats have bought into this delusion, most thoroughly distilled in Thomas Frank's book "What's The Matter With Kansas?", whose argument is that heartland voters are too dumb (i.e., "moronic muppets") to vote for their own best interests.
Europeans did "vote for their own best interests" – i.e., cradle-to-grave welfare, 35-hour workweeks, six weeks of paid vacation, etc. – and as a result they now face a perfect storm of unsustainable entitlements, economic stagnation and declining human capital that's left them so demographically beholden to unassimilable levels of immigration that they're being remorselessly Islamized with every passing day. We should thank God (forgive the expression) that America's loser gun nuts don't share the same sophisticated rational calculation of "their best interests" as do Thomas Frank, Obama, too many Democrats and the European political establishment.
As for "gun-totin'," large numbers of Americans tote guns because they're assertive, self-reliant citizens, not docile subjects of a permanent governing class. The Second Amendment is philosophically consistent with the First Amendment, for which I've become more grateful since the Canadian Islamic Congress decided to sue me for "hate speech" up north. Both amendments embody the American view that liberty is not the gift of the state, and its defense cannot be outsourced exclusively to the government.
I think a healthy society needs both God and guns: It benefits from a belief in some kind of higher purpose to life on Earth, and it requires a self-reliant citizenry. If you lack either of those twin props, you wind up with today's Europe – a present-tense Eutopia mired in fatalism.
A while back, I was struck by the words of Oscar van den Boogaard, a Dutch gay humanist (which is pretty much the trifecta of Eurocool). Reflecting on the Continent's accelerating Islamification, he concluded that the jig was up for the Europe he loved, but what could he do? "I am not a warrior, but who is?" he shrugged. "I have never learned to fight for my freedom. I was only good at enjoying it."
Sorry, it doesn't work like that. If you don't understand that there are times when you'll have to fight for it, you won't enjoy it for long. That's what a lot of Reade's laundry list – "gun-totin'," "military-lovin'" – boils down to. As for "gay-loathin'," it's Oscar van den Boogaard's famously tolerant Amsterdam where gay-bashing is resurgent: The editor of the American gay paper the Washington Blade got beaten up in the streets on his last visit to the Netherlands.
God and guns. Maybe one day a viable society will find a magic cure-all that can do without both, but Big Government isn't it. And even complacent liberal Democrats ought to be able to look across the ocean and see that. But, then, Obama did give the speech in San Francisco, a city demographically declining at a rate that qualifies it for EU membership. When it comes to parochial simpletons, you don't need to go to Kansas.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Bravo, Mr. Steyn! Mark is a gifted wordsmith and he nailed it!
I certainly hope America proves to be faithful to the Founders and not the wicked men in our government who aren’t.
It's so hard to pick a favorite quote out of this typical Steyn all-you-can-eat buffet, but I'll go with this one:
"Liberty is not the gift of the state, and its defense cannot be outsourced exclusively to the government."
...a perfect storm of unsustainable entitlements, economic stagnation and declining human capital that's left them so demographically beholden to unassimilable levels of immigration that they're being remorselessly Islamized with every passing day.
And, still, the left doesn't get it.
This song is a older that all of us on here, but it is a classic from WW11. Mary Steyn's article is excellent and since he mentioned the song I thought it would be fun to hear it.
I remember one of my Uncles singing this song sometimes.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (18)
April 21, 2008
Marine Singing RWB in Fallujah, Iraq ~ LOVE it!
Marine singing (Courtesy Of The Red, White, and Blue) in Fallujah Iraq
Wild Thing's comment.......
This soldier is so cute and I love his enthusiam. LOL Ths is great!
God Bless Our Troops!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (8)
Saudi Cleric Extols The Black-Eyed Virgins of Paradise ~ LMAO
Saudi Cleric Omar Al-Sweilem Extols the Breasts and Thighs of the Black-Eyed Virgins of Paradise
LINK to VIDEO
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1741.htm
Following are excerpts from video:
"Omar Al-Sweilem: Harith Ibn Al-Muhasibi told us what would happen when we meet the black-eyed virgin with her black hair and white face – praised be He who created night and day. What hair! What a chest! What a mouth! What cheeks! What a figure! What breasts! What thighs! What legs! What whiteness! What softness! Without any creams – no Nivea, no vaseline. No nothing! He said that faces would be soft that day. Even your own face will be soft without any powder or makeup. You yourself will be soflt, so how soft will a black-eyed virgin be, when she comes to you so tall and with her beautiful face, her black hair and white face - praised be He who created night and day. Just feel her palm, Sheik! He said: How soft will a fingertip be, after being softened in paradise for thousands of years!There is no god but Allah. He told us that if you entered one of the palaces, you would find ten black-eyed virgins sprawled on musk cushions. Where is Abu Khaled? Here, he has arrived! When they see you, they will get up and run to you. Lucky is the one who gets to put her thumb in your hand. When they get hold of you, they will push you onto your back, on the musk cushions.
They will push you onto your back, Jamal! Allah Akbar! I wish this on all people present here. He said that one of them would place her mouth on yours. Do whatever you want. Another one would press her cheek against yours, yet another would press her chest against yours, and the others would await their turn. There is no god but Allah. He told us that one black-eyed virgin would give you a glass of wine. Wine in Paradise is a reward for your good deeds. The wine of this world is destructive, but not the wine of the world to come."
Wild Thing's comment........
LMAO I can't help it this is just so funny. He is jumping in his seat while he talks. hahaha
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (20)
Al Qaeda offers head of American as 'gift to Bush'
Abu Ayyub al-Masri (aka Abu Hamza Al-Muhajer)....Successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
BAGHDAD: Reportedly leader of the Al-Qaida, Abu Ayyub Al-Misri in Iraq has announced to launch a new campaign against America and threatened that President Bush would be presented a new gift.Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said .....................
Al Qaeda offers head of American as 'gift to Bush'
Sunday
4/20/08
A leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq has announced a one-month campaign in which the group will "offer the head of an American" as a gift to US President George W Bush, according to an audiotape made public.
Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, better known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, made the announcement in a speech entitled, "The Paths to Victory," monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group.
In the speech to Islamist forums, he said mujahedeen, or holy warriors, would "offer the head of an American as a gift to the deceitful Mr Bush, in any manner [they] see fit."
The campaign, to be called "Attack of Righteousness," was announced in "celebration" of Mr Bush announcing that 4,000 Americans had died in the war in Iraq.
Masri is regarded by US commanders as the real leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq although the jihadist group constantly claims it is led by an Iraqi, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
US commanders say Baghdadi is a "cyber invention" and that he is a straw man invented to put an Iraqi face on a terrorist group led by foreigners who infiltrated Iraq to sow chaos and undermine the US-backed Government.
Egyptian-born Masri, reportedly an expert bomb maker, was named leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq in June 2006 following the death of his better-known Jordanian predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an American air strike.
Wild Thing's comment........
He can't stand that the surge is working. Psst! You are next sandmonkey!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (8)
Charlie Daniels Latest ~ Guns and Church
Guns and Church
Since I identify with the people who fall into Barrack Obama's elitist description about of people of faith who keep firearms I'm not very happy with Barrack Obama's recent remarks.
He said something to the effect that us rednecks cling to our guns and our religion when we get frustrated and I would like to take umbrage to these remarks. My faith goes much deeper than his superficial explanation and I love my guns even when I'm not frustrated.
And I am not by myself. I was going to church and shooting guns before Mr. Obama was even born and come from a long line of good people who have been doing it for generations.
To me this latest Obama blunder only helps reveal the depth of condescension the far left wing of the Democrat party has for the folks out here in flyover country.
Mr. Obama's remarks are insulting to a lot of folks. It's kind of like Abraham Lincoln said, "God must love the common people because he made so many of them".
His remarks make me think that Obama doesn't know the people of this country very well. I'm sure he knows the jet set and the Hollywood bunch, the limousine liberals and the save the whales, kill the babies crowd, but does he think that the ordinary people don't count? Does he think that they're so stupid that they don't know who he's talking about when he says these things? Does he think their opinions aren't important? Apparently.
How can a man stand in front of America and tell people what he wants to do for them and have so little respect for a whole segment of the population. In fact, a very large segment. Does that mean that he would only represent the high-minded liberal ideals of the far left and ignore the rest of us?
What kind of Commander and Chief would he make if he doesn't respect the very people who make up the lion's share of the armed forces.
You may say I'm over reacting, but I'm getting sick and tired of him making these elitist statements and saying that he had been taken out of context or some other flimsy excuse.
After his wife's remark about not being proud of this country and his pastor's statements calling America the U.S.K.K.K.A. and his own statement about not wanting his daughter punished with a baby, it makes me wonder what kind of a man Obama really is and what kind of a president he'd make.
Would he be an antigun advocate pushing the effort to take the firearms out of innocent citizen's hands? Would he not respect the religious beliefs of America, not taking them into account in his agenda?
I really don't know much about the man and neither does America. He basically came from out of nowhere and as the facts come out little by little, they don't make a particularly confident picture.
I have a great fear that if our military gets broken by another president, this time we're not going to have time to fix it again and what that spells for America, I don't even want to contemplate.
Oh well, I guess I'll grab my gun and go to church.
Pray for our troops
What do you think?
God Bless America
Charlie Daniels
April 14, 2008
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (17)
Sign Language for Islamists
Sign Language for Islamists
In Sadr City, Hashem Hadi Obaid translates sermons by preachers loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, into sign language.Iraq's most anti-western demagogue is determined to bring the message to those who can't hear it.
CLICK FOR VIDEO
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=114adf2d4277ffb8f718efdb11f6f575b3452d4b
And this news from Iraq:
Muqtada al-Sadr followers refuse to disband militia in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP)
Followers of hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the stakes Sunday in the showdown with Iraq's government, refusing to disband their militia as the U.S. military reported an "uptick" of fighting in the Iraqi capital.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, assured visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he will not back down in his confrontation with Shiite militias, even as mortar shells fired from Shiite areas struck the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
In a sign of that resolve, Iraqi soldiers took control Sunday of the last stronghold of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in the southern city of Basra, where an Iraqi offensive last month triggered the current wave of Shiite fighting.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has demanded that al-Sadr disband his Mahdi Army, the country's biggest Shiite militia, or his followers will not be allowed to run in provincial elections this fall.
Wild Thing's comment........
The Sadr thug brigade is going to continue to whittle down to nothing as they get their clocks cleaned. He’s now been thoroughly discredited and isolated by the other Shite and Iraqi political parties.
So Mookie sits in his little Iranian hole awaiting orders. They will soon toss him to the wind as he will no longer serve any purpose. Not alive anyway.
Word is they will be having him leave Iran. When that happens, he’s done. Maybe even better to have him killed was he is still in Iran.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)
April 20, 2008
Hamas Says Carter Visit a Boost to Militants' Legitimacy
Khaled Meshaal
Carter Meets Hamas Chief in Syria
Former President Carter defied U.S. and Israeli warnings and met Friday with the exiled leader of Hamas and his deputy, two men the U.S. government has labeled terrorists and Israel accuses of masterminding attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians.
Carter is the most prominent American to hold talks with Khaled Mashaal, whose Palestinian militant group claimed new legitimacy from the meeting along with two other sessions the Nobel laureate held with Hamas leaders in the Middle East this week.
"Political isolation (of Hamas) by the American administration has begun to crumble," Mohammed Nazzal, a top figure in Hamas' political bureau, told The Associated Press after Friday's meeting at Mashaal's Damascus office.
A senior Hamas official in Damascus, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to represent the group publicly, described the meeting as "warm."But he said Carter did not receive a response to either of the two requests the former president made in the session: that Hamas halt its rocket attacks against Israel, and agree to a meeting with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai to discuss a prisoner exchange.
Underscoring the impression that Carter did not win any concessions, Hamas said Friday that kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will "not see the light" until Palestinian prisoners are also released in an exchange.
Carter's convoy arrived at Mashaal's office for the meeting under tight security, and reporters were prevented from getting near the site. The meeting was closed to media, and Carter was not available for comment.
He says Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, must be engaged in order to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The controversy over his visit highlights two different approaches to foreign policy. Some, like Carter, believe that is impossible to resolve a conflict without engaging all parties, even those responsible for attacks on civilians. Others, including the Bush administration, contend that such meetings give credibility to hard-line militants and allow them to play for time when they are not serious about peace.
Echoing criticism from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the trip, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack suggested Friday that Carter had opened himself up to "exploitation" by both Hamas and the Syrian government.
"We find it very odd that one would encourage to have a conversation between the Israeli government and Hamas, which doesn't even recognize the right of the Israeli government to exist," McCormack said. "Is that really the basis of a conversation?"
Several members of Congress also urged Carter not to meet Hamas leaders, saying it would confer legitimacy on the group behind dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed some 250 Israelis.
"We have a policy in this country about Hamas. And he is just deliberately undermining that policy, and it's wrong," Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., told Fox News on Friday, calling for the State Department to revoke the former president's passport.
Friday's meeting, which followed a session between Carter and Syrian President Bashar Assad, was the first public contact between a prominent American figure and Hamas officials since the Rev. Jesse Jackson met with Mashaal in Syria in 2006.
The U.S. government has no contact with Hamas after designating it a terrorist organization in 1995 _ an official label that means any financial or business transactions with the group are illegal. The government has also blacklisted Mashaal and his deputy, Moussa Abu Marzouk, making it illegal to conduct any transactions with them.
Marzouk, who attended Friday's meeting with Carter, has been accused of organizing a network of Islamic charities to funnel money to Hamas. He spent two years in prison in a New York jail after his name appeared on a list of people suspected of terrorist activity. He was deported in 1997.
Hamas official Mushir Masri, in a fiery speech Friday to thousands of Hamas supporters in Gaza, said the meetings with Carter were proof that Hamas was not a terrorist group but a national liberation movement.
Heading the Hamas delegation in Cairo were Gaza leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siyam. "This meeting is a message to those who don't recognize Hamas' legitimacy as a movement," Zahar said
In Cairo, Hamas spokesman Taher Nuhu told The Associated Press that the purported Thursday meeting would be "a recognition of the legitimacy" of Hamas' victory in the Palestinians' parliamentary election in 2006.
"We do not claim we are the only legitimate group there, but we are an integral part whose legitimacy was manifested in the elections," Nuhu said.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since its bloody takeover last June, opposes peace negotiations with Israel and is committed to the Jewish state's destruction. The Islamic militant group has killed some 250 Israelis in suicide bombings and is branded a terror organization by the U.S. and Israel.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
He really should be arrested for treason, this has gone on for far too long. It is shocking what our government allows this terrorist sympathizer and Jew hater to get away with.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (22)
Bush to Appear on 'Deal or No Deal' to Surprise US Soldier
In this image released by NBC, "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandel, left, is shown with contestant Capt. Joseph Kobes, right, and his supporter Laura Johnson during the taping of the game show in Los Angles. The program, scheduled to air on Monday, April 21,2008, features Kobes, as he attempts to win enough cash to pay off his parents' home.
Bush to Appear on 'Deal or No Deal' to Surprise US Soldier
President Bush has taped a surprise "good luck" video for a U.S. soldier, Captain Joe Kobes, who is a contestant on the popular television game show, "Deal or No Deal," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Friday.
The president's video will air on Monday's episode of NBC's "Deal or No Deal," and the network will be previewing clips from the video over the weekend.
The president's video will thank Kobes for his military service and wish him luck on the game show, in which he will compete for a top prize of $1 million. "It really is actually an emotional moment for Captain Kobes and his family," Fratto told reporters at the White House press briefing.
The president agreed to make the video when he learned from the producers of "Deal or No Deal" that he is one of Kobes' heroes.
Army Capt. Joseph Kobes was blown away when host Howie Mandel segued to a taped greeting from President Bush, who thanked him for his three tours in Iraq and wished him good luck in the game show.
“He was definitely speechless, which is rare for him,” Ken Kobes said of his son.
The elder Kobes said Friday that he’s under orders from NBC not to divulge his son’s winnings from the show, taped last month at a studio in Culver City, Calif.
Kobes, 29, is a transportation officer in school at Fort Lee, Va. A few months back, he drove six hours to an open “Deal or No Deal” tryout in Philadelphia and got called back for a second audition. A month after that, the producers called again. He’d made the final cut.
The show put up his parents, Ken and Susan; his girlfriend; and his three brothers in a nice hotel for four days during the taping last month. The family enjoyed the impromptu reunion.
It was a nice departure from an intense past few years for the younger Kobes, a Sumner High School graduate who double-majored in nuclear physics and pre-med at West Point, Class of 2001.
He was in Iraq from March 2004 to March 2005. He led a transportation platoon in Iraq and volunteered for two other assignments from November 2006 to July 2007, a White House spokesman said Friday.
Kobes was twice awarded the Bronze Star for valor and has a Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds he suffered when his truck was bombed in 2004, his father said.
And what about that taped game show message from the president?
Kobes had an inkling something might be up, his father said, when he got a call from his assignment officer telling him his next job was on hold because the White House had been making inquiries about him.
Kobes thought maybe he was up for a White House fellowship or one of the other plum assignments there for military officers.
No such luck, but there’s some consolation in his next duty station: Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
The elder Kobes said producers at the taping told him they’d been trying to get the president on the show for a long time.
“They said, ‘Your son must be somebody really special for the president to do that,’” Kobes said. “And I thought, ‘Yeah, he is.’”
Wild Thing's comment........
What fun and how wonderful for Capt. Joe Kobes. I hope he wins the million dollars.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (7)
Boneheads vs. Jarheads By Russ Vaughn
Boneheads vs. Jarheads
Contributed by Russ Vaughn
TIME Magazine, that bastion of objective news reporting, where journalistic ethics are disappearing even faster than their readers (circulation rates down 17.5% in 2007 from the previous year according to Wikipedia) has trashed an American patriotic icon with its latest cover.
The cover is insulting to all American warriors but constitutes absolute sacrilege to one particular branch of American fighting men. TIME’s clueless, liberal editors may have endeared themselves to Al Gore and his Green Lemmings but they have surely incurred the wrath of a far more formidable green organization, the entire present and past United States Marine Corps, the lean, mean Green Machine.
In this confrontation between boneheads and Jarheads, all I can say is Semper Fi!
Russ Vaughn
Vietnam 65-66
.....Thank you Russ!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (8)
Cleric Sadr Threatens "open war" On Iraq Government
Cleric Sadr threatens "open war" on Iraq government
BAGHDAD
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday threatened an "open war" against the Iraqi government unless it halted a crackdown by Iraqi and U.S. security forces on his followers.
The specter of a full-scale uprising by Sadr sharply raises the stakes in his confrontation with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has threatened to ban the anti-American cleric's movement from political life unless he disbands his militia.
A rebellion by Sadr's Mehdi Army militia -- which has tens of thousands of fighters -- could abruptly end a period of lower violence at a time when U.S. forces are starting to leave Iraq.
"I'm giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government -- either it comes to its senses and takes the path of peace ... or it will be (seen as) the same as the previous government," Sadr said, referring to Saddam Hussein's fallen regime, without elaborating.
"If they don't come to their senses and curb the infiltrated militias, then we will declare an open war until liberation."
Sadr's movement accuses other Shi'ite parties of getting their militias into the Iraqi security forces, especially in southern Shi'ite Iraq where various factions are competing for influence in a region home to most of Iraq's oil output.
Sadr launched two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004.
His movement then entered politics and backed Maliki's rise to power in 2006. But the youthful Sadr split with Maliki, a fellow Shi'ite, a year ago when the prime minister refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
"Do you want a third uprising?" Sadr said, adding that he wanted Iraq's Shi'ite clerical establishment to set a date for the departure of American troops.
In Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, one Mehdi Army commander said he was "thrilled" about the statement.
"We will wait until tomorrow to see the response of the government. Otherwise they will see black days like they have never seen before i
Sadr's threat could not come at a worse time. On Friday, U.S. forces said they had intelligence suggesting Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, pushed out of Baghdad and western Iraq last year, was plotting a return to the capital to stage major bomb attacks.
ROCKETS HIT HOSPITAL
In Baghdad, police described battles between security forces and gunmen that began on Friday in Sadr City as among the heaviest in the capital since Maliki launched a crackdown on the Mehdi Army in the southern city of Basra late last month.
Police said 12 people had been killed in the Shi'ite slum. Hospitals said they received more than 130 wounded overnight.
Late on Saturday, Ali Bustan, head of the health directorate in the eastern section of Baghdad, said three rockets hit the Sadr Hospital in the slum. It was unclear if there were any casualties. The U.S. military said it was not to blame.
Bustan said the bodies of three women had been brought in along with 40 wounded people following fresh clashes.
Maliki has threatened to ban Sadr's movement from provincial elections this year if the cleric does not disband his militia.
In response, Sadr has threatened to formally scrap a ceasefire he imposed on the Mehdi Army last August, which has already been hanging by a thread given recent clashes.
In his statement, Sadr did not refer to the truce, but his spokesman in the holy city of Najaf, Salah al-Ubaidi, said the cleric was not bluffing.
"We mean every word," Ubaidi told Reuters.
Sadr issued his warning after Iraqi soldiers swooped on the Mehdi Army's stronghold in Basra. Iraqi officials said they now controlled the bastion, known as the Hayaniya district.
The dawn raid by government troops there was backed by a thunderous bombardment by U.S. warplanes and British artillery.
Maliki's initial crackdown on the militia in Basra last month was criticized by U.S. commanders as poorly planned.
It failed to drive the Mehdi Army from the streets and sparked battles across the south and in Sadr City, the cleric's Baghdad stronghold. The government dismissed 1,300 soldiers and police for refusing to fight in Basra, the port for most of Iraq's oil exports.
On Saturday by contrast, Harith al-Idhari, head of the Sadr office in Basra, said the militia had not put up any resistance, in observance of a ceasefire declared by the cleric.
Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, an interior ministry spokesman, described the Basra operation as a major success.
Wild Thing's comment........
Some people just need killing. Bye Bye Sadr!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (11)
April 19, 2008
Warriors In Their Own Words
We have always had warriors, from as far back in history as one can go — warriors are timeless.
Warriors have a moral code and are not simply trained killers (as they are all too frequently portrayed).
If we did not have warriors, we would undoubtedly be speaking another language, German, Japanese, Chinese, or Russian.
Warriors are born, they are not created. Certainly they are trained, but to be a warrior is a calling.
We should be forever grateful to our warriors and to their families who are all so courageous.
We should honor our warriors. Warriors are NOT, as they are commonly portrayed, victims with no where else to go but the military.
This project will show people what intelligent, honorable, and brave people we have standing in the way of the free world’s demise.
"Our Mission is to Honor Our Warriors and to raise funding through our documentary, portrait book and exhibit --to aid wounded service members, their families, and the families of the fatally wounded."
LETTERS FROM THOSE SERVING NOW
Sergeant Michael A Thomas Personal Narrative "3 A.M. IN BANGOR, MAINE"
"As I walked off the plane, I was taken aback; in the small, dimly lit airport, a group of elderly veterans were there waiting for us, lined up one by one to shake our hands. Some were standing, others were confined to wheelchairs, and all of then wore their uniform hats. Their now-feeble right hands stiffened in salutes, their left hands holding coffee, snacks, and cell phones for us."As I made my way through the line, each man thanking me for my service, I choked back tears. Here we were, returning from one year in Iraq where we had portable DVD players, three square meals, and phones, being honored by men who had crawled through mud for years while little more than the occasional letter from home. A few of them appeared to be veterans of the war in Vietnam, I couldn’t help but think of how they were treated when they came back to the U.S., and yet here they were to support us."
"These soldiers – many of whom had lost limbs and comrades – shook our hands proudly, as if our service could somehow rival their own."
"We later learned that this VFW group had waited for more than a day in the airport for our arrival."
Wild Thing's comment.......
This video is first class and the reason it is so awesome is because of our soldiers. Listen to their words, they speak from their heart and soul how they feel. It has me crying but that is what tears are for too. Grateful and awe inspiring tears of pride in our American's that give so much for us to be free and for others too to learn what freedom is about.
....Thank you John 5 (VN 69/70) for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (10)
Happy Patriot's Day ~ "the shot heard 'round the world"
On 19 April 1775, the brave Patriots at Lexington and Concord fired the opening volley for American liberty. Today we honor them, as well as those Patriots who continue in that tradition, shouldering the burden of American liberty, particularly those on the warfront with Jihadistan.
The famous Minuteman statue stands at the ready in the predawn hours in Lexington.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Patriots' Day civic holiday in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and state of Maine and a public school observance day in Wisconsin.
Traditionally it was designated as April 19 in observance of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.
Observances and re-enactments of these first battles of the American Revolution occur annually at Lexington Green in Lexington, MA, and The Old North Bridge in Concord, MA.
On the evening of April 18, 1775 General Thomas Gage, the British Commander in Chief of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was ordered to bring the colonies under control. He ordered Lt. Col. Francis Smith to destroy Colonist's war supplies held in Concord. Smith was also instructed to take Samuel Adams and John Hancock into British custody. Smith's orders were to be carried out in secret. However, Joseph Warren, a doctor, learned of the plans and sent William Dawes and Paul Revere to warn the Patriots.
Paul Revere rode 16 miles from Olde North Church in Boston to Lexington. The British arrived in Lexington in the early dawn of April 19, 1775. It was there that the Patriots or 'Minutemen' and British confronted each other on the green and "the shot heard round the world" was fired.
At Lexington Green, the British were met by 77 American Minute Men led by John Parker. At the North Bridge in Concord, the British were confronted again, this time by 300 to 400 armed colonists, and were forced to march back to Boston with the Americans firing on them all the way. By the end of the day, the colonists were singing "Yankee Doodle" and the American Revolution had begun.
Wild Thing's comment........
The incident that precipitated the Alarm was a British raid on the colonial powder stored at the Powder House on the Somerville/Medford line. It was one of several "alarms," including ones in Marblehead and Portsmouth, NH, that let the Provincials know the British were clamping down on them, militarily, before Lexington and Concord.
People armed were vital to this nation gaining freedom. Now, it's vital to KEEPING it. One of the reasons the colonists were so pissed, was the British had come to confiscate their guns. Both the American and Texan revolutions began because of an attempt at "gun control".
“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ‘What should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”—Samuel Adams
“The Sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.”—Thomas Paine
“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!”—George Washington
“The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations... This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”—John Adams
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”—Thomas Jefferson “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”—Patrick Henry
....Thank you Darth for the heads up that today is Patriot's Day.
Posted by Wild Thing at 11:27 AM | Comments (10)
Global Warming Cult vs the U.S. Marines
This is the original photograph by Joe Rosenthal.
Global Warming Cult vs the U.S. Marines
Please CLICK LINK ABOVE TO HEAR ....Donald Mates and Jerry Rosenthal audio's.
Donald Mates is a WWII veteran. He was a lead scout for the U.S. Marines and fought on Iwo Jima.
Donald Mates Interview
Donald Mates is a WWII veteran. He was a lead scout for the U.S. Marines and fought on Iwo Jima. He spoke to Dori on The Dori Monson Show.
Jerry Rosenthal Interview
The famous picture of WWII US Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima has been altered in a controversial new Time magazine cover story. The photographer's grandson, Jerry Rosenthal, lives in Gig Harbor, WA and says his grandfather would be upset by Time's decision.
“That global warming is the biggest joke I’ve ever known,” Lt John Keith Wells told the Business & Media Institute. “[W]e’ll stick a dadgum tree up somebody’s rear if they want that and think that’s going to cure something.”
Donald Mates was a lead scout for the Marines at Iwo Jima. “It’s an absolute disgrace,” Mates said. “Whoever did it is going to hell. That’s a mortal sin. God forbid he runs into a Marine that was an Iwo Jima survivor.”
Wild Thing's comment........
I just can't get over what Time has done. It breaks my heart.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (18)
"Patches" a C-130E Has Been Added To 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
C-130 Unit Gets a New Bird With an Old History
By Senior Airman Tong Duong
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
U.S. Air Force, coalition and sister service forces have relied for years on the steady stream of supplies and equipment flown in by crewmembers of KC-135 Stratotankers, C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and other airlift workhorses.
One aircraft new to Southwest Asia carries something more - a rich history dating back more than 40 years.
The 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron recently added "Patches" a C-130E, Tail No. 62-1817 into its fleet, from Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
"She's a great lady," said Lt. Col. Daniel Tulley, 746th EAS commander, from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. "I've seen a picture of her at Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and it was interesting to read about her crew's contribution to history. I'm proud to have her on our ramp."
According to Alan Marsh, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing historian, the People's Army of Vietnam launched what became a 77-day battle at Khe Sanh on Jan. 21, 1968. During this time, overland supply routes to U.S. troops at Khe Sanh were cut off and attempts to land aircraft were threatened by artillery fire from the North Vietnamese. Most supply efforts during this period were attempted by airdrops.On Feb. 5, Tail No. 62-1817 and her crew flew into the storm of enemy fire to deliver much needed supplies to the Marines besieged at the outpost. Lt. Col. Howard Dallman and his 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron crew loaded ammunition and a medical evacuation team at Da Nang and headed for Khe Sanh. Confronted with overcast weather and no communications with Khe Sanh, Colonel Dallman landed the C-130 under heavy enemy fire.
One shell hit the aircraft and ignited a fire, threatening the cargo boxes of ammo loaded in the plane. The crew stayed with the C-130 as it taxied down the runway and took additional hits by enemy fire, blowing out a tire. One engine quit when a mortar round exploded and threw dirt into it.
After the fire was extinguished, the valuable cargo was unloaded and the tire repaired, the C-130 crew took off, again sustaining hits from the enemy. Colonel Dallman received the Air Force Cross for his efforts to re-supply the Marines at Khe Sanh and all crew members received the Silver Star.
Decades later, Tail No. 62-1817 is still bringing the fight to the enemy, this time in the Middle East.
"It gives our crewmembers and maintainers a sense of pride to know that one of their aircraft has been through something that significant," Colonel Tulley said. "It reflects on the entire Air Force fleet, and is a testimony to the maintainers and crew members who fly them that these planes are still around and parked next to the newer C-130Js, doing the same missions."
Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Seay, 746th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, has worked on "Patches" more than once, and said her history is what he finds most interesting about her.
"This is my third time deploying with her," he said. "It's great to be able to work on a 45-year-old aircraft with so much history."
He said it's especially meaningful because his father served in Vietnam.
At his home station, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Sergeant Seay enjoys maintaining all C-130 aircraft, but prefers to work on the older planes.
"I would rather work on E models (built in the early '60s) than the newer C-130Js (built in early 2000) because of their history and the significance of what they've done for our country," he said. "I've worked on many different variations of C-130s, from older Vietnam-era planes to ones that have seen recent campaigns such as the AC-130 gunships they have at Hurlbert Field, Fla., but I've got to say, 'Patches' is probably the most interesting of them all."
Since its activation in February, the 746th EAS has accomplished several combat airdrops, leaflet drops, and combat re-supply missions using its E, H and J model C-130 aircraft, Colonel Tulley said.
With the addition of another airframe, the 746th EAS can continue to impact the mission here and make history for future generations.
"Mobility Airmen and the planes we fly often make the greatest impact with sustained performance over time," Colonel Tulley said. "It's when you look back at the results after a period of time you realize the profound impact. For example, every one of our 19,000 passengers airlifted has been spared the danger of traveling via ground convoy, you can't measure the lives and injuries saved through the consistent, reliable airlift mobility assets provide."
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (6)
Happy Passover To The IDF and Theodore's World Jewish Friends
To all my Jewish friends and those in the IDF I wish you a joyous Passover.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (10)
VP Cheney and Mitt Romney At Annual Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner
Dick Cheney stole the show at the Radio-TV Correspondents Dinner this past Wednesday night.
Cheney even critics himself and the jokes as he tells them. LMAO hahahahahahaa
LMAO they are very funny. These video's is worth watching.
Here are two of them:
"You in the press need to go easy on Senator Clinton on the whole business about running and ducking from gunfire in Bosnia. She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting."
"Speaking of Vice President Gore, I'm sorry to relate that he's a little bit sore at me. He's convinced that on global warming, I just don't get it. But lately with every passing day the evidence has been catching my attention. I have no doubt, none at all, that we are in the midst of a global warming, or, as I prefer to call it, spring. And I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but it's going to get a lot warmer before it gets cooler."
Top 10 Reason's Mitt Romney got out of the race
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (6)
Harvard Goes Halal ~ Sharia...Coming to the campus your kids will go to
Islamofascism: Separate gym hours for Muslim coeds. Calls to prayer. Lectures on Shariah finance. A campus in the Mideast? Nope. It's all happening at America's pre-eminent college.
Over the past few years, Harvard University has received millions in endowments from rich Saudi and Emirate sheiks. Now it's returning the favor by Islamizing its campus and promoting the Shariah agenda of its new Arab masters.
Recently, the Ivy League school has made special accommodations for the religious needs of Muslim students, including, and rescheduling of exams to observe Islamic holidays.
And this weekend it hosted a $400-per-person conference on Shariah finance led by officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The goal of the forum — sponsored by Harvard's Islamic Finance Project — is to "integrate" Islamic finance into the mainstream economy.
That's a tough fit, because Islamic, or Shariah, finance forbids investment in major Western industries, including those that derive substantial income from interest.
Banking and insurance, as well as alcohol, tobacco or pork-related industries, are not considered "halal," or allowable, under Islam. Entertainment is also unlawful.
Shariah-compliant investments are monitored by paid Shariah law advisers who must "purify" certain returns by donating them to Islamic charities — including some that promote jihad and support suicide bombings.
With $800 billion already in Shariah assets — and $1 trillion to $2 trillion in Arab petrodollars annually looking for an investment home — the potential for billions being siphoned off for terrorism is real.
This, of course, would be a serious criminal violation of U.S. law. Yet Western bankers, including many on Wall Street who are jumping into the Shariah finance market, don't know this.
One prominent Shariah adviser is Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He's a paid adviser to Arcapita (formerly Crescent Capital), which happens to sponsor Harvard's Islamic Finance Project along with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
Al-Qaradawi is an Egyptian who has advocated suicide bombings and described Shariah finance as nothing less than "jihad with money."
He heads the Islamic American University and is a proposed trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston. The director of Harvard's Islamic Finance Project, S. Nazim Ali, is active in both the university and the Islamic Society. Ali is neither an economist nor a scholar. His background is in computers.
Another paid Shariah adviser is Sheik Muhammad Usmani, a Pakistani cleric who ran a madrassa that trained thousands of Taliban and who recently wrote a book supporting jihad and Islamic domination. He, too, has links to Harvard, according to the Center for Security Policy, a vanguard against so-called Shariah creep.
Roger Ferguson, president-elect of the university's board of overseers, joined Swiss RE in August 2006. Two months later, Usmani was named chairman of Swiss RE's Shariah advisory board.
Until recently, Usmani was listed as chief adviser to the Dow Jones Islamic Fund, which is run by the North American Islamic Trust, a recently named co-conspirator in a federal terror-financing case.
Usmani's name — along with the entire section covering the fund's "Shariah supervisory board" — mysteriously disappeared from the Islamic Trust's Web site after we exposed the fund's extremist ties in a Feb. 28 editorial ("The Risky Business of Islamic Finance"). Other key information on Shariah also has been purged. In addition, the Islamic Trust renamed its Dow fund the "Iman Fund" and amended several paragraphs in its prospectus.
It appears Islamists are trying to use such Shariah-compliant financial products as tools to get Islamic law through the back door into Western countries, including the U.S. They're enlisting our finest colleges in the project.
If Arab sheiks think they can buy American colleges and use our campuses to spread Wahhabism, Harvard only has encouraged them.
Wild Thing's comment........
I don't think our Nation or western culture will defend itself from islamofasism.
These poeple don't realize or maybe they don't care, one single connection to Islam has behind it many more. It never ends with a just the one obvious organization. Like the expression follow the money, we can also say with Islam follow the bloody trail.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (10)
April 18, 2008
Communist Friendly Time Magazine Rag Abuses Image of Marine Heroes at Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima Veterans Blast Time's 'Special Environmental Issue' Cover
Business & Media Institute
Time editor tells MSNBC 'there needs to be a real effort along the lines of World War II to combat global warming and climate change.'
For only the second time in 85 years, Time magazine abandoned the traditional red border it uses on its cover. The occasion – to push more global warming alarmism.
The cover of the April 21 issue of Time took the famous Iwo Jima photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Marines raising the American flag and replaced the flag with a tree. The cover story by Bryan Walsh calls green “the new red, white and blue.”
Donald Mates, an Iwo Jima veteran, told the Business & Media Institute on April 17 that using that photograph for that cause was a “disgrace.”
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” Mates said. “Whoever did it is going to hell. That’s a mortal sin. God forbid he runs into a Marine that was an Iwo Jima survivor.”
Mates also said making the comparison of World War II to global warming was erroneous and disrespectful.
“The second world war we knew was there,” Mates said. “There’s a big discussion. Some say there is global warming, some say there isn’t. And to stick a tree in place of a flag on the Iwo Jima picture is just sacrilegious.”
According to the American Veterans Center (AVC), Mates served in the 3rd Marine Division and fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, landing on Feb. 24, 1945.
“A few days later, Mates’ eight-man patrol came under heavy assault from Japanese forces,” Tim Holbert, a spokesman for the AVC, said. “During fierce-hand-to-hand combat, Mates watched as his friend and fellow Marine, Jimmy Trimble, was killed in front of his eyes. Mates was severely wounded, and underwent repeated operations for shrapnel removal for over 30 years.”
Lt. John Keith Wells, the leader of the platoon that raised the flags on Mt. Suribachi and co-author of “Give Me Fifty Marines Not Afraid to Die: Iwo Jima” wasn’t impressed with Time’s efforts.
“That global warming is the biggest joke I’ve ever known,” Wells told the Business & Media Institute. “[W]e’ll stick a dadgum tree up somebody’s rear if they want that and think that’s going to cure something.”
Time managing editor Richard Stengel appeared on MSNBC April 17 and said the United States needed to make a major effort to fight climate change, and that the cover’s purpose was to liken global warming to World War II.
“One of the things we do in the story is we say there needs to be an effort along the lines of preparing for World War II to combat global warming and climate change,” Stengel said. “It seems to me that this is an issue that is very popular with the voters, makes a lot of sense to them and a candidate who can actually bundle it up in some grand way and say, ‘Look, we need a national and international Manhattan Project to solve this problem and my candidacy involves that.’ I don't understand why they don’t do that.”
Holbert, a speaking on behalf of the American Veterans Center, said the editorial decision by Time to use the photograph for the cover trivialized the cause the veterans fought for.
“Global warming may or may not be a significant threat to the United States,” Holbert said. “The Japanese Empire in February of 1945, however, certainly was, and this photo trivializes the most recognizable moment of one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. history. War analogies should be used sparingly by political advocates of all bents.”
Stengel also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on April 17 and had no difficulty admitting the magazine needed to have a “point of view.”“I think since I’ve been back at the magazine, I have felt that one of the things that’s needed in journalism is that you have to have a point of view about things,” Stengel said. “You can’t always just say ‘on the one hand, on the other’ and you decide. People trust us to make decisions. We’re experts in what we do. So I thought, you know what, if we really feel strongly about something let's just say so.”
Time has been banging the global warming drum for some time now. In April 2007, Time offered 51 ways to “save the planet,” which included more taxes and regulation.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
Those heroic Marines in that photo were fighting for freedom.
This is total and utter disrespect of men who knew they would probably be killed but fought like hell anyway! It’s men in pictures like this that represent the very fact we are not speaking Japanese or German today! God I hate the evil left in this country as much as Muslim terrorists! To hell with you and may someone crack your heads open with a baseball bat!
Global Warming is another way of pushing communism. Its why the leftists love it soo much. Our soldiers FOUGHT communism!
Time editor Rick Stengel's e-mail
UPDATE ON EMAIL ADDRESS:
richard_stengel@timemagazine.com
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (23)
Update On Haditha Case
Murtha, NCIS Sec, and Several Marine Generals Demanded in Unlawful Command Influence Motion
ANN ARBOR, MI
April 14, 2008
Military prosecutors are desperately fighting to prevent the testimony of Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winters and several top Marine Generals, including former Marine Commandant Michael Hagee and the current Commandant James Conway.
The requested witnesses will show the dirty hand of unlawful command influence—considered by the courts as the “mortal enemy of military justice.” The hearing on the motion to produce the testimony of these high ranking officials will begin tomorrow morning at Camp Pendleton, California.
The Unlawful Command Influence motion (click here to read motion in pdf) was one of seven motions brought on for hearing this week by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Court decisions on unlawful command influence require the military judge to avoid even the “appearance of this evil” in his courtroom. The Law Center, along with two detailed Marine lawyers, is defending Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest ranking military officer charged in the November 19, 2005, Haditha incident.
Law Center attorneys Rob Muise and Brian Rooney, as well as detailed military defense counsel, Lt. Col. John Shelbourne, USMC, and Captain Jeff King, USMC, will present oral arguments on the seven motions to military judge Colonel Stephen Folsom, USMC.
“It was obvious from the outset that Lt. Col. Chessani was being made a political scapegoat. Even before the investigation was completed, Congressman Murtha publicly accused the Haditha Marines of “cold blooded murder” and officers of covering it up. Murtha claimed he got his information from the highest level of the military,” said Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Law Center.
The criminal charges against Lt. Col. Chessani stem from a house-to-house, room-by-room battle four of his enlisted Marines engaged in on November 19, 2005, after being ambushed by insurgents in the town of Haditha, Iraq. Even though Lt. Col. Chessani immediately reported the events of that day to his superiors, including the death of 15 noncombatant civilians caught in the crossfire, nobody in Lt. Col. Chessani’s chain of command, all the way to General Casey showed any interest in conducting an investigation because they understood this to be combat action—not a law of war violation.
However, months later, a Time magazine story instigated by an insurgent propaganda agent, caused Pentagon officials to order the largest investigation in the history of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS). As a result, Lt. Col. Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq, now faces dismissal (an officer’s equivalent of a dishonorable discharge), loss of retirement, and imprisonment of up to 3 years.
Thus far, after 30 months of investigation costing millions of dollars, the cases against three of the four enlisted men charged for their part in the Haditha incident have been dismissed.
If defense attorneys are able to produce some evidence of unlawful command influence, the burden will shift to prosecutors to show beyond a reasonable doubt that:
(1) the predicate facts alleged by the defense are untrue
(2) the predicate facts alleged do not constitute unlawful command influence; or
(3) the unlawful command influence will not affect the proceedings.
This burden is high because command influence deprives service members of their constitutional rights. It is important to note that the court will determine not only whether there was actual unlawful command influence, but also whether there was an appearance of impropriety that would taint the public’s perception of the fairness of the court-martial.
On May 17, 2006, months before the investigation was completed, Congressman Murtha held his first news conference on the Haditha incident. Murtha said he had been told by the highest levels of the Marine Corps that there was no IED, there was no firefight, and the Marines “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”
The next day, Murtha again spoke about Haditha and confidentially proclaimed “All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they’re talking about.” “It’s much worse than reported in Time magazine.”
He told a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer that Gen. Michael Hagee had given him the information on which he based his accusations.
Murtha’s claim of cold blooded murder and cover-up fly in the face of previous investigations conducted by Army personnel.
The first investigation conducted by Army Colonel G. A. Watt found “there are no indications that [Coalition Forces] intentionally targeted, engaged, and killed noncombatants.” A second, by Army Major General Aldon Bargewell concluded there was no “cover-up” by the chain-of-command, and that “[The inaccurate press release that launched Time magazine’s investigation] was not the result of any intent to conceal misconduct . . .”
When Colonel Watt’s findings were given to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on March 10, 2006, one Pentagon official recalled, “Rumsfeld told aides that the case promised to be a major problem. He called it ‘really, really bad -- as bad or worse than Abu Ghraib.’”
Several sources, including Generals Hagee and Conway, have told defense counsel that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld decided to set up an oversight “body” to keep tabs on the investigations and prosecutions of the Haditha cases.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Murtha took this to the media to try and convict these innocent men. Boy, that’ll be rich if the defense gets Murtha, Winter and Generals Hagee and Conway on the stand to question. Lets all pray it comes to pass.
Given what Murtha has said, may constitute contempt of court (releasing to much info and speaking about a trial in progress).
And why isn't Rumsfeld called too. GRRRR
Let's hope and pray the Judge rules for the defense! It'd be in the best interest of justice for LtCol Chessani, plus expose Murtha for the liar he is. Getting all the military brass sworn testimony would put a quick end to the Haditha trials with all charges dismissed.
This Undue Command Influence goes all the way up the chain of command -- Military AND Civilian. Rumsfeld and his crew of misfits KNEW before he made that fateful decision that there was no truth to the allegations.
I was surprised when I watched the PBS report on Haditha. Even PBS concluded that the Iraqi deaths—the alleged civilians—resulted from Marines following the rules of engagement under the fog of war.
I’ve been trying to follow this case from the beginning. It just sickens me to see the willingness on the part of some to let our Marines and other military men and women suffer complete devastation to their lives all for political purposes. Falsely accusing these men, putting their families and them through living hell and financial ruin for some PC purpose is reprehensible. I hope the truth will come out and Murtha, especially, will pay for these traitorous lies.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Lawyers to Expose 'Unlawful Influence' in Haditha Case April 14, 2008
April 14th, 2008
This burden, Rooney explained “is high because command influence deprives service members of their constitutional rights. It is important to note that the court will determine not only whether there was actual unlawful command influence, but also whether there was an appearance of impropriety that would taint the public’s perception of the fairness of the court-martial.Speaking from California today where he will be appearing at the hearings Tuesday, Rooney told Newsmax in an exclusive interview that “We’ve laid out a pretty thorough, well-thought-out case why unlawful command influence has reared it’s ugly head.
“We want these people put under oath, put under the crucible of cross examination and let the chips fall where they may. That’s what the American people deserve because there have been so many accusations about whether or not [former Marine Corps Commandant] Gen. Hagee or anybody else called the Marines cold-blooded murderers or that the officers covered it up."
According to Rooney, who as a Marine Captain served during the bloody battle of Fallujah, “Murtha’s claim of cold blooded murder and cover-up fly in the face of previous investigations conducted by Army personnel.
The Center recalled that the first investigation conducted by Army Colonel G. A. Watt found ‘there are no indications that [Coalition Forces] intentionally targeted, engaged, and killed noncombatants.’ A second, by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell concluded there was no ‘cover-up’ by the chain of command, and that ‘[The inaccurate press release that launched Time magazine’s investigation] was not the result of any intent to conceal misconduct . . .’”
DAMN ok look at this, it is the latest...this post began with the dates April 14th, 2008. This article is the latest dated April 15th, 2008
Charges against Haditha commander upheld .....(Murtha skates again)
CAMP PENDLETON -- A military judge on Tuesday again refused to dismiss charges against the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing in the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians following a roadside bombing in the city of Haditha in 2005.
The judge, Col. Steven Folsom, ruled there was sufficient cause for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani to proceed to trial by court-martial at Camp Pendleton.
Folsom made a similar finding last month.
The judge's latest refusal to dismiss charges of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order by failing to order an investigation into the civilian deaths was followed by a series of other rulings, including findings that a lengthy pretrial hearing into the validity of the charges and a subsequent recommendation that Chessani face trial were proper.
Folsom also turned down a defense attempt to compel Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., to testify about a briefing he received from Marine Corps commanders regarding the Haditha killings.
"It's important for the public to know what the congressman was told," Chessani attorney Brian Rooney argued, suggesting that Murtha's comments and the actions of senior Marine Corps officials led to the charges.
For months, Chessani's attorneys have attempted to force Murtha and several current and former Marine generals to testify in support of their contention that the charges against him stem from undue influence from top Marine commanders and represents a selective prosecution.
Folsom did delay ruling on whether former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee, who has acknowledged briefing Murtha and others members of Congress in 2006, should be required to testify on the question of undue command influence.
Chessani, 44, also is accused of violating a lawful order for failing to order a full-scale investigation into the civilian deaths. The Colorado native faces up to 30 months in jail and dismissal from the service if convicted and sentenced to the maximum punishment.
Chessani was in command of Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Haditha when the civilians were killed. His attorneys argue that his initial reports to his superiors in Iraq reflected at least 15 civilian deaths, and that no one above him believed the incident warranted an investigation.
Tuesday's hearing became testy at times, with Folsom telling Robert Muse, Chessani's lead attorney, there's no evidence that his client ever suggested to superiors there may have been wrongdoing by the frontline troops under his command at Haditha.
"Show me the evidence that he ever reported a suspected law of war violation," Folsom said.
Chessani's trial was slated to start later this month, but has been rescheduled for June so defense attorneys can interview people named on a recently expanded list of potential government witnesses.
Rooney said last week that prosecutors have never offered Chessani a plea deal and that he isn't seeking one.
"It is not in his constitution to say he is guilty of something he is not guilty of," Rooney said.
Chessani was relieved of command when battalion returned from Iraq in April 2006 and now works as an anti-terrorism officer.
His defense is being led by the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., a Christian-based firm that does not charge for its services. He also has two Marine Corps attorneys assigned to his defense.
My second comment on this............
Col. Folsom sure shows me he does NOT want the whole truth to come out, sure doesn’t look like it.
Murtha slithered out of this one like the snake he is.
The only hope is that Hagee will be compelled to testify. His testimony would be about his conversations with Murtha so at least we’d get that on the record.
"Show me the evidence that he ever reported a suspected law of war violation," Folsom said.
WHY on earth would Chessani report a 'law of war violation' when there was nothing to report, NO war crimes, even according to the chain of command!
The Prosecution's case is in tatters and they're desperate to pin anything on anyone. Folsom is dirty like Murtha is dirty, they're on the same team only with different agendas.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (12)
Does Michelle Obama Have The Wright Stuff? NO, She Is Not Ready For Prime Time
In her senior thesis at Princeton, Michele Obama, the wife of Barack Obama ('OSAMA') stated that America was a nation founded on “crime and hatred”. Moreover, she stated that whites in America were “ineradicably racist”.
The 1985 thesis, titled 'Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community' was written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson.
Michelle Obama stated in her thesis that to 'Whites at Princeton , it often seems as if, to them, she will always be Black first...'
However, it was reported by a fellow black classmate, “If those 'Whites at Princeton ' really saw Michelle as one who always would 'be Black first,' it seems that she gave them that impression”.
Most alarming is Michele Obama’s use of the terms “separationist” and “integrationist” when describing the views of black people.
Mrs. Obama clearly identifies herself with a “separationist” view of race.
“By actually working with the Black lower class or within their communities as a result of their ideologies, a separationist may better understand the desperation of their situation and feel more hopeless about a resolution as opposed to an integrationist who is ignorant to their plight.”
Obama writes that the path she chose by attending Princeton would likely lead to her 'further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant.'
Michele Obama clearly has a chip on her shoulder. Not only does she see separate black and white societies in America , but she elevates black over white in her world.
Here is another passage that is uncomfortable and ominous in meaning:
“There was no doubt in my mind that as a member of the black community, I am obligated to this community and will utilize all of my present and future resources to benefit the black community first and foremost. “
What is Michelle Obama planning to do with her future resources if she’s first lady that will elevate black over white in America ?
The following passage appears to be a call to arms for affirmative action policies that could be the hallmark of an Obama administration.
“Predominately white universities like Princeton are socially and academically designed to cater to the needs of the white students comprising the bulk of their enrollments.”
The conclusion of her thesis is alarming.
Michelle Obama’s poll of black alumni concludes that other black students at Princeton do not share her obsession with blackness. But rather than celebrate, she is horrified that black alumni identify with our common American culture more than they value the color of their skin.
“I hoped that these findings would help me conclude that despite the high degree of identification with whites as a result of the educational and occupational path that black Princeton alumni follow, the alumni would still maintain a certain level of identification with the black community. However, these findings do not support this possibility.”
Is it no wonder that most black alumni ignored her racist questionnaire? Only 89 students responded out of 400 who were asked for input.
Michelle Obama does not look into a crowd of Obama supporters and see Americans. She sees black people and white people eternally conflicted with one another.
The thesis provides a trove of Mrs. Obama's thoughts and world view seen through a race-based prism.
This is a very divisive view for a potential first lady that would do untold damage to race relations in this country in a Barack Obama administration.
Wild Thing's comment........
Charming future First Lady...not.
http://newsbusters.org/static/2008/04/2008-04-16MSNBCMJMObama.wmv
Michele was never a child of “poverty “ but she came from a solid middle class home and she still could find nothing to credit her country for.
Her body language, her 'gettin' down' slouch, her tone...YIKES! I am sorry but she reminds me exactly of the black girls in movies and TV who were looking for a fight for no particular reason. The shows like Law and Order and other shows where they have gang members etc.
She has no class at all it is missing totally. It even shows in her body language.
Michelle: "But let me tell you who me and Barack are,...."
That's not 'talking funny'; that's horrid grammar for a college graduate to use. And I find it offensive from anyone in this country college educated or not.
Michelle: "...who me and Barack are so that you are not confuse....working class upbringin'...."
Come on, Michelle, you really want to drop one "ing" for "in"?
Maybe she has time before it's too late, to go to some kind of finishing school to learn how to deport herself. The maintenance lady in our building is more refined. Michelle has enough attitude and coarse demeanor to choke the whole stable. I wonder who she thinks she's talking to.
Osama says he knew growing up on food stamps. BS! His white liberal grandparents sent him to the most expensive private school in Hawaii. You can’t do that on food stamps.
Ms Osama says she is a product of public education? BS. She’s a product of affirmative action and private education. We shall reap what we sow if Osama is elected.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (14)
Maupin’s Parents Told Son’s Captors Are in U.S.Custody
Army officials have told the parents of Sgt. Matt Maupin that some of the Iraqis believed to be responsible for their son’s capture four years ago are in custody, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday.
“I know that there are at least two who are supposed to be put on trial, if they haven’t been already,” Keith Maupin, father of the Ohio soldier, told the Enquirer. Maupin’s remains were found March 20 in Iraq by U.S. soldiers, nearly four years after he was captured in a convoy attack near the Baghdad airport.
Keith Maupin and the soldier’s mother, Carolyn Maupin, left Cincinnati on Wednesday for Washington, where they will have a full day of briefings from Pentagon officials on their son’s disappearance, the paper reported.
The soldier’s father told the Enquirer that he expected to learn more Thursday about the Iraqi insurgents believed to be responsible for the then-20-year-old Army reservist’s capture; and more about how and when their son died.
They also will have a video conference with soldiers from the 1st battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment who discovered Maupin’s remains on March 20 northwest of Baghdad, working on a tip from an Iraqi civilian, the Enquirer reported.
Keith Maupin said he was told by Army officials soon after the remains were discovered that some of those believed responsible for their son’s capture and death had been detained, the Enquirer reported.
The Maupins plan to return to Cincinnati on Friday to continue with planning for their son’s visitation and funeral, the paper wrote.
Wild Thing's comment........
Hopefully knowing that some of SSgt Maupin's captors are in prison will bring some comfort to the Maupin Family. I hope they put these terrorists to death and they don't sit in jail for years and years.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (4)
Weathermen Terrorist Bill Ayers Has a Blog
Bill Ayers Has a Blog
During last night's Democratic presidential primary debate in Philadelphia, Sen. Barack Obama was pressed forcefully by moderator George Stephanopoulos and Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton about his relationship with William Ayers, a former member of the radical anti-Vietnam War group the Weathermen -- later the Weather Underground -- which bombed government buildings in the 1970s.
Obama, who sat on the board of the Woods Fund with Ayers in Chicago, sought to keep his distance. "This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from," said the senator from Illinois. "He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis."
"And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values," Obama continued, "doesn't make much sense, George."
It turns out that Ayers -- known in Chicago as Bill -- is not much of a fan of how he has been characterized in the press recently, either. And so he's taken to his blog, billayers.wordpress.com, to write about it.
On April 6, Ayers responded to his increasingly prominent role in the Democratic presidential nominating contest and what he described as "some fantastic assertions about what I did, what I said, and what I believe," including accusations that he is "an unrepentant terrorist"
In a post titled "Episodic Notoriety -- Fact and Fantasy," Ayers addresses the most frequently hurled accusations against him.
"I'm often quoted saying that I have 'no regrets,'" he writes. "This is not true. For anyone paying attention--and I try to stay wide-awake to the world around me all/ways--life brings misgivings, doubts, uncertainty, loss, regret. I'm sometimes asked if I regret anything I did to oppose the war in Viet Nam, and I say 'no, I don't regret anything I did to try to stop the slaughter of millions of human beings by my own government.' Sometimes I add, 'I don't think I did enough.' This is then elided: he has no regrets for setting bombs and thinks there should be more bombings."
In fact, Ayers says, those who tied to stop the "illegal, murderous, imperial war against Viet Nam ... recognize that our efforts were inadequate: the war dragged on for a decade, thousands were slaughtered every week, and we couldn't stop it. In the end the U.S. military was defeated and the war ended, but we surely didn't do enough."
Nor does Ayers believe his actions with the Weather Underground were terrorism. "I've never advocated terrorism, never participated in it, never defended it. The U.S. government, by contrast, does it routinely and defends the use of it in its own cause consistently," he wrote.
Wild Thing's comment........
B. Hussein and Michelle Obama say they don't know know Ayers very well. OH sure keep up with the lies! we will just keep commenting on them as you go. We can’t let Obama and his cult followers to get away with lying about his connection with this Communist and terrorist.
OK now look at this:
And note the DATE : November 4, 1997
A panel at the University of Chicago debates the merits of the juvenile justice system
"William Ayers, author of A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court(Beacon Press, 1997), says “We should call a child a child. A 13-year-old who picks up a gun isn’t suddenly an adult. We have to ask other questions: How did he get the gun? Where did it come from?”Ayers, who spent a year observing the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, is one of four panelists who will speak on juvenile justice at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the C-Shop of the Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University Ave.
The panel, which marks the 100th anniversary of the juvenile justice system in the United States, is part of the Community Service Center’s monthly discussion series on issues affecting the city of Chicago.
The event is free and open to the public.
Ayers will be joined by Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama, Senior Lecturer in the University of Chicago Law School, who is working to block proposed legislation that would throw more juvenile offenders into the adult system; Randolph Stone, Director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago; Alex Correa, a reformed juvenile offender who spent 7 years in Cook County Temporary Detention Center; Frank Tobin, a former priest and teacher in the Detention Center who helped Correa; and Willy Baldwin, who grew up in public housing and is currently a teacher in the Detention Center.
The juvenile justice system was founded by Chicago reformer Jane Addams, who advocated the establishment of a separate court system for children which would act like a “kind and just parent” for children in crisis.
One hundred years later, the system is “overcrowded, under-funded, over-centralized and racist,” Ayers said.
Michelle Obama, Associate Dean of Student Services and Director of the University of Chicago Community Service Center, hopes bringing issues like this to campus will open a dialogue between members of the University community and the broader community.
“We know that issues like juvenile justice impact each of us who live in the city of Chicago. This panel gives community members and students a chance to hear about the juvenile justice system not only on a theoretical level, but from the people who have experienced it.”
And then there is this one: Again note the date
In April 2002, Ayers, Dohrn, and Obama, then an Illinois State Senator, participated together at a conference entitled “Intellectuals: Who Needs Them?” sponsored by The Center for Public Intellectuals and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Ayers and Obama were two of the six members of the “Intellectuals in Times of Crisis” panel.
More dated February 4, 2005:
"And Campus Watch reports on a farewell dinner for the radical Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi, who was leaving the Arab American Action Network to take the Edward Said endowed chair at Colombia University, where Obama, Ayers, and Dohrn all gave glowing testimonials to Khalidi – whose group received $75,000 from the Woods Foundation"
"In bringing professor Khalidi to Morningside Heights from the University of Chicago, Columbia also got itself a twofer of Palestinian activism and advocacy. Mr. Khalidi’s wife, Mona, who also served in Beirut as chief editor of the English section of the WAFA press agency, was hired as dean of foreign students at Columbia’s SIPA, working under Dean Anderson. In Chicago, the Khalidis founded the Arab American Action Network, and Mona Khalidi served as its president. A big farewell dinner was held in their honor by AAAN with a commemorative book filled with testimonials from their friends and political allies. These included the left wing anti-war group Not In My Name, the Electronic Intifada, and the ex-Weatherman domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers. (There were also testimonials from then-state Senator Barack Obama and the mayor of Chicago.)"
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (2)
April 17, 2008
B. Hussein Obama Gives Hillary The Finger Yep That One!
Barack talks about last night's debate in a town hall meeting in Raleigh, NC on April 17, 2008
It is located at 1:18 on the clock into the video right hand flip off.
I have watched a lot of this jerk and he uses his index finger constantly not his middle finger , so this made it even more obvious when he did this.
UM,. is thie ths NEW politics he wants to bring to Washington D.C. ? LOL
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 PM | Comments (7)
Democrats Aren't Happy ~ LMAO
I watched the debate, some of the questions asked even had me with eyes wide open LOL I mean there were some things asked that you and I would have loved to have asked just to make them uncomfortable to the max and it did. heh heh
Obama was asked about asked about terrorist Bill Ayer. OMG it was great, of course he did the non answer thing. haha But still it really ticked him off. Obama won't call Ayers the terrorist he is!... just passed it off a something he did 40 years ago!
Obama mentioned BJ commuting the sentences of the PR bombers terrorists.
Questioned about the War:
Hilary: We don't know what will happen when we withdraw from Iraq, but we need to withdraw so we can fight in Afghanistan.
Obama: I'm pulling out of Iraq no matter what the generals tell me. I'm giving them a new mission: get out of Iraq.
Charlie asked the two You would pull out of Iraq even if the Generals advised against it. These two nitwits said YES!
Obama choking on having to vocalize support for Israel. Hillary dismissing the Israel part of the question.
Obama can't say one good word about this country. He truly does hate the USA.
Capital gains taxes
Charlie got Obama again. He will not admit that a lower tax rate means more revenue. He is a freaking economic idiot.
Obama would stimulate the economy by doubling the tax rate on capitol gains.
Hilary: I will only raise taxes to where they were in the Clinton Administration.
OBAMA: PAIN TRICKLES UP
say what? haha
The Second Amendment
Hillary says she will bring the 100,000 cops program.
Hillary: Will reinstate the assault weapons ban.
Obama was asked about gun control.....his reply......OMG
"Just because you have a right does not mean that the state or local government cannot constrain that right...”
Obama: “We can make sure criminals don’t have guns.”
Obama says just because you have right doest mean the GOV cant infringe on that right.
Hillary: I Will bring back the Assault Weapons Ban
Hillary: "I support sensible regulation"..."but I don't know the facts"
Operation Chaos is working. No Rush did not write the questions, but the thing is they are going at each other and that is what I want. I want the dem party to explode and for these two to do the work of showing the world how horrible they are.
The main thing to be said about the debate last night is the DU site. It is in an uproar to say the least.
ROTFLMAO ......Now these people well they ARE bitter. hahahha
They even asked Obama about the Lapel pin he won't wear and all he could say was...
Obama: " I wore one yesterday when a Veteran gave it to me. ....the questioning of my patriotism...is a distraction that keeps us away from the real issues."
Well where is it today then Obama????? LOL Because he does not want to wear one no matter what.
Lots of use of the *F* word. They are ticked to say the least. hahaha
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5535620
Rush will have a field day with this stuff.LMAO Some of the questions one would think he wrote them. hahaha
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (22)
University of Maine Desecrates American Flag
An assignment to create a social experiment art project generated turmoil at the University of Maine at Farmington Tuesday when student Susan Crane constructed large, 4-by-5-foot American flags and placed them on the floor of student center hallway along with 3,000 small flags.
The project was to see if people walked around or over them , but veteran Charles Bennett, commander of the American Legion for Franklin County, seated, attempted to remove the flags, calling it a disgrace. He was stopped by police and resorted to stand by until Crane removed them.
FARMINGTON: Art and beliefs clash at UMF
On Tuesday April 15th an "art" project was put up at the Student Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.
FARMINGTON
Susan Crane thought she was prepared to handle the reaction from students when she constructed five, large American flags on the student center hallway floor at the University of Maine at Farmington as an art class project.
What she didn't expect was the level of emotion her experiment ignited.
Agitated students and veterans called it an insult. UMF maintenance workers placed cardboard signs at either end with the word "disgrace" printed in black.
And a member of the American Legion from Farmington was ready to be arrested by police when he started pulling up the flags made of tape and vinyl, calling it a "desecration."
Veteran Charles Bennett, the Legion commander for Franklin County, eventually was convinced by UMF President Theodora Kalikow to desist in the name of freedom of speech.
The assignment was to create a social commentary piece for a class with assistant art professor Kate Randall.
Starting about 6 a.m., students and employees walking through the student center had to decide to either step around or step on the five, four-by-five-foot flags and the 3,000 small, handheld flags scattered over the floor. As part of her project, Crane videotaped people's feet to record their response.
"This is very emotional for me because it goes against a lot of my own beliefs about the flag," Crane said, her eyes tearing up, after holding her own against a verbal barrage.
"But I feel strongly that people should have the choice. That is what our country is all about. I expected controversy but not like this," she said.
"I am on their side and I agree with what they are saying but they were also not hearing what I was saying," she said.
"Veterans have fought for our freedom and died for our freedom. This is what our freedom is all about," Crane said.
Crane, 40, an education major, described herself as a conservative Republican whose father is a 25-year military veteran. She said she had talked about her project with him and that he supported it.
"He said he respected what I was doing because he had fought for these rights," she said.
Bennett, when he arrived at about 3 p.m., began picking up the small flags and then started pulling up a large one. Crane called for UMF security and Director of Public Safety Ted Blais arrived. He asked Bennett to stop and step outside to talk.
Bennett later returned and confronted Crane and Randall, offering to give them pamphlets on flag etiquette and repeatedly requesting them to remove the flags. They responded that this was an art project that they had permission for and that the request was reviewed by legal counsel.
Bennett then first sat down by a flag and then stood beside it.
"I am protecting them. I am stopping people from walking on them," he said. "It is against the law to put the flag on the floor."
The overwhelming majority of passersby circumvented the flags. Only a few chose to step on them, Crane observed.
As the peaceful but loud crowd increased, Blais called for backup. Officers from the Farmington Police Department and UMF arrived as did Kalikow, Provost Alan Berger and Celeste Branham, vice president of student affairs. Kalikow took Bennett aside to explain the college's position.
"The U.S. Constitution touches everybody and the flag is a symbol of our rights. We have to protect that," Kalikow said later.
"(Bennett) feels very strongly and I feel very strongly," she said. "I didn't like this either because I was brought up with flag etiquette. But (Crane) has the right to do it. Is that not what America is about?"
Senior Ashlea Andrews, 21, rehabilitation major from Boothbay Harbor, told Crane she was not respecting the flag.
"This hurts veterans and the people who have served to give us our freedoms," she said. "I am all for freedom of speech, but this is the common area in the student center. This is a public place. It doesn't belong here."
Randall responded that there were as many people on campus who believed the project was a demonstration of freedom of speech as those "who believe in censorship."
Student Craig Durant, 22, of Milo, said he came over to show his support for the project. "I absolutely support her. This is art. But I also support (Bennett) volunteering his opinion. I love the fact he is standing up for what he believes."
Iraq war veteran Travis Hill, 28, of Salem Township, called the display "infuriating" and "insulting" and told Crane to take it down.
"She made her point. Why keep going?" he said.
Crane constructed the flags with a 5-foot-wide, winding path between them large enough to accommodate a wheelchair and avoid congestion, she said. She said she put a lot of thought into the project to see if people respected the flag.
"With all the unrest everywhere, I wanted to do something that would force people to think about how they feel about the flag. It was supposed be about respect versus disrespect," she said.
Crane said she researched the topic including the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions that struck down federal and state statutes prohibiting flag desecration. The court found those laws infringed on the right to free speech and expression under the First Amendment.
The project was approved for 24 hours. That plan was shelved, however, when Farmington Fire Chief Terry Bell, after consulting with State Fire Marshal Tim Fuller, determined the flags presented a tripping hazard.
By late afternoon, he ordered them moved to one side of the hall but Crane, exhausted, decided to remove them completely.
She said the confrontations were upsetting, especially since her 11-year-old son and husband were there. But she is proud she stood up for what she believed.
"The best thing about all this was that it sparked discussion," she said afterward.
Wild Thing's comment........
This has me crying, this is so horrible.
I would have been arrested. No way I could have stood there and watched our Flag be walked on.
What's so mind numbingly amazing is that they are so incredibly proud and self-righteous in their liberalism and disrespect of our country. It really sickens me and makes me want to cry to see this happen over and over. To see one lone veteran standing up to these "intellectuals".
President of the University of Maine at Farmington : Theo Kalikow
246 Main Street, Farmington, Maine 04938
E-mail: kalikow@maine.edu
The email I got back from the President of the school:
"From: Theo Kalikow To: Subject: Re: Please End the UMF American Flag Desecration Display Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:57:20 -0400 The display was taken down last night. It had permission to be installed for 24 hours only, and was taken down at the artist's initiative considerably before that time. That being said, our American First Amendment protections include the right to free speech and artistic expression, even speech that is repugnant and unpleasant and offensive. UMF, as a teaching and learning institution, has an obligation to foster debate and disagreement about difficult subjects -- this is an essential part of our democracy. Thanks for your expression of your point of view. Sincerely, Theodora J. Kalikow, President. "
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (23)
Hillary's Lies From 1992 Through 2008
The video montage shows footage of Clinton from 1992 through 2008 from her first 60 Minutes interview to her lies about sniper fire, NAFTA, and Iraq.
Wild Thing's comment........
I just can't get over this that we have the lowest in character running for President.
We are the greatest country in the world, we have men and women of such awesome character and dedication and their love for this country, our freedom whose DNA is Red, White and Blue serving our country. Our veterans who set the way for those serving now.
And then to have people like we have now running for office, and let's include those in office, Pelosi, Murtha, Reid, Kennedy, Kerry, the list would be long if I named them all. Each one disgusting beyond belief, each one someone I would not allow on our property, let alone do I even want them in our country.
Liars all, racists, and top that off with terrorists endorsing our candidates!
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (6)
Another Terrorist Endorses B.Hussein Obama aka Obama Akbar
Aaron Klein and John Batchelor interviewed Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Prime Minister of Hamas, on WABC radio.
Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama for President. Yousef said:
"We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election." Why? "He has a vision to change America." Maybe Yousef has some insight into what Obama means by all these vague references to "change."
“I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse. … I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance,” Yousuf said, speaking from Gaza.
Yousef was asked about Obama's condemnation of Carter's visit with Hamas, but didn't seem troubled by it.
Hamas, he says, understands American politics; this is the election season, and everyone wants to sound like a friend of Israel. Nevertheless, he hopes that the Democrats will change American policies when they take office.
You can hear the entire interview HERE and then just click on the link at the site.
Wild Thing's comment........
Some other information on Ahmed Yousef:
In 1998, while serving as the executive director of the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR), Yousef gave an interview to the Middle East Quarterly in which he defended Hamas, suicide bombings and encouraged attacks on Jews. Asked if he wrote, "God has promised that the Muslims will fight the Jews and defeat them," Yousef answered that he did, and continued, “I took this from an authentic Islamic hadith (or tradition) that does not say when this defeat will happen or where. My objective in using this quote is to assure the Palestinian people that one day justice will be realized and to encourage them to continue their struggles with the assurance of victory against the occupation.”
Yousef fled the US in 2005 to avoid prosecution in the Fawaz Damra terrorist support trial and reappeared in Gaza as the official spokesman for HAMAS.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (2)
Phelps & "God Hates Soldiers" to Desecrate Funeral of SSG Matt Maupin
Army SSG Matt Maupin
We have all heard and read about the church of Phelps and his signs that says, "God hates Soldiers" protesting the funeral of hero.
From Phelps' own website, which I won't link to, because I don't want to give him traffic, comes this gem:
"Great American Ball Park 100 Main This is for the funeral of Army Staff Sgt. Keith M. Maupin. Thank God for another Dead Soldier! Whoohoo! That is some goodness right there! "
One item that I noticed only recently comes from Matt's family, and is information they received early on about Matt's capture. In addition to the disturbing threat of someone being executed, and the military's inability to actually confirm that it was Matt was a message that the executioners permitted Matt to make. In it Matt said that all he wanted was to return to his wife and child.
The truth is that Matt had no wife or child.
Matt was signaling that he was being tortured and forced to speak. It was important for him to let his nation know that anything he said or did should be discounted.
Also significant is that Matt was taken prisoner in the Abu Ghraib region of Iraq. The media, which made a big deal of a phony, torture-atrocity at Abu Ghraib prison, in which prisoners were stripped of their clothing, has not mentioned the real atrocity of Abu Ghraib, the torture-death of an American Prisoner, SSG Matt Maupin.
This young hero deserves our support as he is laid to rest. His last known words were an attempt to uphold the dignity of his nation. What can we do for him?
Cincinnati, Ohio, Great American Ball Park, Sunday, 27 April, approximately at noon.
President intends to attend the visitation with family on 26th April.
If you all are in the vicinity, PLEASE don't let these vermin desecrate this funeral.
The PGR have been invited to attend the services for SSG Maupin. Here's a link to the mission thread:
Patriot Guards and Maupin Funeral:
From PGR email:
' It is indeed truly sad to think of people so heartless that they must try to inflict more emotional torment at a time when the emotional pain is already great.
Many of our members don't ride bikes, the only prerequisite is respect. '
The Maupins have given much for the WOT. Not only have they been instrumental in sending almost 10,000 care packages to Iraq, but they helped raise scholarships for students in memory of fallen servicemen and women. And even more significant, they will endure another son continuing his service in the war.
Matt Maupin's Brother Re-Enlists In Marine Corps on the anniversary of his brother's capture.
Thank you everyone. If you know of anyone in the area could you please email them this post or tell them about it. They do not have to ride a bke or have one to attend.
~ Wild Thing
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (6)
Lawmaker Calls for Stripping of Taxpayer Funds to Carter Center
Lawmaker Calls for Stripping of Taxpayer Funds to Carter Center
A U.S. lawmaker introduced legislation Wednesday to strip former President Jimmy Carter's Georgia-based scholarly institution of taxpayer support because of Carter's plans to meet with the top leaders of the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
And a second lawmaker presented a non-binding resolution that would urge former presidents from "freelance diplomacy" in direct response to Carter's visit.
Carter is set to set to meet Thursday with Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader with control over militants in the Gaza Strip, and he met Tuesday with a high-ranked Hamas politician.
But the heaviest criticism for Carter is coming over a planned meeting on Friday with Hamas' exiled leader Khaled Meshal.
"America must speak with one voice against our terrorist enemies," Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., said in a statement from his office. "It sends a fundamentally troubling message when an American dignitary is engaged in dialogue with terrorists. My legislation will make sure that taxpayer dollars are not being used to support discussions or negotiations with terrorist groups."
Knollenberg said the Carter Center has received about $19 million in taxpayer funds since 2001. He named his bill the Coordinated American Response to Extreme Radicals Act — or CARTER Act, for short. The Carter Center is housed at Emory University in Atlanta.
The non-binding legislation was forwarded by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. If adopted, the bill would express the "sense of Congress" that it "disapproves of former President Jimmy Carter's freelance diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, which contradict the stated foreign policy position of the current Administration."
The new legislation is the latest embodiment of scorn directed at Carter over meetings he plans this week with leaders of Hamas, which both the United States and Israel recognize as a terror organization and with which they refuse to negotiate.
Also Wednesday, Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., chairman of the Foreign Affairs Mideast subcommittee, wrote Carter imploring him not to meet with any more Hamas officials.
"This visit will undermine the Middle East peace process and damage the credibility of Palestinian moderates," they wrote, adding that the "legitimacy and prestige that Hamas will derive from your visit will be seen in the region as a clear demonstration that violence pays."
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., told FOX News, "I don't think Israel should try to negotiate with Hamas because Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist." Davis added that Carter's overtures stood athwart a tradition of support for Israel in America.
On Tuesday, more than 50 House members wrote Carter urging him to not meet with Meshal, calling him the man behind the deaths of 26 Americans.
Sen. Barack Obama, who has stated his disagreement with Carter on the Hamas visit but supports an open dialogue with Iran, was pressed Wednesday on the difference between the two.
"There is a distinction in terms of their status within the international community," he told a group of Jewish community leaders in Philadelphia. "Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They obviously have developed great influence within the Palestinian territories, but they do not control the apparatus of power," he said.
A Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radhwan, said in an interview that Carter's visit "reflects the recognition that the Hamas movement cannot be ignored," according to a transcript from MEMRI TV. "We will benefit from this meeting by explaining our cause, our positions, and our principles and by presenting our just cause," the spokesman said.
Carter, speaking briefly with FOX News on Wednesday, said the search for Mideast peace should include reaching out to groups such as Hamas. The former president was the broker of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt three decades ago.
"I'm going to try to get Syria to be constructive in the entire peace process, that would include Iraq and Lebanon, as well," he said.
The Islamic militant group will meet with Carter in Cairo about their demand that Israel open Gaza's crossings and stop military raids in the territory, a Hamas official told FOX News.
The meeting is expected to include Zahar, which would be significant because he controls militants in Gaza and is crucial to cease-fire negotiations with Israel. Egypt is trying to broker those talks.
Zahar is also instrumental to talks on the release of the captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, whose 2006 capture by Hamas was a catalyst to the monthlong fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which also captured Israeli soldiers. Hamas wants some 450 Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release.
When speaking with FOX earlier Wednesday, Carter sidestepped a question about about how his talks are shaping up Friday with Meshal.
"I'd rather not tell FOX News what I want to talk to," Carter said. "I don't know yet. We haven't firmed up anything. So it's premature to talk about that yet."
Carter reportedly hugged and kissed another Hamas leader Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Carter's embrace of Nasser Shaer, a senior Hamas politician, at a closed-door reception organized by Carter's office was reported by several news outlets.
"He gave me a hug. We hugged each other, and it was a warm reception," Shaer told The Associated Press. "Carter asked what he can do to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel ... and I told him the possibility for peace is high."
Shaer, who served as deputy prime minister and education minister in the Hamas-led Palestinian government that unraveled last year, is considered a leading member of the Islamic militant group's pragmatic wing. After a stint in an Israeli prison last year, he is now a professor at a West Bank university, teaching comparative religion.
Carter also laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat, whom he praised as a man who fought for "just causes" in the world. The Bush administration and many Israelis blame Arafat for the breakdown of peace talks seven years ago and the violence that followed.
President Bush did not visit Arafat's mausoleum in Ramallah when he visited earlier this year.
Israel and the West Bank were the first stops on a visit that also is to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria — where the virulently anti-Israel Hamas movement is headquartered.
Wild Thing's comment........
This is a noble sentiment, but it'll never get off the ground. I wish it would but history of the politicians wanting to do the right thing has not shown us they play hardball. Treason is a resume enhancement for a Democrat.
One good thing from this, at least Carter would get the message that his meddling in international affairs is not acceptable or welcome.
In WW2 this kind of action would have gotten you charged with treason. Would love to see carter rot in jail for the rest of his life.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:44 AM | Comments (13)
Aussie Trooper Stationed in Iraq Shares With His Dad About U.S. Troops
A must read from an Australian whose son is in Iraq:
Gentlemen
I am an Australian and my son is an Australian - as far as we are concerned there is no place on God's earth better than Australia , and there are no people better than Australians.
That was until the past week or so.
My son is in the Australian Army and he is currently on deployment in Iraq . I can not go into his duties in great depth, but shall we say that he and his fellow army buddies are on a glorified guard duty looking after the Australian Embassy. They don't go out looking for "action", though it is a different story in Afghanistan , there the Aussie troops chase the baddies over the hills and into the valleys..
My son and I just ended a long 'phone conversation and here are some of his comments, believe me this is what he said. We have all seen the bullshit emails written by some clown in his lounge room pretending to be at the coal face, but this is what was said.:
Before I came over here I thought we (the Australian Army) were pretty shit hot..... was I ever wrong!....The Yanks (I hope you don't mind me using that word) are so professional from the top to the bottom that it is almost embarrassing to be in their company, and to call yourself a soldier....don't get me wrong, we are good at what we do but the Yanks are so much better.....they are complete at what they do, how they do it and their attitude is awesome....they don't complain they just get on with the job and they do it right.“I carry a Minimi (SAW) so I am not real worried about a confrontation but I tell you I feel safer just knowing that the US Marines are close by....If we got into trouble I know that our boys would come running and we could deal with it but they would probably be passed by a load of Hummers. No questions asked, no glory sought, the Americans would just fight with us and for us because that is their nature, to protect those in need of protection.
“We use the American Mess so you could say that we are fed by the Americans.....they have every right to be pissed at that but they don't bitch about that they just make us feel as welcome as possible....what gets to me is that the Yanks don't walk around with a "we are better than you attitude" and they could because they are, they treat us as equals and as brothers in arms. If nothing else, coming here has taught me that the Americans are a truly great Nation and a truly great bunch of people.
“Let's face it they don't HAVE to be here, they could stay in America and beat the shit out of anyone who threatened them, BUT THEY ARE HERE because they believe they should be here, and the Iraqis would be screwed if they weren't here.....When I come home, you and I we are going to the US, we will buy some bikes and we are going riding...."
The reason why I am sharing this with you is because I realize that you (as a nation) must get pretty pissed with all the criticism you receive by the so-called "know it alls" who are sitting at home - safe. The reality is that they are safe, just as I am, because of America . If the world went arse up tomorrow there is little we ( Australia ) could do about it, but I know that the Americans would be there putting themselves on the line for others. That to me is the sign of greatness.
The most precious thing in my life is my son, I look at him and I thank God that I am fortunate enough to be able to spend time in his company. We laugh, we discuss, we argue, we dummy spit, we have the same blood. I am not happy that he is where he is but that is his duty. He joined the Army to protect and to defend, not to play games. I mightn't like it but I accept it.
My reasons for not liking it are selfish and self centered. I felt assured that he would be safe because he is in a well trained army with an excellent record, BUT NOW, I feel a whole lot better knowing that he is with your sons, daughters, brothers and sisters.
Whilst he was growing up, I was always there to look after him, I would not let harm befall him and I would always put myself before him to protect him. I can't do that now. When it comes to looking after him now he and his mates will do the job, but also THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.
Gentlemen, I have rambled on for too long. But as I finish I say to you, as a foreigner and outsider, a nation is only a collection of its people and its attitude is the attitude of its people, collectively and as individuals. I am really glad you are here on this Earth and I respect you as a nation and as people.
Stand up and feel proud because you deserve it, there is no one else who will do what America does without question. The next time someone howls you down, take some comfort in the fact that America is defending their right to act like an idiot.
Finally, thank you for looking after my son.
Peter Turner
....Thank you Rhod for the link to this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:44 AM | Comments (12)
April 16, 2008
Democrats Debate Tonight in Philadelphia
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Debate location: Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center
Day : Today Wednesday, April 16th
Time : 8:00 pm EST and ending at 10pm EST
Moderated by : Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos
Network: ABC
...."Barack Obama will have to put on his game face Wednesday night at a crucial debate in Philadelphia if he wants to ensure his controversial comments about small-town American voters don’t become a game changer." ...
The debate will be the last time Obama and Hillary Clinton face off before the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (14)
Helping To Retire John Kerry! ~ 9 Years of Ineffectiveness
You can CLLICK HERE for the WEBSITE
After seeing the first one I also saw this one........ This is another one that is good too.
MA Senate candidate REP. Jim Ogonowski heartily congratulates the man he's trying to unseat, John Kerry, on his ineffectiveness. The print ad asks people to send it to Kerry's HQ!
"Congratulations John! It's been 9 years since you passed a bill on your own! Great job on being so ineffective!" The web ad shows a picture of a mansion on Nantucket (one of Kerry's five) along with Kerry windsurfing. A Heinz ketchup bottle marks the passage of time.
Republican Jim Ogonowski ran against the widow of Paul Tsongas for Martin Meehan's congressional seat. He didn't win but did pretty well in his first race. Jim is the brother of one of the pilots who got killed on 9/11.
Wild Thing's comment........
I don't live in MA, but this guy looks good from what I have read about him and I love this idea he has done about Hanoi Kerry.
His own website LOL is awesome and it also has an ad by Ogonowski where he points out all the perks Senators get, and guess who pays for them.
Some more information from Republican Jim Ogonowski's website take a peek at it too if you like. It is so well done!!!
Jim Ogonowski is a farmer and small businessman from Dracut who recently retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving 28 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard. Jim first came to national attention on September 11, 2001 when the plane his brother was piloting was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center. In the words of ABC News, Jim “stepped forward when others could only cry.”After his brother’s death on 9/11, Jim came to the rescue of his brother’s family by working the farm and saving it from being sold.
Jim Ogonowski was born and raised in the Merrimack Valley where his family roots lie for over 100 years.
It all began in 1904 when Jim’s great-grandmother, a widow, and her 4 children left Poland to begin their pursuit of the American dream. For nearly 2 weeks they sailed across the Atlantic and like so many before them, they greeted Ellis Island with great hope and optimism.
After settling in the Merrimack Valley, her oldest son - just a few years out of his teens - started Holy Trinity church on High Street in Lowell, which is still the family parish. The rest of the family settled on a farm in Dracut, a farm still in the Ogonowski family today.
Jim Ogonowski was born in Lowell, the 4th of 5 children. Jim grew up on a family farm that his dad purchased in 1948 when he returned to Dracut after serving in the army air corps which he worked as a second job so that he could send his 5 children to college.
Jim Ogonowski attended UMass Lowell and followed in his older brothers John’s footstep by joining the AF, ROTC. Upon graduating, Jim Ogonowski was commissioned into the United States Air Force.
For the past 28 years, Jim Ogonowski served in the Air Force and Air National Guard. When the Air Force transferred its Tanker Task Force Mission, a global air refueling mission, to the Air National Guard in 1995, Jim readily accepted the leadership role as the Commander, responsible for planning, coordinating and executing the transatlantic movement of Air Combat Command fighter aircraft into and out of all of Southwest Asia and Europe. This role became increasingly mission-critical during operations following September 11, 2001.
Through Jim’s leadership, the office became the role model of the air command’s rapid response team. His outstanding performance led to his promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2000, as he deployed to virtually every corner of the globe during peacetime and war. In 2005, Jim was one of the organizers of the largest airlift in New Hampshire National Guard history, deploying 1,000 soldiers and airmen to provide relief during Hurricane Katrina. Upon his retirement, Jim was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding service to his country, marking the third time he received this prestigious award.
Service to country has been an Ogonowski family tradition. Jim’s two grandfathers were in the military. All his uncles, his father, brother and sister all served in the service. Jim’s son Charlie, a junior at UMASS – Lowell, is in ROTC and he too will one day be a military officer.
Jim Ogonowski believes that Washington has become too big, too corrupt and too partisan. Washington is broken and that the time has come to end the partisanship that is hurting our nation. Jim wants to return the government to the people. It is time we send someone to Washington who will stand up to the Washington insiders and special interests. Jim Ogonowski wants to go Washington to work with BOTH Republicans and Democrats to fix the mess, bring new ideas to the table, and make helping Massachusetts his top priority.
Jim has two children, Charlie and Catherine, and lives in Dracut, Massachusetts with his wife Kathy.
....Thank you so much RAC for sending the link to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (16)
CAIR Now Involved Regarding Minneapolis Tax-funded Muslim School
Muslim civil liberties group seeks FBI probe of school threats
The Minnesota chapter of a national Islamic civil liberties group has asked the FBI and local law enforcement officers to investigate reported threats against a Twin Cities charter school as possible hate crimes, while a Jewish organization deplored the threats.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made the request Monday after the director of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy in Inver Grove Heights told police that he and the school had received threatening and harassing phone messages and e-mails.
The group is concerned about the safety of the school's students, many of whom are Muslim, said CAIR chapter coordinator Chris Schumacher. Tagging the threats as possible hate crimes also makes it clear that prejudice could have prompted them, and "we wanted to bring that to light in case that wasn't already obvious to people," he said.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas also condemned the alleged threats in a statement released Monday.
As of Monday, the charter school had not filed a complaint with the Minneapolis FBI office, but agents will reach out to the school and get more details about the messages, said Special Agent Paul McCabe. Identifying the messages as possible hate crimes would put them under the jurisdiction of federal as well as local law enforcement authorities, he said.
CAIR members are talking with the school about follow-up action that could include a community meeting along the lines of a town hall forum held in Blaine after arsonists set fire to a convenience store owned by a Muslim man in January, Schumacher said.
The K-8 charter school has come under close scrutiny since Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten questioned whether the publicly funded academy promotes the Muslim faith.
The Minnesota Department of Education has begun an investigation of the school in response to Kersten's columns. Director Asad Zaman, who could not be reached for comment Monday, has said the school is nonsectarian.
Other posts at TW about this school:
April 10th, Minnesota Muslim Public School Paid For By Taxpayers
April 11th, Update On Sharia In U.S. Secondary Public Schools
Wild Thing's comment........
This sure is even more proof that this is a Muslim school, even though the leaders there deny it. CAIR gets involved and they start to intimidate those telling the truth.
I have no knowledge of real threats made on the school. That kind of thing would not be necessary, but what should happen would be for the parents that are not Muslim to make a fuss and a loud one. Calls and complaints to those in with pull much higher up then the stupid Principle that didn't know how to raise the American Flag.
So many times CAIR has gotten involved when there were NO threats made at all. One thing and the only thing we do know is an article was written about the school. Now that is NOT a threat it is journalism and the woman did a great job writing about the school.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (12)
Rep.Kennedy ~ "Mental Health, Drug History Makes Him Stronger Advocate"
Rep. Kennedy Says Mental Health, Drug History Makes Him Stronger Advocate
WASHINGTON
Rep. Patrick Kennedy says his personal struggles to recover from depression, alcoholism and substance abuse have made him a more compelling advocate in Congress for improved mental health care coverage.
The Rhode Island Democrat, a son of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, played a leading role winning House passage last month on a bill to expand coverage for people needing mental health and addiction treatment.
"My own story gave a lot of my colleagues a comfort level to tell me their own stories, privately," he said in a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press. "In the process it tied them into this debate personally in ways I think that gave traction to this legislation early on."
Kennedy, 40, crashed his car into a Capitol barricade in the middle of the night nearly two years ago, and agreed to a plea deal on a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. He speaks publicly about his own recovery in hopes of ending the stigma of mental illness that prevents people from seeking treatment.
Kennedy, who has battled addiction since high school, said he's pleased his father can "see now at this stage of the game that some of my perceived darker moments turned out to be the silver linings in this great battle that I fought."
Those darker moments, he said, "gave me a platform and a credibility and a stature and a human quality in the House as a spokesperson on this issue that allowed me to cut through a lot of the white noise that insulates members from really facing these issues and addressing them honestly when they're being lobbied so heavily by special interests."
Kennedy and his father are on different sides as the House and Senate try to forge a compromise on expanding coverage for people needing mental health and addiction treatment. Big health care, insurance and pharmaceutical interests are waging a high-stakes fight in Congress over what has come to be known as mental health parity.
The younger Kennedy helped lead the push for the House bill that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both.
His father was instrumental in winning Senate approval last September of a narrower version of the bill with support from business and insurance groups.
The elder Kennedy, D-Mass., has a reputation as one of the most skilled legislators in Congress, often working with Republicans to craft major bills during more than four decades in the Senate. He said he enjoys working with his son, despite their differing views.
"We're always in contact," the senator said. "We talk all the time. There are some important differences, you don't minimize those ... We still have a ways to go, but I think it's important that we are making progress."
The congressman hopes his father can help win GOP support for whatever compromise emerges.
"I am so glad my dad is there with me at the table, because if there's anybody who knows how to work with Republicans and can work as good a deal as possible to try to break this free ... it's my dad," he said.
Wild Thing's comment........
Rep. Patrick Kennedy says his personal struggles to recover from depression, alcoholism and substance abuse have made him a more compelling advocate in Congress for improved mental health care coverage
Going by this train of thought.....Charles Manson should be the next Democrat Attorney General! And Ted Kennedy as the pool life guard and driving instructor.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (10)
Lt. Col. Wm Russell for Congress
From Fox News
Army Vet to Challenge House Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha
Pennsylvania’s 22nd District
I have posted this before but I want to put this part of it here again.
This is from his website:
This is his statement:
"I am a Conservative. I believe in the sovereignty and security of this one nation, under God. I believe the primary role of government is to provide for the common defense and a legal framework to protect families and individual liberty. I believe in rugged individualism because individuals can make far better choices than any government entity in providing for families, protecting households, choosing doctors and health care plans, and deciding which teachers and schools are best for children. I believe prosperity is best ensured by what Adam Smith called the “invisible hand” of a natural, price driven economy.I believe that we have the responsibility and obligation to control our borders and determine who is allowed to live and work in our country.
I believe that families are the foundation stone upon which all truly great societies are built. I believe that imposed systems of wealth redistribution destroy families, produce a culture of dependence, and hurt everyone. I believe in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception. I believe in marriage between one man and one woman and that children should always be loved and sometimes spanked. I believe that all children in our school systems should be educated in English and taught the civic duties and responsibilities of citizenship and patriotism.
I believe in private property rights and that the death tax should be killed. I believe the Consumption or Fair Tax is the best and most equitable means to ensure all persons who participate in our economy, legally or illegally, pay their fair share and to reward those who build businesses or save and invest their money.
I believe in the right to bear arms and the right of self defense. Gun control and gun free zones only ensure that victims are unarmed.
I believe that no one owes me anything just because I live and breathe. I believe we should all practice charity in some form or fashion, especially to those who are suffering and least fortunate, but it must be voluntary and spring from a spirit of altruism and love for our neighbors.
Finally, I believe there is room to acknowledge the role of our Creator in public life as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The mention of God in the Pledge, and asking his blessings for our nation and our safety before ball games, classes, and public meetings does not constitute the establishment of a state religion and does not discriminate against anyone."
Lt. Col. Wm Russell ( BIO)
Wild Thing's comment........
This is an important update as well .....
Russell, the GOP candidate attempting to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha of Johnstown, participated Monday in a Washington, D.C., press conference with other Iraq War veterans who are running for Congress.
They gathered to show their support for U.S. troops and for Gen. David Petraeus, the nation’s top commander in Iraq.
Russell, who is trying to gain 1,000 write-in votes in the primary to become his party’s nominee, said the veterans’ message stands in contrast to Democratic congressional leaders’ calls for a troop withdrawal.
“We’re all about supporting the troops,” Russell said. “It’s a chance for us to get together, because we feel we have a story to tell.”
Murtha has argued that the war has been mismanaged and cannot be won militarily.
Russell, an Army veteran of both wars in Iraq, was joined Monday by five other Republican candidates who issued a statement saying they are “willing to stake our lives on General Petraeus’ integrity.”
Russell said conditions in Iraq are improving, adding that calls for withdrawal send the wrong message.
“As long as we don’t encourage the enemy and allow them to think they can achieve a political victory with terror, things will get better,” he said.
Russell must vie for write-in votes because a judge ruled that he did not have enough valid petition signatures to appear on the ballot.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (12)
April 15, 2008
Tax Day With Kennedy
YAF/HotAir correspondent Jason Mattera asks Senator Ted Kennedy why he gets away with defending estate taxes even though his family avoids paying them.
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Wild Thing's comment.........
So much for how to be rude LOL. I love how YAF’s Jason Mattera is so great at catching these twits off guard like this. He did great when he caught Kerry too. hahaha
* HOT Air
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:20 PM | Comments (6)
Jimmuh’s Joooohatin’ Junket rolls on ~ Carter Lays A Wreath at Arafat's Tomb
Jerusalem
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter laid a wreath of red roses at the grave of Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat during a visit to the West Bank City of Ramallah on Tuesday.
"He and Mrs. Carter and his son Jeff wanted to pay their respects to President Arafat," Carter's trip director Rick Jasculca told Cybercast News Service. But the former president didn't make any comments there, he said.
Dubbed the "godfather of terrorism," Arafat was linked to the deaths of two American diplomats in the Sudan in 1973 -- one of many terror acts laid at his feet.
On Tuesday, the Israeli government refused Carter's request to visit Hamas-controlled Gaza. The former U.S. leader has angered the Israeli government over plans to meet Hamas's top leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Syria on Friday.
Most visiting American dignitaries -- including President Bush -- have avoided Arafat's tomb. Michaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem that handles Palestinian affairs, told Cybercast News Service that no active U.S. Executive Branch member had ever laid a wreath on Arafat's grave.
Carter first met Arafat in 1990, when Arafat was leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization. According to a New York Times report, Carter praised Arafat as a peacemaker.
Years later, Carter led an international team in observing the first Palestinian Authority elections that gave Arafat the presidency. (Carter also observed the 2006 elections that brought Hamas an overwhelming parliamentary majority.)
Arafat was the most frequent visitor to President Bill Clinton's White House. President Bush also dealt with Arafat at the beginning of his presidency, but after the Palestinian leader lied to Bush in early 2002 about a huge shipment of Iranian weapons bound for the P.A., he was shunned until his death in November 2004.
On Tuesday, Carter also had lunch with a dozen or so Palestinian civil society leaders and had what was described as a "wonderful round table" discussion with Palestinian youths that he and his wife enjoyed immensely, said Jasculca.
Wild Thing's comment........
Revoke his passport NOW ! The guy is SICK!! This is disgusting. Actions speak louder than words ... if no one has the balls to pull his passport, then they ought to at least pull his Secret Service detail, paid for by the taxpayers, when this traitor is engaged in activities clearly against America’s interests and in support of terrorists.
The Carter Center
The Carter Center
One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
Phone:
(404) 420-5100 or (800) 550-3560
I called the Carter Center, I asked the girl why on earth would Carter do this., put a wreath at Arafat's Tomb.
She said she knew nothing about it.
I told her no you work at the Carter Center, you work FOR Jimmy Carter and you have to give me a reason for this disgusting thing Jimmy Carter has done.
She said, I don't see that is a bad thing.
I told her Carter is a traitor to America, a disgusting human being and should not be allowed back into the United States of America.
She hung up on me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:15 PM | Comments (13)
Hamas Cleric Yunis Al-Astal Predicts 'Rome Will Be Conquered by Islam'
Hamas Cleric Predicts 'Rome Will Be Conquered by Islam'
To view this clip, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1739.htm
A sermon last Friday by a prominent Muslim cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament openly declared that "the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital," would soon be conquered by Islam.
The fiery sermon, delivered by Yunis al-Astal and aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, predicted that Rome would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe."
"Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion," al-Astal preached, "so that you will serve as the engine pulling this nation to the phase of succession, security and consolidation of power, and even to conquests through da'wa and military conquests of the capitals of the entire world.
"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our prophet Muhammad," he added.
Al-Astal last June preached how it was the duty of Palestinian women to martyr themselves by becoming homicide bombers.
"The most exalted form of jihad is fighting for the sake of Allah, which means sacrificing one's soul by fighting the enemies head-on, even if it leads to martyrdom," he said in a June 23, 2007 interview.
"When jihad becomes an individual duty, it applies to women too, because women do not differ from men when it comes to individual duties," he said, calling Jews "the brothers of apes and pigs" who should "taste the bitterness of death."
Friday's rant repeated that theme:
"Today, Rome is the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital, which has declared its hostility to Islam, and has planted the brothers of apes and pigs in Palestine in order to prevent the reawakening of Islam.
"I believe that our children, or our grandchildren, will inherit our jihad and our sacrifices, and, Allah willing, the commanders of the conquest will come from among them.
"Today, we instill these good tidings in their souls – and by means of the mosques and the Koran books, and the history of our Prophets, his companions, and the great leaders, we prepare them for the mission of saving humanity from the hellfire at whose brink they stand."
Wild Thing's comment........
Did Carter wear a burkha when he met with them?
"Very soon, Allah willing, Rome will be conquered, just like Constantinople was, as was prophesized by our prophet Muhammad," he added.
Yunis al-Astal is simply citing one of Muhammad's prophecies of the Signs of Qiyamah (Sings of the Last Days) from the Hadith, which every faithful Muslim believes.
Nafi' ibn 'Utbah said, "The Prophet said, 'You will attack Arabia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Persia, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack Rome, and Allah will enable you to conquer it. Then you will attack the Dajjal, and Allah will enable you to conquer him.' " (Sahih Muslim, Book 41, Number 6930)
He is just saying these are the End Times, therefore their jihad is guaranteed success in conquering the world and killing or converting every infidel.
In a Friday sermon that aired on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV on April 11, 2008, Yunis Al-Astal, Hamas MP and cleric, told worshipers that Rome, “the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital,” would soon be conquered by Islam, just as Constantinople was. It then, he said, would become “an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread through Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, and even Eastern Europe.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (10)
The Greatness of the US Cavalry
From the site of the video:
From Gettysburg to the Buffalo Soldiers, from Custer's ranks to Patton's tanks, from Ia Drang to Baghdad, the US cavalry has always gained the highest laurels.
Wild Thing's comment........
This is awesome, the music, the images and most of all our US Cavalry! Thank you!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (5)
You Can Tell Hillary What You Think ~ LOL
We want to know what you think -- about the state of the race, our campaign strategy, or your ideas for doing things differently. You've made an investment in this campaign, and I want your input as we plan the days, weeks, and months to come. Share your thoughts.
Her website
Wild Thing's comment........
How about where is Craig Livingstone? Hillary was the one that hired him. hmmmmm and he has disappeared since the death of Vince Foster.
UPDATE:
OK I just could not resist this opportunity. hahaha
I did it and I asked her about Craig Livingstone. haha I told her I was curious whatever happened to ger good buddy. Craig Livingstone.
Here is the page that came up after I clicked to send my comment/question
.
LOL The funny thing is NO WAY AM I CONTRIBUTING but it still put the message through anyway.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:49 AM | Comments (7)
Obama Corrects 'Obama bin Laden' Slip ~ LOL
Obama Corrects 'Obama bin Laden' Slip
Sen. Barack Obama quickly corrected a slipup about his name Monday at the Associated Press' annual luncheon in Washington, DC.
Dean Singleton, board chair of the Associated Press and a longtime newspaper executive, asked Obama about the possibility of shifting troops into Afghanistan to fight against the al Qaeda leader.
"Can you imagine shifting a substantial number of Afghanistan -- a substantial number to Afghanistan where the Taliban has been gaining strength and Obama Bin Laden is still at large?" Singleton asked
Obama, clearly a bit agitated, quickly interrupted him, “I think that was Osama bin Laden,” the Democratic candidate said, and then took a big gulp of water from the glass next to the podium.
Singleton quickly apologized.
"If I did that I'm so sorry," he said.
“No, no, no, this is part of the -– part of the exercises that I’ve been going though over the last fifteen months,” Obama said, “Which is why it’s pretty impressive that I’m standing here.”
After the event, an embarrassed Singleton could be heard off camera, but on microphone, telling an unidentified man: "Can't believe I did that. I didn't think I did. But he said it so I assumed I did. So, certainly wasn't on purpose."
Wild Thing's comment........
"Which is why it’s pretty impressive that I’m standing here.”
Obama sure is impressed with himself. haha
Ted Kennedy started it. Why doesn’t Barack-ack-ack-ack-ack echo sound) complain to him.
Here is the time Kennedy did it:
And look at this one.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (12)
Son's Of Iraq Working With Our Troops
PLEASE CLICK IMAGE ABOVE FOR LARGER SIZE, Thank you.
A Multinational Force Iraq map shows the number of Iraqis who've become part of the Sons of Iraq working to counter al-Qaida and insurgents in Iraq.
U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus submitted the chart as part of his testimony before Congress April 8 and 9, 2008.
Defense Dept. chart
Source: Strategy Page.com Military
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (4)
Obama Linked To 2004 Party At Rezko's Home
Obama linked to 2004 party at Rezko's home
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama's name came up again at the Antoin "Tony" Rezko corruption trial and in a way that earlier filings in the case did not telegraph.
Stuart Levine, the prosecution's star witness, said he and Obama were at a party Rezko threw at his Wilmette mansion on April 3, 2004, for Nadhmi Auchi, a controversial Iraqi-born billionaire who Rezko was trying to get to invest in a South Loop real-estate development.
Auchi, now a citizen of the United Kingdom, has faced criminal charges in Europe. He also figured in the revocation of Rezko's bond early this year after attempting to wire him more than $3 million. Upon learning of that attempt, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve declared Rezko a flight risk and ordered him held in a federal jail in the Loop.
The Rezko party in 2004 was designed to induce Auchi to pour money into the South Loop investment. Obama's presence at the party was not previously known. At the time, Obama was fresh off a surprise win in the Illinois Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and was riding a crest of national publicity.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Tell me who you associate with and I’ll tell you what you are....the saying goes. Or you are who you associate with. Choose your friends carefully. There are more probably but they all are around for a good reason, because it is true.
From Wikipedia article on Nadhmi Auchi:
“Nadhmi Auchi was charged along with Saddam Hussein for conspiring to assassinate Iraqi President Abdul-Karim Qasim in 1959. Qasim was injured while his bodyguard was killed; Saddam managed to flee the country. Auchi was arrested for delivering weapons to the assassins but was later pardoned by President Qasim.”
Several US political fundraisers are currently on trial for corruption in connection with loans received from Auchi. Auchi is currently barred from entering the US by the state department as an undesirable alien.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (8)
Democrat B. Obama Silence On Carter Meeting Hamas
Mideast: Barack Obama refuses to criticize Jimmy Carter's meeting with Hamas. Is it because Carter may soon endorse him or because Obama once helped fund an organization opposed to Israel's existence?
"I'm not going to comment on former President Carter," Obama told reporters while campaigning in Indianapolis. "He's a private citizen. It's not my place to discuss who he shouldn't meet with. I know I've said consistently that I would not meet with Hamas."
Hamas is perhaps the only agent of terror and tyranny Obama has said he would not meet with as part of his promised "aggressive personal diplomacy." Obama has said he thinks "it's a disgrace we haven't talked" to the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il, Bashar Assad, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. He has objected to the designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, which it is.
Why he would not be willing to talk to Hamas, which works for the destruction of Israel and showers its missiles on Israeli towns, but insists on talking to Iran, which wants to wipe Israel off the map and is developing the means to do so, is curious. We don't suppose it has anything to do with media reports that Jimmy Carter, along with Al Gore, have been pressuring Hillary Clinton to leave the race, or that Carter might soon endorse him.
Carter is more than a private citizen. He is an ex-president giving legitimacy to terrorist thugs.
"Carter can achieve something no one else can," Ahmed Yousef, the chief political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, the deposed prime minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, told World Net Daily.
"If he comes and meets with Hamas, this will also enhance the image and understanding between America and the Muslim world." Certainly it will enhance the image of Hamas.
Obama's looking the other way regarding terror is not unprecedented. Among Obama's circle of friends is William C. Ayers, currently a professor of education at the University of Chicago and a former aide to Chicago's current mayor, Richard M. Daley. Ayers served with Obama on the board of the Woods Fund of Chicago and in 2001 donated $200 to the "Friends Of Barack Obama."
Back in the 1970s he was known as just Bill Ayers, a terrorist bomber with the Weathermen who was quoted in the New York Times as finding "a certain eloquence in bombs." Married to fellow Weathermen terrorist Bernadine Dohrn, he writes openly and without regret about his role in the 1974 bombing of the U.S. Capitol Building in which Obama now serves.
The Woods Fund in 2001 gave a $40,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), a group co-founded by anti-Israel Columbia University professor Rhashid Khalidi. The fund gave AAAN a second grant of $35,000 in 2002. One of AAAN's projects was a Palestinian art exhibit on what Palestinians call the "Nakba," or the "catastrophe," of Israel's founding in 1948.
Khalidi, according to WND, was a director of the official press agency for the Palestine Liberation Organization, WAFA, in Beirut, Lebanon, while the PLO was conducting terrorist attacks and called a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Khalidi has called Israel a "racist" state and an "apartheid state in creation." He has voiced support for Palestinian terror, saying suicide bombings for which Hamas is famous are a legitimate response to "Israeli aggression."
Obama's association with Khalidi was more than just a passing acquaintance. Khalidi lectured at the University of Chicago at the same time Obama taught law there. He held a fundraiser for Obama's failed congressional bid in 2000. Khalidi has praised Obama as "the only candidate who has expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause" and praised him for "saying he supports talks with Iran."
Obama seems to have a propensity of associating with terrorists or those who support them and want us to talk with them. His pastor of two decades, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, counted our "state terrorism against the Palestinians" as one of America's chickens coming home to roost on 9/11.
Khalidi would agree with Wright. Does Barack Obama?
Wild Thing's comment........
Interesting that Barack Hussein ignores American laws such as the Logan act which prohibits exactly what Carter is doing. So if B. Hussein Obama becomes president we can expect him to ignore whatever laws he doesn’t like.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:40 AM | Comments (8)
April 14, 2008
"That boy's finger does not need to be on the button"
U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis
.
'That boy's finger does not need to be on the button'
U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman" [at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner].
He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.
"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."
An aide to Davis, Jeremy Hughes, declined to comment on the remark, and didn't dispute the accuracy of the quote.
UPDATE :
GOP Congressman Apologizes for Calling Obama 'Boy'
ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: A Republican House member Monday sent a letter of apology to Sen. Barack Obama, after calling him "boy" and comparing him to a "snake oil salesman" in attacking his national security credentials at a weekend fund-raising dinner in Kentucky.
According to a Lexington Herald-Leader blog item, Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky., said Saturday that he had recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama, and said that exercise showed that Obama can't be trusted to make difficult decisions.
"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."
The Obama campaign slammed the comments.
"It's hard to tell what is more outrageous -- Representative Davis' condescending and personal attack, or his absurd and offensive claim that Barack Obama is not prepared to defend America," said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman.
Davis and his office did not dispute the accuracy of the quote. In his letter to Obama, Davis, a former Army ranger first elected to Congress in 2004, wrote that he "used a poor choice of words when discussing the national security positions of the Presidential candidates."
"My poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or the your integrity," Davis wrote. "I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness."
According to a Davis spokesman, Davis hand-delivered the letter to Obama's Senate office after returning to Washington on Monday.
Wild Thing's comment........
Its TRUE though! Obama's finger does NOT need to be on the button.
Age gives one a different definition of “boy and girl”. The word “boy” is not in and of itself a racist slur.
And Newfoundlanders call every male boy or buddy (pronounced “ bye” or “b’y”). I doubt any of them will be apologizing any time soon.
Good grief - I know the term “boy” can be taken as offensive when referring to a black male, but in my lexicon it's also just a plain term for any other man (usually but not necessarily youthful) - such as an athlete, a regular joe, a celebrity or politican, etc. It is sad to see the lexicon shrink out of PC fears.
The congressman should have said, “I was referring to his youthful immaturity, not his race. His overreaction is simply evidence of the immaturity I was referring to, and the type of intimidation that substitutes for discussion on the Left.”
Actually, it’s an insult to boys the world over to compare them with this effeminate fool.
....Thank you Mark for the link to this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 PM | Comments (16)
Obama mocks Clinton's beer-shots
Obama mocks Clinton's beer-shot
PITTSBURGH
Barack Obama ridiculed rival Hillary Clinton for a shot-and-a-beer photo op over the weekend in Indiana as he sought to counter the controversy over remarks he made about “bitter” feelings in small-town America.
Clinton downed a shot of Crown Royal whiskey, hoisted a beer and ate a slice of pepperoni pizza Saturday night at a restaurant in Crown Point, Ind., after spending the day branding Obama’s remarks “elitist.”
But in a speech to a forum on manufacturing issues, at which Clinton is scheduled to appear later this morning, Obama blasted support during her husband's administration for free trade deals, suggesting her connection with working-class voters was political theater.
“Around election time, the candidates can’t do enough. They'll promise you anything, give you a long list of proposals and even come around, with TV crews in tow, to throw back a shot and a beer,” Obama said, stirring laughter from an audience of steelworkers and steel industry executives.
“But if those same candidates are taking millions of dollars in contributions from the PACs and the lobbyists, ask yourself, who are they going to be toasting once the election is over?” he continued.
The Clinton campaign responded with a statement e-mailed to reporters.
“With all due respect, this is the same politician who spent six days posing for clichéd camera shots that included bowling gutterballs, walking around a sports bar, feeding a baby cow, and buying a ham at the Philly market (albeit one that cost $99.99 a pound). Sen. Obama's speeches won’t hide his condescending views of Americans living in small towns," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said in the statement.
Wild Thing's comment.......
LOL It's good to see these candidates spending their time discussing the serious issues affecting America's future in an adult fashion.
Democrat campaign = racists, put downs of working people, and beer -shots.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:27 PM | Comments (14)
McCain: " Hillary Can Still Pull It Off"
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has confided to his inner circle that Hillary Clinton may yet be the Democratic nominee, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a development the senator from Arizona would personally welcome!
"Look, I know something about long odds, they had me written off last summer," McCain explained over the weekend, according to a top source.
McCain would prefer to go up against Clinton in the general election, insiders reveal.
He has instructed his campaign staff to "chill out" on countering Hillary Clinton's torrent of claims and promises as primary voting comes to an end over the next 6 weeks.
McCain made the tactical decision to downplay Clinton's tale of Bosnia sniper fire, leaving some McCain staffers frustrated and perplexed.
Instead, the critical focus has been on Barack Obama. McCain's official website features 14 press releases taking on Obama since the first of the year, only 3 for the former first lady.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Hitlary is Stalin in a pants suit.
I’m certain Hillary CAN pull it off, something Bill Clinton will painfully attest to.
LOL Sorry I could not resist. hahaaha
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:24 PM | Comments (10)
Phoenix Mayor Asks FBI to Check Sheriff Arpaio
Phoenix Mayor Asks FBI to Check Sheriff
PHOENIX
The mayor wants the FBI to investigate whether the local county sheriff has violated any civil rights laws with his recent high-profile crackdowns on illegal immigrants.
The "saturation patrols" have drawn protests from civil rights and immigrant-rights advocates, but they have drawn support from backers of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and from people who believe the government hasn't done enough against illegal immigration.
In an April 4 letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Mayor Phil Gordon asked the agency and the Justice Department's civil rights division to examine what he called discriminatory harassment and improper stops, searches, and arrests by sheriff's deputies in Maricopa County, which encompasses the metropolitan area.
"Over the past few weeks, Sheriff Arpaio's actions have infringed on the civil rights of our residents," Gordon wrote. "They have put our residents' well-being, and the well-being of law enforcement officers, at risk."
Justice Department officials said they would review Gordon's letter but declined to comment further.
Arpaio said it's ironic that Gordon wrote the letter the same day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials observed his deputies arresting residents and illegal immigrants in the town of Guadalupe and approved of the sheriff's work.
"I think the mayor is disconnected from the people he represents and he doesn't get the point," Arpaio said Saturday. "Now he's going to Washington to confuse the issue and try to get the public against me."
The mayor "is degrading my office and my deputies by insinuating that they're violating all these civil laws. We don't profile," the sheriff said.
In the past month, sheriff's deputies and trained volunteers have gone into neighborhoods with large Hispanic populations, stopping people for routine traffic violations and asking some of them about their immigration status. Dozens of illegal immigrants have been detained.
ICE officials say Arpaio is not violating the formal agreement he has with their office that allows sheriff's deputies to enforce immigration laws.
Last week, the Arizona Ecumenical Council and American Jewish Committee issued a joint letter saying the patrols "evoked a 'police state' atmosphere" and led to "detainment on the basis of a racial profile and dehumanization of innocent people."
They were joined Friday by the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, which echoed calls for a Justice Department investigation.
Wild Thing's comment........
This idiot mayor wants the Sheriff to stop arresting ILLEGALS! The lib mayor can pound sand. Joe is my hero.
Look at this I found searching for more on him in Google:
Here is some more about Sheriff Joe!
Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over , and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million.
The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.
The rest of the country should take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas.
He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later
He was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border.
He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff. He created the 'Tent City Jail': He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off al l but 'G' movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get Sued For Discrimination. He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel.
When asked why the weather channel He replied, So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs.
He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton.....If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.'
He bought Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.
When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place. (now that's hilarious because there is so much truth to it!)
With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees inside the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their PINK SOCKS. 'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In The TENTS for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.'
Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic.
He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes, So Shut Your Damned Mouths!'
Way To Go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.
Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County , Arizona. On the news (December 11, 2007) Sheriff Joe has instituted another Road Gang for DUI Offenders. They will clean up around Phoenix and wear a pink shirt with a sign on the back that says 'Cleaning and Sober' and striped prison pants. What a guy. You just gotta love him. ( If not, ya "just might be part of the problem")
....Thank you Les for sending the article to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (16)
Gore Guru of GloBull Warming Bars Press From Speech In San Francisco
For a man who gets better press than virtually any person walking the planet, one has to wonder why Nobel Laureate Al Gore would ever want to bar media representatives from one of his speeches.
After all, it's not like anyone is going to ask him a tough question, or write something that might expose him as the charlatan most folks not drinking the Kool -- er, I mean Global Warming-Aid understand him to be.
However, that's exactly what happened Friday afternoon when the Global Warmingest-in-Chief spoke at the RSA Conference with specific instructions for no press members to be allowed through the doors of the Moscone Convention Center.
When Al Gore agreed to talk at the end of the RSA 2008 conference, the 2007 Nobel Laureate stipulated in his contract with RSA that no members of the press would be allowed inside the keynote address.
Apparently, this is a common practice now for Gore.
Press protestations are becoming a habit of Gore's.
"When he gave his now-famous global warming slide presentation at the TED conference in 2006 (Technology, Entertainment and Design) I tried to approach him after the presentation to ask a question and was thwarted by his aggressive spokesman who planted himself between me and the former v.p. and griped that I'd been allowed to attend the presentation. He said the talk was supposed to have been off-limits to press (although the conference organizers never mentioned this to me, and no one tried to prevent me from entering the auditorium, although my badge clearly indicated I was press). Gore's spokesman took down my name and affiliation and warned that I wasn't to write anything about the event.Gore, whose speaker fee is reportedly $100,000, spoke again at TED this year, which I wrote about for Wired's Epicenter blog. There were no restrictions on press covering that talk other than regarding photos. The conference wanted press to use only official photos provided by TED.
Last year the Smoking Gun published a copy of Gore's speaker's contract, which stipulates that all press are to be barred from his appearances and that the conditions of the contract cannot be disclosed to anyone."
Is it possible Gore doesn't want press members present as he recommends people invest in companies that he already has a stake in? This is exactly what he did about a month ago in Monterey, California, as NewBusters reported Friday.
In fact, according to C/Net News.com, this was virtually the same "You Should Be Investing in What I'm Investing In" speech he gave in Monterey:
Interesting tidbit:
During the speech here, the 2007 Nobel Laureate was interrupted by hecklers three times; each was removed by security.
Wild Thing's comment........
Interesting — he wants to plot in secrecy. That seems to be the new thing now. Obama did not want the press to know about his fund raiser with San Francisco’s “Billionaire Row”, Bush and Kennedy etc. have secret behind door meetings about the Amnesty and exclude any conservative politicians that would disagree in the discussion. hmmmmmm yes it does seem that to move a country into socialism has to be done in secret then they what ? Lay it on us in one swoop and wait for the outrage?
Just curious.
....Thanks RAC for the $5.00 graphic, giggle it is perfect.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (9)
B. Stands For BITTER Hussein Obama Tells Hillary Off
Barack addreses the United Steelworkers Union in Steelton, PA. regarding Hillary Clinton's recent disingenuous remarks about him.
Video is from the Obama camp
Obama says..."he wants to see the pictures of Hillary hinting in the duck blinds with a six shooter" and this one....“She’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley”
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Wild Thing's comment........
No more Positivobama! GotYourElitismRightHereObama!
Obama unravelling: his message WAS hope and change and now it’s race and politics.
His arrogance is rising by the minute and it’s getting to a point where he’s out of control. I think this video is a prefect example of that.
Hillary isn’t going anywhere. She’s going to shoot back at this guy and it’s going to get REALLY ugly!!
Oh an in the video he goes on and on again about the small donations are what built his campaign when we already know about the Billionaieres, and Soros etc.. Just more of his LIES, just like Hillary and her LIES. sheesh
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (14)
Rev.Wright Comes Out Swinging At USA For Racism and Fox News
Rev. Wright Gives eulogy for former appellate Judge R. Eugene Pincham, a member of Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ
Rev. Jeremiah Wright told a congregation in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday that reporters sneaked into a private funeral service a day before, in which he blasted America’s founding fathers for slavery and white supremacy and received standing ovations for attacking FOX News for covering his anti-American sermons.
Barack Obama’s retiring pastor delivered a sermon at Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church, where his late uncle had been the pastor, about overcoming trouble. The public appearance was his first since news broke that the Democratic presidential candidate’s pastor frequently rails on the United States.
“Some troubles that come up in your life come up out of nowhere,” Wright said. At the end of the two-hour-plus service, about two dozen ministers gathered around Wright and his daughter to pray for them. One of the ministers asked God to give Wright courage as “the world tries to demonize him.”
Though Wright said nothing about Obama or the uproar itself, he alluded to the controversy while briefly back in the pulpit Saturday to deliver a eulogy for a late congregant of Trinity United Church of Christ — former appellate judge R. Eugene Pincham.
Wright, who is on sabbatical before retiring from Trinity United, said America’s mistreatment of blacks is the result of the founding fathers, who “planted slavery and white supremacy in the DNA of this republic.”
First reported by The Chicago Sun Times, Wright told mourners at the funeral that Thomas Jefferson, who partook in “pedophilia,” would also be considered unpatriotic these days because he wrote, “God would punish America for the sin of slavery.” He also quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said that the U.S. has a “congenital birth defect.”
Speaking of the seven lessons Pincham taught him, Wright said the judge’s faith “was not the jingoistic, chauvinistic ‘you’re either with us or against us’ demonizing kind of faith.”
“FOX News can’t understand that,” Wright said to rousing cheers and applause. “[Bill] O’Reilly will never get that. Sean Hannity’s stupid fantasy will keep him forever stuck on stupid when it comes to comprehending how you can love a brother who does not believe what you believe. [Pincham’s] faith was a faith in a God who loved the whole world not just one country or one creed.”
Wild Thing's comment.........
Keep it coming Wright baby. Wright on. Speak very clearly into the microphone. The whole world is watching you.
Can you believe he made these comments during a funeral? Good grief!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (10)
Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance
Red Skelton's "Pledge of Allegiance" was first introduced on the Red Skelton Show on January 14, 1969. It has since been twice read into the congressional record of The United States and has received numerous awards.
....Thank you Lynn this is so awesome.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (11)
April 13, 2008
Hillary and Obama in Compassion Forum Tonight on CNN ~ WTF?
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LMAO oh man what a name for yet another debate. hahaha Sorry I just can't help it. Compassion????
Ever since Bush used the term "Compassionate Conservative" which was BS and we knew it. I have lights flashing, sirens going off now whenever I hear the word used by a rino or a liberal.
Hillary and Obama are compassionate alright, and it is about lies and more lies.
Maybe after the week we have had with Obama and his speech abouto small town people etc. and Hillary going after him it will be more like a WWE event then a so called " compassionate forum".
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 PM | Comments (7)
PA Area Mayors Take Offense
Scranton, PA.
Small-town Pennsylvanians aren’t bitter; they’re optimists, steeped in family and tradition, and upset that Barack Obama would characterize them as gun-toting zealots.
That was the message Mayor Chris Doherty had at a news conference Saturday called to rebut comments recently made by Mr. Obama, D-Ill.
Mr. Doherty and supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., including other mayors and union officials, rallied outside the county courthouse, saying Mr. Obama’s remarks reflect a disconnect.
“For a man who just spent six days crossing this state saying he was listening, obviously he wasn’t listening, because he missed us,” Mr. Doherty said.
At a fundraiser outside San Francisco, Mr. Obama said people in small-town Pennsylvania cling to guns, religion and anti-immigration sentiment because they are bitter about the Rust Belt economy.
Former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors said the remarks demean people here as hicks. Mr. Obama wants to transcend stereotypes, but then he stereotyped others, Mr. Connors said.
Standing in front of the John Mitchell statue, Mr. Doherty called hunting a tradition, borne not out of spite but culture and pride. The area’s churches, he said, were built on hopes of improving life and fostering families, not because the population here is downtrodden.
Mr. Doherty pointed to economic growth and investment. He said it’s necessary to combat that negative image.
“That’s not the truth,” he said.
At Mr. Doherty’s side were Mr. Connors and the mayors from Jessup, Taylor, Freeland and Moosic, along with New Hampshire state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro.
Taylor Mayor Richard Bowen said Mr. Obama’s comments hit home beyond Pennsylvania, and he predicts it will cost the senator voters who are on the fence.
Mr. Connors said what most offends him is that Mr. Obama said these things on the other side of the country behind closed doors. Mr. Connors bet Mr. Obama wouldn’t have made such remarks in Altoona.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Obama’s campaign held its own conference call. Mayor John Fetterman of Braddock said the underlying sentiment is sincere. Small-town Americans, he said, are frustrated and angry.
“Everyone acknowledges Mr. Obama may have slipped in different words if he could do it over again, but it’s not patronizing, it’s not condescending, it’s not elitism,” Mr. Fetterman said.
Efforts by the Times-Tribune to reach U.S. Sen Bob Casey Jr., who supports Mr. Obama, were not immediately successful Saturday.
Rosemary Boland, a Clinton delegate and president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers, said while she isn’t quite offended, she disagrees with Mr. Obama and finds the remarks immature.
“He should be very careful with his words and pick the right words to use,” she said.
Wild Thing's comment........
This outrage is growing and I am glad. Obama has been making a habit of saying things that are crossing the line and his wife too.
What Obama said was or should be offensive to every American that loves our country.
Obama is clueless and has no soul when it comes to understanding what made this country great. It sure as hell has not been the whiners and complainers like he is, it sure as hell has not been the racist's like he and his wife are that scream from pulpits and podiums during elections of wanting to change, Change what???? Change an America that has been just GREAT without the likes of Michelle and B. Hussein Obama that's what!
People like Obama have a lesson to learn and count on it he will NEVER learn this one.
The President of the United States of America is President of ALL Americans.
When the liberals get their way and make government bigger over it's citizens it effects all of us. When taxes go up it effects both dems and reps. not just one political party. And when a stupid, small minded, Soros and Muslim controlled freaking plant in our government makes a statement like Obama made and heck his wife too it concerns all of us.
When 9-11 happened there was not body count of how many Democrats there were, NOPE! But if Obama has been around I would make a bet he would be telling us how many there were and how awful it was to happen to the Democrats. Going by the statements and prejudice racist remarks out of the mouths of Michelle Obama and her arrogant race baiting husband they probably would be letting us know the amount of blacks in the Twin Towers that never made it out as well. Both Michelle and B. Hussein, are both a sad excuse of human beings.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (14)
Barrett M107 .50 Caliber Sniper Rifle
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)
Obama Visits Billionaires Row In San Francisco
"Obama was speaking those bitter word to on April 6th. It was the MOST wealthy of the wealthy in San Francisco .. the homes of 3 billionaires, as documented below. And the mainstream press were absent, because this sojourn was off calendar... not noted in news coverage (at least not truthfully about the contributors), no photos. But an enterprising sleuth captured some really good stuff, and, of course, someone in there taped it, which is how it got out at all.A tiny smattering of media did in fact show up -- three local news crews stood across the street or down the block and used the Getty mansion as the backdrop for short segments about Obama's swing through the Bay Area.
Wait just a minute there. If you do the math, on just this one day in the Bay Area, Obama went to four events, three of which had $2,300 minimum donations per ticket, and the other $1,000 minimum per ticket. Each of the events, from the various descriptions, held as many as 400 people (the Getty mansion has a ballroom that reportedly seats at least 300). 400 x $2,300 = $920,000 per event, times three events = $2.76 million, plus the other event, which undoubtedly puts him over $3 million in contributions for this one day alone. And who knows how many other similar days he schedules in other parts of the country.
Michelle Obama (and other Obama campaign spokespeople) aren't telling the truth. It seems that a signficant portion of Obama's monthly campaign contributions are coming from "large donors"' -- i.e. rich people, not just the "$20 to $50" donations they're constantly bragging about. "
CLICK link below to see photos of the event with descriptions:
There is even a photo of the bomb squad being there to check out everything.
....Thank you Rhod for the link to this Zombietime write up.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (14)
Sadr Lashes Out at 'Terrorist' Gates
Muqtada al-Sadr says he will not enter any political process that would allow US forces to remain in Iraq.
NAJAF, Iraq
April 12
Iraq's Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday lashed out at Robert Gates, saying the US defense secretary will always remain his enemy because he is the occupier of Iraq.
"You have always been my enemy. And you will always be my enemy till the last drop of my blood," Sadr said in a statement.
He was reacting to comments by Gates in which he reportedly said, referring to Sadr, that those who are prepared to work peacefully "within the political process in Iraq" are not the enemies of the United States.
"Which political process do you want to involve me in when you are occupying my land," Sadr asked.
"I heard the statement of the terrorist American defense minister and I feel compelled to give a decent response to such a terrorist. I have no enemy but you. You are the occupier."
Sadr said he will keep resisting the US presence in Iraq in a "way that we consider suitable."
The cleric also told his Mahdi Army that he will no longer accept "any armed men on the streets when they are empty of the occupier."
"If the occupier leaves the cities, we should not use our weapons. Don't raise your weapons against Iraqis as long as they don't help the occupier. I also call on the Iraqi government to back its people to rid the land of the occupier."
Wild Thing's comment........
"And you will always be my enemy till the last drop of my blood,"
Hopefully, from Mookie's lips to God's ear...and soon.
Sadr is feeling the heat from the Locals heh heh
* Coalition forces killing "a senior intelligence officer of al Qaeda in Iraq's network in Diyala. Arkan Khalaf Khudayyir, also known as Karrarr . . . was described as a senior intelligence leader . . . who facilitated suicide bombing attacks in the Diyala River Valley," and this same "network also has been responsible for attacks in Baghdad, 'to include attacks by female suicide bombers.'"
* "A document seized by US forces in Balad, and a communique from al Qaeda in Iraq's leader intercepted by U.S. intelligence (painting) a bleak picture of the terror group's ability to conduct operations in former strongholds." A captured diary written by a "emir" Abu Tariq "documents the terror group's decline, the desertion of its fighters, and logistical problems incurred in the wake of the surge. The diary is also an intelligence coup for U.S. forces. Tariq names current members of the groups and the companies and individuals used in al Qaeda's support network in the region." Hillary said that if media reports are accurate, the diary requires a willing suspension of disbelief.
* Al Qaeda in Iraq, "driven from its havens in Baghdad and the surrounding belts region, and most recently Diyala," has tried to regroup in Mosul, "which has emerged as the latest battleground." On January 25, 'lame duck' al-Maliki announced a new offensive to kick al Qaeda out of the Mosul region, where al Qaeda "maintains its only established supply line to Syria." The operation has gone better than expected, as you can see by all the media coverage it's not getting.
* On the political front, Iraqi leaders pushed through a provincial powers law that helps define Iraqi federalism, and sets the stage for provincial elections later this year," which is on top of enactment of an "amnesty law to resolve the status of many Iraqis held in Iraqi custody," which is on top of enactment in January of a "de-Ba'athification law that allows mid-level Baath party members to re-enter political and civic life," which is on top of enactment in December of "a pension law that will allow tens of thousands of Sunnis to collect the retirement benefits they were promised." The proposed oil law hasn't passed yet, but "the central government in Iraq continues to distribute oil revenue to the provinces" as if it had.
Now that 12 of the 18 "benchmarks" have been met, liberals complain that the laws passed only after sharp bickering and because lawmakers traded favors by voting for one another's bills -- mammoth abominations unheard of in a democracy.
Before the recent crackdown against militias in Iraq, the New York Times complained that al-Maliki wasn't cracking down enough against militias in Iraq. Now the New York Times complains that Crackdown on Militias May Add to Instability in Iraq. But if the Mookster's idiotic provocations accomplished anything, it's to get the Sunni, Kurd and Shiite factions in the government behind al-Maliki and against the Mookster. Cracking down on Shia militias was another of the Democrats' hallowed "benchmarks," but that was until al-Maliki started cracking down on Shia militias. Bush-Petraeus-McCain won the argument, which is why the losercrats are looking sadr and sadr every day.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (16)
A Video Tribute To Our Troops
Wild Thing's comment.......
The song is called Home by Chris Doughtry. The video was made by a Vietnam Veteran, a Marine and at YouTube he says....." I made this to Chris Daughtrys song Home. I know it doesn't fit perfect but I think it expresses the feelings of the troops in Iraq and Afhghanistan. As a former Marine who served in Vietnam I salute these young men and women and I pray for them."
....Thank you Tincan Sailor for sending this video to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
April 12, 2008
B.Hussein Obama Responds To Comments By Hillary and McCain
TRANSCRIPT:
"When I go around and I talk to people there is frustration and there is anger and there is bitterness. And what’s worse is when people are expressing their anger then politicians try to say what are you angry about? This just happened – I want to make a point here today.“I was in San Francisco talking to a group at a fundraiser and somebody asked how’re you going to get votes in Pennsylvania? What’s going on there? We hear that’s its hard for some working class people to get behind you’re campaign. I said, “Well look, they’re frustrated and for good reason. Because for the last 25 years they’ve seen jobs shipped overseas. They’ve seen their economies collapse. They have lost their jobs. They have lost their pensions. They have lost their healthcare.
“And for 25, 30 years Democrats and Republicans have come before them and said we’re going to make your community better. We’re going to make it right and nothing ever happens. And of course they’re bitter. Of course they’re frustrated. You would be too. In fact many of you are. Because the same thing has happened here in Indiana. The same thing happened across the border in Decatur. The same thing has happened all across the country. Nobody is looking out for you. Nobody is thinking about you. And so people end up- they don’t vote on economic issues because they don’t expect anybody’s going to help them. So people end up, you know, voting on issues like guns, and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. And they take refuge in their faith and their community and their families and things they can count on. But they don’t believe they can count on Washington. So I made this statement-- so, here’s what rich. Senator Clinton says ‘No, I don’t think that people are bitter in Pennsylvania. You know, I think Barack’s being condescending.’ John McCain says, ‘Oh, how could he say that? How could he say people are bitter? You know, he’s obviously out of touch with people.’
“Out of touch? Out of touch? I mean, John McCain—it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he’s saying I’m out of touch? Senator Clinton voted for a credit card-sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt after taking money from the financial services companies, and she says I’m out of touch? No, I’m in touch. I know exactly what’s going on. I know what’s going on in Pennsylvania. I know what’s going on in Indiana. I know what’s going on in Illinois. People are fed-up. They’re angry and they’re frustrated and they’re bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington and that’s why I’m running for President of the United States of America.”
Wild Thing's comment.........
Obama is proving he not only went to Wright’s church, but heard and soaked in every message to heart and that is how he views the world.
And about Hillary, calling Obama elitist...this coming from the woman who would not allow people to look at her as she stomped her way through the halls of the White House. The woman who called the military guards at the White House, "pigs".
This coming from the woman who had to have a special commode built for her while she traveled China when she was first lady that cost over $25,000.
Elitist, Hillary Clinton does not even give a tip to some minimum wage paid waitress.
America and American's DO NOT DESERVE THESE TWO pieces of slim.
He's running out of excuses. Obama wasn't merely nodding off in the church audience. These were very detailed and condescending comments.
It’s finally coming to the surface-his relationships with Jeremiah Wright and Billy Ayers were warning signs-now he and his wife are really beginning to spew out their own hateful beliefs.
Obama is a racist, baby-terminating, crotch-saluting, America-hating, looney-pastor worshiping, campaign-speech-stealing liar.
....Thank you Mark for the link.
* Michelle Malkin ...for the video
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (16)
Obama's Family ~ Not Like Yours and Mine
Obama's Militant Muslim 1/2 Brother Abongo Is Luo
In this Obama Family photo are: (bottom row, from left) half-sister Auma, her mother Kezia Obama, Obama's step-grandmother Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama and unknown; (top row, from left) unknown, Barack Obama, half-brother Abongo (Roy) Obama, and three unknowns ( Sun Times)
Barack Obama stands behind Kezia (stepmother) in a Kenyan family shot. Included in the photo is brother Abongo "Roy" Obama who is a Luo activist and a militant Muslim who argues that the black man must "liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture."
"Abongo's new lifestyle has left him lean and clear-eyed, and at the wedding, he looked so dignified in his black African gown with white trim and matching cap that so me of our guests mistook him for my father," Obama wrote in Dreams From My Father.
If Obama left Islam, Obama must have very definite thoughts about it. Obama would have had to make a decision to reject Islam. When did he make that decision? How? Why the silence? Why the reluctance to talk about it?
Apostasy is punishable by death in Islam. Have there been calls for Obama's death? If not, why not? Islam gives no free passes. A few that have left Islam are quite vocal - Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Walid Shoebat, Elijah Abraham. These people have had their lives threatened.
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Barack has stated his support for Luo Opposition Leader in Kenya RaRaila Odinga (who signed a Shariah pact with Muslims and claims to be Obama's cousin) and is married to Ida Odinga. They have four children - two sons and two daughters. His oldest son, Fidel, is named after Fidel Castro.
Raila Odinga has signed a pact to institute sharia when he takes power after the current bloody coup.
Odinga is a Marxist who reportedly has made a pact with a hard-line Islamic group in Kenya to establish Shariah courts throughout the country. He has also vowed to ban booze and pork and impose Muslim dress codes on women -- moves favored by Obama's brother.
Barack Obama's cousin Raila Odinga is charged with ethnic cleansing by Kenyan officials.
President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the 27 December poll, but the results were rejected by the opposition and called into question by international observers.
More than 600 people have died in unrest since, and another quarter of a million have been driven from their homes.
In an interview last week with the BBC's HARDtalk programme, Ms Karua said the government had suspected that Mr Raila Odinga's ODM party was "planning mayhem if they lost".
But she said they had not expected "the magnitude [of the violence] and for it to be ethnic cleansing".
Barack Obama's cousin and Kenyan Opposition Leader Raila Odinga (BBC)
source: Investor's Business Daily
In 1991, when Obama joined the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, he pledged allegiance to something called the Black Value System, which is a code of non-Biblical ethics written by blacks, for blacks.
It encourages blacks to group together and separate from the larger American society by pooling their money, patronizing black-only businesses and backing black leaders. Such racial separatism is strangely at odds with the media's portrayal of Obama as a uniter who reaches across races.
The code also warns blacks to avoid the white "entrapment of black middle-classness," suggesting that settling for that kind of "competitive" success will rob blacks of their African identity and keep them "captive" to white culture.
In short, Obama's "unashamedly black" church preaches the politics of black nationalism.
Obama has close family ties to Kenya, and even founded a school in his ancestral village -- the Senator Obama School.
In the bloody conflict there, which already has claimed some 700 lives, Obama appears to have sided with opposition leader Raila Odinga, head of the same Luo tribe to which Obama's late Muslim father belonged.
Obama's older brother still lives there. Abongo "Roy" Obama is a Luo activist and a militant Muslim who argues that the black man must "liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture." He urges his younger brother to embrace his African heritage.
Beyond family politics, these ties have potential foreign policy, even national security, implications.
Odinga is a Marxist who reportedly has made a pact with a hard-line Islamic group in Kenya to establish Shariah courts throughout the country. He has also vowed to ban booze and pork and impose Muslim dress codes on women -- moves favored by Obama's brother.
With al-Qaida strengthening its beachheads in Africa -- from Algeria to Sudan to Somalia -- the last thing the West needs is for pro-Western Kenya to fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.
Yet Obama interrupted his New Hampshire campaigning to speak by phone with Odinga, who claims to be his cousin. He did not speak with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.
Would Obama put African tribal or family interests ahead of U.S. interests?
He denies being Muslim, however, and says he "embraced Christ" while answering the altar call 20 years ago at Trinity. (Contrary to anonymous e-mail rumors circulating, Obama never took the oath of office on the Quran. He used a Bible, and Vice President Dick Cheney swore him in during his Senate ceremony.)
This merely raises another concern, beyond that of the controversial church he chose to baptize him. If Obama were ever Muslim, even as a youth, he would now be viewed as an apostate, which in radical Islam is punishable by death. As Mideast expert Daniel Pipes has noted, a President Obama could be the target of a fatwah.
Still, his Muslim heritage is not the signal issue before the electorate. It's his Afrocentric church, which preaches black socialism and black nativism, and his family ties to an African tribe that's fanning the flames of Marxism and militant Islam in a country once considered strongly democratic and a friend of the U.S.
"I believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change," Obama has asserted. He also says his faith has led him to question "the idolatry of the free market."
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How Raila acquired his billions.
Raila Odinga’s big break came in 2001 soon after he led his party, NDP, into a merger with KANU, the then ruling party. As Energy Minister in Moi’s government he was introduced to the family of Sheikh Abdukeder AlBakari, one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia with interests in petroleum drilling, petroleum exploration and export in the Middle East, Asia, USA and Africa.
Through the Saudi contacts,Raila was initiated into the lucrative world of oil business and soon enough he had joined the league of gig independent oil importers via his firm Pan African Petroleum Limited.
Industry sources say that one of the things that helped Raila make a quick buck in the oil business was a concessionary petroleum deal he struck with the Al Bakri Group where he was not only incorporated as a silent partner in the local arm of Al Bakri International but was also supplied with petroleum products from Saudi Arabia at subsidized prices which his firm would sell in the market at normal prices. That way,Raila was able to deftly beat the competition in oil business by occasional price undercutting.
While still Energy Minister,Raila re-established and nurtured his links with the Libyan government of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi where again he not only did good business in oil importation but also got substantial material support during the 2002 general elections.
A. K. Al Bakri & Sons Holding is the Saudi group headed by President & CEO Abdulkader Al Bakri, which has more outlets, subsidiaries and other companies than one can easily count. One of the prime contracts they would get is for the supply of jet fuel to Nairobi Airport, which allowed for undercutting of the competition there.
This is the very same Abdulkader Al Bakri listed as a defendant in the First Amendment Complaint suit brought by various insurance companies against al Qaeda and associated organizations and individuals.
Within that suit is mentioned documents (known as the Golden Chain document) picked up by Bosnian police on a raid on a charitable front organization for al Qaeda in Sarajevo. One of the listed documents is the "Tareekh Osama" ("Osama's History") in which Abdulkader al Bakri aka Abdel Qader Bakri gets a prominent listing:
ABDEL QADER BAKRI (ABDULKADER [AL] BAKRI)
CEO, Bakri Group of Cos
CEO, Al Bakri International Power Co. Ltd (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
CEO, Al-Bakri Shipping Group (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
CEO, Alkhomasia Shipping and Maintenance Company Ltd (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
CEO, Red Sea Marine Services (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
CEO, Diners Club International (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Bakri Group formed in April 2002 a JV with the Malaysian International Shipping
Corporation (MISC) to operate in Middle-East countries, including Yemen. MISC leased
super tanker MT Limburg when it was attacked on October 6, 2002, coming from Ra's
Tannura (Saudi Arabia).
And then particular to one of the bin Laden brothers:
WAIL (WAEL HAMZA JULAIDAN)
Former Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Rabita Trust in Pakistan,
designated by the United States Treasury as SGDT
Receives donations from Suleiman Al Rashid, Abdulkader Bakri, Salahuddin Abduljawad,
Abdul Tahi Taher
So, when a man like Raila Odinga is linked with Abdulkader al Bakri, you are not making a minor connection, but one directly into al Qaeda. Such are the vagaries of making political bedfellows in other Nations.
Then there is Raila Odinga's Memorandum of Understanding with the Moslems in Kenya to turn the Nation into an Islamic State.
This Memorandum was dated and signed on August 29, 2007, between Raila Odinga and Shiekh Abdullah Abdi, chairman of the National Muslim Leaders Forum of Kenya.
Here are just a few of them:
b) Within 6 months re-write the Constitution of Kenya to recognize Shariah as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared regions.
c) With immediate effect dismiss the Commissioner of Police who has allowed himself to be used by heathens and Zionists to oppress the Kenyan Muslim community.
g) Within one year facilitate the establishment of a Shariah court in every Kenyan divisional headquarters. [Note: everywhere in Kenya, not just in "Muslim declared regions
.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Isn’t Obama’s family just great? Obama and Odinga support each other’s “insurgency” candidacies. Obama goes to Kenya, campaigns for his cousin and calls Kenya’s government corrupt, and, along with our State Dept., pushes Kenya into a coalition government with Odinga, who has attempted several coups against the government of Kenya, and now will be working from the inside to deliver Kenya to the Islamo-fascist NAMLEF, and the Eurasian Axis of Russia, Red China, Iran, etc
Obama is not merely related to this SOB Odinga which would be something he could not help, but CAMPAIGNED for him.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (17)
China Olympic News
China: Plot on Olympic athletes foiled
April 10th
China said Thursday it had uncovered a criminal ring planning to kidnap athletes and others at the Beijing Olympic Games.Thirty-five members of a ring based in the restive western Xinjiang region were arrested, Ministry of Public Security Spokesman Wu Heping told a news conference.
"We face a real terrorist threat," Wu said. The arrests took place between March 26 and April 6, he said.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror hijackings, China has tried to portray the simmering separatist rebellion in Xinjiang as being fueled by terrorist organizations in Central Asia and the Middle East. But evidence made public has been scarce.
Western embassies asked Beijing for more information after authorities said they broke up an attempt to hijack a plane in western China last month but so far no evidence has been provided, diplomats have said.
On Thursday, Wu said the ring was plotting to kidnap athletes, foreign journalists and other visitors to the August Games. He added that police had also confiscated almost 22 pounds of explosives and eight sticks of dynamite and "jihadist" literature in the latest raids in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.
Wu also provided further details on a second group arrested in January, alleging they had been manufacturing explosives and were plotting to attack hotels, government offices and military targets in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities.
Wu said the gang had been acting on orders from a radical Islamic Xinjiang independence group, East Turkestan Islamic Movement.
While the United States has labeled the East Turkestan Islamic Movement a terrorist organization, the State Department alleges widespread abuses of the legal and educational systems by the communist authorities to suppress Uighur culture and religion.
Note the double-speak of Rogge!!!
Athletes who take Tibet stand 'face Olympic cut'
April 11th
Times Online
Athletes who display Tibetan flags at Olympic venues — including in their own rooms — could be expelled from this summer’s Games in Beijing under anti-propaganda rules.Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said that competitors were free to express their political views but faced sanctions if they indulged in propaganda.
He accompanied those comments with an admission that the Games were in “crisis” after pro-Tibet protests engulfed the Olympic torch relay.
Mr Rogge’s call for Beijing to abide by its promise to address human rights was given short shrift by Beijing, which bluntly told him to keep politics out of the Games.
Japan says no to Chinese torch guards
April 11th
TOKYO
Japan will not allow the squad of Chinese flame guards to intervene with the Beijing Olympic torch's progress when it arrives in a Japanese city this month, the national police head was quoted as saying on Friday."We should not violate the principle that the Japanese police will firmly maintain security," Kyodo news agency quoted Shinya Izumi, head of the National Public Safety Commission, as saying.
"We do not know what position the people who escorted the relay are in," Izumi was quoted as saying. "If they are for the consideration of security, it is our role."
The torch is set to arrive in Nagano, central Japan, where the Winter Games were hosted in 1998, on April 26, after passing through Buenos Aires, Mumbai, and Canberra, among other cities.
Wild Thing's comment.......
There is a lot happening regarding ithe Olympics so I thought I would start to keep a record of news that is important about it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (10)
April 11, 2008
Obama Logo ~ Make Your Own ~ LMAO
and this one .......
Wild Thing's comment........
LOL you can make your own B. Hussein Obama logo. hahahaa
I made the two that you see above.
It is funny because obviously THIS is not what they had in mind with their idea at their website to support the jerk Obama. heh heh
Here is what it says at their website:
"We’ve been noticing a trend of people displaying their support for Barack Obama’s Democratic presidential campaign by using his logo as their avatar, or visual representation on the web. We thought, “what can we do to show our support?” So we created Logobama, a place for you to create your own custom Obama logo and use it wherever you want. As Obama says, “we are the change we have been waiting for.” That’s what Obama is representing... someone who wants all of us to participate in changing the world. And together, we can make this change, one logo at a time.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:35 PM | Comments (5)
B.Hussein Obama on small-town PA: Clinging religion, guns, xenophobia
B. Hussein Obama's remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser Sunday
Full transcript:
OBAMA:
"So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people are most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism.
But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What is the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is so we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- to close tax loopholes, uh you know uh roll back the tax cuts for the top 1%, Obama's gonna give tax breaks to uh middle-class folks and we're gonna provide healthcare for every American.
But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing."
Wild Thing's comment.........
O.K. this guy totally creeps me out. This is what he really thinks too! He is a POS! This is arrogance of the highest form. I’m surprised he didn’t add the phrase “Typical white people.” at the end of his remarks.
For one thing it is small town America that has built this country, kept it strong and is the heart and soul of our Nation.
Obama hates the America we have, like all the leftists his love is of the America they intend to create after they tear this one down.
Isn't it obvious Obama hates religion? No one would place religion in that list of "negative" things unless they totally disrespect believers.
Same goes for daring to oppose illegal immigration, in Obama's mind. And in supporting the 2nd amendment.
Obama did this in his "race" speech as well - referring to perfectly wholesome things like anti-crime sentiment as somehow being bad things resulting from capitalism.
Add to this his view of "babies" as a punishment.
Obama holds bizarre left wing views through and through. His view of small town America itself is frightening. Decent people are "clinging" to religious belief because of capitalism.
Funny, Obama watched Rev Wright rant like a clown for twenty years, but that brand of religion never troubled him.
Obama views all mainstream traditional views as diseases to be eradicated.
Even Juan Williams in FNC channel a little while ago, maybe an hour or soe was talking about how stupid these comments were especially when coupled with the not wanting his daughters “punished with a baby” comments.
****** Please read Mark's comment in the post below this one, it is excellent and it comes from somoene that lives in PA.******
....Thanks Mark for the heads up about what he said.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 PM | Comments (13)
Barack Obama - Jedi Master
How Democrat Barack Obama has a way of persuading crowds as he campaigns for President.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:27 PM | Comments (6)
Update On Sharia In U.S. Secondary Public Schools
The other day we had a post here ..... Minnesota Muslim Public School Paid For By Taxpayers
Katharine Kersten’s excellent investigative work on the Minnesota taxpayer-funded Islamic school, TIZA, has led to a state probe of the institution. It has also shed light again on the spread of sharia in U.S. secondary public schools.
A Star Tribune newspaper column has prompted a state investigation into a charter school. A substitute teacher said a school in Inver Grove Heights is blurring the line of separation of church and state.
Being a charter school Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, or TIZA, is supported by tax dollars. The teacher told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the presence of religion she observed at the school took her by surprise.
TIZA Executive Director Azad Zaman insisted the school follows with state and federal laws.
"TIZA does not endorse any religion," he said.
However, TIZA Academy is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA, based in California.
The questions came after substitute teacher Amanda Getz taught at TIZA last month and told the Star Tribune about things she observed that day that shocked her.
"I've been in a lot of schools and I've never been in a school where they had washing rituals, or they had prayer, or where they had a room where you had to take your shoes off," Getz said.
"It is most likely that this substitute teacher was sadly mistaken," said Zaman.
He said the school follows state and federal guidelines when it comes to religion.
"We're required under the federal guidelines to allow students to pray when they wish to do so. And as Muslim students, they're allowed to pray around 1:30 p.m., so we allow them to do that," Zaman explained.
The State Department of Education said they would conduct more site visits and write to the State Department to find out more about the school’s sponsor.
TIZA requires all students to learn Arabic as a second language English.
State law requires the school to fly an American flag during school hours, however no flag flies outside of TIZA Academy.
Zaman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he didn’t know how to work the flagpole.
Please also see the post at Michelle Malkin's where she has more details about this and other schools as well where this is happening.
Wild Thing's comment........
The barbarians at the gate!
The multicultural idiots in our public school systems will stop at nothing to be politically correct, no matter how wrong it makes them or how dangerous the poison they spread. But, they can’t be blamed, ...not entirely. Too many people play PC games when it comes to identifying Islam as evil. It’s like telling Satan his demons are cool, as long as we only get the ones we want, and then expecting him to respect our wishes. There is no such thing as a little bit of the right kind of Islam.
....Thank you Lynn for the link to the article and thank you Mark for the headsup of the excellent information at Michell's blog.
This is so important that people know about this going on. I bet a lot of parents never knew this kind of thing was happening right here in America.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 PM | Comments (6)
Soros and David Brock Plan $40 Million Hit On McCain
David Brock, Dems plan $40M hit on McCain
Politico for complete article !!
Wealthy Democrats are preparing a four-month, $40 million media campaign centered on attacks on Senator John McCain. And it will be led by David Brock, the former investigative reporter who first gained fame in the 1990s as a right-wing, anti-Clinton journalist.
The planned campaign is the product of a shakeup in the top ranks of the struggling independent Democratic groups. Brock, now best known as the ex-conservative founder of the liberal group Media Matters, last month quietly assumed the chairmanship of what's expected to be the main vehicle for independent Democratic attacks on McCain, now called Progressive Media USA.
The move comes after the groups that had been expected to spearhead attacks on McCain – the Fund for America and Progressive Media USA's previous incarnation, the Campaign to Defend America – failed to raise the money needed to dent McCain's armor.
"We're a little behind where we need to be," he said.
But after a dinner Tuesday night at the Manhattan apartment of liberal megadonor George Soros, at which Brock and the consultant Paul Begala laid out the group's plans, Brock said his group now has commitments worth $7.5 million – almost twice what the Fund for America is expected to report raising in the first quarter of this year. He said the group would begin running ads before it meets its $40 million goal.
Brock suggested that the group could do the work of a press corps that, he says, has "fallen down on the job" when it comes to McCain.
Brock's remarkable emergence as a leader of the Democratic party's shadow campaign efforts marks a milestone in a long personal journey that began in the early 1990s with the notoriety he gained from magazine stories written for The American Spectator, a conservative monthly. Among his controversial articles was one alleging that Bill Clinton had used Arkansas state troopers to facilitate his philandering, a piece that set the wheels in motion for Paula Jones to file suit against Clinton for sexual harassment. In 1993, Brock authored The Real Anita Hill, a critical book about the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
Brock later apologized to Clinton in a public letter and broke publicly with the conservative movement. He wrote about his disillusionment in his 2002 memoir Blinded by the Right, and Hillary Clinton later helped him establish Media Matters, which criticizes reporters for alleged right-wing "misinformation."
Brock is now seen in political circles as closer to Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign than to Senator Barack Obama's, but Brock said he has already met with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a close Obama ally.
Wild Thing's comment........
Well this will be interesting to say the least. The deal is made and Paul Begala will consult with political mercenary David Brock backed mostly by Soros to go after McCain who thanks to Rick Davis McCain's Campaign Manager is also funded by Soros indirectly through various groups.
This is weird because McCain is also on the Soros dime, not as much as Hillary and certainly not as much as B. HUSSEIN Obama. Soros has covered himself every which way.
a post I did months ago
McCain and Connections To Soros ~ Ugly Stuff
So let's see the admitted liar David Brock... or the flaming homosexual David Brock... or the greedy propagandist David Brock... or the Marxist David Brock is joining with communist/socialist America hater Soros who is known for hedging his bets are in political "bed " together.
The Dems are still smarting over the fact that a group of Swift Boat Vets proved their candidate in 2004 was a serial liar.
Through McCain-Feingold, John McCain can truly be said to have fed the hand that bites him.
Photo of Brock with Barney Frank
What we know too is that Hillary wants this so bad she can taste it. She and Bill never were never punished for their many crimes, 'gates", suspicious deaths of those that came in contact with them, but even so she is not someone to mess with.
Obama has turned this election into a total race card, and that is UGLY anyway it is done. The terrorists want him to be elected as we saw in the video of the Palestinians doing what they can do gain support of Obama.
Besides being such an important election for the future of America it sure is turning out to be a truly ugly one and we still have months to go.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (14)
In Country With Our Troops
Senior Airman Melissa Gallardore places retaining rings on a wheel from the main landing gear of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on March 29, 2008. Gallardore is a crew chief with the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron deployed from the Montana Air National Guard. DoD photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter, U.S. Air Force.
U.S. Navy sailors watch from the fantail as aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 2 streak to a night landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during flight operations in the Pacific Ocean on April 7, 2008. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class James R. Evans, U.S. Navy.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Our military is so totally awesome. I am so very proud of every one of them. Thank God for these men and women and their love for our country. And thank God too for the Veterans that went before them to lead the way.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (5)
China Tells Olympic Boss To Stay Out Of Politics
China tells Olympic boss to stay out of politics
BEIJING (AFP)
China bluntly told the world Olympics chief Thursday to keep out of politics, in a tart exchange on human rights following days of protests that have shadowed the Olympic torch around the world.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the Games were in "crisis" following the demonstrations, and urged China to respect its pledge to improve its rights record before the event begins in August.
China fired back that Rogge should keep politics out of the Olympics, which Beijing hoped would showcase its much-touted "peaceful rise" to power -- but which have instead become a public relations nightmare.
Separately, China's Ministry of Public Security said it had cracked a terrorist group in its Muslim-dominated northwest that was plotting to kidnap foreign journalists, tourists and athletes during the Olympics.
A taciturn Rogge, on a visit to the host country, admitted he was "saddened" that these Olympics, dogged by protests over Tibet and calls for a boycott, were not simply a global celebration of sport.
It was "not the joyous party that we had wished it to be," Rogge said in Beijing, nevertheless insisting that the torch relay -- disrupted by protests in Greece, London, Paris and San Francisco -- would go on.
He also told a news conference that China -- under fire over a crackdown in Tibet and a host of other issues -- had promised that winning the right to host the Games would lead to an improvement in human rights."We definitely ask China to respect this moral engagement," he added.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters that Rogge's view of a "crisis" might have been exaggerated, and made it clear China would not engage in a discussion on its human rights performance.
"I believe IOC officials support the Beijing Olympics and adherence to the Olympic charter of not bringing in any irrelevant political factors," she said.
"I hope IOC officials continue to adhere to principles of the Olympic charter."
When asked later Thursday whether tension had surfaced between Rogge and the Chinese authorities, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "No, not at all."
"Relations are very good," she said.
Attention to China's rights record intensified last month when protests in Tibet against Chinese rule erupted into violence and spread to other areas of the country.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people were killed in the ensuing crackdown by China. Beijing insists its security forces have killed no one while trying to quell the protests, but that Tibetan "rioters" killed 20 people.
However China sealed off the areas to foreign reporters and other independent monitors, and global rights groups have said they fear those detained could face torture.
Beijing has repeatedly blamed the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, for the unrest.
The Dalai Lama, on a visit to Japan, said China had the right to host the Games but blamed Beijing for the unrest, saying there was no freedom of speech in his homeland.
"They really deserve" the Olympics, he said. "In spite of the unfortunate events in Tibet, my position has not changed."
Pro-Tibet groups, human rights activists and other campaigners have shadowed the flame since it was lit in Greece on March 24, starting its 20-country journey across the globe.
Protesters disrupted the torch relay this week in London and Paris, where officials had to extinguish the flame several times.
There was no major trouble in San Francisco after organisers shortened the course for the only US leg and switched the route. Its next stop is Buenos Aires.
"The Olympic torch relay will continue in all sorts of weathers to spread the Olympic spirit ...," Jiang, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told Xinhua news agency.
Some activists have said they fear that, rather than improving the situation, China is using the Games to justify cracking down even harder on critics at home.
China's security chiefs said Thursday that they had broken two terrorist groups in its heavily Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, where there have lately also been reports of protests against the government.
The "violent terrorist group" plotted to abduct foreigners during the Games in a move "that would achieve the goal of wrecking the Beijing Olympics," Ministry of Public Security spokesman Wu Heping said.
Meanwhile, European lawmakers in Brussels urged EU leaders Thursday to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony unless China holds talks with the Dalai Lama, while Beijing refused a request by the top United Nations human rights official Louise Arbour to visit Tibet.
Wild Thing's comment........
Hey Rogge, you people created this monstrosity
"It was "not the joyous party that we had wished it to be," Rogge said in Beijing."..
You should have thought of that BEFORE you decided to put the Olympics in CHINA.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (10)
Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 Celebrated Its 40th Anniversary April 1st
Gen. Randolph Alles, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) accepts a piece of birthday cake from Lt. Col. Michael E. Watkins, the commanding officer of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167. April 1 marked the 40th anniversary of the squadron.
A Tradition of Excellence: Warriors Celebrate Four Decades of Success
By Cpl. Scott McAdam
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
AL ASAD, Iraq
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing celebrated its 40th anniversary April 1.
The Warriors, originally Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167, were founded aboard Marble Mountain Air Facility in the Republic of Vietnam on April 1, 1968, under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16.
This ceremony is unique because we are celebrating our 40th anniversary in a combat zone under the command of MAG-16 once again, explained Capt. Somer A. Chambley, UH-1N Huey pilot, HMLA-167.
Though the war today is much different than the war 40 years ago, the squadron’s mission remains the same – to support coalition forces.
“Our mission is to provide offensive air support, utility helicopter support, armed escort and airborne supporting arms coordination during naval expeditionary operations or joint and combined operations,” said Chambley.
“Often times the squadron would provide several of these same missions as part of the same operation,” she added. “Our squadron patch, which closely resembles our original patch, has symbolism that represents all these varied missions.”
As with any other element of the Marine Corps, every mission the Warriors accomplish supports Marine infantrymen on the ground.
“There is no doubt that the men and women on the ground are carrying the heavy load of this conflict,” Chambley said. “They are taking the fight to the enemy.”
Throughout their history, the Warriors have accomplished many firsts and participated in numerous significant operations around the globe.
During the squadron’s deployment to Vietnam, Lt. Col. T.F. Miller, then commanding officer of HML-167, dropped the first helicopter bomb using the Helicopter Trap Weapon. In May of 1971, HML-167 was the last operating helicopter squadron in Vietnam, completing over 60,000 combat flight hours during the war.
“Utility helicopter support was our bread and butter during Vietnam –fulfilling a wide range of missions in support of friendly forces,” said Chambley.
After returning from Vietnam, the squadron received the Marine Corps’ first UH-1N Huey, becoming the initial UH-1N squadron for the Marine Corps. With the new airframe, HML-167 also acquired the responsibilities as the training squadron and model manager for the UH-1N.
Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 received its first AH-1T Cobra in January 1984 and became the first light/attack squadron on April 1, 1986.
Though the squadron switched designation, their mission didn’t change; it only expanded with the addition of the AH-1 and improved technology.
“Today, we still do those same missions, but we also provide an anti-armor capability and forward air controller capability,” added Chambley.
In 1989, the squadron added three AH-1W Super Cobras to their already deadly arsenal.
One year later, HMLA-167 supported the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit with the evacuation of more than 3,000 American citizens and foreign nationals from Monrovia, Liberia, the largest non-combatant evacuation since Saigon in 1975.
Other large operations HMLA-167 took part in include: Operation Urgent Fury, Beirut, and Desert Storm, in addition to several Marine Expeditionary Units (Special Operations Capable) and Marine Air Ground Task Force deployments.
In 2004, the Warriors deployed to Al Asad Air Base as a full squadron and are currently on their fourth deployment in support of OIF.
Through the last four decades, the Marines with HMLA-167 have demonstrated success and look forward to future accomplishments.
“I could not be more proud of this squadron and of our history,” said Lt. Col. Michael E. Watkins, commanding officer, HMLA-167. “I believe the high-caliber of people we have in the squadron are the right ones to carry on our fine history and traditions.”
Wild Thing's comment........
There is something very special when I see a story lilke this and the connection from those who served before and those serving now. There really is no break at all in the awesome brotherhood. I love it so much.
God bless those serving now and keep them safe. And I pray too they kill lots of bad guys. haha
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
But I Could Be Wrong ~ LOL
A video about celebrities that we all can't stand, to the music of Tim Wilson and his song titled "But I Could Be Wrong."
...Thank you Cuchieddie, this is great. hahahaha
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (4)
Fresh Eggs Available Once More For Deployed Soldiers
Fresh eggs available once more for deployed Soldiers
By Spc. Aaron Rosencrans, MND-B PAO
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq
Baghdad Soldier made it possible for deployed troops to once again enjoy fresh eggs as one of their breakfast options after the nutritious staple was banned from Iraq for one year.After receiving a plethora of requests from Soldiers and the command group, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Sabrina Nero, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., took it upon herself to find a way to once again get fresh eggs on the menu; Nero serves as the command food advisor with Company B, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B,
"When the 4th Inf. Div. got here, everyone, including the command staff, was wondering where the eggs were, so I went to find out why there were no eggs here," Nero said.
Receiving the mission, Nero immediately got a copy of the memorandum, which banned fresh eggs that originated in Kuwait after a bird flu outbreak in March 2007.
"I read the memorandum from the state department and found a technicality that would allow eggs back into Iraq," she explained. "The technicality was the Iraqi Government didn't want poultry products shipped into Iraq that had originated from Kuwait. If it originated in Kuwait, that meant we couldn't get the product."
She said she noticed the letter never said Soldiers couldn't have eggs - it stated the eggs couldn't come from Kuwait.
Nero wondered where else she could procure eggs since Kuwait was off limits.
"I went and talked to the food safety officer, and she gave me a list of all the approved sources where we could source eggs outside of Kuwait," she said.
Nero then pieced together the necessary paperwork for a proposal to crack open alternative sources of fresh eggs and poultry from other countries surrounding Iraq.
She submitted a proposal to her chain of command for approval from Lt. Gen. James Lovelace, commanding general of U.S. Army Central and Coalition Forces Land Component Command.
Nero said there was some hesitation as to whether or not to accept the proposal because all food products were shipped through Kuwait; but in the end, she got a green light from all levels and eggs began to roll into Iraq.
To her surprise, her efforts not only affected Iraq but also Afghanistan and other neighboring countries where U.S. troops were stationed.
"Since the military houses its food in Kuwait, eggs became available for all Soldiers in southwestern Asia," she said. "All it took was one person to stand up and point out the technicality. We were just the ones to push the issue."
Soldiers seemed appreciative of the new addition to the breakfast menu at the Ironhorse Sports Oasis.
"I was already eating breakfast every day, but now that they got real eggs, it makes it even better," said Pfc. Manuel Silvas, a native of Houston, who serves as a generator repair specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, STB, 4th Inf. Div. "The eggs give me more motivation to wake up in the morning and get some chow."
Spc. Benjamin Heath, a native of Overland Park, Kan., and regular breakfast eater said he is happy he can now add eggs to his morning routine. Heath, who ordered three eggs, cooked over medium, serves as an administrator with the Inspector General, Co. A, STB, 4th Inf. Div.
Thinking proactively, Nero said Soldiers can rest easy if there's an outbreak of bird flu at one of the suppliers.
"Even in the event there is a producer who has an outbreak of the bird flu or has some sort of health issue with their products, there are other facilities we can procure our eggs from," she said. "This way, we won't have an interruption in our supply of poultry products from neighboring countries."
Aside from the recent addition of eggs to the menu, Nero said she had another project on the table for Soldiers this summer and was willing to share the inside scoop.
"The menu board meeting begins this month, and we're working to bring sherbet back to Baghdad," she said. "The sherbet should be available by this summer if all goes well. There has been a great demand for a low-calorie alternative to ice cream, so I've been working to bring this back for Soldiers who want to eat something sweet, but don't want all the calories."
With Nero's time in Iraq coming to a close, she said she feels she can leave country knowing she accomplished something good for the Soldiers.
"I'm just happy I'm leaving knowing the Soldiers got their fresh eggs," she said. "It goes to show if you want something done, all you need to do is raise your voice and it will happen."
Wild Thing's comment........
I love this story!
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (6)
TAGGED!
Delftsman of Delftsman blog tagged me with this challenge:
The Rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to the original post if possible so we can track it as travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.
Here is mine: I am doing them in order of how my life has happened. haha
Pianist, Athlete, model, entertainer, blessed wife
Now I will tag:
Jack, Billy O'blog, Linda, ( she will kill me for this heh heh), LinkaZona, Poor Grrl Zone,
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 AM | Comments (12)
April 10, 2008
Barack Obama: “Thats just how white folks will do you.”
Obama can denounce Rev. Wrights words...but can he separate himself from his own words?
Wild Thing's comment.........
B. Hussein Obama will bring this same hate for whites and his wife's hate for whites right into the Oval Office. Every decision Obama makes has this hate seething inside of it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 PM | Comments (16)
Ahmadinejad Denies al Qaeda’s 9/11 Attack On America
Ahmadinejad denies al Qaeda’s 9/11 attack on America
In his most provocative anti-US speech to date, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised doubts about whether al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York actually took place. He was addressing Iran’s Nuclear Technology day, April 8, DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report. He went on to ask why the US had never released the names of the thousands of dead in the Trade Center attacks and how the most advanced security, intelligence and tracking devices in the world had failed to detect the hijackers’ planes before they struck the two New York towers.
Ahmadinejad is famous also for denying the Nazi Holocaust.
Announcing earlier that Iran had begun installing 6,000 new advanced (P2) centrifuges for uranium enrichment at Natanz, the Iranian president claimed his country’s nuclear program had passed the point of no-return technologically and politically.
America is disintegrating politically, militarily and economically, according to Ahmadinejad, who boasted that Iran’s nuclear achievement is a turning-point in history that will change the international order prevailing since World War II.
He asked why everyone jumps on Iran’s nuclear program when “a band of international pirates has stores crammed with nuclear bombs.”
DEBKAfile adds: By going full steam ahead with uranium enrichment, Iran is flouting three UN Security Council resolutions and standing fast against threats, sanctions and incentives offered by the West to halt a process capable of producing nuclear weapons.
Instead, Tehran is installing a new generation of advanced P2 centrifuges to replace the older P-1 machines and accelerate enrichment. He claims they are five times cheaper than the commercial machines.
The five Security Council members and Germany meet later this month for their umpteenth discussion on Iran’s nuclear activities. However, aside from “sweetening” their incentives package and tighter sanctions, they have run out of ideas for curbing Iran’s rapidly-advancing nuclear plans.
Wild Thing's comment........
I am just sooo tired of this empty-headed camel breeder. swear he must have hired Baghdad Bob to help him with his PR. There are noooooo nuclear bumbs in Iran... NEEEEEVEH!
Other news from I'm-a-nut-job:
Pope is a Muslim.
Bears wait until they leave the woods to use the bathroom.
Sun rises in the west.
And of course number one on his list: The Jooooooooos did it, no matter what "it" is.
Terrorists Ahmadinejad can kiss my ass!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (14)
Carter Loves The Hamas So Much He Plans To Meet With Their Leader
U.S. President Jimmy Carter is planning to meet with Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal in Damascus.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:54 AM | Comments (8)
Happy Birthday Rodger
.
Rodger, thank you for your awesome blog and your kindness and friendship.
Have a wonderful birthday!
Rodger's blog is Curmudgeonly &Skeptical
Chrissie and everyone at Theodore's World
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (5)
Minnesota Muslim Public School Paid For By Taxpayers
Wall of silence broken at state's Muslim public school
By KATHERINE KERSTEN
Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.
Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers.
TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school.
* It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota."
* The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.
* Students pray daily,
* the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law --
* and "Islamic Studies" is offered at the end of the school day.
Zaman maintains that TIZA is not a religious school. He declined, however, to allow me to visit the school to see for myself, "due to the hectic schedule for statewide testing." But after I e-mailed him that the Minnesota Department of Education had told me that testing would not begin for several weeks, Zaman did not respond -- even to urgent calls and e-mails seeking comment before my first column on TIZA.
Now, however, an eyewitness has stepped forward. Amanda Getz of Bloomington is a substitute teacher. She worked as a substitute in two fifth-grade classrooms at TIZA on Friday, March 14. Her experience suggests that school-sponsored religious activity plays an integral role at TIZA.
Arriving on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, she says she was told that the day's schedule included a "school assembly" in the gym after lunch.
Before the assembly, she says she was told, her duties would include taking her fifth-grade students to the bathroom, four at a time, to perform "their ritual washing."
Afterward, Getz said, "teachers led the kids into the gym, where a man dressed in white with a white cap, who had been at the school all day," was preparing to lead prayer. Beside him, another man "was prostrating himself in prayer on a carpet as the students entered."
"The prayer I saw was not voluntary," Getz said. "The kids were corralled by adults and required to go to the assembly where prayer occurred."
Islamic Studies was also incorporated into the school day.
"When I arrived, I was told 'after school we have Islamic Studies,' and I might have to stay for hall duty," Getz said. "The teachers had written assignments on the blackboard for classes like math and social studies. Islamic Studies was the last one -- the board said the kids were studying the Qu'ran. The students were told to copy it into their planner, along with everything else. That gave me the impression that Islamic Studies was a subject like any other."
After school, Getz's fifth-graders stayed in their classroom and the man in white who had led prayer in the gym came in to teach Islamic
Studies. TIZA has in effect extended the school day -- buses leave only after Islamic Studies is over.
Getz did not see evidence of other extra-curricular activity, except for a group of small children playing outside. Significantly, 77 percent of TIZA parents say that their "main reason for choosing TIZA ... was because of after-school programs conducted by various non-profit organizations at the end of the school period in the school building," according to a TIZA report. TIZA may be the only school in Minnesota with this distinction.
Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school? According to Zaman, the department inspects TIZA regularly -- and has done so "numerous times" -- to ensure that it is not a religious school.
But the department's records document only three site visits to TIZA in five years -- two in 2003-04 and one in 2007, according to Assistant Commissioner Morgan Brown. None of the visits focused specifically on religious practices.
For the rest of the article you can go HERE
Kersten requested a visit to the school to see for herself, that visit was declined by TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.
According to the US Department of Education is a written statement it says:
The guidance clarifies the rights of students to pray in public schools. As stated in the guidance, "...the First Amendment forbids religious activity that is sponsored by the government but protects religious activity that is initiated by private individuals" such as students. Therefore, "[a]mong other things, students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray or study religious materials with fellow students during recess, the lunch hour, or other noninstructional time to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious activities." Public schools should not be hostile to the religious rights of their students and their families.At the same time, school officials may not "compel students to participate in prayer or other religious activities." Nor may teachers, school administrators and other school employees, when acting in their official capacities as representatives of the state, encourage or discourage prayer, or participate in such activities with students.
Students are allowed to pray, but the school is not allowed to force them nor "encourage" them to do so.
This makes the substitutes teacher's witnessing the students being required to go to the prayer assembly and well as the school officials pushing them to do, illegal under the law.
Wild Thing's comment........
Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), named for the Muslim conquerer of Spain. General Tarek ibn Ziyad's bloody battle marked the beginning of the Muslim rule of Spain in the eighth century. chiefly remembered for one incident in particular. Landing in Spain, he ordered the Muslim forces' boats to be burned, and then told his soldiers: "Brothers in Islam! We now have the enemy in front of us and the deep sea behind us. We cannot return to our homes, because we have burnt our boats. We shall now either defeat the enemy and win or die a coward's death by drowning in the sea. Who will follow me?" The soldiers, crying "Allahu akbar," rushed ahead and defeated a vastly superior Spanish force.
Does the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy represent the same idea for those who founded it and now operate it?
....Thank you Lynn for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (16)
Explaining It To The Liberals
Make Mine Freedom (1948)
Wild Thing's comment.......
This video is so well done, and to see that it was done in 1948, amazing how far to the left our Nation has gone.
I am a glass half full person and I truly believe we can take our country back. It is going to take time, it didn't turn left over night. Honestly I think if we do it step by step and not want to make huge changes that will be stopped in their tracks we can do it.
The one thing I have noticed about the left, they are willing to settle for one change at a time, some small and some big. But after years of pushing their agenda they have won more battles then the conservatives have won.
Another thing too is that the democrat party has gone so far to the left it is in the twilight zone. Many of the Democrats have seen this happening over the years and don't like it. So what did they do? They joined OUR party, the Republican party. But they brought with them the liberal thinking, the liberal LITE agenda, making them the rino's we have seen destroy our party. This is of course my opinion but it sure seems like this is what has been happening.
Years ago a John McCain would never be running for President, he would never make it out of the gate. Yes he is a war hero and I respect him for that. But his stand on many things is not something I respect and what he did to the POW's and their families as well .....it is despicable. The many other ( insert liberal word here) issues as well he is more of a Democrat then a Republican and certainly not a conservative.
Years ago a Barack Hussein Obama would not even be running in the Democrat party. Maybe the communist party or the socialist party, the labor party or whatever. There would never be mosques and schools on our soil like we have today and Muslims in our government like Keith Ellison and that other jerk I forget his name.
And Hillary, good Lord, she would be in jail right now or worse for the crimes of treason she and Bill Clinton did with China. And I don't think he would have won in the first place with his burning our Flag and being a draft dodger.
And they hate Bush with a deep seeded passion because of the chad's and the Judges call on the election????????
How much more should we be upset that a Bill Clinton got in office. How much more should we be upset that we even have to tolerate a white hating, Muslim call to prayer loving, arrogant, SOB like Obama. IMO our being upset about these things has roots dug deep into the earth that our Founding Fathers once walked upon, fought for and sacrifices much for.
I said before I don't stay mad at things, I rant and am done with it. But the passion remains in what I believe in and that will always be a driving force never to give up.
LOL I feel like grabbing a handful of dirt and holding it to the sky ( like in Gone with the Wind) and saying we WILL not forget the Veterans and soldiers that fought for this country and by God we won't let the liberals totally destroy her.
Oh and by the way.....heh heh I did this comment then used spell check to try and not have so many typo's. The good news is that the word Obama is not an approved name they know about YET. LMAO So see there is hope!
...Thank you RAC for this video.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (8)
3rd Bn., 73rd Cav. Regt. Paratroopers ~ Great Success
3-73 Cavalry Is on Point
By Spc. Jamie Avila
1st Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs
IRAQ
On a daily basis, paratroopers of Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division patrol villages to search a number of houses suspected of harboring criminals in a attempt to find them or information that would lead to arrest of those involved in illegal activities against Iraqi and coalition forces.
Although every patrol does not result in the capture of a criminal, it does result in valuable information through the constant interaction and rapport with the local people.
Over the past eight months, paratroopers of Troop C, 3rd Sqdn., 73rd Cav. Regt. have captured numerous suspects, of which 17 remained detained in U.S. facilities and 14 remain detained in Iraqi security force’s detention facilities.
“We’ve detained about fifteen guys since we’ve been here, which is less than a year. We’ve been getting good intel (intelligence) that we can act on while were out there doing patrols,” said Staff Sgt. Shane J. Weigel, a squad leader for 1st platoon.
According to 1st Lt. Aaron Doutt, platoon leader for 1st platoon, Troop C has reduced the number of illegal weapons throughout the area, lowered the improvised explosive device threat and reduced the number of indirect fire attacks on Convoy Supply Center Scania.
The 3rd Bn., 73rd Cav. Regt. paratroopers attribute their success to the way they do things, which is different from what past units did before them.
“The biggest thing that we do different than the last unit is the amount of local national engagement and the specific targeting that we do ... all our paratroopers are familiar with the top TWN list and the active targeting process,” said Doutt.
“Our success is largely due to the way we conduct operations. What makes Charlie Troop different from the guys who have done this in the past is that we’re a reconnaissance troop. We like to dismount and walk into villages all hours. It keeps them on their toes,” said Doutt.
Prior to their deployment to Iraq, these paratroopers went through countless hours of training at both Fort Bragg and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.. Focusing their training on infantry tasks to include search and seizure procedures, clearing rooms and buildings, combat lifesaving techniques and various other battle drills. Upon arrival in Iraq and able to see and interact in their area of operations, these paratroopers have continued to refine and train on their tactics, techniques and procedures.
“All around we have a pretty mature group of guys. They know what we expect of them because of all the training we did with them back at Bragg,” said Weigel.
“We are always critiquing ourselves and trying to find better and more effective ways to engage the locals and enemy,” said Doutt.
Charlie Troop continues to remain focused on their mission to support the overall mission of the squadron. These guys are usually working long hours with very little rest and their work is appreciated by their chain of command.
“They’re out there trying to hunt down the people who have been attacking us with rockets. They come back, get a few hours of sleep, get their trucks ready and they’re back out doing it again. They do that everyday without us hearing any complaints,” said Capt. Jim Pilkauskas, Troop C commander.
“They have exceeded my expectations and I’m very happy with the effort these guys are putting forward. They’ve been very successful and will continue to be succesful,” he added.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (2)
Apache Longbow Pilots Awarded Air Medals
An AH-64D Apache Longbow belonging to 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, heads out on a mission.The 1-1 ARB “Gunfighter” air crews work around the clock sustaining air operations and are part of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley Kan., flying in support of Task Force Iron, 1st Armored Division, in northern Iraq.
By Maj. Enrique Vasquez
Combat Aviation Brigade
1st Infantry Division
TIKRIT, Iraq
Four AH-64 Apache Longbow pilots assigned to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, “Gunfighters” where awarded Air Medals for their actions during a combat air patrol while flying in support of Task Force Iron in northern Iraq.
Mission Commander Lt. Col. Mike Mahony, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Duane Crawford, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Coy Pennington, and Capt. Nate Thompson, received their Air Medals for their actions.
The Apache pilots flying in two gunships distinguished themselves while providing direct combat support to Multi-National Division-North ground forces near Tikrit, Iraq.
After conducting two hours of security operations with ground forces about 40 miles south of Contingency Operating Base Speicher, the team was contacted by Blackhorse Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment. They asked the Gunfighters to assist the Sons of Iraq, who were being engaged by black-hooded enemy with automatic weapons.
Shortly after receiving the call, Thompson in the trail aircraft quickly located the five enemy fighters moving in a palm grove. The crews maneuvered their Apaches to maintain contact with both the enemy and friendly forces while coordinating actions between the aircraft and the Soldiers on the ground.
Crawford in the lead descended into small arms range and dropped flares above the enemy location in order to get them to surrender. Mahony radioed the ground forces to maneuver thus preventing the enemy from escaping. This allowed Pennington and Thompson to close in and positively identify the weapons employed by the enemy forces.
With both Apache helicopters in position, the enemy made the mistake of moving toward the friendly ground forces. “We knew that we had cut the enemy off from escape, and we could not allow the insurgents to get into close combat with the ground forces,” said Mahony.
The two Apaches responded with 30mm chain gun fire and within minutes the threat to friendly ground forces ceased. Three enemy insurgents were killed and the two others surrendered.
After the initial enemy force was defeated, the AWT refueled at a forward arming and refueling point and provided route security for Blackhorse vehicles as they returned to base.
Other enemy forces alerted by the Apache’s gunfire set up an ambush in an attempt to shoot down the aircraft. As the helicopters passed, the enemy launched rockets and fired heavy machine guns from numerous locations at the aircraft. The Gunfighter pilots maneuvered and escaped further ground fire.
The decision was made to break contact with the enemy and return to base. The ground forces and the AWT all made it safely back to their bases.
In a ceremony, March 7 Mahony, Thompson, Pennington and Crawford were all awarded the Air Medal for their actions. Col. Jesse O. Farrington, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, commander pinned the Air Medal on the pilots in front of the other Soldiers of the task force.
“You guys are the quiet professionals with a huge reputation,” said Farrington. “You’re so clinical and precise in all that you do and you deal with the craziness of the battlefield in a calm and deliberate manner that speaks highly of your great outfit.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:44 AM | Comments (4)
Bin Laden's 'right-hand man' Set For Life on British Benefits After Judges Rule
Bin Laden's 'right-hand man' set for life on British benefits after judges rule
Daily Mail .co.uk.
Terror suspect Abu Qatada cannot be deported to Jordan because he risks not getting a fair trial, judges ruled today.
They overturned a decision by a special panel last year that the extremist cleric, who is known as Osama bin Laden's “right-hand man” in Europe, could be sent to his home country.
The Home Office may even have to free Qatada if the Law Lords and European judges uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal and he cannot be brought to trial.
Ministers would be very reluctant to order such a move which would spark uproar.
Qatada could be placed under a control order to monitor him but this system has proved ineffective in several cases where terror suspects have gone on the run.
The Court of Appeal also upheld the panel's blocking of the deportations of two other suspected terrorists to Libya on the grounds that they may be tortured.
The rulings are a blow to the Government's anti-terror laws as it had signed memorandums of understanding with Jordan and Libya that individuals expelled from the UK would get fair trials and not be tortured.
The pacts are key to removing around 20 terror suspects to countries which sanction torture or the death penalty.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith launched an immediate appeal to the Law Lords against the Qatada judgment.
Right-hand man: Qatada is Osama bin Laden's (pictured above) spiritual ambassador
The case could end up in the European Court of Human Rights leaving the British taxpayer with a bill expected to hit £500,000.
Ministers hailed a ruling by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission last February that Qatada, now in Belmarsh prison, could return to Jordan.
But a panel of three senior judges headed by the Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, today quashed this judgement on the grounds that the Jordanian national could face a trial in which evidence against him may have been extracted by torture.
However, the Government stressed Qatada's deportation was blocked on just one ground, despite claims by his lawyers that he would face beatings, and is confident this obstacle can be resolved.
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said: “We are seeking to overturn that point, and I believe that we will be able to secure his deportation to Jordan.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I think the only way this subhuman pictured above would look good is through a telescopic sight.
And I see he’s got the same prayer scar on his forehead as “Bumps” Zawahiri. That’s the result of zillions of obsessive prostration prayers by moose limbs. It’s known colloquially as a “zabiba’” (raisin).
Devout moose limbs consider the presence of a zabiba to be a worthy sign of religious dedication and piety. We consider it an excellent biomarker for pulling these clowns out of airport boarding lines.
Of course these liberal useful idiot judges don’t care about the human rights of the people these scumbags have killed. How about the human rights of the fifty some odd Londoners that were killed by these terrorists back in July of 05 when they bombed the London subways? Or the human rights of the over 700 people that were wounded in the attacks? I guess they don’t matter because they don’t wear a stinking diaper on their head.
These people have no perspective or concept of reality.
Not all that long ago, a battered English people stood amidst the rubble of their land and defiantly sang “There Will ALWAYS be an England”. Listen, now, hark to the Sound of Silence. Sorry, Winston, you tried your best.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:40 AM | Comments (10)
April 09, 2008
Call for Congressional Investigation of Islamic Symbolism in the Flight 93 Memorial
Many features of the chosen Flight 93 Memorial design are intolerable:
1. THE GIANT CRESCENT. The centerpiece of the original “Crescent of Embrace” design was a giant red Islamic shaped crescent. Every particle of this original crescent design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign, which only added a few irrelevant trees. The giant crescent is still there.
2. IT POINTS TO MECCA. The giant crescent points to Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a "mihrab," and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The Flight 93 Memorial is on track to become the world's largest mosque.
3. THE ISLAMIC SUNDIAL. The minaret-like Tower of Voices is a year-round accurate Islamic prayer-time sundial (one of many typical mosque features that are realized in the crescent design, all on the same epic scale as the half mile wide central crescent).
4. THE 44 BLOCKS. There are 44 glass blocks on the flight path, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorists.
Intentional or not, these features are entirely unacceptable. This travesty must stop and investigations must begin.
There is a Petition:
Online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HonorFlight93/
Sponsor of Petition:
Tom Burnett Sr. (father of Tom Burnett Jr., murdered on Flight 93)
Other sponsors of the Petition:
Alec Rawls
Bill Steiner
Lt Col. Harry Beam U.S. Army Ret.
Fran Bevan
From Tom Burnett Sr:
Dear Fellow Americans:
The planned Flight 93 Memorial contains extensive Islamic symbolism. It is an insult to my son Tom, and to the other murdered heroes of Flight 93 who stopped Islamic terrorists from destroying the White House or the Capitol that terrible September day.
Please consider signing this online petition that I and some compatriots have put together. It calls for a new memorial design, and for investigation of the present design. If you want to do more, feel free to forward or post this appeal.
For those who are not familiar, the original “Crescent of Embrace” design was laid out in the crescent and star configuration of an Islamic flag:
Outrage over this overt Islamic symbolism forced the Memorial Project to disguise the original crescent with a few additional trees, but every particle of the original design remains completely intact in the so-called redesign. The giant crescent and star flag is still there!
The Memorial Project assumes that any similarity to an Islamic crescent has to be unintentional. Even if it WERE unintentional it would still be intolerable, but how can anyone look at that crescent and star configuration and think that it CAN’T be intentional? That is like seeing an airliner fly into the World Trade Center and thinking that it CAN’T be intentional. Worst of all, the Memorial Project refuses to confront voluminous evidence that the Islamic symbolism IS intentional.
It turns out that a person facing into the giant crescent will be facing Mecca. A crescent that Muslims face into to face Mecca is called a “mihrab” and is the central feature around which every mosque is built. The crescent memorial will be the world’s largest mosque!
When TWO airplanes fly into the World Trade Center, even the most naïve person has start taking the possibility of intent seriously, but not the Memorial Project. The Islamic symbolism in Flight 93 Memorial goes on and on, but the Park Service refuses to be concerned.
Architect Paul Murdoch says that the crescent shape comes from the hijacked airplane breaking the circle where it crosses the upper crescent tip. The flight path then continues down to between the crescent tips where Flight 93 crashed. (That’s right: the crash site is the star on the crescent and star flag.)
Along the flight path are to be placed 44 translucent blocks, equaling the number of passengers, crew, AND terrorist
Left image: The Memorial Wall, traces flight path just above the point of impact. The white line at eye level is a set of 43 glass blocks, 40 to be inscribed with the names of my son and the other passengers and crew, and three (on the near side of the gap) to be inscribed with 9/11 date. Right image: At the upper crescent tip, at the end of the Entry Portal Walkway, sits a huge glass block, the 44th glass block on the flight path. It marks the spot where, in the architect’s description, the terrorists broke our humanitarian circle, turning it into a giant (Islamic shaped) crescent. Inscription: “A field of honor forever.”
I don’t want to celebrate the terrorist’s circle-breaking crescent-creating feat, and I certainly don’t want my son’s name inscribed on that terrorist memorializing block count.
We need to get the word out: the Flight 93 Memorial has been re-hijacked, and this time the whole nation is aboard. We have to get up out of our seats and stop this abomination!
Sincerely,
Tom Burnett Sr.
Northfield Minnesota, March 2008
Online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/HonorFlight93/
Wild Thing's comment........
The terrorists had years to plan. The passengers; mere minutes. The terrorists presumed all the weak Americans aboard the various flights they hijacked could be cowed with box cutters and fake bombs. When those cowards targeted United Flight 93 their presumption didn't serve them well. They tangled with the wrong bunch of Americans.
We will never forget the heroism, of Todd Beamer, of Jeremy Glick, Mark Bingham, and Tom Burnett, and of flight attendants CeeCee Lyles and Sandy Bradshaw.
"The first American flag flown by the patriots of the early Revolutionary War was not the Stars and Stripes but a banner showing a coiled snake, with the inscription DON'T TREAD ON ME. America's latest war for freedom did not begin with a speech by George W. Bush or a cruise-missile attack on a terrorist-training camp in Afghanistan. It began with a group of citizen soldiers on Flight 93 who rose up, like their forefathers, to defy tyranny. And when they came storming down the aisle, it wasn't the Americans who were afraid."
9:03
United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the WTC. United warns pilots to "Beware cockpit intrusion." One of the two pilots simply typed, "Confirmed."
9:27
United Flight 93 checks in with Cleveland flight control with a jaunty, "Good Morning."
9:28
Cleveland control hears screams and scuffling over the radio channel. Asks if somebody called and gets no answer. One minute later, a controller hears a pilot yelling, "Get out of here! Get out of here."
9:30
Passengers are herded to the back of the plane. One terrorist, with a red box strapped around him, guards them. They immediately start phoning loved ones and discussing amongst themselves what to do. Who are these "weak and impudent" American infidels?
Jeremy Glick, a 6-foot-1 220-pound NCAA Judo champion.
Tom Burnett, a take-charge kind of guy who was a college quarterback.
Todd Beamer, a college point guard known as a "gamer," the team member who makes the winning play.
Mark Bingham, 6 feet 5, had played rugby on a championship team at Cal (once arrested for tackling the Stanford mascot at a football game!) Lou Nacke, 5 feet 3 and 200 pounds, was a weightlifter with a superman tattoo on his shoulder.
Rich Guadagno, trained in hand to hand combat.
William Cashman a former iron worker and paratrooper with the 101st Airborne.
Alan Beaven, 6 feet 3, a rock climber and former Scotland Yard prosecutor
Flight attendant CeeCee Lyles had been a detective with the Ft. Pierce, Florida police force.
Linda Gronlund, a lawyer, had a brown belt in karate.
Lauren Grandcolas had organized a skydiving expedition. On her fridge she had a note, GET BUSY LIVING OR GET BUSY DYING.
There was even a pilot among them:Don Greene, who, with the right instructions from ground control might have been able to land the Boeing 757.
9:36
United Flight 93 makes a hairpin turn west of Cleveland and heads southeast toward, D.C.
Deena Burnett was preparing breakfast for her three girls in San Ramon, CA when the phone rang. It was Tom. He told her they were being hijacked and told her to call the authorities. Deena called the FBI. She was on the phone with them when her call waiting beeped. This time Tom told her the hijackers were in the cockpit. Deena told Tom about the World Trade Center.
Jeremy Glick called his wife Lyz. He described "three Iranian-looking men" wearing red headbands and said they had a bomb. Lyz panicked for a moment when she heard the word 'bomb." For several minutes husband and wife said "I love you" over and over. Jeremy asked Lyz if it was true, as other passengers were saying, that the WTC had been attacked. Lyz told him about it. Lyz asked Jeremy if the hijackers had machine guns. "No machine guns, just knives."
Todd Beamer's call, at 9:45, was routed from an Airfone to operator Lisa Jefferson at GTE's Customer Center in Oakbrook, Illinois. Lisa and Todd were all business until the plan lurched and bobbed (some speculate the terrorists, knowing the passengers were up to something, were attempting to knock them off their feet and frighten them). For a moment his composure cracked, "Jesus we're going down." Then he steadied. "We're coming back up." "Lisa," he said suddenly. "Yes?" responded Jefferson. "That's my wife," said Beamer . "Well, that's my name, too, Todd." "Oh, my God. [pause] I don't think we're going to get out of this thing. I'm going to have to go out on faith." Jefferson tried to comfort him. Todd made Jefferson promise to call his wife if he didn't make it home. He told her about his little boys and the new baby on the way. Then he said the passengers were going to try to jump the hijackers. "Are you sure that's what you want to do, Todd?" "It's what we have to do." He asked her to pray with him.
Sandy Bradshaw's husband, Phil, could hear a group of men reciting the 23rd Psalm in the background. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Sandy told Phil, the flight attendants were filling pots with hot water to throw on the hijackers. "It's time to go now, we're running up to first class."
CeeCee Lyles was telling her husband, Lorne about the situation. They were saying their good-byes when suddenly Lorne heard screaming, and CeeCee yelled, "They're doing it! They're doing it!"
Tom Burnett called Deena for a fourth time. "We're going to do something," said Tom. Deena pleaded with him to sit down and not draw attention to himself. "If they are going to run this plane into the ground, we're going to do something." Deena told him she loved him and asked what else she should do. "Just pray, Deena, pray." He hung up.
Todd Beamer and Lisa Jefferson prayed the Lord's Prayer. "Jesus help me!" he said, then Jefferson heard him recite the 23rd Psalm and say, "Are you guys ready? Let's roll."
"Beginning at 9:57 the cockpit voice recorder began to pick up the sounds of a death struggle. There is the crash of galley dishes and trays being hurled, a man's voice screaming loudly. The hijackers can be heard calling on each other to hold the door. One of the passengers cries out, "Let's get them!" More crashing and screaming. In a desperate measure to control the rebellion, a hijacker suggests cutting off the oxygen. Another one tells his confederates to "take it easy." The end is near. The hijackers can be heard talking about finishing off the plane, which has begun to dive. The hijackers cry out, "God is great!" The cockpit voice recorder picks up shouting by one of the male passengers. It is unclear whether the passengers have breached the cockpit or are just outside the door. Eyewitnesses on the ground in Somerset County, PA, saw the plane rocking from side to side as it plunged to earth. United Flight 93 was about 20 minutes from the Whitehouse when it crashed.
On September 15, Lisa Beamer and Lisa Jefferson had a tearful conversation. Jefferson told Beamer that her husband had been calm and matter-of-fact. Lisa Beamer was relieved; she had not wanted her husband to die in terror. Actually, Todd had been afraid. They all had been deathly afraid. More than once, he cried out for his Savior. But Beamer, like so many other passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93, overcame his fear. They did not wait to die. They went out fighting and by doing so they may have saved countless others and spared the Whitehouse from death and destruction. And the fifty foot crater United Flight 93 left in that PA hillside was the first strike of our new war on global terrorism.
Lisa Beamer found this Teddy Roosevelt quotation on a piece of paper at the bottom of the in-box on Todd's den office:
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . . who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in worthy causes.
When you go to the site for the Petition there are also many articles listed on the left side of the site that you can also read more about this.
There is something very sick happening in our country when this kind of thing would even be thought of and to see it actually being considered and happening is disgusting beyond words.
Islam followers attacked us, killed Americans and we are to allow a Memorial that favors there DAMN cult, the death cult of Islam???????????
We are so screwed!
....Thank you RAC so much for sending this to me!
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:55 PM | Comments (18)
Excerpts of Tuesday's Senate Testimony
Excerpt of Tuesday's Senate testimony:
Sen. John Warner (R-VA): “Can you now, just in simple language, tell us, ‘yes, it is worth it’ and ‘it is making us safer here at home’?“
Gen. David Petraeus: “Senator, I do believe it is worth it … I took on the task, the privilege, of command of Multinational Force-Iraq, because I do believe that it is worth it and I do believe the interests there are of enormous importance, again, to our country, not just to the people of Iraq and the people of that region and the world.”
Sen. Warner: “Mr. Ambassador, how do you answer? Is it providing greater security here at home?”
Ambassador Ryan Crocker: “Sir, I will try to answer that at two levels. First, in the little over a year that I have been in Iraq we have seen a significant degradation of al Qaeda's presence and its abilities. Al Qaeda is our mortal and strategic enemy. So, to the extent that al Qaeda’s capacities have been lessened in Iraq, and they have been significantly lessened, I do believe that makes America safer.”
Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, a longtime critic of the administration's war strategy, told Petraeus: "The American people have had it up to here."
Petraeus responded, "I certainly share the frustration."
But when it came to promising or predicting a timetable for further withdrawals, Petraeus didn't budge. He said he had recommended to Bush that he complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of "consolidation and evaluation," to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.The Petraeus plan, which Bush is expected to embrace, reflects a conservative approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year.
On Thursday Bush will make a speech about the war, now in its sixth year, and his decision about troop levels.
In exchanges with several senators, Petraeus refused to say when he thought it would be safe to resume troop reductions beyond July without risking "fragile and reversible" security gains.
Asked Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee: "Could that be a month, could that be two months?"
Petraeus began to respond: "Sir, it could be less than that. It could be. ..."
Levin: "Could it be more than that?"
Petraeus: "It could be more than that. Again, it's when the conditions are met that we can make a recommendation for further reductions."
Levin: "Could it be three months?"
Petraeus: "Sir, again, at the end of the period of consolidation and evaluation. ..."
On they went in the same vein, even after a demonstrator - "Bring them home! Bring them home!" - interrupted the hearing and was escorted out.
When Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., started in again later, Petraeus said it would defy logic to establish a timetable before knowing what conditions will be like this summer.
Petraeus said.: "If you believe as I do - and the commanders on the ground believe - that the way forward on reductions should be conditions-based then it is just flat not responsible to try to put down a stake in the ground and say this is when it would be or that is when it would be,"
One of three senators who could be the new president by January, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said much earlier, not in a response to Petraeus, that she disagreed with those who criticized lawmakers who are calling for an orderly withdrawal.
Hillary Clinton: "Rather, I think it could be fair to say that it might well be irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced the results that have been promised time and time again at such tremendous cost to our national security and to the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military," she said.
Sen. Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, told Petraeus that while he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq he would not initiate a precipitous withdrawal. And he said talking regularly to the Iranians is critical to getting to the point where it would be safe to end American involvement.
"I do not believe we are going to be able to stabilize the situation without them," Obama said.
War supporter John McCain, who will be the GOP nominee, said: "Our goal - my goal - is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops. And I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine. But I also believe that to promise a withdrawal of our forces, regardless of the consequences, would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."
Petraeus said his plan is supported by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been notably public in his expressions of concern that the heavy commitment of troops in Iraq has limited U.S. military options elsewhere and has put enormous strain on troops and their families.
Petraeus made no mention of reducing soldiers' tours of duty in Iraq from the current 15 months to 12 months, but the administration is expected to announce a decision to do that this week. It would take effect this summer, coinciding with the completion of the drawdown to 15 combat brigades in Iraq.
Petraeus said the recent flare-up of violence in Basra, in Baghdad and elsewhere points up the importance of the cease-fire declared last year by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and highlighted the role Iran allegedly plays in funding and training Shiite militias through cells the U.S. military calls "special groups."
"Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus said.
Testifying beside Petraeus was Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, who also focused on the violence in Basra, where Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched Iraqi security forces to combat Shiite militias.
Crocker said : "Taken as a snapshot, with scenes of increasing violence, and masked gunmen in the streets, it is hard to see how this situation supports a narrative of progress in Iraq," "There is still very much to be done to bring full government control to the streets of Basra and eliminate entrenched extremist, criminal, and militia groups. When viewed with a broader lens, the Iraqi decision to combat these groups in Basra has major significance."
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (12)
Obama Listens? To Gen. Petraeus and US Ambassador Crocker
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) listens to testimony from US Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington April 8, 2008. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES)
Brave men risk their lives, so Obama can nap in peace at tax payer expense.
Wild Thing's comment........
This man will NEVER be President. He cannot even listen to the testimony and advisors on how the war is going.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (20)
Hand Picked Crowd To Sit Behind Speaker Michelle Obama "get me more white people"
Michelle Obama arrived at Skibo Gymnasium to the cheering of a crowd of students from Carnegie Mellon and community members from all over Pittsburgh. She spoke specifically of her husband’s campaign. (image credit: J.W. Ramp/Photo Editor)
Michelle Obama speaks at presidential rally in Skibo Gym
by Andrew Peters
Only a week after her husband drew throngs to Soldiers and Sailors, Michelle Obama wooed a small crowd at Skibo Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Skibo’s risers were packed with community members and students from many of Pittsburgh’s universities. The rally was staffed by volunteers from a number of Carnegie Mellon student organizations, including Carnegie Mellon Students for Barack Obama, Student Senate, AB Political Speakers, and College Democrats.
Helping Students for Obama lead the crowd in cheers of “Ready to go” was Steve Sovern, a professional mediator from just outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who got excited enough about the campaign to travel to Pennsylvania and rally for Mrs. Obama. Sovern, alongside student volunteers, built up a palpable excitement around Mrs. Obama’s speech.
“I’ve been here since 11 a.m. setting up and it’s been amazing. It feels like [Barack] Obama is coming,” said sophomore social and decision sciences major Rotimi Abimbola, a leader of Students for Obama who had only a few days to coordinate the event.
While the crowd was indeed diverse, some students at the event questioned the practices of Mrs. Obama’s event coordinators, who handpicked the crowd sitting behind Mrs. Obama. The Tartan’s correspondents observed one event coordinator say to another,
“Get me more white people, we need more white people.” To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, “We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.”
“I didn’t know they would say, ‘We need a white person here,’ ” said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. “I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.”
Mrs. Obama was introduced by Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of former Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry (D–Mass.), who endorsed Mr. Obama’s candidacy in South Carolina last January.
Heinz Kerry stressed the similarities between Mr. Obama and her late husband John Heinz III, the popular senator from Pennsylvania. She remarked that she has become friends with Mrs. Obama, mainly from exchanging messages on their Blackberries.
Mrs. Obama spoke about her husband’s triumphs over adversity throughout his life, focusing on the decisions he had made that, she said, set him apart from his opponent, Hillary Clinton. As the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, Mrs. Obama said, Mr. Obama could have been successful in the private sector, but chose to go into community organization instead.
“When you’re given the gift of advocacy, you don’t sell it to the highest bidder,” Mrs. Obama said. Mrs. Obama stressed how her husband has relied on “regular folks” instead of big donors.
Instead of thousand-dollar donations, the Obama campaign has raised millions on small checks of $20 to $50. Mrs. Obama sees this participatory attitude as a new trend.
“Folks have been engaged in a way they have not been before. People sit around the TV with their 5-year-olds watching debates.”
Mrs. Obama was careful to note that the Obamas, both of whom are Harvard-educated lawyers and who together own a million-dollar home in Illinois, grew up under difficult conditions.
“In my house, there were no miracles. All I saw was hard work and sacrifice,” Mrs. Obama said, speaking of her youth. “My father did not complain and went to work every single day.”
Most of Mrs. Obama’s statements were met with cheers and enthusiastic support, especially the televised crowd, many of whom were long-time fans of Mr. Obama.
One attendee, Joanne Plummer, a resident of Wilkinsburg, has been waiting a long time for an Obama presidency.
“Four years ago, when I first saw him speak for Kerry, I just knew — this man will be president,” Plummer said.
Wild Thing's comment........
Oh my gosh! I always thought they set up seating for the camera to show a varied support for a candidate, but I never heard anyone that would say it like that in my life. LOL
There just isn't an ounce of class in the left for either of the candidates or their mates. And I will include their staff as well.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (13)
National POW/MIA Awareness Day
U.S. POW/MIA's Who May Have Survived In Captivity
This listing contains the names of 324 STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR U.S. personnel from the Vietnam Conflict. Approximately 300 of these personnel were last known alive in captivity in Vietnam and Laos, last known alive, out of their aircraft before it crashed, or their names were passed to POWs who later returned. A handful of the cases involves incidents where the aircraft was later found on the ground with no signs of the crew.
This listing is based on all-source U.S. intelligence and casualty reports, information provided by POWs who were returned, lists of POWs and/or last known alive personnel prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, and other information made available to the Vice-Chairman, Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. (The difference between 300 and 324 accounts for known incidents where one or more unidentified crew members were captured from a crew of more than one, or the aircraft was found with no trace of the crew.) Based on the high number of MIAs at the end of the war who are still unaccounted for (currently 1,170 persons for whom the USG does not know their fate), it is probable that a significant percentage of the MIAs NOT on this 324 list actually survived their incident and could have been captured. Apparently, only the Vietnamese and Laotians would know their fate, as the U.S. Governemnt does not. GIVEN THIS REALITY, THE LIST OF 324 NAMES WHICH FOLLOWS IS AT BEST CONSERVATIVE.
"We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor near the head table. It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our Corps are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POW's and MIA's.We call them comrades.
They are unable to be with their loved ones and families tonight, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them, and bear witness to their continued absence.
This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors.
The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.
The single red rose in the vase, signifies the blood they many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep the faith, while awaiting their return.
The yellow ribbon on the vase represents the yellow ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand with unyielding determination a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.
A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.
The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.
The glass is inverted - they cannot toast with us this night.
The chair is empty - they are not here.
The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.
Let us pray to the supreme commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.
Let us remember and never forget their sacrifices. May god forever watch over them and protect them and their families. "
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:48 AM | Comments (10)
You Can Say Thank you General David Petraeus
This week General David Petraeus will report to Congress on the recent progress in Iraq. When General Petraeus testified six months ago, he was the victim of personal and vicious attacks by ultra-liberal groups. MoveOn.org took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling General Petraeus a traitor.
The truth is most Americans do not approve of MoveOn.org’s actions, nor do they support MoveOn’s radical positions on many issues. So this time as he testifies before Congress, we want General Petraeus and the troops he leads to know we stand with them.
Join Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in thanking General Petraeus by signing this special thank-you card at this website.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:45 AM | Comments (5)
April 08, 2008
Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor
To a true American Hero,
Rest in Peace and may God bless and take care of you and your family. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. ~ Wild Thing
President Bush Attends Medal of Honor Ceremony for Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor, U.S. Navy
CLICK Video to watch Ceremony
Summary of Action Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor For actions on Sept. 29, 2006
Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor, United States Navy, distinguished himself through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Combat Advisor and Automatic Weapons Gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 29 September 2006. He displayed great personal courage and exceptional bravery while conducting operations in enemy held territory at Ar Ramadi Iraq.
During Operation Kentucky Jumper, a combined Coalition battalion clearance and isolation operation in southern Ar Ramadi, he served as automatic weapons gunner in a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army (IA) sniper overwatch element positioned on a residential rooftop in a violent sector and historical stronghold for insurgents. In the morning, his team observed four enemy fighters armed with AK-47s reconnoitering from roads in the sector to conduct follow-on attacks. SEAL snipers from his roof engaged two of them which resulted in one enemy wounded in action and one enemy killed in action. A mutually supporting SEAL/IA position also killed an enemy fighter during the morning hours. After the engagements, the local populace blocked off the roads in the area with rocks to keep civilians away and to warn insurgents of the presence of his Coalition sniper element. Additionally, a nearby mosque called insurgents to arms to fight Coalition Forces.
In the early afternoon, enemy fighters attacked his position with automatic weapons fire from a moving vehicle. The SEALs fired back and stood their ground. Shortly thereafter, an enemy fighter shot a rocket-propelled grenade at his building. Though well-acquainted with enemy tactics in Ar Ramadi, and keenly aware that the enemy would continue to attack, the SEALs remained on the battlefield in order to carry out the mission of guarding the western flank of the main effort.
Due to expected enemy action, the officer in charge repositioned him with his automatic heavy machine gun in the direction of the enemy’s most likely avenue of approach. He placed him in a small, confined sniper hide-sight between two SEAL snipers on an outcropping of the roof, which allowed the three SEALs maximum coverage of the area. He was located closest to the egress route out of the sniper hide-sight watching for enemy activity through a tactical periscope over the parapet wall. While vigilantly watching for enemy activity, an enemy fighter hurled a hand grenade onto the roof from an unseen location. The grenade hit him in the chest and bounced onto the deck. He immediately leapt to his feet and yelled “grenade” to alert his teammates of impending danger, but they could not evacuate the sniper hide-sight in time to escape harm. Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself onto the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity. The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him.
Petty Officer Monsoor’s actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional. Of the three SEALs on that rooftop corner, he had the only avenue of escape away from the blast, and if he had so chosen, he could have easily escaped. Instead, Monsoor chose to protect his comrades by the sacrifice of his own life. By his courageous and selfless actions, he saved the lives of his two fellow SEALs and he is the most deserving of the special recognition afforded by awarding the Medal of Honor.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:27 PM | Comments (4)
General Petraeus vs. UnAmerican Democrats
US Democratic presidential candidate New York Sen. Hillary Clinton poured disdain on assurances by the top US general and diplomat in Iraq that US policy was working and demanded an orderly troop withdrawal .
Demonstrators from the group Code Pink stand in line to hear the testimony of US Army Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of American forces in Iraq, and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker before the Senate Armed Services Committe on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. US lawmakers Tuesday grilled the top US general in Iraq amid fierce fighting on the ground.
Obama stammering and babbling away. “Uh uh uh uh.” Both Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker are starting their answers with: “As I said before. . . “
Then B. Hussein Obama called for a "diplomatic surge" including talks with US foe Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. Then he called for more pressure on the Iraqi government to embrace political reconciliation and a regional "diplomatic surge that includes Iran."
"We should be talking to them as well," Obama told the top US General in Iraq David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker.
"I do not believe we are going to be able to stablize the situation without that."
"I think that increased pressure in a measured way, in my mind, and this is where we disagree, includes a timetable for withdrawal. Nobody is asking for a precipitous withdrawal."
"We all have the greatest interest in seeing a successful resolution to Iraq," Obama told Petraeus and Crocker.
"I continue to believe that the original decision to go into Iraq was a massive strategic blunder, that the two problems you pointed out, Al-Qaeda in Iraq and increased Iranian influence in the region are a direct result of that original decision.
"That's not a decision you gentlemen made. I will not lay it at your feet. You are cleaning up the mess afterwards."
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 PM | Comments (15)
Vets for Freedom On The Hill Today
Vets to press lawmakers on Iraq
More than 400 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be storming Capitol Hill on Tuesday in support of the military operations in Iraq.
Vets for Freedom, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit Washington organization composed of combat veterans, set up more than 300 meetings with House and Senate lawmakers. The group supports keeping U.S. troops in Iraq.
The visits coincide with much-awaited testimony from Gen. David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq, and will be jump-started by way of a press conference Tuesday with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services panel.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), who have supported continued military operations in Iraq, are also expected to attend the press conference.
The veterans will argue it is important to listen to the military commanders on the ground instead of politicians, said Pete Hegseth, the group’s executive director. He said most of the meetings in the Senate are with the senators themselves and not staff.
The veterans on the Hill Tuesday will highlight progress in security and a decline in sectarian violence, as well as political progress. “We are winning. We can win,” said Hegseth, who received the Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service in Iraq in 2005.
Democrats have been criticizing the administration for signaling it will not continue to withdraw troops after July, when the number of soldiers in Iraq will reach the level it was at before a “surge” in troops last year. Petraeus is expected to recommend a halt in troop withdrawal after July, and Democrats are expected to press him on an exit strategy from Iraq.
The Vets for Freedom stop on the Hill comes at the tail end of a bus tour through 14 cities and 21 states.
THIS is directly from Vets for Freedom
Senators McCain, Lieberman, Graham & Rep. Marshall to Address Hundreds of Veterans from Iraq and Afghan Fronts
WHO/WHAT:
More than 400 members of Vets for Freedom will gather on Capitol Hill to hear words of support from various Senators—including presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)—before individual meetings with their legislators.
Vets for Freedom (VFF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the largest U.S. organization of its kind, with 44 state chapters and some 22,000 members. Its mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in Iraq and Afghanistan and to compel Congress to listen to the Generals on the ground. VFF supports policymakers from both sides of the aisle.
WHY:
Tuesday’s gathering will provide a unique opportunity to get first-hand perspective from recent veterans who came from across the U.S., to spread a message of support for the troops, and to support General David Petraeus as he testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee about progress in Iraq that day.
Included in the group are Bronze Star, Silver Star and Navy Cross recipients at the tail end of the VFF National Heroes Tour.
The educational bus-tour spent the last three weeks rolling through 14 states and making 21 stops sharing stories of success in Iraq. Among the rotating group of elite heroes on the bus are the commander of the battalion that found Saddam Hussein; a Navy SEAL famous for being the sole survivor of the most deadly mission for NAVY special operations since WWII; a Marine who kept rushing back into a building to save his peers despite being severely injured, and others.
WHERE:
8:00 a.m. Pre-event interview-availability – Upper Senate Park, Capitol Hill
" So much of todays political foreground is about getting our troops out by people who are at home, yet it seems so few are actually listening to the voices from the people who are or have been in country and who see the results of our blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices. I've met and spoken with many first and second tour vets who would return and or are hoping for the opportunity to go back. It seems only one candidate (and I'm not campaigning here) speaks of staying the course and of the importance of victory. We’ve become a nation of instant gratification, of bloodless wars and little will to endure. So while the candidates, the medai and the liberals hail the 4,000th life lost mark as some type of victory, they conveniently forget that our forefathers sufferd many times that number in a matter of hours, yet the nation as a whole had the intestinal fortitude to carry on and see the end in victory. SSG W.Little CO H, RTS, 278th ACR "
Wild Thing's comment........
I am so proud of our Vets!! I am in awe and all I can say is a huge thank you!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (8)
Gathering of Eagles On The Hill Update
Gathering of Eagles Capitol Hill After Action Report from Chris Hill, National Director
Following the 10am News Conference on Capitol Hill today, GOE visited 437 Congressional offices in support of the troops and their mission.
Chris said that "probably half of the offices were happy to see us," with "one quarter apathetic and one quarter passive-aggressive." Predictably, Southern Democrats and Republicans were more typically glad to see GOE representatives.
Overall, more than 200 in the House of Representatives gave a positive response to the Eagles.
Vets for Freedom will be doing follow-up lobbying Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and the VFW follows through on Friday, with all groups having coordinated their position papers, standing and speaking as one.
One of the best stories of the day was from the House side. State of Washington U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D) recently came back from a visit to Iraq. His firsthand conclusion now is that, despite steadfast opposition to the Iraq mission, that we've WON and he was glad for the visit. The truth is getting out!
A Florida Congresswoman's office the Military Liasion came out of a back office, wanted to be sure and not miss the visit, glad to have knowledgeable people visit.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (2)
The Real Criminals In The Haditha Nightmare
Haditha: Still a Lie
By Michael Reagan
You’d hardly know it if you relied on the mainstream media, but the government’s case against the Haditha Marines took another body blow last month that may be the beginning of the end for this whole sorry attempt to severely punish eight heroic United States Marines for doing what they are trained to do.
In a surprise development on the day Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum’s court martial was scheduled to begin, all charges against him were dropped without explanation.
Tatum, facing charges of reckless endangerment and aggravated assault that could have sent him to prison for 18 years, was the fifth Marine -- and the second of three enlisted men -- to be exonerated, leaving only one enlisted Marine still facing court martial.
Tatum’s exoneration should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the real facts in the case. During an ambush by insurgent forces in Haditha, 15 civilians and nine insurgents were killed by Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. The incident began when an IED explosion killed a Marine and wounded two others. In the wake of that explosion, a squad of Marines came under insurgent gunfire.
The 15 civilian deaths, which came during house-clearing operations, were the result of a time-honored insurgent tactic of hiding themselves among civilians when ambushing U.S. forces, hoping to score a propaganda coup when the civilian shields are killed in the ensuing crossfire.
Full details of the incident on November 19, 2005, were supplied in great detail to the entire command structure the very night of the engagement, and the incident was regarded for what it was -- a tragic result of an enemy ambush. No further action was required or taken.
Months later, however, Time magazine published a story reporting that the Marines had gone on a rampage, wantonly killing innocent civilians to avenge the death of their fellow Marine killed in the IED explosion.
Using Time magazine’s fallacious account of the civilian deaths, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Rep. John Murtha went on a rampage of his own, telling every media outlet that would listen that the Marines had committed “cold-blooded murder.” He first claimed that his information came from a briefing from the Marine Corps Commandant, but when that claim was disproved he admitted that his source was Time magazine.
Murtha’s charges were broadcast far and wide, and before any investigation of the incident could get underway, the media joined Murtha in finding the Marines guilty of a massacre.
In the ensuing media firestorm that broke out, many news reports here and abroad compared the Haditha deaths to the infamous My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War.
Neither Murtha nor the mainstream media bothered to check Time’s sources -- two known insurgent propagandists and insurgent-friendly Haditha residents living under the guns of insurgent killers who were the only authority in town.
It wasn’t because the real facts were not available to any reporter willing to investigate the Haditha case, yet only one news source bothered to look into the case.
As early as May 31, 2006, NewsMax.com had begun to poke holes in the case, and from that time down to the present, NewsMax (and FrontPageMag.com - Eds.) continued to report the truth about Haditha and defend the Marines who were innocent of the charges eventually leveled against them.
Yet all this time, the media and Rep. Murtha continued to peddle the insurgent lie that a massacre had taken place in Haditha, even though all murder charges had long ago been dropped in favor of lesser charges.
There was a crime, but it was the media and Rep. Murtha who committed it against heroic Marines whose careers have been destroyed and some of whose families were bought to the edge of bankruptcy defending their sons.
Thanks to NewsMax readers, who contributed over $500,000 for their defense, some of that burden was lifted.
And thanks to John Murtha and the leftist media, these Marines can now join my Dad’s wrongly accused Secretary of Labor Ray Donovan in asking where they go to get their reputations back.
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Wild Thing's comment........
I LOVE it and Michael is right too, the crime was committed by media and Rep. Murtha !!!! Time mag. & old bag of gas Murtha should be sued for every penny these families can get out of them. That demented old traitor and the traitorous Times rag should go down in disgrace for the dispicable accusations leveled against our men in uniform.
I really really want to see both Murtha and McGirk get their just desserts. I cannot stand looking at either one of them.
....Thank you Mark for sending this article to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (10)
Hooah! The Redleg Soldiers of Howitzer Battery
King of Battle Still Reigns
By Spc. John Crosby
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
MOSUL
The urban terrain of Operation Iraqi Freedom limits the use of large cannons and field artillery units. The days of all out destruction and artillery raining down from the skies seem to be over.
But there are still uses for these Soldiers and instances in which destruction with precision accuracy is vital to the U.S. Army’s mission success.
The Redleg Soldiers of Howitzer Battery, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment are one of the few field artillery units executing their area of expertise in Iraq today.
The term “Redleg” comes from a time when Cannons were much simpler and the field artilleryman’s uniform was much different. The Army blue uniform for artillerymen had a two-inch red stripe on the trousers and horse artillerymen wore red canvas leggings, distinguishing themselves from other Soldiers.
The Cannons used by Redleg Soldiers were towed by man, horse or mule, providing no protection to the crew operating it. Misfires, muzzle bursts and exploding weapons were not uncommon. Accuracy and reliability were questionable.
Today, the U.S. Army’s M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155mm howitzer is a tracked vehicle that can reach out and touch a target accurately from 30 km away.
Howitzer Battery uses several strategically placed Paladins located at Badoush Prison located just outside the northern Ninewa province city of Mosul, to support ground troop movement in the area. They conduct an average of three fire missions a night from the combat outpost there, mostly illumination rounds.
“Our role is to support troops in contact with indirect fire, whether it be with 155mm high explosive rounds, Excalibur (guided munitions) or illumination rounds,” said Howitzer Battery Fire Directions Chief, Staff Sgt. Gustavo Martinez.
“We can use guided munitions to support any task or mission and pinpoint areas or buildings,” Martinez continued. “We use illumination rounds to light up an area at night to limit or reveal enemy movement.”
The Paladin is operated by a four man crew consisting of a driver, gunner, cannoneer and chief of section. Howitzer Battery crews work 24 hour shifts in the Paladins at Badoush, on call to support ground troops in contact. After a 24 hour shift, the crew will take 48 hours off to conduct maintenance, chores and guard duty around the combat outpost.
Paladin Gunner, Spc. James Simpson, of Howitzer Battery said working in such a tight quarters with his fellow teammates can lead to skirmishes at times but nothing to serious. His crew works together fluidly.
“You get to know your section and work together really well,” said Simpson.
Still, such a work schedule can lead to boredom. The crews of Howitzer Battery conduct training between fire missions to keep busy.
“We get a lot of training done, more than we did back in Fort Hood,” said Chief of Section, Staff Sgt. Freddy Perdue of Howitzer Battery. “You gotta do something while we’re all in there together for 24 hours straight. But we enjoy our jobs helping the people out there, especially the maneuver forces.”
Perdue said he enjoys doing what he was trained to do. While many Redlegs are taking on the role of a foot soldier in Iraq today, Perdue and Howitzer Battery are carrying on the Redleg legacy.
“Being in the war we are fighting now we can adapt to anything,” said Martinez. “A lot of the guys in our battery are doing infantry tactics and things of that nature. As far as the field artillery guys that are actually doing the field artillery mission, it’s important. You never know. There could be a patrol out there that comes into direct contact with a large group of insurgents and we are here to help by providing indirect fire in a matter of minutes.
Wild Thing's comment........
Goodbye terrorists! Sending you back to Iran and Syria asap!
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:47 AM | Comments (11)
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Outside The Wire
Sgt. Cody Gaeta, radio operator, Personal Security Detachment, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO International Security Assistance Force, monitors his Marines as they protect other Marines from the battalion during a heavy machine gun shoot, here. Gaeta's experience in Iraq was helpful in keeping the nerves of his Marines in check during their first excursion off base.
Outside the Comfort Zone: 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines Leave the Wire for the First Time
By Cpl. Randall Clinton
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan
“Condition one on first load.” It feels surreal as the command echoes over the radio. The Marines understand the words, but are obviously still coming to terms with its meaning as they force rounds into their weapons.
There is a new sense of urgency in the way the driver grips the steering wheel, the passengers stare out windows and the radio operator strains to hear each new message.
Each piece of trash blowing around the Afghanistan countryside is an Improvised Explosive Device, each movement of the locals is suspect, each boarded up window hides a sniper – the mind plays awful tricks on man. All vehicles stop. The radio mutters “possible,” as in possible IED. Marines don’t flinch, but in this moment you realize the frailty of life. As soon as you process that “possibility” the convoy continues. Somehow the farther out the vehicles travel the easier it is to digest, anxiety turns to alertness – this is outside the wire for the first time.
“It was like, I have no idea what is out there. I have no idea what is going to happen,” recounted Pfc. Conan Hudson, turret gunner, Personal Security Detachment, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO International Security Assistance Force.
From his seat he would see it all transpire, his mind already racing with possibilities.
Skewed reality.
Maybe Marines have unique perspectives about life and its limitations. They are “born” at recruit training, reciting the names and accomplishments of heroes -- Dan Daly’s stamina, Chesty Puller’s bravado and Jason Dunham’s sacrifice. So when they talk about driving into a war zone to practice firing machine guns, their perspective of danger is slightly skewed.
Perched atop an armored humvee in a gun turret he did the basics, “I made sure my ballistic shield was clear and my weapon was good to go. That’s all I had on my mind. As long as that was good, I’m good.”
The built-up anxiety of a seven-month pre-deployment training cycle, coupled with weeks spent preparing for missions, unleashed fury on Hudson. Once outside the gate it was “exactly what I’ve seen” and yet completely unreal.
These were the first 24th MEU Marines leaving the wire and Hudson was in front.
“It is extra scary because you are the first one who sees everything,” he said. “Visibility is bad; there is dust, especially for the gunner. You have no windows, no shields, you just have to take it all in and look out for these (insurgents) guys.”
He was searching the vast Afghan desert for everything and anything.
“I had, like, super hearing and super sight,” he said.
This was different from every other humvee ride Hudson had ever been a part of… this was real. “It’s your life! Back (home) no one is shooting at you,” he said, explaining his amplified awareness.
But he is here, not ‘back there,’ and his vision is essential for more than just himself. “I’m the eyes for the whole convoy. I’m the first one, so I’ve got to look out for anyone on the side of the road, IEDs, potholes and wires.”
“Man, there are too many potholes,” he quipped, still feeling the bruises from being tossed around.
Hudson’s vantage point allowed him to view the terrain, scanning for danger, but that’s not what he saw.
“At first it’s like, you’ve got ears and eyes and all you are thinking about is bombs, guns, enemy, enemy, enemy; when you see those (Afghan) kids you are like, 'wow.' It changes your mind, but you have to stay focused no matter what.”
Making it real.
While officially named mission 001 and 002, the Marines of BLT 1/6 hesitate to use a word that conjures memories of their firefights inside of Iraq’s worst neighborhoods. So the name might be a misnomer, but delve deeper into the psyche of these men and you find that putting boot to ground, or in this case powder-thin dust, is an important threshold to cross.
Week after week, more Marines arrive at the base. More Marines wait for the call from their commander, ordering the start of operations. When the time came for the first contingent of Marines to break from the weapons maintenance, acclimation hikes and rules of engagement classes, the question of if they wanted to go never came up – this is what Marines do. They were going.
“Today was just a test fire of (M203 grenade launchers) and (M2 .50 caliber machine guns),” said 1st Lt. Micah Steinpfad, executive officer, Company A, BLT 1/6, 24th MEU, ISAF.
Steinpfad is cautious about calling this a mission, comparing this to the hornet’s nest these Marines walked into during their last deployment to Iraq would be unthinkable, but this was the first chance for his Marines to get outside the camp.
“The more you can push Marines out, get them talking to the local people, the more they start to comprehend what is actually going on out here. The closer they get to the enemy and civilian populations, two very different things, I think the more real this becomes … the more real their sacrifice becomes,” he explained.
Butterflies and bullets.
As the Marines rolled out to the range, they got a first-hand look at the Afghanistan country-side and instantly compared it to their pre-deployment training.
“At first it was kind of nerve racking, I mean you get all this IED training on what can be hidden. There was a lot of trash, so lots of places to hide stuff. (My) imagination was kind of running wild,” said Lance Cpl. Erick Harber, humvee driver, Personal Security Detachment, BLT 1/6, 24th MEU, ISAF.
Harber, in enemy territory for the first time, realized that all the training in the world couldn’t prepare him for the baking flour-like dust that covers the country.
“When we were back at Camp Lejeune, we were rehearsing and stuff, but you don’t get the dust you get here. I mean there were a few times (here) we ran into dust clouds and couldn’t see in front of the hood of the humvee. It’s tough and your mind is a lot more active,” he recounted.
So how long did it take the 19-year-old, Columbus, Ind., native to get accustomed to the dirty, bumpy and slow driving required to navigate the unique landscape? About halfway through his first mission.
“I was a little nervous at first, but once I got out there, especially once we started heading back, it got a lot easier,” he said with more than a hint of pride.
Sgt. Cody Gaeta, an Iraq veteran, explained that confidence is contagious and exercises like this help it spread.
“If I see my guys have more confidence then it will build more confidence in me towards my guys, knowing I'm doing a good job training them on what they need to do,” explained Gaeta, radio operator, PSD, BLT 1/6, 24th MEU, ISAF.
Gaeta experienced the fear of leaving camp for the first time as a lance corporal in Iraq.
“I was pretty scared,” he said, but noted that his first mission was slightly more disorienting than the mid-day movement to a machine gun range. “I was with a (reconnaissance) battalion so we did a little bit more than a normal battalion. Plus, we went out at night and it’s a lot harder to go out at night because you can’t see.”
“The more we went out the easier it got,” he said, a lesson he hoped his Marines picked up on this day. “It helps when you say “you are going out today,” and you get to leave. Even if it is like how we left today – for a short period. It’s a lot better than spending that short period in the tents.”
The ride home.
“On the way out there it was a little tense because it was my driver’s first time ever having to drive in this (outside the wire), and then on the way back he knew there wasn’t anything that was going to happen. It was a tension breaking that eased his mind a little bit,” explained the 4th-year Marine.
Focusing the Marines on their upcoming tasks was also on the mind of Cpl. Timothy McLaughlin, commanding officer’s driver, PSD, BLT 1/6, 24th MEU, ISAF.
“It is kind of hard, because you need to keep their mind the right way. Don’t let them get complacent. (Going outside the wire), it keeps them where they are not bored,” he said.
Standing exposed, miles away from your fortified base, is a feeling shared only by those who have done it, a right of passage in an infantry unit. The experienced train the next generation of fighters, prepare them as best as they can, but it seems to be understood that some things need to be experienced, not taught.
So when Hudson thinks about an inexperienced turret gunner turning to him for guidance he quickly responds, “Make sure your weapons work, and make sure you have eye protection because of the dust. There are sandstorms that come out of nowhere.”
It’s nothing profound, just the basics, because the last thing a Marine needs to do is over think the situation.
“Basically you just have to experience it for yourself,” he reasoned.
McLaughlin understands that axiom now, after having lived it in Iraq.
“I didn’t know what to expect until I got out there and my training kicked in, and then you are used to everything,” said McLaughlin, a field radio operator during his last tour.
Steinpfad, with combat experience from BLT 1/6’s Iraq deployment, explained that the entire battalion can learn something from stepping off-base, not just their newest Marines.
“I don’t think it matters what deployment you are on. You build off past experiences and I think every time you push outside the wire you learn something new. Whether it be on your first deployment, halfway through your first deployment, doesn’t matter if you are halfway through your third deployment,” he said. “The enemy is always adapting, and you always have to adapt to those changes. As the enemy continues to change, we will continue to learn as we push out… every single time.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
Awesome! God bless our troops and keep them safe. I am always so glad when there is something to share about our troops in Afghanistan. There is a lot of information out there, but I will always be VERY careful about what I post about. It is so important not to post things that could put our troops in more danger.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
In Country With Our Troops
Wild Thing's comment........
The name of the second photo at the site was called The Circus. I sat here looking at it and felt so happy. Here is a child, that has no fear, he knows the soldier is his friend and has been there to make life better. HE knows and yet those in our Congress want to make it that we are insurgents like a few have said. I would bet my lilfe that this wee child does not think of this American Hero nearby is an insurgent but a superman that came to resuce his country.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:40 AM | Comments (4)
April 07, 2008
La la la...
Hi everybodies! Its me, LindaSoG! and... guess what today is?
Yep. That's right, today is Chrissie's birthday!
Yannow... I've known Chrissie for many years, long before we got ourselves our blogs, and I can tell you that every single day has been a treasure for me. We met on another forum, when Chrissie was still living out west, in the land of movie stars. We met on a "support the troops" thread, it seems like yesterday, and yet... so much has happened since then.
From the first day we met, there was a connection between us, a sense of "coming home," a feeling that I had known Chrissie my entire life. More than a friend, Chrissie is the sister I would choose to have.
I put my website up in 2002, and I helped Chrissie put up her own shortly after. We played with our pages, emailed our comments to friends and then, in 2004, my site became my blog. I tried to talk Chrissie into blogging as well, but she was hesitant. I think some of the hesitation was because she didn't want to trouble me (as if!) and I just nodded my head and waited.
And then, one fine day in August of 2006, I came home from work and found a message on my answering machine from Chrissie, and in between the giggles she said.... "Linda.... I want a blog." Theodore's World was born.
Setting up Theodore's World was a joy! Chrissie and I spent hours talking about it, planning it, choosing pictures, colors, layout. "Can I have my bears?" she wanted to know, "and my dolls? Will people take me seriously if I do?" I told her "Hell yeah they will, you can do whatever you want, just be you." And I was right. Chrissie puts a tremendous amount of time and energy into each post, and it shows. Theodore's World has been viewed by over a million people in the two years it has been up, more than my site, and more than many. I would call that a success.
What makes it success? Chrissie does. Her heart and her soul are in every post. Theodore's World is a serious place, and Chrissie is a serious person, but... and this is a big but... Theodore's World is also a happy place, a friendly place, a loving place, and Chrissie is a happy, friendly and loving person. Being here is like sitting on Chrissie's couch, having a cup of coffee and a warm conversation with a dear friend. The bears are part of the scenery.
And today, well, today is our dear friend Chrissie's birthday! Have a piece of cake and join the celebration!
Chrissie! Hurry up and blow out the candles before I burn the internet down!
Happy Birthday my dearest friend, and thank for all you do! I honestly don't know how I would get through my days without having you in my life.
I love you!
LindaSoG
Posted by LindaSoG at 07:40 AM | Comments (40)
Soldiers Restore Honor to Old Glory ~ Honor restored (as if it could ever really be lost)
Pilots from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 238th General Support Aviation Brigade, a National Guard unit from Shelbyville, Ind., conducted a flyover at the flag-raising ceremony held at Forward Operating Base Delta, Iraq, March 22. More than 150 U.S. Soldiers and civilians attended the ceremony for a flag that had lain on the grounds of a Georgia apartment complex for almost a week in February until it was taken by Dan Turner, a passerby, who sent it to Iraq to have its honor restored. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles.
Soldiers Restore Honor to Old Glory
By Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles
214th FB PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA
More than 150 U.S. Soldiers and civilians restored honor to a U.S. flag that lay lonely and forgotten on the grounds of a Georgia apartment complex for almost a week in February.
The flag was retrieved by a passerby who could not stand seeing the flag treated in such a manner.
Having passed the discarded flag twice, Dan Turner took the flag the third time he saw it lying on the ground and sent it to his friend Chief Warrant Officer 4 Thomas Golden of the Joint Forces Headquarters Forward, Georgia National Guard.
“This flag was being used as landscape art and a business flagging without the daily outdoor ceremony it deserved. In the end it simply was allowed to lie in the mud of the Irwin Bridge right-of-way for a week while managers, landscape personnel and employees, residents and neighbors simply ignored it lying on the ground,” wrote Turner in a letter to the apartment complex, sheriff’s department, judges and the editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After taking the flag, Turner e-mailed Golden and asked if he would fly the flag at Forward Operating Base Delta, Iraq. Turner cleaned the flag and shipped it to Golden who was more than happy to restore the flag’s honor before returning it to Turner.
“The U.S. flag for me is more than just a piece of cloth to be flown or displayed as a matter of convenient patriotism or decoration. It is the one true symbolic representation of what our nation and her principles stand for,” Golden said. “Also, many great men and women have served in uniform, and in many cases, died for advancing freedom and democracy as well as the preservation and perpetuation of our freedom, liberty and way of life we enjoy every day which our flag symbolizes.
“It’s our flag, and people don’t always pay it the respect it’s due,” he said.
Turner and Golden, who have been friends for more than 16 years, share a strong sense of patriotism which is shown annually on Memorial Day weekend when they drive to Marietta National Cemetery to place wreaths on the graves of Turner’s father and brother. Turner’s father fought in World War II and his brother died in Vietnam at the Battle of Hue. Turner’s mother served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.
After placing the wreaths on the graves, Golden and Turner walk the entire cemetery to pick up and replace any flags that may have fallen after being placed by Boy Scouts.
“Dan and I feel as though no flag, no matter how small or great, can be left upon the ground if we have the ability to take action and correct the situation,” Golden said, “which is exactly what Dan did by ‘rescuing’ the current flag.
“Unfortunately, our society has come to take for granted the sacrifices that have been made throughout our history to ensure our way of life will survive and endure no matter the source or location of the threat. It is for these and many other reasons I feel so strongly that our flag should never be allowed to be desecrated in any form or fashion,” he said.
Title 4, Section 8 of the U.S. Code says the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water or merchandise. The section goes on to say that the flag should never be fastened, displayed, used or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled or damaged.
To restore the flag’s honor, Golden and Soldiers from 214th Fires Brigade organized a flag-raising ceremony March 22 attended by Soldiers and civilians.
“I’m really thankful that a lot of folks came out,” Golden said. “What made it even better was its simplicity. People came because they wanted to and they came out of respect.”
The ceremony offered a way for those who believe in the flag to be united, said Chap. (Maj.) Michael Hoffman, the 214th FB chaplain.
“I appreciated this citizen taking the time to remember and act on what the flag stands for,” Hoffman said. “Being a part of the ceremony and restoring honor is just a way for us to be included with him in honoring both the flag and our nation.
“I wonder what people were thinking, but I am grateful for this man taking the time to do something. I am inspired by him taking the initiative to do something,” said Hoffman of those who allowed the flag to remain on the ground. “You can say how you feel about this country, but this guy proved it by what he did.”
Turner was charged with theft for taking the flag, but he expresses no regrets in doing what he did.
“I wanted to make this issue a statement and I’m willing to bear the consequence of my actions to the sheriff as directed by the judge or the property owner,” said Turner in his letter. “There is no excuse for common theft, yet I felt compelled to take action now and worry about the consequences later.
“I find no pride in breaking the law, but there are mitigating circumstances that put me over the line,” Turner said. “Allowing this flag to lie in the mud was a disgrace; however, my lack of action would have been even more disgraceful. I acted on the behalf of all those that did not, could not or would not take action.”
Wild Thing's comment........
What an amazing and wonderful thing to do. Awesome!
But it is a disgrace what the local authorities and apartment complex owner did. No no fines for the dirtbags who desecrated the symbol of our Republic??????!!!!
I guess the Sheriff can’t find something better to do than arrest this flag-rescuer, he needs to be turned out of office at the first opportunity.
There is no need to “restore an American flag’s honor”, for it can NOT be taken, lost, defiled, burned out, torn out or stamped out.
It exists permanently and indestructible in the hearts of all Americans who have fought or died defending the concepts for which she stands...
It’s place in our hearts is either that of an honored icon or our hearts are turned against it and its meaning...
Did our warriors returning from Vietnam “lose their honor” simply because morons called them murderers, spit on them or celebrated the lies being told about them by traitors like Kerry and Fonda? Of course not...
Honor can never be diminished by the dishonorable conduct of dishonorable morons or traitors...
Those who fail to show the proper respect to our flag - dishonor themselves, not our flag..
Those who burn our flag, dishonor themselves and publicly proclaim themselves as ignorant and undeserving of the blessings available under that flag..
I dream of the day, when the intentional desecration of the American flag in America is considered grounds for receiving a violent thrashing that will bear witness for the remainder of the moron’s life..
The “folks” in Atlanta who allowed this disrespectful treatment of the flag -— would enjoy sitting in on a Rev. Wright’s sermon alongside of Senator Obama -——— who not only refuses to wear a flag pin but even refused to salute the flag during the playing of our National Anthem.
Thank you Mr. Turner!
And God bless our troops in Iraq!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (6)
Gore Ad Likens Global Warming Fight to D-Day!
Gore launches $300 mln climate change campaign
Reuters
By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
Al Gore, former U.S. vice president, Academy Award winner and Nobel peace laureate, on Monday launched a $300 million, three-year campaign to mobilize Americans on climate change.
"We can solve the climate crisis, but it will require a major shift in public opinion and engagement," Gore said in a statement.
"The technologies exist, but our elected leaders don't yet have the political will to take the bold actions required. When politicians hear the American people calling loud and clear for change, they'll listen," he said.
A longtime environmental activist, Gore chairs the Alliance for Climate Protection, which unveiled the "We" campaign with a series of videos, a Web site -- www.wecansolveit.org -- and a television advertisement set to air during such programs as "American Idol," "House," and "Law & Order."
The first ad likens the battle against climate change to U.S. troops storming the beaches at Normandy during World War Two, the struggle for civil rights and the drive to send humans to the moon.
"We didn't wait for someone else" to tackle these historic problems, the actor William H. Macy says in the spot. "We can't wait for someone else to solve the global climate crisis. We need to act now."
Future spots are expected to feature such "unlikely allies" as civil rights activist Al Sharpton and conservative preacher Pat Robertson, and country singers Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks speaking together against climate change.
"What's different about this (campaign) is for the first time ever, we're going to be able to reach the general public in their daily lives through television, through media, through community-based organizations ... and online," Cathy Zoi, the alliance's chief executive officer, said by telephone.
Zoi said that ultimately the United States needs new laws to limit the greenhouse gas emissions that spur climate change, "but frankly, in the first instance, we want to get people to join the movement."
She said 9 percent to 10 percent of Americans are already active in the movement against climate change, and 80 percent are aware of the problem.
Wild Thing's comment........
I find this commercial extremely offensive. To compare global warming kooks with men who sacrificed and saw their fellow soldiers be blown apart on the beaches is sickening. When do we get to call in airstrikes against the eviro-whacks?
LOL I can't help but laugh though at the title of the writer of the article......."Environment Correspondent"....good grief.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (14)
Our Troops and Iraqi Security Forces Find Largest EFP Cache To Date
ISF find largest EFP cache to date
By 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq
A tip led Iraqi Security Forces to the largest explosively-formed penetrator cache found to date in Multi-National Division - Center's area of operation, April 2. The munitions were discovered in a 6-ton truck in a garage in al Qasim.
The cache contained more than 1000 EFP components, more than 3000 pounds of explosives and 45 Katusha 107 mm rockets and stands. Also included in the cache were more than 10 devices used to detonate improvised explosive devices, 250 PKC rounds, 10 60 mm mortar shells and one 60 mm stand.
The rockets are believed to have been manufactured in Iran.
"The ISF continue to confiscate the lethal tools of the enemy, disrupt the enemy's freedom of maneuver, and apprehend key members of the (criminal) leadership," said Capt. Michael Ranado, battle captain for 31st Military Transition Team, 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. "The IP (Iraqi Police) and IA (Iraqi Army) have successfully provided security for the people of the Babil province and continue vigilantly to do so."
The cache was moved to the Joint Coordination Center in Hillah.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (6)
Hillary Clinton Photo Op at Children's Hospital ~ We Will NEVER Forget This Phony Hillary
Hillary Clinton Visit to Children at the Hospital
(Story originally appreared in the American Spectator, March 97)
Also here
It seems that Hillary, who's had her fingerprints found on all the new scandals that are breaking on a daily basis is trying to fix her public image.
So, to promote the new effort, showing how deeply Hillary cares about children, especially sick children in hospitals, Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington got a call. Hillary Clinton would be coming over soon with children's author Maurice Sendak. Hillary's advance team would be showing up arranging the security and logistics. The team did show up. What they saw horrified them.
The kids in the hospital children's ward really looked sick! Some of them had tubes sticking out. Some had lost their hair to chemotherapy. Some were groggy because of the pain killers they had to take.
Hospital officials were quickly told this would not do. Hillary would look bad in a newspaper photo if she posed with sickly looking children. They were told. "No children that look drowsy, skip bald kids, sick looking kids, or kids with tubes sticking out."
So here's what the hospital actually did. They outfitted a hospital conference room with toys and kids decorations. They ordered hospital staff members to bring in their healthy children who would pose as sick children in photos with the great St. Hillary.
So, on January 10th, Hillary Clinton showed up to Georgetown University Medical Center and read to a bunch of kids with author Maurice Sendak. Had you read the papers or heard the news the next day, you might have been bowled over by her compassion. Actually she demonstrated the opposite. You see the real sick kids, who were originally told they would be visited by the first lady were originally extremely happy and excited at the prospect of her visit.
When they were later told, they were too sick looking to be with the great Hillary, some became deeply depressed. After all how would anyone feel not being good enough for Ms. compassion herself.
Of course the press published the photos of Hillary reading to the cute kids the next day. They just forgot to tell you that Hillary, in the quest of the perfect photo could not bring herself to be photographed with an actual sick child.
The phony mask of compassion that Hillary hides behind has slipped once again. Just around Purim time too!
Wild Thing's comment........
Hitlery is the one who's sick...she has no heart!!!! She is such a total piece of crap! What a sick DEMONIC woman she is. To USE children in any way and sick children to be treated this way by her is so horrible.
And can you imagine the kind of people who serve on Hillary's staff? How does she find people who have absolutely no shame or self-esteem to fetch for her? I mean, they have to be scumbags too.
Also seen here from 1997 at Official White House link:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary ....Please click to read
For Immediate Release January 10, 1997
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT CHILD DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Georgetown Medical Center
Washington, DC
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (14)
Sir Edmund Hillary
Wild Thing's comment.........
LMAO I love it. hahahahhaa
....Thank you RAC for sending this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
USARMY Sergeant's Son Murdered by Illegal Alien Gangbanger
A youth 'on track' until fatal gunfire
Football player's dreams die in a flurry of bullets in South L.A.
Stanford University called about Jamiel Shaw a week or so ago, intrigued by the slight but speedy running back for Los Angeles High School, the Southern League's most valuable player last year. Rutgers University called a few days later.The Shaw family already had reason to be proud. Jamiel's mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, was on her second tour of duty in Iraq.
Jamiel Sr. heard the shots almost as soon as he hung up. He ran out of the house, raced around the corner and found his son lying on the sidewalk, bleeding.
"She's over there trying to protect us from guns and bombs, and then she has to hear that her son is dead over here," he said of Anita on Monday. "I've got my own personal Iraq now."
Los Angeles police officials described the killing as random and senseless, cutting down a youth who had been doing everything right in his life -- from hitting the books to never missing church to inspiring the Los Angeles High Romans to last year's Southern League title.
A police spokeswoman said two Latino men pulled up in a car, jumped out, asked Jamiel if he belonged to a gang, and shot him when he didn't answer. She said Jamiel was not affiliated with a gang.
Jamiel's teammates called him the "the spirit of the team."
.
L.A. shares blame in teen's death
By Doug McIntyre, Columnist
Doug McIntyre hosts the "McIntyre in the Morning" program on Talk Radio 790 KABC
ANITA Shaw says, "My country let me down."
It's hard to argue with her. Not only did America let Anita Shaw down, so did California and Los Angeles.
Truth be told, Anita Shaw is being diplomatic, if not generous, by not lashing out in righteous indignation at the massive tragedy she has suffered at the hands of an indifferent government. Our government: federal, state and local.
Who is Anita Shaw and why should you care what she says? Pull up a chair.
Anita Shaw is a sergeant in the United States Army. On March 2, little more than a month ago, she was serving in Iraq when her CO told her to report to the Red Cross office. It was there she learned her 17-year-old son, Jamiel Shaw II, had been murdered - gunned down exactly three doors away from his own home.
Jamiel Shaw Sr. heard the shots that killed his son; one to the chest, one between the eyes. Jamiel Sr. sprinted down the block, arriving just ahead of the police. The cops found him standing over his son, already dead, still clutching the cell phone he had used to tell his dad he'd soon be home. Now he was never coming home.
But his mother was. Sgt. Shaw was given 20 minutes to pack for a flight out of Baghdad.
Jamiel Shaw was a star football player with a solid GPA and a bright future. He was the apple of his father and mother's eye; a hero to his kid brother, 9-year-old Thomas. Tom Shaw wanted to be a football player like Jamiel. Maybe even wear his big brother's number 4. That was before. Now Thomas wants to be "a scientist" so he can "invent a time machine" and go back and save his brother.
Shaw's killer? Police believe they have him - 19-year-old Pedro Espinosa, an illegal alien gangbanger, a killer for the 18th Street Gang.
And here's how America let Sgt. Shaw down: Pedro Espinosa should never have been allowed into this country.
Here's how California failed Sgt. Shaw: It allowed Pedro Espinosa to live in a state that does nothing about its open borders except shift the blame to Washington.
Here's how Los Angeles failed Sgt. Shaw: We accommodated gangs, we still throw out the welcome mat for illegal aliens, we allowed Pedro Espinosa to serve 180 days on gun charges without checking his immigration status. We released Espinosa onto the streets, and 24 hours later he murdered Jamiel Shaw II.
While Jamiel's mother patrolled the streets of Baghdad, helping spare Iraqi mothers the grief Los Angeles visited upon her, we did nothing. This transcends outrage. It's obscene.
The ultimate responsibility for the murder of Jamiel Shaw rests with the triggerman. But let me be blunt - the cowardice of local politicians who hide behind political correctness and racial pandering as an excuse to look the other way on the mounting death toll perpetrated by illegal aliens are enablers of death.
This may be uncomfortable for some to read. I assure you it's uncomfortable to write. Jamiel Shaw's death was preventable. The president, Congress, the governor, the state Legislature, the mayor, the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, the chief of police, the county sheriff - all of us failed him.
The son of a U.S. solider was murdered on the streets of L.A. What are we going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?
The good intentions that created Special Order 40 surely weren't intended for gangbangers. Personally, I believe Special Order 40 has been a vast and deadly failure. It's a poverty and crime magnet for L.A. and every other city that has its equivalent.
But whatever view you hold on sanctuary-city policies, can't we at least agree the special consideration given illegal aliens by Order 40 should not apply to domestic terrorists? Gangbangers should be hunted down just like international terrorists. In fact, a case can be made Pedro Espinosa is an international terrorist.
We need to pass "Jamiel's Law." We need to force every local politician to explain how they are not complicit in the murder of Shaw. We can't return Jamiel to his mother, however, we can restore her faith in the country she has served better than it has served her.
Wild Thing's comment........
The fault of this starts at the top with President Bush and his LOVE for illegal aliens. For his NOT securing our borders and for his wanting to put their comfort, desires and demands ABOVE the citizens of this country.
The blame trickles down from the office of the President to the Gov. and all involved.
Look to the liberals to blame for this.Bush LIBERAL, Arnie LIBERAL, the list is long and each name disgusting.
I am so sick of these people saying they are conservatives JUST to get elected and then they do their liberal crap like they do about illegals. And we are in for more of this too since we have three liberals running to sit in the Oval Office. None of them are worthy that is for damn sure.
And I can’t help but wonder what our soldiers must be thinking...going off to risk their lives, while their loved ones here are so vulnerable and their CIC absolutely flat out refuses to EFFECTIVELY SECURE OUR BORDERS...risking loosing the WAR, not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, but right here in our own backyards.
"we allowed Pedro Espinosa to serve 180 days on gun charges without checking his immigration status. We released Espinosa onto the streets, and 24 hours later he murdered Jamiel Shaw II"
How damn hard is it to verify someone's residency after being arrested? And, if they're found to be ILLEGALLY here, why cannot they be deported after the complete their sentence.
We already HAVE perfectly good laws to deal with illegal immigration. The focus should be on enforcing them, rather than creating yet another law that we won’t enforce.
The question to the three running for President should be are YOU willing to call up a soldier to tell her that her son has been murdered by an illegal alien????!!!!
President Bush, Chertoff, Congress, Schwartzeneggar, State reps, LA City Council, Mayor Villagroisa, etc.
She should place all the blame exactly where it belongs. I would be screaming from the rooftops to ANYONE that would listen.
And to think they are working on another May 1 illegal alien march in L.A. This would be the perfect time for her to make her point and demand that the before mentioned ‘officials’ obey our country’s laws and protect citizens.
It really makes me sick and angry. I lived in California for 28 years, the State itself is the most beautiful I have ever seern. The coastline drive is like non other. It is the LIBERALS that have messed with it and are destroying so much about California.
But this illegal alien problem is not only in Calif. it is in every State and those in charge should be held accountable each and every time one of the illegals commits a crime against an American citizen.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:40 AM | Comments (14)
April 06, 2008
U.S. Army Day April 6th TODAY
Tribute to Men & Women of the US Army
Military Order of the World War under Colonel Thatcher Luquer established Army Day. Army Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1928. That date was chosen in hopes of dampening Communists' celebration of Workers' Day, which also occurs on May 1. But, starting in 1929, Army Day was changed to April 6, the anniversary date of the United States' entry into World War I.
Army Day was established as a nationwide observance to draw public attention to national defense and to acquaint the public with Army activities. In addition, the day was used to stress the need for military preparedness, which the nation had lacked as it entered earlier major conflicts. "The failure to make adequate preparation for the inevitable struggle, the consequent suffering from disease and death entailed upon the armies which were hastily raised, the prolongation of the conflict far beyond the time which sufficient and equipped forces would have required for victory, and the heavy costs of reconstruction" were caused by the lack of preparation of the nation.
THANK YOU to all of you that served in the U.S. Army! Thank you with all my heart. I am so sorry I am late posting this.
....Thank you SSgt.Steve for letting me know about this very special day.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:18 PM | Comments (16)
UPDATE to : Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells
Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells
By DEBORAH SONTAG
Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care by an Ohio hospital because she could not come up with a $100 fee.
The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.
“We implore the Clinton campaign to immediately desist from repeating this story,” said Rick Castrop, chief executive officer of the O’Bleness Health System.
Linda M. Weiss, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, said the Clinton campaign had never contacted the hospital to check the accuracy of the story, which Mrs. Clinton had first heard from a Meigs County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy in late February.
A Clinton spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said candidates would frequently retell stories relayed to them, vetting them when possible. “In this case, we did try but were not able to fully vet it,” Mr. Elleithee said. “If the hospital claims it did not happen that way, we respect that.”
The sheriff’s deputy, Bryan Holman, had played host to Mrs. Clinton in his home before the Ohio primary. Deputy Holman said in a telephone interview that a conversation about health care led him to relate the story of Ms. Bachtel. He never mentioned the name of the hospital that supposedly turned her away because he did not know it, he said.
Deputy Holman knew Ms. Bachtel’s story only secondhand, having learned it from close relatives of the woman. Ms. Bachtel’s relatives did not return phone calls Friday.
As Deputy Holman understood it, Ms. Bachtel had died of complications from a stillbirth after being turned away by a local hospital for her failure to pay $100 upfront.
“I mentioned this story to Senator Clinton, and she apparently took to it and liked it,” Deputy Holman said, “and one of her aides said she’d be using it at some rallies.”
Indeed, saying that the story haunted her, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly offered it as a dire example of a broken health care system. At one March rally in Wyoming, for instance, she referred to Ms. Bachtel, a 35-year-old who managed a Pizza Hut, as a young, uninsured minimum-wage worker, saying,
“It hurts me that in our country, as rich and good of a country as we are, this young woman and her baby died because she couldn’t come up with $100 to see the doctor.”
Mrs. Clinton does not name Ms. Bachtel or the hospital in her speeches. As she tells it, the woman was turned away twice by a local hospital when she was experiencing difficulty with her pregnancy.
“The hospital said, ‘Well, you don’t have insurance.’ She said, ‘No, I don’t.’ They said, ‘Well, we can’t see you until you give $100.’ She said, ‘Where am I going to get $100?’
“The next time she came back to the hospital, she came in an ambulance,” Mrs. Clinton continued. “She was in distress. The doctors and the nurses worked on her and couldn’t save the baby.”
Since Ms. Bachtel’s baby died at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, the story implicitly and inaccurately accuses that hospital of turning her away, said Ms. Weiss, the spokeswoman for O’Bleness Memorial said. Instead, the O’Bleness health care system treated her, both at the hospital and at the affiliated River Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology practice, Ms. Weiss said.
The hospital would not provide details about the woman’s case, citing privacy concerns; she died two weeks after the stillbirth at a medical center in Columbus.
“We reviewed the medical and patient account records of this patient,” said Mr. Castrop, the health system’s chief executive. Any implication that the system was “involved in denying care is definitely not true.”
Although Mrs. Clinton has told the story repeatedly, it first came to the attention of the hospital after The Washington Post cited it as a staple of her stump speeches on Thursday. That brought it to the attention of The Daily Sentinel in Pomeroy, Ohio, which published an article on Friday.
Neither paper named the hospital or challenged Mrs. Clinton’s account.
UPDATE:
Clinton drops hospital story from stump speech
CNN for complete story update
Hillary Clinton’s campaign says the candidate will stop telling the story of an uninsured pregnant woman who lost the baby and died after being denied medical care, following a hospital raising questions over its accuracy.
Clinton has frequently told the emotional story of the woman from rural Ohio since late February. In the speech, Clinton said the woman made minimum wage working at a local pizza restaurant, without insurance, when she became pregnant. Clinton said the woman ran into trouble, went to a hospital in a nearby county but was denied treatment because she couldn’t afford a $100 payment. In the speech, Clinton said the woman later was taken to the hospital by ambulance and lost the baby. The young woman was then taken by helicopter to a Columbus hospital where she died of complications.
As recently as Friday night in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Clinton said, “As I was listening to this story being told, I was just aching inside. It is so wrong, in this good, great and rich country, that a young woman and her baby would die because she didn’t have health insurance or a hundred dollars to get examined.”
Wild Thing's comment........
The casual way this woman lies, the public shrugging at her lies, the willingness to make up things to advance a cause for her is just breathtaking. And to take a dead woman, to lie about her death for a political point, is just, well, there is no word for it.
REGARDING THE UPDATE....... Ah, the old “Fake, but accurate” defense. Well good, too bad she didn't do it because she felt bad about her lie. Who's writing her stuff? Dan Rather?
With Hillary’s ability to remember things that never happened and Obama’s ability to “disremember” things that did happen, we have the perfect team to lead the moonbats off into Candy Land, where everything they bake will be satisfying and delicious—talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes—la, la, la, la.
...Thank you Mark for this information and article.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 PM | Comments (11)
Charlton Heston Has Passed Away
Charlton Heston died on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at his home in Beverly Hills, California with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, by his side. He was 83.
In 1944, Heston left college and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He served for two years as a B-25 radio operator/gunner stationed in the Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Originally a Democrat who campaigned for Presidential candidates Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy, he gradually switched to becoming a conservative Republican during the 1960s.
His favorite food was peanut butter, and he took it with him everywhere, even overseas.
He was of English/Scottish descent.
Wrote that he switched to being a conservative Republican due to LBJ's term as President.
He campaigned for Republican candidates Ronald Reagan in 1984, George Bush in 1988 and George W. Bush in 2000.
He was an opponent of abortion and gave the introduction to an anti-abortion documentary by Bernard Nathanson called Eclipse of Reason (1980) which focuses on late-term abortions.
He was one of several prominent people to serve on the advisory board of U.S. English, a group that seeks to make English the official language of the United States.
He owns more than 400 modern and antique guns.
Some quotes by Heston:
(From a taped announcement concerning his having symptoms of Alzheimer's disease): "For an actor, there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you, which is why I won't exclude you from this stage in my life. ... For now, I'm not changing anything. I'll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring to my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you'll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway."
Actor George Clooney joked about Heston having Alzheimer's Disease. When questioned, Clooney said Heston deserved whatever was said about him for his involvement with the NRA.......
After hearing an unkind remark made about his condition by George Clooney, nephew of Rosemary Clooney: "It's funny how class can skip a generation, isn't it?"
"I don't know the man - never met him, never even spoken to him. But I feel sorry for George Clooney - one day he may get Alzheimer's disease. I served my country in World War II. I survived that - I guess I can survive some bad words from this fellow."
"Affirmative action is a stain on the American soul."
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners."
"Here's my credo. There are no good guns, There are no bad guns. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a bad thing. Any gun in the hands of a good man is no threat to anyone, except bad people."
"There is no duty more noble than that which has called you across the world in defense of freedom. Yours is a mission of hope and humanity for the oppressed. Rest assured that while pretend-patriots talk of supporting you, even as they condemn your noble cause, an unwavering vast majority of Americans share and take pride in your mission. You represent all that is good and right about America and are the true face of American patriotism. You walk in those same righteous footsteps of all those patriots who, before you, fought to preserve liberty for all. Our prayers and our personal gratitude are with you and your families. May God Bless You, Charlton and Lydia Heston." - Message sent to the US troops in Iraq, April 2003
"After spending all of last winter in armour it's a great relief to wear costume that bends." - After completing El Cid (1961)
"I have played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses. If that doesn't create an ego problem, nothing does."
"I've been killed often, on film, the stage, and the television tube. Studios insist the audience doesn't like this. It's been my experience that it makes them unhappy, but that's not the same thing. In any event, they often attend those undertakings where I come to a violent end even more enthusiastically than they do those where I survive. There may be a message for me somewhere there."
"I find my blood pressure rising when Clinton's cultural shock troops participate in homosexual rights fund raisers but boycott gun rights fund raisers - and then claim it's time to place homosexual men in tents with boy scouts and suggest that sperm-donor babies born into lesbian relationships are somehow better served."
"Mainstream America is depending on you - counting on you - to draw your sword and fight for them. These people have precious little time or resources to battle misguided Cinderella attitudes, the fringe propaganda of the homosexual coalition, the feminists who preach that it's a divine duty for women to hate men, blacks who raise a militant fist with one hand, while they seek preference with the other."
"The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of those wise old, dead, white guys who invented this country. It's true - they were white guys. So were most of the guys who died in Lincoln's name, opposing slavery in the 1860s. So, why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is Hispanic pride or black pride a good thing, while white pride conjures up shaved heads and white hoods?"
"People in the film community think being politically active means getting on Air Force One and going to dinner at the White House. I've scorned a few liberals in this town, and I get a kick out of that."
"In Hollywood there are more gun owners in the closet than homosexuals."
"The Democratic Party slid to the Left from right under me."
"America didn't trust you with their health-care system, America didn't trust you with gays in the military, America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters. And we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns." - On President Bill Clinton
Vote freedom first. Vote George W. Bush. Everything else is a distant and forgettable second place. This is the most important election since the Civil War. Al Gore, if elected, would have the power to hammer your gun rights right into oblivion. Instead of fighting redcoats, we are now fighting blue blood elitists. (2000)
"Al Gore is now saying, 'I'm with you guys on guns.' In any other time or place you'd be looking for a lynching mob."(2000)
" have spent my life in service to these two sacred sets of work - the gift of human passion in William Shakespeare and the gift of human freedom enshrined in the American bill of human rights. Tony Blair can have his body guards and the police are all allowed to defend themselves, then so should the people."
AWESOME SPEECH
Charlton Heston's speech "Winning the Cultural War".
Harvard Law School Forum
February 16, 1999
Text version of his speech.
I remember my son when he was five, explaining to his kindergarten class what his father did for a living. "My Daddy," he said, "pretends to be people." There have been quite a few of them. Prophets from the Old and New Testaments, a couple of Christian saints, generals of various nationalities and different centuries, several kings, three American presidents, a French cardinal and two geniuses, including Michelangelo. If you want the ceiling re-painted I'll do my best. There always seem to be a lot of different fellows up here. I'm never sure which one of them gets to talk. Right now, I guess I'm the guy.
As I pondered our visit tonight it struck me: if my Creator gave me the gift to connect you with the hearts and minds of those great men, then I want to use that same gift now to re-connect you with your own sense of liberty, your own freedom of thought, your own compass for what is right
Dedicating the memorial at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said of America, "We are now engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."
Those words are true again. I believe that we are again engaged in a great civil war, a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what lives in your heart. I'm sure you no longer trust the pulsing lifeblood of liberty inside you, the stuff that made this country rise from wilderness into the miracle that it is.
Let me back up a little. About a year or two ago, I became president of the National Rifle Association, which protects the right to keep and bear arms of American citizens. I ran for office. I was elected, and now I serve. I serve as a moving target for the media who've called me everything from "ridiculous" and "duped" to a "brain-injured, senile, crazy old man." I know, I'm pretty old, but I sure Lord ain't senile.
As I've stood in the crosshairs of those who target Second Amendment freedoms, I've realized that firearms are -- are not the only issue. No, it's much, much bigger than that. I've come to understand that a cultural war is raging across our land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain accepted thoughts and speech are mandated.
For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 -- and long before Hollywood found it acceptable, I may say. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist.
I've worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life -- throughout my whole career. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe.
I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out the innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite.
Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution I'm talking about, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh.
From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, "Chuck, how dare you speak your mind like that. You are using language not authorized for public consumption."
But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys -- subjects bound to the British crown.
In his book, "The End of Sanity," Martin Gross writes that
"blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, new anti-intellectual theories regularly twisted on us -- foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something without a name is undermining the country, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it."
Let me read you a few examples. At Antioch College in Ohio, young men speaking and seeking intimacy with a coed must get verbal permission at each step of the process, from kissing to petting to final, at last, copulation -- all clearly spelled out in a printed college directive.
In New Jersey, despite the death of several patients nationwide who'd been infected by dentists who had concealed their own AIDS, the state commissioner announced that health providers who are HIV-positive need not -- need not! -- tell their patients that they are infected.
At William and Mary, students tried to change the name of the school team "The Tribe" because it was supposedly insulting to local Indians, only to learn that authentic Virginia chiefs really like the name, "The Tribe."
In San Francisco, city fathers passed an ordinance protecting the rights of transvestites to cross-dress on the job, and for transsexuals to have separate toilet facilities while undergoing sex change surgery.
In New York City, kids who didn't speak a word of Spanish had been placed in bilingual classes to learn their three R's in Spanish solely because their own names sound Hispanic.
At the University of Pennsylvania, in a state where thousands died at Gettysburg opposing slavery, the president of that college officially set up segregated dormitory space for black students.
Yeah, I know, that's out of bounds now. Dr. King said "Negroes." Jimmy Baldwin and most of us on the March said "black." But it's a no-no now.
For me, hyphenated identities are awkward, particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson's a twelfth generation native-American, with a capital letter on "American."
Finally, just last month, David Howard, head of the Washington D.C. Office of Public Advocate, used the word "niggardly" while talking about budgetary matters with some colleagues. Of course, "niggardly" means stingy or scanty. But within days, Howard was forced to publicly apologize and then resign.
As columnist Tony Snow wrote: "David Howard got fired because some people in public employ were morons who (a) didn't know the meaning of 'niggardly,' (b) don't know how to use a dictionary to discover the meaning, and (c) actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance."
Now, what does all of this mean? Among other things, it means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? And why do you continue to -- to tolerate it? Why do you, who're supposed to debate ideas, surrender to their suppression?
Let -- Let's be honest. Who here in this room thinks your professors can say what they really believe? (Uh-huh. There's a few....) Well, that scares me to death, and it should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason.
You are the best and the brightest. You, here in this fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River. You are the cream. But I submit that you and your counterparts across the land are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that and abide it, you are, by your grandfathers' standards, cowards.
Here's another example. Right now at more than one major university, Second Amendment scholars and researchers are being told to shut up about their findings or they'll lose their jobs. But why? Because their research findings would undermine big-city mayors' pending lawsuits that seek to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from firearm manufacturers.
Now, I don't care what you think about guns. But if you are not shocked at that, I am shocked at you. Who will guard the raw material of unfettered ideas, if not you? Democracy is dialogue. Who will defend the core values of academia, if you, the supposed soldiers of free thought and expression lay down your arms and plead, "Don't shoot me."
If you talk about race, it does not make you a racist. If you see distinctions between the genders, it does not make you sexist. If you think critically about a denomination, it does -- does not make you anti-religion. If you accept but don't celebrate homosexuality, it does not make you a homophobe.
Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant epidemic of new McCarthyism. That's what it is: New McCarthyism. But, what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation?
Well, the answer's been here all along. I learned it 36 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., standing with Dr. Martin Luther King and two hundred thousand people.
You simply disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don't. We disobey the social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom.
I learned the awesome power of disobedience from Dr. King who learned it from Gandhi, and Thoreau, and Jesus, and every other great man who led those in the right against those with the might.
Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that disobedient spirit that tossed tea into Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in Viet Nam.
In that same spirit, I' m asking you to disavow cultural correctness with massive disobedience of rogue authority, social directives, and onerous laws that weaken personal freedom.
But be careful. It hurts. Disobedience demands that you put yourself at risk. Dr. King stood on lots of balconies. You must be willing to be humiliated, to endure the modern-day equivalent of the police dogs at Montgomery and the water Cannons at Selma. You must be willing to experience discomfort. Now, I'm not complaining, but my own decades of social activism have left their mark on me. Let me tell you a story.
A few years ago, I heard about a -- a rapper named Ice-T who was selling a CD called "Cop Killer," celebrating the ambushing and of murdering police officers. It was being marketed by none other than Time/Warner, the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the country -- in the world. Police across the country were outraged. And rightfully so. At least one of them had been murdered. But Time/Warner was stonewalling because the -- the CD was a cash cow for them, and the media were tiptoeing around because the rapper was black. I heard Time/Warner had a stockholders meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills, and I owned some shares of Time/Warner at the time, so I decided to attend the meeting.
What I did was against the advice of my family and my colleagues. I asked for the floor. To a hushed room of a thousand average American stockholders, I simply read the full lyrics of "Cop Killer" -- every vicious, vulgar, instructional word:
I got my 12-Gauge sawed-off. I got my headlights turned off. I'm about to bust some shots off. I'm about to dust some cops off.
It got worse, a lot worse. Now, I won't read the rest of it to you. But trust me, the room was a sea of shocked, frozen, blanched faces. Time/Warner executives squirmed in their chairs and stared at their shoes. They hated me for that. Then I delivered another volley of sick lyrics brimming with racist filth, where Ice-T fantasizes about sodomizing the two 12-year-old nieces of Al and Tipper Gore:
She pushed her butt against my --
No. No, I won't do to you here what I did to them. Let's just say I left the room in stunned silence. When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps outside, one of them said, "We can't print that, you know." "I know," I said, "but Time/Warner is still selling it."
Two months later, Time/Warner terminated Ice-T's contract. I'll never be offered another film by Warner Brothers, or get a good review from Time magazine. But disobedience means you have to be willing to act, not just talk.
When a mugger sues his elderly victim for defending herself, jam the switchboard of the district attorney's office. When your university is pressured -- your university -- is pressured to lower standards until 80% of the students graduate with honors, choke the halls of the Board of Regents. When an 8-year-old boy pecks a girl's cheek on the playground and then gets hauled into court for sexual harassment, march on that school and block its doorways. When someone you elected is seduced by political power and betrays you -- petition them, oust them, banish them. When Time magazine's cover portrays millennium nuts as deranged, crazy Christians holding a cross as it did last month, boycott their magazine and the products it advertises.
So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobediences of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God's grace, built this country.
.
Wild Thing's comment........
Chuck Heston did a good job speaking truth to power and will be missed by many many of us. He was passionate, committed one with great faith, integrity, solid values, and presence. What a talent he was.
Nick worked with Chuck Heston on the movie "Earthquake" in 1974.
In 1982 I was working on a film called "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies". I had just pulled my car into the parking lot and it was full. So I decided to just pull out and look for a place on the streets near the set. We were filming in downtown Los Angeles. As I was backing him a man yelled for me to wait. I looked forward and it was Chuck Heston walking toward me. He leaned down as I put my window the rest of the way down and he told me that he was done with his work and was leaving and I could have his parking space.
He was so kind and a real gentlemen. We talked for a few minutes about the film I was working on and then I thanked him and will always remember how he didn't have to do any of that.
There are few left now that have been a part of the film industry that are Patriotic Americans, Chuck Heston was one of them. Rest in peace and prayers for your family.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (14)
Charlton Heston - 1989 NRA Annual Meeting
Charlton Heston - 1989 NRA Annual Meeting
He speaks of the Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers as well, this is a great speech.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (5)
Monday in Washington:GOE and Others Support Rally for Gen. David Petraeus
Gathering of Eagles to hold press conference supporting Iraq mission and U.S. military
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 10:00 am, members of Gathering of Eagles will hold a press conference at the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
This rally will showcase patriots from all over the country standing up in support of our military and their missions in Iraq and the War on Terror.
The conference is timed to coincide with Gen. David Petraeus’ return to Capitol Hill. Chris Hill, National Director of Operations, said:
“The purpose of our actions on April 7th is to encourage our elected officials to provide full funding for the military’s current mission in Iraq, and to continue to support the current mission of stabilization there.”
After the conference, Gathering of Eagles will hold meetings with Representatives and Senators. Larry Bailey, the organization’s chairman and cofounder, will be available for interviews along with Mr. Hill. Headquartered in North Carolina, Gathering of Eagles is a non-profit organization of everyday Americans united by a common love and respect for the United States and her military.
For more information, visit their website at www.gatheringofeagles.org. For more information, contact: Coby W. Dillard Assistant to the National Director Gathering of Eagles
The Band of Mothers will be on the corner of the Cannon Bldg in Washington, DC (Where Nancy Pelosi supposedly works) from April 7th, 8th and 9th to remind her and the Congress to support our Soldiers and the General. We will be among other supporters with Support our Troops signs.
Wild Thing's comment........
How sad that in the United States of America that anyone has to remind our elected officials to support our Soldiers and Gen. Petraeus, the mission and the war. It is an outrage!
Thank God for Gathering of Eaglels, our Veterans, Band of Mothers and other groups that will be there to let them know how the rest of us feel about our awesome troops.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (3)
Democrats Already Threatening General Petraeus BEFORE His Report
Congressional Democrats Warn Petraeus, Crocker Not to Minimize Seriousness of Situation in Iraq
Congressional Democrats are warning U.S. Iraq commander General David Petraeus, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, not to attempt to minimize the seriousness of the situation in Iraq when they testify to Congress next week. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
A few days before General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker appear before House and Senate committees to deliver their latest update on Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes clear what she hopes they will not say.
In a news conference together with the chairmen of the House committees on Armed Services and Foreign Affairs, she refers to the recent fighting in Iraq's southern port city of Basra, saying Petraeus and Crocker should not attempt to put a positive spin on events.
"We have to know the real ground truths of what is happening there, not put a shine on events because of a resolution [of the situation in Basra] that looks less violent when it has in fact been dictated by someone [Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada] al-Sadr who can grant or withhold that call for violence or not," said Nancy Pelosi.
Thursday's news conference came in the wake of seemingly critical comments by Ambassador Crocker in a New York Times interview about the Iraqi government's handling of military operations in Basra.
Elaborating during a Baghdad news conference, Crocker indicated again that Iraqi military decisions caught U.S. forces by surprise. But he described Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as having acted decisively, and praised the Iraqi military for its ability to plan, execute and adjust its operation.
Whatever versions that emerge between now and next week, lawmakers are making clear they don't intend to accept a picture that candy coats (minimizes) the military, political or reconciliation situation.
Democratic House foreign affairs chairman Howard Berman says the Iraqi government appears, in his words, to have largely frittered away chances for political reconciliation:
"The purpose of the [U.S. military] surge was to create political space for Iraqis to make meaningful strides toward national reconciliation, but sectarianism sadly remains the dominant force in Iraq and the sacrifices involved in getting us to this point don't seem to have put us much closer to the goal," said Howard Berman.
Democrats will also underscore what they call the heavy strain on U.S. troops from the five-year conflict in Iraq, damage to U.S. capabilities to respond to other challenges, and diverting energy from the fight against al-Qaida and Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Congressman Berman and House armed services chairman Ike Skelton also expressed new concerns about Iranian involvement in Iraq.
SKELTON: "Iran is the 'bull in the china shop'. In all of this, they seem to have links to all of the Shiite groups, whether they be political or military."
BERMAN: "The most disturbing aspect of the war is the inarguable strengthening of Iran, the most dangerous state in the Middle East."
Neither man provided information about any new details they might have obtained about Iranian actions in Iraq.
However, Berman says Iran's role in the events in Basra is something he and others will explore with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker next week.
Wild Thing's comment........
Who the heck do these people think they are anyway. This is not England, they are not a KING or a Queen, this is America and they have the nerve to give a warning to the U.S. Iraq commander General David Petraeus, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
This must look great to the enemy!!! Thanks a lot for helping out in the war effort Democrats!!! NOT!
And as far as it appears to our troops and they will know about this because they get the news there too. They must wish they could tell these jerks to shut up!! I know I would!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (9)
Democrats On The Hill Petition Bush On Iraq
Hill Dems petition Bush on Iraq - Democrats Letter to President Bush April 4, 2008
A group of senior house Democrats today urged President Bush to overhaul current Iraq policy and encourage leaders of that country to bolster its political and military infrastructure.
The leaders said the recent troop buildup in Iraq had not achieved its purpose and urged Bush to direct troops to play a more limited role in Iraq and divert freed up resources to other regions such as the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The current Iraq strategy has no discernible end in sight and requires the United States to spend additional hundreds of billions of dollars despite urgent national needs in education, health care, and infrastructure improvement, and when high oil prices have provided the Iraqi government with billions in additional revenue that could pay for their own redevelopment and security," states the letter, signed by 18 senior Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.
You can read the full letter here.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, responded to word of the letter, saying it was prematurely sent in advance of testimony on Capitol Hill by Gen. David Petraeus and Iraq Amb. Ryan Crocker, who are slated to testify on Capitol Hill next Tuesday.
"Rather than hear from our ambassador about the political and economic progress in Iraq, and rather than listen to the Petraeus plan for safely drawing down troops in Iraq, the Democrat leadership is relying on a letter to paper over the disparate views in their party," McConnell said. "While Democrats are divided on how best to assuage MoveOn, the military has described the safe way to return troops to the U.S. without abandoning an ally or our regional interests."
Wild Thing's comment........
Well those names signing the letter are the usual list of suspects .
Wouldn't it be neat if Bush could just write across the Petition Screw you and send it back to them. heh heh
I have always been a firm believer that the military should be the one to decide the when, and how a mission should be halted or changed. Give input to the Commander in Chief yes but not be at the mercy or attacks of input from some career politicians that have made a point of wanting never to win this war.
And from the letter look who has signed it and why the heck are they still allowed to be on these particular committees????????? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Nancy Pelosi Harry Reid
Speaker of the House Senate Majority Leader
Steny H. Hoyer Richard J. Durbin
House Majority Leader Senate Assistant Majority Leader
Ike Skelton Carl Levin
Chairman, House Armed Services Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee Committee
Howard Berman Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Committee
Silvestre Reyes John D. Rockefeller IV Chairman, House Permanent Chairman, Senate Select
Select Committee on Committee on Intelligence Intelligence
John Murtha Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman, House Defense Chairman, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Appropriations Subcommittee
Nita Lowey Patrick J. Leahy
Chairwoman, House State Chairman, Senate State and
and Foreign Operations Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Appropriations Subcommittee
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (7)
April 05, 2008
Democrat: Report on Iraq 'too rosy'
Democrat: Report on Iraq 'too rosy'
Senior Democratic senators challenged a new intelligence report's assessment of President Bush's "surge" strategy Friday, saying the troop increase in Iraq has failed to achieve its strategic goals.
The classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which was distributed to key lawmakers this week, sets the stage for the latest public progress report on Iraq that will be delivered Tuesday and Wednesday to congressional committees by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad.
"In my judgment, it's too rosy, but there are parts of it that are not so rosy, and both pieces need to be declassified," Sen. Carl Levin said, pointing in particular to the portion of the report describing Iraq's political progress.
Levin chairs the Armed Services Committee, one of the panels Crocker and Petraeus will testify before next week.
The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, however, said the Democrats were complaining about the report because they did not like the report's finding and were trying to "politicize it."
"Old adage from the Midwest: When you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, you know who's been hit by who hollers," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri. "All I can say is, the people who are bitching obviously didn't like the results. I happen to have confidence in the analysis that's now being conducted.
"From everything I know, it is a fair representation on what is going on in Iraq, and people will have the opportunity to question Gen. Petraeus and others," he said. "But the fact that it has not been released and you see some violent anti-war, anti-Iraq war people complaining about it lets you know what the general tone of it is."
For their part, Bush administration officials have declined to characterize the findings of the intelligence estimate, largely because they do not want to get ahead of the public testimony from Petraeus and Crocker.
The previous report on Iraq, issued last summer in advance of the first progress report from Petraeus and Crocker, suggested that progress was more uneven and the situation more precarious.
Democrats are raising concerns that the new report is downplaying recent violence on the ground to strengthen the president's hand in advance of the Petraeus-Crocker testimony.
One Democratic aide said the latest report "is not inconsistent with public statements on Iraq" made in recent Bush speeches casting the war in a more positive light by highlighting security and political gains in Iraq.
A second Democratic aide criticized the intelligence estimate for not delving much further than recent news reports on Iraq, charging that it is "not a very useful or innovative intelligence analysis overall."
Violence in Iraq recently increased after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a military operation in Basra on March 25 meant to root out criminals who had been carrying out indiscriminate attacks, burglaries and oil smuggling.
The operation sparked fighting against the Iraqi troops and the multiple Shiite militias that control parts of the city, despite Iraqi and U.S. authorities' repeated insistence that militias weren't targeted.
Much of the fighting occurred in strongholds of the Mehdi Army militia, loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Firefights occurred in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City as well as in Basra.
On Friday, al-Maliki ordered a stop on the raids against the militias to "give time to those who are repentant" to lay down their weapons after al-Sadr offered to purge the Iraqi security forces of militia members.
Democrats familiar with the report are also saying the 50-plus page document does not adequately delve into what impact U.S. troop reductions may have on the situation in Iraq.
"It just seems to indicate that there is almost no consideration of alternatives to the status quo going on in government right now," one of the Democratic aides said.
Sen. Joseph Biden said Friday that the troop surge had contributed to the reduction in violence since it started last year but that the political reconciliation that the reduction in violence was supposed to facilitate had not been realized.
"The military has done its job. The violence has come down, but the Iraqis have not come together," said Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. "That's like going from drowning to treading water."
"This is kind of like 'Groundhog Day.' We're right back to where we were before the surge," he added.
Petraeus and Crocker are also scheduled to appear before Biden's committee next week.
Levin also said he expected Petraeus to recommend an indefinite pause in the withdrawal of troops from Iraq this summer, which he described as an "open-ended pause that compounds the problem of an open-ended policy."
Levin and Sen. Edward Kennedy have called for John McConnell, the director of national intelligence, to declassify the report's key conclusions before Crocker and Petraeus testify.
"This information is critical to the public debate in the coming weeks and months," Levin and Kennedy wrote in a letter to McConnell.
The pair noted that unclassified versions of Iraq intelligence estimates have been released.
"There is no compelling reason not to release an unclassified version of this latest NIE that summarizes the major conclusions and judgments of the classified report, while still protecting the sources and methods of our intelligence community," the two wrote.
Wild Thing's comment........
The Democrats just can’t wait to surrender! I am so sick of their doom and gloom, their endless hate America, anti-troop defeatism.
The Rats wouldn’t understand the founding of this country being they’re all from a different Galaxy.
And another thing, how DARE they go to see our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That REALLY ticks me off. They are NOT going there to thank them, to do anything positive. These Democrats don't deserve to breath the same air our troops breath.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (13)
Kerry Among Lawmakers With Investments In Defense Co.'s
Strategic Assets
As Congress gets an update next week on the Iraq war, lawmakers are personally invested in companies reaping billions of dollars from defense contracts.
By Lindsay Renick Mayer
When Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S military officer in Iraq, comes to Capitol Hill next week to brief Congress, he will be addressing lawmakers who have more than just a political stake in the five-year war.
Along with their colleagues in the House and Senate, the politicians who will get a status report from the general and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq have as much as $196 million of their own money invested in companies doing business with the Department of Defense, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has calculated.
From aircraft and weapons manufacturers to producers of medical supplies and soft drinks, the investment portfolios of more than a quarter of Congress—and of countless constituents—include holdings in companies paid billions of dollars each month to support America's military in Iraq and elsewhere.
According to the most recent reports of their personal finances, 151 current members of Congress had between $78.7 million and $195.5 million invested in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. In all, these companies received more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the budget watchdog group OMB Watch.
The minimum value of Congress members' personal investments in these contractors increased 5 percent from 2004 to 2006, but because lawmakers are only required to report their assets in broad ranges, the value of these investments could have risen as much as 160 percent—or even dropped 51 percent. It is also unclear how many members still hold these investments, since reports for 2007 are not due until May 15, 2008. In 2004, the first full year after the Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers—both hawks and doves—had between $74.9 million and $161.3 million invested in companies under contract with the Department of Defense.
As the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have expanded and transformed, so, too, has the need for goods and services that extend beyond helicopters, armored vehicles and guns. Giant corporations outside of the defense sector, such as Pepsico, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson, have received defense contracts and are all popular investments for both members of Congress and the general public. So common are these companies, both as personal investments and as defense contractors, it would appear difficult to build a diverse blue-chip stock portfolio without at least some of them.
Lawmakers' investments in these contractors yielded them between $15.8 million and $62 million in income from 2004 through 2006, through dividends, capital gains, royalties and interest, the Center found. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who are two of Congress's wealthiest members, were among the lawmakers who earned the most income from these contractors between 2004 and 2006, with Sensenbrenner making at least $3.2 million and Kerry reaping at least $2.6 million.
A spokesman for Sensenbrenner, who has supported the administration's policy in Iraq, said the congressman's stocks were left to him by his grandparents and are managed almost entirely by his investment advisors. There has been no conscious effort on Sensenbrenner's part to invest in companies that have received defense contracts, his representative said. Kerry, who has been particularly outspoken against the Bush administration's strategy and policies in Iraq, is a beneficiary of family trusts, which he doesn't control, the senator's spokesman said.
Overseers of Defense Hold Stock in Contractors
Owning stock in companies under contract with the Department of Defense could be more problematic for members of Congress who sit on committees that oversee defense policy and budgeting. Petraeus will speak on April 8 and 9 to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. In 2006, members of these two committees had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DOD contracts. Foreign Relations member Kerry's investments accounted for most of it—between $28.9 million and $38.2 million. Members of the two committees held between $3 million and $5.1 million in defense-only companies.
Chairs of other defense-related committees are similarly invested. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had at least $51,000 invested in these companies in 2006. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had at least $30,000, including between $1,001 and $15,000 invested in defense company Raytheon, which has one of its major facilities right outside of Berman's district. According to Berman's office, that holding is in a trust the congressman inherited from his parents.
"It's a couple thousand dollars," Berman's spokeswoman said. "We're not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's a teeny investment, and he inherited it. He didn't make it."
In the case of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, his stock in Pepsico, which is worth at least $1 million, is actually held by his wife, who is on the food and beverage corporation's board of directors. Pepsico received $187 million in defense contracts in 2006, according to OMB Watch. "His wife's separate holdings have no influence," Rockefeller spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said. "Sen. Rockefeller, out of an abundance of caution to ensure there's no conflict of interest, has held all his assets in a blind trust since he was the governor of West Virginia."
Members of Congress who want to make a public statement about their opposition to the Iraq war don't have to divest from businesses that may be profiting from the persistent conflict, some financial planners say.
As the Iraq war continues and companies supporting the effort continue to make money, lawmakers will have an easier time justifying their investments in corporations that are known for producing food and clothing—companies whose defense contracts represent a tiny fraction of their overall revenue.
Many of the Defense Department's contracts "will likely be there whether you're in a war or not," said Cheryl Smith, executive vice president and senior portfolio manager at Trillium Asset Management Corporation, a firm that screens companies' policies for socially responsible investors. "A standing army still needs soft drinks, toothpaste and clothing. If [the lawmaker's] position is there should not be a military at all, then you might want to exclude anyone with a defense contract, but if they want to stand up against the war," they should avoid investing in companies with weapons contracts, specifically.
And there are members of Congress invested in those companies—major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Honeywell.
Forty-seven current members of Congress (or 9 percent of all members of the House and Senate) were invested in 2006 in companies that are primarily in the defense sector, for a total investment of between $4.2 million and $8 million. The average share price of these corporations today is nearly twice what it was in 2004.
Hawks and Doves Are Similarly Invested in Defense
While Democrats are more likely to advocate for ending the Iraq war sooner than Republicans, as a group they have more of their own money invested in America's military efforts. In 2006 Democrats had at least $3.7 million invested in the defense sector alone, compared to Republicans' $577,500. More Republicans, however, held stock in defense companies in 2006—28 of them, compared to 19 Democrats.
According to a spokesman for one of these investors, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who held at least $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock in 2006, it's "insulting" to make a connection between personal investments and a lawmaker's job. "Congressman Blunt does not consider his personal finances when voting for legislation, especially on issues as weighty as sending our troops into harm's way," Blunt spokesman Nick Simpson said. (Update: After the posting of this story, Simpson added that the stock is an investment held by Blunt's wife, who received it from her mother as a gift.)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), who has spoken out against the administration's policy in Iraq and belongs to the Out of Iraq Congressional Caucus, had at least $50,000 invested in Boeing in 2006. Farr's office did not respond to Capital Eye's inquiries about this investment and whether he still holds the stock.
Other lawmakers have decided to sell their shares in defense companies. In 2006, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) had $1,000 in Honeywell and $1,000 in United Technologies but has since gotten rid of those holdings, which represented a tiny percentage of his net worth, according to his office. According to her presidential personal financial disclosures, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had stock in some defense companies, such as Honeywell, Boeing and Raytheon, but sold the stock in May 2007. Neither of the remaining presidential hopefuls, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, reported such holdings on their filings.
Smith of Trillium Asset Management said that lawmakers who plan to divest could consider putting that money into community rebuilding, such as in hurricane-damaged New Orleans, or alternative energy projects to reduce U.S. dependence on oil. "There's a lot of opportunities to make a double statement by taking [the funds] from one place and putting them into another," she said.
Lockheed Martin declined to comment for this article, and a Honeywell spokeswoman said lawmakers should be free to do as they choose, but that the company provides necessary services to the military. "Honeywell provides support to develop products, services and technologies to meet the needs determined by the U.S. government and its entities that appropriate the funding, and elected officials and taxpayers who elect them into office," said Cathy Gedvilas, media relations manager for the defense aerospace company. "We support the spirit of the U.S. democracy and free enterprise system, and in keeping our nation and our troops safe from harm."
Wild Thing's comment.......
I don't mind if a person invests in these things at all. It helps our troops when they do. IMO it is pro military I would think anyway. Even if we were not at war, our military needs equipment and the best supplies no matter where they are deployed and for training and so many things.
BUT what I do find sickening and a total outrage is when someone is making money from a war and they spew their hate, demoralize our military, and say horrible lies about our soldiers like Kerry has done so many times. John Kerry is notorious for his anti-war stance and personal testimony against U.S. soldiers with whom he served in Vietnam and he has been trying to do it in his own way about our troops today too.
Dec. 2005:
CBS "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer there was no reason for U.S. soldiers to continue "terrorizing" Iraqi children.
"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the – of – the historical customs, religious customs," Kerry said Sunday. "Whether you like it or not ... Iraqis should be doing that."
Another time John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”
Kerry in 1970 in his testimony before the nation
"They told stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country," he said.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (13)
Brothers Reunite in Iraq
CAMP TAJI, Iraq
April 4, 2008
by Army Sgt. Brandon Little serves in the Task Force 12 Public Affairs Office
Throughout their military careers, Army Staff Sgt. Shane Hansen and his brother, Army Sgt. 1st Class Zane Hansen, have always been on opposite sides of the world.
Over the years, as they got married, had children and were stationed in different places, they haven’t had many chances to see each other. But an unexpected mission change, combined with a little good fortune, brought them together in Iraq.
Shane, who is stationed in Katterbach, Germany, deployed to Logistics Support Area Anaconda in July; Zane, who is stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, learned in November his unit also would deploy to Iraq.
When Task Force 12 received the mission of becoming the aviation task force for Multinational Division Baghdad, the Hansen brothers found their first opportunity to be stationed together.
“I was excited when I found out we would be here together, because the last time I saw (Zane), before this deployment, was at our parents’ house in August of 2004,” said Shane, a section sergeant in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. “We usually get to see each other about once every five years.”
Even though the brothers, natives of Wichita, Kan., live and work less than a half mile away from each other here, they still remain worlds apart.
“Right now, I’m working night shift, and (Shane) works day shift; it seems like every time my shift changes, so does his,” said Zane, a platoon sergeant in Troop T, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. “Since we’ve been stationed here together, we’ve only seen each other about three or four times.”
“Our different shifts and different ‘reset’ days makes it difficult to see each other unless we really put forth an effort to going over to where the other one works,” said Shane, who has been in the Army for 12 years.
Their families have mixed feelings about the brothers being stationed together in Iraq.
“Our wives are happy that we are stationed here together, because they feel we have someone to talk to,” said Shane, a UH-60 Black Hawk maintainer. “Our parents don’t like the idea of us being here together, because if something happens, it might happen to both of us; but our older sister isn’t too worried about us being here.”
Both brothers are on their second deployment; Zane previously deployed to Bosnia and Shane to Afghanistan. Zane joined the Army a little more than a year before Shane.
“When I joined the Army in 1994, I got stationed in Korea,” said Zane, an AH-64D Apache Longbow maintainer. “When he joined the Army and got stationed in Hawaii, I was stationed in the states.”
Communicating with each other was difficult for the first couple of years because there was no Internet access; but now, it’s definitely gotten a lot better, Shane said.
Zane has been in aviation for his entire career, but Shane started out as a signal soldier.
“I really didn’t like that job, and Zane would always tell me about his job and all of the cool things he did,” said Shane. “He wasn’t the only reason I chose this job, but he definitely helped me make my decision.”
The brothers are living up to a long legacy of military service in their family. Their grandfathers served in the military during World War II. Their father also served in the Army; he joined shortly after the Vietnam War.
Growing up, they had plenty of good times mixed with a little bit of mischief, they said. Although they try to stay professional, and call each other “Sergeant Hansen” when around other soldiers, childhood memories sometimes resurface.
“All of (Zane’s) soldiers want to know about him,” Shane said. “Every once in a while, one of them will come up to me and ask me questions about him, and I’ll give them a tidbit of information about some of the things he did growing up.”
Shane has been selected for promotion to sergeant first class and said he would like to be stationed back in the United States in the future. Zane said he and his wife are discussing the idea of asking to go to Europe.
Wild Thing's comment........
How wonderful that they got to meet up like this. Great story and I am so happy for them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:45 AM | Comments (6)
April 04, 2008
Obama Comes Out Against Concealed Carry
US Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks during an appearance at the 38th constitutional convention of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 2, 2008. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)
Obama Comes Out Against Concealed Carry
by Amanda Carpenter
Barack Obama is embracing anti-gun policies in the run-up to a Democratic presidential debate scheduled on the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings.
“I am not in favor of concealed weapons,” Obama told the Pittsburgh Tribune. “I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations.”
These remarks break from Obama’s previous moderate rhetoric on gun control.
While campaigning in Idaho in February, Obama promised, “I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns.”
Obama elaborated later that month in a political forum sponsored by ABC News and the Politico.
He said: “I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respects the Second Amendment and people's traditions."
Obama’s tough talk on gun control may be prompted by Philadelphia-based Democratic leaders who are pressuring Clinton and Obama to adopt harder stances on gun control. This issue is expected to come up in ABC News’ Democratic debate on April 16 in Philadelphia. 32 people were shot to death on the campus of Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui Cho April 16, 2007.
Obama’s new hardline liberal position differs from his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and GOP candidate John McCain, who both are for concealed-carry.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said in a statement Obama should apologize and revise his stance.
“Barack Obama ignorantly believes that legally-armed Americans are as reckless and irresponsible as the criminals with whom his political sympathies evidently law,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “He has been insisting for months he supports the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, but here he is now campaigning in Pennsylvania, stating essentially he would prefers Americans not exercise that right.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
“While a complete ban on handguns is not politically practicable...”
So he WOULD try to ban handguns. It just isn’t “politically practicable” ( at this time )
“I am not in favor of concealed weapons,” Obama told the Pittsburgh Tribune. “I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations.”
Nope. Just line up and be shot like good little sheep.
"And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets."
And those folks with illegal handguns...are just gonna turn them in too. What a total idiot! It’s hard to bear arms, if you can’t carry them. Obama is an idiot, an idiot who can’t understand the concept of the 2nd Amendment, private property or freedom.
How many times must these liberal gun grabbers be told that it is not the gun that kills people... It is the bad people that kill other people... and if you make it illegal for good and responsible people to carry guns it will do nothing at all to stop the bad people from killing the good people with their illegal concealed guns.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 PM | Comments (6)
Clinton Appears on "The Tonight Show"
Clinton Appears on "The Tonight Show"
BURBANK, Calif.
Hillary Rodham Clinton made fun of herself Thursday, telling "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno she almost didn't make it to his studio.
"It is so great to be here, I was so worried I wasn't going to make it. I was pinned down by sniper fire," Clinton said after joining him onstage, referring to her claims - since disputed - that she dodged sniper bullets while arriving in Bosnia as first lady. Clinton later said she had "misspoke."
As she entered, Leno's band played the "Rocky" theme, jumping off her statement this week that she is the underdog in the Democratic nominating contest against Barack Obama, just like the fictitious boxer was against his opponent in the Oscar-winning movie.
"This has been such a mismatch of words and action," Clinton continued. "Obviously I've been so privileged to represent our country in more than 80 other countries, lots of war zones. I wrote about it in my book and obviously had a lapse. But here I am, safe and sound."
Leno asked how much sleep Clinton was getting. "Answering the phone at 3:00, that's gotta be tough," he joked, referring to her campaign commercials that ask which candidate would be the best prepared as president for middle-of-the-night emergencies.
"It happens every single night. Someone calls up and they have something to say. You've got to stop calling me," Clinton told Leno.
Clinton said she was proud of her daughter, Chelsea, 28, who has been campaigning for her. But she said her "stomach is in knots" most days thinking about what she might encounter each day. Chelsea Clinton has fielded some tough questions in recent appearances, particularly about her father's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Her response has been that it's none of the questioner's business.
Asked about her daughter telling a voter that her mother might make a better president than her father, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton grinned and said: "She is such a smart young woman."
Leno also asked about moments during the campaign in which the former president has blown up at reporters and others.
"When you're supporting someone you love, you really do take it very much to heart," she said. "I said 'OK, honey, that's all right, we don't have to go get excited about it.' He's doing a great job for me but he does get a little carried away sometimes."
Wild Thing's comment.......
"It is so great to be here, I was so worried I wasn't going to make it. I was pinned down by sniper fire," Clinton said after joining him onstage, referring to her claims - since disputed - that she dodged sniper bullets while arriving in Bosnia as first lady. Clinton later said she had "misspoke."
Obviously telling lies does not interfere with their lives! There life is a big lie! She has absolutely NO shame at all and to joke about what she said like that makes it even more disgusting then it was in the first place.
To make a joke out of running from sniper fire, really is a slap in the face to our military, who do this daily, and I have yet to hear any of them make a joke of it..
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (12)
Special Forces Special Operations Firefight in Iraq
Special Operations Firefight in Iraq ( Special Forces )
OH yessssss Good one! God bless and protect our troops.
....Thank you Cuchieddie for this video.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (6)
Hillary Fired For Lies and Unethical Behavior
Watergate committee staff boss: Hillary was fired for lies, unethical behavior
Zeifman is a life-long Democrat, served for 17 years as Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, and is the author of Without Honor: Crimes of Camelot and Impeachment of President Clinton (1995) and Hillary’s Pursuit of Power (2007)
This is also his website
I have just seen Hillary Clinton and her former Yale law professor both in tears at a campaign rally here in my home state of Connecticut. Her tearful professor said how proud he was that his former student was likely to become our next President. Hillary responded in tears.
My own reaction was of regret that, when I terminated her employment on the Nixon impeachment staff, I had not reported her unethical practices to the appropriate bar associations.
Hillary as I knew her in 1974
Here is the abbreviated version of Hillary's shenanigans when she was working for the House Judiciary Committee
Hillary Rodham gets a spot on the legal staff of the House Judiciary Committee upon the recommendation of a lawyer pal of Ted Kennedy.
* The man who hires Hillary is Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat.
* The House Judiciary Committee is investigating Richard Nixon with an eye on impeachment.
* A question arises as to whether or not Nixon is legally entitled to counsel during the investigation. If so, his council would be allowed to cross examine witnesses appearing before the panel.
* The concern about having counsel for Nixon cross examine witnesses centered on E. Howard Hunt. Democrats on the committee feared that Nixon's counsel would elicit information from Hunt that would be very damaging to the Kennedys.
* Zeifman tells Hillary that Nixon is entitled to counsel. He cites documents in the committee's public file referencing the fact that Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas had representation four years earlier while he was being investigated.
* Hillary removes the documents from the committees public file and places them under lock and key in her office where they are not available for media or public scrutiny.
* Hillary then prepares a brief for filing with a federal judge which falsely states that there is no precedent for an official being investigated by the committee to have legal representation during that investigation.
* Nixon resigns before Hillary has a chance to submit the brief in which she makes knowingly false claims.
* Zeifman then fires Hillary. Hillary asks for a letter of recommendation. Zeifman says no. This was only the third time in Zeifman's 17 years with the committee that he had refused a letter of recommendation.
* Zeifman told Dan Calabrese that if Hillary had actually submitted the brief she most likely would have been disbarred.
Two decades later Bill Clinton became President. As was later to be described in the Wall Street Journal by Henry Ruth-the lead Watergate courtroom prosecutor- "The Clintons corrupted the soul of the Democratic Party."
.
Wild Thing's comment........
Note to Jerry Zeifman. Do not get on small aircraft. Do not get near Ft Marcy Park. Ensure you have a food taster in your party.
This came out right after Clinton got elected the first time, but as usual the media ignored it. I am glad it is being brought up maybe some people will finally see that Hillary cannot become President. We need to never again see Bill or Hillary in our White House.
We are at war, right here, at home, for the very heart and soul of all that we love and cherish.
Democrat politicians, their supporters, and their operatives could not be lower or more disgusting in the opinions of honest, decent people.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (12)
Water Freezes in the Desert
Water bottles placed in a very cold refrigerator, freeze instantly when brought outside into the hot sun. The water is just regular non carbonated bottled drinking water.
Credit to user "fiedag" for the following explaination;
"Very pure H2O often will not freeze at 0C, as there are no little nuclei around which little ice crystals can form. It is known as supercooled water. If you disturb it, you accelerate the reaction. The fact it freezes from the top suggests that some microscopic crystals had already formed and risen to the surface of the water."
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Wild Thing's comment........
I thought this was so neat how it does this. LOL What fun to do this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:47 AM | Comments (6)
Man Owes His Life To A Fellow Marine
"Once a Marine Always a Marine"
Here is proof of that. In the Chicago Sun-time March 21, 2008. Brian Troy of Rockford IL, a Marine in the 1980's. suffered several heart attacks before receiving a new heart in 2006. He didn't know who the donor was but felt it was a Marine.
Eventually he found out the heart was from Ricky Martinez who was shot on April 26, 2006 while driving home from a Cubs game with friends. Martinez had signed up after 9/11 and served 2 tours in Iraq.
'His heart seems to fill my chest'
From Sgt. Grit newsletter
Brian Troy is constantly reminded of the fellow Marine who saved his life.
Every time his heart beats.
Troy lost 40 pounds and was in a coma for a month before he received a heart transplant in 2006.
He was not certain who the donor was, but he suspected it was a young Marine whose murder was in the headlines.
Troy, 43, sent several letters to the donor's family through the Gift of Hope organ donor network. The network would not disclose the name of the donor or his family members.
The donor's father finally replied in December.
And Troy -- a Marine in the early 1980s -- learned his hunch was right: He was carrying the heart of murder victim Ricky Martinez Jr., 23, a Marine who patriotically signed up after 9/11 and served two tours in Iraq.
"His heart seems to fill my chest," Troy said. "When I sit in my recliner, the whole recliner twitches with his heartbeat. ... I think they are happy their son's heart went to a good person."
Last month, Martinez's parents trekked to visit Troy at his home in Rockford, where they cried, laughed and shared childhood photos of their son. Troy hopes to see them again Saturday in Chicago to promote organ donation and support legislation to stiffen penalties for attacks on veterans.
The tragedy that saved Troy's life happened in a flash of gunfire April 24, 2006.
Martinez was driving from a Cubs game when one of his passengers was mistaken for a rival gang member. Steven Bryant fired a .45-caliber pistol at Martinez's car, Cook County prosecutors say.
A bullet hit Martinez in the shoulder and traveled up his neck to the base of his skull. Bryant, a 22-year-old already convicted of a killing and on the street again, was arrested and charged with murder.
Five days after the shooting, Martinez died.
The next day, Troy received an urgent call from Loyola University Medical Center that a heart was ready for him.
Troy is an electrician who suffered through many heart surgeries between 2002 and 2006. His mother also suffered from heart disease and died in 1996 at age 51.
After surgery in February 2006, Troy was in a coma at Loyola for about a month. He returned home in April 2006 to wait for a heart.
"This was it, live or die," Troy said of the call from Loyola to rush to the hospital to receive a new heart.
He and his wife jumped into their Hyundai, and she drove 100 mph.
"I was half praying the cops would not stop us and half praying they would," Troy joked. "I had a motion-picture fantasy that we would get a police escort."
After an 11-hour operation, Troy woke up in a sunny room.
"I came to the realization that I have a heart. I am alive! And I am hungry!"
His wife, Denise, said she asked a nurse about the new heart.
"I said, 'Is there anything you can tell me about the donor?' She said, 'No, only that it's a healthy 23-year-old.' Well, from the newspapers, we were 99 percent sure it was Ricky Martinez's heart."
'My son had such a big heart'
Troy sent his first letter to Martinez's family about four months after the transplant, but there was no answer. More than a year later, he sent another letter. Then, about three months ago, just after Christmas, Troy received a letter from Martinez's father, Ricardo Martinez Sr., confirming Martinez was the donor.
The next day, Martinez's father called.
Troy said he stared at the caller ID and refused to pick up the phone. He wasn't ready to talk to Martinez's family.
But the phone rang again, and this time, he summoned the courage to answer.
"There was a lot of crying and a lot of talking," he said.
Troy slowly began to learn about his hero. Martinez had applied to the Chicago Police Department. His father told Troy that the Police Department sent Martinez an acceptance letter. It arrived a month after his death.
"We chitchatted about what a great son Ricky was. He was kind of a mama's boy, and he was a respectful son. His father was proud he was going to become a cop."
Troy and Martinez's parents grew close over the phone and decided they needed to see each other.
So on Feb. 10, Martinez's family made the trip from Chicago to Rockford. Troy hugged Martinez's mother at the door.
"She brought family albums of Ricky when he was small," Troy said. "I loved his big, cheesy smiles. I was only privy to his picture as a Marine, and he's not smiling in that one."
Troy learned that Martinez was more than 6 feet tall and a fitness buff. "Ricardo told me that his heart needs a lot of exercise," Troy said. "He said, 'You need to exercise for him.' "
Now Troy thinks of himself as part of Martinez's family.
And Martinez's mother, Adalila Cruz, feels the same bond.
"I love him because part of him is my son," she said of Troy.
"He is part of my family. He seems very grateful and thankful for what my son did. It shows you what kind of a person my son was. Even after his life was gone, he kept helping."
Wild Thing's comment.......
I don't know who said it, "ONCE a MARINE ALWAYS a MARINE", I know that I will be a Marine even after the life has left this body." said by Robert D. Hawkins Sgt of Marines 64 -69 Third Battalion Platoon 342
I saw this story in Sgt. Grit's newsletter that I get in my email, and wanted to share it with you. This story is very special that like the top quote says..... Once a Marine Always a Marine.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (14)
News From Our Troops In Country
CAMP STRIKER — Attack helicopters from Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division have stepped up in the fight against criminal elements south of Baghdad.
Since March 24, Apache and Kiowa helicopters have killed 36 enemy fighters in support of troops on the ground.
The recent fighting against criminals south of Baghdad and in Wasit Province has highlighted the benefit of air support to Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces, but it isn’t something new, said Col. Dan Ball, commander of 3rd CAB.
“We’ve always taken the fight to the enemy,” Ball said.
The 3rd CAB, based out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., has been deployed to Baghdad International Airport since May. The 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment Apaches and the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment Kiowas support Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces in the area stretching across the Tigris and Euphrates rivers south of Baghdad.
Earlier in the 3rd CAB’s deployment, the fight was primarily against al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters south of Baghdad as they tried to feed sectarian violence in the capital.
When small groups of criminals began clashing with Iraqi Security Forces, Ball said, it was natural for his helicopters to support the fight.
“As opposed to Sunni extremists, al-Qaeda in Iraq for instance, we have Shi’a extremists we’re going after (as well). We don’t differentiate,” he said. “This is an ISF-led fight and many of our engagements down south have been in support of ISF.”
Since March 22, Multi-National Division – Center, the division 3rd CAB supports, has detained more than 200 criminals, killed 40 Shi’a criminal fighters, found more than 60 weapons caches - of which 20 were turned in by Iraqis - and found and cleared nearly 30 improvised explosive devices on area roads.
As the ISF takes the fight to Shi’a criminals, areas south of Baghdad continue to improve, Ball said. Schools are opening, agriculture and businesses are improving and people are working toward a better Iraq, Ball said. “Everywhere we turn, we’re making progress in MND-C.”
(3rd CAB, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO)
Troops Kill 14 Suspected Terrorists in Iraq, Capture 49 Others
Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 14 suspected terrorists, detained 49 others, and seized dozens of weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.
In Baghdad and Qayyarah today, coalition forces detained a dozen suspected terrorists during raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq operations, including propaganda and suicide-bombing networks. In addition, troops captured two foreign fighter aides and an additional suspect in the operations.
In a separate operation in the Iraqi capital today, coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists tied to a Baghdad car-bombing network. In other raids, troops nabbed two suspected terrorists east of Taji, two in Mosul and three others in Samarra.
“Al Qaeda in Iraq is an adaptive, barbaric enemy, but they will be allowed no safe haven,” said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “Iraqi and coalition forces will continue to disrupt their networks and capture or kill their members, improving security for all Iraqis.”
During operations in Iraq yesterday:
-- A Hillah special weapons and tactics unit advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers detained 20 suspected vehicle smugglers in Basra. In addition, the Hillah unit recovered two illegal sedans, various guns and ammunition, and $262,000 in U.S. currency. The combined force also destroyed two boats used for smuggling goods in the oil-rich southern Iraq city.
-- Iraqi security forces and U.S. Special Forces soldiers detained a suspected improvised-explosive-device-cell leader allegedly responsible for IED and indirect-fire attacks against Logistics Support Area Anaconda.
-- The Mosul Iraqi special weapons and tactics unit and U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Mosul detained a suspected terrorist allegedly involved in kidnapping, torturing and murdering local Iraqi security force members.
-- Members of the “Sons of Iraq” citizens security group stopped a suicide bomber from detonating his explosive device in Kirkuk province. A military official said their actions prevented “a possible tragedy” from occurring on Hawijah’s Market Street.
-- Iraqi army and coalition soldiers discovered 15 weapons caches in Diyala and Salah ad Din provinces, and an IED factory in Ninewah. The caches contained more than 60 mortar rounds, 14 107 mm rockets, small-arms munitions, and more than 60 pounds of bomb-making material. The IED factory contained more than 3,500 pounds of additional explosives.
Iraqi special operation forces, advised by their U.S. counterparts, killed 14 criminals March 31 during operations in Basra. The Iraqi-led mission aimed to capture the criminals in an abandoned school that lawbreakers were using to mount operations and store weapons and munitions, military officials said.
Iraqi forces received small-arms fire throughout the operation. Both Iraqi and U.S. forces returned fire, while a coalition aircraft provided close-air support requested by ground forces. The combined forces killed 14 armed individuals and rescued six Iraqi security force members who were being held at the compound.
Elsewhere in Iraq March 31, Iraqi national police members detained three suspected insurgents in the New Baghdad district of the Iraqi capital. The suspects were attempting to smuggle weapons in their vehicle, military officials said. Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, reported Iraqi national police confiscated five rockets, two mortar rounds, two hand grenades, three blasting caps and a 9 mm pistol. The detainees are being held for further questioning.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:40 AM | Comments (6)
April 03, 2008
Ann Coulter: OBAMA'S DIMESTORE 'MEIN KAMPF'
Ann Coulter: OBAMA'S DIMESTORE 'MEIN KAMPF'
If characters from "The Hills" were to emote about race, I imagine it would sound like B. Hussein Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father."
Has anybody read this book? Inasmuch as the book reveals Obama to be a flabbergasting lunatic, I gather the answer is no. Obama is about to be our next president: You might want to take a peek. If only people had read "Mein Kampf" ...
Nearly every page -- save the ones dedicated to cataloguing the mundane details of his life -- is bristling with anger at some imputed racist incident. The last time I heard this much race-baiting invective I was ... in my usual front-row pew, as I am every Sunday morning, at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
Obama tells a story about taking two white friends from the high school basketball team to a "black party." Despite their deep-seated, unconscious hatred of blacks, the friends readily accepted. At the party, they managed not to scream the N-word, but instead "made some small talk, took a couple of the girls out on the dance floor."
But with his racial hair-trigger, Obama sensed the whites were not comfortable because "they kept smiling a lot." And then, in an incident reminiscent of the darkest days of the Jim Crow South ... they asked to leave after spending only about an hour at the party! It was practically an etiquette lynching!
So either they hated black people with the hot, hot hate of a thousand suns, or they were athletes who had come to a party late, after a Saturday night basketball game.
In the car on the way home, one of the friends empathizes with Obama, saying: "You know, man, that really taught me something. I mean, I can see how it must be tough for you and Ray sometimes, at school parties ... being the only black guys and all."
And thus Obama felt the cruel lash of racism! He actually writes that his response to his friend's perfectly lovely remark was: "A part of me wanted to punch him right there."
Listen, I don't want anybody telling Obama about Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" line.
Wanting to punch his white friend in the stomach was the introductory anecdote to a full-page psychotic rant about living by "the white man's rules." (One rule he missed was: "Never punch out your empathetic white friend after dragging him to a crappy all-black party.")
Obama's gaseous disquisition on the "white man's rules" leads to this charming crescendo: "Should you refuse this defeat and lash out at your captors, they would have a name for that, too, a name that could cage you just as good. Paranoid. Militant. Violent. Nigger."
For those of you in the "When is Obama gonna play the 'N-word' card?" pool, the winner is ... Page 85! Congratulations!
When his mother expresses concern about Obama's high school friend being busted for drugs, Obama says he patted his mother's hand and told her not to worry.
This, too, prompted Obama to share with his readers a life lesson on how to handle white people: "It was usually an effective tactic, another one of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied, they were relieved -- such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time."
First of all, I note that this technique seems to be the basis of Obama's entire presidential campaign. But moreover -- he was talking about his own mother! As Obama says: "Any distinction between good and bad whites held negligible meaning." Say, do you think a white person who said that about blacks would be a leading presidential candidate?
The man is stark bonkersville.
He says the reason black people keep to themselves is that it's "easier than spending all your time mad or trying to guess whatever it was that white folks were thinking about you."
Here's a little inside scoop about white people: We're not thinking about you. Especially WASPs. We think everybody is inferior, and we are perfectly charming about it.
In college, Obama explains to a girl why he was reading Joseph Conrad's 1902 classic, "Heart of Darkness": "I read the book to help me understand just what it is that makes white people so afraid. Their demons. The way ideas get twisted around. I helps me understand how people learn to hate."
By contrast, Malcolm X's autobiography "spoke" to Obama. One line in particular "stayed with me," he says. "He spoke of a wish he'd once had, the wish that the white blood that ran through him, there by an act of violence, might somehow be expunged."
Forget Rev. Jeremiah Wright -- Wright is Booker T. Washington compared to this guy.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I applaud Ann for this. Well done!
Obama is a paranoid man, totally enthralled with grouping all white people in a neat little racist bucket. The world needs to know: this man is DANGEROUS!!!!!
By contrast, Malcolm X's autobiography "spoke" to Obama. One line in particular "stayed with me," he says. "He spoke of a wish he'd once had, the wish that the white blood that ran through him, there by an act of violence, might somehow be expunged."
Now that is just plain creepy. If this man believes the words he writes, he's got serious psychological issues!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:35 PM | Comments (14)
Another Phony War Hero Convicted
Another Phony War Hero Convicted
Prosecutor Argued Moneymaker's Supposed Battle Scars Match Those From Liposuction Procedure
A North Carolina man, who claimed he saw years of combat and earned medals, including the Purple Heart, was found guilty this week of peddling a false military record in order to collect thousands in soldier disability payments.
Randall Moneymaker, of Clayton, N.C., claimed he had served as an Army Ranger on tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Panama and Grenada and had earned medals and badges of honor.
But, according to federal investigators, Moneymaker was a fraud who spent only a short time in the Army, was given a less than honorable discharge and never saw any combat.
"This defendant attempted to defraud the men and women who serve and protect our freedom," U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said, following the guilty verdict. Moneymaker was found guilty of making false statements, submitting false documents and theft of government funds.
Moneymaker's claims to collect more than $18,000 in disability payments were numerous. In a Veterans Affairs compensation and pension medical exam, he claimed he "had been involved in numerous combat situations, including RPG attacks and firefights," according to the federal indictment against him.
Moneymaker also said "he had sustained various service-connected injuries and illnesses, including shell fragment wound and post traumatic stress syndrome," according to his indictment.
Topping his claims, Moneymaker said he had the scars from combat service, but federal authorities say the scars match a liposuction procedure he had done.
"We hope this case will send a message," Brownlee told ABC News. "Through deceit and fraud, he took away money needed for our true American heroes."
Moneymaker faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a fine of $1,505,000.
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank God for the the "Stolen Valor Act" so people like this can be prosecuted in Federal courts. This is so horrible how a person could do such a thing.
I think they should go to jail for LIFE. They have preteneded to be a HERO, some have never even served that have done this kind of thing.
....Thank you Tom so much for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:22 PM | Comments (12)
Another Radical Hanoi Jane Joins The Obama Cult Worshippers
Fonda was eating out last night and exited the restaurant, ignoring as celebrities often do the assembled press contingent.
But a video camera was rolling as she approached the street and someone, perhaps just trying to get her to turn around for a picture, shouted out at her back, "Who are you going to vote for?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, the actress did turn around toward the cameras, paused and with a smile said simply, "Obama!" Then she got into a car and drove away.
Wild Thing's comment......
And here I thought she would back Hillary.
Let's see Hillary said she was getting shot at. Hanoi Jane rode a tank in Vietnam and pretended to shoot down American pilots.
What wonderful people these are....NOT!
Jane was busy cavorting with the North Vietnamese Communists in Hanoi around the same time Obama was studying the koran with the Mullahs in Indonesia.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:55 PM | Comments (14)
Hillary, Obama, and Now MCain's 3:00 A.M. ~ My Pick Is....
We have seen Hillary's 3:00 a.m. call
We have seen B.Hussein Obama's 3:00 a.m. call
And now McCain has his 3:00 a.m. call
.
Every time I see one of them all I can think of is this great song sung by Frank Sinatra.
One for My Baby
Lyric by Johnny Mercer, Music by Harold Arlen, 1943)
from the motion picture The Sky's the Limit
It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place
Except you and me,
So, set 'em' up Joe, I've got a little story
You oughta know.
We're drinking my friend, to the end
Of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road
I got the routine, so drop another nickel
In the machine,
I'm feelin' so bad, I wish you'd make the music
Dreamy and sad,
Could tell you a lot, But you've got to be
True to your code,
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road.
You'd never know it, but buddy I'm a kind of poet
And I've gotta lot of things to say,
And when I'm gloomy, you simply gotta listen to me
Until it's talked away.
Well, that's how it goes, and Joe I know you're getting
Anxious to close,
So, thanks for the cheer,
I hope you didn't mind
My bending your ear
This torch that I've found, must be drowned
Or it might explode,
Make it one for my baby
And one more for the road,
That long, long road.
Posted by Wild Thing at 11:35 AM | Comments (7)
"Global Warming Will Cause Mass Cannibalism and Insurgents Are Patriots"
Turner: Global Warming Will Cause Mass Cannibalism, Insurgents Are Patriots
Interviewed Tuesday for Charlie Rose's PBS show, CNN founder Ted Turner argued that inaction on global warming “will be catastrophic” and those who don't die “will be cannibals.” He also applied moral equivalence in describing Iraqi insurgents as “patriots” who simply “don't like us because we've invaded their country” and so “if the Iraqis were in Washington, D.C., we'd be doing the same thing.” On not taking drastic action to correct global warming:
TED TURNER: :
Not doing it will be catastrophic. We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals.
Turner ridiculed the need for a big U.S. military, insisting “China just wants to sell us shoes. They're not building landing craft to attack the United States,” and “even with our $500 billion military budget, we can't win in Iraq. We're being beaten by insurgents who don't even have any tanks.” After Rose pointed out the Iraqi insurgents “have a lot of roadside bombs that kill a lot of Americans” and wondered “where do you think they come from?”, Turner answered:
TED TURNER:
I think that they're patriots and that they don't like us because we've invaded their country and occupied it. I think if the Iraqis were in Washington, D.C., we'd be doing the same thing: we'd be bombing them too. Nobody wants to be invaded.
A couple of excerpts from Turner on the Tuesday, April 1 Charlie Rose on PBS, all apparently not April Fool's comments but what he really believes:
On what will happen if global warming is not addressed immediately:
TED TURNER: Not doing it will be catastrophic. We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals. Civilization will have broken down. The few people left will be living in a failed state -- like Somalia or Sudan -- and living conditions will be intolerable. The droughts will be so bad there'll be no more corn grown. Not doing it is suicide. Just like dropping bombs on each other, nuclear weapons is suicide. We've got to stop doing the suicidal two things, which are hanging on to our nuclear weapons and after that we've got to stabilize the population. When I was born-
CHARLIE ROSE: So what's wrong with the population?
TURNER: We're too many people. That's why we have global warming. We have global warming because too many people are using too much stuff. If there were less people, they'd be using less stuff.
On what he told the UN in a speech Tuesday:
TED TURNER: I also said war doesn't make any sense anymore. And we need to cut the military budgets back.
ROSE: How much do you want to cut the military budgets back?
TURNER: Right now the U.S. is spending $500 billion a year on the military which is more than all 190 countries in the world put together. The two countries that the military-industrial complex and some of the politicians would like to demonize and make enemies are Russia and China. China just wants to sell us shoes. They're not building landing craft to attack the United States. And Russia wants to be our friends, too.
ROSE: Well, wait a minute. No, no, no.
TURNER: Well I know that because I spent time with the Chinese and Russians.
ROSE: You're telling me the Chinese military budget is not increasing? Is that what you're saying?
TURNER: It might increase, but you know how big it is compared to ours? It's one 20th what ours is and so is the Russian military budget. Those are not credible expenditures. However, even with our $500 billion military budget, we can't win in Iraq. We're being beaten by insurgents who don't even have any tanks, they don't have a headquarters, they don't have a Pentagon. We don't even know if they have any Generals.
ROSE: They have a lot of roadside bombs that kill a lot of Americans.
TURNER: Well, that's right. That's exactly right.
ROSE: And where do you think they come from?
TURNER: I think that they're patriots and that they don't like us because we've invaded their country and occupied it. I think if the Iraqis were in Washington, D.C., we'd be doing the same thing: we'd be bombing them too. Nobody wants to be invaded.
ROSE: Nobody likes an occupying force, or to be occupied.
TURNER: That's right. It's gotten to be -- it's passe. You know, it's time to move on. I mean, all we have to do is look at Vietnam. In Vietnam, we killed three million Vietnamese. They never attacked us, we attacked them. It was another one of these preemptive wars like the war in Iraq. And we lost 50,000. They lost three million. That's like 60 for one. But at the end of 18 years we left and the Vietnamese were there.
I'm just so glad, because I think about it a lot, that the Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese, didn't give us an ultimatum that we couldn't leave Vietnam until we signed a decoration of surrender, you know, so they could get that on tape just like the Japanese surrendered on the Missouri.
ROSE: We made them sign a declaration of surrender.
TURNER: Yeah, but we surrendered and then we could go home. We couldn't go home. What if the Iraqis, the insurgents say that: we're not going to let you leave until you sign a surrender document, we just want the mighty United States. I mean, that's how ridiculous the whole situation is.
ROSE: But where does this, where did this idea come from?
TURNER: I think a lot. I spend a lot of time thinking. And I hope that's not a sin. And let me tell you another one, another story: We're not the only superpower that's being beaten by a third world country that doesn't have a single airplane. The Russians got beat, too.
ROSE: In Afghanistan.
TURNER: That's exactly right.
ROSE: With whose help?
TURNER: Well, we were helping Osma bin Laden, we were backing him that time.
ROSE: The Mujahidin.
TURNER: Right.
Wild Thing's comment........
I think something has been eating Ted’s brains for years now. Holy cow this guy has always been nuts but I think he has totally lost his mind. And he calls the terrorists PATRIOTS oh my gawd!
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 AM | Comments (15)
Obama Would Consider Gore for Major Post
Obama Would Consider Gore for Major Post
WALLINGFORD, Pa. (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama says as president he would consider putting Al Gore in a Cabinet-level position—or higher.
A woman at a town hall asked the Illinois senator if elected president would he consider tapping the former vice president for his Cabinet, or an even higher level office, to address global warming.
"I would," Obama said. "Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem. He's somebody I talk to on a regular basis. I'm already consulting with him in terms of these issues but climate change is real."
Gore, who's work on climate change earned him a Nobel Prize, he is popular among Democrats.
Wild Thing's comment........
Gore invented the internet ....ya know.LOL
The only improvement Al Gore could see would be a cave with energy efficient dead people.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:50 AM | Comments (15)
The Gathering of Mustangs & Legends
The Gathering of Mustangs & Legends
"The Final Roundup"
Rickenbacker International Airport
Columbus, Ohio
As you watch one jumper exits from a Cessna 182 and deploys the American flag as the national anthem is played, the jumper circled by the Red Barons, and the P-51 Mustangs making a pass behind the American flag.
Wild Thing's comment........
This is so awesome, I love watching it. I wanted to share it with all of you.
....Thank you Les for this video.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:48 AM | Comments (7)
Muslim Americans Recommendations For Obama
From Obama's campaign website:
What are the unique issues affecting Muslim Americans?
QUESTION: What are issues and recommendations for solutions that are unique to Muslim Americans?
1. A Law against harrassment of a Muslim women wearing Hijab at the Airport, DMV and other public arenas.
2. Institute a Law to allow Muslim Employees to take a hours off from work for Friday Jummah Prayer.
3. Make the 2 Eid's, recognized National Holidays on Calendars with days off from work.
4. Optional Halal meals in federal buildiings, public schools and colleges.
5. Provide prayer areas suitable for Salah and Jummah, in public and private facilities. (i.e. Malls, Airports, Universities and government buildings.)
6. Organize a Muslim American group to assist in recommendations for US foreign policy affecting majority Muslim countries.
Wild Thing's comment.......
There list is also open for more suggestions. AUGH! If Obama wins we will probably see most public places made into Muslim friendly places.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:45 AM | Comments (11)
April 02, 2008
Gaza's Obama Campaign ~ Posted by Al Jazeera!
Gaza's Obama campaign
While US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads rival Hillary Clinton in the polls, Palestinians in Gaza are launching their own attempt to boost his campaign
Wild Thing's comment........
I think B. Hussein Obama needs to go to Iran, Libya or any of the other muslim led countries and run for president there.
Just knowing this, that Palestinians are for Obama should tell those still undecided what kind of trouble Obama is going to bring to our country and to Israel.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (19)
Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has gone digital. The digital version is stitched together from more than 6,000 photographs. You can search for a name on the wall quickly and easily using the search box. It will take you to the name instantly.
Once you find the name, you can click on it. This will bring up details on the person, such as rank, hometown and cause of death. But you can help show the person behind the name. You can add photos and comments about your loved one.
Just CLICK on link below
http://go.footnote.com/thewall
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:44 AM | Comments (22)
Navy Prevents Town From Honoring Vets
'Who's in charge here? Dumb and Dumber?'
A voluntary program in Idaho for residents to raise funds and work with the maker of Buck brand name knives to honor veterans returning from the defense of the U.S. apparently has been torpedoed by military administrative rules regarding the value of gifts.
And the command wasn't sitting well with both members and leaders of the community near Post Falls, where Buck has its corporate headquarters.
"Who's in charge here anyway? Dumb and Dumber?" asked "davenjan" on a forum page in the Coeur d'Alene Press.
Clay Larkin, the Post Falls mayor, said the decision was senseless.
"I would like to know what top-ranking brass made this decision, and I will personally call them and share my thoughts!" he told the newspaper.
The program was launched about three years ago as Graham Crutchfield, a retired Marine, organized the plan to raise money from individuals, service clubs and businesses and work with the company on the commemorative knife program.
More than 500 veterans from the region, including those wounded in combat, have been given the knives since 2005, officials said. They also have been presented to family members of those killed in action.
But then, the newspaper reported, an unidentified senior Navy officer told Troy Gilbert, a member of a Hayden, Idaho-based Mobile Construction Battalion, since the value of the knives was more than $20, members of the military were banned from accepting them, the newspaper said.
Members of the Navy's Judge Advocate General's staff in nearby Washington state deferred a WND request for comment to the Washington headquarters. Officials there did not return messages requesting a comment.
But the Post Falls mayor was more than a little upset.
"I cannot believe what I read this morning about the Navy balking at their seamen receiving a gift from their communities for their service. Where has reality gone?" he said.
"I was in on the first Buck Knife giveaway for the 116th, Charlie Co. National Guard when they came back from Iraq," he continued. "Graham Crutchfield helped me on the fundraising. The looks on their faces when we presented the knives were priceless. Buck Knives employees have come forward and been a major supporter of the project, and I thank them for their involvement!"
He noted an "interesting part" of the argument is that two generals already have been given – and accepted – the knives, "and never has anyone questioned the presentation or the gift for their service," he said.
Paul Abschier, a World War II vet, told the newspaper. "It's the stupidest thing I've heard of. They've put their lives on the line and they can't receive a knife?"
"As a retired lieutenant colonel judge advocate general Army Reserve officer, it is my opinion that gifts exceeding a monetary value of $20 may be kept if they are for meritorious service or achievement," said Kootenai County prosecutor Bill Douglas. "Combat service in Iraq or Afghanistan would certainly fit this criteria."
On the newspaper forum, "Former Ranger," said, "This is utterly ridiculous. When did common sense leave those who are in charge?"
"I still can't believe any service would do such a thing," Crutchfield said. "Megan McClung was a Marine and Annapolis graduate who was killed in Iraq. We gave her parents a knife. Are we saying her life is only worth $20?"
Officials with the knife company did not respond to WND requests for comment.
Wild Thing's comment........
Well tuff, I am not going to obey the law then. There is no way I will ever stop doing things for Veterans when I can. Or giving a gift to a Veteran when I want to, and I sure as heck am not going to pay ANY attention if ithe price range is acceptable to the stupid law set up. I can't afford to give a lot but when I do it is from my heart and most of the time if a gift it is something I already thought a lot about.
Not “some brass” but:
5 C.F.R. Part 2635 - Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch
Under this “rule”, buying a returning vet a nice steak dinner in honor of his service would be a violation as well... Absolutely stupid.
And what about that episode of Overhaulin’? Seems I recall an episode where they completely redid a returning vet’s car as a “thank you”... I am sure the value of the restoration and customization would be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
What about if I were to send a book or Bible to a service person. If the book cost more than $20 bucks, does he have to refuse it?
I don’t think the spirit of the law is being taken into consideration.
And rememebr when Sean Hannity gave a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse gift certificate to a recently returned soldier... I would imagine that such a gift certificate would be worth at least $100.
I guess that was a violation too?
And all the things Rush Limbaugh has done for our soldiers and Veterans.
Remeber too when they did that home for the Iraqi Veteran and his family? That would be under this rule too.
When I go to the VA and take gifts, that would go under this ruling too.
Well I guess I will become a law breaker.
....Thank you Mark for sending this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:48 AM | Comments (18)
FBI Says Eco-Terrorism Still No.1 Domestic Terror
FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat
For nearly seven years, the nation has turned its terror focus on Al Qaeda and the hunt for Usama bin Laden. But there is a domestic terror threat that federal officials still consider priority No. 1 — eco-terrorism.
The torching of luxury homes in the swank Seattle suburb of Woodinville earlier this month served as a reminder that the decades-long war with militant environmentalists on American soil has not ended.
"It remains what we would probably consider the No. 1 domestic terrorism threat, because they have successfully continued to conduct different types of attacks in and around the country," said FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko.
The FBI defines eco-terrorism "as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature."
For years, officials have battled against members of shadowy groups such as the Earth Liberation Front and its brother-in-arms, the Animal Liberation Front. Law enforcement has made strides prosecuting cells, but it's been unable to end the arsons that have plagued developments encroaching on rural lands in the West.
FBI estimates place damages from these attacks at well over $100 million. So far, no one has been killed.
It's a problem that's unlikely to go away.
"Every time a fire breaks out and somebody takes a spray can and writes 'ELF' or 'ALF' on there, then everybody gets all excited that 'Oh this movement has started back up,'" said Bob Holland, a retired arson investigator. "The movement never really left."
Fighting for Nature
The Earth Liberation Front rose to infamy in the late 1990s for a series of arsons in the Pacific Northwest targeting industries, such as logging, that the eco-terrorists perceived as a threat to nature.
"Generally speaking, the Earth Liberation folks are motivated by a deep kind of affective connection to nature that many of them would characterize as spiritual or religious," said Bron Taylor, a professor of religion and nature at the University of Florida. "They believe that the human species is perpetrating a war on nature and that those who are connected to nature and belong to it have a right to defend themselves."
Members who carry out attacks in the name of nature tend to be of college age and well educated, and typically have an out-of-town recruiter who lures them into the act of crime, said Ron Arnold, the executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.
There are exceptions to the rule, Kolko said. Some members are in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
These eco-terrorists often operate alone or in small groups, making them extremely difficult to penetrate. They target structures they feel are infringing on nature, leaving low-tech detonators that allow the fires to start after they've left.
In 2006, a nine-year federal sting dubbed "Operation Backfire" was able to dissolve a cell responsible for 20 acts of arson in five Western states over five years.
That cell, dubbed "The Family," caused more than $40 million in damage and included attacks on a meat company in Eugene, Ore., a ski resort in Vail, Colo., and the torching of SUVs in Oregon.
Trying to predict where or when they'll strike next becomes a guessing game, experts said.
"You don't know what's the hot topic in the minds of the potential perpetrators today — you can look on the Web and find out all kinds of things," Arnold said, noting that "it's very difficult to generalize because there are so many threads in the tapestry of environmentally inspired crimes."
The FBI currently has 180 ongoing eco-terror investigations and over the last several years has tied them to some 1,800 criminal acts, Kolko said.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I agree we should not ignore the eco-freaks, we should still be after them, they have killed people over the years and done terrible things inlcuding the fires like this article discusses. But they aren’t the large-scale threat that the muslims terrorists are.
They want to kill thousands... Millions if they can. They intend (and have the ability) to change the American way of life. Blow up enough malls, topple enough buildings, create enough panic and they could win.
Both are terrorists and I would take both very seriously. But I would have the ECO-Terrorists as No.2 not No. 1 like the FBI has them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 AM | Comments (12)
911 Burger King Call ~ LOL
Wild Thing's comment.........
LMAO I have been very lucky in my life. I never had any girlfriends that were this much of an air head. hahahahaha
....Thank you RAC, haha this is so funny.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (14)
April 01, 2008
Lessons In The Cards
.
Below are two examples of the playing cards in the U.S. military deck on achaeological preservation.
FORT HUACHUCA
GIs have a new deck of cards, but it’s more than just for games.
The playing cards are being used as an avenue to teach soldiers the importance of protecting heritage sites in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the two battleground areas, there are hundreds of sites that go back thousands of years, and America’s armed force members need to know the importance of protecting those areas, said Laurie Rush, cultural resource manager at Fort Drum, N.Y., and one of the leaders in developing the decks of playing cards for the Department of Defense.
“We are using archaeology as tool to help win hearts and minds of Iraqis and Afghans,” she said over lunch last week at the culture summit held by the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca.
To her, understanding a nation’s heritage is one of the key factors in appreciating a culture.
Rush calls herself a social scientist with an interest in ensuring today’s generation saves what generations of the past developed. She has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Indiana University at Bloomington, a master’s degree from Northwestern University in archaeology and a doctorate in medical anthropology from Northwestern.
There are 119 known archaeological sites in Iraq, 160 in Afghanistan and an untold number of others yet to be discovered, she said.
While war is destructive, care must be taken to ensure sites are protected from destruction, Rush said.
And in Iraq, much of western civilization is tied to sites like Babylon that are mentioned in the Bible, she said.
Many American soldiers are Christian and know Bible stories. Rush said the object is to help instill in them and others the importance of protecting so much that is part of civilization.
As forces move through the desert, they are traveling over areas that have been part of civilization for untold centuries, she said.
To some, there may be no signs of civilization, but “the desert is not empty,” Rush said.
Some archeological sites are easy to see. They have tell-tale signs of human occupation. But, Rush said, more is underground, and those areas can be destroyed as soldiers dig to make protective areas for their camps and even when creating slit latrines during operations.
What is beneath the surface is as important as some above ground site, such as a building.
In the Middle East, mounds called tells look like places with just dirt, but most of them are manmade.
In the deck of the cards, the 10 of spades shows a photo Tell Rimah in Iraq with the words, “A mound or small hill in an otherwise flat landscape could be a sign of ancient human occupation, proceed with caution.”
The cards were developed to allow soldiers to relax while being educated.
During the early part of the Iraq war a deck of cards with the 52 most wanted Iraqi supporters of Saddam Hussein, including him, were pictured to help GIs know who the wanted were.
With the heritage site cards, each suit highlights specific areas, with spades being about digging, diamonds about artifacts, hearts about respect and clubs about preservation.
The 10 of clubs shows a bulldozer at work with the words, “Heavy excavation equipment can do great harm to archeological sites. Be aware and prepare to stop!”
The 10 of diamonds shows an ancient tablet stating, “Mesopotamia is considered the birthplace of writings as evidenced by this ancient clay tablet with cuneiform script.”
The tablet is on the back of every card with words in Arabic and Pashtu reminding the card players to “Respect Iraqi and Afghan Heritage.”
The 10 of hearts shows the large Buddhas in Afghanistan before they were destroyed by the Taliban with the words, “Religious monuments, such as the Bamian Buddhas in Afghanistan, are often targets for intentional destruction. Protect them when possible.”
And each suit is an individual puzzle. Soldiers can arrange them to create an image, once they find the right pattern.
The wild card in the deck states, “Remember!! When artifacts are looted and ruins are destroyed, valuable pieces of the cultural puzzle disappears forever.”
Rush said the object of the heritage resource preservation, which is part of the Department of Defense’s Legacy Resource Management Program, is to support the mission while showing respect.
The enemy will use sites as areas from which to attack, and soldiers can return fire. But, Rush said, the idea is to use only the amount of force needed to protect themselves.
The Department of Defense has taken heat from social scientists and others in academia for not protecting sites and museums. Rush said there has been a turnaround in the complaints as the military works more closely with organizations such as the Archaeological Institute of America and United Nation agencies.
American military installations are helping train GIs in the importance of protecting archaeological sites. Training, which occurs in heritage areas on military post, shows how a mission can be done while not disturbing a region’s history.
On Fort Drum, replicas of what soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division will come upon in Iraq have been built using fake mud bricks purchased from the local Home Depot, Rush said.
As soldiers return from overseas, they also provide information about the differences they have seen, especially in regards to cemeteries, which are different throughout Iraq.
Although she hasn’t been to Iraq or Afghanistan, Rush participated in a Bright Star Operation in Egypt where she and her colleagues were part of the exercise to help military planners and commanders understand the importance of historic sites.
Egypt was a perfect training ground for the program. Like many places where ancient civilizations flourished, one has to be careful where they dig or drive, Rush said.
Some of the best people to approach when involved in operations are the locals, Rush said. Those people know their history and the heritage of the areas.
Archaeology is now part of the military’s global operations guidelines.
In the future, the Defense Department will hopefully establish a Center of Excellence for Heritage Training and Planning, she said.
“We need to use archaeology as one of our combat tools,” Rush said
As part of the Department of Defense’s program to make soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen aware of the importance of historic heritage, 60,000 decks of special playing cards have been produced.
Another 50,000 have been ordered by the military’s National Guard Bureau.
Pocket guides about heritage preservation also have been produced, and the Dutch and Austrian military are asking for them to be translated into their languages. The pocket guides also will be produced in Arabic.
The guides provide background on what is an archaeological site and an artifact, and what to do if a site is encountered.
The playing cards and pocket guides remind GIs they must follow the rules of engagement and there can be no collecting, graffiti or vandalism at archaeological sites.
Wild Thing's comment........
I think the cards are neat and for sure something for our guys to save. My concern is though I sure as heck don't want them worrying about the sites on the cards and not themselves being safe. To have to think twice or even ONCE when they need to fire back would make these cards a very bad idea to say the least.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:55 AM | Comments (17)
Hamas kid show: Child Kills Bush and Turns the White House into Mosque
Title of Video: Child Stabs President Bush to Death and Turns the White House into a Mosque in a Hamas TV Puppet Show
Transcript:
Following is an excerpt from a puppet show, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on March 30, 2008.
Bush: Who are you? What brings you to my home? How did they let you in, boy? My guards! My soldiers! Get this boy out of here.
Child: Nobody will take me out of here.
Bush: Who are you to come here and threaten me?! You are on my own turf, you little child, you! Get out. My dear, bring your father, your grandfather, or your mother, so I can talk to them. Get somebody older and smarter than you. What, you came here on your own?
Child: You killed daddy in the Iraq war. It's true, you killed him in the Iraq war. As for my mom – you and the criminal Zionists killed her in Lebanon. You and the criminal Zionists also killed my younger and older brothers in the Gaza holocaust. I'm an orphan, you criminal!
Bush: What are you talking about? Where did you come from? Don't I have enough troubles already? Where did you come from?
Child: I have come to take revenge with this sword – revenge for my mother and my sisters. You are a criminal, Bush! You are despicable. You made me an orphan! You took everything from me, Bush! I must take revenge on you, with this sword of Islam, the Prophet's Al-Battar sword.
Bush: No... No, my dear. I give you my word that this is it. I repent, just don't kill me. Where are my guards? Where are my people? Help! Help! He wants to kill me. Help!
Child: There are no guards, and your people have surrendered, Bush. I have not come alone, Bush. I have brought thousands of thousands of children from Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan. You have denied all these children their fathers and mothers. That's why I have come to take revenge on you and on all the criminal traitors who collaborated with you.
Bush: Okay, fine, that's enough. I will give you whatever you want from me.
Child: What can you give me? All I want is one thing. Bring back my father and mother. I don't want anything from you. I don't want anything from you, just bring back my father and mother. I place my trust in Allah. I need to kill you.
Bush: No, my dear. Enough. I will give you anything you want. I also... Enough with that. Come with all your friends to the White House. I will give you food and toys. We will sit in the White House and talk. You will get whatever you need.
Child: You are impure, Bush, so you are not allowed inside the White House.
Bush: What are you saying?! Why am I not allowed into the White House?
Child: Because it has been turned into a great mosque for the nation of Islam. I will kill you just like Mu'az killed Abu Lahab. I will kill you, Bush, because that is your fate.
Child stabs Bush repeatedly
Child: Ahhh, I killed him.
Wild Thing's comment........
Sick, sick, sick sadistic and pathetic evil. Teaching this crap to kids!
The fact that we are one of the demented savages, the PA’s largest supporters simply boggles the mind.
This is the typical sick, twisted stuff muslim children are exposed to every day. Islamic brainwashing starts as soon as they exit the womb. it's no wonder they grow up to be murdering Jihadist robots.
And his more than qualifies as a threat on the life of the President Of The United States. The Secret Service should now conduct interviews of all individuals with any association with this organization, especially C.A.I.R.
And there is this:
Obama: Man of the World
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 6, 2007
“I was a little Jakarta street kid,” he said in a wide-ranging interview in his office (excerpts are on my blog, www.nytimes.com/ontheground). He once got in trouble for making faces during Koran study classes in his elementary school, but a president is less likely to stereotype Muslims as fanatics — and more likely to be aware of their nationalism — if he once studied the Koran with them.
Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated, Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.”
....Thank you Rac for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:50 AM | Comments (18)
When Does It Ever End?
Will Marine Show Trials End?
By: Nathaniel R. Helms
The tarnished image of the Marine Corps continues to darken as more trials, more acquittals and more scandals corrode the brightly burnished steel that armors America’s premier fighting force.
Defense attorneys and beleaguered Marines say their cherished Corps’ surprise decision Friday to dismiss criminal charges against a Marine infantryman accused of mass murder at Haditha, Iraq, is just another billboard announcing the troubles plaguing Marine Corps morale today. Loyalty up and down the ranks, the bedrock on which the 232-year old fighting force was built, is under attack.
“First the Corps takes their innocence and then the enemy tries to take their life, and then when they finally come home the government tries to take their freedom,” said James Culp, a military defense lawyer in Austin, Texas, who worked on the Haditha case for more than a year. “When does it ever end?”
It is an honest question.
The growing list of places in Iraq associated with allegations of Marine Corps misconduct continues to spread across the map like a malignant weed.
This reporter has spoken with dozens of seasoned Marines and soldiers who claim they would rather take a bullet than shoot the wrong person during mortal combat and possibly spend their life in jail. Hyperbole perhaps, but Marines are trained to make the other guy, the bad ones, take the bullet.
The situation of Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum explains the morass the Marine Corps faces.
On Friday he was unexpectedly exonerated of all criminal charges leveled against him for serving at Haditha. The laundry list of charges that ranged from murder to bad judgment were dismissed by Lt. Gen Samuel Helland, the convening authority at Camp Pendleton and final arbiter in his case.
Without explanation Helland dismissed the criminal charges against Tatum just hours before he was to face a general court-martial. Tatum, of Edmond, Okla., is the third enlisted Marine from 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines originally charged with murder in the 30-month-old Haditha investigation that has been completely cleared of alleged misdeeds.
Cleared But Charged Anyway
In the run-up to the Tatum court martial proceeding, there was clear evidence that military's case was based on a tissues of hearsay, face-saving and political expediency.
For example, in the case of another Marine also facing court martial, the military prosecutors tried to block the testimony of the intelligence officer, Lt. Jeff Dinsmore, who monitored the Haditha action via radio transmissions and overhead video surveillance drone. His testimony and the video evidence shows that the Marines did not lie when they said the received hostile file from insurgents occupying civilian buildings.
When the Marines cleared the building using standard military procedures, both the insurgents and civilians were dead.
The Dinsmore evidence and testimony proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that claims by Time magazine and Congressman Jack Murtha, that a platoon of Marines went on a rampage in My Lai fashion after one of their fellow Marines, was killed was an out and out fantasy.
But efforts to prevent Dinsmore from testifying demonstrated the military want a Soviet-style show trial of a hero Marine. Fortunately, the presiding military judged ruled Dinsmore could testify. The prosecution "case" against Tatum began to crumble.
Though preliminary Article 32 hearings had cleared the Marines of most of the allegations, the military has been intent in making an example of them.
Nevertheless, two officers and the enlisted Marines were all charged with slaying civilians at Haditha and sent to court martial.
The military's floundering case has come to symbolize the Pentagon’s tenacious efforts to turn warriors into policemen. Pointing out that our combat troops are engaged in a war zone makes many of their alleged misdeeds understandable.
But the Pentagon follows the administration line: American troops are simply helpers to the Iraqi civil government. American troops are not an occupying force. American troops are welcomed as liberators by the Iraqis. And so the spin-story spins and spins.
Fueled by specious media claims and driven by rapacious politicians more concerned with face time than preserving precious freedoms, the Marine Corps brass willingly served them up for prosecution rather than admit it was handed a mission it was never trained to perform and never intended to take, so the unfolding of the Haditha case has revealed.
Waiting on the wings of the malevolent stage where the Haditha investigation is still playing out, the Fallujah murder cases are being prepared to take over top billing. In that unrelated case three enlisted Marine infantrymen from the same platoon that Tatum served in have been charged with murdering four Iraqi prisoners of war more than three years ago.
PLEASE go here for complete article
another snipet from the article:
“Marines are not policeman,” a senior Marine Corps officer said Friday night. He has served multiple tours in Iraq that show in his eyes.
“We are warriors. Occupation duty is the Army’s responsibility. The Marine Corps is our country’s blunt force instrument and we are destroying it – eating our young. Pray we still have Marines in the next war. Sometimes I am not so sure.”
But Fallujah may end up being nothing more than another Haditha where soldiers acted in combat in ways we might find totally unacceptable of they were members of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Two years, thousands of man hours and millions of dollars later nobody charged in the alleged Haditha massacre has been convicted of anything.
In the interim morale plummeted, the Marine Corps rewrote the manual on how it fights, and the Pentagon wants shorter leashes on its frontline troops.
Wild Thing's comment........
Good article about what has been going on.
When this kind of thing gets started like it has I wonder what it will take for it to finally stop. I know part of it I think would be a true Conservative for President aka Commander in Chief. But since that is not happening in this next election then it has to come from the top military I would think saying enough is enough.
Being strong about it and more or less laying down the law as to something like " we are trained to do what we do, we are not the police, this is war against an enemy with no country, and no uniform.
Maybe if several of the top brass would say " put me on trial, the responsibility starts at the top, we are a brotherhood and you don't go after one of my men and not think it effects all of us. We go to places you only see in a nightmare, see things you cannot imagine, have an enemy that is not satisfied with only killing us they take great pleasure in chopping us up into pieces, literally pulling our guts out and other horrors that would turn your stomach and you think we are going to ask for permission to take out someone that is bent on killing us? Someone that is connected to the enemy's camp and will run off and tell them where we are located? Your sitting around in Georgetown or in your offices in D.C. trying to figure out a way to pull amnesty over on true Americans that are concerned about securing borders, and you want to tell us how to fight a war and win while you are perched mentally on every shoulder of every soldier risking all? You better think again Sir/Madam because without us there never has been peace and without us you would not even have a country. " ....just an idea of what one or heck all of them could say. If the Brass on their uniforms had included balls in the britches.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 02:48 AM | Comments (14)
Freedom Never Cries
Please watch this new video and $1 goes to Operation Homefront, a great charity for that assists our troops and their families, until they hit 30K. The song is from John Ondrasik's Five for Fighting. The man portraying the pawn shop owner behind the counter is a Distinguished Medal of Honor Recipient from the Vietnam War, Fred Ferguson.
http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/706270
Chief Warrant Officer Ferguson was commander of a re-supply helicopter monitoring an emergency call from wounded passengers and crewmen of a downed helicopter under heavy attack within the enemy controlled city of Hue during the Tet Offensive. He unhesitatingly volunteered to attempt evacuation. Despite warnings from all aircraft to stay clear of the area due to heavy antiaircraft fire, Ferguson began a low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken refuge. Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, short range fire from enemy occupied buildings and boats, he displayed superior flying skill and tenacity of purpose by landing his aircraft in an extremely confined area in a blinding dust cloud under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar fragments during the loading of the wounded, he disregarded the damage and, taking off through the continuing hail of mortar fire, flew his crippled aircraft on the return route through the rain of fire that he had experienced earlier and safely returned his wounded passengers to friendly control.
Fred Ferguson joined the Arizona National Guard after earning the Medal of Honor on active duty.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:47 AM | Comments (7)
American Sniper Hung Out To Dry
American sniper hung out to dry
On a mountain ridge in Afghanistan in June 2005, on a mission to capture or kill a Taliban commander, the four Navy SEALs were discussing ... the American media. Three shepherds, including a 14-year-old, had crossed their path, and the SEALs had to decide what to do: kill them, or let them go and risk exposure to Taliban forces.
On elevated ground near Iskandariyah, Iraq, two years later, American snipers faced the same dilemma: kill or release two civilians who had discovered their hideout, Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi and his 17-year-old son, Mustafa.
The SEALs and snipers, facing stunningly similar situations, would make radically different choices - with radically different results.
In Afghanistan, fearful the media would report the killing of unarmed Afghan farmers and worried they might be charged with murder, the SEALs let the shepherds go. The shepherds then alerted the Taliban, who returned with about 100 warriors.
The four SEALs fought valiantly down the sheer mountain. Three, including Michael Murphy of Patchogue, L.I., died in the firefight.
Meanwhile, the Taliban downed a U.S. rescue helicopter carrying 16 special operations fighters, killing all aboard. Marcus Luttrell, one of the initial four, was the operation's lone survivor, as he recounts in his book of the same name.
In Iraq, the snipers released Mustafa - but their section leader, Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley, considered it too dangerous to release the elder al-Janabi.
Hensley, worried that noise by al-Janabi would attract the possibly armed, military-aged men he said he saw about 100 yards away, ordered Sgt. Evan Vela to shoot al-Janabi. Vela did.
President Bush pinned a Navy Cross on Luttrell in July 2006. Vela was court-martialed. Last month, a military panel found him guilty of murder without premeditation; he has begun serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Americans should be deeply disturbed by the contrast. If Luttrell and his fellow SEALs had done what Vela did, they all probably would be alive today. The media and our military, with the latter quick to charge murder, are impeding the judgment, mission and survival of our fighters.
One of Vela's court-martial prosecutors, Maj. Charles Khufahl, argued, "It was murder, plain and simple. United States soldiers do not kill unarmed, detained individuals." But is it so simple?
The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits killing an unarmed civilian detainee - unless he represents an imminent threat. But how can we expect a soldier to determine, in a split second, what represents such a threat? Does a civilian who, if released, might bring back armed fighters qualify?
Yes, says the creator of the Navy's counterterrorism SEAL Team Six, retired Cmndr. Richard Marcinko."I'd have killed them," he said, referring to the shepherds in Afghanistan. He told me the code is "like the Ten Commandments, short and sweet and subject to interpretation." And rules of engagement vary from theater to theater and according to mission, set by the commander for the overall operation.
Smaller units require more flexible rules because they cannot hold a detainee. Hensley testified at Vela's trial that, under the rules governing them, the snipers were permitted to kill if they felt threatened.
Yet Vela, Hensley and another sniper, Spec. Jorge Sandoval, were charged with murder.
Hensley, who ordered the kill and admitted to placing an AK-47 near al-Janabi's body, was convicted of lesser charges, as was Sandoval. Their light sentences included short prison time or confinement and demotion.
"The strictly correct military decision would ... be to kill them ... because we could not know their intentions," Luttrell writes in his book. But he feared "the liberal media ... and the prospect of many, many years in a U.S. civilian jail alongside murderers and rapists."
Most recruits are highly motivated to defend our country and way of life. They don't sign up to be murderers. The media would have them always give civilians the benefit of the doubt. If only we would extend the same benefit of the doubt to our fighters.
On today's battlefield, facing an enemy without uniforms and children who could be suicide bombers, our military deserves this understanding more than ever.
"The government has chased some of the finest men out of the army" by not supporting them, Vela's father, Curtis Carnahan, told me.
Our military should have told the Iraqi government "that sometimes there are hard choices that have to be made" and that civilians will sometimes be killed, Vela's attorney, James Culp, told me.
At the very least, Vela deserves the same light sentence given to Hensley and Sandoval.
Evan Vela made a wrenching but necessary decision. He is not a murderer.
Wild Thing's comment........
Our military brass makes me sick. They are willing to sacrifice the lives of 19 Americans so two Taliban sympathizers could go on killing Americans. Damned arm chair generals would rather see 20 of their own men die than kill one or two enemy sympathizers.
You can’t fight a PC war and expect to win.
Liberalism hamstrings our military, then liberals complain that their hamstrung military is in a “quagmire” and therefore must withdraw. It’s a crazy, vicious cycle, and it ultimately spells our doom. Hard decisions such as what Hensley made, instructing Vela to kill the unarmed father of a boy the soldiers had just released, are unfortunate. But they are many times necessary.
We MUST not fight a PC war.
We cannot, repeat cannot fight an antiseptic war with restrictions on ruthlessness and expect favorable results and minimization of casualties. The people putting in place these idiotic conditions have never looked at the evil in a foe's soul as he trained his weapon on your upper torso. When it comes to combat, never give your enemy an even chance, never mind a substantial leg up.
Where the hell is our common sense as a people?
From another article that give a lot more detail about Evan Vela:
Iraq's Human Rights Minister attended the trial and made it clear what she expected:
Iraq's Minister of Human Rights, Wijdan Mikhail Salim, however, does not see the case as either a justified kill or a horrific accident by an exhaustion-impaired soldier.
She was attending today's proceedings, she told TIME, because, "I want to be sure that any American soldier who wrongs an Iraqi will go on trial. [Vela] killed an Iraqi man, an unarmed man. He must be punished."
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:45 AM | Comments (14)
“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” - VP Dick Cheney
A toast to each of you 
