Bill Clinton goes nuts after being greeted by over a hundred pro-life students from Franciscan University of Steubenville protesting him on his abortion policies as president.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
Most people approved of the ban by Congress of partial-birth abortion. Clinton twice vetoed the bill.
There is so much hateful anger pent up in those two people. I get the sense that something awful is going to happen when they finally lose in a big way. It’s going to be ugly.
If any of these men are on your ballot I hope you take a look at voting for them.
Iraq Veterans for Congress website
I have posted about this before on January 18th 20088 but this is an update.
Iraq Veterans for Congress
Here are the Iraq Veteran for Congress Candidates
One of the Candidates is William T. Russell, a Republican and a Conservative, a good man.
Here is the UPDATE: I pray William Russell does well and wins. That would be so awesome!!
Fox News
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A career Army member left the service two years short of retirement to move here and try his hand at politics by challenging longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Murtha.
First-time candidate William T. Russell, 45, a Republican, acknowledged that taking on a popular, 18-term congressman in the 2008 election will be “an uphill battle.”
“But it’s one that must be fought,” Russell told the Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown.
Russell plans to formally announce his candidacy within weeks. Murtha has declined comment on the challenge
Russell, who moved from the Washington, D.C., area to Murtha’s district specifically to take on the congressman, has a long Army and Army Reserve career that includes tours of duty in the Balkans and both Iraq wars. He and his wife, Kasia, were in the Pentagon when a hijacked airliner slammed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Both escaped unhurt.
Murtha’s call for troop withdrawal from Iraq “is just flat-out wrong,” Russell said. Like Irey, Russell also criticized Murtha’s public allegations that unnamed U.S. soldiers committed “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” against innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.
A small-business owner, Russell said he wants a local economy dependent on the free market. But he acknowledges some jobs may be lost if government contracts disappear.
It is not known whether Russell will have GOP challengers in the primary. Irey said she is focused on seeking re-election as commissioner.
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.”
Wild Thing’s comment…….
I wish one of these men was in my District so I could vote for him. There is one listed in Florida but he is not in my District.
….Thank you Mark for the headsup on the update on Russell.
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The magic song that has all the Obamamaniacs entranced. Now we know what the song is, and if you listen to the end of the video you will see ……
“The question is what is a Mahna Mahna????”
“The question is…..who cares!””
LOL and that is what has been going on with the Obamamaniacs, they don’t know WHAT it or he is and THEY DON’T CARE!
Muppets – Mahna Mahna
Wild Thing’s comment…….
That video brings a lot of memories, but it never had as much meaning as it does now due to the Obama frenzy that is happening.
Look at this video below from Japan. Obamamania has hit a small town in Japan that shares its name with the White House hopeful.
….Thank you Jack for sending the Mahna Mhana to me. Jack’s blog is Conservative Insurgent.
Obama Plagiarizing?
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Wild Thing’s comment……..
So B. Hussein Obama is taking his cues from Joe Biden.
Obama has communist phrases LITERALLY thoughout his stump speech and the media ignores it. At least as far as I know they have. Laura Ingraham and Rush have discussed it so far today.
Bill Clinton: Obama’s ignoring my White House legacy
CNN
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (AP)
Former President Clinton on Friday accused Sen. Barack Obama, his wife’s rival for the Democratic nomination, of trying to ignore any accomplishments they achieved during their years in the White House.
“You have one candidate who’s made the explicit argument that the only way we can change America is to move into a post-partisan future and therefore we have to eliminate from consideration for the presidency anybody who made good things happen in the ’90s or stopped bad things from happening in this decade,” said Clinton, who was winding up a day of East Texas campaign appearances for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“It doesn’t matter how much good you did,” the former president said at Stephen F. Austin University. “We’ve got to get rid of you because you had to fight to make something good happen. You had to fight to stop something bad from happening. And if you fought, you made somebody mad, we ought to give you an old watch and retire you. You can’t possibly make a contribution to America’s future.”
Without mentioning Obama by name, Clinton said the Illinois senator was promoting a position that it’s “actually an advantage to not have any experience because you’ve not made anybody mad.”
“It’s been very effective,” Clinton said. “It’s already taken four good candidates out. It would have taken Hillary out if she didn’t have so much grass-roots support and so much guts.”
Clinton said his wife’s position is to “bridge the party divides when we can, but we also need to be prepared to fight.”
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Wild Thing’s comment…….
I would of thought Bill would be glad Obama was ignoring his legacy. Or perhaps he wants Obama to bring up the fact he sold US Missile tech to the Chinese Communists in exchange for illegal campaign contributions in 1995-1996?
Hmmmmmmmmmm Legacy oh yes we can’t and won’t forget the Bill Clinrton Legacy:
RECORDS SET– The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
– Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates**
– Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
– Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
– Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
– First president sued for sexual harassment.
– First president accused of rape.
– First first lady to come under criminal investigation
– Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
– First president to establish a legal defense fund.
– Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
– Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
STARR-RAY INVESTIGATION– Number of Starr-Ray investigation convictions or guilty pleas (including one governor, one associate attorney general and two Clinton business partners): 14
– Number of Clinton cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 5
– Number of Reagan cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 4
– Number of top officials jailed in the Teapot Dome Scandal: 3
CRIME STATS– Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47
– Number of these convictions during Clinton’s presidency: 33
– Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61
– Number of congressional witnesses who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122
SMALTZ INVESTIGATION– Guilty pleas and convictions obtained by Donald Smaltz in cases involving charges of bribery and fraud against former Agriculture
Secretary Mike Espy and associated individuals and businesses: 15
– Acquitted or overturned cases (including Espy): 6
– Fines and penalties assessed: $11.5 million
– Amount Tyson Food paid in fines and court costs: $6 million
CLINTON MACHINE CRIMES FOR WHICH CONVICTIONS WERE OBTAINED
Drug trafficking (3), racketeering, extortion, bribery (4), tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement (2), fraud (12), conspiracy (5), fraudulent loans, illegal gifts (1), illegal campaign contributions (5), money laundering (6), perjury, obstruction of justice.
OTHER MATTERS INVESTIGATED BY SPECIAL PROSECUTORS AND CONGRESS, OR REPORTED IN THE MEDIA
Bank and mail fraud, violations of campaign finance laws, illegal foreign campaign funding, improper exports of sensitive technology, physical violence and threats of violence, solicitation of perjury, intimidation of witnesses, bribery of witnesses, attempted intimidation of prosecutors, perjury before congressional committees, lying in statements to federal investigators and regulatory officials, flight of witnesses, obstruction of justice, bribery of cabinet members, real estate fraud, tax fraud, drug trafficking, failure to investigate drug trafficking, bribery of state officials, use of state police for personal purposes, exchange of promotions or benefits for sexual favors, using state police to provide false court testimony, laundering of drug money through a state agency, false reports by medical examiners and others investigating suspicious deaths, the firing of the RTC and FBI director when these agencies were investigating Clinton and his associates, failure to conduct autopsies in suspicious deaths, providing jobs in return for silence by witnesses, drug abuse, improper acquisition and use of 900 FBI files, improper futures trading, murder, sexual abuse of employees, false testimony before a federal judge, shredding of documents, withholding and concealment of subpoenaed documents, fabricated charges against (and improper firing of) White House employees, inviting drug traffickers, foreign agents and participants in organized crime to the White House.
ARKANSAS ALZHEIMER’S
Number of times that Clinton figures who testified in court or before Congress said that they didn’t remember, didn’t know, or something similar.
Bill Kennedy 116
Harold Ickes 148
Ricki Seidman 160
Bruce Lindsey 161
Bill Burton 191
Mark Gearan 221
Mack McLarty 233
Neil Egglseston 250
Hillary Clinton 250
John Podesta 264
Jennifer O’Connor 343
Dwight Holton 348
Patsy Thomasson 420
Jeff Eller 697
CLINTON’S SCANDALS
going far beyond Monica Lewinski, were a major liability for Al Gore in 2000, far more so than Ralph Nader. According to the 2000 exits polls:
– 60% of voters disapproved of Clinton as a person
– 59% – including some who approved of him – disliked him
– 68% said he would go down in the history books for his scandals rather than for his leadership
– 44% thought the Clinton scandals were important or somewhat important. In contrast, only 28% thought Bush’s drunk driving arrest was important or somewhat important.
– 15% of those who had voted for Clinton in 1996 voted for Bush in 2000.
CLINTON LAID THE FOUNDATION for the excesses of the war on terror in a number of ways:
– He conducted a deadly and lawless raid on the Waco compound including the use of the military in civilian law enforcement.
– In the wake of Oklahoma City, the Clinton administration proposed restricting habeas corpus and increasing wiretaps.
– As Doug Bandow reported in the National Review, Clinton “essentially sought to eliminate the requirement of a warrant for searches from the Fourth Amendment. The president claimed to possess ‘inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches for foreign intelligence purposes.’ The administration required public-housing residents to sign away their constitutional right that authorities procure a warrant to search their dwellings and personal property. The Justice Department backed warrantless (indeed, suspicionless) drug tests for high-school athletes. The administration requested greater FBI authority to conduct “roving wiretaps,” without a court order.
– “The administration was tougher than its predecessor on drugs. Marijuana arrests were up 50 percent over Bush-41 . . . When asked about the criticism that sellers of crack were being punished far more severely than those who peddled cocaine, the president responded that penalties for the latter – which already ensured that minor drug dealers spend more time in jail than do many armed robbers, rapists, and murderers – should be raised. . .
– “The Clinton-Gore administration advanced additional thuggish policies and proposals – curfews for kids, random drug tests for welfare recipients and kids seeking drivers licenses, attacks on the requirement of a jury trial,. . . attempts to gain court sanction for uncompensated property takings, prosecutions implicating the double-jeopardy clause, pretentious claims of federal criminal jurisdiction, infringements of the Second Amendment right to possess a firearm, et al.”
SUICIDES
Vincent Foster (Whitehouse Deputy Counsel, Gunshot to mouth, neck wounds)
Kathy Ferguson (ex-wife of Clinton co-defendant, Gunshot to head)
Bill Shelton (Arkansas state trooper, Kathy Ferguson’s fiancee, Gunshot to head)
Susan Coleman (Alleged Clinton Girlfriend, 7.5 months pregnant, Gunshot to head)
Jon Parnell Walker (RTC Investigator on Whitewater, fell from top of Lincoln Towers)
Niko Junic (In charge of the radio beacon/Brown Crash, Gunshot)
John A. Wilson (Former Wash D.C. councilman, hung)
Terrance Yeakey (First policeman at the Murrah Building, gun shot wound/slashes)
Ian Spiro (Inslaw Witness, Gunshot to Head)
Sharlott A. Donovan (Ret TechSgt/WH Comm Office, Plastic Bag over Head)
Admiral Boorda (CNO, gunshot chest)
Frank Aller (Clinton roommate at Oxford, repentant of draft dodging, Gunshot to mouth)
Robert Bates (Mena mechanic, witness) – drank himself to death on mouthwash
James Bunch (”Black Book” keeper, gunshot)
Wallace Blaylock (husband of Lenora Steinkamp – lady in Drudge video taped 93 aired 9/98, gunshot)
Raymond Albright (shot 5 times in chest, ruled suicide by M.E. Malak)
Charles Wilbourne Miller, Exec of Alltel – successor to Jackson Stephen’s Systematics (gunshot)
Gordon Matteson (Clinton friend/associate, Shot to head)
Danny Casolaro (Investigator Inslaw, “Octopus” – Wrists Slashed)
Calvin Walraven (Witness Jocelyn Elders son’s drug case, Gunshot)
Marine Cpl Eric S. Fox, assigned to helicopter squadron for president (gun shot to head)
Peter John Berwick, shot to death witness in federal investigation Arkansas company
John Arthur Paisley (CIA, gunshot to head, found in river…)
Laurence Martin (OKC surviver, suicide by plane crash)
Kenneth Trentadue (OK prisoner)
Li Fuxiang (foreign exchange, jump)
John I Millis (House Intelligence, CIA)
Evan Hunziker (held in North Korea)
Charlene Edwards (INS Miami)
Franz Lanz (ARL scientist, informant)
HOMICIDES
Mary Mahoney (Former White House intern shot multiple times in a Starbucks, pockets picked, no cash register money taken)
Luther “Jerry” Parks (Provided security for Clinton’s campaign, multiple gunshots)
Kevin Ives (Witness to Mena, skull crushed, left to be run over by train)
Don Henry (Witness to Mena, stabbed, left to be run over by train)
Eric Butera (Starbucks informant, beaten to death in sting)
Jeff Rhodes (Ives/Henry Witness, gunshot to head)
Ed Gould (Clinton’s HIV/AIDS Advisory Council, Toxic)
Florence Martin (Accountant with info on Barry Seal, Gunshot to head)
Alder Berriman (Barry) Seal (Mena, Murdered)
Keith McKaskle (Ives/Henry Informant, Stabbed)
Gregory Collins (Ives/Henry Informant, Gunshot to Head)
James Milon (Ives/Henry Informant, Decapitated)
Richard Winters (Ives/Henry Suspect, Shotgunned)
Jordan Ketelson (Ives/Henry Informant, Shotgunned)
Larry Guerin (Inslaw Investigator, unknown)
Alan Standorf (NSA, Inslaw Investigator, unknown)
Dennis Eisman (Inslaw attorney, Shot)
Mitchell D. Abel, (Cocaine dealer and student re Tyson, Gunshot)
Mike Samples (Ives/Henry witness)
Eric L. Henderson (financial advisor to Ron Brown, shot while riding bicycle)
Steve Leung (investor in China, beaten)
Mary Beth (Pixie) Grismore (politically connected, murdered)
Judy Danielak (journalist, sniper)
Cecil Boren (by escaped inmate, tainted blood whistleblower)
Lee Scott Hall (stabbed, Lawrence Livermore Lab employee)
JohnD Muskopf (CIA Analyst, murder in robbery attempt)
DIXIE MAFIA RELATED
Note: all are before Clinton’s administration, but are included here because of other information dealing with criminal activity in the South
Rep Larkin Smith – died in airplane accident, was previously a Dixie Mafia target
Pauline Pusser – killed in an ambush (Buford Pusser’s wife)
Harry Bennett – shot
L.B. Kelly – shot
Ellwood T. Steube – shot
George Fuqua – shot
Doris Ann Willingham Grooms – shot
Deputy Sheriff E.R. “Buddy” Walthers – shot when he went to question a Dixie Mafia member
Gary Elbert McDaniel – shot
Margie George – victim, hatchet and shot
Carl Douglas “Towhead” White – shot
Bobby Gale Gwinn – shot
Donald Lester “Jimmy” James – shot
Jack Howard Joy – shot in the chest, soaked and set on fire
Winston Fairley – dismembered
George Albert McGann – shot
Jerry Michael Meshell – shot
Clifford Hugh Fuller – shot
Johnson, Tracy – shot
William Mulvey – shot
Stephen Jeffrey Lee – shot
Dewey D’Angelo – shot
James Whitake (Mena airplane mechanic)
James Avant (helicopter crash, Deputy Sherrif Pulaski County)
Kevin Brosch (helicopter crash, Criminal Investigator)
NATURAL
Jim McDougal, Heart Attack in Solitary (Witness in Whitewater)
John Crawford (Informant Inslaw, Heart Attack)
Susie Deer (Clinton’s mother’s patient)
Laura Lee Slayton (Clinton’s mother’s patient)
Victims of HIV contaminated blood taken from Arkansas prisoners and sold to Canada and perhaps elsewhere
Stanley Huggins (Partner, lawfirm investigating Madison Guarantee) pneumonia
John Hillyer (NBC cameraman, Mena information) heart attack
Ricky Ray Rector (Arkansas prisoner mentally ill) execution
M Franklin Squires (Sematech, heart attack)
Carlos Ghigliotti (FLIR, heart attack)
Eddie Pack (McNulty investigator, burst of microwave energy causing cancer)
Sheriff Jack Harwell (Waco, heart attack)
UNKNOWN
Barbara Wise (ITA John Huang Associate found dead, nude, in a locked office at Commerce)
Paul Tulley (Democratic National Committee, in Hotel Room)
Boonie Bearden? Disappeared (Ives/Henry Witness)
Paul Wilcher (Mena Investigator)
Henry Hamilton (Bag man for payments from McDougal to Gov. Clinton)
Gary Baugh (Lassater Attorney, alleged jump disputed)
Ray Walsh (briefed on wildfires, died in sleep)
Ron Miller
Kearn A Cottingham (Loral employee)
FOIA officer
ACCIDENTS????
Ron Brown, Plane Crash (Commerce, Pathologists question wound to head on xrays) – see section on Ron Brown Plane Crash
Victor Raisner, Plane Crash (National Finance Co-Chair Clinton for President)
R. Montgomery Raiser, Plane Crash (Clinton campaign)
Herschell Friday, Plane Crash (Presidential Campaign Finance Committee)
Paula Gober, Car Accident (Clinton Speech Interpreter)
Stanley Heard, Plane Crash (Clinton Health Care Advisory Committee)
Steven Dickson, Plane Crash (Clinton Health Care Advisory Committee)
Johnny Lawhon, Car Accident (Found Whitewater Canceled Check in Car after Tornado)
Theodore Williams, Betty Currie’s brother, Beaten before Betty’s Senate testimony then Car/Pedestrian Accident during Monica story(Key Witness’ brother)
Shelley Kelly, Survived Brown Plane Crash – died hours later (Stewardess)
Judy Gibbs, Fire (Alleged Clinton Girlfriend, Witness)
Keith Coney, Motorcycle Accident (Ives/Henry Witness)
Dr Donald Chumley, Plane Crash (Physician at the OKC Murrah building)
Jim Wilhite, Ski Accident (Friend of McLarty)
Dr. Ronald Rogers, Plane Crash (Informant)
Paul Olson, Plane Crash (Witness)
Neal Cooper Moody, Car Accident (Step Son of Vince Foster Widow, Lisa)
William Colby, canoe drowning (former Director of the CIA, editor of “Strategic Investment” which hired experts to investigate Vince Foster’s suicide note)
Randall Tyson, choked on a cookie (half brother to Don Tyson)
Woody Lemons, wife and mother, private airplane crash (OKC informant)
Mohammed Samir Ferrat, TWA 800 Plane Crash (Brown connections, initial suspect) – see Ron Brown Plane Crash section
Jan Kopold, accidental fall in Turkey in 1970
Dan Dutko (Head Injuries, Bike accident) DNC Fund Raiser
David Drye, Plane Crash (friend of Matrisciana – Clinton’s Chronicles, etc.)
Lt Colonel Mark Cwick (auto accident, Clinton pilot)
Major Marc Hohle (helicopter crash Okinawa, Clinton pilot)
Eddie Pack (Waco research, microwave exposure)
Reverend Roger Howard (Waco research, automobile)
Manual Howard (Waco research, automobile)
James Ray Dobbins (Waco research, automobile)
Admiral Donald Engen (Accident investigations, glider crash)
Rep Larkin (see Dixie Mafia section)
Reverend Roger Howard (McNulty investigator, auto hit and struck by car w/2 men)
Manual Howard (McNulty investigator, Reverend Roger Howard’s son, same accident)
James Ray Dobbins (McNulty investigator, same accident)
Ralph Baker (Arkansas, automobile)
Lt Gen McCloud (air accident)
Robert Deas(auto accident, scientist/informant)
LINE OF DUTY
Steve Willis, Waco (Clinton bodyguard)
Robert Williams, Waco (Clinton bodyguard)
Conway LeBleu, Waco (Clinton bodyguard)
Todd McKeehan, Waco (Clinton bodyguard)
Lieutenant Colonel Carmine Calo, Italian UN official killed in Afghanistan bombing
David Gibbs, Kosovo – Apache Helicopter
Kevin Reichert, Kosovo – Apache Helicopter
12 Crewmen from two HH-60 Pave Hawks, Nev
Spec. Anthony W. Brown, 29 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Pfc. Earl C. Eoff, 29 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Sgt. Robert G. Millward, 32 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Spec. James R. Murphy Jr., 25 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Aaron K. Power, 30 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Spec. Fury J. Rice, 21 – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
Sgt. Julius R. Wilkes Jr., 23. – Ft Campbell Black Hawk 4/99
4 crew members 1996 Sikorsky military helicopter crash
Pilot and 8 Department of Interior Employees
10 crewmen plus passengers – 11/22/96 King-56 Crash
Staff Sgt. Brian Haney, Helicopter Crash (Clinton Bodyguard)
Marine Sgt. Timothy Sabel, Helicopter Crash (Clinton Bodyguard)
Maj. William Barkley, Helicopter Crash (Clinton Bodyguard)
Capt. Scott Reynolds, Helicopter Crash (Clinton Bodyguard)
Aldo Franscoia Secret Service Agent , C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
Capt. Kevin N. Earnest, aircraft commander, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
Capt. Kimberly Jo Wielhouwer, pilot, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
2d Lt. Benjamin T. Hall, navigator, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
SSgt. Michael J. Smith, Jr., loadmaster, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
SrA. Rick L. Merritt, flight engineer, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
SSgt. Michael R. York, loadmaster, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
SrA. Billy R. Ogston, crew chief, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
Amn. Thomas A. Stevens, loadmaster, C-130 airplane crash, Jackson Hole WY
Maj. Gen. William Robertson Deputy Commanding General, V Corps, Europe, helicopter crash, Weisbaden
Col William Densberger V Corps Chief of Operations and Plans, helicopter crash, Weisbaden
Col. Robert Kelly V Corps Chief of Intelligence, helicopter crash, Weisbaden
Spec. Gary Rhodes Crew Chief, helicopter crash, Weisbaden
Capt Jennifer J Odom, US Army – Colombia
Capt Jose A Santiago – Colombia
Chief Warrant Office Thomas G Moore – Colombia
Specialist T Bruce Cluff – Colombia
Specialist Ray Krueger – Colombia
Lt Cmdr Jon A Rystrom – Hawkeye Crash
Lt William R Dyer– Hawkeye Crash
Lt Robert A Forwalder– Hawkeye Crash
Lt Patrick Ardaiz– Hawkeye Crash
Lt John A Messier– Hawkeye Crash
FBI Special Agent Martha Dixon Martinez
FBI Special Agent Michael John Miller
No visitor to the museum at the Military Academy at West Point can come away with the impression that America is a militaristic country. The museum’s displays are very restrained, with none of the war triumphalism one might expect in a such a place. There’s very little representational art in the heroic style, with wild-eye horses carrying plumed, saber-swinging officers, or men with bayonets contending for a position. But there’s a vast and exceptional collection of historical hardware and gear, some gathered at places of defeat. Visitor opinion isn’t leveraged here; you take your own thoughts and conclusions home with you.
There’s a row of cases for artifacts from the Indian Wars, and a collection from the Black Hills Wars of the late 19th-century. Sitting Bull’s lever action, brass and steel rifle is here, along with ceremonial and regular dress, tools and weapons and other curiosities assembled from the tribes. You’ll see something striking here, and shocking in its own way; not scalps, but arrows. Fletched and painted arrows gathered after The Battle of the Greasy Grass, known to white schools kids of my age as The Battle of The Little Big Horn.
These arrows were bowed on horseback, and launched in one or more of the three engagements that composed the fighting at The Little Big Horn River in June of 1876, the main reason we remember George Armstrong Custer at all. These perishable, fragile missiles are links to the ingenuity, heroism, determination and desperation of that summer day, when they were used against skirmish lines of terrified horse soldiers, led to their deaths on a vain mission to subdue Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho who had abandoned reservation life, and were willing to fight rather than be returned to it.
The details of the full mission to return the recalcitrant tribes is complicated; of less interest than the morbid appeal of Custer’s Last Stand, which was a small but lurid part of it. The short story is that Custer attacked an encampment of more than 1200 Lakota Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors and their families, with his 198 men, 6 officers and 3 civilians (a newspaper reporter and two scouts).
Among this group were Custer’s brother and brother-in-law.
Custer had already ordered two other units to different locations around the Lakota encampment, with a total force of 277 men, officers and Sioux, Ree/Arikara and Crow scouts. Recent research has shown that throughout the ensuing battles, the 7th Cavalry was at a five-to-one disadvantage. Custer’s unit was annihilated, along with his relatives, to the last valiant man. Only two horses are recorded to have survived without wounds on the high ground of Custer’s defensive position. It’s believed that Crazy Horse personally led the last charge on Custer’s unit. The other horse-soldier units were severely bloodied.
Custer’s mistake was fatal; the amateur’s mistake of underestimating his enemy. He’d refused a Gatling Gun and two additional companies of cavalry two days before the battle, claiming he could handle anything he found. He lacked reliable reconnaissance, and the intelligence that the Cheyenne had Winchester and Spenser repeating rifles. He was also enlarged by his romantic arrogance and scorn for his enemy. The last living day he threw his leg over a saddle, he was confident of victory in spite of the things that he knew, and was rendered fatally vulnerable by the things that he didn’t. In this way, he resembled a Congressional Democrat.
Our American model at this moment can never be George Armstrong Custer. We must honor his soldiers, who stood toe-to-toe with their enemies, but our tactical models must be Crazy Horse, He Dog, One Who Walks With Stars, Rain-in-the-Face and Two Moons – all known to have been at Little Big Horn – the good men and true of the Lakota Cheyenne and Arapaho, willing to defend their civilization, culture and families to the death.
They reacted with the total force necessary to abolish the danger to them. Today we know the destiny of these benighted tribes of the 1870’s. However inevitable it came to be, and even considering the retrograde and brutal role they played in their own destruction, they made arrows and used them to defend their freedom. I know, because I saw these very arrows. We post-war boys of the 1950’s must have sensed this, because none of us ever wanted to play Custer in our games of Cowboys and Indians.
I am happy to announce that Theodore’s World blog has reached 1,000,000 hits.
You all have a lot to do with that as well. This blog began September 2005.
The count of hits are made as each different computer ( IP address) visits this blog. The count is only done once for each ip address so that means there have been 1,000,000 individual ip addresses that have peeked in here, commented here or spent time reading the posts and comments. LindaSOG my blog mom showed me how to read the Stats and I usually check them once a month to see how they are doing.
The countries I have been most concerned with are of course the USA but also where our troops are located so that is fun to see hits coming from those places like a way of saying we are out here and are checking in with you. It always makes me feel so happy to think they are lurking here and reading your comments along with the posts and things you all have shared.
Here is a list of some of the countries that read this blog:
Afganistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaidjan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bolivia
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
European country
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Great Britain
Greenland
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History of the challenge coinMarine Corps News
Story by Cpl. Wil Acosta
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (March 4, 2005) — Military Unit Coins. Throughout the Corps, one can find these medal artifacts displayed proudly by Marines at their desks and in their offices. Some are simple and colorless. Others are ornate, filled with intricate designs and etchings. All of them have a story behind them.
The following story, which dates the history of military coins back to the 1st World War, was passed on throughout the network of senior enlisted Marines via email.
During World War I, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy young men who left colleges such as Yale and Harvard in order to enlist in the military.
In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered solid bronze medallions embossed with the squadron emblem for every member of his squadron. He carried his medallion in a small leather sack about his neck.
Shortly after acquiring the medallions, the lietetenant’s aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire during a mission. He was forced to land behind enemy lines where he was captured by a German patrol.
In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck.
He was eventually taken to a small French town near the front lines where he managed to escape during a night bombardment. During the attack, he donned civilian clothes and fled without personal identification.
After escaping, the brave pilot succeeded in avoiding German patrols until he reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no-man’s land and stumbled into a French outpost.
Unfortunately, the French in this sector had been plagued by German saboteurs, who sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot’s American accent, the French thought him to be a saboteur and made ready to execute him.
Just in time, the American remembered his leather pouch containing the bronze medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners. When the French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion, they gave the pilot enough time to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him, they gave him a bottle of wine.
Eventually the pilot made it back to his squadron, where it became a tradition to ensure all members carried their medallion or coin at all times.
This was accomplished through a challenge. A service member would ask to see the coin. If the challenger could not produce his coin, he was required to purchase a drink of choice for the member who had challenged him.
If the challenged member produced his coin, then the challenging member was required to pay for the drink.
This tradition continued through the war and for many years after while surviving members of the squadron were still alive.
Today, military service members often trade these coins while deployed. In some cases a coin can be earned meritoriously for a job well done.
Regardless of how they are required, the history of the challenge coin remains a part of military tradition, and Marines will continue to display them proudly for years to come.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
I love this story and also that the Marine Corps has the Challenge Coin. LOL This one is especially on topic shall we say, heh heh
….Thank you Steve for sending these images of the Challenge Coins to me. They are awesome!
Wolf to Georgetown: Detail Use of Saudi Millions
The Investigative Project
A U.S. congressman is asking Georgetown University about its academic scrutiny of Saudi Arabia and its use of $20 million donated by a Saudi prince in 2005.
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) wrote to Georgetown President John DeGioia Thursday, saying he was concerned about how the money was being spent at the university’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Of particular concern, Wolf said, was the university’s role in training current and prospective U.S. foreign service personnel.
“The Saudi government continues to permit textbooks to contain inflammatory language about other religions,” Wolf wrote. “Restrictions on civil society and political activists continue to be pervasive. No changes have been made to the underlying legal authority relating to non-Muslim worship that the Saudis have relied on to enforce these rules. The Saudis have cleansed their own country of religious liberties by severely restricting public religious expression to their interpretation and enforcement of wahhabism.”
Wolf’s letter seeks assurances the Georgetown center “maintains the impartiality and integrity of scholarship that befits so distinguished a university as Georgetown.” He then asks whether:
“the center has produced any analysis critical of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for example, in the fields of human rights, religious freedom, freedom of expression, women’s rights, minority rights, protection for foreign workers, due process and the rule of law.”
· “the center has examined Saudi links to extremism and terrorism, including the relationship between Saudi public education and the Kingdom-supported clerical establishment, on the one hand, and the rise of anti-American attitudes, extremism and violence in the Muslim world, on the other.”
· “the center has examined or produced any critical study of the controversial religious textbooks produced by the government of Saudi Arabia that have been cited by the State Department, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and non-governmental groups for propagating extreme intolerance.”
· “any of the Saudi-sourced finds have been used in the training, briefing or education of those going into or currently employed by the U.S. government.
Harvard University also received $20 million from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal but that is not addressed in the letter. Wolf is the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations and is co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
The answer to his questions likely will be no, said Martin Kramer, former director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University and a fellow at Harvard and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Prince Alwaleed’s money wasn’t designed to stop academic scrutiny of Saudi Arabian society and policies, Kramer said. The Georgetown center wasn’t doing that anyway. Rather, “It’s a move to change the subject [and say the roots of terrorism lie elsewhere]. For the Saudis after 9/11, changing the subject is important.”
snippet…..
Among the many examples cited was this, from a sixth grade textbook:
“Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God, for this is within God’s power.”
The heart of Wolf’s concern in both his letter to Georgetown, his alma mater, and in his opposition to the arms sales, appears to be a question of how reliable an ally Saudi Arabia is in the fight against terrorism and extremism. In addition, Wolf seems concerned over a cumulative effect Saudi interest in the U.S. has on policy. The letter notes a request to the Government Accounting Office about investigating “the revolving door” of senior officials who leave government only to lobby on behalf of governments where they previously served. And he specifically asks Georgetown about training current and future foreign service officers.
He notes that there has been a fair amount of promising talk, but “the Saudi government’s promises remain unfulfilled
For the rest of the article it is located HERE
Wild Thing’s comment……..
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) is considered a moderate Republican. And I am so glad he is doing this, I just have to wonder where the conservative Republican’s are to back him up on this. I sure hope they do and that the pressure will be put on the Saudi’s to give some answers.
I also think our Homeland Security should be concerned about this too. This war should not just be fought far away from here, it needs to be fought here at home too. We should be doing our part as a country to do what we can to be strong against those seeking to destroy us from within.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
LOL I thought we all could use some laughs. These are so funny.
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