Give Thanks, America!

"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence ofAlmighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits,and humbly to implore his protection and favors." ~ George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789

Today I am thankful for a loving and faithful wife who always always does her best to be all that God created her to be. Good and tender-hearted kids who are better than anyone else's and certainly better than I deserve. A vocation and calling that enables me to care for my family and to serve my country. The blessing of being a citizen of the most prosperous, benevolent and decent nation in the history of mankind. Thank you, Lord, for these and all my many blessings.

"There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." ~ O. Henry

"And I do recommend that together with our thanksgiving, humble prayer may be offered to God, that we may be enabled, by the subsequent obedienceof our hearts and manners, to testify the sincerity of our profession of gratitude, in the sight of God and man; and thus be prepared for the reception of future blessings ... that the whole people may continue to be safe and happy in the constitutional enjoyment of their rights, liberties and privileges ..." ~ Samuel Adams, October 14, 1795, as Governor of the State of Massachusetts, in a Proclamation for a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Praise.

And finally from American poet and author, Joseph Auslander:

"Dear Lord; we beg but one boon more: Peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving."

Amen and amen!  ¶ Thursday, November 24, 2005 0 comments

  Not The Answer You Wanted? Matt Lagrone makes an interesting comment in a post from Iraq. In answering questions from some Texas elementary school kids he says:

#11 How "bad" is it/should we be there?

This is what I get asked the most and I always find this question interesting. Why? Because the person back home wants me to give a particular anwer that agrees with what they have already concluded on their own. They don't care what I really think, unless I agree with them.

Conservatives ask this question expecting me to say that the media is blowing everything way out of proportion. They want me to say all Iraqi's love us and we are making incredible progress with our efforts in Iraq. There is some naive thinking that is coming from the right. I think some conservatives do not have a realistic idea of this place. I'll even dare to say some are in denial of some mistakes [that] may have been made the past few years.

My liberal friends also expect an answer. They expect me to describe this horrendous combat experience that takes place everyday, all over the country. They want me to say that every soldier is living "Black Hawk Down" on steriods every day. It's like they think that when I crossed the Iraqi border the combat compared to storming the beaches of Omaha but without the honor. They want me to say that all Iraqi's hate us, the war is doomed to failure, and every soldier's morale is incredibly low. They want me to say that we are muderous thugs. They are wrong. Very very wrong in my opinion. When I disagree with them I am now an uneducated, ignorant, brainwashed soldier.

Still dodged the question didn't I......

He says that both right and left want him to support their preconceived opinions. But it's obvious who views the American soldier with the honor and dignity they deserve and who wants to paint the bleakest picture possible.  ¶ Sunday, November 13, 2005 3 comments

  The Real Gospel vs. The "Prosperity Gospel" I have always had problems with the so-called "prosperity gospel" and it's proponents, like Robert Tilton. The prosperity they seem most interested in is their own and their isn't much emphasis on the gospel, that is, the good news that Jesus Christ died to redeem us from our sins.

The latest "star" in this version of "Christianity" is Joel Osteen. Now, when I first saw Osteen on television his style was very charismatic - all "aw shucks" bumpkinism and "God loves yew!" There was a noticeable lack of real Bible teaching and no call to repentance. A lot of "God has a wonderful plan for your life," but missing the "No man comes to the Father but by me."

Brad Huston at "Broken Messenger" really tackles Osteen and his reluctance to preach the real Gospel. I urge you to go visit. Read his other posts while your there. You might learn something. At the very least it will give you something to think about.  ¶ Sunday, November 13, 2005 0 comments

  Does Service Guarantee Credibility? Anti-American lefties who make false claims regarding their military service seek credibility first. We saw it in the case of Edward Daily and others who tried to smear the honor of Korean War vets by making up lies about an incident they couldn't possibly have witnessed. We saw it in those who publicly opposed the Vietnam War while lying about their combat service there. We see make claims of military service in order to create a bully pulpit from which to oppose the war on terror, specifically Iraq.

One of the finest, recent examples is Jimmy Massey, a former Marine sergeant who did actually serve in Iraq. He used the credibility granted him by his service to try and discredit Corps and country. He also used it to make some money telling lies.

Massey authored a book about the supposed atrocities he and his unit committed. To get the book, titled "Kill! Kill! Kill!", published, Massey had to go all the way to France. (That should have been a clue!) In the book, he claims that during a six-week period in 2003 his platoon killed over 30 Iraqi civilians. These included peaceful, unarmed demonstrators.

"That day we shot the protesters in the Rashid complex was when I had a moment of clarity and I understood that by our actions of doing that, we set the tone overall for what the Iraqis were seeing and the brutality of what we were doing was being displayed," Massey claimed. "We in fact, I feel, escalated the violence. ... I spent long hours speechless and looking at the wall, seeing nothing but only images of the killed Iraqis."

The St. Louis Post Dispatch says Massey claimed that, "Marines fired on and killed peaceful Iraqi protesters. Americans shot a 4-year-old Iraqi girl in the head. A tractor-trailer was filled with the bodies of civilian men, women and children killed by American artillery."

Massey is a co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a position which is no doubt profitable as he is sought after to speak to peacenik groups around the country. His claims should be troubling to all those who love this great nation and believe our troops should act with honor. They should be troubling, except for the fact that Jimmy Massey has been proven to be a liar.

"Each of his claims is either demonstrably false or exaggerated - according to his fellow Marines, Massey's own admissions, and the five journalists who were embedded with Massey's unit, including a reporter and photographer from the Post-Dispatch and reporters from The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal," writes Ron Harris of the Post Dispatch. "From the beginning, Massey misled reporters. ... The details of Massey's stories changed repeatedly. ... Nor could he name any Marine who could corroborate any of his stories. ... Massey was discharged ... due to depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome."

So, this darling of the left-media who exposed the "truth" about America's actions in Iraq turns out to be nothing more than a sad, unbalanced liar. At least he's got company in the ranks of those who lie for their own glory and gain. Not good company mind you, but company nonetheless.  ¶ Saturday, November 12, 2005 3 comments

  Liberal Peaceniks vs. Real Heroes The Left's hippie spin: "Most who have seen combat would rather never see it again. ... Don't believe me? Ask a vet." - Jay

The Ground Truth: "Once in while I have the honor of meeting and speaking to a person who is in a different league. Today I met just such a person. I'll call him Sergeant K. ... [He] was lying on a hospital gurney, needles and tubes running in and out of his arms, with a bullet hole in one leg. He had been injured in a gun fight the prior evening and was being prepared for transport home. ... [I want you to] understand the thinking and nobility of these great men. Less than a month ago, Sergeant K was in another fight in which he received shrapnel to the other leg. He now has two Purple Hearts pending. In spite of his wounds, he expressed a desire to be back with his men, engaged in the fight, supporting them and leading them. That desire and drive came from somewhere deep in his spirit..." - Chaplain (Captain) Brad P. Lewis  ¶ Saturday, November 12, 2005 2 comments

  Great Minds Think Alike One of the finest milbloggers around, BlackFive, gives voice to some of the same thoughts and attitudes I've spoken. Witness his "Friday Freefly- Veterans Day Vent":

Things that chafe my cones- Veteran's Day edition:
Chickenhawking: This non-argument is usually deployed to belittle a pro-war argument due to a lack of personal military service. ... The sad thing is looking at the dirty, nasty, patchouli-smelling hippie and having to think "I served so this clown can flap his cakehole?".

"I support the troops, but not the war": Then you don't support the troops. Once US troops are deployed in a foreign war and you actively protest and attempt to undermine the government's prosecution and even rationale for the war, you are no longer supporting the troops. ... You are especially culpable in this time of instant and worldwide media, by providing fodder for the enemy, their propagandists and the media in countries whose support the troops need to succeed.

Moral Superiority from Lefties: I guess if you have a media that parrots your mindset it is easy to stay in your echo chamber and look down on we mindless automatons and our corporate-oil controllers as we wreak destruction upon an otherwise peaceful, idyllic Shangri-La. ... If somehow having the intellectual rigor and intestinal fortitude to act in the cause of freedom and liberation rather than debate it fruitlessly makes us morally inferior, so be it! That is not a morality I would shed a drop of anyone's blood for.

Armchair Generalship: ... Anyone who has served, knows the military plans for everything and that there were obviously plans for post-war Iraq. ... 5 years from now we will look back and without the distortion of the media's defeatist lens see a true example of liberty delivered not at the point of a gun, but definitely by warriors carrying them.

Go on over and check out the rest of his post. If you've got a brain you'll find yourself in agreement with the Paratrooper of Love.  ¶ Friday, November 11, 2005 1 comments

  The Commander In Chief "Today, our nation pays tribute to those veterans, 25 million veterans who have worn the uniform of the United States of America. Each of these men and women took an oath to defend America -- and they upheld that oath with honor and decency. Through the generations, they have humbled dictators and liberated continents and set a standard of courage and idealism for the entire world.

"At this hour, a new generation of Americans is defending our flag and our freedom in the first war of the 21st century. The war came to our shores on September the 11th, 2001. That morning, we saw the destruction that terrorists intend for our nation. We know that they want to strike again. And our nation has made a clear choice: We will confront this mortal danger to all humanity; we will not tire or rest until the war on terror is won.

"The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against humanity. We must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war against the terrorists.

"Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in, we will never accept anything less than complete victory.

"We don't know the course of our own struggle will take, or the sacrifices that might lie ahead. We do know, however, that the defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice, we do know the love of freedom is the mightiest force of history, and we do know the cause of freedom will once again prevail."
~ President George W. Bush, Veterans' Day 2005, Tobyhanna, PA  ¶ Friday, November 11, 2005

  Yes, There Were WMDs Of course, one of the big lies (along with the "Bush lied!" mantra) is that the war is unjustified because we found no WMDs. What a crock.

Here's a partial list of what has been found in the past 2 1/2 years:

• 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium
• 1,700 gallons of chemical-weapon agents
• Chemical warheads containing the nerve agent cyclosarin
• Radioactive materials in powdered form designed for dispersal over population centers
• Artillery projectiles loaded with binary chemical agents

This in addition to what Saddam managed to sneak out of Iraq before America liberated the country.  ¶ Friday, November 11, 2005 3 comments

  Fulfilling Their Hypocritic Oath Democrats statements about Saddam Hussein & Iraq during the Clinton Administration

Bill Clinton: "If Saddam rejects peace, and we have to use force, our purpose is clear: We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
Madeleine Albright: "We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and the security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
Sandy Berger: "[Saddam will] use those weapons of mass destruction again as he has ten times since 1983."
Harry Reid: "The problem is not nuclear testing; it is nuclear weapons. ... The number of Third World countries with nuclear capabilities seems to grow daily. Saddam Hussein's near success with developing a nuclear weapon should be an eye-opener for us all."
Dick Durbin: "One of the most compelling threats we in this country face today is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Threat assessments regularly warn us of the possibility that...Iraq...may acquire or develop nuclear weapons."
John Kerry: "If you don't believe...Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn't vote for me."
John Edwards: "Serving on the Intelligence Committee and seeing day after day, week after week, briefings on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his plans on using those weapons, he cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, it's just that simple. The whole world changes if Saddam ever has nuclear weapons."
Nancy Pelosi: "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons-inspection process."

Democrats statements about Saddam Hussein & Iraq during the Bush Administration, prior to the Iraq War

Ted Kennedy: "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
John Kerry: "I will be voting to give the president of the U.S. the authority to use force if necessary to disarm Saddam because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security. ... Without question we need to disarm Saddam Hussein."
Hillary Clinton: "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock. His missile-delivery capability, his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists including al-Qa'ida members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Carl Levin: "We begin with a common belief that Saddam Hussein...is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Al Gore: "We know that he has stored nuclear supplies, secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

A sampling of comments by prominent Democrites in recent weeks:

Ted Kennedy: "The Bush administration misrepresented and distorted the intelligence to justify a war that America should never have fought."
Harry Reid: "We all know the Vice President's office was the nerve center of an operation designed to sell the war and discredit those who challenged it. ... The manipulation of intelligence to sell the war in Iraq...the Vice President is behind that."
Dick Durbin: "I seconded the motion Sen. Harry Reid made last week. Republicans in Congress have refused, despite repeated promises, to investigate the Bush administration's misuse of pre-war intelligence, so Senate Democrats are standing up and demanding the truth."

By the way, those Democrats had access to, and examined the same intelligence data that the Bush administration did. In fact, much of it was collected, compiled and analyzed during the Clinton years.  ¶ Friday, November 11, 2005 2 comments

  Veterans' Day 2005 My father served 6 months on the front line in Korea and has five wounds and permanent partial disability to show for it. He also has a legacy in one of the freest and most prosperous nations in Asia. My uncle, a B-17 pilot, was shot down and killed on the second Schweinfurt raid. His 24th mission. His legacy is a world rescued from the evil of fascist domination. Today's veterans have fed the hungry in Africa, rescued victims of natural disasters in our own country and liberated millions of people, from Iraq to the Balkans. They continue daily to fight and die in order to protect America against Muslim terrorists and murderers.

Today our nation pauses to remember, and to salute.

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.
But you can't tell a vet just by looking.
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back at all.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang bangers into Marines.
He is the Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by as he outfits those who fight and die.
They are the anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, who must forever preserve the memory of all the heroes whose valor lives unrecognized.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being who offered some of his most vital years in the service of his country, who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

Amen, and thank you to all our veterans!

"Those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf." - George Orwell, 1945  ¶ Friday, November 11, 2005 3 comments

  Highly Dedicated, Truly Motivated That was a part of one of our more popular cadences when I went through basic. Not surprisingly, it fittingly describes today's current generation of the military personnel. Witness the following from Mark Sappenfield in the Christian Science Monitor.

[If] World War II veterans were perceived to be the greatest generation and Vietnam's conscripts a lost generation, then those who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today could be called the dedicated generation - convinced of America's cause and determined to shepherd it through days of dust and destruction.

He goes on to desribe the strong reenlistment rates and the sense of purpose that this global conflict for Western survival has created in todays troops. That purpose has created a unique focus as well.

Since the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are all volunteers, the war was very much part of a conscious career choice, and the intensity of the experience is focusing their lives. … Yet the reenlistment rates also suggest that many are finding a deeper love for service and a connection to something greater than themselves."In World War II, soldiers knew what they had to do, and they wanted to do it and come home to get on with life," says Morten Ender of West Point. "In Vietnam, [the war] became a turning point, because there was a sense [among the conscripted soldiers] that they had no control."

As if the argument that today's military is made up of naïve, gullible youths who have no idea what they are getting into needs more holes shot in it, Sappenfield says,

"Since the troops ... are all volunteers, the war was very much part of a conscious career choice. … In many ways, a portrait of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan is a portrait of how the all-volunteer force has changed the military. Demographically, this force has opened the military to more women and, more recently, it has seen a drop in the overrepresentation of blacks. But significantly, it has also created a professional force capable of greater sophistication - partly because everyone wants to be there."None of us entered this machine without knowing in our heart of hearts that we may have to go to war," writes Capt. Christopher Connors in an e-mail from Afghanistan. "That is why it is the Army, not the Boy Scouts."

And finally, the article closes with the perspective and praise of a Vietnam vet currently serving in Iraq.

To Master Sgt. Lanie Ray Vickers, a reservist, experience also brings a different perspective. Sergeant Vickers served one tour in Vietnam as a draftee and is now in Iraq as a member of the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion. To him, the distinction between the draftees of Vietnam who simply wanted to finish their tour and the soldiers of this generation could not be greater."I've talked to many of these kids on their second tour, and they talk about, 'When I reenlist ...' " says Vickers by phone. "When you see that kind of dedication - when they know what's out there - it makes an old soldier like me proud to be an American."

  ¶ Thursday, November 10, 2005 0 comments

  The Quotable Milblogger "Polls don't show the state of the war, only the state of our misgivings."
- Bill Roggio of The Fourth Rail  ¶ Wednesday, November 09, 2005 2 comments

  Ready For War Remember all those poor, misled, hapless youths who are being so slyly seduced into enlisting in the military? Recruiters tempting them with bonuses, guaranteed jobs and the like, never telling them that they might be expected to pick up a weapon and defend the country they are swearing an oath to?

"Going to war, more than job opportunities and money for college, is the post-September 11 allure for joining the armed services, military officials say. And, in a trend that bewilders and dismays those opposed to the war in Iraq, enlistment numbers are up and recruiting goals are mostly being met or exceeded."

The story by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. in the Washington Times also puts to lie the myth that recruiting is down due to the war in Iraq.

"For four out of the past five years, the Army has exceeded its goal for active-duty recruits, while regularly increasing the number desired. ... The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have all met or exceeded their annual recruiting goals for every year since September 11, although some monthly and quarterly shortfalls have occurred. For 2005 ... the Air Force exceeded its active recruiting goal ... by 322; the Navy topped its goal ... by 68; and the Marines exceeded their ... target by 44."

As George C. Scott said in "Patton", "Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight."

And as the real Patton said, "The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one's country. Hence it is a proud privilege to be a soldier -- a good soldier."

To back this up witness the words of Marine recruit Christian Dillard, "I want to see action." The former high school soccer player from Auburn, Ala. made his decision to enlist as he watched the September 11 attacks from his classroom TV. "I had to do something."

Thank God some of us remember.  ¶ Wednesday, November 09, 2005 7 comments

  But What Do You Do With The Hawks? Some like to bandy about the term "chickenhawk" as if it elevates their standing in any argument about the war.

For example: "A chickenhawk is one who glorifies in war. ... They do not, however, wish to actually fight. They do not want to be bothered with going down to the enlistment center, taking an oath, go through boot camp, and actually give over a few years of their life and possibly their life itself."
And, "I've also not been shy about saying most people who support the war in Iraq are chickenhawk hypocrites who cheer war but somehow find a reason not to actually enlist and go fight it themselves."

They think because they oppose a war they have higher moral ground. They rant and rave while giving half-hearted peace signs, looking like hippie wanna-be's born too late.

But I rarely see them deal with the issue of those who support a war who DO serve. They don't seem to have an answer for those who've served for two decades, under four Presidents, during numerous wars and contingencies. They don't have a clever soundbite when confronted with the fact that enlistments are highest among those who've already been to Iraq and Afghanistan.

So they scream, "Chickenhawk!" Seems kind of chicken to me.  ¶ Wednesday, November 09, 2005 10 comments

  Greenpeace Environmentally UNfriendly Greenpeace is apparently no friend to the undersea world.

In a story at BBC News it is revealed that Greenpeace is guilty of damaging a coral reef in the Philippines.

The radical group's flagship, Rainbow Warrior II, ran aground while on a tour to promote "environmentally-friendly" energy sources. Over 1,000 square feet of the reef was destroyed.

The incident occured while Greenpeace divers were inspecting the reef, in Tubbataha park, for the effects of "global warming." Ironically, they found that there was no evidence of tell-tale bleaching and the reef was healthy. Or at least it was before Greenpeace arrived!

The group attempted to shift blame for the damage to the Philippine government, blaming outdated charts for their own destructive acts.  ¶ Wednesday, November 09, 2005 7 comments

  "Idiots sur le Défilé! (Idiots On Parade!)

In some quarters politically correct stupidity reigns supreme. Witness this "reporting" from CNN anchor Carol Lin on November 6th.

"It's been 11 days since two African-American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this."

Never mind the fact that they weren't killed during a police chase. They ran when they saw the police, who weren't even chasing them. But the best part is the term "African-American teenagers."

African-American teenagers? Funny, I thought they were French Muslim teenagers.   ¶ Wednesday, November 09, 2005 0 comments

  Race or Class? Make Up Your Mind   ¶ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 0 comments