Why I Love Ronald Reagan--Part 1!!

Mike over at Mike's America celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Reagan's inauguration by posting about him this past week. He invited others to post about Reagan and linked to them as well. There is a bunch of really good stuff over there that I encourage you to take a look at. I had Reagan on my list of conservative profiles to do so I figured now was as good a time as any. But what an overwhelming task. How do you fit all you want to say about Ronald Reagan into one post? I decided I can't so this profile will have at least 2 parts.

Before I share all the things about Reagan that I love I want to share my personal odyssey of coming to know him. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to politics during Reagan's presidency. I was 10 yrs. old when he became president and 18 when he left office. Oh how I wish I had been paying attention to all those important events that happened during that time.

So how did I come to learn of Reagan? .
After graduating from College it hit me that I should know something about current events and I started paying attention. As I listened to Rush he kept talking about what a great man Reagan was and I wanted to find out for myself. I was also really into Presidential biographies about all the presidents. So I read lots of books on the presidents and I watched documentaries. I also listened to Dinesh D'Souza's "Ronald Reagan" and Peter Robinson's "How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life" on tape.


But Peggy Noonan is the real reason I grew to have such a respect and admiration for Reagan. Her book "When Character Was King" did an awesome job of capturing the man who was Ronald Reagan. She enabled you to see his heart and who he really was. It gave me a love for Reagan and a great appreciation for Noonan as an author. It is one of the best books I have ever read. She was honest about his strengths and weaknesses. And even his weaknesses made him likable because it showed that he was human.


A brief factual biography:
Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois to a poor family. His father was an alcoholic but his mother was a woman of faith who passed her faith onto her son. He graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and then became a Radio Sports Announcer. His film career lasted from 1937 until about 1954 and by the time it was over he had acted in 50 films. He married Jane Wyman in 1940 and later they had a daughter Maureen and adopted their son Michael. In 1941 during World War II he spent 3 years in the army in the Motion Picture Army Unit. In 1947 he became President of the Screen Actors Guild. Also in 1947 they lost a baby who was born 4 months premature. In 1948 Reagan and Jane divorced. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis and they later had Patricia and Ronald. In 1954 he began to work on a GE TV program that lasted for 8 years. In 1962 he officially switched from the Democrat to the Republican party. And in 1966 he ran for Governor of California and won and was also re-elected. In 1976 he ran for the Republican nomination against Gerald Ford and just barely lost. In 1980 he won in a landslide against Jimmy Carter and again in 1984 against Walter Mondale. He was shot in 1981 by John Hinckly Jr. In 1994 he announced he had alzheimer's and on June 5, 2004 he died at the age of 93.


The Nation's 40th President was loved and hated. He inspired many but was controversial to others. When asked once what his place in history would be this is what he said: "What I'd really like to do is go down as the president who made Americans believe in themselves again." Reagan was hopeful and optimistic and he was exactly what America desperately needed in 1981. JFK had been assassinated and we had had four failed presidents after that. Combine this with watergate and the American people were starting to lose their faith in America. Reagan helped restore that. When Peter Robinson was asked how to sum Reagan up he simply stated "conviction and joy". How true that is. He stood up for his strong convictions in the face of fierce opposition and he did it all with optimism, humor and joy. Ronald Reagan himself said: "There's no question I am an idealist, which is another way of saying I am an American."

Tomorrow in part 2 I will share stories and quotes and examples of his heart, his convictions, his response to criticism, his belief in freedom, his faith and his optimism.

SOURCES:
Biography of Ronald Reagan
"When Character Was King" by Peggy Noonan
"How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life" by Peter Robinson

Voting Has Begun

Some of us made it to the finals. Here are the different places to go to vote for various people.


To vote for Suzie from Assorted Babble in the Military blog category go here.


In the Chick and Mommy Blog category Kelli (I Read So You Don't Have To) and Angel (Woman Honor Thyself) made it so go here to vote for them.

In the random category go here to vote for Cajun Tiger. Go here to vote for Patrick and Blogs for Bauer.


And then here is where the difficulty comes in. Little Orange Fox (The Outlaw Republican) and I both made it to the finals for Political Blogs. I think you can only vote once a day so today you could vote for me and tomorrow for Little Orange Fox or vice versa :-). Go here to vote for me..

Who is Hezbollah?

Toon Credit: Glenn McCoy

"...the Hizbollah movement has occupied a central position as the "A-team" of terrorist organizations with a global reach for successive American administrations. Prior to 9/11, Hizballah was charged with being responsible for the greatest number of American casualties worldwide in terrorist attacks..."--From the book The Making of a Terrorist, Chp. 15--The Hizballah Training Camps of Lebanon by Magnus Ranstorp

Before 9/11 I didn't know much about Al-Qaeda and similarly before now I didn't know much about Hezbollah and Hamas. I decided to do some research and do some posts on the background of Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Iran and all the connections. I'm going to start with a post on Hezbollah. I had heard many people say that these groups are all linked to Iran and Syria and I found that to be oh, so true.


"The conflict with Israel is viewed as a central concern. This is not only limited to the IDF presence in Lebanon. Rather, the complete destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of Islamic rule over Jerusalem is an expressed goal."--From the political platform of Hezbollah, first published in 1985

"As a political entity, Hezbollah is dedicated to the destruction of Israel."

ORIGINS

Hezbollah made its appearance in 1982. It became public in 1985. Aliases of Hezbollah are: Islamic Jihad, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, Party of God, Revolutionary Justice Organization, The Islamic Resistance. It is a Lebanese Shia Islamic group that got its inspiration from the Iranian Revolution in 1979.


Their current leader is Hassan Nasrallah. The U.S. government estimates there are several thousand members.
Here are some of the basics from wikipedia:

"It was formed primarily to combat Israeli occupation following the 1982 Lebanon War. The United States and Israel say that Hezbollah has received financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from Iran and Syria. Founded with the aid of Iran and funded by it, Hezbollah follows the distinct Shia Islamic ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States the United Kingdom and Canada."

TERRORIST ATTACKS

Since 1982 Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for nearly 200 terrorist attacks that have killed more than 800 people according to The Terrorism Knowledge Base.
Here is a listing of some of the attacks:

--The suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy, which killed 63, including 17 U.S. citizens
--The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241 U.S. servicemen
--The bombing of the French multinational force headquarters which killed 58 French troops
--The bombing of the replacement U.S. Embassy in East Beirut on September 20, 1984, killing 20 Lebanese and two U.S. soldiers
--The 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome
--Attacks in Argentina in 1990 and 1994
--Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 17, 1992
--The AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) bombing, the building was the headquarters of Argentina's Jewish community, 85 people died (mostly Jews) and over 300 were wounded

They are also suspected of kidnapping and torturing 32 westerners from 1982-92.

CONNECTIONS TO IRAN AND SYRIA

"Hizballah was established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who came to Lebanon during the 1982 "Peace for Galilee" war, as part of the policy of exporting the Islamic revolution. It receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. Published reports that Iran provides hundreds million dollars of aid annually are probably exaggerated. Iran probably provides financial assistance and military assistance worth about $25-50 million.

Hizballah is closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran but has the capability and willingness to act independently. Closely allied with, and often directed by Iran, it may have conducted operations that were not approved by Tehran. Though Hizballah does not share the Syrian regime’s secular orientation, the group has been a strong ally in helping Syria advance its political objectives in the region."--GlobalSecurity.org

ATTEMPTS TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH

Hezbollah has defied numerous attempts that have been made to disarm them. In 1989

"the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese civil war, required the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias" and required the government to "deploy the Lebanese army in the border area adjacent to Israel."

Ofcourse this was never enforced and Hezbollah was allowed to continue. Then in 2004

"the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1559, coauthored by France and the United States. Echoing the Taif Agreement, the resolution "calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon" and "for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias." Lebanon is currently in violation of Resolution 1559 over its refusal to disband the military wing of Hezbollah."

What I am incredulous about is how it has become the biggest joke that you can commit genocide, mass murder, terrorist attacks, commit human rights abuses and what will the UN do? They will draft a resolution!!! Will they ever enforce it? No!! Does everyone know this? Yes!! So evil people have nothing to fear and thus the UN is worthless. The UN and the rest of the world is still upset that the US actually had the gaul to do something about Iraq and give some teeth to the 17 resolutions that Iraq violated. Resolutions mean nothing unless you back them up with consequences. This is basic common sense 101. If you threaten a child with punishment but never punish him he knows he can get away with murder. And with Hezbollah that is literally true. Since no has called them to account for violating Resolution 1559 they have continued to attack and murder people.


And in another example of how appeasement never works it is reported that Hezbollah gained a lot of respect in the Arab and Islamic world when Isreal left Lebanon in 2000. The pullout did not bring peace but only emboldened Hezbollah to continue its aggression towards Israel.

Isreal is defending itself right now against Hezbollah's terrorism. It has been stated that Iran and Syria are getting nervous about losing their hold on the Middle East. As they see Iraq becoming a democracy they are getting scared that their time may be running out to grab control. I think this is all true. If the citizens of Iraq enjoy freedom and Iranian and Syrian citizens see this they too will want to taste freedom. Thus we must support and stand with Israel as they fight their branch of the war on terror. And when the time comes the U.S. will have to take our stand against Iran and Syria.

SOURCES:
Main source-Wikipedia-Hezbollah
The Hizballah Training Camps of Lebanon--Magnus Ranstorp
Hizbollah--GlobalSecurity.org
Hezbollah--Council on Foreign Relations
Hat Tip to Mike for being my Resource guy

LMC's Smorgasboard

Okay, I found this awesome pic at Skye's. I was waiting for some really important post about the troops to post it. But alas I couldn't wait so it is posted here for mine and all the other chics' enjoyment and ofcourse to re-iterate how much we love the troops :-)!!

Blogging Friends:

I have a couple of mentions here. I started noticing some great comments made at Cajun Tiger's blog by someone named Ron. He really made my day when he came to my defense over a liberal troll who was whining about being banned from my blog. He started commenting here and thats when I started encouraging him to start his own blog. He has and its entitled Ron's World. I encourage all of you to check it out and pay him a visit!!

Another similar blogger has been a wise commenter forever and a partner at Gayle's blog. He's another one I harassed, I mean encouraged to start his own blog. Old Soldier has and he has given this saturday the 15th as his official date to start posting. Check him out!!

The next 2 bloggers seemed to have disappeared for awhile but now they're back. Matthew (Robosquirrel) is in Peru and his having trouble with blogger so his site is temporarily at livejournal. Go check him out and encourage him as he is far from his family and has the deployment blues. Exile was gone for so long I was concerned he was never coming back but he has. And he seems to be in full-force troll butt kicking mode :-).



I was really bummed that I missed getting to do a Happy 60th Birthday post for W!! I was gone at the Memorial Service that day and didn't have access to a computer.


So I decided I would still do a belated HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH!! My mother will kill me (maybe this will get her to finally make a comment here) but she turned 60 this year too!! I was telling her how awesome that was because all these famous people are turning 60 this year including Bush, Clinton (she's real happy about that), Dolly Parton, Donald Trump, Diane Keaton, Suzanne Somers, Reggie Jackson, Cher, Jimmy Buffett, Laura Bush, Loni Anderson, Susan Lucci, Patty Duke, Sylvester Stallone, Timothy Dalton, Tommy Lee Jones and Pat Sajak. So it's a great year to turn 60. I hope the President had a wonderful birthday.

Remembering a Special Woman

The world lost a wonderful woman this week but Heaven gained one.

Last November some of you may remember that I lost my beloved Pastor and wrote 2 posts about it--One Life Can Make a Huge Difference and A Legacy. I came to the church he pastored at the time Northside Calvary Memorial Church when I was 13 yrs. old. Thats when I met my Pastor and his wife and many other special people. My family and I got very involved in this small church and in many ways it became my extended family. In fact most of my extended family lived far away and we even spent many holidays with people from our church.

There were several couples that my parents were friends with that all had kids similar ages. Many, many sundays my parents would stay after church for an hour or more talking and doing things around the church and so us kids bonded and/or found things to do or trouble to get into :-). Marikka and Bill were one of those couples. We would spend Fourth of July at their house and if we weren't out of town they would spend Thanksgiving with us.

My memories of Marikka are of a very kind, gracious and honest woman who had a great sense of humor. She was one of my mom's closest friends and very special to me. Probably the most meaningful memory of her that I have to share is how she reached out to me during one of the hardest times of my life. When I was 17 a very close friend of mine committed suicide. It was extremely painful and very traumatic for me. When you lose a loved one people don't know what to do or say and so sometimes they understandably don't do or say anything. You walk around with this gaping emotional wound and feel that so many don't understand.

But Marikka reached out and shared a personal story with me. It meant so much that she understood and cared and wrote a special letter to me. In fact I still have the wonderful letter that she wrote to me 18 yrs. ago. I dug it out and tears just streamed down my face as I read it. Please indulge me as I share some of what she wrote:

"Please, Dionne, don't let this crush you and destroy your joy in the Lord! Make it a reason to even more share with anyone you meet the gospel of our Lord and the new life we can have in HIm when we accept Him as Lord of our life! Make this a stepping stone for greater service for Him because one never knows how much someone we meet will need Him in their lives! There are many terribly hurting people around us like your friend; good at hiding their desperation and anguish! Rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show you the needs of people around you and to share with them about the Lord. You will experience much heartbreak yet also much joy as you grow and mature in the Lord. Through our darkest days we learn to trust Him more and more for everything and He is always faithful. In time He will turn your sorrow into joy again and by His power make you even more sensitive to the needs of people all around you. He truly is "A shelter in a time of storms"! Bring all your sorrow, confusion, pain before Him in prayer, trusting Him to ease the pain and He answers prayers!!! Matthew 11:28--Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

As I reflect on that letter 18 years later I see everything she said in this letter came true. God used that tragedy in my life to enable me to empathize with others. And He was and is my shelter in time of storms and even though I couldn't imagine it at the time He did indeed turn my sorrow into joy.

Marikka will be greatly missed by all those that loved her but she is now in Heaven where she is free from pain and rejoicing with our Dear Lord and talking to my Pastor.

Linda's Post on Marikka

Lone Pony, Little Miss Chatterbox & Lost

Well Becky (Lone Pony) and I had lunch today!! It was the first time for both of us to meet a fellow blogger. We both live in the KC area so we thought it would be fun. We were both nervous having never met someone we knew on the internet first. She wrote a post about it also and was way too kind saying that I was smart and beautiful but I would have to say the same about her.

We have similar personalities and views on issues so there was no lack of things to discuss :-). I am happy to tell you that we solved quite a few of the world's problems in our 2 1/2 hour lunch :-). We talked about how blogging gives you a place to vent, discuss issues and meet other likeminded people. For me it has been an awesome creative outlet and also a fun social outlet as well.

She is my new hero in many ways. She has overcome a lot of difficult things and has stood up and been strong. She is a great role model for so many women & men and the awesome potential we all have to overcome the struggles in our past and start a new life. I am very proud of her and proud to know her. Take the time to visit her great blog.

As I was driving to meet Becky for lunch today I thought of how we all can make new starts and change our lives if we want to. One of my favorite lines from "The Bodyguard" is when a lady is saying to Costner that she thinks her life is pathetic. His response to her was then why don't you change it? As many of us know its not always that easy. But life is meant to be embraced and lived to the fullest. I mentioned in my 100 post that in some ways I don't feel like I really started living until after dealing w/my anxieties and fears.


All of these thoughts made me think of my newest addiction, the Tv series "Lost". A friend talked me into watching it and I'm liking it much more than I expected. It has quickly become one of my favorite shows surpassing many others. You love almost all the characters warts and all. It is done by JJ Abrams who also did Alias so I'm not shocked that I like it so much. No spoilers in the comments please because I'm not even done with season 1 yet.


The way this relates to my thoughts about changing your life is that everyone on the island in "Lost" gets a fresh start. This is their chance to start over, what are they going to do with it? A man who has regained the use of his legs confronts several of the characters on what they are going to do with their new chance.

We don't have to go to an island to have our fresh start. We can start right here and now by leaving the difficult things and/or people from our past behind us. We can embrace life and live it to the fullest by facing our fears, taking risks, doing that thing we were never brave enough to do, traveling to the place we've always wanted to go to, etc...

Since facing my fears and anxieties this is part of what I've tried to do. And God has also given me dreams to pursue. I just pray that he gives me the courage to really chase after those dreams.


Like I said I love all the characters on the show but these two are probably my favorite. Jack (Matthew Fox) plays the good guy who is the Doctor and savior on the show and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) plays the bad boy who has a tender heart under the tough guy image.


One more pic of Sawyer :-).

Who Would I Be???

AbFreedom did a post on which sitcom character he would be when he grew up. I loved the whole concept and was going to do a post on it even without being tagged but then Rebekah tagged me before I got a chance to post it. So it's now official :-)!!

Ofcourse most of you know how much I love Alias and Sydney Bristow. I even talked about wanting to be a cross between Wonder Woman and Sydney so it's no shocker that my first pick would be Sydney Bristow. She is caring, compassionate, smart, great looking and she kicks some serious evil tail!! If she had been in charge of finding Zarqawi we would've been rejoicing long before this week :-)!!


You all know what a TV buff I am so I couldn't just pick one. My 2nd choice would be Elaine from Seinfeld. I even had a friend's husband tell me once I reminded him of her and I took that as a compliment. Now I have another friend who doesn't even like Elaine because she says she's too selfish. Now I will admit that at times she is. What I love about Elaine is her ability to say what she's thinking without holding back. She always says what I would love to say if I was brave enough. On the other hand there are some things that probably shouldn't be said but its always fun to imagine what it would be like if you did say them. Did you get that :-)?? It made sense to me.

Probably my favorite thing about Elaine is when someone would say something that would shock or excite her she would say, "Get Out!!" and she would affecionately shove the person (usually Jerry). That was one of her trademarks and I loved it.


My 3rd pick would be Jackie from That 70's Show. Again she probably needs a disclaimer because she could be selfish and a little money hungry but you had to love her. She was genuine and honest about what she wanted :-)!!

I usually don't tag people when I do these things but since it's only 3, I might as well!!

I'll tag: Kelli, Wyatt and Outlaw!!!

I Love and Support Our Troops!!

I am beyond tired of all the negative news about our troops. We have freedom because of their sacrifices. I resent anti-war activists using their political agendas to trash our troops. Cindy Sheehan isn't doing what she's doing for her son (because he didn't agree w/her and he would never have endorsed this) but she's doing it to further her extremist political agenda and to bathe in the spotlight. She's degrading the very things that Casey stood for and it is despicable.

Toon Credit: Scott Stantis

Patrick posted a letter written by Anthony Ippoliti, a Marine Infantryman currently serving in Fallujah. Ippoliti wrote the letter to his local paper, The Ridgefield Press. Please take the time to read this letter, it is worth your time:

Jun 2, 2006
COMMENT: Letter from Iraq: They're not supporting the troops
By Anthony Ippoliti


I am fortunate enough to receive The Ridgefield Press every few weeks and enjoy keeping abreast of the local issues currently pressing in our small town. I am a U.S. Marine Infantryman currently serving in Fallujah, Iraq, and my mother usually includes The Press in the many care packages she sends me.
Since we have very limited access to telephones, The Ridgefield Press is the primary means by which I receive local news.
Almost every week, I open The Press and find an article or letter to the editors denouncing the coalition effort in Iraq. Invariably, the individuals behind these anti-war letters and rallies mask their political agendas by asserting that they “support the troops but not the war.” People like Vince Giordano, Paul Sutherland and Anne Stubbs are pictured in the April 13 edition of The Press carrying a yellow-ribboned coffin and signs that say “Bring Them Home Now.” They read off the names of the dead and claim to “show support for our troops” while urging lawmakers to “bring them home.” They believe that the U.S.-led coalition should never have entered Iraq and that the current effort is a never-ending quagmire that has made no progress. They believe that things are progressively getting worse and think that our forces should just pick up and leave.
They do all this under the pretense that they are supporting the troops. However, what they are really doing is using our lives and the issue of our safety and well-being as a means to achieve a political end.

• • •

My primary concern is the assertion that these individuals support the troops in Iraq but not our mission. It boggles my mind that this logic is actually utilized on a large scale.
Supporting the troops but not the war is like saying that you support filmmakers but not making films. One cannot claim to support an individual in a given profession but not support what the said profession entails. This is essentially a slap in the face to those in the service.
How protesting the job we are doing in Iraq while demanding our withdrawal constitutes supporting us is beyond me.
Furthermore, I am particularly interested in how these people support us, specifically. I have never once received a letter from an individual who claims to “support the troops, not the war.” Not a single Marine I know has received anything that could be considered remotely supportive from any of these people or the groups they represent. We have received phone cards, hygiene supplies, food, etc. from members of state and local government, radio stations, schools, private individuals and organizations, but never once from any group claiming to “support the troops, but not the war.”
I ask again: How can these groups claim to support our troops while telling us that what we are participating in is wrong?
How can they support us if they are essentially saying that our blood and sacrifices have all been given in vain?
How can they support us if they say that our comrades and brothers who have been wounded or killed in action have done so for a hopeless and morally questionable cause?

• • •

I reply to the questions I pose with a simple answer: They can’t. As a matter of fact, I assert with a considerable degree of confidence that their efforts make our already difficult job even more difficult. I’ll go so far as to say that their rallies and protests cost more and more servicemen their lives and limbs every day.I support my assertion with evidence gathered first hand. I see the Iraqi people every day. The protesters do not. I speak with the Iraqi people every day. The protesters do not. I don’t sit behind a desk and do paperwork or resupply efforts in the military. I am an Infantry Marine and I walk the sewage-filled streets of this city every single day.
In Fallujah, the people watch Al Jazeerah. However, they also watch CNN. A lot of them fear that the United States will soon cut and run. The people of Iraq see when our country is divided. When they see rallies to “Bring The Troops Home,” they see that as a sign that we will end our efforts prematurely.
Furthermore, they know that the insurgents will not end their efforts early. That leads them to the conclusion that when we leave, the insurgents will still be there. Therefore, if they help us, their lives and the lives of their loved ones will be in great jeopardy the minute we leave — if we don’t finish the job.
Much that they see on American television leads them to believe that we intend to abandon our efforts before the new Iraqi government is capable of defending itself and its citizens.

• • •

The actions of these aforementioned organizations and the heavy media coverage their rallies often generate serves as fuel for the insurgency. Insurgents believe they can drive us out through the idea of “death by a thousand cuts.” The longer they persist in their efforts, the more the American public becomes disenchanted with the coalition effort.
The insurgency sees this as a result. These criminals will continue to kill Iraqi civilians, Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army and coalition forces so long as they see that their efforts are alienating the American public from its military.
And for those of you that aren’t up to speed with the situation in Iraq, the insurgents attack and kill established public services (such as Iraqi police and Iraqi army) more often than they attack coalition forces. As a matter of fact, an explosive-laden insurgent blew himself up last week outside the Iraqi police station that is attached to our compound.
The insurgents aren’t fighting simply to drive America out of Iraq. They are fighting to destroy any semblance of the Iraqi government so that they can impose their will on its people.
Publicly protesting our efforts in Iraq fuels the insurgency. Doing it under the pretext of “supporting our troops” is disgraceful.

• • •

Let me now emphasize that I respect an American citizen’s right to voice his or her opinion in a public forum. Such a right is granted in the U.S. Constitution.
However, voicing one’s opinion in such an irresponsible way is something I do not support. Additionally, using deployed service members as a mask to serve your purely political purpose is downright shameful. If your desire is to protest the war, then protest the war, but don’t use me or any reference to our troops as a tool to bolster your purpose.
I’ll summarize by saying this: Organizations such as The Ridgefield Coalition to Stop the War do not support our troops. No matter what they say or what is printed on the signs they carry, they effectively do the opposite of support us. They downright hurt us.
Such organizations damage the morale of the men and women in the armed forces and progressively cause them to believe less and less in the mission at hand. The conditions here are difficult as it is. Opening a month-old edition of The Ridgefield Press and reading an article about an anti-war demonstration that uses our troops in an effort to mask its true cause doesn’t help.
Please do not feign support while effectively telling us that we are fighting for an unworthy cause. I think I speak for an overwhelming majority of our troops when I ask organizations like The Ridgefield Coalition to Stop the War to discontinue using Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors as a means to serve a political end.
You are neither supporting us nor honoring us. You are doing the exact opposite.

I think our troops are heroes!! I sleep better at night knowing that men like Anthony Ippoliti are out defending our freedoms. God Bless Anthony Ippoliti and all our soldiers. We love you!!!!

LMC's Smorgasboard

Black Hawk Down is a movie that is a must see. (Although I must caution you if you are squeamish by war violence. In my opinion this is more graphic than "Saving Private Ryan".) I re-watched it this week when I was doing my piles of laundry.



The Battle of Mogadishu was a significant event that happened on Clinton's watch. I think we were right to go in but made a huge blunder when we cut and ran. The Rangers and Delta Force soldiers were true heroes and fought bravely. It was inspiring to see them enforce their montra about not leaving any men behind. It was inspiring to see them stand up against an enemy that significantly outnumbered them. But it was so heartbreaking to see so many of the injured vow that they wanted to be a part of the team that would go back in and finish this job. It was not to be because Clinton cared more about polls than what was best for Somalia and the U.S. and the safety of the world in general. It is a well-known fact that Osama Bin Laden was emboldened by the fact that the U.S. cut and ran after only 18 soldiers deaths. When you look at this you can see why Clinton was afraid to fight the war on terror. He didn't want to deal with what Bush is dealing with now at the peril of our safety. This is another reason I am so thankful that Bush was brave enough to fight the war on terror and not kick the can down the road for the next president.


This all ties into how upset I have been this week over Murtha and the MSM's attack on our brave soldiers. All men and women deserve to presumed innocent until proven guilty. And in my opinion that should extend double to our men and women in the military. They sacrifice so much only to have a politically correct society constantly looking over their shoulders in the hopes that they might catch them in some wrongdoing. If the soldiers did kill people in cold blood they should face the consequences but until we have all the facts they should be presumed innocent. Ben Shapiro wrote an excellent article on this subject. Here is an excerpt:

"This is what the press has done for decades. Since the advent of television, media outlets have been engaged in a systematic attempt to tear down the credibility of the United States government in order to bolster their own authority. "You can't trust the government," the media says, "but you can trust us."

The Vietnam War became more about journalists (Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite) than about a war for the survival of liberal democracy in Southeast Asia. The welfare of the troops took a back seat to the press' sense of its own importance. It is a happy accident of history that this ongoing ego trip began after the rise of Hitler, or Nazism might well remain the dominant ideology on the European continent. Just imagine what the modern press would have done with Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki. As it is, Communism lasted far longer and took far more lives than it should have, largely due to the arrogant self-aggrandizement of the American press; Walter Duranty had little on mainstream media's feting of Gorbachev, degradation of Reagan and purposeful opposition to the rollback of global Communism.

Until the press realizes its authority is far less important than the lives of American soldiers -- the same soldiers who fight to protect the rights of the American press -- American soldiers will continue to face heightened hatred brought on by superfluous and counterproductive media attention. The press wishes to both undermine the mission of American soldiers and simultaneously decorate soldiers' graves with flowered copies of the daily newspaper. This is perversion. The press' sick delight in its own glorification continues to increase the number of "passionless mounds" in Arlington National."

I will freely admit that I don't know anything about Racing or NASCAR. But I read this Parade Magazine article about Danica Patrick last week and I was impressed. I enjoy seeing women succeed and she seems to be doing really well in the Racing World. She is 11th in overall standings right now after coming in 8th at the Indy this past sunday. Pretty cool!! I read up a little on her but for any of you who are very knowledgable on her I would love to know more.

Little Orange Fox is the hero of the week. I cut and pasted my template for her to work with and she worked miracles. She figured out the expanding blogrolls that I now have for the Compatriot and Blogging Chicks' blogrolls. And she did some other nice, cosmetic changes. Yah!!!!!!!!

And last and probably least :-) my amusing quote of the week. I was watching a little of "That 70's Show" tonight. This is something hilarious that Ashton Kutcher (Kelso) said to his girlfriend that is trying to break up with him:

"I'm like Ketchup, I go good on everything."

My New Hero--Sgt. Peter Damon

"Fahrenheit 9/11 is a twisted, dishonest, paranoid, and hateful fantasy.

To manipulate with frauds and propaganda is to attack democracy itself."

--David Kopel from the Independence Institute, life-long democrat who voted for Nader in 2000.

Hats off to Iraq Veteran, Sgt. Peter Damon who is suing Michael Moore for $85 million for mis-portraying him in his sorry excuse for a documentary, "Fahrenheit 911". Damon lost both of his arms in a Black Hawk tire explosion. He was videotaped talking about his injuries for an NBC special and Moore snagged a clip and twisted it to make him appear anti-war.

Damon himself states that he, "agrees with and supports the President and the United States' war effort, and he was not left behind." His lawyer has said, "It's upsetting to him because he's lived his life supportive of his government, he's been a patriot, he's been a soldier, and he's now being portrayed in a movie that is the antithesis of all of that."

The distortion of Damon's comments only scratches the surface of exposing all the lies and manipulative illusions that are in this ridiculous movie. David Kopel has done his homework and has written "59 Deceits in Fahrenheit 911". Check it out, it makes you shake your head at how much fraud was in this movie. How it can win awards for being a documentary is a joke. Since David Kopel is a democrat there are things I disagree with him on but he's done a great job of exposing Michael Moore.


Others blogging on this:
Blue Star Chronicles, My Republican Blog , Chickenhawk Express