Clueless Emma

Fabulous Opening Remarks by Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn--Coming to the U.S?

From NewsRealBlog:

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Glenn Beck: Does she have any idea?

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Glenn Beck: Does she have any idea? Shared via AddThis

Clueless Emma Joins Robert Spencer's Anti-Jihadist Team in Blogger Competition to Send Troop Care Packages

Join me in sending care packages to troops fighting for freedom--we're in 2nd place now, but it's a win-win! Let's show our soldiers how much we value their commitment and that of their families who willingly endure their long absences!

Send a care package now to make their tour feel a little less lonely, a little more comfortable, a bit more appreciated for just the cost of a couple fast food meals.

 Join me and Move America Forward June 25!

Ephesians 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

How do our military families feel about Barry Hussein's anti-American, anti-troop lies?

video from Michelle Malkin

Move America Forward's "Troop-A-Thon" June 25, 2009

 

MOVE AMERICA FORWARD TO HOST 2nd

ANNUAL "TROOP-A-THON" ON JUNE 25TH TO SUPPORT U.S. TROOPS ON THE BATTLEFIELD!

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots organization, reprising and building on a highly successful event from last year, is organizing a high-tech "Troop-a-thon" to benefit United States troops.

The 8-hour telethon will blend technological wizardry and top-tier guests to entertain and educate viewers. This year’s event will be hosted by Melanie Morgan and Andrew Breitbart and will be broadcast live from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The world will also hear from Gold Star families, those whose loved ones have laid down their lives for America’s freedom. The premiere guests will be our U.S. Troops, who will appear from the Front Lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

THE OBJECTIVE

This project aims to ship the largest number of care packages to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in American history, with the help of viewers and listeners of Internet video, and potentially Radio and/or FOX News during a live stream across America.

We have a tall order to fill because Americans stood tall for our troops and donated $1.6 million for care packages to our troops during our first Troop-a-thon last year.

Our troops need to know that Americans are fighting for them here at home, while they are sacrificing for us on the frontlines overseas. The telethon will encourage viewers to sponsor care packages to be shipped out of our central warehouse to give thanks to our military men and women.

The American public needs to hear their stories of success on the battlefield and off, from the men and women actually waging this critical fight against Islamic Jihadists. This is especially true as the war in Afghanistan ramps up with thousands more of our troops fighting the radical Islamists. We will showcase these stories in a lively and exciting format that spurs viewers to respond.

HOW WE’LL DO IT

The technology provider for this historic event is UStream (website: http://www.ustream.tv/ ) - a Silicon-Valley based company that does live video streaming to millions of people. In addition to the content stream, Ustream also hosts chat rooms and allows people to comment and donate while they are watching. Third party websites and blogs can even embed the stream so that their readers can watch the live videos without leaving the site.

Hollywood Producer Ben Mathis will produce any portion of the telethon that may be broadcast on cable TV. In addition to the top-notch production, MAF will host a lineup of troop-loving recording artists and A-list actors who will lend their time and talent and may even perform live to benefit our troops.

Those that have agreed to participate include President George H. W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Jon Voight, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Jackie Mason, Kevin Farley, Jed Babbin and many more.

In the end, the project will be successful because we’ll bring together the talents of a large swath of individuals and groups from a wide variety of backgrounds and specialties and make it easy and appealing for Americans to view the program and sponsor packages. The payoff will be when our troops overseas see in tangible gifts America’s expression of our gratitude and respect for them.

www.Troopathon.org

Thank you, veterans and others fighting for freedom!

Links to enjoy:

Black Five

Michelle Malkin

Sean Hannity: Support Our Troops Links

Freedom post: Cheney's Speech

History Channel's Memorial Day Tribute

Ann Coulter Quote of the Day May 6, 2009

The Japanese version of "waterboarding" was to fill the prisoner's stomach with water until his stomach was distended -- and then pound on his stomach, causing the prisoner to vomit.

Or they would jam a stick into the prisoner's nose so he could breathe only through his mouth and then pour water in his mouth so he would choke to death.

Or they would "waterboard" the prisoner with saltwater, which would kill him.

Meanwhile, the alleged "torture" under the Bush administration consists of things like:

-- "failing to respect a Serbian national holiday"; or

-- "forgetting to wear plastic gloves while handling a Quran."

Ann Coulter

Lars Larson: Kulongoski should be ashamed (I thoroughly agree, but whaddya expect from a pansy leftist?)

The emails began this weekend. I was hearing from parents. I was hearing from grandparents. I was hearing from people who were just plain fans of the United States military. They were angry at what Governor Kulongoski had done.

He’d appeared at some of the Muster ceremonies where troops are being assembled in Oregon. They will be heading off to further training and then on to Iraq.

What did the Governor do? He gave long speeches about how dangerous it was over there. Something that all of those military families already knew all too well. And then what he did was worse.

He had decided he was not going to shake hands with anybody for fear of spreading the flu. I don’t know if that is a legitimate fear or not, but that is what he decided to do.

He could have kept his mouth shut, but instead he told the troops, “I’m not going to shake your hands because I’m worried about spreading the flu.” Instead, he gave them little containers of hand sanitizer.

The Governor didn’t have much class.

Free Roxana and other "thought criminals"--and keep American speech free--disagreement is not a crime!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."

Journalist Roxana Saberi has been incarcerated in Tehran's Evin Prison, where she is spending her birthday on a hunger strike. Around the world, people continue to face similar violations of their rights to freedom of expression, free speech, and a free press. Let's show the international community that we won't be silenced by intimidation and tyranny  - that we won't                                stop believing in and fighting for these rights.

Freedom of the press is not a luxury.  It lies at the heart of making this world healthier and more just. People without a voice and without a clear line of sight into the things that would threaten or corrupt their societies cannot hope for equitable growth and meaningful change.

A group of bloggers is holding a blog rally in support of journalists, bloggers, students, and writers who have dared to express their thoughts freely only to be imprisoned, abused, or killed.  

Please consider "wearing" a blue ribbon online this week on your blogs, websites, and facebook / myspace / twitter pages, and invite others to do the same.  Get the discussion going, and keep it going!

Borrowed from Notes of an Anesthesioboist

"Free Roxana" site here

Michelle Malkin

Ships, ahoy!

"In the long term, to be sure, the deaths of three pirates will not deter piracy – not as long as the prospect of million-dollar ransoms continues to tempt its practitioners to sea. But this weekend’s operation does suggest that a more aggressive strategy may reduce its appeal. Such a strategy would almost certainly have to involve arming ships’ crews. Shipping companies have been hesitant to do so – sometimes out of reasonable safety concerns, often as a misguided sop to adverse union leaders– but it’s clear that the current strategy of widespread disarmament will not keep the pirates at bay.

More critically, an effective anti-piracy strategy would have to target the pirates’ lairs – Somalia’s port cities – which have heretofore escaped retribution even as they have become valuable support bases for the piracy industry."

Jacob Laskin from Rescue at Sea

Christian Nation? Abe Lincoln thought so.

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

from Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never 
denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional 
disrespect of religion in general, or any denomination of Christians in particular."


July 31, 1846 - Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom 
I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion."

July 31, 1846 - Handbill Replying to Charges of Infidelity
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their 
constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself."

September 4, 1864 - Letter to Eliza Gurney

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------"In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book." 

September 7, 1864 - Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side." 

December 1862
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address--March 4, 1861

Yay, Sophie Tucker!

Survivor Dog!

Heroism in the face of adversity: Dr Ben Carson

Geert Wilders Comes to America

Good minds are studied; great minds are prosecuted. If this historical dictum holds true, then Geert Wilders is a modern great mind.

The Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) currently faces trial in his native Amsterdam for “hate crimes” and incitement, for the sin of quoting the Koran’s less flattering passages in his groundbreaking film, Fitna. (Click here to view it online.) His film explores the religious roots of Islamic terrorism on the national and individual level. He considers the Koran the blueprint for a totalitarian theocracy, telling the Hudson Institute last year, “Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.” 

Although he lives under constant threat of death – a threat made all-too-real to his fellow Dutchmen Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, both liberal-minded critics of Mohammedanism – he faces persecution for inciting his own peril. In addition to the Dutch trial, French “human rights activists” – in particular one Yassine Bouzrou – are suing Wilders for stating that many Parisian neighborhoods are “no-go areas for women without head scarves” and calling the 2005 riots a “Muslim intifada.” (FrontPage Magazine has noted the disturbing worldwide incidence of Muslim gang-rape, as well as Muslim riots in Paris.) The umpteenth French collaboration followed on the heels of the Kingdom of Jordan charging Wilders with blasphemy last summer. Another kingdom, Great Britain, denied Wilders entry in February. After he had been invited to screen Fitna before the House of Lords, his invitation was withdrawn under Muslim protest. When he arrived in the UK, he was detained for hours, then ejected from the country. 

Wilders, already of consequence for his defense of freedom, may attain another historical distinction: he may become the first man convicted for expressing the dominant view of his own country. FrontPage Magazine’s Jacob Laksin has noted Wilders’ policies include support for “restricting immigration from Muslim countries; for more aggressively monitoring domestic extremism, including radical mosques; and for reducing an indulgent welfare state that allows immigrants to live comfortably without assimilating” – all positions gaining ground as the traditionally tolerant land witnesses increasing physical assaults upon its homosexual population. It is precisely his homeland’s tradition of secularism and tolerance he wishes to uphold, as he takes up his newest battle: repealing EU hate speech laws. 

Despite his being on trial for allegedly offending his nation’s conscience, polls show if elections were held today, the PVV would win between one-fifth and one-quarter of the Netherlands’ 150 seats.

His stance – speaking out although it means traveling with a hefty contingent of security – has won him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. FrontPage Magazine selected Wilders as its 2008 Man of the Year. He eschews personal glory, telling FrontPage in an interview, “Speaking out boldly cost me my personal liberty, with 24-hour security and police protection for more than four years now…I am no hero but I would rather be killed for what I say and believe than submit in silence to Islamic totalitarianism.” 

It is not everyday Americans have the opportunity to meet someone charged with thoughtcrime, but they will have just that opportunity this weekend, as the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the International Free Press Society (IFPS) welcome the man London turned away. DHFC and IFPS will bring Wilders, one of the most outspoken defenders of free speech, for his first visit to the West Coast this weekend, April 4-5. On Saturday, April 4, he will speak at ChapmanUniversity. Then, from 6:30-10 p.m., the FreedomCente will bring in the fearless MP for a dinner, the Californiapremier of Fitna, and a keynote speech in Beverly Hills. His tour will commence from 10 a.m.-noon on Sunday, April 5, in Los Angeles. 

Tickets are available from Stephanie Knudson: Stephanie@horowitzfreedomcenter.org, or by calling (818) 849-3470, extension 209. Due to security, advanced registration and pre-payment are required.

Those on the frontlines of the battle against totalitarianism are rare; opportunities to hear from and assist those directly under fire for their stance is rarer yet. This weekend affords the keepers of freedom’s flame an historic opportunity.

One world currency? Hell, no! Bachmann is a great American.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replace by any foreign currency." A statement from Bachmann's website:

“Yesterday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I asked Secretary Geithner if he would denounce efforts to move towards a global currency and he answered unequivocally that he would," said Bachmann. "And President Obama gave the nation the same assurances. But just a day later, Secretary Geithner has left the option on the table. I want to know which it is. The American people deserve to know."

On Monday, Geithner and Bernanke both rejected the idea of a global currency in Congressional testimony.  But in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, Geithner indicated he was open to the idea.

Eric Zimmermann

General Richard Myers: WMD real threat

Former top military commander Gen. Richard Myers tells Newsmax that America’s enemies in the war on terror are “ruthless” and “relentless” and will not hesitate to use nuclear or biological weapons if they obtain them.

“They want to do away with our way of life,” Myers tells Newsmax TV’s Ashley Martella. “They could bring great harm to this country and our friends and allies.”

Myers, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2001 until September 2005, tells Newsmax that the U.S. focused too narrowly on tactical battles and failed to develop a long-rang strategy to battle terrorism.

[Editor's Note: Watch Gen. Richard Myers discuss that threats facing America in the coming years - Go Here Now]

“After 9/11 we had some things we had to do right away,” said Myers, author of the new book, “Eyes on the Horizon: Serving on the Front Lines of National Security.”

“Afghanistan was one of them. Then we went into Iraq. But the development of a strategy to deal with the whole issue of violent extremism — we didn’t take the time to do that because we were so busy with the day to day.

Myers said the further America gets from the events of 9/11, the more complacent it gets, and the more danger the country is in.

“I’m not an alarmist but I did spend four years right after 9/11 looking at all this intelligence from violent extremists,” he says. “ They could [attack America] through biological weapons. God forbid if they get their hands on nuclear materials, they could do it that way as well. And they’re ruthless so we know they’d use them.”

Martella asked Myers about a new official British government report warning that the threat of a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction, such as a nuclear or biological weapon, on a major city is higher than ever.

“I don’t see the intelligence on a daily basis anymore, but I do think the threat is very high,” Myers responded.

“It wasn’t that long ago, just a little more than a year ago, when that plot to bring airliners down over the North Atlantic [was thwarted]. I think there were 10 or 20 airliners involved in that plot. If that hadn’t been thwarted we’d be talking about 2,000 dead potentially from that.

“So like I said, they’re relentless, they’re ruthless. If they can get their hands on dangerous material, nuclear material, biological weapons, they wouldn’t hesitate to use them. They want to bring down the United States in particular and the West in general.”

Sign petition NOT to honor John UNDERMINING LIAR Murtha

To:  Secretary of the Navy

On March 5, 2009 Congressman John Murtha was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award by the Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter. From the press release: It is the highest form of public service recognition bestowed by the Department of the Navy for a non-employee. According to the Department, nominations for this award will be limited to those extraordinary cases where individuals have demonstrated exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or as Department of the Navy as a whole.

The Citation reads:
Congressman Murtha's selfless devotion to the Nation's Sailors and Marines ensured they were provided the resources necessary to effectively conduct the Global War on Terrorism. His courageous leadership, vision, and loyalty to the men and women of the Department of the Navy greatly contributed to their quality of life and helped create the most modern and highly trained fighting force in history. As Chairman of Subcommittee on Defense of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Murtha's tireless advocacy helped maintain the Navy and Marine Corps team at the highest levels of combat readiness to meet the challenges of the 21st century. With grateful appreciation for his outstanding contributions to the Nation and the Navy and Marine Corps, Congressman Murtha is awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award.

John Murtha deserves no such award. He has routinely and deliberately undermined the United States military, slandered servicemen serving in combat, and caused irreparable damage to our international reputation. While serving as a Representative from Pennsylvania, Murtha called Marines from 3d Battalion, 1st Marines "cold blooded killers" who "murdered innocent civilians." Before an investigation into the Haditha incident was even conducted, Murtha went on numerous television news programs and announced that the Marines "went into houses and killed women and children." He said, "There's no question in my mind about what happened here. There was no gunfire, they killed four people in a taxi...24 people were killed." When asked specifically if he claimed that innocent civilians were intentionally executed by Marines, he said, "That's exactly what happened." Not content to slander those Marines directly involved, he went on to claim that if these Marines were not punished, "other Marines would say well I'll do the same thing." Murtha then continued to use this incident to lobby for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, citing it as evidence that our military was incapable of winning the war.

Eight Marines were originally charged. As of March 17th, 2009 all charges were dropped against six Marines, one was found not guilty on all counts in courts martial. The prosecution has delayed the court martial of the final defendant indefinitely. The original allegations of a massacre and the statements of Congressman Murtha have been thoroughly discredited. Despite the facts, John Murtha refuses to apologize to those he slandered.

We the undersigned are appalled that the Secretary of the Navy would bestow the Department's highest award for a non-employee to John Murtha after his vile and despicable attacks against U.S. servicemen. This petition is a vehicle to express our bitter disappointment at this betrayal of our combat veterans. Congressman John Murtha should apologize for slandering the Marines of 3/1, and for undermining the efforts of those servicemen and women who fought in Iraq. If he does not, the Secretary of the Navy should rescind this award as a sign of his unwavering support for those who served in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

You Go, Girl!

Gov. Sarah Palin said Thursday that she would accept only 69 percent of the estimated $930 million dollars that could flow to the state, including $514 million for capital projects and $128 million for a hike in Medicaid reimbursement.

Palin said she would accept money that is "timely, targeted and temporary" and does not create strings that will bind the state in the future.

"I can't attest to every fund that's being offered the state in the stimulus package will be used to create jobs and stimulate the economy, so I'm requesting only those things that I know will," Palin said at a news conference at the Capitol. "Public discussion will have to ensue on all those other dollars that some will say 'you left on the table.'"

Bruce Maloy

HERO

WHO ARE THEY?

They trekked thousands of miles in searing heat...
They crossed the border risking life and limb...
They get paid peanuts...
They do jobs others refuse to do...
Some people back in their own country treat them with little respect...
They live crammed together in substandard conditions...
They rarely see their families...
They have to learn a foreign language and culture...
They recognize only one flag and one flag only...

James Madison envisioned this happening

From Why The Founding Fathers Would Want Obama's Plans to Fail by Byron York

For the times when a political leader would attempt to capitalize on those errors and delusions, the Founders prescribed the Senate, with its members elected to terms three times the length of those in the House, originally chosen not by the people but by the state legislatures. From Federalist 63:

“There are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion, or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament and condemn. In these critical moments, how salutary will be the interference of some temperate and respectable body of citizens, in order to check the misguided career, and to suspend the blow meditated by the people against themselves, until reason, justice, and truth can regain their authority over the public mind?”

Now is the time for the salutary interference of temperate and respectable citizens, otherwise known as the 41 Republicans in the United States Senate. It is their job to help the president in areas where there is widespread agreement that he should be helped, and hold the line on everything else.

Go ROTC!

Young America's Foundation v. Robert Gates will be argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals tomorrow morning at 9:30 at the new appeals court on Constitution Avenue & 3rd.  Judges Ginsburg, Williams and Randolph will hear the arguments.
 
We're the leading organization pushing to restore ROTC and the military on campus, and we'll be representing your pro-military ideas and our students rights' to participate in the military tomorrow during this case.  Since its founding to save Vanderbilt's ROTC in 1969, Young America's Foundation has been committed to winning this war, battle by battle, campus by campus.
 
Thanks for your support to help Young America's Foundation stand up for students who wish to serve our country.  We won't rest until ROTC and the military is restored in our academies. 
 
God Bless America, 
 
 
 
Ron Robinson
Preside
Young America's Foundation

US Army's Emergency Relief criticized for "hoarding" and "strong-arming." I can think of other problems.

I have mixed feelings about these criticisms aimed at the AER.

First of all, so what if soldiers are required to repay loans? This is really an issue? We may be living in a country with a pro-collectivist mindset at the moment, but are we really going to vilify lenders for insisting borrowers pay back loans?

As for strong-arming soldiers to contribute--when I served in the US Army from 1988-1992, we were "required" to give to United Way, which is arguably corrupt. At least AER is Army-based and supposedly helps families. At work in the school district this year, I was "expected" to give to United Way, who donates about 69 cents of every donated dollar. I was one of the few who didn't fold.

As for Army Emergency Relief--when I got married, I outranked my husband. I soon ETS'd out of the service to raise our son at home, and suddenly realized I had gone from being Sergeant with the limited authority that title affords, to being just a dependent spouse, with no authority at all. I needed my husband's signature on all paperwork, his permission for anything I wanted to accomplish on post (from checking out yard tools in order to maintain quarters, to checking out books from the post library, to using credit at the px.That was tough enough to transition to, but the real slap in the face came from organizations, like AER, that are marketed as entities that help families.

Several times, my husband left me and the kids, took my name off the bank account, and left me without any money. I had the water and electricity turned off. I begged the utility companies to work with me and allow me to make smaller payments. They would not.

I pleaded with the CO to tell my husband to pay the bills. I also showed him bruises covering my body, begging him to make my husband go to counseling. I was told he was unable to help me. In fact, if I "continued to raise these issues," I would be sent home--this was in both Tennessee and Vicenza, Italy. In retrospect, I should have just gone, but I ignorantly tried my best to keep my family together.

So I went to the Army Emergency Relief office to request money for utilities, and was told I needed my husband's signature. We were being abused, abandoned, and neglected, yet I was to get his signature, admitting he didn't pay the bills? As if.

When he was found "guilty of endangering a child" by a hospital panel after I reported an incident at the Fort Campbell emergency room, I attended recommended family counseling. He didn't. After the choking incident that finally ended the marriage, we were required to speak to a counselor to deal with the "situation calmly." This meeting consisted of the counselor unethically warning me not to file charges against my husband, as he would have to turn in his weapon and would lose his job, thereby "effectively shooting myself in the foot."

Thank God for my parents, without whom I would never have made it. There was certainly nobody associated with city or the military willing to help us. The only kindness and help I received for 4 years of active duty and 10 years of marriage to an active duty soldier came from my church. Members fixed my roof for free when it caved in and the pastor slipped a $20 in my hand a couple times as I shook his hand after morning services.

I hope things have improved for military spouses over the past twenty years. I prefer being the soldier.

CE

Praise God!

Braving protests and controversy, Italian pop star Giuseppe Povia has performed his new song about conversion from the homosexual lifestyle at Italy's prestigious Sanremo Festival.

Noble Young Men

Basketball players with a touch of class.

Roger Barnett, you're my hero. Keep fightin'--legal Americans are rootin' you on!

An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The lawyers who took this case should be disbarred.

FUNDING FATHERS--WINNING LIT

Money changes everything, especially in politics. Politicians, think tanks, and political parties would not be where they are without monetary gifts. Yet, when it comes to celebrating donors, the media often praise liberals for their selfless giving and criticize conservatives for their selfish hoarding. But Ron Robinson and Nicole Hoplin, leaders of Young America's Foundation, set the record straight in Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement. Part historical account of the conservative movement and part exposé about political philanthropy, Funding Fathers busts the myth that conservatives donate less money than democrats and exposes how the media, liberal organizations, and even conservatives perpetuate this lie. In Funding Fathers, Robinson and Hoplin reveal:

* How conservative donors have had as much influence on the conservative movement as people like Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley Jr.
* Why anonymous donations can do more harm than good to the conservative movement
* How donations benefiting conservative ideas are often misappropriated at universities across the U.S.
* How conservative politicians and organizations use donations more efficiently than liberals

Money matters. But it is not the size of the donation that counts, it is the impact it makes.

Funding Fathers shows how the unsung heroes of the conservative movement have not only influenced the past, but also how they continue to shape the future.

The Heroes Behind the Conservative Movement

We all know about Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, but who knows about Holmes Tuttle, Henry Regnery, and Antony Fisher? Yet it was devoted conservatives like Tuttle, Regnery, and dozens of others, who paved the way for leaders like Goldwater and Reagan by financing and helping to create a conservative movement of ideas and people. In Funding Fathers, authors Ron Robinson and Nicole Hoplin tell the untold, behind-the-scenes stories of the men and women who made the conservative movement the giant force it is today. In Funding Fathers, you'll learn:

* How a chicken egg smuggler created one of the most influential economic institutes in the world
* How three California businessmen propelled Ronald Reagan into America's political consciousness
* How William F. Buckley Jr. turned a book deal and a $100,000 investment into one of the most influential publications of our time
* How "Spike" Hennessy helped resurrect Hillsdale College
* Why Clarence Manion was the father of The Conscience of a Conservative

Funding Fathers is essential reading for those who want to know the inside story of the conservative movement and learn about its largely unheralded heroes.

Change Terrorists Can Believe In

As a rational society, we should be able to agree that being "exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind" in the course of an interrogation is not torture or otherwise inhumane treatment but rather a reasonable if unpleasant burden imposed on foreign terrorist suspects caught in connection with hostilities aimed against the United States and who may have valuable information on more planned attacks. The Army Field Manual already gives them far more sanctuary than they are worth by prohibiting interrogators from using the kind of physical and mental stress that is everyday practice in boot camp for our own soldiers.

President Obama has said that he signed the executive orders closing Guantanamo and ending the use of enhanced interrogation methods to demonstrate to the world that the United States will not sacrifice its core democratic values in order to achieve national security. In fact, he is on a path toward sacrificing both. In his desire to please his political base and opinion-makers at the United Nations and other elite forums, Obama may unfortunately be giving our mortal enemies the tools to undermine our democratic values and to continue their hostilities against us with renewed strength.

Joseph Klein

WORDS OF THE WISE: El Rushbo Jan 28, 2009

"I, El Rushbo -- and I say this happily -- have hijacked Obama's honeymoon."

Thank God for common sense!

Compean and Ramos' ridiculous sentences commuted!

Analysis: Bush's personality shapes his legacy

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press

[Beautiful, Ben. Thank you.]

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush will be judged on what he did. He will also be remembered for what he's like: a fast-moving, phrase-mangling Texan who stays upbeat even though his country is not.

For eight years, the nation has been led by a guy who relaxes by clearing brush in scorching heat and taking breakneck bike rides through the woods. He dishes out nicknames to world leaders, and even gave the German chancellor an impromptu, perhaps unwelcome, neck rub. He's annoyed when kept waiting and sticks relentlessly to routine. He stays optimistic in even the most dire circumstances, but readily tears up in public. He has little use for looking within himself, and only lately has done much looking back.

Bush's style and temperament are as much his legacy as his decisions. Policy shapes lives, but personality creates indelible memories — positive and negative.

Call it distinctly Bush.

___

Don't be late.

Bush demands punctuality and disdains inefficiency. Every meeting better have a clear purpose. And it better not repeat what he already knows.

He is up early and in the Oval Office by 6:45 a.m. By 9:30 to 10 at night, it's lights out. He likes to be fresh and won't get cheated on his sleep.

In sessions with policy experts, Bush tends to ask questions that get right to the nub of a sticky issue. His top aides speak regretfully about how the country never got to see that side of him, even after all this time. They describe a man who is deeply inquisitive, not blithely incurious as much of the world thinks.

When Bush wants answers, guessing isn't advised.

"He can sniff it out a mile away if you don't have the goods," said White House communications director Kevin Sullivan.

Other people write Bush's speeches, but he'll kick out phrases that he thinks stray from a logical progression. It's about discipline.

You can tell the issues that really get Bush going, because he talks about them differently, more passionately: education, AIDS relief, freedom. They happen to be ones that can be viewed more clearly through a moral lens. That's how he sees the world.

Bush reads the Bible regularly. Another devotion: exercise. He makes time for a workout at least six days a week, wherever he is. And he goes at it hard, especially on his mountain bike on the weekends, when he pushes Secret Service agents to keep up with him. He is competitive and likes to stay in command.

Even eating is approached with sheer purpose.

Bush wants his lunch ready when he is, and wolfs it down. His tastes are clear: maybe a peanut butter and honey sandwich, a BLT, or a burger. Former White House executive chef Walter Scheib learned from Bush never to serve a grilled cheese sandwich unless it came with a side of French's yellow mustard.

The man from a land of cowboy boots orders proper dress in the White House. No jeans allowed in the West Wing. Coat and tie in the Oval Office.

"Orderliness in the process gave him confidence," said Peter Wehner, a former top Bush aide and now a senior fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center.

And if you're in Bush's presence, turn off your cell phone. Pity the person who gets the Bush stare when a Blackberry rings at the wrong time.

Then there are his stories. He repeats his favorites. Like the one about the cheery rug in the Oval Office. Or the spectacular rainbow that day in Romania.

Who's going to stop him?

____

Bush's words betray him sometimes.

"They misunderestimated the compassion of our country," Bush said of the Sept. 11 terrorists. "I talk to families who die," he said, meaning the loved ones of those who perish in war. "Childrens do learn when standards are high," he said in promoting his education plan.

Ivy League educated, Bush is good-natured about his verbal trip-ups. Yet he appears to have grown a bit more methodical in public, as if searching carefully for the right words.

His tangled moments have undoubtedly helped shape an unflattering public perception; there are entire books of his "Bushisms." Invariably, though, people who talk to him privately — historians, journalists, dissidents — come away with a very different impression of a meticulous thinker.

It is a paradox of his presidency.

Some of Bush's sillier times are of his own choosing. He doesn't take himself too seriously.

Like his herky-jerky dance moves in Liberia, or his odd little tap dance while waiting for John McCain to show up one day. He likes to back-slap people. And when he's ready to move on, there are telltale signs. To end an event with visitors, he'll say, "Let's get a picture," and that's that.

Bush generally calls people by the labels of his choosing, too. Reporters, Cabinet members, heads of state — anyone is fair game for a nickname. The practice tends to add a touch of familiarity between people and the president, and Bush likes that.

As for fun, Bush is far from the first president with a love for sports, but he may have advanced the cause.

In baseball season, he often has a game on TV, even for soothing background noise while he works. He quietly welcomes ball players to the executive mansion for tours or dinnertime conversation. And regardless of the sport, he loves it every time any championship team comes to the White House.

Their moment is his moment.

__

Bush can flash a temper and impatience. But if he takes criticism personally — and he gets lots of criticism — he tries not to show it.

When former press secretary Scott McClellan wrote a scathing book about Bush's leadership, the president told his senior aides to let it go.

"Find a way to forgive, because that's the way to lead your life," White House press secretary Dana Perino remembers Bush advising her.

Bush is insistently — some say unforgivably — optimistic, no matter how low his poll numbers get.

"Every day has been pretty joyous," he said recently, summing up one of the hardest presidencies ever known.

The toughest moments for him come when he meets the grieving families of the troops he sent to war. Or when he meets severely wounded troops in recovery. Many of the hurting tell Bush they want to get back out in active duty. He is moved by the sacrifice.

"I do a lot of crying in this job," Bush once acknowledged.

He shows consideration to people close to him in little ways. He sends birthday notes to staff members. He remembers little details about their families. When he visits an Army post to thank the troops, he's been known to wander into the kitchen, too, to praise whoever cooked him the french fries.

The president is a proud dad of two grown daughters, Jenna and Barbara. The public got a tiny glimpse of his softer side when Jenna married Henry Hager in May. Bush said afterward that his little girl married a really good guy. First lady Laura Bush says her husband now has a son.

___

Bush is not much for the social scene. He and his wife will go to friends' homes but stay away from restaurants and Washington's other delights. His aides say he doesn't like to cause a security hassle for the public.

That's also why they say he speeds through his foreign travel. Even in the world's more magnificent sites, Bush often skips touristy stuff to stick to business, contributing to that incurious reputation.

"I'm a nester," Bush said.

Nowhere is that more true than at his beloved, secluded ranch in Crawford, Texas. He has spent more than a year of his presidency there.

Bush chops cedar, clears brush and builds mountain bike trails there. The summer heat doesn't bother him so much as enthrall him. He even set up a little competition, true Bush: People who work for him get a coveted T-shirt and bragging rights if they run for three straight miles on days hitting 100 degrees.

He relaxes by reading quite a bit, mostly U.S. and world history. He likes the spy-spoofing "Austin Powers" movies. He chills out with his wife.

His time will soon be his own.

"I will leave the presidency with my head held high," Bush says.

And he will leave behind a lot to remember.

Happy Veterans' Day

Not too long ago Ayaan Hirsi Ali was being interviewed by a Canadian tool (who ultimately went to work for Al-Jazeera), and he kept asking her why she didn't seem to think that American militarism and imperialism and such were just as dangerous as the threat of Islamic jihad and Islamic supremacism. Finally, after several go-rounds about this, she told him that since he had grown up with freedom, he didn't value it, or understand how seriously it was being threatened.

And it was true: for him, and for so many in the U.S. today, Constitutional law, including the non-establishment of religion, is as certain as the air we breathe, and we cannot conceive of the possibility that anything could weaken the principles upon which this nation was founded. The freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and the equality of rights of all people before the law -- all these things are unassailable, aren't they?

No, they are being assailed today by increasingly assertive global forces, even as many in the U.S. who once had been aware of the threat turn to other matters. Some have lost interest, others have decided that other issues are more important. Still others have even turned on former allies and comrades-in-arms, opting to pursue imaginary threats rather than actual ones -- or, maybe because they see the way the wind is blowing, they have switched sides. Very few people today are even aware of, much less interested in, the Muslim Brotherhood's "grand jihad" to eliminate and destroy Western civilization "from within, sabotaging its miserable house." And that unawareness and indifference allows this endeavor to proceed apace.

Today, then, we should remember and be grateful to those who gave their lives to secure and protect these freedoms for us -- as if our gratitude could ever be sufficient or adequate. We should ponder the fact that they had to give their lives in order to secure these freedoms. We should remember that if we are not willing to give our own lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to protect the unalienable rights enumerated at the founding of this Republic, we will most assuredly lose both them and the Republic itself -- lose them for ourselves and for our children.

Let us never shrink from the task before us: the great struggle to defend human rights, human dignity, and freedom from oppression and injustice -- particularly the oppression and injustice, and assaults to human dignity that are enshrined in the Sharia that is coming, step-by-step, steadily and apparently inexorably, to a willfully ignorant and indifferent West.

Happy Veterans' Day.

---

Robert Spencer is a scholar of Islamic history, theology, and law and the director of Jihad Watch. He is the author of seven books, eight monographs, and hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism, including the New York Times Bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His next book, Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs, is coming this November from Regnery Publishing.

Make this Veterans Day Memorable

By Sharon Hughes
FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, November 11, 2008

There is no glamor in war. War is hell on earth. But, even the Bible states that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is, unfortunately, part of life on planet earth. While we debate, and work and pray for peace, wars still rage. 

 

While I understand the reasons some choose a passivist position, passivity never brings peace. It often allows the rule of aggressive, totalitarian governments and leaders.

So, until the earth's weapons are turned into plowshares, let us honor the brave men and women who have served and died on behalf of our country, on behalf of freedom.

I mean really honor them, not just in sentiment, but with action.

Let's also take the time not only to educate our children and grandchildren about the realities of war and peace, but to foster a genuine appreciation for freedom, and for those who fight to preserve it.

Here are a few ideas you may want to use to make this Memorial Day a memorable one:

• Visit memorials.
• Fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon. 
• Fly the 'POW/MIA Flag. 
• Participate in a "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day and the sacrifices paid. 
• Visit veterans in the hospital. 
• Donate to aid disabled veterans.
  
• Renew a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen soldiers.
  

This Veterans Day make sure you remember, and encourage others to remember, why we have this day off.

Related Links:

Poem - Tribute to America's Veterans, by Marion Mahoney

http://www.usasurvival.org/tribute.html

A Million Thanks
http://www.amillionthanks.org  

Americans Support You
http://www.americasupportsyou.mil  

Adopt a Platoon
http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/

USO - Until Everyone Comes Home
http://www.uso.org/pubs/8_13_18.cfm

American Legion - Support our Troops
http://www.legion.org/support/index.php

Any Soldier.com
http://anysoldier.com/index.cfm

Operation Hero Miles
http://www.heromiles.org/

---

Sharon Hughes is a radio talk show host on KDIA in San Francisco and on RI

Wounded Warrior Project on Veteran's Day

As you know, today, November 11th, marks the nation's annual observance of Veterans Day. As the country takes this day to honor the sacrifices of our nation's military personnel, the Wounded Warrior Project will be featured on various television news shows throughout the day.

First, this morning WWP Executive Director John Melia and wounded warrior Andy Butterworth will be featured on FoxNews Channel's Fox & Friends program between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. John and Andy will be on-air live to discuss Veterans Day and the Wounded Warrior Project. FoxNews will also be airing a separate piece on WWP's TRACK program throughout the course of the day.

Second, Wounded Warrior Project's Transition Training Academy (TTA) will be featured in a story on the ABC News World News tonight. TTA helps participants explore Information Technology (IT) as a potential career field and to develop new career skills with real-world applications. Watch ABC "World News with Charles Gibson" this evening (6:30EST, 4:30CST, 3:30PST) for a special Bob Woodruff Veterans Day report on select WWP programs!

Third, at 8:00 pm EST, Wounded Warrior Project and wounded warriors Ryan Kules and Jonathan Bartlett will be profiled on HDNet's Dan Rather Reports. Ryan (WWP's Director of Alumni & Warriors To Work programs) and Jonathan (a WWP Public Relations intern) will tell their stories and discuss how they, with WWP's help, have been able to transition out of the military and back into their new civilian lives.

Please check your local cable provider to determine on what channel or if possible to view a playback of any of the above Wounded Warrior Project Veterans Day special interviews.

Joe will have the last laugh, I'm betting

[Until the creation of America] men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity – to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created.

– Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

Ah to long for the good old days when many of our politicians believed this to be the case as well.

The Joe the Plumber incident – or what elitist Democrats who look down on the rest of us as Pabst-swilling uncultured fools refer to as "The sot heard 'round the world" – showed Americans that we're just a stone's throw away from a liberal in the White House and a comfortable Democrat majority in Congress, and therefore the creation of an America that America was created to escape from.

All this because of a plumber? Oh, I'm sorry, we're being told Joe isn't a "licensed plumber," aren't we? All of a sudden the people who don't believe noncitizens should have to carry identification to prove they're in this country legally are up in arms because a legal resident doesn't have a "license" to fix my sink?

Democrats were quick to remind us that "Joe" isn't even the plumber's real first name, but is his middle name. You'd think that a campaign usually in no hurry to discuss middle names would just drop this one.

Doug Powers

Heroism and Patriotism

 J. is a Naval officer serving in Afghanistan. He e-mailed Michelle Malkin today:

Michelle,

I’m sitting in Afghanistan watching the news. First, let me say thank you for your efforts throughout the campaign, and thank you in advance for your continuing fight for conservative principles. I have two thoughts I’d like to share with you:

First, I’ve seen commenters on several sites, including yours, discussing the coming drop in reenlistments and retention. Personally, I don’t see it. I first signed the dotted line in 1997, under Clinton. I had lived in Arkansas for his entire run as governor, so I knew what I was getting into, and that didn’t affect my decision. I don’t do this for the Commander in Chief. I do this for my country, and I will continue to do so. Excuse the language, but I’ve worked for assholes before, so having one a little further up the chain won’t make a difference. I’m not quitting over an election, and I don’t know anybody else considering that either.

Second, and more important, this ain’t over. America is not dead. You nailed it with the “gird your loins” post. I know it’ll be tough, and I’m more than a little worried about what I’ll come home to next year. But we’ve survived tough times before. Hell, we made it through four years of Carter, and what’d we get at the end — the greatest president in history. The next four years are going to suck, no doubt about it. But folks like you and me don’t just quit and walk away. We’re going to make it through this, and I firmly believe that (eventually) the country will be better off for it, just like 1980.

Wounded Warriors: HOME FRONT. SEE IT!

How to get involved and show you care: Buy two DVDs to give one to someone you care about and share its inspiring message. Make a tax-deductible donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Support WWP’s many programs and services to help meet the needs of our wounded heroes.

John Melia
Executive Director Wounded Warrior Project

P.S. After you get a chance to view "Home Front," please don't forget to honor our wounded warriors and support the many needed programs and services for our heroes. You will be proud your tax-deductible contribution will directly impact the lives of our wounded warrior

Total dead in Chicago over the summer double US death in Iraq

125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer

Total Is About Double The U.S. Troop Death Toll In Iraq

CHICAGO (CBS) ― An estimated 125 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 125 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

 In the same time period, an estimated 247 people were shot and wounded in the city.

 Tracking Summer Shootings In Chicago

Want peace?

Not guilty! Again! Murtha, time to repent!

From Michelle Malkin:

This won’t be on the front page of the NYTimes.

Justice for former US Marine Jose Luis Nazario.

More at Defend Our Marines and Blackfive.

US VOLLEYBALL GOLD MEDALISTS MAY/WALSH THANK GW BUSH--GET CENSORED

I watched this original broadcast and shouted in glee and disbelief when Walsh deliberately gave a shout out to GWB---just to have them quickly censored on official broadcasts.

Congratulations to both the men and women for winning GOLD in beach volleyball! I was tired just watching all that jumping in the sand...just one question: why are the men covered head to toe while the women wear nearly nothing? Hmmmm....

Feminine Military poetry

Joy!! I just found some of my poetry I thought long gone with my stolen pc tower...thank goodness for Yahoo mail storage!

I would love to hear from those of you who understand and remember.

(Copyrights in effect)

Zeroing Rifles 

Earth pocket unzipped,

toes touch black lint

rocks   roots,

belly pressed

in corner womb,

elbows planted

on green hair,

breath beats blood pulse

tension builds in/ex

       h  a  l  e

 

            wait

 

            wait

 

            wait

 

            gentle

            finger

            squeeze

 

sudden screaming echo

as the green torso falls

Cattle Drive to the Range

 

Crushed together

in wet ponchos,

we huddled

on splintered benches

back of a deuce and a half,

M16 muzzles seeming to

connect the dots of

Louisiana

red mud splashed

along pungent OD green canvas,

and us,

achingly aware of

warm bodies leaning

against thighs  arms  backs

steel pot helmets

clanging in rhythm

against steel poles

to the pock-faced insolence

of untamed roads.

And this one from my updated Bittersweet Poetry Page:

Guard Duty outside the POC at 5am

 

On the other side

of concertina wire,

shouldering alone

the dewy weight

of southern summer dawn,

as the slumbering earth

shuddered, melding

to the curves of my body,

I watched shifting shapes

along the scrub pines

dance among fireflies

caught in reverie

between my rifle sights

FROM THE FRONTLINES

CLICK HERE

Nail Murtha to the wall!

With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers.

In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage, the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents.

But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately because he wants  Chessani, described as a devout Christian and the father of six homeschooled children, completely "out of the woods" legally before any action is taken. The government, through Lt. Col. S.M. Sullivan, today filed a notice that it would appeal the case to the next judicial level.

CHARGES AGAINST MARINE COMMANDER DROPPED--AGAIN!

In a stinging rebuke of the government's handling of a high-profile war crime case, a military judge Tuesday dismissed dereliction of duty charges against the commander of a Marine squad that killed 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha.

The dismissal of charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani came after a finding that then-Lt. Gen. James Mattis was unlawfully influenced by a Marine attorney who participated in an investigation of the killings and then became the general's top legal adviser.

The ruling by Col. Steven Folsom, the judge presiding over Chessani's case, was a major blow to the government, which has seen charges against seven of the eight men accused with criminal wrongdoing in the 2005 killings dismissed or withdrawn. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich is for now the lone Haditha defendant.

Just admit it, Murtha--you're a liar. Drop charges against SSG Wuterich and look for something real to fuss about. Leave the heroes alone.

From FrontPageMagazine.com:

Every trial to date has proven the report truthful and Murtha a calumnious liar:

• In April 2007, the government offered immunity to Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz in exchange for his testimony. He promptly changed his story five times. 
•     In August 2007, Lt. Gen. James Mattis pronounced 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt absolutely “innocent” of all wrongdoing.
• At the same time, Lt. Gen. Mattis waved charges of dereliction of duty against Capt. Randall Stone, saying Stone’s actions did not “rise to the level of criminal behavior.”
• One month later, prosecutors granted immunity to Capt. Lucas McConnell, who was not at the scene, in exchange for his testimony. 
• In April 2008, the government dismissed all charges against 26-year-old Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum “with prejudice.” Although an eyewitness testified Tatum acted with malice aforethought, Tatum passed his lie detector test, while his accuser failed his. His adversary, a native of Venezuela, also happened to be “trying to get his application for U.S. citizenship released by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is holding up his papers.” Tatum nearly broke down on the stand last July, telling the judge: “I am not comfortable with the fact that I might have shot a child…That is a burden I will have to bear.”  
•      Two weeks ago, a jury found Lt. Andrew Grayson “not guilty” of multiple counts of making false official statements and one count of attempting to deceive

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

American soldiers have lost their lives because of witch-hunts like those of Murtha against the Haditha innocents. In Party of Defeat, David and I recount the story of Navy SEAL Marc Luttrell. Luttrell led his fellow SEALS on a covert mission in Afghanistan when they were sure a group of local goat-herders had spotted them and were about to report them to al-Qaeda warlords. The group considered shooting the spies but desisted, knowing the fire they would come under for “murdering” innocent Afghan civilians – some teenaged, to boot. Al-Qaeda terrorists rained fire upon them within an hour, killing 19 American soldiers. Luttrell reflected he and his men remained “tortured, shot, blown up, my best buddies all dead, and all because we were afraid of the liberals back home, afraid to do what was necessary to save our own lives.” (Emphasis added.)

Chief among those liberals who cost Luttrell’s friends their lives was one Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, the Speaker of the House’s first choice for House Majority Leader. Murtha is best known for:

• In the words of the New York Times, “Trading Votes for Pork Across the House Aisle” – and threatening those who try to derail his gravy train;
• Being named an unindicted co-conspirator in Abscam;
• Slandering his fellow Marines at Haditha;  
•     Refusing to apologize for slandering our men in uniform (or even discuss an apology); 
•    Lying about troop morale; and
•   Advocating al-Qaeda’s foreign policy for more than 25 years.

As FrontPageMag.com wrote in an editorial last December, “It’s (Past) Time for Murtha to Resign.” Sadly, as David Horowitz and I found in researching our book, his absence will leave behind a den of radicals eager to take up where he left off.

Party of Defeat is available from the FrontPage Magazine Bookstore for $15, a 30 percent discount and less than Amazon.com. Autographed and personalized copies are also available; details are on the Bookstore webpage. Please call your local bookstores and ask them to stock the new book Party of Defeat by David Horowitz and Ben Johnson, if they don't already have it in stock.

Army soldiers thwart bank robbery.

FORT WORTH – An unsuspecting thief picked the wrong day to rob a bank.

When the man walked into the Wells Fargo bank on Heritage Trace Parkway just before noon, he probably didn't count on four customers – two of them in the Army – wrestling him to the ground.

"It's Friday the 13th and everything went wrong for this guy," said Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson said. "He must have walked under a ladder or broken a mirror or something. He certainly didn't plan on two army guys knocking him to the ground."

Police charged Larry Don Enos, 57, of Haltom City, with aggravated robbery. Mr. Enos, who police said brandished a gun and wore a fake wig, beard and mustache, could face additional charges for attempting to carjack two separate drivers after robbing the bank.

There were no injuries, police said.

Hmmm...wonder how long it will take for Howard Dean and John Murtha to find a reason to charge these soldiers for interfering with the thief's rights...

HUCK TO THE RESCUE!

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee put the squeeze on a politician at the North Carolina Republican Party convention, but in a good way.

The former Arkansas governor performed the Heimlich maneuver on Robert Pittenger, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, at a lunch Saturday.

Pittenger said he was laughing when he choked on some food.

"I stood up and the governor came over and did the Heimlich and got the relief," Pittenger said. He said the food dislodged when Huckabee applied the trademark Heimlich squeeze to the midsection.

Pittenger added, "In fact he called me in the car as I was driving home to make sure I was OK."

THIS WEEK YET AGAIN PROVED THE PARTY OF DEFEAT'S KING WEARS NO CLOTHES.

 On Wednesday, a jury found Lieutenant Andrew Grayson "not guilty" of covering up the (un)massacre at Haditha. The 27-year-old had been accused of multiple counts of making false official statements and one count of attempting to deceive by making false statements. A charge of "obstruction of justice" had been thrown out the day before.

More than simply another exoneration of those accused of wrongdoing in Haditha – the sixth of eight accused – this verdict will go a long way to redefining Haditha and refuting those who insist on slurring "baby-killer" Marines and the United States herself.

In the atrocity story churned out by left-wingers and "mainstream media" newscasters (but then, I repeat myself), four U.S. Marines murdered 24 blameless Iraqi civilians on November 19, 2005, as their victims cowered, some "as if in prayer."  The then-ascendant face of American surrender, John Murtha, made this story his own in a dramatic press conference in May 2006, insisting his fellow Marines acted "in cold blood" even as an internal investigation was taking place.

The story at once illumined the Left's imagination like nothing since Abu Ghraib. More than a massacre, its obsessive observers saw in Haditha a "cover-up," a conspiracy. The official press release stated these civilians had died during an explosion, rather than by gunfire, yet investigators understand they were killed by ammunition fired at close-range. The narrative became set: the Bush White House ordered American soldiers to slaughter innocent civilians every opportunity they got (My Lai by the dozen); the service covered up the story; and a compliant media hid it all from the American people. The fact that Time magazine broke the story gave them little pause. They became keepers of the dirty secret: America, a genocidal nation since 1492, is at it again.

"Mainstream" members of the Party of Defeat also took advantage of the allegations, using them to promote a six-month timetable for withdrawal. Had such a withdrawal gone through, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would be the acknowledged emir of the al-Qaeda-controlled sphere of Iraq, recruiting Europeans for actions outside Iraq.

The Haditha lie is dying a bitter death not unlike that of the Jordanian terrorist – again, in spite of the Left, and in a way that is unacknowledged by the Left. Wednesday's verdict leaves but one person each charged with any form of wrongdoing: one for the "massacre" (Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich) and one for its reporting (Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani). Sgt. Wuterich no longer faces "murder" but reduced "manslaughter" charges, and there are already questions of unlawful command influence in Chessani's case. Lt. Grayson's attorney, Joseph Casas, said he looks for both to follow his client's footsteps. "I think [Grayson's acquittal] sets the tone for the overall whirlwind Haditha has been," Casas stated. "It's been a botched investigation from the get-go. I believe in the end all of the so-called Haditha Marines who still have to face trial will be exonerated."

Previous acquittals also paved the way. In August 2007, the judge stated Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt was not merely "not guilty" but actually "innocent" of any illegal action whatsoever. Either, or both, Wuterich and Chessani may yet be convicted of some crime, but the narrative of a slaughter and cover-up is long gone.

This is a necessary corollary of the fact that there was no such "massacre."  The defendants – who are, it is too infrequently pointed out, U.S. Marines who pledged to give their lives if necessary to keep America safe from terrorists – have maintained the "insurgents" initiated the firefight; hid among civilians (as terrorists often do); and the Marines heard rifles cocking in the smoke-filled room when they inadvertently killed the Iraqis (whom they also pledged to protect from terrorists at the cost of their lives).

The investigation attempting to prove "murder" never made sense. In June 2007, Lt. Col. Paul Ware told the prosecution flatly, “The account you want me to believe does not support unpremeditated murder. Your theories don’t match the reason you say we should go to trial.” Relatives would not allow doctors to autopsy the bodies, and the house in question had been freshly repaired and painted before investigators could retrieve additional evidence. Photographs of the scene revealed the curtains and walls were riddled with bullet holes – indicating a two-way firefight. And these "cold blood"-ed killers have broken down in tears at the remembrance of their actions.

The disgraceful John Murtha doesn't even blush over his.
 
Now leftist hopes of a conspiracy cover-up have also disappeared like gunsmoke dissipating in the atmosphere. The apparent explanation is that Lt. Grayson was following procedure. The Associated Press reports: "Grayson said the charges appear to be the result of a misunderstanding. He has always maintained he was following Marine Corps policy that prohibits the keeping of pictures on personal computers of Iraqi bodies." One can see the logic of Lt. Grayson's position: he could not allow anyone to possess such pictures in the aftermath of the damage done by the amateur photographs a few enlistees made keepsakes of Abu Ghraib. What would the media have done if it found pictures of dead women and children on a laptop? Had Lt. Grayson allowed them to keep such photos, the DailyKos and The Huffington Post would have accused him of enabling the military's inherently sadistic voyeurism.

Instead, he says he followed procedure and, in return, faced the full legal brunt of his own government. Lt. Grayson is still driven to the point of tears when he remembers the day he first heard of the charges, and the fact that he was facing 20 years in prison: "It was surreal. You can't quite believe you're hearing all this."

Much the reaction patriotic Americans have while reading left-wing accounts of Haditha, Iraq, or the United States.

Party of Defeat is available from the FrontPage Magazine Bookstore for $15, a 30 percent discount and less than Amazon.com. Autographed and personalized copies are also available; details are on the Bookstore webpage. Please call your local bookstores and ask them to stock the new book Party of Defeat by David Horowitz and Ben Johnson, if they don't already have it in stock.

HADITHA MARINE ACQUITTED ON ALL COUNTS

VERDICT IN THE LT GRAYSON TRIAL...

NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!

Lt Andrew Grayson, a defendant in the infamous Haditha case, has been found not guilty on all counts by a seven-member panel of Marine officers at Camp Pendleton.

 
Analysis on recent developments...

Government screwed up, wants heroic lieutenant to go to jail, David Allender, Defend Our Marines, June 4, 2008

Grayson Haditha charges crumbling, Bruce Kesler, Democracy Project, June 4, 2008

General Mattis testimony: History repeats itself, Nathaniel R. Helms, Defend Our Marines, June 4, 2008

 

THANK YOU, TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SACRIFICED