Cowards, Nothing More Maybe A Lot Less

In her opinion piece titled “AWOL and AINO (American in Name Only)” Michelle Malkin takes a deserter to task. She starts:

Fugitive U.S. soldier Jeremy Hinzman is an unrepentant embarrassment to his country of birth. Last year, he deserted from the 82nd Airborne Division, fled to Canada and became the anti-war movement's sexiest man alive. Now, in a desperate bid for refugee status, this AWOL poster boy is collectively smearing our brave men and women in Iraq as war criminals to save his hide.

She contrasts these deserters from the “draft dodges” of the Vietnam War (another group of sniveling cowards). She points out that in the 60’s the dodgers were not volunteers like they are today. Not that would make a difference. In my opinion, they are all cowards. Although, it does make Hinzelman more of an idiot, it was all good for him while the military was another part time job for him. When the call came, as it inevitably would, he begrudgingly went to Afghanistan after all of a sudden deciding he was a conscientious-objector.

As I said, I believe these people are nothing more than cowards at worst or they just don’t want to have their comfortable life upset. It is a real hardship to be over here away from all the people you love. I have two boys in middle school that I miss terribly. I have missed many things including baseball and football games. I am missing a choir concert tomorrow where my youngest has a small solo. However, I believe there are some things much bigger than my comfort and convenience. I want a better world for the very children I miss. I hope that in some small way my contribution here will pay big dividends for my children and grandchildren.

The peace at any cost fools say “war does not solve anything.” My reply is just how do you solve tyranny? A dictator hell bent on domination will not be placated. That cluster of clowns conveniently overlooks all the problems the Hussein regime caused and wanted to continue to cause. To not see the evil of the Hussein and the terrorist who support him is foolish in the extreme. I remain optimistic that there will be a change for the better over here in Iraq and it will foster change for the better in the whole region, only time will tell. I am also confident that Hinzelman and his ilk are in the minority. They have a privilege to their opinion, however wrong it may be. I fight for the freedom of wrongheaded opinionated fools as much as every other American. It is funny, but Hinzelman types want freedom to express opinions but don’t want to fight for it when the time comes. That’s alright, there are over 130,000 of us over here who are willing and able to fight.

The entire article is at Townhall.com at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/mm20041208.shtml

Can Bush 41 Get Peace on the Road Again?

George Bush Can Save The Middle East. Bush 41, That Is.
By Jonathan Rauch, National Journal

Jonathan Rauch in National Journal says that Bush 41 could be the key to moving forward the peace process in the Middle East. Now that Arafat is gone, the road seems to be cleared of some of the obstacles that where there while he was in power. However, it will take bold action to get the process moving in the right direction. After citing others including Clinton as possible candidates and giving the reason why they would not work, Rauch hits upon Bush 41 and says;

Only one person hits every bull's-eye, and that is former President Bush. His authority, experience, and stature are beyond dispute. As for time, what does he have to do that's more important? Israelis view him as pro-Arab, but Arabs view his son as pro-Israel, so the two would form a balanced ticket. His very presence would transform the diplomatic scene by signaling a new level of U.S. involvement.

After reading the opinion, I agree, I would join Rauch in urging President Bush to ask his father to come back to public office to help facilitate this endeavor. In my mind, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is one of the big keys to LASTING peace in this whole region. Without that conflict to constantly inflame the Arab populace, the whole region could be much more peaceful. One can only hope.

You can find the whole article here: http://nationaljournal.com/rauch.htm

Are there any Heros in Iraq or how about just some Good News?

I have written about this before, but today Thomas Sowell brings it up again eloquently in his piece “No heroes?” at www.Townhall.com.

It is reprehensible the way the media is covering this war. They play up the American military deaths and any news about a bad apple in the military but hardly ever have any good news fit to print on the “Front Page.” When I mobilized to come over here back in February the media made it seem every convoy was getting hit and if you went out on the roads you were almost certain to die or get maimed in a horrible road side bombing. When I finally got over here after some fear and trepidation, I quickly realized the media had blown the situation WAY out of proportion. There are literally hundreds of convoys running around this country. Not only that, in most areas the military convoy is sort of an armored parade for the local Iraqis. It is entertainment for the kids who all come out and cheer and jump up and down when a convoy passes. Getting hit in a convoy is somewhat less likly than getting into a car accident in the US. (Now saying this, I hope I have not jinxed myself to prove an ironic point:) But I digress from the main point of this post….Tom Sowell says in his piece:

You cannot fight a war without many brave men taking risks with their lives in order to try to accomplish their mission. Yet can you name a single American hero in either of the two wars going on today in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Chances are you can't -- not if you rely on the mainstream media. You may be able to name someone from the little band of people involved in the prison scandal in Iraq or perhaps Jessica Lynch who was rescued, but not those who rescued her.

There are apparently no heroes among the more than 100,000 men and women fighting for us overseas -- only victims. At least, that is how the news gets filtered and spun in most of the media.

He goes on to what I think is the main point….

Those who are busy "honoring" the deaths of American troops in Iraq seldom have much to say about what those troops accomplished. The restoration of electricity, the re-opening of hospitals and schools, and all the other things being done to try to restore a war-devastated country get little attention, and everything that has gone wrong makes the front pages and TV news for weeks on end.

I would recommend reading the whole article here:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20041202.shtml

As a soldier who has been over here for 10 months, I am extremely upset at the portrayal of this war in the MSM. Like Tom Sowell, I say any one has the right to oppose this war, but to only play up the bad facts that are taking place over here while down playing the good facts on the front page is just plain wrong for the troops. Taking a more balanced approach to reporting the facts and leaving the opinion to editorialist would be a smart move.

Happy Birthday Winston Churchill

Justin D. Lyons writes a piece on Churchill worth reading, especially today on his birthday. Churchill is one of those historical figures that looms over many of the great men in history. I have tried (in vain) to find the time to read the vast array of writings on him. He was also a prolific writer. This essay sums up (if there can be a summary) the essence of Churchill’s political thought. Lyons concludes with this…

The study of Churchill’s statesmanship deserves a central place in the scholarship of the politics of freedom. He believed in the metaphysical freedom of mankind, and he insisted that it should be reflected in political arrangements, that political freedom was necessary to the flourishing of the human spirit. But the conditions of freedom do not simply occur. Humanity must fight to establish them, struggle to maintain them, and sacrifice to defend them. Because these tasks have no end in this world, the lessons of Churchill’s words and deeds will remain central to the human political experience. They are, to echo the Greek historian Thucydides, "a possession for all time." We may therefore take Churchill’s message as inspiration to undertake the tasks we have still before us: "The day may dawn when fair play, love for one’s fellow men, respect for justice and freedom will enable tormented generations to march forth serene and triumphant from the hideous epoch in which we have to dwell. Meanwhile, never flinch, never weary, never despair."

I think the bolded statement sums up what is going on over here in Iraq. The conditions of freedom have never “just occurred in history. It has always taken a lot of blood, sweat and toil to establish it. Moreover, liberty will not last in any country without people willing to defend it. I recommend the entire essay for your reading on this great man’s birthday.
http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/oped/lyons/04/churchill.html

Also, it was Winston Churchill that said, “a reservist is twice the citizen” because he/she has both civilian responsibilities and job along with the responsibility to answer the nation’s call to defend it and lay down his/her life. Here’s to all my fellow reservist who have admirably responded to these two responsibilities in the past and who will again respond in the future.

10 reasons elections in Iraq will succeed

Let's hope Quentin Langley is correct in his assesment. I happen to agree with all his reasons, especially number 1. Go read for your self http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/columnists/guests/s_277082.html

Also, for the nattering nabobs of negativity that say the elections should not take place unless this country is as placid as the state of Vermont I recommend Fighting the good fight by Charles Krauthammer
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/charleskrauthammer/ck20041126.shtml\

I just cannot understand the people who whine about how hard it is to bring democracy to this area of the world when in our own country we fought a bloody civil war 85 years after it's founding. Moreover, the whole of United States history from the beginning of the Republic to this very day is marred by uprisings and violence at different points. I guess this is just one more indication of the poor state of education in the US.

Reagan Given Credit for Soviet Downfall

In an editorial titled "Two Dissidents" in The New York Sun available online http://www.nysun.com/article/5169. The writers discuss the bond that has developed between President Bush and deputy prime minister of Israel, Natan Sharansky.

At Mr. Bush's invitation, the two men spent more than an hour discussing Mr.Sharansky's new book, "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror." Mr. Bush has not only read the book, but also recommended it to other officials in his administration, such as the secretary of state
designate, Condoleezza Rice.

Mr. Sharansky writes in his book that there were few dissidents in the Soviet Union in the 1930s because they were all killed. When the penalty changed from death to imprisonment, more dissenters emerged. Mr. Sharansky found the courage to stand up against the Soviet Union because he knew the free world would stand with him. That was the significance of Reagan's "evil empire" speech. "We dissidents were ecstatic," Mr. Sharansky has written. "Finally, the leader of the Free World had spoken the truth, a truth that burned inside the heart of each and every one of us."

One thing that infuriates me is the denial on the left of Reagan's contribution to the downfall of Soviet Russia. I have read it several times in the past months over here. They want to give all the credit to Mr Gorbechev and none to President Regan. I, on the other hand, do not deny the fact that it was a two way street and that it is a happy quirk of history that these two leaders came to overlapping power. However, President Reagan (and his policies that the left decried as warmongering) set the table for the ultimate demise of what Mr Reagan called the "Evil Empire." Without the build up of our military, there would have been no realization by Mr Gorbechev that Soviet Russian economy could not compete with the US. We would have simply spent the Soviet Union into bankruptcy and chaos. It took Mr Gorbechev to realize this and change the course of his country. This of course took great courage on his part. However, it also took President Reagan to understand the changing face of the Soviet Union. Without the two pieces, the puzzle would never have fit together. Without either the courage of Mr Gorbechev or the responsive politics of President Reagan, the change would never have occurred.

Mr Sharensky points this out in his remarks above. The evil empire speech awakened the dissidents and made them ecstatic, a little of which must have been hidden in Mr Gorbechev. The same is true of the Middle East. To abandon the common people over here to continued tyranny for the sake of "stability" is ludicrous. No only because it is inhumane, but because it has patently not worked to keep the United States secure. We tried to "keep stability" in the Soviet Union for 40+ years only to be under the constant threat of possible nuclear war. Radical change in Russia brought the peace of no nuclear holocaust of the (Massive Assured Destruction) MAD policy.

Now we are threatened by a different menace, terrorism, which is also born out of the tyrannical regimes of Middle Eastern countries. The only way to change this situation is radical change to the governments in this area. How will this be done? Either through revolution or through the US shifting the power to more moderate democratically minded people in the countries. Revolution was tried in the past (a couple of times) in Iraq. The revolutions (uprisings as they are called in the media) were brutally put down by Saddam. He had built a political machine, not in democratic sense but in blood that rivaled Hitler and Stalin. The only other option to bring about change was US intervention. I am hopeful that the change will bring about freedom and democracy to this country. I continue to hope that dissidents who want freedom and liberty will come forward to lead this country. Furthermore, I hope that dissidents in other tyrannical countries (Iran) are emboldened by the actions of a strong US President in Iraq and Afghanistan and throw off the yolk for the freedom of self rule by a truly democratically elected government. Liberty, freedom and prosperity are the only way to rid the world of terrorism and have safety for our descendants.

1984 being practiced as PC in California

A principle at a Cupertino school near San Francisco requires a fifth grade teacher to submit all his lesson plans for approval. Apparently, she has rejected all material that mentions God in them.

Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams (the teacher), are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."

"He hands out a lot of material and perhaps 5 to 10 percent refers to God and Christianity because that's what the founders wrote," said Thompson, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. "The principal seems to be systematically censoring material that refers to Christianity and it is pure discrimination."

You can find the whole report here: "Declaration of Independence Banned at California School" Reuters Report By Dan Whitcomb http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6911883

Again, it is appalling to me that people who are entrusted to teach children (like the principle cited above) will stoop to the Orwellian censorship of historical documents. From the news reports, you get the sense that if the tacher were to take out the reference to God in these offending documents, then they would be OK. Did this woman ever read "1984" by George Orwell? I would suggest to the teacher (who is suing) that in any settlement or demand that the principle be required to read 1984 and submit a 1500 word essay on how her actions were consistent with Big Brother's intent to rewrite history.

Here is an (correct) version of the first part of the Declaration.

Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—that whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Thanksgiving Proclamation - THANK GOD

George Washington
October 3, 1789
City of New York

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their Joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th. day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the greatest degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executived and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

This is reprinted from George Washington: A Collection edited by W.B. Allen and published in 1988 by LibertyClassics.

However, Michele Malkin found that one school does not know how to teach all-inclusive history: http://michellemalkin.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/496 It never ceases to amaze me how so called educated people can overlook history like the proclamation re-printed above. One of the very first acts of Congress after the new Constitution was ratified was to direct President Washington to set aside a day to THANK GOD for all the blessings bestowed upon the new nation.

Well, contrary to the simpletons at St Mary’s who teach small children, I want to THANK GOD for my family and friends. I especially want to THANK GOD for my two beautiful sons, my girlfriend, Rachel, and her beautiful daughter. I want to THANK GOD for my mom and dad and my sister Karen who died almost 16 years ago (I believe with all my being she is with the GOD whom I now Thank). I want to also THANK GOD for my sister, Kathy, who is alive and well, THANK GOD, and for my beautiful nieces and nephew. I would like to also THANK GOD for all my friends, too numerous to list (THANK GOD for so many) that have all supported me and prayed for me throughout this deployment. Finally, I would like to THANK GOD for all the brave men and women who have served with me over here in Iraq. They are the reason freedom has a chance to flourish in this country, Iraq, and they are the reason Freedom will continue to shine brightly from our great country The United States of America. THANK GOD for freedom and GOD Bless America.

I would also like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you also have a lot to THANK GOD for.