Al Qaida Devastated By US Forces *** Pew Poll Positive on Iraq Success

I am thankful for the report I received today that Al Qaida was devastated by the recent US forces attack in western Iraq. Newsmax quotes Major General Rick Lynch praising the success of our forces over the past two months of Operation Steel Curtain. In case you missed the totals (how do we know which side is winning if we don't keep score?), over 700 members of Al Qaida were killed and 1,500 captured--in the last two months alone.

The Mudville Gazette carries an early account of the objectives of the operation. Don't know how I've missed this wonderful blog until now. Find a link for the main page in my Essentials and Links in the right hand column. I couldn't stop reading once I got started.

Iraqis are also thankful for our efforts. The Iraqi Red Crescent organization's President Hakki (Red Crescent is like our Red Cross) pledged a chunk of change--$1 million--to help Katrina victims -- the money has already been transferred by wire in honor of our Thanksgiving holiday and to thank the US.

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P.S. Go Christmas shopping today online by buying a CD of songs written and produced on a computer in the field in Iraq by three real life soldiers still serving there now. Here's their website. The CD costs only $10 plus shipping. Great way to support these brave and talented guys (translated US heroes). (Source: The Mudville Gazette, today's home page.)

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PEW POLL SAYS MOST EXPECT SUCCESS IN IRAQ

Yes, I'm shouting this headline found in an article posted in the Washington Times by Jennifer Harper. Polls are so interesting: these show support for the War by the public (56 percent of the public thinks that efforts to establish a stable democracy in the country will succeed), not so much by journalists, and even less by academia (whaa? whaa? what are you sayin'? This whole idea is shocking--journalists and academia are on the wrong page? whaaaaa? whaaaa?)

According to Jennifer, "The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press -- which also plumbed opinions of journalists, university presidents and others in academe, diplomats, government officials, religious leaders, members of the military, scientists and international security specialists -- revealed a marked disconnect between the perceptions of the general public and many of the so-called opinion leaders."

Also there's a quote about the President's tanking numbers--or I should say, so-called tanking numbers by accounts in the MSM:

President Bush's approval ratings have grown tepid -- but have not tanked -- among Americans. Overall, Mr. Bush garners a 40 percent favorability among the public, with 52 percent disapproving of him and 8 percent "unsure."

However, 52 percent approve of his efforts to fight terrorism, and 86 percent say defense against terrorism should be a top foreign policy priority, followed by the protection of American jobs (84 percent) and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction (75 percent).

Only 24 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Bush's immigration policies, but 51 percent say reducing illegal immigration should be a top foreign policy priority.

I've said it before. I do not believe the President's polls have changed. Those who supported him in the past still do and those who have painted his picture in their political target's bulls-eye also still do. "It where you put your eyes, that's about the size of it." I'm truly grateful today. The worm is re-turning.

The Ballad of David and Kara

There was a time when people got angry and lost self-control that they punched each other in the nose. And a time when, if you wanted something, you expected to save up for it. Today self-control and delayed gratification have no place in almost anyone's behavioral vocabularly. If you want something, you take it, or you figure out what obstacle is in your way and you eliminate it. If you lose control, your very first thought is not only to wish someone dead, but to act on it. You feel forced to eliminate the person who didn't behave the way you wished.

Enter two teenagers (age 14 and 18) "in love" in Pennsylvania. Nice kids, everyone says, well-brought up, home-schooled, they say.

If that's the case, why did they, instead of behaving as normal teens with normal emotional angst, react in an inhuman way by ending the lives of the girl's parents, and ruining their own lives, those of their siblings and every other member of their family.

He "wanted" her. She "wanted to be married to him." Now. At 14 and 18. They stayed out all night one night knowing her parents were against the age difference between them, and when the parents came down on them with discipline, they "naturally" decided to eliminate the obstacle keeping them from getting what they wanted. Instantly. At 14 and 18.

Neither went to their room and played or wrote goopy music, acted mooney, and felt generally "misunderstood," as teens through the ages have done. Nah, he got a mag and a shotgun and a knife and went hunting on behalf of their future union. After the murder, the plan was to drive as far as they could, get married and raise a family. I guess and live happily ever after.

Let's see.... who do you think is to blame--who let these people down? No fair answering in vague generalities. Can't say "society" without elaborating on what it is about society that is at the root of a value system like this. Can't say "the media" without elaborating about how that could possibly be. Can't say we spoiled them without differentiating between them and other spoiled kids who do not murder to get what they want. How did we get here? And what were we doing while values and impulse control were deteriorating like this--when humans lost track of the fact that murder is not an acceptable way to get what they want?

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Today is also the anniversary of the assasination of President John F Kennedy. In case you missed it on the MSM. Or the cable media.

How To Lose A War by Ralph Peters

Ralph Peters sounds as angry as I am. If you want to read the original version, click here .

You may have to register to read the entire article but it is free to register. How To Lose A War appeared today in the NY Post and the NY Times editorial pages. I'm just so glad there is some clarity in the world. Not everyone has blinders on.... and not everyone is part of the kool aiders.


HOW TO LOSE A WAR
By RALPH PETERS

November 21, 2005 -- QUIT. It's that simple. There are plenty of more complex ways to lose a war, but none as reliable as just giving up.

Increasingly, quitting looks like the new American Way of War. No matter how great your team, you can't win the game if you walk off the field at half-time. That's precisely what the Democratic Party wants America to do in Iraq. Forget the fact that we've made remarkable progress under daunting conditions: The Dems are looking to throw the game just to embarrass the Bush administration.

Forget about the consequences. Disregard the immediate encouragement to the terrorists and insurgents to keep killing every American soldier they can. Ignore what would happen in Iraq — and the region — if we bail out. And don't mention how a U.S. surrender would turn al Qaeda into an Islamic superpower, the champ who knocked out Uncle Sam in the third round.

Forget about our dead soldiers, whose sacrifice is nothing but a political club for Democrats to wave in front of the media. After all, one way to create the kind of disaffection in the ranks that the Dems' leaders yearn to see is to tell our troops on the battlefield that they're risking their lives for nothing, we're throwing the game.

Forget that our combat veterans are re-enlisting at remarkable rates — knowing they'll have to leave their families and go back to war again. Ignore the progress on the ground, the squeezing of the insurgency's last strongholds into the badlands on the Syrian border. Blow off the successive Iraqi elections and the astonishing cooperation we've seen between age-old enemies as they struggle to form a decent government.

Just set a time-table for our troops to come home and show the world that America is an unreliable ally with no stomach for a fight, no matter the stakes involved. Tell the world that deserting the South Vietnamese and fleeing from Somalia weren't anomalies — that's what Americans do.

While we're at it, let's just print up recruiting posters for the terrorists, informing the youth of the Middle East that Americans are cowards who can be attacked with impunity.

Whatever you do, don't talk about any possible consequences. Focus on the moment — and the next round of U.S. elections. Just make political points. After all, those dead American soldiers and Marines don't matter — they didn't go to Ivy League schools. (Besides, most would've voted Republican had they lived.)

America's security? Hah! As long as the upcoming elections show Democratic gains, let the terrorist threat explode. So what if hundreds of thousands of Middle Easterners might die in a regional war? So what if violent fundamentalism gets a shot of steroids? So what if we make Abu Musab al-Zarqawi the most successful Arab of the past 500 years?

For God's sake, don't talk about democracy in the Middle East. After all, democracy wasn't much fun for the Dems in 2000 or 2004. Why support it overseas, when it's been so disappointing at home?

Human rights? Oh, dear. Human rights are for rich white people who live in Malibu. Unless you can use the issue to whack Republicans. Otherwise, brown, black or yellow people can die by the millions. Dean, Reid & Pelosi, LLC, won't say, "Boo!"

You've got to understand, my fellow citizens: None of this matters. And you don't matter, either. All that matters is scoring political points. Let the world burn. Let the massacres run on. Let the terrorists acquire WMD. Just give the Bush administration a big black eye and we'll call that a win.

The irresponsibility of the Democrats on Capitol Hill is breathtaking. (How can an honorable man such as Joe Lieberman stay in that party?) Not one of the critics of our efforts in Iraq — not one — has described his or her vision for Iraq and the Middle East in the wake of a troop withdrawal. Not one has offered any analysis of what the terrorists would gain and what they might do. Not one has shown respect for our war dead by arguing that we must put aside our partisan differences and win.

There's plenty I don't like about the Bush administration. Its domestic policies disgust me, and the Bushies got plenty wrong in Iraq. But at least they'll fight. The Dems are ready to betray our troops, our allies and our country's future security for a few House seats.

Surrender is never a winning strategy.

Yes, we've been told lies about Iraq — by Dems and their media groupies. About conditions on the ground. About our troops. About what's at stake. About the consequences of running away from the great struggle of our time. About the continuing threat from terrorism. And about the consequences for you and your family.

What do the Democrats fear? An American success in Iraq. They need us to fail, and they're going to make us fail, no matter the cost. They need to declare defeat before the 2006 mid-term elections and ensure a real debacle before 2008 — a bloody mess they'll blame on Bush, even though they made it themselves.

We won't even talk about the effect quitting while we're winning in Iraq might have on the go-to-war calculations of other powers that might want to challenge us in the future. Let's just be good Democrats and prove that Osama bin Laden was right all along: Americans have no stomach for a fight.

As for the 2,000-plus dead American troops about whom the lefties are so awfully concerned? As soon as we abandon Iraq, they'll forget about our casualties quicker than an amnesiac forgets how much small-change he had in his pocket.

If we run away from our enemies overseas, our enemies will make their way to us. Quit Iraq, and far more than 2,000 Americans are going to die.

And they won't all be conservatives.

Ralph Peters is a retired Army officer.

Mark Steyn With the Best Follow up of the Friday the 18th Fiasco

Now here you go! I so much appreciate reading Mark SteynOnline. This is copyrighted and I'm only spreading the words this man writes. I make no profit and I make sure you can get to the orginal version. Please read and heed, this man's work. Be on the lookout for the President's Exit Strategy below! When you find it, memorize it and the next time someone tells you the President lied about WMDs and that he doesn't have a plan, tell them to get used to this timetable and sing the strategy to them! Amen y'all!

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Senate adopts 'exit strategy' from reality
November 20, 2005

BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

A busy time in the U.S. Senate, the "world's greatest deliberative body." Judging from the 2006 conference report, the Senate subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education -- Chairman Arlen Specter (R), ranking member Tom Harkin (D) -- has been deliberating especially hard:

"Sec. 221. (a) The Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center Building (Building 21) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hereby renamed as the Arlen Specter Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center.

(b) The Global Communications Center Building (Building 19) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hereby renamed as the Thomas R. Harkin Global Communications Center."

Good to see that even in the viciously partisan atmosphere of today's politics, Republicans and Democrats can still work together to carry out the people's business. In the same spirit, I wonder whether the Senate chamber itself should not be renamed the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi United States Senate. With increasingly rare exceptions, just about everything that emerges from the chamber tends to support the Zarqawi view of Iraq -- that this is a psychological war in which the Great Satan is an effete wimp who can be worn down and chased back to his La-Z-Boy recliner in Florida.

Last week, the Republican majority, to their disgrace and with 13 honorable exceptions, passed an amendment calling on the administration to lay out its "plan" for "ending" the war and withdrawing U.S. troops. They effectively signed on to the Democrat framing of the debate: that the only thing that matters is the so-called exit strategy. The only difference between Bill Frist's mushy Republicans and Harry Reid's shameless Democrats is that the latter want to put a firm date on withdrawal, so that Zarqawi's insurgents can schedule an especially big car bomb to coincide with the formal handover of the Great Satan's cojones.

"Exit strategy" is a defeatist's term. The only exit strategy that matters was summed up by George M. Cohan in the song the Doughboys sang as they marched off to the Great War nine decades ago:

"And we won't come back

Till it's over

Over there!"

And that's the timetable, too. If you want it fleshed out a bit, how about this? "The key issue is no longer WMD or even the role of the U.N. The central issue is America's credibility and will to prevail.'' That's Goh Chok Tong speaking in Washington last year. Unfortunately, he's not a U.S. senator, but the prime minister of Singapore, and thus ineligible to run, on the grounds that he's not a citizen of Blowhardistan. What does the Senate's revolting amendment tell America's enemies (Zarqawi) and "friends" (Chirac) about her will to prevail?

Any great power -- never mind the preeminent power of the age -- should be engaged with the world. That means, among other things, that it has a presence in those parts of the globe that are critical to its interest. For two years, the Democrats have assiduously peddled the line that Bush "lied" about Iraq. A slightly less contemptible class of critic has sneered that the administration never had any plans for postwar Iraq, hadn't a clue what it was getting into, couldn't tell the difference between a Sunni and a Shia and a Kurd if they were painted different colors and had neon signs flashing off the top of their heads. If there's anything to this feeble second-guessing, it's that the U.S. government simply didn't know enough about Iraq -- and, in a crude sense, they're right. U.S. taxpayers would be justified, for example, in feeling they're not getting their $44 billion worth from the intelligence community.

But the only way to know the country is to be there on the ground, in some form or other. I'm all for "Iraqification" -- though those Democrats urgently demanding everything be done by the locals will be the first to shriek in horror once the Iraqis start serious score-settling with the foreign insurgents. But, even with full-scale Iraqification, America would be grossly irresponsible if not clinically insane not to maintain some sort of small residual military presence somewhere in the western desert.

Sorry, but that's part of the deal of being the world's hyperpower. To pretend otherwise is an exit strategy from reality. If you're worried about the ''cost,'' stop garrisoning your wealthiest allies -- Germany, Japan et al. -- and thereby absolving them from stepping up to the traditional responsibilities of nationhood.

One expects nothing from the Democrats. Their leaders are men like Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, who in 2002 voted for the war and denounced Saddam Hussein as an "imminent threat" and claimed that Iraq could have nuclear weapons by 2007 if not earlier. Now he says it's Bush who "lied" his way into war with a lot of scary mumbo-jumbo about WMD.

What does Rockefeller believe, really? I know what Bush believes: He thought Saddam should go in 2002 and today he's glad he's gone, as am I. I know what, say, Michael Moore believes: He wanted to leave Saddam in power in 2002, and today he thinks the "insurgents" are the Iraqi version of America's Minutemen. But what do Rockefeller and Reid and Kerry believe deep down? That voting for the war seemed the politically expedient thing to do in 2002 but that they've since done the math and figured that pandering to the moveon.org crowd is where the big bucks are? If Bush is the new Hitler, these small hollow men are the equivalent of those grubby little Nazis whose whining defense was, "I was only obeying orders. I didn't really mean all that strutting tough-guy stuff." And, before they huff, "How dare you question my patriotism?", well, yes, I am questioning your patriotism -- because you're failing to meet the challenge of the times. Thanks to you, Iraq is a quagmire -- not in the Sunni Triangle, where U.S. armed forces are confident and effective, but on the home front, where soft-spined national legislators have turned the war into one almighty Linguini Triangle.

It's easy to laugh at the empty shell of a Jay Rockefeller, bragging about how he schmoozed Bashar Assad, dictator of a terrorist state, about Bush's war intentions. But look at the news from France and ask yourself what that's really about? At heart, it's the failure of Europe's political class to grasp the profound and rapid changes already under way. This Senate is making the same fatal error. I'd advocate throwing the bums out if there were any alternative bums to throw in. But maybe the Thomas R. Harkin Centers for Disease Control could persuade them to be the first deliberative body to donate itself to medical science.

© Mark Steyn, 2005
Copyright © Mark Steyn, 2005

Ex-Marine Congressman Murtha Retreats

You know how betrayed you feel when someone you loved and thought would be with you forever, leaves? Goes off on a mission that you do not understand leaving you standing there numb, lost, abandoned and alone? When events seem so unjust and incongruent that they make no sense? Do you remember a time when justice for all those who are good fails? -- When faith is met with a Betrayal on the highest level?

The USMC just had its 230th birthday and this is the most honorable, proud and patriotic group of Americans I know. And, I know Marines--I know "The Corps." I live with a Marine, my son is a Marine, and my father was a Marine before he died. There is pride and comraderie in this family of brothers. The Corps does not allow for retreat. They never leave even one man behind. Any Marine can do ANY job. A Marine does not give his word and back out of his commitment. The Corps would not promise to defend and then retreat. And they proudly claim, "There are no EX Marines."

Well, there are a few. There are those we call Baby Blue Marines--but they leave because they are forced to leave. And there is Congressman Murtha (D) PA. Yesterday, he became an ex-Marine by betraying the heart and soul of his Marine Corps. This country gave its word to the Iraqi people that we would not leave them to fight the evil in their country until they could defend themselves. So we began fighting for their freedom and training their countrymen - and we continue training Iraqi police and soldiers successfully today.

The December elections are looming on the horizon and we know this deadline is one the islmo facists will do everything possible to try to thwart. We know they will try to increase suicide/homocide bombings. We know they do not appreciate the Syrian border being cut off from Iraq BY US. We know that will cause an increase in suicide/homocide bombings as well.

So according to the ex-Marine Murtha, THIS IS THE TIME HE THINKS we are to tell the Iraqis we are abandoning them, leaving them to deal with these barbarians alone? He wants us to tell them that it is now no longer in the interest of America to help them through the final stages of the coalition's PLAN to get them to that freedom and democracy-- the PLAN that apparently no one wants to admit being able to "see" any longer.

This is not a recommendation of any Marine I've ever known. So be it. If he prefers joining a club with his not-so-honorable high-profile fellow politicians to honoring his country's commitment and the memory of those who have given their lives for the freedom of the Iraqi people, then I am proud to call him an ex-Marine.

I just hope he never goes before the people he represents to give his word for support of them in the future. If Congressman Murtha promised me he would be there for me for so much as a traffic ticket, I would expect betrayal just before my case came to court.

Yes, I guess there are a few ex-Marines. As you know, I value loyalty and honor and respect for God and Country and anytime and place I happen across an example of either, it's a very good day. Didn't used to be any Marines who chose their career over their honor, and that makes these very sad days, indeed.

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Photo Credit: Murtha's Congressional web site.

Continuing Budget Saga--Now A Word From My "Beloved" Republicans

I woke in the middle of the night and clicked on C-Span. Was hopin' it would put me back to sleep, I guess. The Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin was the lone person on the current panel answering questions regarding the effect on our economy of illegal aliens with regard to budgetary forcasting. I thought, aha!, this might be the root of my mysterious budget call yesterday.

Everyone asking questions was a Democrat and each was concerned with the impact of illegals on native workers' earnings, displacement of workers, border security, Katrina victims and how they figured into displacement. One even suggested that we should make certain that second generation illegals should be given special grants to attain higher education so they could pay more into the system!!!

One woman representative from the midwest (wish I had my pen handy to write her name and state down) asked some poignant questions. What happens to employers when illegals are discovered on the payroll? Are there fines? Do we have an accounting of how much money the fines total? What do we do if the employers are repeaters? What do we do when we find that employers knowingly solicit unauthorized workers for employment? She asked if we were punishing the recruited, but not the recruiters. She emphasized that we need to know the enforcement impact on both employers and recruited, as well as on the economy.

The elephant standing in the middle of the room that no one mentioned is that we are once again discussing how to make illegals legal--and as easily as we can. We are spending untold dollars holding hearings about how to get the illegals around the law. How to give them more benefits than they are already hornswaggling us out of in ways that are against the law. Do you suppose the employers/recruiters will hire the same people once they become legal citizens and want a higher wage like all others legal citizens? Or do you think they will be on the unemployment rolls?

I'm still not sure if this discussion is related to my call. I do have strong opinions about giving non-citizens free gifts and encouragement to "stay on" when they manage to outwit our legal system. This is not just a logistical issue (Which is easier now that they are here?). This is a respect for the country and its laws and values issue. (How could anyone think otherwise?!) Has being overly permissive paid off for anyone ever? Is not self-control, respect for those around you, common courtesy, BEING LEGAL important? Of course, I get it, if you need something, you just help yourself. That's where looting comes from, and why our legal system is filled with people who want things they do not want bad enough to work for.
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The following morning.....
This morning, I logged on and I think the mystery call is now finally solved! It makes perfect sense that it's the Deficit Reduction Act that my automated phone call two days ago urged me to react to when connecting me to the Congressman's office.

Here's the Administration skinny on it (and I'm glad I said what I did after all--though I would have been more adamant with more info under my hat): "The Deficit Reduction Act, which proposes $54 billion in cuts to federal pork spending is stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives. Email your member of Congress today and tell them to vote now to cut spending! The current deficit hovers at $8 TRILLION, and this bill is a good - albeit small - step toward reining in runaway federal spending and offsetting the costs of Hurricane Katrina relief.

Despite being one of the smallest deficit reduction attempts in recent administrations (recent Democratic Congresses and administrations have passed nearly double the amount in spending cuts), many Republican House members are wavering and threatening to postpone or vote no on the proposal. This is an embarrassment to the party claiming to be committed to limited government.

Call your Representatives and tell them to bring the Deficit Reduction Act to a vote NOW and vote YES. They should continue to look for ways to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. This bill is just one small step in the right direction. Email your representative and call Speaker Dennis Hastert at 202-225-2976 and encourage him to bring the proposal to a vote."

I agree wholeheartedly with the cuts in this Act. Bring this to a vote and vote yes to cut back on domestic spending. I also agree with the method of recruiting support for it. This came from a conservative newsletter I receive. It didn't connect me automatically without time to research the issue if I wanted to. I think it's a fairer way to recruit support. It laid out its position and gave me the name of the Act and time to research it before responding. The phone call caused a sense of urgency and asked me to take uninformed action immediately.

About reducing the deficit. I understand that our gross national product is huge and the economy is big too, and that the deficit is, in ratio, big but not as bad for us since we can basically afford mortgaging it long term.

Putting it simply, if you had an income of $100 million per year and your friend had an income of $50,000 per year and you each applied for a $500,000 mortgage, the ratio to your income doesn't have the same impact on your bottom line as it does for your friend's bottom line.

Nevertheless, we are in a time of War with huge expenditures and we each need to do our part at home to conserve resources where possible. Don't curtail spending--business or personal--but give aways and budgetary pork need to be cut. So do silly hearings about common sense issues like whether or not illegal aliens should be sent home. We cannot afford to take in people who do not respect the laws of this country regardless of difficulty in the logistics to do so.

Obsessed Politicians, Socialism, and My "Beloved" Democrats

Two days ago, I received a recorded telephone call. It described to me a budget that the Republicans put together being reviewed by either Congress or a Congressional committee that would, the caller said, "reduce benefits for many people, cut money for school lunches," among other economy measures. "And, he said, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, people need more not less at this time."

He urged me to call one of NJ's Congressmen (not mine) to tell him to vote to put the cut items back into the appropriations of the budget before approving it. It was going to be a very close vote and if I had contacted the Congressman last week, I should call again this week. I was waiting to write down the phone number. But I didn't need to. In fact, he made it just too easy. He announced that if I were to press "1" on my phone, he would connect me directly to the Congressman's office.

Well, I pressed "1" and was immediately transferred as promised. I got a very cordial young aide to the Congressman on the phone who--by all accounts--must have been expecting another irate complaint from a NJ citizen demanding that we put money back in the budget for school lunches and whatever else had been victim of "holding the budgetary line." After all, this recorded message was obviously on an auto dial machine and was making the numeric rounds of registered Democrats in our State. I was thinking he must have drawn the short straw in the office and deserved the Customer Service Award for the day.

Being the contrarian that I am, I told him that I wished the budget under consideration would be approved as presented by the Republicans without change. He pressed me again. Do you mean you are in favor of revisions to the bill? I repeated--since I like everyone else receiving the same recording asking us to act immediately (which budget? was there a bill number? specifics were neveer mentioned on the call...)--that I wanted the Congressman to know that I was a registered Democrat and there are a number of us out here that wanted the bill approved in tact, as presented by the Republicans. I said I was aware that this was to be a close vote and that I just wanted to go on record with my opinion. He told me that he was receiving calls with both opinions. I doubted it but didn't say so, since I hadn't mentioned that I believed the swarmy NJ Democratic party was behind the call to action I received. We talked a little more and ended the call.

These political games--making calls to action under the guise of informing the public of bad deeds about to be inflicted upon them by their government--do not constitute a grass roots effort to reveal actual informed opinions to their representatives. Because one's opponent is able to manipulate some of the citizenry momentarily by filling their heads with half- or untruths that will whip them up into enough emotional frenzy to push a button and parrot the same un or half-truths once to a stranger without an opportunity to validate or even consider the issue, does not mean much of anything in the long haul.

People's values and beliefs are deep-rooted and actually take generations to change. Politicans, by the same reasoning, can't change their spots quickly either. In fact, you pretty much can tell a representative of the nation's out of power party is lying when his or her lips are moving. It's a battle for his political survival. He cares NOT about his constituency; he cares about maintaining the status quo or movin' on up. Politics is a dirtier game than most, and these guys are without rival.

Where was it said that when politicians become obsessed with power for power's sake alone, it is the beginning of the end of their civilization?

I still hold out that this country will return to sanity and that our citizens will have a unified single wake-up call--just in time to save ourselves. But I fear I may be just a little too optimistic.

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When has the regular citizenry run a war successfully? When have politicians run a war successfully? This is the job for the trained Military. Leave it to them and get out of the way.

Further, in what business does the middle management bludgeon the CEO, demanding a quarterly accounting--and survive? The congress is filled with politicians whose very presence there depends on placating the majority in his or her constituency. How does that make them an expert on conducting a successful war against terrorism and facism? (The Cabinet is the board--the congress is the middle management. For those of you who need clarification.)

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Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.
Winston Churchill

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The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
Winston Churchill

Thank You Beloved USA Veterans On Your Day

US Army bugler plays taps at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.”
~ Ronald Reagan

Today, November 11th, we in the United States celebrate Veterans Day and our friends and neighbors to the North in Canada are celebrating Remembrance Day. We honor men and women who have served in the armed services. Thank you and God bless those who serve our country, thereby presenting all of us the ultimate gift - Freedom.

Special blessings and heartfelt thanks to the best of the best! Happy 230 USMC! Ooh Rah, devil dogs! Semper Fi!

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Photo source: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/04images/bugler_taps.jpg

Eurabian War for the Soul of the Civilization of Europe

I know I copted that phrase from someone, but I can't remember who. If it comes to me, I'll come back here and give credit where it's due. It's the perfect phrase to describe the events in France these days. Mark Steyn has an excellent report about the future of France albeit Europe. Then there's Africa, Latin America, South America, Canada, Belgium and the list goes on and on....

It's important to note that we probably will live to see (Islamo fascist) barbarism take over country after country. Mark's right. It's happening faster than we thought. And so many of us are in total denial... And operating in a self-destructive mode. This is textbook public opinion shaping. Go grab any text on the topic and see how key publics are influenced first (educators, media, and everyone who influences your children).

A muslim contact of Resa LaRue Kirkland should scare the life out of you. Funny choice of words. I have grave concerns that we will continue down this liberal-philosophy self-destructive path of "There's no right and wrong in the world, only different people with different positions that we must understand" too long. Too late for us can be right around the corner.

If France doesn't decide to quell this insurgency (finally a place where the word can be correctly used) and emerge dominant, it is already too late for them. For bowing to terroristic behavior will embolden those exhibiting the behavior. Go to Mark Steyn's column in the link below. When they are emboldened, more will come, and others will become inspired and emboldened elsewhere. And that IS the plan.

I heard a woman from France speaking about the riots and fires and the people committing them (don't know her name, I'm sorry). She said she grew up in France and was afraid of these immigrants while growing up. To explain why, she related the story of her doctor who had to take in the poor immigrants as patients under the socialist style health care program they have in France. She said that the Muslim families and friends would all use the same name and the same benefits card one right after the other when they came to the doctor for treatment. He knew they were different people and each should have his or her own card, of course, but since he did not want his throat slit, he ministered to their health needs without question.

I fear for civilization. In the barbaric future we all share now, there will be machete-wielding insurgents everywhere. No problems will be resolved in a civilized manner. Disagreement will mean death to the weaker or the slower--Christians first. Get it yet?

Two Stories For Veterans Day...Do Not Go To Macy's for the Sale. Spend your money here, where it counts.

I don't need nor have the right to speak for Marcella and her Uncle or Lcpl. Jesse and his father Jeff, but I think, as Veterans Day nears we should honor, in every way we can, the personal contributions and sacrifices the families of our brave men and women in uniform have made. After all, it is with thanks to them you still live in the land of the free and home of the brave. When you read Marcella's letter, take note of the date the 230 Marines were killed in Beirut, lest you are one of those hung up thinking the war started on September 11, 2001.

Please take a moment to look at the Random Acts suggestions on this site (link on right hand column takes you right there) and follow through--do something to say "Thank you." Go to the blog about the car wash effort and the Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas and make a donation. Go to the Treats for Troops site or the Marine Intelligence Association site in my links and take this opportunity to send some snacks and personal care items to a person you know--or better yet--randomly to a person who may have no one to send treats from home. (Can you imagine that? You are fighting for freedom for people even though you have no one close enough to send you a package? I honestly don't know where that bravery and commitment comes from.)

Do not buy that new sweater or gadget because it's on sale for "Veterans Day." Take that same $30, $50, $100 and do something to warm the heart of one of those brave souls who is, right now while you're reading this, putting his or her life on the line for YOU! May you have a warm and happy Veterans Day this year!

***
Dear Sgt. Grit:

First and foremost - Thank you and all Marines for the outstanding job you have done and continue to do for this American and the USA.

I have been around the Marines all of my life. My father died a retired Marine and my Uncle died while he was doing his duty. He is my purpose for writing to you. He was a 17 yr. Veteran who died along with about 230 other Marines in the barracks blast in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983. His name was Master Sgt. Matilde Hernandez, Jr. I remember my Uncle "Buddy" very fondly because he was one of the very best things in my childhood. He is why I so very much loved The Corp then as much as I do now. By his service he showed me honor, respect and so very much more. I didn't understand it all then, but I get it now. I only wish I had the chance to thank him not only for his service and commitment to his country but for my first motorcycle ride and being the coolest uncle a girl could have and simply for what he showed me of his beloved Marine Corp.

It is to him, you and all of the brave warriors both here and abroad, alive and gone - I say SEMPER FI - MARINES, SEMPER FI.

God Bless You,
Respectfully
Marcella Hernandez Grimes

*****
Then there's this:

Dear Sgt. Grit,

I am forwarding the below letter from a friend of mine who took a job working with the military and is now in Iraq. He has been there for the past 10 months. I have found many of his "journal entries" to be enjoyable reading. This one, in particular, stands out as it references the Marines - in a good light, of course. I asked him if he minded if I forwarded it to you as it contains a bit of insight into the world of our Marines. Since he lives and works with Marines, I can't help but think that his insight is a bit better than those typically "on the outside, looking in".

Please feel free to post it (or parts, since it is somewhat long) as part of your weekly newsletter or in full on your website. He asked only that I "sanitize" it so as not to violate OPSEC and keep his identity confidential.

Enjoy,
Jeff, father of Lcpl Jesse, USMC

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

Hello all! I am now a resident of Fallujah. As I have found, this is a very different place from Victory, and a very different world.

The Marines run Fallujah. Marines are different. Their way of life is different. More disciplined. More regimented. More austere. Harder.

I'm surrounded by dozens of them when I go to chow or to the Morale Center (the MWR). Especially at the MWR, it's mostly the youngest of the Marines in what must be the closest thing to a purely social gathering they'll experience here. Few NCOs and fewer officers, just them and their buds.

They're young men, mostly Privates, Lance Corporals and Corporals, between the ages of 18 and 22. They're slim and lean of build, yet muscular. Broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip, as Jimmy Dean would say. There are no chubby Marines here.

Almost to a man, they wear their hair high and tight: buzzed on the sides with just a close-cropped shock on top to give their Kevlar helmet a lightly padded resting place. A few shave their heads altogether but most wear the sidewalls.

Many have a white stripe on either side of their face, running between the eye and the ear, where their skin was shielded from the harsh Arabian sun by their sunglasses or dust goggles. All are clean shaven, though some don't look like they need it regularly. Some still haven't outgrown acne.

They're good, honest faces. When they look at you or speak to you, you sense that there is no nonsense about them; no guile in their manner. It's as if their life is too busy and their spare time too precious to fritter it away on anything but straightforwardness and candor. Their life here revolves around linear thinking and linear action, going straight from Point A to Point B. And their demeanor shows it.

Their behavior is more reserved than I've come to expect from a gathering of the same age group from any other service. No braggadocio and no trash talking. It's not that they're deathly grim, they're just not as boisterous as a typical group of American 20-year-olds. They're aware that their next appointment with fate is only a few hours and a few hundred yards away. And the only thing that keeps them alive tomorrow could well be that pimple-faced Marine sitting next to them.

In this setting you truly can sense the depth of their camaraderie; the respect among those who've shared a common, life-changing experience. They behave as if they were family, a brotherhood of baby-faced warriors.

The job of the Marines is different, which makes them different. They don't rely on all manner of 21st Century techno-wizardry, like the Army or Air Force. Sure, they have tanks and helicopters and night vision goggles and the like, but those do not form the core of the Marine's order of battle. To them, the perfect weapon is a gutsy Marine with a keen eye, a steady hand, and a rifle that shoots straight. These are serious people doing a deadly serious job. It's a difference they wear on their faces.

The Marines make this place different. Frivolous living takes away the edge; hard living makes hard men. They pay scant attention to creature comforts and don't "waste" precious assets on it. Why buy a billiard table for the Unit's rec room when you could spend the same dollars on another 20,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition? Besides, anything necessary for living already was issued to them but the Corps. Officer and enlisted, their entire world packs away into just two duffle bags and a ruck sack.

Marines talk differently, too. It's a port, not a door, a deck not the floor and a head, not a toilet. Equipment or personal items aren't lost, they're adrift. It takes a bit of getting used to.

Most everything they do for recreation involves athletic competition (it enhances both fitness and Esprit de Corps). And the equipment list rarely is longer than a football and an open field or a volleyball and a net. It makes no difference that it's only a friendly game; they still play like their lives depended on it.

Here they fly the US flag. It always has been understood that Camp Victory was an Iraqi base, albeit with a large number of Americans residing on it. It would have been disrespectful to the "landlords" to fly an American flag there, so none were. The US flag was never flown on the installation where I lived in Honduras many moons ago, and for the same reason. There is no such concern for the host's sensibilities here. This was never a palatial compound. It was us -- the US -- who dislodged the terrorist vermin from this place and it is we who man this post. And here they fly Old Glory proudly.

Basically the entire camp is as safe as a typical police station. Camp Victory butts up against some outlying Baghdad neighborhoods so certain areas of the camp have locals living right outside the wall. And they sometimes toss "surprises" over that wall and into the compound.

Here at Camp Fallujah, on the other hand, the Marines have cleared back any semblance of vegetation or habitation for what seems like several hundred yards from the camp's outer wall. That cinderblock wall is pretty tall (I'm guessing 11 or 12 feet) and this place is so flat that there are very few spots where you can stand on the ground and see anything beyond it. Where you "can" see past the wall, the most apropos image I can think of to describe it is Hiroshima after the bomb. The ground is barren and strewn with destroyed vehicles, both civilian and military. There is nothing there but desert and rusted hulks, a barren and desolate monochrome brown as far as you can see.

Marines man the numerous guard towers and scan the surrounding wasteland for anything approaching the camp. Anything that appears in that no man's land and looks to be headed toward the wall automatically is presumed to be hostile and reduced to just another piece of the lifeless landscape. It's a very stark image but it also is reassuring to know that none of the bad guys can get anywhere close to here without incurring the wrath of the bulldogs of the USMC. They guard their homes fiercely.

The PX here is the smallest I've seen in Iraq. And come payday, the Marines descend on it like so many locusts. With that double-whammy, the shortages I've seen elsewhere are even more widespread here. When we first got here, they were out of practically all the items I needed to set up housekeeping in my new swingin' bachelor pad (aka "bunker").

I wanted a reading lamp to replace the one I'd abandoned when I left Camp Victory. The PX had the lamps but only 115 VAc light bulbs. The current here is 220VAc.

They were out of fly swatters. And brooms. And buckets. And mops, er swabs. And extension cords/power strips. But they did have an impressive selection of decorative Christmas lights.

When I moved in, my bunker... I mean my room... was filthy. There was dust a full quarter inch deep on the window sills. Not house dust but the brown stuff that passes for desert sand here. The walls and part of the ceiling were streaked with the same stuff. The room stank with the same earthen odor as a dust storm. Since this used to be a bath house, the obvious solution was just hose it down and swab it out. But the PX had no buckets. Or mops, er swabs. Or detergent (except liquid Dial hand soap).

It took us three days to find a mop and bucket that we could borrow from the Marines. Then it took my roommate and me a solid eight sweat-soaked hours to scrub the grime out of the room. We worked from top down, naturally, and by the time the floor had dried, there was dust settled on the window sills again.

Our site lead spends a lot of time trying to convince us it could be worse. If he's hoping to convince me, he's got quite a lot of ground yet to cover.

P.S.,
If you think the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with the greater international war on terror, you need to come here and look around. This place was West Point for the Islamo-Fascist terrorist crowd. Saddam hosted training for all the major flavors of Muslim terrorism in this place, including Al Qa'aida, the Taliban and the PLO. The dormitories and some of the military-style training facilities (obstacle courses, etc.) still are there. Some of the things I have seen here send chills down my spine because they are undeniable proof of the unholy terror that was grown here to be exported to the rest of the world. I think I understand the revulsion that the Allied liberators of the Nazi concentration camps at the end of WWII must have felt.

Eventually I will post pictures that I think are conclusive enough to sway all but the Kool-Aid drinking anti-war crowd that Saddam was growing an infectious disease here to be loosed on the Western world in general and the US in particular. One photo in particular shows a dormitory wall painted with an Iraqi flag and a Palestinian flag waving over an American eagle, beside which is written in Arabic, "Death to America". That one shot pretty much says it all.If Chuckie Schumer or Cindy Sheehan or Teddy (hic!) Kennedy or any other of the anti-war moon bats were to come here, open their eyes and see what I've seen, they'd know better (thought I expect they'd never admit it).
Few Americans waking up on September 12, 2001 would have believed that just four years later the Taliban and Saddam Hussein would be gone, afghans and Iraqis would be lining with governments they elected, the Syrians would be forced out of Lebanon by angry Beirut voters, elections would have taken place on the West Bank after demise of Arafat, all U.S. troops would be out of Saudi Arabia, and political reform would be on the rise in the Gulf States. All without another terrorist attack on the United States.
Victor Davis Hanson
The American Enterprise
September 2005
Marine Corps Intelligence Association..............

The Marine Corps Intelligence Association is a non-profit, fraternal organization of Marine Corps regular, reserve, retired and honorably discharged Intelligence Marines, dedicated to the noble purpose of promoting fraternity, professionalism, and philanthropy. Two of the programs we sponsor are the Marine Corps Intelligence Educational Foundation and the S-2 Care Package Program. The Marine Corps Intelligence Educational Foundation, Inc supports academic excellence through scholarships, support the professional education of active duty and reserve Intelligence Marines and conduct historical research. The scholarship (presently $1500) is awarded annually to an eligible recipient. The S-2 Care Package Program supports our Intel Marines on deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations by sending phone cards, books, snacks, recreational games, and personal hygiene items to Marines serving in Intelligence sections fighting on the front lines to defeat terrorism and protect our freedoms. All donations are tax deductible.
www.mcia-inc.org

Joseph "Top" Kuhn

Source: Sgt Grit Newsletter, #109, Nov 3, 2005
http://www.sgtgrit.com/scuttlebutt/newsarchives/2005/nov_3_ac.asp

Muslims Behead School Girls

Are you still thinking that Islamo facists do not plan to take over the world, first infiltrating and then causing revolution, removing Europe and the USA and their every influence from all society as well?

The evidence is everywhere. Ships (pleasure today, oil laden "bombs" tomorrow?) are being pirated along the coast of Africa, Muslims are in Britain in record numbers and are isolated and lodging terrorist attacks from within certain London neighborhoods; the French are currently allowing young Muslim men to burn to the ground whatever they see fit to burn. Police are in a stand down mode. No retaliation allowed. No protection for the general population. Asia and Africa have huge Muslim populations. It's also spread to Belguim, and Germany. None of these Muslim enclaves and separate societies in any of these countries are particularly friendly to any outside force or to the governments of their host countries.

The secularists want us to embrace a philosophy where there is no right and no wrong. We just should "understand" our enemies, especially our Muslim enemies. We are, unbelievably, naive enough to allow our enemies to use our own various country's population's misplaced good intentions against protecting ourselves at home.

In Sulawesi is the kind of encroachment that should be causing outrage. But it isn't. France has African Muslims uprising in the streets and that is getting plenty of media coverage. Lives are lives, are they not? Why coverage in France but not in Indonesia? Do check the link at the bottom of this entry. It's the BBC's account of the incident. Strangely, only the Australians, the BBC, and the Christian media appeared in my Google search for "Sulawesi school girls beheaded."

Wouldn't you think "machete-wielding" Muslims beheading 3 young school girls, leaving one girl's head on church steps would attract at least some attention?

Please tell me that our secular media has not dismissed these Christian girls' loss of their lives as being less important to report than the secular lives--or the Muslim lives lost which we do hear bewailed daily.

Reminds me of Jesus saying, "God forgive them for they know not what they do." That was Jesus.

I, on the other hand, believe they know exactly what they're doing--they're prioritizing what you read and hear in the daily media. Do you wonder where the yellow went? It's alive and well in secular media journalism.

Here's David Aikman's report. Aikman is a veteran journalist and commentator for Beyond the News online .

Religious Liberties Dying in Sulawesi
—David Aikman

It's often hard to keep track of seemingly small events in distant countries when so many dramatic headlines continue to dominate the international scene. But Americans ought to be paying close attention to Indonesia, with 212 million people the world's largest Muslim country, but where Christians are under serious attack.

For the past five years, persistent violence has plagued the island of Sulawesi. Last week, three Christian schoolgirls were attacked by machete-wielding bandits and beheaded, with one girl's head left near a local church. In the past, such attacks have almost all been initiated by Islamic radicals. Unfortunately, violence throughout Sulawesi seems to have increased since Saudi Arabian money started funding Muslim radical groups.

Religious liberties throughout the world are under increasing threat, but Indonesian Christians are paying an especially devastating price for their faith, and need America's support.

News Flash! Corzine Sex Change Facilitated by NJ Prison System

Pssst! Here's what someone, who should know, called me today and said, "What NJ Senator's son, who is currently serving a sentence in a NJ State Prison (a little known fact, BTW), has recently had strings pulled so that he/she could receive elective surgery to have a sex change???" While in prison! Would the reason have anything to do with a transfer to a potentially less violent women's facility?

You won't find this story in the mainstream media...however, it came to me from extremely "reliable sources." Hey, I'm just askin'. If you think this is just so much gossip, why doesn't someone in the mainstream media just ask him about it?

MY Questions (Or Things To Think About Before You Pull That Lever On Tuesday):

Why this surgery before legitimate and more necessary surgeries for inmates who have less clout and fewer social and political connections?

Who paid for this elective surgery? and

Who approved elective sex change surgery for a prisoner (!) and where is the mainstream press on this issue?

The senator is serving NJ and the USA-- are his family's personal lives not as "public" and as accountable as Dick Cheney's daughter's personal life (which democrats thought was fair game during the last Presidential debates), George Bush's family's personal lives (which are constantly being attacked), The Govinator's family, Justice Alito's, or any other public figure's?

More About Jon Corzine--In Case You Missed It Like I Did
Does this and the fact that Senator Corzine divorced and dumped his wife Joanne AFTER winning his election (and 33 years of marriage) and while he was carrying on with the head of one of NJ's biggest public employee unions make him a "family values" candidate? Was NOT Forrester forced to sign a pact that he would keep Corzine's family values, or lack thereof, out of this very close campaign for the Governor's seat in NJ?

Cindy Adams, a reporter who is NOT from NJ and has no axe to grind about NJ politics, recently wrote an article on the Senator which in part said,

"Corzine's romance with Carla Katz, who heads New Jersey's largest public employee union, has been widely spoken about. What he hasn't spoken about is how one will manage to negotiate — should one become governor — with a lady one has known in The Biblical Sense. As in, naked.

Have a handful of allegations:

* Supposedly, Corzine went for a $125,000 (give or take a few bucks) Cartier necklace to keep Carla from attending his son's wedding in San Francisco.

* In a newspaper photo, Carla flashed a Cartier bracelet identical to one Corzine had bought Joanne before. Joanne returned hers to her husband.

* Family members have mentioned certain credit card usage.

* Although they have since broken up, he remains obsessed with pleasing Carla. Even complained that her children — not his, he never mentioned his — were suffering from the adverse publicity of their affair.

* His wife confronted him about Carla early on. He denied it, although they'd be on the phone sometimes from midnight to 2 a.m. He admitted it when confronted with telephone records.

* Joanne has said he always said he had never been unfaithful. Joanne has also said she doesn't "know what he was on."

* He's "a prime narcissist. Calculating, driven. Does and says exactly what will get him whatever he wants, then apologizes for it later big-time. Will do whatever and say whatever to get elected.

* "He surrounds himself with people he pays or needs, then on to the next. It's all about him. He'll never be satisfied."

About the huggy, kissy, fuzzy aroma he exudes it's: "He's mastered a disguise."

You're told: "When he ran for Senate if he said once more how much he loved his wife, I'd have vomited." He dumped his wife after his election."

####

What a guy! NJ's Dems have had the power way too long. They have become absolutely corrupted. Think McGreevey. Think Norcross.

Actually, just think !

NY ACLU Is The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

From O'Reilly's Most Ridiculous Item on November 2. I hope the url in the link remains the permanent address for this. Check out the New York ACLU web page highlighted below for your "rights" if your bag is searched. (Remove tongue from cheek) I wonder if their attorneys would defend a visitor to the NYCLU whose bag was searched while entering their building. Anyone? Anyone? Isn't this pledge season as some college somewhere? I almost want to do this myself...and call the media to see if anyone shows up to film and air the fiasco!

***

We have to thank The New York Sun newspaper for digging this one up:

As you may know, the New York chapter of the ACLU is suing the city for random bag checks in the subway system. But guess who's checking bags in their own offices? You got it, the NYCLU. The sign outside the office says, quote, "Please have photo ID ready for inspection. All packages are subject to inspection upon entering and leaving the premises."

Whoa! Got to love that ACLU. To not do so would be ridiculous. It's great.

—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com

Sources: Fox News O'Reilly's Most Ridiculous Item, November 2, 2005
NYCLU on November 3 (in case you need to pull up archives) www.nyclu.org/mta_seaches_main.html

Harry Reid Ran Rampant

So, do I have this right? Harry Reid's grandstand yesterday hijacked the Senate with an obscure parliamentary Rule 21 in order to capture attention of media (successfully), and emerged many hours later with a bi-partisan committee that will investigate a bi-partisan investigation?

Do these guys think we appreciate their work ethic? Or is it possible they know we think they are baffoons? Could Nevada think it's getting its money's worth with his representation? I hate that we're paying him for this behavior.

If I had immediate hiring and firing power over these clowns, this man would go. Yesterday. Along with Dick Durbin. And Barbara Boxer. And fat Teddy.
***
Photo Credit: http://mandatemedia.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/harryreid_1.jpg

Spontaneous Acts of Kindness For Our Men and Women in Uniform--Follow Up #2

This is an idea that came out of experience. While in our local Paneras (a wonderful sandwich and bread shop chain), we saw an airman in uniform buying some food at the bakery counter. We were in line to get lunch, so I held our place and my husband went to the other cash register and insisted on paying for the airman's order. The manager, behind the counter, was so nice--he told my husband that if there were more people like us in the world, there would be no problems. He gave us the receipt for the airman's meal and directed my husband to go to the first of two registers with it. We did--though he HAD already paid at the bakery register. We didn't quite "get it" until we got to the register and ordered our lunch. The guy behind our register said, "no--your bill is taken care of. Trust me, it really is." We then realized that the manager was so moved by our "random act of kindness for the airman," that he in turn took care of our meal. That certainly was not our intention, but it also was a wonderful exhibition of human kindness "paying it forward." My husband did say the manager was visibly moved when the airman and he shook hands and thanked each other for their service (my husband is a Vietnam vet).

The following week my husband again saw a military soldier at a convenience store. He was already leaving and had already paid. He said he really wanted to do something for the guy, but didn't want to chase him down and give him cash. He probably wouldn't have taken it.

So... here's the addition to the random acts plan. I've decided to buy some gift cards at various local convenience stores, gas stations, etc. And now when such an occurence takes place, we'll be prepared. We'll give him or her a gift card that they can use whenever they like. I think I'll just go with getting $10 and $20 per card. It's the thought after all. Just passing it along to you too. Arm yourself with some gift cards and see what magic happens when you "Thank" a member of our armed forces!