2 nd Amendment and the Military

While the second amendment only guarantees the right to bear arms, It's value is seen in the application of that right by ordinary citizens. Recreational, sporting and hunting all develop a skill set that have greater benefits for the nation at large. Take this one example for instance.

Galen Wilson started shooting when he was five. His father, a former Navy SEALS, began his training in marksmanship which he has carried into the Marine Corp. As the designated marksman for his company he has in two tours in Iraq acquired 20 confirmed kills and 40 additional shot that likely killed insurgents.

During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.

At 21 years old this kind of skill isn't taught to the inexperienced quickly. The ability to develop these skills through recreational and sport shooting is an asset that serves this nation as well as others by making men such as Galen Wilson.


2nd Amendment, military, guns,

Groping to the Election

Who but the Democrats could be more clueless than the UN? In preparation for their expected taking over the majority in Congress, they have found the burning issues to propel them to victory, Stem cell research and the minimum wage. Last month wasn't it health care and the war in Iraq? We are witnessing the political version of the rock opera Tommy, except this deaf, dumb and blind kid can't play no pinball.



politics, Economics, pro-life,

Project Hero

QandO has the next Silver Star recipient tribute up on their site.



Our hero this week is MAJ Mark E. Mitchell, Distinguished Service Cross

"It is a tremendous honor, but I don't consider myself a hero," Mitchell said. "I am not personally convinced that my actions warranted more than a pat on the back. Wearing the Special Forces foreign-service combat patch on my shoulder and serving with the finest soldiers in the world is enough. I was just doing my job and our mission was accomplished."

Mitchell's award citation states that he received the nation's second-highest military award for "extraordinary heroism in action" during the battle of Qala-I-Jangi Fortress in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, during November 2001, while assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) as a ground forces commander.

The details of how the bloody battle started are still unconfirmed. However, most reports from eyewitnesses indicate that the three-day conflict erupted when an a Taliban enemy prisoner of war drew a grenade while being searched, pulled the pin and killed himself and a Northern Alliance commander.

The suicide attack triggered the uprising and an estimated 500 Taliban prisoners being held in Qala-I-Jangi, which means "House of War," stormed two CIA agents working at the facility who were interviewing prisoners. Spann, one of ambushed agents, died at the prison and the other agent escaped.

Mitchell, 38, a Desert Storm veteran, heard of the attack when a Northern Alliance soldier rushed into a facility his unit was preparing for humanitarian workers and told him that he and his men were needed immediately at the prison.

U.S. Army Maj. Mark Mitchell, Special Forces soldier, is pinned with the second highest military decoration for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for combat actions in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, by Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Nov. 14, at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. U.S. Army photo by Jennifer Whittle

Mitchell organized a team of 16 British and American soldiers and sped to the prison about 25 kilometers away.

When they arrived, Mitchell led his soldiers into battle against prisoners who had armed themselves with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine guns, and rifles they collected from armories at the prison. Armed with a rifle and pistol, Mitchell, wearing no body armor and head protection, climbed to the highest point of the fortress to survey the battleground.

From that vantage point, Mitchell's men began to call in air strikes on the Taliban. Later that evening, Mitchell and his men withdrew from the prison to plan the next day's operations.

The following morning, Mitchell's men returned to the fortress and were greeted by a barrage of gunfire. Mitchell and his unit requested more air support, but misfortune struck when a bomb fell near Mitchell's team injuring nine of his soldiers.

After evacuating his injured men for most of the day, Mitchell returned to the fortress under the cover of darkness with five men and directed more air strikes on the enemy positions. By morning of the third day, most of the prisoners had been killed, and those who remained were killed when the Northern Alliance rolled into the compound with tanks. Other Taliban later killed themselves rather than surrender. John Walker Lindh, the Californian who traveled to Afghanistan to help the Taliban, was captured when the battle ended.

U.S. Senate Bids to Ban Emergency Gun Confiscation

One of the great weaknesses of government is the temptation of officials to do what looks good rather than what is good. For example, it is easier to allocate more money to a program than it is to address the effectiveness of lack thereof of the program in solving the stated problem. It is easier to have quotas in hiring than to tackle real prejudice. It is easier to ban and confiscate guns from privet citizens than it is to apprehend and prosecute real criminals. In the later case that is what happened in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.

While the city was drifting toward anarchy in the days after the storm passed, citizens who had no other protection armed themselves to protect their property and neighbors until order could be restored. The city chose to disarm these very citizens, not because they were a danger but because they were an easy target to attack that looked good in the press. To have gone after the criminals was too much like work not to say dangerous. If ever there were a case for the exercise of 2nd amendment rights this was it, yet the very government that was charged with preserving law and order exasperated the lawlessness by denying the citizens that right.

Somehow the US Senate has found the backbone to support the citizen's right to bear arms by introducing legislation that will prohibit jurisdiction from disarming citizens who are not committing crimes during an emergency.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) charges a Republican-backed amendment that prohibits the confiscation of guns during an emergency puts police officers and first responders in danger. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), was added to the Homeland Security appropriations bill during a July 13 Senate vote.

No surprise Sen. Kennedy opposes this. He and his ilk fear the armed citizen as much as the criminals do. It is hard to dominate a self reliant populace. What is remarkable is the Democrats who did support this amendment.

But Republicans were not the only backers of the amendment. Several key Democrats also voted in favor of the provision. Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd (WV), Barack Obama (IL), Ben Nelson (NE), Bill Nelson (FL), John Rockefeller IV (WV), Evan Bay (IN), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Russ Feingold (WI), Patty Murray (WA), Joseph Biden (DE), Patrick Leahy (VT), Joseph Lieberman (CT) and Mary Landrieu (LA) all voted in favor of the amendment.

There are some real anti second amendment people on that list, an indication that the original intent of the right to bear arms is being restored.

Kennedy, politics, second amendment

Oatmeal for Brains

That's what this nit wit must have sloshing between his ears. Seems he needed $20,000 for bail on a car theft charge to get out of jail. With all the terrorism in the news Donald Ray Bilby hit upon a plan to raise the money. He sent letters to the FBI office in Franklin Township, the Secret Service office in Morristown, to the Somerville Post Office, to a Commerce Bank branch in Somerville, and to a Valley National Bank branch in North Plainfield. He simply asked them to deposit the money into his inmate account conveniently supplying his name and inmate number. Oh and if they didn't he would blow them up or send them anthrax.

"Just when you think you'd seen it all, a case like Mr. Bilby's comes along," U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said Tuesday after Bilby pleaded guilty in Trenton to a federal charge of false information. "I think it's fair to say we were not dealing with a great criminal mind here."

The court guidelines suggested an additional term of 18 to 24 months. Next he'll send an email claiming he was some Nigerian banker with money to give away. That will fool them.



stupid criminals,

Kerry knocks Bush on Handling of Mideast Conflict

Sen. John Kerry is putting his time between elections to good use establishing himself as the Judah Friedlander of American poilitics. Every world event is an opportunity for him to remind all of us that he would have solved that problem long before now if he were president. The recient troubles in the Levant prompted him to declare once more that all problems of the world are made worse by George Bush but would not have existed had we been wise enough to have put him in office instead.

"If I was president, this wouldn't have happened," said Kerry during a noon stop at Honest John's bar and grill in Detroit's Cass Corridor.

Bush has been so concentrated on the war in Iraq that other Middle East tension arose as a result, he said.

"The president has been so absent on diplomacy when it comes to issues affecting the Middle East," Kerry said. "We're going to have a lot of ground to make up (in 2008) because of it."...

... "This is about American security and Bush has failed. He has made it so much worse because of his lack of reality in going into Iraq.…We have to destroy Hezbollah," he said.

I suppose Sen. Kerry would talk Hezbollah to death. All the diplomacy in the world has got us here so I would say the diplomats have used all their coupons. Undetered by past performance Sen. Kerry holds fast to the diplomatic soultion believing some how it will make Hezbollah go away. The Israeli's efforts seem to be working out just fine, I don't see how "we" need to do anything. With all his carping about unilateralism one would think he would be happy to see Israel doing the heavy lifting.

If only the world would recognize the greatness of Sen. Kerry all would be roses and butterflies.

Captian's Quarters put in the details.

politics, Midddle East, John Kerry,

Project Hero

QandO has the next Silver Star recipient tribute up on their site.



Our hero this week is ILT Thomas E. Cogan, Silver Star

On April 6, 2004, 2nd Platoon was ambushed by enemy forces while moving to reinforce a heavily engaged unit. With total disregard for his personal safety, Cogan led his platoon across a fire-swept field and directed fire. Though caught in the crossfire, he exposed himself to direct fire in order to cross an open field and position himself to direct fires on the enemy. His actions enabled the company command element to move to safety. After consolidating his platoon, Cogan led his men through a fierce, three-hour, house-to-house assault that destroyed remaining enemy forces in his zone of action.

Blackman spoke to the Marines attending the ceremony about the award, hailing Cogan's deeds on the battlefield as great leadership under fire.

"Lieutenant Cogan displayed great tactical skill in a combat environment, leading his Marines and pursuing the enemy," Blackman said.

Cogan also spoke, giving a few short and humble words about his accomplishment, thanking those in attendance for their presence, but mostly attributing the award to his Marines who where involved in the action.

US to Deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 in Japan

No doubt the Democrats will find fault with this somehow.

The U.S. military will install Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air interceptors at its Kadena Air Base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa from September and plans to make them partly operational by the end of the year, the ministry said.

They will be fully operational by the end of March, a ministry official added.

Let them, no one but their moonbat supporters will listen.


Update:

Washinton post article's last line:

Some experts, however, have questioned the success rate of the PAC-3 system in testing and say it still requires fine tuning.

North Korea, politics

Maryland's Wal-Mart Scheme Fails in Court

A federal Judge ruled that the law in Maryland that would have required Wal-Mart to spend 8% of it's payroll on healthcare was negated by federal standards.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that the "Wal-Mart Law," which won overwhelming support in the General Assembly this year, ran afoul of a 32-year-old federal statute intended to protect corporations from having to navigate a patchwork of benefits requirements from state to state.

I doubt this ruling will enlighten them on the foolishness of a command economy. The nit wits in the legislature got to show the nit wits that voted for them that they were tough on the evil Wal-Mart which is all the matters to them. Their ventures into dictating the operating details on businesses in the state haven't ended with Wal-Mart. They are fresh from legislating the cost of electricity. Subsequently the debt rating of the utility has been lowered to near junk status thus increasing the cost of borrowing and in turn the cost of producing electricity. No matter, the votes are bought so the ruin of the state's economy is a secondary issue. They are probably hoping some judge will once more pull the bacon out of the fire before that happens.



Maryland politics Economics Wal-Mart

The True Peace Process

Lot's of talk about reigniting the "peace process." There has been and still is only one process that brings peace...

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!"

Another Restraining Order Fails to Restrain

One has to wonder why there even exists the thing we call a restraining order. Whom does it restrain? I see the only thing it provides is a false sense of security. But in the following case It would seem that the need for one would be enough of a reason to take the individual in question off the street, except for the fact that he was arrested and then released on bail!

A registered sex offender fatally shot a 17-year-old girl he had been harassing, then killed himself after an hour-long standoff with police Saturday, authorities said...

...Uslan posted bond and was released from jail Thursday. He entered the smoothie cafe where Carleo worked with a gun around 9:15 a.m. Saturday, police said.

"Unfortunately this mad man was not kept behind bars where apparently he should have been kept, and unfortunately we have a young girl who is now dead," [police] said.

The key words here are REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER and 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL HE HAD BEEN HARASSING. So what is he getting bail for? A registered sex offender who is harassing a teenager should have forfeited his right to be free to roam the streets by virtue of his past performance. The sooner authorities accept the fact that child molesters are not easily rehabilitated, if at all, the safer our children shall be.

My suggestion would be forget the restraining order, buy a gun, learn how to use it and be prepared to do so. Oh unless one is a minor and the law prevents one from defending oneself from predators authority's let out on the street.

pedophile

U.N. passes resolution condemning N. Korea

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to selectively wag its collective finger at North Korea over that county's ballistic missile program. The North Korean government responded by sticking its tongue out at the UN.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said North Korea set "a world record" for a rejection — 45 minutes — and warned that Pyongyang's failure to comply could lead to further council action. He did not say what that might be.

The resolution bans all U.N. member states from selling material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction to North Korea, and from receiving missiles, banned weapons or technology from Pyongyang.

The next step should be a vigorous wagging of the UN finger. The North Korean delegate warned against such a move.

Pak warned that North Korea will "take stronger physical actions of other forms should any other country ... take issue with the exercises and put pressure."

He immediately left the council chamber at the end of his speech in a move considered a breach of diplomatic protocol.

They may be considering giving the UN the finger next which may cause Kofi Annon to huff and make a statement.

What a great concept. A world organization that pays people to jabber and posture while the world's despots continue to threaten to destroy their neighbors with impunity.


UN politics North Korea

New Kid on the Block

Last night at around 11:15 P.M. a 9lbs 8oz addition to the family was added. Both the baby and my daughter are doing well. There is another Ziba in the world.

Project Hero

QandO has the next Silver Star recipient tribute up on their site.




Our Hero this week is: SGT Jarred L. Adams, Silver Star

In January 2005, during Operation Iraqi Freedom II, Adams was deployed with the battalion to the Iraqi-Syrian border region of western Al Anbar Province.

In the city of Husaybah, a city of about 50,000 citizens, Adams’ humvee was attacked by insurgents with machine guns and rocket- propelled grenades.

When his vehicle crashed and became stuck, Adams immediately took up a stable position and returned fire at the enemy. After Marines dislodged the vehicle, Adams and his squad drove back to retrieve another humvee lost in the melee.

That’s when a rocket- propelled grenade struck Adams’ vehicle, killing one Marine and wounding others inside. Adams received shrapnel from the blast as well as burns from the vehicle which was set ablaze from the attack.

After seeking a safe position, Adams realized the body of the fallen Marine was still inside the blazing vehicle. Running back into the burning vehicle and, while under enemy fire, Adams retrieved the Marine’s body and carried him through an intersection while broadly exposed to enemy fire.

It wasn’t until Adams and the other Marines were back in the safety of their headquarters that Adams sought medical treatment for his wounds.

He downplays his actions in the firefight, and said that he feels that any Marine would have performed as he did.

Frederic Arthur (Fred) Clark RIP

On Father's Day, 2006 Fed Clark who had lived his 61 years with no more notoriety than any one of us, died in an auto crash in Virginia. After his obituary appeared in the Times-Dispatch however, he became a person many people from around the world felt a connection to. The obit they read was written by Fred himself. Here it is in its entirety.

.

Frederic Arthur (Fred) Clark, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he lost his battle as a result of an automobile accident on June 18, 2006. True to Fred's personal style, his final hours were spent joking with medical personnel while he whimpered, cussed, begged for narcotics and bargained with God to look over his wife and kids. He loved his family. His heart beat faster when his wife of 37 years Alice Rennie Clark entered the room and saddened a little when she left. His legacy was the good works performed by his sons, Frederic Arthur Clark III and Andrew Douglas Clark MD, PhD., along with Andy's wife, Sara Morgan Clark. Fred's back straightened and chest puffed out when he heard the Star Spangled Banner and his eyes teared when he heard Amazing Grace. He wouldn't abide self important tight *censored*. Always an interested observer of politics, particularly what the process does to its participants, he was amused by politician's outrage when we lie to them and amazed at what the voters would tolerate. His final wishes were "throw the bums out and don't elect lawyers" (though it seems to make little difference). During his life he excelled at mediocrity. He loved to hear and tell jokes, especially short ones due to his limited attention span. He had a life long love affair with bacon, butter, cigars and bourbon. You always knew what Fred was thinking much to the dismay of his friend and family. His sons said of Fred, "he was often wrong, but never in doubt". When his family was asked what they remembered about Fred, they fondly recalled how Fred never peed in the shower - on purpose. He died at MCV Hospital and sadly was deprived of his final wish which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a double date to include his wife, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to crash an ACLU cocktail party. In lieu of flowers, Fred asks that you make a sizable purchase at your local ABC store or Virginia winery (please, nothing French - the *censored*) and get rip roaring drunk at home with someone you love or hope to make love to. Word of caution though, don't go out in public to drink because of the alcohol related laws our elected officials have passed due to their inexplicable terror at the sight of a MADD lobbyist and overwhelming compulsion to meddle in our lives. No funeral or service is planned. However, a party will be held to celebrate Fred's life. It will be held in Midlothian, Va. Email fredsmemory@yahoo.com for more information. Fred's ashes will be fired from his favorite cannon at a private party on the Great Wicomico River where he had a home for 25 years. Additionally, all of Fred's friend (sic) will be asked to gather in a phone booth, to be designated in the future, to have a drink and wonder, "Fred who?"
Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on 7/9/2006.

His family does have a cannon and will be firing Fred from it at a family gathering. Fred should have been a blogger.

View his Guest Book Basil's


Obituary Virginia

U.N. Finger Wagging on N. Korea to Continue

Japan is done fooling around with North Korea. They have submitted a resolution that would call on all member nations of the UN to stop "acquiring North Korean missiles or weapons of mass destruction — or the parts or technology to produce them — and orders all countries to take steps to prevent any material, technology or money for missile or weapons programs from reaching the North." In light of the recent events one would think this to be a no brainer, but the rest of the world wants desperately to rely on vigorous finger wagging to do the job.

The natural conclusion is the status quo with North Korea's relationship with other nations is either not as threatening as it would seem, or more profitable than the change that restrictions would bring. The Japanese realize that they are on the chopping block as far as NK is concerned so their options are clear. The UN, touted to be a all for one, one for all organization is showing itself to be a head in the sand hostage to the interests of rouge nations.

What countries have accomplished or been prevented from doing anything in pursuit of their own interest by the efforts of the UN? It is a huge organization that swallows resources and produces more trouble that it solves. The nations of the UN are willing to let Japan do the dirty work while they all sit back and criticize, pontificate and display false outrage while putting stumbling blocks in Japan's way for their own benefit. When the smoke clears and all the work is done the UN will sweep in and begin the long process of making matters worse all over again.

UN North Korea

Project Hero

QandO has the next Silver Star recipient tribute up on their site.



Our hero this week is Project Hero:MSG Donald Hollenbaugh, Distinguished Service Cross

On April 26, 2004, the Special Forces soldier was with a group of about three dozen Marines on the outskirts of Fallujah. They had taken over two houses in front of American lines when they were attacked by more than 300 enemy fighters. The attack killed one Marine and wounded 25 others, leaving few American defenders. At one point, according to an account in the Fayetteville Observer, "Hollenbaugh was the only man standing. 'I was just running from hole to hole putting a few rounds here and there to make them feel like they were dealing with more than one guy,' he said." According to his citation, "Hollenbaugh personally eliminated multiple enemy-controlled weapon positions," preventing the enemy from overrunning the American troops. Vice President Cheney presented Hollenbaugh with the Distinguished Service Cross on June 10, 2005..

Ruthless Training at the Inferno

I have been a farrier for 27 years. About 6 years ago I began cutting back on my workload because it was physically waering me out. This last winter I began to workout at the Inferno by the CrosssFit trainers there. They have a system that very quickly began to restore the strength and stamina that I thought was lost to me. I had tried doing workouts at public gyms where I went from one machine to another but did not get the kind of results that I did with Ruthless training. It makes the whole body fit, not body building but body strenthening. Then couple this with the combative training such as boxing, AMOK! Knife fighting, Fencing and other such offerings combined with olymic lifting and one gets a very practical approach to body fitness that is unique in the fitness world.

This excerpt for the Washington post accuratly describes how the concept works.

Now I'm no weakling. I can easily dead lift 250 pounds for three sets of 10. I can take 100 pounds from the floor to overhead in a second or less. But Weakley gave me a 36-pound cannon ball with a handle (called a kettlebell) and made me squat down, touch it to the floor and then punch it up to the sky. I was a little uncertain, but I did it -- 15 times with each hand. Followed with push-ups, three sets of 10 of the dreaded "squat thrust" and then 20 minutes of throwing the hardest punches I'm capable of at my moving trainer target. I summoned my inner Ali, thought about gas prices and pounded away. It felt magnificent! My exhaustion was overtaken by the fun I was having as my gloves made a perfect thwack against the pads.

I believe in this system enough that I became an owner in Ruthless Training.

Linked to Ruthless Regimen

Update Where did Ruthless Training go?

fitness Virginia

Winchester Model 1890

While I'm waiting to here the news as to the status of the Winchester factory in New Haven Conn., I have been pulling out the various Winchesters that we have here at the ranch. One that is a particular joy for my wife is her Model 1890 .22 pump gallery rifle. One more of John Browning's designs


Manufactured in 1911 it was likely owned by an individual rather than a shooting gallery. It has a clean bore and sharp corners and shoots like a dream. She likes the light weight and easy handling. Because it shoots .22 short only, it is silent as a BB gun with no recoil to speak of. Top it all off with its accuracy and you have a very enjoyable weapon for those pesky cans that sit on old logs.

Carnival of Cordite #64 at Spank That Donkey

winchester 1890 guns

Leftist Make Threats as Mexico Awaits Recount

In Mexico the left is following it's standard pattern when losing an election, cry fraud and threaten violence. They say because of Mexico's history of election corruption that this election is also suspect. The problem with this argument is it assumes they are untainted by any fraud on their part. If they have a gripe it is their people were not able to stuff the ballot box sufficiently to overcome the opposition. Undeterred by any hint of hypocrisy they are willing to unleash the rioters the left has always relied on in to grasp power back when it slips from their incompetent hands.

With a 400,000 vote margin a lot of non sense would have to have occurred to swing the result. Like the American left's efforts in the 2000 Presidential election in Florida the Mexican left will end up looking ridiculous before it is over. Mexico can only hope that the mask will be pulled from the left enough to convince people to not be seduced by their socialist rhetoric and avert the disaster of the 1970's. It was then that high oil prices gave Mexico an opportunity to solve its fiscal mess only to squander it on a massive social spending campaign that brought the country to the brink when oil prices came back down. The same window is open again. If the left can be contained, Mexico may develop a functioning economy that can free itself from the price of oil and the flow of cash from Mexican's living in the US.


Mexico Economics politics oil

North Korea fires series of missiles

North Korea has launched their missile only to see it fail after 40 seconds. Hey followed up with five SCUD launches that landed in the Sea of Japan. What is important is not that their long range missile was a bust, but what the US and Japan do about it. Is we are perceived by North Korea as having a weak response then we can expect to see more of this in the future only with an escalated intent. It shouldn't be hard to put the screws to a nation's government that throws money away on missile launches while their people starve.

One positive move would be to fulfill the offer to deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile batteries in Japan. This would move our defense forward and arm an ally that is quite serious about dealing with this problem. Their culture and history make them the natural go between. China may be embarrassed by the launch, but they have a history of protecting the North Koreans that can't be ignored even if it is no longer valid.

war North Korea

Independance Day in Retrospect

Thomas Paine who is most remembered for his work "Common Sense" which inspired our forbearers to seek freedom from the British Crown also penned "The crisis", a work that I find appropriate for the country today. Its opening line will be familiar to some who are likely to have typed it in practice many times. For a country once again at war it is again relevant.

December 23, 1776
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

The war on terror started in 1979 with the Iranian hostage taking. That was followed by numerous other attacks all of which were dealt with using diplomacy, the ultimate result being the attack of 9/11. All joined at that time in a call for a war on terror, but five years later the sunshine patriots have withered in their determination and as the NYT has so recently demonstrated begun to work against the effort.

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated

We have locked horns with the very enemy of western civilization, the winner take all. The price indeed is high yet the cost of failure is higher still. Those that wish to withdraw from the breach hold freedom cheap and will find it stolen away even as they believe they have saved it. They are not willing to forgo any exercise of freedom today to secure it for the future. The crisis has revealed their self interest over their national pride.

Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them... Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered. In fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world.

As the war on terror has sifted the nations who will stand firm or who will wilt, so it has unasked those who will pursue their own interest over the national. It is fortunate that their numbers are small even if their power to do harm is greater. Time will reveal the value of the sacrifice of so many who fought for lasting freedom even for those back home who shrank from their duty.

...and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, "Well! give me peace in my day." Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty....There are cases which cannot be overdone by language, and this is one. There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both.

Thomas Paine's words as relevant today as when they were penned 230 years ago.


see also Stop the ACLU, Basil's Blog, Below the Beltway, TMH's Bacon Bits and Wizbang

war history politics Forth of July

Discovery launch delayed

Remember that old car that needed constant attention to keep it running? I had one that I spent as much time under as I did behind the wheel. It was always something. Every time I needed to go somewhere I would find some fluid leaking onto the pavement, the engine wouldn't start or a tire was low on air. Eventually I had to face the fact that these were clues telling me I needed a new car.

NASA seems to be facing a similar situation with the space shuttle. If its not sitting on the launch pad waiting for the weather to change, it's dropping pieces on the ground. Time to take the hint and move on to a new project. While they're at it they should move out of Florida so they don't have to wait for good weather to launch during hurricane season.





Economics government

Experts Debate Labeling Children Obese

There are times when schooling interferes with one's education, but I'm finding that there are plenty of examples where it interferes with one's common sense. Take this bunch of non sense over the issue of obesity in children.

The diplomatic approach adopted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and used by many doctors avoids the word "obese" because of the stigma. The CDC also calls overweight kids "at risk of overweight."

The existing categories are convoluted and "rather ironic, since the U.S. leads the world in terms of obesity," Cole said. "There must be an element of political correctness."

The debate illustrates just how touchy the nation is about its weight problem.

Obese "sounds mean. It doesn't sound good," said Trisha Leu, 17, who thinks the proposed change is a bad idea.

Don't hurt their feelings even though their health is in danger. "At Risk" is such a PC term, but "at risk of overweight." is Orwellian to the point of deceiving people into thinking they are not so bad off.. I just can't understand the kid glove treatment that is used on children. The adults act as if they are the children's dependents rather than their guardians. The government agency in charge of disseminating information on important matters of health is itself ate up with Politically correct non sense, but that is no excuse for parents and doctors coddling children to the point of endangering their health.

Dr. Michael Wasserman, a pediatrician with the Ochsner Clinic in Metairie, La., agreed. Using the term "at risk for overweight" is misleading, creating the perception "that I'm only at risk for it now, so I don't have to deal with it now," said Wasserman, who is not on the committee.

"There's a tremendous amount of denial by parents and children," he said.

Chicago pediatrician Rebecca Unger, also not a committee member, said she likes using the term "at risk for overweight" because it gives patients hope that "we can do something about it."

Hope is not what lying to patients provides. It lets them continue to fool themselves that they are actually not "at risk." Hope comes from first recognizing the problem and assessing the options for dealing with it while understanding the results of not doing so. When my doctor told me I was obese I was not pleased, nor did I think he was accurate in his description, but after my temper tantrum I took the advise to do something and do it now. I'm thankful that he did not pat me on the head and say I was at risk, but told me straight up that I needed to lose a lot of weight. Dancing around the obvious on matters of health will not serve those who need help. Having the government as enabler makes it even more difficult to do the necessary.

health government

Day 40 Forty Day ‘Pray for Iran’ Campaign.

History has shown that a society rarely turns itself around except by crisis or revival. Iran is at the door of crisis. The coming conflict will bring change but there is no guarantee that it will be for the good. Revival can bring the country out of crisis and into a dynamic period. In the Moslem world they may still find strife, but it will be such that builds a strong nation

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus." Acts 3:19-20.

On this final day we want to cry out to the living God on our knees for Christian revival to sweep through Iran.

In the last forty days we have praised God for many of the blessings Iran enjoys. But we have also asked the Lord of compassion to have mercy on the suffering of the nation.

It is obvious that Iran needs a radical spiritual transformation, revival and restoration. For this to happen, the nation is in need of deep conviction of sins, rather than condemnation, so that the people will humble themselves before the almighty and merciful God and repent. Then times of refreshing will come.

Oh living, compassionate and all powerful God, who spoke and the universe came into being, who desires all men to be saved, and who responds to the prayer of the righteous, hear our prayers:

* We pray that the Good News of the Gospel will spread all over the land. That every person will have an opportunity to hear and understand the work of Jesus on the cross, His death and resurrection, and the Good News of salvation provided for everyone.

* We pray that every Iranian Christian will be filled with God’s love and passion to declare Christ. Pray that every Iranian church will become a training centre for evangelists. Pray that men and women will be sent by God to bring the Good News all over the land.

* We pray also for nationwide distribution of the Word of God and Christian literature, for the effective use of the internet and 24 hour radio and satellite television programmes so that all of Iran and Iranians worldwide will hear His Voice.

* We pray that God the Holy Spirit will bring about a deep conviction to the heart of the nation as never before. Pray that the whole nation, young and old, men and women in the cities and rural areas of Iran and Diaspora will fall on their knees individually or in households and groups and cry to God and repent. We pray that like an avalanche a national spiritual revival will sweep the country.

* We pray that You, oh God, will forgive Iran and wipe away all sins. We pray that You will give the nation a new heart to seek after You and become an instrument of righteousness to love and to do Your will.

* We pray that You will pour out Your Spirit upon Iran and anoint the nation and that Iran will become a major missionary sending country to take the Gospel all over the Islamic world and beyond.

Thank you so much for praying for Iran.

Day 39 Forty Day ‘Pray for Iran’ Campaign.

The best three weeks of my life were spent in Iran in 1973’ - an elderly American lady sharing recently with an Iranian Christian leader.

Years ago when the former Shah of Iran had opened up the Iranian domestic markets to western products and was encouraging consumerism, when tourists were returning home from the sunny beaches of the Caspian Sea to narrate their tales of Arabian Nights, and when foreign missionaries were amazed at the level of freedom they were given in an Islamic country, it was very easy to love Iran.

But after 1979 it all suddenly changed. On the news bulletins of the western media there appeared images of young bearded Muslims brandishing Kalashnikovs and shouting "Death to America!" Pictures of Iran’s serene beaches and welcoming coastal cities gave way to images of American hostages, war-ravaged cities, and Ayatollahs calling for the destruction of Israel and America. Iran became synonymous with terrorism, religious fanaticism, and more recently, with nuclear bombs.

Iranians quickly lost the respect they once enjoyed in the world, and anyone holding an Iranian passport was viewed with great suspicion. Soon even the Christian world was convinced Iran is a closed country. After all, it was a country where the government had closed down the Bible Society, arrested and killed Christian leaders, and were discriminating against Christians. Most missionary organizations and donors were happy to dedicate their resources to other parts of the world, but Iran was out of the question.

Yet Iranians today are more open to the Gospel than they were before the revolution. After years of war and fighting and hatred, Iranians, most of whom were never even born when the revolution started, feel deceived and let down by those who were promising an Islamic utopia, and are craving for alternatives. And when they see the love of Christ as exhibited by Christians in their midst, they sense the difference immediately and are drawn to it like a magnet.

Paul says that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. With this in mind let us go before our loving Father:

* Pray that God would convict the global church to reach out to Iranians in faith and love so that they can taste and see that the Lord is good. Pray that fear and negative perceptions about Iran will be replaced with God’s deep love and concern for the people.
* Pray that both Iranian and non-Iranian Christians and churches will practically demonstrate their love for Iran by devoting adequate resources for mission to Iran.
* Pray that Christ’s love will compel Christians around the world to reach out to Iranians in their communities. Pray that God would give them passion, boldness and wisdom to share the Gospel with individuals and families and win them for Christ.

Thank you so much for praying.

Project Hero

QandO has the next Silver Star recipient tribute up on their site.



Our hero this week is Project Hero: SGT Joshua Szott, Silver Star

While out on a patrol Sept. 18, Szott's team was ambushed by enemy forces. Szott was shot in the left leg and took shrapnel in his right leg. Wounded and bleeding, Szott carried out other wounded, forced the retreat of 20 enemy "guerrillas" and, according to the award citation, aided in the defeat and capture of those responsible for the attack.

See WWII Plane at Richmond Airport

Monday at noon the WW II B-24, Diamond Lil will fly into Richmond International Airport. It will be available for public touring from 9 am- 5 pm Tuesday through Thursday admission is free.

The plane is owned and maintained by the Commemorative Air force (formerly the Confederate Air force). They accept donations which are used to maintain their exiting planes and acquire and restore new ones. Their latest project is a B-29 Superfortress.

The Diamond Lil is one of the earliest versions of the B-24 Liberators. They were developed in 1039 to replace the B-17 with a long range bomber with a larger capacity. The Diamond Lil was number 30 of 18000 that were built. Because of an accident during its delivery it remained in the US during the war as a company transport. After the war it was sold to the Contintental Can Company and then to Mexico's national oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos until it was acquired by its current owners in 1967.

history Virginia

Day 38 Forty Day ‘Pray for Iran’ Campaign.

"…with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." Revelation 5:9

Iran is a beautiful tapestry of different ethnic and linguistic groups which have lived together in harmony and mutual respect for centuries, while sharing a common patriotism for the country. In addition to Persians, there are 50 or more ethnic groups in Iran which together make up approximately half of the population. These include the Azeri, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Luri, Bakhtiari, Baluchi, Turkmen, Kurdish, Qashghai, Jewish, Armenian, Assyrian, Arab and Parsi (Zoroastrian) ethnic groups.

Biblical history makes us aware that Persians, Medes (probably the Kurds of today) and Elamites inhabited the region we know today as Iran. Throughout the centuries these early inhabitants sub-divided into different ethnic groupings. Segments from other people such as Jews, Arabs, Turkic peoples, and Armenians have also integrated over time and in more recent years Iran has welcomed large numbers of Afghans and Iraqi Kurds who have sought refuge there from conflicts in their homelands.

While Persian is the national language loved and spoken by almost all, most ethnic groups have retained their own mother tongue in spoken form as the language of their heart and home. This means that the message of the Gospel and basic Christian teaching may have more impact if delivered in the mother tongue, though participation in the wider fellowship of believers and on-going spiritual growth will naturally be in Persian.

In His covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless all the ethnic peoples of the earth. In realisation of this promise many people from various ethnic groups have been added to the Church in recent years. However, there are still a number of groups where there are no known Christians.

So today we want to pray that the Gospel will reach every ethnic group in Iran. Please join us in prayer and praise:

* Praise God for the harmony which exists between the various peoples of Iran, and pray that this can be maintained in both the political and Church domains.
* Pray for wisdom for Christian leaders, evangelists and broadcasters to discern how best to minister to the various regions and communities of Iran. Pray they will recognize the opportunities for use of the heart languages where appropriate alongside the use of Persian.
* Pray for those involved in production of Scripture portions in audio/visual formats (such as the Jesus Film) and other ministry materials in various languages of Iran. Pray in particular for the production of the Scriptures in Azeri spoken by over 20 million people in Iran.

Thank you so much for your prayers.