Anger and Hope

Sunny Hi 112 Lo 87 for Baghdad, Iraq
Partly Sunny, Isolated thunderstorms Hi 87 Lo 69 for NKY, USA

Song of the week: American Soldier, Toby Keith

I was hoping to do a lighthearted blog this week , but I have to share my thoughts about those Marines that were slain by those cowardly slimeballs.

***Some of the links on this Sunday's blog are not appropriate for children and some adults.

I am angry.
Those Marines were battling men that hide behind masks, that do cruel things that are too vile to discuss in a polite society. Torture? Please, go ahead and drive me crazy about talk of Abu Ghraib (Yes, I have seen all the photos, including the ones they don't show on the news...) and Guantanamo... No heads were viciously cut off in front of cameras...DO you remember hearing the blood curdling screams of those poor souls? Yes, there are a few idiots in our midst... I am ashamed that they are Americans--Lynndie England and Charles Graner (the most photographed) and the others, but we find them, remove them, and punish them accordingly. I'm disgusted by Janis Karpinski AND with the military that did not send her to be court-martialed... She allowed Abu Ghraib to happen on her watch... I'm sure she wasn't court-martialed because the military has blame in this too. She was placed in a job that she had no business in. I bet she was promoted through the ranks because she is a woman. (How many of us know people at work that have been promoted that should have been fired? Show of hands?) She is incompetent... You know it, I know it... and I can write it because I'm of the same gender...(you know what I mean... that whole politically correct thing... another topic for another time) Now I hear she is on the speaker circuit, trying to make a buck. I guess she is professing how hard it is to be a Brigadier General (was demoted to Colonel) in the Army in Iraq... boo hoo hoo...

Look... We don't torture and murder innocent civilians like Leon Klinghoffer, or Italian hero Fabrizio Quatrocchi, or the crew and passengers of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland, or Daniel Pearl ****LINK NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN AND SOME ADULTS****. We don't kill our athletes when they don't perform. We don't treat women like cattle... worse than cattle... We don't rape women and young girls and then murder them because they are no longer pure... We don't send a car filled with explosives into Embassies (Tehran, Beirut, Kuwait) to maim and kill civilians... We don't boobeytrap our own CHILDREN with explosives to kill soldiers!! We don't fill a back pack with explosives, board trains and buses and blow people to bits... Oh, and we don't fly jetliners into skyscrapers and kill thousands either!!!

We are fighting evil and it is real. It is tangible...You can touch the face of a terrorist- he isn't the bogeyman... You know as well as I do who the bad guys are....I must remind those that will listen to the Michael Moores and Al Frankens and all the politicians that would prefer to sell our collective souls to the devil that we need to to remember who the enemy is.... The Jawa Report **** NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN AND SOME ADULTS*** does an excellent job of reminding everyone in his blog entry, Avenging Cpl. Jeffrey A. Boskovich.

Everytime we start to forget the reason why we are fighting these extremest cowards... we should reflect on those awful images and sounds of horror as a reminder....

I am hopeful.
On Saturday morning I was having my cargo organizer installed at Mall Chrysler Jeep and as I looked around the waiting room I took note of the folks sitting around-- a woman with a t-shirt with an American flag on it, a father and young daughter-the father had on a red t-shirt with an American flag on it, the daughter had on a camouflage t-shirt, another guy in the "quiet" waiting room had on a ball cap with an American flag on it... (I was wearing a t-shirt that was emblazoned with the Grim Reapers, F-14 Tomcat- yeah baby!) I was in the right place. I was surrounded by silent patriots... By happenstance, the woman with the American flag t-shirt, Elizabeth struck a conversation with me. Those that know me--- know that my shyness (aka anti-social tendencies) would never allow me to initiate a conversation with anyone I don't know, even someone with a friendly face. In any event, we both had left the waiting room... the young girl in camouflage was getting a little too zealous with the Legos... We both chuckled about it and somehow that transitioned to her talking about the HUGE beautiful American flag that stands in front of the dealership. She said that one day she was driving by and the wind was blowing ever so gently and the flag was billowing perfectly. She said she started to cry (I thought I was the only one). From there we talked about the flags in Ohio being at half staff and Monday being a day of mourning for the loss of our Marines. She mentioned that her son was a Marine. I stopped her and thanked her for her son's service. We can never thank these men, their mothers and their fathers and their wives enough. She told me that her son fought in Iraq in the first wave of Iraqi Freedom that began March 2003. Later, through an awards ceremony she learned that her son was one of the men that rescued Jessica Lynch. Not only are these men heroes, but they are humble and quiet about the good works they perform...

Michael McVey is currently at home with his wife and child. I want to thank you, Michael, for your devoted service to our nation. Your selfless sacrifice is more than most of us can begin to comprehend.

Michael McVey was/is a Tank Commander and it is my understanding that he may be going back but he hasn't yet decided. If that is the case, God Speed. I am honored to have met his mother. It was quite apparent that she is proud of her son and the man that he has become.

Do you remember the Iraqi elections? As I recall this was quickly spinned into something that didn't matter... Tell that to the 8,500,000 (about 60%) folks that risked their lives to get to the polls. We Americans have a hard time going to the polls if its raining outside. The purple fingers represented hope for a future of freedom and liberty.

Michael and I took a drive late Saturday. We drove down to Danville, KY. On our drive home we decided to take SR127. This is the weekend of the annual 3 state yard sale. Why is this relevant to my rant? It is relevant, because we go about our lives, virtually unaffected (and if we choose, unaware) by what is going on in Iraq, Afghanistan. We are relatively safe.

Monday will be a day of mourning in Ohio to Honor the Fallen. The only thing that I can offer as comfort to the family and friends is that you must realize your sons did not die in vain. "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." -Schindler's List, 1993.

We will be watching the skies tomorrow morning, Discovery will be landing.

Here is an international website... Since the London Attacks, people have been submitting photos to show solidarity and that We Are Not Afraid. Thanks Sus for sending this one.

So, there are things to be hopeful about in regard to this war on terrorism. I'll leave you with the words of Elizabeth McVey...

"If President Bush did the things that Saddam Hussein had done... would'nt you want someone to come and help you?"

Yes, Elizabeth... I would.

I'm just trying to be a father, raise a daughter and a son

Be a lover to their mother, everything to everyone

Up and at 'em bright and early, I'm all business in my suit

Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots.

I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay

I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway

Providing for our future's my responsibility

Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be

And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been too strong

I just work straight through the holidays, and sometimes all night long

You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door

Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core

And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price

I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,

Oh, and I don't want to die for you,

But if dyin's asked of me,I'll bear that cross with honor

'Cause freedom don't come free...

I'm an American soldier, an American...

Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand

When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right

I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight...

American soldier, I'm an American, an American, an American Soldier...

For those that serve, thank you



Timothy Bell


Michael Cifuentes


William Wightman


David Kreuter


Christopher Dyer

crosslinked @ The Beacon-Informed Patriotism