Dhimmi This!

John Kerry Takes Credit for Democratic Win - Oui, Oui!

I am not sure why I receive these emails, but I do. Anyway, John Pussnuts Kerry is taking credit for the Democratic Party victories in the November 2006 mid-term elections.  His email states:

Today, thanks to you, America is waking up with a new Democratic Congress ready to take office in January. Your leadership as part of the johnkerry.com community helped make this moment possible.

A Democratic Congress will restore accountability to Washington and help change a disastrous course in Iraq. The mandate is clear.

Together, we helped provide $14 million to more than 260 candidates, committees and progressive causes over the last two years. Nineteen of those candidates received over $100,000 each in donations from our community.

Visit our website now for a complete list of all the candidates we helped in yesterday's exciting races.

There will be lots to talk about and even more to do in the weeks ahead. But, today is a day for you to hold your heads high. Democrats didn't just win some important elections yesterday; we won the opportunity to lead America in a new, more promising direction.

And we proved to people all across the nation -- and to ourselves -- that by pulling together and acting with conviction, there is no limit to what we can achieve together.

Thank you so much for the personal role you played in this stunning achievement.

John Kerry

P.S. I've tried in this email not to single out individual candidates on a day of great victories all across America. But, I can't let the opportunity pass without thanking you for the special support that you helped us provide to veterans of military service running for office this year. You helped strengthen and sustain the winning campaigns of James Webb, Chris Carney, Tim Walz, and Joe Sestak, to name a few.

I really like his use of the word "we" - we helped provide $14 million to more than 260 candidates, committees and progressive causes over the last two years; we won the opportunity to lead America in a new, more promising direction; we proved to people all across the nation; there is no limit to what we can achieve together.

What kind of a delusional world does this guy live in?

First, "you" nearly screwed the pooch for the entire Democratic Party.  Second, when you lauded the Democratic Party for electing veterans you forgot to include John "Cut and Run" Murtha.  Third, "we" did not do crappola to help the Democratic Party win.  "We" did all we could to fight it.  I think that you must have had a frog in your pocket when you wrote this email. Oh, I forgot you speak French. "Oui, Oui!"

Project Valour-IT - Mission Accomplished!

Project Valour-IT fund raising competition exceeded its goal of raising $180,000.00.  The Navy won the competition by reaching its goal first.  Then in the spirit camaraderie and good sportsmanship Navy suggested that future donations be made to the other teams to help them meet their goals.  Ultimately, the Marine Corp out distanced everyone by raising $51,228.85 (to date).  The Army ultimately met and exceeded its goal, with the Air Force bringing in a very respectable $40,000.00.  The total to date is $184,000.00.  Whether you say Ooh-Rah! or Hoo-Rah! Great job! That's a lot of laptops (about 225 with Voice activated Software) and will make a tremendous difference in the lives of some very deserving wounded warriors.

Update: Looks like the total amount will be closer to $210,000.00.  The $184,000.00 only includes Paypal.  The numerous donations mailed directly to Soldiers' Angels to support Project Valour-IT have not been totaled. See Fuzzilicious Thinking

First Long War Marine to receive Medal of Honor

UPDATE:  Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was killed when he jumped on a grenade to save fellow members of his Marine patrol while serving in Iraq. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)

 

Quantico, VA (Nov. 10, 2006) --  A corporal who died shielding men in his care from a bursting grenade deserves America’s highest military decoration, President Bush has confirmed(http://www.mcnews.info/mcnewsinfo/moh/).

Actions by Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who would have turned 25 today, merit the Medal of Honor, Bush said at the National Museum of the Marine Corps’ dedication ceremony, which coincided with the 231st Marine Corps anniversary.

On April 14, 2004, in Iraq near the Syrian border, the corporal used his helmet and his body to smother an exploding Mills Bomb let loose by a raging insurgent whom Dunham and two other Marines tried to subdue.

The explosion dazed and wounded Lance Cpl. William Hampton and Pfc. Kelly Miller. The insurgent stood up after the blast and was immediately killed by Marine small-arms fire.

Dunham lay face down with a shard the size of a dress-shirt button lodged in his head. The hard, molded mesh that was his Kevlar helmet was now scattered yards around into clods and shredded fabric. Dunham never regained consciousness and died eight days later at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with his mother and father at his bedside.

Dunham’s commanding officers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, investigated his actions and nominated him for the Medal of Honor. After two years and seven months making its way to the White House, the nomination now has the necessary approval from the president. Next, the president will present the medal and citation to the Dunhams.

Hoping the president would make the Medal of Honor announcement on their son’s birthday, Dan and Debra Dunham drove to Quantico from their home in Scio, N.Y. Dunham is buried in Scio.

Happy Veterans Day

In the process of writing this post I discovered that this week had been declared National Veterans Awareness Week by President George W. Bush.  The proclamation reads as follows:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2006, as Veterans Day and urge all Americans to observe November 5 through November 11, 2006, as National Veterans Awareness Week. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through ceremonies and prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to support and participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I invite civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, businesses, unions, and the media to support this national observance with commemorative expressions and programs.

I was actually able to participate in honor of this Proclamation several times this week.  On Wedsnesday I attended a fundraiser for the high school from which I graduated oh, so many years ago.  The show was an annual style show and the theme of the show was "America -- In God We Trust."  The show included Patriotic music and stressed the freedoms that we so often take advantage of while living in America.  The stage featured a replica of the White House, junior students, who served the food and helped with the production, were  dressed as past presidents, Miss America, Secret Service agents, Betsy Ross, and other American historical figures.  A George and Laura Bush even made a cameo appearance. To top it all off there was a color guard which was comprised of a Marine, a soldier, an airman and a sailor.  It was a wonderful event and the onslaught of thank you's at the end of the event must have  made the color guard feel like Rock Stars.

On Thursday I donated to Project Valour-IT.  I dug deep and made a pretty good contribution.  I know it is worth it.  Project Valour-IT is a great cause that helps the most deserving of those among us.  By the way you should do the same. Soldiers Angels - Project Valour-IT.

Today, I attended a Veterans Day Service at my children's school. The service was held in conjunction with grandparent's day.  The combination of events produced an overflowing crowd.  The service was held in the church and luckily the fire marshall was not around.  It was standing room only inside and outside of the building.  The combination of the services was interesting because so many of the garndparents were veterans.  A colonel from the local National Guard Unit spoke of his tour in Iraq and asked the students and parents to remember to take time to appreciate all of the freedoms that we enjoy in this country due to the sacrifices of our veterans.   He also presented the school a flag that was flown over their post in Iraq on July 4, 2004.

It is worth it to note that the student body was dressed as military veterans and historical figures. The parents, who were active duty, were wearing their uniforms. At the end of the ceremony each child, who had a parent in the military, stood at the podium and introduced their parent to the school. I could not tell who was prouder - the child or the parent. 

We are at war and sometimes it appears that so few people recognize it.  I saw this week that people do appreciate our military. I just hope that next week we can all show the same enthusiasm and support for our troops, even if without a Presidential Declaration.  Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Birthday Marine Corp

Need I say more? Happy 231st Birthday Marine Corp!

The Birthday message from General Hagee, the Commandant of the Marine Corp is found here - Download 231st_bdaymsg.pdf

The National Museum of the Marine Corp is being dedicated by President Bush today - Yahoo News

The Marine Corp Team is lagging behind in the Project Valour-IT Competition - Send the Jarheads a Birthday wish and donate money to support the Corps' Team!

Oh, and I thought of one more thing I could say -

Happy Birthday and Thank You!

Pat Tillman - Friendly Fire/Enemy Fire - An American Hero Nonetheless

The Associated Press has reviewed the investigative reports surrounding the death of Pat Tillman, former NFL player and Army Ranger.  Tillman turned down the opportunity to sign a multi-million dollar contract in the NFL and instead opted to join the Army. His patriotism was heralded by the Army and his decision was reminiscent of athletes during World War II.  Tillman was assigned to the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment which was operating in Afghanistan.  He was accompanied by his brother who was serving in the same platoon.

Tillman was killed in action on April 22, 2004 in an ambush in the Paktia Province.  Immediately following his death  it was reported that he had died as a result of enemy fire.  The explanations given for the events  were never accepted by his family and the Army was pushed to initiate a thorough investigation. 

The AP in Pat Tillman's Last Day, Reconstructed reviews the investigative findings.  A summary of the findings is provide by the article and the reports confirm what has been speculated upon for some time now - Tillman died as the result of friendly fire.  The death of Tillman, like that of any soldier is tragic, and his was punctuated by the fact that he had given up the perceived American Dream to protect his country.  While the circumstances surrounding his death accentuate the tragedy they do not lessen Tillman's heroism.  Tillman had made a choice in life, he had drawn a line and took a stand.  Blue on Blue incidents are horrible tragedies that are possible in every armed conflict.  However, the manner in which Pat Tillman died does not lessen the sacrifices he made.  Pat Tillman is an American Hero nonetheless.

The photograph, above is from the Pat Tillman Foundation website.   To say that the story of Pat Tillman's life is inspirational would be an understatement, every time I have read a story about him I have been impressed with his intelligence, his intensity and his sense of honor.  While his parents and family must be devastated by their loss, they should be proud of themselves for raising such a great young man.

Rumsfeld Resigns - Godspeed Mr. Secretary

Rummy is out. Having served as Secretray of Defense for six years, Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down from the position.  President Bush referred to Secretary Rumsfeld as a trusted friend and patriot who had served his country well.  Secretary Rumsfeld was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of Defense on January 20, 2001. Before assuming his present post, the former Navy pilot had also served as the 13th Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, U.S. Congressman and chief executive officer of two Fortune 500 companies.  

Secretary Rumsfeld was responsible for directing the actions of the Defense Department in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He is credited with developing a new defense strategy and replacing the old model for sizing forces with a newer approach more relevant to the 21st century.  He also lead the Department in refocusing its space capabilities and fashioning a new concept of strategic deterrence that increases security while reducing strategic nuclear weapons.

Secretary Rumsfeld's distinguished biography can be found at The Department of Defense Website.  Despite drawing criticism from many, he never waivered and was always direct and forthright, a characteristic that is unpopular in Washington, D.C. His press conferences also gave us some of the best quotes ever (see banner above). Not to mention the various Rummy Fighting Styles - see BlackFive. Mr. Secretary we thank you for your selfless service to our country and we wish you Godspeed in your future endeavors.

Others Blogging on Rumsfeld:
BlackFive
CounterColumn
ThunderRun
Captain's Quarters

Keep on Keeping On!

Like I explained to my wife during the 2000 elections, elections are  my Superbowls.  Don't get me wrong I like football, but I do not enjoy it nearly as mush as I do politics.  With politics I see the stakes as being higher and actually having an effect upon my life and the life of my family.  However, just like any endeavor in life you win some and you lose some. You just need to make sure that you enjoy the process. Winning is great but losing really, really sucks.

The Republican Congress has, in one sense, suffered a significant set back. Did they deserve it? Probably. They became lulled into over confidence by the taste of power and began to believe their on stories. The party became Hollywoodized and began to think that the people liked them because of who they were rather than for what they could produce.  The party has failed to produce meaningful changes to the tax code, there has been no immigration reform, and border security hasn't been brought up to snuff. They have failed to relay to people the importance of Iraq and seem to have allowed the GWOT to suffer because of it.  The party took its constituents for granted and it has been reminded about a little thing called democracy.

However, conservatism has not been killed.  I like the quote from Tony Snow, which was to the effect that now that the Democratic Party has power let's see what they do with it.  Essentially, the Democrats have to put up or shut up before 2008.  The ball is in their court. They, of course, will have a rather raucous group of Republicans to deal with.  Things should start to get interesting again.  I think that the conservative agenda needed a shot in the arm and this may do the trick.

The real winner in this election will be the Right Wing Blogosphere.  Rush Limbaugh would not have risen to prominence without Bill Clinton.  His radio show was a sanctuary where we conservatives could gather and know that there were other creatures like us out there. We had a radio to talk back to and to nod our head with in agreement. The blogosphere, however, is Talk Radio on steroids and it is just starting to get pumped up.

We no longer have to just nod our heads and talk back to the radio.  We can participate in the conversation, we can be engaged in it.  If one of us goes off the deep end, rather than our only editor being the pitied look of our wives or children, there is an entire world that will quickly bring us to our senses (or join us). The blogosphere is the combination of all three of our traditional modes of communication.  It has readership like the print media, it has video like the alphabet networks, and it has easy access like the radio. The next Rush Limbaugh is out there. Will it be Michelle Malkin, Captains Quarters, LGF, Carnivorous Conservative, the American Thinker or some other "rightwingnut" blogger? The "leftwing nutroots" have tried to imitate the success of the right on the airwaves and on the blogosphere but have never quite gotten it right. Well, the professionals are back in town.  Being in the majority never really sat well with me anyway.  I like to stir the pot and it is hard to do when your friends are making the soup.

What a Democratic Win Means

Michelle Malkin has posted an email that she received from the John Kerry camp.  If you want to know what will happen with a Democratic controlled House of Representatives just look at 'ole Pussnuts' email.

"Dear Friend,

We've been working hard to get to this moment. And, here we are -- we can see the finish line.

But, if we want to produce the Democratic victories our nation so urgently needs, you have one critical task left, and that is to get to the polls and vote.

It has been decades since there have been so many close, down-to-the-wire races for the Senate, for the House, and for critical state and local offices. Many of those races are close today because of what you and other members of the johnkerry.com community have done up to this point.

And now, many of those races will be finally decided by what you do in the time between now and the closing of the polls. Please call and email your friends, family and colleagues and ask them to vote on Tuesday. Don't let a single person you know let Tuesday pass without voting.

And there's still time to contact Democratic campaigns in your area to volunteer your time and be part of grassroots efforts to get out the vote.

This is our chance to take the power to lead America out of the Bush Republicans' hands. Winning means raising the minimum wage. Winning means moving towards health care for all, starting with every child in America. Winning means forcing an end to the disastrous war in Iraq, and getting our heroes home.

Winning means firing the incompetents, stopping the corruption, and making America stop being the world's leading denier of global climate change.

Let's get out and do it. You've been amazing all along. You've stood up. Stand up again. Your country is counting on you.

It's on to victory from here.

John Kerry"

Let's see - Winning means raising the minimum wage.  Wow what a great idea everyone wants to make more money.  The only problem is that most people make more than the minimum wage and saying that it needs to be raised does nothing more than create a good soundbite.  "The impact of raising the minimum wage has been studied since its inception. All credible research has come to the same conclusion: raising the minimum wage hurts the poor. It takes away jobs, keeps people on welfare, and encourages high-school students to drop out." Joint Economic Committee Report - United States Congress May 1996

Winning means moving towards health care for all, starting with every child in America.  Sounds great - ask the Canadians and the Brits.

Winning means forcing an end to the disastrous war in Iraq, and getting our heroes home. This is the same war that 'ole Pussnuts voted to support when it started.  Oh, but Bush lied - Oh, but no he did not - "Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein’s scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away." The New York Times. Well if you want to ignore history, ignore the terrorist who want you dead, ignore the fact that the Europeans do not have the backbone to do the job themselves,  ignore - "Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: When We Were Young, I cannot Forget the Sight of American Forces leaving Vietnam, and the Americans Abandoning their Vietnamese Allies, I Anticipate the Same for our Region." Little Green Footballs, ignore Iran, abandon the Iraqi people to generations of misery - well then go ahead vote straight D, vote your conscience.

Winning means firing the incompetents, stopping the corruption ... - Hello Pot, this is Kettle "You're black."

... making America stop being the world's leading denier of global climate change. - Need I say more.  If you believe that America, and by that I mean Americans, and by that I mean you, are the source of all evil in the world and that we must be stopped then vote for the party of John Kerry, vote with Pussnuts.

Either way - Go Vote! No one will be trying to kill you, no one will be trying to drive a VBIED into the polling booth with you, your precints are not guarded by armed guards, your poll workers are not subject to death threats.  Thank God and thank your forefathers and honor them both - Go Vote!

P.S. If you are voting with 'ole Pussnuts stay home and let the real men and women handle things.

 

Stuck in The Mud

USS Intrepid was to be moved from its dockside home for repairs.  However, after 24 years of sitting dockside it has become stuck in the mud.  Efforts are underway to free it from the mud by use of tugboats.  John Pussnuts Kerry was asked for comment and stated, "It is obviously a military vessel, and therefore is too stupid to get unstuck.  If it was not so stupid in the first place it never would have become stuck."  After his comments aired 'ole Pussnuts issued an apology, " I meant to say that the USS Intrepid became stuck in the mud because George Bush is stupid and I am very, very sorry that you misunderstood what I said."

Seriously Red, the real story is at Fox News. More on the venerable vessel at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. 

Now everyone get out and push!