Rudy and Arnold Rock the House

I don't usually sit through television broadcasts of political campaigns, but this year is different. This year, we Americans are at war and in danger.

I didn't watch the Democratic convention, because I had already decided that a vote for John Kerry is unconscionable. But I'm watching the Republican National Convention, and I'm finding myself uplifted.

Rudy Guiliani, the Mayor of New York City on 9/11/01, last night reminded us, with his poignant recollections of that tragic day, of the moral justice of protecting our country by pre-emptive strikes against terrorists. Rudy's speech strengthened the soul of our national purpose and rekindled the spirit of unity that bound Americans together in the days following the vicious attack on our homeland. Tonight, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger explained his exhilaration as a young immigrant arriving in the United States and, through the boundless opportunities offered by our country, making all of his life's dreams come true. Arnold's speech celebrated the joy and freedom of being an American, the rightness of defending our freedoms, and the hopefulness inherent in extending those freedoms to other nations.

Both men radiated the joy of being an American. Both men offered heartfelt thanks to the men and women of our military. Both men reminded us to be grateful, to be appreciative, to be respectful of this wonderful country we are blessed to be a part of. And both men reiterated the importance of keeping a strong, principled, resolute leader, George W. Bush, in office at this crucial time in our history.

Rudy and Arnold, a dynamic duo of highly refreshing and inspiring speakers. Not a negative note sounded by either one about our country. They both love America. They said everything so many of us wanted, and needed, to hear. They said it straight, and they said it strong.

They rocked the house.

Moore's Mental Meltdown

Michael Moore needs to take some time off. As his most recent open letter to President Bush displays, he's been working way too hard converting every last speed bump in the Kerry campaign into direct results of President Bush's evil designs. The poor man (Moore, I mean, not Bush). He's got to be completely worn out with all this frustrated news content control.

Michael would benefit from a recitation of the Serenity Prayer. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, (and here's the really hard part, for Michael), the wisdom to know the difference."

Here's my open letter to Michael Moore:

Mike, oh Mike. It's not the President's fault that hundreds of Swift boat veterans who served concurrently with Kerry are determined to clear their name of his slander against them. It's not the President's fault that Kerry doesn't have the stomach to face the press in a news conference that, if handled well, could end much of the noise. It's also not the fault of the President that people are watching the veterans' news story with interest, seeing Kerry's 1971 anti-war testimony, and hearing about his Senate voting record. Lastly, it is completely out of the President's control that people are taking all these completely legitimate factors under advisement as they consider their 2004 vote.

They are allowed to do that, aren't they, Michael? I mean, if they're not allowed to consider the facts before them--many of said facts from the Senator's own mouth, on tape--and make an independent decision as to what's best for America...well, then, Dude, Where's My Country?????

Accept the fact that John Kerry has pooped his own bed by gleefully bellowing "Bring it on!" with regard to Vietnam records. He's the one that made war service into a big magilla. Now that the big magilla has turned into a 900-lb. gorilla that he can't seem to shake off his back, Kerry wants to change the subject. His whining, threatening, outraged attacks upon fellow veterans who are his critics are most unseemly in a would-be president. President Bush repeatedly has been compared to Hitler in Leftie publications, and I haven't heard him complaining. I think he's probably too busy trying to keep Americans alive to worry much about the sticks and stones of the hysterical left wing.

Oh, but those are all facts, and facts--those "stubborn things," as John Adams called them--are things in which you've never demonstrated too much interest. As you so bluntly phrased it at the Academy Awards, we live in "fictional times"--as anyone who has seen "Farenheit 911" might agree.

So get some rest, Michael. And you would do well to learn that Serenity prayer by heart. Although you may be incredulous of this stubborn fact, you aren't always correct. And you aren't always successful in shoving your agenda onto the general public, either.

Let's hope that November 2 delivers you one of your well-deserved failures. I sincerely hope that Kerry's resounding defeat becomes one of the "things you can not change."

He Said, They Said

John Kerry and a few of his Vietnam war cronies say one thing.

Over 250 Vietnam Swift Boat Veterans For Truth (SBVFT) say something else.

Who's a voter to believe?

The story is 35 years old, so everyone involved is entitled to be a bit hazy on details. Although, I've never been in a war...I suspect it might sharpen one's memory skills, but I don't know. I do know that if someone says a thing is "seared" in his memory, it should be a factual representation of what happened. But that's not how it turned out for John Kerry's "Christmas Eve in Cambodia, 1968" -- so many swift boat veterans stepped forward to object to that story that Kerry had to recant.

What about the veterans who support Kerry? Although far fewer in number than the SBVFT, they speak unchallenged. Mainstream media chases their statements and features them prominently. The SBVFT are threatened with lawsuits for presenting their case. Bookstores won't even stock Unfit For Command (www.amazon.com). Yet Kerry blusters at the Internet book distributors to stop shipping the books, in effect calling for a modern day e-version of book burning.

Apparently, in John Kerry's world, the First Amendment applies to his supporters only.

The media storm swirling about this insistent controversy grows stronger with the force of the blogosphere's powerful winds and the high pressure system of conservative talk radio. It's not going to go away, Senator. And the more you scream in protest, the more guilty of dishonesty you appear. That is the stark truth that will be seared--seared--in the minds of many swing and independent voters, come Election Day.

The hundreds of voices of your peers are going to be impossible to shout down. As Bob Dole so wisely noted, you weren't the only serviceman in Vietnam. It seems that more than a few of them have their own searing memories, especially of how you slandered them when you returned to the U.S.

Now it is their turn to come after you, and they are doing so "in a style reminiscent of Genghis Khan."

Now, where have I heard that before?

And Now, I Have a Sailor

There's a sailor stationed overseas that I've just met in the past few days, via e-mail. He's my e-pal, assigned to me at my request by Soldiers' Angels.

We've only exchanged a couple of messages so far, but I can tell my sailor and I are going to be good friends.

I can not say enough positive things about the Soldiers' Angels Foundation. If you want to feel that you are doing something tangible to support our service men and women overseas, who are risking all to defend us against the terrorists who want Americans dead, then Soldiers' Angels is worth looking into.

We can never repay the brave men and women of our military who are fighting this war for us. But we can be there for them, through Soldiers' Angels. The Foundation's slogan is, "May no soldier go unloved."

For me, becoming an Angel has been a life-changing experience. If you want to treat yourself to an exhilarating feeling of purpose and accomplishment, sign up for your own wings today, at www.soldiersangels.com.

It's not about war. It's about love.

The Five W's

Back in medieval times, when I was a college journalism student, I was taught the fundamental elements of building a solid news story. Within the first paragraph, five questions must be answered. There were no exceptions, at least not in my class. A student had to be prepared to accept deep deductions if any of the Big Five were left unaddressed.

Those questions were: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Subsequent paragraphs were devoted to the more flexible question, How? But those five W's were upfront and center. According to my professor, it wasn't news reporting if an article's opening sentences didn't contain the answers.

I'm happy to report that I got an "A" in Journalism. If I were a working journalist today, I might want to start a news article this way: "John Kerry today refused to answer reporters' questions regarding the discrepancies in various accounts of his Vietnam military service. From his vacation retreat in (Idaho, Martha's Vineyard, Washington state, other), Kerry announced through a spokesperson that he had no more to say on the subject because he stood by his previous stories, all of them, regardless of conflicting details."

Okay, I'm a big girl now. I know I wouldn't be a working journalist for long, if I handed that bit of reality to my editor. But tell me, please, what is untruthful about my opening paragraph? What part of the facts have I neglected to address? Have I given the reader all the information I have on the story, without embellishing or editorializing? The answers to my questions, in order, are: nothing, none, yes. Mission accomplished; Five W's addressed.

Why can't the elite media machine ask an honest question on the subject of John Kerry's war record? Why can't they even admit the possibility that he's in deep, dark yogurt over his Walter Mitty whoppers? As they editorialize at the height of emotion, even on front pages, how can they presume to call themselves journalists?

Speaking of Walter Mitty, here's my dream--A news story on my daily paper's front page that annouces, "The American media today admitted, in a televised news conference in Washington D.C., that they are guilty of journalistic malpractice in their coverage of John Kerry's presidential campaign."

The Five W's, beautiful in their simplicity. To quote the Bard, "Truth will out."

Where's The Next Bob Hope?

Bob Hope, we need you now like never before.

When I read about the singers who are going to tour to protest the Iraq war and to do their best to elect John Kerry, I shake my head in sadness. All that celebrity attention, all that work and energy, so much enthusiasm, being poured into a project that will do nothing to help the morale of our troops in battle. How can they think that this is a good idea?

I can conclude only that some privileged people have been too rich and too famous for too long. They have forgotten everyday American life. They probably have body guards and security details for themselves and their families. Can they possibly be deluded into believing that their wealth and prestige somehow protects them from the terrorists that want Americans dead?

I shouldn't expect too much of these people. To the last person, they are, as Tony Curtis once identified himself in a movie, "a singer of songs." Good music-making skills, maybe, but very poor reasoning abilities. Couldn't their efforts be better spent entertaining our troops overseas? Wouldn't the U.S. service men and women appreciate some high profile support, especially from some of their favorite music stars? Why can't they light the candle of Bob Hope's legacy, instead of dredging up the darkness of political pique?

Toby Keith did a tour that included Iraq recently, and the troops went wild with enjoyment. What an emotional lift for our military! Now, I've never been much of a country music fan. But when I read about that tour, I went out and bought Toby's "Shock'N Y'All" CD. If he can support our troops, I can--and I should, and I did--support him.

I have almost all of Bruce Springsteen's albums. I have John Mellencamp's, too. It will be a long time before I can enjoy listening to them again. They will sit and gather dust on my shelf of CDs. I wonder if Bruce and John really believe that John Kerry will keep us safer. Maybe they think that all of their money and influence will somehow protect them against the terrorists. Think again, guys. And while you're thinking, take a moment to consider the fans you have alienated.

For what it's worth, I'm reasonably certain that Bob Hope would not be on your side. Judging by his actions over many decades of entertaining troops around the world, Bob Hope would want you to put our troops ahead of your own agendas. He'd want you to channel all your talent into bringing something good and joyful into the lives of the men and women who are putting their butts on the line every day to keep you fat, happy, rich, and safe. He'd want you to grow up and sing to encourage, not discourage.

Toby Keith understands where Bob Hope was coming from. Maybe someday, the rest of you will get a clue.

An Alternate Universe

We've probably all seen a movie or television show wherein the main character finds him or herself trapped in an alternate universe. Everything looks the same, but all the details of daily life have somehow changed. The script usually spins itself out with this main character frantically trying to discover a way back to reality or endeavoring to convince the surrounding strangers that he really does belong here.

When it comes to national news, I find myself living in an alternate universe for the past several months.

I should let you know that I listen to conservative talk radio. I discovered it after 9/11, and I found it an immediate source of refreshing logic and good information. I stay tuned, especially to Hugh Hewitt's afternoon show. And what I'm hearing on Hugh leads me to conclude, I'm like the main character in an alternate universe script.

John Kerry's preposterous lies are overwhelmingly obvious. Christmas in Cambodia 1968--now recanted, but glossed over by mainstream media. The CIA operative that he took up the river has been debunked in painstaking detail throughout the blogosphere by those who are in a good position to know the truth about such things. The book, Unfit for Command, by John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi, contains carefully researched and documented facts about Kerry's Vietnam service as told by hundreds of Vietnam vets who served with him.

Where is the mainstream media? Why are these stories not given attention on the evening newscasts of the alphabet stations? These facts are not pleasant or favorable to John Kerry's presidential aspirations. Therefore, they are unacceptable as news stories to the elite media who manage what information we are fed. The disagreeable facts are ignored in the alternate universe.

But in the world of talk radio, I hear it all. Whatever happened to the Sandy Berger story? You remember, the guy with the stuffed socks, ambling out of the National Archives with secret documents concealed in creative garment locations? Did we imagine that story? The media elites would like us to think so, or better yet, to forget it. But no, the Sandy Berger story is alive on talk radio. I heard Laura Ingraham mention it this morning.

So I listen to Hugh Hewitt on my drive home, and each day I learn more about the fictionalized war service of John Kerry. But in the major network's alternate universe, you'll only hear about his vacation plans.

Send a message to that faraway planet called Major Medialand. Elect George W. Bush in November. The fabricators then just might be forced to acknowledge that they aren't living in the real world. No matter how hard they spin this script, they can't manufacture an alternate universe that feels safer than America under honest leadership.

President Bush and his administration aren't saying much about Kerry's factual troubles right now. But then, they don't have to. Truth is much easier to manage than the alternative.

I Have a Soldier

There's a sergeant I write to in Iraq. I send him care packages, too. I've never met him, maybe I never will. But I consider him a dear friend, a precious gift, a true hero. I pray for him, and for "his guys," every day.

I found this soldier through a wonderful foundation called "Soldiers' Angels." I heard about this volunteer organization coming home from work one day, listening to Hugh Hewitt's radio talk show. The Angels match up Americans who want to help our country's war effort by supporting the troops who are deployed in the Middle East.

It's a small thing to do, really, when you think about it. These men and women in our military are laying their lives on the line each day to protect us at home. How hard is it to drive to a mall, in my air-conditioned car, and have fun shopping for snacks and candies for the troops? It's easy, it's fun, it makes me feel like I'm helping in some small way.

I send a box the first week of each month. My husband and I have a good time filling it up with goodies in the weeks before we ship it out. Last month, we had so much stuff that we split the booty into two different boxes, one for the Sgt. and one for "his guys."

A few weeks later, I received a thank-you card, like I always do from this particular soldier. Only this time, all "his guys" signed their names and thanks, too. I read the names and ranks, all ten of them, and watched as they grew fuzzy under the haze of my tears. These amazing heroes are thanking me. How in heaven's name can I ever repay their sacrifices for me? Not with Cheese-Its and cookies, that's for sure.

"Greater love has no man, than to lay down his life for his friends." I have a soldier. May God keep him, and "his guys," safe.

Don't Look Back

Okay, I've done it. After thinking about it, agonizing about it, for weeks and months, I've started a blog.

Why? It's a good question. I'm doing this because I want to live to see my grandkids. I'd also like to know that my kids may live to see their own grandkids. In today's world, that's not a goal to be taken for granted.Millions of terrorists want all of us dead. That is the simple, brutal truth. No amount of movies satirizing the President, or celebrities organizing rock tours to protest his policies, can change this terrible fact of our lives.

We have a President who is brave enough, principled enough, strong enough, to take a hard stand and stick to it. It's costly. American service men and women are dying because of it. But those among us who believe as I do, that this staggering price must be paid to preserve our nation's way of life, realize that this difficult course is the only path open to us.

We hear so much about what should have been done prior to 9/11, what could have been done, and what we should be doing better or differently now. This angst is futile, it wastes precious time and energy, and it distracts us from the job at hand. That job is to fight the terrorists now, by every means possible.That fight includes your vote. Who do you feel safer with as President? John Kerry, or George W. Bush? Which man can you trust to stand unwavering in the face of opposition, foreign and domestic? Which man has demonstrated this quality of unyielding resolution, time and time again, to your satisfaction?

The answer is clear. I'm voting for President Bush. And I decided to start this blog to tell as many people as possible.

Don't play politics with your children's lives. Vote for President Bush.