Some of you will remember that for the past year, I've supported a soldier in Iraq through the wonderful organization Soldiers' Angels. His faithful e-mails had stopped in the past several days, and I was on edge because of the violence following the elections in Iraq. I knew that his tour of duty was due to conclude this month, and I hoped he was already in transit. But, I couldn't be sure until I heard from him.
Today, I received an e-mail from him. He's already in Kuwait and is scheduled back in the U.S. on February 17.
It's hard to describe the kaleidoscope of emotions his message engendered within me. I cheered out loud, breathed a sigh of relief, grew teary-eyed, whispered a prayer of thanksgiving. All this for a soldier I have never met, yet I have grown to cherish as both a dear personal friend and a precious national treasure. I can't even begin to imagine how his family must feel.
God bless you, Sarge. Thanks for putting it all on the line for us back home. Good man, great job, brave sacrifice. All Americans owe you, big time and always. I hope we get to meet each other someday. But, even if we don't, remember that your "Yankee Angel" is proud to be forever in your debt.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
A Waste of Hate
I've just finished reading an article by Ward Churchill, professor at the University of Colorado, written after the attacks of September 11, 2001. I'm not going to link such garbage to my blog, but Google yields prolific results if you type in his name.
It's a shame that such a hateful, small-minded creature bears such a good name--Churchill, as in Sir Winston, who would have made hash out of the professor's venomous drivel. If I've ever read more evil trash, I don't recall.
Yet Ward Churchill chooses to live in these horrendous United States. Professor, may I be so bold as to ask: Why do you stay here? Why do you make your living here, accepting money and publicity from such a substandard country as the U.S.? How can such a high-minded, smarter-than-the-average-genius tolerate us simpleminded, vapid, greedy, Nazi-like Yanks?
I'll tell you why: because there's no where else on earth that you can have a better life. And you know it in your hypocritical gut. There's no other country that would tolerate your abusive ingratitude or your filthy accusations without reprisals. Brave men and women have fought and died to protect your right to spit upon their memories with your vicious tripe. So you can revel in all the comforts of the America you vilify, spewing hate, endorsing September 11 and encouraging those who hate as you do to strike at us again. Hate is your recurring theme, your battlecry, your mantra, your reason to live. You'd enjoy receiving hatred--but you won't get any from me.
You're not worth the energy, professor.
It's a shame that such a hateful, small-minded creature bears such a good name--Churchill, as in Sir Winston, who would have made hash out of the professor's venomous drivel. If I've ever read more evil trash, I don't recall.
Yet Ward Churchill chooses to live in these horrendous United States. Professor, may I be so bold as to ask: Why do you stay here? Why do you make your living here, accepting money and publicity from such a substandard country as the U.S.? How can such a high-minded, smarter-than-the-average-genius tolerate us simpleminded, vapid, greedy, Nazi-like Yanks?
I'll tell you why: because there's no where else on earth that you can have a better life. And you know it in your hypocritical gut. There's no other country that would tolerate your abusive ingratitude or your filthy accusations without reprisals. Brave men and women have fought and died to protect your right to spit upon their memories with your vicious tripe. So you can revel in all the comforts of the America you vilify, spewing hate, endorsing September 11 and encouraging those who hate as you do to strike at us again. Hate is your recurring theme, your battlecry, your mantra, your reason to live. You'd enjoy receiving hatred--but you won't get any from me.
You're not worth the energy, professor.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
The Next Crisis
As James Lileks so cleverly put it in his blog posting of February 3, "Welcome to the Axis of Damn Well Better Get Your Act Together!" That would be you, Iran.
President Bush and Secretary of State Rice have laid it on the line about as plainly as I've ever heard politicians speak. In fact, there isn't much left for Iran to say except, "Here are the keys to our reactor plants."
It would be nice if "the globe" was with us on this one, but I suspect it won't much matter when the chips are down. One mid-September day nearly four years ago, President Bush stood on the hot and smoking pile that had been the Twin Towers, hugged rescue workers, wept with grieving families, and made a promise. When he called to the nation through that bullhorn, "Soon, the whole world will hear you," he proved in short order that he meant it.
Iran, I hope that you've been paying attention.
President Bush and Secretary of State Rice have laid it on the line about as plainly as I've ever heard politicians speak. In fact, there isn't much left for Iran to say except, "Here are the keys to our reactor plants."
It would be nice if "the globe" was with us on this one, but I suspect it won't much matter when the chips are down. One mid-September day nearly four years ago, President Bush stood on the hot and smoking pile that had been the Twin Towers, hugged rescue workers, wept with grieving families, and made a promise. When he called to the nation through that bullhorn, "Soon, the whole world will hear you," he proved in short order that he meant it.
Iran, I hope that you've been paying attention.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Busted
Mainstream media, in the form of CNN, is taking another beating with the Eason Jordan coverup. What's that famous definition of insanity? Doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results--yes, something along those lines. The NY Times and Jason Blair, CBS and Rathergate, now CNN and Eason Jordon all demonstrate the insanity syndrome very well.
It's long past time to face the new day, Old Media. You simply can't filter the facts, shape opinion and elude consequences the way you did in the old days of 6:00PM deadline. The newsroom is now invisible, it's open 24/7, and if your editors persist in thinking that they have the last word...well, seven million bloggers, with 40,000 more starting up each day, are going to have something to say about that.
Bloggers, especially the big names, are watching the media, and they're reporting back to the public about the reporters. You've been busted, and you're under permanent surveillance now. Better get used to it and clean up your journalistic act accordingly, because it's going to be a long probation for MSM.
It's long past time to face the new day, Old Media. You simply can't filter the facts, shape opinion and elude consequences the way you did in the old days of 6:00PM deadline. The newsroom is now invisible, it's open 24/7, and if your editors persist in thinking that they have the last word...well, seven million bloggers, with 40,000 more starting up each day, are going to have something to say about that.
Bloggers, especially the big names, are watching the media, and they're reporting back to the public about the reporters. You've been busted, and you're under permanent surveillance now. Better get used to it and clean up your journalistic act accordingly, because it's going to be a long probation for MSM.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Refresher Course
I always hesitate to mention Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, but especially lately. Good grief, what an embarrassment—to his state, to his country, and most of all, to himself.
How disappointed big brother Jack would be in Teddy’s current rantings against the Iraq war.
If you read what President Bush has been repeatedly saying about our fight in Iraq, it sounds very much like what President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address on January 20, 1960:
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
That sounds very much like a man of faith talking, doesn’t it? Someone who knew that the blessings of liberty come from our Creator, just as President Bush does.
Do you think President Kennedy, who faced down the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, would retreat from Iraq if he were the president today? JFK is, after all, the president who committed our military to Vietnam.
The timeliness of passage below is chillingly prophetic of our current military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a sober warning to other nations, most notable Iran:
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
That one sentence is probably the best summation of the American spirit ever written. You might want to copy it down and keep it with you for easy reference, Senator Kennedy. I’m willing to bet that your brother would be pleased if you did.
How disappointed big brother Jack would be in Teddy’s current rantings against the Iraq war.
If you read what President Bush has been repeatedly saying about our fight in Iraq, it sounds very much like what President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address on January 20, 1960:
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
That sounds very much like a man of faith talking, doesn’t it? Someone who knew that the blessings of liberty come from our Creator, just as President Bush does.
Do you think President Kennedy, who faced down the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, would retreat from Iraq if he were the president today? JFK is, after all, the president who committed our military to Vietnam.
The timeliness of passage below is chillingly prophetic of our current military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a sober warning to other nations, most notable Iran:
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
That one sentence is probably the best summation of the American spirit ever written. You might want to copy it down and keep it with you for easy reference, Senator Kennedy. I’m willing to bet that your brother would be pleased if you did.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
"Kaneohe marines died for freedom"
At work last week, I received a forwarded e-mail containing the text of a very moving and powerful piece written by a newspaper reporter in Hawaii. What Charles Memminger of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin wrote on Feb. 1 about the 27 Kaneohe-based Marines who perished in the helicopter crash in Iraq on January 26 deserves to be shared.
Having received Mr. Memminger’s permission, and with thanks to him and to the Star-Bulletin, the full text of his article appears in italics below.
Honolulu Lite
By Charles Memminger
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Kaneohe marines died for freedom
Due to the peculiar acoustical properties involving large bodies of water, the haunting sound of taps, played mournfully on a trumpet, travels at 10 o'clock nightly from the Kaneohe Marine Base two miles across the still waters of Kaneohe Bay and into my bedroom.
Taps is played to let Marines on base know "all is well" and it's time to hit the sack. But as I lay in bed on Thursday night and taps floated eerily through the screen door, I knew all was not well on the base. I had seen the headline in that morning's Star-Bulletin: "26 Kaneohe Marines die. Helicopter crash in Iraq also kills a Pearl Harbor Sailor." The Marines were helping prepare Iraq for its historic national election when their helicopter went down.
A day after the tragedy, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, the pathetic, bloated black sheep of both the Kennedy family and America in general, had the audacity to say in a speech, "U.S. military presence (in Iraq) has become part of the problem, not part of the solution."
How different can two sounds be? The sound of taps made me sad. The sound of Ted Kennedy made me sick.
And then I awoke on Sunday morning to see on TV Iraqis dancing in the streets. More than 8 million of them had defied the spineless Ted Kennedys of the world urging the election be postponed and terrorists threatening to make the streets run with voters' blood, and went to the polls in percentages higher than a typical Hawaii election.
Kennedy, whining that the American casualty rate is too high to justify us being in Iraq, urged immediate withdrawal of American troops. He knows something about immediate withdrawal in the face of casualties, having shown his bravery by abandoning a young woman to drown in a car he drove off a bridge in a little place called Chappaquiddick in 1969.
Seeing the Iraqis' elation at having voted in a true democratic election for the first time -- they were so ecstatic that some accidentally even thanked America for getting rid of Saddam Hussein -- raised the question, Was the death of 27 Hawaii troops worth it? Is the death of even one American worth bringing freedom to a part of the world where our country's contributions will never be acknowledged (at least as long as George W. Bush is president)?
The day our Marines died in Iraq, a 28-year-old Maui man was killed in car crash. And a day later, a 15-year-old Honolulu girl was killed driving a stolen car. And an Ohio worker killed his auto plant supervisor. Were those deaths "worth it"? Or worth anything? There are a lot of seemingly pointless deaths every day. About 42,000 people are killed every year in America in automobile accidents. More than 20,000 die from the common flu. Nearly 16,000 people are murdered. Ninety people are killed yearly by lightening. And in 1969 a 29-year-old blonde in Massachusetts was killed because a gutless U.S. senator drove her off a bridge and left her there. Those deaths don't seem to have accomplished anything, except to keep a certain hypocritical pompous toad politician from becoming president.
So, were the deaths of 26 Marines and a sailor from Hawaii "worth it"? Watching the Iraqis' expressions of pure joy following Sunday's election tell us the deaths were certainly worth something.
For the record, Ted Kennedy is wrong. The U.S. military isn't part of the problem in Iraq. It IS part of the solution. A major part of the solution.
And when I hear taps float into my bedroom tonight from the Marine base where I know a thousand hearts feel pain, I will know that 27 of my neighbors did not die in vain.
*****
Charles Memminger, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' 2004 First Place Award winner for humor writing, appears Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. E-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com
Having received Mr. Memminger’s permission, and with thanks to him and to the Star-Bulletin, the full text of his article appears in italics below.
Honolulu Lite
By Charles Memminger
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Kaneohe marines died for freedom
Due to the peculiar acoustical properties involving large bodies of water, the haunting sound of taps, played mournfully on a trumpet, travels at 10 o'clock nightly from the Kaneohe Marine Base two miles across the still waters of Kaneohe Bay and into my bedroom.
Taps is played to let Marines on base know "all is well" and it's time to hit the sack. But as I lay in bed on Thursday night and taps floated eerily through the screen door, I knew all was not well on the base. I had seen the headline in that morning's Star-Bulletin: "26 Kaneohe Marines die. Helicopter crash in Iraq also kills a Pearl Harbor Sailor." The Marines were helping prepare Iraq for its historic national election when their helicopter went down.
A day after the tragedy, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, the pathetic, bloated black sheep of both the Kennedy family and America in general, had the audacity to say in a speech, "U.S. military presence (in Iraq) has become part of the problem, not part of the solution."
How different can two sounds be? The sound of taps made me sad. The sound of Ted Kennedy made me sick.
And then I awoke on Sunday morning to see on TV Iraqis dancing in the streets. More than 8 million of them had defied the spineless Ted Kennedys of the world urging the election be postponed and terrorists threatening to make the streets run with voters' blood, and went to the polls in percentages higher than a typical Hawaii election.
Kennedy, whining that the American casualty rate is too high to justify us being in Iraq, urged immediate withdrawal of American troops. He knows something about immediate withdrawal in the face of casualties, having shown his bravery by abandoning a young woman to drown in a car he drove off a bridge in a little place called Chappaquiddick in 1969.
Seeing the Iraqis' elation at having voted in a true democratic election for the first time -- they were so ecstatic that some accidentally even thanked America for getting rid of Saddam Hussein -- raised the question, Was the death of 27 Hawaii troops worth it? Is the death of even one American worth bringing freedom to a part of the world where our country's contributions will never be acknowledged (at least as long as George W. Bush is president)?
The day our Marines died in Iraq, a 28-year-old Maui man was killed in car crash. And a day later, a 15-year-old Honolulu girl was killed driving a stolen car. And an Ohio worker killed his auto plant supervisor. Were those deaths "worth it"? Or worth anything? There are a lot of seemingly pointless deaths every day. About 42,000 people are killed every year in America in automobile accidents. More than 20,000 die from the common flu. Nearly 16,000 people are murdered. Ninety people are killed yearly by lightening. And in 1969 a 29-year-old blonde in Massachusetts was killed because a gutless U.S. senator drove her off a bridge and left her there. Those deaths don't seem to have accomplished anything, except to keep a certain hypocritical pompous toad politician from becoming president.
So, were the deaths of 26 Marines and a sailor from Hawaii "worth it"? Watching the Iraqis' expressions of pure joy following Sunday's election tell us the deaths were certainly worth something.
For the record, Ted Kennedy is wrong. The U.S. military isn't part of the problem in Iraq. It IS part of the solution. A major part of the solution.
And when I hear taps float into my bedroom tonight from the Marine base where I know a thousand hearts feel pain, I will know that 27 of my neighbors did not die in vain.
*****
Charles Memminger, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' 2004 First Place Award winner for humor writing, appears Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. E-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com
Easongate
One would think, after the recent Dan Rather disaster at CBS, that mainstream media (MSM) would have figured out that they really can't get away with anymore of their left-wing agenda nonsense in the bright glare of the exploding blogosphere.
But with the arrogance so characteristic of elites who have enjoyed a long reign of unchallenged power, CNN steps into the cyber-crosshairs of a million blogs with an air of invincibile nonchalance. Oh, yes, the troops are killing the journalists, what, didn't you know? Please trust CNN on this, lowly readers. Remember, citizens of the globe, that you heard it first from CNN's Eason Jordan.
But hearing it and swallowing it, reading it and accepting it, are very different things in this new age of instant electronic information. Hugh Hewitt, godfather of the blogosphere, has been attacking this story since Day One like the blizzard did Boston. Powerline charged up its batteries to follow suit, and battalions of bloggers large and small snapped to attention. Judging from the Rathergate results at CBS, I'd say things are looking pretty grim for Eason at the moment. Unless he has the courage to level with the public, which, judging from his past behavior, is an unlikely outcome.
MSM, of which CNN is certainly part, do yourself a favor and face the truth. As difficult as it will be, you must accept the new reality if you want to survive in it. You can't perpetuate your garbage any more, because we don't have to accept yours as the last word. In fact, nowadays your word is likely the beginning of a story. More and more often, the blogs are tending to compose the conclusion. They do so by following the "5 Ws"--who, what, when, where, why, by citing legitimate sources, by backing up their stories with facts, and by being answerable to their readership. If bloggers editorialize, they're much more likely than MSM to let you know up front that they are presenting their own opinion.
Following these procedures is called journalism. Give it a try, MSM, and you just might retain a portion of your audiences who are hemorrhaging over to the blogosphere.
But with the arrogance so characteristic of elites who have enjoyed a long reign of unchallenged power, CNN steps into the cyber-crosshairs of a million blogs with an air of invincibile nonchalance. Oh, yes, the troops are killing the journalists, what, didn't you know? Please trust CNN on this, lowly readers. Remember, citizens of the globe, that you heard it first from CNN's Eason Jordan.
But hearing it and swallowing it, reading it and accepting it, are very different things in this new age of instant electronic information. Hugh Hewitt, godfather of the blogosphere, has been attacking this story since Day One like the blizzard did Boston. Powerline charged up its batteries to follow suit, and battalions of bloggers large and small snapped to attention. Judging from the Rathergate results at CBS, I'd say things are looking pretty grim for Eason at the moment. Unless he has the courage to level with the public, which, judging from his past behavior, is an unlikely outcome.
MSM, of which CNN is certainly part, do yourself a favor and face the truth. As difficult as it will be, you must accept the new reality if you want to survive in it. You can't perpetuate your garbage any more, because we don't have to accept yours as the last word. In fact, nowadays your word is likely the beginning of a story. More and more often, the blogs are tending to compose the conclusion. They do so by following the "5 Ws"--who, what, when, where, why, by citing legitimate sources, by backing up their stories with facts, and by being answerable to their readership. If bloggers editorialize, they're much more likely than MSM to let you know up front that they are presenting their own opinion.
Following these procedures is called journalism. Give it a try, MSM, and you just might retain a portion of your audiences who are hemorrhaging over to the blogosphere.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
New Face Forward
I've had some fun this afternoon setting up a new template. Blogging is a labor of love, but it can be time consuming. Now that I've learned how to post links on my sidebar, I know my blog visitors will have plenty of good reading material to explore while I excuse myself to toss some supper together.
I hope you like the new format. Your inputs are welcome, and thanks for stopping by.
I hope you like the new format. Your inputs are welcome, and thanks for stopping by.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Nailing the Left
Reading Victor Davis Hanson always makes me feel like I'm taking post graduate courses in a variety of subjects including history, sociology, psychology, and especially geopolitics. His entry today in National Review Online, titled "The Global Throng: Why the world’s elites gnash their teeth" needs to be read by anyone who struggles to understand the venom spewing from the left.
VDH explains this seething amimosity towards all things Bush with an articulate intelligence, a controlled anger, and an army of facts that will dismantle even the most frothing liberal arguments against America's current course of action in Iraq. He's that good. Just read it for yourself, you'll see.
Now excuse me please, I think I've fallen in love with the professor and must leave the classroom immediately...
VDH explains this seething amimosity towards all things Bush with an articulate intelligence, a controlled anger, and an army of facts that will dismantle even the most frothing liberal arguments against America's current course of action in Iraq. He's that good. Just read it for yourself, you'll see.
Now excuse me please, I think I've fallen in love with the professor and must leave the classroom immediately...
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Eternal Moment
Anyone who watched the president's State of the Union speech tonight will remember at least one part of it. It was the moment that the young Iraqi woman, whose father was executed by Saddam Hussein, turned and embraced the mother of the fallen Marine Sgt. Byron Norwood.
The Iraq conflict crystalized in that instant into a vivid, moving lesson on what this war is really about. The courage of those who face the dangers, the nobility of those who bear the sacrifices, the pain of loved ones left behind, the gratitude of a new nation to its liberators, and the staggering price of freedom--it was all there, in that one inspiring, spontaneous moment.
As I watched, through welling eyes and chilled skin, I saw that the chain of Sgt. Norwood's dogtags, clutched by his mother, had become entangled in the Iraqi woman's cuff as they hugged each other. They smiled through tears and tugged a second or two before the chain came free. I was overwhelmed with the symbolism it carried.
Americans, especially our military, are eternally entwined with the spirit of the Iraqi people. Because of the bravery of our troops, the Iraqi nation had the chance to take their baby steps down freedom's path.
Iraqis will remember the friendship they have been given by the United States and its military. Iraqis are forever connected to us, our brethren in liberty. They will never forget.
Most Americans won't forget, either. I know I won't.
The Iraq conflict crystalized in that instant into a vivid, moving lesson on what this war is really about. The courage of those who face the dangers, the nobility of those who bear the sacrifices, the pain of loved ones left behind, the gratitude of a new nation to its liberators, and the staggering price of freedom--it was all there, in that one inspiring, spontaneous moment.
As I watched, through welling eyes and chilled skin, I saw that the chain of Sgt. Norwood's dogtags, clutched by his mother, had become entangled in the Iraqi woman's cuff as they hugged each other. They smiled through tears and tugged a second or two before the chain came free. I was overwhelmed with the symbolism it carried.
Americans, especially our military, are eternally entwined with the spirit of the Iraqi people. Because of the bravery of our troops, the Iraqi nation had the chance to take their baby steps down freedom's path.
Iraqis will remember the friendship they have been given by the United States and its military. Iraqis are forever connected to us, our brethren in liberty. They will never forget.
Most Americans won't forget, either. I know I won't.
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