Some Americans say that we are 100 days into the beginning of utopia as President Obama completes his first 100 days in office, while others say that this may be the beginning of the end.  Who is right?  Personally I do not like the direction that this Administration is taking us, but I do not think that I need to go stand on a corner wearing a sandwich board that preaches that the end is near; although the Mayan calendar is set to end in 2012 which is only a few years away.

President Obama has been on TV more than any Soap Opera star I can think of; including twice yesterday to celebrate his 100^th day in office.  First this GREEN President flew Scare Force One to Missouri to speak at Fox Senior High School; then he turned around and flew back to Washington D.C. to give his big prime time speech.  Wow that is really one way to lessen the CARBON FOOTPRINT of America.  The other comparison to the stars of a Soap Opera can be found in the fantasy tales that are spun; only President Obama uses a telepromter instead of cue cards.

The clear fantasies that President Obama is spinning have to do with a few things that were said at either of the speeches that he made all while being a good steward of the environment.  And the President has a great supporting cast, the press. They did not call him on the lies and inaccuracies the same as they berated and belittled the President when the Oval Office was occupied by our previous President; President George W. Bush.

During his speech in Missouri he blatantly lied at least once that I have already found and pushed inaccurate information as well.  It is almost like Soviet Russia to me, all we hear is the propaganda that the Administration wants us to hear.  One day the economy is doing great, and the next it is in the tank.  This Congress and Presidential Administration are spending Monopoly ® money like there is no tomorrow, and President Obama continues to say that his Administration and the current Congress will have the deficit cut in half before the end of his first term.  Even if he accomplishes this lofty goal it will still leave a deficit that dwarfs the deficits of any three Presidents combined; way to go Sir!!

The most offensive part of the speech in Missouri to me was when he talked of how he is ending the “Overseas Contingency Operations” in Iraq (actually he called it the war in Iraq which goes directly against his own Administrations directives.  I guess it is good to be the king, I mean boss).  President Obama said “And finally, we can’t rest until America is secure and our leadership is restored. And that’s why I’ve begun to end the war in Iraq through a responsible transition to Iraqi control…….”  This in and of itself is an outright lie!! 

Iraq has eighteen provinces, of which thirteen are controlled and secured by the Iraqi Army or Police.  What this means is that the Army and Marines in Iraq are primarily playing a supporting role.  If you want to see exactly what this means you can find the movie “Brothers at War” near you and it will show you what it means to be an advisor (http://brothersatwarmovie.com).  The thirteenth province was turned over to the Iraqis was in October of 2008.  Wait when did President Obama take office?  January of 2009.  So it is President Bush who began ending the war in Iraq!   So where is Obama’s contribution?  It is nonexistent!  President Obama’s only plan is to take credit for something that was done on President Bush’s watch; while at the same time blaming his bad spending bills like the “Porkulus Bill” (Omnibus Bill) that we were all told that although President Obama signed it, the “Porkulus Bill” is President Bush’s fault because it was a hold over from the Bush Administration.  But since 2006 the Congress of the United States of America has been solidly in the hands of the Democrat Party; hasn’t it?

This current Congress and Presidential Administration are taking us down a very dangerous path these days.  We continue to move done the road of “for the benefit of all Americans” or the old common good from the teachings of Karl Marx.  The auto industry is so big that the Federal Government could not allow it to fail or go through bankruptcy.  So this Congress which included then Senator Obama and the Bush Administration gave Chrysler approximately $4 Billion to stay viable.  The economic experts said that the American auto makers had dug themselves a hole that would take bankruptcy to get out of, but what do experts know.  Obviously not much seeing as how President Obama now wants to give them approximately $8 Billion more as part of a deal where Chrysler files for Chapter 11.  What is worse than that is part of the Obama Administration deal the UAW will own 55% of Chrysler, essentially giving the workers the power to negotiate with themselves.  I wonder if this is really good for the taxpayers who is funding this little shin dig?

President Obama also told us that “We need your service; we need your active citizenship…”  But only if you’re active citizenship goes along with what he wants.  President Obama went on to single out one cable news network, he did not mention Fox news by name but the leftist crowd understood what was meant just as I did, that did not like him very much and make fun of the TEA Party movement.  When the President of the United States of America belittles some that exercise their First Amendment right it does not seem very Presidential if you ask me.  The American who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office is supposed to represent all Americans not just those that voted for him.

I could continue to go on and on but I will leave you all with this.  The march to socialism, especially going down the globalist class envy path that we are being marched down, leads only a few places; especially, when the mainstream media is being used as the propaganda wing of the White House and Congress to push us down this path faster.  One is straight to the same place that Russia is today, total economic devastation; or to the same intersection America found itself in the 1860’s.  Either conclusion is bad for America.

New York Post “100 Days, 100 Mistakes”

Source

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2009 – With the Department of Veterans Affairs ready to begin accepting sign-ups for the Post-9/11 GI Bill May 1, the Defense Department is working to get word out on its proposed policy regarding the bill’s transferability provisions to help servicemembers decide if the new benefit is right for them.

Bob Clark, the Pentagon’s assistant director for accessions policy, called the Post-9/11 GI Bill that takes effect Aug. 1 an important new benefit. In addition to providing broader educational benefits, it includes a provision that enables enrollees to transfer their benefits to immediate family members.

This long-sought-after provision is expected to be a boom for the military, Clark said, attracting and retaining the skilled force it needs.

“The Post-9/11 GI Bill is going to be an extremely good benefit to attract bright, young Americans to serve in the military,” he said.

“The transferability is going to be a tool that will allow us to retain members who have earned that great benefit and share it with their family members and continue to serve,” Clark said. “This gives them the opportunity to share those benefits that they have earned with those they love.”

The rules for Post-9/11 GI Bill transferability are in the final stages, and Clark said the Defense Department expects few changes, if any.

In a nutshell, any enlisted or commissioned member of the armed forces serving on active duty or in the Selected Reserve on or after Aug. 1 will be eligible to transfer their benefits – as long as they qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill in the first place and meet specific service requirements, Clark explained.

He emphasized that, by law, anyone who has retired or separated from the service before that date – even if it’s July 31 – won’t be entitled to transfer their benefits. Also excluded will be members of the Individual Ready Reserve and Fleet Reserve.

Most servicemembers who have at least six years of military service as of Aug. 1 and agree to serve an additional four years qualify, he said. But the Defense Department has proposed measures to cover several categories of servicemembers whose circumstances don’t fit neatly into this formula.

For example, those with at least 10 years of service – but who can’t serve an additional four years because of a service or Defense Department policy -also would qualify, Clark said. They must, however, serve the maximum time allowed before separating from the military, he said.

“What we did not want to do was to penalize those people who had a service policy or statute that would not permit them to commit for the full four years,” Clark explained.

Another Pentagon proposal would cover servicemembers who will reach the 20-year service mark, making them retirement-eligible, between Aug. 1, 2009, and Aug. 1, 2013.

Clark explained the breakdown, which basically enables those affected to transfer benefits as long as they complete 20 years of service:

– Those eligible for retirement on Aug. 1, 2009, would be eligible to transfer their benefits with no additional service requirement.

– Those with an approved retirement date after Aug. 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, would qualify with no additional service.

– Those eligible for retirement after Aug. 1, 2009, but before Aug. 1, 2010, would qualify with one additional year of service after approval to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

– Those eligible for retirement between Aug. 1, 2010, and July 31, 2011, would qualify with two additional years of service after approval to transfer.

– Those eligible to retire between Aug. 1, 2011, and July 31, 2012, would qualify with three additional years of service after approval to transfer.

The servicemember’s 36 months of benefits – the equivalent of four nine-month academic years – could be transferred to a spouse, one or more children or any combination, Clark said. The family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System to receive the benefits.

Servicemembers also have the option to use some benefits themselves and transfer what they haven’t used to one or more family members.

Even after transferring the benefits, they remain the “property” of the servicemember who earned them, who can revoke them or redesignate who receives them at any time.

More details about the Post-9/11 GI Bill are posted on the Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs Web sites, and the Pentagon’s proposed transferability policy is on the Defense Department site.

LA SPEZIA, Italy - The Iraqi Navy has been conducting training over the last several months to prepare for the maiden voyage of the Fatah, Patrol Ship 701 in mid May.  The Italian patrol ship will be reflagged to the country of Iraq on May 15.

The 34 member Iraqi crew traveled to Italy in January to begin their training on PS 701.  The training encompassed all aspects of shipboard operations to ensure the crew would be ready to sail the ship from La Spezia Italy to Umm Qasr, Iraq.

The Fatah, meaning ‘Conquer’ or ‘Victory,” is the first of four Italian built ships directly contracted from the Fincantieri Shipyard in La Spezia.  Fatah will be designated as the flagship of the Iraqi Navy.  The lengthy transit will be the Iraqi Navy crew’s first opportunity to develop confidence with their new ship during their 5,100 nautical mile, 29 day voyage.

Fatah’s voyage will begin in Italy, transit the Mediterranean Sea, pass through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, and ultimately around the Arabian Peninsula to the port of Umm Qasr.  The Italian Navy will provide an escort ship to continue training opportunities and coordinate interactions with coalition warships with the U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR) and U.S Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).

The Iraqi crew’s interaction with international navies in the NAVEUR and NAVCENT areas of operation is a great training opportunity for them to build confidence and assist with the Iraqi Navy mission of taking responsibility for maritime security in December 2011.

The UK led Coalition Naval Advisory and Training Team in Iraq is formulating a long range training plan with the Iraqi Navy.  The goal is to develop a capable and responsive Iraqi Navy, generating a force properly organized, trained, equipped, stationed, and sustained with appropriate procedures in place to support naval forces conducting maritime security operations in the region.

Lance Cpl. Ryan A. Rholes

HIGHLAND, Calif.,  —Seven Marines who work at the Carlos Hathcock Range aboard East Miramar volunteered April 13, to help the Cal-Diego chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America conduct the organization’s 2nd annual pistol match, hosted at the Inland Fish and Game shooting range here.

The match was part of the Cal-Diego chapter’s 21st trap shooting competition. Marines instructed the competitors on safety, basic shooting fundamentals, weapons conditions and the course of fire.

“We host these events because we want to get these guys out into the world,” said Jim Russel, who serves on the PVA’s board of directors. “A lot of these guys are energetic and when your legs stop working, it’s hard to accept. We want to show them life isn’t over.”

The PVA hosted last year’s tournament aboard East Miramar. Impressed by the range facilities and personnel, the competitors requested to use the range this year, but could not because Miramar’s shotgun range is temporarily closed. However, the competitors were still able to enjoy at least part of what made last year’s competition enjoyable.

“Having these Marines out here means the world to these guys,” said Andy MacDonald, the shooting sports director for the PVA. “When we called and told Master Sgt. Duncan we had to cancel the shoot at Miramar, he immediately offered for the Marines to come to us. Their knowledge and professionalism made it great.”

Although the veterans shooting in the competition enjoyed the help they received from the Marines, they were not the only ones who took something away from the competition.

“These guys are living history,” said Sgt. Laurel Golley, a combat marksmanship coach at the range. “It’s humbling to hear them thank us. They lived through the toughest wars this country has ever faced, and were injured doing it. We are glad to be here — they deserve us to be here.”

The top three competitors each received a certificate, which they can exchange for a pistol manufactured by Glock. They fired using the National Rifle Association’s standard pistol competition rules.

The U.S. Congress charged the Veteran’s Association with creating the PVA during the end of WWII. Founded in Chicago in 1946, the non-profit organization serves as a corner stone for vets suffering from spinal cord injuries and diseases.

The PVA conducts a three-day inspection of all spinal cord injury treatment centers located in VA hospitals each year, and reports those findings to the VA’s president.

For more information on the PVA, visit their Web site at www.pva.org.

Sec. Napaolitano, like the rest of the Obama Administration, seems to be backpedaling!  She ran off at the mouth and told us the truth, but the truth about what the Obama Administration is doing to protect us is not what the American people want.  “We The People” would really like someone to step and actually do something to actually protect us!!

The first death in the Porcus Influenza Pandemic here in America has just beenn reported in Houston, Texas.  As it turns out it was a 2 year old Mexican National.  The story goes that the toddlers mom was here visiting relatives and nothing is being reported as to the legal status of the moms’ relatives.  If the relatives are not here legally than once again we have been screwed by the Mexican Government, the Obama Administration, the Bush Administration and most of Congress for not securing our southern border to keep this pandemic from having a greater avenue of assault on the American people.  Even if that assault is purely economic, seeing as how “We The People” are paying for this childs medical care!!

I wonder if the Department of Homeland Security employs passive security on their building the same as they feel is adequate for our borders?  Something tells me that if you wanted to visit the building that houses the Department of Homeland Security you would have to pass through an active metal detector that is manned by active security personnel!!  If it is good enough for the bureaucrats security than why isn’t it good enough for the rest of us??

Napolitano Retracts ‘Passive Surveillance’ Term

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 11:25 AM

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is asserting that the description she initially gave of the border swine-flu monitoring effort no longer applies.

Appearing Wednesday before a Senate panel, Napolitano said that “passive surveillance” is “not an accurate picture of what is going on” at U.S. entry points. She had used that term Tuesday morning to describe the nature of the monitoring for illness.

On Wednesday, Napolitano said that U.S. officials are “actively” questioning visitors at the border, asking questions about “whether they are ill, their travel history and the like.”

She also discounted turning to thermal meters to gauge whether people are carrying a fever, and Napolitano also said she does not believe the facts of the current situation would merit closing the borders.

Newsmax.com

I found this on one of my friends facebook pages and it is absolutely right.

…….. I have to admit it. My liberal friends were right.

They told me if I voted for McCain, the nation’s Hope
would deteriorate, and sure enough there has been
a 20 point drop in the Consumer Confidence Index
since the election, reaching a lower point than any
time during the Bush administration..

They told me if I voted for McCain, the US would
become more deeply embroiled in the Middle East,
and sure enough tens of thousands of additional
troops are scheduled to be deployed into Afghanistan .

They told me if I voted for McCain, that the economy
would get worse and sure enough unemployment is
approaching 8.8% and the new stimulus packages
implemented recently have sent the stock market
lower than at any time since 9-11.

They told me if I voted for McCain, we would see
more “crooks” in high ranking positions in Federal
government and sure enough, several recent
cabinet nominees and Senate appointments
revealed resumes of bribery and tax fraud.

Well I ignored my Democrat friends in November
and voted for McCain. And they were right…
all of their predictions have come true.

In the late eighteenth-century, British school-children would read about the tales of the famous-pirate John Paul who terrorized the British sea coast. John Paul Jones did terrorize the British sea coast, but he wasn’t a pirate. Jones was the commanding officer aboard a commissioned privateer-ship of the United States of America. A privateer-ship was given permission by the government to raid enemy merchant-ships for profit. Privateering was a very lucrative business. The sailors were allowed to keep half of the prize money captured from enemy vessels. The other half of the money was used in the construction of the fledgling American Navy.
John Paul was born in 1747, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. In 1773, he fled to America on the advice of his friends. He had killed the mutinous ring leader of a ship he was captain of, while sailing in the West Indies. The victim had impaled himself on Jones’ sword as he ran towards him during a fight. (1) When John Paul was living in Virginia, he took the last name of Jones to conceal his true identity. After the American Revolution began, Jones was ready to join the rebellion against Britain. He received his naval commission through his friendship with a Continental Congress delegate, from North Carolina. The delegate, Joseph Hewes, was a member of the Naval Commission. On December 7, 1775, Jones was commissioned a lieutenant. Jones was the first naval officer to raise the new Grand Union flag over an American ship. The name of the ship was the Alfred. The Alfred had thirty-guns.
In May of 1776, Jones received a promotion to captain, by Commodore Esek Hopkins. Hopkins was the first Commodore of the United States Navy. Jones took command of the sloop named, the Providence. In just one cruise, Jones and his small fleet took sixteen-prizes for the Americans. (2)
Jones was soon commanding the warship Ranger. He was ordered by Congress to go to France. It was 1777. He was to receive a warship that was being built for the United States by Holland. Jones was also carrying the news to France of the grand American victory over General Johnny Burgoyne’s British Army, at the Battle of Saratoga. Before he arrived in France, however, the American delegation in Paris had decided to give the Dutch ship to the French. This was done as a gesture of friendship. So Jones continued his command of the Ranger.
On April 10, 1778, Jones sailed from France and started to raid the British coast. His first stop was at a town called Whitehaven. Jones was familiar with this coastal town. He had seen Whitehaven as a boy when he was an apprenticed sailor. Jones and his men rowed ashore. They managed to spike some cannons in the town. Their courage showed the British that they too were vulnerable to attack on their soil. Jones also wanted to kidnap The Earl of Selkirk and ransom his freedom for his fellow Americans being held prisoner. So he decided to attack St. Mary’s Isle. St. Mary’s Isle is a small peninsula, not far from where Jones grew up. The Earl, however, was not in town. Jones and his men were able to escape back to the sea, leaving the British community dazed at the audacity of the American raiders.
Jones sailed across the Irish Sea. He was still seeking a large bounty to take back to France as a prize. A strange, surreal-event happened as he calmly sailed into the harbor at Belfast, Ireland. Just a short distance away at anchor, was the man-o-war, H.M.S. Drake. The Drake was about to set sail. The captain of the Drake curious about the unknown ship, sent an investigation party over to the Ranger. Jones was incognito. He was wile. Jones had yet to unfurl the flag of the United States. He greeted the British boarding party wearing a British officers’ uniform. Jones was trying to keep up the appearance of a merchant ship. His ruse worked. The British sailors were promptly made prisoners of war and sent down into the hull of the ship. The Ranger started to make her way out to sea. She struck the colors of the United States. The Drake quickly followed. The two warships then sailed far into the open sea. The eighteen-gun Ranger was about to be tested in battle for the first time. Her opponent would be the British man-o-war, the H.M.S Drake. The pending battle would be the ultimate test for Captain Jones and the crew of the Ranger. An American warship had never defeated a British warship. The Ranger’s eighteen-guns were all six-pounders. The Drake had twenty-guns, with smaller four-pounders. However, the Drake had many more men on board. (3) After a day long chase, the swifter Ranger allowed the Drake to catch up with her. Jones wanted to keep a safe distance from the Drake. This was done so that the numerically superior British forces would not be able to board the Ranger. Jones also wanted to be close enough so that the Ranger’s firepower could defeat the enemy. When the battle commenced, the American gunners fired a devastating volley of chain-shot and grape-shot. This fire power ripped the sails from the masts of the Drake. (4) The American sharpshooters stationed up in the masts of the Ranger, had rained down destruction upon the British officers on the deck of the Drake. They killed the British first lieutenant, while severely wounding the captain. A British sailor cried out for, “Quarter, Quarter”! The British surrendered their ship and the fierce battle was over in little more than an hour. Jones had his prize. The American warship Ranger sailed back to France with the valuable prize of the H.M.S. Drake and a stunning victory over the British Royal Navy.
Nearly one-year had passed since Jones had left the French coast to harass the British Isles. It was now February, 1779. Jones was informed that he was to command an older warship called the Duras. The French government had refitted the Duras. Jones renamed her the Bonhomme Richard. This was in honor of Benjamin Franklin’s almanac. Franklin’s almanac was called, “Poor Richard’s Almanac”. The Bonhomme Richard now had forty-guns. The former merchant-ship was now a large-warship.
In August of 1779, Jones and a small squadron of five ships set sail for the British Isles. Jones had a crew of 380-men. His sailors were from several different nations. He had 137-French-marines. Portuguese fishermen who supported the American cause were on board the Bonhomme Richard. There were men from Scotland and Ireland. But most of the crew was from the United States, along with many disgruntled Englishmen who supported the United States. (5) The Bonhomme Richard was sailing west to east, around the British Isles. Jones and his small flotilla was having success capturing seventeen-ships. Jones however, was not having success with the other captains of his squadron. All of the other captains were French and they were jealous of Jones’ command. They acted on their own accord. Two went back to France for questionable repairs. The rest set sail at their pace. This type insubordination was common in the nebulous relations between the American and French allies in the eighteenth-century. Men sometimes refused to take orders from someone they may have disliked, regardless of the reasoning. But Jones sailed onward. Jones continued to use deception, as he often flew the British Union Jack. The flying of the enemy flag was a common naval ploy in the eighteenth-century. By now, all of Britain was aware of the “pirate” John Paul. He was cruising in her coastal waters. To the British, Jones was just a rebel Scotsman. If captured alive, he would have been hung.
The British were out sailing along their coast. They were looking for the Bonhomme Richard. She was off the coast of Eastern England. They found her on September 23, 1779. (6) After being spotted, Jones drew one of the larger British warships close to his flagship. Jones was now using another ruse. The captain of the H.M.S. Serapis demanded that Jones identify himself. There was no answer. Jones was flying no colors. Suddenly, the American flag was hoisted high above the mast of the Bonhomme Richard. The legendary battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis was about to begin.
The two-warships maneuvered into battle ready position. Shots were fired. The Bonhomme Richard was hit, but incredibly the shots were not fired from the enemy ship Serapis. The allied warship Alliance had fired on Jones! The captain of the Alliance, the Frenchman Landais, who was believed to be crazy at the time, turned on Jones and the Bonhomme Richard! Landais’ strange action certainly supports the theory of his insanity. Meanwhile, Landais’ treachery was not over! Jones was now in danger of being sunk. Jones moved his ship along-side close to the Serapis. The American flag had been ripped from its mast on the first wayward blast from Landais. British Captain Pearson, of the Serapis, yelled out to Jones if he was ready to surrender. Jones answered with his famous words, “I have not yet begun to fight.” And fight he did. A four-hour battle ensued. Once again, the insane Landais fired a couple shots! These shots were direct hits on the Bonhomme Richard! Landais inflicted a lot of damage on the Bonhomme Richard. Meanwhile, marines from both ships were firing upon each other. Broadsides were exchanged over and over again. American sailors started to board the Serapis. One of the American marines threw a grenade into the powder magazine of the Serapis. The grenade blast created extensive damage to the Serapis. Pearson, with mercy for his remaining men eventually struck his colors and surrendered to Captain John Paul Jones.
The Bonhomme Richard was in such bad shape that Jones had to abandon her. The most critical damage had amazingly come from the allied ship, the Alliance! Jones and the surviving American crew attempted to keep the Serapis sea-worthy. He succeeded. With the help of the British prisoners of war, they were able to sail the Serapis to Holland. The United States had won a great battle on the high-seas by defeating a large British warship near her homeland.
Jones, now a famous naval hero, set sail to Philadelphia from France. He had hundreds of tons of needed supplies for General George Washington. It was February, 1781. Many of the supplies that Jones brought to General Washington were used in the last battle of the American Revolution at Yorktown, in October, of 1781.
Captain John Paul Jones returned to France after the war. He died there, in 1792. It would be more than one-hundred-years until his remains were brought home to the United States, in 1905. His body now rests in peace and honor in the chapel of the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland.
John Paul Jones is Father of the United States Navy. The memory of his fight lives on at Annapolis.

University Park, Pa. — Students and faculty in Penn State’s Department of Political Science use 302 Pond Building as their community center, where they regularly discuss their classes and projects about political life. It is this room that the department and the College of the Liberal Arts recently dedicated in memory of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Penn State graduate who was killed while leading an intelligence mission behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, and who was posthumously recognized with the Congressional Medal of Honor in October 2007.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military award for valor. The seminar room now will be known as the Navy Seal Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Conference Room. The department’s Board of Visitors and Capt. William Hanson and the Penn State ROTC Battalion also participated in the ceremony.

A portrait of Lt. Michael P. Murphy is unveiled at the ceremony. Photo Credit: College of the Liberal Arts

“The seminar room is our main community space for our faculty, students and visitors in learning and service activities,” said Donna Bahry, professor and head of the political science department. “A good number of our graduates have pursued careers in the military, as did Michael, and a good number of our current students are currently in ROTC. The Department and our Board of Visitors want the Penn State community to always remember the story about how one person made a difference in the lives of many. And, they too can go on to make a difference with the same spirit of personal leadership.”

Murphy was a 1998 graduate in political science with honors who decided to join the U.S. Navy and the SEALS unit. In 2005, he led a four-man team deep behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. His team was besieged by enemy fighters, but he valiantly led his men in the battle, despite being wounded and the overwhelming odds. He made the vital radio call for help and was fatally wounded in the end.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, the U.S. Navy named a destroyer after Murphy. Penn State Board of Trustees and President Graham B. Spanier selected him as a Distinguished Alumnus. The community of Patchogue, N.Y., named its Post Office and a park in his memory.

Source

Kudos to Drill from Infidels Paradise for the great story & commentary…

Snip:

The Other Skeletons In Kathleen Sebelius’s Closet

Nearly two years ago Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, DNC chair Howard Dean, and Republican Senator Sam Brownback were caught up in a political triangle post Greensburg, Kansas F5 tornado that wiped the town off the face of the map.

A regional/local morning conservative radio program out of Pittsburgh, Pa. that I listen to has its own “insiders” in the political theater that keep the hosts up on inside goings-on … and shortly after the devastating tornado informed the two hosts, Jim Quinn and Rose, of what he/she found out:

Free Republic:

I was listening to the Quinn & Rose show this morning on XM radio when Host, Jim Quinn told his audience that Howard Dean called Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius early, around 5 am, one morning after the tornado had destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kansas and discussed with her what to say about the tornado and how to blame the war in Iraq and the Bush administration on a slow response to the aftermath.

He also said that she, Gov. Sebelius, called Senator Sam Brownback’s office only to learn he wasn’t there but then called him on his cell phone and reached him while he was in his car were she confessed to him that she had been instructed by her party leadership, (more specifically, Howard Dean) on how to politicize the tornado’s destruction of Greensburg and attack the White House and the Iraq war for a seemingly slow response. She reassured the Senator that her allegations didn’t blame him or Pat Roberts, also a Kansas Senator, for the lack of immediate response.

That would explain her public statements to the press that proved later to be untrue. She made statements to the effect that the Iraq war and the deployment of the national guard units to Iraq from her state has left Kansas without the equipment and man power needed to respond more quickly to the tornado’s aftermath. This all turns out to be false and the governor herself has back tracked on her own claims.

Please continue HERE for the full story

Kudos to Citizen K. for the article.

Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler

From: To The Point News

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

The incompetence of President Zero and his DHS secretary Janet Napolitano has now reached lethal levels in their refusal to militarily close the US-Mexico border or even airplane flights from Mexico.

Yet now that the swine flu epidemic has spread from Mexico into the US, we cannot worry about Zero, much less expect him to protect us in any way. Let’s focus on what you can do right now at this moment.

The CDC has identified the virus as a H1N1 virus called swine influenza A. This virus has been known for over 40 years, infecting humans directly from birds such as ducks (avian flu) or pigs (swine flu).

Never before could it be transmitted from one human to another. The virus has now evolved to where it can. This new human-to-human transmission is what is making the H1N1 pandemic.

Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw suggest the following prophylactic measures to protect their friends at To The Point. As Durk says, “I’m afraid that you are not going to like this, but I really do know my biology…”

*Avoid restaurants – hand to mouth transmission of the virus is more often important than aerosols.

*Wash your hands when you return home. Best is with rubbing alcohol, a very effective anti-viral hand-wash.

*Have a supply of hospital or EMT anti-viral hand wipes in your car and use them if there is an outbreak near you. Do NOT use them when there is no outbreak – you don’t want to drive the selection of antibiotic resistant skin bacteria.

*Open your mail and discard the envelopes, then wash your hands before reading the contents (which will have been exposed to far fewer people).

*Avoid areas of high population density; the probability of an epidemic increases with the SQUARE of the population density. Until the risk of a pandemic is over, stay out of ALL cities.

*Avoid crowds.

*Avoid travel by airplane, subway, taxi, or train. The only safe way to travel is via your own personal automobile.

*Do your shopping in the morning when there are as few people in the stores as possible, make as few shopping trips as possible, and visit as few stores as possible for as short a time as possible. Wash your hands afterward, such as with rubbing alcohol.

*Avoid places like resorts, casinos, museums, plays, concerts, etc, that attract travelers. This most certainly includes HOTELS AND MOTELS.

* Avoid places with multifamily dwellings such as apartment buildings.

*If you can, temporarily move to an isolated rural area of low population density, which means less pandemic. Best would be such an area of high altitude and few clouds for lots of UV, which kills viruses outside of buildings. And/or a windy place — the viruses are blown away rather than building up in a cloud over the town.

Durk and Sandy have developed a nutrient formula which they believe will provide effective prophylactic protection from the human swine flu virus. It is composed of materials shown to be effective in numerous animal studies for H1N1, does not require FDA approval, and can be quickly produced in mass quantities.

As soon as the production of their formula is up and running – which may be within a week – all TTP subscribers will receive notification of its availability.

In the meantime – TTP urges you to immediately put the above suggestions into effect for your life and those of your family and friends.

One last note. There is a strong suspicion by many that this is biowarfare. Perhaps, but doubtful.

The Russians, Chinese, French, British, Israelis, and the US could construct this H1N1 virus – which, again, has appeared before naturally, though not in a highly human-to-human contagious form. Of these, only the first two are perfidious enough to be true suspects.

Yet both know that the epidemic could not be contained to the US and would inevitably spread to their own countries, which would be devastated far worse than the US. Neither have enough respirators or Tamiflu reserves. The Fourth World state of their medical care and sanitation would guarantee massive infection and death.

As for Iran or Al Qaeda and Iran, they have shown no signs that they have this sort of technology, nor does North Korea. And forget about the rumor about the vials of pathogens supposedly stolen from the Army biodefense lab at Ft. Detrick. Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) virus has nothing to do with H1N1.

Mexico – like China – is a perfect natural breeding place for hybrid flu viruses. There are ducks and/or chickens, pigs, and humans on the same farms, poor farm sanitation, and the farm produce is taken to high population density cities.

The cause, however, is not important right now. What is critically important is for you to take action to protect yourself. Follow the above advice. Within a week, hopefully, we can tell you where to get a pill that should provide substantial protection against infection.

Pope Benedict canonized 5 people today. One of the five was St. Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira. A soldier of not only this world, but of God.

St. Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira , he went on, “was a great soldier and a great leader who never allowed his personal qualities to overshadow the supreme action of God. …. At the end of his life he retreated to a Carmelite convent that he himself had ordered to be built”.

“This exemplary figure, his life characterised by faith and prayer in apparently unfavourable settings, shows that in any situation – even military life and warfare – it is possible to enact and fulfil the values and principles of Christian life, especially if one places oneself at the service of the common good and the glory of God”.

For the rest of the story, EWTN

I was made aware of this fund raiser for Freedom Is Not Free this morning.  As a military Mom I thought think this would make the perfect Mother’s Day gift for other military moms. The price is reasonable and the roses won’t wilt in a week. And to top it off  a foundation that does some really great work gets funding to do great things for our wounded and their families.

Freedom Is Not Free:

In honor of our wounded troops, their families and the families of the fallen, The Home Depot and Mea Nursery are teaming up to make donations to troops again this year during their Memorial Day drive with special roses dedicated to Freedom Is Not Free and those we support.

Last year, Mea Nursery presented Freedom Is Not Free with a check for $7,000, raised by the sale of these unique roses. Each rose is specially named to honor those who’ve served. These special roses are named Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart in honor of our nation’s heroes and the sacrifices they make. Please visit The Home Depot or www.homedepot.com today to purchase your Mea Nursery roses. Your purchases become donations to troops that go toward helping veterans. Make this Memorial Day and all year special by remembering fallen soldiers and supporting military charities.

Freedom is Not Free Bronze Star Roses

Freedom is Not Free Silver Star Roses

Talk about some quid pro quo!!  Aren’t there laws that protect the American public from the damage that can be done by the UAW negotiating with the UAW at contract time??

Those companies that have put themselves into fatal financial positions, with the help of those who represent the employees of those companies, should be allowed to fail!  If for no other reason than to ensure that these same mistakes are not repeated again.

UAW Said to Get 55% Chrysler Ownership, Board Seats (Update1)

By John Lippert and Mike Ramsey
April 28 (Bloomberg) — The United Auto Workers union’s retiree health-care fund will own 55 percent of Chrysler LLC in exchange for cutting in half the automaker’s $10.6 billion cash obligation to the trust, people familiar with the matter said.
Under the terms of the contract, the trust would get representation on the company’s board of directors, said two people briefed on the deal, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.
The tentative agreement was approved unanimously by UAW leaders yesterday and will be sent to union locals for ratification, one of the people said. Chrysler, operating with $4 billion in U.S. loans, faces an April 30 deadline to restructure its costs or risk losing government support.
“With employees effectively sharing the risks, this could play to the advantage of the ailing company,” said Howard Wheeldon, a senior strategist at BGC Partners LP in London. The UAW role, if confirmed, may be the only “feasible way of moving forward,” he added.
The U.S. Treasury, which still is negotiating on Chrysler’s behalf with the company’s secured lenders, has little room to give the banks more equity. Fiat SpA would get 20 percent of the company to start, with the ability to increase ownership to 35 percent by hitting performance goals. The Treasury would keep 10 percent.
Shawn Morgan, a spokeswoman for Auburn Hills, Michigan- based Chrysler, declined to comment on the tentative agreement “as it still needs to be ratified,” she said in an e-mail.
‘Weak’ Chrysler Products
The Fiat connection may not be the best approach for saving Chrysler, though employee ownership through the union may help, BGC’s Wheeldon said.
“The weakness remains Chrysler’s product base and how quickly this can be adapted with or without Fiat’s ‘help,’” the analyst said.
Instead of contributing $8.8 billion to a retiree health- care trust, Chrysler will give the union trust shares of the company and a promissory note for $4.59 billion that will be paid in installments with 9 percent interest until 2023, one of the people said. This reduces the up-front cash Chrysler would have had to pay under its 2007 contract agreement with the Detroit-based union.
The union’s equity in Chrysler is valued at $4.2 billion. If it can sell the shares for more, the Treasury would get the difference, one of the people said.
Workers also agreed to changes in work classifications, including the number of types of skilled trades. The contract also has a provision that all new hires for the company in the factories will make $14 to $16 an hour, up to 25 percent of the total Chrysler-UAW workforce. This increased from 20 percent in an earlier contract.
Separately yesterday, General Motors Corp. said it will be at least half owned by the U.S. government under a plan to slash its debt and cut dealer ranks nearly in half.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Lippert in Chicago at jlippert@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 28, 2009 04:05 EDT

I have to say, during he past few weeks the History Chanel has been so busy pointing out every ancient people and their account of the end of days. Along with the History Channel, it seems that many other news organizations have also taken on this “Revelation” of the end of time.

For one of the videos see here:

Unfortunately, I can’t find the video I would love to get up, in which it states that the Mayans received all their information regarding their calendar from a “Creature” that looked exactly like the Spaniards who came later and conquered them. But this “Creature” crawled back into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Below are just a few storys on the subject:

Did the ancient Mayans predict the end of the world?

SPACE, MAGNETIC POLES, SUN SPOTS, EARTH, 2012 CHANGES

Alright. Now for my take. I’m just a Catholic. My faith in Jesus, is my life in this world. I believe I am just a passenger making stops along the way until I reach my final destination. Hopefully, with the help of Jesus.

There is no code to decipher the end of the world. There will be no signs, well, no signs that sinful man will believe anyway. It goes with the old adage -- You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

There is already great suffering in this world, snuffed buy the naysayers. What the naysayers don’t understand is this:

When has there ever been a great period throughout history where peace has lingered more then 1 minute on every inch of the face of the earth? Never.

If your life is going well, and your neighbors is not, you are more then likely in the wrong. Jesus does not bless us with worldly possessions, he blesses us with the understanding to live for the next life. He blesses us with hope and courage that give us strength to carry our “knowledge” of these things along with helping our neighbor by carrying that pain for them. We don’t live our lives, for this life. We live our lives in this world, to overcome ourselves and our possessions.

Keep in mind, this world, the world we are in right now is ruled by Satan. Being a Catholic and a true follower of Christ in this world is like being the away team at a home teams game. But not just a typical game. The game. Satan has the evils in the world working with him. Satan keeps trying to win the game because of his own blatant ignorance of his own arrogance in thinking he can change the will of God.

Satan is the master of diversions. Think of it this way.

You decide one day, you want to go to church. You set your alarm the night before. The next day, it doesn’t go off and your late, realizing you set it for PM and not AM. DIVERSION. You get in your car, and you notice you have no gas. If you stop on your way to church you will be late. DIVERSION. You stop for gas and realize you only have 5.00 and need to eat. DIVERSION. You decide, meah, maybe next week. DIVERSION.

For every excuse you can come up with not to go to mass / church, there are many more reasons to attend. The fact remains that Satan’s main duty is to keep you from Jesus. By not attending church, by not listening to what God is telling you and coming up with every excuse under the sun, is another diversion. If Satan was able to expose himself in his true form, you would never look at him. You would run and hide. Satan knows this. So he hides his sin, his diversions, in every aspect of the earth.

What can one do? If believing that all you have to do is believe in God, and you will be saved is your play, you might want to work on that a little bit. There is a reason why hell is much larger then heaven.

Now, back to the original post. If on December 21st, 2012 you hear of great things, great miracles -- don’t buy into them.

The Bible describes the events of Jesus’ return in apocalyptic images.

Mk 13:26-27
And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather (his) elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

Mt 16:27
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.

Acts 1:11
They (two men dressed in white) said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

1 Thess 4:16-18
For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.

The parousia will be unmistakable because it will be accompanied by unprecedented signs.

Mt 24:27
For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Some signs are general events concerning the evangelization of the world.

Mt 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.

Other signs are more proximate. Mark (Chapter 13), Matthew (Chapter 24), and Luke (Chapter 21) all describe the unmistakable signs with apocalyptic images.

2 Tim 4:1-2
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word …

2 Tim 3:1-5
But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious, callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power. Reject them.

No one knows exactly when this will occur.

Mk 13:32
(Jesus began his discourse …) “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

1 Thess 5:2
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.

2 Pet 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

The Catholic Church teaches that we should avoid pointless speculations about the time, the details of the signs, the nature of the difficulties, etc. The Church focuses instead on the need for living the Gospel so as to be prepared for the parousia whenever it happens.

Mk 13:33,35-37
(Jesus began his discourse …) “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. … Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

1 Pet 1:13-16
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, “Be holy because I (am) holy.”

My advise to you? Don’t believe for one second you can ever change God’s will.

Imagine if you would, if 1/2 of the people who followed such things, put 1/2 the amount of energy they had put into their theory’s, into themselves to change their own behavior to be Christ-like and live like Christ did?

God bless you & I do pray for none of us to be witnesses to the Second Coming of Christ, in our lifetime. As “cool” as some might think it would be, I , personally, would rather take a pass. But if it must be, God willing, I stand and take what is my due just as we all will.

It is now becoming public knowledge through the Federal Governments Department of Propaganda, you know MSNBC, CNN and others that we are at tremendous risk from a new bio-agent; Porcus Influenza!  It is known publically as Swine Flu and being called a pandemic because it is showing up all over the infidel world, it is already showing up on two of the seven continents right now!!  We at the Counter-Propaganda Division of Chandler’s Watch wanted to give you the REAL story that is not being told by the Federal Government of the United Socialist States of America.

First off we really wanted to inform you a little bit about what Porcus Influenza is.  We at the Counter-Propaganda Division of Chandler’s Watch have learned through an anonymous source (did I spell anonymous right Louie?) that there are a few strains of this virus that we know about to this point.  The two main strains that we have been able to gather information about are Porcus Influenza Basicus and the Avian Porcus Influenza.  For the most part you will find the former strain, Porcus Influenza Basicus, in Mexico.  Currently it has killed hundreds of people that the Federal Government Department of Propaganda has let us know about.  The symptoms are very much like the plain old regular influenza, just with a fancier name.  The side effects from the Basicus strain of this bio-agent are a flattening of your nose to resemble a pig’s snout and the urge to root around in the mud.

The other strain, Avian Porcus Influenza, has been seen here in the USSA and is a mutated stain of the bio-agent.  It was not intended to interbreed with other viruses but this is a combination of the Avian Influenza and Porcus Influenza Basicus.  As such the bio-agent has taken on characteristics of both viruses.  After the combination the virus crossed the southern border of the USSA without the proper visas or ICE inspections; so look for ICE sweeps to arrest and deport the virus in areas near you.  The biggest difference in the symptoms of Porcus Influenza Basicus and Avian Porcus Influenza is that like the Avian Influenza you can get the uncontrollable desire to defecate on your neighbor’s car windshield, which is actually heightened after your neighbor washes their car.  The brighter side of this strain of the Porcus Influenza is that it can only kill you when pigs fly.

Both strains of this bio-agent are targeting the same demographic groups in Mexico, USSA, and else where around the world.  So if you pay close attention you may be able to avoid contracting either strain of this virus depending on where your geographical location happens to be when you encounter the bio-agent. 

Louie later told us that this virus seems to be theologically motivated.  It appears that this bio-agent has been designed, either through the work of God or a scientist working with participants of man made disasters, to attack Christians and Jews.  If it truly was the creation of God this fact confuses me the most seeing as how Christians and Jews pray to the same God with the only difference being a disagreement in the projected outcome of the pending paternity test results of His alleged Son Jesus (pronounced G-zus unlike your gardener Hey-Zeus).  Both of these religious groups are also considered to be infidels by those pious followers of Islam; which kind of points the finger at groups that believe that Allah, instead of God, is the Supreme Being.  This little Revelation, again brought to our attention by our anonymous source Louie, points the finger of responsibility towards the moderate Islam groups of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Thankfully our own Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is all over this pandemic.  In her press conference today on the growing pandemic reassured the citizens of the USSA that she was in consultations with Porcus expert Larry the Cable guy, a former pig farmer, to best come up with a plan to deal with this growing threat.  She is also on the same page as the rest of the current Presidential Administration saying “Uhhhh…” approximately 73 times during the course of her address (it almost seemed as if she had borrowed President Obama’s personal tele-prompter).  Sec. Napolitano made it clear that what remained of the private sector needed to get on board with the Federal Government of the USSA or face the firing of their respective CEO’s.  For those firms that did not have a CEO the owner of the firm would be substituted.

To put your mind at ease we at the Counter-Propaganda Division of Chandler’s Watch are not implying that this is an inside job type conspiracy on the same level as the “Truther Movement”; this is obviously a much more intricate conspiracy which has come from a much deeper source than the source of 9/11.    This conspiracy stems from three points.

The known conspirators, as reported by our own anonymous source Louie, begin with the pig population of Mexico contacting the pig population of the USSA and organizing the theft of an American farmer’s cell phone.  Once the phone was smuggled back south of the border the Mexican pigs proceeded to run up international and roaming charges calling Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for Osama Bin Laden, because Muslims don’t eat pigs.  Once located Osama Bin Laden agreed to allow the Mexican pigs use Al Qaeda’s time machine to go back a few thousand years, actually it is the normal point in time in the Al Qaeda reality, to have a meeting with the Myan people.  Once making contact with the leaders of the Myan Calander Construction Department Louie informs us that an agreement to end creating dates for said Myan calendar in mid 2012 was agreed to.  Louie could not, or maybe would not, clarify whether the Myans decided to end their calendar because of the Porcus Influenza or if it was the election of Barak Obama to President of the USSA that pushed the Myans in favor of the Mexican pigs plan.

Chanlder’s Watch Ladies Nite with the troops  proudly welcomes LTC Jay Kopleman as our guest this evening.

Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman has authored two books, The New York Times and international bestselling memoir, From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava; and From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons From a Dog Named Lava. LTC Kopelman is now the Executive Director of Freedom Is Not Free, a San Diego based non-profit that provides financial assistance to wounded veterans and active duty service members and their families, and to the families of veterans who have been killed in action.

Listen Live Here

7pm PST, 9pm CST, 10pm EST

h/t to Blackfive
This is a quick look at 20+ minutes of us v. the Talibs. I vote for these guys from the 173rd Airborne, 2nd of the 503rd Chosen Company. They are known to us many due to the Tanker Babe’s relentless support of them and so many others. The Rock dominated.

Ill give the Taliban that. They are correct about a peace pact with Pakistan being ‘worthless’. The Taliban don’t want peace, therefore they are correct. If they wanted peace, they wouldn’t be fighting in the first place.

ISLAMABAD — Taliban militants said Monday their peace deal with the Pakistani government was “worthless” after authorities deployed helicopters and artillery against hide-outs of Islamist guerrillas seeking to extend their grip along the Afghan border.

A collapse of the pact would likely please Obama administration officials pressing Islamabad hard for more robust action against extremists threatening Pakistan’s stability and U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari called for more foreign support for cash-strapped Pakistan to prevent any danger of its nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of al-Qaida and its allies.

In another sign of mounting Western concern, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due in Pakistan for talks on topics including cooperating against international terrorism, the British Embassy said.

Zardari also said Pakistani intelligence thought Osama bin Laden — recently offered sanctuary by militants in the area covered by the peace pact — might be dead, but said there was no evidence of the al-Qaida chief’s demise.

“He may be dead. But that’s been said before,” Zardari told a group of reporters. “It’s still between fiction and fact.”

The government agreed in February to impose Islamic law in Swat and surrounding districts that make up Malakand Division if the Taliban there would end their violent campaign in the one-time tourist haven.

In recent days, Taliban forces from Swat began entering Buner, a neighboring district just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Pakistani capital.

American officials have described the pact as a capitulation and urged Pakistani leaders to switch their security focus from traditional foe India to violent extremists inside their borders.

Pressure on the creaking peace deal grew further Sunday when authorities sent troops backed by artillery and helicopter gunships to attack Taliban militants in Lower Dir, part of the region covered by the pact.

Paramilitary troops killed 20 suspected militants Monday, and a total of 46 have died since the operation began, an army statement said. Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for the umbrella group of Pakistan’s Taliban, claimed that insurgents in Dir had killed nine troops and lost two of their own.

Some terrified residents have fled the area clutching no more than their children and a few belongings. At least one soldier was killed Sunday.

A spokesman for the Taliban in their Swat Valley stronghold denounced the operation as a violation of the pact and said their fighters were on alert and waiting to see if a hard-line cleric who mediated the deal pronounced it dead.

“The agreements with the Pakistan government are worthless because Pakistani rulers are acting to please Americans,” Muslim Khan, spokesman for Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, told The Associated Press.

A spokesman for Sufi Muhammad said the cleric was trapped in his home in the same area of Lower Dir attacked by troops and that his supporters have been unable to contact him.

“We will not hold any talks until the operation ends,” spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said.

Umar , the Pakistani Taliban spokesman, said the militants would agree to talks about the situation in Dir, but only if the military operation is halted.

“We were living peacefully in Dir,” Umar said. “Nothing warranted the operation.”

Dianne Feinstein, head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that the recent Taliban advance in Buner — and the lack of a robust military response — suggested Pakistan was “in very deep trouble.”

“This thing has to get sorted out and sorted out quickly or you could lose the government of Pakistan, and Pakistan is a nuclear power and that concerns me deeply,” Feinstein said on CNN television.

But Pakistan’s foreign minister asked U.S. officials Monday to “not panic.”

“We mean business, and if we have to use force we will use force. We will not hesitate,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Associated Press on the sidelines of meetings with his Afghan and Iranian counterparts. “We will not surrender, we will not capitulate, and we will not abdicate.”

Zardari, who has termed Pakistan’s dire situation as an opportunity to draw in economic and military assistance, insisted Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were in “safe hands,” but added: “If Pakistan fails, if democracy fails, if the world doesn’t help democracy, then any eventuality is a possibility.”

Elsewhere in the northwest Monday, a remote-controlled bomb exploded near a police patrol, killing an officer and a passer-by while wounding five other police, officials said. The blast occurred near a railway crossing in the Lakki Marwat area, said Amir Ahmed, a local police officer.

From the AP

The English language here in America is not what it once was.  Words do have meanings; but have they changed so much over the last few decades thanks in no small part to pop-culture.  Words that used to mean one thing a few decades back have totally new jargonistic definitions.  Look at the words hero, war, warrior, or torture; none of them have the same meanings or are understood the same way that they were back in the 1940’s.

The TV culture prefers to see athletes as heroes instead of those that keep us safe from those bad things that unfortunately go on in everyday life.  Now they do use the words hero or heroic when they report a great feat by a fireman or police officer; but does it really mean the same thing that it did years back?  I think that like the overuse of profanity in pop-culture the words don’t mean the same thing or have a totally different effect than was originally intended.

Here in Chicago the Bulls are playing the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and if you listen to sports radio you can hear about what the heroic performance of Ben Gordon during last nights game.  The Blackhawks are in the first round of the NHL Playoffs as well, it has been a good winter for Chicago sports, and you will hear about the heroic play of players like Seabrook for the Blackhawks.  But are these really examples of heroism?  Personally I don’t think so.  Maybe I am just old school but I think that we do not hear enough about America’s real heroes.  Guys like Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, Navy SEAL Master at Arms 1st Class Michael Monsoor, Army PFC Ross McGinnis, Army Sgt. First Class Paul Smith, or Marine Corporal Jason Dunham.  These Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are real heroes!

Then there is the big definition in question today, TORTURE.  What is torture?  Is it really sitting through a boring class in college or high school?  Is it really torture to sit in a dentists chair?  Is it truly torture when one mixed martial arts fighter really beats up another mixed martial arts fighter in a UFC fight? Who hasn’t been forced to sit through watching MSNBC in a waiting room and not thought that they were being tortured?  I know I have, maybe I should sue for the infringement of my civil rights!!!

What exactly is the definition of torture?  If you don’t know what torture really is how can you form an informed opinion on what is or isn’t torture?  You can’t!  Now I am in no way trying to imply that you aren’t allowed to have an opinion of what is torturous, but the thing to remember is that opinions are like belly buttons everybody has one.  The fact that you have an opinion doesn’t mean yours is right.
tor⋅ture   /ˈtɔrtʃər/  Show Spelled Pronunciation [tawr-cher]  Show IPA noun,
verb, -tured,  -tur⋅ing.
–noun
1. the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.
2. a method of inflicting such pain.
3. Often, tortures. the pain or suffering caused or undergone.
4. extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.
5. a cause of severe pain or anguish.

–verb (used with object)
6. to subject to torture.
7. to afflict with severe pain of body or mind: My back is torturing me. 
8. to force or extort by torture: We’ll torture the truth from his lips! 
9. to twist, force, or bring into some unnatural position or form: trees tortured by storms. 
10. to distort or pervert (language, meaning, etc.).

So where is the excruciating pain?  When the CIA or Military interrogators are required to get a doctors approval before anything is undertaken outside of asking questions is it really torture?  When someone is forced to sit or stand in an uncomfortable position is it really torture?  When the men and women who are tasked with keeping us safe have to take precautionary measures to ensure that the subject of the interrogation does not sustain any serious injuries, is this really torture?  I think not.

I hear the same argument repeatedly, and I have used it too; I would rather be waterboarded than star in an al qaeda video.  And as true as it is, the star usually ends up decapitated; it really doesn’t make a difference in the legal fight that we are facing now.

More of what I have heard about the interrogation techniques going on in GITMO or Abu Grahb seem more like fraternity hazing than torture.  So in the spirit of this new Presidential Administration I will no longer talk to you all about “torture”.  I instead will make the case for why “Fraternity Initiation Activities” are important to this great nation of ours and why it is not unethical or immoral.

Fraternity Initiation Activities have been crucial in the saving of American lives.  As it turns out before Kahlid Shak Mohammed underwent Fraternity Initiation Activities he told those CIA and Military personnel carrying out the Fraternity Initiation Activities that we would know soon enough if another 9/11 type of Man Made Disaster was coming and said no more.  It didn’t take long to get the information necessary to stopping an act of Man Made Disaster planned for Los Angeles, California after we began using Fraternity Initiation Activities to help jog KSM’s flawed memory.  And all that was done to KSM is as simple as he was strapped to a board and had water poured over his face producing the sensation of drowning; no it is not a very nice thing to do to someone but is it really anything more than a Fraternity Initiation Activity? 

I don’t even think that the fight we are facing has anything to do with whether or not America employs Fraternity Initiation Activities or not. 

The left is now looking to investigate those lawyers who weighed in on the issue while they were advising our previous President.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi is one of those on the left who is looking to hold hearings and possibly prosecute those who gave a legal opinion on the issue.  Rep. Pelosi knew what was going to be used back in 2002 and said nothing, she didn’t ask questions as to the validity of information that could be obtained or if we as Americans should take an alleged higher road to stay above the appearance of impropriety.  Yet she did not choose to express her disagreement to the methods that were explained to her during a secret briefing the same way that we have become accustomed to hearing her more than adequately express her disagreement with the policy decisions of the previous Presidential Administration.

Even the United Nations, that great bastion of fairness and equality, is calling for the prosecution of the President Bush legal team.  The difference is that they want to have the trial in an international court, that in and of itself seems like a bit more than some Fraternity Initiation Activity. 

The question really is not about whether the United States of America does or does not practice torture because in no uncertain terms the United States of America does not employ torture, the question is when does the current Presidential Administration let go of their political differences and start working towards fixing the problems that America is still facing with not just the economy but in how to win this “Overseas Contingency Operation” that we still need to win!!