All This Just For a Flag? Asks Michelle Obama

The Washington Times (September 13, 2011):

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS Michelle Obama steps into 2012 presidential campaigning on Thursday with a speech to the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum

The internet was buzzing this week with video of First Lady Michelle Obama apparently showing extreme disrespect to the American flag at a ceremony in honor of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. As police and firefighters fold the flag to the sound of marching bagpipers, a skeptical looking Mrs.... Obama leans to her husband and appears to say, “all this just for a flag.” She then purses her lips and shakes her head slightly as Mr.... Obama nods. (This is not the first she has been caught making similar comments about the flag and for a very long Time candidate Obama did not salute the flag or wear a flag pin on his lapel).

Just for a flag? If that is what she said it is regrettable. Even with all her years being around those who hold high public office Mrs....... Obama does not seem to understand the purpose and importance of ceremonies. They reaffirm the bonds of loyalty and fellowship that cement our national unity. Yes, at one level a flag is just a colorful piece of cloth. But it symbolizes much more. It is the emblem of our land and all its ideals. It has been present at every major event of any importance to the country, battles, celebrations, meetings, and the lunar landings. It is a symbol of unity that transcends party, faction and time. It is something uniquely and explicitly American. Men and women have fought and died for it. Our enemies hate us for it and burn it in the streets. All that should mean something.

Perhaps Mrs...... Obama thinks that all the pomp and circumstance she experiences in her daily life has something to do with her, rather than the unofficial office she holds. If so she should disabuse herself of that notion quickly. The official gestures of respect shown to her are the same shown to any First Lady, and if she wasn’t married to the president she would be just another citizen. Ruffles and flourishes are not hers by right, but by coincidence of marriage. Yet this is the same woman who said she had never in her adult life been really proud of America before her husband ran for president, so it is no wonder she might dismiss a flag ceremony as just so much nonsense.

All this just for a flag? Has anyone said, “All this just for Michelle Obama?”

Troops will and have risked their lives all over the world to raise and defend the American flag

That question, All this just for a flag?, is the same attitude that has created a situation where U.S. Military for 20 years, risk their lives protecting freedom and our flag, and only get 50% of their pay on retirement.  While Politicians hold their political positions in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full-pay retirement after serving one term. Troops will and have risked their lives all over the world to raise and defend the American flag, a symbol of freedom and hope, but our first lady and president don’t understand that. That should worry every American!

This is what having a first family who doesn’t understand or doesn’t value America, the flag and the Constitution leads to

 

We are not far from the end folks.  We can't take much more political correctness.  This picture was taken at the AZ state capitol yesterday (don’t have the specific date).

The news will not show it and the Capitol Police and Homeland Security would not let Americans or any of the Veterans that were there do anything about it.  My husband and his friends were threatened with arrest and were told they would be booked under federal charges if they did anything. 

I am sending this to you so that you in turn can all start Emailing/Sharing it with everyone they know.  It is totally uncalled for and people need to see it.  This is not about politics and rhetoric, it is about a direct threat to our country, disrespect and hate. Those of you that don't live in Arizona will maybe get a chance to see the other side of what the news is telling you.  If this offends you greatly, then I have truly accomplished what I set out to do. I understand that sometimes we don't see eye to eye on certain things, but that is the right our forefathers fought for.  I am an American before anything else. 

For those of you who choose to dismiss this: If you believe that this is okay I believe you are a traitor to this country and everything it stands for.  I am not a racist and I am not a Nazi, this has nothing to do with race, it has to do with respect to the country that is continually taking you in and turning a blind eye to your agenda.  Homeland Security was designed to identify and defend America from Terrorist acts yet yesterday it let illegal and legal citizens of this country desecrate the Flag.  People were spitting on it, stomping on it and burning it with cigarettes.  One soldier who had just returned from Iraq tried to grab the flag and was thrown to the ground by the Capitol Police and Homeland Security.  It amazes me how many people will stand against the American People while prospering from our system and our government.  To those of you that will forward this to your friends or post it on your blogs I applaud you for the courage to stand up for the country in which you live.

A proud Arizonan… a proud American

Sad and Disgusting - Please Share

Election 2012 is not a choice between two men or two parties.  It is the choice between two ideologies and the survival of the America and the Constitution given us by our Founding Fathers. 

There is no room to remain uninvolved or neutral this time around.

Ask Marion~

Fight for Old Glory… Will Media Help Sell the New Obama Flag

Raising the Colors – Ten Years Later

Technorati Tags: ideology,American flag,freedom,symbols,American pride,Michelle Obama,first family,Election 2012,choices,Arizona

Conservative Celebrities Join in Supporting Our Troops

Now is the Time to Step up Your Efforts!
Support our Conservative Celebrities and our Troops

We’re proud to announce some more huge names who have signed on to Move America Forward’s Troopathon, a historic effort to send the largest-ever shipment of care packages to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can help make it happen by sending a care package. Famous pro-troop celebrities from talk radio and TV to film and music have been signing on to support our troops.

In just the past few days, we’ve received confirmation from Radio titan Rush Limbaugh, actors Kelsey Grammer and Gary Sinise and many more.

These celebrities are taking time out of their busy schedules to lend us a hand in hopes that many troop supporters, like you, around the country will respond by sponsoring care packages for our brave troops. They have all agreed to join our webcast “Honor Their Service” later this month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

But this effort is not about an impressive list of names, and it’s not about putting together a groundbreaking webcast, though we certainly will. It’s about sending the largest shipment of care packages in history to our troops.

While we at MAF HQ can call celebrities and promote the telethon on TV, radio and the internet, only YOU can make the dream a reality for our troops. Only you can send the kind words that show our troops they are loved and appreciated for their heroic service.

Please sponsor a care package today towards
the largest shipment in history

We have ONLY 14 DAYS left to put together the largest care package shipment in history, and we need to be stockpiling orders faster and faster each day. We are starting to fall behind our record-breaking pace from last year. With the economy down and the troops off the front pages of the news, people are giving less than last year, and the men and women protecting our freedom are too often forgotten. How sad it would be for this to be the signal we send to our military from the home front during this trying and uncertain time.

Our troops deserve better. As Americans who recognize their service and sacrifice, it’s our duty to spread the word to friends and neighbors by calling and emailing about this massive effort, and showing our troops that we can beat last year’s record. They must know that our gratitude is not waning.

The packages we send are chock full of high quality goodies that our guys and gals love, caringly packed by our corps of volunteers and sealed with your personal message of support. Please help us send as many of these boxes as possible. Our troops deserve all we can send and more, and at a time like this, the gesture is all the more meaningful.

P.S. For more information on our 2nd annual troopathon “Honor Their Service” airing June 25th, visit http://www.troopathon.org. Tickets to view this event LIVE at the Ronald Regan Library are available HERE.

Obama Defends Reversal on Releasing Detainee Photos

President Obama has decided to not release the photos which the Pentagon had planned to release by May 28 in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In a sharp reversal, President Obama announced Wednesday that he will not release hundreds of photos potentially showing U.S. military personnel abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"My belief is the publication of these photos would not add any additional benefits to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals," Obama said in a brief appearance. "The most direct consequence would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and put our troops in greater danger."

Obama added that he's made it clear to military officials, however, that the abuse of detainees is "prohibited and will not be tolerated."

Obama told his legal advisers last week that he did not feel comfortable with the release of the photos because he believes they would endanger U.S. troops, and that the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented in federal court, a senior administration official told FOX News.

The Pentagon had planned to release the photos by May 28 in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. That decision was made after the Justice Department lost its latest round in federal court and concluded that any further appeal probably would be fruitless.

But on Tuesday, the president raised the issue of these photos with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, during a White House meeting and told him of his decision to argue against this release, the official said.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday that Odierno was the most vocal opponent of releasing the photos and that he shared his concerns with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"Odierno was really the one who persuaded the secretary that this had to be fought and the secretary completely agreed," Morrell said.

Gates, in turn, vocalized the concerns to Obama in a series of discussions over the past weeks, Morrell said.

The belief of most of the commanders overseas was the potential the photos had to "incite violence and serve as a potential recruiting tool for terrorists" was too big to let happen without more of a fight.

The ACLU, which has claimed the release of the photos will help the American people decide whether the abuse was widespread, immediately criticized the decision.

"The Obama administration's adoption of the stonewalling tactics and opaque policies of the Bush administration flies in the face of the president's stated desire to restore the rule of law, to revive our moral standing in the world and to lead a transparent government," Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement.

"If the Obama administration continues down this path, it will betray not only its promises to the American people, but its commitment to this nation's most fundamental principles," he continued. "President Obama has said we should turn the page, but we cannot do that until we fully learn how this nation veered down the path of criminality and immorality, who allowed that to happen and whose lives were mutilated as a result.

"Releasing these photos -- as painful as it might be -- is a critical step toward that accounting," he added. "The American people deserve no less."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the president believes releasing the photos would only "sensationalize" rather than "illuminate" the investigation into detainee abuse.

Republican leaders praised Obama's decision.

"I agree with the president that the release of these photos would serve no purpose other than put our troops in greater danger," he said in a statement. "The president made the right decision and I applaud him for it."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told FOX News he believes Obama made the right move.

"I think the release of these photos would do nothing more than give our enemies a recruiting tool that would put our soldiers in danger and frankly put Americans in danger," he said.

Some lawmakers had urged Obama to fight the release of the photos because they feared it would turn into a sequel to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, which caused an international backlash against the U.S. with photos in 2004 of smirking U.S. soldiers posing with detainees, some naked, being held on leashes or in painful positions.

Nine U.S. soldiers were eventually found guilty in the Abu Ghraib abuse case.

Whether the new photos are as repugnant as those from Abu Ghraib is still an open question. But one U.S. official told FOX News that hundreds of photos are involved, drawn from military investigations into alleged abuse between 2001 and 2005.

A senior Pentagon official told FOX News that the government will shift its defense to arguing the negative national security implications that the release of the photos will have.

This legal approach was not employed from the start, the official said, because it was working poorly in the original case that challenged the release of the Abu Ghraib photos. That case was dropped because the photos were all leaked.

Source:  FOXNews.com - FOX News' Major Garrett, Catherine Herridge, Justin Fishel, Steve Centanni and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For whatever reason… We say good job Mr. President!!

We also say, good job Fox News, Dick Cheney, Lindsey Graham and all others that stood up for America and the safety of American Troops and the American Public!!

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