Red Kettles & Bell Ringers

The holiday season is fast approaching.... So, Just a reminder... 

Red Kettles & Bell Ringers

As you open your pocketbooks for the next natural disaster, or the Christmas season, please keep these facts in mind:

The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans' salary for the 2011 was $951,957 plus expenses.

The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $675,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits .

UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,900,000 per year (158K) per month, plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE.

Less than 5 cents (4.4 cents) per donated dollar goes to the cause.

Meanwhile...

The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only$13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.

The American Legion National Commander receives a $0..00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a $0..00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! 
 
The Disabled American Veterans National Commander receives a$0..00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! 
 
The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander receives a$0..00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander receives a$0..00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

No further comment is necessary.

Please share this with everyone you can. 

There are more people in need this year than ever before since the Great Depression and the so-called safety is pretty thin and contains lots of holes for people to fall through.  Please dig a little deeper and perhaps skip some of the excessive activities and gifts this year and donate the savings instead.  Sometimes we get side tracked in the commercialism and forget the true meaning of Christmas… of the season?!? Become part of the army of patriots and good neighbors which will be the real answer to saving America.

Beginning December 1st (tomorrow), AskMarion will start their own version of ‘the War on… The War on Christmas’, Hanukah and American traditions and religion series.  Joins them or us here, at the Daily Thought Pad where it will be reposted, daily throughout the month of December.

God Bless America, Happy Hanukah and Merry Christmas!

Technorati Tags: Christmas,Spirit of Christmas,people helping people,charities,UNICEF,Salavation Army,United Way,Vietnam Veterans Association,Military Order of Purple Hearts,Veterans of Foreign Wars,American Red Cross,giving,American Tradition,safety net,Happy Hanukah,Merry Christmas,The War on… The War on Christmas,the war on religion,God Bless America,Patriot Army,kindness

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

Critical time for ideological debate

By Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) - 04/24/12 06:03 PM ET  The Hill – h/t to MJ

Much has been made of my recent response to a question from a constituent and my assertion regarding so-called “communists” in the Congressional Progressive Caucus. I am pleased it has inspired so much passionate debate, for that was precisely the point.

When I was studying for my two master’s degrees in political science at Kansas State University and at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College, the very best professors were those who would begin each lecture with a challenging assertion. It engaged discussion and analysis, and was the best way to uncover the essence of the particular subject of the day.

As Americans, we must bring to the fore this fundamental discussion of what we want our country to be. Do we veer from our Founders’ vision of a constitutional republic that preserves and protects the individual sovereignty of its citizens, along with the free market and the rights of the several states, or do we continue to slide down this path of expanding the secular welfare state, nationalizing production and enforcing economic equality?

My colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus have taken umbrage with my equation of their ideals with those of communists. Why? Why shouldn’t we have this discussion? What part of their agenda are they trying to hide?

We must be able to openly discuss how our fundamental freedoms are being slowly chipped away by an over-reaching nanny state that has bit by bit slipped its tentacles into every aspect of our lives, from the types of light bulbs we can use to the size of our toilet tanks.

We must be able to challenge the mandates being handed down by un-elected officials, which threaten our constitutional right to practice religion however we see fit.

We must be able to question tax policies predicated on “fairness” that punish job creators and do virtually nothing to reduce our spiraling debt and deficit.

Specific “party” affiliation is not the point of the discussion — it is rather affiliation with a set of ideals. Conservatives adhere to the ideals of individual responsibility and freedom, limited government, a free market and a strong defense. Those on the liberal left adhere to a collective ideal, directed and controlled by a centralized government to guarantee and enforce social and economic justice.

You can call this what you wish. The esteemed scholar and author Mark Levin calls it “statism.” In our lifetime, the unpalatable and pejorative brands “socialist” and “communist” have been replaced with the more user-friendly “progressive” term.

But this is not a discussion about labels. It is a discussion far more important and grave, for it affects our nation’s future, our security and each and every one of us. The dialogue must be about the future and direction of these United States. It is about the choice between two futures: a constitutional republic or a bureaucratic nanny-state.

As a nation, we must directly confront those issues that are most critical. We must be able to openly and candidly discuss how we will move forward to preserve our nation’s greatness, reduce our debt and deficit, put Americans back to work, take full advantage of our domestic energy resources and ensure our security.

I do not believe we can achieve those goals with larger and larger government, centralized economic planning and redistribution of wealth. Those methods have failed miserably everywhere they are been tried. I will not stand by and watch this nation I love be remade slowly into a government-directed, bureaucratic collective — whether it is termed communist, socialist, progressive or any-other-ist.

I am not a politician by trade. I learned to communicate on the battlefield, where “nuance” is not at all useful and can in fact be dangerous, if not fatal.

These are dangerous and critical times for our country. We must be unafraid to discuss and confront the challenges we face and ensure we keep our focus on the fundamental issues rather than become distracted by semantics. I gladly welcome this debate in the arena of political ideologies of governance.

West serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Video:  Allen West: Obama Has Been "An Abject Failure In Everything That He Has Done"

Related:

Allen West commemorates Black History Month by telling the truth about Republicans and Black history

Trailer - Welcoming Schools Film: What Do You Know?

Video:  Trailer - Welcoming Schools Film: What Do You Know?

Trailer for the new Welcoming Schools (www.welcomingschools.org) professional development film for educators and parents. Children talk about when they first heard about gay and lesbian people; language they hear from family, teachers and friends; and how teachers can create a safe school climate. Produced by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (Film length: 13 minutes)

NYC and California (and other school districts around the country) are beginning sexual awareness education as young as kindergarten, without parent’s opt-in permission.  And then from there they move to full blown sex-education in elementary schools including sex positions, fisting, the gay life etc.   Really?  Is that what we want our children, especially young children, seeing and learning whether it is gay, alternative or traditional sex education?

It is part of the progressive program to take parenting decisions away from parents; a move toward sexualizing our kids and society and further intrusion into our families and family values, against freedom and against religion and Christianity.

Exposing Kinsey sex atrocities goes global

Breaking News: Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Is Promoting Child Porn in the Classroom – Kevin Jennings and the GLSEN Reading List – ~~ Warning on Content ~~

The Dumbing Down of America Series

Hollywood and Howard Zinn’s Marxist Education Project

Why Sarah Palin Will Be the Next President of the United States

On Sunday, July 17th, I braved heat and Harry, (No disrespect to fellow fans!) and traveled to Independence, Missouri to see The Undefeated, the documentary of Sarah Palin’s accomplishments as Governor in Alaska.  I left the theater certain of two things: Sarah will run in 2012 and she will win.

What convinced me?  Two things:  The Palin Platform and 80%.

The Undefeated chronicles the four areas upon which Governor Palin focused, the Palin Platform.

1.  Ethics Reform.  Governor Palin basically built a wall between those writing or enforcing the law and major corporations profiting from the shared resources belonging to Alaskans.  Before Sarah’s arrival, the conflicts of interest were such that politicians and Big Oil conducted business in a manner that mutually benefited each another while neglecting the best interest of the ordinary citizens.

2.  “Kitchen Table Economics.” When Sarah Palin arrived at the Governor’s Mansion, she was asked by the director to give a detailed list of what groceries she would like purchased.  The new Governor told the director that she wanted to use up all the food and supplies still in the pantry from the previous tenants before buying fresh groceries.  Sarah’s spirit of “using what’s in the pantry first” is indicative of her application of simple household money management principles to general government.  This spirit is detailed in the The Undefeated.  She literally sat at the table and, pen in hand, personally removed almost half a billion dollars of wasteful spending from the State’s Budget.  She spent money on building infrastructure that would bring business to towns and improve economy, rather than on wasteful programs.  She insisted on balanced budgets and that legislators remember they were spending other people’s money.

3.  Independent Energy Revolution.  Sarah lay the foundation for a total transformation in American Energy Policy and total energy independence for the United States from all foreign sources.  She worked to  open new areas for drilling and restructured the state tax code so that oil companies now receive tax benefits in proportion to the lowering of energy costs.  Sarah pushed for new privatized pipelines that would bring more American energy resources and new jobs to Alaska and eventually, the entire nation.

4.  American Exceptionalism-Inspired Foreign Policy.  Sarah believes that an energy independent America is the basis for a less tangled foreign policy, one that focuses on securing our freedoms and those of our true allies.  This independence permits America to stand for those unique values in areas of the world where these values are compromised by our dependence on oil produced by countries who hate us and our way of life.

The Undefeated begins with a five-minute montage of derision aimed at Sarah Palin by liberal media, celebrities,  and politicians.  Her opponents often spoke of her as ignorant or incompetent, but none ever attempted to address the significance of her 80% approval rating.  During the months preceding her Vice-Presidential campaign,  though she advanced legislation and reforms that had the potential to alienate many Alaskans, Sarah Palin’s approval rating never dropped below 80%.  This level of approval is unheard of in politics after the first three “honeymoon” months are over.  The only way Governor Palin could have maintained these ratings is if her policies were really and truly good for all her citizens, ordinary people as well as corporations and businesses in Alaska.

Policies generated by a metal dwarf, or an incompetent narcissist would produce chaos and please only the few who benefit from them.  Only well-balanced and intelligent government that weighs the common good of all can create the order in which people with varying needs are all, or nearly all content and find they are able to go about their lives and business uninhibited by intrusion or neglected where good intervention is needed.

I believe that Sarah will run because she believes profoundly in the efficacious principles of governing she applied, with great success, in Alaska.  The Undefeated presents the reality of Sarah Palin as an inspirational leader who is actually most apt, not at the podium, but in her ability to envision and execute practical solutions to state problems.  Sarah will run because she is passionate about her Platform of simple principles that she knows, from personal experience, will fix the crisis we are facing in America.

Sarah will probably announce in early September that she is seeking the office of President of the United States.  This announcement, contrary to what the media, Hollywood, the Democrats, and the GOP Luminaries have told us, will be met by a storm of enthusiasm and relief, support we have yet to see for any GOP Candidate to grace the field.  For the first two years his reign, Sarah was the most vocal opponent of the Obama madness and is the de facto, respected, seasoned representative of the Conservative electorate.  Once declared, her rapid rise as the logical and enthusiastic nemesis of post-American Obama will be met with ridicule by overconfident opponents until it is too late.  They will pay the ultimate price for ignoring her abilities, real record, tenacity, and proven Platform for the restoration of our country.

Posted on July 23 2011 - 2:41 PM - Posted by: Submissions (Guest Submission by Jeanette Pryor) at Conservatives 4 Palin  Cross-posted at Lipstick2012 and the Daily Thought Pad

Palin 2011

Video:  Palin 2011

Related:

Why Sarah Can Win

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Comedian George Lopez Threatens to Flea America of Sarah Palin Is Elected President  -  I wrote him a note and suggested he leave now!  And from the looks at the comments at the bottom of the article seems that a lot of people would be happy to help him move!  I noticed he said he’d move to Canada… wonder why not Mexico?!?

Sarah announced that she will be in Iowa on September 3rd… perhaps that will announcement time??

Glenn Beck Crash Course Review (2011)

In case you haven’t caught the Glenn Beck Show daily on Fox over the past 2.5 years or on radio here is a little review as Glenn moves to on, to a new adventure.  Glenn’s last show for Fox aired on 06.30.11, immediately followed by an interview and question & answer hour with Glenn on his new network GBTV… the Network of Tomorrow, Just a Day Early (their motto).

Immediately below, while Beck was on vacation in 2010; ending with an event in Anchorage on 9/11 with Sarah Palin, The Glenn Beck Show, hosted by Judge Andrew Napolitano and guest Dr. Alveda King (on Friday) put together a review of the highlight information from the show through the Summer of 2010. The 5 five shows as well as the 8/28 event can be seen below, if you missed any part of them.  Enjoy~

Glenn with Military and the Mormon Tabernacle  Choir

Beck with his two youngest two children, Raphe and Cheyenne… a few years back now   -  Beck also has two older daughters, Mary and Hannah from a previous marriage

(There are a few videos missing from the posts below but overall well worth checking out for the review!!  The 2 missing videos from part 2 below have pretty much been expunged from the Internet… Will replace them if I find them, and have done that 3-times already. )

GB Crash Course Review:  Progressive and Economic History with Judge Napolitano (Part 1 of 5)

GB:  Crash Course Review – The Radicals Who Influence the President (Past and Present) with Judge Napolitano (Part 2 of 5)

GB:  Crash Course Review – Re-Writing History with Judge Andrew Napolitano  (Part 3 of 5)

GB: Crash Course Review: Controlling the Message with Judge Andrew Napolitano (Part 4 of 5)

GB: Crash Course Review – Civil Rights and the Rights of Man With Dr. Alveda King and Judge Andrew Napolitano (part 5 0f 5), including Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech

Devine Destiny  -  Tonight (8.27)! America's Divine Destiny

8.28 Restore Honor Rally  

• Restoring Honor Rally… 8.28 – A God Inspired Dream
• Glenn's keynote speech HERE

Palin, Beck Recall 9/11 Attacks at Alaska Event (See Clip HERE) and amazingly the Huffington Post actually ran a blurb about Beck donating his speakers fee from the day and Palin speaking for free.

Glenn Beck on the Burning of Books and Flags

Pastor Defends Support for Glenn Beck (2,000 ministers attend rally)

Glenn Beck:  Who Is He?

Glenn is fairly quiet and very protective of his family, for good reason, and is always surrounded by a security detail.  Although he does kid about his wife, Tania who he credits with saving his life, a bit on air and on stage and proudly mentions his kids now and then.  Unfortunately in today’s world you can find out at least the basics on just about everybody, including Beck, even if they preferred that you couldn’t.  Beck loves his children dearly and they are obviously, at least in part, the inspiration for his passion.  But other than the protectiveness of his family, Beck is pretty much an open book.  (There is a great story that Bill Schultz from Fox’s Redeye tells about stepping off the elevator on the 18th Floor when Beck’s show was up there.  He has you rolling in the aisle in minutes as he explains how Beck’s security team questioned what he was doing up there…  If you know who Bill Schultz is, its probably even funnier!).

His Executive Summary lists him as a conservative TV and talk radio host.  His fans would call him a friend and describe him as quick-witted, well-informed, an independent thinker, a good Christian and someone who cares deeply. Glenn grew up in Mount Vernon, Washington, suffers from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), so his shows are always fast-paced.  And his staff will you that he is hard to keep up with.  His friend and Fox associate Bill O’Reilly has asked him more than once, on air, whether he sleeps.  Sarah Palin has called him "America's professor of common sense". He is a Mormon with self-described libertarian leanings, big on conservative politics and traditional family values.

Beck is a recovering alcoholic and drug user who still has back pain from an injury incurred when, intoxicated or high, he tumbled through a window.  This past year, or so, Glenn has suffered from eye problems and has been diagnosed with macular dystrophy, that he announced at his American Revival event.  He is a self-made man that most average people can relate to in one way or another.

So before moving on to the updated portion below, I guess my greatest question to put out there is: “Why?”  Why do so many people both fear and hate Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and a list of other conservatives without really knowing much about them, what they stand for or even why they think they don’t like them?!? 

The answer… the propaganda they have been fed by the mainstream media (MSM), Hollywood and the left in general. Most people, unless they subscribe to the far left ideology of the powers that be, both in our government and the media right now, they quickly find out if they do a little research and reading that what they’ve been told generally isn’t true and that they can actually relate to, agree with and even like Beck, Palin, the tea party, etc. and the principles they believe in to help save our Republic, freedom and our values.

Beck did his best to give us the Big Picture from his perspective, to inspire us (like with his trip to Wilmington Ohio) and then he encouraged us to educate ourselves and to question everything and everyone, including him.  So, what is there in that to makes people hate and attack someone… and their family… other than the fear that he was/is right?

Updated… 07.09.11 

Glenn Beck said goodbye to the Fox News Channel and his hit show on Thursday, airing his final show before going into business for himself. He told his fans that he was determined "to his last breath" to fix this country and fight for freedom. 

He followed that final Fox show with an immediate show for subscribers to his new Network: GBTV, where he will begin streaming a daily 2-hour show on the Internet on September 12, 2011.  Beck’s own two hour Internet show is only a small part of the overall GBTV plan, much of which is still to be announced.  Beck was interviewed by Raj Nair, out of San Diego, who he just hired the week before.

At the GBTV interview, Raj asked Beck a series of questions sent in by viewers.   He was then asked about GBTV and some of his other new ventures and how he can keep his ego in check. He said the purpose of all his new projects was to help others attain freedom and a positive world vision.  “I don’t want it to be about me,” he said. “That was the vehicle that got us where we are to be able to do the things that we have to do. I don’t want it to be about me.”

Beck urged his critics not to underestimate him as he moves forward. "You will pray for the time when I was only on the air for one hour a day," he said more than once.

Although the left and the MSM kept trying to feed everyone that Beck’s ratings were down, he continued to lead in his timeslot to the very end. Glenn Beck Averaged 2.175 Million in his Final Show  Cable News Ratings for Thursday, June 30, 2011  -  Glenn Beck averaged 2.175 million viewers (542,000 adults 25-54) in his final episode. While up from recent history, far off his highs when he cleared 3 million viewers. Still, Beck was second on Fox News to only The O’Reilly Factor for the night (2.54 million viewers, 559,000 A25-54).  As Beck said himself on that final show, “I'm the only host who is supposedly the most dangerous person in America because of my influence and the least influential person in America because my ratings are supposedly declining.”  During his peak, Beck’s show averaged 2.9 million viewers each day at 5 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. PT Many people watched Beck online, which couldn’t be counted in the ratings but increased as time went on and no doubt affected those ratings at least somewhat.

It was reported that Beck's relationship with Fox soured over control issues in the final months, and both sides seemed happy his show was ending.  What the real story was, we will probably never know. But Beck warmly thanked Fox News chief Roger Ailes during his last show, saying he was the smartest man he'll ever work with, a partnership put together on a handshake we are told.  Beck, his advertisers and Fox have been under attack by the left since Glenn has been on air.  And just 2 weeks after Beck left Fox, there has been a discovery that White House E-mails Show Anti-Fox Bias and the leftist (Soros group inspired) anti-Beck bias and campaigns have surfaced and been obvious to anyone paying attention!

Beck’s finale was vintage Beck, a continuous monologue while walking among his signature chalkboards and old props. He took some shots at critics, inspired and promised fealty to his fans, came close to tears but didn't succumb and even poked some fun at his image.

He chided frequent critic Jon Stewart of Comedy Central.  Beck showed a picture of Stewart's large writing staff and brought out his lone two writers as a comparison.

He threw in a causal told-you-so: "Two years ago we said there were going to be problems in Greece. Nobody paid attention."

"We tried to teach you things to help," he said. "I'm a dad, too. I want my country to be around. What we have been trying to tell you lately, over the last year, is that you are the answer. We must have faith, hope and charity in our hearts."

Beck said he was going to Israel this summer "in search of courage" and no doubt to inspire some. Beck stands strong In Defense of Israel

He and his family and part of the Mercury Radio Arts staff headed to Driggs, Idaho at Huntsman Springs (Jon Huntsman Sr. is Beck’s good friend and mentor) for a mini-4th of July vacation and event, after which he was headed to Poland and then to Israel.

Glenn was in Poland filming part of an upcoming documentary and has some incredibly moving — and horrific — pictures and stories to share including being inside a Nazi Germany picture.

His Israel event. Restoring Courage, is a follow-up to last year’s Restoring Honor event in D.C.  And beginning Monday 7.11.11 he is doing his radio show from there. (1st Hour: Here)

He tried to explain why he was leaving Fox after 29 months, and showed a picture of Jack Paar, who unexpectedly left NBC's "Tonight Show” after being on the air for six years. He said he wanted to be more than a commentator and that he was not running away from anything. "I'm running to something," Glenn said, “before I lose my soul!”

"This show has become a movement," he said. "It's not a TV show and that's why it does not belong on television anymore. It belongs in your heart. It belongs in your neighborhood."  It belongs in the heart of patriotic Americans will to link arms and stand together for the Republic.

Glenn’s focus is on doing good, saving the Republic… saving freedom… saving the world and helping people one person at a time, one town at a time, one state at a time, one country at a time.  GBTV is a platform for everyone to connect and connect their ideas.  He signed off with his signature phrase… Good Night, America!

Beck later told an Internet audience on GBTV that he had hired a "community organizer" on Thursday to help pull together citizens who agree with his point of view.

As Fox and Beck headed for their divorce, Beck set up his own diversified business. He makes speeches, writes books (both fiction and non-fiction and a children’s book), has a daily radio show and owns the website, the Blaze, along with GBTV , which is run by a former Fox executive. He has also started an non-profit venture called “Mercury One”. Beck will sell access to GBTV for $9.95 a month, or $4.95 for those who only want to see his nightly show. GBTV promises to be much more than a TV platform on the Internet, but rather ‘the network for the tomorrow, a day early’.

Beck sold his home in Connecticut and has just leased a home in the Westlake area of Dallas, owned by baseball player Jorge Piedra and Swarovski heiress Vanessa Piedra.  He also had to give up his apartment in New York, provided by Fox News.  But he is thought to still own an apartment in Manhattan, at least the one for his daughter.  He talked about helping his daughter look for a NYC apartment on one of his last shows.  Mercury Radio Arts, his production company, will remain in New York, at least for now, meaning he could be back and forth often.  Beck has also mentioned building a studio in Dallas and ‘perhaps’ other places.  What and where all Beck is up and off to is yet a mystery… perhaps in part even to himself.

Fox launched a summertime replacement series for the Glenn Beck Show, “The Five”, after a couple weeks of the ‘Best of Beck’ re-runs, which were preempted a couple of days by the Casey Anthony trial verdict and sentencing circus, a distraction that Beck would not have focused on.  The week after Beck left Fox, the news was also filled with scandal involving the Murdoch Empire and a phone hacking scandal in Britain while here at home Fox took on Media Matters, financed by Beck’s old nemeses George Soros.  “The Five” will include a rotating crew of Fox personalities like Andrew Napolitano, Andrea Tanteros, Geraldo Rivera, Juan Williams, Monica Crowley, Greg Gutfeld, Eric Bolling, Dana Perino and Kimberly Guilfoyle debating issues of the day. (I’ve watched the first few shows and they aren’t bad, but they aren’t Beck!) As his fans say, it will take 5 people to replace Beck and his show and it still certainly won’t be the same! Whether Fox realizes or admits it yet or not, they will grow to miss him and his ratings!

Beck said more than once in the last weeks and months of his show that he needed to get involved… hands on involved and he has!!

‘Your God Is My God’: Beck Delivers Speech Before Jewish Politicians, Knesset (Updated With Pictures and Video) on the same day that the U.N. to Discuss Seizing Jerusalem From Israel on July 11th (or 26th) and self-avowed Marxist Van Jones makes more idiotic comments about Glenn

Video:  Glenn Beck Visits Knesset

Beck Continues to Tour Israel… and Challenges Israelis to “Square Your Shoulders’ and since he’s been there, it seems that: Ships and Planes of Fools (anti-Israel extremists) Pick Wrong Target… and Fail but U.S. Embassy Releases Video Taking Tough Immigration Stance… on Jews! 

God Bless You Glenn!!

by Marion Algier – posted by Ask Marion

Sarah on the Cover of Newsweek… I Can Win!!

Yes you can!

“Of course she is running. She just is refusing to play by the “rules” the establishment and the media have set. There isn’t the slightest reason to announce yet, all that would do is give the enemy a fixed target. It would force every aspect of every thing she does to fit into campaign law.

The bus tour would have been impossible.

If this was the 1980 election, Reagan’s announcement would still be several months away.  November 13th.

She is Sun Tsu, refusing to march onto a battlefield that her enemy is standing on, fully prepared, in a location they chose. And she is attacking elsewhere.

It is driving them bats*^t insane. They are running this cover to goad her. They exclude her from every poll to goad her (“see, we excluded her until she announces”… Guliani is in some polls but not Sarah)

Meanwhile, she is touring the primary states in the NE, Touring Iowa… etc

Oh yes, she is running. But she is employing asymmetrical warfare.”

By: Andrea Shea King  - The Radio Patriot

The Extraordinary Sarah Palin

by Dan Riehl  -  Big Government

When it comes to former GOP Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, if any ordinary Republican politician could generate as much contemporary free media coverage, including a new high profile cover story from Newsweek, while a positive full length documentary on their legitimate political career, The Undefeated, was opening nationally on July 15, the Republican establishment and most all of the base would be clamouring for him or her to enter the race for President in 2012. But Sarah Palin is no ordinary Republican politician.

Based upon my own observations, along with some recent conversations with friends, including Andrew Breitbart, who recently spent some time talking with Palin, my image of Palin has been becoming more well-defined of late. Take, for instance, the only real criticism I could find in the Newsweek piece. It jibes with another criticism I’ve observed, that she too often engages her critics directly, as opposed to allowing surrogates to do it for her. Are these valid criticisms of Palin? Along with providing some insight into her - she’s a fighter, it might also tell you much about how you view Palin. If you’re looking for an ordinary politician, Sarah Palin ain’t it.

This formula—bucking Republicans and counting on the situational cooperation of Democrats—made for a fragile governing model, one further attenuated by the fact that political insiders found Palin too sensitive to criticism and too eager to deal in payback. But to the public she was a heroine, with an approval rating above 80 percent two years into her term, making her by far the most popular governor in the country.

Once I put aside any notion of a mostly plastic, glad-handing politician and contemplated how I myself might actually react in this, or that, situation Palin has faced, a clearer image of her as an every man politician began to take shape. There’s a good chance I’d have handled a good deal of the criticism precisely as has she in this, a new media age. And she is far more in touch with the concept of new media, than is almost any other American politician – hence the reliance on Facebook and Twitter to get her message out.

“The mainstream press is becoming less and less relevant,” she said, adding that she would have no hesitation in shunning media outlets she does not trust.

As The Undefeated makes clear (my earlier review here), she’s not in politics because her daddy held office, or won, or was denied a Presidential nomination, or election. She entered politics as an individual because she cared about the relationship between government and the people and wanted to make a difference. Sarah Palin was not schooled by some mostly Eastern U.S. Preparatory and Secondary school system one might think is the only acceptable schooling for serious American political leadership today. In fact, in many ways, that monopoly has all but driven America off a cliff - including under the current administration.

Of course, Ronald Reagan wasn’t a product of it, either, as a matter of fact.

Still, even some of her biggest fans may have a mistaken notion of the kind of politician Sarah Palin actually is. True, she’s a Conservative … but she’s also a common sense pragmatist, not an uncompromising ideologue, as portions of the media would have one believe. As wonderful as conservative ideals are, rigid thinking can not always solve every problem. As her tenure in Alaska demonstrated, first and foremost, Sarah Palin is a problem solver.

The centerpiece achievement was a significant tax hike on the profits derived from Alaskan oil, which pro-industry Republicans opposed, and which passed only because Palin allied herself with the legislature’s Democrats (who insisted, to Palin’s acquiescence, on raising the tax even higher).

So, why are there not more establishment voices calling for such a visible and pragmatic Palin to toss her hat in the ring? My guess is, because she is more one of us, than any political establishment. If you begin to understand – and accept that – you may be beginning to understand Palin and what she represents to so many. Unfortunately, as shocking as it may seem, the fact is, more than fearing the political opposition in the form of Democrats, or Republicans, what America’s political establishment fears most of all is “we the people.” That, in large part, is what Ronald Reagan represented leading to such strong opposition to him from the GOP establishment, as well.

“You know, I rarely use the term ‘bipartisanship,’” she said. “I use the term ‘independent.’ Piper’s middle name is ‘Indie.’ That’s the Alaskan way of life. Seventy-three percent of Alaskans aren’t registered Republican or Democrat, they’re independent. Todd’s not a registered Republican. Most of the people I know, they’re independent people saying, ‘Just use common sense.’”

If there’s a conclusion to be inferred from the Newsweek item, it would seem to be that she is running. Her family seems on board with it and that is the only real obstacle she mentions, after all. However, that’s merely an inference and, as with some other potential late entries, the question remains open. What’s also true of Palin is that, until she says it, assuming otherwise is no guarantee of accuracy.

What is clear is that her road to any presumed GOP nomination would not be easy, or typical. It would likely require a far greater number of people to actually understand Sarah Palin apart from the many characters and caricatures the media has made her out to be. That said, if it did, or does happen, I do believe that, not only could she win the GOP nomination, but she could win the Presidency, as well.

At this point thirty-years ago, Reagan was thought to be both unelectable and unacceptable, even as a nominee. Not only did he go on to win the nomination and Presidency in 1980, his landslide re-election in 1984 remains as a testament to the success of common sense, mostly conservative-based politics capable of reaching across, if not erasing, party lines in America.

I wouldn’t want to have to assign odds as to the likelihood that Sarah Palin could repeat such a hallmark record of achievement in American politics. However, if one thinks it impossible at this point, then one may not know, or understand, Sarah Palin and her appeal, or the American people, at all. After all, both are extraordinary and have proven themselves capable of accomplishing rather exceptional things before.

Why Sarah Can Win

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Fear Factor: Palin Derangement Syndrome

Happy Father's Day

What makes a good father?

A hundred years ago, Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in church one Sunday when she came up with the idea of a national Father's Day on the order of Mother's Day. It took 57 years before President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation in 1966 making it the national holiday we celebrate today. Before and since, much has been said about fathers and fatherhood, the good and the bad, and we thought it appropriate to offer you a sampling. Perhaps you'll find a description that fits your own father, or, for the men, the father you are today:

"I talk and talk and talk, and I haven't taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week."

-- Mario Cuomo

"You don't have to deserve your mother's love. You have to deserve your father's. He's more particular." --Robert Frost

"A new father quickly learns that his child invariably comes to the bathroom at precisely the times when he's in there, as if he needed company. The only way for this father to be certain of bathroom privacy is to shave at the gas station."

-- Bill Cosby

"A king, realizing his incompetence, can either delegate or abdicate his duties. A father can do neither. If only sons could see the paradox, they would understand the dilemma."

-- Marlene Dietrich

"Lucky that man whose children make his happiness in life and not his grief, the anguished disappointment of his hopes." --Euripedes

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud

"My father died many years ago, and yet when something special happens to me, I talk to him secretly not really knowing whether he hears, but it makes me feel better to half believe it." -- Natasha Josefowitz

"The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, 'Daddy, I need to ask you something,' he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan." -- Garrison Keillor

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." -- Clarence Budington Kelland

"When I was a kid, I said to my father one afternoon, 'Daddy, will you take me to the zoo?' He answered, 'If the zoo wants you, let them come and get you.'" -- Jerry Lewis

"Honor thy father and thy mother." -- Matthew 19:19

"Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance." -- Ruth E. Renkel

"An angry father is most cruel towards himself."

-- Publilius Syrus

"A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season." --Unknown

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."

-- Charles Wadsworth

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass.' 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply. 'We're raising boys.'" -- Harmon Killebrew

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

"Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected." -- Red Buttons

"Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life."

-- Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities

Fathers come in all shapes and sizes and with all varying temperaments. A father’s love is different than a mother’s love but just as important or just as damaging, if withheld. If you are lucky enough to have a father… whether he is your birth father, adoptive father, step-father or guardian who loves you and is really there for you, you start life with a big step ahead of those who didn’t. Make sure you take the time to thank him and to honor him in your heart.

--Marion Algier, Daily Thought Pad

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune - Tribune Editorial Updated: 06/19/2009 07:25:51 PM MDT - Posted: Fox Nation

On Huckabee this weekend the former governor and presidential candidate spoke of a prison program where each of the prisoners could have a free card to mail their Mothers for Mother’s Day. The participation was overwhelming and almost every prisoner requested, wrote and mailed their mother a card. So, the powers that be at the prison decided to repeat the program for Father’s Day; almost nobody requested or mailed their father a card. Correlation between missing or negative father-child relations and being in prison…? I’d put money on it!! Children thrive in positive families with a loving father and a loving mother, or at least in situations where both a father-figure and mother-figure are involved in their lives. Are there exceptions… of course there are, but why play the odds with your children’s future if you can help it ?!? M~

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

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• Mother’s Day

Standing Up for People, Values and Ideals

An all-too-typical issue that comes up on my radio program is cowardice, because someone didn’t stand up for others, for values and/or for ideals. The standard excuses range from not wanting to escalate a situation, being afraid of other people getting mad, fear of being marginalized or left out, being afraid of being “judged,” not “liking” confrontation, not wanting to lose the image as a nice person, and so on.

I disrespect the actions of not standing up for friends, fairness (even when a friend is not involved), and values. Some of my callers are parents whose adult children are behaving recklessly, thoughtlessly, and in total opposition to how they were brought up. Too many of these parents are more concerned with “peace at all costs” instead of continuing their parental leadership by clarifying their position and drawing the line.

I remember a long time ago, there was a talk show host coming on right after my program. We were polar opposites in our political views, and she would use her three hours on the air to critique my program. This, of course, annoyed the heck out of me, but I never spoke about it on the air - not even once - because I don’t use my air time to do anything but help people do and be better in their lives.

Fast forward several years later, and a feminist group went after her with venomous attacks, attempting to destroy her career. Mind you, she was a feminist activist leader herself, but she dared to have her own opinion about something that went against the grain of the activist group’s position. It turns out that I was the first person who called her the next morning - with a call of support. It galled me that there was a concerted effort to unfairly destroy her career. I just don’t like life’s unfair qualities, and I have generally stood up to them no matter what.

Fast forward again years later, and I was being unfairly attacked by a different activist group that she had once been part of. She went into numerous public venues to defend and support me.

We both took hits for doing these things, but we both turned out to like each other very much, and we both still maintained the bulk of our differing opinions. We did, however, agree on one point of ethics, morals, and values: you defend who or what is being attacked unfairly, and consequently, we both defended responsible free speech.

We both lost to the power of the activist groups, however, but we won each other’s respect and support, all while keeping the high ground. We each went on growing in success and the respect of our peers as well.

That’s one very personal experience for me. I hope the next time you see rudeness or cruelty, you will stand up.

Racial comments coming from Don Imus are as ugly and unnecessary (except for ratings) as the joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter getting “knocked up” by a baseball player. It isn’t the term “knocked up” that’s the issue - I use it all the time for out-of-wedlock pregnancies, because they usually end up with the child being aborted or growing up with the chaos of a life with one parent gone. David Letterman wanted to shoot insults at Palin simply because she’s Republican, and he aimed his gun at her child. That’s disgusting. How many of you would stand for that happening to your child?

Imus lost his job…temporarily…and Letterman’s ratings are higher. And I’m left wondering if you’ll stand up for others (or values, morals, ethics and principles) when most others around you will turn their gaze away. –Dr. Laura~

TrackBack URI – Dr. Laura’s Blog

Let us all take a lesson from the inequities of the experiences and occurrences in this post. In the end, it is a question of rights, freedom and values. We each need to stand up for the right of everyone to speak freely as well as all the rights given us, Americans, by the Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights and we should fight for every shred of every right. Never give up a right for security or anything else and never let the government take your rights away, like what is happening now on a daily basis. Stand for each other. Stand for your rights. And remember, when you defend someone’s right to speak, display, or write you are defending not what they say or believe but rather their right to say or belief it… It is what makes America the land of the free and different from the rest of the world!!!

The fact that NOW (the National Organization for Women) has not stood up for Sarah Palin over the Letterman issue or while she was the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate nullifies the entire value of that organization. NOW should be standing up for the rights of all Women, not just the one’s that agree with their now liberal agenda and beliefs, just as we all should stand up for everyone’s right of free of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the list goes one. -Ask Marion~

Remember:

FIRST THEY CAME...

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
I did not protest;
I was a Protestant.

Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

Source: Marion’s Place

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

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Justices to decide if vets can be honored with cross

Some see it as the universal symbol of sacrifice in World War I, others see it as the undisputed sign of Christianity, but it will be up to the Supreme Court to make a final determination as to whether a 7-foot cross remains standing in a California desert to memorialize war veterans.

The cross was first erected in 1934 in what is now the federally protected Mojave Desert Preserve by a group of veterans whose doctors advised them that the desert heat would help them recover from shell shock.

Veterans today say this war memorial and others like it across the country that use religious symbols are under attack by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

"They are not the enemy; they are just dead wrong," says Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

But the civil liberties group says the cross is offensive to Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and other non-Christian veterans.

"People of every faith have fought and died for this country," says Peter Eliasberg, counsel for the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. "Yet we will have veterans divided about the idea of how you reflect the sacrifice of American veterans."

"For us to choose the principal symbol of one religion that says Jesus is the Son of God and He is divine and say that is an appropriate way to reflect the sacrifice of people who don't believe that ... is excluding by its very nature," Mr. Eliasberg said.

"What we would like done, it is appropriate to have a war memorial and to choose a symbol that reflects everyone, and not a symbol that divides veterans by their faith," Mr. Eliasberg said.

At a gathering last week at the National Press Club, just before the Memorial Day weekend, several veterans organizations made their case for why the Supreme Court should rule in their favor during its next session, which begins in October.

"This Memorial Day is more than just a three-day weekend at the beach," Mr. Davis said. "This is about remembrance."

Veterans say the white cross is meant to symbolize the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, a rifle and bayonet that are a symbol meant to replicate the cross on the battlefield to show honor for those who died in battle.

Mark Seavey, assistant national legislative director for the American Legion, says veterans are determined "to fight to save the cross from the ACLU."

"It is our opinion this case is not about a single cross," said Jim Sims, senior vice president of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. "It's about thousands of veteran memorials and monuments around the country. This is about the issue of honoring veterans."

"If the plaintiff is so offended that he might possibly come across this cross someday, will the plaintiff be offended when he drives by Arlington Cemetery?" Mr. Sims asked.

The ACLU filed the suit in 2001 on behalf of Frank Buono, a former National Park Service employee who lives in Oregon.

The suit worked its way through the system and, in 2004, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the memorial violated the First Amendment clause forbidding an establishment of religion and ordered its removal.

Today, the cross remains standing, but is encased in a plywood box, hidden from view in the vast desert.

Henry and Wanda Sandoz are the caretakers of the cross, which originally was made out of wood.

"They would tear it clear off at times and throw it down between the rocks, probably at night," Mr. Sandoz says.

After a few incidents of vandalism over the decades, the cross is now made out of metal pipes that are welded to the rocks below.

The Sandozes have to drive 160 miles into the desert to check on the memorial periodically.

"It's still there, at least it was the last time I was there, a week ago," Mr. Sandoz said.

Asked what would happen if the Supreme Court ruled that the cross must be removed, Mr. Sandoz said, "It'd be too sad."

The veterans groups and their lawyers say such a decision would go beyond that, and would have repercussions not just on war memorials, but on roadside memorials that dot highways to mark fatal car crashes around the nation.

"It's hard to drive through Virginia and not throw a rock and hit one of those," Mr. Seavey said.

Kelly Shackelford, the chief counsel for the Liberty Legal Institute, who will argue the case on behalf of the veterans in the high court, calls the case "historic" and said it will have "huge implications."

"If this is upheld, a lot of bad things will happen," Mr. Shackelford said. "If that cross has to be torn down, then thousands and thousands will have to be torn down in every state."

"We simply see this as a disgrace," Mr. Shackelford said. "It's outrageous to say the government cannot give the memorial back to the people who spilled their blood for them."

According to the National Clergy Council, which plans to file an amicus brief on behalf of the veterans, as many as 140,000 memorials marked by the cross could be affected nationwide - a figure at which the ACLU spokesman scoffed.

"That is balderdash; that is so silly," Mr. Eliasberg said. "It would be silly to say we would go into every cemetery and take religious symbols off of monuments."

The difference, Mr. Eliasberg said, is that the religious symbol is the choice made by the family, not by the government.

In this case, Congress intervened in 2002 and designated the cross as a "national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring American veterans of that war."

"It amazes me that veterans groups that fought shoulder to shoulder with Jews and Buddhists and Muslims, for them to think something is appropriate to recognize as the common sacrifice of every religion by choosing a symbol that Jesus is the Son of God, is very selfish or oblivious," Mr. Eliasberg said.

"But don't pretend it's just a burial marker. It has a meaning," he said, noting that it "would be insulting to Christians" to take the cross as "just a sign that somebody died there."

 

By:  Audrey Hudson (Contact)

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

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• EDITORIAL: Remembering our heroes

EDITORIAL: Remembering our heroes

Jets from the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly over graduation and commissioning ceremonies Friday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in an aerial salute to the 1,036 members of the class of 2009.

By a coincidence of the calendar, our military academies hold their annual graduation ceremonies on or about Memorial Day weekend. The juxtaposition is especially poignant if you visit a service academy on graduation weekend.

Hundreds of our young, all of them models of American youth, count down the few remaining hours of four years of prodigious effort. They are fit, intelligent, polite, highly motivated and full of life. They are embarking on careers of service to the nation. All voluntarily chose this path, fully realizing the dangers involved in pursuing a military vocation. It is sobering to see them in the bloom of youth while knowing that most will be sent overseas, where they will place their lives at risk to preserve our freedoms.

Memorial Day has a special poignancy for a nation at war. Every week, more Americans make the supreme sacrifice. Air Force 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2006 with academic and military honors. She deployed to Afghanistan in February 2009 to help train the Afghan National Army in her specialty of military intelligence. Lt. Schulte died on May 20 near Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. She was the first female Air Force Academy graduate killed by an enemy combatant.

Americans fall in locations with exotic names, in countries that a decade ago few predicted would be host to thousands of American troops. Marine Sgt. James R. McIlvaine, 26, of Olney and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Wojciechowski, 25, of Cincinnati, fell during combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on April 30. The next day, Army Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs and Specialist Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga., gave the last full measure of devotion near the village of Nishagam, in Konar province, Afghanistan. Al Anbar and Konar may not be household names, but previous generations had never heard of Guadalcanal or Bastogne before they became eternally linked with America's martial legend. Likewise St. Mihiel or Antietam, or any other locales whose names resonate with sacrifices made in freedom's cause.

Few Americans are touched personally by the ongoing conflicts overseas. The vast majority have no direct contact with the war in any form, much less knowing someone who fell. They enjoy freedoms hard won and preserved by people they have, for the most part, never met; they are as unaware of the deaths of these people as they were of their lives. Nevertheless, for every name there is a story of dreams, of duty, of a life cut short. Staff Sgt. Leroy O. Webster, 28, of Sioux Falls, S.D.; Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler J. Trahan, 22, of East Freetown, Mass.; and Staff Sgt. Esau I. De la Pena-Hernandez, 25, of La Puente, Calif., all gave their lives within the past few weeks to preserve our freedoms.

A society as blessed as ours - its people safe even while at war, prosperous even amidst economic crisis - needs to be reminded that such blessings come at a cost. Memorial Day is a time to remember, but it is more than that. Good men and women go off to war on our behalf, and some do not return. On Memorial Day, we observe more than the fact that people died, but also how their deaths came to pass, and in what cause. We commemorate not just their sacrifice, but the context that gives meaning to both the fate they suffered and the lives they led. We recognize the commitment to selfless service that brought them to a fateful day in an out-of-the-way place they had never heard of before they died there. Memorial Day is not simply about remembering our fallen; it is a day when we should fully and properly express our gratitude. Remember them, honor them and thank them. We owe them more than we know.

Source:  The Washington Times, LLC – Reprinted from Facebook

Posted:  Daily Thought Pad

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Emotional Support For U.S. Troops Endangered

URGENT NEW PETITION for our troops and chaplains. Please click, sign, WE WILL FAX your petition automatically to 435 members of Congress (saving you hours of labor!)

BREAKING NEWS: Pentagon Burns Soldiers Bibles - Military Chaplains Attacked 

 

A Pentagon spokesman under the Obama Administration has just acknowledged seizing and burning the privately owned Bibles of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan.  The Bibles had been printed in the local Pashto and Dari languages, and sent by private donors last year to American Christian soldiers and chaplains, for distribution to American troops on overseas military bases during optionally-attended Christian worship services. Had the Bibles not been recently seized and destroyed, they could have legally been given as gifts during off-duty time to Afghani citizens who welcome our troops in their homes, as an expression of American gratitude for Afghani hospitality, promoting the democratic ideals of freedom of religion and freedom of the press.

But the Muslim controlled Al Jazeera television network obtained video footage of the Bibles, held by American soldiers while listening to a chaplain on the Bagram Air Base (inside the base chapel) whose sermon encouraged outreach and personal evangelism. The American values of freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of Christian speech offended some extremist Muslim groups, and angered a small group of American atheists, who demanded the chaplain be punished for "proselytizing" because he simply repeated Jesus' words to "Go and make disciples of all nations" in church. (Can you imagine their outrage if we burned the Koran, instead of the Bible?)

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

IT'S NOT PROSELYTIZING, IT'S EVANGELISM:
The video proves the chaplain properly explained U.S. Central Command's General Order Number One, which prohibits "proselytizing" (forcing religious conversions by threats or weapons) but fully permits soldiers of any religion to engage in non-threatening "evangelism" (voluntary conversations about their faith) and legally allows giving private gifts, including books, to  Afghani citizens during off-duty hours in their unofficial capacity. The Al Jazeera film-maker Brian Hughes also admitted the Bibles could have been useful in helping soldiers learn the Pashto and Dari languages of the Afghan people.

Instead, the privately owned Bibles were confiscated and destroyed.  Caving in to pressure from the Muslims and Atheist groups, the U.S. military spokesman Maj. Jennifer Willis told Reuters reporters, "I can now confirm that the Bibles shown on Al Jazeera's clip were, in fact, collected by the chaplains and later destroyed. They were never distributed."  When questioned about the authenticity of the Al Jazeera video, U.S. Army Colonel Greg Julian admitted the Al Jazeera reporting was biased against the American Christians: "Most of this is taken out of context ... this is irresponsible and inappropriate journalism."

GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR ENCOURAGED EVANGELISMAfter World War II, in order to carry out the democratization of Japan, Five-Star General Of The Army Douglas MacArthur brought Christian leaders to the country to meet with Emperor Hirohito and encouraged mass distribution of Bibles to the population.  MacArthur later stated to a visiting American churchman, "We must have ten thousand Christian missionaries and a million Bibles to complete the occupation of this land."  

(Source: Rodger R. Venzke, Confidence In Battle - Inspiration In Peace, 1977, p.24-25.)

But today, instead of confronting Muslim and Atheist enemies of religious liberty, President Obama's Four-Star Admiral Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen now appears to defend the destruction of the soldiers' privately owned Bibles, stating during a Pentagon briefing that the military's position is that it will never "push any specific religion."  He did not address the possibility that by seizing and burning privately owned Bibles, the Obama Administration is now enforcing state atheism upon our troops.

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

(After you sign the petition, please donate generously to help us defend religious liberty for our military. Part of your donation will go toward shipping Pashto Bibles to Afghanistan.)

ATHEISTS JOIN MUSLIM EXTEMISTS AGAINST LIBERTY
Aggressive anti-Christian secularist Mikey Weinstein immediately demanded the chaplain in the video be court-martialed for encouraging voluntary evangelism in church, despite the Pentagon's claim that same chaplain somehow assisted in confiscating the Bibles.  I can personally attest, as the former Navy Chaplain who endured court-martial in 2006 for praying "in Jesus name" in uniform outside of Sunday chapel, (but was later vindicated by Congress),  that anti-Christian forces are powerfully at work in some parts of the U.S. military.

But together, we fought back and won!  Over 300,000 Americans, 85% of polled citizens, and 75 Congressmen agreed with me, so the entire Congress rescinded the same anti-Jesus policy the Navy enforced during my court-martial, restoring liberty to other chaplains who pray publicly "in Jesus name."  (That victory on Capitol Hill cost my 16-year career and pension, and was not grandfathered back to my case.)   Angered by our victory, the enemies of religious liberty won't be satisfied until every Christian is silenced, and every chaplain booted from the military like I was, for the "crime" of worshiping in public.

COURT-MARTIAL THE ARMY CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS?
The favorite new ploy of Mikey Weinstein's anti-Christian group (Military Religious Freedom Foundation) is to frighten troops into silence by "demanding the court-martial" of any soldier or chaplain who talks publicly about his or her faith.  For example, incredibly, Weinstein recently demanded the Army court-martial their Chief of Chaplains Major General Douglas Carver, because Chaplain Carver issued a proclamation calling for a day of prayer and fasting for our troops.

The Chief of Chaplains' proclamation called for voluntary prayer by chaplains of all diverse faiths to act "in keeping with your religious traditions," and support our troops who face difficult traumas, pressures and temptations toward suicide.  Carver consulted with two senior Jewish chaplains before issuing the proclamation.

But Mikey Weinstein claims that no chaplain can encourage prayer or Bible reading without violating what he pretends is a Constitutional mandate separating church from state.   "These inciteful actions are grossly offensive to not only Muslims in Afghanistan and across the world, but to all those who hold faith in the U.S. Constitution," said Weinstein of the troops' Bibles.

Ironically Weinstein's own web-site contains pictures of atheist soldiers, soliciting donations for Weinstein while wearing their full dress uniform, without any apparent legal disclaimer that their anti-Christian views do not represent the views of the U.S. military.

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

WILL CONGRESS PROTECT CHAPLAINS RIGHTS? 
We can report without bias that in June 2009, the U.S. Congress will again consider a bi-partisan bill supporting military chaplains rights, co-sponsored by two North Carolina Congressmen, Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Walter Jones (R-NC), in the House Armed Services Committee.  The pro-chaplain bill, H.R. 268, would simply guarantee military chaplains of all diverse faiths the right to pray publicly according to the dictates of their conscience.  You can read the details in my article about that bill, which was published by the Washington Times on 7 May 09, here.

To pass that bill into law, the two North Carolina Congressmen will first need several more co-sponsors, and the blessing of the House Armed Services Committee.  Then they'll need some bi-partisan Senators to initiate a Senate version.  Will your own Congressman or Senator co-sponsor religious freedom for chaplains?  Perhaps you might call your own Congressman at 202-225-3121, to voice your opinion about H.R. 268.

But remember, 100 emails = 10 phone calls = 1 fax in political capital, since the Congressional staffers must handle each paper and usually write a reply. So please join our automated fax-petition campaign first, and we will fax all 435 Congressmen on your behalf.

Then please forward this email to your own pastor, and to all your military friends, and download here a church flyer that pastors can copy and distribute. But first, take action right now! I pray you will not hesitate, but sign the petition and WE WILL FAX your petition right away, automatically to all 435 Congressmen.

PLEASE SELECT HERE TO SIGN, AND WE'LL AUTOMATICALLY FAX YOUR PERSONALIZED PETITION TO ALL 435 U.S. CONGRESSMEN, DEFENDING OUR CHAPLAINS AND SOLDIERS RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.

(After you sign the petition, please donate generously to help us defend religious liberty for our military. Part of your donation will go toward shipping Pashto Bibles to Afghanistan.)

God Bless you, in Jesus' name,

Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt

P.S. Time is urgent! The House Armed Services Committee could consider chaplains rights as early as this coming week.   Please don't wait another minute.  Religious liberty, and our troops are too valuable to be silenced by anti-Christian extremists. 
DONATIONS supporting public religious education CAN ALSO BE MAILED TO:
Chaplain Klingenschmitt, PO Box 77077, Colorado Springs, CO  80970

Disclaimer: The views of Chaplain Klingenschmitt, who was honorably but involuntarily discharged from the Navy in 2007 after facing court-martial for praying "in Jesus name" in uniform, (but was later vindicated by Congress), are his own personal views.