tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12762675211010801662024-03-21T12:44:22.001-04:00AROUND THE SCUTTLEBUTT"At my age, I have been right enough times to be unafraid to speak up and wrong enough times not to be offended if someone tells me "You are an idiot." Hat tip to Dennis Gorman, Esquire: Raconteur, Renaissance Man, Curmudgeon, and Dear Brother In Christ
Copyright 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 by Michael R. McCartyMachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.comBlogger338125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-27052281268179066502017-03-21T16:50:00.003-04:002017-03-22T11:54:43.359-04:00THE GORSUCH NOMINATION HEARINGS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I am a fan of Jeff Greenfield,
although our political persuasions are probably miles apart. He is a
wonderful writer and is as measured as one could hope for when it comes to
American politics. Thus,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I commend this<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/what-the-senate-should-ask-judge-gorsuch-214928"><b>article</b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to
any reader. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I watch the mental
midgets—especially Senators Schumer, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, and Franken, I am
particularly drawn to this quotation: “And the process is made worse by
the uncertain grasp that many of the senators, on both sides of the aisle, have
about the subtleties of constitutional law. (I am waiting for the day when an
exasperated nominee challenges members of the committee to ask a question
without reading from the talking points prepared by their staffs; in many
cases, the silence would be deafening.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">”<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Senator Schumer’s resort to innuendo
and New York smear tactics is particularly reprehensible. Senator
Whitehouse is merely a “no load.” (A term from electrical engineering with
respect to motors and electrical circuits: it</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">means that nothing is connected to the shaft and it is not doing
any useful work,” a perfect definition of the Senator.) Senator
Franken is perhaps the most qualified Democrat in the Senate; he is a stand-up
comedian!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Judge Gorsuch is eminently qualified
to sit on the United States Supreme Court, as were,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>inter
alia</i>, Judges Robert Bork and Merrick Garland.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> In regard
to Judge Garland, on 24 March 2016, I wrote<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><a href="http://aoundthescuttlebutt.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-06-30T00:04:00-04:00&max-results=10&start=7&by-date=false">this</a>.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of course the Democrats are unhappy that President H.
Clinton did not get to appoint the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Of course they are unhappy that the Constitution does not have a provision with
respect to advice and consent that is similar to Article I, §7, cl 2.
(“If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law,
in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless Congress by their adjournment
prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But, as that esteemed legal scholar and lecturer in
Constitutional Law, Barrack Obama, JD,<b><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/08/13/too_bad_obama_didnt_follow_his_own_advice_123650.html"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>observed</a>:</b>
“Elections have consequences… .” The Democrats lost the House in
2010, Senate in 2012, and the Presidency in 2016. If the Democrats had
nominated<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>anyone</i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>other
than the most divisive presidential nominee in recent memory, the second most
divisive presidential nominee in recent memory would not have succeeded the
second most divisive president in recent memory . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The miracle is that any honorable man or woman would subject himself or herself to the scurrilous examination of the likes of Al Franken in order to serve our Nation. The blessing is that, in spite of the unbelievable
political history of the last nine years, we have the prospect of yet another
honorable member of the Supreme Court, lack-weights such as Senators Schumer,
Whitehouse</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">, Franken, and Blumenthal notwithstanding.</span></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-22972487045695535062017-01-12T07:42:00.002-05:002017-01-12T07:42:39.849-05:00AND 2020 BEGINS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A couple of nights ago, President Obama gave his “farewell
address”, not from the Oval Office as has been the “tradition” since 1960
(President Eisenhower), but from the McCormick Center in Chicago, before a
picked band of rabid, die-hard supporters.
In so doing, he once again proved my thesis that he knows how to
campaign for office, but never figured out how to be President. He needs and feeds off of adoring crowds, and
will go anywhere, at any cost, to do what other Presidents were able to do from
their desks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday, Senator Cory Booker, broke with Senate tradition
to “testify” at the confirmation hearings for Attorney General-designate Jeff
Sessions. By all accounts, he did so for
the TV time. His so-called “evidence”
against Senator Sessions was some dredged up, dusted off allegations from 31
years ago which have been discredited.
All Senator Booker really did was to wrap himself in the King family
mantle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The 2020 campaign began yesterday, and you can bet that
Senator Booker plans on being in the thick of it. We will see if the Democrat Party falls for the trap of nominating yet another ultra-liberal, north-eastern Senator, or if it leaves the howling proponents of special interest and race-conscious politics and concentrates on all Americans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-40937152997176153012016-07-25T18:51:00.004-04:002017-03-24T17:31:40.456-04:00DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP (Conclusion)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<pre style="background: white; line-height: 13.2pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Oh, my country, bless the training that from cot to castle runs -</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The pitfall of the stranger but the bulwark of thy sons -</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Measured speech and ordered action, sluggish soul and un-perturbed,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Till we wake our Island-Devil-nowise cool for being curbed! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">When the heir of all the ages "has the honour to remain,"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">When he will not hear an insult, though men make it ne'er so plain,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">When his lips are schooled to meekness, when his back is bowed to blows -</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Well the keen <i>aas-vogels </i>know it--well the waiting jackal knows.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Build on the flanks of Etna where the sullen smoke-puffs float -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Or bathe in tropic waters where the lean fin dogs the boat -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cock the gun that is not loaded, cook the frozen dynamite -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">But oh, beware my Country, when my Country grows polite!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">Rudyard Kipling, </span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Et Dona Ferentes</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (<i>1896)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">WHAT REALLY HAPPENED</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">12
January 2016
Persian Gulf, off Farsi Island<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It had been a </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">frustrating voyage for the two-boat detachment
making a routine transit from </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">Kuwait to Bahrain. The departure
had been delayed by engineering problems </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">with one of the boats.
When they finally got underway shortly after local </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">noon, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the
detachment </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">commander [hereinafter, “the Commanding Officer”] </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">conducted only a cursory </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">briefing for the crews of his two boats </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">because of time constraints. </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Each boat had a </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">crew of 5 sailors and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">each was armed with </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">both .50 calibre heavy and 7.62 mm </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">medium </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">machine-guns, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">a total of 3 weapons per craft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Several hours into the transit, on</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">e boat suffered yet another
engineering casualty and the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">other came alongside to render </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">assistance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Shortly </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">thereafter, two small Iranian boats approached and the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Iranian crews </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">began displaying </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">small arms of the AK-47 variety. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">The Commanding Officer was able to </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">notify NAVCENT (the</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Naval Component of </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Central Command) that he was being hailed, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">but shortly thereafter, all </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">communications between NAVCENT and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the boats ceased.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Air assets from </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">USS </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Harry S Truman</i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> began a search and USS </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Anzio</i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">(CG68, whose </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">motto, ironically, is </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Stand and Fight</i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">) responded. A </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">few hours </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">later, it was </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Anzio </i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">who entered Iranian waters in search</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">of the American craft and engaged in “robust bridge-to-bridge </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">communications” </span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">with Iranian military vessels. (If there is one good </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">side to this </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">pathetic story, it is that at least one American Naval </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">officer that day had </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">remembered to strap on his balls—or her balls,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">as the case may be!) </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">At any rate, </span><i style="font-size: 18pt;">Anzio</i><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> was </span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">informed that “the RCBs</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">were in Iranian </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">custody at Farsi </span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Island.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The crews and </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">their boats were released the next morning and taken </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">under escort by </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Anzio</i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">The crews were relieved and transferred </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">ashore and </span><i style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Anzio</i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> put replacement </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">crews aboard the RCBs which </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">took them to Bahrain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But then the </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">sickening details began to come out. What follows </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">is from a Navy </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">investigation.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">As soon as the </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Iranian boats made their approach, the Commanding </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Officer –an officer of the </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">United States Navy of the same rank as </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Stephen Decatur, an officer </span><b style="font-size: 18pt;">in </b><b style="font-size: 18pt;">command </b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">of two warships of the United States and of nine American</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">bluejackets—promptly surrendered.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">He did not go to </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">GQ. </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">He did not tell the Iranians to “get the hell away from my boats or </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">will blow you out of the water.” (He could have easily done so. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 24px;">Four of “ma deuce” would have reduced the small Iranian boats to</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">splinters.) </span></span></div>
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</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">He did not tell </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">his crews “Don’t give up the ship!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">He surrendered!</span></b><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">After the Korean </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">War, it was discovered that many American soldiers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">and airmen who were captured </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">by the Chinese and North Koreans</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">had turned their coats, turned on their fellow </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">prisoners, and</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">collaborated with the enemy. (Interestingly, hardly any Marines did</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">so—and note was taken that in the Marine Corps, an institutional </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">ethic of </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">honor, self-sacrifice, and loyalty was specifically built into </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">recruit training, </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">so that Marines would rather die than betray their </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Corps or their </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">fellow Marines.)</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a result, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">President Eisenhower directed that steps be taken to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">create an aspirational </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">statement of core ethical standards applicable </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">to ALL of America’s warriors. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">To this day, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">those six</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">aspirational standards are taught to, and memorized by, every </span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As a result,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">President Eisenhower directed that steps be taken to create an </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">aspirational </span><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">statement of core ethical standards applicable ALL of </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt; text-align: center;">America’s warriors. </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">To this day, </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">those six </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">standards are taught to, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">and memorized by, every American fighting </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">man and woman </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">starting in boot camp, the Academies, ROTC, and OCS.</span></div>
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><pre style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS </span></b></pre>
<pre style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES</span></b></pre>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I. I am an </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">American, fighting in the forces which guard my country </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">and our way of life. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I am prepared to give my life in their defense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">II. I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">never </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">surrender the members of my command while they still have </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the means to resist.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">But not this poor excuse for an American! He immediately </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">surrendered!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">He had two (relatively) heavily armed warships of the United </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">States of America and nine American bluejackets under his </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">command, </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><pre style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT. </span></span></b></pre>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">HE. </span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">SURRENDERED!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">I am surprised that Bancroft Hall is still standing. Surely John
Paul Jones must have leapt from his sarcophagus in the Academy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">Chapel and dashed to Memorial Hall to make sure that Perry’s </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">flag was still there, and then…..wept for a Navy that puts </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">officers in command who are afraid to “go in harm’s way.”</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">There is an old military saying, probably dating from Caesar's</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">X Legion, or perhaps from Alexander’s Army 300 years earlier,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">or even the Sargon's mighty armies: </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">“Excuses are like ass </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">holes; everybody has one.”</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">In this case, the Commanding Officer's was a doozy!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">Did he remember San Bernadino Strait (see Part I)? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; letter-spacing: 0.45pt;">Did he remember Captain Ernest E. Evans of USS <i>Johnston</i></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> who, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">at 0700, that awful </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">morning, looked out </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">across </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the San Bernardino </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Strait and saw, not a </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">couple of flimsy little </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Iranian boats but a fleet </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">of 22 battleships, heavy and light cruisers and </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">destroyers coming at </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">him? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Did he consider emulating </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">this American hero who informed <i>his</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">crew that "This will be a fight </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">against overwhelming odds from </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">which survival cannot be expected. We will do </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">what damage we </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">can."? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Did he then, take a deep breath and do his duty to his Nation, his </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Navy, and all who had come before him?</span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">D</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">id he go to flank speed with his one good boat </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">and attack the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">approaching armed enemy—an enemy who had stated its attempt to</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">board his </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">command, set foot </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">on what is American soil, and thereby </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">earn the undying respect and admiration </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">of his Country? </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Oh, hell </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">no! </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Here, instead, is his confession to the investigators: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"So at that point and time, if I had decided to start a firefight, I know </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">a lot of my guys would be dead….We all might be dead at that </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">point….I didn’t want to start a war with Iran either. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I didn’t want to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">start a war that would get people killed…</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">The investigation </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">by the Navy is still under way. Only three senior </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">commanders have been </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">relieved because they have "lost the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">confidence of their superiors." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Well, as they say, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">duh! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">They clearly failed to properly train their subordinates, and they put</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">a coward in command of one of our warships.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Uniform Code of </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Military Justice, Article 99: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Any member of the armed forces who </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">before or in the presence of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the enemy—…(2) shamefully abandons, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">surrenders, or delivers up </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">any command, unit, place, or military property which </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">it is his </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">duty to</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">defend;…shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">court-martial may direct.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, the Lieutenant <i>should be </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">sweating bullets. But I doubt that this </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">pathetic Administration will </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">let him go to trial. Hell, they may give </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">him a medal--the Putting Politics Over Duty Cross." Certainly</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">, John</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“American-Fighting-Men-In-Vietnam-Were-Murders-And-War- </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Criminals” Kerry actually <b>thanked the Iranians for their
cooperation</b> and remarked that “we can </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">all imagine how a</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(<i>New York Times</i>, 13 Jan 2016) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But there is more! Our hero, having, shamefully surrendered his </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">command without firing a shot took it upon himself to throw </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">out the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">rest of </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the Code of Conduct, too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">III. If I am </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I will make every </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">effort to escape. I will accept neither parole nor </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">special favors from </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the enemy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">V. When </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> to give name, rank, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">service number, and date of birth. I will evade </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">answering further questions </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">to the utmost of my ability. I will make </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">no </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">oral or written statements </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">disloyal to my country and its allies or </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">harmful to their cause. </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">So, did he suddenly regain his senses and at least try to restore his </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">honor and do his duty? </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Of course not.</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">He allowed himself to be </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">videotaped telling the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Iranians </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">“It was a mistake </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">that was our fault and we apologize for </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">our mistake…. The Iranian behavior was fantastic </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">while we were </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">here and we thank you very much for your hospitality and your</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">assistance.” </span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, Dayum!!! </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">The American POWs who endured days and weeks </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">of torture rather than betray their Country must be sick </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">to their</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">stomachs. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Compare this to Senator McCain. After months and years of torture </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and starvation rations, he is suddenly given clean clothes, allowed to </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">bathe and shave, and then paraded into a room where there were tables</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">set with fresh fruit and vegetables--and full of TV cameras! One of </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">his torturers puts a huge grin on his face, sticks out his hand, and says </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Merry Christmas, Mack-Kane."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And Lieutenant Commander John S. McCain, USN, third of that </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">honorable name, replied " Your b</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">ehavior has been fantastic </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">while I </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">have been </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">here and I thank you very much for your hospitality."</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Right??? In a pigs eye! He looked right into the cameras, gave </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the goo....., er, the North Vietnamese gentleman the finger, and said </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">"Fuck you! </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Now let's see you use that tape!"</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">He later wrote that as a result, he was subjected to "attitude </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">readjustment"...10 straight days of </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">physical torture. Then, "my </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">attitude having been suitably adjusted, they tossed me back into my</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">cell." </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">It is hard to live up to high standards of honor, but so many have and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">it is shameful that the Commanding Officer in question did not even </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">try! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Nor did our President.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">According to </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Reuters in</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">an article published on 18 </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">January 2016, the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Obama Administration said that the release of the sailors </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">“shows the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">power of diplomacy and the promise of its new engagement with </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Iran.”</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Or…. hearkens back to the</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">days when the Barbary Pirates could </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">seize our </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">ships and ransom them back to us. Until our Navy....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">and a few Marines...taught them a lesson. Remember, the first time </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">the American flag was raised over a captured fortress in the old </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">world, it was at Derna, on the "shores of Tripoli." </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Sooooooo, ............</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I leave this where </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">I started, with a quotation by </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">Robert A Heinlein, the dean of American science </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">fiction writers</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">and USNA, Class of 1929: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">“Roman matrons </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">used to say to their sons: ‘Come back with your </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">shield, or on it.’ <i><b>Later on, </b></i></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"><i><b>this custom declined.</b></i> </span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;"><b>SO DID ROME!</b></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span><pre style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span></pre>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-71361812703923186622016-07-20T14:22:00.004-04:002017-03-23T00:32:35.415-04:00DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP (Pt 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Roman matrons used to say to their
sons: “Come back with your shield, or on it.” Later on this custom declined. So
did Rome. Lazarus Long (<i>The
Notebooks of Lazarus Long</i>, Robert A. Heinlein)</span><o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
Should Have Happened</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">12
January 2016<br />
Persian Gulf, off Farsi Island</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It
had been frustrating voyage for the two-boat detachment making a routine
transit from Kuwait to Bahrain. The departure had been delayed by
engineering problems with one of the boats. When they finally got
underway shortly after local noon, the detachment commander conducted only a
cursory briefing for the crews of his two boats.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Several
hours into the transit, one of the boats suffered another engineering casualty
and the other came alongside to render assistance. Each boat had a crew
of 5 sailors and each was armed with both .50 calibre heavy and 7.62 mm medium
machineguns, a total of 3 weapons per craft.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Shortly
thereafter, two small Iranian boats approached and the crews began displaying
small arms of the AK-47 variety. The Commanding Officer warned them away and
sounded general quarters. Two more boats, also armed with riflemen, then
approached and indicated their intention to board the American ships.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
American commander announced that his craft were exercising the right of free
transit and were experiencing minor and temporary engine problems, but would
get underway as soon as possible. According to the after action report, “There
was a verbal exchange between the American commander and the Iranians but no
exchange of gun fire. However, armed Iranian military personnel then attempted
to board the RCBs.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The American commander ordered “Stay clear of my ship
or we will sink you.” <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>When the Iranians ignored him, he
ordered “All hands repel boarders”, at which time his gunners opened
fire. One American sailor, Seaman First Class Jane Doe, dashed from a
covered position to activate the emergency beacon and was then killed in action
as she attempted to retrieve a weapon from a dead Iranian soldier in order to
defend her boat. She is the first American woman to be nominated to
receive the Medal of Honor since the Civil War.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Having
been alerted of the Iranian attack, aircraft were launched from USS <i>Harry Truman</i> and were overhead
within 10 minutes. By this time, all four Iranian vessels were on fire
and sinking or had been sunk. One Navy boat was also taking on water, but
damage control parties from USS <i>Anzio</i>,
which had responded upon receipt of the initial reports from the Detachment
Commander, were able to get the boat alongside <i>Anzio</i> and secure it.<o:p></o:p> <i>Anzio</i> then
took up station to “discourage” any other Iranian vessels from entering the
battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The senior surviving member of the Detachment, Petty
Officer Second Class John Roe, assumed command of the remaining boat and
followed Anzio from the scene. He declined any other
assistance, reporting that “Before he died, Lieutenant Smith (Lieutenant Joseph
Smith, USN) told me, ‘Get my ship and my people home.’ No power on heaven
or earth will make me break that promise.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Iranian Government has protested the action, but to their surprise, the
President responded “Learn your lesson well. Where goes the flag, goes the
Nation. An American ship is American soil. That was our position in 1812 and it
has not changed in the ensuing 200 years.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tomorrow: What Really Happened</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-8965624501062266582016-07-14T10:54:00.004-04:002017-03-23T00:16:22.140-04:00DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP (Pt I)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;">“No captain can do very wrong if he places his
ship alongside that of the enemy.” </span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;">Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, RN</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">Our Navy is in trouble. Before I explain why I
say that, consider this:</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">I am the son of a
Squared Away North American Bluejacket. From the time I was eight,
until I discovered the Marine Corps after high school, I dreamed of being a
naval officer. I was 11 when I first wrote to my Congressman about an
appointment to the Academy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">I read about the heroes of the American Navy. And
where else would I have started but with Captain John Paul Jones and USS <i>Ranger</i> and
USS <i>Bonhomme Richard</i>? Jones who wrote “<strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">I wish to have no Connection with any Ship that does
not Sail fast</span></strong> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">for
I intend to go in harm's way.”</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Remember Jones and <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> against
HMS <i>Serapis </i>off Flamborough Head. “Struck,
Sir? I have not yet begun to fight!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">By some accounts, the inquiry from <i>Serapis</i> was
occasioned when Bonny Dick’s colors were shot away, prompting Jones to order
that the replacement colors be nailed to the mast! </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Later in the fight, according to Captain
Jones’s after action report, he responded to another similar inquiry “<span style="background: white;">in the most determined negative”.</span> <span style="background: white;">Some of his sailors were quoted in British newspapers
at the time as saying his reply was really</span> “<span style="background: white;">I may sink, Sir, but I'll be damned if I strike!” </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">In fact, <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> did sink, but not before <i>Serapis</i> struck
her colors and was taken a prize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">Speaking at an address to the Brigade of
Midshipmen in Bancroft Hall in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt said of
Captain John Paul Jones</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">The future naval officers, who live within
these walls, will find in the career of the man whose life we this day celebrate,
not merely a subject for admiration and respect, but an object lesson to be
taken into their innermost hearts. . . . Every officer . . . should feel in
each fiber of his being an eager desire to emulate the energy, the professional
capacity, the indomitable determination and dauntless scorn of death which
marked John Paul Jones above all his fellows.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Remember also Captain James Lawrence, USN, mortally wounded while
in command of USS <i>Chesapeake </i>against HMS <i>Shannon </i>during
the War of 1812. His final orders to his men were “<span style="background: white;">Don't give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks!”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">Fast forward to international waters in the
Eastern Med off Israel in 1967 when the Israeli sneak attack on USS <i>Liberty</i> failed
to sink her. IAF aircraft first strafed the ship, knocking out her
communications array, and killing, the entire bridge watch except for the
Captain who was seriously wounded in the arm and leg. Then Israeli
torpedo boats attacked the ship, firing five torpedoes for a single hit and
then shot away all of the ship’s life boats. A second air attack again killed
the entire replacement bridge watch, except for the Captain. Then, a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>few minutes later, the Israelis again
attacked with the clear intent to destroy <i>Liberty</i> and her crew
so as to hide the fact that they had intentionally attacked a United States
Ship. Due to the unbelievable heroism of the crew, a jury-rigged
mast was put into service and the Sixth Fleet was alerted. The
Israelis then pulled away. The ship suffered 34 KIA and 172
WIA. In addition to the torpedo hole, there were over 800 holes in
the ship measuring 30 mm or more. </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">Captain William McMonagle, USN, was hit in the
first strafing run, suffering a gash in one leg that ran from the crotch to the
knee. The gash was closed using safety pins and his web belt was
used as a tourniquet. He refused to leave the bridge, and after
realizing that all of the bridge instruments were shot away, he walked from
bridge wing to bridge wing all night, navigating by sightings of the North Star. He
finally left the bridge the next morning only after <i>Liberty </i>rendezvoused
with two American destroyers that had been dispatched to escort
her. Captain McMonagle received the Medal of Honor.</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">In his report, he stated that after the Sixth
Fleet was alerted, an Israeli torpedo boat came along side and asked “May we be
of assistance?” He replied, “No thank you.” One of his
crew told me that the real reply was “Get the hell away from my ship or I will
run you down.” Captain Jones of <i>Bonhomme Richard</i> would
surely have approved.</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Through the intervening years, the American Navy has set the
example. From 1776 forward, our Navy has been characterized by
gallantry in action, aggressiveness, and taking the battle to the enemy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Consider the gallantry of the ships, officers, and men of Task<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;">Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3") fighting one
of the famous two hours in the history of our Navy.</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">The Place: <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Sea" title="Philippine Sea"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Philippine Sea</span></a><span style="background: white;"> off </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samar_(island)" title="Samar (island)"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Samar</span></a><span style="background: white;"> Island, in the Philippines<br />
<br />
The Date: 25 October 1944. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">In no<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">engagement of its entire history has the
United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in those two
morning hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar<span style="background: white;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">Samuel Eliot Morrison, RAdm, USNR,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: 18pt;">History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume
XII, Leyte</span></i><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Consider, the Battle of San Bernardino Strait (aka,“Battle Off
Samar”) in which a Japanese task force of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2
light cruisers, and 11 destroyers was able to get to within a few miles of the
amphibious and supply ships effecting and supporting the invasion of Leyte
(Philippines). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><u1:p></u1:p>Get close,
but….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">A small force of three d<span style="background: white;">estroyers </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hoel_(DD-533)" title="USS Hoel (DD-533)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Hoel</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Heermann_(DD-532)" title="USS Heermann (DD-532)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Heermann</span></i></a><span style="background: white;"> and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Johnston_(DD-557)" title="USS Johnston (DD-557)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Johnston</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">,
and four destroyer escorts </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dennis_(DE-405)" title="USS Dennis (DE-405)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Dennis</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_C._Butler_(DE-339)" title="USS John C. Butler (DE-339)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">John C. Butler</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Raymond_(DE-341)" title="USS Raymond (DE-341)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Raymond</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">,
and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Samuel_B._Roberts_(DE-413)" title="USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Samuel B. Roberts</span></i></a>, spotted
the enemy and immediately attacked!! (By way of comparison, a single
Japanese battleship in the enemy task force, IJS <i>Yamato,</i> displaced
more tonnage than all seven attacking American ships.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Two hours later, with the American defenders sunk, sinking or on
fire and the way open to destroy the Leyte invasion force, it was the Japanese
force that broke off and fled, having lost three heavy cruisers sunk and three
other heavy cruisers and one destroyer heavily damaged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">But if you want to really understand what our Navy and its
Bluejackets are all about, listen to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="background: white;">Rear Admiral </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Sprague" title="Clifton Sprague"><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Clifton A. F.
Sprague</span></a><span style="background: white;">, commander of Taffy 3, that
morning:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">At 0925 my mind was occupied with dodging
torpedoes when near the bridge I heard one of the signalmen yell, '... dammit,
boys, they're getting away!' I could not believe my eyes, but it looked as if
the whole Japanese fleet was indeed retiring.... At best, I had expected to be
swimming by this time.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Three of the American ships, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hoel_(DD-533)" title="USS Hoel (DD-533)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Hoel</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Johnston_(DD-557)" title="USS Johnston (DD-557)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Johnston</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">,
and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Samuel_B._Roberts_(DE-413)" title="USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Samuel B. Roberts</span></i></a> (<span style="background: white;">the "destroyer escort that fought like a
battleship")</span>, were sunk and three more, <i>Heermann, </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_C._Butler_(DE-339)" title="USS John C. Butler (DE-339)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">John C. Butler</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">, and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Raymond_(DE-341)" title="USS Raymond (DE-341)"><i><span style="background: white; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Raymond</span></i></a><span style="background: white;">,
were severely damaged. Captain Ernest Evans of</span> <i style="line-height: 115%;">Johnston</i> <span style="background: white;">was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously). </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Aboard <i>Samuel
B. Roberts</i>, Gunner’s Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr, USN was the gun
captain of the <i>Roberts</i>’ Mount 52, its after 5-inch/38
gun. Under his charge, Mount 52 kept firing continuously throughout the
battle. In ordinary operation, electric power was used to train and
point the gun, and high pressure air was forced through the barrel to cool
it. At the time that power and air were lost due to enemy fire,
Mount 52 had already fired over 300 rounds in less than 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">GM3 Carr then
began firing rounds by hand, accepting the risk that without air the gun would
not cool down between firings. With seven rounds left in the magazine, the
tremendous heat in the gun breech "cooked off" a round while the
breech was open, exploding the projectile loaded in the gun and killing most of
the gun crew. When a damage control party member made his way into the
shattered mount, he found Carr, literally torn open from neck to thigh,
attempting vainly to load a shell into the demolished gun breech. The rescue
team member took the round from Carr and laid him aside as he began to remove
the bodies of the others of the gun crew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Returning to the
mount, he found that Petty Officer Carr had dragged himself back to his gun,
and with projectile in hand, he was trying to load his gun. Carr begged the
sailor to help him get off one last round. His shipmate pulled him from the
mount and laid him on the deck, where he died a few moments later, beneath the
gun he served.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 13.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Petty Officer Carr was posthumously awarded the Silver Star,
and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Carr_(FFG-52)" title="USS Carr (FFG-52)"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">USS <i>Carr</i> (FFG-52)</span></a> was named in his honor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;"> “</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Struck, Sir? I have not yet begun to fight!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">“<span style="background: white;">Don't give up the ship. Fight her
till she sinks!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">“Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition.” <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Lt (jg)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> Howell Forgy, ChC, USN,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Orleans_(CA-32)" title="USS New Orleans (CA-32)"><i><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">USS New Orleans</span></i></a>, Pearl Harbor 7 December
1941.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">“Take her down.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Cdr Howard W. Gilmore, USN, off the
Solomons in USS<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Growler</i>, 7
February 1943 (His dying words from the bridge as he placed his ship and crew
before himself.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">“A ship that won’t be sunk, can’t be sunk!” <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Capt L. E. Gehres, USN, USS <i>Franklin</i>,
off Honshu, 19 March 1945</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;"> "No! I'll never abandon ship as long
as a single gun will fire." Capt F. Julian Becton, USN, USS <i>Laffey</i>,
Radar Picket Station 1 off Okinawa, 17 April 1945</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 18.0pt;">"Write something about<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Aaron Ward.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>She was a great ship.”Alexander
Sharp, VAdm, USN (ret), referring to USS<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 115%;">Aaron
Ward</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(DM 34) and her 40
minute fight for her life on the evening of 3 May 1945, Radar Picket Station 10
off Okinawa.</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">“Get the hell away from my ship or I will run you
down.”</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">“Dammit, boys, they’re getting away!” </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">That was our Navy. That</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">is the proud heritage of the Navy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Whether or not it still is remains to be seen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
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<u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><br />
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-69714478051493875452016-07-13T13:11:00.001-04:002016-07-13T13:26:05.064-04:00ALL ROADS LEAD TO STANBERRY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have always enjoyed Garrison Keiler’s reports from “Lake
Woebegone, Minnesota, my home town….where all the women are strong, all the men
are good looking, and all the children are above average.” Perhaps it is because I come from a family of strong women
and from a little town that—a lot like Lake Woebegone—has an almost mystical
hold on those of us lucky enough to know and love her. I’m not sure that Stanberry, Missouri is a “town
that time forgot,” but there is no doubt in my mind that it is a little town
that “memory cannot improve.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The McCarty Family was one of the founding families back in
September, 1879. My Dad and his brothers and sisters were born and raised there
by James Marion and Gertrude Margaret Kurtright McCarty</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My Mom was raised there from the time she was
in fourth grade because my grandfather, William Bertrand (“Bert”) Kennedy--who
was employed by the Wabash Rail as a Superintendent—and grandmother, Mary
Theodosia Goodrich Kennedy, chose Stanberry, as <b><i>the</i></b> place to raise their
family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">My Dad was the eldest of 11 children; nine of them survived infancy. He went to war from Stanberry and after, in my eyes, he won the war, he came back home to the heartland. Even after he
joined Eastern Airlines in 1953 and moved us to the St Louis area, Stanberry
was always home. My brother and I spent every
summer from 1954 until I entered OCS in 1966 in that dear little town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, the matriarch of our clan, my Aunt Mary (Mary
Kathlyn McCarty Harris) passed away in Wichita, Kansas. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Aunt Mary is the last of her generation to leave us. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I won’t be the only member of Clan McCarty traveling back to
God’s country in the next day or two. If you want to find Stanberry, just follow the traffic. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> On Saturday, we will all go to St. Peters for
Mass and then gather at Mount Calvary Cemetery—on the hill where we have
gathered so often in its two resting grounds—to say “so long.” That’s
the good thing about our faith—we don’t say “Goodbye.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Long ago, my Uncle Charlie, "Mr. Stanberry," coined a phrase, a slogan, that has for his children and his nieces and nephews, and their progeny become almost gospel to us. If "Home is where the heart is," then tomorrow, I start for home. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is an easy trip, you see, for as Uncle Charlie taught us, "ALL roads lead to Stanberry."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-71699202570886502352016-07-11T22:51:00.001-04:002016-07-11T22:51:25.418-04:00DALLAS AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT: A Response To Professor Beau Weston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">As my gentle readers know, from time to time I commit “poetry”,
“punery” and even “punditry. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">The problem is, you cannot be any real kind of pundit unless you
read other pundits. You have to have something to respond to.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Note: Do this only at home, kids. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">You see, in academia, the practitioners of the art of “publish
or perish” take things to a high art. But it can be dangerous when played
with the pros. Just ask Judge Robert Bork, arguably one of the most
qualified nominees for the Supreme Court in the past 75 years. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>He published a lot, usually in
response to someone whose view of the law was 180 degrees out from his own. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>That’s the way real intellectual
discourse is supposed to work. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Unless
you are Joe Biden (who I once, live and in person, heard suggest that perhaps,
just perhaps, in the interest of national security, we might have to bring back
the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Court-of-Star-Chamber">Court of Star
Chamber<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></a>(</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;">used by Charles I to
enforce unpopular political and ecclesiastical policies, without cluttering up
the proceedings with little niceties such as witnesses, evidence, the presence
of the accused, defense counsel; it became a symbol of oppression)) </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">or Teddy Kennedy. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Then, all that intellectual discourse
becomes a weapon. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Ever
wonder why no Supreme Court nominee since has let his or her judicial philosophy
be examined? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>But, I
digress,</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p>.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">I frequently read Professor Beau Weston’s blog,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Gruntled Center.</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>He is a pundit worth reading, and
responding to. And here's the thing: He doesn’t like guns. He<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>really</i></b> does not
like guns! And like most liberals, because he doesn’t like something,
guns in this case, he doesn’t stop there. He doesn't want people who<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>do</i></b> like guns to
have them, either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Now, as a conservative, I must admit that liberals do not have a
monopoly on this. An awful lot of people
who detest the sin of abortion—who would never undergo the procedure themselves—are
nonetheless always ready to take away from those who <b><i>do</i></b> favor abortion that
which the Supreme Court—however erroneously—has declared to be a Constitutional
right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">But, again, I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Fall out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Trot on over to </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://gruntledcenter.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt;">“TheGun-Obsessed
Got Their Way In Dallas.”</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 7.5pt;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Good. You're back.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Fall in.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Right, Face.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">For-ward, March!</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Whew! </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Powerful.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Forceful.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Moving, even.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> And, I have to concede, a fair presentation of your side
of the argument. Fair, but one-sided, but that is OK: that’s why we
historians and lawyers remember the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Lincoln-Douglas
Debates<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>rather than<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Lincoln Debate</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>or<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The
Douglas Debate</i>....Fair, that is, until you wandered off into fantasy land
where you get to re-write the Constitution and laws. Fair right up to the
part where you said "Everyone, that is, except the actual 'well-regulated
militia,' the police force.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Did you really think that no one would look? No one would
check, for instance, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky ?
Your home. The place where you teach and worship and vote.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">I looked. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Let’s start with the Kentucky Constitution:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">"PREAMBLE We, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we
enjoy, and invoking the continuance of these blessings, do ordain and establish
this Constitution.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">BILL OF RIGHTS That the
great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized
and established, we declare that: Text as ratified on: August 3, 1891, and
revised September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended. (<i>sic</i>)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> Section 1. Rights of life, liberty, worship, pursuit of
safety and happiness, free speech, acquiring and protecting property, peaceable
assembly, redress of grievances, bearing arms. All men are, by nature, free and
equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned:<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">First: The right of
enjoying and defending their lives and liberties. …<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Fifth: The right of
acquiring and protecting property.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Sixth: The right of
assembling together in a peaceable manner for their common good, and of
applying to those invested with the power of government for redress of
grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Seventh: The right to bear
arms in defense of themselves and of the State, subject to the power of the
General Assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed
weapons. Text as ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
History: Not yet amended. Free speech, right of, Const. 8; Religious freedom,
right of, Const. 5. (<i>sic</i>) …</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Section 219. Militia, what to consist of. The militia of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky shall consist of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>all
able-bodied male residents of the State between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five years,</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>except such
persons as may be exempted by the laws of the State or of the United States.
Text as ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History:
Not yet amended. (<i>sic</i>) (Emphasis added.)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Section 220. General Assembly to provide for militia –
Exemptions from service. The General Assembly shall provide for maintaining an
organized militia, and may exempt from military service persons having
conscientious scruples against bearing arms; but such persons shall pay an
equivalent for such exemption. Text as ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised
September 28, 1891. History: Not yet amended. (<i>sic</i>)"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Note: Professor, if you are under the age of 45, you are part of
Kentucky's militia (§219), but you can pay a bounty and let someone else serve
if you want to (§220). </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Continue to march! But why stop at a mere constitution. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Ky Rev Stat "37.170 Kentucky State Defense Force --
Organization -- Reorganization.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(1) The Governor is hereby authorized to enlist, organize,
maintain, equip, discipline and pay when called into active field service a
volunteer state defense force other than the National Guard, which shall
constitute the active militia and shall be known as the Kentucky State Defense
Force,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>which shall consist of
able-bodied citizens who are residents of the State (sic) of Kentucky between
the ages of eighteen (18) and sixty-four (64)</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>who are not active members of a
reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States. (Emphasis
added.)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> (2) Whenever the President of the United States shall call
any part of the National Guard of this state into active federal service, the
Governor is hereby authorized to organize the Kentucky State Defense Force
under such regulations as may be promulgated by the Governor or adjutant
general.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(3) The Governor shall have
the power to alter, divide, annex, disband or reorganize any organization of
the Kentucky State Defense Force whenever in his judgment the efficiency of the
state forces will thereby be increased, and he shall have power to change the
organization so as to conform to the regulations now or hereafter prescribed by
the laws of the United States for the organization of the National Guard or
militia. History: Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 414, sec. 47, effective July 13,
1984. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 108, sec. 10; and ch. 386, sec. 9. --
Amended 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 48, sec. 3. -- Created 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 4, secs. 1,
4, and 8. (<i>sic</i>)"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Oooooo, did you see that? The statute says 18 to 64.
Hey, I am a strict constructionist. I'll represent you to challenge
that apparent use of legislative fiat to amend the Constitution, although you
may want to get someone more prominent than me. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
If I was the Commonwealth's Attorney General and I was going to defend the
Statute, I would look for a really prominent Constitutional Law Professor--one
nearing the end of his current job and one who thinks the legislature, or even
the Governor, can just use a pencil and a telephone to change the Constitution
to do the job. But if you want me, I'm there for you.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
But, you say, that’s just Kentucky. Good point. Let's look at
federal law:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">10 U.S. Code "§ 311 - Militia: composition and classes</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(a) The militia of
the United States consists of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>all
able-bodied males at least 17 years of age</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>and</b>, except as provided in
section 313 of title 32,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>under
45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become,
citizens of the United States<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>and
of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National
Guard. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(b)The classes of the militia are—</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(1) the organized militia,
which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(2) the unorganized
militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of
the National Guard or the Naval Militia.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 14; Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(7),
Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1439; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 524(a), Nov.
30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1656.)"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">(Emphasis added.)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
So, let’s recap.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">One: The Police are not "the" militia! </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Two: At best, the National Guard is only one small part of
the militia.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Three: The Constitutions of many States (and arguably, the
Constitution of the United States,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>see<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>amend 2) recognize and actually
reserve to the people the “right of revolution,” a right which can only exist
so long as the State has no power to disarm its citizens. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">But, “Wait,” you say. “Right of Revolution," you say/
"In this day and age," you say? Nonsense,” you say!</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
OK. Yes. Yes. No.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Yes, in this day and age. Consider New Hampshire Constitution,
art 10, adopted 1784, never amended or abolished:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> “Art 10. Right of Revolution. Whenever
the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>and all other means of redress are
ineffectu</i>al, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or
establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary
power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and
happiness of mankind.” <i>See, also,</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Pennsylvania const, art 1, §2
(Declaration of Rights) ("All power is inherent in the people, and all
free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace,
safety and happiness. For the advancement of these ends they have at all times
an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their
government in such manner as they may think proper.”); Tennessee const, art 1,
§2 (“That government being instituted for the common benefit, the doctrine of
non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish, and
destructive of the good and happiness of mankind."); North Carolina const,
Declaration of Rights, 3d (“That Government ought to be instituted for the
common benefit, protection and security of the people; and that the doctrine of
non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish, and
destructive to the good and happiness of mankind.”). (Emphasis added.)</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">Oh, and seeing as how you started this with Texas,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>see,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>Texas const, art 1, § 2 (“All
political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded
on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people
of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government,
and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable
right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may
think expedient.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">But, I saved the best of all for last! Constitution of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Bill of Rights. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"> “Section 4. Power inherent in the people – Right to alter,
reform, or abolish government. All power is inherent in the people, and all
free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace,
safety, happiness and the protection of property. For the advancement of these
ends, they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter,
reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may deem proper. Text
as ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891. History: Not
yet amended. (sic)”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">That's it. The militia is so much more than the United
States armed forces, and the National Guard. It is all of us. And
lest we forget that wonderful "manner as they may deem proper"
language, that says when the oppressive government will not listen, will not
redress grievances, the people,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>the
militia</i>, have as a last resort the right to grab their rifles and exercise
their ultimate political right. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
And they can only do that if they are armed--armed with the same kind of
weapons as the Government's troops, just as the men at Lexington Green and
Concord Bridge were armed with the same type of weapons as the Brown Bess--the
M-16 of its day.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt;">And that, kind Sir, I submit to you, is what the Second
Amendment is really all about.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-26386916176171189092016-07-10T14:42:00.001-04:002016-07-10T15:01:28.313-04:00MCCARTY, ON RIGBY ON DECATUR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev
Jim Rigby of Austin Texas is a prolific epigramist, frequently publishing on
Face Book up to three or four of his </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">pithy
remarks daily. He has good company:
among noted modern epigramists are Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Harry Truman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I commend him to you. He is rarely capable of being boring: you may nod your heads to his sagacity, or
your stomachs may twist and turn as he condemns everything you have spent your
life defending, but he will rarely bore you. <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And if you read him closely, you may even find yourself saying “Hmmm.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Well, has a point!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And that’s OK.
That’s America! We get to freely disagree</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;"> as a birthright.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;">Shoot, the blood of
disagreeable misfits flows in our veins.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;">
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;">We come from those who looked at where they were and said “To heck with
it.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;">I’ll go start my own Country where I
can say and think anything I want.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 15.75pt;">Today,
he wrote</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“There is a problem when our principles are no
bigger than the boundaries of our nation. ‘My country right or wrong’ sounds
noble until you consider the fact that, if such patriots had been born in
another country, they might be zealously killing Americans by the same
unthinking principle.”</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i><b>To which one needs only answer</b></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #252525; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #252525; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87_%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1" title="wikt:الله أكبر"><span style="color: #663366;">الله أكبر</span></a></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #252525; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #252525; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">-<b><i>-w</i></b></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>hile slashing the throat of an American
journalist.</i></b></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
problem is that Rev Rigby has omitted the most important part of Commodore Decatur’s
toast. Decatur said <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Our country! In her intercourse with foreign
nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.”</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consider John Stuart Mill in this regard:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> “War
is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state
of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is
much worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon
or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master,
such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against
tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and
good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their
free choice, — is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing
which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he
does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of
being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than
himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their
ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must
be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.”</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="woj"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;">Is America perfect? Not by a long shot, but I suggest to you that it has been
closer than most countries in the past century. It
has lived up to Decatur’s <i>aspiration</i>, “[i]</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;">n her intercourse with foreign nations, <i><b>may she always be in
the right</b></i>…” much more often than not. And she has done so at huge cost of her
blood and treasure. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 115%;">Those who misquote Decatur, those who
are so well-defined in Mills’ fourth sentence, ignore the fact that tens of
thousands, millions, are willing to become criminals, to risk horrendous
obstacles, to die, just to get into America illegally. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>This truth is not a condemnati</span>on of our Country. <span class="apple-converted-space"> We must be doing something right. </span>I suggest it
is a condemnation of the rest of the world for failing to make equal
sacrifices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-25876167297885515402016-07-08T23:43:00.003-04:002016-07-08T23:47:24.329-04:00MEMO TO BLACK LIVES MATTER. I AGREE.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Dear Black Lives Matter,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I agree. So,
here’s what to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">PRIME DIRECTIVE:
As parents and grandparents, as neighbors, and as citizens, we want to
live our lives in peace and to see our children grow up to be safe, successful,
and responsible citizens. We have the right
and responsibility to demand that they be treated with the respect they
deserve, but we have a duty to ensure that they learn their responsibilities BEFORE
they get the impression that their “rights”
have no limits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 1:
Police Officers want to go home alive that night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 2:
Stand still. “<span style="background: white;">The wicked flee when no one pursues,</span>…” Proverbs 28:1a </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 3:
Do not rely on calendar age. A 12
year old who is 5’7” and weighs 195 and points what looks like a real pistol at
a police officer, doesn’t have any reason to complain if he is shot. An Officer shot through the head by a 10 year old
first offender is just as dead as if he was shot by a 35 year old career
felon. <i>See</i>, Rule Number 1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><i>FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF PHYSICS</i> (based on Colt, Model 1911A1 pistol): From the time the trigger is pulled, the round will have traveled 20 feet in less than one-tenth of a second. A "blink of an eye" lasts up to 4 times longer. If the officer sees what looks like a pistol aimed at him, his only hope is to fire first. <i>See</i> RULE NUMBER 1.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 4:
Do not reach into your belt, or pocket, or coat until permitted to do so, and even then, very slowly. <i>See</i> Rule Number 1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 5:
Never, NEVER, NEVER try to
take an officer’s side-arm. It always
ends badly if you do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 6:
When an officer in uniform approaches you or speaks to you, “Yes, Sir” and
“No, Sir” are the ONLY words that you should utter until invited to do
otherwise. Politeness and courtesy will defuse most situations. Let the adrenaline
dissolve. (I am a middle class, white
man. I taught my white middle class kids the same thing.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>McCarty’s FIRST COROLLARY
TO RULE NUMBER 6:</i></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">That will almost
always mean that the encounter is brief and everybody gets to get on with their
day unhurt.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>McCarty’s SECOND COROLLARY
TO RULE NUMBER 6:</i></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i> </i> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">The assumption by some
people in 21</span><sup style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">st</sup><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Century America that they have an absolute right to
set all the rules, define all the rights, and ignore all their responsibilities
of civility and citizenship, is what gets people killed.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">RULE NUMBER 7:
If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The View From the Bleachers: </i>Most – not all, but most-- of the Black Lives that have mattered to your relatively new movement were people who were, in some way or another, breaking the law. None of them, to date, have been police officers of color. You do your movement a disservice when you refuse to concede that. It is hard for you to garner sympathy for your cause when the only lives you champion are criminals who could have saved their lives by doing the right thing in the first place. Just saying.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: 48px;"><i>McCarty’s FIRST COROLLARY TO RULE NUMBER 7:</i></span><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-indent: 48px;"> Do what the officer tells you to do, when he tells you to do it. Resistance is futile, usually painful, and all too frequently unintentionally fatal.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>McCarty’s SECOND COROLLARY
TO RULE NUMBER 7:</i></span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Making laws – defining
crimes and offenses -- is the job of the legislature.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Interpreting the law is the courts.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Deciding who will make and interpret the laws
is the job of every citizen at the ballot box. What you think of the law is irrelevant out on the street. That is why we have lawyers</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">CLOSING COMMENTS</span></span><br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Good Right Hand Of Fellowship: </i>I have lived a long time. I remember an America that had segregated restrooms, lunch counters, and busses—and fire hoses, police dogs, and bombed out Sunday schools. It was unfair and un-American. We have come a long way, and still have a long way to go to get to the vision that Rev. Dr. King so eloquently prayed for. Don’t you think the journey will be a lot quicker if we walk there together?</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-64696747483613666982016-07-08T00:19:00.003-04:002016-07-08T00:21:18.119-04:00A FEW WORDS IN SUPPORT OF DIRECTOR COMEY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">This has been a hard few days for FBI Director
Comey. An honorable man, a dedicated FBI
agent, and a loyal citizen, he has been placed in an excruciatingly difficult
position by people who could have done their jobs instead of hiding behind him.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Background (for those who were vacationing on
Jupiter this week):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">For nearly a quarter of a century, no American
politician or bureaucrat has held closer to the opinion that the laws that
apply to most Americans do not apply to her.
As First Lady, she attempted to fire employees in the White House Travel
Office in order to give that function to a company owned by personal friends. When her actions became known, the fired
employees were reinstated and her cronies lost the contract she had arranged
for them. As part of the many
investigations of the ethics (or lack thereof) of the Clintons, <span style="background: white;">in 2000, Independent Counsel<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ray_(prosecutor)" title="Robert Ray (prosecutor)"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Robert Ray</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span><span style="background: white;">issued his final report on Travelgate. He sought no
charges against her, saying that while some of Clinton's statements were
factually false, there was insufficient evidence that these statements were
either knowingly false or that she understood that her statements led to the
firings.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Her tumultuous life in the White
House, I would suggest, served to make her the most paranoid national
politician since Richard Nixon. It will
be interesting to see how that plays out. Certainly, it should be remembered
that the legal transgressions that drove President Nixon from the White House
were relatively minor—except for the cover up. One wonders whether Cheryl Mills
and Huma Abedin are going to be as willing to fall on their swords for Senator
Clinton as were Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Horace Rumpole, Esquire, a
wonderful fictional English barrister, was a master of the epigram. One of my two favorites is: “Murder is
nothing more than simple assault carried to its logical, but most unfortunate,
extremes.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The the latest contretemps, over
the mishandling of classified material by then-Secretary of State Clinton, is a
logical extension of “Travelgate.” Mrs
Clinton wanted something done her way.
The law stood in her path so she simply ignored the law. And to do so, she cherry-picked legal
advice. (My other favorite Rumpolism
applies here: “Lawyers and tarts; the
world’s two oldest professions. We both
aim to please.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">And it came to pass that during sworn
testimony before the House of Representatives that, contrary to all sorts of
record keeping laws-implementing the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information
Act which Democrats had pushed through to ensure that “bad people” like President
Nixon would have to preserve pesky records that might help, someday, tarnish or
even end their presidencies. But Mrs C
is an attorney, and by some accounts, a good one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">What if</span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">, she thought, <i>I could keep all the records of my time as
Secretary of state somewhere those pesky archivists didn’t know about. Then, I could make sure only the history that
I want people to know ever comes out.</i>
And it worked. Oh, some ethical
employees of the State Department questioned the scheme, but the praetorians
simply called them in and set things straight:
Forget that you asked and do not ever ask that question again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Except, just as Butterfield
revealed the tapes, someone revealed the “home brew” server.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Enter the FBI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">By this time, Mrs C was, at least
in her own eyes, the anointed successor to President Obama. Not going to let a little matter of law and
ethics screw that up! So, in relatively
short order:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">1.
The FBI began to look at those records that Mrs C had decided it ought
to see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">Not much there……… except the guy
who set up the system did something unexpected.
Bryan Pagliano, an information technology
specialist who helped set up Clinton's private email server</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">, demanded immunity before he
would submit to a deposition in a civil Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
against Mrs C. Now, I truly believe in
innocent until proven guilty and no coerced self-incrimination, and all of
that. But nothing—NOTHING—sets a cops
and a prosecutor’s heart thumping like an evidently non-descript mooch who
wants immunity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">2.
The FBI dug in. They began to
find things. When she said that no classified
material ever found its way onto her servers, she was right , except 113 classified
items WERE there and another 2000 that should have been classified, weren’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">3.
Now the President has a problem.
He is nearing the end of a failed presidency. He wants Mrs C to have his “third term.” But here we have the FBI finding information
about Mrs C that if it was about anyone else who handles classified material
would be a career-ender. And might get
that person a stylish new orange jumpsuit.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">You see, the FBI tends to take their “Fidelity,
Bravery, Integrity” motto almost as seriously as West Point’s “Duty. Honor.
Country.” Or “Semper Fidelis” for
Marines (a lot of whom find their way around Lunga Reservoir from The Basic
School to the FBI Academy). Or “Beat
Army” for the Middies. What’s a President
to do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Simple.
I’ve got a respected Attorney General (in comparison to her predecessor). I’ll leave it to her and her “professional,
career prosecutors. Problem solved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">4.
But Bill and Hill, they are belts and suspenders folks. So, as it becomes clear that the prosecutors
have a whole lot of damning stuff, it becomes necessary for the Attorney
General and former President Clinton to ‘just sorta happen to be in Phoenix for
a couple of minutes at the same time, on the same secluded patch of isolated
tarmac. Might as well amble on over to
the AG’s plane to uh,…er…swap pix of the grands, yeah, that’s it… and pass the
time of day. Just a couple of
minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Well, actually nearly 40. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">“Hey Mr President. How are the grandkids?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">“Great.
Gorgeous. Wanna keep on being AG
in a HC presidency? Gotta run, now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">And here we are, the
4<sup>th</sup> of July weekend coming up, perfect time for the AG to announce
that the investigation is over, the FBI report has been submitted to her, and
she and her pros have decided that there
is no “there” there. But </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;">somebody finds out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 115%;">Somebody ALWAYS finds out. Well not about the offer—that is something
that only tens of millions of jaded Americans like me, familiar with the
Clintons—could imagine. But, you see, whether
it actually happened or not, ….well, “.</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; line-height: 115%;">What difference does it make?" <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Here’s the
difference. When I was a “standards of
conduct officer” as a Marine Judge Advocate, and when I was teaching it, the
APPEARANCE of a conflict that did not exist was worse than a real conflict. Sooooo, now General Lynch has to go on TV and
say, there was no <i>quid pro quo</i>, but I’m
going to follow the recommendation of the FBI.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">5. Ghost of
Richard Nixon enters, stage left. When
he had a pesky problem keeping secrets from an independent prosecutor, he fired
the man. Well, actually, he ordered HIS
Attorney General,Richard Kliendeinst to do it.
General Kliendienst refused.
Nixon fired him, but Deputy AG William Ruckleshaus also refused and was
fired. At that point, Kliendienst and
Ruckleshaus prevailed on Solicitor-General Robert Bork, who was poised to
resign, to stay on and provide moral leadership to the DOJ, at the cost of
firing Cox—who was toast, anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">But that was 10 months or so before the missing
minutes became public knowledge. In
2016, this has to be put to rest now, before the anointing. No time.
No time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">So here’s the quandary facing Director Comey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">A. If he
forces General Lynch to make the announcement, it will probably be an
unleavened, salt-free, glutten-free announcement. Got the report. Read it. Thought about it, laughed about it, forgot
about it. “No you cannot see it! It is an advisory opinion protected from
disclosure by FOIA. Besides, if you
reeeeeeeeeally want to know what happened, you should ask the FBI, but they can’t
answer, cause I’m the boss and advisory opinions and FOIA………..” (Don’t want all
that "careless" and "unsophisticated" stuff out for the voters to see!!!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">B. Make the announcement
that will be the result General Lynch wants.
But show the world that you and the FBI did the job—with Fidelity,
Bravery, and Integrity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Even if the FBI had recommended charges, it was
always going to be a prosecutor—either General Lynch or one of her lads and
lassies who would do what the Pres and Bill and Hill wanted. “I have reviewed the recommendations of the
FBI, but it is always the prosecutors who have to make the final call…..no don’t
write that down, say ‘Directory Come decided that there was no prosecutable
crime."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">So, Comey put all the cards on the table, showed who
Senator Clinton really is, and was able to stay at the helm of the FBI to get
them through this mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">We owe him a debt of gratitude. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Post Script: Go back and re-read paragraph 3 of this blog
entry. Now, Consider Director Comey, this
morning, before the House: “<span style="color: #333333;">“One of the things I have learned in this case is that
the secretary may not have been as sophisticated as people would assume,. She
did not even have a computer in her office, for example. </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18pt;">I see evidence of great carelessness, but I do not see
evidence that secretary Clinton … knew she was doing something against the law.”</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sooooo,
not smart enough to figure out an i-Phone, but let’s give her the nuclear
launch codes anyway!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-10499533226648704612016-07-05T02:34:00.006-04:002016-07-05T12:26:20.822-04:00WILL THE REAL CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES PLEASE STAND UP?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">One thing I like about the internet is that it
exposes me to some people who are really, really smart. Misguided, but really smart. I try to bring them back to the true path,
but alas….. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">And occasionally—occasionally—they even make me
consider that, as hard as it is to imagine, maybe I’m, well, not wrong, nevah
hachee, GI, but maybe an order of magnitude or two from being as right as I
ought to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">One of those really smart people is Professor
William (Beau) Weston, the <span style="background: white;">Van Winkle Professor
of Sociology at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. (If Centre sounds familiar,
it is because it was the host to the 2000 and 2012 Vice Presidential debates.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Now, before I go any further, I ask
you to go on over to Professor Weston’s blog, <a href="http://gruntledcenter.blogspot.com/">Gruntled Center, </a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> and read his 4 July 2016 piece entitled “Brexit
Leaders Quit When They Realize What A Mess They Have Made” . And remember how you got there. You will probably want to go back from time to time. As I said, he does his damnedest to keep me humble--which is not as hard as it sounds, because he is a really good writer, and wicked smart, to boot. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Then c’mon back over here, because what follows is
my reply and a whole lot more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Welcome back, and awaaaaaay, we go!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I agree with Professor Weston in principle, which puts
me in an awful quandary.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">First, I must say that I am not so certain that,
concerning the British exit from the European Union, the alarmists are not just
yelling fire in a crowded theater in which there is no fire. Look how happy all the talking heads have
been in the past two weeks. To think
that one can project the long-term results of the British exit in only ten days
seems to me to be yet another example of punditry run amok. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">However, his cautionary note about the upcoming
American elections is valid. Our political system is badly damaged. As an
infantryman, I was tempted to say FUBAR, but that is probably excessive. But it IS about about to leave us with no
good choices to fill the office of President. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">\</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I cannot imagine myself voting
for Mr. Trump, but I will not vote for Senator Clinton, "wouldn't do it if you
(well, not you, Prof--you probably do not have one), if someone had the
apocryphal cocked and loaded pistol to my head." </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">And a vote for anyone else is
almost assuredly a vote for the Senator.</span></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I had the same emotional struggle in 1976, and made
the worst mistake of my life when I voted for a man who delayed and delayed the
plans to rescue our hostages because the Joint Chiefs would not give him a
written promise that no Iranians would be killed or injured in the process! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The late Professor Roger J. Champagne, my honors
American History professor at Illinois State in 1964, suggested that a major, perhaps the major,
cause of the Civil War was the failure of the American political system to put
real leaders into office in the 12 years prior to the election of 1860. It is now 28 years since we have had such a
President, and looking at what we have to select from this year, President
Lincoln's reputation as the greatest President since George Washington is
pretty safe. Shoot, these two duds make
Jimmy Carter and Warren G. Harding look attractive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">So, where is the American political leader with the
courage to stand up and say to the American people: </span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">We are in a
mess. I want to fix the mess. I need you
to work with me. Here's how we--you and I--are going to do it. The first thing we say to our representatives
and senators in Congress, is "Lead, follow, or get the Hell out of the
way. If you refuse to be part of the
solution, then you ARE the problem."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now, my fellow Americans, this is where your hard work comes in. If you join with me in this Great Crusade,
you are going to have to play fair with your representatives and senators. You see, we are going to have to demand of
them that they do some really scary stuff—for politicians. What I am going to ask of you and of them is
that we toss overboard a lot of the political wreckage that has littered the
deck of our ship of state in the past 28 years.
And you have to let them know that if they take up the challenge, if
they agree to work together to move us forward, you will resist the temptation
to listen to the interest groups that have done so much damage to our
nation. That when some of the things
they have to do will cause some temporary pain to you, individually and
personally, you will not retaliate. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">It
is time for the bankers and the union bosses and the talking heads of the media,
and all the special interest groups who want to use us to test their latest
wacky ideas—from unisex bathrooms to new forms of corporate welfare—to get out
of our way as we start looking out for the citizens of this great nation. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You know, it has always offended me that all the
people who want you and me to sacrifice to test those ideas, especially those
who claim to be interested in the poor, the uneducated or under-educated, the
people with real illnesses and real disabilities, what those of us who practice
the Christian faith will recognize as “the least of these, our brothers and
sisters,” are commanding six and seven figure incomes. You have to wonder--whose interests are they really furthering?</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">And because I want to be your President, and the Constitutional
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I’ll open the bidding. If you elect me, I will accept no salary
greater than the base pay of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And because the highest possible pay of our
most senior military officers is actually limited to about 75 percent of the
pay table maximum, that is all I will take.
And you’ll be throwing in a pretty nice house, so I won’t need the housing
allowance we give our troops. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">All in
all, I figure that I’ll “struggle and have to live on” less than one-third of
the well over half a million dollars of your taxes that President Obama is squeaking
by on. And I’ll make sure I pay taxes on
every dime of it.</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">And so will anyone who serves on my cabinet. The idea that service to our Nation doesn’t
require sacrifice is going to be obsolete.
Oh, I can hear my opponent
calling me unrealistic, saying that I won’t be able to get “the best and the
brightest” because they can make more in the private sector. </span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">OK. The best and the brightest we have had for the
last 25 years don’t have a very good track record, anyway. I guess we will just have to muddle along
without them, that I’ll just have to get by on the advice of people who are in
it to serve you. Your public servants
should want to serve, not profit, from serving you.</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now, what comes next. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">If you elect me, my primary domestic programs will
be fixing the economy so that people can get back to work.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">To do that, in my first 100 days, I will
propose a re-institution of Glass-Steagall, the act that split investment banks
from what you and I think of as banks.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">It
is time for the gamblers to gamble with their own money, not with yours.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the longer term, I will propose a complete
revision of our tax laws; I will propose that any federal income tax will start
at dollar one, so that every citizen has a stake in ensuring that federal
spending is absolutely necessary. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">If we
can convince you that we need twenty-five percent of every dollar you earn to
run this government, that is what everyone will pay.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">But if you decide that we need a nice Chevy
of a government rather than a big flashy Caddy, you will have to accept the
fact that a lot of the bread and circus programs that have been placed on your
shoulders since 1932 may have to go.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Entitlement programs may have to be cut--real entitlement programs, the gift of a generous people to its own citizens. NOT SOCIAL SECURITY AND NOT MEDICARE. These are not entitlement programs! To every citizen who was forced to pay social security and medicare taxes every working day of their lives, I promise you that not only will those programs remain in effect--at current levels--but we will act as if every Congress since the 73d Congress in 1932 had done the right thing by treating the Social Security taxes as an investment rather than a slush fund. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And the same goes for our military retirees. Your nation promised you certain benefits you earned by serving. We will treat our promises as promises and our well-intentioned gifts as gifts. And, for those who say this is unfair, that we are discriminating in favor of workers and soldiers, I will say to them what I said to a law-school classmate of mine who admired the benefits that would be mine IF I survived 20 years (or more in my case) of military service. "You are absolutely right. Let's go see a recruiter so you can get the same deal." It turned out that those benefits were not really all that great and his plans for his future did not include the possibility of being killed or wounded or sent to some really unpleasant places, populated with unpleasant people who were trying to kill him. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Let's keep going</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So, let's now take a look at foreign relations, I am all for
free trade.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the first 100 days, I
will propose a Trade Reciprocity Act in which we will effectively adopt as our
own the trade regulations of each of our trading partners.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">If they impose discriminatory conditions to
the importation of our American goods, services, products, businesses and,
ultimately, workers, we will apply their very own rules and schedules to anything
they want to export to us.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Or if they sell to a third party for sale to us, we will consider the third party to be the same as the originator. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">What could be
fairer?</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Each nation's products will be welcome here, so long
as they understand that if they subsidize their farmers and manufacturers so
that our goods are more expensive to their own people, we will ensure that there
is a tariff on their goods will make their goods as expensive as our own. But not a
penny more. No protectionism, just
fairness.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">If they decide to pay their workers substandard
wages, we will add back in the added cost of the fair wages we pay our own
people. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Next, when I was a young officer of Marines, there was a
stretch of time when the national pastime of many Middle Easterners was
kidnapping American citizens and holding them for months or even years. A classmate of mine was serving in the Middle
East on a joint US-Soviet peacekeeping force.
He told us how, one night, a couple of thugs who we had been assured by
the host government they could not identify made a mistake. They kidnapped a Soviet citizen. Soviet assets promptly tracked the kidnappers
down, killed them, and got their citizen back.
They had to “use up” a couple of
the host government’s people to get the information they needed, but, by golly,
it turned out that the host government knew exactly who the bad guys were and
where they were hiding. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Therefore, I will also announce as a new American
Doctrine the following: an attack on
this Nation or any of its citizens, whether at home or abroad, by any person,
entity or group that has any connection whatsoever, no matter how minor, with
any foreign nation will be considered an attack on the United States by that
nation and we will respond with the full power of the United States. Get your houses in order, control the
terrorists in your midst, or we will not only do it for you--we may have to level
your house in the process! Your choice.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Finally, the American frontier closed nearly 130
years ago. As the great American
historian Frederick Jackson Turner predicted, we are at a point in which, as
historians, we can see that our spirit as a nation has withered and begun to
devolve into a balkanized society of hyphenated Americans. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">We, as a Nation, have always had the blood of
misfits flowing in our veins. We are
descended from people who said, “We can do better, we'll start a Country of our
own”--and we did it! But we have been
resting on our laurels and that can only lead to the end of the American
Dream. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Accordingly, in my inaugural address, I will announce
that it is the policy of the United States to put American pioneers on the
planet Mars and bring them safely home by the end of the year 2030. To do so, we will ensure that our colleges
and universities have the wherewithal to provide a federally funded education
in any field of endeavor that will further meeting that target. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Understand, fellow citizens, any young
American who wants to study some arcane field of study that may further general
knowledge—Medieval French Literature, any of the “Studies” degree (pick your own adjective),
Sports communications-- will be free to do so, at his or her own expense. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">But we need engineers, and scientists, technicians,
and doctors and nurses and educators and social workers and historians to bring our Nation back to where it can
be a leader in creating our own experts, rather than robbing other countries of
their best and brightest. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The benefits to our Nation will be tangible. The
miniaturization that led to computers such as the i-phone, cardiac pace-makers,
artificial joints and limbs that are more than a peg leg or a hook, was
developed to get us to the Moon. We got Teflon
and new fire and wear resistant fabrics, and MRIs and CAT scans from the
Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. And
we will use federal aid to elementary, secondary, and college education. to create a society that will take us to the next frontier.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Finally, I will direct the Department of Education to
do two things. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">First, it will present to me, within 60 days of my
inauguration, proposed model legislation to transfer its functions to the
individual States. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Second, it will present to me a plan to disestablish
itself within one calendar year. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
cannot afford to spend tens of millions of dollars each year on a Department of
Education that does not educate a single child.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">From our earliest days, from the days of the Articles of Confederation
which preceded the Constitution, education has been a State responsibility.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Northwest Ordinance actually provided an
incentive to State and local control of education.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">It is time to give that back to the people who
know best what is needed to properly educate their children.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Oh, the Teachers Unions and the Government
Employees Unions may complain, but folks, you and I are going to take the
education of our children, the citizens who will govern our great Nation when
we take our well-deserved rest, out of the hands of the Union bosses and put it back
into the hands of the parents and neighbors of our children.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">It will not be easy.
It will require sacrifice from each of us. A dear friend of mine once observed that “The
best time to plant a tree is twenty-five years ago. The next best time is today.” Likewise, because no one planted the
necessary trees for us 25 years ago, we have to work in the open, with no
shade. We may not see the final greatness that this Great Crusade can bring
because it will take time, but if we do not take the first steps together, now,
who will.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Join me, as we take the first steps into the great
future that can be ours.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-64713348420218084132016-07-04T00:16:00.000-04:002016-07-04T00:21:57.489-04:00A THANK YOU TO THE VA FROM ONE GRATEFUL VETERAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Hi.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">My name is Mac and I have combat-related
PTSD.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">When I
am in a store or a restaurant, I always make it a point to ask to see the manager
when a clerk or server has done a good job.
You see, I know that it is human nature to complain when a service
provider fails to measure up, but the over-performers never get a word of
praise. And I have noticed that when I
return to a lot of these places, the standard of service across the board is
often improved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">The
Veterans Administration has taken some hard hits in the past year. As a result, there has been a lot of piling
on. On Facebook, I have seen an increase
in the number of Tee shirts criticizing the VA being offered for sale. Most of them are cheap shots. And it is a shame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">I know that there are bad actors in any outfit, and that includes the VA. Why government employees get bonuses for just doing their jobs is a puzzle--and obviously, an over-powering temptation to the corrupt few? But that is, I think, the exception, not the rule.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">I treat
at the VAMC, Coatesville, PA. They have
literally saved my life. And I give the
major part of the credit in my case to Laura Hertz, PhD. <b><i>Doctor Hertz is one of those people who give
human beings a good name.</i></b> I am sure she
could be making a lot more money treating the "beautiful people" suffering from the ravages of
too much money, too much success, and too much public adulation! Instead, she takes care of “those who have
born the battle”, and now enjoy, in my case, “Vietnam, the gift that keeps on
giving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Six
years ago, I came within about a pound and a half of trigger pull from taking
the easy way out. I’m still not sure why
that two-and-a-half hour struggle in a dark cold woods didn’t turn out the way
I expected it to, but it did. I ended up
in VAMC, Coatesville, in a program with some of the best men I have known. Together, we learned that when one man said “And
I figured that I was the only one who felt that way,” 15 or 20 other guys were
nodding and saying “Me, too.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Now, I
had been treating with Dr Hertz for about a year when this happened. The first night I was in the hospital, they
came and got me because “You have a visitor.”
It was after 2100, and I could not imagine who it could be. It was Dr Hertz, tears in her eyes, come to
apologize for “failing me.” Bless her
heart—why should she have seen it in our last session 6 days earlier when I
didn’t see it coming only 24 hours earlier? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
hardest part for me was to admit to her that for six months, I had been lying
to her.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Tough guy stuff, you know? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Oh, I’m fine.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Nah, no suicide thoughts,” I would say with
fingers crossed.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">How did that work out,
Marine?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">And at
the end of my in-patient treatment, I was fully prepared for her to say that
she did not want to treat me anymore. I
guess that “Never leave anyone behind” thing is taught in places other than Parris
Island, San Diego, and Quantico. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Why she can see so
deeply into things that are still cloudy to me I don’t know, but she does. Understand me, she can be tough as nails when
she needs to be, and because she has earned our respect, she can have the hard
Dutch Uncle talks with us when necessary.
Petite little fireball she may be, but she could teach some Gunnery
Sergeants a trick or two about presence and bearing. For the guys and gals in our group, she is as
accepted as any vet. She knows things
about me that no one on earth knows—and cares anyway. I guess that’s it: she cares anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">So…..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">First,
to the youngest batch of vets I say, “If the dreams, or the anger, or the
numbness, or the lack of trust shows up, get help. Take care of it now, with folks who understand. I assure you that it will be better to try
now than to wait for 40 years as I did.
It is like a boil, left untreated.
The putrefaction is going to come out anyway, but if you wait, it is
going to be some REALLY nasty stuff!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Second, the
vets I know at the VA are warriors who have, in many cases, been fighting the
good fight for nearly half a century.
There is no shame in asking for help.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Finally,
to the rest of you—your Department of Veterans Affairs is doing a pretty damned
good job. If you want to complain,
please be specific. The treatment
professionals—the Nurses who help a sobbing vet way from the commode where he
has just thrown up because the memories of shipmates lost got too bad, the
psychologists who spend multiple sessions getting to the root of one terrible
memory, the psychiatrists who make sure meds are the right ones in the right
amounts—they are doing a great job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">If there
is any legitimate complaint, it is this.
After the Arizona fiasco, Coatesville suddenly had all sorts of
construction of new offices where waiting rooms had been. Sadly, the offices seem to be occupied by new
bureaucrats monitoring other bureaucrats who monitor….well, you get my drift.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Tell your Congresscritters, your Senators,
that they should ignore the unions and the make-works and just get more docs
and nurses in place and then get out of their way. And shoot the accountants—the
idea that you can tell someone that it should only take 2.36458791 visits to
peel away a 40 year old onion of memories is, well, stupid. But I digress….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Instead
send us just one more Laura Hertz: she will amaze you, saving lives and earning
the undying respect and gratitude of the vets she saves!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-55173210267778492732016-07-03T00:12:00.002-04:002016-07-03T00:14:43.075-04:00THE FIRST PRAYER FOR OUR NATIONAL LEADERS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
I have heard it said by those who misread the First Amendment as a Constitutionally-mandated "freedom <i>from</i> religion"--something it never has been--that we as a people should be "<i>protected"</i> from the "modern imposition" of religion through prayer at the opening of each day's sessions of the House and the Senate. This is, of course, utter nonsense in so many different and distinct ways, but one of the most cynical is the assertion that the Founding Fathers had no interest in religion in general or the Christian faith in particular.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
In fact, the practice of opening legislative deliberations with prayer predates our existence as free and independent States by nearly two years. The record shows that when the first representatives to the First Continental Congress met for the first time, the question arose as to what should be their first action. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
John Adams, Esquire, of Massachusetts (later first Vice President of the United States and second President) proposed that before anything else, the Congress should be opened with prayer. Accordingly, Rev Jacob Duche, Rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia was summoned to offer opening prayer. After reading Psalm 35, he offered the following prayer--which still resonates <span style="line-height: 16.8px;">and is equally applicable to our</span><span style="line-height: 16.8px;"> current National leaders.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
"O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
Amen.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.8px; margin: 10px 50px;">
Reverend Jacob Duché<br />
Rector of Christ Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<br />
September 7, 1774, 9 o’clock a.m.</div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-22381380070147567232016-07-02T01:46:00.002-04:002016-07-02T01:46:38.666-04:00A PRAYER ON THE SUNDAY BEFORE INDEPENDENCE DAY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brothers and sisters: two hundred forty years ago,
just down the road in Philadelphia, the foundational American document declared
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .8in;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_men_are_created_equal" title="All men are created equal"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">all men are created equal</span></a><span style="background: white;">, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness" title="Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness</span></a><span style="background: white;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .8in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Declaration closed, as it had
opened, by placing the fate of the nation into the hands of God, declaring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .8in;">
<span style="background: #F9F9F9; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“We, therefore, the representatives of the united States
of America, in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Continental_Congress" title="Second Continental Congress"><span style="background: #F9F9F9; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">general
congress</span></a><span style="background: #F9F9F9; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,
assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our
intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Resolution" title="Lee Resolution"><span style="background: #F9F9F9; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">declare</span></a><span style="background: #F9F9F9; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, that these united
colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state" title="Sovereign state"><span style="background: #F9F9F9; color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">states</span></a><span style="background: #F9F9F9; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">; … and for the support
of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred
honor.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .8in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: #F9F9F9; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we meet to worship our Creator today, it is right
and proper that we turn to Him with prayers of thanksgiving, of confession, and
of invocation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let us pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Father, as we assemble in Your house, a house whose
walls shade the final earthly resting places of a score of men who gained our
independence with physical sacrifice, led by the very Shepherd you sent to them
for that purpose, we give you thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We thank you for<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A fertile land—a land of still waters and green
pastures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A land of plenty—in which the table you have set for
us groans with goodness and nourishment for our bodies from the fertile soil
you entrusted to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For a land of opportunity for all and not just a few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For a noble land that seeks, however imperfectly, to
be worthy of You, sacrificing over and over again blood and treasure so that
other lands, less fortunate, might have the <span style="background: white;">unalienable
rights, of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness" title="Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness</span></a>, and especially, the right to worship you
openly and without fear<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For all these—and more—for the many blessings You
have showered on us and the protections You have afforded us, we give You
thanks and praise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But Father, we also know that we, individually and
as a nation, have not lived up to the standard You expect of us. We have not always been a nation in which all
men are received as equal, having had to pay a blood sacrifice to free those of
your children whom we had treated as property rather than as brothers and
sisters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are a land in which many children—through no
fault of their-- own go to bed hungry at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are a land that, mainly for the sake of
convenience, allows three-quarters of a million babies to be aborted every year
without even acknowledging them in our official records and reports as deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are a land which has allowed—even encouraged--the
duties of parenthood to be casually tossed aside and placed into the cold
hearts and hands of a social and educational bureaucracies designed to hide You
or any mention of You from those very dear little ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are a land in which we have removed You from the
public arena, allowing worship of You and adherence to Your dictates to be
treated as if they are something shameful, something to be scorned and hidden,
rather than the expected norm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have lacked the courage to stand up to those who
hate You and to bring the good news of Your Son to people who hunger and thirst
for him without knowing for whom or what it is they crave -- because we have failed
Him and His Great Commission to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For all these failings, whether overt or latent, for
all these sins of commission and omission—and so many more-- we ask Your
forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, Father, having acknowledged our sin, our
weakness, our greed –we now pray that You will bring a new great awakening to
this land. Lead us back onto the paths
of righteousness for Your name’s sake.
Open our hearts, open our minds, refresh our spirits, that we may
eagerly take up the cross of your Son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Send us, Father, to Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth—across seas and mountains and deserts -- to share the good news of
Jesus Christ and Him crucified with those who do not know Him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But even more Father, send us to the end of
the block, send us 50 feet to our next door neighbors, on the same mission. Use us, Father, as your instruments to
restore this nation, use us to witness strongly and with courage to our
neighborhoods and communities just what it means to follow your Son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh dear heavenly Father, we thank you for Your
goodness, we crave Your forgiveness for our sin, and we earnestly desire that You
use us to serve You and your blessed Son, Jesus Christ, in whose strong and glorious
name we pray. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And the people of God say Amen
and Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-76751030118087068242016-06-30T00:04:00.004-04:002016-06-30T00:10:44.448-04:00THE HYPOCRISY OF THE LEFT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After the terror attack by ISIS in Orlando, we have
been deluged by demands from the loony left to “DO SOMETHING” about the
terrible epidemic of gun deaths in America!
A civilized nation simply cannot condone the decimation caused by guns. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Which got me to thinking.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Putting aside the inconvenient second
amendment to the constitution, in relative terms, how bad is the “gun tragedy?”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In 2013, the estimated number of
murders in the nation was <b>14,196</b>. There were <b>4.5</b> murders
per <b>100,000</b> people. (<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/...us/.../crime.../2013/cr"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://www.fbi.gov/...<b>us</b>/.../<b>crime</b>.../<b>2013</b>/<b>cr</b></span></a>...) <span style="background: white;">Of those
murders, “only” 8,454 were by firearm. (2.7/100K)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2009-2013.xls"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2009-2013.xls</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext;">) </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Please
note: </b>I do not mean to suggest that even
one gun death is not a tragedy for the victim or his or her family. When the
press marveled at the extremely low number of deaths during the 1<sup>st</sup>
Gulf war, I told someone who mentioned this “wonderful” result that “For the
nation, the losses were, indeed, light, but for the families of our honored
dead, they were crushing.” I write only
to point out the hypocrisy of the left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To put all of this into context, let’s look at some
statistics from the United States government (FBI and CDC). The leading reported causes of death in the
United States in 2013, the last year for which they have “final, complete”
statistics were:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Heart disease: 614,348<br />
2. Cancer: 591,699<br />
3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases:
147,101<br />
4. Accidents (unintentional injuries):
136,053<br />
5. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases):
133,103<br />
6. Alzheimer's disease: 93,541<br />
7. Diabetes: 76,488<br />
8. Influenza and Pneumonia: 55,227<br />
9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and
nephrosis: 48,146<br />
10. Intentional self-harm (suicide): 42,773<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">(<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm</span></a>)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next 5 leading causes of death in 2013 were: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">11. Septicemia <br />
12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis <br />
13. Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (hypertension) <br />
14. Parkinson’s disease <br />
15. Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gun deaths did not come anywhere close to the top 15.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then came Monday’s news that the Supreme Court had
declared unconstitutional the Texas law requiring abortion clinics to meet the
same standards as other ambulatory outpatient centers. In so doing, they also probably got rid of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s identical statute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And the left—especially the Democrat Party’s anointed
nominee—were ecstatic! T</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">hat was when
the hypocrisy of the left, of the pro-death bunch—really hit home for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You see, heart disease is not the leading cause of
death in the United States—nowhere near.
In<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: #FEFEFE;">
2012, the last year for which the CDC has complete statistics (or as complete
as possible--</span></span><span style="background: white;"> California,
Maryland, and New Hampshire</span><span style="background: #FEFEFE;"> refuse to
report abortion statistics to the CDC),<b>699,2</b></span></span><span style="background: rgb(254 , 254 , 254); font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>02</b> abortions were performed in the
United States. (</span><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6410a1.htm?s_cid=ss6410a1_e" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: #FEFEFE; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6410a1.htm?s_cid=ss6410a1_e</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: #FEFEFE;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>699,202. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>699,202 preventable deaths.</b> </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nearly 100,000 more deaths than
caused by heart disease.</span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Over 100,000
more deaths than caused by cancer. And 691,000 more than murder by firearm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But “hypocrisy’, you say? Well, let’s look at some background.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For over 40 years, the pro-abortion, pro-death
faction has claimed that one of the benefits of <i>Roe v. Wade </i>is that women need
to be protected from the pre-<i>Roe </i>back-alley butcher shops where hacks performed
unsafe “coat-hanger” abortions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They have been successful in their lie, so
successful, in fact, that the United States government has carried their water
for them by lying to the American people.
This is nothing new for the liberal, “we know better what is good for you
poor stupid people who want to ‘<span style="background: white;">cling to guns or
religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like [you] or anti-immigrant
sentiment or anti-trade sentiment</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But their true colors have come out
this week. They do not care about women’s health—they just want to continue to
run their highly profitable abortion mills with as few costs and safe-guards as
possible. And the less “costly” protections for patients, the better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2011, the nation was shocked and
sickened by reports from Philadelphia about </span><span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kermit
Gosnell, MD. Dr Gosnell operated an abortion shop that was reported to be more
like an1890s abattoir. According to the
Grand jury:<br />
<br />
</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the team members entered the clinic, they were appalled,
describing it to the Grand Jury as 'filthy,' 'deplorable,' 'disgusting,' 'very
unsanitary, very outdated, horrendous,' and 'by far, the worst' that these
experienced investigators had ever encountered. There was blood on the floor. A
stench of urine filled the air. A flea-infested cat was wandering through the
facility, and there were cat feces on the stairs. Semi-conscious women
scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting room or the recovery room,
where they sat on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets. All the
women had been sedated by unlicensed staff – long before Gosnell arrived at the
clinic – and staff members could not accurately state what medications or
dosages they had administered to the waiting patients. Many of the medications
in inventory were past their expiration dates… surgical procedure rooms were
filthy and unsanitary… resembling 'a bad gas station restroom.' Instruments
were not sterile. Equipment was rusty and outdated. Oxygen equipment was
covered with dust, and had not been inspected. The same corroded suction tubing
used for abortions was the only tubing available for oral airways if assistance
for breathing was needed…"</span></blockquote>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: 1.2pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to the grand jury report,
patients were given labor-inducing drugs by staff who had no medical training.
Once labor began, the patient would be placed on a toilet. After the fetus fell
into the toilet, it would be fished out, so as not to clog the plumbing. In the
recovery room, patients were seated on dirty recliners covered in blood-stained
blankets.</span> Prosecutors alleged
that Gosnell had not been certified in either gynecology or obstetrics. The Grand Jury estimated that Gosnell's
practice "took in $10,000 to $15,000 a night" additional to income
from his exceedingly high level of prescriptions, performing abortions, whether
the patients ultimately wanted them or not. (One “patient” who was 15 at the
time, told an ABC reporter <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Girl age 15, when she was accompanied by relative to
Gosnell’s office, she told Gosnell she changed her mind about the abortion.
Gosnell allegedly got upset, ripped off the patient's clothing, and forcibly
restrained her. The patient later stated that Gosnell told her "This is
the same care that I would give to my own daughter." She regained
consciousness 12 hours later at her aunt's home, the abortion having been
completed against her will.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: #fefefe; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gosnell was ultimately convicted
of the murder of </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">three infants who were
born alive during attempted abortion procedures, one count of involuntary
manslaughter of one of his abortion patients, Although he was not charged with
other deaths, the Grand jury opined that </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We believe, given the manner in which
Gosnell operated, that he killed the vast majority of babies that he aborted
after 24 weeks. We cannot, however, recommend murder charges for all of these
cases. In order to constitute murder, the act must involve a baby who was born
alive. Because files were falsified or removed from the facility and possibly
destroyed, we cannot substantiate all of the individual cases in which charges
might otherwise have resulted.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More shocking was the revelation
that twenty years earlier, officials in the Pennsylvania Department of Health had
been aware of the abysmal facts but had done nothing. The Grand jury reported:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Janice Staloski of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Health" title="Pennsylvania Department of Health"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">Pennsylvania Department of Health</span></a><span style="background: white;">, who personally participated in the 1992 site
visit, but decided to let Gosnell slide on the violations that were already
evident then. She eventually rose to become director of the division that was
supposed to regulate abortion providers, but never looked at Gosnell despite
specific complaints from lawyers, a doctor, and a medical examiner. After she
was nonetheless promoted, her successor as division director, Cynthia Boyne,
failed to order an investigation of the clinic even when Karnamaya Mongar died there.
Senior legal counsel Kenneth Brody insisted that the department had no legal
obligation to monitor abortion clinics, even though it exercised such a duty
until the [pro-abortion Republican Governor Tom] Ridge administration, and
exercised it again as soon as Gosnell became big news. The agency’s head
lawyer, chief counsel Christine Dutton, defended the department’s indifference:
'People die,' she said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Wow. Shades of Hillary Clinton's remarks about Benghazi: "What does it matter...?"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result of Gosnell,
Pennsylvania adopted Senate Bill 732, that
places abortion clinics under the same health and safety regulations as other
outpatient surgical centers. It was
essentially the same law which the Supreme Court found to be unconstitutional
on Monday. Among those who supported the
bill was Democrat</span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margo_L._Davidson" title="Margo L. Davidson"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Margo L. Davidson</span></a><span style="background: white;">, whose cousin Semika Shaw died as a result of
procedures done by Gosnell.<sup id="cite_ref-120" style="unicode-bidi: isolate;"> </sup>Davidson specifically linked her support for the
additional regulations to her cousin's death, which she attributed to poor
medical practices.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Predictably, the pro-death “Women’s
Legal Project”, self-identified as “<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>a
group of feminist attorneys devoted to equality and justice</span>” opposed the
bill and in Monday’s action, was one of the <i>amici </i>in the action. Their complaint about SB 732, only a
short-time after the Gosnell case hit the news, was “SB 732 requires safe,
accessible abortion providers to comply with the burdensome and costly
regulations now reserved for ambulatory surgical facilities, even though
abortion is much safer and simpler than surgeries commonly conducted in
ambulatory surgical centers.” (That must
have been comforting news to the victims of Kermit Gosnell.)<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, they’ve
gotten their way. Bring on as many
Kermit Gosnell’s as possible, so long as we can keep on killing the unborn for
profit.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, you will only hear about the wonderful
caring staff members who are helping women through this difficult time in their
lives.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These are the same folks who tell you that the
scourge of guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens is a “national tragedy.” <span style="background: #FEFEFE;">Soooo,
complain to me about 8,500 gun murders.
I’ll see you that 8,500 and raise you 691,000 more <b>intentional</b> deaths. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: #FEFEFE;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: #FEFEFE;">All in!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-51821809093268182692016-05-23T21:07:00.000-04:002016-05-23T21:07:57.238-04:00MEMORIAL DAY ADDRESS, 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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MEMORIAL DAY ADDRESS, 2016<br />Parkesburg, Pennsylvania Memorial Day Parade and Observance 22 May 2016</div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">Guest Speaker: Michael R. McCarty, LtCol, USMC (ret)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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I first want to thank you for allowing me the privilege of sharing this day with you.</div>
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I am a Marine. To my many friends in the Sister Services, I speak today mainly about Marines, your big brothers, because they are the men I have known and led, loved and cherished, for more than half a century. Take it as no mark of disrespect or lack of affection for any man or woman of any Service who has “seen the elephant.” I mean, I am forced to admit that the blood that flows in my veins is mostly Army, with a dash of Navy for seasoning.</div>
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I am a descendent of four veterans of the War for Independence, one from the War of 1812, three of the Civil War (in two generations—one a 12 year old drummer boy with Thomas at Chickamauga)-- and my Dad who was a Chief Pharmacists Mate, USN, who made five landings in the Pacific in WWII. I am the 11th combat veteran in that line, and my son, Lt Colonel Matt McCarty, USAF is the 12th. Two of the 12 were killed in action in the Civil War. (My prayer always is that the distinction of being combat veterans ends with us. But that is unlikely, for as the philosopher, Plato, wrote some 2500 years ago, “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”)</div>
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In his book, "Fix Bayonets!", Colonel John W. Thomason, USMC, wrote of his experiences as a Lieutenant of Marines at Belleau Wood during “The World War” (serving in what, some 50 years later, would be my battalion—1st Battalion, 5th Marines). He described an Embassy party he attended in Santiago de Chile seven years later where he met an Army Major of the General Staff who had also been in those woods in June1918.</div>
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The Major told him, “They looked fine, coming in there. Tall fellows, healthy and fit--they looked hard and competent. We watched you going in, through those little tired Frenchmen, and we all felt better. We knew something was going to happen…”.</div>
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It did! And sadly, in the next thirty days, the Brigade suffered 100 percent casualties, including over 1800 killed in action and another 9,000 wounded in action until it could be reported “Wood now US Marine Corps entirely.”</div>
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Recalling the conversation with the Army Major, Colonel Thomason continued:, “and we were silent, over Chilean wine, in a place on the South Pacific, thinking of those days and those men.”</div>
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Today, we mark the 150th Memorial Day remembrance. When I was a boy in northwest Missouri, my grandmother still referred to it as Decoration Day, appropriately enough because its foundation as a holiday came from the desire to place flowers on the graves of their honored dead by the Mothers, Wives, Sisters and Daughters, many of whom were also widows and orphans, of the of the fallen of the Civil War. Even now, nearly 70 years later, the fragrance of May lilacs and peonies take me back to our local cemetery, remembering the barked command “Firing Party, fire three volleys”, followed by my Dad playing taps on the battered old bugle of his Legion Post.</div>
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This is not a “happy” holiday. Commerce may have made it a day of sales and picnics and time off from work and school, playing on the shore or attending the release of the Summer’s new movies, but that is not its intent.</div>
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Rather, it is a sacred day, particularly so for a privileged few of us for whom some of the honored dead have names and faces and bring forth fond memories of “those men and those days.” It is a day when, in the words of a memorial stone on the campus of Illinois State University, we remember those who gave “all of their tomorrows for our today.”</div>
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In the intervening years since Thomason’s stories were written, we have had to begin numbering our wars: “The World War” became World War I after Pearl Harbor brought to us World War II. Next came Korea, followed by Vietnam, Gulf Wars I and II, and Afghanistan, as well as, in Thomason’s words, “scores of skirmishes in which a man can be killed as dead as ever was a chap in the Argonne”.</div>
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But the men (and now women) who have sacrificed their all remain the same: bone-tired but brave, resolute, funny, self-sacrificing, loyal, good-humored, … and above all, young. As the English poet Laurence Binyon wrote a century ago “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we remember them.”</div>
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Every veteran here has names that are special to him or her. Call them Buddies or Shipmates, Mac or Ski or Fitz ……….</div>
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or Lucas and Zimmerman, Chip and Tews, Unfried and Phipps and Wandro....</div>
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they are forever young in our hearts. PFC Jimmy Phipps, the third youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam, will always be to me the skinny, grinning Marine who laughed at life and then willingly gave it up for two others on that hot Memorial Day 1969 in what we called “the Arizona Territory.”</div>
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No one who has served in combat would ever call it glorious. It is the dirty, deadly, discouraging business of going about the profession of violence, with a perseverance and acceptance that it may be our lot, in Jefferson’s words, to “water, from time to time, the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots”.</div>
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My late wife always told me “You were never young after you came home from Vietnam.” That may be one of the reasons that we cherish this day, for when we remember them, a part of us is still young with them.</div>
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So, we pause today to thank God for, in James Michener’s words, “men such as these,” who fought on to the very end, so that, as Lincoln reminded us at Gettysburg, “government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, and for the PEOPLE shall not perish from the earth.”</div>
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The ones we remember today—no matter in which Service they served or which uniform they proudly wore—Navy or Air Force Blue, Army Green or the Forest Green of the Marine Corps: each of them can claim the motto that we Marines first learned and absorbed into our DNA at Parris Island, San Diego, and Quantico. Each and every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Coast Guardsman, and Marine who, for us the living, laid down his or her life on the altar of duty was, still is, and always will be ALWAYS faithful. May they rest in peace, these good and faithful servants.</div>
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Semper Fidelis.</div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-42880024720792966132016-05-14T20:37:00.002-04:002016-05-14T20:37:40.235-04:00THE TRAGEDY OF AN IRRELEVANT PRESIDENT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
One of my all-time favorite television series is <i>The West Wing.</i> As anyone who watched it knows, the last
season had an entirely different feel, as it covered the presidential race
between the two contending successors of President Jed Bartlett. Any time that the story returned to the White
House, there was an undercurrent of frustration in the remaining, second-string
staff and the President himself. The
source of that frustration was the increasing irrelevance of the incumbent
president.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The inexplicably stupid decision of the Obama administration
to take action on a non-problem that was sure to inflame the passions of the
American people --the “school restroom letter” – reminded me of <i>The West Wing.</i> This action seems to me to be an effort by
one of the most arrogant administrations in history to force the spotlight back
on President Obama. He and his staff
seem to be set on finding something –<i>anything</i>—to
remake what will surely go down in history as a failed presidency. A generation from now, when the first true
historical analyses of the Obama presidency are written, I suspect that they
will focus on the strange case of wasted opportunities to make real progress
and a perverse concentration on non-problems that divided, rather than united the Nation.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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President Obama’s first, and most important, two years in
office were wasted on forcing down the throats of the American people a “health
care” program that they neither needed nor wanted. Millions were out of work and had been
promised that the President would be laser focused on “Jobs, jobs, jobs!” Instead, while unemployment continued to
sky-rocket, he frittered away an opportunity to be a second FDR simply to
satisfy the left-wing loonies of the Democrat Party. That “Obamacare” is still disliked by more
than half the electorate—a level that will undoubtedly increase when the major
premium costs and the decrease in options hit in November of this year-- is the greatest evidence of Presidential hubris in action.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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An abysmal second term in which unemployment was decreased
by smoke and mirrors doctoring of the definitions of “unemployed” by the Labor
Department and wages remained stagnant was focused instead on placating the
most dangerous enemies facing this Nation since 1940. The myth of the “Iran Deal” was written,
probably with fingers crossed that the mushroom cloud would appear over an
American city during some other President’s term, to paint the President as a great statesman. Chamberlain probably had the same hope on his way back to London from his German effort.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And then, when all eyes were drawn to the 2016 race, the
first in American history, in which both candidates each had a greater “unfavorable”
than “favorable” rating, the President decided that <i><b>the </b></i>most important issue
still facing the Nation was forcing the people to allow people of one gender to
use restroom facilities of the other gender—and to use as the laboratory for
this exercise in social engineering the Nation’s public schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Why?” one asks. Why
do this and do this now?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I can only assume that it is one last effort to return the national
focus to Barack Obama. He cannot stand
his impending irrelevance and will do anything, no matter how dangerous or
outrageous, to stay in the spotlight until the bitter end.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-81561953602501047932016-03-24T15:51:00.001-04:002016-03-24T15:51:09.976-04:00A SUPREME COURT NOMINEE WE CAN LIVE WITH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have come to the conclusion that the prudent action for
the Senate to take is to consent to the nomination of the Hon Merrick Garland
to the United States Supreme Court. My
conclusion is purely pragmatic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, having read many of Judge Garland’s reported opinions,
I believe that he is a judge’s judge.
That is, he tries assiduously to apply the law to the facts of the case
before him. In that regard, he is a
judge of the same mold as the late Justice Scalia. Are they philosophically different? Sure, but that is not a disqualifying
attribute, and I suggest that Judge Garland is more intellectually honest than either Justice Sotomayor or Justice Kagan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Second, I suspect that if the Senate takes up the
nomination, it will tie the Warren Wackos in knots. We may see more Democrats than Republicans
voting against the nomination. Just read
the comments from the left. Intellectual
, judicial and legal qualifications be damned—all they care about is putting on
the Court a “woman of color,” someone who will increase the “diversity” of the
Court. As is usually the case of the
left wing of the Democrat Party, all they care about is the portrait, not the
qualifications.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Third, if Senator Clinton is elected, is there anyone who
does not think that the first thing she will do is ask the President to withdraw Judge
Garland’s nomination so that “the next President can make the nomination?” Of course she will and the President will acquiesce. And you can bet that she will pick some looney
tunes leftist, probably from the Ninth Circuit—the most often reversed of the circuit
courts. If the Majority Leader lets that
happen just to save face, he is not the citizen I always thought him to
be. He becomes just another Harry Reid!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally, it will stick a pin in the hypocritical rantings of
the Democrat Party—the party that ignored the outstanding qualifications of
Judge Robert Bork and scooped up the scurrilous Anita Hill in an attempt to
destroy Justice Thomas. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In fact, the Democrats have little use for the Constitution
and have once again attempted to re-write it to fit their own ends. Then Senator Biden argued in 1992 that the
confirmation of a Justice should be delayed so that the “next President”
(President Clinton, as it turned out) could make the nomination. It is only now that he thinks an essentially lame
duck President should make the call. It
leads me to suspect that a lot of Democrats are less than confident that
Senator Clinton will be elected. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, I am a conservative constitutionalist. The Constitution makes no mention of how long
the Senate may withhold a decision. In
fact, it does not set the size of the Court nor does it mandate any particular
number of Associate Justices. The
ability of the Senate to forestall a presidential nomination is just one more
of the checks and balances the Framers wrote into the Constitution to protect
the States and the People from an imperial presidency. The whinings of the Democrats notwithstanding, there is nothing Constitutionally wrong with delay. </div>
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However, it makes better sense to move forward on Judge Garland's appointment. The threat issued by Senator McConnell has worked. The President has nominated a centrist, to the
chagrin of his own Party. I urge the
Senate to take up Judge Garland’s nomination and to consent thereto.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-73161232882053598872016-03-08T12:14:00.002-05:002016-03-08T12:14:30.575-05:00THE TROUBLE WITH DEMOCRACY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am a life-long Republican.
I have voted in every general election (State/Commonwealth and federal)
as well as local, off-year, and primary elections since I reached the age of
22. (I was 18 in 1964, but the 26<sup>th</sup>
Amendment was not ratified until 1971.)
I have voted for only one Democrat for President—Jimmy Carter in 1976,
to my undying regret and shame—although I have split my ticket in many other
elections in order to vote for the person I thought best qualified.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And now, I find myself facing a moral quandary. I hold the sovereign franchise in the highest
esteem, especially because I have served with young men who, with their very
lives, defended the right to vote although they themselves were not yet old
enough to cast a ballot. I will vote in
an uncontested election for dog-catcher in honor of their sacrifice. But this year………<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why, I ask myself, is the choice being offered to the
American people so abysmal this year? On
one ticket, the choice so far is split between an unprincipled (“principle-less”)
liar whose moral compass is fixed only on what is best for her, and a
self-professed Socialist, whose platform is nothing more than “bread and circuses.” They got rid of the only candidate I could
have gladly voted for, Senator Jim Webb (with whom I served in Vietnam.) I would have split my ticket for him—in a
heartbeat. He is the only candidate in
either party who has moral courage and who saw fit to put himself … "between [our] loved home and the war's desolation!" <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In my own party, it now appears that a blow-hard game show
host with no political experience whatsoever may be our candidate. The only two possible counter-candidates at
this point are Senators who have never worked anywhere other than in government.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Why are there no more Thomas Jeffersons, Andy Jacksons, Abe
Lincolns, and Ike Eisenhowers? I propose
that there are two answers to that question.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First and foremost is the democratization of the nominating
process. The widespread change to
binding primaries in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s have, generally speaking,
been a disaster for our Country. Just
think of the candidates one party or another have been offered by use of the
primary: George McGovern, Jimmy Carter,
Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, and John Kerry for the Democrats. Only Bill Clinton was truly a sound
candidate, although if Ross Perot had not run, it is clearly possible that
George HW Bush might have won re-election in 1992. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Republicans have done a little better: Bob Dole and John
McCain, but they were not the strongest, most electable candidates. Only Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest
Presidents in my lifetime (I was alive when Harry Truman was elected in 1948)
and in our National history, came from a primary fight. So, two Presidents, Ronald Reagan and Bill
Clinton are the only top tier Presidents (out of 44) to have come to the
Presidency by way of the binding primary election process. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Think of the Presidents who have come from open conventions
in the strong president eras: Lincoln,
TR, Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, JFK.
Before that, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson were chosen by
people who were concerned with the political process or delegates to conventions, all of them people who were willing, in the favorite modern catch phrase so beloved of the
Democrat Party, to “compromise.” Eleven of 44, which is pretty good, when one
considers the totality of American history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Democrats learned their lesson after the McGovern
debacle and instituted the “super delegate” into their process. Although it still allows for run-away “democracy”
when a candidate garners enough votes from a few large states early in the
process, the threat or ability of Party professionals to block a clearly
incompetent candidate is usually there. I
say usually, because Senator Clinton is leading in delegates in part because she has
garnered the support of almost all Democrat super delegates who have announced
their preference. The Republican Party
also decided to use super delegates to a significantly lesser degree (not more
than three per State or Commonwealth and pledged to the candidate who won their
home vote). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Does anyone think that an open primary would come close to
nominating Donald Trump for President? I
pray not. But the "people" have spoken! To paraphrase, “presidential nominations are too
important to be left to the masses.” For
the historically illiterate, that is the exact reason for the Founding Fathers’
creation of the Electoral College.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is also another reason that the current system is so
fallible—the modern media. Really
qualified candidates, candidates who could become great presidents, are simply
unwilling to submit themselves and their families to the predatory, Pulitzer
Prize hunting, pursuit of every person with a cell-phone and a blog who thinks
that he or she is the equal of William Allen White and Woodward and Bernstein,
when they are really the direct descendants of William Randolph Hearst. Couple that with our modern society’s lust
for the vicious attacks that mark “reality TV,” and no reasonable person would
be willing to run. Yes, I know about “Ma,
Ma, where’s my Pa?” and “Continental
liar from the State of Maine!”, but the 19<sup>th</sup> Century electorate were
not bombarded with such tripe 24/7.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So…I hold out little hope for the next presidency. Perhaps the Nation will learn from its
necessary choice of the lesser of two evils in 2016 and opt for a return to the
open convention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the meantime, we can hope that the Bismarckian quip from
the 19<sup>th</sup> Century still holds true: “God watches over drunkards, fools,
and the United States of America.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-81938550785834561182015-12-26T21:29:00.000-05:002015-12-26T21:29:39.766-05:00LET'S PUT AMERICA FIRST<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holiday eves are a notorious time
for politicians to make announcements they hope no one will notice. On the evening before Christmas Eve, the <i>Washington Post</i> and <i><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/obama-deport-sanders-omalley-217132#ixzz3vTsP0t70">Politico</a></i> both reported that the Obama administration is finally
going to deport some of the criminal aliens who, in less anxious times, it
allowed to thumb their noses—or use another digit--to express their contempt
for our laws. This time, there will be
no sorting and even families will be tossed back over the border where they
belong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <i>Politico</i> story by Seung Min Kim
is headlined “Liberals outraged by Obama’s deportation plan.” Senator Clinton has “real concerns” about
this plan, according to her spokesperson Xochitl Hinajosa, and Senator Sanders
is “very disturbed.” (I was ready to agree, but
I think the spokesperson was characterizing the Senator’s reaction to the plan
rather than commenting on him in general.)
Governor O’Malley called the policy “mindless.” Really.
And he actually wants to be President of the United States. Maybe he should run for President of Central
America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, of course they are against it. The “hate America first” crowd is always outraged
or aghast or ashamed or concerned or disturbed or deeply disappointed when an
administration puts the interests of our people and Nation first. I know exactly what they mean by their
outrage, and to them I say “So what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One would think that getting rid of people who have made it clear that
they have nothing but contempt for American laws would be a good thing—and I
suspect that most Americans do feel that way.
The <i>Politico</i> article also reports that the number of law-breaking
foreigners and the number of foreign children trying to crash our borders has
drastically increased over the same period a year ago. Three times the number of families and twice
the number of unaccompanied children tried to cross our southern border in
October and November 2015 as in the same two months in 2014. And the number of deportations this year is
the lowest of any year in the Obama presidency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously the President has read the political winds and knows that he is
viewed as an appeaser on this issue.
Senator Clinton has a checkered history on the issue of deportation—she was
for it before she was against it—so anything to cool stories of Democrat love
for foreign criminals over law-abiding American citizens will help her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, according to the <i>Politico</i> article “<span style="background: white;">The
news, arriving on the eve of the holidays, sparked concerns and outrage from
Democrats and immigration advocates.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">” Sure it did. These are people whose primary concerns are
not for the American people but for the needs, safety, and security of a
bunch of people who have no right to be here in the first place and who actually cheat the people
from their own countries who have played by the rules and legally applied to
immigrate. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most telling comment from an “immigration
advocate” came from Ali Noorani who is Executive Director
of the National Immigration Forum. He
said, ““These are mostly women and children fleeing violence. Surely the Obama
administration has a better Christmas in mind than the threat of deportation
raids. To punish these families for our
lack of a functioning refugee program that meets the needs of Central America
would be a moral tragedy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there it is. He wants <i>our</i>
government to have a refugee program that meets the needs of Central America –
not the needs of the United States, not the needs of the American people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the Democrats want to
know why Trump has not disappeared, there is the answer: at least he puts Americans first. </span></span></div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-62971842832125095082015-12-24T17:35:00.000-05:002015-12-24T21:36:11.610-05:00WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yes, fans, </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Before we go to the entire Sappy Christmas Song of 2015, let’s
recap the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was looking like a repeat for the old pro, the Closer, that
Galveston Bay Gal, our own QG, throwing scorching 100+ MPH fast balls. But, sadly, she was disqualified on the best
grounds of all: Her final verses were
declared to be “Non-Sappy!” Yes, sports
fans, it really is all about that Blaze of Glory—He of fire unquenchable and unending
streams of life-giving water. Nothing sappy about that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So, QG gets the <b><span style="color: red;">“Reason For The Season” Award</span></b>, which ranks way above
the Sappy Christmas Song Award; I checked and that’s where the awards go
according to the ribbon chart in the PX uniform shop, right, RC?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rookie of the Year </span></b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">goes to Robin; she also gets the<b> <span style="color: red;">“Dear Kitten” ribbon (shredded). </span></b>Ava’s assistant judges, Gideon,
Uggie, Gracie, Jimmy, Jasper (Jazz) and Cleopatra were adamant in this regard. Larry Bird and Beaulero were just content to grab a little more alfalfa and go with the flow.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Drum roll, please………..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This year’s winner of the<b>
<span style="color: red;">Sappisimus Cum Louder Award</span><span style="color: #77933c; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span></b>is
Reformed Catholic—for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of
life, limb, and Christmas dinner for including in his award-winning stanza a toss
of the head to those who practice Rev Mrs RC’s noble profession. Explain it to the Session, you must.<b><span style="color: #77933c; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Finally, I claim the<b> <span style="color: red;">Tomorrow is a
Better Day Certificate </span></b>for showing up, playing my mandated one
inning, and doing it all at the last minute!
I’ll start sooner next year, Lord willin’ and the cricks don’ rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Aaaaaaaand NOW! The moment you've all been waiting for---The Sappiest Christmas Song of 2015. Take it away, Arlo……<b><span style="color: #77933c; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THE WORST NOEL<br />
By a truly demented group I am proud to call friends!</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The worst “No El” the
announcer did say<br />
Was to shoppers and tourists on Christmas Eve day.<br />
On Christmas Eve day, their lists now complete.<br />
As homeward they struggled, for cookies to eat.<br />
"No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we’re running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Mac)</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In a subway car stranded down in the ground</span></b><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">A motley group of people were found.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">A lawyer, a soldier and a stock trader</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">With a preacher, a teacher and a young hooker.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">"No El!, No El! No El! No El!"</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Jodi Harrington, aka, QG)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No cell phone service, the lawyer did cry,</span></b><b><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">The trader then fumed that no stocks he could
buy.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">They both commiserated each others position,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">That neither could speak with their office's
admin.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El, No El, No El, No EL!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The Preacher got up,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>who's with me</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>he said,</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">I'm exiting the car, gotta get me a sled.<br />
My daughter's expecting it under the tree,<br />
so I'm leaving this place, come on, come with me.</span></i><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El, No El, No El, No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Reformed Catholic)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The young hooker's name was Anna Marie</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Her dress was so skimpy her tats you could see</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">She shivered in the cold which the soldier did
see</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">And he gave her his scarf to cover her knees.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">" We must get out of here", they all
agreed</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">The soldier kicked down the door so all were
freed.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Finding the subway exit in the dark</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Would certainly not be a lark.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El ! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running no El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">(QG)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Down the street, in a house, the cats did not
care.</span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Their antics had left the tree all but bare.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">They decided to climb up the chimney with glee,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">When they peered out the top, a strange crew
they did see:</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El ! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, they're running no El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Robin)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The lawyer did use his phone then that night,<br />
the flashlight app did work and give them light.<br />
They walked along the track, "will it end" someone wailed,<br />
"It will end for you, stay away from the third rail".<br />
No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we're running No El!<br />
<br />
"Emergency Door", shown the light on the wall.<br />
They opened the hatch to get out one and all.<br />
On a street they did not know, but holiday lit,<br />
With a bunch of little kitties, on a chimney they sit.<br />
No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we're running No El!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All the houses save one, had their holiday theme,</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">One was
Santa's workshop, that one a Frozen meme.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Colored
lights, candy canes, reindeer and a sleigh,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">but not
one had a stable where Jesus lay.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El! No
El! No El! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">As they
walked along the lane, a wee house they did see,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Somewhat
shabby and lost, not a light or a tree.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Yet a
creche was setup, shepherds, camels and things,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">but the
manger was empty, someone took the young King!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El! No
El! No El! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(RC)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #77933c; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;">The
light of the lawyer's phone led their searching</span></b><b><span style="color: #77933c; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">For the
missing Baby, Jesus the King.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Anna
Marie searched under a wreath</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">And found
the Baby hidden underneath!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El !
No El! No El!! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">As the
darkness of night turned into daylight</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Led by
the preacher, awed by this sight,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Hand in
hand, the group began to sing</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">And their
happy chorus around the wee house did ring:</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Noel,
Noel, Noel, Noel</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Our King
has come, who needs an El?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #77933c; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #77933c; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #77933C; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">(QC)</span></span></span></b></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-20486643211933583942015-12-24T16:50:00.000-05:002015-12-24T17:30:45.739-05:00SAPPY CHRISTMAS SONG INTERLUDE: AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE WHILE IT'S IN THE HANDS OF THE JUDGES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, fans, that's a wrap. As the judges deliberate, here's a little ditty, an oldie but goodie, that some will appreciate more than others.</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Merry Christmas to the guys for whom Christmas Eve memories will always include An Hoa, and Go Noi Island, The Arizona and The Yellow Brick Road, Antenna Valley and Sherwood Forest. Hat's off to those who were in Hue City, the A Shau Valley, Khe Sanh, Mutter's Ridge, and "The Hill of Angels"--Con Thien. To our Doggie mates in Pleiku and the Central Highlands, The Parrots Beak and Ia Drang Valley. Hey, shipmates who were Brown Water Grunts in the Delta or spent Christmas after Christmas on Yankee Station: BZ, gents, BZ. And who could forget the guys who flew Linebacker I and II and Arc Light and The 12 Days of Christmas--and those who never lost faith in places like The Zoo and The Hanoi Hilton. Merry Christmas, brothers. Welcome Home.</span><br />
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Christmas Eve Sitrep<br />
5th Marines TAOR</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
(Translations available upon request)<br />
<br />
Oh, there's strange things done 'neath the Vietnam sun<br />
But the one that really jacked my jaws<br />
Was the night 'neath the moon, when the third platoon<br />
Gunned down Ol’ Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
We’re the Marines, winter nights we’ve seen,<br />
From Wake to the frozen Chosin,<br />
Our lines were tight, pre-planned fires were right<br />
And ready to be called real close in.<br />
<br />
We had 81s and naval guns.<br />
60 mortars were ready to crack.<br />
We had an Ontos or so, and an arty FO'<br />
With H&Is back to back.<br />
<br />
T’was a Silent Night, and nary a light<br />
broke the Arizona’s black mantle,<br />
Except for a flare, o’er Hill 200’s air—<br />
Recon’s Christmas candle.<br />
<br />
No Yuletide logs, in paddy bogs,<br />
But the ceasefire was holding well.<br />
‘Course after Tet, you could pretty well bet<br />
Uncle Ho just might still raise some hell.<br />
<br />
Then I froze where I stood, 'cause out of the wood,<br />
Eight horses came charging along.<br />
This may sound corny, but those mustangs looked horny,<br />
“My God,” I thought, “cavalry Cong.”<br />
<br />
They were coming our way pulling a . . . sleigh?<br />
Damn, you never know what they will use.<br />
Our LP’s twice clicked and our flares all were tripped,<br />
And our claymores blew a fuse.<br />
<br />
We let him get close, then I yelled, "Who goes?"<br />
Like they do in the movie show.<br />
The answer we got, believe it or not,<br />
Was a hearty, "Ho, Ho, Ho".<br />
<br />
Now these troops of mine had seen some time,<br />
They'd done lots of things back-assward.<br />
They may be thick, but I'll tell you a trick,<br />
They knew that wasn't the password.<br />
<br />
The "foo gas" roared, the 81s soared,<br />
The ‘bloopers” sure raised hell.<br />
A bright red flare flew through the air,<br />
So we fired our FPL.<br />
<br />
I'll give him guts, yep, that man was nuts,<br />
Or I'm a no good liar,<br />
But he dropped like a stone in our killing zone.<br />
'Til I passed the word, "Cease fire".<br />
<br />
I went out and took a real good look,<br />
My memory started to race;<br />
My mind plays games when it comes to names,<br />
But I never forget a face.<br />
<br />
He was dressed all in red, and he looked well fed,<br />
Older than most I'd seen.<br />
He looked right weird with that long white beard,<br />
And stumps where his legs had been.<br />
<br />
He hadn't quite died when I reached his side,<br />
But the end was clearly in sight,<br />
I knelt down low and he said real slow,<br />
"Merry Christmas, and to all a good night."<br />
<br />
So, I picked up the hook and with a voice that shook,<br />
Said, "Gimme the six, rikki-tick."<br />
"Skipper", I said, "Hang onto your head,<br />
Well…we just sorta greased Saint Nick."<br />
<br />
Now the Skipper's cool, he's nobody's fool,<br />
Right off he knew the word.<br />
If this got out, there'd be no doubt,<br />
We’d have no “Freedom Bird.”<br />
<br />
"Just get him up here and we'll play it by ear,<br />
Make sure he's got a S-2 tag;<br />
Bust up that the sleigh; drive those reindeer away,<br />
And fer gosh sakes bury that bag."<br />
<br />
Now back in the World, little kids are curled<br />
in their beds awaiting first light.<br />
Then their folks they’ll wake, and for the tree they’ll break<br />
Expecting a glorious sight.<br />
<br />
Instead, by and by, those kids will cry,<br />
“Huh, nothing's under the tree!”<br />
'Cause, the word just came back, from FMFPAC,<br />
That Santa has gone VC.<br />
<br />
Oh, there's strange things done 'neath the Vietnam sun<br />
But the one that really jacked my jaws<br />
Was the night 'neath the moon, when the third platoon<br />
Gunned down Ol’ Santa Claus.</span></div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-65687786369323624982015-12-23T23:51:00.001-05:002015-12-23T23:51:45.766-05:00SAPPY CHRISTMAS SONG: LAST CALL FOR CONTESTANTS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The latest iteration of the Sappy Christmas Song Contest. It goes into the record books at Noon, EST on 24 December. If you are from Chicago, follow Reformed Catholic's example: Enter Early and Often!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THE WORST NOEL<br />
By a truly demented group I am proud to call friends!</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The worst “No El” the
announcer did say<br />
Was to shoppers and tourists on Christmas Eve day.<br />
On Christmas Eve day, their lists now complete.<br />
As homeward they struggled, for cookies to eat.<br />
"No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we’re running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Mac)</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In a subway car stranded down in the ground</span></b><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">A motley group of people were found.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">A lawyer, a soldier and a stock trader</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">With a preacher, a teacher and a young hooker.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">"No El!, No El! No El! No El!"</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Jodi Harrington)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No cell phone service, the lawyer did cry,</span></b><b><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">The trader then fumed that no stocks he could
buy.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">They both commiserated each others position,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">That neither could speak with their office's
admin.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El, No El, No El, No EL!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The Preacher got up,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>who's with me</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>he said,</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">I'm exiting the car, gotta get me a sled.<br />
My daughter's expecting it under the tree,<br />
so I'm leaving this place, come on, come with me.</span></i><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El, No El, No El, No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Our first two-fer from Reformed Catholic)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The young hooker's name was Anna Marie</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Her dress was so skimpy her tats you could see</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">She shivered in the cold which the soldier did
see</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">And he gave her his scarf to cover her knees.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running No El!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">" We must get out of here", they all
agreed</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">The soldier kicked down the door so all were
freed.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Finding the subway exit in the dark</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Would certainly not be a lark.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El ! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, we're running no El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">(Another two-fer
from QG for a hat trick! And the crowd
goes wild!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Down the street, in a house, the cats did not
care.</span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Their antics had left the tree all but bare.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">They decided to climb up the chimney with glee,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">When they peered out the top, a strange crew
they did see:</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No El! No El! No El ! No El!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Subways are closing, they're running no El!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(And Robin enters the fray—if my Sis is the
judge, you’ve got the cat edge)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The lawyer did use his phone then that night,<br />
the flashlight app did work and give them light.<br />
They walked along the track, "will it end" someone wailed,<br />
"It will end for you, stay away from the third rail".<br />
No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we're running No El!<br />
<br />
"Emergency Door", shown the light on the wall.<br />
They opened the hatch to get out one and all.<br />
On a street they did not know, but holiday lit,<br />
With a bunch of little kitties, on a chimney they sit.<br />
No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we're running No El!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-align: start; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> (Two more
from Reformed Catholic)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-87899721501159536282015-12-20T20:33:00.000-05:002015-12-20T20:33:12.689-05:00SAPPY CHRISTMAS SONG -- BREAKING NEWS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THE WORST NOEL<br />
By a truly demented group I am proud to call friends!</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The worst “No El” the
announcer did say<br />
Was to shoppers and tourists on Christmas Eve day.<br />
On Christmas Eve day, their lists now complete.<br />
As homeward they struggled, for cookies to eat.<br />
"No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we’re running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Mac)</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In a subway car stranded down in the ground</span></b><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">A motley
group of people were found.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">A lawyer,
a soldier and a stock trader</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">With a
preacher, a teacher and a young hooker.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">"No
El!, No El! No El! No El!"</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running no El."</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #00b050; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Jodi Harrington)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No cell phone service, the lawyer did cry,</span></b><b><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">The
trader then fumed that no stocks he could buy.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">They both
commiserated each others position,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">That
neither could speak with their office's admin.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El, No
El, No El, No EL!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">The
Preacher got up,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i style="text-align: start;">who's with me</i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="text-align: start;"> </span>he said,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<i style="text-align: start;"><span style="background: white;">I'm exiting the car, gotta get
me a sled.<br />
My daughter's expecting it under the tree,<br />
so I'm leaving this place, come on, come with me.</span></i><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El, No
El, No El, No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Our first two-fer from Reformed Catholic)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The young hooker's name was Anna Marie</span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Her dress
was so skimpy her tats you could see</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">She shivered
in the cold which the soldier did see</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">And he
gave her his scarf to cover her knees.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El! No
El! No El! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">" We
must get out of here", they all agreed</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">The
soldier kicked down the door so all were freed.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Finding
the subway exit in the dark</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Would
certainly not be a lark.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El! No
El! No El ! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, we're running no El!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">(Another two-fer
from QG for a hat trick! And the crowd
goes wild!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Down the street, in a house, the cats did not
care.</span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Their
antics had left the tree all but bare.</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">They
decided to climb up the chimney with glee,</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">When they
peered out the top, a strange crew they did see:</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">No El! No
El! No El ! No El!</span></span><br style="text-align: start;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">Subways
are closing, they're running no El!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #669900; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(And Robin enters the fray—if my Sis is the
judge, you’ve got the cat edge)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276267521101080166.post-48368855445079595302015-12-19T13:30:00.002-05:002015-12-19T13:56:42.532-05:00THE GREAT SAPPY CHRISTMAS CAROL CONTEST OF 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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About ten years ago, before that Mostest Excellentest Texas Blogger, Quotidian Grace (aka, Jody Harrington), took a sabbatical from
blogging for Grandma duties (a wonderful example of priority-setting and moral
stewardship), she sponsored a wonderful seasonal event on her blog: </div>
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<b><span style="color: #274e13;">The Sappiest
Christmas Song Contest.</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As one who tied for second place in 2009 and received </span><b style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #993300; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
Country Music Wannabe Award</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">(“… to Mac, who managed to send in lyrics that
mentioned killing pets, prison, Bubba, pardons, Momma and a train in the same
stanza! We are not worthy of such talent.</span>”), I miss that ancient and
honorable tradition. [</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">NOTE TO
LOVERS OF MOMMAS AND FUZZY CREATURES, in a tasteful pastel color</span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">:</span><span style="color: #333333;"> my lyrics were based on a theme from David
Allen Coe’s classic “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”, recognized far and
wide as the most perfect Country and Western song ever written.] <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But, I digress.
In the immortal words of Alvin, Simon and Theodore, themselves pretty
good Christmas singers, </span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“Let’s do
it again!”</span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Here are QG’s original rules, slightly updated:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Welcome
to QG's Fourth Annual Sappy Christmas Song Contest!</span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">~applause
applause~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">The
contest is inspired by the <a href="http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/#The%20rules"><span style="color: #669900; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Contest</span></a> and
its motto:<i>"where w.w.w. means wretched writers welcome!" </i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">Each
year my Gentle Readers are invited to contribute their own deathless lyrics in
a group effort to create the sappiest, most sentimental and generally execrable
Christmas Song of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Here are the rules of the contest:</span><br />
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<!--[endif]--></span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">Mac
will post his beginning stanza. If your muse is with you, add a stanza or
lines of your own in the comments.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">Mac
will post updates as the 2015 Sappy Christmas Song evolves and you may continue
adding verses in the comments.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;">When,
in the sole judgment of Mac, the Song seems complete, or I am tired of it, the
entire song will be posted and prizes will be awarded. The prizes will be
inspired by the contributions--so be creative!”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This
year's Sappy Christmas Song will be sung to the tune of </span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><a href="http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/h/h078.html"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none;">The First Noel.</span></a></span></b><b><span style="color: #669900; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-angle: 13500000; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shade-linearshade-fscaled: no; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-shadetype: linear; mso-style-textfill-fill-gradientfill-stoplist: "0 \#3A5E00 -1 100000 shade=30000 satm=115000\,50000 \#588900 -1 100000 shade=67500 satm=115000\,100000 \#6AA400 -1 100000 shade=100000 satm=115000"; mso-style-textfill-type: gradient;"><br />
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<!--[endif]--></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #006600; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And....HERE'S THE FIRST STANZA:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The worst “No El” the announcer did say<br />
Was to shoppers and tourists on Christmas Eve day.<br />
On Christmas Eve day, their lists now complete.<br />As homeward they struggled, for cookies to eat.<br />"No El! No El! No El! No El!<br />
Subways are closing, we’re running no El."<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02067844122370343813noreply@blogger.com4