Memorial Day

All gave some, and some gave all.

Today marks the day that we observe Memorial Day, the day we pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our great nation. In that regard, I want to pay tribute to one individual in particular today, Corporal John Henry Pruitt, US Marine Corps.

A member of the 78th Company, 6th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, during World War I, Cpl. Pruitt single-handed attacked 2 machineguns, capturing them and killing 2 of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners in a dugout nearby. For this action Cpl. Pruitt was awarded our nations highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and was also awarded the Army Medal of Honor. This gallant soldier was killed soon afterward by shellfire while he was sniping at the enemy.

All gave some, and some gave all.

All men and women who have worn the uniform have given some, for which I am eternally grateful, but today is the day we honor those who have given all, such as Cpl. Pruitt. This nation is what it is today because of such men and women who selflessly made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom. I am truly humbled to know that there have always been, and always will be, those who will do what is necessary without thought of self, without thought of medals, without thought of "glory".

To them the Bible verse, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.", truly applies

One other thing of note today

I almost forgot!

One year ago, Rick Santelli came out with possibly one of the greatest rants of all time. Why do I say that? Because it inspired the nation wide Tea Party movement, which is bringing real hope, and will bring real change to America this coming November.

Thanks, Rick!



Via Ace

Two things of note today

One is, today is the anniversary of the shot heard 'round the world, as the first shots were fired in Lexington that led to the birth of this nation.

I am so privileged to have been born in this country. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I had been born elsewhere. Is my life easy? Not always, but in comparison to the lives of others, I'd have to say, yeah, it is. Ever since I really woke up to what it's like to be an American (thanks in part to President Ronald Reagan), I have tried my best not to take for granted what a privileged life I do have. I admit that I haven't always been successful at that, but with recent events, my determination has become stronger than ever as I see some attempting to diminish what we all have here. To honor those who stood for freedom on that day in Lexington, and later in Concorde, let us all strive to hold what we have and make it better, and prevent those that wish us to live in a diminished country from achieving that dubious goal.

The other is, today is also the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Timothy McVeigh perpetrated one of the worst domestic terrorist acts in US history when he exploded that bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, 22 of them children (3 were unborn). In jis twisted mind, McVeigh was striking back at a corrupt government that he felt had overstepped its bounds (in the totally inept mishandling of the Waco, Texas situation with David Koresh and his Branch Davidian group)..

Today we see a government that is truly overstepping its bounds, trampling the Constitution seemingly at every turn, and ridiculing the citizens of this country for having the temerity to say "STOP!", as if they were stupid little children who don't know what they are talking about. Well, contrary to the elitists "popular beliefs", we do know what we are talking about, and you are right to fear us. But, except for the odd nutjob who doesn't care who he hurts as long as he hurts "someone", you elitists don't have to fear physical violence, ala McVeigh. Rather, you should fear for your political future, as we tell you exactly how we feel about your "hope" and "change" agenda this coming November when we vote you, and your agenda, out of office.

We have had 234 years of peaceful "regime change", as the Founding Fathers envisioned and set up, and that is how it should continue. I earnestly hope and pray that you elitists won't do anything rash to hamper that process.

Via specialrpt posting in quicknews, and Ace

The law of unintended consequences bites Dems in the ...

Via Allahpundit at Hotair, via LC Subotai Bahadur, is a story in the NYT that would be pure comedy gold if it didn't concern the HCR rape of the American health industry bill, signed into law three weeks ago.

Why the law of unintended consequences has been invoked here is, that the new health care law will affect almost every American in some way. And, perhaps fittingly if unintentionally, no one may be more affected than members of Congress themselves.

In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the “personal health insurance coverage” of senators, representatives and their staff members.

For example, it says, the law may “remove members of Congress and Congressional staff” from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available.

And the money quote from the article, something that everyone who voted for this piece of excrement bill should be made to answer -

The confusion raises the inevitable question: If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans? [Emphasis mine]

In a word, that would be a "No". How could they when they couldn't be bothered to read the stupid thing to find out just what exactly was in it? Oh, and who do we have to thank for this possibly not quite so unintended consequence?

The provision governing members of Congress can be traced to the Senate Finance Committee. When the panel was working on the legislation last September, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, proposed an amendment to require that elected federal officials and all federal employees buy coverage through an exchange, “rather than using the traditional Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.”

Kudos to you, Senator! Now we just have to pressure Congress to not "fix" this, so that they are all forced to deal with the real life issue of obtaining health insurance for themselves and their families, just like the rest of us.

Perhaps because of this (but probably not), those in Congress will actually take the time to draft coherent legislation, that all other members get to actually read and debate, and that the American electorate will get to comment on.

Oh, wait ... I'm looking ahead to November. Sorry.

A Real American who Offers Genuine Hope

We need this guy! Right now!



H/T pistos

Polish leader, 95 others dead in Russia jet crash

MOSCOW (AP) — Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died on Saturday when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia, killing 96, officials said.

Russian and Polish officials said there were no survivors on the 26-year-old Tupolev, which was taking the president, his wife and staff to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police.

The crash devastated the upper echelons of Poland's political and military establishments. On board were the army chief of staff, national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said.

My heart goes out to those who perished, their friends and family, and to the Polish people.

May they all rest in peace.

Jane Fonda still thinks she is a victim of a "myth"

In a recent interview with Larry King on CNN, where the subject of a book written by a Jane Fonda (aka "Hanoi Jane") apologist was discussed, Hanoi Jane reasserted her position that she is the victim of right-wingers perpetuating a "hateful myth" about her, the "myth" being that she was wrong in her actions on her trip to Hanoi during the Vietnam War..

I have one question for Hanoi Jane. What part of you allowing yourself to be used by the North Vietnamese government in a photo op bit of propaganda, showing you sitting at the trigger controls of a 37mm anti-aircraft cannon, wearing a North Vietnamese Army helmet, close to the main POW prison known as the Hanoi Hilton, is a myth? That is a well documented - by the North Vietnamese government - reality!

You, as a famous American actress, daughter of Henry Fonda, one of the biggest American film stars of all time, gave aid and comfort to the enemy (aka treason) of that time, hurting our efforts to assist the people of South Vietnam against the aggression of the North, also causing harm to those held captive by the North, as well as causing harm to our combat troops in the South, and you call yourself a victim?

The only victims here are the millions of Vietnamese people who suffered greatly at the hands of the Communists after the fall of South Vietnam, along with the combat troops who endured much hardship because of your visit, as well as the POWs who were treated even more viciously after you left North Vietnam, not you! As a matter of fact, after you returned to the United States, somehow you managed to carve out a pretty successful career, making millions of dollars in the process, in spite of your tarnished reputation. I would hardly call that being a victim of anything.

As for your claim that it is right-wing haters that are perpetuating a "myth", I highly doubt that ALL combat veterans of the Vietnam War are right wing, which is basically what you are claiming. I want you to know one thing Hanoi Jane. In spite of your past feeble "apology", I don't hate you - I loathe and detest you, but I don't hate you, as hate in my mind carries the implication of violence leading to violent death. I personally don't want you to die a violent death, as that is morally reprehensible, but upon your death, I will not shed a single tear of sadness.

Times On Line to start charging this summer

ONLINE readers will be charged £2 a week to read The Times and The Sunday Times on the web from June, News International announced today.

That would be the London Times, not the NYT ... just to clarify.

That's disappointing in that much of the stories on ClimateGate have been in the Times, plus other articles of interest.

So, it would be much appreciated that if you get a paid subscription, and post something you find in the Times, that you would copy/paste the story - or at least the relevant parts - so that those of us who do not have a paid subscription will know what the heck you are talking about.

Kthxbye.

Via doubleplusundead

November can't come soon enough!

BHO signed the "Health Care Reform" bill this morning, and that changes everything, and not for the better.

This bill, if allowed to stand by the courts, will mean that:

- the relationship between the American people and the federal government will have forever been changed, as a vast majority of us will end up being dependant upon the government, rather than our own resources, which is never good (look at France and Greece for "good" examples of what happens) ;
- over time, more and more employers will opt out of providing employer-sponsored health care for their employees, which in turn will make people clamor for a "solution to this problem" from the government, which will in turn lead to a single payer system through the government, leading to a vast swathe of the insurance industry going out of business;
- with employers being forced to provide health insurance for every employee (including part-timers) or face a fine for not doing so, many employers will simply let people go in order to lower their costs, and unemployment is too high right now (I should know, as I fall in that category right now);
- with higher unemployment, the bad economy that we are all facing now will only get worse.

To sum up, this bill needs to be repealed as soon as we can possibly do it, if the courts fail to strike it down as unconstitutional. That action won't happen today or tomorrow, and that's why I say that November can't come soon enough!

Microsoft exec pitches Internet usage tax to pay for cybersecurity

As reported here, [a] top Microsoft executive on Tuesday suggested a broad Internet tax to help defray the costs associated with computer security breaches and vast Internet attacks, according to reports.

Speaking at a security conference in San Francisco, Microsoft Vice President for Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney pitched the Web usage fee as one way to subsidize efforts to combat emerging cyber threats -- a costly venture, he said, but one that had vast community benefits.

"You could say it's a public safety issue and do it with general taxation," Charney noted.

The guy that proposed this little wonder idea probably makes enough money that another little tax wouldn't even be noticed by him (his accountant might, but not him). Hey, Charney! Instead of levying another tax on people who are fed up to here with taxes, why doesn't your company make a product that isn't vulnerable to cyber attack?

Full disclosure here - my computer has Windows XP Pro on it, and of all of the MS operating systems I've used over the years, from the old DOS days to now, this is the best one I've used (will not go near Vista, and haven't had a chance, or the money to try Win 7 yet). But, even though I think it's a really good OS, your company is constantly having to create patches for vulnerabilities. I quit counting after the 40th patch downloaded to my computer.

Here's an idea, one you guys probably have never thought of. Instead of trying to put those hackers that keep finding holes in your products in jail, why don't you hire them to test your product before it gets shipped to market? Have them document every hole they find, so the code writers can eliminate the holes, and when everyone is done, you'll have a fairly secure product.

Oh, wait ... that's too logical for those pie-in-the-sky idiots that work across the lake from me. Never mind.

A few comments on the health care "forum"

Since I currently have quite a bit of time on my hands, I've been kind of keeping tabs on the "debate" that has been going on today over health care "reform".

So far, the Repub's have been staying on message, and on specific topics per speaker. Apparently, they all got together and hashed out what each of them was going to focus on, which imo, is a splendid idea, and seems to be working quite well.

One thing that has the conservative bloggers "up in arms" is the fact that BHO and a couple other Dems spoke for around thirty minutes, but cut our guy off at less than fifteen minutes. Not fair, but at least to me, not unexpected.

One guy on our side of the "debate", Rep. Paul Ryan (who gave a clear "road map" a while ago that the Dems have been trying to denigrate) has really shone, and in the clip below, he takes BHO to the woodshed, and BHO has to just sit there and take it. Good stuff.



Via Ace.

This kind of stuff doesn't help

Disabled children -- God's punishment, lawmaker claims

Disabled children are the Lord's punishment for women who "abort the first born," a Republican state legislator from Virginia has argued in calling on state officials to eliminate state money going to Planned Parenthood.

Trying to make the case for cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood is all well and good, but this kind of stuff doesn't help, as all it does is allow the opposition to point and say, "SEE! We're right! They ARE a bunch of religious nut cases! What did we tell you?".

Sigh ...

State Dems ignore the will of the People

Again.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington state Legislature passed a temporary suspension of Initiative 960 Monday night, just ahead of House and Senate Democrats unveiling their budget proposals.

Temporary? Supposedly until July of next year, but when did any legislature - local, state or federal - do anything that allows them to raise taxes on a temporary basis? Anyone? *crickets*

I-960 makes it harder for lawmakers to raise taxes or to close tax exemptions, which is why the Democratic majority needs it to be suspended.

Budget writers want a mix of spending cuts, tax increases and one-time fixes to fill a $2.8 billion deficit. But Initiative 960, approved in 2007, requires two-thirds approval from legislators to raise taxes - a significant hurdle compared with the simple majority needed to pass other measures.

We passed that Initiative for a reason. That reason is that our state legislature is in the habit of spending too much of our money on things that very often do not work, and the Dems don't like not being able to spend OUR money as they see fit - kind of like Congress on the federal level.

"This is just the beginning," said Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood. "This is the catalyst that will be used to raise all sorts of taxes."

That's right. Because the Dems hold both state houses, and the governorship, we in Washington State can expect that not only will our taxes go up, but that "temporary" thing? It'll become permanent, as the state Dems ignore the will of the People of the State of Washington.

Again.

Just a brief PSA

It's almost Census time again, folks, and although the Census Bureau has stated that the questionnaire is much shorter this year (10 questions), Walter E. Williams over at TownHall reminds us of what the Census is for (determining the number of people in the country, so that the proper number of seats in the House can be apportioned, as well as how Electoral votes each state gets), and what the government can legally require you to answer (your name, and how many people live where you do). Anything else they ask is none of the governments business.

I don't know about you, but the only things I'm going to fully answer (as far as the government is concerned, that is) is what my name is, and how many people live with me. For all other questions, the answer will be "NOYB" (none of your business).

If you're at all unsure of what to do, read the article, and ponder what Mr. Williams has said.

H/T specialrpt posting at quicknews.

Clinton: Iran is becoming a military dictatorship

Took ya long enough to figure that one out ... sheesh!

The fact that it takes Dems soooooooooo long to figure this stuff out truly amazes me. Of course, when you have your head buried in the sand, it does cut off any oxygen, so I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised, eh?

Morons.

RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili

As reported here, Nodar Kumaritashvili, Olympic luger from the country of Georgia, died Friday during a practice run when he lost control of his sled.

My heart goes out to his family, and to the other members of the team from Georgia. May you rest in peace, Nodar.

Murtha dead at 77

Pennsylvania's 12th District Representative, John Murtha - D, has died from complications following his gall bladder surgery.

Now, before anyone confuses me with someone who actually liked "ABSCAM Jack" check out the video here - this is one way how we should remember him. The other way is the man who made false accusations against the Marines (falsely) accused of "war crimes" in Haditha.

Senator-elect Brown to be sworn in today

As reported here, Republican Scoot Brown is poised to take over the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's long-held seat a week earlier than he had planned, ending the Democrats' supermajority and giving the GOP 41 votes they can use to block President Barack Obama's agenda.

A swearing-in ceremony was set for 5 p.m. Thursday for the little-known Massachusetts state senator who shocked the nation with his upset victory last month over a favored Democrat and put the 2010 midterm elections in play for a possible GOP takeover of Congress. Originally, Brown had said he did not want to be sworn in until Feb. 11.

His victory rocked Democrats, and put a dagger in Obama's health care overhaul just as it was nearing the finish line and catapulted Brown onto the national stage.

A couple of things here. One - and this is important, so pay attention - is that the seat the late Sen. Kennedy occupied for almost 50 years was never his - it has always been, and will remain, the seat of the people of Massachusetts, no matter who happens to occupy it, ok? That should be easy enough to understand, even for an AP reporter, so I'm glad I could clear that up for you.

Two, the 2010 midterms are definitely in play, and there are even more "dagger" wielders out there who will put an even bigger dent in the number of seats the Democrats currently hold, and you can take that to the bank!

Economics 101

As in fiscal responsibility - something we should all (especially the government!) strive to learn and adopt for our daily lives.

Never forget!

On this date eight years ago, this nation was shocked to it's core by a suicide attack perpetrated by members of the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaida. Since then, largely due to the efforts of thousands of men and women in various branches of the government, we have thankfully not suffered a repeat attack, even though Al-Qaida has tried to do so over and over and over again.

We have one man that we can thank for exhibiting true leadership in keeping our nation safe, and that is former President George W. Bush. Without his decisiveness in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, I do not know if we would have avoided another attack, or even multiple attacks. To President Bush I say a heartfelt thank you for doing what you knew had to be done, regardless of the personal cost you knew you were going to pay.

To those thousands of men and women in the various branches of government, both civilian and military, who have fought the good fight to keep America safe, I also say thank you. You will never know how much what you have done, and are still doing, means to me and countless others who are able to continue living their daily lives in our great nation.

To those families who lost loved ones on that fateful day in 2001, my heart goes out to you yet again, as we observe - both publicly and privately - a national day of mourning. I also want to say thank you for fighting to ensure that proper memorials to the events of that day, and the lives lost, are erected in New York City, Washington DC, and that lonely field in Pennsylvania.

To the first responders who put their lives on the line that day - with many also losing their lives in the line of duty that day - to the cops, firefighters, EMT's and other medical personnel, and ordinary citizens who felt compelled to do something to help, I also want to say thank you for your selflessness and your bravery. There aren't many who would have done what you did, and that makes you a special breed, and we are all truly blessed that such folks as you step up and move forward when others fall back.

To continue to honor those directly involved in this tragedy, and as a reminder of what could happen again, I call on all Americans to never forget!