Heroes in Iraq

Five years ago today, on 4 April 2003, Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith earned the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for valor in fighting in Iraq. Paul was not a dupe or pawn but a career soldier. Like the 51 Third  Infantry Division soldiers (to include Audie Murphy) who won the medal of honor before him, SFC Smith knew what he was doing when he went into battle and he knew the risks he took. After a long and difficult fight to reach Baghdad from Kuwait, he was directing combat operations against a much larger enemy force at a range so close that at times he personally engaged the enemy with hand grenades. When his unit was running low on ammo he ensured the wounded were evacuated to a safer area and he exposed himself to enemy fire on the top of an Armored Personnel Carrier so that he could use the heavy 50 caliber machinegun to keep the enemy off his men while they regrouped. SFC Smith took over one of the APCs that had been damaged by mortar and RPG fire and ordered the driver to position it so that he could fire at both the trenches and the tower  where the enemy was with the machine gun. Alone he stood at his post while his soldiers handed up ammunition to him. He went through three boxes of ammunition. As the battle ended his machine gun went silent. His battle armor had stopped thirteen bullets, but one of the last shots from the tower had entered his neck and killed him.  He shot and killed over 30 enemy soldiers before he was shot himself. Hollywood couldn’t write a better movie script then what this man actually accomplished. And the sacrifice he made was simply what he felt he had to do as the senior man in charge to protect his Soldiers. By his actions SFC Paul Smith ensured that 100 American soldiers did come home and showed that he truly belonged to the highest traditions of the Third Infantry Division.

Today I stood at a commemoration service on the hollowed ground where that battle took place. It is about 400 yards from where I sit in an air-conditioned office typing this. My biggest fear today is that the AC could go out, or the internet won’t work. My hardest decision was what to eat for lunch. Tonight is steak and shrimp night at the dinning facility for dinner so that decision will be easy. My life is so different as a staff officer then that of the heroes that surround me. 

At the commemoration service today, the Commanding General of the Marne Division, Major General Rick Lynch, gave a great definition of a hero.  Every time there is a Soldier killed in Iraq there is a memorial service. The General attends them personally, but at every memorial service the most touching part is when some young kid who was friends with the Soldier eulogizes him. Usually the young soldier starts to tear up over his comrade and then the rest of the people there do also. It is tough on all of us when one of our brothers die. But the hero is the young Soldier who gives the Eulogy and then the next day gets up in the morning and puts on body armor, and goes out on patrol again. 

Days over here can be very routine for staff officers. People often ask if I am scared or they tell me they would be scared if they were here.  However, there is now very little danger where I am in Iraq. I can’t remember being afraid the whole time I have been here. That is not bravery just I don’t feel like I have ever been in grave danger. That is very different from the young heroes out there.

 We sleep in trailers now. The trailers have AC and heat (it gets cold in winter). There is no running water in the trailers but we have bathroom trailers with showers near by. I do have wireless internet (I have to pay for) in my room. The accommodations are pretty good. The Dinning Facility, what the Army used to call a “Chow hall or mess hall”, is very good. It is Brown and Root (KBR /Haliburton) contracted cooks, KP cleaning details and servers operating under American supervision. After 14 months here the food is repetitive but still good. There is always a great variety also. Also on base there are Taco Bell, burger King, Pizza Inn, Greenbeans coffee (like a starbucks), Popeyes Chicken, Cinnabun and some other places. We are not exactly destitute and forsaken here anymore.

A typical day starts with a classified briefing. The briefing is typical of one that goes on at all levels from Battalions up to the Forces Commander. It is called by several names such as Commanders Update Brief (CUB), Battle Update Brief ( BUB) and Battle Update Analysis (BUA). There are slight technical distinctions between them but the purpose is to ensure that the latest information is dispersed to everyone that needs it, especially for the Commanders, and for the Commander to give guidance. The briefings cover much more then just combat actions. We spend a considerable amount of time discussing governance operations, meetings that were conducted with local leaders etc, Economic stimulus missions such as the progress on opening markets and trade schools and humanitarian missions such as medical aid for communities. During set days of the week we also cover the routine administrative needs of the unit such as re-enlistment statistics, and Equal Opportunity training statistics, Legal actions etc. The Briefings are mostly conducted using a Command and Control System called Command Post of The Future or “CPOF”. This allows people all over the Area of Operations to participate in the briefing over the classified network without being physically at it. 

For a month I was lucky enough to sit in on the Multi-National Forces Iraq briefing that General Petraeus receives every day. That man has an unbelievably impressive scope of knowledge. I clearly remember him questioning a briefer on a change from the last weeks brief in kilowatt hours on a power grid in Baghdad and then questioning the next briefer on a governance issue in Mosul without notes and with complete self assured control. Like all the General Officers I know, his intelligence and level of responsibility is Amazing.  The multitude of areas for which he is responsible must be a heavy burden and I am gld we have leaders like him over here. 

After the briefing we go back to our offices. Young guys are driving up and down the roads, opening water purification plants in local Iraqi towns, setting up check points and I am making a pot of coffee, checking email and reading news sites. Staff Officers like me will then get busy with the plans and coordination’s that keep the Army functioning. My current job here is not over taxing on my time or ability but of course many staff officers bustle about. It really just depends on the section you work in.

The general has an official work schedule for us of 15 hours work (this includes meals) 7 hours of rest, and two hours of exercise/personal time. Most of us work closer to a 12 hour shift and at age 44 and close to retirement I don’t exercise much. I know all the senior officers and him adhere to his schedule. It is always better to stay busy though or thoughts of home can become overwhelming.

After work I go back to my room. I don’t have a TV in my room (I did during football season) but we can get news and shows from the states. I mostly watch movies on my computer, read books, or surf the internet. People always find stuff to do here, everything from barbeques to setting up projectors and watching movies and ball games outside. We have recreation centers with TVs, free internet,  pool tables and games. There is a swimming pool that is open during the day and ball fields and sport leagues. You can take classes with online Universities and I know many that are pursuing evrey thing from associate to PHD degrees here.  Of course there are Worship services for every denomination and most religions, to include Christian, Jewish and Moslem services. There is no alcohol allowed but I do sometimes enjoy a good cigar.

We have been mortared a few times since I have been here. Last deployment it was much more frequently. After a while though even that doesn’t phase you. Usually it is just a few rounds that the scumbags lob in our direction. No real aim or danger and the disruption in our lives is so minimal because of it. I often here on the news or from folks back home how we are under bombardment but it never once has stopped me from getting a “Double Mocha Frappe” at the coffee shop, or made anyone I know not go to the PX. 

There is one thing we have here though that keeps us centered. As soon as we walk in the headquarters building there are two large flat screens. On one screen every Soldier from our division that was killed here has a tribute slide and the slides rotate. The other slide depicts the most recent fallen heroes. Beneath the screens is a tribute to them including a “dog tag” for each of them. When you walk past that the walls are lined with tributes to the Third Infantry Division “Dog Faced Soldiers” of the past. 90 years of service to our Nation. Seeing that history and those fallen comrades is a constant reminder to those of us who live and work in comfort that we owe the very best we can do for the young warriors out there and my job is to see that none of them die because of a failing on my staff section.

Rock Of the Marne!!

a great resource with full account of SFC Smith is: http://www.taskforcemarne.com/this-week/1330-March-30-April-5

And as always www.taskforcemarne.com and http://www.taskforcemarne.com/dog-face-daily/

Tinsldr2@yahoo.com

 

Supporting Our Troops,

I am constantly amazed about how great the level of support the American people provide to our troops. I am not talking about what the Government does but about what the individual American and the volunteer organizations do for us.

I have received numerous posts and emails from people I have never met who have offered to send me packages. In the case of one townhall poster, a Korean War vet with problems of his own, he sent over gifts and phone cards that I was able to share with Soldiers that needed and enjoy myself. No one did that for the troops of his generation and I am honored to be in the company of great men such as him. 

The Jewish Holiday of Purim was celebrated on 21 March, 2008. The holiday commemorates how enemies threatened to destroy the Jewish people and through an act of courage the people were spared. It is a time of giving food and rejoicing. I have received over 15 packages, many with letters from children, (and yes I am behind in my Thank You letters), from religious groups, individuals and VFWs. Items in care packages, range from snacks, treats (and this slightly pudgy Major eats them but doesn’t need them) toilet items such as soap and dental products (although we can now get them readily in the PX during the initial deployment we couldn’t), magazines, cards, playing card decks, socks, writing paper and envelopes, but the biggest gift of all is the knowledge that we are not FORGOTTEN by the folks back home and the knowledge that people of all faiths are praying for us. 

I have received numerous offers from individuals when I get back. I have been offered fishing boats at dealer cost after posting a question on boat buying on a fishing forum. I have scheduled a free off-shore overnight fishing trip with a charter service and have received other similar offers. After my last deployment I had meals and drinks paid for and my wife and son were at a Disney restaurant once and someone overheard that I was deployed and anonymously bought and paid for their meal. My roommate went on a website and received a good quality new guitar free simply for being a Soldier in Iraq. The generosity of the American people is incredible. 

Many Americans in the entertainment industry visit us frequently from the USO. Cheerleaders and actresses are always popular J with the troops. Comedians come and put on shows, musical groups tour and perform, we even had a fishing tournament from some guys , who do professional Salt Water Fishing shows. These people hold a wide variety of views on the righteousness of our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan but they share a common goal of making life a little brighter for those of us who serve the Nation.   

The thing that means the most for me is when we walk through airports or other places and the Viet Nam vets come up and thank us. It is not possible for me to describe the Emotion of shaking a veterans hand, knowing they never got the welcome back or thanks, and all the history of that time, and hearing them say good things about those of us serving. 

When I returned from my last deployment, in Jan 06, we got off the plane in Savannah and could smell the salt air and humidity mixed with that sweet southern pine scent and you could feel the dust free nature of being home. Then there was a double line of VFW veterans with flags that we walked between welcoming us back. That feeling made it hard to keep my eyes dry and is something I will carry with me and treasure always. I deployed again in March 07 and have been here just over 12 months at the time that I write this. I have about ten weeks until I get home. I am proud to have been afforded the opportunity to serve the great Americans back home by my service and to carry on the Legacy of the many veterans who came before me. 

Today, many Americans don’t personally know soldiers Serving Overseas. Some organizations that directly support soldiers are the

USO at http://www.uso.org/ (that’s United Service Organization)

And a great new charity that is legitimate and very much about supporting soldiers at http://www.heartsamerica.com/

For sending soldiers music instruments check out http://www.operationhappynote.com/

And of course books are an important gift try http://booksforsoldiers.com/

I am fortunate to be married to the greatest wife in the world who has sent me everything from my favorite hard to get candy, to quilts, to saltwater fishing magazines, and of course the greatest gift of all her love and support while I am gone.

Feel free to contact me at tinsldr2@yahoo.com but know that I go home in about ten weeks and really don’t need any more snacks or anything. But I do really appreciate the offers. Now if someone wants to give me a free $40,000 23ft cabin boat with saltwater engines let me know J ( just joking )

Rob

The other day our Division Chaplin gave a very moving benediction at our Sunday Battle Update Briefing.  Here is a Copy of it.

 

Lord you tell us “blessed are the peacemakers”, we have come to Iraq to make peace.  We are peacemakers and we must sometimes kill to make peace and to conduct the mission we have been sent to complete.  Lord when we have to kill help us never take joy or become callous in the taking of human life.  Help us never to kill for revenge, vengeance, or to settle a personal score or vendetta.  Our enemy kills and maims innocent men, women and little children indiscriminately, and has no respect whatsoever for human life.  As peacemakers help our Task Force Marne Soldiers always respect the sanctity of human life and always adhere as closely as possible to our rules of engagement.  When our brave young Soldiers have to take human life we pray that it will never be with a twinkle in their eye but always with a tear in their eye.  We pray for our enemies – that you will change their hearts before we as ‘peacemakers’ have to stop their hearts with our weapon systems.  Please keep us and our loved ones safe this coming week.

 

It is often easy to HATE the enemy for the utter evilness of what they do.  And while we must never shirk our duty or fail to act decisively it is good to be reminded that we do what we do out of necessity and not to take joy out of the death of others.

 

On another note I got to watch several Soldiers get Silver Stars and Bronze Stars with V device for valor yesterday.  These were all young Americans acting bravely and all the awards were well deserved.  After the award ceremony there were about 80 Soldiers (and an airman) that re-enlisted in a combat zone.  This is all further examples to the young men and women of the "Strongest Generation". 

I did not write this..  But I agree 100%

Author Biography:  Elan S. Carr, an attorney, is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He led the Chanukah observance in Baghdad using a lamp donated by a Jewish Iraqi artist.

CHANUKAH IN BAGHDAD:  An American Jewish soldier of Iraqi descent lights the Menorah in Saddam Hussein's palace.     

 

 

Banu hoshekh legharesh -- "We have come to banish darkness." Thus begins a famous Chanukah song, and no phrase better encapsulates the holiday's deeper meanings. This year, as a United States soldier serving in Iraq, I and several of my colleagues lit a Chanukah lamp and uttered those words in a place that had never before heard them: the former presidential palace of Saddam Hussein, in the capital city of a new and free Iraq.

 

One is hard-pressed to imagine a holiday whose themes are more resonant with the events unfolding here: A spectacular military victory, the defeat of a despot, the re-sanctification of what had been desecrated.

Truly, the banishment of darkness.

 

Chanukah commemorates the rededication of Jerusalem's Temple in 165 BCE.

Israel was then ruled by Syria's Hellenist king, Antiochus IV, a brutal megalomaniac who gave himself the title Epiphanes -- "god manifested."

In a campaign of merciless persecution, he murdered members of the priesthood, outlawed Jewish rituals, and desecrated the Holy Temple.

 

The priestly Maccabee family led a daring revolt and defeated the Hellenist armies. After recapturing the Temple, Jewish partisans rededicated the place by kindling its sacred Menorah. To this day, Jews celebrate the relighting of that ancient Menorah, to remember the victorious freedom fighters whose courage stemmed from an abiding faith that God will cause good to triumph over evil, and light to banish even the darkest of hours.

 

For too many years, the people of Iraq have suffered horrors that defy imagination. Like Antiochus, Saddam thought himself to be like a god, or at least like those demigods of Mesopotamian history, Nebuchadnezzar and Hammurabi, with whom his boundless vanity inclined him regularly to equate himself. "Epiphanes" indeed -- Saddam dispensed licentious pleasure and horrible pain, life and death, with the nonchalance of one who thought himself above humanity itself.

 

I myself have seen some of the evidence of his horrors, and I am sickened by them. I have met Iraqis who lost their closest relatives to Saddam's killing machines. I have walked the halls of the decadent monuments he built for himself while his people wasted away for want of food and freedom. I have visited Saddam's execution chambers at the notorious Abu Ghreib prison. I saw the ceiling hooks that were used to torture prisoners. I saw the prison's infamous "medical wing," used for human experimentation. And most shattering of all, I saw the desperate messages scratched on the walls of hideous cells next to the death chambers. Some of those messages appear to have been scribbled in excrement.

 

I shuddered as I imagined the suffering endured by the forgotten victims of that terrible place -- the excruciating physical pain, the agony over loved ones left behind, the devastating sounds of executions conducted only a few feet from their cells. I could almost hear the screams of torture and soft whimpers of despair echo along the walls' unforgiving concrete.

 

GRANDFATHER IN PRISON

 

Perhaps I am especially prone to feel empathy for Iraq's prisoners of conscience, for my grandfather was one of them. He and other leaders of the once large Iraqi Jewish community were arrested, paraded through the streets in leg irons, and summarily jailed. But my grandfather was comparatively fortunate, for he was imprisoned many years before Saddam took the country to new depths of depravity. And after serving the prison sentence given him, my grandfather was released.

 

Many of Saddam's prisoners were not so lucky. Many Iraqis unfortunate enough to be deemed ethnically or religiously undesirable, or who displayed the intolerable audacity of free thought, entered Saddam's prisons with the knowledge that they would never again see their loved ones. And in the twisted reality of the former Iraq, they may well have hoped never again to see their loved ones, for Saddam's regime was known to torture children in front of their parents. Whereas my grandfather was able to assuage his suffering by rejoining the people he loved most in this world, the victims of Saddam's apparatus of death could only console themselves by scrawling desperate messages on the walls of their cells.

 

LIGHT IN THE PALACE

 

It is the defeat of this sort of profanity that Chanukah celebrates. It was Antiochus' consummate ungodliness -- all the more so when contrasted with the sacred Temple worship that he prevented and defiled -- that the Jews succeeded in vanquishing. But what can be more ungodly, what more profane, than torture, mass murder, and genocide? Such evil had been a staple of life in Iraq. But not any more. We have come to banish darkness.

 

This Chanukah in Baghdad, in a large and lavish building, the gentle glow of a Chanukah lamp shimmered throughout a cavernous room. One of the objects caught in its radiance is a gilded chair that used to serve as the tyrant's throne, and the palace in which it sits used to be the capital building of his reign of terror. Today, the chair is empty, and the palace houses the apparatus of Iraqi reconstruction.

 

As my colleagues and I remember the Maccabee bravery of yesteryear and the re-sanctification of the Temple, we pray also for the brave and indefatigable people of Iraq, who day by day are rekindling their flames of hope and re-sanctifying their great land. They are banishing the darkness, and we wish them Godspeed.

 I recieved an Email from a Liberal Clifornia Public School Teacher who is a nice lady.  Her school kids last year wrote a story on sacrifice as it pertains to us being in Iraq and she sent what they wrote.  Today she sent me one of those tyical political emails that has a million forwards and no comments.  I sent it back with Comments. 

I think it is important as Republicans to think about the way we appear to many Americans.  The far left loons will always throw bombs at us.  The middle America left and independents are not like that but they believe the lie.  Typical is #3 below on Cuba.  Many blame Republican for the Embargo that was started under JFK a Democrat and strengthened by Pres Clinton a democrat but people believe it is a "Republican" issue?

Unfortunately many Americans are fools and go for "sloganism" as opposed to substantive thought on issues of importance.  I call these people "SHEEPLE".  It is sad because perceptions matter and many believe things her forwarded email says are true.  See my comments below. The original mail points are numbered and my responses are marked.

  
  REPUBLICAN VALUES  AS THEY APPEAR TO MANY AMERICANS:

  1. Senators tapping feet in a men's room is an abomination while Senators buying prostitutes is perfectly acceptable. 
 
 Response: Well the truth is that Democrats have just as many sex scandals as republicans. The party does have an anti-homo bias there is no doubt about that though.  But analyze that statement above.  A man in a public men’s room at an airport attempting to solicit PUBLIC sex from a stranger that could be "underage", without "protection" or in no way interested in sex but in the wrong place at wrong time and another man giving a woman a "gift" of cash for having what is consensual sex in privacy.  Might not have been so bad if Sen Craig was at a gay bar or in PVT but in public and anonymous?

  2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him to make war on Iran, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

 
 R: Japan was good before Pearl Harbor then bad then good, then bad competitor.  Of course we attempt to win friends and do business with countries.  And to say that cant find Bin Laden stuff is reason for Iraq campaign is to ignore reality. But again it makes a nice slogan.

  3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

 R:  PSSST trade embargo endorsed started by a DEMOCRAT (Kennedy) and maintained by DEMOCRAT presidents ever since.  In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton expanded the trade embargo even further by ending the practice of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies trading with Cuba in dollar amounts totaling more than $700 million a year.

  but oh those duplicitous Republican Devils right? 

  4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. Resolutions against Iran.

 
 R: Currently the UN is there.  To ignore its resolutions (like Bill Clinton did in invading Kosovo) is wrong.  Many Republicans want out of UN many don’t.  There are many issues that the democrats are divided on.  So many in the party want out of Iraq yet every major candidate in Democrat contention says they should stay in Iraq.  Which is it?

  
  5. Less expensive Canadian drugs are not safe and must be kept out of our country, but Chinese toys and foodstuff don't need regulating.

  
R: We have a food and drug administration to protect US consumers.  And as much as I don’t like taxes, taxes on prescription drugs are a major factor in cost difference.  To circumvent that tax violates necessary FDA restrictions.  Food stuffs are regulated so that is ignoring facts, and toys do not fall under FDA but when they are found harmful are banned.  It is a comparison of apple and egg roll.  It makes a nice sound bite but is not a logical argument.

  
  6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

  
R:  Under every republican president back to Ron Reagan both veterans benefits and Pay particularly COMBAT pay has gone up dramatically and so have enlistment and reenlistment bonuses.  It is just a typical lie that is repeated so much sheeple believe it.

  7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

  
R: if they are kept out of schools kids wont see the schools ENCOURAGING bad behavior for adolescents.  Often behavior parents don’t condone. 

  8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies; then demand their cooperation and money.

  
R:  Works so well that now France and Germany BOTH have pro-AMERICAN governments elected after the start of the War in Iraq. Maybe we should do it more?  :)

  9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

  

R:  Iraqi constitution is formed by Iraqis to work in Iraq.  We don’t want to live under Iraqi constitution they do.  Again it is apples to hummus comparison.  Does the Gov do a better job at ANYTHING then private business?  Democrats complain about care at veterans’ hospital and then want the Gov to give them their care.  What sense does that make?  We need less gov not more.

  10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

  

R: global climate change is not in doubt.  The effect of man on that climate change is.  No conclusive evidence.  There are tons of holes in the theory’s that expound it.  Historical evidence of climate change effecting growth and shrinkage of Greenland glaciers in the time of Vikings. Enough to drive Vikings into extinction on the Greenland island in a few generations.  According to their glaciers in Greenland the country warmer at the start of the Viking era then it is now.

  No competent Republican leader says tobacco doesn’t cause cancer.  Under a republican president the warning labels on Cigarettes were changed to "Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined that Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health (1970) "  by a SURGEON GENERAL

  But don't let facts interfere with your “sloganism”.

  11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

 

 R: No, but a president committing a perjury and another president NOT lying are comparing asses and elephants.  If a weather forecaster looks at every piece of evidence at his disposal and says it will be nice day tomorrow and it rains he didn’t lie.  At the time of his making the statement "it will rain" he believed it to be true.  Every available evidence justified going to war in Iraq.  Every prominent democrat said Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and was a threat in 1998 before GWB was president. So compare that to committing perjury under oath. 

  12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages, censoring the Internet and passing laws for a brain-dead person.

  

R: That is the big Gov wing of the Republican party.  I don’t like those who hold those views either, but states determine marriage, and laws are there to protect democrats, that’s who the brain dead comment is referring to right? 

  13. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

  

R: one is done as a mature adult in office (or while hubby is in offense), and the other is a youth indiscretion.  Bush Driving record is no more important than Clinton/Obama dope smoking.  Its not important at all.  Using the Governor office to make $200000 in cattle futures compares with what someone did as a kid?  Should actions of every private person be subject to public scrutiny or just those actions you take WHILE in office. 

  14. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

  

R: Are people that have moral failings and committing crimes not people we should pray for?  As for Rush Limbaugh he is a BLOW hard and was never elected to anything.  Of course he is more popular on radio then any Democrat and it drives them crazy.

  15. Pro-life is defined as that time between conception and birth. After that, you are on your own!
  
 r: This makes no sense? Are you saying that Republicans are for Murder?  Or that we should have socialism and a GOV knows better then you do what is right for you the rest of your life? Umm yes you should have a right to be born and raised in a loving home.  There is a 25K-30K dollar cost and many Americans go overseas to adopt while we murder babies in the US.  Once you are born you should be cared for and loved by family not big gov though. That is for sure.  

Remember on every issue there are two sides.  If you are not on the RIGHT then you are on the WRONG side. (oh and there is no such word as Sloganism or sheeple but i like those words anyway)

Rob
P.S i respond to all comments and am happy to dialoge by email at Tinsldr2@yahoo.com also.

Reasons not to vote for Ron Paul.  Besides the obvious that he can’t win here are a list of positions:

Against fighting in Iraq.  Well it is a no brainer for me.  Weakness in the culture of these fanatics is surrender.  Give them an inch they want a mile.  And they will kill to get that mile. 

Ron Paul is against the patriot and Defend America Act.  These acts allow us to listen in on calls from Islamic terrorists to America.  Wouldn’t that have been nice to be able to do to catch the 9/11 Hijackers?  We need this ability.  My family makes calls to and from Europe frequently, at least twice a week.  If they listen about my aunts visit or my mother in-laws health problems it does not bother me.  Where is the issue?  Even if they listen to a call from me to my wife its not like they become public knowledge.  If me and my wife plot to blow up a building then we should be stopped. If it saves the lives of Americans it is worth it.  Even if they hear a crime like Tax evasion they don’t act only to protect lives and get terrorists.

Rep Paul wants to Eliminate the FED and Gold Standard.  This is crazy given today’s 13 trillion dollar GDP.  If you go to a dollar as small as 1/20^th an ounce that’s over 600,000,000,000 ounces of gold.  That’s 600 billion ounces.  Ten ounces to the cubic inch.  That converts to more gold then we have.  What happens when Bill gates demands gold for his Dollar?  Or the Chinese?

Money is valuable because of what YOU will give me for it.  IF you trade a loaf of bread for a dollar that loaf is worth a dollar.  If you sell a house in GA  for $275,000 that house is worth $275000.  If the value of the house goes up or down that is a market cycle. 

Currently we are about to go in to a slow market Cycle.  So what?  We have had unemployment under 4% and growing median Incomes.  Economy is not in bad shape and will recover from any down market period.  We had plenty of down Market periods when we didn’t have a FED and the FED helps smooth the market out. We had Depressions in the 1890s and were on the gold standard then so its not a cure for financial cycles.

Ron Paul supports the we the People ACT that would eliminate the ability of Federal courts to hear cases reference some civil rights such as marriage etc.  This means that a persons civil freedom when denied by the state can’t be heard by the Fed Gov.  In 2005, Paul introduced the We the People Act, which would have removed from the jurisdiction of federal courts "any claim based upon the right of privacy,

He wants to eliminate the IRS. Ok I WANT to eliminate the IRS HOWEVER the fed GOV needs money.  In 1790s they could get all the money they needed off excise taxes and other small tax sources.  Today we get over 55% of our revenue from personal and corporate income taxes and over 35% from social security.  Where will the money come from for our Gov?  Gov Huckabee wants to eliminate the IRS but he is reasonable enough to propose a replacement.

I want Small Gov not No GOV.

He wants to cu or eliminate the FBI or CIA?  Some say they are unconstitutional but the courts and the CONSTITUTION say otherwise.  The bottom line in 2007 is they are NEEDED. 

Ron Paul is not the only constitutional based candidate.  He is the candidate most like the Amish.  His platform is “Amish-like” in that if it wasn’t here in 1790 he is against it.  This is similar to the Amish driving horse and Buggy because cars aren’t in the bible. 

The fact is life is unimaginably different then it was 1790s.  We need to maintain our liberty our freedom and our constitution.  We do not need to roll the clock back.  We do need to cut the budget and keep taxes low, maintain defense, keep our rights, and close our border.  I will vote for people that can best do that and it is NOT Ron Paul

When I was a teenager I thought I knew better then my parents.  They wanted me home at a certain time, wanted me to do what they said, respect them and their rules and I thought they were out of touch with reality and that I could decide better.

 

Now as an adult I can understand why we had rules and order and I had to do things I didn't want to and had to NOT do some things I wanted.  Now I am 44, support a family of my own, and am a whole lot wiser.  I enforce some rules of the house that my son doesn’t like.  Too bad!

 

It would be great to live without government.  I don't need GOV interference in my life BUT YOU ALL DO NEED IT.  Recognizing that you all need rules so that my family and I can be safe, I draw up a contract with my fellow citizens that determine how we live. 

 

Since there are to many of us and I don’t have the time to individually come to an agreement with all my fellow citizens on every minor issue, we all get together and choose some people to make some of the rules that effect our behavior with others.  We limit the power of those people so they cant do EVERYTHING they want  and since they are employed by US we determine how long they keep their jobs and tell them how we want them to represent our interests.

 

Since many of the things my fellow citizens do benefit you, we use our guns and hired enforcers to make you pay for the benefits.  If you don’t like paying Too bad! Since a majority vote of hired officials establish the contractual obligations we live by, you are bound by that covenant whether you like it or not.. 

 

You have two choices, become part of the solution and help choose good people to represent us and ensure those people that represent us vote the way you want them to (remember they work for you too) or leave and go elsewhere.  I recommend voting for good people and loudly proclaiming your desires on issues that effect you. 

 

Are my fellow citizens and I taking away some of your freedom and giving up some of ours?  Of course but we do so for the mutual benefit of all.  The key is we decide when we hire those who represent us  how much of our (including your) freedom we give up for security.  Example I give up my freedom to drive how I want because while I can drive my Mustang Safely on a city street at 90 MPH, YOU need rules so YOU don’t drive recklessly and kill my son. 

 

Which freedom am I willing to give up? I give up my freedoms to do things that will hurt you and expect you to give up your freedoms that will hurt me. If what I am doing is not hurting you or others then the people I hire can't tell me not to do it.

 

I allow my hired people to take some of my money to allow them to build public use infrastructure with my money since that is necessary and I don’t want to build roads myself.  Things that are neccessary for the good of everyone like an educated populace, certain medical research that is to expensive to completly fund privately and some amount of cultural and enviromental regulations I give up my freedom and my money to achieve a mutual benifit from.  Ex I can't just build a house in the Yosemite national park because we all get a benifit from a shared use of the place. 

 

I in no way give up my inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  My elected representative has no right to tell you what to do if you are not hurting me or anyone else.  My contract with my fellow Americans is called the constitution and laws of our land.  You don’t like then lets peacefully discuss it and make THOSE WE HIRED change it. 

What Makes America Great

We do.  I read an article that got me thinking about the future of America.  The writer was talking of America on the decline.  He listed off a bunch of potential problems with America but I remain unconvinced.  In fact in most regards I think we are better off then in the past.  One commenter who was in his mid-twenties asked when this great age of America was supposed to be. 

America has made immeasurable contributions to the world.  The amount we have done right is more then I could catalogue but let’s start with history of what we did wrong.  Early America saw slavery, the whiskey rebellion, suffering among the poor, terrible education and serious disagreement among the various states and political parties.  Throw in the fact of what we were doing to the Native Americans and you can see it was not an idyllic society.  Of course that makes the accomplishments of those great forefathers all the more incredible and noteworthy.

As we progress in history we had the states rights war fought largely over the economics and slavery.   We had a president that threw drunken brawls in the white house and political leaders shot in duels.  We had massive corruption in government, drafts you could literally buy your way out of and suspension of constitutional rights such as habeas corpus.  America had huge amounts of unregistered immigration from Europe and the Orient.  We built the first transcontinental railroad using this cheap undocumented labor and slew a lot of Indians in the process not to mention what we did to the environment, think buffalo and dust bowl. 

As we progressed as a country we had War with Spain over Cuba and sinking of the U.S.S. Maine which may have been bogus.   America fought Wars with countries that supported Pirates (almost like terrorists) simply over economic interests.  Isolationist policies were in favor for awhile and then we had War in Europe that didn’t end in unconditional surrender and set the stage for future war.  America had Trade embargo policies that caused a country to attack us on our soil and we were the only country to use nukes against another country.  During this time we had depressions, rationing of goods, our country was broke and couldn’t afford the Second World War, women were forced into the workplace, and a then forced out of it.  We made deals with evil countries we were opposed to like the U.S.S.R and carved up the world as we saw fit at the end of the war giving approval for the USSR to rule by fiat and proxy over countries like Poland and Hungary.  Don’t even get me started on what we did to the Americans of Japanese descent in WWII.  

We had terrible civil rights injustices, civil and not so civil disagreement on another War in Viet Nam, war in Korea, which ended in a draw, invasion of Grenada and now our current woes.  We had McCarthyism and blacklisting for people that may have supported Communism.   Inflation and gas prices out of control, censor ship of the airwaves,  decline of manufacturing jobs, inner city riots are All problems of the 50’s,60’s and 70’s.   So when was this great America?

Our country is great.  I have travelled the world and never been to a better place.  What makes us great is the multiethnic melting pot of ideas and people.  We, all of us, from the liberal big government homosexuals to the conservative Christians.  From the people who follow politics to those that follow Brittany Spears.  We the people in order to form a MORE perfect union, not a PERFECT union but a more perfect union then what is elsewhere, WE are what make it great. 

 

 And the young generation of America will keep this country great.  The kids today will live in a better America then we do now. 

Representative Pete Stark said “ You don’t have enough money to fund the war or children but you are going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the presidents amusement” . Dang I can’t even get my mind around the vile evilness of the statement.
I know this will be in several Townhall.com columns soon and we will all comment there but I had to get it down now while I am in shock. Also a detailed response will be more then the 2K space limit on the website. It is on page 10 of the Mid east edition of the Stars and Stripes Saturday Oct 20, 2007 edition. The newspaper here, because of deliveries and time zones is always a day or two behind on news. I do check CNN, Fox, and other news sites on line as well as the Commentary sites such as Mr. Boortz Nuze site and Townhall.com.
DANG where to start. “You don’t have enough money to fund…” S-Chip is funded. President Bush wanted to expand it by 5 Billion Congress wanted more. So Pres. Bush wanted to fund healthcare for poor children. So now we have a sitting US representative lying, just telling an utter falsehood, provably wrong, and knowing himself that it is a lie, into the official congressional record. That’s the first part.
Then he goes on to say we are going to spend it to blow up innocent people. Where are we spending money to blow up innocents? The headline of today’s paper is an Army Officer acquitted of aiding enemy but guilty of lesser charges. Right under that is a story about two soldiers charged with shooting a wounded man. That’s right, if they are guilty of shooting a wounded man they will go to jail. The Army Officer did wrong he is tried and convicted. As always, and as it should be, if we commit war crimes we are tried and go to jail. Who is blowing up innocents? Almost EVERY DAY for the last month innocents are killed in roadside bombs and sectarian violence. For the last month part of my job has been to record these and other events into the computer database. Everyday we find and destroy caches of weapons and identify and disarm roadside bombs. Unfortunately we don’t get them all and innocent civilians AND ‘innocent’ Soldiers, and Marines get killed and wounded. Where are we killing innocents? That is his lie number 2.
Oh man is that a slap in the face to every decent military person over here. Now matter how angry and upset I get. No matter how much I might rage inside, I could never tolerate blowing up innocent civilians. It is something we don’t tolerate. Read my first Townhall.com blog. Killing civilians is the antithesis of everything for which we stand. However Rep. Stark feels about the war he must realize that we are protecting innocents from being blown up not the other way around. The Islamic Extremists I fight against think nothing of intentionally targeting women and children, marketplaces, Mosques, Synagogues, Churches, markets and schools. The list of such places from the Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra to the Russian School the kids were shot from while running toward their parents, the school buses in Israel, and the World Trade Center in America were all acts of Muslem extremists. We are the good guys that liberated the concentration camps. We are the ones that tried to distribute food in Somalia. We stopped the slaughter of both sides and protected Moslems in Bosnia and Kosovo. We are the honorable country Rep. Stark.
Rep. Stark wrote "If we can get enough kids to grow old enough"? This from the pro-abortion on demand side? Are kids with life threatening illnesses being turned away at emergency rooms? I think not! The House was debating whether to expand health insurance to people making $20,000-40,000 dollars MORE then the median income level. If you support that then great. If you oppose it then that’s someone’s right. However, implying that kids wont grow old enough because we will only expand S-Chip by 5 billion instead of the 35 billion well lets just say I would love to see any evidence that supports this claim.
The last line, soldiers getting their heads blown off for the President’s amusement, is what left my mouth agape, and is beyond belief. Can anyone really believe that the United States Commander in Chief or any of his subordinates gets amusement from this? This is mind boggling. This is beyond words to describe. My Commanding General (the one in charge of my Division) carries the names of every soldier who died under his command with him every day. He will never forget them and bears that burden at great cost. We have a wall with two electronic boards that has a rotating display of every soldier’s picture, name, age, birthplace and how they died, for every deceased hero in the unit. (Every soldier doing their job honorably in Iraq is a hero in my opinion). Every single person who walks past that display, and most of us pass it multiple times a day, pause and solemnly look at a person or two so that we can pay those who sacrificed all our respects. To somehow believe that any American, Democrat, Republican, Rich, Poor, Conservative, Civilian, Military, Religious, Secular or Liberal, Representative, Senator, or President could in anyway find amusement in a Soldier, Marine, Sailor or Airman getting their head blown off is shamefully disgraceful.
I have decided to email this column to Rep. Stark as well as some radio talk show hosts and my family from my military email account as well as my anonymous Townhall.com posting. It is not a condemnation of  Representative Stark, a reflection in anyway of official or unofficial Army policy, just my personal opinion of his statement as was reported in the Newspaper. I am not a resident of Mr. Starks district and am fully aware of all regulations regarding civilian control of the military and military officers roles and rights but am just so upset and disgusted about it that I can not sit by and not tell everyone how much this statement offended me.

 

Someone said the strangest thing to me the other day in a townhall forum.  We were on a forum discussing an article of Mr. Medved.  We disagreed with each other and cited reasons for that disagreement.  I understood their position which was reasonable, and I asserted my disagreement without any disparaging remarks.  When they replied they took me to task for referring to the author as “Mister” and asked me if I felt he was somehow superior to me.  

The more I thought about this the more confused I became.  Why would someone not call him Mr. Medved?  When is that appropriate?  When did it not become appropriate to use Mr., Miss, Mrs., Ms. Dr. Sir, and Ma’am etc when referring to an individual?  When is it a sign of weakness or inferiority to be polite?  Do people beside me still say please and thank you and you’re welcome?

When I refer to Arianna Huffington I might use her full name but I wouldn’t say “Huffington says blah blah” I would say “Ms.  Huffington says blah blah” I would use Miss or Mrs.  If I knew or carried about her marital status.   Using a full name to describe someone is ok I think but a first name or last name only?  How is that respectful or decent?

Ms. Huffington has a column that appears weekly in the Stars and Stripes Newspaper every week in Iraq.  It appears across from Ms. Coulters.  I don’t think I have ever agreed with one of Ms. Huffington’s columns and find them devoid of well formed opinions and good logic.  However, I would never insult her on a personal level.   Why would I not use Ms. when referring to her unless I am using her full name? 

How often do intelligent discussions of point and counterpoint on townhall forums degrade into name calling and attacks?   What does it say about an individual when they refer to a serving US senator by an intentional misspelling of her name?   Now I can name a dozen reasons to dislike Sen. Clinton without even batting an eye and more if I think about it BUT she is a US senator.  I have to respect her office and then respect her as a lady.  In my opinion anyone who intentionally misspells her name is in the same category as those who disgustingly altered Gen Petreaus in the infamous attack ads.  If you graduated the sixth grade don’t try to justify bad behavior by pointing out the other side does it.  That defense went out with grade school.  Incoming and IEDs may break our bones but names will never hurt us. 

I happen to like the comments of several very liberal posters on townhall.  As I write this Lilly comes to mind.  Even if she did correct me once on poor word usage.  She is an over 60 year old lady who is married to a WWII vet.  She is well educated, well spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics and in my opinion she is frequently wrong.  However it would be a much duller place without her comments.    Yet people tell her things like “shut up and go away”.   People should attack her ideas if they are up to the challenge, and they use credible facts and sources.  But when is it ok to attack a little old lady personally?  My dad is in his 70’s and I am 44 and I think he would still spank me if he heard me talk the way some supposedly conservative people talk. 

Ann Coulter is a comedian.  She makes a living saying outrageous things and making fun of people.  She can be excused if she gets more leeway in her comments because it is an obvious attempt at humor.   The few times that I listened to Rush Limbaugh it was an eternity of him bloviating, commercials constantly and very few opinions from the other side.  He is notorious for calling people names.  He makes a lot of money by doing it by why the personal attacks?  He has enough to shred the opposition on ideas why call names like a 10 year old? I guess it is what sells but it pains me to see the loss of civility in what should be informative educated discourse.   Even if I agree with people that are rude I have little tolerance for them.  How many people have kids and would correct them if they called someone, maybe a teacher, Shrillary or worse, listen to people who claim to be intelligent stoop to name calling.   Can anyone  see Thomas Paine , Thomas Jefferson, or John Adams making fun of King George’s name instead of his politics? 

Some really great posters on both sides have great gifts of satire.  It’s always great to see them because we do need more humor in life.  But some common decency, respect, manners, and civility would be nice. 

In April of 2007 I gave a speech to a group of Soldiers in Iraq to remember the Holocaust that occurred between 1939 and 1945 in Nazi occupied Europe. One often hears the phrase “never forget” in association with this event. “Never Forget” were the words that President Bush inscribed in the guest register at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. But what is it exactly that we should “never forget”?

When I was young, I learned the facts and figures about the Holocaust, the number of dead, the inhuman conditions the prisoners were kept in, the brutality, the mass graves and the torture chambers. I saw the identification numbers, still tattooed on people, so many years later, and it is something that I will never forget. But when we say we must never forget the Holocaust, I believe that we must remember even more then the numbers and facts.

What we must never forget is that evil is a REALITY. Evil of this type did not start with the Nazi regime and Evil did not stop with the end of this regime. The same evil that pervaded the thoughts of the Nazi guards is the same Evil that caused 19 Moslems to hijack four planes and kill over 3000 people in attacks on America in September of 2001. This same evil allowed Serbians to mass murder thousands of Moslems in Kosovo and Bosnia. This same evil was present in the torture chambers of Saddam Hussein. This is what we must remember and we must understand that the only way to confront these types of evil in the world is with ACTION.

The holocaust, and the Nazi government that created it, was the worst Evil in the 20^th Century. But it also could have been stopped sooner with earlier action from the ‘free’ nations of the world. Many people, at the start of Hitler’s regime tried to appease the great evil. People like Neville Chamberlain and his followers who would do anything to avoid confrontation and have “peace in their time”. They talked and sanctioned and they allowed the evil to fester. The appeasers in power in the 1930’s did whatever they could do to avoid action. This applied to people both in and out of Germany. As Pastor Martin Niemoller said “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me.” ([1] Declaration of Guilt, signed at the Council of the Evangelical Church, Germany, October, 1945)

Ask yourself what would have happened if America and the nations of the free world had not went to war and defeated Germany and Japan in WWII. Imagine if we didn’t want to take on the additional casualties after Pearl Harbor or the Army didn’t want to fight far from home for long periods of time. How many more Gypsies, Jews, political prisoners, Homosexuals, and people declared undesirable by the state would have been wiped off the earth? But instead of giving in to Japanese and German aggression, America took on the challenge, we defeated two once powerful Nations, and we exposed the evils of the holocaust. Even with these important historical precedents, many people today when faced with modern evils in the world want to appease. They want to talk to the countries that our president so aptly called the “AXIS of EVIL”. They want to sanction, they want to watch, they want peace at any price, and they want to forget what happens when evil festers. They want to forget the true lessens of the holocaust. But, like President Bush wrote, we must never forget.

I, like many current American soldiers, enjoyed my time in Germany. The German culture, food, Beer and wine, and the many German Friends I made gave me a good impression of the German people. With this in mind, some people would blame the Holocaust on one man in Germany and excuse the behavior of a civilized nation as if Adolf Hitler misled all the people. But this is not the case. Ruthless tyrants like Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Kim Jung-Il can never succeed without the willing help of thousands of loyalists and supporters. These supporters of evil do not act out of fear of one man, but because they believe in their own superiority and the righteousness of their cause. The evil intention of these leaders pervades their followers and incites them to greater and greater immoral acts. Once the leaders have gained this type of power there is no stopping the depravity to which they can sink without taking bold and decisive ACTION by the free states of the world.

When talking about the holocaust we think of drastic chambers of torture. Medical experiments on living people, exposing people to hideous penalties for the slightest offenses or for no offenses at all. And of course the use of gas chambers on a minority people who were citizens of the country. To think of these atrocities as “history”, to blame it on Hitler, or the struggles that Germany was going through following WWI , is to miss the most important lesson which is that evil that still exists in the modern world. Saddam Hussein, in continuing the Legacy of Tyrants like Hitler, used torture, murder and in 1988 he used poison gas to kill Thousands of Iraqi people.

The large-scale murder of Eastern European Jews began with the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing units, systematically collected the Jews in each community, forced them to dig mass graves, stripped and shot them. Two million lost their lives in this way. While the size of numbers like this is staggering, it is only through the Action of the United States and the strength of our Army that the mass graves discovered in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq in recent times were prevented from growing to this size. It is through the strength of OUR great Nation, and those of our allies here, that we can show the evil tyrants in the world today, that as a nation we have not forgotten the lessons of the Holocaust.

Ultimately, large-scale gas chambers were constructed in Germany, At the height of its operation, 10,000 people per day were executed. The Nazi killing machines did not discriminate against Men, Women, Children, young or old. Yet many American people today, who remember these facts and figures think of it as “history”. When these modern appeasers are confronted with a regime like Saddam Hussein’s that used poison gas to kill men, women and children of an ethnic minority, used torture chambers on its own people, and filled mass graves with tens of thousands of people, these appeasers wanted further debate and talk before decisive action. If these appeasers were in charge of our nation we would have waited longer to take out the Evil of Saddam and the atrocities he was committing on innocent men women and children would have continued.

Some years ago, my father and I made a trip to visit the site of Dachau Concentration camp in Germany. My father wrote about it afterwards and described it as “a trip through hell”. The rooms and grounds of the place were eerily silent and everyone talked in hushed whispers. Yet to our ears we could still hear the screams and moans of the inmates and our senses replaced the ‘to clean’ smell of the place with the awful smells which must have pervaded the area. The walls of the rooms were covered in gruesome pictures depicting the evil conditions of the prisoners. Now I want to contrast these recollections of my father, with those of USA reporter Jack Kelley describing torture chambers in Iraq soon after our liberation of Iraq. Mr Kelley wrote “Pictures of dead Iraqi’s with their necks slashed, eyes gouged out, and genitals blackened, Fill a bookshelf. Jail cells with dried blood on the floor and rusted shackles bolted to the walls, line the corridors. And the screams of what could be imprisoned men in an underground detention center echo through air shafts and sewer pipes.” The same tyrannical type governments, the same evil that was in Germany, is still in places like Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Darfur many other places throughout the world. This is truly the lesson of the Holocaust that we can never forget

When we study the Holocaust, it is not simply to wring our hands over the events of a half-century ago. It is to confront our own evil instinct and the reality of evil in our world. When it comes to remembering the holocaust, we must remember that it was the US soldier who liberated the concentration camps and confronted evil. Those who fought against the Evil of the Nazi atrocities are sometimes referred to as the “Greatest Generation”. I believe that those of us here now, all of us volunteers, remembering the holocaust and not forgetting the lessons learned, making sacrifices in the dessert to do our parts in confronting Evil in the world, represent a “Great Generation”. I am proud of everyone here today and proud of the opportunity to do my part in continuing the legacy of America in confronting evil in the world. By these ACTS we do now, in fighting evil on a daily basis, that’s how WE honor the victims of the holocaust and show that WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN.

Thank you for your time and Rock of the Marne!
And I used Mr Hannity's great book when preparing this as a source along with others I listed.