The Good, the Bad and the Bittersweet

James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal has an Internet column today in which he tells of the heroism of a professor at Virgina Tech who sacrificed himself when a nut case killed 32 people. He Quotes from the Jerusalem Post:

Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, threw himself in front of the shooter when the [murderer] attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and engineering lecturer was shot to death, "but all the students lived--because of him," Virginia Tech student Asael Arad--also an Israeli--told Army Radio.

Several of Librescu's other students sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he had blocked the gunman's way and saved their lives, said Librescu's son, Joe.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

Taranto points out that Librescu was a Holocaust survivor who escaped communist Romania for Israel in 1978 and moved to Virginia in 1986. By coincidence, he was murdered on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

33 dead at Virginia Tech

One man murders 32 people in cold blood! On days like this I sure hope there is a Hell where killers like this will burn forever! No one is at fault and no one should be blamed other than that piece of scum! There is evil in this world and we should not forget it.

Profiles in Courage vs. Profiles in Defeatism

Newt Gingrich the former Speaker of the House is not too secretly thinking of running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. This is what he had to say about one of his potential opponents, John McCain.

By Newt Gingrich:

There's been a lot of talk lately about what's wrong and small and corrupting about our culture. It's the talk of a culture of defeatism. Today I want to talk about some of the people who are getting things right -- often in the face of extreme pressure to do otherwise.

What do I mean by a culture of defeatism? I mean the growing tendency among some to put politics ahead of principle, to put narrow self-interest ahead of the national interest, to play on the understandable frustrations we're all feeling about the war in Iraq for partisan advantage.

And I'm going to start by doing something that may surprise the mainstream media: Offering high praise for a man I consider a patriot.

The Courage of McCain vs. the Defeatism of Edwards and Obama

Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and I disagree about some things, not the least of which is the so-called campaign finance reform law that bears his name. But Sen. McCain's speech last week at the Virginia Military Institute was a profile in courage, not just for its defense of the current war in Iraq, but for putting this war into the context of what he called "a broader struggle in the Arab and Muslim world, the struggle between violent extremists and the forces of modernity and moderation."

Many of Sen. McCain's former friends in the elite media make no secret of their belief that his support for the war is dooming his presidential bid. The smart politics, they seem to be saying, is to end his support for America in Iraq. But instead of doing the short-sighted political thing, Sen. McCain devoted part of his remarkable speech to calling out those who have abandoned our national security interests for political expediency. But they are not simply making a calculated political risk, they are gambling with the lives of our men and women in Iraq: Those who, in the senator's words, "accept defeat but not the responsibility for its consequences."

Here's just part of what he said:

"Before I left for Iraq, I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission. Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering."

When Democratic Defeatism Becomes Self-Fulfilling

For his courageous remarks, Sen. McCain was attacked by some Democrats as being "overly optimistic." But is the danger for America today in excessive optimism about progress in Iraq or excessive pessimism about our chances for victory there?

In fact, the senior military commanders I talk to confirm that the threats coming from Washington to withdraw support for the troops are having a negative effect on the morale of our troops in the field. And why shouldn't they? Why should our men and women in uniform be asked to risk their lives to win a war that some politicians in Washington are trying to find a clever way to lose?

In fact, the cynicism and defeatism of Washington is no longer an inside-the-Beltway political abstraction. It's directly undermining our chances of victory in Iraq and in the wider War on Terror.

The Better Model: Lincoln and the Mexican War

There is a much better model for those who oppose the war in Iraq but who are determined not to let their opposition harm our troops in the field and our chances for victory.

When Abraham Lincoln was a young congressman in 1848, he was a harsh critic of the Mexican War (although, it is important to note, Lincoln was not vocal in his criticism of the war until most of the fighting had ended).

But Lincoln drew a bright line between his opposition to the origins of the war and his support for the troops once the war had begun. He consistently voted to give the troops the support they needed. And when Democrats attacked him for opposing the war and opposing Democratic President James Polk's rationale for it, this was his reply:

"The distinction between the cause of the President in beginning the war, and the cause of the country after it was begun, is a distinction which you [Democrats] cannot perceive."

Too many on the left today have the same problem: They can't distinguish between their claims of opposition to the origins of the war (and for some, the seemingly pathological desire to oppose President Bush), and the ongoing need to support our troops in middle of battle. For the good of the country and our troops in Iraq, opponents of the war should follow the lead of Abraham Lincoln.


The Courage of the Iraqi Parliament vs. the Death Cult of al Qaeda in IraqThe final profile in courage I want to talk about today is the Iraqi Parliament. It held an unprecedented meeting on Friday -- the Muslim day of prayer -- in a show of defiance against terrorists.

The day before, a suicide bomber from al Qaeda in Iraq had detonated himself in the Parliament dining hall. One lawmaker was killed and dozens were injured. The Parliament speaker said the extraordinary Friday session was meant to send "a clear message to all the terrorists and all those who dare try to stop this [political] process that we will sacrifice in order for it to continue."

Contrast the Iraqi speaker's words with those of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

'We're Going to Pick up Senate Seats as a Result of This War'

Speaking the same day that the Iraqi Parliament met in courageous defiance of terrorists who are trying to strangle their democracy in its cradle, Democratic Sen. Reid held a news conference to excitedly tell reporters how his party is benefiting politically from the violence in Iraq.

Citing what he called "compelling and astounding" polling data, this was Sen. Reid's distasteful prediction:

"We're going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war."

That's right. "We're going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war."

This is not a sentiment -- and these are not words -- worthy of the leadership of a great nation. While lawmakers in Iraq risk their lives to defend a freely elected government from terrorist threats -- while American young men and women fight and die to help a nation rise in the Arab world that can govern, sustain, and defend itself -- American lawmakers play politics. They literally play politics with these lives. And in doing so, they demean the cause for which our armed forces and the armed forces of our allies (including free Iraqis) are sacrificing.

We can do better than this. America is not about defeatism and cynicism. Abraham Lincoln knew this in 1848. John McCain knows it today. American profiles in courage are not commonplace by any means. But they define our nation in a way that profiles in defeatism never have and, God willing, never will.

Bill Buckley

In view of the news about the death of Bill Buckley's wife Pat (see post below) I thought I would re post an article I wrote here in 2005 when Bill Buckley turned 80.

Monday, November 7, 2005: William F Buckley Jr Turns 80 this Month

Boy does that make me feel old. When I was a teenager he was my hero. Most boys may age idolized Mickey Mantel or Johnny Unitas or John Kennedy, but John Wayne and Bill Buckley were my hero's. I still have a large poster of Bill hanging in our family room(it's still there) , my wife won't let me hang it in the living room. I bought it in Berkeley California, of all places, on a spring vacation trip while I was a college student at Oregon in 1969. Back in those days Buckley's show on PBS, Firing Line, was one of the few conservative shows broadcast. I still remember when he ran for Mayor of New York and debated John Lindsey. Buckley pretended to be bored or sleeping while Lindsey was speaking. My mom thought he was rude but I though he was cool. Back then he was the conservative "young rebel." We YAF ers (Young Americans for Freedom) all wanted to be like him.In those days the conservative movement was fun... it's hard to explain how much fun we had as young conservatives in the early 60's before Kennedy was shot and Vietnam was lost. In the days before talk radio, Fox News, and the Internet we always had National Review and Bill was our leader.. Happy Birthday Bill..... How far we have come . Thanks!

Pat Buckley RIP

Patricia Buckley the wife of William F Buckley and the "Den Mother" of the conservative movement died today. She died of septic poisoning following a vascular operation on her left leg.

Pat had been married to WFB since July 1950 and is mother of the acclaimed writer Christopher Buckley.

She's been a core part of the National Review family — hosting editorial dinners in her home, among many other intrusions — since its conception and her loss will be felt by many. Young Americans For Freedom was founded at their home in Sharron Connecticut.

Condolences to Bill and Christopher and the entire Buckley family.

Michael Barone: Of Victims and Virtues

April 16, 2007
Of Victims and Virtues
By Michael Barone

"We believe these three individuals are innocent."

The words, soberly spoken by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, bring to an end the unjust prosecution of the three former Duke lacrosse players.

"We have no credible evidence that an attack occurred."

The motives of the "overreaching" prosecutor, as Cooper called him, are obvious: Prosecuting three white men on charges brought by a black accuser helped him win black votes he needed in an election. The motives of those who rushed to believe the charges -- and continued to believe them 366 days after DNA testing implicated none of the players -- are something else.

The "Group of 88" Duke professors, journalists for The New York Times and the Durham Herald-Sun, and heads of black and feminist organizations all seemed to have a powerful emotional need to believe. A need to believe that those they classify as victims must be virtuous and those they classify as oppressors must be villains. A need to believe that this is the way the world usually works.

Except it doesn't. Cases that fit this template don't come along very often. In this country, black-on-white crime is far more common than white-on-black crime (black-on-black crime is far more common still). You won't see the characters exercised by the Duke case looking at the recent case of three University of Minnesota players accused (whether justly or not) of rape -- they happen to be black.

This need to believe that the victim class is always virtuous and the oppressor class is guilty is widespread, and perhaps growing, in this country and abroad. It is particularly strong among those lucky enough to get paid to observe the way most people work and live -- academics, journalists, apparatchiks of advocacy organizations.
We can see the impulse in the rejection by the Public Broadcasting System of a film about moderate Muslims confronting Islamists. PBS says the film isn't ready yet and was tainted by the presence of two conservatives -- imagine! -- on its board of advisers. But lurking behind PBS's decision, I suspect, is a distaste for Muslims who embrace the values of Western oppressors along with sympathy, or something like it, for the Islamist victims.

Or consider two events in Britain. First, the Ministry of Defense's decision, since rescinded, to allow the sailors and marines who groveled before their Iranian captors to sell their stories to the press. After all, they are victimspeople placed in the line of fire in what many consider an unjustified war.

At just about the same time, another pillar of the establishment, the BBC, canceled a documentary on Pvt. Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism in Iraq. The story, a BBC source said, was "too positive." Or it would antagonize Muslims or war opponents. Beharry, you see, although a West Indian by origin, has joined the oppressor class by serving heroically.

Meanwhile, far from Britain, in Littleton, Colo., some citizens are trying to prevent the erecting of a statue honoring Navy SEAL Danny Dietz, a local son who died while serving heroically in Afghanistan. It sends the wrong message, these worthies argue, to honor someone wielding a gun in a community that suffered a massacre in its high school in 1999. That's an argument that only makes sense if you suppose that Dietz was in the oppressor class, no more morally worthy than the maniacs who murdered their fellow students and teachers.

This urge to see the victim class as virtuous and the oppressor class as villainous leads people in countries like the United States and Britain to sympathize more with our enemies than our defenders. This is not new.

"England is, I believe, the only country in which, during a great war, eminent men write and speak publicly as if they belonged to the enemy," said Lord Salisbury a century ago. Now you can add America to the list."Before I left for Iraq," John McCain said in a speech last week at the Virginia Military Institute, "I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission. Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering."

McCain just doesn't get it. Our enemies are virtuous victims. We are the evil oppressors. Just like those Duke lacrosse players.

Goodby G I Joe's

The G I Joe's sporting goods store chain, here in Oregon, has been bought out by a large corporation and they are changing the store names to just plain "Joe's". I feel a touch of sadness for two reason. First, G I Joe's was an Oregon based chain and there are getting to be fewer and fewer. Fred Meyer and Meier & Frank two other Oregon based chain stores have also been bought out in recent years by out of state conglomerates. They even chanced the name of Meier & Frank to Macy's. There was something uniquely Oregon about these stores. Second, changing the name of G.I. Joe's is a brake from its roots as an Army/Navy surplus store. After World War II stores sprung up all over America selling old Army/Navy surplus. Just about ever town had one. As a kid growing up in the 1950's I loved to go into these stores . They had "neat stuff" like canteens, backpacks, leggings, and ammo boxes. Merchandise was piled high and the places smelled of canvas.For me they were as much fun as toy stores. We liked to played "army" and we could get all our stuff there so we could be just like Audie Murphy.I just watched a documentary about "Saving Private Ryan" and Steven Spielberg made his first films as a kid filming his friends playing "army" with a home movie camera he got from his dad. G. I Joe's started out as an Army/Navy surplus store . I remember as a kid growing up in Coos Bay/North Bend saving up my money so I could buy a yellow two man raft at G I Joe's to sail on the Coos River.Back then the store was only in Portland and I can remember blowing up the boat by mouth at the motel I was staying at with my parents. They had gone out and I was watching Ron Tomkin (the Portland car dealer)hosting a movie on TV called "Godzilla". He always had good looking models helping him! In any case I loved those Army/Navy surplus stores. One by one they closed down in the 1960's as World War II surplus ran out. G I Joe's didn't close but evolved into a great sporting goods store. However, every time I went into G. I Joe's I remembered those stores and the times. My guess is the new owners for "PC" reasons wanted to change the name so liberals would shop there. Next thing they will be removing the gun sales! Good by G. I Joe's.

Someone else had my same dream!

The Post-west
A civilization that has become just a dream.
by Victor Davis Hanson
National Review Online

I recently had a dream that British marines fought back, like their forefathers of old, against criminals and pirates. When taken captive, they proved defiant in their silence. When released, they talked to the tabloids with restraint and dignity, and accepted no recompense.

I dreamed that a kindred German government, which best knew the wages of appeasement, cut-off all trade credits to the outlaw Iranian mullahs — even as the European Union joined the Americans in refusing commerce with this Holocaust-denying, anti-Semitic, and thuggish regime.

NATO countries would then warn Iran that their next unprovoked attack on a vessel of a member nation would incite the entire alliance against them in a response that truly would be of a “disproportionate” nature.........

(To read the rest of Mr Hanson's dream click on the title above for a link)

Too bad the nightmare is when you wake up! The West has lost it's will to stand for anything but the continuance of the "good times".

Oregon Ducks New Basketball Arena

John Canzano, a columnist for the Portland Oregonian in today's column about the renewal of Ernie Kent's contract as basketball coach had this to say on the basketball arena to replace Mac Court:

Certainly, the release wasn't for arena donors, because if you'd been staking out the airport, you'd know that project is apparently off the ground again -- as the Kansas City-based design firm was in Eugene last week and flew back again early this week.

Go Ducks.... make it happen!

"McCain's Churchillian address"

From the Washington Times:TODAY'S EDITORIAL
April 12, 2007


In Washington, nothing comes easier to some political pundits than mindless cynicism. But some politicians advocate certain policies because they believe them to be the right thing for the country, even if they don't play tremendously well with the focus groups. In his address yesterday to cadets at the Virginia Military Institute, Sen. John McCain demonstrated that kind of genuine statesmanship -- a willingness to tell unpleasant truths regardless of the political consequences.
In many ways, Mr. McCain delivered the speech on the war that President Bush should have given months ago, challenging congressional Democrats to do the right thing and approve adequate funding for the war effort without imposing conditions that will likely result in an American defeat. "Responsible political leaders, statesmen, do not add to the burden our troops carry. That is what Democrats, intentionally or not, have done by failing to provide them with the resources necessary to succeed in their mission," Mr. McCain said. "Every day that passes without the necessary funds appropriated to sustain our troops, our chances of success in Iraq dwindle and our military readiness declines further."
Mr. McCain also said: "What struck me upon my [recent] return from Baghdad is the enormous gulf between the harsh but hopeful realities in Iraq, where politics is for many a matter of life and death, and the fanciful and self-interested debates about Iraq that substitute ... for statesmanship in Washington. In Iraq, American and Iraqi soldiers risk everything to hold the country together, to prevent it from becoming a terrorist sanctuary and the region from descending into the dangerous chaos of a widening war."
The senator watched with regret last month when the House "voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission" in Iraq. He noted that "Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender?" Politicians of both parties have the responsibility to offer support "when the right strategy is proposed and the right commanders take the field to implement it, or at the least to offer an alternative strategy that has some relationship to reality." But instead of working with Mr. Bush to develop a winning strategy, the Democrats insist on debating whether Iraq is a "sideshow" or part of the "real war on terror," Mr. McCain said. But "whether or not al Qaeda terrorists were a present danger in Iraq before the war, there is no disputing they are there now and their leaders recognize Iraq as the main battleground in the war on terror."
Any voters who think that preventing defeat in Iraq should be a central concern should give Mr. McCain's brave, defiant and wise VMI speech a careful reading.

John McCain's Speech at VMI...... "a voice in the wilderness "

April 11, 2007

By Senator John McCain

"Thank you. I know that seated in the front of this hall are VMI cadets who have served in Iraq. I am grateful for your service, honored by your presence, and mindful that I speak to an audience that can discern truth from falsehood in a politician's appraisal of the war. You know, better than most, whether our cause is just, necessary and winnable. You have risked much to make it so. Thank you. I'd also like to salute a few old comrades of mine, Orson Swindle, Jim Berger and Paul Galanti, whose example of steadfast courage helped to sustain me in a difficult time.

"This institution is steeped in the ideals of service and sacrifice exemplified by the veterans here today. VMI has helped to form the character of many fine patriots, none greater than George Marshall, whose long, selfless service to our country was of inestimable value in some of the most consequential moments of the last century. As we celebrate this year the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, VMI's Corps of Cadets should take renewed pride from their association with his good name and in knowing the lesson of his character and patriotism has been a part of your education.

"I just returned from my fifth visit to Iraq. Unlike the veterans here today, I risked nothing more threatening than a hostile press corps. And my only mission was to inform my opinions with facts. We still face many difficult challenges in Iraq. That is undeniable. But we have also made, in recent weeks, measurable progress in establishing security in Baghdad and fighting al Qaeda in Anbar province. To deny the difficulties and uncertainties ahead is an egregious disservice to the public. But as General Petraeus implements his plan to correct the flawed strategy we followed in the past, and attempts to spare the United States and the world the catastrophe of an American defeat, it is an equal disservice to dismiss early signs of progress. And now we confront a choice as historically important as any we have faced in a long while. Will this nation's elected leaders make the politically hard but strategically vital decision to give General Petraeus our full support and do what is necessary to succeed in Iraq? Or will we decide to take advantage of the public's frustration, accept defeat, and hope that whatever the cost to our security the politics of defeat will work out better for us than our opponents? For my part, I would rather lose a campaign than a war.
"However it ends, the war in Iraq will have a profound influence on the future of the Middle East, global stability, and the security of the United States, which will remain, for the foreseeable future, directly affected by events in that dangerous part of the world. The war is part of a broader struggle in the Arab and Muslim world, the struggle between violent extremists and the forces of modernity and moderation.

"In the early days after 9/11, our country was united in a single purpose: to find the terrorists bent on our destruction and eliminate the threat they posed to us. In the intervening years, we have learned the complexity of the struggle against radical Islamic ideology. The extremists - a tiny percentage of the hundreds of millions of peaceful Muslims - are flexible, intelligent, determined and unconstrained by international borders. They wish to return the world to the 7th century, and they will use any means, no matter how inhumane, to eliminate anyone who stands in the way. But the vast majority of Muslims are trying to modernize their societies to meet the challenges of the 21st century. While al Qaeda seeks to destroy, millions of Muslims attempt to build the same elements of a good life that all of us want - security, opportunity, peace, and hope.

"The war on terror, the war for the future of the Middle East, and the struggle for the soul of Islam - of which the war in Iraq constitutes a key element - are bound together. Progress in one requires progress in all. The many complex challenges we face require more than a military response. This is a contest of ideas and values as much as it is one of bullets and bombs. We must gain the active support of modernizers across the Muslim world, who want to share in the benefits of the global system and its economic success, and who aspire to the political freedom that is, I truly believe, the natural desire of the human heart. No matter how much attention their ruthless tactics receive, terrorists are not the true face of Islam. Devout Muslims in Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan and Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and in Iraq, aspire to progress for their societies in which basic human needs are met for more than the privileged few and basic human rights are respected.

"The United States needs stronger alliances, coalitions, and partnerships worldwide to engage this long and multidimensional struggle. We need to pay careful attention to America's image and moral credibility. And in this broad effort, the outcome of the war in Iraq will play a pivotal role.

"On my trip, I traveled to Baghdad, Ramadi, and Tikrit, met with Iraqi cabinet officers, our top military leadership, including Generals Petraeus and Odierno, and with embassy officials, including our new ambassador, Ryan Crocker. I also had the privilege of spending time with our soldiers, from generals to privates. Their courage and resolve in this frustrating war is an inspiration, and serves as a reminder of our obligations to avoid the expediency of easy, but empty answers or the allure of political advantage to choose the path in Iraq that best honors their sacrifices.
"We're going to need their courage more than ever. The divisions in Iraqi society are deep, and the need for greater security critical. Innocent Iraqis are still being murdered, and our soldiers are braving dangers no less threatening than in the past. Every day we read about or watch on television the latest car bombing, IED explosion or sniper attack. But something else is happening, too. There are the first glimmers of progress under General Petraeus' political-military strategy. While these glimmers are no guarantee of success, and though they come early in the implementation of the new strategy, I believe they are cause for very cautious optimism.

"For the first time in my visits to Iraq, our delegation was able to drive - not fly by helicopter-- from the airport to downtown Baghdad. For the first time we met with a Sunni tribal leader in Anbar province, who is working with American and Iraqi forces to fight al Qaeda. Sixteen of the twenty-four Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar are now working with us. We visited Iraqi and American forces deployed together in Baghdad - an integral part of the new security plan - where they maintain a presence in a neighborhood cleared of militias and terrorists, and hold the ground they have retaken rather than return to base, after which the enemy returns to impose its will again on a defenseless population. The government of Prime Minister Maliki is delivering on its promise to deploy Iraqi brigades to Baghdad. A plan to share oil revenues equitably among all Iraqis has been approved by Iraqi ministers and is pending approval by the parliament. After an important visit by Prime Minister Maliki to Ramadi in Sunni dominated Anbar, he promised a new policy to allay Sunni fears that they will be excluded from sharing in the political future of the country. An important result of the new security plan is the cooperation we are receiving from the Iraqi people, who are beginning to provide us with actionable intelligence about the whereabouts and plans of the enemy. These welcome developments have occurred even though only three of our five additional brigades have arrived.

"These and other indicators of progress are encouraging, but they are not determinative. I understand the damage false optimism does to public patience and support. I learned long ago to be skeptical of official reports that are long on wishful thinking and short on substance. As we make progress in some areas, the enemy strikes where we do not have as great a presence. But security in the capital is indispensable to a greater level of security throughout the country so that political and economic progress can occur. And in Baghdad, we are making progress. We have a long way to go, but for the first time in four years, we have a strategy that deals with how things really are in Iraq and not how we wish them to be.

"After my first visit to Iraq in 2003, I argued for more troops. I took issue with statements characterizing the insurgency as a few 'dead-enders' or being in its 'last throes.' I criticized the search and destroy strategy and argued for a counter-insurgency approach that separated the reconcilable population from the irreconcilable. That is the course now followed by General Petraeus, and the brave Americans and coalition troops he has the honor to command.

"It is the right strategy. General Petraeus literally wrote the book on counter insurgency. He is a determined, resourceful and bold commander. Our troops, many of whom have served multiple tours in Iraq, are performing with great skill and bravery. But the hour is late and, despite the developments I just described, we should have no illusion that success is certain. But having been a critic of the way this war was fought and a proponent of the very strategy now being followed, it is my obligation to encourage Americans to give it a chance to succeed. To do otherwise would be contrary to the interests of my country and dishonorable.

"Many in Washington have called for an end to our involvement in Iraq. Yet they offer no opinion about the consequences of this course of action beyond a vague assurance that all will be well if the Iraqis are left to work out their differences themselves. It is obviously true that no military solution is capable of doing what the Iraqis won't do politically. But, my friends, no political solution has a chance to succeed when al Qaeda is free to foment civil war and Iraqis remain dependent on sectarian militias to protect their children from being murdered.
"America has a vital interest in preventing the emergence of Iraq as a Wild West for terrorists, similar to Afghanistan before 9/11. By leaving Iraq before there is a stable Iraqi governing authority we risk precisely this, and the potential consequence of allowing terrorists sanctuary in Iraq is another 9/11 or worse. In Iraq today, terrorists have resorted to levels of barbarism that shock the world, and we should not be so na?ve as to believe their intentions are limited solely to the borders of that country. We Americans are their primary enemy, and we Americans are their ultimate target.

"A power vacuum in Iraq would invite further interference from Iran at a time when Tehran already feels emboldened enough to develop nuclear weapons, threaten Israel and America, and kidnap British sailors. If the government collapses in Iraq, which it surely will if we leave prematurely, Iraq's neighbors, from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt, will feel pressure to intervene on the side of their favored factions. This uncertain swirl of events could cause the region to explode and foreclose the opportunity for millions of Muslims and their children to achieve freedom. We could face a terrible choice: watch the region burn, the price of oil escalate dramatically and our economy decline, watch the terrorists establish new base camps or send American troops back to Iraq, with the odds against our success much worse than they are today.
"To enumerate the strategic interests at stake in Iraq does not address our moral obligation to a people we liberated from Saddam Hussein's tyranny. I suspect many in this audience, and most members of Congress, look back at America's failure to act to prevent genocide in Rwanda with shame. I know I do. And yet I fear the potential for genocide and ethnic cleansing in Iraq is even worse. The sectarian violence, the social divisions, the armaments, the weakened security apparatus of the state - all the ingredients are there. Unless we fight to prevent it, our withdrawal will be coupled with a genocide in which we are complicit. Given our security interests and our moral investment in Iraq, so long as we have a chance to prevail we must try to prevail. As General Petraeus has repeatedly stated, it will be several months or more before we know with any confidence whether we can turn this war around. Elements of the new civil-military strategy are still being drafted, almost half of the additional troops have yet to arrive, and many of the new civilians have yet to take up their posts. We are off to a good start, but significant results will take time.

"What struck me upon my return from Baghdad is the enormous gulf between the harsh but hopeful realities in Iraq, where politics is for many a matter of life and death, and the fanciful and self-interested debates about Iraq that substitute for statesmanship in Washington. In Iraq, American and Iraqi soldiers risk everything to hold the country together, to prevent it from becoming a terrorist sanctuary and the region from descending into the dangerous chaos of a widening war. In Washington, where political calculation seems to trump all other considerations, Democrats in Congress and their leading candidates for President, heedless of the terrible consequences of our failure, unanimously confirmed our new commander, and then insisted he be prevented from taking the action he believes necessary to safeguard our country's interests. In Iraq, hope is a fragile thing, but all the more admirable for the courage and sacrifice necessary to nurture it. In Washington, cynicism appears to be the quality most prized by those who accept defeat but not the responsibility for its consequences. "Before I left for Iraq, I watched with regret as the House of Representatives voted to deny our troops the support necessary to carry out their new mission. Democratic leaders smiled and cheered as the last votes were counted. What were they celebrating? Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering. A defeat for the United States is a cause for mourning not celebrating. And determining how the United States can avert such a disaster should encourage the most sober, public-spirited reasoning among our elected leaders not the giddy anticipation of the next election. Democrats who voted to authorize this war, and criticized the failed strategy that has led us to this perilous moment, have the same responsibility I do, to offer support when that failure is recognized and the right strategy is proposed and the right commanders take the field to implement it or, at the least, to offer an alternative strategy that has some relationship to reality.

"Democrats argue we should redirect American resources to the ˜real' war on terror, of which Iraq is just a sideshow. But whether or not al Qaeda terrorists were a present danger in Iraq before the war, there is no disputing they are there now, and their leaders recognize Iraq as the main battleground in the war on terror. Today, al Qaeda terrorists are the ones preparing the car bombs, firing the Katyusha rockets, planting the IEDs. They maneuver in the midst of Iraq's sectarian conflict, sparking and fueling the horrendous violence, destroying efforts at political reconciliation, killing innocents on both sides in the hope of creating a conflagration that will cause Americans to lose heart and leave, so they can return to their primary mission - planning and executing attacks on the United States, and destabilizing America's allies.

"It is impossible to separate sectarian violence from the war against al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is following an explicit strategy to foment civil war in Iraq. The only way to reduce and finally end sectarian violence is to provide greater security to the population than we have in the past, as we are doing now in Baghdad; to encourage Iraqis to abandon their reliance on local militias, and to destroy al Qaeda and other truly irreconcilable enemies of the United States and the Iraqi people.

"Our defeat in Iraq would constitute a defeat in the war against terror and extremism and would make the world a much more dangerous place. The enemies we face there harbor the same depraved indifference to human life as those who killed three thousand innocent Americans on a September morning in 2001. A couple of days before I arrived in Baghdad, a suicide car bomb destroyed a large, busy marketplace. It was a bit unusual, because new U.S. and Iraqi security measures in Baghdad have reduced the number of car bomb attacks. But this time the terrorists had a new tactic: they drove their car to a security checkpoint and were waved through because there were two small children in the back seat. The terrorists then walked away from the car, leaving the children inside it, and triggered the explosion. If the terrorists are willing to do this terrible thing to Iraqi children, what are they willing to do to our children?

"Some argue the war in Iraq no longer has anything to do with us; that it is a hopelessly complicated mess of tribal warfare and sectarian conflict. The situation is complex, and very difficult. Yet from one perspective it is quite simple. We are engaged in a basic struggle: a struggle between humanity and inhumanity; between builders and destroyers. If fighting these people and preventing the export of their brand of radicalism and terror is not intrinsic to the national security and most cherished values of the United States, I don't know what is.
"Consider our other strategic challenges in the region: preventing Iran from going nuclear; stabilizing Afghanistan against a resurgent Taliban; the battle for the future of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others; protecting Israel's security; the struggle for Lebanon's independence. Does any honest observer believe those challenges will be easier to confront and at lesser cost in American blood and treasure if the United States accepts defeat in Iraq?

"We all agree a military solution alone will not solve the problems of Iraq. There must be a political agreement among Iraqis that allows all groups to participate in the building of their nation, to share in its resources and to live in peace with each other. But without greater security imposed by the United States military and the Iraqi Army, there can be no political solution. As Americans and Iraqis sacrifice to provide that security, Iraq's leaders must do the hard work of political reconciliation. We can help them get there, but we cannot assume their responsibilities. Unless they accept their own obligations to all Iraqis, we will all fail, and America, Iraq and the world will have to live with the terrible consequences. We are giving Iraq's leaders and people the chance to have a better future, but they must seize it.

"In the many mistakes we have made in this war, a few lessons have become clear. America should never undertake a war unless we are prepared to do everything necessary to succeed, and unless we have a realistic and comprehensive plan for success. We did not meet this responsibility initially. We are trying to do so now. Responsible political leaders - statesmen - do not add to the burdens our troops carry. That is what Democrats, intentionally or not, have done by failing to provide them with the resources necessary to succeed in their mission. Every day that passes without the necessary funds appropriated to sustain our troops, our chances of success in Iraq dwindle and our military readiness declines further. We have sent the best Americans among us to fight in Iraq, at the least, we must give them the tools they need to do their job. When the President vetoes, as he should, the bill that refuses to support General Petraeus' new plan, I hope Democrats in Congress will heed the advice of one of their leading candidates for President, Senator Obama, and immediately pass a new bill to provide support to our troops in Iraq without substituting their partisan interests for those of our troops and our country.
"I know the pain war causes. I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. I sympathize with the fatigue of the American people. And I regret sincerely the additional sacrifices imposed on the brave Americans who defend us. But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and a country. We, who are willing to support this new strategy, and give General Petraeus the time and support he needs, have chosen a hard road. But it is the right road. It is necessary and just. Democrats, who deny our soldiers the means to prevent an American defeat, have chosen another road. It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election. This is an historic choice, with ramifications for Americans not even born yet. Let's put aside for a moment the small politics of the day. The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll.
"We all respect the sacrifices made by our soldiers. We all mourn the losses they have suffered in this war. But let us honor them by doing all we can to ensure their sacrifices were not made in vain. Let us show an appropriate humility by recognizing that so little is asked of us compared to the burdens we imposed on them, and let us show just a small, but significant measure of their courage, resolve and patriotism by putting our country's interests before every personal or political consideration.

"In closing, I'd like to bring to your attention the gallantry and patriotism of one American who served with distinction in Iraq, a Navy SEAL, who refuses to quit his mission and let the country he loves so well suffer the terrible harm our defeat would entail. A few days ago, Petty Officer First Class Mark Robbins' unit was ambushed outside Baghdad. During the ensuing firefight, he spotted an insurgent with an RPG, and immediately stepped out from cover and exposed himself to enemy fire to take out the terrorist before he could fire. He saved the lives of his comrades, but was gravely wounded as he did so. He was shot in the eye by another insurgent with an AK-47. The bullet exited the back of his head about three inches behind his ear. He was initially knocked unconscious but came to, continued to fight and then, despite the severity of his wound, walked to the evacuation helicopter. He was eventually taken to Landstuhl military hospital in Germany. As is the custom of Navy SEALs, he was accompanied by one of his comrades, Petty Officer Second class McLean Swink.

"On our way home from Iraq, our delegation stopped in Germany for refueling and crew rest, and I had the privilege of visiting some of our wounded at Landstuhl. I briefly stopped in Mark Robbins' room, but he was sedated and unable then to communicate. I spent a few moments there, and talked to his buddy, before I went to visit other wounded soldiers. Not too long after I had left Mark's room, Petty Officer Swink found me and told me Mark was awake and had asked to see me. So I returned. When I entered his room and approached his bedside, he struggled with great difficulty to sit up, stiffened his body as if he were trying to stand at attention, grasped my hand tightly and wouldn't let go. And then he whispered to me not to worry, ˜We can win this fight. We can win this fight.' Mark, as another person observed, looks like the ˜toughest kid on the high school football team.' He is tough, and brave, and very young. But more than that, he's an inspiration to those who are only called upon to subordinate a temporary political advantage to the security of our good and great nation. Petty Officer Mark Robbins, an American hero, believes we can still win this fight. I'll take his word for it, and accept my responsibility to help the cause he sacrificed so much to defend. Thank you."

THIS MAN HAS MY VOTE !

The War You're Not Reading About

By John McCain
Sunday, April 8, 2007

I just returned from my fifth visit to Iraq since 2003 -- and my first since Gen. David Petraeus's new strategy has started taking effect. For the first time, our delegation was able to drive, not use helicopters, from the airport to downtown Baghdad. For the first time, we met with Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province who are working with American and Iraqi forces to combat al-Qaeda. For the first time, we visited Iraqi and American forces deployed in a joint security station in Baghdad -- an integral part of the new strategy. We held a news conference to discuss what we saw: positive signs, underreported in the United States, that are reason for cautious optimism.

I observed that our delegation "stopped at a local market, where we spent well over an hour, shopping and talking with the local people, getting their views and ideas about different issues of the day." Markets in Baghdad have faced devastating terrorist attacks. A car bombing at Shorja in February, for example, killed 137 people. Today the market still faces occasional sniper attacks, but it is safer than it used to be. One innovation of the new strategy is closing markets to vehicles, thereby precluding car bombs that kill so many and garner so much media attention. Petraeus understandably wanted us to see this development.


I went to Iraq to gain a firsthand view of the progress in this difficult war, not to celebrate any victories. No one has been more critical of sunny progress reports that defied realities in Iraq. In 2003, after my first visit, I argued for more troops to provide the security necessary for political development. I disagreed with statements characterizing the insurgency as a "few dead-enders" or being in its "last throes." I repeatedly criticized the previous search-and-destroy strategy and argued for a counterinsurgency approach: separating the reconcilable population from the irreconcilable and creating enough security to facilitate the political and economic solutions that are the only way to defeat insurgents. This is exactly the course that Petraeus and the brave men and women of the American military are pursuing.

The new political-military strategy is beginning to show results. But most Americans are not aware because much of the media are not reporting it or devote far more attention to car bombs and mortar attacks that reveal little about the strategic direction of the war. I am not saying that bad news should not be reported or that horrific terrorist attacks are not newsworthy. But news coverage should also include evidence of progress. Whether Americans choose to support or oppose our efforts in Iraq, I hope they could make their decision based on as complete a picture of the situation in Iraq as is possible to report. A few examples:


· Sunni sheikhs in Anbar are now fighting al-Qaeda. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Anbar's capital, Ramadi, to meet with Sunni tribal leaders. The newly proposed de-Baathification legislation grew out of that meeting. Police recruitment in Ramadi has increased dramatically over the past four months.


· More than 50 joint U.S.-Iraqi stations have been established in Baghdad. Regular patrols establish connections with the surrounding neighborhood, resulting in a significant increase in security and actionable intelligence.


· Extremist Shiite militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr is in hiding, his followers are not contesting American forces, sectarian violence has dropped in Baghdad and we are working with the Shiite mayor of Sadr City.


· Iraqi army and police forces are increasingly fighting on their own and with American forces, and their size and capability are growing. Iraqi army and police casualties have increased because they are fighting more.

Despite these welcome developments, we should have no illusions. This progress is not determinative. It is simply encouraging. We have a long, tough road ahead in Iraq. But for the first time since 2003, we have the right strategy. In Petraeus, we have a military professional who literally wrote the book on fighting this kind of war. And we will have the right mix and number of forces.

There is no guarantee that we will succeed, but we must try. As every sensible observer has concluded, the consequences of failure in Iraq are so grave and so threatening for the region, and to the security of the United States, that to refuse to give Petraeus's plan a chance to succeed would constitute a tragic failure of American resolve. I hope those who cite the Iraq Study Group's conclusions note that James Baker wrote on this page last week that we must have bipartisan support for giving the new strategy time to succeed. This is not a moment for partisan gamesmanship or for one-sided reporting. The stakes are just too high.

It Made Me Sick!

This last week, it made me sick, to watch the 15 British seamen and marines "Party" with their Iranian captors in Tehran. I can understand soldiers "breaking" but did they have to look so enthusiastic. I also wondered why they didn't fight before they were captured. Not having been in those circumstances myself I resisted the urge to "vent" on this blog. Then today Dean Barnett has written a column in which he quotes some one who does have the right to criticise the behavior of these British seaman and marines. He quotes Jack Jocobs a military analyst on MSNBC. Barnett writes:

Jacobs won the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Vietnam. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Jacobs received the Medal “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

With his company under intense enemy fire and the command group having suffered heavy casualties, “Capt. Jacobs assumed command of the allied company, ordered a withdrawal from the exposed position and established a defensive perimeter. Despite profuse bleeding from head wounds which impaired his vision, Capt. Jacobs, with complete disregard for his safety, returned under intense fire to evacuate a seriously wounded advisor to the safety of a wooded area where he administered lifesaving first aid. He then returned through heavy automatic weapons fire to evacuate the wounded company commander. Capt. Jacobs made repeated trips across the fire-swept open rice paddies evacuating wounded and their weapons. On 3 separate occasions, Capt. Jacobs contacted and drove off Viet Cong squads who were searching for allied wounded and weapons, single-handedly killing 3 and wounding several others. His gallant actions and extraordinary heroism saved the lives of 1 U.S. advisor and 13 allied soldiers.”

I had the pleasure of meeting Captain Jacobs for a few minutes about a year ago. He’s a small man, and you don’t look at him and instantly think “war hero.” It’s precisely for this reason that his valor is so poignant. For a nation to be great and its military to be great, it needs ordinary men to do extraordinary things. It also needs ordinary men who are willing to make extraordinary sacrifices.

Jack Jacobs watched the English press conference where the soldiers’ Captain declared that “fighting back was simply not an option.” Like me, Jacobs was horrified. Because of his military experience, Jacobs was personally outraged as well.

Asked by an MSNBC hostess for his feelings about the released soldiers and their press conference, Jacobs inveighed on-air, “That was the most disgusting, disreputable, dishonorable performance I can remember in more than 40 years of my relationship with the military service. I think every man every woman, who wears the uniform or has ever worn the uniform of his country, no matter what country it is, ought to be disgusted by this…Words can’t express my disgust.”
To some, the returning British soldiers may be heroes. If we have so defined heroism down, woe be unto us all.

AS a young kid rowing up, my dad was a member of Kiwanis. Well, the Kiwanis would sponsor professional wrestling matches at the Coos Bay, Oregon Nation Guard Armory. Before the matches started I would roam the halls of the armory reading the posters and looking as the pictures all related to military history and codes of conduct. I loved the pictures but I can still remember a group of posters that illustrated the obligations of every U. S. soldier captured by the enemy; "Name. rank and serial number" was all the information you could give the enemy and you had an obligation to try and escape if captured. Years later when I was in the United States Army I was taught the same code of conduct. While in Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, in Virginia we were taken down to Fort AP Hill near Fredricksberg for field training to prepare us for Vietnam. At one point we were dropped off in the woods after dark and in full field pack were to hike 10 miles across a Wooded area to another location. In between there were hostile forces who's job it was to capture us. Well I was captured and taken to a mock up of a Vietnamese village and was interrogated. I gave my, name, rank and serial number. I was thrown to the ground repeatedly to get me to talk. When I refused they covered me from head to toe on the outside of my uniform with axle grease. They also put it on my face and hands.Of course I knew it was a training exercise and they couldn't kill me or really injure me but I refused to give them any information other than what the code allowed. After midnight I was finally released so I could continue the cross country exercise. I was never able to get that axle grease out of that uniform even after repeated laundering. I spent the rest of the night with axle grease on me and I can still remember the smell to this day. Again, I understand my experience was training and the Brits experience was "for real" but did they have to give up so quick and look so enthusiastic in the Iranian's propaganda shows. Where is the "stiff upper lip" of the British in World War II. It would brake Winston Churchill's heart if he were still alive!

(To read the rest of Dean Barnet's column click on the title above for a link)

Ronald Reagan At Normandy

Ronald Reagan -- Pointe de Hoc, Normandy, June 6, 1984 (The 40th anniversary of D-Day)

We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied peoples joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers -- at the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine-guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting only ninety could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your 'lives fought for life...and left the vivid air signed with your honor'...

Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith, and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

Some who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today. Others who hoped to return never did. "Someday, Liz, I'll go back," said Private First Class Peter Robert Zanatta of the 37th engineer combat battalion, and first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach. "I'll go back and I'll see it all again. I'll see the beach, the barricades and the graves." Those words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zanatta Henn, in a heartrending story about the event her father spoke of so often.
Private Zanatta's daughter wrote to me: "I don't know how or why I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but I do. Maybe it's the bond I had with my father. All I know is that it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year-old boy having to face that beach."
Through the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any president can. It is enough for us to say about Private Zanatta and all the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades ago:We will always remember We will always be proud. We will always be prepared so we may be always free.

April Love

This is a re write of a posting I did last April. The Movie "April Love" came out in 1957 and I can still remember watching Pat Boone walk down a country lane singing the song near the beginning of the movie. As a young kid, growing up in the 1950's in a small town in Southern Oregon, I though Boone looked so sophisticated,( ha). I saw it at a Saturday matinee .( In those days grade school children could go to movies themselves in small towns like Roseburg) Every April I think of that movie and song. The Lyrics are as follows:

"April love is for the very young Every star's a wishing star that shines for you April love is all the seven wonders One little kiss can tell you this is true Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet But April love can slip right through your fingers So if she's the one don't let her run away[Instrumental Interlude] Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet But April love can slip right through your fingers So if she's the one don't let her run away"

Pat Boone plays a JD (juvenile delinquent) who is sent to live with his relatives who own a farm. He meets Shirley Jones and there is car racing and lots of singing . It is a sweet movie in glorious color. Everyone in the movie is nice and it's is a happy movie like a walk in a park on a sunny day. I wish they would put it out on DVD. It's not great cinema but it left an impression on me. Click on the title above for a link to the IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page on the movie.

Tree Hugger's Close Libraries.

Yes, today the "Tree Hugger's" are closing all the public libraries in Jackson County Oregon and there is no certainty when they will ever reopen. For many years the County governments of Oregon have been receiving money from the Federal Government based upon the number of trees that were harvested on federal lands in that county. What with the "tree huggers" and environmentalist limiting logging in Federal Forest this has closed most of the mills in Southern Oregon and cut off these federal funds used by county governments to fund such things as Library's and law enforcement. For the past few years the United States Congress has passed bills to aid county government to cover the loss of funds for tress harvested but now that the Democrats control Congress they are more interested in scoring points on the Iraq War than they are in helping the folks of Southern Oregon. As a result Jackson County, that funds all the public Libraries, has run out of money; and, today all the public libraries in the county are closing and all the employees are being laid off. The supporters of public libraries are finding out what loggers and millwrights learned, some time ago, their are consequences to strict environmental laws. I will miss the library.

In the days before the Internet I used to spend many hours at the old Carnegie Library here in Medford reading newspapers from all over the United States and reading the news and political magazines. I also loved to search the non fiction books for information on what ever I was interested in that week. Since they moved the library and I now have the Internet my trips to the library have been less frequent. I do believe libraries are a great resource for a community and it is a sad day to see them close.

The Hippies Last Hurrah

(Bill & Hilary)

Emmett Tyrell Jr has a perceptive article in the American Spectator on how the leaders of the Democratic party are the aging hippies of the 60's generation:

To those of us familiar with the 1960s generation, this is the late 1960s and early 1970s all over again. In fact, many of the same dramatis personae who howled against the war and the embattled White House in the late 1960s are leading the pack again today. They are forty years older, wider in the midsection and grayer if not glabrous -- but they are as indignant as they were back in the good old days when they were wearing bell-bottomed pants, abstaining from deodorant, and dreaming of the perfect commune -- perhaps one with a genuine Indian mystic seated in his underpants.

To read the rest click on the title for a link

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders after the charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish American War


Who Were the Rough Riders
There was Woodbury Kane, an Ivy League dandy,
Joe Stevens, the world's greatest polo player,
Dudley Dean, the famed Harvard quarterback,
Bob Wrenn, the nation's number-one-rated tennis player.
Hamilton Fish was there too, former captain of the Columbia crew,
and there were footballers from Princeton, high-jumpers from Yale,
gentlemen huntsmen named Wadsworth and Tiffany,
and elegant blue-blooded Englishmen.

You've heard so much about them,
and you never knew any of their names ......
They were Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders"

Washington Post: Nancy Pelosi's "Foolish" Trip

Today's Washington Post has an editorial very critical of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to visit Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad. Some quotes from the editorial:

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.

Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office.........

In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel's position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad's words were mere propaganda.......

As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

(To read the entire editorial click on the title above for a link)

Spring Vacation & The Land of Lincoln

Our Son is a graduate/ teaching assistant in History at a university in the Midwest. So for Spring Vacation, a few weeks ago, did he go to Florida or Cancun in Mexico for spring brake to watch the wet tee shirt contests?...... NOOOOOOOOOO, he went to Springfield Illinois to go to Abraham Lincoln's home before he was president. He also viewed Lincoln's Tomb and the Lincoln Museum.He then went to Chicago to view the site of the 1860 Republican Convention that nominated Lincoln for President.We are very proud of him!

Fathers and Sons who were awarded the Medel of Honor

Arthur MacArthur (Civil War) and Douglas MacArthur (World War II) were the only father and son in history to each receive a Medal of Honor until January 2000 when the award was presented posthumously to President Theodore Roosevelt for his service in the Spanish-American War. His son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. earned the Medal of Honor during World War II. (see there story below)

Two Roosevelt Sons Buried In American Cemetary at Normandy France

Teddy Roosevelt's oldest son, Teddy Roosevelt Jr, (Picture of soldier with cane) would be the only general on D-Day to land with the first wave of troops. He was the first soldier off his landing craft as he led the U.S. 4th Infantry Division's landing at Utah Beach. Roosevelt was soon informed that the landing craft had drifted more than a mile south of their objective, and the first wave was a mile off course. Walking with the aid of a cane and carrying a pistol, he personally made a reconnaissance of the area immediately to the rear of the beach to locate the causeways that were to be used for the advance inland. He then returned to the point of landing and contacted the commanders of the two battalions, Lt. Cols. Conrad C. Simmons and Carlton O. MacNeely, and coordinated the attack on the enemy positions confronting them. Roosevelt's famous words in these circumstances were, "We’ll start the war from right here!" These impromptu plans worked with complete success and little confusion. With artillery landing close by, each follow-on regiment was personally welcomed on the beach by a cool, calm, and collected Roosevelt, who inspired all with humor and confidence. Ted pointed almost every regiment to its changed objective. Sometimes he worked under fire as a self-appointed traffic cop, untangling traffic jams of trucks and tanks all struggling to get inland and off the beach.

For his courage and leadership, Roosevelt would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 28 September 1944.

Ted's actions on D-Day are portrayed in the film "The Longest Day", a 1962 film in which he was played by Henry Fonda. The movie incorrectly shows him dying in a moment of truimph on D-Day. The movie is based on the book "The Longest Day", published in 1959 by Cornelius Ryan.

Throughout World War II, Ted suffered from health problems. He had arthritis, mostly from old World War I injuries, and walked with a cane. He also had heart trouble. One month after the landing at Utah Beach, he died of a heart attack in France. He is buried at the American Cemetery in Normandy next to his brother, Lt. Quentin Roosevelt.(Picture of soldier with dog) Quentin had been a fighter pilot in World War I and his Newport biplane had been shot down by a German plane behind German lines. He was buried in France and was reburied next to his brother at Normandy after World War II.. When his father, the former President, heard of Quentin's death it broke his heart and the leader of the Rough Riders died a short while later. Teddy Roosevelt Sr was later also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War. The two sons of Teddy Roosevelt are buried in Block D; Row 28; Graves 45 &46 at the American Normandy Cemetery in France. Some day I will pay my respects at their graves.

NORMANDY THEN AND NOW

On June 6, 2007 it will have been 63 years since the allied forces led by the United States and Britain crossed the English Chanel to Normandy in Northern France to start the liberation of France and Europe from the occupation of Hitler and Nazi Germany in World War II. Some day I will go there.



156,000 American, British and Canadian troops met heavy resistance from the German forces defending the area, but were able to punch inland, securing safe landing zones for reinforcements. The German failure to successfully defend the Normandy area from the Allied liberation forces in essence doomed Hitler's dream of a Nazi controlled "Fortress Europe" and marked the beginning of the end for Germany.

The exact number of men on both sides who died that day will probably never truly be known. Different sources cite different numbers of Allied, U.S. and German casualties:

--John Keegan, American Historian and Author believes that 2,500 Americans died along with 3,000 British and Canadian troops on D-Day

Above Omaha Beach (see picture above) is The Normandy American Cemetery which
contains the graves of 9,387 of American military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed 1,557 names.

The United States and Britain liberated Europe and all we ask the French for is a little land to bury our dead.The white rows in the picture above are the white crosses of the American dead.

The determining factor in the battle for Normandy was not some ingenious and innovative military strategy conceived by high-command officials and their advisors. Coupled with a good amount of luck, it was the bravery and will of the men that set foot on those blood-stricken beaches. A handful of stoic individuals had no choice but to improvise from the originally practiced tactics since once the first wave of invading troops landed, all organized deployment of infantry had been shattered. Under constant fire and with the images of dead soldiers that they had once commanded in front of them, they somehow turned the tide of the battle to the Allies' favor and, by doing so, changed the course of the war and history. They fought fiercely and overcame one of the most formidable defenses ever assembled.

Reaching the Beaches

The seas were rough, much too rough for the small assault crafts that scurried them towards the shore. The boats rocked back and forth as their square hulls but into every wave. Water poured over the gunwales, soaking the men to the skin, as they huddled together, shivering from the cold and from the nervous tension. Many of them became seasick.

The engines of the boats produced deafening diesel whines. Shells screamed by them as the destroyers behind them attempted to pound the coast with enough force so that the Atlantic Wall behind Omaha Beach would be weakened. Allied aircraft accompanied the raining shells as they too tried to dismantle Nazi forces on the beach. The men on the boats could never expect anyone to survive such a bombardment, after all, the German guns were even silent.

Then, just as the shore seemed to become slightly more visible, the German guns opened fire. Artillery and mortar shells crashed down, sending geysers of sea water streaming into the air. The boats, trying to find paths around the obstacles, were clear and targets from positions atop the beachhead. Many boats were destroyed, the others encountered machine gun fire that rattled against the ramps and the sides of the boats.

Once the boats' bottoms scratched the sand beneath them, the ramps were lowered. Some ambitious German machine gunners fired directly at the boats that had just lowered their ramps. Desperate soldiers struggled to get off the boats and into the water but dead bodies were in their way. Soldiers lined in columns within the crafts were hit by bullets that had passed through the bodies of the soldiers in front of them. Those that made it to the water faired only slightly better.

They plunged into the water to discover that it was neck-high and even above their heads in some cases. Many were unable to control their submerged since they were carrying nearly seventy pounds of ammunition and supplies. Bullets traveled through the water to hit them while they tried to remove some weight. Some drowned trying to reach the surface of the water.

Not all was lost at disembarkment though. Many men managed to reach dry land. Still the beaches were not inviting and provided little cover.

The Beaches and the Sea Wall

Obstacles for the amphibious boats and dead bodies provided for some cover from enemy fire. Staying in the water made death inevitable since the Germans were spraying the waterline with interlocking arcs of machine gun fire. The only alternative was to move as far inland as possible: the sea wall.

It must be taken into account that virtually all of the infantrymen were dropped far from their designated areas. The strong winds and vicious weather that had hampered the ships in the English Channel altered the anticipated current along the beach at Omaha. Most of the men that made it to the beach were actually displaced. Not only did they have to deal with the incoming fire, but they also had to somehow re-orient themselves now that the landmarks they had expected to see were nowhere in sight.

Commanding officers that were lucky enough to reach the beach had to assume the command of many disorganized groupings of soldiers that had washed ashore without their commanding officers. Even on the sea wall, the position was precarious. Even then, they were not adequately covered. Like the boat and the beach, the sea wall was a dangerous place to be and the place to go was through the minefields and the barbed wire onward to attack the German gun stations.

One of the most famous quotes to come out of "Bloody Omaha" came from Colonel George Taylor: "Two kinds of people are staying on this beach, the dead and those who are going to die. Now let's get the hell out of here"

Rules for getting the best deals on DVD Movies

If you buy as many DVD Movies as I do you develop certain "rules" on how to get the best deals and where to locate hard to find movies. These rules are based upon the fact I live in Medford Oregon and there are a limited number of places to find and purchase DVD Movies. My rules are as follows:

1. Never purchase from Sun Coast at your local mall. Because they are located, for the most part, in malls they have high overhead and as a result their prices are very high. They often have a good selection but I only buy there if I can't find the DVD any place else and I have to have it now. If you can only find the DVD at Sun Coast and or on the Internet at Amazon.com or Deepdiscount.com (DVD) consider not only the price comparison but also shipping. Sun Coast also has used DVD's but many times they are as high as new ones someplace else.

2. For DVD's just released of new movies (movies in theaters 2 months or so before release on DVD) wait at least two months after the release on DVD. Most new released movies on DVD start out at $19.98 or so when first released. If you wait a few months you can get them in many cases for under $10.00.For example "Flyboys" was in theaters last fall (2006) and was released on DVD in January 2007 for $19.98. I bought it yesterday at Target for $9.98.

3. The best stores in Medford, Oregon, price wise, are Bi-Mart,Cosco Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart, and Circuit City. Unfortunately Bi-Mart and Cosco have a very limited selection. Circuit City is crowded and the movies are displayed in racks like they used to display records making it hard to see all the movies available.In other words you have to "Paw" threw them to See what is available.

4. The $5.50 Bargain Bin at Walmart is great. Only draw back is you may find a DVD you payed $19.98 for a few months before.

5. Buy used DVD's at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. For new released DVD's these rental stores buy a lot for rental. After the rental market has cooled they try and sell the extras at discount prices such as 4 for $20.00. This works for new releases but they almost never have used "Classic" movies for sale.

6. Watch the Sunday Newspaper supplement ads for Target, Fred Meyer and Circuit City(Best Buy if you have one in your town) as they have good prices on DVD sold at bargain prices.

7. MGM DVD's are often sold at big discounts at Fred Meyer, in special racks near Customer Service.

8. If you have to buy a new release as soon as it comes out on DVD check out Target as they sometimes have special deals for the first week for a couple of dollars off.

9. When in Eugene Oregon,or other cities, check out Best Buy and Borders Books for a good selection of DVD's. Their prices are high but if you don't want to get them off the Internet they have a good selection.

10. Always check out Amazon.com and Deepdiscount.com (DVD) on the Internet.You can preorder before release at good prices and they are delivered on or near the release date.

11. If a box collection is released such as the Ronald Reagan Collection or the Jimmy Stewart Collection and you want more than two movies in the set buy the set. It will always be less than trying to buy the movies separately.

12 Check out the DVDtalk.com forum "DVD Bargains". People will post reports on sales and will often have the DVD prices for the Sunday newspaper advertising supplements for Target etc days before they show up in your Sunday newspaper. They will often show a comparison chart for DVD's released that week at the various retail sources. They also have a "price Search" Engine for Internet sites that sell DVD's.

Happy hunting!

To see my DVD collection click on the title above for a link to an Internet listing.