A 45 year old Chicagoan's observations and commentary on top news, pop culture and an accounting of the Obama Regime and their 'statist' power grab from my unabashed, right leaning/conservative point of view..
This is our culture; fight for it. This is our flag; pick it up. This is our country; take it back. –Tom Tancredo
"Obama will turn the entire US into the south side of Chicago" - Chicago Ray
God Bless America...
Coming from Buffalo Grove IL, 20 miles NW of King Richard Daley's
Fiefdom AKA Chicago,Illinois,USA the land of the free because of the brave..
Here's one of my first posts and observations on a then potential Obama presidency in Feb 07/ I'm no prophet believe you me..... it was all common sense far too many today simply 'lack',
George Mason explained, “(T)o disarm the people (is) the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” Noah Webster elaborated: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed
These people have incredible video of illegals, Armed terrorists, you name it invading the country each second of every day..
From Fox comes this annual story and news which seems to be the only place year after year where they give this the attention it' due.
I suppose they're all bent at the 'Obama State Run Media' the men and women won't be posing for any of these with the new boss "Commander in Cheat", who's obvious 'guilt' caused him to bail this weekend as being around real patriots give him the 'Slick Willies'.....instead of course opting for a weekend back at the 'concrete homicide jungle' AKA of the south side of Chicago (thanks mostly to he and like minded Daley thank you.)
In fact, in case you haven't heard the news yet, this is what's going down at the Chicago White House..cont..
HOMELAND INSECURITY Standoff! Nation of Islam confronts Secret Service
President's men in testy showdown with Farrakhan mansion security link
....Nice, it sounds like a normal violence filled weekend back with the Obama Gangster Disciples...
After all, 'who wouldn't' make that choice when presented on Memorial Day while president, instead of being lauded and fawned over on the lawn for the Annual Concert with every other president before him?
Well, Obama and Marxist liberals just like him, of course. That's who would.
I guess he'd rather hang out with the "Nation of Islam" neighbor of Nation Leader Louis Farrahkan at a barbecue showdown with his secret service...What a freakin' bro.
God we warned them all, they wouldn't listen to people like Joseph Farah and so on.
I mean in his case there's only one or two Memorial Days left now ....if he's lucky? No?
Frankly, I'd rather be here, back in the day seemingly afar when adults were actually running the country...
May 30: Rolling Thunder parks itself within the massive parking lots of the Pentagon. With temperatures reaching 90 degrees on the blacktop, bikers soon began seeking respite in the few shady areas. Tents were set up with food, free water was passed around.
Large motorcycle clubs like the Nam Knights and Viet Nam Vets Motorcycle Club gathered in huge clusters, boasting members from as far flung as California and Texas through to New England. Many were represented by successive generations of vets, including recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and of course family and friends.
What can be said by me about something that occurred 5 years prior to me being born other than that these deaths profoundly effected my life and yours from day one until the typing of this post. Right along with any other contemporary music lovers of the fifties throughout today due to to Buddy Holly's profound effect on the rock and roll that was and has been produced after his untimely death was all influenced by his new and unusual style.
As a 30 year guitar player and old time Rock and Roll cover junkie I've played all of Buddy Holly's library throughout the years both live and on Memorex, inspired by his brief but profound R &R genius as most players are one way or another.
The three shooting stars before there were Rock and Roll stars were all killed on that February day that Don McClean so aptly wrote of and described in his 8
minute marathon hit in it's own right of the 70's and today many would argue, the memorializing
Anthem "American Pie"......(a song bastardized and butchered not too long go
by Madonna, who should be shot for re doing that iconic song as she did imh)
This is a great tribute to the three of them and the pilot who died
who's name was Roger Peterson, and is sadly left out of many mentions and memorials to the tragic day.
Read more at Winterdanceparty.com
Finally, here's a great piece in the Detroit Free press flast year from
ClearLake Iowa where the crash occurred about the fateful day and the
following years, as we remember on the 51st anniversary.
Fans recall death of Buddy Holly and 'the day the music died'
Freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "Fifty years ago, Graham Nash stood on a street corner in his hometown of Salford, England, with his best friend, Alan Clarke, and wept.
The source of their sadness was news from 4,000 miles away and across the Atlantic Ocean -- a frozen field north of Clear Lake, Iowa, where the airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. (the Big Bopper) Richardson crashed on Feb. 3, 1959, killing the three rock stars from the Winter Dance Party tour as well as their local pilot, Roger Peterson.
'It was very traumatic for me,' says Nash, who was 17 years old at the time. He went on to form the Hollies with Clarke in 1962. They found themselves among a rising tide of '60s rock musicians on both sides of the pond who owed a huge musical debt to the innovations of the Winter Dance Party artists.
Today it might be tempting to sum up the musical legacies of Holly, Valens and the Bopper in terms of Don McLean's landmark 1971 tune 'American Pie' (that forever dubbed the tragedy the Day the Music Died), the biopics (1978's 'The Buddy Holly Story' and 1987's 'La Bamba') and the annual oldies rock tribute concerts at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, site of the trio's final performance on Feb. 2, 1959.
But today's musicians still claim Holly as a primary songwriting influence. Celebrated indie singer-songwriter M. Ward, for instance, releases a new album Feb. 17 that includes a cover of Holly's 'Not Fade Away.' And younger music fans are discovering classic rock in greater numbers as the songs flow freely from iTunes and other online, digital sources.
Valens is revered for his guitar technique and as the prototypical Latino rocker who anticipated the careers of everybody from Santana to Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys.
The Bopper wrote country music hits for other artists and is credited with creating the first distinct music video.
'They are all different but of the same era -- pioneers, artists that really did catch the ear of the world, not just America,' says Terry Stewart, president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The Bopper has yet to join Holly and Valens as an official Rock Hall inductee, but the museum is coproducing a series of events at the Surf to commemorate the enduring influence of all three artists.
Back in 1959, the Winter Dance Party served first and foremost as a teen dance that left the adult world unmoved -- much in the same way that today's Disney heartthrob chart-toppers, the Jonas Brothers, while not poised for artistic impact on a par with Holly, play to a predominantly teen fan base." continued
"Bye Bye Miss American Pie",.. The Day The Music Died, 51 Years Today
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
This was the scene before the Army Men and then Obama came onto the stage after a long delay being attributed to his meeting with the victims who are there injured as well as the families of the murdered ....whom I prayObama was straight with on this somber and miserable day for them and many of us as well.
This is the first speaker, General Robert Cone of Fort Hood as you can see
Then came Chief of Staff General Casey who many are pretty pissed off at seeing he's spent all his time apologizing for the killer and doing it this afternoon as well. Un- - - -- - believably
Then of course came Obama and you know who....trusty TOTUS which seeing he needed to tell the
story of each soldier's background we'll give him a pass on this day only....as usual he read all his lines well..
Hopefully the killer isn't mad at Obama for not being a good Mooslim memorializing the infidels....
May God Rest their souls and we pray this never happens again here or anywhere else again.... God Willing.
The Final Roll call where the names of the missing soldiers are called verifying their abstention and then
saluted through a final gun salute.. the end of the planned remarks as Obama's exit 1st... :(...........
Mourners below file past the memorials of their fallen loved ones and comrades placing challenge coins and the likes, thus ending the somber service
Ft Hood Memorial Afternoon
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
I snapped these from the live feed picking the best shots of the cemetery and Veterans with a just few of the POTUS and TOTUS as they gave their speech, mostly commemorating the veterans of 65 years ago who saved the world from what the world is now sadly facing all over again in a fancier package, New Aged Neo Marxist Fascism...
The Supreme Leader Obama did manage a decent speech which is all he's good for, telling a touching story of one particular vet who survived the invasion, made it home in one piece, lived the subsequent 65 years returning to Normandy for the ceremony who just passed away overnight, a soldier named Jim Noreen. although I have been unable to verify that through news searches as of posting this piece.
He also learned the National anthem and actually sung the song or at least go the word from TOTUS that the others were singing theirs and so it looks as though his "silence the republicans charm school" has payed dividends as the 2 contrasting pictures below tell the tale.
So assuming that story is accurate, may he and all the thousands upon thousands of brave young men who laid their asses and lives out there on D Day, along with the other days and battles for our freedom rest in glorious peace, never to be forsaken nor forgotten.
Here British Obama lapdog poodle Gordon Brown reveals his left wing 26 hours, 8 days a week hard on for his buddy Obama by calling Omaha Beach Obama beach of all things, what an insult to the dead soldiers buried there.
It's no wonder this moron and his falling apart at the seams government is getting his and their left wing asses kicked out of office just like Obama eventually will, once his left wing supporters wake up from their moronic transes just as Brown's apparently have.
Normandy Ceremony Slide Show and other side notes
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
An early tribute to our elders and forefathers, 2 lost in my family alone, who stormed Normandy beach liberating France 65 years ago tomorrow, June 6th, 1944 thus setting the stage for the complete defeat of the Axis powers in the subsequent months, as the scales power were tilted against the Evil Axis for good and World War II was soon to be over.
In Commemoration Of D Day
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
Today, Memorial day, is of coarse the day set aside where we all recognize the people we owe for these high priced freedoms we so often take for granted, and far far too many of today too often abuse.
To those brave soldiers both here with us and gone, we wish a great day and our heartfelt yet far insufficient thanks for the incredible sacrifices of they and their or our families, along with their lost brethren no longer with us today either by virtue of war or father time they still remain close in our thoughts.
While they may not be physically with us today, they are in our hearts and minds on this day and others, as the greater portion but sadly not all we Americans appreciate their ultimate sacrifices made on our behalf, and most of all for their country, one that we promise will not fall into the hands of evil in this lifetime.
And while evildoers and their ugly heads are presently knocking at our door, rest assured they're coming in as much as it and some in this country wish them to, but on our watch it ain't happening neither today, nor tomorrow, only over our dead bodies just as it was theirs.
Thank you for all you do and have done for us.
Memorial Day 2009
historychannel.com "Memorial Day is much more than a three-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer. To many people, especially the nation's thousands of combat veterans, this day, which has a history stretching back all the way to the Civil War, is an important reminder of those who died in the service of their country.
Uncover the interesting history of the holiday we now call Memorial Day. Discover little-known facts about America's Wars and stop by the Veterans Forum message boards to share your views with veterans, their loved ones and fellow history buffs."
Memorial Day 2009
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
Interesting USA Today Feature that you can check out by clicking either of the pictures below
Visit some touching and interesting stories at USA Today regarding the celebration of Memorial day across the country this weekend and particularly tomorrow as the country remembers the millions of men and women who have selflessly gave their lives in defense of our freedoms and liberties.
One's taken so for granted that the present government is stripping away from us more than any other previous has even attempted doing and actually getting away with it thus far thanks to the people on the left blindly goosestepping alongside their false idol Barack Obama.
Legacies of war dead
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
I am taking this time and space to thank each and every member of our unparalleled Armed Forces of both present and past, without a doubt the bravest Americans among us all, you who have volunteered over the years as well as answering the call of drafts during wartime to defend our freedoms and liberty, making the ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of others both here and around the globe.
The most lethal, educated, powerful and yet incredibly humane fighting forces ever assembled on the face of this earth and within this universe for that matter, the likes of which mankind has never seen until the birth of this great nation formed with their blood sweat and tears 230 plus years ago.
This makes us all proud to be your brothers and sisters in our hearts and souls, and I am proud to salute you all today and everyday along with your loved ones for all your practically inexplicable dedication and incredible sacrifices made on our behalf.
May God watch over you all as you do the dangerous things you must do each and every day, and may he bring you all who are presently in combat around the world in our names back home safe and sound as soon as humanly possible, back to this land of the free and home of the brave, that is all thanks to you and your fine work that made it this way.
We all owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be adequately payed back.
All I can offer you is my complete unmitigated support and continued prayers for you all as you keep the world and America safe and free from evil and tyrannical forces out there that wish us all harm.
Thank You..
Ray N Felitto III AKA Chicago Ray
Click the pic for full size
From Defenselink: President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense
A Day To Thank Our Fine, Upstanding Military For All They Do
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
First, please watch this tribute from the Super Bowl Feb 3rd, 2002 By Anheuser Busch aired only once on television. Many complained it was exploitative, I disagree and think it was a classy tribute to the fallen that year 4 months after 9-11. (story and video explained in length at snopes.com )
Now, for my 2008 September 11 Tribute & Commentary:
On this somber day of remembrance I'll avoid attacking who I believe to be mostly responsible for 9-11, but what I will say is that the next it happens, only we Americans will be entirely to blame as we've had seven years to secure the homeland which president Bush has done as fine job as we could have asked and imagined. Particularly with many politicians and liberals fighting him and us every step of the way.
To now retreat and render this hard and costly work moot, thus spitting in the faces of and defecating on the graves and memories of the fallen by handing the leadership of this country over to an inexperienced radical leftist, one who's vision for America is a terrorist, socialist and our enemies' dream, would be unforgivable and the largest mistake Americans ever collectively made in our 300 or so years of inhabiting North America. The stakes are that high.
However there is that faction of Americans again that he and we have had to fight all along the way, and it's up to us to keep fighting to make sure this spotless record since 9-11 continues, by keeping a vigilant warrior in the White House to expound on the groundwork and solid foundation Bush has laid for the future.
This was accomplished by taking the fight straight to the Slimy Scum called Al Queda and their sympathizers in their own sand and camel dung filled backyard . Done by inviting them to bring their so called Jihad to Afghanistan and Iraq instead of America, and by all accounts this strategy that the liberals have never figured out to this day has been a great success, as it has resulted in 4 main goals being achieved among many others too numerous to count in this post:
Freedom being brought to a peoples who have never experienced it in the entire history of mankind,
our military kicking the living crap out of the Islamists by sending them in the hundreds of thousands special delivery to the land of 72 virgins where they belong.
The removal and execution of one of the world's murderous despots and dictators again ever encountered in the history of mankind and
The removal of an equally murderous and medieval regime the Taliban who we are continuing to fight in Afghanistan and will for a long time, that is until the treasonous liberals get the hell out of the way and let our soldiers do what they do best and get home to their families and a grateful American family who loves and apopreciates everything they've sacrificed in the war against terror.
A war started by Islam on 1993 with the first WTC bombing During Bill Clinton's administration with salvo's fired over the next 8 years that were ignored completely by that administration and finally accomplished on September 11th 2001, executed months into George Bush's watch but unequivocally planned for and designed during Clinton's 8 years in office.
If the attack in 93 isn't enough to prove that, please get a lobotomy and do us all and first and foremost yourself a great favor..
People like Thomas Friedman from the New York Times who wrote this shitpiece of a commentary titled:"9-11 is Over " 19 days after 9-11 last year ( honoring the 19 hijackers perhaps) , bitching and moaning like liberals are so inclined to do, inferring that those of us who refuse to "forgive and forget" are imbeciles and it's time to move on just like the liberals did in 1992 and Barack Hussein Obama wishes to do as well. The LA Slimes had another treasonous tome titled "Was 9-11 really that bad" if you can believe that one.
So in closing I pray the 3000 plus who died that horrible day rest in eternal peace, knowing that we patriotic and vigilant of Americans have not forgotten them and never will, and in their name we will vow to never let this happen ever again to this Country and her finest of citizens, ever again.
Sadly that prayer goes out to even the ones that hate it and us, mostly the September 11 Troofers, as they are individuals that need our prayers as they are terribly sick in many ways, and all need help and prayer as soon as they can get it..
Rest in Peace or lost brothers sisters, fathers, mothers, friends,confidants, co workers, grandfathers, grandmothers, nieces nephews and fellow Americans, you may be gone but will never be forgotten.
God Might Forgive Them, I Never Will I have compiled my last 2 years posts on September eleven below into one large post containing the memorials I created along with the best links to be found on the tragedy and remembering it's victims. Please enjoy and feel free to take anything you wish to use from these posts at all, anything
From September 11, 2007:
I did this photoshop below on the 1st anniversary of 9-11 while ground zero was still smoldering believe it or not, and I along with you and billions of others till mourning from the attack the previous year was to be my first of many remembrances.
This particular one was specifically chosen for inclusion in this fine collection of thousands of images from that day called the 911 Digital Archives, a great website that archived anything and everything from 9-11 that can be found by clicking here.
It is the most vast collection in the world of 9-11 imagery of all types that still I visit often and keep linked in my sidebar all year 'round.
This tribute was also proudly included (at the 1:12 mark) in a fellow artist and videographer's tribute video on 9-11 and radical Islamic terror in general by Rowane61. ... that video can be viewed below
I closing, here's yet another photoshop included in that fine tribute video that fully explains Slick's culpability in the events of that day. An attack all planned in it's entirety while he was doing his best Nero impression.
Similarly to the fiddling while Rome burned Slick was busy playing his sax on MTV answering underwear questions and explaining what is is to the world while simultaneously getting his knob polished repeatedly by teenager Monica Monica. Not to mention his fighting off umpteen criminal investigations related to his uncontrollable sexual predatory behavior leading to his impeachment, all when he should'a been working hard protecting the country from those outside threats.
Never Shall We Forget that that bum also turned down THREE , countt opportunities to dispose of Bin Laden prior to that fateful day. He, that lying cheating lawbreaking redneck, Bubba, the Arkansas Good old boy, the El Camino Kid, The "Cum" Back kid, William Jefferson Clinton, POS Extraordinaire will answer to an authority higher than all for his lapses as a human being much less as former president.
From September Eleven 2006 was this post :
My thanks go out to the Bush Administration for keeping this country safe for the past 6 years with their anti terrorism policies and by taking the fight straight to the cameljockeys in their own sandboxes. Especially in spite of all efforts otherwise by the left, the NYT and the ACLU to do aid and abet the enemies of America trying to extend our constitutional privilege to terrorists and jihadders here and around the world..
Message to the cave dwelling camel huggers: Next Time We Nuke Mecca and Everything Else With Sand in The Middle East.
When looking for information or re-visiting 9-11 to keep the tragedy fresh in my mind I visit a few different remembrance sites that contain a wealth of info, images and such from the fateful day. I think out of all there are 2 that stand out for me, one is in my sidebar linked by that "never forgive, never forget" button I made, it's called September 11 news.com.
The other I have linked here called rememberth11h.com. If you have spare time leading up to the anniversary or even after Monday, check them both out, they are worth the time and worthy of permanent bookmarking in my humble opinion.
The picture below is from rememberthe11th.com.. Click on the flag to be taken to the full sized picture that is actually a montage compiled of many different shots from the week of September 11, 2001, pretty cool stuff. On the larger picture, wherever you click with your mouse (will be a mag glass) is the section of the larger picture you will be taken.
That being in the case against that cruel bi*** of a mother that concocted the infamous "My Space" ruse along with her daughter and possibly others that ultimately caused a young distraut heartbroken teen to tragically end her life from the ensuing humiliation she endured as a result of the heartless scheme.
Hopefully this woman Lori Drew will pay a large price if hopefully convicted for her gruesome role in this tragedy that she'll never ever forget, and a internet law to coincide with her conviction in poor Megan Meir's memory.
I've added this photoshop I made back when she tragically hung herself as a small and terribly insignificant but heartfelt tribute to her memory.
Woman is indicted in Missouri MySpace suicide case
(OneNewsNow.com): "A Los Angeles federal grand jury has indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in a MySpace online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide.
A Los Angeles federal grand jury has indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in a MySpace online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide.
Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis was indicted Thursday on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.
Drew allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact neighbor Megan Meier who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.
Meier hanged herself in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.
Drew has denied creating the account and sending messages to Megan.
MySpace is based in Beverly Hills."
Here is an AP timeline of the entire case and it's unfolding:
Timeline of events in the Megan Meier Internet suicide case:
September 2006: 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., begins communicating online on the MySpace social network with "Josh Evans," who she thinks is a good-looking boy living in her area.
Oct. 15, 2006, she receives a message from Josh, saying he doesn't want to be her friend anymore.
Oct. 16, 2006: Megan receives cruel messages through MySpace, including one from "Josh," allegedly telling her the world would be a better place without her. Megan runs upstairs. About 20 minutes later, Megan's mother finds her daughter has hanged herself in her closet.
Oct. 17, 2006: Megan dies at a hospital, a few weeks before her 14th birthday.
Fall 2006: Megan's parents learn from a neighbor that Josh was the creation of another neighbor, Lori Drew, her teenage employee Ashley Grills, and Drew's teenage daughter, a former friend of Megan. They are told the MySpace profile was created to see what Megan was saying about Drew's daughter online. Drew, through her attorney, later disputes she helped create the site or knew of mean messages prior to Megan's death.
Fall 2007: Media accounts of Megan's suicide fuel public outrage in the case.
Dec. 3, 2007: St. Charles County, Mo., prosecutor Jack Banas says he reviewed laws related to stalking, harassment and child endangerment and couldn't find statutes allowing him to file charges.
May 15, 2008: A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicts Lori Drew for her alleged role in the MySpace hoax, charging her with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization.
How any grown adult could be so cruel to a young teen in cahoots with her own daughter is simply beyond the pale of humanity in my opinion and is so dastardly, the only word I can really use that isn't profane to convey my disgust with this woman and her daughter.
I'm Glad To See This Indictment Finally Arrive
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
I myself had the unfortunate tragedy of losing my beloved mother Joyce after 43 wonderful years on November 29th, my birthday just passed, to advanced liver disease which was accompanied with unforeseen complications that arose during her treatment in the hospital, which has been an incredibly painful experience thus far as those of who have lost a parent can attest.
However, at least being with her through those final moments in this life brought us some comfort while she fought bravely through her illness, ultimately losing her tough battle at 63 years old, far sooner than we had ever thought about losing her. Below is my favorite picture of her from 1984. This unfortunately is not a circumstance that a locally raised NASA Astronaut currently orbiting earth on the space station will be afforded as his mother, who lived locally here in Lombard Illinois about 20 minutes from my neighborhood was killed yesterday while she inexplicably passed a stopped bus at a railroad crossing and was struck in her vehicle by the passing train.
She was by all accounts a fine woman of 90 years old who I'm sure will be missed by all her loved ones after a long illustrious life, but for her son it is going to be more difficult than usual I would imagine being stuck in space during her tragic death, an unprecedented occurrence in the life span of the space program thus far.
My prayers go out to he and his family, and hopefully he will find at least some comfort while soaring in the heavens as his mother passes on knowing that he credited her for his being there in the first place so they may still cross paths one final time yet.
May God rest her soul along with my dear mother and hopefully astronaut Daniel Tani is able to sufficiently deal with this unusual loss as well in the same fine way he has conducted his exemplary life.
Crash kills astronaut's mom
chicagotribune.com: "Inside her Lombard home, Rose Tani kept a shrine to her astronaut son filled with newspaper clippings of his recent launch, photos of him holding his two children and a framed image of him in a navy blue NASA uniform with the inscription: 'Mom, I owe it all to you. All my love. Dan.'
But as Daniel Tani orbited about 200 miles above Earth Wednesday, captive aboard the International Space Station, he had to hear the news that his 90-year-old mother died when a freight train smashed into her car.
Police said Rose Tani was stopped at railroad tracks on Elizabeth Street behind a school bus carrying students from her son's alma mater when she honked her horn, then went around the bus and past a downed crossing gate."In what may have been a first for NASA, officials called Daniel Tani over a secure connection to give him the news, then offered any help he might need. One thing they could not supply was a ride home. The soonest Tani can return from space is late January.
NASA spokesman Jim Rostohar said Tani will be given time to grieve in the space station, which is the size of a 31/2-bedroom house. continued
Astonaut From Lombard Loses His Mother While In Orbit.
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
.....December 7th, 1941, the day Japan awakened a sleeping giant and brought the United States reluctantly into WWII that culminated with the dropping of atom bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a day that will live in Infamy as will our modern day equivalent that happened on 9-11 2001.
The difference between then and now is the liberal Americans of that day held different views as conservatives yet still supported their country and the war effort entirely, understanding that it was indeed a battle for civilization unlike the liberals of today who spend more time defending, aiding and abetting the enemy in the war against terror than they do their own country and it's finest in harms way defending our way of life against radical Islam.
click to enlarge
Never so few veterans as now to remember Pearl Harbor day
Jean Marbella December 7, 2007 Baltimore Sun Today at noon, the old vets will lay a wreath in Annapolis in remembrance of Pearl Harbor. They'll read the names of comrades who survived the attack 66 years ago, but not the ever quickening march of time since last they gathered.
At 15, the number of Pearl Harbor survivors in the state who have died in the past year might well exceed the number able to attend the ceremony. So it goes these days, as the World War II generation ages and exits, taking with it a direct link to an era that grows even more distant with their passing. "I'm the youngster of the group," Clarence Davis said ruefully. He's 84 years old.
Davis has been president of the Maryland Pearl Harbor Survivors Association for three consecutive terms, a testament to his leadership skills but perhaps also to the fact that so many of his fellow members are in nursing homes or otherwise unable to keep the group going.
The group had as many as 300 members as recently as about 15 years ago, Davis said, but now it's down to fewer than 75. continued.
What has been collectively known as "The Greatest Generation" is slowly and sadly disappearing as it painfully watches the country they so gallantly defended and generously built for us today is being frittered and whizzed away piece by piece by anti American elements within our borders and government.
Helplessly watching as our sovereignty and national identity is being surrendered and country occupied without even the firing of a shot by any of our enemies with the exception of 9-11 which many lunatics today still have a problem believing even occurred regardless of the fact that as an attack it was the most visually documented event in world history.
In Rememberance of Pearl Harbor Day,
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
I posted yesterday as well in commemoration of Veterans Day, that can be seen here , seeing as it fell on Sunday we also commemorate it today which is fine by me, as two days of gratitude still isn't enough thanks for the soldiers and what they do for us and our freedoms every single day.
A letter from a soldier to the WAPO, who is mostly averse to publishing any good news of any type coming from Iraq published this oped yesterday giving thanks to most Americans for support that they receive from most patriots in this country.
We know which people aren't included in that group all too well, so I'll just leave them unnamed and say tot eh author as I did with a comment at the post and say she and they all are very welcome as we're the ones that owe them the "thank you's", not the other way around..
Gifts of Thanks for the Troops:
Washington Post Sunday 10-11-07"BAGHDAD -- As the veterans of World War II pass too quickly into history, their ranks are being replaced by a new 'greatest generation.' The war on terrorism is creating veterans at a rate not seen in decades. Yet the military is much smaller now than during World War II, leading some analysts to posit that a rift exists between soldiers and citizens and that those making sacrifices on the battle front are disconnected from the society whose freedoms they defend.
The American people are oblivious to the war, they claim, as well as to the men and women who are fighting it. Some have even suggested that the only way to close the gap is to return to conscription. But these observers of the social scene have never served in Iraq."
Those of us overseas know that "support the troops" is more than a slogan. Here we are besieged by what my master sergeant calls "paper love," the cards, letters, posters and other gestures of support sent by people across America. The paper love is often accompanied by packages of snacks and comfort items. Some mail comes from family members, but even more is sent by private citizens and troop support organizations. The war has inspired a remarkable level of civic involvement that goes largely unnoticed -- except by those of us in the field or recovering stateside.
All of us are volunteers. We're in Iraq because we want to serve. We are well educated and physically fit and could have pursued a variety of other life options. But, to paraphrase Defense Secretary Robert Gates, we are driven by the romantic and optimistic ideal that we can improve the world. We are seeing real progress on the ground, and we are helping Iraq to change............continued
Thank you a million for your fine service to our country and freedoms, and rest assured most of us out here are forever grateful and far outnumber the loud and obnoxious ungrateful that aren't.
And thanks for sharing these thoughts with we Americans in this paper that like many other MainStream News Outlets has trouble sharing positive and good news from the fronts of the War Against Terrorism with the country today.
Veterans Day Pt II, Soldier's Op Ed In Washingon Post
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
We hear stories of couples that are married so long they start to resemble one another and similar things, these two are an example of one of them who in their many happy & wonderful years spent together became one right to the end.
Together for 71 years, couple die only four hours apart
Rocky Mountain News "During their 71 years of marriage, Don and Myrtle Rutledge rarely spent any time apart. In the early days, Myrtle picked up the family and followed Don when his job uprooted him. When one was confined to a hospital, the other stayed right there at the bedside.
They even went fishing together (the family insists Myrtle was the better fisherman), dropping lines in the water whenever they found a little time. So it was fitting, then, that when Don died just after 11:30 a week ago Monday night, Myrtle passed away just four hours and five minutes later, in the same room at the Golden Living Nursing Home in Southaven near Memphis."
Love & Dedication Rarely Seen In Today's World
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
Two of soldier's children die in car accident on way to see him at Army hospital
Latest News | WFAA.com: "Army Spc. John Austin Johnson seemed to have a gift for evading tragedy. Army Spc. John Austin Johnson and wife Lisa's children Ashley, 5, and Logan, 2, died in a car wreck last week. Tyler, 9, was on life support Saturday.
During two years in Iraq, the soldier from Fort Bliss, in West Texas, survived five improvised explosive device blasts and several grenade attacks. 'A lot of people go through one IED and don't survive,' said Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Schmidt.
But Spc. Johnson's luck began to turn with the last IED blast, which left him with a traumatic brain injury. Back in Texas for care at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, he was eagerly awaiting a visit by his wife and three children last weekend. But the children never arrived."
"I went up to his room and told him there was a problem," said Sgt. Schmidt, an Army medic who has grown close to the family over the last week. "I told him there was an accident and two of his children were deceased.
"He said, 'Two of my children are dead?' And we started crying."
Driving across the plains from El Paso, Spc. Johnson's wife, Lisa, had encountered a ferocious wind gust in her Chevrolet Trailblazer, Sgt. Schmidt said. "She steered and overcorrected, and the car rolled over four times."
I missed this and am disappointed that I did, but yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the infamous plane crash that silenced my new favorite band at the time being only 13 years old and still one these many years later at 43, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
As a lifelong guitar player I still play much of their music I was just learning at that age (a few of those songs that nearly took me this long to perfect unbelievably) quite often and have seen the offshoot and rejuvenated Skynyrd a few times although the last being about 8 years ago.
They came from Jacksonville Florida and that city still holds them as hometown hero's done well even this many years later, as their unfortunate and tragic demise at that time was a significant loss in all of Rock and Roll, but most particularly in the up and coming Southern Rock Genre that was kicking pretty well but still in it's infancy.
This was was the case yesterday as every other year in Jacksonville Florida, an event that was covered by the hometown paper very well and linked to below and worth reading an remembering if you too were and are a fan of their groundbreaking music..
The plane crash that muted Southern rock:
Jacksonville.com: Metro: Story: "Thirty years ago today, a rented plane took off from Greenville, S.C., headed for Baton Rouge, La. Just before dark, just before it reached the Louisiana line, the plane ran out of fuel and sank toward the Mississippi landscape below.
It first grazed the tops of the pine trees. 'It was like the sound of a billion baseball bats beating the side of the plane.' Lynyrd Skynyrd bass player Leon Wilkeson described in an interview a decade ago."
"It was like the sound of a billion baseball bats beating the side of the plane." Lynyrd Skynyrd bass player Leon Wilkeson described in an interview a decade ago.
The plane crashed down through the trees to the ground, breaking apart as it went. In the twisted, broken pieces of that 1947 Convair lay what was left of Jacksonville's greatest musical legacy.
Though there were 26 people on the plane, only six died that evening, Oct. 20, 1977. But killed along with the two pilots were three band members and the road manager for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The long-haired, blue-collar guys had moved from playing the bars of Jacksonville's Westside to filling arenas, taking Southern rock far from their native South. But the dream ended, at least a good chunk of it, in those piney Mississippi woods with the deaths of singer and leader Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup vocalist Cassie Gaines.
Though the band would regroup a decade later, something vital had been lost. continued here
Southern Rock's "Day The Music Died"
The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.
H. L. Mencken
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner or may be authorized or licensed for publication at this site only. Permission to copy, republish or reproduce such material must be obtained from the original copyright owner
PHOTOSHOP STUFF.....When the photoshops appear on this site they either have my name on them becuase I made them or tweaked an original in which case I link to the original by clicking the pic. Please take all you want, that's why they're here, just leave the name as is like I do, and I would be eternally grateful.
Ask and I'll tweak it for your site if you need it...
More here
Never Forgive.....
In Memory Of Our Fallen
The land of the free because of the brave.....
We remember they and their loved ones' immeasurable sacrifices each and every day on this blog and in life each day.