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Thursday, November 06, 2008

For What Doth it Profit a Political Party...

...that it shall lose an election, and learn nothing?

The GOP is falling all over itself to pick up the pieces after Tuesday's election, and hasn't wasted any time in throwing Sarah Palin under the bus. Reportedly, she was denied the opportunity to speak the night of the election, and then denied the opportunity to even appear on stage! (McCain himself reportedly interceded on her behalf to ensure that she was on stage). And it's getting uglier by the day. Apparently, the defeat at the polls demands a sacrificial lamb, and the blame sure as hell isn't going to rest where it belongs - with the Republican party.

The party hasn't actually managed to learn anything, either - the same non-achievement they accomplished after the 2006 trouncing.

According to Karl Rove on FOX News yesterday, the GOP shouldn't do anything to address the issues in the party at present. Instead, they should wait to see what Barack Obama does as President, and then use that as a basis for repositioning the party. Lovely. Reminds me of John Kerry taking a break from campaigning in order to "reinvent" himself.

So the GOP managed to get the message somehow that a loss in the election means that they should, basically, figure out what it takes to get elected and say whatever that is. Where we're at now is that the GOP is turning into the Democrats, the Democrats are Socialists, and they're all a bunch of unprincipled stooges.

Sadly, the GOP has had the answer for thirty plus years, and has not used it. In 1975, the GOP had been defeated repeatedly, had 'repositioned' and 'repackaged' itself to no avail, and had abandoned its principles. It sought to take the reins of a deeply divided country trying to recover from the social turmoil of an unpopular war.

Addressing CPAC on March 1, 1975, California Governor Ronald Reagan clearly articulated the solution. The situation then was almost identical to the situation now, and the GOP was about to make the same mistake it's debating now. There was only one answer then, and there is only one now:

Let Them Go Their Way

Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as a repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted, but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.

Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have preached “the gospel,” in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism.

Now, it is possible we have been persuasive to a greater degree than we had ever realized. Few, if any, Democratic party candidates in the last election ran as liberals. Listening to them I had the eerie feeling we were hearing reruns of Goldwater speeches. I even thought I heard a few of my own.

Bureaucracy was assailed and fiscal responsibility hailed. Even George McGovern donned sackcloth and ashes and did penance for the good people of South Dakota.

But let’s not be so naive as to think we are witnessing a mass conversion to the principles of conservatism. Once sworn into office, the victors reverted to type. In their view, apparently, the ends justified the means.

The “Young Turks” had campaigned against “evil politicians.” They turned against committee chairmen of their own party, displaying a taste and talent as cutthroat power politicians quite in contrast to their campaign rhetoric and idealism. Still, we must not forget that they molded their campaigning to fit what even they recognized was the mood of the majority.

And we must see to it that the people are reminded of this as they now pursue their ideological goals—and pursue them they will.

I know you are aware of the national polls which show that a greater (and increasing) number of Americans—Republicans, Democrats and independents—classify themselves as “conservatives” than ever before. And a poll of rank-and-file union members reveals dissatisfaction with the amount of power their own leaders have assumed, and a resentment of their use of that power for partisan politics. Would it shock you to know that in that poll 68 percent of rank-and-file union members of this country came out endorsing right-to-work legislation?

These polls give cause for some optimism, but at the same time reveal a confusion that exists and the need for a continued effort to “spread the word.”

In another recent survey, of 35,000 college and university students polled, three-fourths blame American business and industry for all of our economic and social ills. The same three-fourths think the answer is more (and virtually complete) regimentation and government control of all phases of business—including the imposition of wage and price controls. Yet, 80 percent in the same poll want less government interference in their own lives!

In 1972 the people of this country had a clear-cut choice, based on the issues—to a greater extent than any election in half a century. In overwhelming numbers they ignored party labels, not so much to vote for a man or even a policy as to repudiate a philosophy. In doing so they repudiated that final step into the welfare state—that call for the confiscation and redistribution of their earnings on a scale far greater than what we now have. They repudiated the abandonment of national honor and a weakening of this nation’s ability to protect itself.

A study has been made that is so revealing that I’m not surprised it has been ignored by a certain number of political commentators and columnists. The political science department of Georgetown University researched the mandate of the 1972 election and recently presented its findings at a seminar.

Taking several major issues which, incidentally, are still the issues of the day, they polled rank-and-file members of the Democratic party on their approach to these problems. Then they polled the delegates to the two major national conventions—the leaders of the parties.

They found the delegates to the Republican convention almost identical in their responses to those of the rank-and-file Republicans. Yet, the delegates to the Democratic convention were miles apart from the thinking of their own party members.

The mandate of 1972 still exists. The people of America have been confused and disturbed by events since that election, but they hold an unchanged philosophy.

Our task is to make them see that what we represent is identical to their own hopes and dreams of what America can and should be. If there are questions as to whether the principles of conservatism hold up in practice, we have the answers to them. Where conservative principles have been tried, they have worked. Gov. Meldrim Thomson is making them work in New Hampshire; so is Arch Moore in West Virginia and Mills Godwin in Virginia. Jack Williams made them work in Arizona and I’m sure Jim Edwards will in South Carolina.

If you will permit me, I can recount my own experience in California.

When I went to Sacramento eight years ago, I had the belief that government was no deep, dark mystery, that it could be operated efficiently by using the same common sense practiced in our everyday life, in our homes, in business and private affairs.

The “lab test” of my theory – California—was pretty messed up after eight years of a road show version of the Great Society. Our first and only briefing came from the outgoing director of finance, who said: “We’re spending $1 million more a day than we’re taking in. I have a golf date. Good luck!” That was the most cheerful news we were to hear for quite some time.

California state government was increasing by about 5,000 new employees a year. We were the welfare capital of the world with 16 percent of the nation’s caseload. Soon, California’s caseload was increasing by 40,000 a month.

We turned to the people themselves for help. Two hundred and fifty experts in the various fields volunteered to serve on task forces at no cost to the taxpayers. They went into every department of state government and came back with 1,800 recommendations on how modern business practices could be used to make government more efficient. We adopted 1,600 of them.

We instituted a policy of “cut, squeeze and trim” and froze the hiring of employees as replacements for retiring employees or others leaving state service.

After a few years of struggling with the professional welfarists, we again turned to the people. First, we obtained another task force and, when the legislature refused to help implement its recommendations, we presented the recommendations to the electorate.

It still took some doing. The legislature insisted our reforms would not work; that the needy would starve in the streets; that the workload would be dumped on the counties; that property taxes would go up and that we’d run up a deficit the first year of $750 million.

That was four years ago. Today, the needy have had an average increase of 43 percent in welfare grants in California, but the taxpayers have saved $2 billion by the caseload not increasing that 40,000 a month. Instead, there are some 400,000 fewer on welfare today than then.

Forty of the state’s 58 counties have reduced property taxes for two years in a row (some for three). That $750-million deficit turned into an $850-million surplus which we returned to the people in a one-time tax rebate. That wasn’t easy. One state senator described that rebate as “an unnecessary expenditure of public funds.”

For more than two decades governments—federal, state, local—have been increasing in size two-and-a-half times faster than the population increase. In the last 10 years they have increased the cost in payroll seven times as fast as the increase in numbers.

We have just turned over to a new administration in Sacramento a government virtually the same size it was eight years ago. With the state’s growth rate, this means that government absorbed a workload increase, in some departments as much as 66 percent.

We also turned over—for the first time in almost a quarter of a century—a balanced budget and a surplus of $500 million. In these eight years just passed, we returned to the people in rebates, tax reductions and bridge toll reductions $5.7 billion. All of this is contrary to the will of those who deplore conservatism and profess to be liberals, yet all of it is pleasing to its citizenry.

Make no mistake, the leadership of the Democratic party is still out of step with the majority of Americans.

Speaker Carl Albert recently was quoted as saying that our problem is “60 percent recession, 30 percent inflation and 10 percent energy.” That makes as much sense as saying two and two make 22.

Without inflation there would be no recession. And unless we curb inflation we can see the end of our society and economic system. The painful fact is we can only halt inflation by undergoing a period of economic dislocation—a recession, if you will.

We can take steps to ease the suffering of some who will be hurt more than others, but if we turn from fighting inflation and adopt a program only to fight recession we are on the road to disaster.

In his first address to Congress, the president asked Congress to join him in an all-out effort to balance the budget. I think all of us wish that he had re-issued that speech instead of this year’s budget message.

What side can be taken in a debate over whether the deficit should be $52 billion or $70 billion or $80 billion preferred by the profligate Congress?

Inflation has one cause and one cause only: government spending more than government takes in. And the cure to inflation is a balanced budget. We know, of course, that after 40 years of social tinkering and Keynesian experimentation that we can’t do this all at once, but it can be achieved. Balancing the budget is like protecting your virtue: you have to learn to say “no.”

This is no time to repeat the shopworn panaceas of the New Deal, the Fair Deal and the Great Society. John Kenneth Galbraith, who, in my opinion, is living proof that economics is an inexact science, has written a new book. It is called “Economics and the Public Purpose.” In it, he asserts that market arrangements in our economy have given us inadequate housing, terrible mass transit, poor health care and a host of other miseries. And then, for the first time to my knowledge, he advances socialism as the answer to our problems.

Shorn of all side issues and extraneous matter, the problem underlying all others is the worldwide contest for the hearts and minds of mankind. Do we find the answers to human misery in freedom as it is known, or do we sink into the deadly dullness of the Socialist ant heap?

Those who suggest that the latter is some kind of solution are, I think, open to challenge. Let’s have no more theorizing when actual comparison is possible. There is in the world a great nation, larger than ours in territory and populated with 250 million capable people. It is rich in resources and has had more than 50 uninterrupted years to practice socialism without opposition.

We could match them, but it would take a little doing on our part. We’d have to cut our paychecks back by 75 percent; move 60 million workers back to the farm; abandon two-thirds of our steel-making capacity; destroy 40 million television sets; tear up 14 of every 15 miles of highway; junk 19 of every 20 automobiles; tear up two-thirds of our railroad track; knock down 70 percent of our houses; and rip out nine out of every 10 telephones. Then, all we have to do is find a capitalist country to sell us wheat on credit to keep us from starving!

Our people are in a time of discontent. Our vital energy supplies are threatened by possibly the most powerful cartel in human history. Our traditional allies in Western Europe are experiencing political and economic instability bordering on chaos.

We seem to be increasingly alone in a world grown more hostile, but we let our defenses shrink to pre-Pearl Harbor levels. And we are conscious that in Moscow the crash build-up of arms continues. The SALT II agreement in Vladivostok, if not re-negotiated, guarantees the Soviets a clear missile superiority sufficient to make a “first strike” possible, with little fear of reprisal. Yet, too many congressmen demand further cuts in our own defenses, including delay if not cancellation of the B-1 bomber.

I realize that millions of Americans are sick of hearing about Indochina, and perhaps it is politically unwise to talk of our obligation to Cambodia and South Vietnam. But we pledged—in an agreement that brought our men home and freed our prisoners—to give our allies arms and ammunition to replace on a one-for-one basis what they expend in resisting the aggression of the Communists who are violating the cease-fire and are fully aided by their Soviet and Red Chinese allies. Congress has already reduced the appropriation to half of what they need and threatens to reduce it even more.

Can we live with ourselves if we, as a nation, betray our friends and ignore our pledged word? And, if we do, who would ever trust us again? To consider committing such an act so contrary to our deepest ideals is symptomatic of the erosion of standards and values. And this adds to our discontent.

We did not seek world leadership; it was thrust upon us. It has been our destiny almost from the first moment this land was settled. If we fail to keep our rendezvous with destiny or, as John Winthrop said in 1630, “Deal falsely with our God,” we shall be made “a story and byword throughout the world.”

Americans are hungry to feel once again a sense of mission and greatness.

I don ‘t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party”—when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

It was a feeling that there was not a sufficient difference now between the parties that kept a majority of the voters away from the polls. When have we ever advocated a closed-door policy? Who has ever been barred from participating?

Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

Let us show that we stand for fiscal integrity and sound money and above all for an end to deficit spending, with ultimate retirement of the national debt.

Let us also include a permanent limit on the percentage of the people’s earnings government can take without their consent.

Let our banner proclaim a genuine tax reform that will begin by simplifying the income tax so that workers can compute their obligation without having to employ legal help.

And let it provide indexing—adjusting the brackets to the cost of living—so that an increase in salary merely to keep pace with inflation does not move the taxpayer into a surtax bracket. Failure to provide this means an increase in government’s share and would make the worker worse off than he was before he got the raise.

Let our banner proclaim our belief in a free market as the greatest provider for the people.

Let us also call for an end to the nit-picking, the harassment and over-regulation of business and industry which restricts expansion and our ability to compete in world markets.

Let us explore ways to ward off socialism, not by increasing government’s coercive power, but by increasing participation by the people in the ownership of our industrial machine.

Our banner must recognize the responsibility of government to protect the law-abiding, holding those who commit misdeeds personally accountable.

And we must make it plain to international adventurers that our love of peace stops short of “peace at any price.”

We will maintain whatever level of strength is necessary to preserve our free way of life.

A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.

I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.
That's the answer. It always has been. The GOP needs to get back to its principles - starting NOW, not two or four years from now. Republican voters need to resoundingly reject any Republican who plays the political expediency game, who puts politics above principles. If that means another defeat, so be it. The GOP needs to stand for the right things, and they need to do it clearly, consistently, and resolutely. Any time they have chosen the prevailing winds, they have lost.

I've no doubt that the incoming administration will prove to be as bad, or worse, than Carter's. If we still have a country at the end of their term, the GOP will once again have an opportunity. They have one now - an opportunity to remove those who would shift as it suits them, and to lift those who choose principles over political expediency. It has an opportunity to get rid of the petty (like those rushing to toss Sarah under the bus), and recognize the capable.

What remains to be seen is whether the GOP even knows who it is anymore - and whether or not the voters will hold them accountable.

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MARKET MARCH
A U.S. Army soldier walks with children outside the Jabella market in Jabella, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2008. The soldier is assigned to the 230th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class James Wagner

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In Today's News - Thursday, November 6, 2008

Quote of the Day
"Courage -- a perfect sensibility
of the measure of danger,
and a mental willingness to endure it."

-- General William T. Sherman

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S. Military to Cut Iraq Presence Two Months Early
Twin blasts in Baghdad kill 4, wound 7

Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. Kills Militants After Afghan Wedding Attack - PHOTOS

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Fort Dix Informant Admits Plan to Keep Stolen $ - PHOTOS
Bin Laden's Son Denied Asylum in Spain - PHOTOS
Pakistan says 15 militants killed in airstrike

Fallen Heroes
Marine's Remains Returned to Family ... 40 Years Later

Wounded Warriors
Giving Wounded What They Need, Deserve
DoD, VA Share Records to Benefit Warriors

Other Military News
Medvedev: Russia to Deploy Missiles in Response to U.S. Missile Shield

Worldwide Wackos
Israel cautions against Obama dialogue with Iran

Politics / Government
Obama's Epic Expectations
Obama's Promises a Burden? - VIDEO - PHOTOS
YOU DECIDE: What's Obama Need to Do in First 30 Days?
Obama's Transition Begins
Sending Signal to Israel?
Rise in Debt Could Constrain Obama's Economic Plans
What Did Sarah Know?
Palin Returns to Alaska to Chants of '2012!'
Watching for Palin's Next Political Move - VIDEO
GOP Looks to New Game Plan
Conservative Elizabeth Hasselbeck Supporting Barack Obama
Next Treasury chief?
Video: From victory to reality
Obama favors deliberative style
Emanuel asked to lead W.House staff
Carbon plan likley to be overtaken
What now for Sarah Palin? - Video
Blog: Tina Fey hangs up her Palin wig
Why McCain lost the White House
McCain vows to help Obama
Blog: What now for Republicans?
College campuses revel in political role
Activists warn racism not over
Black Americans celebrate
Latinos turn out in force for Obama
Postcards to Obama
Obama considers Geithner, Summers for Treasury
Could Obama appoint a "climate czar"?
Business awaits trade chief decision
The Obama challenge
New president, same tools
Speculation swirls about Obama appointments
Can Palin resurrect the GOP? Does she want to?
Obama considers Geithner, Summers for Treasury - Video
House seeks quick economic stimulus passage - Video
Video: Latin America reacts to Obama
Obama win makes Oprah weep, DiCaprio proud
Obama victory sparks baby naming frenzy
Pelosi weighs stimulus bill in lame-duck session
Lieberman vows to work with President-elect Obama
New Congress turns more -- much more -- Democratic
Obama turns to building a presidency
Great expectations: Obama will have to deliver
Democrats say McCain can help mediate standoffs
106-year-old Atlanta woman basks in Obama tribute
We Made History -- Together
The Barack Obama Victory: Americans and The World Celebrate
Minnesota Senate race heads into automatic recount
California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage
Gay Marriage Ban Protesters, Police Clash in California Streets
Gay activists jarred by California marriage defeat
Rice on Peacemaking Trip to Secure Mideast Relations
Taiwan President, Chinese Envoy Meet Amid Protests
Government, Not Market, Caused Subprime Crisis

Illegal Immigration / Border Control
U.S. Citizen Held for 2 Months as an Illegal Immigrant

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
2 Skinheads Indicted in Alleged Plot to Kill Obama
DA Seeks Death for Dad Accused in Child Burnings
Prosecutor Calls for Death of Former Child Actor Convicted in Yacht Killings

U.N. News
No End in Sight for Drought-Hit Ethiopia, UN Aid Wing Says

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
FOXBusiness: Google Drops Yahoo Ad Partnership
Yahoo's Yang says Microsoft deal still best option
Newspapers grabbed up after Obama's historic win
Election climax drew 71.4 million TV viewers - Video
Latest International News Photos
Ellen DeGeneres laments gay marriage ban in Calif.

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
California Bullet Train System Gets Voters Approval
Cancer genome decoded for first time
Dairy foods may boost fat burning
Migraines cut breast cancer risk 30 percent: study
Simulation may help solve mystery of dark matter
Good germs fight bad germs in hospital
Argentine cow clones may help boost milk output
China commissions huge telescope near Beijing
New detergent washes away stains of murder: study
Activision's "Guitar Hero" strikes right chord
Pity the Bluetooth headset this holiday season
Newspapers grabbed up after Obama's historic win
AMD lays off 500 people worldwide
Video: Little Big Planet enters orbit

Mother Nature
Gigantic Salmon Found in California River
Measuring extinction, species by species
China set to take the initiative in climate talks
Great Apes Debate leads to EU testing ban proposal
Californians reject renewable power measure
Video: Pick up a penguin orphan

Oddities
Flight Diverted After Unruly Passenger Taped to Seat
Victim drives sleeping rapist to police station
We can't cook for a downturn, chef says
Smokers banned from fostering
Buyers boycott Saddam yacht
Pooh sketch makes $50,000
Video: And Finally... Cheer up Hungary!
Jogger runs mile with rabid fox locked on her arm

Other News of Note
'Jurassic Park' Author Michael Crichton Dead at 66

Fox News
Mexico: Deadly Jet Crash Likely Accident - PHOTOS
Skydiver Dies in Second Fatal Jump at Virginia Airport
$5B in U.S. Aid Fails to Halve Illegal Drugs in Columbia

Reuters
India tightens security to stop Kashmir rally
Monster jobs index drops to near 3-year low
Europe set to cut rates
Recession fears slam global stocks
Carmakers may not be able to wait
GM: Industry faces "critical" 100 days
What would Buffett do?
Hedging Britain
Europe set to slash rates as gloom deepens
InBev sticks to Bud deal as results beat forecasts
Molson Coors takes interest in Foster's
Weak euro adds to Chinese exporters' woes
S.Korea under growing pressure to cut rates
Man Group profits, assets fall but inflows rise
Vodafone takes control of Vodacom
China's AgBank receives $19 billion capital injection
Business girds for push by unions on Obama win
U.S. approves loan rules, auto execs lobby for more
Brewers on tap
Toyota slashes forecasts as global crisis bites
Crisis hits European finance firms
IMF approves $16.5 billion Ukraine loan
Oil extends loss below $65
New Springsteen album due in January: report
"Battlestar Galactica" items up for auction
Ray Davies says Kinks writing new material
Japan sneakers put the sole back into running
No free lunch in credit crunch: $1 million Bangkok meal
"Geriatric" chef takes on Gordon Ramsay online
Bhutan crowns young king to guide young democracy
Lakers hold off Clippers with late flourish
Parker gets career-high 55 points in Spurs' double OT win
Iverson watches as Pistons tame Raptors
Garcia shares early lead in wet Shanghai
Ducks beat Blues 5-2

Associated Press
Administration speeding up on economic problems
Liverpool rocks for MTV Europe Music Awards
World markets fall as investors refocus on economy
Parker scores 55 points, leads Spurs to 1st win
Stoudemire scores 49 as Suns beat Pacers 113-103
Lucci eliminated from 'Dancing'
Maddux gets 18th Gold Glove; Victorino gets first
Bonaduce divorce final: Monthly payments $16K
Stocks plunge anew as recession worries resurface
Lions might start Culpepper 5 days after signing

NewsBlaze
CSDs Help Build Stability, Sustainable Momentum in Baghdad
PHOTOS: IPs Learn Advanced Techniques During Advanced Training
Soldiers' Angels and Patriot Guard
Iraq News
Operations in Iraq
FOB Warhorse Memorial Photos
Videos

CENTCOM
Meetings key to success in Ramadi
Engineers keep power flowing in Baghdad
Security improvements spur resettlement, reconstruction
I-BIZ program bolsters Iraqi economy
U.S., Iraqi leaders discuss Sadr City rehab

USJFCOM
Joint fires team, Army's BCTP team prepare corps headquarters for deployment
Joint fires team supports joint training integration event
More about JFIIT
Free Salute to Veterans 2008 tickets - Click here
USJFCOM working to prepare forces for deployment

Multi-National Force - Iraq
Servicemembers Become U.S. Citizens on Election Day
Combined Medical Expo Reinforces Hygiene, Disease Prevention
Volunteer Surgeons Correct Cleft Palate Issues, Train Iraqi Doctors
Sons of Iraq Members Screened for Iraqi Police Force
Coalition forces kill two suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists
Al-Qaeda in Iraq networks dealt major blow with detention of 15 suspects
Elite engineer unit has new facilities, unique capabilities
Female Students and Teachers visit the Iraqi Parliament
First Senior Non-Commissioned Officer course

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Petraeus Visits Afghan Leaders in Kabul
Leaders Prepare for New Administration
Report Alleges Some Afghan Police Aided Taliban in Attack on Coalition

IRAQ NEWS

U.S. Soldiers Learn Electronic Warfare
Coalition Forces Apprehend 11 Suspects

AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Team Takes Reconstruction to New Level
Troops Kill Insurgents in Helmand Province

MILITARY NEWS

Stringent Training Regimen Makes SEALs
Navy to Commission Littoral Combat Ship
Retailer's Aid Keeps Gift Drive on 'Target'
Officials Transfer Detainee to Somaliland
Detainee Sentenced to Life In Prison

AROUND THE SERVICES

Marines in Iraq Adapt to Keep Morale High
Air Force Pilots Earn Trophy for Iraq Mission
Navy Seabees Qualify as Combat Specialists
Army Guard, Latvian Soldiers to Train Afghans

WARRIOR CARE

Gates Calls Warrior Care 'Solemn Obligation'

FACE OF DEFENSE

Camp Victory Sheriff Wears Plenty of Hats

NATIONAL GUARD

Michael Jordan Unveils 'Superbike' to Guard

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1572 - A Supernova is observed in the constellation known as Cassiopeia.
1813 - The Chilpancingo congress declares Mexico independent of Spain.
1844 - Spain grants the Dominican Republic independence.
1850 - Hawaii gets its first fire engine; Yerba Buena and the Angel Islands, in San Francisco Bay, are reserved for military use.
1860 - Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th U.S. President.
1861 - Jefferson Davis is elected to a 6-year term as the Confederate President.
1862 - A NY-San Francisco direct telegraphic link is established.
1884 - A British protectorate is proclaimed over southeast New Guinea.
1885 - The U.S. mint at Carson City, Nevada is directed to close.
1888 - Benjamin Harrison beats Grover Cleveland for President.
1900 - President William McKinley is re-elected, beating.
1911 - Francisco Madeiro is inaugurated as President of Mexico.
1913 - Mohandas K. Gandhi is arrested for leading an Indian miners march.
1917 - The Bolshevik revolution begins with the capture of the Winter Palace.
1918 - The Republic of Poland is proclaimed.
1923 - The U.S.S.R. adopts an experimental calendar, with 5-day "weeks."
1924 - Stanley Baldwin becomes PM of England.
1928 - Herbert Hoover is elected President.
1935 - Canada's Hawker Hurricane military plane makes its maiden flight.
1936 - RCA displays the TV for the press.
1945 - The HUAC begins its investigation of 7 radio commentators.
1952 - The first hydrogen bomb is exploded (by the U.S. at Eniwetok Atoll).
1956 - President Eisenhower is re-elected.
1957 - Felix Gaillard becomes premier of France.
1962 - Edward M. Kennedy is elected for the first time (Sen-MA).
1966 - For the first time, an entire lineup is televised in color (NBC).
1967 - The U.S. launches Surveyor-6; it will make a soft landing on the Moon Nov. 9.
1973 - Abe Beame is elected - the first Jewish mayor of NYC.
1976 - Benjamin Hooks succeeds Roy Wilkins as executive director of the NAACP.
1977 - 39 are killed when an earthen dam bursts at Toccoa Falls Bible College, GA.
1978 - The Shah of Iran places Iran under military rule.
1984 - President Reagan wins 49 states in a landslide re-election.
1985 - In the 22nd Space Shuttle Mission (61A), Challenger-9 lands at Edwards AFB; an exploratory well at Ranger TX, explodes, spilling 6.3 million gallons of oil.
1986 - Reagan signs a landmark immigration reform bill.

Birthdays
1661
- Charles II, last Habsburg king of Spain (1665-1700)
1771 - Alois Senefelder, inventor (lithography)
1814 - Adolphe Sax, musician/inventor (saxophone)
1851 - Charles H. Dow, co-founder of Dow Jones / first editor of the Wall St. Journal
1854 - John Phillip Sousa, march king (Stars and Stripes Forever)
1861 - James A. Naismith, inventor (basketball)
1900 - Heinrich Himmler, Nazi SS leader
1931 - Mike Nichols, stage/film director (Catch 22, Biloxi Blues)
1943 - Michael Schwerner, civil rights worker, murdered in 1964
1946 - Sally Field, actress (Gidget, Flying Nun)

Passings
1632
- King Gustavus, Aldophus of Sweden, in battle
1944 - Hannah Senesh, Jewish poetess, executed by Nazis in Budapest
1987 - Ross R. Barnett, lawyer/(Gov-MS)

Reported Missing in Action
1964

Dawson, Daniel G., US Army (CA); O1F crashed, Killed, body not recovered

1965
Bolstad, Richard E., USAF (MN); A1E shot down, released February, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Cormier, Arthur, USAF (NJ); CH3C shot down (pararescue), released by DRV February, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Lilly, Warren E., USAF (TX); CH3C shot down (pilot), released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - alive and well as of 1998

McKnight, George G., USAF (OR); A1E shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - injured - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Singleton, Jerry A., USAF (OK); CH3C shot down (co-pilot), released by DRV February, 1973 - alive as of 1998

1967
Hagerman, Robert Warren, USAF (IL); F105 shot down, remains returned December, 1985

1968
Turner, Frederick Ray, USMC (OH); KIA in rocket attack, body not recovered

1972
Tolbert, Clarence O., USN (OK); A7B shot down, remains returned February, 1989

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