For the last couple of days, a poem has been stuck in my mind. It has interrupted the strains of Celtic music that are usually there on this day. It starts like this:

In prison cell I sadly sit,
A d__d crest-fallen chappie!
And own to you I feel a bit-
A little bit - unhappy!

It really ain't the place nor time
To reel off rhyming diction -
But yet we'll write a final rhyme
Whilst waiting cru-ci-fixion!

The metered echo in my head was not an unexpected event - yesterday, as I perused the headlines, I saw the predictable:

U.S. veterans, Japanese mark 1968 Vietnam massacre - Video

Survivors reflect 40 years after My Lai

My Lai. Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the incident that came to encapsulate Vietnam for the antiwar movement, and for a generation of Americans who lost their stomach for fighting Communists, for casualty counts, for war. Like it or not, My Lai was the best thing ever to happen to those who malign our troops and what they do - to the anti-troop crowd, My Lai was an unprecedented gift.

I've always been somewhat skeptical about the 'official' story around My Lai, especially given the context. There was tremendous pressure on the military to find someone guilty, to throw someone under the bus to make the raging crowds happy.

It's generally accepted that our troops crossed the line at My Lai. But my problem with the whole thing is that the judgment of My Lai comes completely out of context, and more often than not, the incident is viewed through eyes that have absolutely no frame of reference. Hindsight may be 20/20 in most cases, but not when you're working in the dark. Even now, so many years later, there are many, many unanswered questions about what happened - and why.

Vietnam, to be sure, was not the war that those who went there expected. When the Vietnam war happened, the generation who would serve there was accustomed to war being almost a rite of passage. Remember, there had been a war in this country virtually with every generation since its birth. If you were male, you grew up, you went to war, you came home. Sometimes you didn't, in which case you became immortalized as a hero.

But never had anyone gone to Vietnam. Those fighting the Japanese in the Pacific had seen a premonition of how that area of the world dealt with war. Korea gave another indication - or at least it would have, if this country had really been interested in looking at it all. It wasn't a pretty picture.

Although it wasn't always the war portrayed in "Hamburger Hill" and "Full Metal Jacket," Vietnam was a world of smothering heat, dense jungle, and invisible enemies for those who faced the worst of what it had to offer. Vietnam was a place where there were people lurking in the jungle who tortured and killed American troops. And worse, for Americans, it was hard to tell enemy from friend. Villagers who seemed friendly one moment could harbor the VC - sometimes under your very feet. Children with baskets might be carrying bombs. Yes, some of those who went to Vietnam never fired a shot. But some saw a far different war.

Sometimes, you couldn't even relax enough to count on the ground you walked on - the VC regularly employed booby traps - spiked pits, bamboo spikes hidden in the ground where American troops would dive for cover when fired upon - endless ingenious and horrible inventions. And mines. Lots of mines.

The infamous "Charlie Company" walked into My Lai after several weeks of losing friends to those mines. They were under the impression that My Lai - like so many other villages, harbored VC. They were ordered to eliminate a threat. They were angry. They were tired. And then they walked into a village, like many others, that might or might not harbor the enemy, or harbor those who harbored the enemy.

So much of the analysis of My Lai relies on hindsight. There turned out, officially, to be no VC in My Lai, so therefore it was an atrocity. Problem with all that is, no one could really be sure who was VC and who was not, most of the time. Even the estimates on My Lai dead vary so wildly as to be suspect. Estimates range from somewhere around 150 to over 500, with more 'official' numbers wandering between 350 to 400.

30 soldiers out of the 100 or so in Charlie Company were put on trial. 3o out of 100 in Charlie Company. Looks like a pretty big percentage - 30% of a unit accused of an atrocity. But let's look at some other numbers - 2.1 million Americans served in Vietnam. My Lai represents the behavior of .0014% of those who served - an incredibly small amount. How much energy is spent on that .0014% versus how much is spent on the honorable service of the other 99.9986%?

The problem lies in the ugliness of war. For the most part, if war can be spoon-fed to the general populous in manufactured film reels and staged pictures, if news can be delivered in brave victories and vanquished enemies that can be easily demonized in your average cartoon, we're happy to tolerate it. But when it gets ugly, the Western world doesn't want to think about it. Unfortunately, we seem to have this need to distance ourselves from the wars we wage. There's this need to set a line, to seize upon the stuff in war that doesn't look good on the cover of Time, and to prosecute so that we can say, "See? War may be uncivilized, but we're still civilized." War is bad, but we're not bad.

Every war has its trial, its villains from the winning side. The victors have to find those who will bear the cost of what we needed to do to win; those who will in essence shoulder the responsibility for the fact that when armies meet to settle things, people are killed and maimed. Vietnam had My Lai. Iraq had Abu Ghraib - the stupid behavior of a very few soldiers, who took some idiotic pictures. Since that didn't turn out to the torture-fest that would have satisfied the need to demonize someone on our side, the hunt went on. They almost got Lt. Ilario Pantano. And they almost got Haditha - a tale that has been falling apart from the start. Frighteningly, both could have gone far worse for the troops involved had it not been for a couple of factors that didn't exist during the My Lai circus - milbloggers and talk radio. This time, there was opposition to the lynch mob that always waits in the wings. Haditha is still open, and it is up to that opposition to remain vigilant.

What always throws me for a loop in these situations is that we are collectively so ready to view American troops as if they're something other than human. We're always so ready to forget that those "animals" at My Lai were, in some cases, barely out of high school. They were brothers, sons, fathers...they were ours. In another place, at another time, some of them might have been that nice kid next door.

I wonder what's more savage - the behavior of troops in war, who occasionally cross the line after they are pushed to their limits, or the behavior of the bloodthirsty mob of critics who clamor for the heads of the heroes that protect their freedoms? I think, and always have, that the latter is more reprehensible. Our Heroes display remarkable restraint when criticized, often enduring the attacks without a word.

No matter what "end" they decide -
Quick-lime or "b'iling ile," sir?
We'll do our best when crucified
To finish off in style, sir!

When troops cross the line, in the context of their jobs, they deserve help, not prosecution. I've got no problem with court martialling soldiers who rape innocent girls and kill their family to cover it up. I've got a real problem putting Marines on trial who are in a hostile area, have to make instant judgment calls, and almost certainly believed that they were doing what they needed to do.

Sadly, I think we are eager to try those who are involved in the darker, uglier side of war because it makes us feel better. We can send troops off to kill, and feel OK with it, as long as we make sure that we still have standards - that we haven't completely lost our humanity. How sad it is that we all can't just get along, but rather have to get dragged into the nastiness that is war.

But we bequeath a parting tip
For sound advice of such men,
Who come across in transport ship
To polish off the Dutchmen!

If you encounter any Boers
You really must not loot 'em!
And if you wish to leave these shores,
For pity's sake, DON'T SHOOT 'EM!!

Other cultures don't have that same limitation, that same need to justify, explain, and dress up a war. To many other cultures, it's real simple. The enemy is the enemy, and no one really cares what happens to them. I'm not saying that we should go that way. I just think that maybe we should be leaning a little towards our Heroes, rather than their critics, when there's a problem.

The most bizarre thing about the whole My Lai redux yesterday was the fact that another anniversary was all but ignored in the headlines. In addition to My Lai, survivors of another of history's darker moments were remembering, too.

Over this past weekend, survivors of the Krakow ghetto were marking the 65th anniversary of its "liquidation." Thousands upon thousands of Jews were killed outright or deported to Nazi death camps from the Krakow ghetto. Thousands upon thousands of lives were destroyed.

And if you'd earn a D.S.O.,
Why every British sinner
Should know the proper way to go
Is: "ASK THE BOER TO DINNER!"

Let's toss a bumper down our throat, -
Before we pass to Heaven,
And toast: "The trim-set petticoat
We leave behind in Devon."

It's a far juicier story to make criminals out of heroes. Far better reading to watch the fall of someone on a pedestal than to focus on the truly evil. How much airplay has Spitzer gotten lately - and why? Because he was a man who had been held up as a moral crusader - a paragon of law and order. If he'd been a common thug, dalliances with prostitutes wouldn't have been big news. Paradoxically, common criminals get the benefit of their actions being judged by how they were raised, whether they were bullied, and any other excuse that society can make for them. But our Heroes? They have no such defenses, and there is no compassion for them in the rush to condemn their actions.

The Viet Cong regularly did unspeakable things to Vietnamese civilians. That didn't get much coverage yesterday. None, actually. But My Lai? Now there's a story.

Noting that yesterday was the anniversary of a Nazi horror wasn't going to get a lot of mileage, either - especially since looking at the Holocaust forces us to look at ourselves. The horrors of the death camps, like it or not, were well known to the Western world for years before American troops gaped in horror at what they saw in Nazi concentration camps - and no one really cared. All of that Europe stuff, for a long time, was seen as someone else's problem. Although the Nazis bear the responsibility for the Holocaust, the rest of the world has to look at its ambivalence, and that's not very comfortable. The true extent of the evil that played itself out in Europe obviously didn't teach us much, either, but that's a subject for a different time.

The big factor in the disparity of coverage, sadly, is that focusing on real villains doesn't play as well in the media as demonizing American troops does. That, to me, is also a crime. When it all boils down to it, I guess I wouldn't mind the My Lai coverage, if we actually tried to learn something from it, rather than using it as yet another excuse to paint American troops in the worst light possible.

Oh, that poem that has been running through my head for the last couple of days? It's noted, by its author, as "The Last Rhyme and Testament of Tony Lumpkin." It's official title is "Butchered to Make a Dutchman's Holiday." It was written by Harry "Breaker" Morant, another military man who became intimately familiar with the process of putting troops on trial to satisfy the hunger for civility.

Labels: My Lai, My Two Cents, Troops on Trial, Vietnam War, WWII

Life is finally starting to get back to some semblance of normal for me after my husband's injury this past August (no, not in combat - we're civilians. Although my puppy did attack him once he fell, so maybe that counts as some sort of combat...). Or at least, to the new normal.

I haven't been inspired - and haven't had the energy - to really rant in a while. Wouldn't you know it would be the scum of the earth - one step above the terrorists - that prompted me to do so again?

I've been criticized in the past for saying that the anti-war crowd almost invariably turns anti-troop. They'll tell you they're not.

Even when they do this, and this, and this, and this, and this.....and the list goes on.

Still, they'll tell you they're not anti-troop. And as it was forty years ago, and sixty years ago, and in every conflict where they've decided to slither in, it's a lie.

And now, once again, they're at it in D.C.

I had warned in one of my rants that if we weren't careful, the openly anti-troop crowd would take advantage of the war's waning popularity, and the weakening of American resolve, to do the things they never would have dared do in those first few months after 9/11.

We are at a critical, and very dangerous time in this war - and in this country. If we do not as a country stand up - right now - and say that our heroes are NOT to be maligned, or thrown out of town, or told that their exercises will scare people, or asked not to attend things in uniform, we are going to be right back where we were.

If you want a parallel to Viet Nam, this is it - the idiots. The wretched creatures who dare crawl out from under their slime-coated rocks to dare and attack those who give them the right to spill their worthless drivel.

It. Is. Not. Acceptable. Ever.

Not in Berkeley, not in D.C., and not in a tiny town in CT where they darken a town green every Sunday. Well, at least unless the weather is less than sunny. Lord knows they don't want to be out there if it's inconvenient.

Not in this war, not in any other war. Not at a school, not in some wildly Left-wing town. No, it shouldn't be illegal to be an idiot; I'm not saying the government should stop them. But we do not have to accept unacceptable behavior. WE should stop them. And it's easy. Simply stop accepting the behavior. Confront it - walk up and tell them they should be ashamed of themselves. Stand on the opposite corner with a sign that thanks the troops. Rev motorcycle engines so loud you drown out the idiots. I'm not saying you get violent. They do enough of that. I'm just saying do something. Don't just shake your head as you go by. Our troops are willing to be sent anywhere, to do anything they are asked - to die to protect our freedom. And dammit, we owe them better than letting these idiots operate without consequence.

There are two types of comments I remove from this blog. One is spam. The other is a comment that trashes our troops. You can argue against the war. You can argue against my viewpoint. Not a problem. But trash the troops, and I'm likely to either use your comment as an example of profound stupidity (in which case you and your insipid little friends will send me stupid emails and spam trackbacks), or I'm going to delete your lame little comment.

'Cause it's my blog, and I can. And I will.

I promised a long time ago that I would not allow it in my little corner of the world. And every moonbat that decides to mouth off about the Army flag in my window, or the POW flag on my garage door, or a post on this blog gets a full-on dose of one pissed off Soldiers' Angel.

And anyone who doesn't stand up and say that it's not acceptable to trash our troops is worse than the anti-war scum. They're idiots. But at least they care about their idiocy. If you can't muster up the energy to even give a crap, that's worse.

There is NO EXCUSE for another generation of Heroes to think they have to be ashamed of their service. There is NO EXCUSE for allowing these people to have free rein. They're cowards. They're hypocrites (their 'peace' rallies often turning violent). And they are wrong.

For me, two words come to mind when I think of our troops. Thank You.

I've got two words for the anti-troop bottom feeders too. The second one is also "You."

The first one, I'll let you figure out for yourself. It sure as heck ain't "Thank."

At the Soldiers' Angels conference this morning, Chuck asked for a bulldozer and directions to Berkeley.

I say we give them to him.

Labels: Left-Wingnuts, Moonbats, My Two Cents, opinion, Supporting the troops

Today's News post - and the Hero of the Month post, are coming later. There are some things I need to say, lest my head explode. I apologize if this is somewhat stream-of-consciousness, but I'm just not all that worried these days about phrasing things the right way. Basically, at this point, it's either rant, or snap like a dried twig...


Sometimes, I hate being right.

When the "Fort Dix Six" plot first came to light, I knew what else was coming - the apologists. The excuses. The placing of blame on the person who exposed the plot. The placing of blame on the FBI. The finger-pointing - everywhere except at the people who planned to MURDER OUR TROOPS.

I hoped I was wrong. I hoped we would wake from the collective intellectual coma we seem to be in.

I really, really wanted to be wrong. But I wasn't.

It is now being said that the Circuit City emnployee who prevented the deaths of an unknown number of troops at Fort Dix might be sued. Sued - for saving the lives of American troops.

There is a movement to get rid of language referring to a fight against Terrorism.

Our Congress is calling the war in Iraq lost. They are legislating defeat. They are using the war for political gain.

The American media is flat-out lying about what is going on in Iraq. They're ignoring Afghanistan - until one of our troops dies, that is.

Six Imams acting suspiciously won a lawsuit in our court system that may prevent others from saying anything. Apparently, it's more important to be politically correct than it is to prevent another terrorist attack.

And where is the outcry? Nowhere.

It makes me nauseous.

One of my first rants here was one in which I listed just a fraction of terrorist attacks over the years. It's here. There's more here. Why is it that no one can see the absolute necessity of dealing with these people?

Wait - I think I made a critical mistake there. Let me rephrase - Why is it that no one can see the absolute necessity of hunting the terrorists down and KILLING THEM?!? 'Cause that's what I mean. I'm tired of political correctness and euphemistic niceties. They are killing this country - literally.

I can't understand why we have forgotten. Granted, the Left is doing everything it can to make that happen, but still...!

First, we took 9/11 footage off the air. Why? It upset people. Well, it damn sure SHOULD upset people - it should enrage every fiber of their being!

Then, we made every possible effort to use terms that indicated that the religion of the attackers was not an issue. That Islam is a peaceful religion, and we certainly don't want to offend.

Well, you know what? Five and a half years after Muslim extremist lunatics murdered nearly 3,000 people, I'm not buying the "Religion of Peace" thing. At best, it's a religion of apathy. How many Muslims are actively working to keep the terrorists from taking over? How many are openly condemning the work of terrorists? How many Muslim countries are taking all possible steps to root out Al Qaeda in their midst? There are varying estimates - CAIR puts the number at 1.2 billion; a little over 20% of the world's population.

A note to moonbats here - I don't want a slew of emails telling me I'm a warmonger. I don't want emails telling me I'm a bigot. Save your energy. Yes, I know there are Muslims working with our troops to fight Al Qaeda. Yes, I know there are good people who are Muslims. But when you look at the fact that over 20% of the world's population is Muslim, you need to face reality - peaceful Muslims who are actively taking a stance on terrorism are the EXCEPTION, not the RULE. Deal with it.

And I don't want to hear that they're not standing up because they're scared. Our troops, deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other regions are scared, too. But they go into harm's way every single day. All these people need to do is not turn a blind eye to the lunatics derailing their religion.

At any rate, I don't buy it. A Muslim friend of a friend said once that although he's lived in America all of his life, although he loves this country, if a fatwah came down to kill Americans, he'd be obligated to do it.

Let's think about that for a second. If the Pope said, "OK, folks, time to kill all the Jews - it's the religious obligation of all Catholics to do so," the collective Catholic following would say, "Time for a new Pope," not "Where do we start?!"

At best, Islam is tolerant of the murderers in their midst. While certainly, active terrorists are the small minority, those who would stay silent about them make up a majority. If the religion abides terrorists - at times, even openly states that although terrorism is wrong, it's not all that wrong when it involves killing Americans - then it is NOT peaceful. Do Muslims have a right to exist - of course. Do they have a right to practice their faith in the U.S. - absolutely. But let's at least acknowledge that it is Islam as a whole that has failed to address the terrorists in their faith.

Another note to moonbats - yes, I know, there are Christian terrorists. Abortion bombers, for instance. Those people are NOT supported by the world's population of Christians. Those people end up in jail for murder. The Pope says, "Murder is WRONG," period - not "Murder is wrong unless you're killing x, y, or z."

While I expect excuses and the assigning of blame on America coming from Islam's terrorist lunatics, I have a different set of expectations when it comes to America as a whole.

Apparently, they're ill-founded.

The United States as a whole has only ONE thing they need to do. They don't need to fight the terrorists. They don't need to spend a year away from their families. They don't need to risk a damn thing. The only thing this country needs to do is support the people trying to ensure that 9/11 never happens again.

But it ain't happening.

Maybe it's because we've forgotten. Maybe it's because all of that political correctness and sanitizing of mass murder has removed the reality of what happened from our collective consciousness.

I can fix that.

Remember this?



Do you?







Do you remember what it is these people want? What they're about?



Do we even care anymore?

The country is "tired of the war." Yeah? Well there are thousands of people who are tired of not seeing their loved ones because they were murdered by terrorists.

What is it we're not getting? Do we not understand that we can NO LONGER AFFORD to wait? We can't appease, we can't negotiate, we can't hide. They want to kill us - they HAVE killed us. Be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, or anywhere else, we cannot wait until they hit us first. We cannot afford to give the enemy the first shot - no matter what enemy that is.

What happened to the country that knew why we were going to war? What happened to the country that listened to the President say that this would be a long war, and just set its jaw in collective resolve?

Why have we allowed the cowards and traitors to take over? Why are we ignoring reality?

We now have a clear case of terrorists inside our borders (including some who were illegal aliens, but that's another discussion) trying to murder American troops, and already we're starting with the excuses. On the heels of that, the House of Representatives votes for defeat in Iraq!

I really, really want to believe that my country is smarter than that...

But the reality is that this country is rapidly swirling down the bowl. We don't have much time to make a change. We don't have much time to stop the Left from destroying this country. Our enemies - at home and abroad - are still lurking.

I'm just not sure that the American people even care about reality anymore.

But in the interest of taking a stand, and in the interest of not allowing the cowards and traitors to go unanswered, there are some things I need to say:

I believe that the United States of America is the best country in the world.

I believe that terrorist attacks are not our fault.

I believe that invasion of Iraq was necessary and right.

I believe that Saddam's regime supported and condoned terrorism, and that military action was necessary to enforce U.N. sanctions.

I believe the U.N. to be unwilling or unable to enforce its own sanctions. I believe it to be a useless, collectivist entity that deserves to have our funding pulled, and to be shown the door.

I believe that the United States of America does not need the permission of any other nation or entity to defend itself and neutralize threats.

I believe that our troops are Heroes and deserve all resources necessary to do their jobs.

I believe that politicians, celebrities, or anyone that actively works to harm the efforts of our troops, malign our troops, or aid our enemies, are traitors, and should be charged as such.

I believe that if you enable a terrorist, or turn a blind eye, you may as well be a terrorist yourself.

I believe that the only way to ensure that terrorists are not a threat is to kill them. I believe that terrorists are murdering thugs who deserve no mercy.

I believe that the Left is immersed in Communist / Socialist ethos, which is the enemy of a Capatalist Republic.

I believe that altruism, communism, and socialism represent real and present dangers to the American way of life.

I believe that Liberals inside this country are far more dangerous to America than any foreign terrorist could ever be. Terrorists can kill people. Liberals can destroy America. There are some fates worse than death.

I believe that the apathy, the silence of the American people, represents a betrayal to every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine who has fought to protect our liberties.

I believe that freedom of speech is sacred. I also believe that if you call our troops murderers, you deserve to be held accountable for that. You do not deserve to be arrested for disagreeing with the government, but you do deserve to be exposed for what you are when you are working against America and those who protect her.

I believe that illegal aliens, and foreign terrorists, are not entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution. I believe those protections to be guaranteed to U.S. Citizens.

I believe that spying on foreign terrorists - including phone conversations - is just ducky. I believe that you do not have a right as an American citizen to plot with terrorists without being taken to the mat.

I believe that the Constitution does NOT guarantee that you will never be offended. If you're maligning the troops or this country, or you're working against either, I really don't care if calling you out offends you. In fact, I hope it does.

You have the right to believe that killing Americans will guarantee you 72 black-eyed virgins in Paradise. We have the right to send you to meet them at the earliest possible opportunity.

I believe that war is not the only answer, but that sometimes, it is the only answer that will work. I believe that war is sometimes a necessary thing. I believe that peace at all costs is not peace - it is subservience. It is cowardice.

I believe that anyone who refuses to be a part of the solution - speaking out about terrorists, supporting our troops, speaking out about the dangers of the Left - is part of the problem.

I believe I've ranted enough for now....


****************************************

UPDATE: Correction / clarification - the "flying Imams" have filed a lawsuit, not won the lawsuit. Conflicting accounts exist on whether they sought an out-of-court settlement or not. The lawsuit also may include passengers as defendants, and the whole thing is being underwritten, at least in part, by none other than C.A.I.R. My central point in that paragraph is unchanged; the fact that this lawsuit was allowed to gain any ground whatsoever leads to the possibility that others will stay silent for fear of "looking prejudiced."

I apologize for the misleading statment - chalk it up to my seriously irked mood.

Labels: My Two Cents, opinion

Relax - I'll explain in a minute.

"The Simpsons" is not the sort of fare usually turned to for life lessons, for sure. But there are a couple of nuggets that have stayed with me from earlier days when I used to watch it regularly.

One was an episode in which Mayor Quimby called the people of Springfield "a bunch of fickle mush-heads," due to their shifting political loyalties and gullibility. Yep.

Another was when Homer was in space. There was also an ant colony up there. Homer's usual bumbling resulted in the shattering of the glass encasing the ant colony. As the ants spilled out, they protested "Horrible, horrible freedom!"

As Homer would say, "It's funny 'cause it's true..."

The American Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 (with the expulsion of Royal officials) to 1783. It wasn't until 1787 that the Constitution was ratified. It took four years to figure out how the hell to govern the country they'd spent 8 years getting.

Hmmm.

It took almost a hundred years to make it a single entity - the United States Civil War was, in large part, a battle about the governmental structure. Did the rights of the individual states take precedence, or was the federal government the one that ultimately was in charge? That one was four years of destruction, costing approximately 620,000 lives (about as much as in all other American wars combined). Gettysburg alone killed more than 50,000.

Was it worth it? It's a question that often gets asked about wars, and if one wants to do it right, it's impossible to answer. The reality is that we'll never know what would have happened without it. How long would The non-United States have survived? Remember, in 1812, the Brits tried to remedy their loss of a few decades earlier. Was Lincoln right? Would a "house divided" have fallen? Given the wars that followed, probably.

I was in Disneyworld on vacation when Mikhail Gorbachev was overthrown. At the time, I had a Ukrainian penpal. a medic in the Soviet army. Nice guy. As I watched the news in my hotel room, I said to my boyfriend at the time, "Oh, God, this is a disaster."

He looked at me like I'd gone insane. "What?!? We're watching the birth of a democracy, here - this is great!"

"No, we're not," I said quietly. "Those people haven't the foggiest idea of how to build a democracy. Gorbachev was doing it right - little freedoms here and there....he was introducing them to independence a little at a time. They're used to having everything done for them. They have no idea how to take care of themselves."

And they didn't. Gennady told me they didn't have stamps, or money, for months. Everything with Lenin's visage on it was confiscated, but there were no replacements. MiG's were being traded to farmers for food. Criminal elements, long kept in line by the KGB, were suddenly unleashed. Corruption flourished. A superpower disappeared into ignominy and confusion.

Sound somewhat familiar? It should.

Iraq has been out from under Saddam Hussein for not quite four years. It's had a fledgling government for less time than that. And its people, in large part, still have absolutely no clue what self-determination really means.

I've seen articles where residents of the former Soviet Union have said that life was better under Communism, because at least they had food, and crime was lower. Iraqis have said that life was better under Saddam.

Why is that, do you think?

Well, there's probably a very simple answer - freedom sucks if you don't know how to live under it. It's an inertia thing. Objects at rest tend to remain at rest. People who are used to having everything decided for them get used to it. Freedom - self-determination, personal responsibility - can be terrifying.

It's often been said that the natural state of the soul is freedom - that inside every heart is a desire for freedom. Maybe so. But just because I'd like to be a surgeon, doesn't mean you'd want me operating on you. It takes knowledge, it takes skill, and so does maintaining freedom.

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-- Thomas Paine, in Common Sense

Even if you want freedom, that doesn't mean that you'll know what to do with it once you get it. Freedom has so often been held up as the ideal that what often gets lost is the downside - it's work. It isn't easy to be free. Look at the consequences...

The U.S. has had to endure being hated. We've spent heaploads of money - and oceans of blood - in wars. We've put up with civil strife. Bad politicians. Media outlets run amok. And why? Because we're free. This country walks the line between freedom and oppression every single day. Collectively, we wake up each morning and have to decide - Is this still worth it?

We keep answering "Yes." But how long is that going to last. Our freedom is very much in jeopardy in the present day. Hillary Clinton says that if she could, she would take the profits of oil companies, putting them into programs for alternative energy sources. Think about that for a second. She would TAKE the profits, and decide where they should be spent.

Political correctness dictates that certain words are banned. Not just unfashionable. Not just problematic. Banned. You can get fired from your job for using them. You can get fined if your network uses them.

Political correctness dictates that certain characters are not permissible. A college mascot is no more because it *might* offend people. Look out, Notre Dame - I'm Irish. That angry little leprechaun of yours is one phone call away from extinction.

It's not that people are choosing to refrain from watching certain shows, or listening to certain music, or supporting certain sporting events. The free market, free will, is not deciding what is or is not acceptable. THEY are. Political groups...your government...is deciding what you can say, what you can see, what you can hear.

That ought to scare the living crap out of you. But how many of us does it really scare? Everyone can agree that certain words are just out of bounds, right?

There was a time that I was told that my SAT score, a 1320 under the old scoring system, was "pretty good for a girl." Did that piss me off? You bet. Did I call the cops and ask that the offender be put in jail? No. I stood up for myself. I decided that I would not accept that.

There are certain words that drive me up a tree. Certain racial terms just really tick me off - but there's a difference between calling someone an idiot for saying something, and putting them in jail. There's a difference between using a word, and assaulting someone. Granted, once the first step is permitted, the next ones become easier to accept. But what I'm saying is that legislation isn't always the answer - sometimes people have to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for drawing a line.

Ah, but I digress.

Back to Iraq: Under Saddam, your life was pretty much decided for you. You got what food was allowed to get to you. You had electricity, water, etc. when you were permitted to have it. You were either going to live that day, or die. All of that was completely out of your control. Voting was easy - your vote for President consisted of a choice between "Saddam forever" and "Kill me now." Pretty simple choice there.

And then came the Americans, promising freedom. You'd get to vote, you wouldn't have to be randomly dragged off to be tortured, you'd have rights...only the Americans forgot to tell you a thing or too...you'd have to do a lot of work to get there, and you'd have to do a lot of work to keep it.

Remember the tales that people hear about this country. Everyone's rich. Everyone has equal rights. Everybody has cars, and food, and medical care that consists of more than sawing something off with a rusty knife. People don't die of diseases here that people of other nationalities die of all the time. In America, people throw food away! In America, women vote. Women leave the house alone! Women decide who they marry! Women hold political offices! No one can tell you what religion to follow! No one can put you in jail - or worse, for calling the President a moron. Wow...it's a lot to take in.

And most of it's pretty much true. Compared to other countries, we are pretty rich. Most people have good medical care. In some cases, poor people have access to better medical care than others with more money. People call the President a moron - and worse - all the time. And they're not in jail.

But what people don't understand is that, as Ronald Reagan said,

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

And that's, in essence, the problem in Iraq.

Herschel Smith, over at The Captain's Journal, has a post up today that looks at the state of the counterinsurgency in Anbar. The picture he paints is somewhat grim. Snipers still prowl the roads. Clean water is still out of reach. Peace, where it exists, is fragile.

I was struck by one quote from that post:

“It is hard to say this but years ago I was praying for the death of [former president] Saddam Hussein, but today I wish he could come back to life and was in power again because at least in his time we used to have safe water, good sewage systems, had food to eat and our children never got diarrhoea,” she said.

Many of the war's critics would pounce on that and say, "See - we've actually made things worse in Iraq. They were better off with Saddam."

In some cases, I would agree. But not because WE have failed. The problem is that the Iraqis have largely failed themselves to this point. The Iraqi leadership has failed its people. Most of that is not their fault. They are not used to having to step up. And let's face it - standing down a bunch of armed lunatics who don't think you're being Muslim enough isn't exactly a fun way to spend a day.

The problem is that freedom is work. Freedom in itself does not make things wonderful. Freedom, when fully embraced by a nation, however, with all its trials, and all of its responsibilities, is the most wonderful thing on Earth.

Iraq is in danger of never finding that out. We are in danger of losing what we know to be priceless. Both may succeed. Both may fail. And in large part, both hinge on this country answering that question again.

"Is it worth it to be free?"

"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."
-- Edward Murrow

Are we, once again, going to take a stand for freedom?

Universal healthcare looks pretty good, doesn't it? But it compromises the free market, and it takes away personal responsibility. Work, or don't - you'll be taken care of. It is a feel-good way to get people used to not having to think - or work - for themselves.

War sucks. It claims lives, maims young men and women. But when you're the nation that says it stands for freedom, you have to fight in one from time to time. Some are for your own survival. Some are about eliminating threats. And some are in defense of a smaller nation that asks for help. All are expensive in money and lives. But what does peace at any price really mean?

Maniacs are going to want to kill us if we are free. If we knuckle under, it will buy us some security. Maybe. Terrorists will hit us again. People will die. Freedom will make us a target. Which do we want to choose?

The American Constitution as it is now written does not guarantee that you will never be offended. It doesn't guarantee that you'll never hear something that you don't like. It doesn't guarantee that people will always be nice to you. Sometimes, life hands you a raw deal. But if we legislate speech, and legislate media "fairness," and legislate religion, we can control those things. Of course, it means that we will give up some of our rights...

The fact of the matter is, what's going on in Iraq scares me a lot less, most of the time, than what's going on here. Our troops are the best in the world. They're getting things done in Iraq. Yes, we have to continue to put pressure on Iraqis. And I agree that we have to let them know we're not going to be there forever. If we don't do that, they won't do it for themselves. Inertia. We're going to have to drag them kicking and screaming into their new existence. Reward those who stand up - who chase off insurgents, who build a local workforce to fix the water problems. Who appoint a representative to come to the U.S. forces and say, "what the heck do we need to do to help you get the power working consistently?" Reward personal responsibility.

At the same time, we cannot abandon them. They simply do not know how to be free. It is going to require some education. We are going to need to help them deal with the murdering thugs they allowed to gain a foothold, and give them a little bit of Freedom 101.

Here at home, we need to make a choice in a little under two years. It is a pivotal one. Listen very, very carefully to what politicians are saying. Listen very, very carefully to those who tell you that they will take away your worries, make life easier, give you something for nothing, prevent you from hearing something that offends you, and see to "social justice."

Lenin said the same thing. So, very likely, did Saddam.

Freedom lies in the balance in two countries. And it is very likely the people in this one that dictate the survival of both.

Labels: Iraq, My Two Cents, opinion, politics

Fortunately, I’m not a politician. I’d never make it, ‘cause I’d say what I think. For instance, if I were to give a speech to Congress today, here’s what I’d say:

Over two centuries ago, Thomas Paine said, “These are times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Yesterday, in the House of Representatives, delegates met, and passed one of the most important resolutions in American history. Though a non-binding one, this one resolution – this one vote – says more about the character of the American body politic than hundreds that have gone before. And what we have learned is that Mr. Paine’s words are as true now as they were then, for surely Congress is filled with sunshine patriots.

Yesterday's vote was about a war, but it is much more than that. The abominable resolution passed by the House sends a message that will echo in the halls of history, and will no doubt be recorded as the day that America set its course for decades to come.

There are those in Congress – now a majority, who have elected as their leaders individuals who would say that this war has been based on lies, that it has made America less safe, and that it is a failure. The same voices say that to do so, and indeed to pass this resolution, is not un-American.

I would agree.

They are not un-American. They are, in fact, anti-American.

From the beginning of the war, those same voices called for more troops, stating that the forces currently in Iraq did not have the resources to do the job they were asked to do. And yet now, when an increase in troops is planned, they say that the “escalation” is unwarranted.

Now, a Congressman who served in the United States Marine Corps works to secure a bill that would de-fund the war, compromise his brother and sister Marines, and make the mission all but impossible to achieve. This is the same Congressman who long before accused Marines were placed on trial called them murderers. The saying has been, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” I say that John Murtha has stopped being a Marine, and has become a politician, a coward, and a traitor. Working to undermine the efforts of U.S. troops, and therefore to harm the country, is and ought to be regarded as treason.

Today, the first female Speaker of the House rejoices in the passage of a Congressional statement to disparage the very move that was advocated by her party long ago. She backs a plan to de-fund the war as a back-door way to force a retreat. Some would call her an advocate for peace. I say that she is a betrayer of those abroad who need our help, a betrayer of U.S. troops, and a traitor. Undermining the authority of the President of the United States, and working to prevent our troops from succeeding, is and ought to be regarded as treason.

So, my liberal friends, rejoice, if you will, in the passage of this resolution. Continue to give voice to the lie that you were put in power by a majority of the American people. Continue to give voice to the lie that 70% of America supports the betrayal of our troops. There are many of us that know the truth.

You were not put in power by a majority of the voters in this country. You were put into power by 40% of the eligible voters in this country. 60% of the eligible voters in this country did not participate. 60% of the eligible voters in this country didn’t see any of you as worth voting for.

The overwhelming majority of Americans do not support immediate withdrawal of the troops. They support a clear agenda, clear milestones, and success. The American people have never supported cowardice. Would that we could say the same about the American Congress..

What you have done today is send a message to the enemy that we are weak. You may couch it any way that you choose, but that is what you have done. You have advised our enemies that we will abandon our efforts, just as they have told their followers that we would . You have given them credibility. You have given them reassurance. You have given them a victory.

What you have done today is send a message to our troops that they are without the support of the leaders of their country. You may sing the old tune that working to abandon military action is a way to support them, but you have abandoned them. A generation ago, people like you lied about another conflict, permitted assaults and insults to our returning troops, and made them feel as if they should be ashamed. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and so you have.

What you have done today is cause fledgling democracies to live in fear, and to lose hope. Iraq has learned today that you see no value in supporting them, and that the American Congress does not keep its promises, for you assured them that you had no intention of abandoning them. Afghanistan has learned that you will tire, that you will abandon them, just as those we went to remove have said. Millions of fingers raised in triumph at the voting booth will tremble in fear, awaiting our departure and the sure retribution they will face in our wake. And every country that looks to us hoping to find a voice for freedom will be disappointed.

You have told the world that we are vulnerable. You have told the world that we do not mean what we say. You have invited our enemies, who will fight to a man, to attack us at will, because we will give in once the war does not go exactly as we would like, once it is more difficult than we had hoped. All they have to do is wait us out.

You have chosen political expediency over good judgment. You have chosen to bow down to the enemy. You have chosen to abandon your military. You have chosen to run from the battlefield with your tail between your legs, all the while calling over your shoulder that you are making a tactical retreat. You have chosen a “non-binding” resolution because it allows you the safety of claiming that you have not directly harmed our troops, but have merely expressed your displeasure at the tactics of the war.

It is a lie.

On the House floor, you have called this war a defeat for the United States. You have referred to our country as warmongering. You have insulted our President. You have vowed to restrict funding so insidiously that you will harm our troops, but be able to say that it was the President who has not met your goals.

You have consistently maligned this country, its military, its very founding principles. You have now given aid and comfort to an enemy who has promised to shed American blood. Someday, you will pay for it.

And sadly, you have likely now doomed us all to pay the price with you.

Had you the decency to feel shame, you would be shrinking away from any light near you, so that good people would not have to look upon your countenances.

Celebrate your victory while you can, for the wolves are at the door, and you have left the key for them. And they will not pause to thank you before they do what evil they intend.

******************************************

On a positive note, Chris Shays, the only Congressional Republican from my abysmally left-wing state, voted against the resolution (view his speech here). I've never been particularly fond of him, but he did the right thing, and that should be noted. Thank you, Rep. Shays. Shame on the rest of you.

Tomorrow, Joe Lieberman will not be voting, due to religious constraints.

Senator McCain won't be voting either. He's too busy campaigning. Not sure that's a great statement for what kind of President he'd make, especially when it's coming from a veteran who should know better.

Wanna know how your Rep voted? Go here or here

Don't know who your Rep is? Go here to check first, and then see how they voted.

Wanna let them know what you think about their vote? Go here.

******************************************

If you ever vote Republican, and you feel as I do, take The Pledge:

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.

Go here to sign your name


We'll likely see today how many Senators earn me keeping my checkbook firmly closed.

Here are 17 Republicans in the House of Representatives who shouldn't see dime one:

Michael Castle (DE),
Howard Coble (NC), a USCG and USCGR vet,
Tom Davis(VA), a US Army and US Army Reserve vet,
John 'Jimmy' Duncan (TN), National Guard and US Army Reserve vet
Philip English (PA),
Wayne Gilchrest (MD),
Bob Inglis (SC),
Tim Johnson (IL),
Walter Jones (NC),
Ric Keller (FL),
Mark Kirk (IL), USNR
Steven LaTourette (OH),
Ron Paul (TX),
Thomas Petri (WI),
Jim Ramstad (MN), US Army and US Army Reserve vet
Fred Upton (MI),
James Walsh (NY)

******************************************

UPDATE: NOTR's about as pleased as I am. Uncle Jimbo is too.

Labels: My Two Cents, opinion, politics, The Pledge

I find myself looking at the news these days with a darkened spirit. The transient in the city streets, holding a sign that says "The End is Near" has become somewhat of an American colloquialism. Now, it's as if I'm suddenly seeing him before me, but he isn't talking about the end of the world...he's talking about the end of the America I know and love.

The Left's ever-echoing refrain about the November 2006 elections is that America voted for change - a new direction. I'm not convinced that America, as a whole, voted for anything. Rather, America showed an alarming amount of apathy. In an election that was excruciatingly important - not just with regard to Iraq, but to the future of this country. 2006 voter turnout was approximately 40%. Forty percent of America gave a hoot. Sixty percent simply abdicated their choice - their freedom to have a choice.

I'm not sure if it's a collective lack of motivation, or simply a belief that this country is invulnerable. After all, it's been a long time since this country was attacked on its own soil, right?

Or has it?

I seem to remember a sunny day in September, a little over five years ago...but then, we're not supposed to mention that anymore. It's become unseemly to mention September 11th, and all but illegal to mention it and Iraq in the same sentence - there's no direct connection, so therefore the entire War in Iraq has been invalidated, right?

I've said it before - we've forgotten the days when we called for blood. We've forgotten the days when we listened to the President tell us that this would be a long war, would have many fronts, and would not look like any war we'd seen before, and our only response was the rallying cry of that horrible day - "Let's roll."

The cynic in me says that it's simply a matter of the American desire to back a clear winner. Sometimes we're really petty as a country. If Iraq looked like Normandy, with grand assaults, happy little films at the beginning of movies, posters telling the average Joe he could be part of the war effort by using a little less butter on his toast, I guarantee you that we'd be seeing different numbers in the polls. But Iraq is a land of suicide bombers, shifting loyalties, and hard-fought gains. It's a land where the government of the country we're supposed to be backing alternately backs and criticizes us, where gains in building a native army suffer the setbacks of insurgent infiltration. Doesn't make for a nifty little fifteen-minute P.R. spot.

And Afghanistan has simply been forgotten in the public consciousness. Five years, and we've forgotten. My husband predicted it two weeks after 9/11. He said that in five years, no one would care - if it took that long.

The Anti-war movement is gaining steam again, bolstered by what they see as a vote for them in November 2006. Democrats act as if they never cast a vote to go to war, and Republicans backpeddle as quickly as they can. Gone are those who loudly, consistently, said that what we were doing was important - that we needed to fight to win. Even the President has stepped away from the straight talk that infuriated the Left, and inspired the Right.

And meanwhile, the clouds are massing.

I have always believed, always known, that no foreign power would destroy my country. I have always known that my country was something amazing - something unique, and possessed of an innate will, an innate strength, which would always make her a fearsome enemy.

Others have known that too. Japan, in World War II, feared invading this country because they believed that Americans were - well, a little bit nuts. The American populace has guns, and they believed the nutty Americans would use those guns if invaded.

During the Clinton impeachment, the rest of the world laughed at us for caring about a President's impropriety - all politicians, wise Europe knew, were corrupt. How could we expect our President not to be? We were silly, naive children for expecting a principled leader. Secretly, they rejoiced at the fact that America was finally brought down a peg. Finally, we weren't better than they were. Finally, we looked fallable.

From the days that a few colonists got their noses out of joint, the world has feared this country. Remember our origins. Never in the history of the world had a colony broken free. And the colonists over in the New World were taking on the British Empire - the massive empire over which the sun never set. It was insane - it was suicide - it had to fail.

But it didn't.

A scraggly little group of colonists had thrown off the largest Empire in the world. And then it did it again.

A violent Civil War ripped the country apart when it was not even a century old - over a group of people the entire civilized world saw as second-class citizens, no less! Granted, there were other issues - the very identity of the new nation was at stake. The world watched for the end of the little nation which stood for freedom, convinced that the war would tear it asunder.

But it didn't.

Rising from the ashes of the war-torn land came a unified nation, if bruised. The wounds of that war are still healing - the scars visible in the divided natures of those north and south. Certainly, the nation as a whole has seen the disgrace of slavery for what it is, but ill feelings linger in pockets here and there. And yet...

Half a world away, civilized Europe burned. Nations which supposedly had learned the ills of war, had learned to get along, suddenly erupted in a maelstrom of brewing hatred and resentment. The little nation that could entered the fray on the side of its former sovereign empire. And the world watched as suddenly it wasn't so little anymore. In the aftermath, the land of the free walked away from a negotiation table when Europe wanted to punish, not reconcile.

It would soon be back.

A few short decades later, Europe shuddered as that same foe rose again. Burning from the sting of the retribution of the previous conflict, and seeking a little vengeance of its own, that foe chose as its leader a man who promised greatness - and delivered. Europe capitulated, surrendered, knuckled under, gave way.

In the still-young land of the free, there was indecision, hesitation. Many voices said that this was not an American fight - not an American concern. It was Europe's problem. In the shadows, tales of great horrors were whispered. People were being killed - rounded up and sent to work camps. People were being exterminated for how they chose to worship. Even in the dark days that had led to a shipload of intrepid men and women coming American shores, it had never been like this. America watched with concern, but hesitated. Was war really worth it to save people that lived that far away?

At any rate, America was busy with other atrocities. Another empire was creating havoc. While America only half-heard the evils from Europe, it knew full well those in the East. Still, calmer heads prevailed, and it came to the table to speak.

It was about to learn a hard lesson in double-talk. Even while civilized discussions were being conducted, Japan was preparing for war.

This time, the Americans would be destroyed. Estimates of the American ability to recover from the attack on its Pacific fleet put the time needed at many, many years. The Americans would be crippled by an attack on Pearl Harbor. They would never be able to rebuild their navy in time. By the time they once again had fleets to send, there would be no point. One voice said that the American ingenuity was being underestimated. He was overruled.

America reeled when the bombs fell at Pearl Harbor. Massive casualties, indescribable horror, and incomprehensible damage. It should have been enough to send America scrambling for cover.

But it didn't.

In the previous World War, one sunken ship had been the impetus for war. One. Now there were many, many sunken or damaged warships. There were thousands killed or injured. And almost instantly, the world knew that this attack had been a grave miscalculation.

America had risen. The sleeping giant had been awoken. And finally, she realized that evil like this was everyone's problem. That an affront to others' freedom was a threat to freedom as a whole. And she cast her eyes on the enemy with a clear gaze.

On two fronts, the Americans fought. In Normandy, Iwo Jima, and hundreds of other locations, American troops taught the world a lesson about invoking the wrath of freedom's greatest defender.

And then, things started to change. An ugly little war in Asia, under the new U.N.'s watch, didn't play nearly as well in the press. The growing power of ideologies like Communism and Socialism took root in the nation that protected free speech. War had been so brutal that people began to once again forget that sometimes, there was no other option.

Another ugly war in the East. This time, the forked-tongues were ready. Preaching peace, and yet violently reacting to warriors, they hijacked public sentiment. A war that was decisively won on every measurable scale, until the party America had come to help made its choice to give in, became an abomination - an orgy of American atrocities. No one spoke of the atrocities commited ON the troops. No one spoke of the atrocities commited in the wake of the American departure. America became desensitized to the sacrifices of her heroes in daily broadcasts, lists of names that soon meant little. A departure that came as a result of the enemy being forcibly brought to the negotiation table became a return in disgrace.

Years of hijacked planes, bombings, rhetoric, and vitriol went unanswered. The giant slept again. America intervened here and there - but the efforts were halting, tentative, and devoid of her former strength. Not on the part of the boots on the ground, but in the heart of the nation, and in the commitment of its leaders.

Until a sunny day in September. Again, the sleeping giant rose in indignant rage. Again, the world trembled. Again, the nation that consistently defied civilized European wisdom showed that it knew how to deal with its enemies.

All but one. America has never, ever learned how to deal with the enemy within.

The finest country ever to exist has one great flaw - ironically, it is the very same freedom that makes her so spectacular. Out of that sweet freedom has come a twisted perversion - "political correctness" twists the nation that has offended the world from day 1 into a nation that fears offending anyone - even those who seek to destroy her.

She has always saved herself in the nick of time - until now. But she has never been so beguiled by lies as she is now. Now, she contemplates "dialogue" with those that will never abandon what they see as a religious duty to obliterate her. Now, she speaks of lives "wasted" in her defense. Now, she allows a friendly nation to be besieged by terrorists, and sends envoys to temper that nation's reaction. Now, she contemplates abandoning a war - in the face of her most dangerous enemy - and creating another generation of heroes who will wonder if they did the right thing. Now, more than half of her population abdicates its voting rights in one of the most important elections in her history. She once again hears the voices of the appeasers, the redistributors of wealth, those who snicker at the very freedom which allows them speech - but now she says nothing; her leaders run for the path of least resistance.

Where is my country? Where is my America?

Where are those voices who have always risen? Where are the "cowboys" who remind the world of who we are, and are not afraid to defend us against any enemy? Where are those who will call evils like Communism what they are, and recognize that things like "universal" healthcare are means to punish those who dare to get ahead? Where are those who recognize such things as the very antithesis of what this country is, and ought to be?

Do they not see the storm on the horizon?

Radical nations (some of whom have already shown themselves to be a firm enemy) are ready. They call for the destruction of the land of the free, and of all those who would dare to stand with her. Civilized Europe, for the most part, does what it has always done in modern history - trade freedom for a place out of the direct line of fire; trade doing the right thing for doing what is expedient.

One nation (oddly enough, one born out of the same Empire, and of similarly humble stock), speaks as loudly as America used to. Australia sees the black, boiling threat on the horizon.

If we fail in Iraq, we lose a battle in the most important war in our history. This one is not just about a sandy land in the Middle East. This one is once again about the little experiment that started in some British colonies a little over 200 years ago. If we fail in Iraq, we don't immediately lose the war, but we end up at a disadvantage that may eventually prove fatal.

If things continue as they are now, the population that is apathetic at best may end up with a pacifist President - one who despises the very fire that forged this nation. Follow that progression and the results are catastrophic. Political correctness will rule the day. Capitalism will give way to "redistribution," "fairness," and so called "justice." Said "justice" will consist of giving everything to those who work for nothing, and leaving those who work for everything with nothing left to lose. Voices like mine (and many far more talented) will be silenced under the guise of "fairness," so that the only option is watered-down, airbrushed, "progressive" language. The arms of the people will be seized under the guise of ensuring safety, and they will be left vulnerable. Freedom will perish, and fear will rule.

We will be weakened by those within our own lands, and vulnerable to those who gather and wait for the first stumble, the first sign that we can be defeated. They have always been wrong in the past. But if we are weakened from within, it will not matter what armor we have on the outside. Like a hollow tree, we will crumble.

Our enemies - all of our enemies - hate what we are. They hate that we continue to snub convention. They hate that we flourish, because it exposes their failures. They hate that we exalt the individual achievement, because they see their own weaknesses. They hate that we do not apologize for greatness, because they see their own inadequacies. They hate our courage, because it exposes their cowardice. They hate those of us who speak plainly, who call terrorists and murderers and cowards what they are, because it exposes the thin veil of their lies.

Half a world away, men and women willingly risk their lives for a country that we would simply give away. To do so is the ultimate betrayal. It is an offense that is unforgiveable.

I have a fear now that I have never known - a fear that my nation, my America, who I know can never be defeated, will simply choose to commit suicide. Like eternal Rome, crippled by a welfare state she couldn't support, and paranoia that sabotaged her united identity, this nation may very well buckle under the weight of political correctness, self-deprecation, and cowardice. I fear that years from now, children will learn of a once-great nation that stood for freedom only in history class, and then only in harsh tones that ridicule her for her idealism.

And yet, I hope. For in me is that spark, handed down from the generations that preceded me - from my ancestors who were among the earliest explorers to seek a better life here - the defiant spark that has on occasion burned like a bonfire in the hearts of the greatest among us.

We have beaten the odds before. But the clock of the world is ticking, and we are running out of time. If my nation is to be twisted into something vile, something cowardly, something weak and subservient to lick the hands of its enemies, then it may very well be better for her to be destroyed. For if that happens, she will already be dead inside, and the destruction would be a mercy killing.

Either we wake up, and we stop apologizing for who and what we are, or we dissolve into apathy and eventual obliteration. Either we take a stand against those who once again threaten to bring us down from within, or we betray all of those who have risked life and limb to defend this country against any and all enemies. Either we deal with those who threaten us - without mincing words and without playing games, or they win. Either we learn from history, or like France, we simply rewrite it and wipe from the slate any record of the upstart nation that dared to speak for freedom, and dared to refuse to apologize for it.

Either we face the gathering storm head-on, or like the cowards who change position with the shifting winds, we simply watch the destruction.

Half a world away, those who represent the best in us are waiting for an answer.

Labels: My Two Cents, opinion, politics

Have to admit, some media outlets are doing a great job at the headlines for this one. The video is linked all over the place - A-10 pilots mistakenly firing on British troops:

Video of U.S. Jets Firing On Brit Troops Surfaces - 'We're in jail, dude,' pilot says after deadly incident
Click Here to Watch the Exclusive Footage From The Sun
UK asks U.S. for Iraq friendly fire death details
Video of U.S. friendly fire unleashes storm in UK - Video

Some of the headlines, though, give an impression of things that just doesn't match with what I saw and heard. And it isn't just the much-maligned usual media suspects.

Some are making a big deal of the fact that one of the distraught pilots said, "We're in jail, dude," following the incident. Less of a big deal was another thing the poor pilot said after he found out that they were dealing with "blue-on-blue" fire - "I'm going to be sick."

More telling than what is being said, is what's NOT being said in the press -

1. The pilots repeatedly refer to orange on the top of the vehicles, repeatedly ask if there are friendlies in the area. There is a lengthy conversation on the subject, and it is repeatedly confirmed to the pilots that there are no friendlies where the vehicles are.

2. The pilots are obviously distraught over what has happened, and one of them asks more than once for the status of the troops they've just fired on.

Clearly, this could have been avoided. Clearly, there was a communication breakdown somewhere. But what concerns me is that in all of the salivating over a friendly fire incident, the pilots are going to be put through even more trauma than they no doubt have already endured. The more media attention gets put on this, the more likely it is that these pilots are going to be scapegoated.

Another item being flung around is that these were National Guard pilots who had never been in combat before. As if there are no other troops serving in Iraq that have never been in combat!
And as if troops who have never been in combat have no idea what they're doing - we just grab Larry the Cable Guy and shove him in a multi-million dollar warplane.

One British soldier was killed, and one wounded, in the incident. That is tragic. Also tragic would be scapegoating two pilots for an incident that wasn't their fault.

Those of us who have never been to war cannot possibly know what it is to be there, but we should be able to at least recognize that fact, and understand that in a world where split-second decisions mean the difference between being alive at the end of the day, and not, sometimes these things happen. Sounds oversimplified, I know, but there it is.

The other thing that makes me say, "Hmmm" is the fact that this incident happened in 2003, and the video was leaked to the press. Given the issue of the Iraq resolution in Congress this week, I have to wonder at the timing.

The accident should be reviewed. Our military should learn from it. But we should not skewer two brave pilots for the expediency of feeling better about the ugly side of war. And if this was leaked to advance a political agenda, it's despicable.

The big outcry is over why the government tried to "hide" the video. Both the British and U.S. governments are denying deliberately trying to conceal anything; the U.S. is now saying they'll let the video be seen.

If there was any attempt to avoid spotlighting it, though, maybe it was a simple issue of knowing what sort of a feeding frenzy it would create once it was out. Can't say I blame them if that's the case.

Labels: My Two Cents, opinion, rants

I, and a lot of other people, have been saying it for a long time. The "Anti-war" crowd, no matter how much they'll tell you they support the troops, inevitably show themselves to be anti-troop.

There are the more subtle methods - inviting speakers to events, a poorly-worded headline. And then there are the not-so-subtle methods - a nasty email, a nasty blog comment, efforts to kick recruiters off of campuses, spitting, and assault.

The anti-war crowd will tell you that the spitting incidents never happened following Vietnam - that spitting on troops was a myth. They'll tell you that they've never documented it happening. Of course not - they've never talked with anyone that got spit on. But I've heard from vets who say it absolutely did happen - to them.

It's happening now.

There have been precious few incidents reported in the MSM - not surprising. There was the airport incident, the mat incident, and now a hero who ran into their hospitality at weekend's anti-war rally in D.C. What makes this even more disgusting is that this particular hero was already privy to the anti-war crowd's method of supporting the troops.

Joshua Sparling. The name should be familiar to readers of this and other milblogs. Joshua Sparling is the Hero who got a little love note from the anti-war crowd some time ago, as he was recovering in Walter Reed:

Dear soldier,
Have a great time in the war and have a great time dieing(sic) in the war.

Miguel
P.S. - DIE

In the aftermath, Sparling received thousands of cards from well-wishers.

The sender? Well, Michael Crook of Forsake the Troops fame claimed responsibility. His reprehensible website was subsequently taken down by the very people crook derided. Ah, sweet justice. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving dirtbag. The site that URL now takes you to is much more pleasant. He allegedly put up new sites - opposethetroops.com, citizensagainstthetroops.org, and disownthetroops.com, but as of this posting, I didn't find any of them up and running. If there is any justice in this world, those were nuked too - and so will anything else the worm puts up.

But I digress. Joshua Sparling attended the rally this weekend. He's made quite a recovery, despite losing a leg to the wounds that put him in Walter Reed. And how does the "we support the troops but not the war" riffraff greet him?

Michelle Malkin has the answer - By spitting on him.

Sure, the blogosphere will be ablaze today. People will again send messages of support to Sparling, and for a few days the anti-war crowd will be persona non grata.

But what about after that?

The American hoi polloi seems to have a collective case of ADD. We can't even remember back to September 11. We can't remember the President's speech, telling us that Iraq would be a long fight. That the War on Terror would span generations. We sure can't take the time to remember back a few decades, to the death of Robert Dean Stethem, to hijacked airplanes, to PanAm Flight 103, to Americans held hostage in an embassy for over a year.

It is not enough to just react to the more flagrant incidents. It's not enough to send cards to one Hero being spit on. The anti-war crowd does this every single day. They don't stop. And but for a now-shrinking crowd of people who understand why we're in Iraq - why we have to be in Iraq - support for the troops is often relegated to a magnet on a car. Don't get me wrong - the magnets are, at the very least, a reminder. But just having the magnet isn't enough.

We cannot stop at just reacting to the boldest of the moonbats. Every single time I come across someone bashing the troops, I say something. Every single time. It doesn't matter where it happens. At work, at the store, at family events - everywhere, every time. I force myself to when it's inconvenient or uncomfortable. I do it because the people they're bashing are willing to die for me. The absolute least I can do is open my mouth when someone's insulting them.

I'm not perfect. I'm not the icon of troop support. But I do something. I don't just say I support them - I live like I support them. It should be a no-brainer. But it isn't.

And let's face it - the anti-war crowd is largely composed of cowards. My husband, during Desert Storm, faced down a crowd of anti-war protesters at the college we attended (I wasn't there, unfortunately). How? By just opening his mouth. He called them morons, and a few other things, and they skulked away.

I faced down one at the store once. It took one sentence.

When the anti-war crowd visits this blog, the most frequent posts are drive-bys. One nasty comment, and they never come back to face the music.

In a recent discussion, someone told me that "none of the troops believe they should be over there."

"Not true," I said. "Many of them understand exactly why they're over there."

"Well, some of them don't. And people don't support them."

"True. Maybe they'd all understand why they're over there if people over here did."

It became a discussion of how "nothing good" was happening over there.

Funny thing, though - when I fired off a list of what had been done, I was told that my ill-armed opponent "didn't know that."

What a surprise.

The point is, the anti-war crowd gains momentum when people allow them to. At the beginning of all this, the anti-war crowd could gain no purchase. We simply wouldn't tolerate it. Remember, they tried to oppose Enduring Freedom, too - they were given the clear message that it wasn't acceptable.

There are some very real dangers in the anti-war movement. For starters, it's heavily populated by socialists and communists. If you don't think that those two philosophies are still a danger in the world, you've been living under a rock. Those ideologies are very real threats today - the only problem is, the threat isn't coming from outside - it's coming from our own country.

The other danger is that the anti-war crowd again has control of the media, and has the ear of legislators. Want a similarity to Vietnam? Well, there it is.

If you support the troops, I ask you to make a promise to yourself. If you don't send one letter of thanks, or care package, to our troops; if you don't send one dime to organizations that do; if you do nothing else - promise to speak up.

Do not remain silent. Do not abet with apathy. What these people do is NOT okay. It is NOT acceptable. The solution is not to accept unacceptable behavior - when you see it, say something.

Because if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. And if you're part of the problem, you are abetting the enemy.



UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has an update on what the dirtbag moonbats did during their "peaceful" demonstration. Funny, I never thought of vandalism as "peaceful." I'm telling you, South Park's Eric Cartman has it right.

Labels: Anti-War protests, Left-Wingnuts, Moonbats, My Two Cents, opinion, Supporting the troops

The headlines are - and have been - all over the place:

Women Bask in New Speaker's Shining Moment
Pelosi Becomes Most Powerful Elected Woman in D.C.
Pelosi leads wave of women making political history
Pelosi, Champion of Women's Issues, To Lead Dems
Making history: Pelosi poised to shatter Capitol's 'marble ceiling,' draw more women into politics

If I follow the MSM, I am supposed to be reveling in the fact that a woman is now Speaker of the House - regardless of my political views, regardless of her qualifications. I am supposed to be thrilled at my vicarious ascension to power.

Baloney. All this orgy of attention does, in my opinion, is point out how very far we still have to go in the area of gender equality.

I've mentioned before that my father and I couldn't be farther apart in our philosophical or political views. Well, one of the most heated arguments I ever had with him occurred when I was 17 or 18, after I had taken my SAT's. A friend of his had asked me what I scored. I replied that I had gotten a 1310. His response? "Wow, that's a pretty good score for a girl."

"That's a pretty good score for anyone," I replied.

And then the argument began. I was taken to task for daring to say what I did. My ultra-liberal father didn't expect me to stand up for myself, apparently. I was expected to appreciate the 'compliment' of someone impressed that a girl could be smart.

And he completely failed to see the blatant insult in that.

Granted, as the first woman to achieve the position of Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi is unique. However, to turn that simple distinguishing characteristic into days of headlines based on her gender only reveals that we're still very far from equality.

The same camp that constantly squawks about how far we have to go in the area of women's' rights also crows at every achievement, as if it's some big surprise that a woman could get there. So who is it that perpetuates inequality? And where was all of this reveling when Condoleeza Rice became Secretary of State? After all, she's a woman - and she's African-American! Doubly remarkable that she could actually get a good job, right?

This is where the Liberal mindset is truly insidious. Look at things like Ebonics and Affirmative Action. While lauded as grand steps to equality, all programs like this do is perpetuate the thinking that those groups need help to achieve. Ebonics, for example, basically says that since African-American students are incapable of speaking proper English, we'll have to dumb down our speaking for them. That's reprehensible. And Affirmative Action says that since there's no other way a minority will get a good job, we have to make sure we get them one - whether or not they're actually qualified. Also reprehensible. It fosters the dependence so necessary to maintain power for the Libs. Their success, their power, relies on people needing them. After all, how are these groups to achieve without the Libs? Certainly, they can't do it on their own. Disgusting.

Martin Luther King, Jr., once spoke of his vision of true equality - that someday his children would be judged by who they were, not by the color of their skin. The true wisdom of his statement has been consistently overlooked. He was not speaking of things like Affirmative Action, Ebonics, and hand-outs. What he was saying was that someday, it wouldn't matter at all - in effect, that no one would notice what color someone's skin was. He was saying that someday, people would just be people. I highly doubt that the current Lib mindset would cut it.

Reveling in every single achievement - "Wow, she can walk in a straight line - and she's a woman!" - is not equality. It's just as wrong as negative action. Making the simplest action remarkable because of a person's gender, race, religion, etc. is not equality. It is the same thing as barring them from something because of that characteristic; they are two sides of the same coin.

Recently, I was watching the shuttle landing, and was stung by the big deal made of the first female to land a shuttle - and the mention that this showed how far women have come. If we'd really achieved equality, she would just have been the person landing the shuttle, and no mention of her gender would need to have been made.

Those who supposedly champion equality are doing more than anyone else is to prevent it. The "feminists" malign any woman who chooses to raise a family instead of work. They constantly gripe about supposed inequity in the workplace, without bothering to find out how many women are actually interested in pursuing certain fields, or seeing if something OTHER than malice is preventing women from achieving. In advertising, making jokes about men is OK; making jokes about women draws fire. Racist terminology is OK if it's used by one group, but not by another.

Billions of dollars were poured into women's health programs after a study determined that women were more likely to die of a heart attack than men were. The result? Deaths of women by heart attack dropped dramatically, and now men are far more likely to die of one. Where's the money pouring into men's health programs? Completely absent.

When it was found that girls were not achieving in certain educational areas, billions of dollars were poured into programs to help them. The result? Girls gained ground, and boys lost it.

This is not equality.

Two areas where women are achieving significant equality are crime and infidelity. Violent crime perpetrated by women has increased dramatically. Bravo. Thank goodness the Libs are there for us, eh? Oh, and now the percentage of married women who report infidelity is almost equal to that of men. I am woman - hear me roar.

I am an executive in a company. I answer directly to the company president, who does not happen to be White. It is one of the most diverse companies I have ever seen - and we hire based on qualifications. In my work life, I have only seen one instance of what I would consider to be discrimination against me - at an interview, I was once asked if I planned to have kids (because if I was, that would negatively impact on my ability to work). The person who asked that question was a woman. Oh, and there was another woman who wanted to make sure that I advertised only in certain sources when I was hiring - to make sure we got the "right" kind of applicants. I told her exactly what I thought of that idea, and what the law required. When I was younger, unemployed, engaged, and facing possible cancer, I called social services to find out about assistance that might be available to me. I was told - and I kid you not - that if I wasn't "Black or pregnant," I had no hope of getting assistance. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have sued.

Nondiscrimination means NONdiscrimination. Treat people fairly. And in my opinion, acting as if people of a certain ethnicity, gender, race, religion, etc. can't achieve without you boosting them is just as disgusting as actively trying to prevent them from achieving - maybe even more so.

Look at the cases of pretty female teachers sleeping with teenage boys. Don't think for a moment that if this were a male teacher, he'd have avoided jail time. People would be ready to string him up - even if the teenage girl had been the one to initiate things. Yet jail time is avoided, and excuses are made when the teacher is female. Either it's excusable, or it's not.

The laws are in place to address those who discriminate. Refuse to hire, house, or serve someone solely based on a protected class, and you're breaking the law. All of this other stuff only perpetuates the myth that certain groups can't achieve on their own merit.

True equality will be achieved when we no longer need to point out the gender, race, etc. of a successful person - when these things are not remarkable.

I have a dream...

We are a long way from true equality. And I ain't basking.

Labels: My Two Cents, opinion, politics