To the Center of What We Are

The rain had been coming down all weekend, and the clouds hung low and gray as Heidi and I stepped off the Metro at Arlington Cemetery on Sunday morning. We had been waiting for this trip for months. Heidi had never been able to see Arlington before, and I hadn’t been there in over 10 years. We were excited, but underneath the excitement was a sort of recognizance, something deep and unspoken. It was a big deal to us, to be here in this place. It was a day neither of us will ever forget.

As we stepped into the Women in Military Service memorial, the Wall of the Fallen greeted us with rows upon rows of portraits, set in four groups curving around the wall: every military member killed in the war since the beginning, through the end of 1994. Hundreds of them, their faces and their sacrifices immortalized in oils and airbrushes. Many of them had little notes or letters propped up beside them, tokens of goodbye left by grieving family and friends.

Wall of the Fallen

I fought back tears as I looked over them one by one, taking in their faces and names and hometowns. The bright-eyed young man from California who looked like he was no stranger to a surfboard, the broad face of a Marine NCO from the Midwest, the pretty woman who smiled proudly from her photo. Some of them were in groups with matching units and dates killed, together now as they were in their last moments. It was oddly comforting to me somehow to see them grouped that way, instead of alphabetically.

HMC Julian Woods
and others. These
men gave their
lives for freedom.

Near the end of the display, a face and a name caught my eye. HMC Julian Woods, age 22, was a Navy corpsman who “ran through a hail of gun fire to the aid of a fallen Marine with his medical bag in one hand, and his pistol in the other,” says CPL Aaron Kuck, who fought with Woods at Fallujah. As my eyes spilled over again, I realized that there were many more Marines here from that day, a whole group of them from the 1/3 who had fought together and died together. Knowing Aaron as a friend made this all the more real to me. I stepped back and took pictures of their faces, making a note to be sure and send these to my friend. They would mean a lot to him.

Heidi and I composed ourselves and stepped out on our way to the cemetery, and as we passed the entrance, a sign told us that “These are hallowed grounds.” Hallowed grounds, indeed.

We walked the winding pavement past thousands and thousands of stones as far as the eye could see, the cold air around us holding a sort of quiet reverence, seeming to insulate the cemetery from the busy world outside. Taking in the vastness of this sacred place, we couldn’t help but notice the details as well. We passed a man who blotted tears from his eyes as he stood against the rope in front of a stone. His wife and child hung back a few steps, quietly waiting. We walked under white dogwood trees whose flowers fell like snowflakes over the silent stones. We commented quietly when we saw a name we recognized from history.

Changing of the Guard

We finally came to the amphitheater that overlooks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and our breath caught in our throats. This was the highlight of why we had come. We came around the corner and there he was: the lone guard, pacing silently, pausing only to face each direction in turn. The mat beneath his feet was worn, its path tread countless times by those sworn to guard the Tomb. We stayed to watch the changing of the guard twice, moving to the right side next to where they enter for the second one. We were within a foot of them as they passed, and their eyes never wavered to the hundreds of people who watched them, breathless and waiting.

Commander of the Relief

Staying to watch a wreath laying ceremony, by now we were completely entranced at the rigidity of the Army’s 3rd Regiment guards. Heidi and I had been able to focus on the beauty of their movements and the strength of their bearing enough to keep from crying, but as the ceremony wound to a close the bugler lifted his instrument. The haunting, plaintive notes of Taps filled the crisp air, and as we stood there with our hands on our heart, our faces shone with the tears of the thankful free.

Heidi received a white rose from one of the wreaths, and we carried it with us to the next stop. We knew just the place for it.

The cab let us off near the Vietnam Wall, and we walked to a little stand holding the book of names. I wondered as we turned the well-worn pages how many people had stood there before us, tracing down neat columns, searching for someone in the halls of the dead. Heidi and I were searching for four men we never knew, from a war before our time, and yet my fingers shook slightly as I wrote down their location.

We reached the panel–38 West–and I counted lines: 2, 4, 6, all the way to 15. There, I found him. Terry Clifton, member of the ill-fated Team 24 of 20 November 1968, one of the men whose death before I was born has affected me since I first heard their story a year ago. I traced the name with trembling fingers and felt a host of emotions as drops from the recent rain slid down into the engraving like silent tears.

Line 16 held Albert D. Contreros, Jr. Michael Dean Reiff and Art Heringhausen, Jr. were a few lines down. Each of them had a diamond in front of their names, signifying death in combat. Looking at this wall, it was suddenly real to me. It was tangible and permanent. Writing about these men, researching their last days so deeply has left us with a sense of knowing, a true understanding that they were more than abstracts, more than historical figures. They were people who our friends, their brothers-in-arms, loved deeply…and they were gone.

A volunteer came up and offered to trace the names for us, but we asked to do it ourselves. It was important to us, and we did it slowly, reflecting on the sacrifice these men made for us. The names came into view on the paper, and for a moment I felt as though my heart would burst. It was sobering and heart wrenching and beautiful all at once.

Heidi laid her rose at the foot of the panel, and its white purity stood out against the stark blackness of its background. It had come full circle for us now, and I silently thanked God that I had been able to come here and pay my respects to not just these four men, but all of the men whose names are immortalized on the wall.

The Korean War Memorial

We went on to see the World War II and Korean War Memorials, and each of them is more than beautiful. Their architecture is awe-inspiring, their inscriptions timeless, their truth absolute. One of them at the World War II memorial read, as one faced a wall of innumerable golden stars, “Here we mark the price of freedom.”

The day we spent in the most sacred shrines of our country’s history will live with me forever, for it takes me to the center of what I am.

I am an American, and because of the men and women who willingly bled for the red, white, and blue, I am free.

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New Blues Boss & Some Jet Porn

We haven’t had any jet or weapons porn up for awhile…so where does one go for some hot pics?? Well, it’s the Blue Angels this time, baby!!

In the process of collecting jet porn, I stumbled across the *ahem* manly Boss of the Blue Angels…or is it Captain America? Wow.

The above poster-perfect specimen of an American fighter pilot is the outgoing commander, Steve “Axel” Foley. That distracting little commerical for testosterone was courtesy of Instapinch (who we met at the Milblogger’s Conference last weekend).

Navy Chooses Gulf War Veteran As Blue Angels’ New Commander

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday announced a Gulf War combat veteran as the next commanding officer of the Blue Angels — Cmdr. Kevin Mannix of Lindenhurst, N.Y. Mannix, 47, will replace Cmdr. Steve Foley when he takes command of the elite flight
demonstration team in November for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Anyways…on to the porn. Check these out (kudos to photographer Peter Steehouwer, who’s got a lot more where these came from!):

(click images to enlarge)

Nevertheless, when it comes to jet porn, nothing has ever been as hot as THIS!

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The Creed - Video

It’s that time of week when I try to post awesome military videos or footage. I’ve posted video of the Infantry, Pararescue, Artillery, Helos, Harriers, Bomb Saddam, etc., etc. No matter where I find ‘em - they’re all kick-ass. Grouchy is usually my go-to source, but there hasn’t been anything new in awhile. Until NOW! Imagine my delight when I found his latest!

This is video from the New Jersey National Guard Recruitment Center. These are our citizen soldiers in training. We owe huge kudos to the National Guard - citizens who have taken selfless service to our nation to the highest level possible! They are carrying a lion’s share of duty in the Middle East right now. I admire them tremendously. I’m posting this NG video in honor of one of best friends serving in Kuwait right now, MAJ Guthrie, and to the Lean Mean Infantry Machine, SGT Peabody, who will be deploying this summer. Hooah, National Guard!

I think the best part of this video is the Soldier’s Creed…man, that brings back memories…

Here’s the newest from Garrett Flynn of S8Studios. You’ve seen it here first!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

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Who Knew?!

Remember our favorite little Chinese Backstreet Boys that cracked us up so much?? Kit and I spent more time than we care to admit watching these guys and laughing our asses off! We posted their first big online splash and their hilarious encore. (Follow those links if you need a good chuckle for Friday.) They’ve made a few more videos for good measure - and guess what? It’s paid off. They just landed a contract with Motorola!

Not bad…not bad at all…

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Cartoon That Says It All

Funny as can be, but sad and infuriating too.

(Cartoon was received from email.)

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We Honor The Emperor’s Feat

You all are acquainted with our favorite Moonbat Slayer, His Rottieness Emperor Misha. We love him because he has a deliciously vicious style of blogging that we are absolutely addicted to. And apparently, we aren’t the only ones. Misha has attained the blogospheric loftiness of 5,000,000 unique hits!!

In honor of his blogoversary, Misha has crafted the following darkly humorous T-shirt, which apparently has given rise to “all manner of fear and loathing on the Loony Left.” Mwahahahahah Sounds good to me! If he’s got chick T-shirt sizes, I’m buyin’…

CONGRATS!! All our best to His Highness!

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UPDATE: Andrea Clark

Earlier this week, I wrote about another life “not worth living”, the story of Andrea Clark, a woman sentenced to die by St. Luke’s hospital here in Houston. I was in awe of the bloggers who stepped up to the plate to help this woman and her family.

I just found out today, from Texas Rainmaker, that Right Wing News had gotten an incredible update from Jerri Ward, an attorney for the family. Andrea will be not be removed from life support, and instead will be transferred to a hospital in Chicago.

To top it off, as Jason so eloquently said, not only has a life been saved, but a heart has been changed. Read this astounding letter from Melanie Childers, the DU’er who first pleaded for her sister’s life on the Democratic Underground:

[Read more]

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The Underground Labor Force Is Rising To The Surface

Lately, I’ve been a little stunned that one our new readers put such blind faith in the incomplete data collected by the Census Bureau in 2000. It’s been awhile ( at least a week)since I’ve witnessed such deliberate ignorance. When I tried to tell him that the Census was hardly accurate, he ran away whining that I was “muddying the waters” with such information and “attacking him”. Whatever. I’m glad he’s gone, because such gross stupidity and naïveté is frustrating and I can’t abide whinyness. Nevertheless, I think you’ll agree that I treated him quite kindly.

Anyways, the investment analysis group of Bear Stearns (hardly a bastion of the VAST right wing conspiracy) has objectively analyzed the numbers of illegal aliens and their curernt and projected impact on our economy. Since we constantly cite figures here at ER that place the REAL illegal alien numbers at 16-28 million, you won’t be too surprised to find out that Bear Stearns has officially pegged the numbers at about 20 million illegal aliens:

[Read more]

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Come Build The Fence

Does this look secure to you? Our southern border with Mexico is only one-third fenced!

The rest of the border is wide open and looks like this:

Bush says building an $8.6 billion dollar fence is “a waste of money“. So, American citizerns are once again stepping up to the plate to do the job that our government (and illegal aliens ) ARE UNWILLING TO DO!!

This weekend, American citizens are beginning to build a fence in southern California. If you are in California, consider joining them!!

While the Senate studies the idea of a fence and votes for amnesty, concerned American citizens have elected to build the fence and ask the Senate to study the harmful effects of amnesty.

Each day more than 15,000 illegals cross our southern border unimpeded. The Border Patrol is max’d out now with 4,000 arrests per day. Of the 2,100 miles along the border, only approximately 700 miles is fenced.

On April 29th, American citizens from all over California will begin actual work on the fence.

Are you interested in making history and doing something to protect your country? All you have to do is show up with some leather work gloves, pliers and elbow grease.

You do not have to join any group, nor do you need to fill out any forms. If millions of illegal aliens can demonstrate in our streets claiming that they do all the work worth doing, we will prove that this is one job that even the illegal aliens are unwilling to do.

The atmosphere will be much like a barn-raising from our recent history here in the West.

They need a lot of help and the following items:

Tools for stringing barb wire:

Fence Stretcher (come-along)
Crimp Sleeves (large enough for two ends of barb wire to pass through)
Swaging Tool (looks like bolt cutters with a flat jaw)
Post Driver or sledge hammers
Fence Posts 7 foot
Spools of Barbed Wire
Rebar

Donations of food:

Hot Dog rolls
Hot Dogs
Chips
Soft Drinks: water, Gatorade, lemonade, etc.
Chips
Apple Pie
Tables, coolers, ice, cups
Plates, Utensils, Napkins, Grills

If you are interested in going out to help build the fence, please send them an e-mail with your contact data, how many are in your party and if you can bring any of the items above.

They will meeting at 8:00 AM on Saturday at the OUTDOOR WORLD CAMPGROUND. Go to ComeBuildTheFence.com for directions or to make a monetary donation.

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Wordmasters

Today, I’ve been contemplating the bastardization of our national anthem and the fact that it’s going to be played at sporting events and in schools. Has anyone even noticed that such an anthem excludes the very people for whom it was written - Americans! I swear to G-d, the day that song is played in my childrens’ schools is the day I pull them out.

It’s also occured to me that very soon, my taxes will be paying for the thing I hate most - AMNESTY. The 1986 failed amnesty cost American taxpayers $78 billion in services and benefits, or about $26,000 per legalized immigrant. We American citizens already work for the American government until May to pay our taxes. As millions of illegals enter the mainstream, we’ll see our indentured service to the government increase. American citizens will become slaves to a system of public assistance and support for the poorest of Mexico and other third world nations.

I’ve also been stewing over the loser attitude of our loser President who says that there are just too many illegals to bother deporting any of them. “It’s just impossible”, he’s opined. To hear an American - supposedly the “leader” of our nation - whimper that we cannot do the right thing because it’s impossible is beyond tragic.

I started the Wordmasters feature to showcase my favorite quotations. Our regular readers will have noticed that I have a particular penchant for quotes of wisdom and wit by my hero, Winston Churchill, the punchy witticisms of Mark Twain, and the wry observations of Ronald Reagan. A while ago, while browsing Amber and Chaos, I came across another quote by Winston Churchill that immediately went into my collection. Considering the times we live in, it is as good a time as any to recall these masterful words:

If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
- Winston Churchill

We’ve sat still for far too long. Twenty years ago, in 1986, we were quiet and just took it. The two decades since has seen compromise after compromise. Is the time already past when victory for our sovereignty and American way of life was sure, and not too costly?

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A Young Boy Salutes The Troops

Yesterday, I talked with the Lean, Mean, Infantry Machine (you might remember him from the post-Katrina Astrodome mission), Sgt. Peabody. He’s ramping up for a mobilization this summer to Iraq as - get this - “IED magnets”. Yes, you read that right. What it really means is that he and his troops will be riding security for convoys moving between secure FOBs. He described it as long stretches of monotonous desert driving punctuated by moments of sheer chaos and terror. Knowing Sgt. Peabody like I do, I know he is already losing sleep over how to keep his soldiers safe from IEDs.

He also filled me in on some unknown eye-witness details of what really happened when Bob Woodruff almost got himself killed by a roadside bomb. I’m waiting for permission to use some photos, so stay tuned for that little exclusive.

In the meantime, he told me the true story of something that happened to him a little while ago. Sgt. Peabody is a full-time recruiter and wears his uniform everywhere. He gets a wide range of responses, the worst being called a “baby-killer” by a know-nothing, ungrateful bimbo wasting air on some college campus in Arizona. But nevermind losers like that, when there is someone out there like this:

Sgt. Peabody and 7 or 8 other Arizona National Guardsmen were in uniform and enjoying a business breakfast at Denny’s. When they got up to leave and pay their bill, they were informed that their meal had been paid for by a distinguished-looking woman and her young companion. When Sgt. Peabody approached her table to thank her for her kindness she explained that she was having a birthday breakfast with her 11 year old grandson, seated there at the table with her. She had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He didn’t have to think for long before he said that for his birthday, instead of her buying him a gift, he wanted her to buy breakfast for the soldiers. That was his birthday present.

Now I don’t know about you, but when there is an 11 year old boy who would rather buy breakfast for a group of soldiers than spend money on a video game, an .mp3 player, or some other hi-tech toy, then that thrills my heart! With kids like that, our future is NOT lost!

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Bastardization of Our National Anthem

“We’re Latinos, baby!” Those are the words you’ll here at the end of the bastardized national anthem.

Here are the lyrics to this new anthem, dubbed Nuestro Himno:

Verse 1

Oh say can you see, a la luz de la aurora/Lo que tanto aclamamos la noche al caer? Sus estrellas, sus franjas flotaban ayer/En el fiero combate en senal de victoria,/Fulgor de lucha, al paso de la libertada,/Por la noche decian: “Se va defendiendo!”

Coro: Oh, decid! Despliega aun su hermosura estrellada,/Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?

Chant:

It’s time to make a difference the kids, men and the women/Let’s stand for our beliefs, let’s stand for our vision/What about the children los ninos

These kids have no parents, cause all of these mean laws.

See this can’t happen, not only about the Latins.

Asians, blacks and whites and all they do is adding

more and more, let’s not start a war

with all these hard workers,

they can’t help where they were born.

Verse 2

Sus estrellas, sus franjas, la libertad, somos iguales [Its stars, its stripes, the liberty, we are equals]

Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno. [We are brothers, this is our hymn]
En el fiero combate en senal de victoria,/Fulgor de lucha, al paso de la libertada,/Por la noche decian: “Se va defendiendo!”

Coro: Oh, decid! Despliega aun su hermosura estrellada,/Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?

Not only is this Latino version of our national anthem a complete travesty, it sounds like absolute shit.

Listen for yourself, if you can get past the whole nails-on-a-chalkboard reaction. MM has an .mp3 clip of it over at HotAir.

The piece o’ crap, due May 16 via Urban Box Office, will appear on “Somos Americanos” (We Are Americans), a collection songs about the Latino experience in the United States. A portion of the project’s proceeds will benefit pro-immigration organizations including the National Capital Immigration Coalition.

UPDATE: Go here to hear the travesty in its entirety at NPR. Click on “Web Extras” for the whole song, not “Listen”, which is the insipid NPR commentary.

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It’s The Borders, Stupid!

President Bush’s job rating is bottoming out around 32 points or fluctuating between 32 and 40, depending on which polling entity you look at. Thusly, the President is shaking up his White House staff, seeking ways to bolster his sagging numbers. His new Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten, has prepared this genius plan:

Deploy Guns and Badges

Under the banner of homeland security, the White House plans to seek more funding for an extremely visible enforcement crackdown at the Mexican border.

Make Wall Street Happy

In an effort to curry favor with dispirited Bush backers in the investment world, the Administration will focus on two tax measures already in the legislative pipeline to please investors.

Brag More

White House officials…. are planning a more focused and consistent effort to talk about the [Medicare] program’s successes after months of press reports on start-up difficulties… and highlight any glimmer of success in Iraq….

Reclaim Security Credibility

Presidential advisers believe that by putting pressure on Iran, Bush may be able to rehabilitate himself on national security, a core strength that has been compromised by a discouraging outlook in Iraq.

Court The Press

Administration officials said [new White House chief of staff Josh Bolten] believes the White House can work more astutely with journalists to make its case to the public…. His first move… was to offer the press secretary job to Tony Snow of Fox News… who served George H.W. Bush as speechwriting director.

Whatever, whatever. So Scott McClellen is out, and suave Foxer Tony Snow is in. Nothing like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, wouldn’t you say? How stupid. I think it’s about time the White House recognizes that it’s not the messenger - it’s the message!

It’s the BORDERS, stupid!

C’mon, some genius in the White House needs to tell Bush that he has to do only ONE THING to see his numbers skyrocket into the 60s or higher: call a press conference and announce that troops will be stationed on the border, and a fence is going up. That single act alone would whiplash his ratings. But nevermind…

Bush’s core constituency has been used and abused these past two years. We They have staunchly supported him aginst the “Bush Lied” doctrine, we they have had his back on staying the course in Iraq, we they have never once backed down from the GWOT. We They have since forgiven him out-of-control federal spending, Harriet Meiers, the UAE ports deal. When the White House was incapable of making the argument for Katrina response and NSA wire-tapping, we they made it for him. Never has a President enjoyed such vociferous and long-suffering support from his core base.

But that’s the base he has kicked to the curb and left there, bleeding and broken. That’s the base that he spit upon when he sneered that the Minutemen were nothing more than “vigilantes”. That core of conservative voters, bloggers, and activists is who he has repeatedly scorned in his efforts to curry the Latino vote or erase or borders or establish his family’s stupid One World Order or whatever - who knows why he’s doing what he’s doing?! It doesn’t make any logical sense at all! I don’t know who President Bush is answering to, but with 81% of the American people wanting our borders secured and laws enforced, I know for sure it’s not US!

President Bush and a group of senators yesterday reached general agreement on an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens.

But left out of the closed-door White House meeting were senators who oppose a path to citizenship. The meeting even snubbed two men who had been considered allies of Mr. Bush on immigration — Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee, and Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican.
[...]
And Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican, said Mr. Bush “endorsed the concept of an earned citizenship.”

That would represent a substantial change on the part of the Bush administration, which just last year said it opposed a path to citizenship for those currently here illegally.

I have been emailing, faxing, and phoning my senator, John Cornyn, every single week for ages! I knew he wasn’t strong on the enforcement of our current immigration laws, but I was doing my best to change his mind. It’s the only way I feel like I can have an impact on the direction of my out-of-control government! But now Bush is getting around the uncomfortable truth that his home state is NOT behind him, by simply ignoring us!

When Bush cut my senator out of the loop, he cut ME out of the loop. Where do I go now to advocate my point of view? There are no words to describe my fury! And Bush goes merrily on his way, screwing the American people, whoring out to the Mexican government and its people, and shutting out his home state of Texas. If he’s capable of that, he’s not worthy of his office.

Look how pleased he is with himself! Here’s a picture of two of our Open Borders pimps, absolutely thrilled with their progress:

I never understood why people hated Bush so deeply. I would listen to my good friend and neighbor, a Democrat, and was always shocked to hear how viscerally she hated Bush. I totally get it now. I. am. feelin’. it.