R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane

Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane

22, of Towson, Md.; assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Jan. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

(Taken from www.philly.com of Jan. 28, 2010) At 13, Jeremy Kane was deeply affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. The event shaped his life, and led him to a fateful choice.

"He knew he had to do something for his country, and that was join the military," said his mother, Melinda, of Cherry Hill. "He wanted to serve."

To drive home the point, Kane joined the Marine Corps on Sept. 11, 2006, during his freshman year at Rutgers University and served as a reservist.

On Saturday, three months into his deployment in Afghanistan, the 22-year-old lance corporal was killed when a suicide bomber attacked his unit in Helmand Province.

The attack apparently was in retaliation for the seizure of tons of opium and weapons the Marines had discovered, according to early reports.

Hours later, three military officers arrived at Melinda Kane's door with the heartrending news.

"I knew when I opened the door they were there for one reason," she said. "It's hard to comprehend. Everyone was worried but confident he would come back safe and sound.

"He was bright, in excellent condition, and well-trained," she said. "There was no reason to believe he would be harmed."

Melinda Kane, 52, said her son had recently phoned his girlfriend to plan a homecoming party for his return in May. "They talked about what kind of celebration they would have," she said.

Jeremy Kane graduated from Cherry Hill High School East in 2006 and studied criminal justice at Rutgers. He planned to return to the university to finish his senior year.

"He was an avid reader," his mother said. "He read books most adults would never read. He listened to classical music and hung out with friends, playing video games."

Kane's father, Bruce, was a pathologist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden and had served as a major in the Army. He died in June 2008 while his son was undergoing Marine Corps training.

Kane "thought it was his duty as an American to serve his country," his mother said. "His grandfather had also been in the Marines."

He "chose the Marines because it was the most difficult and most respected," she said. "He was in communications and told me he wouldn't leave the base, but I think he said that to placate me."

Kane had two brothers: Benjamin, 16, a junior at Cherry Hill East, and Daniel, 19, a sophomore at Virginia Tech.

Yesterday, family and friends, including Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt, gathered at the Kane home. The mayor's Platt Memorial Chapel in Cherry Hill is handling funeral arrangements, which were pending.

"This is a heartbreaking day for the people of Cherry Hill," Platt said. "Jeremy Kane was a distinguished and dedicated member of our community, and we're all very saddened by his passing."

Rep. John Adler (D., N.J.), whose district includes Cherry Hill, phoned the family to offer condolences.

"Cherry Hill has lost a brave and heroic young man who dedicated his life to serving our country," Adler said. "He sacrificed his life to protect our communities and families. My thoughts and prayers are with his family today."

Melinda Kane remembered his first call from Afghanistan. He asked for chocolates and pens to hand out to the children of a local village.

"I want people to know that this was someone from Cherry Hill," she said. "He had options, and this was his choice.

"He knew the dangers but wanted a rich, full life. I don't think he ever thought this would happen."

Gay teens to have court access.

I read stories like this and wonder just how a teen can "know" they're gay? The teen years are so chaotic that throwing this into the mix just worsens things.

WASHINGTON, DC, January 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) has introduced a law that would allow high school students who feel discriminated against based on their perceived sexual orientation to pursue charges in federal court.

Polis on Wednesday introduced the “Student Non-Discrimination Act,” which has 60 co-sponsors.

"Every day innocent students fall victim to relentless harassment and discrimination from teachers, staff, and fellow students based on their sexual orientation," said Polis, who is openly homosexual, in a statement.

"These actions not only hurt our students and our schools but, left unchecked, can also lead to life-threatening violence. Like Title VI for minorities in the '60s and Title IX for women in the '70s, my legislation puts LGBT students on an equal footing with their peers, so they can attend school and get a quality education, free from fear."

However, critics argue that the bill essentially sets up a class of thought-crime, and that instead policies should be developed that prevent students from being mistreated for any reason, instead of singling out “sexual orientation.”

"We think the best thing would be policies that prohibit bullying across the board for any reason against any child," Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action, told the Denver Post. "The emphasis should be on the wrong action of the bullies, not why they did it or what their perceived thoughts were."

"This can and should be done without politicizing the classroom and introducing controversial sexual topics to kids against parents' wishes," she added.

IMO if this is passed we'll be one step closer to the time when religious beliefs against homosexual acts will be considered crimes. Sheesh, where's the wormhole I fell into that led to this Bizarro Universe? I want to go home!!

Your money and college football...

I'll admit to being dense. That Neanderthal avatar I use is self-descriptive in many ways. Over the years I've learned to allow for being slow to grasp things.

But could someone tell me just why in Hell my tax dollars are being used to investigate alternatives to the college football playoff system; http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/01/29/obama.bcs.ap/index.html?xid=si_ncaaf

I've really had enough of the government in general and this administration in particular spending my money worse than a college student on Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale/Liquordale.

R.I.P. HM2 Xin Qi

Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Xin Qi (No photo available)

25, of Cordova, Tenn.; assigned to Fourth Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan; died Jan. 23, while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.

(Taken from news8austin of Jan. 27, 2010) A U.S. Navy Sailor and former University of Texas student was killed in Afghanistan Saturday.

According to the Department of Defense, Petty Officer Second Class Xin Qi, 25, died in combat.

Qi was originally from Cordova, Tennessee, but attended the University of Texas.

The Commanding Officer of Camp Mabry’s Navy Operational Support Center, Lt. Com. Michael Evans, said Qi put his education on hold to volunteer for deployment.

"Petty Officer Qi was a dedicated sailor and an invaluable asset to both his reserve unit and to my staff here at Navy Operational Support Center in Austin," Evans said.

"He always lent his time and excellent corpsman skills to my medical department on drill weekends which directly contributed to Austin's sailors maintaining their medical and dental health at 100 percent, keeping them ready to answer our country's call at a moment's notice," he continued.

Qi was assigned to the medical department of the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

“I, along with the rest of staff and the entire United States Navy Reserve population, mourn the loss of a great corpsman and Navy sailor, Petty Officer Second Class Xin Qi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this difficult time," Evan said.

Funeral and memorial services for Qi are still pending.

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery

Army Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery

29, of West Yellowstone, Mont.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 20 at Lorengal Outpost, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

(Taken from decaturdaily.com of Jan. 23, 2010) The Department of Defense has confirmed the death of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Thaddeus S. Montgomery II, a former Decatur resident.

In a statement released Friday, the Defense Department reported Montgomery died Wednesday from injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident at an outpost in Afghanistan’s remote Korengal Valley.

A public affairs officer at Fort Carson, Colo., where Montgomery’s unit was based, declined to comment, saying circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation.

But an early report from Arizona Highways, a publication Montgomery corresponded with during his military service, said he had been shot and killed in the line of duty.

According to an Army release, Montgomery served two tours in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009. He received 20 service awards, including two Army Commendation Medals and an Army Achievement Medal.

Montgomery was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson. A former Decatur resident, he attended St. Ann’s School and Decatur High School.

The Army listed his current home of record as West Yellowstone, Mont.

Friends of the family said Montgomery would be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but a funeral date had not been scheduled.

Meanwhile, they have planned a local gathering of friends to take place in his honor at 5 p.m. Sunday at Sykes on Bank Street.

In an open letter sent to The Daily, family friends asked for public assistance in honoring a request from Montgomery that his fiancée, Erica Yih Shu Wong of Malaysia, be present at his burial in the event of his death.

The two were reportedly in the process of applying for a visa so Wong could travel from Malaysia to the United States, where they planned to wed. A family friend, Lucy Schrimsherof Decatur, said Wong now needs an emergency visa to attend the funeral.

The letter requested the public e-mail the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia at embassyklpa@state.gov and klacs@state.gov, as well as state and federal officials to bring attention to the situation.

“Thad fought for our right to have a voice. Honor his ultimate sacrifice, and please use your voice to help Erica,” it read.

Montgomery is reportedly survived by a 3-year-old son, Thaddeus Montgomery III of Cullman.

His father, Thaddeus Montgomery Sr., reportedly resides in Fairfax, Va., and his mother, Debra Hays, in Florence, Ky.

Other survivors include a sister, Stephanie Montgomery of Atlanta, and a brother, Dustin Border of Madison, according to friends.

Another 9/11 is just a matter of time.

Especially when those who should give a damn about safety don't. Found this via Religion of Peace at www.myfoxphilly.com;

A South Jersey woman got the scare of her life when she tried to report suspicious activity on board a plane Philadelphia International Airport.

The woman shared details of her terrifying ordeal only with Fox 29 News on Wednesday.

Now, she's wondering if it was some kind of sick joke or a test run for a terrorist.

Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser reported that 12 days after her red-eye flight from Los Angeles, the US Airways passenger is still upset over an incident on her flight, the reaction to it by the flight crew, and the lack of reaction from authorities.

"I was trembling, and I was just completely frightened," said the mother of three.

She won 't soon forget her latest US Airways flight from L.A. to Philadelphia after she encountered a passenger on board who scared the daylights out of her.

"He starts talking to himself. Then he goes, 'Detroit, huh-huh-huh,' like that, and it was really, really frightening," she said. (I'm starting to favor allowing concealed carry on airplanes, this is one reason why.)

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the passenger was Muslim and repeatedly made a reference to the latest terrorism incident in Detroit on Christmas Day with the so called "underwear bomber."

The passenger immediately told a flight attendant, who then told the pilot before the plane even left the gate.

What the flight attendant said next shocked the passenger: "'The pilot has asked me to ask you if you think we should leave the gate.' And I looked at her, and I said, 'What?'" (The pilot is looking to the passenger for guidance? WTF!!)

The woman told Fox 29 News no one from the flight crew spoke to the man or investigated further. Then, the pilot made a call to the flight attendant.

The passenger said the flight attendant, "Looks at me and says, 'We need an answer.' … She's like, 'We're gonna go, but I'll keep an eye on him.'" (I can understand the passenger being speechless, you'd expect something in the way of decisive action from the pilot and crew in these circumstances. Giving the "shipyard salute" aka shrugging the shoulders isn't really to be expected.)

The flight took off. The woman sat terrified for five hours all of the way to Philadelphia.

Then, just before the plane landed, the pilot ordered everyone to remain seated. The passenger said that's when the man got up, walked to the rear of the plane and put his backpack in an overhead bin, then went to the bathroom. (And no one stopped him? I know if I got up to use the can at that time there'd be an attendant on my butt PDQ)

"I'm like, 'This is it, this is how I'm gonna die,'" she said.

No one questioned the woman or the suspicious passenger in Philadelphia.

When she tried to report it to the Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security, US Airways, even the FBI, she got nowhere.

"He listened to my entire story, never took my name, the flight information, nothing, and told me that, if there was an issue, US Air would have contacted them," the woman said. (Too bad she didn't get the agent's name and have it pasted all over this story.)

The woman said US Airways told her if the man got through security, there's nothing to worry about. ("The system worked", right?)

A TSA spokesperson told Fox 29 that if you have an incident like this onboard a flight you should immediately report it to a TSA customer service person at the airport when you arrive. (Fat lot of good that does after the fact.)

Think I'll take a train if theres a need to travel. Maybe a bus would be better.

Another thought on B.O. and his speech...

It's pretty damned dumb to castigate the entire Supreme Court during an event as public and well televised as the SOTU speech. But that's what B.O. did, losing no opportunity to pout like a three year old because McCain-Feingold got nixed by the Supremes.

This former Constitutional Law professor needs to go back to school and learn about our government, how the Court is set up and why. Then maybe he should take a good look at what happens when Presidents clash with the court (FDR comes to mind).

Finally, he'd better buckle up for a rough ride. The Court members can't be voted out, they're in place for life. I'm sure they've all got long memories too. That includes the liberals, who probably don't want a Chief Executive of ANY political persuasion trash-talking them.

B.O. and his SOTU speech.

Evidently he's going to push to rescind the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military. That damned thing should have never been instituted, now that it will be formally knocked down you can bet all sorts of gay advocacy groups will be screaming "homophobia" everytime a fudgepacking queen or clamlicking dyke doesn't get the moon with a back fence around it.

And military morale will take off like a mud seeking missile.

This doesn't even take into account the push for women on subs, look for that to happen also. Once it does, GI Jane will want to join the SEALS. They too will fall before the forces of political correctness.

We are so screwed.

R.I.P. Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam K. Ginett

29, of Knightdale, N.C.; assigned to the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy; died Jan. 19 near Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.

(Taken from www.newsobserver.com of Jan. 23, 2010) COATS -- Air Force Tech Sgt. Adam K. Ginett had a reason for pursuing one of the most dangerous missions in the military, his mother said.

"He told me, 'Mom, I don't go out there on the battlefield with a gun and shoot any body. I find these bombs that are going to take someone else's life. I'm saving people's lives, not taking them,' " said Christina Kazacavage of Coats.

Ginett, a 1999 East Wake High School graduate, died Tuesday near Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. He had been wounded when a buried improvised explosive device went off near him.

According to his grandfather, Jim Haslam of Cary, Ginett's unit was walking toward a location where a cache of IEDs was thought to be hidden. One other person was killed in the incident and three were wounded, Haslam said.

Ginett opted for explosive ordnance duty after he graduated from boot camp.

Though he had planned for a career in the military since he was in high school, he had other interests, too. He interned for four summers during high school with cartoonists at Walt Disney World in Florida, and he worked in Nancy Redman's pottery studio in Knightdale during his last year at East Wake.

Redman remembers him as an artistic friend of the family.

"He just had a big interest in art," she said.

Ginett was based at Aviano Air Base in Italy before deploying to Afghanistan in September. It was his second tour of duty there. He won the Bronze Star for his role in a firefight on his first tour in Afghanistan. He also served two tours in Iraq.

Ginett's body will return to North Carolina on Tuesday, his mother said. Visitation will take place Thursday at Thomas Funeral Home in Fuquay-Varina. Funeral Mass will be held Friday at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Fuquay-Varina. He will be buried with military honors in Raleigh Memorial Park.

His "swamp rabbit" moment?

The title of this post hearkens back to those thrilling days of yesteryear in the Carter Administration, when our clueless Commander-in-Chief told a bunch of his staff he'd been attacked by a rabbit while fishing. Here's an article to refresh your memory if it's hard to recall; http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/950/what-was-the-deal-with-jimmy-carter-and-the-killer-rabbit

They didn't believe him (What kind of man is prey for bunnies? Even Pee Wee Herman hasn't had that happen.) so he insisted on showing them the pictures another staff member had made of the event.

How clueless do you have to be to not only relate an incident like that, but insist on showing the proof? Well anyone who lived through those years doesn't need further explanation. If you don't recall Carter's single term in office you can count yourself lucky.

Evidently B.O. has now shown an equal lack of appreciation for doing dumb things in the public eye. He's given a speech to a 6th grade class in Virginia while using a teleprompter. I kid you not, here is the link; http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100119/480/9131bc77c7534185bdbf267bb4ab8497/
I originally came across the item at the Goomba News Network, but discounted it as a photoshop job. Now Drudge is carrying it and Drudge doesn't play those games. The story claims the photo is taken when he speaks to the media after talking to the kids. Noted. How often did G.W. Bush talk to reporters after a school visit? Even if it's true, who needs a scripted response for times like that? At the very least we've a Commander-in-Chief who is always ready to read the cue cards. Disturbing.

So has B.O. had an event similar to Carter's swamp rabbit episode, has he shown himself so inept and naive there is no realization how pathetic a grown man looks giving a speech to junior high students and relying on a teleprompter to do it?

No matter how you slice it, what a fool!

R.I.P. Capt. Paul W. Pena

Army Capt. Paul W. Pena

27, of San Marcos, Texas; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 19 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

(Taken from www.mysanantonio.com of Jan. 23, 2010) Capt. Paul W. Peña, a decorated Iraq veteran described by the Army as a first-rate leader, never forgot his Texas roots and looked up his friends whenever he returned home, a family friend said.

Peña of San Marcos was killed by an explosive while on a dismounted patrol Tuesday in the Arghandab River Valley in southern Afghanistan.

Though funeral arrangements were pending Friday, friends of the family said a service and burial in San Antonio, his mother's hometown, are likely.

In a release, his regiment commander, Lt. Col. Guy Jones, said Peña “knew his example was for more than just here and now.”

“Paul was an outstanding leader and always made it a point to connect with his soldiers,” he said.

Peña, 27, showed all the signs of a promising career while he was in middle and high school at San Marcos Baptist Academy. Students voted him “most likely to succeed” and “best all-around student.”

He was a caring soul and a mentor to others, said Penni Salge, whose son attended the academy and was a year younger.

Peña built a flying disc golf course at the school as an Eagle Scout project, and helped Salge's son make music shelves in the band hall for her son's project, she said.

“Paul was just an all-around great guy,” said Salge of New Braunfels.

Peña graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2004, and then went through airborne and Ranger school. While with the 509th Infantry Regiment at Fort Richardson, Alaska, he served a 14-month tour as a platoon leader in Iraq that began in October 2006.

It was during that time that his mother, Cecilia Peña, and Salge, whose son was in Afghanistan, joined a support group for military mothers.

“We became ever closer friends after that. You have a tendency to bond with others that are going though the same trials, and for both of us, our only sons were going off to war,” Salge said.

Making care packages to send overseas and serving Thanksgiving meals to troops at the San Antonio USO are two of the many things the two have done through the Canyon Lake Area Blue Star Mothers, which Salge now leads as president.

Paul Peña deployed to Afghanistan last August, and was commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. His decorations included a Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters.

As part of his duties, Peña would offer reflections on his troops killed in service. When Spc. Corey Kowall, 20, died in a vehicle rollover on Sept. 20, Peña called the Tennessee infantryman an “extraordinary individual” whose death was a blow to the unit.

“Though sorely missed, Corey will continue to be a source of inspiration and strength throughout Alpha Company,” Peña wrote in a statement after the wreck.

Salge said Peña's mother knew she'd lost her son when two soldiers, including a chaplain, came to her front door.

“Cecilia told me the first thing she saw was the cross on his uniform and she knew he was the Army chaplain, and she knew why they were there,” she said. “Our worst fears came true.”

Peña's mother was making funeral arrangements Friday, Salge said. Other surviving relatives include aunts, uncles and cousins, she said.

San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz has asked residents there to display their U.S. flags, large and small, to pay tribute to “a true American hero.”

“I would like to see San Marcos streets lined with American flags in his honor,” she said in a release.

R.I.P. Sgt. 1st. Class Michael P. Shannon

Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Shannon

52, of Canadensis, Pa.; assigned to Headquarters, 7th Army and U.S. Army Europe, Heidelberg, Germany; died Jan. 17 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of a heart attack.

(Taken from www.thetimes-tribune.com of Jan. 21, 2010) CANADENSIS - Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Shannon would keep a straight face while telling a joke, his family says, and it often took a moment to realize he was kidding.

Though he had a healthy sense of humor, Shannon was serious about the Army.

"He was a soldier through and through," said his wife, Donna. "The Army was his life. The only thing equal to the Army in his life was his family."

Shannon, of Canadensis, suffered a fatal heart attack Sunday while serving in Afghanistan. He was 52.

The New York City native first enlisted in 1977. He earned a bachelor's degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, then a master's in criminal justice at Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y.

He met his wife while working as a corrections officer in New York. He retired in 2001 as an assistant deputy warden.

"His attitude was, we're all going die some way," Donna Shannon said. "No one has a master plan to avoid it, so don't use it as an excuse to not do your part for your country and your family. That's the kind of man he was."

He had three children, Rhea, 21, Michel'le, 18, and George, 9. He is also survived by his mother, Lorena Shannon.

Babykilling ala Jerry Springer...

This is sick.

San Diego, Calif., Jan 24, 2010 / 07:06 am (CNA).- A new webcast series will focus on the fictional stories of three women who face unintended pregnancies. It will allow viewers to choose how the characters’ stories will end for the final episode.

Yellow Line Studio said the premiere of BUMP+ would be Friday, Jan. 22. Thirteen episodes will follow in February and March, the California Catholic Daily reports.

“From Juno and Bella to Glee and Desperate Housewives, a woman’s right to choose has been explored across the media landscape,” said the series’ executive producer Dominic Iocco. “What makes BUMP+ different from the others is that we’re letting the viewers decide how our characters’ stories will end. We’ve opened the official website to comments and our team will craft the final episodes based on audience feedback. Their choice really is up to you.” (Another way to make a buck off babykilling. Noted.)

Series co-executive producer Christopher Riley said the series was inspired by President Barack Obama’s May 2009 commencement speech to graduates at Notre Dame. (Can we just end all Catholic affiliation with that place? Please?)

“He urged people on both sides of the debate to find ways to communicate about a workable solution to the problem of unintended pregnancies,” Riley explained. (Hey dumbass, you don't find "workable solutions" with evil. Period.)

He described the series as an “experiment to see if story can succeed where nearly four decades of angry rhetoric and political posturing have failed.”

“We’re not making a moral or political statement; hopefully, we’re starting a conversation with the audience,” Riley added, according to the California Catholic Daily. (Nope, but you'll be making a fast buck off this thing.)

Yellow Line Studio said a trailer for the pilot has attracted several comments and personal stories for viewers and it is gaining a following on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. ("Gaining a following", that sounds a bit ominous. I'll explain later.)

The San Diego-based studio describes itself as an independent entertainment company. It operates a satellite office in Los Angeles.

The website of the series is at http://www.bumptheshow.com/.

FWIW, one of the first scenarios I've heard for this thing involves a cheating wife married to some soldier in Iraq. She finds out she's carrying her boyfriend's child and has to decide what to do. Lovely.

Okay, here's my two centavos.

Is this part of some Planned Parenthood funded conspiracy to promote abortion? Nope, it's some fools who have convinced themselves they're actually solve a moral problem while making a quick buck. Isn't altruism wonderful when you turn a profit?

The problem, as I see it, is the desensitization towards abortion that this promotes. You can bet a dollar to a donut that while the "choices" are being presented there'll be no photos of what an aborted child looks like. So many John & Joan Q. Public types who haven't really looked into this topic will consider themselves experts now that they've seen this webcast. Terrific.

But it won't stop there. Next the plot idea will leap from the internet onto national television. After all, it helps the dialogue right? Plus makes a few bucks. Again, the desensitizing of outrage will continue.

It will then make the transition from a fictional format to the reality show lineup as real volunteers allow their lives to be placed under a microscope (remember Jerry Springer?) and the decision of how to deal with a surprise pregnancy put out for public judgment.

As this goes along, the viewers who indulge themselves in this cesspool will become more spiritually numb. Yeah, I know the argument can be made that they would already be there just by turning on the show. Noted. But it's the encouragement of that numbness that I'm talking about. To use another example, audience predilection towards tobacco use would never justify placing a cigarette in an actor's hand these days, the idea of encouraging what has become a politically incorrect behavior deems otherwise.

For yet another example of how exposure to a repulsive behavior ultimately leads to the acceptance and perpetuation of that behavior, consider pornography. When Hugh Hefner started Playboy the cultural mindset was vastly different in regards to women "showing skin" than it is now. Do you think Victoria's Secret could have run the same ads thirty years ago they do today?

So with the growing popularity of this webcast we'll be seeing a further slide down the road towards a Culture of Death.

While this plays out, we can expect more attention being paid to the other end of life's journey. How about a reality show where some geezer with "quality of life issues" is placed in judgment before an audience that will decide if he should die?

Anybody care to disagree?

UPDATE: It appears this webcast can be accessed for free. So the originator may have good intentions and not be trying to make a profit off of it. I stand by the rest of my post.

R.I.P. Spc Robert Donevski

Army Spc. Robert Donevski

19, of Sun City, Ariz.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 16 in Abad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

(Taken from www.azcentral.com of Jan. 20, 2010) The Defense Department says a 19-year-old soldier from Sun City has been killed in Afghanistan.

Robert Donevski died Saturday of gunshot wounds he suffered when a small band of Taliban insurgents ambushed his unit in Abad, his father said Wednesday.

Ganko Donevski, a Vietnam veteran, said his son died defending other members of his unit and will receive the Bronze Star.

He said Robert always longed to serve in the military like his father and vowed to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"He said, 'Daddy, I'll make them pay for this 9-11,' " Ganko Donevski remembers.

He said he son had recently been promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Donevski was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

He joined the Army in July 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009.

Prolifers march in D.C.

Washington D.C., Jan 22, 2010 / 03:21 pm (CNA).- Hundreds of thousands of people are gathered in the nation's capital today to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and protest abortion in the annual March for Life. Gathering from all over the country, protesters of all ages first heard from prominent pro-life, political and religious leaders before beginning the march.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) was among the politicians who addressed the crowd on Friday, saying, “Thank you one and all for being an important part of the greatest human rights struggle on earth – the right to life movement. By the grace of God, we stand behind, with and unabashedly for both victims of abortion – women and children.”

The sheer number of people has caused a traffic advisory to be issued for the District. The volume of protesters has also allowed for two separate marches to take place. The first route will proceed East on Constitution Avenue to First Street, NE, then South on First Street, NE, to the United States Supreme Court where they will rally and then disband.

The second march route will proceed West on F Street to 10th Street, NW, south on 10th Street to Constitution Avenue, NW, West on Constitution Avenue to 12th Street, NW, then South on 12th Street to the National Mall, where pro-life marchers will also rally and eventually disband.

CNA contacted the D.C Metropolitan Police Department for a crowd estimate but was told that due to disputes in the past between the city and protest organizers over the amount of people gathered, they have stopped giving estimates. However, police said that the march has progressed peacefully and without indecent thus far.

According to EWTN, 300,000 demonstrators are estimated to be taking part in the March for Life.

Just one day before the March for Life in Washington D.C., the results of a new survey put out by the Knights of Columbus and Marist College showed that the number of Americans who say they are pro-life is continuing to grow. Members of the Millennial generation (18-29 year-olds) say abortion is “morally wrong” at a rate of 58 percent.

The survey, which was conducted between December 2009 and January 2010, asked if abortion was “morally wrong.” Fifty-six percent of Americans said they thought that abortion was indeed “morally wrong.”

In addition to showing that more Americans are becoming pro-life, the results showed that the upcoming generations are more pro-life than those nearing retirement.

Doctor claims proof of afterlife...

To be fair, it's still fairly anedotal. We'll never get past the "...for those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't, no proof is possible..." point. But this is interesting, found it via Pewsitter at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/;

The near-death experience story is so common that it has become a bit of a cliché: A medical patient, hanging in a murky limbo between life and death, is drawn through a tunnel of bright light, meets their maker, and is told they must return to the land of living.

But that scenario played out letter-perfectly for Mary Jo Rapini. And her story is getting firm backing by a doctor who has studied some 1,300 near-death experiences. Medical doctor Jeffrey Long chronicles Rapini’s story, along with his own research, in a new book: “Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences.”

In the book, Long contends his study shows that accounts of near-death experiences play out remarkably similarly among the people who have had them, crossing age and cultural boundaries to such a degree that they can’t be chalked up simply to everyone having seen the same Hollywood movie.

Through a tunnel
Appearing with Dr. Long on TODAY Wednesday, Rapini related her near-death experience to Meredith Vieira. A clinical psychologist, Rapini had long worked with terminal cancer patients, and when they told her of their near-death experiences, she would often chalk their stories up as a reaction to their pain medication.

But in April 2003, she faced her own mortality. Rapini told Vieira she suffered an aneurysm while working out a gym and was rushed to the hospital. She was in an intensive care unit for three days when she took a turn for the worse.

“All of a sudden [doctors] were rushing around me and inserting things into me, and they called my husband,” she told Vieira.

“I looked up and I saw this light; it wasn’t a normal light, it was different. It was luminescent. And it grew. I kept looking at it like, ‘What is that?’ Then it grew large and I went into it.

“I went into this tunnel, and I came into this room that was just beautiful. God held me, he called me by name, and he told me, ‘Mary Jo, you can’t stay.’ And I wanted to stay. I protested. I said, ‘I can’t stay? Why not?’ And I started talking about all the reasons; I was a good wife, I was a good mother, I did 24-hour care with cancer patients.


“And he said, ‘Let me ask you one thing — have you ever loved another the way you’ve been loved here?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s impossible. I’m a human.’ And then he just held me and said, ‘You can do better.’ ”

While Rapini’s account may seem far-fetched to naysayers, Long says her recollections mirror nearly all stories of near-death experiences. When Vieira asked Long whether Rapini might be prone to cultural conditioning — surely she heard similar stories before — he said her story is untouched by preconceived notions.

Crossing cultures and ages
“I think if near-death experiences were culturally determined, then people that had never heard of near-death experiences would have a different experience,” Long argued. “But we’re not finding that. Whether you know or don’t know about near-death experiences at the time it happens, it has no effect on whether the experience happens or not, or what the content is.”

In his book, Long details nine lines of evidence that he says send a “consistent message of an afterlife.” Among them are crystal-clear recollections, heightened senses, reunions with deceased family members and long-lasting effects after the person is brought back to life.

Long noted that he was especially fascinated that very small children who have near-death experiences almost always recount the same stories as adults, even if the concept of death isn’t fully formed in their minds.

“My research involved experiences of young children age 5 and under, and I found the content of their near-death experiences is absolutely identical to older children and adults,” he told Vieira. “It suggests that whether you know about near-death experiences, what your cultural upbringing is, what your awareness of death is, it doesn’t seem to have any effect on the content of the near-death experience.”

Long, a radiation oncologist, said that writing his book has actually made him a better doctor, as well as a believer in the afterlife.

“[It] profoundly changed me as a physician,” he said. “I could fight cancer more courageously. I found patients who died, it wasn’t the end. It made me more compassionate and more confident.”

I'm especially interested in the idea of meeting family members who have already died. My brother passed away almost 26 years ago still owing me fifty bucks. It's been a while, but fifty bucks is fifty bucks!

R.I.P. Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek

Marine Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek

25, of Westwood, N.J; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

(Taken from www.newsobserver.com of Jan. 16, 2010) WESTWOOD, N.J. -- The Defense Department says a Marine sergeant based in North Carolina has been killed in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, of Westwood, died Thursday during a combat operation in Helmand province. Family members say he was killed by an improvised explosive device.

Hrbek joined the Marines in 2002 shortly after graduating from Westwood High School.

He was a nine-year member of the Westwood Fire Department and came from a family of firefighters.

His stepfather, Jaymee Hodges, said Hrbek was due to receive a Bronze Star for valor for helping save the life of a wounded comrade in December.

Hrbek, 25, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, home based at Camp Lejeune.

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather

25, of Collierville Tenn.; assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt.

The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Department of Defense says a Memphis soldier was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb.

Family members told The Commercial Appeal 25-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Dewayne Merriweather was killed Jan. 13 when the Humvee he was driving triggered the bomb.

He was assigned to the 118th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C., where he lived with his wife, Rachelle.

Merriweather’s sister, 27-year-old Adrienne Winton, told the paper her brother left behind two sons, 3-year-old Kale Rausch and 3-month-old Daniel Merriweather Jr.

Merriweather last saw his family in October when he returned to Memphis for two weeks for the birth of his second child.

“He was a very loving, caring person,” Winton said. “He cared about his family. He would always call me and tell me what was going on.”

Winton said Merriweather joined the Army in 2002, shortly after graduating from Overton High School, where he studied broadcast journalism and played football.

“He was always behind the camera,” she said. “He didn’t have one of those personalities where he liked to be in front of the camera.”

Merriweather chose to join the military because he wasn’t a “school person,” she said. He preferred guns, sports, cowboy hats and boots, and country music.

He had served two previous tours of duty — first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq — before he was shipped back to Afghanistan in May.

He also leaves his parents, Pamela and Darryl Finnie; and his 14-year-old brother, Darryl Finnie Jr.

Funeral arrangements have not been completed, but the family has asked that memorials be given to HIV research in lieu of flowers.

R.I.P. Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt

Army Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt

21, of Taylors, S.C.; assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather.

(Taken from www.foxcarolina.com of Jan. 19, 2010)
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Funeral services have been scheduled for an Upstate soldier who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Twenty-one-year-old Pfc. Geoffrey Whitsitt's vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device on Jan. 13, officials said.

According to the Facebook page of Whitsitt's mother, funeral services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. at North Hills Community Church in Taylors. The Web site said that the burial would follow at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Whitsitt's mother said on the social-networking Web site that she would like people to buy flags to line the route that Whitsitt's procession will take from the church to the cemetery. She said that a procession will also take place from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport where his body will arrive to Woods Funeral Home. The date and time of that procession was not immediately available.

According to the Web site, additional details about funeral plans for Whitsitt will be released later.

Whitsitt's father said his son made the ultimate sacrifice, doing what he always wanted to do. He said that Whitsitt had wanted to join the military since he was 4 years old.

Whitsitt was a 2007 graduate of Greenville Tech Charter High School and has an older brother, Steven, who is in the Navy.

Geoffrey Whitsitt would have turned 22 in February.

R.I.P. Sgt. Lucas T. Beachnaw

Army Sgt. Lucas T. Beachnaw

23, of Lowell, Mich.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Italy; died Jan. 13 in Darya Ya, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

(Taken from www.mlive.com of Jan. 15, 2010) LOWELL -- Kevin Beachnaw's heart sank as he opened the door Wednesday night to see two U.S. Army representative standing before him.

"Being from a military family, I knew ...," he said, choking up.

They told him his 23-year-old son, Sgt. Lucas Beachnaw with the 173rd Airborne Infantry, had been killed Wednesday in Afghanistan in small arms fire.

"I can't stop crying," the father said Thursday from his Charlotte area home. "I feel like my eyes are burning."

He had just chatted on the telephone Tuesday with his son about the daily rigors of Army training school, deer hunting and sending him a care package of venison summer sausage and jerky.

A 2004 Lowell High School graduate who joined the Army in 2006, Lucas was on his second tour in Afghanistan after being deployed in December. His earlier deployment was a 15-month stint in 2006 and 2007.

A squad leader, he was on patrol in eastern Afghanistan when a firefight erupted and he was killed, family members said.

Lucas' death was the third by a soldier or airman with West Michigan ties who died supporting U.S. military operations in Afghanistan since the war began Oct. 7, 2001. Twenty-eight other military personnel from West Michigan have died in Iraq since the war started in March 2003.

Relatives described Lucas as someone who liked outdoor sports, particularly snowboarding, and who had a knack for humor.

"The first thing he did was make you laugh," said his sister, Terra DeLong.

Her brother was a man who "lived life to the fullest" and took advantage of his military station in Vicenza, Italy, to see the sights, including Rome. He once called her from a snowboarding trip to The Alps.

"He called just to rub it in, that he was on the top of the mountain," she said.

Beachnaw went through sniper training last year and earned the top-gun honor as best in his class, an achievement he was proud of, his family said.

In October, he successfully completed a three-week school on helicopter landing zones and air navigation that has a high failure rate among participants.

Beachnaw was back in the States in July for DeLong's wedding and in October for the navigation training. She moved her wedding to July from the fall so her brother could attend.

"I wasn't going to get married without my brother being there," she said.

Beachnaw came from a family with a history of military service. DeLong served in the U.S. Air Force. His grandfather, Donald Beachnaw, was a career Army man with 37 years service.

Another sister, Jamie Beachnaw, described her Lucas as "the kind of person everyone loved. Whether you knew him for a week or his entire life, you loved him.

"He never did anything small. He did everything huge," she said.

Family members said he talked about joining the ski patrol in Colorado if he ever left the Army.

Lucas loved playing with Jamie Beachnaw's 3-year-old daughter, Emma, but had not yet met her 4-month-old son, Brock.

She wants her children to know his sacrifice.

"I just want to make sure they remember him as a hero," Jamie said.

Lucas is survived by his father; his mother, Jeanne Beachnaw, of Lowell; and his two sisters.

Arrangements are pending, but family members say the funeral and burial will be in Lowell.

The U.S. Department of Defense had not formally announced the death as of Thursday night.

R.I.P. Spc. Kyle J. Wright

Army Spc. Kyle J. Wright

22, of Romeoville, Ill.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Jan. 13 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province.

(The following was taken from www.suburbanchicagonews.com of Jan. 15, 2010) ROMEOVILLE — A Romeoville soldier who followed in the military footsteps of his father and grandfather, has been killed in Afghanistan.

Army Spc. Kyle J. Wright, 22, was killed Wednesday in the line of duty when the Stryker vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. Kyle Wright, a 2006 graduate from Romeoville High School, was the only person who died in the incident, said his father, Rich Wright, of Romeoville.

“They were interdicting drugs and weapons on the main highway in Afghanistan,” he said.

“He was a hell of a stand-up kid. ... He was a professional soldier. He took it very seriously. He had three Army achievement medals. Everything he did, he did to the full extent,” said Rich Wright who is an employee in Valley View School District with his wife and Kyle’s stepmom, Tiffany Wright.

A day before Kyle Wright was killed, he sent an e-mail to his father with a link from a CNN story about interdicting approximately $40 million in drugs.

“It was the third big bust that they had. They were doing a hell of a job as far as interdicting,” Rich Wright said. “They were interdicting the drug trafficking along that road and clearing the road of IEDs. Obviously, they didn’t clear them all.

Full military honors
Rich Wright’s son-in-law, Sgt. Zachary Greene, who is also deployed in Afghanistan and was Kyle Wright’s supply sergeant, identified the body at the air base at Kandahar. He will escort the body home.

“It’s like a nightmare that’s not going to end,” Rich Wright said. Rich Wright had planned to leave Thursday afternoon for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Kyle Wright requested a funeral with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery and Rich Wright said they were trying to make that happen.

“There was nothing extraordinary about him. But then he was extraordinary in every way. He had a sense of honor. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who stand up and those who don’t. He was a stander-upper,” Rich Wright recalled.

Third generation
For the Wright men, joining the military was an honor.

“I’m a vet. His grandfather was a vet. He was third generation,” Rich Wright said.

Kyle’s grandfather, 1st Sgt. Ruben John Wright, is buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, Korea and Vietnam for 27 years. Rich Wright was a medic in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, serving six years. Kyle Wright was in the Alpha Company, Second Battalion, First Infantry Regiment, Fifth Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division deployed in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2006. He learned Arabic at Defense Language Institute at Fort Lewis where he was stationed in Washington.

“(Kyle) was in the Army’s newest Stryker brigade. He was fluent in Arabic,” Rich Wright said.

Kyle Wright was deployed to Afghanistan in July and planned to return a year later.

Mustang love
Flags throughout Valley View School District flew at half staff Thursday following word of Kyle Wright’s death.

Kyle Wright attended Timber Ridge Middle School and Plainfield South High School for his freshman year before transferring to Romeoville High School where he graduated in 2006.

Lindy Steeves, assistant principal at Romeoville High School, has a picture of Wright in his military uniform on her wall in her office.

Steeves recalled Kyle Wright’s love for his Mustang.

“He had a Mustang. He was taking autos. He brought his Mustang to school all the time. The auto teacher helped him repair the Mustang,” Steeves said. “One of the things that he was very passionate about was — he wanted to go into the service. He wanted to serve his country.”

Kyle Wright is survived by his father and stepmother Rich and Tiffany Wright, his stepbrother Justin Rhodes and stepsister, Kayla LeVine, all from Romeoville, and his mother, Lynn Perry and sisters Krystal Greene and Kelly Wright of Webster, N.Y., and his grandmother, Joyce Wright of Missouri. He has two nephews.

Stepsister Kayla LeVine, 20, grew up with Kyle Wright, attending Romeoville High School together.

“Kyle and I grew up to be very good friends. ... He was just a regular old kid. ... He did well in school. He always wanted to go into the Army,” she said. “He always wanted to be a military guy. His father was his role model. He really looked forward to going into the Army and following his father’s footsteps, and he always just wanted to make his dad proud. ... That is what he wanted in life was to make his dad proud of him.”

Stepbrother Justin Rhodes, 16, a sophomore at RHS, said he wanted to follow Kyle’s footsteps and join the military. He is currently in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC — just like his big brother did at RHS.

“He was my role model. He was who I wanted to be like. He was the one who got me into skateboarding, riding bikes, fast cars,” Rhodes said. “He taught me everything a teenager needs to know. ... His first car was a Mustang. He always had a thing about fast cars.”

Fighting for freedom
Levine and Rhodes said they learned a lot from their older brother.

“Freedom isn’t free. Freedom is not free and that saying will get tossed around your whole life. Until it really hits home you never really realized what that saying is,” LeVine said. “He died serving for our country — for our freedom.

“In our home, we respected the people who fought for our freedom. Our family is a very military-oriented group. We are very proud to be Americans,” Levine said. “Things are not handed to you in life. Everybody fights for something for everybody else. That’s what Kyle was doing. Kyle was fighting to keep our country safe.”

Kyle Wright got to come home briefly in November, visiting his family in New York, Washington and Romeoville.

“We were fortunate enough that he got that early release because if not — the last time we saw him was in the summer,” LeVine said.

R.I.P. Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe

Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe

21, of Johnsonville, Ill.; assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died Jan. 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham and Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski.

(The following was taken from The Len Wells Column of www.courierpress.com of Jan. 17,2010) This past week, Wayne County, Ill., lost its first service member to the war in Afghanistan. Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe, 21, the son of Kevin and Teresa Lowe of Johnsonville, died Monday in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

I cannot imagine the grief and the overwhelming sense of loss the Lowe family is experiencing right now.

As a newsman, trying to cover the story without intruding on the family's privacy is a very difficult task, especially when you take into consideration an entire community that desperately wants to show the Lowe family how much they appreciate his sacrifice and share in their sadness.

In Cisne, where Cpl. Lowe graduated from high school in 2007, the local flower shop has been handing out free red, white and blue bows to be displayed throughout the community.

The sign in front of the high school now bears a message of thanks for Cpl. Lowe's ultimate sacrifice. Members of the Cisne Bullets basketball team have added black bands to their uniforms. The cheerleaders are wearing black ribbons. Today's seniors at Cisne High School were freshmen when Jamie Lowe graduated.

Flags throughout the county, at every governmental office, business and school, have been lowered to half-staff. I can tell you that phone calls were placed to businesses that may not have gotten the word about Cpl. Lowe's death.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a Galesburg man who has never served in the military plans to bring more than 500 full-size American flags to Wayne County to line Cpl. Lowe's funeral route.

Larry Eckhardt says it's his personal way of giving something back to those who have given so much to ensure his freedom. In the past few months, Eckhardt has taken his moving flag display to three military funerals in Southern Illinois. Local high school students and volunteers will join Eckhardt in erecting the massive patriotic display.

"They shouldn't travel more than 20 feet without there being an American flag," Eckhardt said.

Local law enforcement agencies and fire departments also are making plans to ensure Cpl. Lowe's final journey home doesn't go unnoticed.

While Lowe is the first Wayne County service member lost to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he joins four other Southern Illinois residents who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cpl. Forest Jostes, 22, of Albion was killed April 4, 2004. Spc. Brian A. Wright, 19, of Keensburg died Dec. 6, 2005. Spc. Casey Hills, 23, of Salem was killed June 24, 2009. Senior Airman Bradley Smith, 21, of Troy was killed Jan. 3.

I have no idea how many local soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are serving overseas right now.

What I can tell you is that the war they're fighting doesn't make the evening news very much these days. Their war seems to be drowned out by political battles on Capitol Hill and what's going to happen next to Jay Leno.

At least locally, the loss of a young man like Cpl. Jamie Lowe seems to jolt things back into perspective.

n Contact Len Wells at (618) 842-2159 or lenwells@[SR]wabash.net.

Brown wins in Mass.

Before playing this, scroll down and turn off my playlist (I keep forgetting to add this note.)

So what are the Muslim nations doing?

Scroll down and turn off my playlist

Found this via Harry at Garbanzo Toons;



Israel has more than it's share of detractors. Wonder what the reaction of the naysayers to this would be? Here's a tiny country that's in a constant state of siege with it's neighbors, routinely denounced by the UN, EU and many within this country. Yet when disaster strikes they pick up and go to help others out.

Wonder what the oil rich countries of the Islamic world are doing right now?

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham

Marine Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham

25, of Altoona, Pa.; assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died Jan. 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe and Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski.

(Taken from www.post.gazette.com of Jan. 15, 2010)
The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, touched Matt Ingham and his future wife, Yasmin, in different ways.

Yasmin was inspired to become a social studies teacher "so she could work to build bridges of understanding," said her mother, Shamim Rajpar.

Matt enlisted in the Marines and was among the first sent into Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003. He served two tours there, and later was deployed with an antiterrorism task force in the African nation of Djibouti, his mother-in-law said.

His most recent deployment to Afghanistan ended Monday in tragedy and heroism.

According to accounts from Helmand province, Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham, 25, weathered gunfire to radio for air support for his comrades, who were under attack. Sgt. Ingham and two others died. His bravery saved 12 others.

Sgt. Ingham, a 2002 graduate of Altoona High School, was assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan, according to the Defense Department.

He was sent to Afghanistan in the fall, his mother-in-law said.

"Loyal beyond belief. Disciplined. Hardworking. Goal-oriented," she described him. "But fun-loving."

An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hiking, kayaking and camping, and romping with the couple's two chocolate Labs, said Ms. Rajpar, a librarian at Mount Aloysius College in Cambria County.

He loved to ride his dirt bike, and was spotted in Japan by members of a professional racing team who recruited him to take part in a motocross event, she said. He finished second.

Matt met Yasmin while the two were eighth-graders at Keith Junior High School in Altoona. Yasmin earned a degree at Duquesne University in 2006 and the couple lived for a time in Virginia before leaving for Okinawa in 2008.

The sergeant's parents, Gary and Tammi Ingham, who operate a trophy and awards business in Altoona, were with Yasmin at Dover Air Force Base, Del., yesterday for the arrival of the fallen Marine's flag-draped casket.

"I was very, very proud of Matthew, proud to be his mother-in-law, and loved him very deeply," Ms. Rajpar said. "My daughter has lost her best friend in the world."

Also killed in the attack were Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe, 21, of Johnsonville, Ill., and Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski, 21, of Tomball, Texas.

Santella Funeral Home in Altoona was handling arrangements for Sgt. Ingham

R.I.P. Lance Cpl Jacob A. Meinert

Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert

20, of Fort Atkinson, Wis.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died Jan. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

(Taken from www.journaltimes.com of Jan. 10, 2010)Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert's family is coping as best they can with his tragic death. The 20-year-old Racine native was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday.

News of Meinert's death was reported to the family when two Marines arrived at their door around 1 p.m. that day.

"When you see two Marines coming - as a Marine mother, you're trained - to your door, you know what to expect," said mother Krista Edquist of Fort Atkinson.

Had Jake been only injured in the blast, Edquist said, she likely would have received just a telephone call. However, the knock on the door left no doubt what had taken place.

The entire family, including Meinert's siblings, was home at the time.

"It's unusual to have everybody home because, with two 18-year-olds, they're usually off working or off playing," Edquist said.

Sister Randi Meinert, who attends the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, was home on winter break and Meinert's other siblings, Larson Edquist and stepbrother Mitchell Edquist were there, as well.

Their mother said that, in some ways, having everyone home together helped, and the family is doing about as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

"You cry and you laugh at some of the things he used to do and then you cry again," Edquist said.

From an early age, Meinert seemed to be destined to serve in the armed forces.

"We always knew he was going to be a Marine," Edquist said, recalling that, as a young boy, he loved "playing with the little Army men."

According to the Marines, Edquist said, Meinert died after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) pressure plate while patrolling the streets in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, where he was stationed.

He reportedly died while being transported to a base via a Black Hawk helicopter.

Military officials have described Helmand and the neighboring Kandahar province as the heartland of the insurgency. Coalition forces have taken significant casualties in recent months in that southern section of Afghanistan.

A decorated veteran, Meinert was awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Service medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal and the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign medals.

His body was returned to American soil Tuesday evening. The casket will remain at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for at least a few days until it is transported to Wisconsin. Then, it will be taken to Fort Atkinson

R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Mark D. Juarez

Marine Lance Cpl. Mark D. Juarez

23, of San Antonio; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died Jan. 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

(Taken from www.mysanantonio.com of Jan. 12, 2010) Lance Cpl. Mark David Juarez didn't have to go to Afghanistan, but he volunteered because he loved the Marines and felt called to serve, his uncle said.

His family, now coping with news that Juarez, 23, was killed Saturday in Helmand province, believes he died for a worthy cause.

“He died for his country, and for freedom, and that's why he's a hero,” said the uncle, Toby Flores.

He said the Marine's parents, Cynthia and George Juarez, don't want circumstances of his death revealed until they've returned with his remains from Dover, Del. Military officials would not say whether Juarez was killed in a roadside bomb blast that took the life of British reporter Rupert Hamer and an Afghan soldier.

What is clear, relatives said, is that the native San Antonian they called Mark David was kind to others and determined to make something of his life.

Born in San Antonio on Nov. 14, 1986, Juarez grew up in the Beacon Hill area, near Hildebrand and San Pedro avenues, and attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church.

He had a large extended family, including a father who had been in the Navy and uncles who'd served in other military branches. He attended local Catholic schools, made good grades and “studied all the time,” his uncle said.

Flores, who had served in the Army, tried to steer Juarez toward the Air Force so he wouldn't be routinely exposed to dangers in the war zone. But Juarez wasn't afraid and was drawn by a sense of unity that permeates Marine Corps culture, his uncle said.

Juarez, responsible for issuing weapons to troops in the field, loved his job and planned to re-enlist. He recently had served nine months in Iraq and could have chosen not to deploy to Afghanistan. He went there in November.

“He was not supposed to go on this tour. He volunteered for it,” Flores said.

Juarez is the 10th San Antonian killed in Afghanistan, and the first to die in combat overseas this year. All four San Antonians who died in combat last year also were killed in Afghanistan. Three of them were Marines.

Juarez's grandmother, Elida Flores, has her living room filled with photos of the young Marine. His kindergarten graduation photo shows an innocent-looking boy in a small commencement robe. In the photo from his 2005 graduation from Holy Cross High School, he had a thin mustache, but he was clean cut in his official Marine Corps photo.

Angel Cedillo, principal at Holy Cross, said Juarez was a “model kid” who never caused problems. During the school's morning prayer Monday, school officials announced his death and said a prayer over the public address system.

Juarez is the first known graduate of Holy Cross, which opened in 1957, to be killed in military service since 2001, Cedillo said.

“We prepared a prayer keeping Mark and his family in our thoughts,” he said. “He was an incredibly quiet, unassuming young man. Knowing what we know of the Marines and their values of dedication and selflessness, it makes sense that he chose to be a part of that.”

His grandmother said Juarez used his auto mechanic skills to help others and was proud of the red Dodge Neon his mother gave him after she got a new car. After joining the Marines, he passed it on to his younger brother, Dominic, 21, who also attended Holy Cross.

“He was a real lovable, nice boy, always smiling,” his grandmother said. “There wasn't anything you could ask that he wouldn't do for you.”

Juarez had a son who lives in Kentucky and will turn 2 in March.

Funeral arrangements, which include burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, are pending.

R.I.P. Spc. David A. Croft Jr.

Army Spc. David A. Croft Jr.

22, of Plant City, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Jan. 5 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire.

(Taken from www.2.tbo.com of Jan. 7, 2010) Years before he joined the Army, Plant City native Spc. David A. Croft Jr. was always trying to make his world a better place.

About age 15, he brought his mother three abandoned kittens that needed a home. He even brought home a wounded hawk, but it had to be taken to the humane society.

"He was my hero, he's always been my hero," said his mother, Vickie, 44.

Instead celebrating David Croft's 23rd birthday Friday, his family will be planning his funeral.

The Durant High School graduate was killed in Baghdad this week, according to the Department of Defense.

His unit was shot at by insurgents who also detonated an improvised explosive device.

Croft was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

Croft was about two weeks away from returning home to his fiancée, Susie Clark, said his sister, Robin, 25. He has three sisters and a younger brother.

"He was a very good brother and an even better uncle to nephews and nieces," his sister Andrea Pryor, 29, said.

This was Croft's second tour in Iraq since he enlisted in 2005. It was supposed to be the easier one because his assignment didn't involve leaving the base much, Robin Croft said.

Vickie Croft and two daughters are preparing to receive the body Thursday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

His finance said she planned to move to Texas to live with Croft after he returned from Iraq. They were planning a summer wedding.

"We were ready to start our lives together," said Clark, a 21-year-old Brandon resident.

They were introduced by Clark's best friend, Gina Giuliani. Clark, who was 16 at the time, knew right away that they were meant to be together, Giuliani said.

Shortly after the introduction, Clark told Giuliani, "I'm going to marry him some day."

Clark said she was drawn to Croft by his personality and movie-star looks. He competed in Durant High's Mr. Cougar contest for best physique, she recalled.

The couple attended Shiloh Baptist Church in Plant City and "God was a big part of our lives," she said.

Croft was proud to be a soldier and was "very brave," Clark said.

But he "kept a lot of things to himself" about his time in the warzone, said Clark's mother, Linda Ballenger. He was particularly shaken up by the death of his commanding officer during Croft's first tour of Iraq, she said.

Dannie Sawyer, 40, an uncle to Croft, said his nephew joined the Army right out of high school.

"Last time he was home he told me his unit was policing an area in Baghdad. They were protecting residents and property owners from the insurgents. He died trying to help people he didn't even know. He's a hero to me."

David Harless, 30, a neighbor who knew Croft for the past 10 years, said Croft was a fine young man.

"He went and did something he believed in when he joined the Army. He died doing something he believed in. I only wish that I could say it was right. But I can't," Harless said.

Croft's best friend by everyone's standard was Jacob Hollifield, a neighbor who graduated with Croft from Durant High in 2005.

"We were always together. As little kids we rode go carts, fished and went camping together all the time. You didn't see one without the other. We called each other's parents mom and dad," he said.

Croft always went by Hollifield's home when he came home on leave.

"His mother had friends call me and tell me what happened. I'm still in a daze. I am sad, but I am mostly mad that someone would do that to a person like David," he said.

I do understand he is in a better place," Hollifield said. "I do understand he can be with his father, now. But I didn't get to give him a hug. I didn't get to be with him and tell him goodbye, or tell him how much he meant to me."

On a Dec. 29 entry on his MySpace page, David Croft listed his mood as "anxious" and said he was "almost home."

The family says service arrangements haven't been made but will be in Plant City.

R.I.P. Sgt. 1st Class Jason O.B. Hickman

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason O. B. Hickman

35, of Kingsport, Tenn.; assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Jan. 7 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.

(Taken from http://www.timesnews.net/ of Jan. 11, 2010) Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hickman had been serving in Afghanistan since early February, and his unit was scheduled to return to Alaska next month.

A 1992 Dobyns-Bennett graduate has been killed in Afghanistan serving his country, while his father is left to take solace in the fact his son was doing what he loved.

Sgt. 1st Class Jason O.B. Hickman, 35, died Thursday as a result of injuries suffered during an attack at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana. Assigned to A Company, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, the paratrooper had been serving in Afghanistan since early February — with his unit scheduled to return next month to Fort Richardson, Alaska.

“Jason was a man of faith. He was a Christian,” said his father, J.D. Hickman, from his home between Kingsport and Gray. “Being former military, I can say if you’re going to die, there’s no better way of dying than dying for your country, for your people.”

According to Hickman, a Vietnam veteran, Jason enlisted in the Army nine years ago and served a previous tour of duty in Iraq.

Hickman last spoke to his son about two weeks before Christmas. Hickman was sharing plans of traveling in April to Alaska, where he would reunite with his son, daughter-in-law Tiffany and three grandchildren; all boys, ages 6, 4 and 2.

They also acknowledged the perils at hand.

“Let me put it this way: It was two military guys talking,” said Hickman of his final conversation with Jason. “A lot of things were discussed that I really wouldn’t want in the newspaper. Going into a war zone, we both understood what the possibilities were.”

Jason was born in Alaska while his father was still enlisted — and at the very base he had recently called home. From age 3 to 26 he lived in Kingsport before enlisting in the Army himself and relocating to Fort Bragg, N.C.

Besides tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jason had worked as a recruiter in Wisconsin and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he met his wife.

While arrangements are not complete, Hickman said his son will be buried at the Tahoma National Cemetery near Fort Lewis. He was notified of his son’s death about 8 p.m. Thursday.

“When I saw the uniform step in the door, I knew,” said Hickman, who during his military career had occasionally notified next of kin. “I’ve done that myself, so I knew. But that don’t make it any easier.”

While Hickman regrets Jason’s death and acknowledges he’ll miss his son dearly, he adds: “Not many of us get to die doing what we really want to do. He felt a duty. He’s a damn good man, and he’s a damn good soldier.”

He also expressed gratitude for getting to witness his son’s body laid to rest.

“(In Vietnam) we never left the wounded or dead. We always took them with us. Everyone always said, ‘Don’t leave me, take me. Make sure I get home.’ That’s important.”

When asked if there’s anything else he’d like to share regarding his son, Hickman is quiet for a moment. Then his voice cracks, “John 15:13.”

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

About those future elections...

The rest of a very good post is found here; http://itdontmakesense.blogspot.com/2010/01/be-prepared-for-democrat-cheating-in.html

IMO anyone who believes there couldn't be voter fraud on a grand scale needs to come out of Lala Land. Check our own history. It's happened before and will happen again.

What makes me uneasy about the Democrats in particular is their mindset of, "The ends justifies the means." That sort of thinking has routinely been used by every despot seen in our lives (and before). It admits to no self doubt or qualms of conscience.

The Republicans aren't angels, but they're not as far down the road of political expedience. Not yet, although some statements made after the last election about becoming "more open" signify this may change soon.

I know this makes me sound like a "gun nut", but I see more clearly every day the wisdom of having the 2ND Amendment. We're becoming a nation that fears it's government more and more. For that reason alone, I'm glad I own a few firearms.

Texas schools to teach about conservative politics...

Taken from http://www.dallasnews.com/ , found via Lucianne.com;

AUSTIN – Texas high school students will have to learn about leading conservative groups from the 1980s and 1990s – but not about liberal or minority-rights groups – under U.S. history standards tentatively adopted by a politically divided State Board of Education on Friday.

The Republican majority on the board also gave a thumbs down to requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as well as leading Hispanic civil-rights groups such as LULAC and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Led by the board's social-conservative bloc, Republicans left Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the nation's first black justice, on the list of important figures that will have to be covered in history classes.

But they also added, on a 7-6 vote, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, the National Rifle Association, Moral Majority and the Heritage Foundation to the list of persons and groups that students will learn about.

Board member Don McLeroy, R-College Station, offered the amendment requiring coverage of "key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s." McLeroy said he offered the proposal because the history standards were already "rife with leftist political periods and events – the populists, the progressives, the New Deal and the Great Society."

Those were among the long list of changes to proposed social studies standards for Texas schools that were considered over several hours Thursday and Friday.

Late Friday afternoon, after finding themselves unable to work through a long list of amendments, board members unanimously agreed to suspend debate on the standards until March, when they will take up other social studies subjects such as government and geography. In addition, several additional amendments to the U.S. history standards were left pending.

Curriculum standards adopted by the board will remain in place for the next decade, dictating what is taught in government, history and other social studies classes in all elementary and secondary schools. The standards also will be used to write textbooks and develop state tests for students.

Social conservatives lost some key battles Friday as other Republicans and Democrats joined to kill a few of their proposals. One of those turned back would have eliminated hip-hop music from history standards dealing with U.S. culture and replaced it with country music.

McLeroy and other social conservatives said hip-hop was inappropriate for history classes, and one member suggested it encourages anti-social behavior. Board member Mavis Knight, D-Dallas, however, retorted that hip-hop has "impacted our society whether we like it or not. So since it's there, we may as well talk about the positive aspects of it."

In the end, the proposal was killed on a 7-7 vote and hip-hop stayed in, along with rock 'n' roll, Tin Pan Alley, the Beat Generation and the Chicano Mural Movement as "significant examples" of cultural movements in the U.S.

McLeroy was successful with another of his noteworthy amendments: to include documents that supported Cold War-era Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his contention that the U.S. government was infiltrated with Communists in the 1950s.

The result of this will be determined in HOW the information on conservative groups is presented. Public school teachers in Texas aren't any less prone to liberal bias than their Northern counterparts, the wife often relates how a black substitute English teacher told her class of white students they were completely incapable of understanding the lives of black folk. A lot of the problem with this individual was in the way she stated that opinion, evidently in such a denigrating and insulting manner that one student got up, promised he'd be speaking to his parents about the teacher's attitude, and left. Interestingly enough, that particular teacher wasn't seen in that school again.

One of the good things about Texas education is the amount of input the local citizenry is allowed. It helps minimize the amount of crap stuffed into the heads of students, doesn't stop it completely but it minimizes it.

Just my opinion.