I spent a night there once and went to a dinner in General Westmoreland's honor in the 80's. Both delightful.
| Bob Hope Show, Long Binh 1967 |
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
The Queen Mary: $88 next Sunday through Thursday
I spent a night there once and went to a dinner in General Westmoreland's honor in the 80's. Both delightful.
Army intel official: Increasingly, 'to make colonel and higher is all politics'
The extraordinarily large number of senior military officials being relieved of duty during the Obama administration – nine generals and flag officers this year alone and close to 200 senior officers over the last five years – is part of the creation of a “compliant officer class,” according to a U.S. Army intelligence official.
Since WND’s ongoing coverage of what some top generals are openly calling a “purge” of senior military officers who run afoul of Obama or his agenda, some military personnel have been speaking out.
According to a veteran Army intelligence official who spoke to WND on condition of anonymity, there is within the armed forces a major concern that a “compliant officer class” is being created by the Obama administration. So much so, he said, that it’s becoming harder and harder to find “senior officers with a pair of balls in there [the military] now that would say no to anything.”
“Maybe at the rank of major or below, and possibly there are some in SOF (Special Operations Forces), but to make colonel and higher is all politics,” he said.
To underscore this concern, the official said almost no public concern was expressed by officers to the recent repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy or the decision to allow women into front-line combat.
More @ WND
Action Request: Union monument to be placed at the Olustee Battlefield
Via Billy
I am forwarding to you an important e-mail. This e-mail, you will find below my message, is from Mr. Gregory the Assistant Director of Florida’s Division of Recreation and Parks and concerns the placement of the now approved Union monument to be placed at the Olustee Battlefield.
We are opposed to the placement of the monument on the original 3 acre parcel donated to the State of Florida by the UDC. That parcel is an important cultural and historical recourse and should be left as it is. I have explained this to Mr. Gregory on several occasions.
I am asking that you request the Union monument’s location be in F5 which is outside of the original 3 acres.
If placed there:
The Union monument will be equidistant from the entrance to the park (US Highway 90) as the grand 1912 monument. Park visitors will not access one before the other.
The Union monument will be equidistant from the road that passes through the park as the 1912 monument. The Union monument will be on the west side and the 1912 monument will be on the east side. Neither monument will detract from or compete with the other.
The 1912 monument is dedicated to the memory of the men who fought for the Union and the Confederacy. The proposed monument dedicated solely to the memory of the Union troops should be located separate from any and all other single purpose monuments.
In 1909, the Florida legislature acquired three acres to build a memorial to commemorate the Battle of Olustee. On October 23, 1912 Union and Confederate survivors of the Battle of Olustee gathered at the Monument for its dedication. At or about this time the battlefield became the state's first historic site. The three acre original site should remain, as close as possible, in the same condition as it was on that historic day.
The F-5 site is where Union units have, for many years, bivouacked during the annual reenactment of the Battle of Olustee.
I am asking each of you to respond to the survey in Mr. Gregory’s e-mail. Our collective response will have a greater effect than each of us recommending a different location. After you have voted get you wife, girlfriend and friends to vote for the same location. This will produce a dramatic effect.
To respond go to the 4th paragraph of Mr. Gregory’s message and click on the Olustee Battlefield monument Survey.
In the first box (Name of Respondent) put your name.
In the second box (Group or Organization) you may put Sons of Confederate Veterans or leave blank.
In the third box write F5.
If you scroll down you will see a map of the Olutee Battlefield with the grid squares on it and you can locate grid F5.
Forward this important and time sensitive e-mail to your Camps so they can get it out to all their members. You have a voice in this and we must use it to save our Heritage. If we all respond we will have a loud voice.
God Save The South
Jim Davis
Commander
Florida Division
****************************************
Hello,
On behalf of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks, I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughtful comments about the proposed Union monument at Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
The comments reflected three basic viewpoints: those who oppose a Union monument; those who support a Union monument but in a different location; and those who support the monument on the proposed site. Copies of all the comments we received can be found at ftp://ftp.dep.state.fl.us/pub/outgoing/Olustee%20Battlefiled%20Monument%20Comments/
After thoroughly considering all of the comments, we agree that the Union fallen receive less recognition at the state park than do the Confederate fallen. This is based on the language of the 1912 monument, which commemorates the devotion of only the Confederate soldiers, on the commemorative pavers around the monument, which identify only the Confederate units, and on the two small monuments to Confederate generals. As fitting as these monuments undoubtedly are, no comparable recognition of the Union participants in the battle exists in the state park. As the agency responsible for presenting the story of the Battle of Olustee to the visiting public, we agree that a monument to Union soldiers in the state park would be appropriate.
Before we determine a final location for the monument, however, we want to give all interested organizations and individuals an opportunity to share their ideas on potential sites. If you would like to suggest a location, please click on the link Olustee Battlefield monument Survey. A map of the park will appear with instructions for identifying a site on the map. Enter your name, your organization, if any, and the location of the site you suggest. You can suggest more than one site if you like. When finished, click on “Submit” and your response will be sent to us automatically. We will need to receive your suggestions by the close of business on November 18, 2013.
We will conduct a public meeting in Lake City at 7:00 pm on December 2, 2013, to present the monument’s proposed final location for public review and comment. An announcement will be sent in the next few days with the location of the meeting and other details.
Again, thank you for sharing your comments and for your continued interest in Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
Albert Gregory
Assistant Director
Division of Recreation and Parks
Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32303
850-245-3029
Albert.Gregory@dep.state.fl.us
After logging on to the survey Olustee Battlefield monument
Survey (please) complete 3 boxes.
1 Enter your name
2 Sons of Confederate Veterans or leave blank
3 F 5
***************************************************
1 Enter your name
2 Sons of Confederate Veterans or leave blank
3 F 5
***************************************************
I am forwarding to you an important e-mail. This e-mail, you will find below my message, is from Mr. Gregory the Assistant Director of Florida’s Division of Recreation and Parks and concerns the placement of the now approved Union monument to be placed at the Olustee Battlefield.
We are opposed to the placement of the monument on the original 3 acre parcel donated to the State of Florida by the UDC. That parcel is an important cultural and historical recourse and should be left as it is. I have explained this to Mr. Gregory on several occasions.
I am asking that you request the Union monument’s location be in F5 which is outside of the original 3 acres.
If placed there:
The Union monument will be equidistant from the entrance to the park (US Highway 90) as the grand 1912 monument. Park visitors will not access one before the other.
The Union monument will be equidistant from the road that passes through the park as the 1912 monument. The Union monument will be on the west side and the 1912 monument will be on the east side. Neither monument will detract from or compete with the other.
The 1912 monument is dedicated to the memory of the men who fought for the Union and the Confederacy. The proposed monument dedicated solely to the memory of the Union troops should be located separate from any and all other single purpose monuments.
In 1909, the Florida legislature acquired three acres to build a memorial to commemorate the Battle of Olustee. On October 23, 1912 Union and Confederate survivors of the Battle of Olustee gathered at the Monument for its dedication. At or about this time the battlefield became the state's first historic site. The three acre original site should remain, as close as possible, in the same condition as it was on that historic day.
The F-5 site is where Union units have, for many years, bivouacked during the annual reenactment of the Battle of Olustee.
I am asking each of you to respond to the survey in Mr. Gregory’s e-mail. Our collective response will have a greater effect than each of us recommending a different location. After you have voted get you wife, girlfriend and friends to vote for the same location. This will produce a dramatic effect.
To respond go to the 4th paragraph of Mr. Gregory’s message and click on the Olustee Battlefield monument Survey.
In the first box (Name of Respondent) put your name.
In the second box (Group or Organization) you may put Sons of Confederate Veterans or leave blank.
In the third box write F5.
If you scroll down you will see a map of the Olutee Battlefield with the grid squares on it and you can locate grid F5.
Forward this important and time sensitive e-mail to your Camps so they can get it out to all their members. You have a voice in this and we must use it to save our Heritage. If we all respond we will have a loud voice.
God Save The South
Jim Davis
Commander
Florida Division
****************************************
Hello,
On behalf of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks, I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughtful comments about the proposed Union monument at Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
The comments reflected three basic viewpoints: those who oppose a Union monument; those who support a Union monument but in a different location; and those who support the monument on the proposed site. Copies of all the comments we received can be found at ftp://ftp.dep.state.fl.us/pub/outgoing/Olustee%20Battlefiled%20Monument%20Comments/
After thoroughly considering all of the comments, we agree that the Union fallen receive less recognition at the state park than do the Confederate fallen. This is based on the language of the 1912 monument, which commemorates the devotion of only the Confederate soldiers, on the commemorative pavers around the monument, which identify only the Confederate units, and on the two small monuments to Confederate generals. As fitting as these monuments undoubtedly are, no comparable recognition of the Union participants in the battle exists in the state park. As the agency responsible for presenting the story of the Battle of Olustee to the visiting public, we agree that a monument to Union soldiers in the state park would be appropriate.
Before we determine a final location for the monument, however, we want to give all interested organizations and individuals an opportunity to share their ideas on potential sites. If you would like to suggest a location, please click on the link Olustee Battlefield monument Survey. A map of the park will appear with instructions for identifying a site on the map. Enter your name, your organization, if any, and the location of the site you suggest. You can suggest more than one site if you like. When finished, click on “Submit” and your response will be sent to us automatically. We will need to receive your suggestions by the close of business on November 18, 2013.
We will conduct a public meeting in Lake City at 7:00 pm on December 2, 2013, to present the monument’s proposed final location for public review and comment. An announcement will be sent in the next few days with the location of the meeting and other details.
Again, thank you for sharing your comments and for your continued interest in Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
Albert Gregory
Assistant Director
Division of Recreation and Parks
Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32303
850-245-3029
Albert.Gregory@dep.state.fl.us
Anti-gun extremist Watts suggests open carriers would shoot, rape women
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action who has spent the last 24 hours misrepresenting a counter-protest to one of her group’s meetings, has now escalated her war of words, asserting that gun owners want to murder and rape members of her flailing and hysteric group of prohibitionists.
At the end of my conversation with Shannon Watts, of gun-control group Moms Demand Action, Watts said something rather astonishing. The reason that the moms in Dallas were so intimidated by the counter-protest outside, she told me, was that Open Carry Texas is “like the Taliban” and could feasibly have planned to open fire. “You don’t honestly believe they were going to shoot you?” I asked.
“I have no idea why you would actually assume that,” Watts replied. “You never know with these mass shootings. I don’t know who these people are. I don’t know if these people have had background checks. Or if they have had any training.” Watts also suggested that Open Carry Texas was full of people who might rape the women involved in Moms Demand Action. I suggested that this was a “little extreme,” but she said that OCT’s website featured some choice comments and that she had inferred it from that.Remember, these were the same Moms Demand Activists who were so “intimidated” and in fear for their lives in Dallas that they asked members of Open Carry Texas to pose for pictures, including this one.
More @ Bearing Arms
Senate Committee Considers UN Disabilities Treaty, House says “No!”
William A. Estrada, Esq.
Director of Federal Relations
On Tuesday, November 5, the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee heard several hours of testimony regarding whether or not the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Mike Farris was one of the witnesses, and you can read his testimony here.
HSLDA strongly opposes U.S. ratification of this dangerous UN treaty. You can read our reasons for opposing this treaty online.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had previously intended to hold another hearing on the UNCRPD on Tuesday, November 12, but that hearing has been postponed. We believe that the committee will hold a final hearing on the UNCRPD next week, either Tuesday, November 19, or Thursday, November 21. We believe that they will then quickly vote to send the treaty to the full Senate. Please continue to call your two U.S. senators and urge them to reject the UNCRPD.
Strong Message
While the Senate has been moving forward with the UNCRPD, members of the U.S. House of Representatives spoke out strongly against surrendering our nation’s sovereignty and the care of children with disabilities to UN control. Led by representatives Doug Lamborn (CO) and Jeff Duncan (SC), 60 representatives signed a letter urging the Senate to reject this United Nations treaty. You can read this letter here. The signers are below:
|
Alan Nunnelee (MS) Charles Boustany, Jr. (LA) Howard Coble (NC) Jim Bridenstine (OK) Kerry Bentivolio (MI) Lynn Westmoreland (GA) Matt Salmon (AZ) Patrick McHenry (NC) Randy Neugebauer (TX) Rich Nugent (FL) Robert Pittenger (NC) Steve Stockman (TX) Tom Latham (IA) Walter Jones (NC) Tom Marino (PA) Steve Daines (MT) Tim Walberg (MI) Richard Hudson (NC) James Lankford (OK) Jack Kingston (GA) |
Andy Harris (MD) Dennis Ross (FL) Jeff Duncan (SC) Joe Wilson (SC) Kevin Cramer (ND) Mark Meadows (NC) Michele Bachmann (MN) Paul Broun (GA) Randy Weber (TX) Rob Bishop (UT) Stephen Fincher (TN) Ted Yoho (FL) Tom McClintock (CA) Mike Kelly (PA) John Fleming (LA) Thomas Massie (KY) Rodney Davis (IL) John Culberson (TX) Scott Perry (PA) Steve Scalise (LA) |
Bill Johnson (OH) Doug Lamborn (CO) Jeff Miller (FL) Kenny Marchant (TX) Louie Gohmert (TX) Markwayne Mullin (OK) Mike Pompeo (KS) Phil Gingrey (GA) Renee Ellmers (NC) Robert Latta (OH) Steve Southerland (FL) Tim Huelskamp (KS) Trent Franks (AZ) John Kline (MN) John "Judge" Carter (TX) Joseph Pitts (PA) Billy Long (MO) Ralph Hall (TX) Kevin Brady (TX) Mark Sanford (SC) |
If your U.S. representative signed this letter, please take a moment to call and thank him or her for standing strong against the United Nations. You can reach your representative by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, or by using HSLDA’s legislative toolbox.
Thank you for continuing to encourage our friends as they stand up for homeschooling, parental rights, and our nation’s sovereignty.
• • •
Protect Your Family
If you aren’t yet a member of HSLDA, consider joining today! HSLDA’s work benefits homeschooolers in the United States and around the world. We invite you to participate in our ministry to the homeschool community. Join now >>
Unseen: Secure Your Privacy
Via Michael
The Strongest Encryption on the Web with NO Backdoor
More Secure than Email and Skype
Unseen is an easy to use secure communications system that replaces Skype and email and gets Big Brother out of your inbox. We use highly specialized network security and data encryption to protect your messages from your computer all the way to your recipient. Because we're based in Iceland, your data is protected by their exceptionally strong data privacy laws.
Everything You Need for More Secure Communications
More @ Unseen
If you purchase right now, during the beta period, we'll give you this service for LIFE for ONLY $49. This is a way to say thank you for helping us get off the ground. Order today because once this offer is over it's gone forever and people will have to pay the standard price of $49 per YEAR. This is a great deal for those with the foresight to take advantage of this offer. You should ORDER NOW!
Obamacare Navigators Caught On Tape Encouraging Lying On Applications
More with video @ Townhall
Pathetic: Obamacare sign-ups only 3% of target: Pitiful state enrollment numbers worse than anyone expected
The biggest problem with Obamacare may not be the website – it may be Obamacare, itself.
Low enrollment in state exchanges indicates the demand for Obamacare may be nearly nonexistent.
The government expects 1.4 million Americans to enroll in Obamacare on the state-run exchanges by the end of the year, but only a little more than 49,000 have signed up, with just six weeks to go.
According to an analysis by the research firm Avalere Health, only 3 percent of expected participants have enrolled in 11 of the 14 states (and Washington, D.C.) that made their own exchanges for individual insurance.
This is potentially devastating news to the administration, which needs to sign up 7 million people by March 31, 2014, to make Obamcare financially viable.
More @ WND
Zimmerman juror ’29′ suffers for her vote to acquit
Zimmerman trial juror who fled the Sunshine state after receiving death threats is determined to come home and rebuild her life after her tenure as a juror at the George Zimmerman trial turned her life upside-down.
“I have committed along with my team to Maddy’s cause 100 percent pro-bono and have asked my contacts to help raise awareness of her plight and raised money for her,” said David M. Chico who is the attorney for Zimmerman juror B-29 “Maddy.”
Donations to Maddy’s cause can be made at DavidChicoLaw.com/jururB29. Her last name is withheld at her request.
Disruption of her life ensued due to the acquittal, said the mother of eight. “My life changed after the trial.”
More @ Human Events
Faces Never Forgotten
Via Knuckledraggin' My Life Away
ABOUT FACES NEVER FORGOTTEN
The Faces Never Forgotten program is an effort to put a face and a story to each name on The Wall through the generosity of those willing to help locate their photos and make financial contributions to build the Education Center. This program will ensure this vital piece of history will be remembered and honored by visitors from around the globe for generations.
PUTTING FACES TO THE NAMES - A CALL FOR PHOTOS
If you have a picture of a loved one or fellow veteran whose name is on The Wall, please help the Memorial Fund honor these individuals by putting a face with a name. Regardless of whether or not the Memorial Fund has a photo of the individual already, we encourage you to submit it anyway. We are trying to collect as many photos of each individual as possible.
Learn how to submit a photo.
ABOUT FACES NEVER FORGOTTEN
The Faces Never Forgotten program is an effort to put a face and a story to each name on The Wall through the generosity of those willing to help locate their photos and make financial contributions to build the Education Center. This program will ensure this vital piece of history will be remembered and honored by visitors from around the globe for generations.
PUTTING FACES TO THE NAMES - A CALL FOR PHOTOS
If you have a picture of a loved one or fellow veteran whose name is on The Wall, please help the Memorial Fund honor these individuals by putting a face with a name. Regardless of whether or not the Memorial Fund has a photo of the individual already, we encourage you to submit it anyway. We are trying to collect as many photos of each individual as possible.
Learn how to submit a photo.
More @ VVMF
****************************
Ssgt Lester J Brantley from Portsmouth was 33 when he was killed in
action in Binh Duong province in August 1969. He is honoured on panel
19w, row 76 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Faces of the Vietnam War: Lives of fallen soldiers celebrated on virtual wall that aims to eventually display all 58,286 American victims
Hey Grimes, what’s up dude?
Via Redleg
Hey
Grimes, what’s up? How are things going for you up there in Valhalla?
With Memorial Day coming, I thought I’d drop you a line. I don’t talk
about it much, but there has not been a single day in over 32 (now 43) years that I haven’t thought about you.
I remember the first time we met. It was in Staging Battalion at Camp Pendleton. At the ripe old age of 24, I was a good deal older than average. You’ve heard of the generation gap? Well, I was the gap. I had little in common with the guys of my rank, with whom I was allowed to socialize. But, although you were still very young, you were different–an enthusiastic, bubbling, peached faced kid from Amarillo, TX. Remember our big plans for me to teach you to ride bulls and bareback horses when we got back to the world?
Boy, what a couple of dreamers!
When we got in country, you went to 5th Marines and I went to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines. Since my Battalion and your Regimental Headquarters were both at An Hoa, we had several chances to see each other and renew our friendship. Any time that you were there, you always made a point of finding me, as I did you when I would pass through.
I’ll never forget the last time I saw you. It was about a month before we were due to rotate. You had been out with a CAP unit and showed up at my hooch wearing a flight suit and sporting a 45 in a shoulder holster. I didn’t ask where you got the flight suit and shoulder holster–just figured that you had traded some air-winger an AK (or something) for them. I’ll never forget the last conversation we had.
“Hey Grimes, what’s up dude?”
“Man, I’m being MedEvaced to Japan!”
I checked you out. You seemed to have all your appendages and didn’t seem to have any extra holes.
“MedEvaced? What for?”
“Man, I’m eat up with parasites.”
“Parasites! Man that’s great!!! By the time they get you to Japan and get you cleaned up, it’ll be time to rotate.”
We knew that you had it made so we celebrated. As I recall, we snuck out into Duc Duc and captured a couple of liters of Gook banana rum. What a night! The next morning I sent you off. “See ya back in the world dude!”
When rotation day came and I got on the freedom bird, I was fully expecting to see you in a few days.
The first morning back on Okinawa, I ran into Piasaki. Remember him? He was a mutual friend that had gone through Staging Battalion with us. That’s another conversation I’ll never forget.
“Hey man, did you know that Grimes is dead?”
“Naw, bullshit, Grimes ain’t dead.”
“Yea, he is too.”
“No he ain’t. I saw him less than a month ago and he was being MedEvaced to Japan.”
“I’m telling you he’s dead. I kicked his body the next morning. I was part of the relief force that got too them right after daylight. The VC overran his CAP unit and killed them all. It looked like Grimes had been one of the last left fighting. He had about 30 AK rounds point blank in his chest.”
I refused to believe it. I just came home and tried to burry it. I never made any attempt to contact you or your family–guess I didn’t want to believe it. Then finally, in 1983, I went to the wall and there you were—Panel 09W, Line 52, Gary Lynn Grimes. Born 01 June 1949 in Amarillo, Texas. Died 13 June 1970 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. I cried.
It has only been just recently that I located your family. They are still in Amarillo and, from what little I know, seem to be doing well. Although I have your parents’ and brother’s addresses and phone numbers, I have still made no attempt to contact any of them. That is a wrong that terribly needs to be righted and, I promise, I will…someday…
As far as what’s going on in the world, you wouldn’t believe what they’ve done to our country.
Remember all those greasy headed hippies that we used to hate so much? Well, they’re all grown up now and are in control of all our major institutions and all levels of government—everything from Congress to law enforcement to the public schools. Hell, one of them even became President. They are stealing our property, murdering our citizens, and generally making a mockery out of the Constitution—all under the color of law. What a mess! Oh well, hopefully, there’ll be plenty of time to fill you in on the details of all that later.
So, how’s it going for you? I suspect that promotions come pretty slow up there–after all, you are amongst the cream of the cream. But, knowing you, I’d bet that you are at least a Battalion Sergeant Major by now. When the Supreme Commandant decides to cut me a new set of orders, I’m hoping He’ll consider me worthy of joining you. Maybe you’ll have room for a good Company First Sergeant in your outfit.
Hope to see you up there dude!
Semper Fi
LaBaume, Jimmy T
Cpl USMC
****************************************************
by
Dr. Jimmy T. (Gunny) LaBaume
19 Nov 02
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Act IV, Scene 3
I remember the first time we met. It was in Staging Battalion at Camp Pendleton. At the ripe old age of 24, I was a good deal older than average. You’ve heard of the generation gap? Well, I was the gap. I had little in common with the guys of my rank, with whom I was allowed to socialize. But, although you were still very young, you were different–an enthusiastic, bubbling, peached faced kid from Amarillo, TX. Remember our big plans for me to teach you to ride bulls and bareback horses when we got back to the world?
Boy, what a couple of dreamers!
When we got in country, you went to 5th Marines and I went to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines. Since my Battalion and your Regimental Headquarters were both at An Hoa, we had several chances to see each other and renew our friendship. Any time that you were there, you always made a point of finding me, as I did you when I would pass through.
I’ll never forget the last time I saw you. It was about a month before we were due to rotate. You had been out with a CAP unit and showed up at my hooch wearing a flight suit and sporting a 45 in a shoulder holster. I didn’t ask where you got the flight suit and shoulder holster–just figured that you had traded some air-winger an AK (or something) for them. I’ll never forget the last conversation we had.
“Hey Grimes, what’s up dude?”
“Man, I’m being MedEvaced to Japan!”
I checked you out. You seemed to have all your appendages and didn’t seem to have any extra holes.
“MedEvaced? What for?”
“Man, I’m eat up with parasites.”
“Parasites! Man that’s great!!! By the time they get you to Japan and get you cleaned up, it’ll be time to rotate.”
We knew that you had it made so we celebrated. As I recall, we snuck out into Duc Duc and captured a couple of liters of Gook banana rum. What a night! The next morning I sent you off. “See ya back in the world dude!”
When rotation day came and I got on the freedom bird, I was fully expecting to see you in a few days.
The first morning back on Okinawa, I ran into Piasaki. Remember him? He was a mutual friend that had gone through Staging Battalion with us. That’s another conversation I’ll never forget.
“Hey man, did you know that Grimes is dead?”
“Naw, bullshit, Grimes ain’t dead.”
“Yea, he is too.”
“No he ain’t. I saw him less than a month ago and he was being MedEvaced to Japan.”
“I’m telling you he’s dead. I kicked his body the next morning. I was part of the relief force that got too them right after daylight. The VC overran his CAP unit and killed them all. It looked like Grimes had been one of the last left fighting. He had about 30 AK rounds point blank in his chest.”
I refused to believe it. I just came home and tried to burry it. I never made any attempt to contact you or your family–guess I didn’t want to believe it. Then finally, in 1983, I went to the wall and there you were—Panel 09W, Line 52, Gary Lynn Grimes. Born 01 June 1949 in Amarillo, Texas. Died 13 June 1970 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. I cried.
It has only been just recently that I located your family. They are still in Amarillo and, from what little I know, seem to be doing well. Although I have your parents’ and brother’s addresses and phone numbers, I have still made no attempt to contact any of them. That is a wrong that terribly needs to be righted and, I promise, I will…someday…
As far as what’s going on in the world, you wouldn’t believe what they’ve done to our country.
Remember all those greasy headed hippies that we used to hate so much? Well, they’re all grown up now and are in control of all our major institutions and all levels of government—everything from Congress to law enforcement to the public schools. Hell, one of them even became President. They are stealing our property, murdering our citizens, and generally making a mockery out of the Constitution—all under the color of law. What a mess! Oh well, hopefully, there’ll be plenty of time to fill you in on the details of all that later.
So, how’s it going for you? I suspect that promotions come pretty slow up there–after all, you are amongst the cream of the cream. But, knowing you, I’d bet that you are at least a Battalion Sergeant Major by now. When the Supreme Commandant decides to cut me a new set of orders, I’m hoping He’ll consider me worthy of joining you. Maybe you’ll have room for a good Company First Sergeant in your outfit.
Hope to see you up there dude!
Semper Fi
LaBaume, Jimmy T
Cpl USMC
Brevard Deputies Claim Photography “is a Crime” When Arresting PINAC Editor
Roundabout via Jeffery
Brevard County Sherriff’s deputies tried their best to intimidate PINAC editor Jeff Gray from video recording a traffic stop last month before they lost all patience and slapped the camera phone out of his hand, telling him that photography “is a crime” after he informed them he was working for Photography is Not a Crime.
But little did they know he had a back-up camera on his ear, which picked up the action after his iPhone had shattered on the sidewalk.
And when they pulled that off him as they were shoving him in the back of a patrol car, his body-mounted audio recorder picked up the action.
They probably didn’t realize what the latter recorder was because they returned it to his wife as they ordered her out of the parking lot under threat of arrest, also probably not realizing that Gray had set up a fourth recording device, a dash cam inside his car, that recorded the video we saw last month.
His wife also tried to record but the deputy told her to “get the camera out of my face,” so she laid it on her lap as it continued recording audio.
Today’s video is a compilation of the three recordings we had not heard before, showing the two deputies from the agency’s task force pull up behind Gray as he stood more than 30 feet from the traffic stop involving another deputy, who had pulled over a woman for a traffic violation.
Brevard County Sherriff’s deputies tried their best to intimidate PINAC editor Jeff Gray from video recording a traffic stop last month before they lost all patience and slapped the camera phone out of his hand, telling him that photography “is a crime” after he informed them he was working for Photography is Not a Crime.
But little did they know he had a back-up camera on his ear, which picked up the action after his iPhone had shattered on the sidewalk.
And when they pulled that off him as they were shoving him in the back of a patrol car, his body-mounted audio recorder picked up the action.
They probably didn’t realize what the latter recorder was because they returned it to his wife as they ordered her out of the parking lot under threat of arrest, also probably not realizing that Gray had set up a fourth recording device, a dash cam inside his car, that recorded the video we saw last month.
His wife also tried to record but the deputy told her to “get the camera out of my face,” so she laid it on her lap as it continued recording audio.
Today’s video is a compilation of the three recordings we had not heard before, showing the two deputies from the agency’s task force pull up behind Gray as he stood more than 30 feet from the traffic stop involving another deputy, who had pulled over a woman for a traffic violation.
More @ PINAC
Why America Is Not A Propositional Nation
Via Red
A Christian or a Jew can clearly believe they are endowed by God with certain inalienable rights and believe in the non-establishment of religion; A follower of Islam, which enjoins sharia or Islamic law and prohibits the separation of church and state, can be a good American only insofar as he is not a good Moslem.
THE IDEA has become
popular in liberal, libertarian, and neoconservative circles that the
United States is a "propositional nation." This means that the essence
of America consists of certain ideas, from which it follows that the
principal thing we should concern ourselves with in our national life is
whether we continue to instantiate these ideas. It also follows that
conservatism consists in conserving these ideas and this is the problem
by implication nothing else. This is a thus deeply mischievous notion,
mischievous because it is a half-truth, and it must be debunked.
The first problem with the idea that America is a propositional nation is this: what is the proposition?
Ignoring answers invented on the spot without even pretence of historical justification, the most common answer is that it is,
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The first problem with the claim that this is our national proposition is this: this is not the law of the land. These words come from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. One might as well say that America is founded on Tom Paine’s assertion in his pamphlet Common Sense, that "an island cannot rule a continent." Both these assertions may be true, they may be noble, they may have contributed to the subsequent founding of our country, but they are not law and are therefore not morally binding on Americans.
Dated.
A Christian or a Jew can clearly believe they are endowed by God with certain inalienable rights and believe in the non-establishment of religion; A follower of Islam, which enjoins sharia or Islamic law and prohibits the separation of church and state, can be a good American only insofar as he is not a good Moslem.
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The first problem with the idea that America is a propositional nation is this: what is the proposition?
Ignoring answers invented on the spot without even pretence of historical justification, the most common answer is that it is,
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The first problem with the claim that this is our national proposition is this: this is not the law of the land. These words come from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. One might as well say that America is founded on Tom Paine’s assertion in his pamphlet Common Sense, that "an island cannot rule a continent." Both these assertions may be true, they may be noble, they may have contributed to the subsequent founding of our country, but they are not law and are therefore not morally binding on Americans.
More @ Front Page
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Also.
America is not a propositional nation
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