Remembering What the Declaration of Independence is Not

American Thinker

By Bruce Walker

When we celebrate the Fourth of July, we are celebrating one of the most important political documents in the history of the world. The Declaration is a statement to the world -- the people of the world was the audience -- about the very nature of government and its relationship to men. Sometimes we appreciate what this document was, but perhaps we need even more to appreciate what it was not.

It was not a poll-driven summation of current opinion. The men who gathered in Philadelphia did respect each other's talents and knowledge, but the document they signed was not not driven by the latest Gallup or Zogby poll results. What was right and true was not dependent upon popular opinion.

The signers did not even seek a vote of the people. No referendum was necessary for the Declaration of Independence and it might well have failed in some of the colonies. The "will of the people," so precious to demagogues, did not determine what was right and true. The people can fall for Hitler, adore Obama, and be enchanted by silly or wicked men. The purpose of government, as the Declaration clearly states, is to secure liberty and not to implement that dubious, inconstant sentiment "the will of the people."

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence represented the absolute opposite of "interest group politics" so slavishly worshipped in political science departments. They pledged their lives, their wealth, their liberty, and their honor -- everything -- on a toss of the dice. Often, even if the revolution won, these men personally lost. The game was not about them, their economic interest, or their political ambition. They won if America became a new order of liberty in the world. Interest politics would have led them all to make peace with the Crown. Moral principles led them to what Churchill would later call "blood, toil, sweat, and tears."

The brave men in Philadelphia were engaging in unconstitutional action. Britain had a constitution, albeit a largely unwritten one, and Jefferson knew that he was defying our equivalent of the Supreme Court. He and his colleagues defied the moral power of a system which no longer treasured liberty above advantage or caprice. Rulers making decisions which did not really affect them, living thousands of miles from their subjects, lacked the moral authority to wield law.

Moral authority was the heart of the Declaration as well. It lacked a separation of church and state and instead there was a unity of God and government. All men were created equal by God. That is the foundational point of the Declaration from which all else flows like the spring of liberty. If all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, politics is clear and simple. If that is true, then -- of course! -- protecting these inalienable rights is the only reason that governments are instituted among men. These were truths which, in the magical pen of Jefferson, the brave authors and signers held to be "self-evident." There is a Creator. He made us. He made us, specifically, free in body and in conscience. We are not sheep or some sort of oddly self-domesticated animals. We are creatures in the image of a Creator, unique in reality, and given the power to choose.

The men who wrote and signed the Declaration are all dead, long, long, dead -- they never expected otherwise. If we met their ghosts today, they would not ask about our technological marvels or our global economy or our medical breakthroughs or space travel. If we told them about our partisan debates or the new King in Washington, they might cringe like a father over an addled child.

But when speaking of what they wrote in 1776 -- signing their own death warrants, in some respects -- they might ask us this: "We did not mean to confuse you. That is why the words we chose were so clear. You are free creatures of God. Government is your creature, your chattel, your tool -- nothing more. We studied history long before we wrote our brief statement of liberty. You own government or rather the spirit of free men owns government. You fret about ‘stuff.' Why? We are all dead now, as we knew we would be. But we chose to die free, following our consciences - that is the only real choice in life. What confused you?" The principle of liberty is easy. All it requires is courage and honor.

Wild Thing's comment.....

Awesome video and the article is fantastic too.

.

Two Hundred Thirty-Three Years of Freedom THANK YOU to our Veterans and our Troops Today!!

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

.

America: a tribute to heroes - God bless the USA sung by Lee Greenwood

I am crying so hard. Dear God, help us, save America, we love her so much. And so many have sacrificed and given their all to make us free and keep us free. They deserve our country to be FREE more then any of us. Each day we see our country disappearing and evil men and women doing her harm and are bent on destroying the very freedom that has set us apart from any other country. ~ Wild Thing

.

John Adams wrote this historic letter to his wife:

“I am apt to believe that this day will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”

.

It was Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who first proposed drawing up a document that formally announced America's Independence from Great Britain.

On June 11, 1776, a drafting committee was formed and Lee was called away because of his wife's sickness. Lee's good friend and fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson took Lee's place on the committee to draft the document and became the author of The Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson's document was delivered to the Continental Congress on July 1. It was debated and vetted by the delegates on on July 2nd and 3rd. And on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally approved.

It was printed overnight and the very next morning, a stack of copies was delivered to the waiting delegates. Others were prepared to be sent for public reading to each of the state assemblies and to the commanding officers of the Continental troops.

The Declaration was read aloud in courtyards across the land. When John Nixon read the document in Philadelphia to a crowd waiting in front of the Pennsylvania State House, similar reading were happening across the land. In many ways, this dissemination of news was more proficient than today.

Important documents were read in their entirety without comment and were later debated in pubs, homes and meetings. Now we hear snippets and opinions and rarely read the entire document. We chastise Congress for not reading legislation before voting on it and yet we rarely read these documents. Truthfully, they are not as easily available as they were in 1776.

But that document gave birth to the greatest political and social experiment of all time - America and modern democracy.

When you celebrate with fireworks and barbecues this weekend, remember your freedoms and the people who have fought and died to keep you free.

Remember those men who had the courage to claim Independence 233 years ago.

.

Aaron Tippin - Where The Stars And Stripes And Eagles Fly

.

A Tribute to our awesome Vietnam Vets.....The Song is "The Wall" by John McDermott .....For all who served in Vietnam, I thank you. The Patriot Guard Riders will always ride for you.

.

Martina McBride - God Bless America

]]> http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/happy_independence_day_happy_b.html http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/happy_independence_day_happy_b.html Holidays Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:50:47 -0500

Team Sarah Founders address Governor Sarah Palin’s decision to step down as Governor of Alaska

Team Sarah

Washington

Today Team Sarah commented on the announcement that Sarah Palin will step down as Governor of Alaska on July 25, 2009: “Sarah Palin has always been an intensely independent woman-- always true to her faith, her family and call to public service. She has taken vast numbers of Americans to a new place: politics without cynicism. And she has provided women with a new political role model,” said Team Sarah Co-Founder Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Her entrance onto the public stage has had an immensely positive effect, drawing in massive numbers of Americans new to the political process. We have every confidence she will have an equal and profound impact in whatever projects she undertakes now.”

“Team Sarah members anxiously await Palin’s next decision on how she believes she can best serve our nation. Since the 2008 Election, the continual presence of personal attacks on both Governor Palin and her family indicate that she remains a threat to the liberal feminist political establishment,” said Team Sarah Co-Founder Jane Abraham. “Despite criticism, Governor Palin’s success will endure. Team Sarah’s thousands of members remain as engaged as ever on TeamSarah.org. The Governor has inspired millions, and her audience of enthusiastic support will only grow in the future.”

Team Sarah is a coalition of Americans dedicated to advancing the values that Sarah Palin represents in the political process. Its political networking website, www.teamsarah.org, has grown to over 70,000 activists.

FOX News

After Friday's announcement, some aren't so sure about Palin's prospects.

"I am real surprised. It is real unconventional," William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, told FOX News. "It would make sense to finish the governorship and then run for president in 2012.

But Kristol didn't count Palin out for 2012, calling her "crazy like a fox."

"It's a huge gamble -- but some of her gambles have paid off in the past," he said. "If I had to bet right now, I would bet that we just heard the first opening statement in the 2012 presidential race."

Palin also hinted at her own national ambitions, invoking a quote that she credited to Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction.”

Times online.co.uk

Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour.

An internet campaign is already under way to promote Palin as the Republican party’s best choice to challenge Obama in the presidential elections of 2012. More than 60,000 people have joined TeamSarah.org, an umbrella group that unites numerous pro-Palin fan clubs such as Catholics for Sarah, Texans for Palin and Small Business-Owners for Sarah.

James Brislin, a Connecticut team member, noted that “the Republican party has lost its way . . . Sarah Palin is who we need moving forward”.

Sarah Palin breaks the mold again

By Thomas Lifson

American Thinker

A different school of thought is that she is planning a run for the presidency, and realizes she cannot do that from a base in Alaska. The distance from the mainland and the lack of media coverage of her while acting as governor would make it all but impossible to put together the sort of organization one needs to run for president. Freed from the duties of governor, she can go out and give speeches, supporting candidates and earning chits, meeting people and capitalizing on her unrivaled hold on the GOP base, which loves her. Mark Levin presented a particularly insightful case that this is what Governor Palin has in mind, all the while acknowledging that he doesn't know any inside information.

And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.

I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.

This does sound as though she is planning to campaign for politicians across the country. And then there was this basketball analogy:

Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.

Because I like and admire Sarah Palin, and think she has unmatched charisma and authenticity, my hope is that she intends to devote her professional energies to running for president, and, in the process, lead the opposition movement to the radical change Obama and the Democrats are trying to accomplish. But it is a hope more than a prediction.

Wild Thing's comment......

She knows exactly what she is doing. She is finally free..free, free as a bird and now she can soar to new heights. Libs are probably more terrified of her now then they were of her yesterday

God does not pluck someone like Sarah from obscurity unless there is a purpose. I believe Sarah is a person of destiny just as Ronald Reagan was.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Quote of the Day: "No country can be called free which is governed by an absolute power; and it matters not whether it be an absolute royal power or an absolute legislative power, as the consequences will be the same to the people." ~ Thomas Paine

Morning Bell: The Left's Assault on the Declaration of Independence

The Heritage Foundation

There has been a lot of change in recent months – a $787 billion spending bill, a budget exceeding $3 trillion, government ownership of auto manufacturers, government-imposed caps on earnings, legislation imposing limits on economic activity in America under the name of environmental justice. It is increasingly difficult for conservatives to sustain any audacity of hope for moderate policies coming from the current administration.

What unites these policies and their sweeping designs is the progressive aim of “remaking America”—as President Obama said in his Inaugural Address—into a country much more like the highly regulated, secular, and pacifist nations of Europe.

The view of America that dominates the academy, journalism, major foundations, and most segments of the American intellectual community was marked out at the start of the last century by progressive thinkers when they launched their grand project for America.

They repudiated the Founders’ principles, holding that there are no self-evident truths—in the Declaration of Independence or elsewhere—only change in the constant search for progress without final goals.

There are no permanent rights with which man is endowed, but endlessly evolving rights that develop and grow based on new demands. Our fidelity must be to a “living” Constitution that adapts to fit the demands of the times. The way forward is to control social conditions and engineer a better society, redistributing wealth through a distant and patronizing welfare state that regulates more and more of the American economy, politics and society.

Over the course of the twentieth century—as America’s principles were assaulted, undermined, and redefined in our culture, in our universities, and in our politics—we have taken significant steps down this path. The Progressive Movement laid the intellectual groundwork, but the basic infrastructure of the modern welfare state established under the New Deal has expanded in regulatory scope and social purpose under the Great Society and its progeny in both political parties. We are in the beginning of a new and perhaps decisive move in this direction.

Now, more than ever, is the time to relearn the meaning and contemporary significance of the Declaration of Independence and recognize that modern liberalism has explicitly rejected the truths it proclaims.

Woodrow Wilson, one of the most famous early progressives, argued during the 1912 presidential campaign that “all that Progressives ask or desire is permission…to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle,” meaning that it should promote an ever-expanding set of powers for an ever-expanding government.

The problem, he declared, was that pesky Declaration of Independence: “some citizens of this country have never got beyond the Declaration of Independence,” he remarked with astonishment; “The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of our day.”

The progressive view rejects outright the very idea, at the heart of the Founders’ way of thinking, of being guided by permanent or fixed principles. As the prominent progressive historian Carl Becker put it in 1922, “to ask whether the natural rights philosophy of the Declaration of Independence is true or false, is essentially a meaningless question.” Such relativism renders meaningless the whole American experiment in self-government.

But denying the truth of America’s principles for the sake of “change” can make no claim to progress at all—a point made with unsurpassed clarity by Calvin Coolidge on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1926:

“If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.”

We don’t need to remake America, or discover new and untested principles. The change we need is not the rejection of America’s principles but a great renewal of these permanent truths about man, politics, and liberty—the foundational principles and constitutional wisdom that are the true roots of our country’s greatness.

As we celebrate the blessings of liberty that America’s Founders made possible and the sacrifices of succeeding generations have enabled us to enjoy, let us also rededicate ourselves, and strive to rededicate our nation, to the Declaration of Independence.

Wild Thing's comment........

Great article!

So many countries wish they had the freedom we have as Americans.

Heritage is giving away free copies of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. You can order one online at AskHeritage.org. Ask for it and they'll send you freebies of the Declaration and the Constitution.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

The hymn appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. It was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, American senator Robert Kennedy, and American presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and a Month after 911.

White House garden tests positive for lead

WASHINGTON

AP

The White House says its high-profile garden on the South Lawn has tested positive for lead although it is not at dangerous levels.

White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick-Lelyveld said Thursday that tests on the soil in the White House garden detected lead levels of 93 parts per million. Soil is considered unsafe for growing vegetables when it reaches more than 500 parts per million.

First lady Michelle Obama planted the garden on the South Lawn this spring with local schoolchildren. Produce from it is used in the White House kitchens and donated to area groups.

McCormick-Lelyveld says the White House will continue to grow vegetables in its garden, which food activists sought and praised.

.

Wild Thing's comment......

Can I say Get the lead out Michelle. heh heh

Note to White House ...You are supposed to test the soil BEFORE you dig the garden.

So the Obama creeps are serving schoolkids lead tainted food.

I wonder if it's from the Musket Balls? You know I am just wanting so bad to make a joke about that. LOL

Powell airs doubts on Obama agenda

The Washington Times

Colin Powell, one of President Obama's most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president's ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.

"I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN's John King, released by the network Friday morning.

But, he said, "one of the cautions that has to be given to the president -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all."

"And we can't pay for it all," said Mr. Powell

Mr. Powell expressed alarm at "budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars" and "a huge, huge national debt that, if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have to pay for it."

"So, I think the president, as he moves forward with his initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is. And, how much additional bureaucracy [will] be needed to make all of this happen?" Mr. Powell said.

"The federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our lives," Mr. Powell said then. "We can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run them, and fewer results to show for it."

Mr. Powell said that now that he still believes what he said then, but that he would put it in different terms now.

"I don't like slogans anymore like 'limited government.' That's not the right answer. The right answer is, give me a government that works," he said. "Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people."

Wild Thing's comment......

Title could read, affirmative action Powell sees what a mistake it was to go rascist and vote for the affirmative action Obama. This is what happens with Affirmative Action. The “slow to get a clue” and the “not so bright” rise to the top.

And he makes his statement yesterday after awhile back he claimed Americans want bigger government and more taxes

Powell is an idiot and a rascist and his waking up makes no difference in the world. Got that Powell. I don't want your sorry ass back in our Republican party. You chose the Muslim freak Obama and he is all yours. You Powell are part of the problem and NOT part of the solution.

Colin is miffed because he didn't get a big, cushy, high profile, post-election appointment he may have craved from his Soul Brother. Fool! Traitors and jumpers NEVER get trust or respect from EITHER side.

Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform

The EVIL FAR LEFT, SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST LOVING ....THE HUFFINGTON POST blog.

written by Erik Sean Nelson

**** email of the author*****

erikseannelson@gmail.com

In Sarah Palin's resignation announcement she complained about the treatment of her son Trig who always teaches her life lessons. She said that the "world needs more Trigs, not fewer." That's a presidential campaign promise we can all get behind. She will be the first politician to actually try to increase the population of retarded people. To me, it's kinda like saying the world needs more cancer patients because they teach us such personal lessons.

Her first act as President: To introduce a Pre-K lunch buffet that includes lead paint chips. Sort of a Large HEAD-START Program.

She will then encourage women to hold off on pregnancies until their 40's just to mix up some chromosomes.

She now is in favor of abortion only in case of diploid birth.

Her policies will increase jobs because Wal-Mart is building new stores each day and someone has to be the greeter.

This will lead to smaller government because fewer Americans will have the cognitive ability to hold a government job.

Look, she says she's resigning as governor because people are making attacks on her and Trig. If she ever did become president, all Osama bin Laden would have to do to defeat the United States is Photoshop a picture of Trig and she'd surrender the country that night. As she said, "That's not politics as usual." It isn't. Politicians don't usually quit for so stupid of reasons.

Wild Thing's comment.....

Huffington is one of Obama's political whores, sorry but that is how she runs her blog and the things she says and allows to be written at her blog. Arianna’s envy of Sarah is all-consuming.

The article above was published at Huffington's blog shortly after the resignation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin with the following headline: Palin Will Run in '12 on More Retardation Platform

To make sure that the article's reference to Gov. Palin's infant son Trig who was born with Down Syndrome last year, the article is keyword tagged by the Huffington Post: ...Sarah Palin Trig; Trig; Comedy News

Huffington and her people at her blog are scared to DEATH of Sarah. Human behavior gets no lower then this article. That is the most disgusting piece of excrement I've ever read!

One thing for sure, if ObamaDeathCare were to take over people like Trig would become targets, maybe THAT is why Sarah moved so fast. She is out to stop Deathcare.

My question for Arianna would be how many husbands can one woman turn gay? Just asking.

UPDATE!

Huffington took the article down that was attacking Sarah's son Trig.

Here is the same link and see what it has there now.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-sean-nelson/palin-will-run-in-12-on-m_b_225568.html

Huffington Post Apologizes for Offensive Sarah Palin Article

The Huffington Post issued an apology Friday evening for an article about the resignation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin posted at their website entitled, Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform, written by HuffPo writer Erik Sean Nelson.

An e-mail apology from Mario Ruiz of HuffPo:

Due to an editorial lapse, Erik Sean Nelson’s post on Sarah Palin bypassed the normal vetting process and appeared on HuffPost — but was never featured anywhere on the site. Even though satiric works are generally given greater latitude, Nelson’s post falls outside of HuffPost’s editorial guidelines. As such, if not for the error, it would not have been approved for publication, and was removed from the site as soon as our editors became aware of it. We sincerely regret the error and any offense it might have caused.

]]> http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/very_ugly_arianna_huffington_e.html http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/very_ugly_arianna_huffington_e.html Sarah Palin Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:20:47 -0500

WASILLA, Alaska

In a stunning announcement, Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday morning she will resign her office in a few weeks.

Speculation has swirled for weeks, perhaps months that Palin would not seek re-election in 2010 as she pursues a political career on the national stage. The former vice presidential candidate has long been rumored to be considering a run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Palin did not address those rumors at the press conference at her Wasilla home, during which she did not take questions from reporters.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated as her successor at the Governor's Picnic at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks on Sunday, July 26, Palin said.

Parnell said he will seek election to the governor's office in 2010. Parnell ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Don Young in the Republican primary last year.

Palin made the announcement flanked by Parnell and most, if not all, of her cabinet.

Palin Quits as Alaska Governor

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday that she is stepping down at the end of the month, setting up a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

FOX News

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shocked the political word Friday by announcing that she will step down at the end of the month and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.

Palin made the announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.

The announcement came on the same week that one of her top public health officials says she was forced out of office because Palin felt she wasn't in step on social issues.

Palin's decision now allows her to avoid the difficult task of running for president while serving as governor.

Todd Palin told FOX News that his wife will concentrate on "doing the things for Alaska and the country" that she is passionate about and can not do as governor with the limitation and constant opposition she deals with within the state.

Palin, who defeated incumbent Gov. Murkowski in a primary in 2006,.gained national prominence when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked her as his running mate last year. But her approval ratings in the state have skidded in recent months.

Palin has been dogged in recent months by ethics inquiries. Her office last month announced the 15th dismissal of an ethics complaint against her or one of her staff.

On Wednesday, Beverly Wooley, who has worked more than 20 years in public health in Alaska, most of it with the municipality of Anchorage, ended her stint as state public health director.

She's the second top health official to leave within days. The state's chief medical officer, Jay Butler, left in late June after declining to take on Wooley's job along with his own. He now is in Atlanta, overseeing a U.S. Centers for Disease Control task force on a vaccine to protect against the H1N1 flu virus.

Wild Thing's comment........

I am so proud of her. I was shocked at first, but the more I think about it this is a stand up kind of thing to do.
This is an all or nothing decision. And that is the kind of person Sarah is and why I respect her so much.

She has made a smart political move. She'll be free to raise $$$, not chained to the affairs of State. The way other politicians have done it is they stay in office USE those who voted for them as they beg for money to run for the next office and are not doing the job they were elected to do. Just my take on it. Sarah has her own way of doing things.

Her speech was awesome and as soon as it shows up on YouTube I will post it.

Here it is:
It is labeled as Part 2 but there is no part one so I think the person that did the video just has part one as the media covering this and then they broke to her giving her speech.

LOL OOPS I was wrong..... Part ONE is now available. Sorry for the messy post,.

Sarah Palin At High Noon

By Lloyd Marcus

( Lloyd Marcus is the Singer/Songwriter of the "American Tea Party Anthem" and President, NAACPC (National Association for the Advancement of Conservative People of Color).

American Thinker

I just watched the classic movie "High Noon" (again). Gary Cooper played a brave sheriff who brought law and order to his town. As one woman said, "He made it safe for a decent woman to walk down the street". A recently released outlaw was coming back to town on the noon train to deliver vengeance against the sheriff who put him away. His gang of three arrived early to help their leader take out the sheriff.

Fully aware of why the bad men were in town, the sheriff could not arrest them because they had not broken any laws. Waiting is not illegal.

Desperate, the sheriff interrupted a church service to solicit help. After much debate, the ungrateful town folks declined. They even suggested the sheriff "get out of town" hoping the trouble would follow him. The sheriff contemplated their recommendation. He began saddling his horse, but something inside would not allow him to run away. Heroically, the sheriff faced the bad guys and won!

I thought of another strong, gutsy, bold, stand-on-principles hero, Sarah Palin, in her own modern day version of High Noon. Sheriff Palin rode into America Town on a white horse with conservative guns blazing and saved a dead McCain campaign. She brought hope to weary and battered conservative town folks and gave them a reason to vote.

Outlaw Obama and his posse, the hate filled liberal media/Democrat gang, came to town a gunnin' to politically eliminate Sheriff Palin. They ambushed her at Miss Katie Couric's CBS saloon. Though wounded numerous times, Sheriff Palin survived.

She bravely stood tall and rode high in the saddle while ungrateful, weak kneed Republican town folks ran for cover, hid in their homes and peeked nervously through the curtains.

Why are Obama and his gang so committed and desperate to destroy Palin? Could it be they recognize her destiny, like that of Moses, to set her people free? And why is she so despised by them? Obama's gang hate Palin for all the reasons we love her. Sheriff Palin is a good, decent and strong character driven conservative leader. Palin also believes in God. Such humility and virtues are as repulsive to liberals as showing Dracula the cross.

Something that sticks in the craw of many liberal women is that in their youth, they brought into the feminist rhetoric that women's liberation means no husband and family. Tragically, they find themselves aging and alone. Meanwhile, this conservative woman has it all: great career, fine family and a husband who loves and respects her. Adding insult in injury, Sheriff Palin looks mighty fine in her jeans.

Recently, the libs sent an old washed up gunslinger, the Letterman Kid, to challenge Sheriff Palin to a shoot out. Palin planted two bullets between the pathetic old dude's wrinkly eyes before he could un-holster his gun.

Despite Sheriff Palin's courage and willingness to fight, Obama and his posse rule America Town. They are in the process of taking over everything! Obama took over the livery stable and banned horses. While he and his posse continue riding horses, we town folks are forced to ride miniature ponies.

But in the spirit of what has made America Town great, an uprising is a brewin'. A huge conservative posse is building daily. Our first battle will be in 2010 to win back America Town's House and Senate. Then, in 2012, God willing and the creek don't rise, Sheriff Palin will lead us to victory in the battle of Little Big Washington DC. Years earlier, another great lawman cleaned up America Town, Sheriff Ronald Reagan.

After Sheriff Palin sweeps out the Obama gang, perhaps once again, we will be as what Sheriff Reagan affectionately called us, "a shining city on a hill".

Wild Thing's comment......

Great article.

I loved this...it isn't about making her a Sheriff in reality, it is about recognizing that she has STOOD up to the media that has tried over and over to hurt her-both professionally and worse, personally.
She does exude a certain love of country that annoys liberals, and she is UNASHAMED of being a good person, who loves her family and does so with great zeal. That she was willing to bring Trig into the world, loving him and embracing him absolutely makes the folks who love abortions cringe. They hate her because she is EVERYTHING they are not and more.

I LOVE HER STYLE, AND HER DEDICATION TO PRINCIPLE A GREAT BIG BUNCH!

I would love to meet Lloyd Marcus, the author of this article, I know exactly what he meant. I saw republicans hiding when Sarah arrived on the scene, as well.

]]> http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/sarah_palin_at_high_noon.html http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/sarah_palin_at_high_noon.html Sarah Palin Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:27:55 -0500

.

A U.S. Marine checks his equipment before joining other Marines and about 650 Afghan soldiers and national police officers as they prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters on Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse

.

U.S. Marines, military working dog, and about 650 Afghan soldiers and national police officers prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters on Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse

U.S. troops told to stop Taliban pursuit if civilians are at risk

Miami Herald

KABUL

Beginning Thursday, American soldiers in Afghanistan will be under orders to back down when they're chasing Taliban fighters whenever they think that civilians might be at risk.

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, will issue the directive as part of an effort to cut down on civilian casualties, which have enraged the Afghan government and residents. Instead of calling in air support or firing into civilian homes where Taliban fighters have sought refuge, commanders will be instructed to reach out to tribal elders or undertake other efforts to dislodge the fighters.

The order is consistent with what national security adviser James L. Jones told McClatchy Newspapers in Washington Wednesday was President Barack Obama's concern about civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

"General McChrystal has been given instructions when he left here that, in all military operations, that we redouble our efforts to make sure that innocent loss of life is minimized, with zero being the goal," Jones said, noting that, "In one mishap you can create thousands more terrorists than you had before the mishap."

The new order, however, is likely to draw criticism from some U.S. troops, many of whom feel the rules that govern how they fight the war already are too restrictive.

Many troops here say they depend on air power and heavy weaponry because there aren't enough ground troops to chase Taliban forces on foot. Jones said no additional ground troops will be sent this year, even though some ground commanders want them.

"Everybody had their day in court, so to speak, before the president made his decision," he said. "We signed off on the strategy, and now we're in the implementation phase."

McChrystal's order will instruct soldiers to "think about what else can we do," said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, the military's top spokesman in Afghanistan. "We cannot keep going down the path of putting civilians at risk. ... People want to see changes in behavior."

Airstrikes, which Afghans charge kill innocent people, won't be eliminated, Smith said. "Air power will be as valuable after this directive is issued as it ever was," he said.

The new order, however, will require troops to assume that civilians are present and back off when Taliban fighters escape into villagers' houses, Smith said.

"The assumption must be there are civilians in those residences, and in those instances, he is asking commanders to think of other options in front of them," Smith said.

Those options might include gathering intelligence and regrouping to fight another day; reaching out to a tribal leader or encouraging villagers to help coalition forces track down Taliban forces. In some cases, it could mean letting Taliban escape.

McChrystal's order, an unclassified version of which is expected to be made public later this week, comes on the heels of a Pentagon report issued last month that acknowledged that as many as 86 civilians may have been killed in a May airstrike in Farah province.

The strike, by a B-1B strategic bomber, was ordered after Afghan forces came under fire from the Taliban and sought U.S. help. The report faulted Americans on the ground for not determining whether civilians were present before the plane dropped a 2,000-pound bomb.

Since McChrystal took command here last month, he has said reducing civilian casualties would be a top priority.

He repeated that concern Tuesday in an interview Tuesday with Radio Free Europe. "The most important thing is to not hurt the Afghan people because the most important thing is to win their support," he said. "This fight is for the Afghan people, it's not with the Afghan people."

Civilian casualties have become a major source of tension between Afghans and U.S. and other coalition forces here. Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks out frequently against coalition forces and their use of airstrikes on campaign stops as he seeks re-election, and earlier this year, the parliament passed a resolution condemning the use of airstrikes.

"One mistake is OK. But every day there is a mistake. You start to lose sympathy," said Khalid Pashtun, an Afghan-American member of parliament who represents Kandahar province, a Taliban stronghold. "Now, I am an American, and I feel this way. Imagine how the normal Afghan feels. He feels Afghan blood has become very cheap."

McChrystal has briefed Karzai about the new directive and his response was "encouraging," Smith said.

Top military officials here discount concerns that the Taliban will exploit the new order and step up their presence among civilians who often don't reveal Taliban hiding locations, either because they support them or fear retribution.

Military officials, however, said that the Taliban already exploit the way the U.S. has been fighting and purposely flee to villages in anticipation that coalition actions will lead to civilian casualties, exacerbating tensions between the coalition and the civilians.

Wild Thing's comment..........

no NO NO NO NO This is VERY bad. Is this an intercepted communication from LBJ to Westmoreland?

Dear God..this is insanity! It’s bad enough that the order was given..but to broadcast it in ADVANCE..just as we are sending our soldiers into the field?

TREASONOUS!!

"the Taliban already exploit the way the U.S. has been fighting and purposely flee to villages in anticipation that coalition actions will lead to civilian casualties"

THAT is exactly what they do. The do it on purpose and they know since the last time it was a set up too. And then the Coward in Chief Obama apologized and said he would get to the bottom of the civilians deaths and he blamed our military without even checking it all out.

The Taliban hides behind skirts and children. God help and protect our troops. This has me sitting here crying. Damn Obama! to hell!

Notice we don't hear that Obama was concerned about American troop casualties.

This is a purposeful plan to lose our advantage and appease the Muslims, injure and eliminate our dear troops from the battlefield in the process.

Senate Bill Would Fine People More Than $1,000 for Refusing Health Care Coverage

Senate aides said the penalties, estimated to raise around $36 billion over 10 years, would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage.

FOX News

Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.

In a revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face penalties.

Called "shared responsibility payments," the fines would be set at least half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation. The goal is to nudge people to sign up for coverage when they are healthy, not wait until they get sick.

The legislation would exempt certain hardship cases from fines. The fines would be collected through the income tax system.

The new proposals were released as Congress neared the end of a weeklong July 4 break, with lawmakers expected to quickly take up health care legislation when they return to Washington. With deepening divisions along partisan and ideological lines, the complex legislation faces an uncertain future.

Obama wants a bill this year that would provide coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans who lack it and reduce medical costs.

In a statement, Obama welcomed the legislation, saying it "reflects many of the principles I've laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick."

The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions bill also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said in a letter to colleagues that their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans.

In a conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill had brought "historic reform of health care" closer. He said the bill's public option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven "not by what generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for American families."

The Congressional Budget Office, in an analysis released Thursday evening, put the net cost of the proposal at $597 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago. Coverage expansions worth $645 billion would be partly offset by savings of $48 billion, the estimate said.

However, the total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisions are added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid. Those additions, needed to ensure coverage for nearly all U.S. residents, are being handled by a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee. Bipartisan talks on the Finance panel aim to hold the overall price tag to $1 trillion.

The Health Committee could complete its portion of the bill as soon as next week, and the presence of a government health insurance option virtually assures a party-line vote.

In the Senate, the Finance Committee version of the bill is unlikely to include a government-run insurance option. Bipartisan negotiations are centered on a proposal for a nonprofit insurance cooperative as a competitor to private companies.

Three committees are collaborating in the House on legislation expected to come to a vote by the end of July. That measure is certain to include a government-run insurance option.

At their heart, all the bills would require insurance companies to sell coverage to any applicant, without charging higher premiums for pre-existing medical conditions. The poor and some middle-class families would qualify for government subsidies to help with the cost of coverage. The government's costs would be covered by a combination of higher taxes and cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.

Obama voters are sharing their personal stories with Obama at his Organizing For America website. I would NOT register to read them but I found it at the vile person Huffington Post blog so here it is. This way you don't have to register to see what it looks like. ~ Wild Thing

Jackie in Logan, N.D., wrote that she cried when she was hospitalized in January out of fear for the bills -- even though she has health insurance.

"I told my husband that perhaps I should just go home and wait to die," Jackie wrote, "as it would be cheaper to be cremated, than to have to exist dealing with the debt of surviving."

Brad of Granite City, IL, wrote that "I may die any day because Health Insurance isn't available to me."

"For profit healthcare killed my wife," wrote John of Nashville, Tenn.

http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare

.

Wild Thing's comment.......

Check out the Obama LOGO once again. sheesh I am so sick of seeing that logo of his. His communist dictator logo.

Notice how they EXPECT to "make" $36 million dollars over the next ten years. They are HOPING that people won't be able to afford health insurance so they can kick their feet out from under them and rob them blind!

This is unbelievable! Our rights are fast deminishing. Unfathomable that such a thing would be done!

Our country currently has the best medical care in the world. The Socialist Obama and his Socialist Congress are determined to destroy it.

Where in the Constitution are the president and congress allowed to dictate to us which doctors we will see, how long we have to wait to get treatment, which hospitals we will use, and how much they are allowed to charge? Obama would create a statist, socialist medical care system which denies us the right to hire a non-government doctor or hospital. Canadians already “enjoy” this situation, so they come to the United States for treatment.

We have too much government involvement in medical care already. What we need is more free enterprise, which always results in more choices, better quality, easy access, and lower prices. Obama thinks the government can do it better. So did the other Socialists and the communists in history, and they all failed.

.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67

.

A fellow soldier was impaled by a live RPG. For medics and a helicopter crew, there was only one choice.

PLEASE CLICK LINK JUST BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO

http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/rpg_surgery/

Military Medical Team Makes the 'Toughest Call'

Unexploded Rocket-Propelled Grenade Impales Army Private in Afghanistan

Thursday, March 16, 2006, was a beautiful sunny day in Paktika Province, eastern Afghanistan -- the front line in a half-forgotten war. It borders a lawless region of Pakistan that is home to some al Qaeda and Taliban forces. Snow in the mountain passes along the border had melted giving them access again to Afghanistan where they came looking for American soldiers. They soon found them.

At dawn, the 10th Mountain Division's Alpha Company headed out on a mission. Lt. Billy Mariani, the unit commander, noticed something about his troops.

"There was definitely a sense of uneasiness. There was an air about them of, you know, maybe something was going to happen," he said.

The convoy included some two dozen 10th Mountain Division soldiers mounted in five armored Humvees and a handful of Afghan National Army troops riding in a pickup truck. Their mission was to visit a remote village to meet the tribal elders. No roads existed in this no-man's land and they had to drive through waddis, dry narrow river beds with high, dangerous ground on either side.

Four hours into the drive and just miles from the village, gunfire broke out. They'd been ambushed from above. Twenty-three-year-old Pvt. Channing Moss, the gunner, said it sounded like rattling spoons.

Then came the big guns. Volleys of rocket propelled grenades rained down. The Afghan National Army pickup exploded. Two of the Afghan soldiers died.

One RPG skidded past Lt. Mariani's vehicle. All of the vehicles had to quickly get out of the "kill zone." But before they could get to safety, two rockets hit Pvt. Moss' Humvee.

Staff Sgt. Eric Wynn, 33, the soldier in the front passenger seat, felt one slice through his face. Moss remembers the truck practically lift up. He was thrown up against the Humvee and then moved to return fire.

"I smelled something smoking and I looked down ... and I was smoking," he said.

Wynn turned to tell Moss where to fire and saw the tail fins of the RPG sticking out of Moss' side.

Roughly the length of a baseball bat, an RPG travels at the speed of a bullet. At the front end is the warhead -- a large grenade. The detonator and fuel are contained in the shaft. On the back are its fins, pieces of metal that stick out like legs on a camera tripod. The RPG is the weapon of choice for many of the world's guerillas.

Luckily for Moss, the company medic Spc. Jared Angell, 23, who the soldiers call "Doc," was in his Humvee. With Alpha company still under fire, it would have been nearly impossible for Angell to get to Moss in time if he hadn't been close by.

A Human Bomb

The RPG that had plowed into Moss' lower abdomen stretched from one hip to the other. If the RPG went off, it would kill everyone within 30 feet of him. Yet Angell stayed close, bandaging his wounds and stabilizing the weapon so that movement wouldn't cause it to explode.

Moss was still fully conscious, so Angell ordered him to not look down at the injury. He didn't want Moss to panic.

"I'm gonna do everything I can," Angell said to Moss. "You keep fighting with me and I'll keep fighting with you."

Wynn held his wounded face together with a bandage and reported their casualties over the radio while he also reached for Moss' hand.

He was squeezing my hand ... making sure I was staying alive," Moss said.

Reports of injuries had been radioed to the medical evacuation helicopter (MEDEVAC) base in Salerno, Afghanistan -- minus one crucial piece of information.

"We didn't tell them that, you know, Moss had live ordnance in him," Mariani said, "because there was that possibility that, you know, they might not want to transport him with live ordnance in him."

Preparations began for the rescue mission. But first the Blackhawk crew had to wait for clearance from commanders because the area was "hot" -- the battle was still raging. For MEDEVAC crew chief SSG Christian Roberts, it was a very long 15 minutes.

"When you know you have wounded people out there that are waiting for you to come pick them up, it seems like an eternity," he said.

The firefight died down and Mariani went over to check on Moss. Even though he was stunned by the fins sticking out of him, Mariani said, "I grabbed his hand and I just said, 'Hey, buddy, we're gonna get you out of here.'"

"Doc" continued working frantically to stabilize Moss even though the RPG was a danger to everyone around Moss. He knew that his only chance for survival was to get out of there and to a hospital quickly.

"I constantly was looking at my watch, saying, you know, 'When is the bird gonna get here, when is the bird gonna get here,'" medic Doc Angell said.

When Lt. Mariani pulled "Doc" aside to ask him if he thought Moss would make it, he could only shake his head no.

If Pvt. Moss was to not survive his injuries, his wife, six months pregnant with their second child, would lose her husband and his daughter Yuliana would lose her father. But just as Moss felt he would die, he heard the chopper. An Apache helicopter escorted the MEDEVAC chopper in case there was more gunfire.

Spc. Collier, the flight medic, quickly realized what they faced with Pvt Moss.

"I see a metal object protruding out, and there are fins on it, and I am like, 'This looks like this guy got hit with something, and it's stuck in him, and it didn't blow up,'" he said.

Army policy states that they are not supposed to transport soldiers in Moss' condition. The risk of catastrophic loss is too great -- four MEDEVAC crew members, three wounded soldiers and a helicopter could all be blown out of the sky.

But they also knew if they didn't take Moss. he would die.

Pilot CW2 Jorge Correa conferred with his soldiers: "I asked my crew, you know, 'Are you guys comfortable with this?'" he said. "Because I wasn't gonna put my crew in jeopardy if they weren't comfortable with it."

The crew quickly decided to take the risk.

Co-pilot Jeremy Smith recalled the tense moment.

"We all said, 'Yeah, let's get him on board and let's get outta here,'" he said.

As crew chief Christian Roberts said, "We are not gonna leave a U.S. soldier to die in the middle of Afghanistan."

Past the 'Golden Hour'

The MEDEVAC helicopter flew over mountains fully loaded with Moss and three other wounded, racing the clock. Moss' best chance of survival was to get advanced medical care within one hour of his injury. Trauma surgeons call it the "golden hour." But Moss' had already ended.

Radio dispatches let the trauma team know that they had one critical patient coming whose blood pressure was dropping and heart rate was dangerously high. But reports of the true nature of Moss' injury had not reached the closest medical facility at the Orgun-E base -- a former goat shed transformed into a rough field hospital. They were told it was "shrapnel injury." The aid station had two doctors, Maj. John Oh, a general surgeon, and Maj. Kevin Kirk, an orthopedic surgeon. At this point it wasn't clear which Moss needed most -- a surgical team or a bomb squad.

It was only when Oh started cutting away all the bandages that "Doc" Angell had delicately wrapped around the RPG that he saw what they were facing.

"It had fins coming out of the left side of his body and had a big bulge in the front of his right thigh," Kirk said.

Still conscious, Moss remembers the faces dropping in shock as they took in the sight.

Incredibly, both Oh and Kirk had drilled for this exact scenario, because the Army has a protocol to handle patients with unexploded ordnance in them.

"You're actually not supposed to bring them into an aid station," Oh said."And actually, he wasn't supposed to be flown with the other patients either."

According to the "War Surgery Manual," Moss should have been placed far away from other patients and operated on last. If procedure had been followed, Moss would likely have bled to death, but the doctors felt compelled to save him.

Then Pvt. Moss had another life-saving break -- Staff Sgt. Dan Brown, the explosives expert who spends his time disposing of bombs and captured weapons, was on the base. In his spare time, Brown had been watching an episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" about a patient with an unexploded grenade in him. In that story, the bomb technician is blown up. Brown was about to play a leading role in his own non-fiction drama.

Brown was shocked to see that Moss was still alive. Most of the time his patients are deceased. Brown confirmed that they were dealing with an RPG. Moss' life hung on whether or not they would remove the rocket.

Brown explained the different scenarios of what could happen. The worst case was that they would all become "pink mist" -- everyone in the room would be killed. But to identify how much explosive power they were facing, they needed an x-ray to determine whether the RPG's warhead was inside Moss. Their notoriously temperamental x-ray machine malfunctioned, and it wasn't until the third attempt that they got a decent image.

The doctors and Brown were relieved by what they didn't see. The deadliest part of the RPG -- the main explosive charge -- was not in Moss. But their relief diminished when Brown explained to the surgeons that it would still have enough force to kill Moss and destroy their hands.

At that point, Oh ordered everyone except the critical staff out of the aid station, the two doctors and three surgical staff remained. They all knew the risk they faced.

"I looked everybody in the eye and said, 'You guys understand what's going on here, right?' And I knew everybody heard me, but nobody said anything. They just kept doing their jobs," he said.

Oh told them it was okay to leave -- but nobody did. With no words exchanged, each had decided to risk their life to save Moss.

Extreme blood loss had caused his heart to stop. Unable to do chest compressions for fear of setting off the round, they gave him epinephrine. His heart soon restarted and they could finally operate to remove the RPG.

Sgt. Brown used an unusual instrument to gently remove the RPG's tail fins -- a hacksaw. The surgeons reached inside Moss, steadying the still lethal rocket, inches from the soldier's beating heart. They then gently eased the rocket out, with the detonator aimed at Brown's flak vest.

Brown quickly walked out of the aid station to a bunker and detonated it. The sound of the explosion thundered through the base. As the surgeons closed up Moss' incisions, Sgt. Brown sat down outside to collect himself. Finally, the impact of the drama hit him.

"I started shaking. I just sat there. I knew I did everything I could to help him live. And that was very, very intense for me after the fact," he said.

Coming Home

In a matter of days, after stops at hospitals in Afghanistan and Germany, Pvt. Moss was rushed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. There his wife, Lorena, saw him for the first time and it was almost too much to bear.

"He looked very vulnerable. I went in, and ... I walked away. I couldn't stay in the room. I broke down outside in the hallway," she said.

Moss' pelvis was shattered, his internal organs were severely damaged and he was unable to walk.

For Moss, this was another challenge in a lifetime of obstacles. Raised by family friends after a tough childhood, he had become a high school football standout, got into college, got married and had a family.

As broken as Moss' body was, he focused from the very start on recovery. He said he didn't need a doctor to tell him if he'd be able to walk again.

"I told [the doctor] ... I could feel my feet, I'm going to walk again. Told him just like that," Moss said.

For his wounds in combat, Pvt. Moss had a Purple Heart coming. But he wanted to wait. It was important for him to be able to stand to receive it.

He underwent four major surgeries followed by intense physical therapy. Pvt. Moss' recovery was steady … moving from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane.

"I wanted to walk and get my medal, I wanted to stand up, to let them know I fought hard to get where I came from," Moss said. "They say 'Army Strong' [and] I wanted to be an example of that, and I was. So I stood up, I walked over there and got my medal."

A year later Moss is home with his family and the new baby daughter, Ariana, he thought he would never meet. Despite the aches and pains, he is grateful for the risks so many soldiers took that day.

"I was given a second chance. And to whom much is given ... much is expected. So a lot is expected of me," Moss said.

For Sgt. Brown, there was never a question about taking the gamble.

"He was American, he was a solider, he was a brother and he was one of us. And there was nothing gonna stop us from doing what we knew what we had to do … We knew we did right. In that screwed up world we did something right," Brown said.

Moss is missing about two-thirds of his intestines, part of his pelvic bone and needs more repair to his left hip. A member of the staff at Walter Reed calls him “Rocket Man.”

But the infantryman, who joined the Army to help give his family a better life, said he knows he’s alive because of his fellow soldiers.

“I don’t think there has been a day in the last year and a half that I haven’t thought about them, that I haven’t prayed for them. They saved my life,” said Moss, 24, whose slender 135-pound frame belies the hearty young man who went to war 55 pounds heavier.

“I knew it was love of country and brothers in arms. I hope God watches over them if they get deployed.”

The soldiers responsible for saving Pvt. Moss were recognized for their service that day and the Army has not changed its policy regarding unexploded ordnances in soldiers.

Epilogue: Recognition for Service

Several soldiers involved with saving Moss have since been honored or promoted. Here are their current ranks and awards they have received.

Maj. John Oh, general surgeon -- The Soldier's Medal
Maj. Kevin Kirk, orthopedic surgeon -- Army Commendation Medal with Valor
SSG Eric Wynn and Pfc. Channing Moss -- Purple Heart
CW3 Jorge Correa, MEDEVAC pilot, and Sgt. John Collier, flight medic -- Air Medal with Valor
CW2 Jeremy Smith, co-pilot, and SSG Christian Roberts, crew chief -- Air Medal
Sgt Jared Angell, field medic, and SFC Dan Brown, explosives expert -- Bronze Star with Valor

Wild Thing's comemnt.....

Tears running down my cheeks! God bless our brave soldiers.

Even though this happened a couple of years ago it is such an honor to post about our Heros. I don't think a lot of people saw this story when it happened. I don't remember the media covering it. and it is the first time I have heard about it.

This is quite a story!

God bless all the people who risked their lives to save this soldier! From the medics, to the helicopter crews who willingly took “unexploded ordinance” on their flight. Talk about bravery! Loyalty, courage, in the face of death.

Every time I read about incidents such as this one I am overwhelmed by the bravery and strong ties the Brotherhood that our awesome military has and it goes on into forever with our Veterans.

God bless all of you Veterans too, you touch my life every single day !

......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.

RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company

13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

.

Obama tells Russia's Putin the Cold War is history

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the Cold War is over when the U.S. leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.

Days before he departs for Russia, Obama said Thursday that Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation as its nominal prime minister. "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated," he said. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."

Wild Thing's comment.......

What a freaking Moron Obama is, he is dangerously arrogant. Putin knows he is a joke.

Putin has already warned Obama that communism (socialism) does not work. Putin will and can run circles around Obama .

I’m in for Putin all the way. He’s my guy. Heck, I want Putin to run for president in 2012. Obama has proven that being a citizen is not required. I want a president that’s willing to kill the crooks, Putin will. I just wish Putin was Black, then I know he would win.

Putin = Mighty Mouse 2012

heh heh Ok I was just kidding, I could not resist at this late hour in the middle of the night er ah morning ( 4:30 a.m.)

hahahaaha

]]> http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/obama_tells_russias_putin_the.html http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2009/07/obama_tells_russias_putin_the.html Russia Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:48:55 -0500

US suspends military relations with Honduras

My Way News

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration said Wednesday it has suspended joint military operations with Honduras to protest a coup that forced President Manuel Zelaya into exile. The U.S. withheld stronger action in hopes of negotiating a peaceful return of the country's elected leader.

The Organization of American States, meeting in Washington, gave Honduran coup leaders three days to restore Zelaya to power - under threat of suspending Honduras's OAS membership. Afterward, several officials said the administration is still reviewing the possibility of cutting off U.S. aid.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said, "We continue to monitor the situation and will respond accordingly as events transpire."

At the State Department, spokesman Ian C. Kelly said the department's top diplomat for the Americas, Thomas Shannon, met with Zelaya at OAS headquarters on Tuesday evening. Kelly would not reveal details, except to say Zelaya thanked the administration for supporting his unconditional return to power.

Kelly said he was not aware of any plan to recall the U.S. ambassador from the Honduran capital. Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the administration believes it stands a better chance of achieving a peaceful outcome if it keeps a diplomat in Tegucigalpa.

The official also said the U.S. was not advocating that the matter be taken up by the U.N. Security Council.

Kelly said the administration was still studying whether the forced removal of Zelaya was a military coup in a legal sense that would trigger a cutoff or suspension of American financial assistance.

"Our legal advisers are actively assessing the facts and the law in question, which we take very seriously," Kelly said.

The administration appeared to be counting on the threat of Honduras having its OAS membership suspended as leverage in getting Zelaya back in power. While the administration joined the OAS in calling for Zelaya's unconditional return, with no limits on his presidential powers, it also seemed open to some form of compromise.

U.S. officials said they were pleased that Zelaya, who had vowed to return to Honduras on Thursday, put that off after the OAS announced the three-day deadline for the country's interim leaders to accept him back. Zelaya was in Panama on Wednesday to attend that country's presidential inauguration.

Zelaya said he would put off his return until the weekend.

The decision to suspend U.S. military activities in Honduras was announced by Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, who said, "We've postponed any activities in Honduras right now as we assess that situation."

Whitman would not be specific, but the suspension could have broad implications because the United States runs a large Central American security and counternarcotics operation from a jointly run air base in Honduras. Whitman said only operations affecting Honduras itself are on hold.

Earlier, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza delivered what he called "an ultimatum" for Zelaya's safe return.

In a sharply worded resolution, the OAS said it vehemently condemned the coup and "the arbitrary detention and expulsion" of Zelaya.

The coup, the OAS resolution said, has produced an "unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order."

Calling Zelaya's overthrow an "old-fashioned coup," Insulza said: "We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere."

Zelaya has said he intends to return home accompanied by Insulza, the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador and the head of the U.N. General Assembly to seek restoration of his authority.

Roberto Micheletti, named by Honduras' Congress as the new president, said Tuesday that Zelaya could be met with an arrest warrant if he returned.

Wild Thing's comment.....

WoW So much for not meddling in other countries. I cannot believe the USA is allies with Chavez and Armanutjob now

Honduras has risen above the typical third world type of politics only to have the USA spit in their face for it.

....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.

Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67