Sisterhood of the Mommy Patriots: Military

Showing posts with label Military. Show all posts

Monday, May 30, 2011

LEST WE FORGET

Today we honor our war dead - from the Revolutionary War minutemen who helped win our freedom all the way up to our present day heroes, who help us keep it. Freedom isn't free, and those brave men and women who gave the greatest measure of devotion to their country have paid the ultimate price for the rest of us.

The Memorial Day tradition was begun during the Civil War, when women would take it upon themselves to decorate the graves of the fallen to honor their sacrifice. In 1868, General John Logan, in his General Order #11, created an official day of remembrance for our Civil War dead. With the advent of WWI and WWII, the observance was expanded to include all war dead, and the date was made official in 1971 when Congress passed the National Holiday Act, making the day a federal holiday (and a three-day weekend).

In 1915 Moina Michaels wrote a poem about remembering those who died in war:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She started a tradition of wearing red poppies to commemorate the Memorial Day. She sold poppies to friends and co-workers and donated the money to servicemen in need.   The idea was picked up by a visiting Frenchwoman who took the tradition back home to France, where it spread throughout Europe. In fact, Europeans have managed to cling to that tradition far better than the Americans who started it.

If you would like to make some poppies for your Memorial Day observances, here's how.

Unfortunately this country seems to have forgotten the meaning of Memorial Day. It seems the purpose has been lost, and many Americans think it is a day to remember all of our dead, not just those lost in war.   Or, even worse, it is just the official start of summer and the first day of barbeque season. Our reverence for those who have fallen in service to their country has dimmed over the decades, starting with our nearly forgotten Korean conflict. Observances really started to wane during the Vietnam war era, when it was much easier for radicals to blame drafted soldiers for the violence than the democratic leadership that ramped up operations in the first place. In fact, the day had so lost its meaning that Congress passed the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution in 2000, which calls for all Americans to offer a moment of silence at 3pm on Memorial Day to honor our war dead.

Just last year, Arlington National Cemetery was embroiled in a scandal that illustrated how low we have fallen as a nation when it comes to proper reverence for our fallen military. In response to that scandal, a seventeen year old patriot in Virginia, Ricky Gilleland, has taken it upon himself to create a database with photos of the graves of those killed since 9/11 at Arlington, so relatives can 'visit' the grave sites of their loved ones whenever they wish. He started it with $200 of his own money and countless hours wandering through Lot 60 at Arlington, photographing graves and posting them on his website, preserveandhonor.com.   Patriots like Gilleland remind us that honoring our dead is necessary to remind us of just how precious our freedom is, and what a great price we have paid for it as a nation.

So at 3pm today, take a moment to reflect on this great country and those who died to make it so.   The roots of the Tree of Liberty have been watered with the blood of patriots, and it is our duty, not just to them but to ourselves, to ensure their sacrifice wasn't in vain and is remembered throughout the ages.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

HEROIC TRIBUTE

This week has been a tribute to heroes. On Tuesday, President Obama bestowed our nation's highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, on Staff Sargeant Salvatore Giunta - the first living endowment since the Vietnam War. Sgt. Giunta's humility and his dismissal of his actions as merely doing his duty stood in stark contrast to the political spinning and inside ball going on in Washington. It was like a brief, cleansing shower of courage and humility, washing off the muck and mire that is our current reality. Congratulations, Sgt. Giunta. You are a man among men and an inspiration to us all. If only there were more like you.

The other tribute comes from little Pittston, PA. This week they laid to rest a native son, killed in Afghanistan November 7th. Wednesday, a public wake was held for Spc. Dale Kridlo (he was interred with full honors at Arlington Thursday). I got a call from my sister about it. She lives near Pittston, and called to ask what I knew of Westboro Baptist Church. She had heard that they were planning a demonstration at Spc. Kridlo's funeral, and the town was up in arms about it. According to the church's website (via the Times Leader):

“Military funerals have become pagan orgies of idolatrous blasphemy, where they pray to the dunghill gods of Sodom & play taps to a fallen fool.”

The web posting says the above message will be “preached in respectful, lawful proximity to the memorial of Spc. Dale J. Kridlo” on Wednesday at the church service.

The web posting then states: “Spc. Kridlo gave his life for the Constitutional right of the Westboro Baptist Church to warn America. To deny our First Amendment rights is to declare to the world that Spc. Kridlo died in vain, and that America is a nation of sodomite hypocrites.”

The Westboro posting ends by stating, “The Lord no longer builds the American house; nor does the Lord watch over and protect America. These soldiers are dying for the homosexual and other sins of America. God is now America’s enemy, and God Himself is fighting against America.”

So this is their idea of "respectful"? One shudders to think what constitutes disrespect for these people.

The reaction in Pittston to Westboro's plans was swift and impressive. These are salt of the earth people who don't take kindly to strangers attacking one of their own. The area where Westboro was permitted to protest was surrounded by American flags, effectively blocking any protesters from view. Bikers from the Patriot Guard Riders were there in force, as were a huge number of Pittston residents. Hundreds turned out to pay their respects and drown out the lunatic rantings of Fred Phelps and his Westboro minions.

There are more and more stories of towns rising up in protest of the disgusting displays at the funerals of our military, and it seems to be working. First was Weston, MO, whose residents managed to block Westboro picketers from tormenting the families of Sargeant C.J. Sadell as they attended his funeral and graveside service. Then there was McAlester, OK, where the tires of the Westboro van were slashed and they were refused repair by every service station in town after they attempted to protest the funeral of Sgt. Jason James McCluskey. This after being confronted by up to a thousand counter-protesters earlier in the day.

And now the events in Pittston. The town mobilized in a big way, but it hasn't made much news beyond the local stations. It was the story of the week for the locals, heavily covered in the days prior to the funeral. Perhaps all that coverage, combined with the projected turnout to pay tribute to Sgt. Kridlo and protest Westboro was too much for Phelps and company.

Because this time, they didn't even show up.

For those who say that the people of Pittston were infringing on Westboro's right to free speech, they forget that the people of Pittston also have a right to free speech as well. In this case, their speech is in opposition - and, like the other towns that have rallied around their fallen heroes, they vastly outnumber Westboro's representatives. The first amendment protects free speech from being stifled by the government. There's nothing in there about protection from being drowned out by fellow citizens. Westboro has every right to protest those funerals (although some of the things they say can - and should - be seen as hate speech - please note the church's website is "godhatesfags.com"), and the people of Pittston had every right to honor their dead by protesting that protest.

More and more towns are realizing this, and Westboro seems to be getting the message.

Our heroes and their families deserve honor, not derision; tributes, not protests. The upswell of patriotism and support for our troops and their families is a beautiful thing. They deserve our respect, and it's wonderful to see them getting it.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

THANK YOU

Veterans Day Tribute - A funny movie is a click away

It's the Veteran... not the preacher,
who has earned for us freedom of religion.

It's the Veteran... not the reporter,
who has earned for us freedom of the press.

It's the Veteran... not the poet,
who has earned for us freedom of speech.

It's the Veteran... not the campus organizer,
who has earned for us freedom to assemble.

It's the Veteran... not the lawyer,
who has earned for us the right to a fair trial.

It's the Veteran... not the politician,
who has earned for us the right to vote.

It's the Veteran... who salutes the flag,
who has protected and served under the flag

Thank you.

Monday, November 1, 2010

ONE MORE DAY....

One more day to go. Tomorrow the die is cast, and a decision will be made on which direction the majority of Americans want to head. Do we continue with the tax and spend social justice of the progressives, or a return to the small government, free market principles our founders envisioned. It has been an exhausting, vicious, hard-fought election, with a lot of mud-slinging, accusations and vitriol.

The most egregious harm done in this election cycle, though, is the inability of our states to get absentee ballots to our military serving overseas in time for them to be returned and counted. Those brave men and women who are fighting and dying for this country, of all people, should be the ones whose votes are counted first and foremost, and yet every election cycle is filled with reports of the military being denied the ability to cast a vote. It got so bad that in 2009 Congress passed the MOVE act. This is the first year the states need to comply, and the project seems to be off to a rocky start. States are required to mail out ballots 45 days before the election. Unfortunately, there are some states that are seriously late, giving their servicemembers less than 30 days to receive, fill out and return their ballots. That's a pretty quick turnaround for a war zone.

Michael Ramirez captures the issue perfectly, as usual:

(Unless, of course, he's originally from Chicago! Ba-dum-bum!)

Well, they weren't able to get the military their ballots, but at least they managed to hand deliver ballots to these worthy recipients. After all, which group deserves to have their voice heard more? Why, the one that is a reliable democrat vote, of course! Whatever happened to those laws keeping felons from voting, anyway? Oh.

No, there's nothing funny going on this election cycle...and if there is, don't worry, the SEIU is on the job! Now that's reassuring!

If you should happen to notice something at the polls, be it intimidation or fraud, make a record of it. The iphone has an app for that, but taking a picture or video with a regular phone or camera is good enough. Report anything suspicious immediately to your local election board.

Most importantly, get out there tomorrow and exercise your hard fought right to have your voice heard. Happy Voting!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

STATE OF THE YAWN-ION

Boy, was the State of the Union speech boring last night. Even his own people couldn't stay awake. Well, except for Nancy Pelosi, who was doing her annoying jack-in-the-box/seal clap routine. Granted, political speeches generally are boring, but this one was particularly so because it was just a rehash of every other speech he has given for the past year.

I guess you could say that speaks to his convictions. Unfortunately, even his own party is starting to reject his agenda - after all, he may not be up for reelection this year, but they are.

He has offered to listen to other ideas for health care reform. Okay, how about the many options the Republicans have offered up that are languishing in committees in both Houses? The problem with them is that they don't require a massive new bureaucracy and entitlement, so the democrat leadership aren't interested.

He blames Bush and the Republicans and literally in the next sentence calls for bipartisanship. Nice.

He calls for spending freezes because of our faltering economy - to start next year. What about this year, champ? We're hurting now.

He mentions Cap and Trade, too. Great....more billions spent on 'science' that is looking more and more dubious with every passing day. He argues that green jobs will stimulate the economy. I think Spain would argue with that - for every green job they created, they lost 2.2 regular jobs. Yeah, that will help - help make us nostalgic for the good old days of 10% unemployment....

He barely mentioned foreign affairs or the two wars we are waging. I suppose national security isn't important enough to rate more than 5 minutes. Perhaps he didn't want to dwell on it and risk alienating our enemies. Wouldn't want to offend the terrorists, now would we?

All in all, it was the same old schtick.

He is going to continue to ram his agenda down our throats, he is going to continue to bankrupt the country and risk massive inflation by printing money to pay for his agenda, and he is going to continue to ignore the fact that there are people out there in the world who want to kill as many of us as possible.

The only new thing was his announcement to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'. As a free society, everyone has a right to be who they are, and if you are gay and want to fight and possibly die for your country, so be it. No one should have to pretend to be something they're not, especially when you put your life on the line every day. Our military fights for the freedom of all Americans, so all Americans should be able to join the ranks.

For those who are wary of the gayification of the military, rest assured - I'm pretty sure the more flamboyant characters won't be signing up and sashaying to the front lines wearing guyliner, platform boots and sparkly glamoflage. There have been gays in the military throughout history, and there are gays in our military now. As a free society, if they want their peers to know their orientation, they should be allowed to speak about it without fear of reprisal. The stigma of homosexuality isn't what it was 20 years ago - most young people these days have known at least one gay person - and, as I said earlier, it's their country, too, and if they want to serve it, they should be allowed to do so.

So aside from 'don't ask, don't tell', the speech was pretty much the same old, same old. Dear Leader is hell bent on bankrupting our children and forcing us all to be subservient to the Nanny State.

I have to say it's actually a little bit of a relief that he has decided not to 'pivot' and head back to the center. That means the republicans are pretty much guaranteed to take the House come November, and possibly make the Senate a 50/50 split.

Now that's a state of the union I can get behind!