Are You Related To Yourself?

It's a simple matter of math, geography, and settlement patterns:

The numbers are pretty easy.

There is 1 of you--unless you've got an identical twin.

Two biological parents, four biological grandparents, eight biological great-grandparents.

The number keeps doubling each generation.

Counting yourself as generation one, by the time you have reached generation twenty, the seventeenth great-grandparent generation has been reached.

There are 524,288 theoretical blank spots in this generation of your pedigree chart.

Depending upon how "mixed" your ancestry is, there's a reasonable chance of repetition.

Extend the lineage back ten more generations and the number is a staggering 536,870,912 ancestors!

Now there's a database (documenting it is another story).

Thirty generations ago, the world's population was significantly less than half a billion.

If you could trace each line that far (and chances are you can't), there would be names repeated.

When one keeps in mind the small geographic area these individuals came from the number of "repeat" ancestors is not surprising.

When records allow tracing ancestors for two or three hundred years in a village of two or three hundred people, the chance of intermarriage is great.

If individuals from a small village migrate to the United States together (as some individuals from this area did) the geographic closeness may be replicated (at least for thefirst few generations).

Even if you are not related to yourself, it's possible that you are related to an individual in more than one way.

There are many individuals who are "double first cousins" (where brothers married sisters, for example).

The relationship may get even more complicated than that.

Should we be telling people about all these double cousins? HA!

~~Written by Anonymous

Summer's A Coming

Spring usually comes quite early to Virginia, however, as March is approaching there are warnings of yet another snowstorm - bigger than the one this week. I need to think positively.

In the depths of winter
I finally learned
there was in me
an invincible summer. ~~Albert Camus

Albert Camus Spiritual Readings
Albert Camus Quotations

First Smile

On Wednesday, the 23rd of February, Brenna's father captured her first smile. Smiling Brenna has no idea what is in store for her and neither do I. She is to inherit the world that I leave behind. Brenna could possibly see the dawning of the 22nd Century. She was born on the 6th of January 2005, the Day of Epiphany. My father was born on Primrose Day, ninety-six years earlier to Victorian parents who had travelled in sailing ships to new lands. Generations come and generations go, always in a mysterious pattern. Little Brenna only adds to the mystery, but oh, what a marvelous and sweet addition.

The Shortest Lived Art Form

After having designed probably hundreds of web pages in the last four years, I come across this prophecy:

"Web design will be the briefest art form man has ever known. Maybe they'll make a museum somewhere, housing large blowups of early web home-pages." ~~My Hypertexual Life

The author/prophet is likely on the mark. I hope there will be a place somewhere in the museum for a cutting edge granny: Neddy's Pages & Web Sites.

Jimmy the Sub

Cartoon From Cox & Forkum, The Yellow Submarine by the Beatles

The USS Jimmy Carter entered the Navy’s fleet Saturday as the most heavily armed submarine ever built, and as the last of the Seawolf class of attack subs that the Pentagon ordered during the Cold War’s final years.The $3.2 billion Jimmy Carter was commissioned Saturday, the first submarine named after a living ex-president. Carter, a submariner during his time in the Navy, was on hand for the ceremony signaling the end of an era in submarining.

Does that last statement mean the death knell of US Naval Submarining because Jimmy Carter was there, or because the Navy has named a submarine for him?

The USS Jimmy Carter in Pictures

The Pope Writes a New Book

Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday. In "Memory and Identity", the Pope also calls abortion a "legal extermination" comparable to attempts to wipe out Jews and other groups in the 20th century. "It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man," he writes.

The Holy Father John Paul II is on the "side of right", and I am too.

The Poetry of Pope John Paul II

Comments by Disintegrator

Belgians Pee on Bush & Old Glory

Oh Those Quaint Belgians
Brussels has a beloved statue of a peeing boy, "Manneken Pis". So, is that why, when an American President visits, the Belgians consider it appropriate to pee on the Head of State's head? ...

"WHEN JOHAN VANDE LANOTTE, Belgium's Vice Prime Minister, goes to the toilets today, he finds the urinals in the offices of his ministry decorated with stickers. They show an American flag and the head of George W. Bush. "Go ahead. Piss on me," the caption says. Vande Lanotte is one of Bush's hosts in Brussels. Is peeing on your guest's head appropriate?" from "Piss Off" by Paul Belien in today's "Weekly Standard"

From "pissed-off" at Kerfuffles

First in War & Peace; Seventh in Our Hearts

Moved to Blogging The Revolution

Pine Tree Crosses

Have you ever noticed the pine tree crosses in Springtime? If not, you have something to anticipate with great joy. Pine Tree Crosses

Found at Kerfuffles

LISTEN to Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and the Ithaca Moonbats! The legislator said that Carl Rove of the White House set up Dan Rather and CBS by passing off forged documents. I wonder if he knew that the recording ears of Little Green Footballs were there? Where's the proof? You don't ask and they don't tell!

Not all bats are Moonbats. Barking Moonbat's blog has an actual big-eared bat mascot at his site in the upper right corner. Once you tickle him with your mouse pointer, you will know that he is your friend.

INDC's Take on the Moonbats
In case, you are like me and not really sure what is a moonbat, Bill of INDC is also the author of last December's Dances with Moonbats, which has many snapshots of them and their performances in their unnatural habitat on the Mall. Where? INDC, of course. It is a part of his INDC Science Series.

The above was borrowed from Kerfuffles.

George Washington's Birthday

George Washington was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

The Father of Our Country was a man of great personal integrity, with a deeply-held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was courageous and far-sighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will. He never accepted pay during his military service, and was reluctant to assume any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to the Continental Congress for the position of general and commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, Washington left the room to allow any dissenters to freely voice their objections. In later accepting the post, Washington told the Congress that he was unworthy of the honor.
From childhood onward, young George was conscientious of maintaining a good reputation, and he even wrote a book of rules for himself to follow. It is often said that one of Washington's greatest achievements was refraining from taking more power than was due. When creating the new county he was opposed to nepotism or cronyism, rejecting a military promotion for his own deserving cousin William Washington, lest it be regarded as favoritism. Thomas Jefferson understood the vital role that Washington played in the formation of the new nation. Jefferson wrote: "The moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish."
George Washington was a man for his time and a man of all time. In his honor, on this his now forgotten birthday, read about this great leader.

George Washington, The Christian

George Washington's Prayer

From The Prayer Journal of George Washington comes this lovely prayer to the Almighty written for Monday morning:

O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul. Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy holy spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this day, and all the days of my life. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wanderings, & direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more & more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family, friends & kindred unite us all in praising & glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father, & c.

George Washington's Prayer Journal

Luck of the Unicorn

The Unicorn Deer has been a frequent visitor in our back garden this winter. He was here at Thanksgiving and then again on the very first day of the New Year, he appeared early in the morning. He has returned three or four times since. Now he is travelling with two other bucks and a doe.

The Unicorn is the messenger of Luck, as he is the one horned knight of Lady Luck. A Unicorn in one's garden is indeed a very special gift, especially so on New Year's morning. Unicorns are symbols of good luck, purity and power and they are endowed with a very unique braveness. The old wives say that only a person who is pure in heart is able to see the Unicorn. For this reason he has remained a mythical creature for so long. No one seems to know where the unicorns came from, however, in ancient times they were about the land, bestowing luck and bravery. Now they are seldom seen.

Washington's Spy Ring

This weekend we Americans celebrate "All" President's Day in lieu of honoring only our first president, George Washington. In actuality, the Americans of the nineteenth century elevated him almost to a deified status. Washington was and is quite deserving of all the adoration shown upon him. He was ordained by God to become the father of a new nation and he fulfilled his role well. He is probably now commanding a heavenly legion of angels, watching over his beloved land and protecting it. At least, that is my hope. He was a person of many skills and many interests - what was known as a Renaissance man. Something that few people know is that during the American Revolution, he ran a spy ring. Imagine, George Washington, founder of what is now the CIA! He knew he was up against probably the world's greatest army, an army with which he had served as an officer. He was a General in one army and a despised traitor in the other. The wise general knew that his army was mostly an undisciplined squad of ragtag farmers, and as Defense Secretary Rumsfeld famously said recently; "you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have". Washington did not even have an army and when he finally raised one and took it to war, he lost many, many more battles than he ever won. With help from the intelligence he gathered by the running of spy ring, he was able to outfox the British, and he won the final battle, the one that really counts. "George Washington, Spymaster" is a wonderful little book, especially for teenagers. Read it and learn about the intrigues of the long ago Revolutionary War.

Kerfuffles

Fighting for Freedom

60 Years Ago - The Battle of Iwo Jima

Cherish the memory of the Marines who fought the Battle of Iwo Jima, sixty years ago today. The battle lasted thirty-six days. In the first eighteen hours of battle, there were 2,300 casualties. To gain the Japanese island, the Americans lost 6,821 noble young men. The Marines suffered 23,573 casualties of a total of 70,000 in battle. The military planners of the invasion had underestimated the Japanese strength. The battle did not mark the end of World War II; fighting continued for another year. Of the platoon which raised the American ensign on Mount Suribachi, only ten percent of its members survived uninjured. The famous picture of the battle symbolizes not victory, but symbolizes the fight to be free. Once again, we are fighting Totalitarians, and once again there is no guarantee that we will win. Many who should be with us, are not, and in fact are hoping that we will lose. If we lose, it will be a step backward into darkness for humankind. Cherish the memory of the Marines at Iwo Jima and keep up the fight for freedom.

Bloggers by Jon Stewart

While covering the current kafuffles (kerfuffles) of Jeff Gannon and Eason Jordan and interviewing Ted Hitler, Jon Stewart gives a truly "hilarious" definition of bloggers: Jon Stewart

The Hilarity of Bill Maher

Bill Maher, formerly of the show Politically Incorrect, is campaigning to become the Democrats' new spokesman, since they have blacklisted Michael Moore for incompetency. Maher was fired from his show for being "politically incorrect", so it seems he has learned his lesson well. His new show will feature only "politically correct" humor. Here are some of his "funny" quotes from this week:

"We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that. I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder."

"I love America. I am just embarrassed that it has been taken over by people like evangelicals, by people who do not believe in science and rationality. It is the 21st century. And I will tell you, my friend. The future does not belong to the evangelicals. The future does not belong to religion."

"When you look at beliefs in such things as, do you go to heaven, is there a devil, we have more in common with Turkey and Iran and Syria than we do with European nations and Canada and nations that, yes, I would consider more enlightened than us."

Someone should tell Bill and the Dems that, notwithstanding the "superior cultural enlightenment" of the Canadians and Europeans, they cannot vote in U.S. elections. However evangelicals and other Christians do vote.

Christians Have Neurological Disorder

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Just in case you have been following the accusations of "lying liars" directed at Brit Hume and the Republicans concerning Franklin Roosevelt's quote, I have read both Brit Hume's version and the more complete one of Roosevelt and I saw no reason for confusion. However, Bill at INDC Journal has dissected the argument every which way, so click over there there if you want to verify who exactly are the lying liars. INDC Journal

Towing Hillbillaries

Look at the Hillbillary Clintons in their younger days. Even back then, they were already planning Bill's Presidential Library. Notice that Hillary is in the driver's seat. Too bad after spending $175 million dollars that no one seems interested in visiting. Also, too bad that you, dear American reader, pay the tab for its upkeep and maintenance, forever.

If you are thinking that this is a joke, just compare the images: Bill's Library 2005 from yesterday's USA Today. Here is the evidence, and here is even more evidence.

Now we learn that the one-bedroom, one-bath house that the famous couple lived in from August 1973 to December 1976, and where they were married on 11 October 1975, has been purchased by the University of Arkansas and will become another museum to the gloried Clintons. Of course, Bill Clinton's boyhood home in Hope, Arkansas is already a museum.

Hillbillary Image from Rob Floyd Designs

hillbilly, Clintons, doublewide, Clinton Presidential Library

Hunting Brer Fox

When the ancient sport becomes banned in England, does that mean that Ole Virginny will be more English than England? The Virginians will never give up the the sport of Father Washington. However, now that Wiley Coyote has moved into the neighborhood, is Brer Foxy long for this world?

Not England, But Lovely It Be

Fox Hunting in Virginia

“‘Mister Man! Oh, Mister Man! I’ll tell you who kill yo’ cow. You look in de maul, en dar you’ll fine ’im,’ sezee.

“Wid dat de man tuck a stick and lam down on de maul so hard dat he kill Brer Fox stone-dead. W’en Brer Rabbit see Brer Fox wuz laid out fer good, he make like he mighty sorry, en he up’n ax de man fer Brer Fox head. Man say he ain’t keerin’, en den Brer Rabbit tuck’n bring it ter Brer Fox house. Dar he see ole Miss Fox, en he tell ’er dat he done fotch her some nice beef w’at ’er ole man sont ’er, but she ain’t gotter look at it twel she go ter eat it." ~~Uncle Remus

The Sad Fate of Brer Fox

ADD Drugs at School

I wonder why I have believed that drugs were a definite NO-NO at schools all across America? I suppose because I have read the stories about teenage girls being expelled for taking Midol, and other disiplinary actions against students using aspirin, cough syrup, and throat lozenges. I had no idea that schools permit prescription medications for attention deficit disorder, and they actually warehouse the drugs at the schools. To top it off, apparently, at least one of these drugs, Adderal, is addictive.

The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News reports that Marcus Burlingame, an assistant principal at West Middle School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, admitted stealing students' prescription drugs, to treat his addiction to the drugs. He supposedly had been prescribed the medicine for his own ADD disorder, and when he became addicted, he began scamming pills from the students' stash at school. I guess I really am a dinosaur, but this does not make any sense to me! Why would addictive drugs be given to teenagers at all? Why would these drugs be in such abundant supply at school as to tempt addicts? Why would parents allow their children to take medicine that others could tamper with?

Are children so different today that they cannot learn without these drugs? If that is the case, then why have they changed so in just one generation? Who is responsible for pushing these drugs? Is it the drug manufacturers? Is it the pediatricians and psychologists? Is it the parents or the children themselves? Or is it the school administrators? If it is the schools, why? Do they really want to help the children learn, or do they have another motive?

Support Our Troops - Code Words?

That is what Bob Summer of NPR's All Things Considered said on February 14, 2005, about all those yellow ribbons appearing on vehicles.
LISTEN HERE
What is the REAL message of the magnetic yellow ribbons on cars? Bob Summer says that it actually means very little about supporting the troops. He believes it is a code that needs parsing, and he obliges:

Support our Troops = We Are Self-righteous Partisan Republicans.
Support Our Troops = We Live in a Red State.
Support Our Troops = We Dare You to Bring it On!
Support Our Troops = We Support the War, the Mission, the President and the Bush Administration!
Support Our Troops = We are Patriotic. You are NOT!
Support Our Troops = You should feel guilty for not having a magnetic ribbon on your car!

Mr Summer says: That curious phrase, "support our troops," on those yellow ribbon magnets seems to accuse me of not doing my part. Then I realized that "support our troops" is a code! It requires parsing. Here's what I think it means: Those who presumably need to be admonished to support the troops are those who oppose the decisions of the administration. 'Support our troops' means, then, that we should be supporting the war. I believe that most yellow-magnet bearers want support not just for the troops, but for the mission, the presence, the president. Maybe the magnets should say: "Shut up and support our troops.

Others Agree

What Is Islamic Terrorism?

Read the Koran and decide for yourself if it commands its believers to make war on unbelievers? This web site is not Christian or Jewish propaganda trying to villianize Islam. This English translation of the Koran online is a pro-Islamic web site. This is one of the translations of the Koran. And this is one of the chapters.

Surah At-Taubah (Repentance) The Nineth Surah of the Qur'aan
"5. Then when the Sacred Months (the Ist, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islâmic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and give Zakât, then leave their way free. Verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..." HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, page 3."

The Citizen Warrior

British Charity Finances Terrorism

The United States claims that Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens has donated to a British charity that it accuses of "financing terrorism, including Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas", from The Telegraph. The Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), based in Birmingham, England, claims that it provides aid for orphanages and water wells in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. claims instead that they have "provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to Osama bin Laden", much of it donated by Cat Stevens.

The Telegraph has also discovered that Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens who was refused entry to America last September because his name was on a security watch list, has previously donated thousands of pounds to the Birmingham charity. The reason for his exclusion has never been publicly revealed, but last night American officials indicated that the entertainer's funding of the ISRA was one of the reasons for him being banned. Mr Islam has always denied financing terrorism.

Meanwhile, Muslim ex-pop star Cat Stevens wins libel damages from British papers. Mr. Islam, responding to the attacks of September 11th, said: "The Koran equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity." However, he did not tell us the Koran's definition of "innocent person". Can a Jew or Christian be an "innocent". How about an athiest? How about a homosexual? If you do not know the answers, you should read your Koran! Here is the table of contents to the Koran, where you can click on a chapter and read it: The Holy Qur'an. Here is another: The Koran. Here is yet another, The Noble Qur'an. This one scroll down a little as each chapter of the Koran is a link, and each chapter has three different English translations. Here is yet another English translation, Holy Qur'an

The Party of HATRED

Yes, it is cinched for good! The Democrats are now officially the "Party of Hatred"! They selected former Vermont Governor Howard Dean to become head of the the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Howard Dean is the man who campaigned for the job by telling his party members "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for". This ideology of hatred appeals to the left-wing Liberals and followers of Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson, but what about the typical American Democratic voter? Will ordinary Democrats accept such an ideology? Never fear. Doctor Dean is planning a pilgrimage to the South. He thinks the "Rubes" there have forgotten his words in 2003, when he told a Florida audience that Southerners have to quit basing their votes on "race, god, guns and gays." Later, after pressure from other Democrat leaders who criticized him proclaiming himself as "the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks", he said "I think the Confederate flag is a racist symbol." Take out the gun racks, scrape off the flags and hide the crosses. Wooo-eee... Dixieland, he's a comin'! He is almost there!

Iraq - Home of the Brave

How goes Old Europe now that the Iraqis have had a democratic election and the voting results are in? Mark Steyn was responding to the fact, that in Madrid, demonstators were protesting the Iraqi election! He wrote "I'm fairly blasé about European decadence these days - I barely raised an eyebrow at the news that an unemployed waitress in Berlin faces the loss of her welfare benefits because she's refused to take a job as a prostitute in a legalised brothel - but, even so, it surely couldn't be true that the Spaniards so objected to the Iraqi election that they were protesting about it."

He noted the that the Islamist terrorists of last March were more successful in intimidating the Spaniards, than they were in their attempts to keep the brand new voters of Baghdad, Basra and Kirkuk, away from the polls.

And of Holland which is experiencing Jihad from its own Muslim citizens, he writes:"...in Europe you can find a few Spaniards brave enough to go into the streets and sneer at Iraqi voters and the moronic Bush, but mustering the courage for anything else is harder. On Sunday night the scheduled attraction at the Rotterdam Film Festival was Submission Part One, a short film about a Muslim woman forced into an arranged marriage to be beaten by her husband and raped by her uncle. The film's director, Theo van Gogh, was subsequently murdered by Islamists, and the screening was supposed to be part of a debate on freedom of expression. Instead, it was cancelled at the last minute for 'safety reasons'. "

Do the Europeans have a clue?

Telegraph | Opinion | Mark Steyn
Iraq, Theo Van Gogh, Holland, jihad

Jihad in the Netherlands

Christopher Hitchens writes that Jihad has in fact begun in the Netherlands. Why would this happen in the most tolerant nation in Europe, a country that has openly accepted immigrants from all cultures? There is now a large population of Muslims living there and they have learned to use the Dutch pluralism against the Dutch themselves. One of the immigrants accepted into the country is a beautiful young Somolian woman, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who sought refuge from genital mutilation and the possibility of being sold into slavery by her Muslim parents. Aside from being beautiful, she was brilliant, and after becoming fluent in English and Dutch, she was elected to parliament and became a star of the Liberal Party there.

"Today, she is living under police protection. In early November 2004, her friend and colleague Theo van Gogh was stabbed to death and then mutilated on a public street, ... Mr. Van Gogh, ... was a filmmaker who had made a documentary about the maltreatment by Muslim authorities of Muslim women in Holland. The film had featured Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and a letter “addressed” to her was pinned, by a heavy knife, to the chest of the ritually slaughtered Van Gogh. The man arrested for the crime, identified as Mohammed Bouyeri, was further found to be carrying a “farewell note.” The open letter is full of lurid and gloating accounts, lifted from the Qur’an, of the tortures that await apostates like Ayaan Hirsi Ali in hell."

The Dutch people became outraged that this was to be their reward for offering sanctuary and a better life to its "humble masses" yearning to be safe. Near the scene of the broad daylight murder of Theo van Gogh, some citizens painted a mural which displayed the Old Testament commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” The imam of a local mosque immediately complained that such a display was “racist incitement”, and the goverment sandblasted the words into dust.

Now fast forward two months to January 2005 in New Jersey USA, and the murders "in the way of Allah" of an entire Christian family that had been outspoken of their faith to American Muslims. The response of the Muslim establishment in America (CAIR) was that they were being persecuted because the community was supecting that the murderers were Muslims carrying out Jihad. The authorities have no one in custody nor suspected of the brutal crime, and about the only comments coming from them is that finding an entire family, including children, beheaded and bound was the worse crime scene they have investigated.

Jihad in the Netherlands by Christopher Hitchens

Mysteries of Canada

Yes, there was a time, in the long ago past, when Canadians and Americans publicly worked together for the common good. Those actions and days are now a part of the Mysteries of Canada.

Peter C. Lemon was born June 5, 1950, in Toronto, Ontario. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in Tawas City, Michigan and served with distinction in Vietnam. Sergeant Lemon, Company E, 2d Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour for his actions of April 1, 1970 in Tay Minh Province. Mr. Lemon now resides in Colorado, USA.

Canada and the United States...
What do we have in common?
"Canadians know a lot about the US, while Americans (OK, maybe not all of them!) couldn't find Canada on a map. But for all our difference, there are many things we have in common. One thing we share with the Americans is their Medal of Honor (Honour) recipients. There are 54 "known" Medal of Honor recipients who are or were from Canada." (Mysteries of Canada)

Canada's "Quiet" Complicity

This post has been moved to "Kerfuffles".

The Scots Irish

These are commentaries, including some bloggers, on the recent book by James Webb, "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America".



How the Scots-Irish shaped America

Here is the America-hating liberal viewpoint on the book and Scots Irish influence on our national character. Please be warned that the author, like virtually all left-wingers, cannot speak nor write without profanity. How the Scots Irish screwed up America

And here is what a Scottish Liberal thinks about the American Liberals rants: "As a Borderer, I take extreme exception to this *#*#*#*#, badly researched, inflammatory and generally obnoxious article."

Paging James Webb

With Both Barrels and a Bowie Knife
Scots-Irish

Canadian Mercenaries

While Canadians a few months ago were contemplating erecting a bronze memorial to American Draft-dodgers and Deserters, what are their feelings about the Canadian citizens who fought with the Americans in Vietnam, to whom they have never given any positive recognition? "Mercenaries" is the operative word. Pundit Ann Coulter is being trashed because she told the Canadians "Canada sent troops to Vietnam". From my research on the subject, I am becoming more enlightened. I believe that Canadians object to the word "troops", as they consider that their young countrymen who were drafted or signed on were"mercenaries".

November 11: Remembering Canada's Role in the Vietnam War
by Robin Collins, Peace and Environment News", November 11th, 1992
"The idea of Canadian complicity in the Vietnam war was once contrary to the customary mythology that "Americans fought and killed in Vietnam while Canadians opened their doors to conscientious objectors." But these days, as memories fade and Vietnam war revisionism is buoyed by the end of the Cold War, there are new calls for official government recognition of the estimated 10,000 Canadians who served in Indochina as mercenaries. There has been de facto recognition already as a result of increased visibility of these soldiers at Rememberance Day ceremonies but some want the government to establish monuments to honour Canadian Vietnam war veterans. Is this a good idea?"

Obviously, the answer to the question posed by "Peace and Environment News" on November 11th, 1992, was "NO, it is not a good idea to honor Canadian Vietnam war veterans". After all, there has been no honor given to them and now, thirteen years later, the Canadian government is rewriting history so that current generations do not even know there were Canadian soldiers in Vietnam.

Canada's Vietnam Veterans

Ward Churchill

Ann Counter is one wicked columnist! Here is her take on Ward Churchill at Jewish World Review:

The little Injun that could

Churchill already has a phony lineage and phony war record — just like John Kerry! (Someone should also check out Churchill's claim that he spent Christmas 1968 at Wounded Knee.) In 1983, Churchill met with Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and later felt it necessary to announce that his group, the American Indian Movement, "has not requested arms from the Libyan government." In 1997, he was one of the "witnesses" who spoke at a "Free Mumia" event in Philadelphia on behalf of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Churchill has gone from claiming he is one-eighth Indian "on a good day" to claiming he is "three-sixteenths Cherokee," to claiming he is one-sixty-fourth Cherokee through a Revolutionary War era ancestor named Joshua Tyner. (At least he's not posing as a phony Indian math professor.) A recent investigation by The Denver Post revealed that Tyner's father was indeed married to a Cherokee. But that was only after Joshua's mother -- and Churchill's relative -- was scalped by Indians.

By now, all that's left of Churchill's claim to Indian ancestry is his assertion: "It is just something that was common knowledge in my family." (That, and his souvenir foam-rubber "tommyhawk" he bought at Turner Field in Atlanta.)

France Wants You!

Are you a Bush hater? Are you fed up with conservative America? Have you had problems getting into Canada as you have no draft card to burn? Well France is looking for a few good liberals. France wants you!

FRIENDS OF FRANCE says
BOTHERED BY BUSH? MOVE TO FRANCE! WE CAN HELP.

*** 'FRIENDS OF FRANCE' opposes Bush and the neo-conservative 'new world order'. We support France in its efforts to bring some sanity back to the international political arena. We also support Americans who wish to move to France because of the present political climate in the United States. (Complimentary blog *The 'Friends of France' Learning Circle* has practical and official information).

This seems to be the best news coming from France that we have had in a long, long time. Maybe we will have to consider our stormy relationship with the francophones, especially since Canada no longer seems to be so welcoming to dissidant Americans expats. One wonders why.

Electing to Leave the U.S.

Meet Courageous Draft Dodgers & Deserters, 8/7/2006

"This will mark the courageous legacy of Vietnam War resisters and the Canadians who helped them" ... Isaac Romano, director of the Our Way Home Festival

On October 17, 2004, it was reported that the town government of Nelson, British Columbia, decided to do the right thing and not allow the Draft-Dodgers Memorial to be built there. However, why did they change their stand? Was it to save their town from becoming a global laughing-stock? Was it a moral decision? Was it because the residents of Spokane, Washington USA, threatened to take their American tourist dollars elsewhere? BINGO! O Canada - we will never invade you as you are so easily vanquished by American dollars! And even if we did invade - how much of a fight would your courageous draft-dodgers and deserters put up in defense?

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Civic leaders in Nelson, British Columbia, have distanced themselves from the project. Nelson City Mayor Dave Elliott "said he has received a flood of e-mail and telephone calls since he attended a Sept. 7 news conference announcing the memorial in his lakeside community. There are threats of boycotts by people in the Spokane area, which Nelson counts on for ski tourism in the winter. The Veterans of Foreign Wars has called on President Bush and Congress to pressure Canada to stop the project.

"Nelson City Council members Doug Jay and Ian Mason say the event could damage the region’s extensive tourist trade with the United States. “The involvement of the city of Nelson in this would spell certain economic disaster for members of our local business community that trade with or rely on American tourist dollars,” Mason said in a news release. The story fails to note if he expressed any moral concerns over the issue.

Not all Vietnam war protestors fled to Canada, however. Many chose not to abandon their native land and families. They fought the draft and the government and had an influence. Some went to jail for their beliefs. Some served in the military and saved the lives of their fellow soldiers as medics. They loved their country although they did not agree with their government's policies. They stood their ground for their beliefs. They did not cowardly run to Canada's open arms, and participate in the making of "guns, butter, bombs and Agent Orange" to be used in the Vietnam War.

However, we all may still attend the Our Way Home National Reunion Weekend, to be held at Nelson, British Columbia July 8th & 9th, 2006. It will mark the contribution made to Canadian life by US immigrants who came to Canada during the Vietnam War - the courageous draft-dodgers and deserters.

Greetings from Resisterville

Bye the bye, when you go to Nelson, British Columbia, you do not have to spend your American dollars there for food, gasoline and lodging, if you choose not to, as the town is but a few short miles north of the U.S border.

George Bush Saves Canada - from Herself!

Thank God for George Bush. Once again the mighty U.S. saved the Canadians, this time from themselves. They will not make global history by building a Draft-dodgers Memorial. The Top Gun President, a former military pilot, threatened to personally lead an air invasion and bombing campaign of one million talking Ann Coulter dolls. The Canadians, including the courageous draft dodgers and deserters, immediately caved. In immediate response, outraged American veterans, including America's "honored" Vietnam vets, recinded plans to erect a monument to "All the Wars Canada Did Not Fight".

US Vets Sicced the Commander In Chief on the Canucks.

The town of Nelson in British Columbia stopped its plans to create a memorial to US draft dodgers who fled to Canada. The plan for the bronze statue was halted by the town's mayor after US Veterans of Foreign Wars enlisted the aid of President George W. Bush to intervene. The Bush administration probably calculated a low probability of the need for preemptive military action, since draft dodgers are, by nature, prone to quietly move on. And finding another home country for the memorial is unlikely, since very few Vietnam era draft dodgers are known to have fled to Cuba, Iran, or North Korea. [10/17/2004]

Canadian Draft Dodgers Memorial Slammed

Canadian Vietnam Draft-dodger Memorial

Canada's new memorial will honor the "courageous legacy of Vietnam War resisters". Canadians have a quaint definition of courage - burn your draft card, slink across the border and then take a job in Canada's booming Vietnam economy, manufacturing munitions and Agent Orange to be used in Viet Nam. No wonder they are screaming bloody murder at Ann Coulter for reminding them of their "true" role in Vietnam. I thought this was a hoax, but sadly, it is not.

According to news reports, Canada is planning to build a Canadian Vietnam Draft-dodger Memorial. The dedication of the bronze stature honoring draft-dodgers is planned for July 2006 in Nelson, British Columbia, about 140 miles north of Spokane, Washington.

Draft-dodger memorial to be built in British Columbia
Last Updated Wed, 08 Sep 2004 11:27:18 EDT

CBC News

NELSON, B.C. - B.C. activists plan to erect a bronze sculpture honouring draft dodgers, four decades after Americans opposed to the Vietnam War sought refuge in Canada.

The memorial, created by artists in Nelson, B.C., ties into a two-day celebration planned for July 2006 that pays tribute to as many as 125,000 Americans who fled to Canada between 1964 and 1977.

"This will mark the courageous legacy of Vietnam War resisters and the Canadians who helped them resettle in this country during that tumultuous era," Isaac Romano, the director of the Our Way Home festival told a news conference in Nelson Tuesday.

The event will honour people who came to Canada and resisted war efforts, from burning their draft cards during the Vietnam War to leaving the army to protest the war in Iraq, Romano said.

Seeking Sanctuary

Draft-dodger Memorial Angers VFW
Hey guys, chill out. Canada will go down in history as the only country ever to commemorate the "courageous legacy" of draft-dodgers and deserters. A first!

Canadian Vietnam Vets

It was like we came home as thieves in the night

Recently there was a snarky dialogue between the CBC's Bob McKeown and Ann Coulter on a state sponsored television show called the The Fifth Estate. American Coulter reminded the Canadians of something they do not want to acknowledge, that their young citizens had served with the U.S. in Vietnam. Canadian bloggers have gone ballistic and attacked her as a liar and worse and have even attacked and disrespected the Canadian soldiers who served. At Blogs Canada E-group was this comment "Plus if I'm not mistaken, most of those thousands of Canadians were Aboriginals who signed up after being given a fantasyland pitch by US military recruiters." made by Robert McClellan.

As here in the US, at this very moment, we have brave young soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives to keep us (and Canada) free, I find such comments extremely offensive. As Americans, let us never see our battle weary soldiers return home as thieves in the night. I think Canada should be ashamed.

Dennis Thomson was twenty-one years old when he boarded a bus in Hamilton, Ontario to cross the international border at Buffalo and join the United States military. This was at the same time that thousands of American draft-dodgers and deserters were going north into Canada and being welcomed as heroes. However, most Americans viewed the border crossings a bit differently, as an old grizzled Marine said; "we sent them our worst and they sent us their best."

"Thomson served two tours of duty as a combat medic in Vietnam, one in 1968 during the Tet Offensive and another in 1971. Between tours, he served in a med-evac hospital in Japan.

He has two answers for why he went to Vietnam. "Why not?" and more seriously, because he could not allow himself to sit back and let somebody else go instead.

He reaches back into his memory and recites an old Indian proverb: "We do not for ourselves alone, but die for others."

"There's a certain percentage of men who have the call, the call for freedom," he says, "and that's a good enough reason for anyone to do this."

After the war, Dennis Thomson returned to Canada to live. On Memorial Day, 1999, he visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. for the third time to read some of the 58,000 names etched there. He and some others placed small Maple Leaf flags along the walls where the names of Canadians appear. He said "This is the American way of saying, 'lest we forget'." He said that despite all the medals and ribbons awarded, none of the Canadian Vietnam veterans ever received any official recognition of their service from either the Canadian or U.S. government. "We never got a parade when we got home all we had was our brothers," he said. "It was like we came home as thieves in the night."

Easongate

Why would anyone choose to believe news coming from CNN?

"What did CNN's chief really say at Davos?"

BY BRET STEPHENS

What happened was this: Mr. Jordan observed that of the 60-odd journalists killed in Iraq, 12 had been targeted and killed by coalition forces. He then offered a story of an unnamed Al-Jazeera journalist who had been "tortured for weeks" at Abu Ghraib, made to eat his shoes, and called "Al-Jazeera boy" by his American captors.

Here Rep. Barney Frank, also a member of the panel, interjected: Had American troops actually targeted journalists? And had CNN done a story about it? Well no, Mr. Jordan replied, CNN hadn't done a story on this, specifically. And no, he didn't believe the Bush administration had a policy of targeting journalists. Besides, he said, "the [American] generals and colonels have their heart in the right place."

By this point, one could almost see the wheels of Mr. Jordan's mind spinning, slowly: "How am I going to get out of this one?" But Mr. Frank and others kept demanding specifics. Mr. Jordan replied that "there are people who believe there are people in the military" who have it out for journalists. He also recounted a story of a reporter who'd been sent to the back of the line at a checkpoint outside of Baghdad's Green Zone, apparently because the soldier had been unhappy with the reporter's dispatches.

And that was it--the discussion moved on.

Canada Took a Pass on Vietnam?

Has Canada shifted so far left that she is now a "denier" nation?

"Canada didn't send troops to Vietnam, took a pass on Vietnam". Bob McKeown, spokesman of Canada's government-owned television network, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, spoke those words on a program designed to showcase the professionalism and journalistic integrity of Canada’s state sponsored news media, as opposed to the “supposed” lack thereof and conservative slant in the privately controlled American news media, January 26, 2005. To date, no one from the CBC, nor from the Canadian government has come forth to correct that grievous and disgraceful statement.

What exactly was Canada's role in providing troops during the Vietnam War? Although in reality Canada was supportive of the U.S. goals in Southeast Asia, the Canadian government believed that because of its membership in the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), that it needed to be impartial during the Vietnam Conflict. At the same time that the U.S. was becoming involved in Southeast Asia, Canadian military forces were being permanently down sized. As it was no longer offering military training to its young citizens, which had been a long-standing Canadian tradition, Canada did nothing to hinder the tens of thousands of its citizens crossing the U.S.-Canadian border to sign up for the war. It would be fair to say that they crossed over with the blessing of Canada. Many young Canadian men living in the U.S. allowed themselves to be drafted. Tens of thousands of other Canadian youths crossed the border to sign on with the United States Armed Forces. They wanted to obtain some of the military skills that were not available in their own country, such as aircraft piloting and mechanics. Some joined for the noble cause of fighting the growing scourge of communism, while others were seeking adventure or signing on for personal reasons.

As a direct result of Canadian official and unofficial policies, these citizens of Canada formed the largest foreign fighting contingent in the U.S. military during the Vietnam era. The exact numbers are unknown. Most estimates range between 30,000 and 40,000 uniformed Canadians in service, and 12,000 Canadians in the war zone.

When the Canadian Vietnam veterans returned to their homeland, they were even less welcome than here in the United States. American veterans had access to veterans groups and government resources, whereas in Canada the Vietnam veterans were ignored and shunned. They returned to a Canada whose government policies had changed radically. Although they had fought a noble war for a noble cause, their countrymen did not accept them as noble veterans. The official Canadian view was that “Vietnam was not Canada's war. Ottawa didn't send troops - but sent a lot of other things, like medical clinics, doctors and nurses.” As a result, they kept so quiet about their service, that forty years years later, new generations are easily spoonfed the government propaganda line that “Canada didn't send troops to Vietnam, took a pass on Vietnam", as was emphatically declared by a spokesman on Canada’s government sponsored television, January 27th of this year.

Peter C. Lemon, born in Toronto, Canada, was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was the only Canadian citizen to win this medal while serving in the Vietnam War. At the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, there are 104 names engraved of those Canadians lost in battle or captured or missing in action. While refusing to acknowledge Canadian soldiers in American uniforms, Canada issued a Service Vietnam Medal to the 352 Canadian Forces participating in Vietnam with the ICCS’s Operation Gallant, January 1973.

Did "peace-loving, humanitarian" Canada send anything other than troops to Vietnam? Ever hear of Agent Orange?

Virginia's Big-Eared Bat

In the mountains of the Old Dominion about 1,500 Virginia big-eared bats are wintering in their bat caves, unaware that they will soon be receiving a prominant status. Virginia has a state bird, the cardinal; a state flower and tree, the dogwood; a state folk dance, square dance (why not the Virginia reel?); and a state beverage, milk. Soon Virginia will join Texas in honoring a bat. The Virginia big-eared bat, which also happens to be an endangered species, seems destined to become the state bat of the Old Dominion.

Everything you need to know about our new little mascot.

• http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats/vabigearbat.htm 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_big-eared_bat

Who are the Ignoramuses?

They are Bob McKeown of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and self described “veteran political journalist”, Doug Ireland, who say that Canada "took a pass on Vietnam".

Coulter: "I think you're wrong

McKeown: "No, took a pass on Vietnam."

Coulter: "I think you're wrong."

• Bob McKeown is a Canadian; Ann Coulter is NOT!


• Bob McKeown is a journalist; Ann Coulter is NOT!


• Bob McKeown works for CBC; Ann Coulter does NOT work for FOX News!


• Bob McKeown says that Canada “took a pass on Vietnam”.


• Ann Coulter says Canada did NOT take a pass on the Vietnam War!

Who is more correct? Who knows more about Canadian history and who is more responsible as a journalist? NOT Bob McKeown! NOT Doug Ireland, who describes himself as a “veteran political journalist”. Ann Coulter is right again! Ann Coulter wins anyway you look at these ridiculous pieces of muckraking drivel.

Why are the bloggers scrutinizing Coulter’s statement to the nth degree, while ignoring Bob McKeown’s blatant fictional propaganda that Canada “took a pass on Vietnam”? Shouldn’t they hold a member of the high and mighty Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to at least a minimum of journalism standards? When McKeown said that Canada "took a pass on Vietnam”, he exposed himself as someone unwilling to acknowledge the sacrifices of his fellow countrymen and as someone ignorant of the history of his own country during the Vietnam era.

Canada did NOT “TAKE A PASS ON VIETNAM”! Canada was allied alongside the United States. Canadians and Hate America Libs can no longer get away with rewriting history. We have Google now. And to those "truth-seeking Canadians" I say, help is on the way. FOX News cometh and the wiley FOX will eateth the breakfast, lunch and dinner of CBC.

PS: What is the CBC? The CBC is the voice of the Liberal party of Canada. The CBC is a propaganda tool to spread the Liberal party’s agenda. The CBC is paid for by Canadian tax payers. The CBC is a very low rated channel because almost no one listens to it. The CBC is a waste of government resources that is supported by the Liberals. (Kinda sounds like PBS in the US.)

Canadian Troops in Vietnam

Are these Canadian troops?
Are they in Canadian uniforms?
Are they in Vietnam?
Is that a dead Viet Cong on the ground?
Is this image on the Canadian National Defence site?
Does Doug Ireland know how to use Google before he labels people as liars?

Canadian Troops

Canadian Troops 1968

The Real Reason for Attacks on Coulter and Fox News

Doug Ireland's Hit Piece

Doug Ireland published a hit piece at his blog calling Ann Coulter all sorts of names because she said that Canada had troops in Vietnam. Well, I made two posts there giving links and information that Ann was correct, and he deleted them. So when you read his blog, all you will read are accolades to his scourge of Ann, nothing in her defense, even though she was correct. And he refers to himself as "a veteran political journalist". Oh yeah - journalism, let's not hear any rebuttals!

This is what I posted at Mr. Veteran Polical Journalist's (Doug Ireland, Muckrucker of Bileland) blog that he does not want you to read:

Mr. Ireland writes about Ann Coulter “she was exposed for the arrogant fool she is.” My question is, what kind of arrogant fool would write a statement such as “Canada did not send troops to Vietnam”, without first making a Google search? Well, we know of at least two such “arrogant fools” – Mr. Ireland and Mr. McKeown. Of course, being the men that they are, we must excuse them, as they were obviously mesmerized by Ann Coulter’s legs. Mr. Ireland displays his mindset with his choice of title, “ANN COULTER STICKS HER ENTIRE LEG IN HER MOUTH”. Even in that contorted position, Ann Coulter, knew what she was talking about! The rest of you are merely gluttons for punishment. Therefore, I sentence you to
Ann Coulter Hell.

Right Wing Humor

Ann Coulter was Right!

Canadian Broadcasting Company's Bob McKeown was hosting a TV broadcast "The Fifth Estate," on January 26 which devoted one hour to show Canadians how the American media have been high jacked by conservative bullies. Strident conservative pundit and personality, Ann Coulter, was interviewed during which the following exchange occurred:

Coulter: "Canada used to be one of our most loyal friends and vice-versa. I mean Canada sent troops to Vietnam - was Vietnam less containable and more of a threat than Saddam Hussein?"

McKeown interrupts: "Canada didn't send troops to Vietnam."

Coulter: "I don't think that's right."

Since that interview, Coulter has been unmercilessly attacked for saying that Canada sent troops to Vietnam. She has been called an epithet-throwing fictionalist, liar, loudmouth ignoramus, outrageous nationalist and described as empty-headed and shameful, and this in just one editorial, by Doug Ireland at Driland! By doing a short Google search, I discovered that Ann Coulter was correct. There is nothing like the truth to send the liberals into the out of control spin zone.

In 1973 the International Commission of Control and Supervision Vietnam (ICCS) was responsible for securing the armistice that lasted two years from 1973 to 1975, known as Operation Gallant. Canada, a member of the commission, contributed 240 Canadian Forces whose role was to monitor the cease-fire in South Vietnam, according to the Paris Peace Conference, and to arrange the release and exchange of more than 32,000 prisoners of war. In addition, ten to forty thousand Canadians, voluntarily served in Vietnam or during the Vietnam era with the American military, of whom 111 Canadians, were lost. One Canadian soldier, Toronto born Peter C. Lemon, won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Canadian government believed that because of its membership in ICCS, that Canada had to remain impartial during the Vietnam Conflict. While Canada as a nation was not involved in the fighting, Canadians themselves formed the largest foreign contingent in the U.S. military during the Vietnam era. Although exact numbers are not obtainable, some estimate that between 30,000 and 40,000 served and that 12,000 Canadians actually were in American uniforms in the war zone. The Canadian Armed Forces won a Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in Vietnam.

When the Canadian Vietnam veterans returned to their homeland, they were even more unwelcome than here in the United States, where at least returning veterans had access to government resources. Today, there is a memorial, “The North Wall”, at Assumption Park, Windsor, Ontario, overlooking the Detroit River. It honors the 103 Canadians who lost their lives in Vietnam and the seven who went missing in action. It is a fine tribute to those Canadians who served and sacrificed all for their belief in freedom.

The North Wall

Rewriting History

This is the Service Vietnam medal issued by the government of Canada to 253 members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Vietnam. However, all over the Internet, people are rudely condeming Ann Coulter as a liar because she said on a Canadian radio show that Canada sent troops to Vietnam. This 253 number does not include the ten to forty thousand Canadians who served in Vietnam or during the Vietnam era, nor does this figure include the 104 Canadians killed in that war, nor the seven missing in action. Not to mention a winner of the Medal of Honor.

When some deniers are trying to change the truth, we should all stand up and fight back.

Canadian Forces in Vietnam

Oh, Those Good Old Days

Of War Protesting! Oh, what the leftiests wouldn't give for the return of conscription!

Doug Ireland of DIRELAND longs for the 1960s:

"Pierre Trudeau, signaled his attitude toward the war in Vietnam when he granted political asylum to tens of thousands of draft-age Americans who fled to Canada to avoid having to fight in Vietnam, saying: ''Those who make the conscientious judgment that they must not participate in this war ... have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.' (How one wishes the current prime minister, Paul Martin, would take the same position with regard to those war resisters in uniform who have gone to Canada because of their opposition to what the U.S. is doing in Iraq.)"

Time for a reality check, Mr. Ireland. Don't enlist if you want to resist! We have NO war resisters in uniform! The military does not accept the “brain dead”, unlike some other “nameless” organizations, therefore everyone who signs up, does so voluntarily and knows that they are signing up for WAR. W.A.R. – War, is the raison d’etre for the military. Duh.

The Top Gun

George W. Bush
Don't you just know that this drives "some" people nuts?

Weekend Fun

Batter the penguin. I scored 322.9. I wonder if there is any higher score possible.
The Penquin Batterer

Senator Ted Kennedy

asked when the Iraqis were going to shed some blood. Apparently, he doesn't read or listen to the news reports.

The Luddite Wing

It seems that President George Bush has finally driven the sheepy Democrats over the cliff. They have opposed him so often, that they have morphed themselves into the Conservative Party of America, or I should say, Luddite Wing Conservatives! The man is willing to tackle a huge problem that no other politician before him had courage to do - Social Security. He is suggesting solutions. The neo-Luddite Wing Conservatives, have absolutely NOTHING constructive to offer to avoid the expected train wreck when the system runs out of revenue. Leave it alone they say! No need to change a governement plan that has been around since the 1930s. The Democrats of 2005 should be ashamed to call themselves Liberals or Progressives. President Bush's antics have caused them to shed their sheepskin camoflage, to reveal their true Luddite hides underneath.

What do Democrats stand for? The real question is, what do they stand against?

Marian Anderson Stamp

On January 27, 2005 at DAR Memorial Continental Hall, Washington, DC, operatic and concert star Marian Anderson was commemorated on a new United States postage stamp at a dedication ceremony on the first day of issue, co-hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the U.S. Postal Service. I had the pleasure of attending the ceremony in the lovely old Beaux Arts building, that now houses the DAR's Library.

USPS Marian Anderson Commemorative Stamp Dedication Ceremony, January 27, 2005

The President General of the DAR, Presley Merritt Wagoner, offered the following remarks:

I am truly honored to be here today representing the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on this historic occasion which commemorates in a most visible manner the life of such an extraordinary and inspirational woman. On behalf of the 170,000 DAR members across the country and worldwide it is my pleasure to welcome you to DAR National Headquarters for the dedication ceremony of the Marian Anderson commemorative stamp. In particular, I want to thank the United States Postal Service and Ms. Anderson’s family for inviting the DAR to participate with them in this special recognition.

It is most fitting that we gather in Memorial Continental Hall at Constitution Hall, the place which historically represents a sad chapter in our country’s history and in the history of DAR. We deeply regret that Marian Anderson was not given the opportunity to perform her 1939 Easter concert in Constitution Hall but recognize that in the positive sense the event was a pivotal point in the struggle for racial equality.

Ms. Anderson’s legendary concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial will always be remembered as a milestone in the Civil Rights movement. The beauty of her voice, amplified by her courage and grace, brought attention to the eloquence of the many voices urging our nation to overcome prejudice and intolerance. It sparked change not only in America, but also in the DAR.

I stand before you today wishing that history could be re-written, knowing that it cannot, and assuring you that DAR has learned from the past.

DAR was proud to welcome Marian Anderson to Constitution Hall on a number of occasions soon after 1939, including a benefit concert for war relief in 1942. It is also meaningful to us that this notable American chose Constitution Hall as the place where she would launch her farewell American tour in 1964.

And today, the DAR is especially honored to be able to participate in the celebration of Marian Anderson’s legacy with the issuance of this new commemorative stamp.

We are very happy to welcome the Deputy Postmaster General John Nolan, the members of Ms. Anderson’s family, and all of the other distinguished guests with us today for this special occasion.

On this day we celebrate the life, the talent and the legacy of Marian Anderson. America is a better place because of her dreams and her sacrifices. As a nation, we can be grateful that she opened so many doors for all those who follow, and as an organization, the DAR is genuinely pleased to pay tribute to her memory.

I found a video from Easter 1939, of Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial and this audio of Marian Anderson speaking of the famous outdoor concert.