The Right State

Our military has been in Iraq for three years.  Hardly a day goes by without news of another fallen hero.  It is times like these that we begin to internalize our feelings, when we begin to think about ourselves.  And so we ask, is Iraq worth the cost of all these soldiers?    And then every once in a while out comes a story which lets us know that this war is not all about us.  It is about a cause, freedom. 

BlackFive has a letter from a friend in Iraq who lost a fellow soldier.  Please read the rest of the letter.  It really gets to you.

In the morgue, I was able to spend a few minutes alone with Brian.  I fought the tears but they too won their battle this night.  As I held his head in my hands, I felt rage toward God and hatred toward Iraqis that I was unable to dispel.  Standing up, I walked into the next room where Marines and soldiers were waiting quietly to carry Brian’s body to the helicopter.  I walked to the back of the room, the anger still seething.  I stopped.  There on the wall hung two flags, one American, one Iraqi.  I paused.  In addition to the American casualties, an Iraqi soldier was killed and several others were wounded during the day’s battle.  I glanced to my right.  There, standing next to me was one of our Iraqi translators, mourning for Brian with tears streaming down his face.  My hatred and rage melted away.

I reflected.  This wasn’t about Americans and Iraqis.  This was about a noble man dying for a cause he believed in.

Amen.  I can not help but feel pride every time I see one of these true American heroes.  Here in the States, we know nothing about what a real war is like.  These heroes do.  These soldiers look death square in the face every day so the rest of us don’t have to.  God bless our American soldiers.

Tags: Iraq, War by Chuck
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Today must be my lucky day; I just received a love letter from Hillary Clinton asking for money for the DSCC. The envelope was filled with the usual stuff about the failed leadership of George W. Bush. I could almost see Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, or Al Gore saying this bull on TV. We have all heard it before, so lets get it over with.

She says Bush went from a $236 billion surplus to a $423 billion deficit. I guess they forgot we are at war which costs a lot of money. We had a chance to fight this war long before George Bush was elected, but Bill Clinton refused to defend this country as was his duty.

She says the cost of energy went up almost 68%, because of President Bush’s devotion to big oil and our reliance on fossil fuels. Energy costs went up because of increased demand from India and China. Energy cost went up because of the Democrats continually blocking drilling in ANWR and other parts of the continental United States. Energy costs went up because of Democratic insistence on a variety of fuel blends. Energy costs went up because of Democrats blocking President Bush’s energy plan since he was elected President. And saying President Bush has ties to big oil tells only half the story. Bill Clinton was always a friend of big oil, especially if they brought their checkbooks.

She says President Bush relaxed environmental regulations degrading our quality of land, air, and water. President Bush has the same exact regulations Bill Clinton had during his administration. The only regulations he relaxed were the ones Clinton signed on his last day in office.

Hillary says that that the Republican Party is under a cloud of corruption as several party members are under indictment. That is like the pot calling the kettle black. You have to look real hard to find a more corrupt administration than Bill and Hillary Clinton’s.

Then they list the usual stuff: under President Bush the rich got richer and the poor got poorer and poverty increased.

Same old stuff, right? The country is worse off now than it was when George Bush took office. Only thing is, Hillary does not say what the Democrats would do differently. As a kid, I was always told, don’t tell me about a problem without offering a solution. That saying has served me well in business and in the military. Democrats are complainers, they are not fixers. If you want the office, tell me how you will fix things.

None of this surprised me, but what did surprise me was what they did not say. There was not one mention of the War on Terrorism, not one mention of the war in Iraq, not one mention of Iran, Korea, China, or any other hot spot. All of which proves to me that the Democrats are soft on defending this country. We already know the Democrats do not like the war in Iraq. President Bush went where the weapons and the terrorists were. And the Democrats…….nothing. We know the Democrats do not like the warrantless wiretapping. And you are going to find out what the terrorists are doing… how?

The Democrats have no idea how to protect the United States. We saw how Bill Clinton reacted to Iran the first time, tried to pay them off. It didn’t work. We saw how the Democrats responded in Somalia. They left our troops without proper protection and eighteen soldiers died. They are clueless how to defend this country.

I keep correcting letters I receive from Hillary and sending them back to her, but she insists on sending me more. As soon as I find my pen and make a few well deserved corrections, I’ll send this one back too. Glad they provided a SASE.

Tags: National Elections, Iraq, Politics, War by Chuck
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The Seattle Seahawks and Texas A&M University have settled a lawsuit over the 12^th Man moniker. The Aggies sued the Seahawks days before their 2006 Super Bowl match against the eventual champion Pittsburg Steelers.

The agreement, announced by both entities Monday, allows the Seahawks to use the 12th Man slogan within a seven-state area in the Northwest region of the United States. The team must publicly state that A&M owns the phrase each time it is used, according to A&M officials.

The Seahawks also will pay a licensing fee to A&M, though A&M representatives refused to release how much, saying the final documents haven’t been filed in court yet.

A&M has used the 12th Man slogan for decades, but the Aggies made it official in 1990 when they received the licensing trademark, which is a step the Seahawks never took.

The Seattle Times has a little bit more on the Seahawks conditional use of the 12^th Man name.

The Seahawks can essentially use the 12th Man anywhere, but have to acknowledge that the slogan is being used under copyright of the school when mentioning it in print or on a team-sponsored broadcast.

The Aggies have been using the name, 12^th Man for decades going all the way back to a 1922 football game against Centre College.

The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation’s top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies.

To this day, the student body of Texas A&M will stand during the entire football game showing their willingness to enter the game if needed. The 12th Man tradition might have been born in 1922, but the gained national prominence when Head Coach Jackie Sherrill instituted the 12th Man kickoff squad made of eleven non-scholarship players. For those unfamiliar with the school, the tradition of the 12th Man is a very big part of the University.

A statue of E. King Gill greets fans to Kyle Field as they enter the football stadium at tradition rich Texas A&M.

Hat tip to Outside the Beltway

Tags: Texas Aggies, Culture, Sports by Chuck
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