Josh Duncan
U.S. M.C., Ret.
Josh
has been a contributor to this site almost from the beginning.
His
experiences and passion for America are valuable assets indeed.
Updated
05/10/08
This is the best Salute to the Marine Corps I’ve
seen.
Semper Fidelis
Josh
Dear Marines,
I worked nights as a waitress, paying my way through
college, in Honolulu during the early 1980s. Between work and school, I didn't
have much time to meet other people, and my family was thousands of miles away.
Several Marines frequented the bar, and one GySgt. of
a Marine sniper platoon, Larry Hatfield, sensed my shyness and invited me to
participate in a lot of Marine recreational events. We became close friends,
but I could never understand how a person could look through a scope and
willingly kill another human being. As a Quaker, the very concept of a sniper
troubled me. I was raised that
killing is always wrong - period. I often told him,
and the other guys in the sniper platoon, my opinion on this. They usually
remained silent on the subject.
As time went by, I lost contact with the Marines I
knew from that sniper platoon, but I was privileged, later on, to be invited to
produce tours as a volunteer (USO/AFE) for Marines on various bases overseas.
Those of you who have met USO/AFE entertainers know that we are nowhere near
the
combat zones, and are in fact well-insulated from the
horrors of war.
We have fun entertaining you; we love eating with you
at the mess halls or sitting out in the dirt and hearing your crazy jokes; we
do our handshake tours of hospitals and PR tents and feel good and then are
lucky enough to go home while you stay behind.
But Iraq was different. For the first time I found
myself weeping at night after I came back from doing handshake tours. I
couldn't adopt the USO maxim of looking the Marines in the eyes and shaking
hands on the hospital tours, because there were teenage Marines with no hands
and no eyes. A bomb at a well while I was there on my last tour left 200 women
and children dead or injured at the hands of their own countrymen. The image of
a Marine, badly wounded, struggling to carry a small 3 year old girl to safety
is forever seared in my mind.
I wondered - a lot - about the kind of sacrifice that
it takes for a person to volunteer in the Corps and experience this kind of
tragedy on a regular basis.
Iraqi women refugees would tell me, through
translators, about how the Kurdish women would throw their infants from trucks
on their way to being executed by Saddam Hussein in the hope that strangers
would raise the soon-to-be-orphaned children, and how often it was only the
U.S. Marines and military units who would help them get medical care if they
did survive the terrors inflicted upon them.
This is what I have learned about war and the
Marines: that I have never seen a U.S. senator cry while telling me about
holding a dying friend in his/her arms, and there's precious few senators who
come home from work missing a leg or two.
That I have never heard a U.S. congressman tell me
what it's like to pass out soccer balls and writing paper to children who have
been denied an education since birth.
That I have never heard any politician or corporate
leader describe to me, as one Marine did after a show, that she wanted a better
life for her child back home but wanted better lives for the children of Iraq,
too.
Marines are living - and sometimes dying - for
democracy, not just talking about it for the CNN cameras. They do their jobs,
and come home, quietly, to go back to farming in Iowa or driving trucks in
Kentucky, and, for the most part, don't talk about it. And God knows we
civilians don't get an accurate picture back home of what is going on.
I still think killing is wrong, but I have come to
understand that sometimes it is necessary and that lack of intervention,
especially in humanitarian missions in oppressed nations, is tantamount to
pulling the trigger on innocent civilians who only want what we want: a safe
home
for their children and food on the table and the
right to be who they are.
I'm not naive enough to think that most of our
political leaders go to war for compassion (I think most of them want to
protect corporate interests), but I do believe, from knowing the Marines I have
been lucky enough to know, that
Marines act from compassion, decency, and with hearts
bigger than most people will ever experience.
I understand now that a sniper - or any Marine, in
any job supporting the ideals of the Corps - does what he or she does because
the Constitution of the United States is not some remote piece of paper; the
idea of freedom is real to a Marine. As one young lance corporal told me, as he
guarded us during a show set-up in a particularly volatile area (after our show
had been cancelled the day before because terrorists had blown up another 27
children nearby), "Don't worry - we got your back."
It shames me to think that I had to leave my country
on these tours in order to understand what precious gifts I have as an
American, that every day, somewhere in the world, a Marine is watching my back.
I never considered that a sniper, or any Marine, may be asked to kill in order
to save innocent lives but now I understand.
So to all of you Marines out there, please accept
this heartfelt thanks for what you do. To the guys from the sniper platoon in
Kaneohe - this is a late apology for questioning you, and a thank you for what
you have taught me, but I hope some of you read this. In our American
culture, we don't talk much about being noble,
decent, loyal and honorable. I have yet to meet a Marine who did not possess
all of those qualities. You are the big kids in high school who didn't let the
bullies hurt the little kids. If you are reading this from Afghanistan or Iraq
or Camp Lejeune; if you are reading this from a V.A. facility;
if you are reading this from your home, know this:
that what you do is important.
When you are feeling weary and discouraged, remember
that there are people in the world living in freedom because of you. Not only
the refugees from war - but me, too.
Sincerely,
Laura Minor
Semper Fidelis
I was a seaman in World War 2. I learned a lot about
sailing when the war ended because I could not get a birth on a
steamship. I sailed as a sail maker apprentice on a four masted
ship.
No ships sailed from West Africa to North
America during the days of slaving to North America. The Portugues
were given the sole right to traffic in African slaves by the Catholic Church
in the 14th century. Their cargoes from West Africa were first sold in
Europe. They found a fair wind that would take them to a place they
called America after Amerigo Vespuche?. It is now Brazil. Sailing
ships could not cross the Sargosso Sea with a live cargo. This was
learned by the Romans many years earlier. The Romans called it
"Horse Latitudes" a place that their horses could not survive without
water in treacherous sea.
No West African was brought to any part of North
America. Even if they could depend on a fair wind (which did not exist)
they would have to travel over 5 thousand miles due to tacking. The
ships could not carry food and water for a live cargo. The slaves that
came to the colonies which became The United States of North America came from
the European colonies of South America or Islands of the Indies.
This is why we can't
progress as a member of world organizations.
God
be with us
Josh
Marines immobile in
Afghan red tape
Multinational force
has multiple leaders
By David Wood
Sun reporter
April 11, 2008
KANDAHAR PROVINCE,
Afghanistan
Disagreements and
coordination problems high within the international military command are
delaying combat operations for 2,500 Marines who arrived here last month to
help root out Taliban forces, according to military officers here.
For weeks the Marines
-- with their light armor, infantry, artillery and a squadron of transport and
attack helicopters and Harrier strike fighters -- have been virtually
quarantined at the international air base here, unable to operate beyond the
base perimeter.
Within immediate
striking distance are radical Islamist Taliban forces that are entrenched
around major towns in southern Afghanistan, where they control the lucrative
narcotics trade and are consolidating their position as an alternative to the
U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
But disputes among the
many layers of international command here – an ungainly conglomeration of 40
nations ranging from Albania and Iceland to the U.S. and Britain -- have forced
a series of delays.
Unlike most U.S.
military operations, even the small details of operations here -- such as the
radio frequency used to evacuate a soldier for medical care -- must first be
coordinated with multiple military commands.
Then, there have been
larger disputes over strategy. Some commanders here want more emphasis on civic
action in conjunction with local Afghans. Others believe security must take
precedence.
For Marines, who are
accustomed to landing in a war zone and immediately going into action with their
own plans, the holdup has been frustrating.
Frequent changes among command leaders and unclear lines of authority
have made it difficult for the Marines to win general approval for the timing,
goals and extent of proposed operations.
Marine operations planning, which is routinely completed in hours or
days, has gone on for weeks while they await agreement and approval from above.
"They invite us
here ... and they don't know how to use us?" said Lt. Col. Anthony
Henderson, commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. "We are trying to
keep our frustration in check ... but we have to wait for the elephants to stop
dancing," Henderson said, referring to the brass-heavy international
command.
"The clash is
between the tactical reality on the ground and political perceptions held
elsewhere," Marine Maj. Heath Henderson, deputy operations officer for the
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told his staff. "You can make your own
judgments about which you think will prevail."
Including the Marines,
there are 17,522 allied troops in southern Afghanistan, including British,
Dutch, Canadians, Danes, Estonians, Australians, Romanians and representatives
of nine other nations, according to the high command.
These coalition
military forces are assembled under the banner of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), commanded by U.S. Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill,
headquartered in Kabul with an international staff. Beneath McNeill are five regional commands and numerous national
military commands. Henderson's Marine battalion and its parent task force, the
24th MEU, officially are under the command of ISAF and
McNeill. But they are
assigned to work in conjunction with the regional command here and other
coalition forces.
Coordination on
long-term strategy is complex, staff officers here said, because the commanders
and staffs at each level regularly rotate.
Regional command south here, for instance, changes every nine months
between British, Canadian and Dutch officers.
With one proposed
operation temporarily blocked, Henderson told his
planners to consider a
scaled-back option.
"I think it's a
stretch, but let's look at it," he said, adding glumly, "as the sound
of desperation seeps into my voice."
The regional command
here, RC-South, declined to comment on any command
issues. In Kabul,
Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco, a senior spokesman for the ISAF, said the Marines
"answer to" ISAF but are under the "tactical control" of
RC-South. He said ISAF was satisfied that this is the best arrangement to
"coordinate and synchronize" combat operations. In case of a disagreement, McNeill would
make the final decision, said
Branco, a Portuguese
officer.
The problems are
magnified when Afghan government officials at the national and provincial level
weigh in with their own judgments. The result, some say, is that the
counterinsurgency campaign, which is inherently difficult enough, suffers from
the lack of a clear vision and strategy.
"We don't
understand where we are going here," said Lt. Col. Brian Mennes, commander
of Task Force Fury, a battalion of paratroopers just leaving Kandahar after 15
months of counterinsurgency operations here.
"We desperately
want to see a strategy in front of us," he said in an interview.
NATO's only previous
experience with coalition combat came almost a decade ago with the air war
against Serbia. Afghanistan is the first time the alliance has attempted to
coordinate ground combat among forces that often don't speak the same language
or use the same radio frequencies.
With British, Canadian
and U.S. forces fighting in close proximity here, for example, their operations
officers must agree even on such details as requests for medical evacuation of
the wounded: the decisions include who takes the call, whose aircraft responds
and where the wounded soldier is taken.
At the staff level,
such difficulties usually are worked out with grace and humor and with a
warrior's sense of shared mission. In response to a Marine request this week
for help with supplies, a British liaison officer was accommodating. "You'll
get what we have," he said.
Bigger problems run
afoul of conflicting strategies and easily bruised national pride. At another planning session, a question
arose about the capabilities of a British combat unit. "I can tell you
they have killed more people than anybody else in this room," a British
major declared hotly. There was shocked silence from the roomful of Marines,
most of whom have done two or three combat tours in Iraq and don't boast about
battlefield
exploits.
Meantime, the 2,500
Marines here train, clean their weapons yet again, take long conditioning runs
along the dust-choked perimeter roads, and wonder when they're going to begin
what they came for. "This is
killing us," says a staff sergeant. "There's only so much training
you can do, especially considering that most of my Marines just got back from
Iraq."
But living conditions
at this huge base are comfortable, with a well-stocked PX, an off-duty
recreation area with a Burger King and pizza shop and an Afghan bazaar. Marines
sleep on cots in air-conditioned tents, and the food is considered above-par.
"This place is
like a resort, and that makes the waiting a lot easier," said Lt. Shaun
Miller, 24, a platoon leader from Austin, Texas.
The following essay was written by Pfc.Sidney D.Lowe, a member of my gun crew on Tarawa. He found me on the Web a couple of years ago and sent it to me. After the war he attended Seminary School and became a Navy Chaplain. He served with three different Marine Divisions. Here it is.
It's My Party: They come almost nightly to
invade my dreams; a file of anonymous Marines in dusty battle dress march route
- step into a
westering sun. They have neither names nor faces, those weary young men of yesterday,,
those phantom companions of my long ago youth, who move resolutely across the
distant horizon of an old man's memory. To give them identity is to release a
flood of association too intimate, too precious, and too painful for conscious
remembrance.
In other dreamtime scenarios a ragged line
of men abreast moves through the surf toward a distant island. They press
relentlessly forward. They have no choice. To do otherwise is to be thrown into
the sea and to die. The island offers dubious haven, for there the enemy waits
to deny them sanctuary. Many stumble and fall, struck down as though by some invisible
hand. Some rise and press forward. Others wash endlessly to and fro in the
restless sea. Where are they now, these brash and brave young men of another
time? Do they, like me lie awake in the late night hours, tormented by
transient scenes from an old horror movie that endlessly replays itself in
the mind? These Marines have names, some well remembered, but increasingly they
are lost in the indistinct recesses of an aging memory. But the faces are
sharply etched on the indelible plate of recall. A lump rises in my thro at and
a mist comes to my eyes as I remember those who once were strangers, became
comrades and finally friends as we learned to rely on one another for our very
survival. With few exceptions, I have made little attempt to maintain contact
with those companions of my youth. It is a chapter that once written, is better
not revisited, for to do so is to reawaken the unthinkable threat-to deal once
again with the rising consciousness of mortality. To my knowledge no reunions
have been announced to bring us together. Perhaps like me, they find the
exercise of remembrance to be painful. As I recall their faces, I weep for who
we were and are no longer. I weep for the unrealized potential, for the dreams
that will never be dreamed, for the stories that will never be told. How many
survived, and who, and why? Who have lived to become as old as I, and who
remain forever nineteen? Perhaps it is better not to know.
My sleep is fitful in these later years
and is often disturbed by ghostly reminders of another time. That is how it is
with old men. We receive our nocturnal visitors, dream our poignant dreams, and
shed our bitter tears, It's my party. I can cry if I want to...
.You would cry too if it happened to
you.
Sidney D.Lowe
Ditto: Joshua M. Duncan,
The above has been with me for years (many
years) and has not helped our United States of America. We are a small
part of America and none of the other country's here vote with but against us.
I am not shock proof; but
am having trouble with what passes for normal "as truth". I am
again attending college. My present attempt at a Major is Political Science. After
the 1st test (which I passed) I threw away my old, much used copy of
the Federal Constitutions. The three branches of government can
each do all they like. When they are questioned a figment of the
imagination is used to show that the actual words of the Constitutions, or
amendments imply they are close enough in connection and spirit so their
proposal is good. Would you believe this is acceptable? They
do. The senate even makes up words that are not found in the college
version of Websters. Just one such word is nongermane. When
using the computer it does come up as used and accepted in the senate.
There are many more but for now I will stick with all I can handle.
I
will throw this in even without it having a real meaning.
I was with the Military from 1945 through 1991. From 1968 until 1991 it
was as an active, "order carrying" Reserve. It occurred to me
recently that I have never seen or saluted an American Flag. Hundreds of parades
taking part - more as an observer. America is made up of two continents,
South and North. This is divided into South, Central, and North. I
am a Citizen of the United States of North America. The Flag (Old Glory)
is the flag of the United States of North America. When our national representatives
succeed in helping the nations that hate us form a world government, our flag
will mean little. Its past Glory will be written out of history.
The only way this can be stopped is to fight. Do we have enough citizens,
legal or illegal willing to take on all the people in the world that want us
gone? The people that would like to help us will be controlled by the
vote of the world government. Sad isn't it?
God is with us.
Who
Is Josh Duncan? If you’ve ever asked
the question, here’s the answer in a small capsule of his own words. God Bless You, Josh! We owe you a never-ending debt of gratitude
for your lifetime of sacrifice. DebV
The United
States
Will this world's most successful Government
survive?
I think not!
In the beginning the United States created a government with a constitution
that would survive any thing that challenged it. This seemed to work for
150 years. Slowly the most important part of the Constitution was changed.
The Constitution was written to cover the use of many of the faults that
brought down ALL Governments that existed before it. There was Government
by the people through elected representatives. There was provision for
separation of the three branches of government on which the constitution was
built. Should these well prepared elements of the constitution been
followed there was a good chance for survival. Unfortunately these
provisions have failed. This Government will be no longer in existence in
less than fifty years.
There are three major things that have happened
to bring me to this conclusion.
1. The elected representatives have chosen to ignore the writings of the
Constitution, and the spelled out wishes of their constituents.
2. The Constitution calls for a separation of the three branches of the federal
government. There is no separation of powers. The courts at every level
make laws. The legislators, and the executives do not seem to
notice. The legislators usurp States rights without any complaint; the
executive nullifies the legislators by so called executive privilege, and
appointments while the Senate is not in session.
3. All three branches are controlled by lawyers, who by their actions
could not make a living as lawyers, but are well trained to ignore the
Constitution.
The government as it now exists is all one big conflict of
the Constitution. This can show its existence by one person being able to
stop all legislation that is brought before either house of the legislative
body. Well meaning men that are not trained in civil or criminal law
would never let a committee refuse to bring any measure to the floor for
vote. The committee would only make recommendations to the body, not
usurp their responsibilities.
CAN THIS FUTURE BE CHANGED?
I do not believe it can. I have recommendations that
may be able to bring back the Government of The United States of America.
I do not think my recommendations can be put into practice. This negative
feeling comes from the fact that the elected people as lawyers do not realize
that there is a conflict of interest. I am speaking of a MAJOR conflict
of interest throughout the government as it exists at this time in the history
of The United States of America
RECOMMENDATIONS
No person that has ever attended law
school would be eligible to be elected to any of the offices that
comprise the three branches of the United States Government. In all cases
that would be a definite conflict of interest in serving the citizens of the
United States. The actions of the lawyers that now control all branches
of the United States Government indicate that they are incapable of reading the
Constitution. They have all sworn an oath to uphold said
Constitution. We know they can read because all have attended law
school. This indicates that they have not even read the Constitution of
The United States of America. The real problem more likely is found in
their law school training. The American English is not taught in law
school. Ways to misinterpret the language, and add words to the
Constitution that are in fact not there. I feel that this is why the
Courts make Laws, the House and Senate refuse to bring the laws to the floor
for a vote, and the President makes appointments when Congress is not in
session or uses executive privilege to accomplish improper actions. This
country should be operated by the rules of law allowed by its Constitution, not
by trained liars, and selfish people.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
The Executive office of President or Vice
President of the United States Government must come from a citizen of the
United States of America who is a person born of citizens that were born or naturalized
under proper procedures. There will be no short cuts on any rules of
citizenship.
Candidates for President being also the
Commander in Chief should be chosen from persons that have never been elected
to serve in either of the two other branches of the United States
Government. They must be educated in such manner as to make them very
familiar with all Uniformed Services. All offices that collect and
evaluate intelligence used to protect citizens should be for his or her immediate
use. This includes The United States Military, Federal,
State, and local intelligence forces involved with keeping citizens safe.
They will have in their possession a copy of the Constitution of the United
States of America issued to them by the government printing office at the time
of their pledge to support the same. All appointments must be brought
from committees to a vote on the floor of both houses of Congress.
Congress of the United States of America
Shall
consist of citizens born or naturalized. All elected members of both
houses shall have in their possession a copy of the Constitution of the United
States of America issued to them by the government printing office at the time
of their pledge to support the same. They will be required to make laws,
which after study by a committee will be voted on by each house. All laws
voted favorably will be signed by the President within a given period or will
become law. The Supreme Court will determine its Constitutional
validity. Their salaries, and expenses will be voted by the citizenry,
not less that bi-annually. Their retirement pay will follow the rules
accorded retired military personnel, and be subject to disability deductions
such as will apply to all Federal employees.
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Shall consist of appointees of the
President and confirmed by the full Senate after being considered by a
committee of Senators. They must in all cases read before the combined
houses of Congress the Constitution, and amendments loaned to them by the
government printing office. Should their appointment be approved the
government printing office will issue to them the same book read in
Congress. They will have lifetime appointments. They will rule on
all laws that are contested as not conforming to the Constitution of the United
States of America. All their judgments will be based on the American
English words within the book of Constitutions, and its amendments.
States of the united States of America
The States that make up the United States
will have all Constitutional rights that are not specifically assigned to the
Federal Government. All States have the right to join together in any
endeavor that is approved by a referendum voted by it's citizens. All
States will have representation in all elected offices of the Federal
Government. They will be represented as they are at this time, with the
only exception that none can have attended law school.
RELIGION
All religions will be accepted in the United
States of America, and its recognized territories. Religious Rites
practiced in any language other that American English will provide to the
Federal. State, and Local authorities a translation in American English of
their religious book. Religions practicing Rites in American English
shall provide a copy of their religious book to the same authorities. All
religious tracts, written educational materials of all Religions will be
furnished the Library Of Congress. Any religious persons deviating from
their books and written material based on their religious books will be
considered another Religion and comply with the same requirements of all other
Religious societies.
No religious materials will refer to any
other Religion in a derogatory fashion. Those who do not abide by these
requirements will be considered Cults and not have the protection of the
conforming Religions.
Joshua M. Duncan
Ummm, let me think....why is it the average Joe
can figure this out, but
politicians can't?
I got it! They have figured it out...and it's to THEIR advantage!
Now, the more interesting question is, why we keep electing these same people
over and over?
Tomatoes and Cheap Labor . This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican
or Independent
From a California school teacher - - -
"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal
immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:
I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large
southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning
that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.
Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens,
Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1
schools.
Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say
free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full
breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott
proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being
dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least
moderately overweight.
About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care
centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can
attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or
having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the
upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was
already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning
center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the
appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free
education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS
AT WORK)
I have had to intervene several times for young
and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant
students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with
the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things
that the teachers were in tears.
Free medical, free education, free food, day care
etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this
country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?
To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to
our society because they LIKE their gardener and
housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real
world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs. Higher insurance,
medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards
of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me,
I'll pay more for tomatoes.
We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we
won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think
they will voluntarily leave and return? There are many hardworking
Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I
consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who
have done it the right and legal way.
It does, however, have everything to do with
culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts
children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to
assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about
"politically correct" that we don't have the will to do anything
about it.
CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?
Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage. Consumers don't want
expensive produce. Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. But
the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a
farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap
labor."
Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife
and five children.
He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he
pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he
files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up
to $3,200 free.
He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
He qualifies for food stamps.
He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.
His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.
He requires bilingual teachers and books
He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI.
Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our)
taxpayer's expense.
He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance .
Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.
He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in
benefits.
Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their
bills and his.
The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash
clean-up.
Cheap labor ? YEAH RIGHT ! Wake up people !
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
FOR EITHER PARTY.
AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT
ONCE !
The following essay was written by Pfc.Sidney
D.Lowe, a member of my gun
crew on Tarawa. He found me on the Web a couple of years ago and sent it
to me. After the war he attended Seminary School and became a Navy
Chaplain. He served with three different Marine Divisions. Here it is.
It's My Party: They come almost nightly to invade my dreams; a file of
anonymous Marines in dusty battle dress march route - step into a
westering sun. They have neither names nor faces, those weary young men of
yesterday,, those phantom companions of my long ago youth, who move
resolutely across the distant horizon of an old man's memory. To give
them identity is to release a flood of association too intimate, too
precious, and too painful for conscious remembrance.
In other dreamtime scenarios a ragged line of men
abreast moves through
the surf toward a distant island. They press relentlessly forward. They
have no choice. To do otherwise is to be thrown into the sea and to
die. The island offers dubious haven, for there the enemy waits to deny
them sanctuary. Many stumble and fall, struck down as though by some
invisible hand. Some rise and press forward. Others wash endlessly to and
fro in the restless sea. Where are they now, these brash and brave young
men of another time? Do they, like me lie awake in the late night
hours, tormented by transient scenes from an old horror movie that
endlessly replays itself in the mind? These Marines have names, some well
remembered, but increasingly they are lost in the indistinct recesses of
an aging memory. But the faces are sharply etched on the indelible plate
of recall. A lump rises in my throat and a mist comes to my eyes as I
remember those who once were strangers, became comrades and finally
friends as we learned to rely on one another for our very survival. With
few exceptions, I have made little attempt to maintain contact with those
companions of my youth. It is a chapter that once written, is better not
revisited, for to do so is to reawaken the unthinkable threat-to deal
once again with the rising consciousness of mortality. To my knowledge
no reunions have been announced to bring us together. Perhaps like
me, they find the exercise of remembrance to be painful. As I recall their
faces, I weep for who we were and are no longer. I weep for the
unrealized potential, for
the dreams that will never be dreamed, for the stories that will never be
told. How many survived, and who, and why? Who have lived to become as old
as I, and who remain forever nineteen? Perhaps it is better not to know.
My sleep is fitful in these later years and is
often disturbed by ghostly
reminders of another time. That is how it is with old men. We receive our
nocturnal visitors, dream our poignant dreams, and shed our bitter tears,
It's my party. I can cry if I want to....You would cry too if it happened
to
you.
Sidney D.Lowe
Prior to putting this on the Board I asked Sid if
he had any objection
to my posting his work and he said it was OK,
Semper Fidelis, Scotty
This needs redistributing:
September 11, 2004 Dear America, "People
sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do
violence on their behalf." -George Orwell
The Marine Corps is tired. I guess I should not say that, as I have no
authority or responsibility to speak for the Marine Corps as a whole, and my
opinions are mine alone. I will rephrase: this Marine is tired. I write this
piece from the sands of Iraq, west of Baghdad, at three a.m., but I am not
tired of the sand. I am neither tired of long days, nor of flying and fighting.
I am not tired of the food, though it does not taste quite right. I am not
tired of the heat; I am not tried of the mortars that occasionally fall on my
base. I am not tired of Marines dying, though all Marines, past and present,
mourn the loss of every brother and sister that is killed; death is a part of
combat and every warrior knows that going into battle. One dead Marine is too
many, but we give more than we take, and unlike our enemies, we fight with
honor. I am not tired of the missions or the people; I have only been here a month,
after all. I am, however, tired of the hypocrisy and short-sightedness that
seems to have gripped so many of my countrymen and the media. I am tired of
political rhetoric that misses the point, and mostly I am tired of people
"not getting it."
Three years ago I was sitting in a classroom at Quantico, Virginia, while
attending the Marine Corps Basic Officer Course, learning about the finer
points of land navigation. Our Commanding Officer interrupted the class to
inform us that some planes had crashed in New York and Washington D.C., and
that he would return when he knew more. Tears welled in the eyes of the
Lieutenant on my right while class continued, albeit with an audience that was
not very focused; his sister lived in New York and worked at the World Trade
Center. We broke for lunch, though instead of going to the chow hall proceeded
to a small pizza and sub joint which had a television. Slices of pizza sat cold
in front of us as we watched the same vivid images that you watched on
September 11, 2001.
I look back on that moment now and realize even then I grasped, at some level,
that the events of that day would alter both my military career and my country
forever. Though I did not know that three years later, to the day, I would be
flying combat missions in Iraq as an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot, I did understand
that a war had just begun, on television for the world to see, and that my
classmates and I would fight that war. After lunch we were told to go to
our rooms, clean our weapons and pack our gear for possible deployment to the
Pentagon to augment perimeter security. The parting words of the order were to
make sure we packed
gloves, in case we had to handle bodies.
The first Marine killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom was in my company at The Basic
School, and was sitting in that land navigation class on September 11. He
fought bravely, led from the front, and was killed seizing an oil refinery on
the opening day of the war. His heroism made my emergency procedure
memorization for the T-34 primary flight school trainer seem quite
insignificant. This feeling of frustration was shared by all of the student
pilots, but we continued to press on. As one instructor pointed out to us,
"You will fight this war, not me. Make sure that you are prepared when you
get there." He was right; my classmates from Pensacola are here beside me,
flying every day in support of the Marines on the ground. That instructor has
since retired, but I believe he has retired knowing that he made a contribution
to the greatest country in the history of the world, the United States of
America.
Many of you will read that statement and balk at its apparently presumptuous
and arrogant nature, and perhaps be tempted to stop reading right here. I would
ask that you keep going, for I did not say that Americans are better than
anyone else, for I do not believe that to be the case. I did not say that our
country, its leaders, military or intelligence services are perfect or have
never made mistakes, because throughout history they have, and will continue to
do so, despite their best efforts. The Nation is more than the sum of its
citizens and leaders, more than its history, present, or future; a nation has
contemporary values which change as its leaders change, but it also has
timeless character, ideals forged with the blood and courage of patriots. To
quote the Pledge of Allegiance, our nation was founded "under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." As Americans, we have more
freedom than we can handle sometimes.
If you are an atheist you might have a problem with that whole "under
God" part; if you are against liberating the people of Iraq, Afghanistan,
Asia, all of Europe (twice), and the former Soviet bloc, then perhaps the
"liberty and justice for all" section might leave you fuming. Our
Nation, throughout its history, has watered the seeds of democracy on many
continents, with blood, even when the country was in disagreement about those
decisions. Disagreement is a wonderful thing. To disagree with your neighbors
and your government is at the very heart of freedom. Citizens have disagreed
about every important and controversial decision made by their leaders
throughout history. Truman had the courage to drop two nuclear weapons in order
to end the largest war in history, and then, by his actions, prevented the
Soviets from extinguishing the light of democracy in Eastern Europe, Berlin.
Lincoln preserved our country through civil war; Reagan knew in his heart that
freedom is a more powerful weapon than oppression.
Leaders are paid to make difficult, sometimes controversial decisions. History
will judge the success of their actions and the purity of their intent in a way
that is impossible at the present moment. In your disagreement and debate about
the current conflict, however, be very careful that you do not jeopardize your
nation or those who serve. The best time to use your freedom of speech to
debate difficult decisions is before they are made, not when the lives of your
countrymen are on the line.
Cherish your civil rights; I know that after having been in Iraq for only one
month I have a new appreciation for mine. You have the right to say that you
"support the troops" but oppose the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. You
have the right to vote for Senator John Kerry because you believe that he has
an exit strategy for Iraq, or because you just cannot stand President Bush. You
have the right to vote for President George W. Bush if you believe that he has
done a good job over the last four years. You might even decide that you do not
want to vote at all and would rather avoid the issues as much as possible. That
is certainly your option, and doing nothing is the only option for many people
in this world.
It is not my place, nor am I allowed by the Uniformed Code of Military Justice,
to tell you how to vote. But I can explain to you the truth about what is going
on around you. We know, and have known from the beginning, that the ultimate
success or failure of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the future of
those countries, rests solely on the shoulders of the Iraqi and Afghani people.
If someone complains that we should not have gone to war with Saddam Hussein,
that our intelligence was bad, that President Bush's motives were impure, then
take the appropriate action. Exercise your right to vote for Senator Kerry, but
please stop complaining about something that happened over a year ago. The
decision to deploy our military in Iraq and Afghanistan is in the past, and
while I believe that it is important to the democratic process for our nation
to analyze the decisions of our leadership in order to avoid repeating
mistakes, it is far more important to focus on the future. The question of
which candidate will "get us out of Iraq sooner" should not be a
consideration in your mind. YOU SHOULD NOT WANT US OUT OF IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN
SOONER. There is only one coherent exit strategy that will make our time here
worthwhile and validate the sacrifice of so many of our countrymen. There is
only one strategy that has a chance of promoting peace and stabilizing the
Middle East. It is the exit strategy of both candidates, though voiced with
varying volumes and differing degrees of clarity. I will speak of Iraq because
that is where I am, though I feel the underlying principle applies to both Iraq
and Afghanistan.
The American military must continue to help train and support the Iraqi Police,
National Guard, and Armed Forces. We must continue to give them both
responsibility and the authority with which to carry out those responsibilities,
so that they eventually can kill or capture the former regime elements and
foreign terrorists that are trying to create a radical, oppressive state. We
must continue to repair the infrastructure that we damaged during the conflict,
and improve the infrastructure that was insufficient when Saddam was in power.
We should welcome and encourage partners in the coalition but recognize that
many will choose the path of least resistance and opt out; many of our
traditional allies have been doing this for years and it should not surprise
us. We must respect the citizens of Iraq and help them to understand the
meaning of basic human rights, for those are something the average Iraqi has
never experienced. We must be respectful of our cultural and religious differences.
We must help the Iraqis develop national pride, and most importantly, we must
leave this country better than we found it, at the right time, with a chance of
success so that its people will have an opportunity to forge their own destiny.
We must do all of these things as quickly and efficiently as possible so that
we are not seen as occupiers, but rather liberators and helpers. We must
communicate this to the world as clearly and frequently as possible, both with
words and actions.
If we leave before these things are done, then Iraq will fall into anarchy and
possibly plunge the Middle East into another war. The ability of the United
States to conduct foreign policy will be severely, and perhaps permanently,
degraded. Terrorism will increase, both in America and around the world, as
America will have demonstrated that it is not interested in building and
helping, only destroying. If we run or exit early, we prove to our enemies that
terror is more powerful and potent than freedom. Many nations, like Spain, have
already affirmed this in the minds of the terrorists. Our failure, and its
consequences, will be squarely on our shoulders as a nation. It will be our
fault. If we stay the course and Iraq or Afghanistan falls into civil war on
its own, then our hands are clean. As a citizen of the United States and a U.S.
Marine, I will be able to sleep at night with nothing on my conscience, for I
know that I, and my country, have done as much as we could for these people. If
we leave early, I will not be able to live with myself, and neither should you.
The blood will be on our hands, the failure on our watch.
The bottom line is this: Republican or Democrat, approve or disapprove of the
decision to go to war, you need to support our efforts here. You cannot both
support the troops and protest their mission. Every time the parent of a fallen
Marine gets on CNN with a photo, accusing President Bush of murdering his son,
the enemy wins a strategic victory. I cannot begin to comprehend the grief he
feels at the death of his son, but he dishonors the memory of my brave brother
who paid the ultimate price. That Marine volunteered to serve, just like the
rest of us. No one here was drafted. I am proud of my service and that of my
peers. I am ashamed of that parent's actions, and I pray to God that if I am
killed my parents will stand with pride before the cameras and reaffirm their
belief that my life and sacrifice mattered; they loved me dearly and they
firmly support the military and its mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. With that
statement, they communicate very clearly to our enemies around the world that
America is united, that we cannot be
intimidated by kidnappings, decapitations and torture, and that we care enough
about the Afghani and Iraqi people to give them a chance at democracy and basic
human rights. Do not support those that seek failure for us, or seek to
trivialize the sacrifices made here. Do not make the deaths of your countrymen
be in vain. Communicate to your media and elected officials that you are behind
us and our mission. Send letters and encouragement to those who are deployed.
When you meet a person that serves you, whether in the armed forces, police, or
fire department, show them respect. Thank the spouses around you every day,
raising children alone, whose loved ones are deployed. Remember not only those
that have paid the ultimate price, but the veterans that bear the physical and
emotional scars of defending your freedom. At the very least, follow your
mother's advice. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at
all." Do not give the enemy a foothold in our Nation's public opinion. He
rejoices at Fahrenheit 9/11 and applauds every time an American slams our
efforts. The military can succeed here so long as American citizens support us
wholeheartedly.
The following is not new. It still applies. I feel that in should
be recycled at this time. It could have been written today. Please
give it wide distribution.
GOD BLESS the UNITED STATES of AMERICA
Josh
It
was my privilege to serve in World War II as a Merchant seaman out of Mobile
Alabama 4 years, The United States Marine Corps for 9 years which
including the Pusan Perimeter. That stopped the U.S. Army from being
pushed into the sea in August 1950. The Inchon Landing, capture of Kimpo
Airfield, capture and securing the Capital Seoul, landing at Wonson. This
action left no North Korean Army in Korea. We were a United Nation's
Force and felt the war was over. Unknown to us, a United Nation's Force
was Massing along the Yalu river. My regiment of the 1st Marine Division
along with one other Marine Regiment had gotten to The Chosen Reservoir.
On 27 November, 8 Divisions (a full field army) of Chinese surprised us.
Their objective reinforced by 4 more Divisions was to annihilate a United
States Marine Division. They felt it would be a very large propaganda
triumph. From situation maps, I deduced that they were getting their
intelligence from the United Nations deployment office. That office, from
all I've been able to guess at, was in charge of a Russian General and his
Staff in New York. You are aware that they did not succeed. After
we crippled all their divisions, my Company D-2-5 and other survivors walked
(frozen) 40 or more miles, fighting all the way. I was flown to the Navy
Hospital at Yokosuka, Japan on 18 December 1950. I served the rest of my nine
years and transferred to Air Force Intelligence for 6 Years. While in
this capacity I helped make reports to Commander in Chief, President John F.
Kennedy. We, in the 8th Air force Reconnaissance Squadron, kept him
informed of where Russian missiles bound for Cuba originated and where they
were located on ships. Before my 6 years in the United States Air
Force was up I was called to active duty in the United States Army Intelligence
with posting at Fort Carson, Colorado. I was sent on temporary duty to Army
Divisions in the Southwest to train their newly formed tactical air
intelligence units. In 1965 with 5 men we went to South Vietnam. My
next temporary assignment was to train the 25th Division Intelligence Unit in
Hawaii. Surprise-surprise, I was assigned to them permanently and within
two weeks we left for a year in CU Chi, South Vietnam. The year being up
in 1966, I was assigned as Commanding Officer of the 502nd Military
Intelligence Unit attached to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood,
Texas. During the Army time so far my wife, Marian (an angel) had been
alone with 4 teenagers, and a toddler for most of 4 years. I went back to
South Vietnam only once more and transferred to the reserves and fully retired
in 1991.
Semper Fidelis
Josh
The
following is true and in due time the creator of Heaven and Earth will
according to the Torah, Gospels, and Quran make the day in which there is no
doubt.
Peace will reign
Josh
Interesting site for comparing the various sects of Islam and gleaning a
greater understanding of the way some have exploited the negative view of this
religion.
What is Difference between Islam and Today's PRACTICES?
Dear
Truth- seeker,
Here is critically important information that you need for your survival:
information about "The TRUE Meaning of the Bible and ORIGINAL and TRUE
Koran" * and "The Way home or face The Fire" which is the
"Mother of the Book" referred to in the Koran and the "little
Book" referred to in the Book of Christ's Revelation, which contains the
only survival-plan that is guaranteed to work, guaranteed by the Ruler of the
Universe Himself.
* The Authorized Version Old Testament - New Testament - TRUE Koran - in ONE
Book; all in the same language with Thees and Thous, called "The King of kings'
Bible".
The Koran that is promoted and distributed by the Meccans and which has caused
countless wars between christians and moslems (because of its corrupted message
about Jesus) and millions of deaths over hundreds of years is NOT the original
version of the Koran that was given to Mohammed Mustafa by Gabriel in A.D. 640.
The one that you can read an extract from by clicking below IS the ORIGINAL
version, in English, and it is in PERFECT harmony with The king James' Bible
and is in fact the third part of the Bible and was always intended by God to be
so.
The Meccans corrupted the Message that had been given to Mohammed, and the
Koran, to turn people away from God's Holy Temple in Jerusalem (Psalm 138:2);
which Mohammed taught his followers to turn to face and go on Pilgrimage (Haj)
to; in order to promote their pagan religious site in Mecca, that was condemned
by Mohammed - "Peace be upon him" and make zillions from pilgrims. In
so doing they prevented the uniting of the Books, created division and
hostility between all believers, by also building mosques, in direct opposition
to God's Will (Sura 9:107); Mohammed's Mission and the Koran itself.
Koran Sura 9:107. And there are those who put up mosques (churches; synagogues;
etc.), by way of mischief and BETRAYAL - to disunite the Believers - and in
preparation for one who warred against "I AM" (Revelation 12:7) and
His Messenger aforetime. They will indeed swear that their intention is nothing
but good; but "I AM" (Allah) doth declare that they are certainly
LIARS.
Did YOU know that the Koran COMMANDS its readers to read the Bible and keep The
Covenant in the Torah? However, they do not do so because the Meccans have told
them that the True Bible and Torah no longer exists, which of course is a LIE and
God Himself says so in the Koran (Sura 32:23*). The king James Authorised
Version Bible is the TRUE Bible.
* Koran Sura 32:23. We did indeed aforetime give the Book (Torah) to Moses: be
then NOT IN DOUBT of its (The Torah) reaching (THEE): and We made it a Guide to
the Children of Israel.
Only by publishing the new "King of kings' Bible", which includes the
ORIGINAL Koran, can we get our brothers the moslems to know that they have to
read the Bible and bring the world together, in peace, with everyone keeping
The Covenant, which is God's Will (Islam in Arabic) as He says in the Bible and
in the Koran and all worshipping towards His only Holy Temple, in Jerusalem, at
Abraham's Station on Mt. Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1; 1 kings 8:29-30; Genesis
22:2).
2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build The (Kaba) House of the "I
AM" (God/Allah) at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where [the "I AM"]
appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the
threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1 kings 8:29 That Thine eyes may be open toward this house (Kaba) night and
day, [even] toward the place of which Thou hast said, My name shall be there:
that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward
this place (Moriah).
8:30 And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant, and of Thy people
Israel (those who champion God's Cause in the world), when they shall pray
toward this place: and hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place: and when Thou
hearest, forgive.
Genesis 22:2 And He (God/Allah) said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for
a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Please read this Original Koran extract.
Josh
The
following came from a site called "Quran only"
&n