This almost sound like the title to a late 1950's Coasters Hit:
'Stormin' Norman and Straight Talkin' John!'
The man who wiped out Saddam's goons in four days and the man who will lead America in the War on Islamist Terror are in league: General Norman Schwarzkopf has endorsed Senator John McCain.
Click my post Title for this great story!
This from Chicago Tribune!
At 1:27 PM Fred Thompson dropped out of the GOP Race for the White House! Well done, Senator!
A Real Patriot and Gentleman, Fred Thompson, has served his Nation with his insights and opinions; criticisms and admonitions. Fred Thompson elevated the debate in this race.
This is Mr. Roland Vanderwagon of Nice Streets Terrace, Wasp Hollow SubDivision, Unincorporated Lake/Du Page County - He Has a Cordial Hatred of John McCain and all of His Straight Talk!
This is pretty much the rest of us.
I love the boys and girls at Illinois Review! John, Frannie, Mark, and especially George ! Shoot, a Democrat gets treated better by these folks than on the snarling, humorless Daily Kos wannbee sites here in Illinois.
They provide the editorial and feature ground work for the Progressive Tin-Foil Hat whinners at Illinois Reason - or as I call it No Comment Alley View: If Robin Vagicill or whatever his name is - did not prompt his sock puppets, no one would read that Blog but me - it's amusing and like watching little kids play Ghost and Super Hero: dead serious but harmless.
John McCain still faces an uphill battle against GOP (I AM THE REAL CONSERVATIVE)establishment.
Today my buddy John Ruskin posts a fair question as to John McCain's stand on Tax Cuts - well, kinda fair as John pulled out McCain's response from 2000. Click my post title for the Illinois Review post.
John McCain is a leader who brings together all Americans. My daughter is a McCain delegate - Irish Princess college girl to be sure - and so is Thomas Hayes. Tommy Hayes is an African American Pro Boxer/ Chicago Police Department Candidate - same age as Nora, of the Not-Two-Nickles to Rub Together Hickeys.
Here is my response to What Kind of John McCain will we get - raised by Pal Ruskin:
Brother Ruskin,
This is the John McCain I have come to know and love: ( from Blogs for McCain)
McCain introduced "a slew of cost-cutting amendments. While many of these measures did not pass, they served an important role in shining a glaring light on congressional profligacy. These amendments include:
A 2006 amendment to cut $74.5 million for various agriculture programs[17] A 2006 amendment to cut $6 million for sugarcane growers in Hawaii[18] A 2003 amendment to reduce funding for the Yazoo Basin Backwater Pump Project in Mississippi[19] A 2002 amendment to eliminate $2.5 million for coral reef mapping of the waters off the coast of Hawaii[20] A 1998 amendment to cut $78 million in projects from an emergency supplemental appropriations bill[21] A 1994 motion to kill an amendment to provide $40 million for the conversion of a New York City post office into an Amtrak train station[22]
Senator McCain has also voted against a number of pricey bills, even when most of his colleagues preferred to toe the party line.
These include:
A vote against the 2003 Medicare prescription drug plan[23] A vote against the Farm Security Bill in 2002[24] A vote against the 2005 Highway Bill, one of only four senators to object to the pork-stuffed bill[25] A vote against providing Amtrak with an extra $550 million for the fiscal year 2007[26] A vote against $2 billion in milk subsidies[27] One of fifteen senators to vote for Senator Tom Coburn's (R-OK) amendment transferring $223 million for the "Bridge to Nowhere" to the repair of a Louisiana bridge damaged by Hurricane Katrina.[28] Senator McCain was also one of only thirteen senators to vote for an amendment by Senator Coburn to eliminate $950,000 for a parking lot for the Joslyn Art Museum in Nebraska[29] A vote for welfare reform[30]
John McCain is about governance...not politics.
Illinois Young Professionals for McCain
Kickoff Meeting!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
6:00-7:00PM
Brehon Pub, 731 N. Wells, Chicago, IL.
Join fellow supporters of Sen. John McCain for President at Brehon Pub (back bar) as we gear up for the Feb. 5 primary in Illinois. Learn about Sen. McCain and how you can help him win Illinois and represent the Republican Party this November!
Contact/RSVP to Shawn Healy at buckybacker97@yahoo.com or 312.505.6579
I decided to give John McCain the Old Irish Tribal title of "The" - what the hell I used Yeats yesterday and it is my Blog.
John McCain Surges in Tri-State Area, Remains Best Positioned to Win Key Feb. 5th States
Numbers Show McCain on Top
· In recent polls, John McCain has surged ahead of Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani in both of their respective home states, Massachusetts and New York.
· In New York and Connecticut, McCain leads Giuliani by double digits. In Connecticut, McCain leads by 23; in New York, McCain is ahead by 10.
· John McCain is ahead of Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Bay State by 27 percentage points.
CONNECTICUT
Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut
McCain 39%
Giuliani 16
Romney 11
NEW YORK
Siena New York Poll
McCain 34 %
Giuliani 24
Romney 10
NEW JERSEY
Rasmussen Poll
McCain 29%
Giuliani 27
Monmouth Univ/Gannett New Jersey Poll
McCain 29%
Giuliani 25
MASSACHUSETTS
State House News Poll
McCain 45%
Romney 18
*Independents prefer McCain to Romney by a 47 to 20 percent margin.
John McCain Maintains Strong Momentum, Continues Building Organizational Strength
· John McCain won the key states of New Hampshire and South Carolina and is well positioned to win Florida, which will propel him to victory in the February 5th states.
· Senator McCain continues to secure key endorsements and build strong grassroots organizations in every February 5th state.
· Today, John McCain will announce a strong leadership team in Connecticut, including the endorsements of a diverse group of key leaders.
· Senator McCain will also roll out a list of CT statewide grassroots leadership and coalition chairs today.
Illinois McCain Chairman James Durkin reported the Endorsement of John McCain by the Daily Hearld.
Here is part of the endosement:
McCain's campaign stands apart with messages focused on positive ideas. The contrast is striking and significant, the mark not just of a campaign but of the man.
As everyone knows, McCain demonstrated incredible courage and fortitude during his long imprisonment in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp, where he was tortured and subjected to other horrors. This is not a man who is going to be intimidated. McCain also is a man who has shown the capacity to forgive, a capacity to dwell on the positive, not on the negative.
He scores high marks on the tests of character and integrity, even his critics would have to acknowledge.
In the Senate, he has taken on the special interests and the too-mighty impact of the donated dollar. He was a leader in fashioning a campaign finance reform law that, while far from perfect, is so true in intention -- removing the corruptive influence of money in political campaigns.
McCain has fought hard to put a lid on the pork barrel full of wasteful projects funded by tax dollars from millions of Americans but benefiting only a select few with clout.
His economic ideas are shrewd and forward-thinking proposals to turn America back toward prosperity and to strengthen our edge in the global marketplace.
John McCain is now a Victorian. Sure don't seem like one to me, but what would I know? He seems like a well-adjusted American who was introduced to and developed a great appreciation for literature - the Great Conversation. These days, it seems, that literature is domain of the really smart - The Great Monlogue.
William (I call him Billy) Kristol, the really smart guy on FOX TV Cable News picked up on John McCain's allusion to 19th Century poet William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus” (1875). Have a White Owl, Billy!
John McCain said that 'We are Captains of our Fate' Billy caught that and coupled McCain's allusion to Henley's poem. Smart guy. Billy ought to stop by Keegan's Pub, when Jeopardy is on! 'I'll take Latin Poets and Hot Babes for $5,000 Alex!'
Kristol lets us know that McCain was alluding to 'Invictus.' Jimmy Molloy, now a retired Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent, got it. Chicago Fire Capt. Mike Miller got it. Hell, even I got. We read Henley in 1973 at Loyola University - The Public Transportation Harvard!
Annapolis Alumnus and Prisoner of War, John McCain used literature to off-set the horrors and depression of his five and half years of torture in the Hanoi Hilton.
I read Henley as part of a 19th Century British Literature survey course at Loyola University in 1973 - Henley was being dismissed as an artifact even then by the more fashionable professors and would be scooped up and taken to the memory dump by literary critics during the next thirty years, as cargo in the 'Dead White Guys' purge of literature and collective conscience.
Loyola University of Chicago is an urban Catholic school populated by lower middle class and middle class ethnic types. When I attended Loyola, my classes were filled with L-Riders from the south side at the Rush Street Lewis Towers Campus - my standard dress was grey janitors uniform to go along with my buzz hair-cut, as I was on 3-11PM shift after classes. My classmates often wore Khaki Police Cadet Uniforms, or Carroll's Red Hanger sports coats and smart young women's office wear for work at Sears on State Street and such.
Some of my classmates were Vietnam Vets and very few others attired themselves in Counter Culture wear. I had the late Dr. Hart, our Dean, for 19th Century Brit-Lit. He covered Henley and Kipling as well as the more canonized Ruskin, Arnold, Swinburne, Coleridge, Byron, Keats and Shelley.
In fact most of us in Hart's class enjoyed the Kipling and 'the minor' Victorians more as they promoted the values that each one of us lived - work hard, do a solid eight hours, take your lumps.
John McCain is very much like us L-Riders who became Police Officers, Firefighters, Sears Executives, School Teachers, Nurses, Accountants, and productive members of society. Loyola University provided a great education. Dr. Hart was not one of those teachers who dismissed writers, but introduced them to us - he allowed us to decide who was worthwhile and who was way off the critical mark.
Unlike John McCain, who was in the last years of his personal Gethsemane, we played with meter and message of 'Invictus' - we became Captains of our own souls.
We get it Billy. I don't think that makes McCain a Victorian - he's seems more of an Edwardian to me - sword in the cane; brandies with Oscar and Shav; having a bash at the Motts, Cards and Dice at Monte Carlo and what not?!
Click my post title for Billy Kristol's smart guy massage of John McCain. Billy was writing McCain's political obituary a couple of weeks ago, when all the L-Riders were supporting John McCain. Loyola University is a splendid school - thank you.
Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam
John McCain touches the hearts of all Americans. I was hooked when John McCain took his 2000 loss to George W. Bush and returned to serving his Country with Courage and Dignity. I vote Democratic Party, but I will vote for John McCain. I will vote for America.
John McCain took positions based upon his understanding of finding the best possible way out of a problem for all Americans, whether it was cutting wasteful Federal spending, campaign reform, immigration, health care, improving the quality of the American environment, and especially helping fight the global war on Islamist Terror.
John McCain stuck his chin out for his country and took the blows of political enemies on the left and the particularly ugly shots from the extreme right.
John McCain is no Mitt Romney - McCain has the scars and bruises of a guy who gets into the combat of living and Mitt looks like Central Casting's pick for the next HBO mini-series adaptation of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit - Hollywood wishes it could look like Mitt Romney.
John McCain looks like CPD Homicide Detectives Marty Tully and Billy Higgins; Cook County Sheriff Community Service Director Willie Winters; Veteran Grayslake Coach and Teacher Charlie Olson; ER Nurse Mary Terese Riordan; Carpenter J. C. Gutierrez; Roofer Eddie Carroll; 399 Stationary Engineer Dewey Sheehan;Coffee Shop Owner Kristi Martens who was run out of business by a greedy landlord; Grocer Tom Baffes - naw Tom's too good looking; Plumbing Contractor Tommy Hopkins; CFD Fire Capt. Mike Miller and former Fire Superintendent James T. Joyce;Special Education Teacher Ms. Pat Rosenhagen; Laid Off Veteran News Editors John Hector and Ed Koziarski; Labor Leader Brian Hickey; Leo High School President Bob Foster; Professional Boxer and CPD Recruit Thomas 'The Hit man' Hayes (27/1)and Thomas's coach attorney Mike Joyce. These are Americans I love and respect.
John McCain looks like all of the courageous people listed above who are scarred from Vietnam, burned on the job and because of job, bruised by disappointments, and burdened with responsibilities. Higgins and Tully caught the people who murdered little girls and allowed them to decompose in the trunk of a car for most of the hottest summer Chicago ever experienced. Kristi Martens who lost her business though she paid every bill and met every payroll because a real estate developer exacted an excessive rent on her; James Joyce ordered every firefighter in his command out of a building and waited until his order was obeyed - the building fell in on Jim Joyce and turned his tough athletic body into jelly. Jim Joyce went to rehab for years and returned to lead the entire Chicago Fire Department. Bob Foster stepped in and went sleepless and exhausted for years in order to save failing Catholic high school so black young men would have a school that would provide them an opportunity to succeed. Charlie Olson resigned as tennis coach rather than act against the interests of his students - though it cost him a place in the IHSA Coaching Hall of Fame.
Most Americans understand fear and face it down. They understand loss - grieve and go back to work. Americans suffer set-backs and disappoints and shake it off to move up the next grade with greater determination. Americans see what is the ugliest and most horrific in human experience and exert every effort to make sure that none of that reaches the people they love.
They understand what William Butler Yeats wrote 'A King is but a foolish laborer who wastes his blood to be another's Dream.' Heroes bleed. Most heroes say 'it hurts a bit.' ( Click my post title for this beautifully wonderful and under examined poem - its speaks to the nature of heroism)
They do not live to 'Be Somebody, but to Serve.' John McCain said that last night.
*EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY*
REMARKS BY JOHN MCCAIN ON SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY VICTORY
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
Contact: Press Office
Saturday, January 19, 2008
703-650-5550
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following remarks by John McCain as prepared for delivery:
Thank you, my friends, and thank you, South Carolina , for bringing us across the finish line first in the first in the south primary. It took us a while, but what's eight years among friends. It just gave us the opportunity to spend more time in this beautiful state; to talk with you and listen to you; and to come to admire all the more the deep patriotism of South Carolinians , who have sacrificed so much to defend our country from its enemies. It is a great privilege to have come to know so many of you, and I am very grateful for and humbled by the support you have given our campaign. Thank you especially, for braving the very un-South Carolina like weather today to exercise the first responsibility of an American; not just those South Carolinians who voted for us, but all of you who voted today for the candidate you believe is best suited to lead the country you love. I think I can speak for all of the Republican candidat es, when I say, South Carolinians are never just fair weather friends.
And, of course, I am deeply grateful to our South Carolina team, and to the many dedicated volunteers who gave so generously of their time and labor and kept us competitive in some pretty challenging times. I hope you know how much your friendship means to me. The debt I owe you is a privilege and an obligation, which I promise you, I will faithfully discharge.
I want to thank my wife, Cindy, the best campaigner in the family, and my daughters Meghan and Sidney, who are with us tonight, as well as my son, Doug, and our children who could not be here, and of course, my dear mother, Roberta McCain. It is obvious to me, and to all who know me, that we would not be where we are tonight, but for your love, encouragement and faith in me.
In the course of this campaign, I have tried as best I could, to tell people the truth about the challenges facing our country, and how I intend to address them. As I have said before, I know that before I can win your vote, I must earn your respect. And the only way I know how to do that is by being honest with you. I have tried to do that throughout this campaign, and to put my trust in your willingness to give me your fair consideration. So far, it seems to be working out just fine.
I am aware that for the last 28 years, the winner of the South Carolina primary has been the nominee of our party. We have a ways to go, of course. There are some tough contests ahead, starting tomorrow in the state of Florida . But, my friends, we are well on our way tonight. And I feel very good about our chances.
As pleased as we are that we have a reason to celebrate tonight, I know that I must keep foremost in my mind that I am not running for President to be somebody, but to do something. I am running to keep America safe, prosperous and proud. I am running to restore the trust of the American people in their government. I am running so that our children and their children will have even greater opportunities than the ones we were blessed with. I am running so that every person in this country, now and in generations to come, will know the same, sublime honor that has been the treasure of my life: to be proud to be an American.
I seek the nomination of our Party, because I am as confident today as I was when I first entered public life as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution that the principles of the Republican Party -- our confidence in the good sense and resourcefulness of free people -- are always in America 's best interests. In war and peace, in good times and challenging ones, we have always known that the first responsibility of government it to keep this country safe from its enemies, and the American people free of a heavy handed government that spends too much of their money, and tries to do for them what they are better able to do for themselves. We want government to do its job, not your job; to do it better and to do it with less of your money; to defend our nation's security wisely and effectively, because the cost of our defense is so dear to us; to respect our values because they are the true source of our strength; to enforce t he rule of law that is first defense of freedom; to keep the promises it makes to us and not make promises it will not keep. We believe government should do only those things we cannot do individually, and then get out of the way so that the most industrious, ingenious, and enterprising people in the world can do what they have always done, build an even greater country than the one they inherited.
My friends, I know we are facing challenging economic times, and we must be responsive to the concerns of Americans who fear they are being left behind in the global economy. But nothing is inevitable in our country. We are the captains of our fate. We can overcome any challenge as long as we keep our courage, and stand by our defense of free markets, low taxes, and small government that have made America the greatest land of opportunity in the world.
I have served our country all my adult life, and I am prepared for the high office I seek. I asked South Carolinians to help give me the opportunity to serve the country I love a little while longer. You have done that, and I will never forget it. I promise you I will always put America -- her strength, her ideals, her future -- before every other consideration. Thank you, South Carolina , for your trust. I will not let you down, so help me God. Good night and God bless you as you have blessed me.
Hours before the mopes of MSNBC and the tethered right-wing newsreaders of Fox will give the check mark to John McCain, I am calling John McCain the winner by between 5 and 6%
My highly unscientific projection is based upon the photo of the four year old girl and John McCain by Meghan McCain from earlier this week and the recent poll of children that declare John McCain the winner.
I will also predict that Fred Thompson will drop from the race by Sunday Night CST and endorse John McCain.
Hey, it's what I do.
UPDATE @ 8:40 PM McCain 33% over Huckabee 30%
Off by Three Points; On to Florida - Illinois is already Cooking! Thanks Kids!
John McCain ended his campaign in South Carolina from USS Yorktown pictured above.
This is an American President! ( Emphases my own)
On September 11, our country was attacked by a depraved, malevolent force that hates every value Americans hold dear. It was a terrible blow that no one alive today will ever forget. But we will survive it. Our enemies will not. I have every confidence that the American people and their government will remain resolute in waging the war that has been declared on us. We have been attacked and we are fighting back. And woe to anyone who dares oppose us.
We have now begun the first phase of military operations against our enemies. As President Bush has explained, this war will have many components, diplomatic, financial, intelligence. It will include both overt and covert operations. But American military power is essential to our success. There should be no confusion about that. Nor should Mr. bin Laden or anyone who wishes this country harm have any doubt about what America can accomplish by force when we are obliged to use it. They wrongly believed they could destroy the way we live our lives. They are now just beginning to understand just how radically their lives are going to change.
The professionalism and power of our armed forces, stronger by a magnitude of ten than any other nation on earth, is something only a fool would underestimate. When it is brought to bear in great and terrible measure it is a thing to strike terror into the heart of anyone who opposes it. No mountain is big enough, no cave deep enough to hide from the fury of American military power when we are committed to victory. We must not shrink from using it, in whatever measure necessary, to defeat our enemies, wherever they are.
I agree that we will have to use force wisely to avoid inflaming the hatred for America that our enemies have been allowed to sow in the Islamic world. Toward that end, we should try hard to minimize non-combatant casualties. If we can use means other than force in some countries to achieve our goal, then we should. But we must keep our attention firmly fixed on our primary goal. Our goal is to vanquish terrorism, not reduce it, not change its operations, not temporarily subdue it, but vanquish it. All other concerns are secondary. It is a difficult, demanding task we have undertaken. We must expect and prepare for our enemies to strike us again before they are vanquished. Some of this war will be fought at home. And the casualties that we will suffer may again include civilians. We must keep our nerve at all costs. We should use no more force than necessary, but no less than necessary. Fighting this war in half measures will only give our enemies time and opportunity to strike us again. We must change and change permanently the mindset of terrorists, those who give them sanctuary and support, and those parts of Islamic populations who believe the terrorist conceit that they will ultimately prevail in a conflict with the West, that America has not the stomach to wage a relentless, long term, and, at times, ruthless war to destroy them.
We are at war, a new kind of war as the President has rightly called it. It might not involve nations clashing in conventional sea, land and air battles, although it is possible that it could come to that. I should add that I don't consider the operations in Afghanistan that commenced on Sunday to be a war against a nation, much less a war against the Muslim world. The Taliban and Al Queda are not legitimate representatives of that country, they are terrorists, period, who represent evil, not nations. But whatever this war's unique attributes, it is war nonetheless, and like all wars it will require sacrifice and hardship and casualties. And like all wars it will occasion great heroism.
This war will still be underway, in one form or another, when some of you, perhaps all of you, receive your commissions. Eighty thousand sailors and marines have already been summoned to war. Over three dozen warships, including the carriers Enterprise, Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt and the Kitty Hawk have been deployed. Four battle groups, including Marine Corps Amphibious Ready Groups, destroyers, cruisers, submarines and support ships, are on station. We know that much of the air campaign to date has been waged from American and British ships. And although this war cannot and will not be fought only with cruise missiles and from 15,000 feet in the air, the Navy and Marine Corps are always an essential instrument of American power, and your service will be essential to our victory, in Afghanistan and beyond if necessary. It is your duty and your honor to defend the greatest nation in history in its hour of need. I envy you.
I say that fully aware of the hardships and risks that we impose on those we send to fight for us. I say that fully aware of the horrors that war inevitably visits on the innocent. I don't think war is glorious. I don't know a veteran who cherishes a romantic remembrance of war. All wars are awful. When nations must defend themselves by force of arms, a million tragedies ensue. Nothing, not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify the cruel and merciless reality of warfare. That's what makes war a thing to be avoided if possible. But it is not possible now. There was no avoiding the war we are in today anymore than we could have avoided world war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
In truth, this war was declared by our enemies long before the attacks of September 11. And our reluctance to recognize this reality, and commit ourselves to unconditional victory, has been a very costly mistake. Because the only things worse than war are the consequences of refusing to wage and win it when our vital interests and founding ideals are at stake.
Our enemies have now made plain to us the clear and present danger they pose to our physical security and to the very essence of our culture, liberty. Only the most willfully deluded Americans could doubt the necessity of this war. We must fight. And we must prevail.
The term of art for the warfare of terrorists is asymmetrical. It is the kind of warfare practiced by militarily inferior forces against superior ones. We are most certainly militarily superior to our enemies. But so was the Soviet Union when it invaded Afghanistan, if not nearly to the extent that we are, as al Queda and their Taliban allies are now learning. Yet what ensures our success is that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals, and our unconquerable love for them. Our enemies are weaker than us in arms and men, but they are weaker still in causes. They fight to express their irrational hatred for all that is good in humanity, a hatred that has fallen time and again to the armies and ideals of the righteous. We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. We will never surrender. They will.
The obligation of victory is shared by all Americans, but not equally. The public and the men and women they elect to serve them must share a resolve to see this war through to a just end, whatever the costs incurred, whatever setbacks we might encounter. As in all wars, we must endure before we prevail. Our elected leaders, from the most obscure office holder to the Commander-in-Chief, must not, as the President so eloquently promised, tire, falter or fail. The President and his able cabinet must, and I am confident will, wage this war wisely and decisively. But government is responsible for the summons. It falls to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, it falls to you to give the answer. This is a righteous cause, and there is much honor in your summons, but more honor still in your answer. I have no doubt that you are worthy of it. No doubt at all.
In America, our rights come before our duties, as well they should. We are a free people, and among those freedoms is the liberty to sacrifice or not for our birthright. We no longer have military conscription. Nor do we need it because we can rely on the patriotism of more than sufficient numbers of Americans to defend willingly the liberty of us all. Yet early in life, you have grasped a great truth: that those who claim their liberty but not their duty to the civilization that ensures it live a half-life, having indulged their vanity and self-interest at the cost of their self-respect. The richest man or woman, the most successful and celebrated of our citizens possesses nothing important if their lives have no greater object than themselves. They may be masters of their fate, but what a poor destiny it is that claims no higher cause than wealth and fame.
I do not believe that war and military service are the only means to honor in America. God grants us all the privilege of having our character and our patriotism tested. But those who wear the uniform of the United States know better than anyone the meaning of American citizenship.
Should we claim our rights and leave to others our duty to the nation that protects them, whatever we gain for ourselves will be of little lasting value. It will build no monuments to virtue, claim no place in the memory of posterity, offer no worthy summons to aspiring nations. Success, wealth, celebrity gained and kept for private interest is a small thing. It makes us comfortable, eases the material hardships our children will bear, purchases a fleeting regard for our lives, yet not the self-respect that in the end will matter to you most. But sacrifice for a cause greater than self-interest and you invest your lives with the eminence of that cause, your self-respect assured.
My father's generation fought depression and world war. Members of my generation fought in the Cold War and in the struggle for a more perfect union, a more just society. Some fought in uniform and some did not, but all rendered good service to America and humanity. Service in worthy causes give our lives meaning. They give even the most obscure names historical importance. Even when the names of the men and women who serve in them are forgotten, the world will still remember what they did.
When I was a young man, I thought glory was the highest ambition, and that all glory was self-glory. My parents tried to teach me otherwise, as did the Naval Academy. But I didn't understand the lesson until later in life, when I confronted challenges I never expected to face.
In that confrontation, I discovered I was dependent on others to a greater extent than I had ever realized, but that neither they nor the cause we served made any claims on my identity. On the contrary, they gave me a larger sense of myself than I had before. I discovered that nothing is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself; something that encompasses you, but is not defined by your existence alone.
I have held a public trust since I graduated from the Academy forty-three years ago. I have never lived a single day, in good times and bad, that I wasn't grateful for the privilege. This country and her causes are a blessing to mankind, and they honor all who work to make America a better place, and a greater influence on human history.
For all the terrible problems that still afflict humanity, the 21st Century would have dawned on a much less hopeful world absent America's place in it. This is what our enemies fail to understand. But they'll know it soon enough. As they race to their bunkers and caves while the might of the world's only superpower concentrates on their destruction, they will learn just how powerful a force for good we are.
Until the end of time, will there ever be a nation such as ours? I cannot imagine that any other nation's history will ever so profoundly affect the progress of the human race. That is not boastful chauvinism. It is a profession of faith in the American creed, and in the patriots who understood what history expects of us, and who saw to it that America exceeded even the loftiest aspirations of our founders.
We are not a perfect nation. Prosperity and power might delude us into thinking we have achieved that distinction, but challenges unforeseen a mere generation ago command every good citizen's concern and labor. But what we have achieved in our brief history is irrefutable proof that a nation conceived in liberty will prove stronger than any nation ordered to exalt the few at the expense of the many or made from a common race or culture or to preserve traditions that have no greater attribute than longevity. As blessed as we are, as empowered by liberty as we are, no nation complacent in its greatness can long sustain it. We are an unfinished nation. And we are not a people of half-measures. We must all take our place, give our counsel, direct our passion to the enduring task of national greatness.
I believe we were all shaken from whatever complacency we may have felt before September 11. And that is one good thing to have arisen from the ashes of the World Trade Center. But it is only good so long as the absence of complacency does not provoke an absence of confidence. What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. We must all have faith in that truth. Armed with the power of our faith, we can endure whatever trials we must face.
Our enemies think we are weak, spared by prosperity from the hard uses of life, bred only for comfort and easy pleasure, and not the violent, cruel struggle they plan for us. The hatred that cramps their hearts has drained from their judgment all wisdom and understanding about the power of the civilization they battle.
Twelve years ago, in the first days of the last days of the Soviet empire, a young Czech student stood before a million of his countrymen, while two hundred thousand Soviet troops occupied his country, and, trembling with emotion, read a manifesto that declared a new day for the peoples of Eastern Europe. But he began that new day with borrowed words when he proclaimed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
The message of the American revolution is the central truth of human existence. Liberty is our God-given right. No one shall take it from us. We fight today, we will fight tomorrow, we will fight to the end of time to preserve it.
Our enemies have used our liberty to their cruel ends. But our freedom is not our weakness. It is our strength. We will not let it be circumscribed by fear. Our enemies have never had the strength to take our freedom from us. They have taken innocent life. That is the limit of their power. And awakened to their threat, we will destroy that power too.
The terror our enemies have tried to sow in the hearts of Americans will now be the essence of their lives, however abbreviated their lives will be. And when they meet their Maker they will learn that they had their theology all wrong. Right, not hate, makes might. As they experience our power, so will they know the full measure of our righteousness. And as their last hour approaches they can ask an all-loving God for mercy. But don't ask us. We bring justice, not mercy.
Soon you will be the shield behind which marches the enduring message of our revolution. There is no greater duty, no greater honor. Your country needs you. Humanity needs you. Hold that honor as dearly as your country holds you. Hold it as dearly as do those who have already been called to the battle. Hold it as if it were your greatest treasure. Because it is. It is. Whatever sacrifices you must bear, you will know a happiness far more sublime than pleasure.
My warrior days were long ago, but not so long ago that I have forgotten their purpose and their reward. This is your call to arms. This is your moment to make history. There will never be another nation such as ours. Take good care of her. The fate of the world depends upon it. May God bless you, as He has blessed America with your service.
Thank you.
Rush , Hannity, Colmes, and the powers they serve do not want John McCain; the entire Clown Opera that is MSNBC has been openly hostile to John McCain's surge with the American People; the diminutive jug-eared billionaire has tossed his Dixie Cup full of acid and missed by a mile; a group of politically funded Rambis ( Rambos without the resume) has attempted to smear McCain's Honor, but the American People recognize a tough, committed, honest and battle tested leader who will defeat America's Islamist terrorist enemies and shave the run-away spending of the self-interestes.
John McCain Stands for America. He is our neighbor. McCain is the leader most like us and will tell us the truth of plans and actions.
South Carolina back John McCain because:
America faces a dangerous, relentless enemy in the War against Islamic Extremists - We face an enemy that has repeatedly attacked us and remains committed to killing Americans and the destruction of our values. This election is about who is best prepared to lead and defend our nation and its global allies as Commander-in-Chief from day one. This election is about making sure we have the experienced leadership to guide us to victory in this war, protect the nation against future terrorist attacks, and support our troops and first responders who are on the frontlines of the war. This election will decide whether we choose to fight or announce surrender. It will decide whether we have a president who dangerously weakens U.S. security or strengthens it; whether we will flinch and retreat or fully engage the enemy on multiple fronts. We need decisive leadership with the vision and experience to guide our country and the world through this challenge. Having a courageous Commander-in-Chief who is willing to lead us in this war, rally our democratic allies and defeat our enemy to secure a broader peace is what's at stake in this election.
America is at an Economic Crossroads - Government spending is out-of-control. A Democrat elected President will join hands with a tax-and-spend Democratic Congress and subject Americans to enormous tax increases. Even now, the tax code is too complex and too burdensome. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid - the government's promises to seniors and those in need - must be modernized. Too many American workers are unprepared by non-performing schools and shackled by outdated government employment assistance programs. America needs experienced leadership to guide the U.S. economy to greater prosperity, control government spending, keep taxes low, save Social Security and protect the American worker. Americans want a leader willing to offer straight talk and make the hard calls necessary to ensure a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. The long-term strength of our economy and financial stability of American households are what's at stake in this election.
Americans have lost faith and trust in their government - Americans have lost trust that their government and its elected officials will serve the Nation's interest and not their own. Special interests have too much influence in Washington. Americans want a courageous leader who will stand up to the trial lawyers and labor bosses and other special interests, govern by principle rather than political expedience, keep their promises, and solve problems instead of leaving them for our children. Restoring Americans' confidence in their government is what's at stake in this election.
Americans want judges who will strictly interpret the law and not legislate from the bench - The next president will appoint many federal judges and perhaps even a Supreme Court justice. The recent victory on partial birth abortion is an example of how important the Supreme Court is in protecting our values and interpreting the law as it is written. America needs a president who will provide strong moral leadership. A Democrat president will appoint judges who make law with disregard for the will of the people, but to the cheers of those advancing a liberal social agenda. America needs a leader who recognizes that that the people and states should decide what's best, not the courts. The future of the U.S. Supreme Court is what's at stake in this election.
What are the Bold Solutions?
Winning the War Against Islamic Extremists. Radical Islamic extremists are a relentless threat to America, its citizens, and the values we share. In the words of the al Qaeda leadership, Iraq is the central battleground of this war. We face a fork in the road. John McCain will pursue our opportunity for victory in Iraq, strengthen our hand in the larger war against Islamic extremists, and make our nation more secure. Democrats will fold our tents, embolden our enemies, throw the region into instability, and increase the risks faced on our home soil. To concede defeat now would strengthen al Qaeda, empower Iran and other hostile powers in the Middle East, unleash a full scale civil war in Iraq that could lead to genocide, and destabilize the entire region as neighboring powers come to the aid of their favored factions. John McCain is best prepared to lead and defend our nation and its global allies as Commander-in-Chief from day one. He has the experience and leadership to defeat our enemy and secure a broader peace.
Reforming Health Care for All Americans. Real reform will put families in the driver's seat of our health care system. The road to reform does not lead through Washington and a hugely expensive, bureaucratic, government-controlled system. John McCain will harness competition to offer more affordable insurance options for as many Americans as possible, leveraging the innovation and cost-effectiveness of our nation's firms to put an end to existing rigid, unfriendly bureaucracies. He will build a national market where insurance is more available, portable, and accessible across state lines; in which patients' rights are respected and their information under their control; and one in which people may save more in tax-exempt Health Savings Accounts. He will assist those who need help in getting private insurance.
John McCain will provide incentives for a national market - including the reimportation of pharmaceuticals - that offer greater transparency about effective patient care, options for preventative care and therapies, and prices so that competition makes it easier for families to navigate toward quality and low cost. He will demand reform to medical malpractice laws to curb abusive lawsuits that squeeze doctors, prevent innovation, and drive up the cost of health care. We need more transparency of prices and quality measures so that patients can make informed choices.
Reforming Government. Americans have lost trust that their government and its elected officials will serve the Nation's interest and not their own. Special interests have too much influence in Washington. John McCain will bring spending under control, veto wasteful, pork-barrel spending bills every time, and keep taxes low. He will reform a tax code that is too complex and too burdensome. John McCain will modernize Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He will bring accountability, choice and competition to underperforming schools, so our children are equipped to take the best jobs of the 21st century. John McCain is the only leader willing to make the hard calls necessary to restore faith in our government and build a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.
John McCain...Courageous Service, Experienced Leadership, Bold Solutions.
This photo shows John Kass being interviewed by FOX Chicago News after the guilty verdict came down on Gov. George Ryan. I thought Kass to be especially hard on George Ryan, but he was motivated by the the deaths of six children.
Other journalists, who had made careers of kissing Governor Ryan's fanny, were much more vicious - as cowards always tend to be. Kass, with whom I disagree three days a week (which does not deprive him of sleep to be sure), is the best political writer since Finley Peter Dunne. Kass gets it right the other four days.
Today, one of the four, John Kass, the absolute best Chicago voice often compared to Mike Royko, chides Conservatives - especially GOP Righties - to stop bashing John McCain.
John Kass, who personally sticks his head into the issue of corruption in Illinois and who has been threatened by some of his targets, is a much better writer than Royko - Kass is the best Chicago political writer since Finley Peter Dunne, the creator of Mr. Dooley, and only bested for pure prose by his Chicago Tribune colleague, Sports Editor Dan McGrath.
Click my post title for John Kass on John McCain.
John McCain hooked me in his 2000 go around. After being torn apart in South Carolina in the one of nastiest Primary fights in memory ( Aside from this year's Democratic race - wait until it really takes off, Kids), John McCain dusted himself off and returned to service.
In this race, assailed by the Disney Channel Rejects spinning the news at MSNBC - clowns like the most fatuous blowhard in short-pants - Keith Olbermann and switch-hitting sycophants like Chris 'Milkey' Matthews -or Ross Perot the Jug Eared Midget Millionaire who bored a hole through America for President, Rambis ( Rambos without the resume), John McCain has connected with Americans.
In South Carolina, when others are frying squirrels on hot-plates, tossing snowballs like they were boulders, or cozying up to goofs like Hannity and Colmes, John McCain remains dignified, honorable, tough-minded and human. Like the little girl above with the tricycle - she can't vote, but McCain has time for her.
Asked about the POW Smear from the Rambis, McCain offered - 'it hurts a bit.'
The Hanoi Hilton was not the Peninsula or the Four Seasons, either.
Click my post title for John McCain's understated heroism.
Hat Tip to Mad Irishman Sheridan Folger - the hardest working Man in McCain's Blogger Sphere.http://madirishmaninc.blogspot.com/
Last week, I posted my disgust with MSNBC's mistreatment of Senator John McCain's Victory in New Hampshire, but this takes the cake.
Click my post title for 'This Much We Pledge' A Stand For McCain parallel video treatment of the New Hampshire Victory Speech by Senator McCain - the oafish news readers and clowns at MSNC.
Honor and then there's MSBC. Witness the simpering Peacocks.
Illinois Young Professionals for McCain
Kickoff Meeting!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
6:00-7:00PM
Brehon Pub, 731 N. Wells, Chicago, IL.
Join fellow supporters of Sen. John McCain for President at Brehon Pub (back bar) as we gear up for the Feb. 5 primary in Illinois. Learn about Sen. McCain and how you can help him win Illinois and represent the Republican Party this November!
Contact/RSVP to Shawn Healy at buckybacker97@yahoo.com or 312.505.6579
A recent article states that Veteran support for John McCcain is no sure thing, but John McCain's Presidency is sure thing for vets - here is Senator McCain's Program for Veterans:
America owes its liberty, its prosperity, and its future to our veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our great country. John McCain has fought to honor our national commitment to our veterans who have given their careers and livelihoods to ensuring our freedom. He believes we must provide for service members and their families while they serve, we must help those who return from combat to adjust to civilian life, and we must honor and never forget the service of those who do not return.
John McCain has been a leader in Congress, fighting for all those who serve and their families, improving veterans' health care, providing veterans with the benefits they have earned, easing their transition to civilian life, and honoring the fallen.
PROVIDING FOR OUR SERVICE MEMBERS
John McCain believes that meeting the needs of our service members who defend us is our obligation and is essential to our national security. He worked to increase pay scales for servicemen and women during both the Persian Gulf War and the current War on Terror and to increase enlistment and reenlistment bonuses for reservists and guardsmen. He also sponsored bills to give special tax relief to deployed service members and to set up overseas savings programs for the men and women fighting in the Gulf War.
HONORING THE SERVICE OF RESERVISTS AND GUARDSMEN
"For my part, I would simply affirm that the sacrifices borne by veterans deserve to be memorialized in something more lasting than marble or bronze or in the fleeting effect of a politician's speech. Your valor and your devotion to duty have earned your country's abiding concern for your well being. I am, I assure you, committed to honoring that debt."
John McCain, Remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 3/7/95
The nation's reserve personnel have been a vital component of the Global War on Terror, with reservists serving side-by-side with active duty members in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe. John McCain believes that the fundamental role of reservists has changed over the last decade, and given their invaluable role and the tremendous sacrifices that these men and women have made, they should receive additional benefits than those that they have traditionally been granted.
For this reason, John McCain has supported legislation to expand retirement benefits for reservists, supported provisions to expand eligibility for health care benefits for reservists and their families, and sponsored legislation to grant survivor benefit payments to the spouses of reservists who die during or as the result of training.
IMPROVING VETERANS' HEALTH CARE
John McCain believes that America's veterans who dedicated themselves to protecting our country deserve the highest quality health care. He is committed to ensuring that veterans' health care programs receive the funding necessary to provide the quality health care our veterans need and deserve. He has worked to ensure that the Veteran's Administration provides care for all eligible veterans, no matter where they live or what they need. In addition, John McCain has fought to ensure that retired servicemen and women have meaningful access to affordable health care.
Funding Veterans' Health Care
John McCain has voted repeatedly, throughout his career, to ensure that the Veteran's Administration health care programs receive the funding necessary to serve our veterans. He has supported numerous funding increases, initiatives to make the VA more efficient, and proposals to give higher pay to VA doctors in order to recruit and retain high quality physicians and dentists.
Expanding Veterans' Access to Health Care
John McCain has worked to ensure that geography does not prevent veterans from receiving the care they have earned. He supported measures to allow veterans in remote areas of Alaska to get care at existing facilities run by the Indian Health Service or tribal organizations. He also rallied support for a demonstration project to send mobile health centers to remote locations where veterans need care. In addition, he sponsored legislation that would ensure that health care funding is distributed fairly, and that eligible veterans in all regions of the country can equally access high quality health care.
Serving the Special Health Care Needs of Veterans
John McCain understands that veterans face a broad array of health challenges, many of which disproportionately afflict our former service members. He has fought to ensure that veterans receive health care that reflects their unique needs.
For this reason, John McCain advocated for guaranteeing health benefits to veterans who have been exposed to radiation. He also worked to advance studies on the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and to give disability benefits to veterans with cancer and other health problems caused by Agent Orange. He supported efforts to provide veterans with treatment for tobacco related illnesses and substance abuse problems, and he sponsored legislation to cover mental health care in military retiree health plans. John McCain has also been a leading advocate for providing veterans with hospice benefits.
Health Care for Retired Veterans
John McCain believes that all military retirees, even if they are not eligible for VA health care, should be provided with meaningful access to health care. The federal government should ease the burden of health care costs on those people who have dedicated their careers to protecting our freedom. He has supported allowing military retirees to remain eligible for CHAMPUS or TRICARE military health care programs even when they reach the age of 65 and are eligible for Medicare. He has also consistently supported efforts to give military retirees tax breaks to help pay health insurance premiums, and he has opposed placing user fees on military retirees for using military medical facilities.
PROVIDING VETERANS WITH THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED
John McCain strongly believes that it is our duty as a nation to provide our veterans, who dedicated their careers, risked their personal safety, and sometimes sacrificed their lives in order to protect us, with the benefits that we have promised them and that they have earned.
John McCain has voted consistently to increase funding for veterans' benefits, recognizing that the people who serve our country should get priority over the disgraceful amounts of spending on corporate subsidies and wasteful pork barrel spending. He also pushed for various initiatives to ensure that veterans who are eligible for benefits know what they are entitled to and have the resources to obtain their benefits.
CARING FOR OUR DISABLED VETERANS
John McCain has been a leading advocate in the Senate for disabled veterans throughout his entire career. He fought for nearly fifteen years, introducing numerous bills, to ensure that veterans with service-connected disabilities can receive the retirement benefits that they have earned, as well as the disability compensation benefits that they are entitled to. He has also worked to ensure that veterans can have their disability claims processed in a timely manner, working with the VA to rectify its huge backlog of claims and providing additional resources for that purpose.
John McCain believes very strongly that service members who suffered permanent injuries in service to our nation should not be forced to give up their disability compensation in order to collect their retirement pay. For this reason, John McCain has been a staunch supporter of repealing the historic ban on receiving both disability and retirement pay at the same time. Over the past few years, John McCain has successfully pushed for provisions to compensate disabled retired veterans for this disparity. Now, because of his efforts, veterans with severe combat-related disabilities are able to collect their retirement and disability compensation at the same time. John McCain will continue to fight for equal treatment of disabled veterans under the retirement system. In an effort to help disabled veterans with their health care, he cosponsored a measure to allow disabled veterans to be enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the same health insurance offered to Senators and Congressmen. He has also supported higher payments to disabled veterans and survivors of veterans who died because of service connected injuries.
John McCain has worked to increase VA resources for paralysis research, and he spearheaded an effort to establish a Blind Rehabilitation Center in Tucson, Arizona to help the 1,200 vets on waiting lists for rehab services for the blind.
A LEADING ADVOCATE FOR GULF WAR VETERANS
John McCain has always been a leader on veteran's issues, and Congress has often looked to him, particularly during times of conflict and war. On January 31, 1991, Senator Bob Dole appointed John McCain Co-Chairman of a task force to make recommendations to the Senate regarding effective policies to help the men and women and their families who served in Operations Desert Shield/Storm. John McCain worked with his colleagues to identify the most beneficial proposals, including doubling veteran and service member life insurance benefits, the establishment of a death gratuity payment for Persian Gulf service members, housing loan benefits for Gulf War veterans, expanded reemployment rights, and providing readjustment counseling for veterans.
EASING THE TRANSITION TO CIVILIAN LIFE
John McCain believes that we must do what we can to smooth the transition for veterans from military to civilian life. He has strongly supported educational and job counseling programs to help veterans get civilian employment. He has worked to provide new educational assistance for reservists. He also fought to extend the availability of G.I. bill education benefits for Vietnam veterans, and to expand flight training benefits to more veterans. In addition, John McCain is a strong supporter of the Troops-To-Teachers Act, a program to train veterans to become teachers, and introduced legislation to extend the program. John McCain also believes that we must provide more assistance to veterans who are recently discharged and has worked to extend unemployment and vocational training benefits for veterans.
John McCain has also been a strong advocate for those veterans most in need. He has supported numerous bills to help homeless veterans by providing them with counseling, independent living training, and residential treatment programs so that they can address and overcome those ailments that plague many homeless veterans, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.
PROTECTING VETERANS FROM FINANCIAL LOSS
John McCain has also worked for a number of other financial protection and relief provisions for service members and veterans. He supported amendments to the bankruptcy reform bill that would protect veterans from being denied bankruptcy claims if they incurred their debts while defending our country. He also sponsored legislation to extend the tax filing deadline for Gulf War service members. In addition, he pushed for legislation to protect veterans from scam artists and loan sharks who would prey on low income veterans by offering them a small amount of "fast cash" to sign over their veteran's benefits.
PROVIDING FOR THE FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN HEROES
John McCain believes that in addition to our national duty to provide benefits to veterans who return from combat, we must honor those who do not return and provide for their families with a death gratuity benefit and meaningful life insurance coverage. During the last two major military conflicts, John McCain worked to increase death gratuity payments. He cosponsored legislation to double the death gratuity payment in 2003 for service men and women who are killed in the War on Terror. He also sponsored legislation during the first Gulf War to increase the death gratuity payment, and to double the soldier and veterans' group life insurance.
In 2007, after learning about problems that the families of some service members killed in combat were having accessing the death gratuity payment, John McCain introduced legislation to allow service members to designate who they want their benefits to go to in the event of their death. John McCain has also worked to increase the survivor benefit plan for widows or widowers of retired veterans.
HONORING THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF OUR PAST AND PRESENT VETERANS
John McCain has worked throughout his time in Congress to fulfill our nation's solemn duty to honor those veterans who sacrificed their lives to protect our liberty. In 2006, he sponsored legislation to immortalize the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial as a symbol honoring veterans of the Korean War.
He also advocated for the creation of a number of other veterans' memorials, including a memorial to honor disabled veterans and the National Native American Veterans' Memorial. He sponsored legislation to create National Medal of Honor Sites to honor recipients of the Medal of Honor. He worked to create Arizona's only National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix, and he authored legislation to ensure that veterans have honor guards at their funerals.
Illinois Chairman Jim Durkin's Illini McCain Roadcrew delivered in St. Joseph and Berrien Counties in Southwestern Michigan.
McCain Counties are colored in Teal - I can not believe that I just used that word. Next I'll be saying MAGENTA! Naw, I still put horseradish on rye bread for my vegetable intake. Roots are Vegetables!
Great Work Team!
Hat Tip to Mitt Romney Fan Anne Leary of BackyardConservative Blog!
One of the best and hardest working John McCain Blogs going is ColeCurtis McCain Monitor conducted by Miss Vicki Hampton of the Great State of Alabama!
Miss Vicki, Yankees always wear a hat - so they can tip it to a Southern Belle!
Vicki Hampton was one of the very few Bloggers to get through with questions to Senator McCain and directed a solid question on Iraq to which the next President of the United States gave a terrific response.
Look for it on Vicki Hampton's Blog. Click my post title for the link!
That is John McCain. Somewhere far from what is going on in that photo was Jerry Kiley. Now, Jerry Kiley has re-written history at the behest of Duncan Hunter and a Publisher. That's Truthers, folks. click my post title for the groups smearing lies about John McCain.
One guy tries to make another person's heroism or success in life come down to his own level of misery or disappointment. That is why there are morons who wish to 'do away' with achievement in schools in favor of 'YOU ARE ALL SPECIAL!' The Hell we are!
Some of us are downright lousy. I can not close a circle with a pencil and I received C Minus in Art from Sister Gertrudis.
Some of us are heroic and charitable - some of us are gutless and miserable. Some of us are downright invisible.
The mere fact that John McCain's staff responded to a Truther is a sad reality. Truthers tell other people that Jews planned 9/11; that the Holocaust was a hoax; Dr. Martin Luther King was a Communist agent/the CIA placed 'crack' cocaine in America; and that our Troops in Iraq are paid agents of Oil Companies.
In the past there was a special place for Truthers, but the State of Illinois closed Manteno Mental Health Facility in the late 1970's.
Today Truthers teach at American Universities and are defended by Jello spined academic colleagues and lazy journalists - it is easier to make up the news than it is to actually do some leg-work.
I am an empiricist - I actually hear the tree that falls in the forest, but will take the word of people I respect and know that many other trees fell in different parts of that forest.
Here is the clown telling one and all, and somehow linked to a South Carolina Newspaper mogul and Duncan Hunter's will to be somebody - his name is Jerry Kiley.
In the old neighborhood, Mrs. Shea and Annie Hughes from Westport County Mayo would call him 'the poor thing, he's that touched.' True enough Girls - Kiley wrote this about himself:
Jerry Kiley
Gerard "Jerry" W. Kiley has been a key figure in the battle for U.S. POWs and MIAs and other U.S. veteran issues since 1983. He has served in a leadership role in a wide range of veterans' activities, from seminars and national meetings to protest demonstrations.
Kiley is proud of his fourteen months' service in a U.S. Army communications center in support of combat troops in Vietnam. Nearly thirty years after the end of the war he continues support of those who came home from an unpopular war to an unappreciative nation, as well those who were left behind.
For three years Kiley was Communications Director for the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition and later served as vice-chair of the organization for an additional three years. He also served in board positions for "The Last Firebase", "Veterans of the Vietnam War" and "Homecoming II Project", each dedicated to obtaining freedom for U.S. prisoners of war who remained in captivity in Southeast Asia after the end of the war.
Kiley learned his take-no-prisoners style and his tenacity while growing up in the Bronx and attending Catholic high school in Harlem. He received national attention when he confronted a college basketball player on court by holding an American Flag in front of her after her refusal to face the Flag during the playing of the National Anthem.
He currently holds a management position with thirty-seven years' service for a multi-billion dollar New York company, in which capacity he served a term as president of a Northeastern Industry professional association.
Kiley has been married for thirty-three years, and is the father of two children.
I am a
Canna
What Flower
Are You?
