What the fuck was that? I understand that he and I do not see eye to eye on anything. But holy fucking fucking dog shit on a stick, I am just more confused every time this douche opens it's mouth. Why is he going back to the old playbook of ideas he used in the campaign? He did nothing he promised then, does he or his cronies really believe that people are really going to start believing that he can now deliver on these B.S. promises now? Has he not realized that everyone he campaigned for in the election in November lost and he helped lose the MA. senate seat. Hey Bam people are moving away from you not to you. Now all of a sudden jobs have become the number one priority of this administration, it should always been priorty one in the midst of a recession, but health care reform was his number one priority. He could not ram it down our throats, thank God, so it takes a back seat. In the meantime millions of people lost their jobs and he talks about saving 2,000,000 jobs. WTF? Saved jobs? Seriously? I have known for two years now that Obama and his supporters were delusional but the insanity is getting worse and worse. Now all of a sudden he wants to drill for oil in the U.S., he wants nuclear power and clean coal. Wow you take a beating and all of a sudden these are good ideas. If you were for drilling from the beginning, we would be two years closer to getting that crude on the market. Wow cheap gas that would be like a tax cut to the American people. I know you think tax cuts are bad but we out here in the real world who actually work for a living need them and those of us trying to get ahead (i.e. investing in the stock market) need them even more. All you want to do is take our hard earned wages. Yes I know those are hard concepts for you to follow 1. the money is ours and 2. people earn their money with work. Your populist rhetoric only shows your contempt for the citizens of this country; earmarks, all of a sudden, are a problem. This coming from someone who tried to make all kinds of last minute backroom deals to get the health care bill passed before the MA. special election, you are a lying sack of shit.
Let's face the reality you are one giant series of mistakes that are all forgivable in your eyes because you were all well intentioned. Well shove your intentions up your skinny ashy ass. The truth is you are an asshole even worse you are an anti-American asshole. You hate this country you hate how it is set up and you hate how it works. In the last two days you stated that you did not change how congress works no shit asshole, we know you cannot change how it works no matter how much you want to. Then you attacked the Supreme Court who merely reaffirmed the right of Freedom of Speech with their ruling last week and tonight you attacked it again causing Justice Alito to utter a rebuttal. You sir are worse than Nixon, LBJ, FDR, Hoover, Wilson and you have fucked up the U.S. this badly in only one year. Americans are not buying your bullshit you are in big trouble, it is going to be three more long years for you but it will be even worse for us.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Pictures From Sgt. Christopher Hrbek Parade
Follwing up yestersdday's post with some pictures from the parade. The kids with the sign are my nieces and 2 of my nephews. The ten year old boy (with the phone) made the sign and came up with the saying all by himself. A good job by the Newark Star Ledger and props for posting them.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Jersey Hero Comes Home
Sure Scott Brown won in Massachusetts that is good. Obama is beginning to lose support and be exposed as the fraud he his. Haiti is flattened and Americans are giving in record numbers to charities. We are still fighting two wars and our young men are dying. Without Dubya the media no longer covers the war on terror or the men who fight it. But this week it hit home near my little corner of America. A kid was killed, a Marine who did 3 tours in Iraq, stepped on an IED in Afghanistan. I never met this Marine; I could have coached against this kid while he was in high school. Just another anonymous kid who grew up to be a hero. Rest in peace Sgt. Hrbek and thank you, may your family find comfort in your memory and knowing what a great man you were. These are the men and women who make this country great. Read this article and maybe you can learn a little something about this exceptional person. I wish I had known him. I hope you do too. A very good article from The New York Daily News.
Slain hero Sgt. Christopher Hrbek begins journey home from Afghanistan
Michael Daly
mdaly@nydailynews.com
Thursday, January 21st 2010, 4:00 AM
Ruark/AP
As the nation's attention was divided between Haiti and Massachusetts, the remains of 25-year-old Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek began the journey home from Afghanistan.
Hrbek had been called to join his two older brothers in the FDNY, but he decided he was not done being a Marine even after three combat tours in Iraq.
He deployed to Afghanistan in November, just before President Obama officially announced the surge.
Two days before Christmas, Hrbek braved intense gunfire to save the life of a Marine sergeant major who lost both legs in an IED explosion.
Last week, Hrbek stepped on an IED, but he was instantly beyond saving.
On Tuesday, a casualty officer read aloud a letter to Hrbek's family from Sgt. Maj. Raymond Mackey, whose life Hrbek had saved before losing his own.
"Thanking us for having a son who was such a true Marine, who thought nothing of getting in harm's way to save his life," said Hrbek's stepfather, Jaymee Hodges.
This morning, the family will drive to the military mortuary in Dover, Del. They will escort Hrbek's coffin home to the New Jersey town of Westwood, across the river from the city where his brothers serve with Rescue 1 and Engine 59.
The motorcade will proceed down flag-lined streets, passing his elementary school and high school. Students will stand outside in tribute to this magnificent young man who died on a fourth combat tour.
The funeral will be on Saturday. Hrbek will receive the Bronze Star posthumously for actions he described in a phone call to his family on Christmas Day.
Hrbek told them he had been on patrol when there was an explosion 10 paces behind him. He had turned to see Mackey still in the air, both legs gone, an arm in bad shape. Then came the gunfire.
"He said, 'I heard this boom. I saw what happened and dragged him out of harm's way and just started wrapping him with tourniquets with the Navy corpsman," the stepfather recalled.
Hrbek said the corpsman had applied seven tourniquets and stopped the bleeding. Hrbek also mentioned that two Marine generals, one a four-star, had sought him out on Christmas Eve to commend him and say he was being put in for a Bronze Star for valor.
"I said, 'A four-star general came?'" his stepfather recalled. "He said, 'Yeah. He's a really nice guy.'"
The stepfather was all the more proud because Hrbek spoke as if he had only been doing what a Marine does.
"When you're humble about things, it means you're doing it from the heart," the stepfather said.
And everybody who knew Hrbek knew how much he loved serving his country as a Marine. He had made his feelings about being a Marine known when he was in New York on Fleet Week and stopped by Rescue 1 to see his brother, Jim Hodges.
"I could do this for the rest of my life!" Hrbek declared.
On into the New Year, Hrbek managed to call home from Afghanistan every few days. He offered a front-line Marine's view of the situation in Helmand Province.
"He said, 'It's bad,'" the stepfather recalled. "He never said that when he was in Iraq."
Hrbek reported to the family that the man he had saved was bound for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
"He said to me, 'I sent word back you and mom would go down to Maryland to see Sgt. Mackey,'" the stepfather remembered.
Two days after the last phone call, the stepfather encountered two Marines as he returned home. He told them he knew why they were there.
"I said, 'When?'" the stepfather recalled. "They said that morning. I said, 'How?' They said, 'An IED.'"
On Monday, a Marine presented Hrbek's mother with a Gold Star in recognition of her unfathomable loss.
The Marine then read the letter from the sergeant major. "He's forever grateful," the stepfather said.
In the days ahead, the stepfather and the mother will be traveling to Maryland to visit Mackey, just as they told their Marine they would.
"As soon as we get Christopher buried and get a little settled," the stepfather said.
He paused.
"It'll be good."
Slain hero Sgt. Christopher Hrbek begins journey home from Afghanistan
Michael Daly
mdaly@nydailynews.com
Thursday, January 21st 2010, 4:00 AM
Ruark/AP
As the nation's attention was divided between Haiti and Massachusetts, the remains of 25-year-old Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek began the journey home from Afghanistan.
Hrbek had been called to join his two older brothers in the FDNY, but he decided he was not done being a Marine even after three combat tours in Iraq.
He deployed to Afghanistan in November, just before President Obama officially announced the surge.
Two days before Christmas, Hrbek braved intense gunfire to save the life of a Marine sergeant major who lost both legs in an IED explosion.
Last week, Hrbek stepped on an IED, but he was instantly beyond saving.
On Tuesday, a casualty officer read aloud a letter to Hrbek's family from Sgt. Maj. Raymond Mackey, whose life Hrbek had saved before losing his own.
"Thanking us for having a son who was such a true Marine, who thought nothing of getting in harm's way to save his life," said Hrbek's stepfather, Jaymee Hodges.
This morning, the family will drive to the military mortuary in Dover, Del. They will escort Hrbek's coffin home to the New Jersey town of Westwood, across the river from the city where his brothers serve with Rescue 1 and Engine 59.
The motorcade will proceed down flag-lined streets, passing his elementary school and high school. Students will stand outside in tribute to this magnificent young man who died on a fourth combat tour.
The funeral will be on Saturday. Hrbek will receive the Bronze Star posthumously for actions he described in a phone call to his family on Christmas Day.
Hrbek told them he had been on patrol when there was an explosion 10 paces behind him. He had turned to see Mackey still in the air, both legs gone, an arm in bad shape. Then came the gunfire.
"He said, 'I heard this boom. I saw what happened and dragged him out of harm's way and just started wrapping him with tourniquets with the Navy corpsman," the stepfather recalled.
Hrbek said the corpsman had applied seven tourniquets and stopped the bleeding. Hrbek also mentioned that two Marine generals, one a four-star, had sought him out on Christmas Eve to commend him and say he was being put in for a Bronze Star for valor.
"I said, 'A four-star general came?'" his stepfather recalled. "He said, 'Yeah. He's a really nice guy.'"
The stepfather was all the more proud because Hrbek spoke as if he had only been doing what a Marine does.
"When you're humble about things, it means you're doing it from the heart," the stepfather said.
And everybody who knew Hrbek knew how much he loved serving his country as a Marine. He had made his feelings about being a Marine known when he was in New York on Fleet Week and stopped by Rescue 1 to see his brother, Jim Hodges.
"I could do this for the rest of my life!" Hrbek declared.
On into the New Year, Hrbek managed to call home from Afghanistan every few days. He offered a front-line Marine's view of the situation in Helmand Province.
"He said, 'It's bad,'" the stepfather recalled. "He never said that when he was in Iraq."
Hrbek reported to the family that the man he had saved was bound for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
"He said to me, 'I sent word back you and mom would go down to Maryland to see Sgt. Mackey,'" the stepfather remembered.
Two days after the last phone call, the stepfather encountered two Marines as he returned home. He told them he knew why they were there.
"I said, 'When?'" the stepfather recalled. "They said that morning. I said, 'How?' They said, 'An IED.'"
On Monday, a Marine presented Hrbek's mother with a Gold Star in recognition of her unfathomable loss.
The Marine then read the letter from the sergeant major. "He's forever grateful," the stepfather said.
In the days ahead, the stepfather and the mother will be traveling to Maryland to visit Mackey, just as they told their Marine they would.
"As soon as we get Christopher buried and get a little settled," the stepfather said.
He paused.
"It'll be good."
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bait and Switch
Okay are you happy now? While you were feeling sorry for the dead in Haiti your leader, who was taught to never let a crisis go unexploited, decided two things. 1. that all banks will pay a a bailout fee and 2. that unions will not pay a Cadillac tax on top notch health insurance until 2017.
Let us start with the banks which also includes Wall Street firms. Now for what Obama actually said. "When I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people -- folks who have not been made whole and who continue to face real hardship in this recession -- we want our money back, and we're gonna get it. And that's why I'm proposing a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street. Our goal is not to punish Wall Street firms but rather to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly caused the collapse of many of these firms in the financial system itself. We cannot go be back to business as usual, and when we see reports of firms once again engaging in risky bets to reap quick rewards -- when we see a return to compensation practices that seem not to reflect what the country has been through -- all that looks like business as usual to me."
So while American hearts are heavy he looks for someone to blame, to exploit and to turn your anger on. Wall Streeters and bankers these are the ones that caused this tragedy in Haiti are the dots he wants you to connect. Some of you might think this is a crazy theory but just think about it. Do you think he is not capable of being this psychological? Well maybe he is too stupid for that but the commie/Alinsky loving fuckers backing him are not, their main functions are lying, manipulating, twisting the truth and changing the system to run in their image of it. They need someone to blame and they have always blamed the "haves" they have never been inspired to be the "haves" or anything else positive for that matter. They have for their whole lives sat on their collective (pun intended) asses and wrote papers and books about what is wrong with this great country. Of course we still cannot read any of president dickhead's college papers, which I am sure if any had he would not have gotten half of the votes he did in '08. When these "villains" are assessed these fees who do think is going to pay for them? Us, that is right, you people are catching, all of the bank's customers will have these fees passed on to them. We need banks to survive, we cannot keep our money in our mattresses now can we? Thank you for another tax you "light skinned" fuckhead. Bankers are not the bad guys, hell they are just highly motivated, competitive American capitalists trying to get what they can while they can. I guess if that makes them bad guys we all are bad guys. Do you see what anti-American douche bags Obama and his brethren are?
Speaking of getting what they can our marxist unions friends did not want to be taxed at the same rates for their Cadillac health plans as the rest of those that can afford them. Just like in George Orwell's 1984; everyone is equal but some are more equal than others. Do not forget Obama's pledge that we are all going to have to sacrifice for this. Well I guess not everyone, Barry. Certainly not those who gave millions of dollars to his campaign. Now do not for one freakin second think that this was not the plan from the start. Obama and the administration commies never even entertained the thought of ever taxing unions the same as the rest of America. Oh and by the way this exemption lasts until 2017 and there will be a presidential election 2016 and the democrat candidate will not say that the democrats delivered this exemption during that whole campaign at any rally involving unions. No, he/she/it would never do that. These guys are all about the power and keeping it. Shit that is so far away Obama may declare himself President for life by then after all, it would be racist not to let do whatever he wants. Yet again who is going to have to take up this slack in health care taxes? Yep you got it. Being in a union is unAmerican it is Marxist/Communist. That is who and what this administration takes it policy ideas from. The question you should ask yourself is: Are you okay with that?
Let us start with the banks which also includes Wall Street firms. Now for what Obama actually said. "When I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people -- folks who have not been made whole and who continue to face real hardship in this recession -- we want our money back, and we're gonna get it. And that's why I'm proposing a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street. Our goal is not to punish Wall Street firms but rather to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly caused the collapse of many of these firms in the financial system itself. We cannot go be back to business as usual, and when we see reports of firms once again engaging in risky bets to reap quick rewards -- when we see a return to compensation practices that seem not to reflect what the country has been through -- all that looks like business as usual to me."
So while American hearts are heavy he looks for someone to blame, to exploit and to turn your anger on. Wall Streeters and bankers these are the ones that caused this tragedy in Haiti are the dots he wants you to connect. Some of you might think this is a crazy theory but just think about it. Do you think he is not capable of being this psychological? Well maybe he is too stupid for that but the commie/Alinsky loving fuckers backing him are not, their main functions are lying, manipulating, twisting the truth and changing the system to run in their image of it. They need someone to blame and they have always blamed the "haves" they have never been inspired to be the "haves" or anything else positive for that matter. They have for their whole lives sat on their collective (pun intended) asses and wrote papers and books about what is wrong with this great country. Of course we still cannot read any of president dickhead's college papers, which I am sure if any had he would not have gotten half of the votes he did in '08. When these "villains" are assessed these fees who do think is going to pay for them? Us, that is right, you people are catching, all of the bank's customers will have these fees passed on to them. We need banks to survive, we cannot keep our money in our mattresses now can we? Thank you for another tax you "light skinned" fuckhead. Bankers are not the bad guys, hell they are just highly motivated, competitive American capitalists trying to get what they can while they can. I guess if that makes them bad guys we all are bad guys. Do you see what anti-American douche bags Obama and his brethren are?
Speaking of getting what they can our marxist unions friends did not want to be taxed at the same rates for their Cadillac health plans as the rest of those that can afford them. Just like in George Orwell's 1984; everyone is equal but some are more equal than others. Do not forget Obama's pledge that we are all going to have to sacrifice for this. Well I guess not everyone, Barry. Certainly not those who gave millions of dollars to his campaign. Now do not for one freakin second think that this was not the plan from the start. Obama and the administration commies never even entertained the thought of ever taxing unions the same as the rest of America. Oh and by the way this exemption lasts until 2017 and there will be a presidential election 2016 and the democrat candidate will not say that the democrats delivered this exemption during that whole campaign at any rally involving unions. No, he/she/it would never do that. These guys are all about the power and keeping it. Shit that is so far away Obama may declare himself President for life by then after all, it would be racist not to let do whatever he wants. Yet again who is going to have to take up this slack in health care taxes? Yep you got it. Being in a union is unAmerican it is Marxist/Communist. That is who and what this administration takes it policy ideas from. The question you should ask yourself is: Are you okay with that?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
It Has Been A Week
So I have not posted for a while. Well fuck you, I have been busy and today I am in a bad fucking mood. Mostly due to being busy at work and then being too tired to write anything at night. Other causes would be Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Pelosi, congress as a whole, liberals, the media's hypocrisy. Plus I have been trying to find a new gun worth buying and I cannot choose which one. But seven days have passed since my last post so I figured now is the time. But like I said I am in a bad mood so brace yourself. I could not give a shit less about the fucking earthquake in Haiti. Haiti is a drag on the world economy, these people produce nothing other than refugees. They are the welfare state personified. These people are the poorest of the poor because their government has enslaved them in socialism. This was a natural disaster, no, this was a city of clay and brick huts built on a fault line, not the smartest idea mankind has come up with so far. The reports from the land of voodoo and burning tire necklaces are saying 200,000 dead. Their own government will not miss them, same goes for the rest of the world. This is what Obama wants here a natural disaster that kills Americans, fewer people to oppose his policies and more people to scare into falling in his party line. Is it tragic? Yes, of course it is. So was the tsunami in Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh but that is what happens in that part of the world to coastal villages. When you want to build permanent structures or huts at or below sea level understand that the sea will claim them eventually. Same goes for this country. Are you listening New Orleans? New York? Miami? Boston? Venice is being reclaimed by the sea so they came up with a gate system to keep the water out, seriously that is no different than this congress and administration passing this "health care" bill's costs onto future generations. What a waste. No not the people killed they were pretty much wasting their lives living in such a sorry state. The waste is the people all over the world not using their God given right to live free and be free. Wake up and fight for your freedom before a "natural" disaster happens here thanks to those in charge.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
America Rising
Nicely put together video for those that agree that these congressional and administration fuckers need more than a stern talking to. "Tea Party" protests are not enough. Keep buying firearms Americans, you are going to need them because as they drive this country into the shitter toward third world status. These fuckers need to know that when they seriously harm the U.S. they will be seriously harmed. Of course this does not go quite that far, it suggests we just vote them out. It will take more than that to save America. Here it is anyway.
America Rising An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians:
America Rising An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians:
Monday, January 4, 2010
West Point- The U.S. Military Academy
A very poignant article from The Wall Street Journal about the kind of young men and women our service academies are accepting and turning out. We need more stories like this about the character of the real leaders of this country. Great job Mr. McGurn.
A Salute to West Point The school tries to build a military led by officers of character.
By WILLIAM MCGURN
Even in the age of emails, blogs and tweets, the formal letter can still command attention. Especially when it bears the signature of the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point—and congratulates the recipient on his appointment.
Along with hundreds of other anxious high-school seniors, my nephew opened such a letter over the Christmas holidays. For his family, it brought back many memories. Just about all of us live within an hour's drive of West Point. For most of our lives, the academy has been a beautiful backdrop: for football games, wedding receptions, the occasional drive up for lunch at the Thayer Hotel, and so on.
Now the beauty mixes with apprehension. For me it was brought home in 2006, when I attended the commencement as part of the president's entourage. Theirs was the first class to enter West Point after the attacks of Sept. 11. As I watched these happy graduates, I thought: In a few years, some of those celebrating today will not be with us. Thus far, alas, war has claimed two young men who received the gold bars of a second lieutenant that day: Lt. Nick A. Dewhirst, killed in Afghanistan; Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, killed in Iraq.
Can my nephew comprehend the sacrifice he commits himself to? The critics say we romanticize war and hide the realities from those who will do the dying. I'm not so sure. At West Point this past autumn for a football game, I went to the refrigerator of a helicopter pilot-turned-instructor in search of a Diet Coke. On the door I found a yellow ribbon with the name of the officer's West Point roommate, an infantry captain named Doug DiCenzo who was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad when his son was just 16 months old.
On a campus where the cemetery includes the dead from two centuries of American wars, sobering reminders are everywhere: the young wife and children left behind, the good friends who do not make the trip home, the empty space at the reunion. The true glory of West Point is that all know the fear and cost of war but refuse to surrender to them.
Whether character can be taught is an age-old question; usually we refer to its being built. West Point does not pretend its cadets are immune from the normal temptations of our culture. After all, they come from the same towns and high schools other universities draw from. The difference is that at West Point, words such as duty, honor and country are spoken without irony—and a scandal is a scandal because behavior is still measured against standards.
A paper on the academy's Web site explains the honor code this way: "An officer who is not trustworthy cannot be tolerated; in some professions the cost of dishonesty is measured in dollars—in the Army, the cost is measured in human lives. The ability of West Point to educate, train and inspire outstanding leaders of character for our Army is predicated upon the functional necessity of honesty."
In other words, the promise is not that West Point will produce the next generation of Grants, MacArthurs, Eisenhowers or Petraeuses—though it will. The promise is more consequential. To the moms and dads of all those in uniform, West Point says: When America puts your sons and daughters in harm's way, they will be led by men and woman of character and ability.
In the days since my nephew's acceptance, the reaction has been interesting. Some are impressed. Others . . . well, let's just say the assumption often seems to be that a student chooses a service academy because he or she was not accepted anywhere better, or is going simply because it's free.
In my nephew's case, neither is true. His father and his father's father both served in the Navy; his other grandfather was a Marine. So his loved ones are a little saddened when we come across people apparently unable to process the idea that an intelligent young American with the world at his feet could be led by a sense of duty to West Point in a time of war.
When I look at my nephew, I can still see the baby I once lugged to the car in his carrier. A few springs from now, if he rises to this challenge as we know he will, I will sit in that stadium high above the Hudson as Timothy Dore, USMA Class of '14, takes his place in that long gray line. Around me that day will be thousands of other uncles, aunts, moms, dads, brothers, sisters and grandparents who are now, with great pride, passing around a letter from the West Point superintendent like the one my nephew received.
This academy is not for everyone. But the choice made by these young men and women makes this uncle want to salute.
Write to MainStreet@wsj.com
William McGurn is a Vice President at News Corporation who writes speeches for CEO Rupert Murdoch. Previously he served as Chief Speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
Mr. McGurn has served as chief editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal in New York. He spent more than a decade overseas -- in Brussels for The Wall Street Journal/Europe and in Hong Kong with both the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. And in the mid-1990s, he was Washington Bureau Chief for National Review.
Bill is author of a book on Hong Kong ("Perfidious Albion") and a monograph on terrorism ("Terrorist or Freedom Fighter"). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, holds a BA in philosophy from Notre Dame and an MS in Communications from Boston University.
A Salute to West Point The school tries to build a military led by officers of character.
By WILLIAM MCGURN
Even in the age of emails, blogs and tweets, the formal letter can still command attention. Especially when it bears the signature of the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point—and congratulates the recipient on his appointment.
Along with hundreds of other anxious high-school seniors, my nephew opened such a letter over the Christmas holidays. For his family, it brought back many memories. Just about all of us live within an hour's drive of West Point. For most of our lives, the academy has been a beautiful backdrop: for football games, wedding receptions, the occasional drive up for lunch at the Thayer Hotel, and so on.
Now the beauty mixes with apprehension. For me it was brought home in 2006, when I attended the commencement as part of the president's entourage. Theirs was the first class to enter West Point after the attacks of Sept. 11. As I watched these happy graduates, I thought: In a few years, some of those celebrating today will not be with us. Thus far, alas, war has claimed two young men who received the gold bars of a second lieutenant that day: Lt. Nick A. Dewhirst, killed in Afghanistan; Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, killed in Iraq.
Can my nephew comprehend the sacrifice he commits himself to? The critics say we romanticize war and hide the realities from those who will do the dying. I'm not so sure. At West Point this past autumn for a football game, I went to the refrigerator of a helicopter pilot-turned-instructor in search of a Diet Coke. On the door I found a yellow ribbon with the name of the officer's West Point roommate, an infantry captain named Doug DiCenzo who was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad when his son was just 16 months old.
On a campus where the cemetery includes the dead from two centuries of American wars, sobering reminders are everywhere: the young wife and children left behind, the good friends who do not make the trip home, the empty space at the reunion. The true glory of West Point is that all know the fear and cost of war but refuse to surrender to them.
Whether character can be taught is an age-old question; usually we refer to its being built. West Point does not pretend its cadets are immune from the normal temptations of our culture. After all, they come from the same towns and high schools other universities draw from. The difference is that at West Point, words such as duty, honor and country are spoken without irony—and a scandal is a scandal because behavior is still measured against standards.
A paper on the academy's Web site explains the honor code this way: "An officer who is not trustworthy cannot be tolerated; in some professions the cost of dishonesty is measured in dollars—in the Army, the cost is measured in human lives. The ability of West Point to educate, train and inspire outstanding leaders of character for our Army is predicated upon the functional necessity of honesty."
In other words, the promise is not that West Point will produce the next generation of Grants, MacArthurs, Eisenhowers or Petraeuses—though it will. The promise is more consequential. To the moms and dads of all those in uniform, West Point says: When America puts your sons and daughters in harm's way, they will be led by men and woman of character and ability.
In the days since my nephew's acceptance, the reaction has been interesting. Some are impressed. Others . . . well, let's just say the assumption often seems to be that a student chooses a service academy because he or she was not accepted anywhere better, or is going simply because it's free.
In my nephew's case, neither is true. His father and his father's father both served in the Navy; his other grandfather was a Marine. So his loved ones are a little saddened when we come across people apparently unable to process the idea that an intelligent young American with the world at his feet could be led by a sense of duty to West Point in a time of war.
When I look at my nephew, I can still see the baby I once lugged to the car in his carrier. A few springs from now, if he rises to this challenge as we know he will, I will sit in that stadium high above the Hudson as Timothy Dore, USMA Class of '14, takes his place in that long gray line. Around me that day will be thousands of other uncles, aunts, moms, dads, brothers, sisters and grandparents who are now, with great pride, passing around a letter from the West Point superintendent like the one my nephew received.
This academy is not for everyone. But the choice made by these young men and women makes this uncle want to salute.
Write to MainStreet@wsj.com
William McGurn is a Vice President at News Corporation who writes speeches for CEO Rupert Murdoch. Previously he served as Chief Speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
Mr. McGurn has served as chief editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal in New York. He spent more than a decade overseas -- in Brussels for The Wall Street Journal/Europe and in Hong Kong with both the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. And in the mid-1990s, he was Washington Bureau Chief for National Review.
Bill is author of a book on Hong Kong ("Perfidious Albion") and a monograph on terrorism ("Terrorist or Freedom Fighter"). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, holds a BA in philosophy from Notre Dame and an MS in Communications from Boston University.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2009 Glad to See Ya Go
Very rarely in American history do we see the convergence of morons and money to this extent. No I do not mean super rich liberal dickheads like Gerorge Soros, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. I am talking about Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Tiger Woods and Ben Bernanke. 2009 was one of the worst years in our history regardless of what the media talking heads say. We elected an anti-American dickhead communist who right away got to work undoing 230 years worth of freedom and progress. He brought with him an attorney general who believes murdering thug terrorists should be and will be treated better than American citizens in our own courts. Tiger Woods is nothing but an empty golf uniform (for lack of a better word). An image conjured up by some marketing expert but no real substance underneath. Just a whore mongering, yes he paid for it, stupid, leaving voice and text messages to said whores, jackass. Probably the greatest golfer to ever live, definitely one of the top 3 stupidest millionaires ever. The question is how much is his pussyfest going to cost him. These are just three reasons I am glad to see it go. 2010 I am happy you are here one year down in the experiment to turn America into Europe.
Ben Bernanke is an enemy of the state but even worse he is an enemy of the people. As always the left thinks this man is just brilliant Harvard, PhD from MIT, so yes he does well on tests and that proves he can memorize shit that comes out a book. Brilliant no. He is a academic who spent his time teaching at Stanford and Princeton. Then as a government employee as a scholar for the Fed. No real world experience he never produced anything of substance but just like Obama has written books only they are even more boring being they are academic textbooks and one about the Great Depression. Now for all his brilliance you think he would have seen the "Great Recession" coming and stemmed the effects. He was appointed in 2006 by Dubya; clearly not one of his best ideas. Ben did nothing to stem the hemorrhaging of bank accounts, mortgage defaults or 401K retirement plans. But what he did do was save the GM union jobs and democrat controlled Wall Street firms with the billion dollar bailout. Of course small and medium size banks throughout the nation have gone belly up and are under FDIC control. But he could give a shit less about those they do not give big to the DNC. The market soared regardless of what these incompetent democrat morons try, which if you were in, you made money. I love the fact that no matter what these anti-American dipshits pull, the American money machine will keep on keeping on (yeah I used it.) Oh by the way Bernanke was born in Augusta, Georgia you know, where Tiger has had some of his greatest triumphs. I know, creepy, right?
Ben Bernanke is an enemy of the state but even worse he is an enemy of the people. As always the left thinks this man is just brilliant Harvard, PhD from MIT, so yes he does well on tests and that proves he can memorize shit that comes out a book. Brilliant no. He is a academic who spent his time teaching at Stanford and Princeton. Then as a government employee as a scholar for the Fed. No real world experience he never produced anything of substance but just like Obama has written books only they are even more boring being they are academic textbooks and one about the Great Depression. Now for all his brilliance you think he would have seen the "Great Recession" coming and stemmed the effects. He was appointed in 2006 by Dubya; clearly not one of his best ideas. Ben did nothing to stem the hemorrhaging of bank accounts, mortgage defaults or 401K retirement plans. But what he did do was save the GM union jobs and democrat controlled Wall Street firms with the billion dollar bailout. Of course small and medium size banks throughout the nation have gone belly up and are under FDIC control. But he could give a shit less about those they do not give big to the DNC. The market soared regardless of what these incompetent democrat morons try, which if you were in, you made money. I love the fact that no matter what these anti-American dipshits pull, the American money machine will keep on keeping on (yeah I used it.) Oh by the way Bernanke was born in Augusta, Georgia you know, where Tiger has had some of his greatest triumphs. I know, creepy, right?
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