The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts…
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.
So that your family can sleep without fright.
It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers”

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam’,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”
PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. Service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Beginning this Friday, December 11, at 7:00 p.m. at University Heights Baptist Church, “From Cradle to Cross” will be presented.  The greatest story ever told is shared this year by an WWII  soldier at the Battle of the Bulge.   Having been mortally wounded, he is able to share the story of Jesus with the medic who comes to his aid.  Little did that medic know, this was a divine appointment and he needed that wounded soldier to help heal his soul.

The production has five performances thoughout the weekend.  Check www.uhbc.net for more information.

Here are some of the images you will see:

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Come experience the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus!  You will leave changed!

To download issues 1,2,4,5,7,15 Thanks to Sparkman

Foxhole

or: Let’s all be honest, you would rather find boas than bombs in a closet

or: fun fact, gays can smell terrorists…but sadly they can’t tell us

Right now in Washington D.C., there are investigations in to the recruiting policies and monitoring of enlisted soldiers as to their religious affiliation in congruence with the mental stability of our soldiers. These hearings and investigative panels, of which there was one Thursday led by I-Joe Lieberman, are the direct result of the alleged actions at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. Investigations are going to delve deep, eventually, and massive overhauls of privacy rights for soldiers and further screening in recruiting as well as monitoring while in the armed forces will come, doubt on this can be none. These findings of the panels will be arbitrary at best on an isolated incident that has been categorized as ‘terrorism’ before the blood even dried in Texas. What will come out of this fear is policies put in place to allow for the government to monitor and spy on it’s servicemen and women…but what if they find something they don’t want to? How does this new ideology that will come from the aftermath of this tragedy affect the long standing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy put in place under Bill Clinton? Reconciling our fear of attack and the consequences of full disclosure run contradictory leaving us in nothing less than a moral and legal stalemate.

I foresee that within six months from now panels will find that monitoring the personal e-mails, contacts, phone records, and personal interactions of its soldiers as necessary to the further security of this nation. It will be stipulated that extensive background checks will be called for, and recruiting standards are going to come under close scrutiny as to allow for enough soldiers, but not let in too many ‘questionable’ individuals. What will occur is that each soldier will have to agree to give up their civil liberties, which to some extent they already do, but they will now be under full discretion of the Patriot Act and every facet of their lives will be a matter of military record and available for review at all times. Psychological exams and test as well as regular counseling and drug testing will be mandatory. Before enlisting every soldier will be subject to military, and the finding of the hearings will also dictate an outside department, the FBI, to fully screen every single candidate. Becoming a solider will now become a moment of being all that you can be, and then letting the government see exactly what that is, intimately.

Will this be the right path? Time will tell, as will public outcry or protest from soldiers, but it will happen. The nation is terrified at the possibility of the very idea that some ‘terrorist’ could possibly infiltrate US military defenses, weapons stockpiles, et al, and as with 9/11 we will allow for the government to take any measure to assure our safety. No doubt that incidents against Muslim servicemen and women will go up, we probably won’t hear about it though. As a minority, especially of middle eastern decent, they will be profiled and most likely scrutinized further than anyone else; they will be unfairly profiled, this is America and that is our knee-jerk reaction. Sorry. What will follow will be a Muslim witch hunt that will both embarrass and weaken the strength of our branches of the military. The shifting eyes from soldier to soldier started on that day, don’t pretend they didn’t, and now we are weary of one another which leads to fear which leads to incidents. Indeed.

Well, how does this effect those in the military who are under a prime directive put forth by the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States? What happens to those men and women serving, or wanting to serve, in the military who have something to hide because it is the law? For those in the military who must keep their sexual orientation and relationships secret, don’t you think that with enough snooping for terrorists we might uncover a few gays? “Sir, Private Jones is not a terrorist, he’s a queen, sir.” What then? It kind of defeats the purpose of a law that stipulates that a serviceman will not initiate a conversation on the nature of a soldiers orientation, but what if an investigation does the leg work for him? Then we have a primary issue, once it is known the soldier must be discharged, right? That’s the law. Wait, but we weren’t looking for gays, we were looking for terrorists. Look the other way then, but wait, that soldier is a gay…back to the shifty eyes.

What these investigations present us with a need to take a good, long look in the mirror as a nation and decide where we draw the line. The end result of this incident, the longest standing victim besides those killed, injured, and effected, will be the policies of full disclosure and something I think will be called the ‘Servicemen Activities/Identity Transparency’ act, or “say-it” (SA/IT, get it?), the antithesis of the DADT policy of today. This will, of course, require that we have full disclosure from all troops on all subjects, but this might be hard without first ending the DADT policy of the last nearly 17 years. Installing this policy shift without repealing DADT will be one slippery slope indeed, you cannot have two orders that are so utterly contradictory; they are both compromised by the presence of the other. We, as a country cannot have a full investigatory policy of all servicemen and women without first coming to terms with what we may find and how to deal with it. Has anyone even given a thought as to how we would arrest, imprison, court martial, sentence, or just discharge, a serviceman or woman…if they were either gay or a terrorist? How the hell would either of those proceedings go? We need to, before putting in new policies, decide about the end game and what the consequences might be if we got our wish and started outing people.

It is clear that there is a fundamentally philosophical issue at hand, “How much do we want to know to feel safe?” We are shining the light of scrutiny in to the closets of our citizens, and some of those closets may be quite flamboyant; that is not a military issue boa. What will happen to our puritanical beliefs and ‘ignorance is bliss’ mentality when we find answers to questions we weren’t asking? We want safety, but we don’t want [to know about] queers; what the fuck do scared, bigoted lawmakers do!? Well, I think in the interest of national security after this singular isolated incident of ‘terrorism’ by and ‘islamic extremist’ that is not the fault of policy or of any specific layer of governance, that we need to DO something; or at least appear to do something. We will rape the civil rights of soldiers and sodomize personal privacy for the good of the nation. However, this cannot go on while DADT is in place. I think I speak for everyone that, in this matter of relative safety, we can’t have two standing orders that contradict themselves; “Say It” and “DADT” cannot both be followed, and in the interest of the people’s feelings of safety, we might want to get over ourselves and be open about…everything, so as to further secure this country. I can’t speak from experience, but I would rather the man in a foxhole next to me be a confirmed ‘gay’ than a suspected ‘terrorist’, but that’s just me.

Fort Hood, Texas. Home of the United States Army 1ST Cavalry Division. Second to None!!

AMERICAN SOLDIERS ATTACKED AT HOME IN AMERICA!!

Soldiers coming back from the war and Soldiers preparing to go back to the frontlines, are killed by a muslim extremist whose patience paid off. The likes of Geraldo Rivera along with muslim groups and sympathizers are calling it a “stress related “mass” killing”. Obama and his “female partner” are using this “mass killing” as a kodak moment. Pelosi and her gang of pathetic pieces of human inconvenience are more concerned about socializing healthcare than they are securing the United States of America. All the while, General McCrystal awaits Obama’s decision on whether or not he gets the additional Soldiers he needs to fight these pathetic, witless, koran reading womb rejects.

Gees, I don’t know!! Maybe now would be a great time to SEND the 40 thousand Soldiers to Afghanistan. Better yet!! Why not deploy the United States Armed Forces throughout the continental United States? We need protection too! But from who? Hmmmmm! Is it our current government? Is it muslims?

Oh, I am sorry!! That sounds a lot like martial law, huh?

Okay then, will the real Nidal Malik Hasan please stand up? Uh oh, did I say stand up? I meant sit up and just breathe, your fate awaits.

The murderer, the islamic jihadist, the perpetrator of fraud, the anti- American muslim, the valueless piece of human waste and the epitome of a real and true muslim. This is the real Hasan contrary to what his family, fellow muslims,  Geraldo Rivera and his media support network might say.

THIS IS NOT STRESS; HASAN WAS NOT STRESSED!! If you media pro’s are looking for an argument that will enable your ratings based on your theory of stress, this time and rest assured, you are barking up the wrong tree. Obviously, you know not of what you speak.

Hasan NEVER, I say again, NEVER went to the war zone.

NEVER went headfirst into a foxhole dodging a mortar round or two.

NEVER fired a single round defending himself and fellow soldiers.

NEVER took cover from enemy small arms fire.

NEVER returned fire in defense of his position.

He has no claim nor the merit to align himself with the PTSD identifier.

Hasan, like ALL muslims, played on American values winning the hearts and minds of Obama and others, called himself American while singing the national anthem to “prove” he is a legitimate American.

Have the muslims really pulled the wool over the America’s eyes or what?

Hasan’s  jihadist charade wasn’t due to stress, it was his “allahu akbar” trash that sprang from his lips that solidified his True intent. Those of us who have been in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, know what’s coming when “allahu akbar” is announced. Hell!!!

The United States Armed Forces should now do what should have been done a long time ago, quarantine and lock up any and all muslims in the United States Armed Forces. Period!! Prevailing circumstances and justifiable cause win out. Then of course, the civilian side of America should follow suit and round up any and all muslims as dictated by the Constitution of the United States. We are at war with muslims and their islamic jihadism. The security of the United States preempts any and all “civil rights” these muslims enjoy as they only cry as an American when it suits their needs and “desires”.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has called for an investigation into whether or not the Army “missed signs that Hasan embraced extremist views of islamic ideology”. Nice try Joe, but it is your fellow Congressmen who endorse enlistments and military service as being a “volunteer, come as you are policy”. No profiling or prejudice. An act of Congress Joe!! You know what that means Joe, no argument or “note of protest” allowed. C’mon Joe, you know the ACLU would challenge every effort to keep America safe. So, why waste your time unless of course you have the American Soldier at your side?

The ACLU has endorsed opening up our streets and neighborhoods to these terrorists. The ACLU is the ACLU. Open borders. Safe havens in American cities for illegals. Criminal rights preferred over victims rights. Ban the American flag. Ban the Catholic or Christian cross.

US Army recruiters and recruits are shot dead in front of recruiting stations. American sons and daughters are being killed by terrorists and illegals and what does our country do? They give these inbred rejects “Rights”.

Remember, it was Janet Napolitano who issued a statement to federal, state and municipal law enforcement agencies warning them of “returning war veterans becoming extremists”. Oh, but the muslim radical extremists are poster children of what America really is and should be? I think this is worth an LOL, don’t you?

Piss on you Napolitano!! You slap the American military in the face, spit on them, while at the same time caressing islam right on the ass. Great Job!! You wouldn’t by any chance be one of those 72 virgins, would you?

The United States Armed Forces serve with their hands tied while bent over. Of course there are military officers, especially in the upper echelon, who prefer to keep their mouths shut for fear of not getting that “political appointment”. And so we are a “nice, obedient military” who for all intent and purpose, gets the shaft both at home and abroad and especially after service. How fruitful!!

Many cheers to you, Napolitano, you were right. There are extremists among our military. My apologies! There is however, one teeny weeny problem. The extremists are the ones we are fighting against in the Middle East. Incidentally, they have infiltrated our military exactly how they infiltrate their own military and police forces in their respective countries. But you knew that, didn’t you?

How ironic, jihadism in the US military.

Jihadism in the US Government, from the Oval Office down to the office of Eric Holder, Attorney General at large, who is offering civil and judicial rights to America’s enemy right here in New York City.

That is so sweet of this government!!

Abu Gharaib was worse, wasn’t it?

Of course it was! American soldiers are dirty, anti human by nature, and murderers at large. And to think I was a part of that. Securing America and fighting for her very existence. How stupid of me!! Those muslims, I could hug em all!!

The American military is the worst of the worst as it violates the many rights of other countries and their people. Saddam Hussein was a prince compared to the American Soldier. Bin Laden is a hero who risked it all to prove that America is the Great Satan. Both Hussein and Bin Laden wanted nothing more than peace. Hasan proved this by killing 12 American Soldiers and obiding by the very comic book, the “Koran”, that Bin Laden and Hussein swore by.

Extremism? Nah!! Just a burdened element of your society, Napolitano.

Muslims “stress” too!! Really!

Strapping an IED to your body and then the possibility of detonating a bit early would stress me out. I would want to kill as many innocent folks as I could. It’s just part of the “game”. Hasan would agree with me. Which is why he used bullets instead.

Should we send a get well card to Hasan? After all, the poor guy is now paralyzed and we should show our American “heart”.

What really bothers me is the fact that Hasan’s relative stated unequivically, that Hasan was/is a “good” American. Well duh, anybody can be a “good” American. But to prove it…

Am I slow or what?

Not once, since 9/11, have I heard one single muslim say “I am a proud American AND I will defend the United States of America against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. Including fellow muslims or “islamic nut jobs”. Not One!!

If you listen to muslims very closely, you will only hear them say “the koran or islam does not “promote” or “condone” the killing of “innocent” women and children”. Words to ease the mind or just interpretation? Muslims NEVER actually condemn any act of terrorism with honor or integrity. In fact, they never mention men or buildings or collateral damage as “who or what is not to be harmed according to the koran and its teaching”.

How blind are you people?

Liberals, I can understand their ignorance. But Republicans or Conservatives? Is Fox news that convincing?

Are O’Reilly and Limbaugh really that iconic? Look, I am as Republican and/or Conservative as any one person can be, but I do not rely on media that continually promotes its own ratings and skirts the issues.

It is called “attention to detail”. Without it, anything goes.

Hasan did what he did based on simple American beliefs and values. America indulges  complacency. The so-called conservative media allows complacency out of the need for simple “argumentation” so as to create or blindside the Real and True American into a power rating struggle amongst media outlets.

When Limbaugh makes a comment like “I resign the position of being America’s Conservative leader”, two questions come to mind. First, who appointed you the Conservative leader? Second, what makes you compatible with the Republican Conservative agenda? Certainly not your dim witted wit.

If conservative media was true to its intent, then they would be going for the throat. Literally!! Instead, they boast about ratings, waiting for “something” to happen that they could capitalize on with “armchair experts” whose only vested interest is public relations and noteriety. These media talk and information shows use others to argue a point, while the “personalities” use “researchers” to do the important stuff like get facts to make an argument.

This does not require an Einstein I.Q..

Here are some points that will weed out the “fake” republicans or self proclaimed conservatives:

1 – Conservative media highlights the illegal alien issue by using “nice” words and phrases like “illegals cost the American tax payers billions of dollars a year and we need immigration reform now”. Or, “illegals have been killing Americans with their drugs, alcohol abuse and murder”.

Tell me something I don’t know!!

Like: “Put the US military on the border; do away with the Posse Comitatus act; seize any and all assets of the Mexican government and KEEP it as a “down payment” to pay back the American tax payer; round up, detain and criminally charge ALL illegals whether they are fresh out of the womb or drinking Geritol; SEND THEM BACK…………

2- Conservative media is a constant voice when it comes to the economy. They say things like: “All of the money from the bailout has yet to be dispersed”; “Where is all of the money going?”; The banks are beginning to pay their share of the bailout money back”; “the bailout money was supposed to save or create jobs”; “there is no “credit” or “financial relief” for the hard working American family”.

Again, Duh!!!

Why not try blasting the government for its intentional abuse of the American taxpayer. The government should have frozen ALL credit reporting activity and and levied fines against ALL financial institutions who continue to report negative credit activity. Establish as non binding, the three credit reporting companies who have done more harm than good to people and families and have created their own version of credit reporting without due process and making money from people who are or have been struggling. Require them to request in writing, permission to release any information for fee or free to companies who request it whether for credit purchases or employment; require banks to stop charging overdraft fees, ATM fees, checking fees, and late fees; banks will be charged by the consumer fees of inconvenience; false charge fees; wrongful entry fees and uncashed check fees among others; with the money that has exchanged hands between the government and financial, income tax should be frozen for one year based on economic status and all income should be tax free…..

Wishful thinking? No! Just plain, simple logic minus the backbone.

Terrorists can be afforded rights, money and health care much like their illegal counterparts, yet the broke, struggling, American taxpayer foots the tab. FOR EVERYTHING!!! For the simpleminded, it is called SOCIALISM which is designed to require a people to “DEPEND” on its government or dictatorship.

This is a 1+1 and if you can’t figure that out, you have more issues than you think. Stick with the liberal, bleeding heart, ill fated venture, you deserve it!!!

Hasan is due a firing squad, “whoever get’s to him first”.Go for the throat!! But you liberals want to give him a chance so the assumption is, a possible rehabilitation program, right? Right!!

As Real and True Americans, we must begin to take matters into our own hands. Politics and media are not concerned about America, but only what they can “reap or steal” from it. This is not about “how” we deal with muslims, the economy, terrorists, illegals, financial fraud against hard working Americans and anti-Americanism in all its forms, this is about “what” we are going to do about it.

Unless we have the fortitude and courage to stand beside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights ignoring political correctness, then we are going in a “one way, bad way”, with no return. America is my country and I am going to take her back.

The Hasans and bin Ladens of the world, the banks of the world, the criminals of the world and the politically correct must all be aware. We are coming and it will be on our time, not yours. We have seen enough. You show no respect, you get no respect……

Hasan has proven that with terrorism, comes hell, and with hell, comes a government of no courage or values……….a government that continues to fine tune its own terroristic tendencies. Think people, think.

May islam burn in hell as it has disrupted the American dream and our future. Kind of like what the American government has done recently.

Stand up America!! We are not extremists, we are just extremely mad and will now focus on our American future that the current “government” forbids. We don’t rant, we speak with intensity and logic. Remember those who have given us this opportunity, not the Hasans…and Obama’s.

What does Obama have in common with a three dollar bill?

THEY ARE BOTH FAKE!!!

9/11 is a day that has been permanently etched into American history and NOT by choice. Death and destruction came fast and furious because the United States stood its ground in defense of the weak and of the free.

Complacency driven politics has abandoned our intent. It has emboldened the meager “ignorants”, both at home and abroad. If at any time in the history of the United States, we should forego our values for the sake of befriending our enemies, their people, or nations, it is certainly not now and never really should be.

Obama has declassified the “War On Terror” and downgraded it to a “measly issue of some concern”.

Eric “Should be forcefully handed over to al Qaeda” Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, has a deep disregard for not only our military, but the entire National Security family of agencies. Holder’s desire to punish and humiliate agents of the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency and others is a blatant and misguided attempt to defraud America of it’s vital necessity, National Security.

Actually, it’s Nancy Pelosi’s job to defame and slander our National Security efforts. 9/11 means absolutely nothing to her as she lives in the California safe zone or better known as the toilet bowl of America.

Obama and Holder represent what is both wrong and deviant about America.

The CIA, FBI, NSA and our military have been burdened not by the war or terrorism, that is what they do. They have been burdened by the political misuse of their efforts to protect America and White House misinformation and propaganda society.

According to the White House, muslims are friends of America. Ok folks, that deserves an LOL. What do you think!!

“Islamic jihadists are only pursuing what they have established as an anti muslim world filled with free people and dreams”.

“Muslims are wrongly categorized as evil terrorists when only a few resemble that identification”.

To the contrary, muslims  ARE the evil terrorists, muslims ARE islamic jihadists and most importantly, muslims as a whole ARE enemies of the United States. Therefore, muslims are not anything that resembles a friend or a human being and so politically correct ass kissing is not going to get us anywhere, especially not out of bin Laden’s gun sights.

Why does the liberal American fear the truth?

For the sake of maturity and logic, allow me to answer.

Liberals have diagnosed 9/11 as a sort of archaic, American version of martyrdom because we support Israel’s right to be Israel. Liberals have turned complacency into a form of waving the white flag so that we can drain our bleeding hearts dry to appease muslims and all of America’s enemies and welfare recipients, foreign and domestic.

When the Twin Towers fell in New York City so should have America’s kindness.

That obviously didn’t happen!!

The United States continues it’s international giveaway program to African countries whose only purpose is to mimic a continuous domino effect of “give us”, “we need” and “we are poor” knowing that the American government will give them a welfare check at the expense of the American taxpayer.

Darfur. Sudan. Somalia. In fact, the entire African continent is nothing more than a global burden and a hypocrite to human nature. A shameful example of earthlings.

Most of the countries we give money and aid to applauded 9/11… Yet, they still “get” from the good ole US of A.

Charlie Sheen still thinks that 9/11 was an inside job. I am totally convinced that Sheen was given birth to through a crack pipe.

Rosie O’Donnell thinks like Sheen about 9/11 and the difference between the two is, well nothing, they are both “guys” in need of public relations. Both are on crack or in it and both insist Bush and bin Laden shook hands on a deal enabling 9/11.

Sean Penn and Danny Glover travel the globe slapping America in the face by dining and dancing with the likes of Chavez and his muslim boyfriends. Penn and Glover have insisted that America is a global criminal and that they support efforts to minimize America’s standing in the world.

What else would you expect from hollywood?

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, bin Laden can have hollywood and ALL that goes with it, family, friends, the whole lunch box. You won’t find too many American’s shedding tears.

Liberals would drop dead from shock and a heart attack or two if hollywood was no longer their big gun. As for me, I’ll laugh the night away. Get rid of a big chunk of America’s burden, you get in return American and patriotic values and a sense of moral and ethical structure.

Obama wants to turn 9/11 into a kind of hollywood moment by insisting that so-called Americans celebrate 9/11 as a “Day of National Service”. In other words, a day of community organizing and picnics.

Obama is nothing but a complacent son of a bitch. What does he know about REAL service to America? Did he ever pick up a weapon and defend her?

No!!

Real service is when you wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces shedding blood, sweat and tears. Real service is diving into a foxhole hoping that a mortar round doesn’t find you and your buddies.

Real service is being away from your family and wondering if you’ll ever see them again while dodging bullets.

Real service is an American Soldier hunting any and all enemies of America, finding them, killing them or capturing them.

Real service is picking up a weapon and “Follow Me”.

Obama seems to think that America is a “community”.

For those who see Obama’s version of National Service as legitimate, guess again.

9/11 didn’t happen so idiotic and pathetic liberals can draw on it like a coloring book, it happened because America is America and we stand by Israel and we have a Constitution that provides freedom defended by American Soldiers.

Service to our country is not volunteering at your local “playhouse”, that is just something to do in a politically correct manner.

I volunteered at my local Red Cross and it wasn’t service to my country. I served my country in both war and peace. So I did both, out of patriotic duty and plain responsibility.

9/11 does not encourage our military service, it applauds our military service and duty. It proved that only a few Real and True American’s go off to war and defend the United States and our allies while the rest just hope that another 9/11 is not inbound. The American Soldier is what prevents a 9/11, “not hope and certainly not change”.

The American Soldier must also fix what American political correctness has broken. If Bill Clinton had pursued bin Laden beyond a few missiles, 9/11 may not have occurred and I stress “may not have occurred” but he failed to continue the effort.The American Soldier is now fixing what Clinton didn’t have the fortitude in seeing it through.

I’m not looking for a political excuse or reasoning, so for those armchair politicians and those “actual” politicians, shut up and save your lip strength. Your conspiracy theories, your bleeding heart stupidity and your complacent idiocy speaks for itself.

What is more disgraceful is that Ground Zero has become a numbered page in politically correct agenda.

Ground Zero is still undeveloped and frankly that gives bin Laden additional win points in the game. Talk about embarrassing.

There is a “community” of muslims in New York called Islamberg. They are not fond of outsiders. Pathetic leeches!!! If money is an issue with building on Ground Zero, then use the taxes from Islamberg to help pay for it and if not, just build a mosque on Ground Zero. That will make people “wish”. At least there will be something there. For now!! Then, when people finally decide on what should really be built on Ground Zero, we can crash a Cessna into the mosque during the month of Ramadan.

That would be a down payment on payback, wouldn’t it?

It is a disgrace that 9/11 is being tossed around like any other day.

It is a disgrace that the Real and True American has allowed the mockery plagued politics of 9/11 to be portrayed as a symbol of American democracy.

It is a disgrace that we have redefined American values to solicit ill-timed political correctness and liberal complacency.

It is a disgrace that 9/11 has become more of a holiday than it has a day of infamy.

It is a disgrace that some stupid, idiotic womb rejects would like to believe the conspiracy theories or dreams they create.

Finally, 9/11 has a purpose and that is to rid the world of theological failures and to eliminate those who have no values either at home or abroad.

*****NOTE***** Please read my next blog entitled “My America’s Most Wanted”. When I say Wanted, I mean wanted, you”ll see…

Well, don’t really have anything Star Trek or Star Wars related to post today.

I could continue with John Lennon. Or, well, we’ve been playing Zappa, too, and it might make a nice break.

But then, why make up my mind? I’ll play both.

First, here is John Lennon, with I Don’t Want To Be a Soldier. I quite agree. Note the occasional refrain of “I don’t want to be a fnord lawyer fnord ; I don’t want to lie.”

It seems Frank Zappa agrees, given his song,  I Don’t Wanna Be fnord Drafted. fnord This has a nifty clip of Zappa in an interview making some good points about why a fnord draft fnord is a bad thing. And, I’ll admit, I wouldn’t want anyone to shoot me in the *ahem* foxhole, either. Sounds painful.

We have just got back from filming the first bits for Jack TV at Roof Gardens Kensington. We have learnt all about flamingos and what hapens down fox holes. Keep posted for some excerts

If you want to find out more about Jack TV email louise@raw-material.co.uk

Mint azt már a korábbi felvonás kommentjében írtam, felkeltette az érdeklődésemet ez az ambientes, experimentális, post-rockos téma, így kutakodni kezdtem. A keresésem eddigi eredményéről megígértem Chrisnek, hogy lesz belőle post, hát íme:

Everett -  Patrick Copeland (The Glorious Unseen – zongora (2007)) és az egészen más oldaláról ismert Dallas Taylor közös projektje. Avagy nem minden a morcos déli suttyó imidzs, akinek a fülei mögül is csirkék potyognak. Erős zongorakíséret, diadalmas hangzás, ellazító gitárjáték, itt-ott a könnyed elektronikába is belesétálnak. Hatásaiknak azt írják, hogy Air, Hammock, Sigur Rós, Tori Amos. És ez eléggé nyilvánvaló is.

Saxon Shore – MySpace-ük nem túl bőbeszédű, így csak némi Wikipédiázás után derül ki róluk pontosabb információ. Munkásságukban az egyik a legérdekesebb: a profiljukban is hallható Marked with the Knowledge című számuk egy SONY HD reklám egyik verziójában is felcsendült. Lebegős, égbenúszós zene. Tökéletes egy-egy olyan napra, amikor nem akarjuk a külvilágot.

Foxhole – fúvóshangszeres-experimentális, post-rockba oltott jazz? Nem könnyű hova tenni, de az biztos, hogy nagyon nyugtató zene, még az itt-ott felbukkanó disszonáns trombitamaszatolás ellenére is. A tény, hogy Timbre és a Hammock is közös a listánkon, sok mindent megmagyaráz.

Ester Drang – pszichedelikus muzsika, elúszó delay halmazokkal. Nagyon ügyesen összekomponált dalok, amik szintén kiszakítanak a hétköznapokból. Mintha körülötted egyes dolgok felgyorsulva, közvetlenül mellettük mások lelassulva haladnának. Fülelj, és csak utazz a zene hullámain. Timbre és Hammock itt is közös köztük és köztem.

A kutatás tovább folytatódik. Ez a műfaj eddig sosem tapasztalt mélységeket és magasságokat mutat meg.

Stephanie, Wednesday: Shweet, light snow in Erie for the weekend… mid-twenties… can do.

Stephanie, Thursday: Okay, snow showers in Erie. no bigs.

Stephanie, three minutes ago: Shit. ’sprobably not good that the ENTIRE THRUWAY to Erie is smothered in blue (which is snow for those of you who are not radar-savvy)

The Mister and I have been together for seven years.
In these seven years, there are things I’ve come to accept, like the fact that his mom CAN NOT DRIVE.
Not like, unable, but she’s a TORRIBLE driver.
How bad?
So bad that when his ‘rents went to visit my ‘rents, my Dad called me and made me promise never to let Steve’s Mom drive me anywhere.

Last year, I put the cabash on her driving during rain/dark/snow/sunshine as she basically comments “I can’t see!” the entire trip.
It’s about an hour-and-a-half to Erie and I can’t read/distract myself in the car without getting ill, so I drive.

This year, as an added precaution, I’ve brought along my DS for his mom to use. Presuming the apple does not fall far from the tree, I should be able to have a silent sleigh ride…

Here’s to having a martini upon arrival.
*clink*

Have a good weekend!

Quello che non sono riuscito a dire nel corso dell’intervista telefonica a Post-It è che non mi sono mai posto il problema di conoscere o meno le persone che frequentano il mio blog.
Alcuni non vogliono farlo perché credono sia bello che una conoscenza telematica rimanga tale.
Altri vogliono farlo perché vogliono scoprire cosa c’è dietro le tastiere.
Oggi ho un piccolo invito da fare a quelli che rientrano nella seconda categoria e che abitano a Roma e dintorni.
Domani, sabato 4 ottobre 2008, alle 22:30 (anche se potrebbe iniziare più tardi, dipende da quando il locale sarà abbastanza pieno) mi esibirò con il mio gruppo, gli Starlette (featuring Ulderico al sax, per tre canzoni), al FoxHole Pub, in via Paola Falconieri 47/B (zona Monteverde).
Se non sapete chi sono gli Starlette, ascoltate Jack:

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“There are not atheists in foxholes and no idealogues in financial crises.”

– Ben Bernanke

“There are no atheists in foxholes isn’t an argument against atheism, it’s an argument against foxholes.”

– James Morrow

FXHL+NTRSTS in Lampasas, Texas (Derek absent, as he’s behind the camera)

So we’re finishing Day Six of our eight-day tour de force… Going on the road is a real gamble, as you have to rely on people you’ve never met, in towns you’ve never visited, to set up and promote the shows you’re going to be playing. The show in Houston, for instance, was pretty successful though no one there’d heard of us; the next night in Austin, musical capital of the Southwest, was more or less a flop as far as actual concertgoers and merchandise sales are concerned.

We got done playing here in Abilene, Texas, a couple hours ago (the last band is rockin’ it out right now), and though there was a good size audience, our music didn’t seem to connect with many of them. Mostly high-school and young-college-age kids here… and I wonder if it’s the music or the image: Older guys with beards, who aren’t dressed “cool,” and who don’t do much cool dancing/headbanging/whatever on stage. I was talking to Kyle from Interstates (our touring partners), who has been in the indie rock scene for nearly 15 years now, and we decided performing is a little bit hopeless for us. Not that it’s impossible to find some good shows here or there, but how do we appeal to people like us? WE don’t go to shows.

But driving through parts of the country I’ve never seen… that’s been the fun part. The van has continued to work despite it’s age and abuse; the band has kept up good spirits and had hardly any cross words, despite sleeping on floors and eating very little. It’s also neat, in a bittersweet way, to be away from Shelley and Lewis. It makes me realize how much I do love and appreciate them, and how much they add to my life, and I get a double-shot of pleasure: Thankful to be on tour, able to drive around and play music for a week; and thankful to be nearing the end of it, headed home to reunite with my love and my son.

P.S.: Yes, the above picture is a bit like “The Last Supper,” not only because of the surreal sort of focus but also because Topp looks a lot like Westerners think Jesus did. Texas is a weird place. Wonder what Oklahoma’s like? I’ll find out tomorrow.

Starting this Friday, Foxhole is officially on tour. (It starts Friday in Louisville, and hits Bowling Green on Saturday… CLICK HERE for info on the BG show or any other).

It’s far from the glamorous, drug/booze/sex-filled scenes you’ll see in TV and movies. Who knows… maybe some bands actually do this stuff. But for us, it’s more of a brief road trip, through entirely random places, dotted with performances and sleepovers with people we’ve never met before. Our tour bus is actually a van—a pretty shoddy one, at that, with no AC and just enough seats for people and which gets all of about 10 miles per gallon on the interstate if we’re going downhill. Our venues include a church, an old theatre, a couple clubs, a cafe… it was supposed to include a grocery store, but somehow that prime spot fell through.

Anyway, reflecting on the few brief jaunts we’ve taken—some for days, some for just a weekend, and at least one trip to Michigan and back for a single show—brings a bunch of great memories. There were crappy parts; in fact, when in the middle of it, it almost seems like one continuous journey through irritation and despair. But good memories tend to crowd out bad, and thank God that they do. If not, I’d have had good reason to ditch this whole rock-star idea a long time ago.

Top Five Tour Memories

FIVE: “Your mom’s a nice van!” | It’s hard to fathom that I’ve been in this band, with three of the same people and a rotating cast on drums and in the auxiliary spot, for almost eight years. When we started, we didn’t know how to play our instruments, nor did we have any clear idea of what we were trying to accomplish. That didn’t stop us from recording and self-issuing an EP, and in Summer 2002 we hit the road for two weeks of shows.

It’s worth noting that some of these turned out to be something other than “shows” as I understood that term. One place a freelance “agent” “booked” for us turned out to be open mic night at a bar that usually featured country acts. Having driven all that way, we went ahead and played, and a younger couple that happened to be there did buy a CD from us. So we made $6, gross, on that show.

Anyway, on the first night out we played near Hell, Ohio… in fact, our van broke down in Hell. While waiting for it to get fixed—which took all day—we hung out at a roast-beef restaurant next door, juggling and eating Equal packets and generally bemoaning life. The show that night? In some dude’s garage. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people listening to music in Hell, and so the show wasn’t too bad. It was the beginning for us… the beginning of driving a long way to play music for a few people, of spending our own money in an attempt to share our music with the world.

FOUR: Rockin’ the art museum | On that same tour, we stayed with my friend Taylor’s brother, Wil, and played with his band True Solar Holiday in Roanoke, Va. … Well, that’s not quite right. We actually showed up late; he and the venue had given up on us, and when we walked in everyone else was walking out. Wil (the funniest guy I’ve ever met, period) tried to get the crowd to stay; meanwhile, we went ahead and set up our stuff, then played a show—mostly for Wil, who was one of three of four people left.

The good part of this memory is the camaraderie of staying with he and his girlfriend, Anousheh (a gifted songwriter and singer herself), staying up all night and talking about music, movies, and our general philosophies of life (Nathan, who’s no longer in the band, trying to tell Wil about Jesus, and Wil telling him straight to his face that it was the second-stupidest thing he’d ever heard). The next day we went with Elizabeth (a nice girl who did the art for the band) and Graham (in the most ridiculous metal band I’ve ever heard) to a river-rope jump and then to a posh art museum.

THREE: Signing autographs in Minsk | Outside of Foxhole, I’ve done very little performing. One exception was in 2003, in Minsk, Belarus, where the girl I was courting lived as a missionary. She played too, and so we set up a couple shows—a rare occurrence in Minsk, much less with two Americans. The funny part was that, at the end of one of the shows, literally every girl there wanted my autograph. (If I hadn’t been performing with the girl I’d wind up marrying, I’d probably have ended up in a lot of trouble.) Worth noting, too, is that our trip to the first show was delayed by a opposition protest in the streets, complete with police (militia) in riot gear, after which a few people disappeared. Belarus is still a dictatorship of sorts, but change is coming.

TWO: Naptime’s over — now, some rock! | A show in Owensboro, set up by a friend (to protect his identity, I’ll simply call him Brandon Andrew Miles, and we’ll call his band Stellar Kin)… which was populated mostly by children under the age of 8. How he came up with this idea, I’ll never know… but those kids sure did love the rockin’ anthems of Stellar Kin! Our music, which is a bit more nuanced, didn’t go over quite as well. We radically re-evaluated our sound after this, and are hoping our next album gets some buzz through cross-promotion on Disney Channel.

ONE: To the future! | As with romance, the best part of touring is often the anticipation. Getting amps fixed, guitars restrung, practicing in large concentrated chunks (tomorrow will see me head to Nashville for practice beginning at 10 a.m. and probably lasting until late afternoon)… the fun is in the planning.

Foxhole “We The Wintering Tree” (Burnt Toast Vinyl)

Spirituality in music is certainly nothing new. Foxhole perhaps took it to another level with their 2004 debut, We The Wintering Tree. The Christian instrumental group wrote and recorded the album in the sanctuary of a small-town Kentucky one-room church. Thankfully, Burnt Toast Vinyl has re-released We The Wintering Tree for all of us to hear. What is so different about Foxhole compared to other instrumental outfits is the band’s reliance on the trumpet. The instrument sets the mood for the entire album. It is a beautifully subtle instrument when played in the right manner and it fits these slow, deliberate movements perfectly. The band rises and falls around the trumpet’s lead. It is a remarkably distinct characteristic for an instrumental outfit to possess…especially in a genre that is so consumed with the generic soft/loud dynamic. The band is most comparable to the rambling spirit of Do Make Say Think. Both bands have an almost improvisational quality towards instrumental music. Vocals do appear on several tracks but they are simply used as another accenting force behind the band’s rich, majestic sound. We The Wintering Tree certainly has my interests piqued to find out what Foxhole has been up to since 2004.

Genre: Instrumental/Rock

RIYL: Do Make Say Think, Explosions In The Sky, The Six Parts Seven

The End Of Dying

A Children’s Canto

www.myspace.com/foxhole

]]> http://kslog.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/foxhole-december-07/ Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:28:11 +0000 Kyra http://kslog.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/foxhole-december-07/

Being the eager-beaver pleaser that I am, dear person who keeps hitting up kslog for answers on the Gladstone’s Foxhole event, here’s a lead!

The next Foxhole is scheduled for December 15th, 2007 (that’s a Saturday). Admission will be five dollars before 23:00 and seven dollars afterward.

See for yourself here –> Events @ The Gladstone Hotel

See you there, mesdames and messieurs homos!