So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't Abe Lincoln."

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

Marvelous photo taken of the space shuttle from the 210 bridge in Ponte Vedra.

Enjoy! Terry

This picture was taken by James Vernacotola and sent to me by a friend. It was taken in Ponte Vedra from the top of the 210 bridge crossing the intracoastal looking south towards St, Augustine and Cape Canaveral.

He got up very early and took this picture of the last nighttime space shuttle launch and was kind enough to share with his co-workers and whomever else would appreciate the beauty of the space launch.

He took the picture using a tri-pod and the elapsed time for the picture was several minutes in order to get the full fire-trail (this is why the stars are little lines instead of dots).

Monday, February 8, 2010 @ 4:14 am
Top of the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge in Ponte Vedra, FL
115 Miles from the launch
34 Degrees outside!

Gerald Ensley: Two pieces of Tallahassee history preserved

By Gerald Ensley
Tallahassee Democrat senior writer
February 14, 2010

We said goodbye to Mary Call Collins in December. Her husband, former Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins, died in 1991.

But we continue to owe both a thank you.

Because the Tallahassee-native couple left a physical legacy: San Luis Mission Park and The Grove.

One is the westside park the Collinses sold to the city in 1981. The other is the historic home in which they lived, which will soon become a museum. Both will serve for generations as a way to appreciate Tallahassee landscape and history.

I've appreciated San Luis Park for the nearly 25 years I've lived in the adjoining neighborhood. Almost daily, I run or walk my dog in the park – and enjoy every visit.

The park is 69 acres of hilly woods laced with pedestrian/bike paths surrounding Lake Esther. A hike into the woods insulates you from the din of the city. Foxes, hawks and owls rustle around at twilight. Turtles, geese, egrets, herons and the occasional alligator work the lake, to the delight of families walking the lake's boardwalk. College kids and their dogs romp in the dog park. Though many use it, the park is always peaceful.

Such peace and nature could have been lost.

Gov. Collins and former Tallahassee mayor and banker John Humphress bought the land many years before as an investment. It was part of a still mostly rural west Tallahassee. Historic Mission San Luis, on the park's southeast shoulder, was still a private preserve. Fishermen snuck into the future park to fish bass-filled Lake Esther (which, sadly, was ruined for anglers when the lake was incorporated into the city's stormwater drainage system).

Collins and Humphress could have sold the land to developers – apartment complexes now flank two sides. Instead, they sold it to the city for $765,000, which was 15 percent below its appraised price. When it opened to the public in 1985-86, it was the city's largest passive park (a designation since eclipsed by Klapp-Phipps and A.J. Henry parks).

"It was definitely needed; it was the only park in the northwest (part of the city), which was growing," said David Chapman, a retired city parks and rec director. "It was a great acquisition and a beautiful piece of property."

Equally beautiful is The Grove.

The stately old home sits next door to the Florida Governor's Mansion. It was built in 1825-1831 by Richard Keith Call, an early territorial governor and ancestor of Mary Call Collins. The centerpiece of a 640-acre plantation, it passed through various branches of her family – and ever-declining levels of upkeep — until she inherited it and its remaining 10 acres in 1942.

The Collins family lived at The Grove for most of the next 67 years. They moved next door when he was governor (1955-1961). They spent several years in Washington D.C., when Gov. Collins worked for President Lyndon Johnson.

But it was where their four children largely grew up. It was where their daughters and granddaughters were married. It is where Call, Gov. Collins and his wife and other family members are buried. It is a piece of Florida history Mary Call and Gov. Collins lovingly restored. They rescued historic furniture that had been sold. They rehabbed long-neglected interior spaces. They landscaped the grounds.

"It was a wonderful mission in Mother's life," said daughter Mary Call Proctor. "She really loved bringing back the place to the way it is now."

Soon, it will become a museum. The Collins sold the house to the state for that purpose in 1985, with the stipulation they be allowed to continue living there until they died. The state paid $2.2 million and the Collinses paid rent for the next 24 years.

State officials are mapping out ideas and logistics and working with the Collins family to determine which artifacts and furniture to retain in the museum. No date has been set for the opening to the public, but it should be relatively soon.

Jane Aurrell, another Collins daughter, said the state indicated the house museum will tell the story of Florida from territorial days to the present.

"(The Grove) goes beyond our family; it's a vehicle to interpret what went on in the state," Aurrell said. "It is a little sad (the house will no longer be in the family). But we know the house will be taken care of. And that is so important."

To all of us. Which is why we say thanks.

According to the Trustees for the Social Security Administration, "THERE WILL NOT BE A COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS IN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS.

They, the Congress (BOTH "REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATS TOGETHER") say no increase is warranted because of the losses in gross national product and other cute things..

NOW SPORTS FANS THIS IS THE ONE THAT WILL FLIP YOU OUT!!

THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION IS FUNDING TWENTY FOUR MILLION DOLLARS-- LET ME REPEAT THAT AMOUNT... SO YOU UNDERSTAND IT $24,000,000.00 DOLLARS FOR NEW ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS PROCESSING FOR OUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS!!

THEY ARE OBTAINING THESE FUNDS..And I QUOTE DIRECTLY FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY WEBSITE...

"THIS MONEY WILL BE COMING FROM THE SAVINGS TO BE GENERATED FROM WITHHOLDING "COST OF LIVING INCREASES FOR 2010 & 2011 In SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE ELDERLY AND A $2.00 INCREASE ON ALL MEDICARE RX BENEFIT CO-PAY"

Please pass this to ALL your friends and have them "PROTEST TO THE IDIOTS WE ELECTED TO CONGRESS" Who by the way, have just voted themselves ANOTHER 3% SALARY INCREASE!!!

We must put a stop to this outright thievery! It is THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATS, WE CAN'T FIRE THEM, BUT WE SURE CAN NOT RE-ELECT THEM, And WE CAN IMPEACH THEM Or DEMAND RECALL ELECTIONS!!! HOW ABOUT WE ALL GET TOGETHER AND DUMP THESE CLOWNS.

All I ask is that you consider the suggestion here.

The entire Congress of the United States is corrupt. And I mean both Houses and I mean both major parties. I realize that a few Members of each House are trustworthy, But, As a group they are absolutely the most corrupt bunch To ever disgrace our Nation.

In November of 2010 The entire House of Representatives will stand for re-election; All 435 of them. One third of the Senate, A total of 33 of them, will also stand for re-election. Vote every incumbent out. And I mean every one of them. No matter their Party affiliation.

Let's start all over in the House of Representatives with 435 people Who have absolutely no experience in running that body, With no political favors owed to anyone but their own constituents. Let's make them understand that they work for us... They are answerable to us And they simply have to run that body with some common sense. Two years later, in 2012, Vote the next third of the incumbents in the Senate out. We can do the same thing in 2014 and, By that time we will have put all new people in that body as well..

We, the People, Have got to take this Country back and we HAVE to do it peacefully. That's what the Framers of our Constitution envisioned.

I am also suggesting term limits on the NEW BUNCH - 8 YEARS FOR REPRESENTATIVES AND 12 YEARS OF SENATORS. NO EXCEPTIONS. THE LONGER THEY STAY IN OFFICE THE MORE POWER THEY GET AND THEY LOVE IT AND WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET RE-ELECTED.

WE HAVE TERM LIMITED THE PRESIDENT - NOW LET'S TERM LIMIT THE LEGISLATORS.

Please, If you love this Country, Send this (as I have done) to absolutely everyone Whose email address appears in your address book.. This thing can permeate this Country in no time. Let's make it happen.**

VOTE THE POWER ABUSERS OUT... LET'S TAKE AMERICA BACK!!!

IF YOU LIKE THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN OUR COUNTRY, THEN DO NOTHING...

This is SAD....makes me MAD! I feel BAD!

Having spent three weeks in a hospital in Naples, Florida with my wife I couldnït help noticing what was going on in the hospital and I had a lot of time to talk to the doctors and nurses about what I had observed. Below is a commentary from an ER Doctor. Do you think this might be a big reason our health care system and our social security system are so screwed up? Do you think this might be a big reason our taxes keep going up? Who do you think these people are going to vote for?

From a Florida ER doctor:

"I live and work in a state overrun with illegals. They make more money having kids than we earn working full-time. Today I had a 25-year old with 8 kids - that is right 8; all illegal anchor babies and she had the nicest nails, cell phone, hand bag, clothing, etc. She makes about $1,500 monthly for each; you do the math. I used to say, We are the dumbest nation on earth. Now I must say and sadly admit: WE are the dumbest people on earth (that includes ME) for we elected the idiot idealogues who have passed the bills that allow this. Sorry, but we need a revolution. Vote them all out in 2010."

--- REMEMBER ---

IN NOVEMBER 2010, WE HAVE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO CLEAN OUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE AND ONE-THIRD OF THE SENATE! This is an insult and a kick in the butt to all of us...

Get mad and pass it on - I don't know how, but maybe some good will come of this travesty. If the immigrant is over 65, they can apply for SSI and Medicaid and get more than a woman on Social Security, who worked from 1944 until 2004. She is only getting $791 per month because she was born in 1924 and there's a 'catch 22.'

It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890. Each can also obtain an additional $580 in social assistance, for a total of $2,470 a month.

This compares to a single pensioner, who after contributing to the growth and development of America for 40 to 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Consider sending this to all your American friends, so we can all be ticked off and maybe get the refugees cut back to $1,012 and the pensioners up to $2,470. Then we can enjoy some of the money we were forced to submit to the Government over the last 40 or 50 or 60 years. And not to receive a increase for 2010 Vote them all out of office.

Please forward this to every American to expose what our elected politicians have been doing for the past 11 years to over-taxed Americans.

SEND THIS TO EVERY AMERICAN TAXPAYER YOU KNOW.

Subject: John Glenn on the Senate Floor

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange Between Senators John Glenn and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the Armed Services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the Military.

Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a "real job?"

Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.

I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!

You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job.

You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?

I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.

I HAVE held a job, Howard! ---What about you?"

For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. Now he is a U.S. Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If you are reading it in English, thank a Veteran.......

(AUTHOR UNKNOWN….written in the 1970s)

Fm: Joe Tranchini
Wonderful and amusing assessment of the USN.

The Navy

This is a copy of the speech that our Honored Guest made on 19 January 2002 to the members of the St. Louis Council of the Navy League of the United States at our Annual Dinner Meeting.

Mr. Levins has consistently offered to our local citizens interesting and supportive articles concerning our military services. This speech was remarkable in its recognition of the role our Navy and Marine Corps is playing in the war against terrorism.

A brief bio of Mr. Levin's career follows -- in his own words: "Harry Levins is senior writer of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, specializing in military coverage. He is a Vermont native whose journalism career spans 39 years and three newspapers -- the Rutland (Vt.) Daily Herald, Long Island's Newsday, and the Post Dispatch. From 1963-65, he served as an Army infantry lieutenant, mostly in West Germany."

I am sending this message to all of my friends, military and otherwise, because I believe it to be important in these troubled times. It is a long read but very informative, with a touch of the wry humor that was a trademark of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens).

John Kane, USNA '44

________________________

My thanks to Capt. Kane for inviting me here tonight. You ought to know how honored I am. After all, I'm an old soldier. To me, the Navy is a mysterious institution. It's an institution in which the NCOs dress like the officers, and the officers almost never get their hands dirty. It's an institution whose people call a rope a line, and a stairwell a ladder, even though it's as plain as the nose on your face that you're looking at a rope or a stairwell. It's an institution that never warns you about wearing a hat into the wardroom - and then glares at you when you wear a hat into the wardroom.

It's an institution in which people take frightfully brief showers. I've gotten damper in the predawn dew. And it's an institution that sometimes speaks and behaves as if we're all Englishmen living in, oh, 1880 or so, and Queen Victoria is now and forever on the throne. I guess I'm saying that to me - and to millions of my countrymen - the Navy is the least American of the services. Now, nobody would ever say that about the Air Force. Hell, Americans invented air power. The airplane, too. The Air Force is high-tech, high-speed, zoom-and-boom. It's as American as hot rods and forward passes.

I'm aware that the Marines are a part of your Navy. And yes, they have their own odd vocabulary. They call a hat a cover. But maybe they're even more American than the Air Force. Who's the all-time No. 1 Marine? No, it's not Chesty Puller, and it's not Smedley Butler, and it's not even Ted Williams. It's John Wayne - and you just can't get more all-American than John Wayne.

And then there's the Army, my Army. One author wrote a book about the cultural differences among the services. This author - he was once a sailor, by the way - said that the Air Force's first loyalty is to technology, to its airplanes. He said the Navy's first loyalty is to the Navy itself. And he said the Army's first loyalty was to the Republic, of which the Army views itself as the loyal servant. By the way, he added, this is why the Army so often gets screwed. But the Army is America, from Audie Murphy to Beetle Bailey. That leaves us with the Navy, and the question of why it seems to be outside the rest of society.

For one thing, physically speaking, the Navy is outside the rest of society. No carrier task force ever made a port call in St. Louis, or Des Moines, or Evansville. By definition, the Navy does its work out of sight, somewhere out there beyond the hazy horizon. Even along the coasts, few Americans pay attention. The United States is a maritime nation. We depend on seaborne commerce. But how many Americans ever pause to consider that fact? We like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient -- as alabaster cities and amber waves of grain. We're wrong, of course. But even in major ports like New York, residents ignore what the oceans mean to America.

A few years back, I asked a friend in the Bay Area to take me by the Oakland docks. My friend had some trouble finding his way in. He'd lived on the East Bay for almost his entire life, and he'd never toured the docks. What we saw was as fresh to him as it was to me - mile after mile of cranes and containerized cargo, Subaru’s and Sony’s and who knows what. And all of it got here by sea. But most of us think the stuff just shows up in showrooms and stores in St. Louis. When we think about it at all.. And if our maritime-nation status is way off in the back of our minds, so is the Navy that protects that status.

Oh, sure, America has its Navy towns - but not nearly so many as it once did. And a lot of those Navy towns are stuck off in some coastal corner. Bangor, Washington. Kings Bay, Georgia. Those places aren't exactly Brooklyn, or Philadelphia, or Boston, or San Francisco.

The only sailors most Americans ever see is the chief at the recruiting station. Think about it. Here in St. Louis, we see a lot of the Army, thanks to the kids in ill-fitting uniforms who come and go from Fort Leonard Wood through Lambert Field. And although we see less of the Air Force, we're aware that it's just across the river, at Scott Air Force Base. But the sea services? The Marine Corps is small, and far away. The Navy is big, but it, too, is far away -- on the coasts, in places like Norfolk and San Diego, places we rarely visit. And then, as I said, when we do make contact with the Navy, we're up against an institution that draws most of its vocabulary and traditions from the Royal Navy of a century and half ago - from Victorian England. To people like me, sometimes, it seems quaint - people saying Aye Aye, sir; instead of Yes, sir, and talking about port and starboard, instead of left and right. But sometimes, it seems downright alien. On a sunny day in December 1991, I was chatting with some lookouts on the battleship Missouri, bound for Pearl Harbor for the 50th anniversary observance. We were on the flying bridge, or whatever it is that you people call the open bridge on top of the enclosed bridge. Like most young military people dealing with reporters, they asked whether I had prior military experience. Yes, I told them, I had once been an infantry platoon leader in the Army in Germany. They asked me what I thought of the Navy. I said, Good chow. They nodded. And I said, but I can't get over the class system. They asked what I meant.. I said, Well, in the Army, I wore the same fatigue uniform as the enlisted men. When they got muddy, I got muddy. When they got cold, I got cold. And when the chow truck came out to the field, the other officers and I stood at the end of the line. If the chow ran out, we went without. The sailors' eyebrows rose. I continued, if I'd ever had an enlisted man wait on me the way they do in the wardroom, I'd have been court-martialed. And don't the officers ever talk to you guys? Does everything go through the chiefs?

Just then, the lookout with headphones barked, XO on the bridge! Away flew the cigarettes. Up shot the binoculars. I don't know if those kids could have spotted a Soviet submarine ambush. But the XO never had a chance.

Later, back on the fantail with a cigar, I ruminated about the officer-enlisted relationship. I concluded that on a crowded ship - even on a ship as big as the battleship Missouri -- it probably has to be that distant and aloof. Still, I felt odd every time I saw those signs that said Officers' Country -- Official Business Only. Think about it - all the great Army novels are enlisted-man novels, and all the great Navy novels are wardroom novels. And most Americans are enlisted men at heart.

Ah, well. I won't change the Navy. If Franklin D. Roosevelt couldn't, I can't. Roosevelt once said that trying to change the State Department was all but impossible - but that trying to change the Navy was even worse, like punching a feather pillow. No matter what you do to the feather pillow, he said, it always returns to its original shape. But - and here's the serious part of this speech - this era seems to be the perfect time for America and its Navy to get to know each other. If you kept up with Washington rumors before Sept. 11, you know about the talk in the Pentagon of cutting back on carriers. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's people were talking up something called transformation -- and for the Navy, that meant mothballing a couple of carriers, maybe more. After all, the thinking went, in an age of cheap and accurate missiles, the carriers are big fat targets. And in an age of precision weapons, the carriers' air power can be replaced by cruise missiles and long -range Air Force bombers with smart bombs. Well, after Afghanistan, that kind of talk sure went away, didn't it? I think Afghanistan showed that in a messy age with no clear-cut big enemy, expeditionary forces are utterly and absolutely priceless. And by definition, a Navy and a Marine Corps are expeditionary forces. You folks seem to own the franchise on the future. You'll get an argument from the airpower people on that one. In fact, you are getting an argument from the air power people. The Air Force Association pumps it out daily. But the Air Force is also putting all of its money into short-range fighters. They're nifty, but only when you have runways in the neighborhood. Otherwise -- as we have learned in Afghanistan, only the carriers will do. They're expensive-- no, they're frightfully expensive -- but it's beginning to look as if they're indispensable. Same thing with the Marines. A Marine Expeditionary Unit is a frightfully expensive way to put a reinforced battalion of infantry on the scene. The Army is cheaper, but without staging bases, the Army is irrelevant. Now, the Association of the United States Army makes less noise than the Air Force Association. The Army people tend to sigh, and then to hope that when they're needed, the nation will remember them. And someday, they will be needed. Remember: Afghanistan is almost the last war - and you know what they say about getting ready to refight the last war.

Still, I think you folks are wonderfully positioned. If we have to do Somalia, or Sudan, or the Philippines, or Indonesia, we'll turn first to the sea services. In the Cold War, you folks took a back seat to the Air Force and Army. Now, it's your turn to shine - and in Afghanistan, you shone.

Don't be shy about it. Let your fellow Americans know that a big Navy has its uses, after all. Capt. Kane told me that I should speak briefly, and I'm pushing the brevity envelope, so I'll sit down and shut up. But not without one last question: Why do you call it a brow instead of a gangplank?

Thank you very much.

THE OLD MAN

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him.

I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man, and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine.

He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back... I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars.

I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?'

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal.

He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it, and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me.

One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then,that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name -- 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'

I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for America.

The Jihad Candidate
by Rich Carroll

Conspiracy theories make for interesting novels when the storyline is not so absurd that it can grasp our attention. 'The Manchurian Candidate' and 'Seven Days in May' are examples of plausible chains of events that captures the reader's imagination at best-seller level. 'What if' has always been the solid grist of fiction. Get yourself something cool to drink, find a relaxing position, but before you continue, visualize the television photos of two jet airliners smashing into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan and remind yourself this cowardly act of Muslim terror was planned for eight years.

How long did it take Islam and their oil money to find a candidate for President of the United States? As long as it took them to place a Senator from Illinois and Minnesota? The same amount of time to create a large Muslim enclave in Detroit? The time it took them to build over 2,000 mosques in America? The same amount of time required to place radical wahabbist clerics in our military and prisons as 'chaplains'? Find a candidate who can get away with lying about their father being a 'freedom fighter' when he was actually part of the most corrupt and violent government in Kenya's history. Find a candidate with close ties to The Nation of Islam and the violent Muslim overthrow in Africa, a candidate who is educated am ong white infidel Americans but hides his bitterness and anger behind a superficial toothy smile. Find a candidate who changes his American name of Barry to the Muslim name of Barak Hussein Obama, and dares anyone to question his true ties under the banner of 'racism'. Nurture this candidate in an atmosphere of anti-white American teaching and surround him with Islamic teachers. Provide him with a bitter, racist, anti-white, anti-American wife, and supply him with Muslim middle east connections and Islamic monies. Allow him to be clever enough to get away with his anti-white rhetoric and proclaim he will give $834 billion taxpayer dollars to the Muslim controlled United Nations for use in Africa.

Install your candidate in an atmosphere of deception because questioning him on any issue involving Africa or Islam would be seen as 'bigoted racism'; two words too powerful to allow the citizenry to be informed of facts. Allo w your candidate to employ several black racist Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan followers as members of his Illinois Senatorial and campaign staffs.

Where is the bloodhound American 'free press' who doggedly overturned every stone in the Watergate case? Where are our nation's reporters that have placed every Presidential candidate under the microscope of detailed scrutiny; the same press who pursue Bush's 'Skull and Bones' club or ran other candidates off with persistent detective and research work? Why haven't 'newsmen' pursued the 65 blatant lies told by this candidate during the Presidential primaries? Where are the stories about this candidate's cousin and the Muslim butchery in Africa? Since when did our national press corps become weak, timid, and silent? Why haven't they regaled us with the long list of socialists and communists who have surrounded this 'out of nowhere' Democrat candidate or that his church re-p rinted the Hamas Manifesto in their bulletin, and that his 'close pastor friend and mentor' met with Middle East terrorist Moammar Gaddafi, (Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)? Why isn't the American press telling us this candidate is supported by every Muslim organization in the world?

As an ultimate slap in the face, be blatant in the fact your candidate has ZERO interest in traditional American values and has the most liberal voting record in U.S. Senate history. Why has the American main stream media clammed-up on any negative reporting on Barak Hussein Obama? Why will they print Hillary Rodham Clinton's name but never write his middle name? Is it not his name? Why, suddenly, is ANY information about this candidate not coming from main stream media, but from the blogosphere by citizens seeking facts and the truth? Why isn't our media connecting the dot s with Islam? Why do they focus on 'those bad American soldiers' while Islam slaughters non Muslims daily in 44 countries around the globe? Why does our media refer to Darfur as 'ethnic cleansing' instead of what it really is; Muslims killing non Muslims! There is enough strange, anti-American activity surrounding Barak Hussein Obama to peek the curiosity of any reporter. WHERE IS OUR INVESTIGATIVE MEDIA!?

A formal plan for targeting America was devised three years after the Iranian revolution in 1982. The plan was summarized in a 1991 memorandum by Mohamed Akram, an operative of the global Muslim Brotherhood. 'The process of settlement' of Muslims in America, Akram explained, 'is a civilization jihad process.' This means that members of the Brotherhood must understand that their work in 'America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable hou se by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions.'

There is terrorism we can see, smell and fear, but there is a new kind of terror invading The United States in the form of Sharia law and finance. Condoning it is civilization suicide. Middle East Muslims are coming to America in record numbers and building hate infidel mosques, buying our corporations, suing us for our traditions, but they and the whole subject of Islam is white noise leaving uninformed Americans about who and what is really peaceful. Where is our investigative press? Any criticism of Islam or their intentions, even though Islamic leaders state their intentions daily around the globe, brings-forth a volley of 'racist' from the left-wing Democrat crowd. Lies and deception behind a master plan - the ingredients for 'The Manchurian Candidate' or the placement of an anti-A merican President in our nation's White House? Is it mere coincidence that an anti-capitalist run for President at the same time Islamic sharia finance and law is trying to make advancing strides into the United States? Is it mere coincidence this same candidate wants to dis-arm our nuclear capability at a time when terrorist Muslim nations are expanding their nuclear weapons capability? Is it mere coincidence this candidate wants to reduce our military at a time of global jihad from Muslim nations?

Change for America?

What change?

To become another 'nation of Islam'?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Australia

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.

This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society. Learn the language!

Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us. This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, WE will find the courage to start speaking and voicing the same truths.

Mary Call Darby Collins remembered as a 'great Floridian'
By Gerald Ensley and Angeline J. Taylor

Mary Call Darby Collins, descendant of one Florida governor and widow of another, died Sunday after a long illness.

Collins, 98, is remembered for her great sense of humor, caring ways and love of Florida.

"She defined the word 'lady,'" said former Sen. Bob Graham. "She was a great Floridian."

Collins was the great granddaughter of Richard Keith Call, an officer in Andrew Jackson's army who served two terms as a Florida territorial governor. She was married for 59 years to Gov. LeRoy Collins — who served from 1955-1961. He died in 1991.

"She was as pleasant as she could be," former Gov. Reubin Askew said. "She was very supportive (to Gov. Collins) but offered her own opinion."

Mary Call Collins was renowned for her charm and graciousness as a Florida First Lady. She was active in historic preservation causes, including saving the Union Bank and her ancestral home, The Grove.

Gov. Charlie Crist called the former first lady a "beloved leader" who "stood by the side of principled leader LeRoy Collins."

"She offered both support and advice during some of the most turbulent times in our state's history," Crist said.

Collins lived in The Grove up until her death. The home was built by Richard Keith Call in the 1820s and is adjacent to the Florida Governor's Mansion. It passed through several generations of the family before then-state Sen. LeRoy Collins and Mary Call Collins moved into it in 1942.

The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Several years ago, Mary Call Collins deeded the home and its 10 acres to the state, with the provision she could live there until her death. The state eventually hopes to turn the home into a museum.

Born in New York on Sept. 11, 1911, Mary Call Darby moved to Tallahassee as a young child. She graduated from Leon High and Florida State College for Women.

In 1932, she married fellow Leon High classmate LeRoy Collins, embarking on a long career as a politician's wife. Collins served in the Florida House and Senate before being elected governor. He became famous for opposing racial segregation as Florida's governor and was tapped as the first Director of the Community Relations Service after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Daughter Mary Call Proctor said the family was together through the Thanksgiving weekend leading up to her mother's death.

"She had just a wonderful sense of life," Proctor said. "She was proud of Florida. She felt we should all do our part."

Daughter Jane Aurrell echoed her sister's sentiments.

"She had a long and full life," Aurrell said. "Mother had (nearly) 20 more years than daddy. She had a chance to meet and know all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We're just all so grateful for her part in our lives."

Collins is survived by her four children: LeRoy Collins Jr.; Jane Aurrell; Mary Call Proctor and Darby Collins; 12 grandchildren and her 23 great-grandchildren.

There will be a private burial service at the family cemetery. Today, between 4 p.m.-6 p.m. friends will be welcomed at The Grove. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library or Big Bend Hospice.

Bigger is Not Always Better

Years from now, the record books will show Navy defeating Missouri in the Texas Bowl. But what they won't show is the David and Goliath nature of the contest both on and off the field. You had to be there to appreciate the game, fan support, marching bands and press conference.

At the game ending press conference, Coach Pinkel, the Missouri coach was still in shock when he paid Navy a "compliment"...they (Navy) had a "nice little scheme" and did "nice little job". And we know a "nice little" back handed compliment when we hear one!

Missouri was favored by the pundits for many reasons, not the least of which was their Big Twelve schedule, fourth ranking rushing defense (96 yds/pg), and NFL pro style offense and talent (Danario Alexander, No.81). Coupled with this is the undeniable fact that Missouri was much bigger than Navy. Missouri players outweighed Navy by at least 40 pounds a man. As a fan, you don't really appreciate the Missouri size advantage until you see them on the field next to the Midshipmen. Missouri dressed 21 players over 285 pounds, with 13 tipping the scales over 300 pounds. Navy on the other hand, had just 3 such behemoths (2 @ 285 and one @ 301 pounds). There's an old adage in football –"you can't coach size" – you either have it or you don't. And evidenced by the humiliating loss of a much bigger Big Twelve team to a "little scheming" Independent, they can't coach size...very well at Missouri.

Size isn't the only thing they can't coach at Missouri. On the second play of the game, No. 81, the 6'5, 215 pound future NFL draft pick scored on a 58 yard pass reception and while en route to the end zone, he turns his head and sticks his tongue out at the Navy secondary. No doubt thinking, "Hey, this is easy - fool!" This man-child's tongue extension was captured for NFL scouts by a photo journalist and published in the Houston Chronicle. It probably won't cost No. 81 any singing bonus money because in contrast, the NFL will draft any felon if he can play football. However, the game is played for 60 minutes and Navy controlled the ball 41 of those. While rushing 385 yards Navy clearly outgained, out scored and outclassed a modern day Goliath.

If you can't win the game at least the bigger school could win the battle of the fans, right? This season, Missouri averaged 64,000 fans per home game while "little" Navy could only mustered an average of 32,000 - advantage Missouri. Each school was allotted 11,000 tickets (@ $65). Missouri finished a distant second to "little" Navy in ticket sales (4,200 v. 18,000 of the paid attendance - 69,441). This loss cost the Big Twelve and Missouri dearly because instead of receiving half of the $1.25 million dollar guarantee, they must "buy" the unsold tickets (approximately $400,000). Navy's ticket sales also included over 800 tickets purchased by the alumni and given to the Midshipman who attended the game. In addition, Navy sold over 5,000 tailgate tickets (@$25) for the pre game meal in a tent that covered half a football field. The rout continues for the "little" Independent on the Severn.

If you can't win the game or tailgate at least Missouri could win the battle of the bands, right? The safe bet was on the "Golden" Missouri Marching Band dominating the Naval Academy's Drum and Bugle Corps. After all, the Golden Band fielded 10 times more "brass" than Navy. Compared to Navy's silver bugles and drums, Missouri was imposing with their larger golden euphoniums, tubas and sousaphones. Outweighing Navy's thin blue line by at least forty pounds per "player," Missouri's Golden Band was intimidating. It was easy to see that Navy's D&B was in for a long afternoon.

Together, when both school bands took to the field at half time and played a rousing rendition of Deep in the Heart of Texas (which can only be appreciated by Texans), the "little" Navy "players" were lost in the sea of a really big, Big Twelve Band. However what the TV viewing audience could not appreciate happened after the last whistle blew. As is tradition at the Naval Academy, when the game is over, the Navy football team assembles by the Drum and Bugle Corps and their fellow Midshipmen in the stands for the singing of Navy Blue and Gold, the school alma mater. Also remaining in the stands and stretching the length of the field were most of the 18,000 Navy faithful and alumni, staying to sing the alma mater and celebrate the trophy presentation. Only a small portion of the fans were able to sing along because, the "not so" Golden Band, in an unsporting display of their huge sound advantage, drowned out Navy's "little" D&B. After the cheer "Beat Army" went up by those closest to the D&B, the remaining 16,000 Navy alumni treated the "not so" Golden Band from Missouri to a crescendo of boos.

Now this "not so golden" one-upmanship might seem trivial to those who never attended the Naval Academy but for those that have, it was an insult equal to playing your school fight song to drown out "God Bless America." The Naval Academy is not your typical college nor is Navy Blue and Gold the typical college fight song, the kind you hear at Notre Dame, Ohio State or Missouri. Its somber, hymn-like quality speaks not only to the tradition and purpose of the Naval Academy but to the bravery and colors of the United States Navy.

• Now, colleges from sea to sea
• May sing of colors true;
• But who has better right than we
• To hoist a symbol hue?
• For sailors brave in battle fair,
• Since fighting days of old,
• Have proved the sailor's right to wear
• The Navy Blue and Gold

Years ago Coach Holtz brought a Notre Dame team to play in the Academy's Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (emphasize Memorial), and after reading the 42 names emblazoned on the façade of the second deck, - names like Guadalcanal, Inchon, Iwo Jima, and Midway, - he remarked, "Now that's one heck of a schedule." Indeed it is. It's a schedule Navy never bargained for, but was prepared to win...because loosing wasn't an option.

This year, Notre Dame lost to the smaller Navy team in South Bend and out of respect, Notre Dame's Coach Weiss had his team stand behind the Navy during the dulcet tones of Navy Blue and Gold. Likewise, Ohio State's Coach Tressel invited the smaller Navy football team to take the field along side his Big Ten team to avoid the traditional jeering and booing of a visiting team by the 80,000 Ohio State fans. Coach Tressel received an award for this rare display of sportsmanship. Let it be said there are some football programs that know how to coach size.

Besides class there is something that can't be coached, and that intangible is "heart"...you either have it or you don't.

Go Navy! Beat Army!

Doug Bateman, USNA '70
former Navy Seal
former FBI Special Agent

The Truth About the Health Care Bills
by Michael Connelly
Retired Constitutional Attorney



Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.

However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses they own.

The irony is that the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, of all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not deemed acceptable to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out the original ten in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law It doesn't stop there though.

The 9th Amendment that provides: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;

The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution." If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it, without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.

Michael Connelly
Retired attorney
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas

I think I need to read this every year at Christmas.

Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what...

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what?

Yeah," I said, "Why?"

"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.

Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.

My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

Don't be too busy today. Share this inspiring message. GOD bless you.

A modern day lesson for those who might have forgotten!
by Hudson B. Drake:

Think very carefully as you read this. It is not about any one party, but a collective of buffoons. You are watching a five spiral car wreck in slow motion and the unwinding of America. Turn off the TV long enough to see the parallels....

Talk about history repeating itself......

Don't Cry For Me, America. In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. While Great Britain's maritime power and its far-flung empire had propelled it to a dominant position among the world's industrialized nations, only the United States challenged Argentina for the position of the world's second-most powerful economy.

It was blessed with abundant agriculture, vast swaths of rich farmland laced with navigable rivers and an accessible port system. Its level of industrialization was higher than many European countries: railroads, automobiles and telephones were commonplace.

In 1916, a new president was elected. Hipólito Irigoyen had formed a party called The Radicals under the banner of "fundamental change" with an appeal to the middle class.

Among Irigoyen's changes: mandatory pension insurance, mandatory health insurance, and support for low-income housing construction to stimulate the economy. Put simply, the state assumed economic control of a vast swath of the country's operations and began assessing new payroll taxes to fund its efforts.

With an increasing flow of funds into these entitlement programs, the government's payouts soon became overly generous. Before long its outlays surpassed the value of the taxpayers' contributions. Put simply, it quickly became under-funded, much like the United States' Social Security and Medicare programs.

The death knell for the Argentine economy, however, came with the election of Juan Perón. Perón had a fascist and corporatist upbringing; he and his charismatic wife aimed their populist rhetoric at the nation's rich.

This targeted group "swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated."

Under Perón, the size of government bureaucracies exploded through massive programs of social spending and by encouraging the growth of labor unions.

High taxes and economic mismanagement took their inevitable toll even after Perón had been driven from office. But his populist rhetoric and "contempt for economic realities" lived on. Argentina's federal government continued to spend far beyond its means.

Hyperinflation exploded in 1989, the final stage of a process characterized by "industrial protectionism, redistribution of income based on increased wages, and growing state intervention in the econom..."

The Argentinian government's practice of printing money to pay off its public debts had crushed the economy. Inflation hit 3000%, reminiscent of the Weimar Republic. Food riots were rampant; stores were looted; the country descended into chaos.

And by 1994, Argentina's public pensions — the equivalent of Social Security — had imploded. The payroll tax had increased from 5% to 26%, but it wasn't enough. In addition, Argentina had implemented a value-added tax (VAT), new income taxes, a personal tax on wealth, and additional revenues based upon the sale of public enterprises. These crushed the private sector, further damaging the economy.

A government-controlled "privatization" effort to rescue seniors' pensions was attempted. But, by 2001, those funds had also been raided by the government, the monies replaced by Argentina's defaulted government bonds.

By 2002, "government fiscal irresponsibility induced a national economic crisis as severe as America's Great Depression."

* * *

In 1902 Argentina was one of the world's richest countries. Little more than a hundred years later, it is poverty-stricken, struggling to meet its debt obligations amidst a drought.

Mary Call Darby Collins remembered as a 'great Floridian'
By Gerald Ensley and Angeline J. Taylor

Mary Call Darby Collins, descendant of one Florida governor and widow of another, died Sunday after a long illness.

Collins, 98, is remembered for her great sense of humor, caring ways and love of Florida.

"She defined the word 'lady,' " said former Sen. Bob Graham. "She was a great Floridian."

Collins was the great granddaughter of Richard Keith Call, an officer in Andrew Jackson's army who served two terms as a Florida territorial governor. She was married for 59 years to Gov. LeRoy Collins — who served from 1955-1961. He died in 1991.

"She was as pleasant as she could be," former Gov. Reubin Askew said. "She was very supportive (to Gov. Collins) but offered her own opinion."

Mary Call Collins was renowned for her charm and graciousness as a Florida First Lady. She was active in historic preservation causes, including saving the Union Bank and her ancestral home, The Grove.

Gov. Charlie Crist called the former first lady a "beloved leader" who "stood by the side of principled leader LeRoy Collins."

"She offered both support and advice during some of the most turbulent times in our state's history," Crist said.

Collins lived in The Grove up until her death. The home was built by Richard Keith Call in the 1820s and is adjacent to the Florida Governor's Mansion. It passed through several generations of the family before then-state Sen. LeRoy Collins and Mary Call Collins moved into it in 1942.

The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Several years ago, Mary Call Collins deeded the home and its 10 acres to the state, with the provision she could live there until her death. The state eventually hopes to turn the home into a museum. Born in New York on Sept. 11, 1911, Mary Call Darby moved to Tallahassee as a young child. She graduated from Leon High and Florida State College for Women.

In 1932, she married fellow Leon High classmate LeRoy Collins, embarking on a long career as a politician's wife. Collins served in the Florida House and Senate before being elected governor. He became famous for opposing racial segregation as Florida's governor and was tapped as the first Director of the Community Relations Service after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Daughter Mary Call Proctor said the family was together through the Thanksgiving weekend leading up to her mother's death.

"She had just a wonderful sense of life," Proctor said. "She was proud of Florida. She felt we should all do our part."

Daughter Jane Aurrell echoed her sister's sentiments.

"She had a long and full life," Aurrell said. "Mother had (nearly) 20 more years than daddy. She had a chance to meet and know all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We're just all so grateful for her part in our lives."

Collins is survived by her four children: LeRoy Collins Jr.; Jane Aurrell; Mary Call Proctor and Darby Collins; 12 grandchildren and her 23 great-grandchildren.

There will be a private burial service at the family cemetery. Today, between 4 p.m.-6 p.m. friends will be welcomed at The Grove. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library or Big Bend Hospice.

WW II Battleship sailor tells Obama to shape up or ship out!

This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body, he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now. He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president.

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor , allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.

One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.

So here goes.

I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.

I can't figure out what country you are the president of.

You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:

"We're no longer a Christian nation;" "America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world," America is mean-spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)

I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals."

Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.

I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.

Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.

You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.

And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes

Bob, thank you for that information from the Wall Street Journal.

I am glad the Dean of Harvard Medical School finally came to your conclusions and I, liking the good company, am also in agreement with you and the Dean. I wish the Dean had proposed an alternative instead of just criticizing the currently proposed legislation. There needs to be an alternative to Obamacare in order to change what is going on in Washington. The Republicans have proposed a bill but the press did not cover it throughly because the Dems will not let it see the light of day.

The Dean (using more sophisticated language than mine) is in agreement with me that those proposing Obamacare know that this is just the first step to more and more legislation. This is what you get when a committee of 535 in Washington plus the President attempt to solve anything complicated. The other programs they now administer such as Medicare, Freddie, Fannie, Social Security and virtually everything else are going broke with no end in sight. Congress is incompetent to run anything let alone get involved in the very personal issue of our healthcare. I can't imagine anyone thinking they can do this right. Only an open and fair market with limited government regulations and mandates will be able to solve the health care issues.

The loss of freedoms associated with the House bill apparently bothers me more than it bothers you it would appear. It would be unimaginable just a year ago that even the most liberal of the Dems would openly say that each of us must buy a government approved health insurance plan ... and then treat us like criminals if we do not. The initial penalty is a tax of some percent of our income collected by IRS (they do not call it a tax but IRS collects taxes) and it is unclear if we would go to jail if we do not pay it. They left that to the unelected bureaucrats to figure out later.

The plan most ominously takes away our own responsibility to take care of ourselves and instead gives that responsibility to others. If you do not want to work or choose to live a destructive life, the government will tax those who do work and live responsibly to give you healthcare. There is a disincentive to work hard due to higher taxes and a new imposed tax on "Cadillac" plans now being paid for by middle-class working Americans. I am no expert on which Americans should get basic services at a low cost but there are those who are who could do a better job of writing a bill that served the poor.

States lose the freedom to enact serious tort reform in the House bill which is a payoff to the trial lawyers who helped put the Dems in office. There is also an almost mandatory membership in the SEIU service union that backed the Dems included in some newly created job descriptions in the bill. This is a payback bill as much as it is a healthcare bill. This is the reason why government, Republican or Democrat, should not be involved in our healthcare.This Bob really bothers me and should every fair minded American.

The congresses power to spend other people's money on things that will help guarantee their reelection so they can keep on spending other people's money is so compelling that congress is short-sighted and ignores the future problems created with this bill. The only fix to what is coming down the road is higher taxes (they are already shamelessly discussing a VAT) which will choke off jobs and further damage the economy as it does in Europe. Most of Europe has had higher unemployment than we have had even during the boom times of the past few years due to high taxes and the nanny state mindset. Yet they can boast they have universal heath care and although inferior to our market driven system, makes them feel warm and fuzzy to boast that everyone is covered. I have no doubt that many in Washington are okay with having the same lame system here. That Bob, is what really worries me.

John

Wall Street Journal editorial site:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539581994054014.html

Subject: Remember This Guy????

Wonder why we haven't heard more from him lately? Guess I need to find his book And read it...this sounds like it will be interesting.


Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, Where Have All The Leaders Gone? Lee Iacocca Says:

'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course..'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore...

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs... While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

Obama is running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.

We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble due to poor leadership in school districts.

Our borders are like sieves.

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on NBC news or CNN news will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play.

Only a few people in the US know you elected an illegal alien to be President! A Muslim at that! And he jumped right in destroying the US from the inside.. Osama bin Laden is smiling from ear to ear because he is winning the war on terror and you helped by voting his man in as President!

That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!

If you don't think your involvement is necessary you are wrong! Obama does not have America's best interest in mind, only observe what he has done so far. Enough is Enough!

I Remember

Here's to us, one and all
Who heard the message and answered the call
To break away from the old mainstream and live our lives on a submarine.
Sub School gave us the chance to pass the test
To declare that we were The Best of the Best.
When we left New London with orders in hand
We all headed out on different courses for distant, faraway lands.
Some went East coast some went West
But no matter where you ended up, your first boat's the best.
You reported on board not knowing what to think
But now you're known to all as a nub and a dink.

You learn about Tradition and learn about Pride,
You learn about Honor and the men who have died,
You learn about the heritage that's been passed on to you
Because now you're considered one of the crew.
You study that boat from bow to stern
From the conning tower to the bilges, it's your duty to learn
Where and what makes that boat go, how it operates and in what direction it flows
How to charge those batteries and keep them alive or how to rig the boat for dive
Draw those systems fore and aft, blow the shitters, Check the draft
These are duties that you must glean when you live your life on a submarine
When you've learned all there is to know about your boat
You show 'em you know it, by your walk through vote
You go before the Qual Board, card in hand
Where they question and grill you to beat the band
And when you think you can take no more
They tell you to wait just outside the door.
For what seems like eons, Time stands still
And when they call you in, you feel quite ill!
But they congratulate you for doing so good
And welcome you into their Brotherhood.
Right of passage declares that you must drink your "fish".
And the tacking on process is not something you wish
But you wear those dolphins on your chest with pride
Because down deep in your heart, you know you're Qualified.

It seems like yesterday, it seems like a dream
That I truly lived on a submarine
Most Boats are gone, a memory of time
I wonder what happened to that crew of mine?
The Old Boats that are left, are all museums
And even if you rode 'em, you have to pay admission to see 'em.
So here's to us, those that remember
Who rode the boats out in all kinds of weather
To those past, present and even the future
To those young, hardy lads who still love adventure
So let's lift our glasses and have a toast
To the memory of those daring young sailors and their undersea boats.

Tom Carr

This is a great one. I hadn't seen it before either but it really speaks to President Reagan's tremendous wit and wonderful sense of humor. I had not seen or heard this earlier. S/F...Earl

Senator Dan Gaetz
Reports to Northwest Florida

Dear Neighbor,

Every week I walk door to door in a neighborhood in Northwest Florida. It's the best education in the world for a person in public office. Folks standing on their own doorsteps or sitting across from me at their own kitchen tables tell me exactly what's on their minds – what they think, what they fear, what they hope.

Yes, people continue to be concerned about the size of their tax bills, the quality of their schools, the access to insurance they can afford and plenty of other problems. But, as the debate on health care has taken center stage in Washington over the past few months, health care "reform" is now the number one issue I'm hearing about from Northwest Floridians

. Now that the US House of Representatives has voted narrowly in favor of the Pelosi version of the health care bill, interest is heating up even more. Proponents are pushing for a vote in the US Senate within days.

I'm a state senator so I don't vote in Congress. My button is connected to the vote board on the wall in the Florida Senate in Tallahassee. But that doesn't stop people from sharing their feelings and their fears with me, probably because I'm the guy knocking on their door. And I always promise to pass along to our US Senators and Congressmen what I learn.

But the truth is that this "reform" is not just a federal issue. A major factor missing from the debate is the impact that the federal changes will have on our state. Just one part of this phone-book thick bill proposes to expand coverage to the uninsured through a major expansion of Medicaid. Medicaid is a program funded by $18 billion paid by Florida taxpayers though all the rules are made in Washington.

· As of September 30, there were 2.7 million people enrolled in Medicaid in Florida. That's an increase of 600,000 new recipients in the past two years.

· This past year Floridians spent $6,619 for each Medicaid recipient.

· Florida will see a 54% increase in its Medicaid rolls under the Pelosi plan, according to the Heritage Foundation.

· Florida taxpayers will be on the hook to pay increased taxes to support this Washington-decreed increase in Medicaid eligible recipients.

· Yet, no one is happy with Medicaid – doctors, taxpayers, and Medicaid recipients, themselves, say the system is broken.

· Federal officials admit that Medicaid is rife with fraud and mismanagement, though nothing is done in this "reform" bill to correct those problems.

At a time when state revenues are in steep decline because of the deteriorated economy, more mandated costs and taxes from Washington further dilutes state funds available for our elderly in nursing homes, critically ill children in neonatal intensive care centers, and others in real need.

But it isn't just health care needs that will be stretched past the breaking point by a federally-sponsored explosion in Medicaid costs. Every dollar the State of Florida is obligated by the feds to spend on Medicaid means fewer dollars for our schools, our roads, our environment and keeping violent criminals behind bars.

Clearly, our health insurance system needs change. The bar to coverage of pre-existing conditions should be taken down. Individuals who are self-employed and small businesses should be able to join larger insurance risk pools to provide access and keep premiums down. Reasonable tort reform would reduce unnecessary testing and thereby cut costs. But that's not what the Pelosi bill does.

Today one in ten Floridians is out of work and in every neighborhood someone's home is being foreclosed. There couldn't be a worse time for Congress to create a trillion dollar federal program that will drive up taxes on families and businesses and pass a crushing burden of debt to our children and grandchildren.

Here are a few other features of the Pelosi bill that its advocates have glossed over:

Sec. 224 (p118) provides that in 18 months the US Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a "qualified plan" is and how much you'll be legally required to pay for it. The Wall Street Journal reports, "That's like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later."

Sec. 303 (p167-168) makes it clear that a "qualified plan" will be of the "one size fits all" kind. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you and your employer are paying.

Sec. 59b (p 297-299) requires that when you file your tax return you must include proof that you are in a "qualified plan" as dictated by the federal government. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.

Sec. 1114 (p. 391-393) replaces physicians with physician assistants in caring for terminally ill patients in hospice programs.

Again, as reported in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, "This bill will slash Medicare funding," thereby putting our elderly and disabled at risk and "it will also direct billions of dollars to numerous inner city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability."

Sec. 399V (p. 1422) directs tax money to community "entities" with no required qualifications except having "documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers" to "educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities…in the cultural context most appropriate to the individual served by the program."

Sec. 222 (p. 617) reimburses "culturally and linguistically appropriate services" including giving Medicaid enrollees a "right" to have an interpreter at all times paid for by the taxpayers.

Secs. 2521 and 2533 (p 1379 and 1437) establish racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary school health programs.

To read the bill for yourself, go to www.defendyourhealthcare.us

If you're like the people whose doors I've been knocking on recently, you may be troubled by the impact of this bill on our state and on those of us who work here, go to school here, and have retired here. To be sure that the Senate doesn't follow the House and pass these consequences onto Floridians, please contact your US Senator today.

Here's the contact information for our two US Senators:

Senator Bill Nelson
Washington, D.C.
United States Senate
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183
http://billnelson.senate.gov

Senator George LeMieux
United States Senate
356 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-3041
Toll free: (866) 630-7106
Fax: (202) 228-5171
http://lemieux.senate.gov

Meanwhile, please feel free to continue to share your comments with me, as well. Your concerns, your suggestions and your guidance help me be a better senator for you in Tallahassee.
Respectfully,

/s/ Senator Don Gaetz

You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley.

November 11, 1965.
LZ X-ray, Vietnam

Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out.

Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.

As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter. You look up to see an unarmed Huey. But...it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you.

He's not Medi-Vac so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.

Even after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway.

And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.

And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!

He took about 30 of you and your buddies out who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last year at the age of 80, in Boise, Idaho.

May God Rest His Soul.


Medal of Honor Winner
Ed Freeman

CONFESSIONS OF A SUBMARINE OFFICER

"I was an officer on a Guppy II in the 1950s. When I reported aboard, the boat was in yard overhaul. Looking at it for the first time, I could not see that it was a submarine. Wires, cables, hoses, tools, compressors, and welding equipment were strewn about the deck and pier so that it more resembled a bowl of spaghetti than a ship.

I was assigned as supply officer as all new submarine officers were and I floundered five months with multiple copies of forms and endless lengths of adding machine tape. As the boat ended its stay in the yard the = umbilicals began to disappear and it took on the appearance of a real submarine.

"My first year was spent bent over the boat's systems and learning the trade of being a submarine officer. I stood watches under instruction = then qualified as OD underway. When the captain said I was competent enough to stand in-port watches as duty officer I was proud. Although not quite, yet qualified in submarines as an officer I knew what I was doing.

"That submarine and I developed a bond. It was personal and I have never talked about it before. Of course, I liked the crew and friendships grew, but I kept quiet about how I felt about that long piece of steel. At sea during the mid-watch I hung my arm over the bridge rim and looked aft at the wake and trace of smoke coming from the exhausts. The sea made a hissing sound as our hull cut through it. The captain was asleep. I was in charge. The boat was mine.

The bow deck stretched forward before me. It was a fine feeling. When I was OD andwas ordered to dive the boat, I sent the lookouts below, pulled the diving alarm and pushed the 1MC button, saying 'Dive, dive!'. Then I lingered for a bit to watch the bow begin to settle.

I was fascinated bythis wonderful home in which I lived. When the seas were rough and green water came over the bridge I fought the elements. But I never, for one second, had anything but complete confidence in my boat. We often rolled to extreme limits, but I knew the old girl would right herself.

"The best times for me were when I had the duty. At night when charging batteries, an electrician would wake me and tell me we had reached the TVG. I'd awaken and walk through the boat. The duty section crew members were asleep. It was quiet except for the single charging engine and the electricians in maneuvering. The ventilation blowers hummed in the battery compartments, but the torpedo rooms were completely quiet. I could hear the water at the pressure hull. It was a good sound, a peaceful sound.

Standing on the fan tail, I looked at the other submarines in the nest.. They were like us, spending a quiet night; resting so that in the morning we could all go out all to sea and do our thing. It was good to spend a few minutes talking to the topside watch. I felt secure. I have never had that feeling as a civilian.

I loved that old boat. To me she seemed alive. I did my best for her and I knew that she wouldn't let me down.

"This all seems pretty stupid to most readers, but there may be some retired old submariners that felt the same way about their boats. It was a point in time. Perhaps, the nuclear sailors of today with the gold and blue crews miss that special relationship I knew. I hear the words, Subs, Smoke-boats, Pig boats. I still refer to them as submarines. They deserve that much."

(The writer of the above letter wishes to remain anonymous.)

________________________________
There are only TWO TYPES of ships...SUBMARINES and targets.
"PRIDE RUNS DEEP"

Date: Wed, 7 Oct 2009

THIS SPEECH CLEARLY SHOWS OUR SITUATION IN THE WORLD...WELL WORTH READING!

Geert Wilders is a Dutch Member of Parliament.


America as the last man standing

'In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe?'

Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, Chairman, Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing.

You have probably seen the landmarks. But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration.

All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighborhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighborhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.

In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims.

Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin.

In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity.

In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan.

Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate. Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them respect. We have Muslim official state holidays.

The Christian-Democratic attorney general is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behavior, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. I call the perpetrators 'settlers'. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries. Moreover, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behavior is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad.

Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam 'the most retrograde force in the world', and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behaviour, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat. Yet there is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe, American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe's children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

We have to take the necessary action now to stop this Islamic stupidity from destroying the free world that we know.

This 4th grade teacher has said it all, and she was brave enough to attach her name to it.

April 17, 2009
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Obama:

I have had it with you and your administration, sir. Your conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the United States of America collectively or of me personally.

You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans & the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of President of the United States of America. You are responsible to the citizens of the United States..NOT to the peoples of any other country on earth.

I personally resent that you go around the world apologizing for the United States, telling Europeans that we are arrogant & do not care about their status in the world. Sir, what do you think the First World War & the Second World War were all about if not th e consideration of the peoples of Europe? Are you brain dead? What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about? Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?

Where do you get off telling a Muslim country that the U.S. does not consider itself a Christian country? Haven't you read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States? This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics & the principles governing this country (at least until you came along) come directly from this heritage. Do you not understand this?

Your bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia is an affront to all Americans. Our President does not bow down to anyone, let alone the king of Saudi Arabia. You didn't show Great Britain, our best & one of our oldest allies, the respect they deserve yet you bow down to the king of Saudi Arabia.. How dare you, sir! How dare you!

You can't find the time to visit the graves of our greatest generation because you dont want to offend the Germans but make time to visit a mosque in Turkey... You offended our dead & every veteran when you give the Germans more respect than the people who saved the German people from themselves. Whats the matter with you? I am convinced that you & the members of your administration have the historical & intellectual depth of a mud puddle & should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you..

You are so self-righteously offended by the big bankers & the American automobile manufacturers yet do nothing about the real thieves in this situation, Sen. Dodd, Rep. Frank, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelic, the Fannie Mae bonuses, & the Freddie Mac bonuses. What do you intend to do about them? Anything? I seriously doubt it.

What about the U.S. House members passing out $9.1 million in bonuses to their staff members on top of the $2.5 million in automatic pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves? I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus. I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer. You havent said anything about that. Who authorized that? I surely didnt!

Executives at Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac will be receiving $210 million in bonuses over an eighteen-month period, that's $45 million more than the AIG bonuses. In fact, Fannie & Freddie executives have already been awarded $51 million - not a bad take. Who authorized that & why havent you expressed your outrage at this group who are largely responsible for the economic mess we have right now?

I resent that you take me & my fellow citizens as brain-dead & not caring about what you idiots do. We are watching what you are doing & we are getting increasingly fed up with all of you.

I also want you to know that I personally find just about everything you do & say to be offensive to every one of my sensibilities. I promise you that I will work tirelessly to see that you do not get a chance to spend two terms destroying my beautiful country.

Sincerely,
Every real American

P.S. I rarely ask that emails be 'passed around' ............. PLEASE SEND THIS TO YOUR EMAIL LIST......it's past time for all Americans to wake up!

Ms Kathleen Lyday
Fourth Grade Teacher
Grandview Elementary School
11470 Hwy C
Hillsboro, MO 63050
(636) 944-3291 Phone
(636) 944-3870 Fax

Military Records Banner Recruiting Year

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2009 - The military services' active and reserve components notched record recruiting numbers and signed up the highest-quality recruits ever in fiscal 2009, senior defense officials said today.

It is the first time that all active services and reserve components met or exceeded their numerical recruiting goals and exceeded their recruit-quality benchmarks since the start of the all-volunteer force in 1973, Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, told Pentagon reporters.

While Carr acknowledged that the current economic downturn probably is having a positive effect on recruiting, he also pointed to the sterling efforts of military recruiters for the superb results and noted the military deployed a robust bonus program in which 40 percent of recruits received an average bonus of $14,000.

The recruiting success achieved in fiscal 2009 is even more impressive, Carr said, considering that 70 percent of today's high school graduates – the military's target recruiting pool – go on to college upon graduation. In the 1980s, he noted, only about half of American high school students went on to college.

A rising propensity for young people age 17 to 24 to be obese, Carr said, also complicates the military's recruiting mission.

"If we look back to the 1980s, one in 20 young people were obese," Carr said, as compared to today's ratio of 1 in 4 young people being categorized as obese. "And, that creates a tighter constraint as you seek to find fully qualified recruits," he added.

However, he said, the number of waivers issued to recruits with medical or conduct issues is trending downward.

Here are the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force recruiting results for fiscal 2009:

-- The Army had 70,045 accessions, making 108 percent of its 65,000 goal.

-- The Navy had 35,527 accessions, making 100 percent of its 35,500 goal.

-- The Marine Corps had 31,413 accessions, making 100 percent of its 31,400 goal.

-- The Air Force had 31,983 accessions, making 100 percent of its 31,980 goal.

Reserve-component recruiting results for fiscal 2009:

-- The Army National Guard had 56,071 accessions, making 100 percent of its 56,000 goal.

-- The Army Reserve had 36,189 accessions, making 105 percent of its 34,598 goal.

-- The Navy Reserve had 7,793 accessions, making 101 percent of its 7,743 goal.

-- The Marine Corps Reserve had 8,805 accessions, making 122 percent of its 7,194 goal.

-- The Air National Guard had 10,075 accessions, making 106 percent of its 9,500 goal.

-- The Air Force Reserve had 8,604 accessions, making 109 percent of its 7,863 goal.

Attrition losses in all reserve components are among the best in recent years, officials said. Carr also attributed current recruiting success to the "Millennial" demographic of young people that includes those born between 1978 and 1996. Generational studies show, he said, that these young people – who've lived during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States – are more inclined to perform public service.

Additionally, Carr said, Congress continues to provide the Defense Department with sufficient funding to sustain the all-volunteer force.

Studies also show that young people can make a good living in the military, Carr said, as compared to their civilian peers with equitable workplace experience and education qualifications. Generous pay raises provided to junior officers and mid-level noncommissioned officers in recent years, he noted, have boosted those servicemembers' earning capacity.

"It has been a banner year for recruiting," Curtis L. Gilroy, director of accession policy, told American Forces Press Service and Pentagon Channel reporters during an Oct. 9 interview at the Pentagon.

Gilroy, too, saluted the "outstanding" performance of the services' military recruiters. His directorate is a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Fiscal 2009's crop of recruits also represents the best quality ever, Gilroy said, noting 96 percent of active-duty recruits and 95 percent of reserve-component recruits possessed a high school diploma. The Defense Department benchmark for recruits with high school diplomas is 90 percent. Studies show, he added, that 80 percent of servicemembers with high school diplomas complete their initial term of service.

Gilroy said 73 percent of active recruits and 72 percent of reserve-component recruits scored average or above average on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. The AFQT measures an individual's math and verbal ability, which indicates aptitude for military service. The department sets a benchmark of 60 percent of all recruits scoring at or above the 50th percentile on the AFQT.

"As you can see from these numbers," Gilroy said, "the services have far exceeded those benchmarks" in fiscal 2009 for signing up recruits with high school diplomas and those with average or better AFQT scores. Increased capabilities demonstrated by the majority of the nearly 300,000 active and reserve component recruits signed up in fiscal 2009, he added, will result in higher performance in the field and will enhance readiness.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tara R. Klimek
October 12, 2009
850-766-1633

COLLINS CENTER ANNOUNCES 1,000+ FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENTS

Non-profit working for Florida Circuit Courts giving many a chance to stay in their homes

TALLAHASSEE—Only a few months into its foreclosure managed mediation program, the Collins Center for Public Policy today announced it has coordinated more than 1,000 successful outcomes. The Collins Center's Mortgage Foreclosure Managed Mediation Program assists homeowners whose properties are pending mortgage foreclosure action at no cost to Florida taxpayers.

By offering Florida homeowners facing foreclosure an opportunity to meet with lending representatives, Florida's Circuit Courts and the Collins Center are reducing the state's foreclosure backlog and giving many Floridians an opportunity to take responsible steps to stay in their homes.

"Today's financial investments are so complex that it can be difficult for the homeowner to identify their lending representative and vice versa," said Ned Pope, Director of Managed Mediation for the Collins Center. "Managed mediation brings both sides together in a confidential environment that can encourage a successful outcome for all involved."

With managed mediation, many homeowners and lenders are able to avoid the expense and time of a foreclosure proceeding. Homeowners choosing to participate have the opportunity to sit down face-to-face with a lending representative authorized to negotiate on behalf of the lender. To help guide the mediation toward settlement, the Collins Center contracts with independent Supreme Court certified mediators who complete additional training in foreclosure law prior to conducting the mediations.

To date, the Collins Center has managed approximately 1,401 scheduled mediations. More than 71 percent, or 817, of 1,146 scheduled mediations were settled successfully during the mediation. An additional 255 were settled before mediation as a result of the Collins Center facilitating communication between the parties, for a total of 1,072 positive settlements. Less than 29 percent of the 1,146 scheduled mediations end at an impasse.

The Collins Center's managed mediation program is currently operating in three Florida Judicial Circuit Courts-- the First, 11th, and 19th Circuits—created earlier this year by administrative orders. In all three circuits, the administrative orders limit the program to owner-occupied residences facing foreclosure. The Collins Center uses trained consumer specialists to inform eligible homeowners about the program, work with lending institutions and attorneys to schedule the mediation, and set up an appointment with a HUD certified credit counselor for the borrowers prior to mediation. While some mediations may last a full day, most only last a few hours.

"Foreclosure case filings continue to explode across Florida. Managing hundreds of thousands of foreclosures in our court system requires communication between the lenders and the borrowers, so that foreclosures can be resolved as early as possible in the legal process," said Circuit Judge Jennifer D. Bailey, 11th Judicial Circuit. "The managed mediation project in the 11th Circuit, piloted with the Collins Center, organizes a safe and secure mediation, allowing essential communication to occur without the frustrations on both sides of missed calls, lost documents, and busy signals; and expediting settlements in those cases that can be settled. This program has assisted in our efforts to move this caseload fairly, efficiently, and with justice. We appreciate the investment, both in effort and dollars, that the Collins Center has made to build this model, and we look forward to increasing success as lawyers and litigants realize the value and cost-effectiveness of this program."

"Managed mediation programs for foreclosure cases will not only help move a large number of cases in the court system to resolution faster, the programs can also be used allow a large number of cases to be settled before a lawsuit is filed," said Circuit Judge Burton Conner, 19th Judicial Circuit. "Pre-suit mediation will result in a huge savings for lenders and keep people in their homes. When the parties can agree on a settlement, it is a win-win for both sides."

The Florida Supreme Court Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases released its report in August 2009 recommending the adoption of "a uniform, statewide managed mediation program" to be adopted by administrative order in each Circuit Court. The report cited the Collins Center's "substantial experience and background" in mediation and praised the Collins Center's initial success rate as "impressive."

The Collins Center has used its own private funds to build the necessary infrastructure for its foreclosure managed mediation program that includes over 40 employees and regional offices in the participating circuits and is currently the only mandatory foreclosure program in the nation that does not rely on tax dollars to fund the program. Lenders are responsible for the cost of mediation, which is built into final settlement or foreclosure proceeding. Of the $750 fee, Supreme Court Certified independent mediators receive $350, $125 goes to the HUD Certified credit counselor, and the balance is used to reserve mediation rooms, secure translators (if necessary), and fund administrative costs.

"Managed mediation is an integral part of the solution to getting our economy back on track, and without additional cost to Florida's taxpayers," said Pope. "We're honored to serve Florida's courts by helping to resolve many foreclosures without the hassle or expense of a drawn-out court battle."

# # #

The Collins Center for Public Policy is proud to continue Former Florida Governor LeRoy Collins' legacy of uncompromising integrity in government and business. Established in 1988 by distinguished Floridians who envisioned the need for an independent organization to find impartial solutions to controversial problems, the Collins Center is a statewide non-profit that leads numerous and diverse programs throughout the state. A "think tank with muddy boots," the Collins Center goes beyond the traditional role of a think tank by seeking opportunity and taking action on projects that help Florida's citizens.

Tara R. Klimek
Press Secretary
Collins Center for Public Policy

No doubt you guys have already read this, but for those who haven't.....

FARM KID in Marines
(NOW AT San Diego MARINE CORPS RECRUIT TRAINING)

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once.. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Alice

I have always heard about this democracy countdown.. It is interesting to see it in print. God help us, not that we deserve it.

How Long Do We Have?

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.'

'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'

' From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.'

'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.'

'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;

2. from spiritual faith to great courage;

3. from courage to liberty;

4. from liberty to abundance;

5. from abundance to complacency;

6. from complacency to apathy;

7. from apathy to dependence;

8. from dependence back into bondage'

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota points out some interesting facts concerning the 2008 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:

Democrats: 19
Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by:

Democrats: 580,000
Republicans: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:

Democrats: 127 million
Republicans: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:

Democrats: 13.2
Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' Olson believes the United States is somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal's and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

If you are in favor of this , then by all means, delete this message. If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear, or are about to repeat a rumor.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's correct," Socrates continued.

"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

The Paradoxical Commandments of Government

1. The reward for doing good work is more work. Do good work anyway.

2. All the money you save being more efficient will get cut from your budget now and forever. Find efficiencies anyway.

3. All the bold reforms you make will be undone by the next administration. Make bold reforms anyway.

4. There is no time to think about improving what we do. Make time anyway.

5. Employees may fight the change every step of the way. Involve them anyway.

6. The future is unpredictable and largely out of your hands. Plan anyway.

7. The press only cares when something goes wrong. Share your success stories anyway.

8. You may believe Legal will never let you do it. Seek Legal's advice anyway.

9. If you develop your people, they will move on to better jobs. Train them anyway.

10. Your ideas will at best make someone else look good, and at worst, get you ostracized by your co-workers. Share your ideas anyway.

Author unknown

A new climate for national security

Why the military is paying attention to energy efficiency and global warming.

Climate change will cause drought, flood, extreme weather events, crop failure, acidic oceans, fishery collapse, starvation and disease...

That will cause conflict over scarce resources and mass migration by people in search of security and the essentials of life...

Creating sustained natural and humanitarian disasters on a scale and at a frequency far beyond those we see today...

When populations get desperate, the likelihood of military conflicts goes up, and the more instability, the more likely and greater the pressure to use our military.

By Vice Adm. Dennis V. McGinn, USN (Ret), Special to the St. Petersburg Times
Published Thursday, September 17, 2009

As a young student naval aviator many years ago, I made my first carrier landing off the coast of Pensacola. I remember every detail: a brilliant blue sky accented with billowing white clouds, clear blue, almost iridescent waters of the Gulf of Mexico, pristine white beaches and the deep green of the coast, outlined by its bays, rivers and canals.

As I focused my attention to the business at hand and flew my T-2B Buckeye trainer toward the tiny black dot that was the USS Lexington flight deck, I thought I had never seen such beauty as the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf of Mexico.

This month, after many years, including a 35-year Navy career, I returned to Florida's Gulf Coast on a different mission. Accompanying my former boss, retired Sen. John Warner, who served as secretary of the Navy when I was a junior officer in the early '70s, I came to present the strategic findings by CNA's Military Advisory Board, a panel of retired admirals and generals who produced two reports, "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change" (security andclimate.cna.org) and "Powering America's Defense: Energy and the Risk to National Security" (www.PoweringAmericas Defense.org). The reports, each the result of more than a year-long study, found an inextricable link between U.S. energy use, climate change and national security.

Just as the beauty of the gulf may juxtapose oddly with the tough reality of the military missions we trained for above its waters, so the tie between national security and climate change may seem strange — at first. But as military professionals, we are trained, and learn by hard experience, to carefully plan, make decisions and take action when faced with threatening situations, even when those situations are defined by ambiguous information.

Strategic decisions are, by necessity, based on trends, indicators and warnings because, as a chairman of our panel, retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, said, "We never have 100 percent certainty. We never have it. If you wait until you have 100 percent certainty, something bad is going to happen on the battlefield."

After carefully considering the threat of climate change and America's current energy consumption to our national security, the CNA Military Advisory Board finds the trends and warnings are clear. Our sobering conclusion is that climate change and the U.S. energy posture constitute a serious and urgent threat to national security — militarily, diplomatically and economically.

Climate change differs from traditional military threats. It is not a well-defined enemy or a specific crisis spot with a fixed timeline for response. Rather, it is a threat multiplier that magnifies instability in the most volatile places in the world and increases a variety of threats across the board.

This will inevitably create a growing need for U.S. military intervention with missions ranging from humanitarian assistance, to peacekeeping, to the need to deal with dangerous conflicts over resources in regions critical to U.S. national security. The conditions created by climate change will vary across the globe and affect different locations, including in our own nation, in a variety of ways: drought, flood, extreme weather events, crop failure, acidic oceans, fishery collapse, starvation and disease.

These conditions will lead to conflict over scarce resources and cause mass migration by people in search of security and the essentials of life, creating sustained natural and humanitarian disasters on a scale and at a frequency far beyond those we see today.

This, in turn, will create great social and political instability where demands for basic human needs exceed the capacity of governments to cope. As fragile states become failed states, desperation, hopelessness and a vacuum of governing power create a dangerous breeding ground for extremists and terrorism.

When populations get more desperate, the likelihood of military conflicts goes up, and the more instability, the more likely and greater the pressure to use our military. Climate-driven crises are already happening. Darfur and Somalia are present-day examples of instability and failing states. In South Asia and in the Middle East, very densely populated regions with long-standing tensions, climate change will create greatly increased competition, and perhaps regional conflict, over traditional supplies of fresh water.

As the Himalayan glaciers recede, nations such as China, India and Pakistan will have to deal with internal and external unrest due to a much less reliable source of water to meet the needs of growing populations. There already exists a rapidly increasing competition for diminishing supplies of water for agriculture and basic human needs in the Middle East.

The danger of oil

At the same time, increasing demand for, and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels will lead to greater instability around the world, including many of the places worst hit by climate change. In our second report, the CNA Military Advisory Board concluded that America's approach to energy has placed the nation in a dangerous and untenable position. The report identifies a series of current risks created by America's energy policies and practices.

Militarily, our inefficient use and overreliance on oil adds significantly to the great risks already assumed by our troops. It reduces combat effectiveness and exacts a huge price tag in dollars and lives. It puts our troops — more directly and more often — in harm's way.

Fuel convoys can stretch over great distances, traversing hotly contested territory and become attractive targets for enemy forces. Ensuring convoy safety and fuel delivery requires a tremendous diversion of combat force. As in-theater energy demand increases, more assets must be diverted to protect fuel convoys rather than to directly engage enemy combatants.

We saw this in Iraq and we are certainly seeing it in Afghanistan where the pace of military operations, the size of the force and its effectiveness is literally paced by our ability to get fuel when and where it's needed. Consider the recent hijacking of fuel trucks by the Taliban in Afghanistan and the ensuing civilian deaths, greatly damaging the political goals that are central to the NATO and coalition mission.

The commandant of the Marine Corps recently deployed an energy audit team to Afghanistan to find ways to increase energy efficiency and to use more sustainable forms of energy in order to lighten the expeditionary load, lower logistics vulnerability and improve fighting effectiveness.

Beyond the military's own fuel needs, our nation consumes more oil than any other single country. Ensuring the flow of that oil stretches our military thin — the men and women already fighting wars on two fronts. We rely on our armed forces to protect sea lanes and maintain a continuous high level of forward presence to ensure we can fill up our cars and trucks. The October 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole, while on a refueling stop in Yemen, was a tragic reminder of the convergence of oil, instability, terrorism and the need for ever vigilant forward presence by Americans in uniform.

And our nation's dependence on oil — not just foreign oil — reduces our leverage internationally and limits our diplomatic options. We simply do not have enough oil resources in this country to ever meet our growing demand or to shield us from the volatile price spikes and shortages in a global market.

Using too much

Even accounting for the recent discovery of deep sea oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico, America controls only 3 percent of the world's oil supply while we consume 25 percent of the oil produced every year. Making the assumption that fuel is going to be available and affordable whenever and wherever we need it leads to a fundamentally flawed strategy. It will neither be available nor affordable.

The growing divergence of supply and demand curves for global oil dictates ever-greater scarcity and ever increasing cost. By remaining dependent on oil the United States will continue to be entangled with unfriendly rulers and undemocratic nations — simply because we need their oil. And we cannot produce enough domestic oil to change this dynamic. That is just a short-term solution that simply continues our harmful addiction to oil. We need to recognize that we cannot drill our way to sustained prosperity and security — we have to wean ourselves from our reliance on oil, starting now.

Economically, we are in the midst of a severe financial crisis, and our approach to energy is a key part of the problem. We are heavily dependent on a global petroleum market that is highly volatile. In 2008, we sent $386 billion overseas to pay for oil — a good deal of it going to nations that wish us harm. In the last year alone, the per-barrel price of oil climbed as high as $140 and dropped as low as $40. Just a $10 change in the per-barrel cost of oil translates to a $2 billion increase in the Pentagon's energy costs.

This price volatility is not limited to oil — natural gas and coal prices also saw huge spikes in the last year. While coal and natural gas resources may be plentiful, they are increasingly difficult to access, and have associated impacts that are expensive. As we begin to recover from the current global recession, the price of energy will inexorably go up and with it, the risks to our nation's economic and security future.

Hummer, be gone

There are those who say we cannot afford to deal with our energy issues right now. But if we don't begin to address our long-term energy profile now, future economic crises will dwarf this one. The market for fossil fuels will be shaped by finite supplies and increasing worldwide demand, the volatile cycle of fuel prices will become sharper and shorter, and without immediate action to change our energy profile, the national security risks, economic and military, will worsen.

Every single day that goes by, we are more vulnerable to very real threats to our energy supply: a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, Iran closing down the Strait of Hormuz, terrorist actions against major oil production facilities, or an oil embargo by OPEC.

Using the most reasoned and fact-based military judgment, members of the CNA Military Advisory Board concluded that we must transform the way our country produces and uses energy. Diversifying our energy sources and moving away from fossil fuels is critical to our future energy security. This will inevitably mean moving to more renewable sources of energy, greater efficiency and to a significantly reduced dependence on fossil fuels.

As the largest single user of energy in the country, the Department of Defense can play a leadership role. As one of my colleagues on the Military Advisory Board quipped, "America, we gave you the Hummer when oil was cheap; now we're taking it back!"

Algae-powered jets

By addressing its own energy security needs, the Department of Defense can be an incubator for new energy technologies and help transform U.S. energy use. Initial steps are already under way.

One example is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's recent multimillion dollar investments in the research and development of liquid fuels derived from algae and other non-food crops.

Last month I toured several centers of excellence — promising algae-to-oil start-up companies. These are not pie-in-the-sky ventures. Rather, they are on the verge of a significant production scale-up, using algal oil to be sent to existing refineries, which currently process only crude oil. This is significant. It means that a whole new fuel derived from algae could use the existing oil processing infrastructure.

Military aircraft are already conducting successful flight tests using bio-based fuels. Think what such a change could mean for the energy security of the Air Force, which burns approximately 2.4 billion gallons of jet fuel a year, the single largest user in the world, followed closely by many of the large commercial air carriers.

There are many other examples where the military is making significant progress in both energy efficiency and using new sources of clean, renewable energy to improve mission effectiveness. In Iraq and Afghanistan, spray foam insulation on tents has cut the need for diesel generator sets used for air conditioning by as much as 60 percent. Portable solar panels are increasingly being used to recharge the multitude of batteries our soldiers and Marines rely on for mission electronics.

The Army is assessing the viability of using highly efficient fuel cells to power the electronics in combat vehicles and forward operating bases, greatly reducing the need to keep gas-guzzling engines and diesel generators idling.

All of the armed services have embraced energy efficiency technology and building materials for military construction at their bases, increased the number of hybrid and electric powered vehicles for logistics, and many installations are developing solar, wind, geothermal and biomass sources of renewable energy to reduce reliance on the electrical grid and save money.

Collectively, these initiatives help to shape a rapidly growing national clean technology market using the Defense Department's buying power, as well as with applicable research and development efforts that can "spin out" commercially viable new energy technology from defense research centers, as well as to "spin in" private sector-developed energy capabilities, including those in operational prototype configurations, that meet emerging military needs.

While this may not answer all of our future energy needs for America or for our military, it is clear evidence that major change is underway. Remember that less than 10 years ago the iPod didn't exist and 20 years ago, few folks had cell phones, satellite radio or GPS devices.

Clean technology — energy efficiency, pollution abatement and renewable energy — is a fast growing multibillion-dollar global industry. Those countries which invest in research, development and deployment of clean technology early, will have a key competitive advantage and be less dependent on others for this technology.

Silver buckshot

Those who delay action will be more dependent on, and therefore more vulnerable to, those who move early. The greater our delay in taking action, the more limited and expensive America's energy options become. While there may not be a "silver bullet" to meet the challenges of energy and climate change facing our nation, there are a lot of "silver buckshot" technologies, which we can use to scale up and create an economically viable portfolio of energy choices.

The Department of Defense can play a key role to achieve the end state — a transformation of the way we generate and use energy. But America needs a truly national effort. We require visionary leadership by our elected officials, at all levels of government, to create long-term policies which encourage free market capital investments to develop and deploy sustainable, low-carbon energy technology. Most importantly, we need the full awareness, commitment and participation by all Americans, as citizens and as consumers, to recognize the need for change and to help make it happen now.

These challenges are certainly daunting, particularly at a time of economic crisis. But we do not need to exchange benefits in one dimension, energy security, for harm in another, climate change. In fact, while carefully considering these interlinked challenges, it is clear that great and transformational opportunities lie ahead for America and that the best approaches to energy, climate change and national security may be one in the same.

As my airliner flew out over Tampa Bay and the gulf after my most recent visit, I once again marveled at how beautiful the coast of Florida still remains. For the sake of America's future national security and prosperity, and for generations to come, I hope they remain that way. The future is ours to make.

Vice Adm. Dennis V. McGinn, USN (retired) is a designated naval aviator, test pilot and national security strategist. He has served as director of the Air Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; the Commander of the U.S. Third Fleet; and the deputy chief of Naval Operations, Warfare Requirements and Programs in the Pentagon. CNA is a not-for-profit research organization which serves the public interest by providing in-depth analysis and results-oriented solutions to help government leaders choose the best course of action in setting policy and managing operations. CNA's Military Advisory Board (MAB) consists of 12 two-, three- and four-star retired admirals and generals, representing all four services of American armed forces.

Sidebar

Did you know? The Air Force is the single largest user of jet fuel in the world, burning 2.4 billion gallons a year.

A $10 rise in the price of a barrel of oil translates to a $2 billion increase in the Pentagon's energy costs.

In 2008, we sent $386 billion overseas to pay for oil — a good deal of it going to nations that wish us harm.

America controls only 3 percent of the world's oil supply while we consume 25 percent of the oil produced every year.

A whole new fuel derived from algae could be processed at existing refineries.

Spray foam insulation on tents in Iraq and Afghanistan has cut the need for air conditioning by as much as 60 percent.

Subject: Admiral Grace Hopper Quotes & Biography

A collection of Admiral Grace Hopper's quotes - - who was Grace Hopper? Look below the quotes - - everyone working in IT should know about this tough lady. Jim

• From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.

• If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It's much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.

• It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

• The most dangerous phrase in the language is, "We've always done it this way."

• Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.

• A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things.

• You don't manage people, you manage things. You lead people.

• Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors; care for one's crew.

• One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.

• Some day, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be an entry which reads, "Information"; for in most cases, the information is more valuable than the hardware which processes it.

• We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.

• To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge.

• They told me computers could only do arithmetic.

• In pioneer days they used oxen for heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn't budge a log, they didn't try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn't be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers.

• Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems.

• We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.

• At any given moment, there is always a line representing what your boss will believe. If you step over it, you will not get your budget. Go as close to that line as you can.

• I seem to do a lot of retiring.

• I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, "What are you?"

Grace Hopper was born Grace Brewster Murray, the oldest of three children. Her father, Walter Murray, was an insurance broker while her mother, Mary Van Horne, had a love of mathematics which she passed on to her daughter. Both Grace's parents believed that she and her sister should have an education of the same quality as her brother.

Grace was educated at two private schools for girls, namely Graham School and Schoonmakers School both in New York City. Intending to enter Vassar College in 1923 she failed a Latin examination and was required to wait another year. She spent the academic year at Hartridge School in Plainfield, New Jersey then entered Vassar College in 1924. She studied mathematics and physics at Vassar College graduating with a BA in 1928. After graduating she undertook research in mathematics at Yale University.

In 1930 Grace Murray married Vincent Foster Hopper, an English teacher from New York University. A Vassar College Fellowship allowed her to study at Yale University and, also in 1930, Yale awarded her an MA. In 1931 she began teaching mathematics at Vassar College as an instructor in the Department of Mathematics and she continued on the staff there until 1943, having been promoted by that time to an associate professorship.

Hopper wanted to join the military as soon as the United States entered World War II. However, at 34 she was too old (and not heavy enough for her height) to enlist and anyway as a mathematics professor her job was considered essential to the war effort. However she was determined to join the Navy and, despite being told that she could serve her country best by remaining in her teaching post at Vassar College, she eventually persuaded the Naval Reserve to accept her in 1943 and she also persuaded Vassar College to grant her leave.

After initial training at Midshipman's School, after which she was commissioned a Lieutenant, Hopper was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance Computation Project at the Cruft Laboratories at Harvard University. From 1944 she worked with Aiken on the Harvard Mark I computer.

On her arrival at Cruft Laboratory she immediately encountered the Mark I computer. For her it was an attractive gadget, similar to the alarm clocks of her youth; she could hardly wait to disassemble it and figure it out. ... Hopper became the third person to program the Mark I.

Aiken gave her as a first programming task immediately she arrived at Harvard which was to:

Compute the coefficients of the arctan series by next Thursday.

By the end of the war, Hopper was working on the Harvard Mark II computer. It was in this machine that the first actual "computer bug" was found: a moth which shorted one of the 17 000 relays in the machine.

In 1946 Hopper ended her active duty with the Navy but remained a duty reservist. She resigned her post at Vassar College so that she could remain at Harvard where she was appointed a Research Fellow in Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics in the Computation Laboratory. She continued to work on the Mark II, then later on the Mark III computer.

In 1949 Hopper joined the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation as a Senior Mathematician and there she worked with John Eckert and John Mauchly on the UNIVAC computer. She designed an improved compiler while working for the company and was part of the team which developed Flow-Matic, the first English-language data-processing compiler.

In 1952 she had an operational compiler. "Nobody believed that," she said. "I had a running compiler and nobody would touch it. They told me computers could only do arithmetic."

Hopper's reason for designing a compiler was, she wrote later, because she was lazy and hoped that the introduction of compilers would allow the computer programmer to return to being a mathematician. Indeed it may seem obvious to us today that this would be the route forward for computers but it was an extremely far sighted idea from Hopper. In fact thinking about how computers have developed, particularly with systems such as Mathematica and Maple available today, one sees the rather remarkable vision that Hopper had of how computers would become such an important tool for mathematicians.

In 1950 the Remington Rand Corporation had acquired the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation and changed its name to the UNIVAC Division of Remington Rand. Hopper became a Systems Engineer and Director of Automatic Programming Development of the UNIVAC Division. She continued her work on compilers, publishing her first paper on that topic in 1952. She then participated in the work to produce specifications for a common business language. Since Flow-Matic was the only existing business language at that time, it was inevitable that it should provide the foundations for the specification of the language COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) which eventually came out in 1959. She had another important aim relating to compilers, namely that there should be standardisation. Her aim was that there should be international standardisation of computer languages and she strongly advocated validation procedures.

Hopper was never one to hold a single job at any one time. She was involved both with the academic world and with the Navy during the time that she held her positions in the Remington Rand Corporation, then from 1955 in the Sperry Corporation which had merged in that year with Remington Rand. Her connections with the academic world were many, sometimes visiting positions as in 1959 when she was a Visiting Lecturer at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a consultant and lecturer for the United States Naval Reserve up to her retirement in December 1966, by which time she had reached the rank of Commander.

The Navy and Hopper were not apart for very long for, in August 1967, she was recalled to active duty in the Navy. At this time she took military leave from the Sperry Corporation and did not return to that job, retiring from it in 1971 when she reached 65 years of age. Her return to the Navy was intended to be for only a six months period.

... at the request of Norman Ream, then Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy for Automatic Data Processing. After the six months were up, her orders were changed to say her services would be needed indefinitely. She was promoted to Captain in 1973 by Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., Chief of Naval Operations. And in 1977, she was appointed special advisor to Commander, Naval Data Automation Command, where she stayed until she retired.

Active service in the Navy did not prevent Hopper holding academic appointments, and she was a Lecturer in Management Sciences at George Washington University between 1971 and 1978.

When Hopper retired from the Navy in August 1986, at 80 years of age, she was the oldest active duty officer in the United States. She had reached the rank of Rear Admiral, being promoted to the rank of Commodore in a White House ceremony in December 1983, then becoming Rear Admiral Hopper in 1985. At a celebration held in Boston on the USS Constitution to celebrate her retirement, Hopper was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award possible by the Department of Defense.

After a career which involved many jobs in numerous quite different areas, one might have expected her to look forward to a quiet retirement. However, this was not her style and, remarkably, she was appointed a senior consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation after retiring from the Navy, a position she held until 1990. Her job involved representing.

... Digital at computer industry forums, making presentations on advanced computing concepts and the value of information and data, and serving as a corporation liaison with educational institutions.

In her long career Hopper received so many awards that it would be impossible to note more than a few in this article. She was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1962), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1963), and received Achievement Awards from the Society of Women Engineers (1964) and from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1968).

Hopper was named the first computer science Man of the Year by the Data Processing Management Association in 1969. In 1970 she received the Harry M Goode Memorial Award, a medal and $2,000 awarded by the Computer Society:

For her pioneering work and leadership in the development of computer software, and for her impact and influence on the computing profession and her fellow colleagues, and for her pioneering work and leadership in the development of important concepts for mathematical and business compilers, and for her contributions to the development and acceptance of English-language, problem-oriented programming, and for her outstanding work and continued efforts in the education and training of men and women for careers in computer science and data processing.

She became the first woman to be elected Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society in 1973, being the first American elected to this honour. Also in 1973 she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Legion of Merit. Hopper collected a remarkable number of honorary degrees, receiving at least 37 between 1972 and 1987.

In 1991 President George Bush awarded Hopper the National Medal of Technology. She was

... the first woman to receive America's highest technology award as an individual. The award recognises her as a computer pioneer, who spent a half century helping keep America on the leading edge of high technology.

"Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges, and Governors, shall all become wolves."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, 1787

"It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives."

--John Adams, Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1756

A Heroic Death, Without the Headlines
By Scene And Heard
Sunday, August 30, 2009

Marine Capt. Matthew Freeman made his last trip across the U.S. Naval Academy in the company of friends the other day.

Yes, there were admirals and generals, colonels and majors, captains of the Navy and the Marines among the hundreds who joined him. But there are moments when the strictures of rank are loosened by the greater bond of brotherhood. This was one of them.

Four thousand and seventy-four days had passed since Matt arrived here as a kid, had his head shaved and was sworn in as a Navy midshipman. Two thousand six hundred and fifty-one days had gone by since he hurled his hat into the air at graduation and became a Marine. It had been 47 days since he married Theresa, his high school sweetheart, and 34 days since he headed to Afghanistan.

And it was just 19 days after he led his men onto a rooftop that provided the only high ground in a nasty firefight with the Taliban in a hamlet in a rugged, desolate northeastern province.

The morning he came back to the Naval Academy was a Wednesday, but it will stick in your memory as the day you heard that Ted Kennedy had died and the week when you learned that someone might have killed Michael Jackson. The politician and the entertainer of their generations, they were lionized by many and scorned by some. One pleaded guilty, the other was found innocent. But they each died with an indelible asterisk, a footnote to their legacies that time will not erase.

Matt Freeman died clean.

His life and death played out that sunny morning in the chapel at the Academy and as the long cortege made its way on foot across the Yard to what would be his final resting place. The words they found for him were devotion to his Maker, loyalty beyond what most men possess and grim courage in the end. Marine sentries in dress blue snapped into salute as he passed. There was a band. Flags flew.

Nine days earlier, when his body came home to a small town in Georgia, three creeks south of Savannah, people lined the route, waving paper flags. Children drew signs of tribute on cardboard. Mothers cried. You can find it all on the Internet, of course. All that, and a lot more about how he lived and how he died. You will discover, most of all, why people loved him.

It is the business of generals to calibrate the magnitude of a man's courage. They are not to be envied the task, and many of them learned its measure by testing their own guts on the battlefield.

Theresa rose from her pew in the chapel to accept Matt's Bronze Star, the fifth in the hierarchy of combat medals awarded Marines. He died on a mission for which he volunteered, in a province far from home, leading men into battle. Pinned down and receiving a "heavy volume" of enemy fire, the medal citation says, he rose up and led his men into a mud-brick house, cleared it of the enemy, "was the first to reach the rooftop" where he "spotted an enemy rocket-propelled grenade gunman and immediately killed him...and began to engage while under fire."

His best friend told the mourners, "He would want you to know that he went down swinging."

There were a dozen Marine captains in dress blue in the overflowing pews of the chapel. Marines may blink hard a few times, but they don't cry. Their mothers and widows cry for them.

In the week when they laid a young Marine captain to rest, the news was dominated by the death of a politician and the echo from an entertainer's death. The flag-draped coffin on the front page was not his, but if you look carefully in the paper this week you will see a small picture of Matt Freeman among the faces of those who have fallen recently in battle.

He did not live long enough to become an the icon of Kennedy or Jackson, but he died the greater hero.

-- Ashley Halsey III, staff writer

A statement from the President of St. Thomas More College (a small liberal arts college):

What Robert Novak said about our students a few years ago at Commencement remains true today:

"They are entering the world as something rare today: educated men and women."

Consider what that means: consider the impact that just one such educated man --- Robert Novak --- had these past decades, the young boy who recalled with joy his own entry into such a school: "It was a golden moment for a 17-year-old boy from Joliet, leading to four years of exploration in the riches of our heritage: how barren would be my life without that background!"

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945...." at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy... do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero... and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center.
No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.
And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Chuck Yeager, Major General, U.S.AIR FORCE [ret.]

Roy,

I don't usually spend a lot of time scanning the obituaries, but this morning I was struck by the number of American flags (indicating veterans) in the Tampa Tribune's obituary page. There were eight men in their 80's (one was 91 actually) - my father's contemporaries, and like him, all of them were WWII veterans. It made me realize how fast the Greatest Generation is leaving us...eight in one day in one town.

I read enough of the notices to get just a little bit of their backgrounds:

"...a decorated World War II veteran of the 82nd Airborne who fought in battles and campaigns in Sicily, Naples, Normandy....and in the Battle of the Bulge. The night before D-Day he flew into France in a glider which crashed in a field. He lay with a broken back next to a dying cow all night......awarded a Purple Heart, also a glider badge with two bronze service stars."

"...the son of Sicilian immigrants, he was a proud U.S. Army veteran of World War II."

"...served in the U.S. Navy during World War II."

"...served in the U.S. Army and retired with the rank of colonel."

"He served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II."

"...served in the U.S. Navy in World War II as a Lieutenant, participating in six invasions."

"...served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean War."

What a humbling thing for me to read. . .

LK

State Department of Veterans Affairs has helped Villagers and other vets for two decades
By David R. Corder
The Villages Daily Sun
August 3, 2009

THE VILLAGES — Few probably even heard about the proclamation.

But the resolution the Florida Cabinet adopted last week delivered the message of just how important veterans are to the state.

The resolution recognized the 20th anniversary of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs, a state agency that voters mandated by law in 1988 through a constitutional initiative.

With this law, Florida veterans gained a powerful ally, noted Fred Harrop, manager of the Sumter County Veterans Service Department and former Florida VA employee.

"Over the past 20 years, (the Florida VA) has provided countless assistance to thousands of veterans across the state in obtaining benefits and also providing high-quality nursing home care," said Harrop, a Village of Belle Aire resident and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel.

The work done on behalf of these veterans is just as important to the state's economy as the individual, retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. LeRoy Collins Jr., the Florida VA's executive director, told the Cabinet gathering of Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.

Almost one in 10 Florida residents is a veteran, Collins told the Cabinet. That's about 1.7 million men and women who are veterans.

"Counting their families and dependents, that's a penetration of nearly 25 percent of all Floridians," Collins added. "It's a major impact of the veterans to this state."

This impact has long-lasting effects, too, Collins said.

"About 10 billion federal dollars come into our state annually for our veterans," Collins added. "And billions more because of our active-duty military in the state, who'll someday be veterans and hopefully stay as Floridians."

This agency also provides critical support services to many volunteer veterans services organizations such as Post 347 of the American Legion in Lady Lake.

While it staffs a volunteer veterans service officer, the American Legion post sometimes refers tough cases to either county veterans services officers like Harrop or the Florida VA, Thomas Murphy, the Post 347 commander and Village of Santiago resident, said.

"It's very important," Murphy said of the Florida VA. "It ensures the veterans receive the entitlements for their service to the country. We do rely on them for a lot of services that they're better equipped to do."

An important ally in terms of veterans benefits, Harrop said the Florida VA provides an invaluable service as operator of the state's veterans nursing homes.

"That's a big part, running the nursing homes," Harrop said. "And I can't emphasize enough how important that is to veterans."

# # #

"Repeal that [welfare] law, and you will soon see a change in their manners. St. Monday and St. Tuesday, will soon cease to be holidays. Six days shalt thou labor, though one of the old commandments long treated as out of date, will again be looked upon as a respectable precept; industry will increase, and with it plenty among the lower people; their circumstances will mend, and more will be done for their happiness by inuring them to provide for themselves, than could be done by dividing all your estates among them."

--Benjamin Franklin, letter to Collinson, 1753

Military Officers Climb in Perceived Status
By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2009 - U.S. military officers have "very great prestige," and their status is climbing, according to a poll released this week.

The Harris Poll ranked 23 occupations based on the responses of more than 1,000 adults polled last month.

More than half of those polled gave military officers top marks, saying that the position held very great prestige. Military officers tied with teachers for 51 percent.

Firefighters, scientists, doctors and nurses topped the list, and accountants, stockbrokers and actors were at the bottom of the list.

Military officers garnered a 5 percent increase over last year's poll results. Of those surveyed, 24 percent said military officers held considerable prestige, 17 percent responded with some prestige, and 7 percent said the job held hardly any prestige at all.

The Harris Poll has asked this same question since 1977, but military officers didn't make the list of occupations until 1982. In that year, only 22 percent said the job held very great prestige. Ten years later, that percentage raised 10 points to 32 percent. By 2000, the number had jumped to 42 percent, and in 2002 it was up to 47 percent.

This year's increase follows last year's drop to 46 percent. Polls in 2006 and 2007 reported top spots at 51 and 52 percent, respectively.

More than 200,000 officers serve in the active-duty military forces.

Related Sites: The Harris Poll

"Without liberty, law loses its nature and its name, and becomes oppression. Without law, liberty also loses its nature and its name, and becomes licentiousness."

--James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States, 1790

Obama Touts Rollout Of New GI Bill, Says Vets Will Boost The Economy.

In continuing coverage, the AP (8/4, Pace, Hefling) reports, "President Barack Obama said Monday a new GI Bill for those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan is an investment in both a new generation of veterans and the future of America. The Post-9/11 GI Bill is the most comprehensive education benefit offered to veterans since" 1944's original GI Bill, and in the "next decade, $78 billion is expected to be paid out under it. 'We do this not just to meet our moral obligation to those who sacrificed greatly on our behalf, on behalf of the country,' said Obama, speaking at a celebration rally at George Mason University. 'We do it because these men and women must now be prepared to lead our nation in the peaceful pursuit of economic leadership in the 21st century.'"

The Wall Street Journal (8/4, Pulizzi, 2.01M) notes that Obama also "said there is a broader lesson to be learned from the veterans who will benefit from the new GI Bill. 'We've lived through an age when many people and institutions acted irresponsibly, when service often took a backseat to short-term profits, when hard choices were put aside for somebody else, for some other time,' he said. 'While so many were reaching for the quick buck,'" veterans "were heading out on patrol. While our discourse often produced more heat than light, especially here in Washington, they have put their very lives on the line for America."

The Air Force Times (8/4, McMichael) reports, "Obama, who was introduced" at Monday's rally "by Marine Staff Sgt. Jim Miller, an Iraq war veteran who has enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill program, was accompanied on stage" by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, who, according to the Washington Post (8/4, Rucker, 652K), "told the veterans' gathering that the bill signifies the nation's 'respect and appreciation for your service and your sacrifice.'"

The Washington Post's (8/3, Rucker) "44" blog also noted Shinseki's remarks, while CNN's Newsroom (8/3, 1:14 p.m. ET), Fox News Channel's Happening Now (8/3, 11:22 a.m. ET), WJAC-TV Johnstown, PA (8/3, 5:31 p.m. ET), NC8-TV Washington, DC (8/3, 5:06 p.m. ET), WRDW-TV Augusta, GA (8/3, 12:19 p.m. ET), and KGMB-TV Honolulu, HI (8/3, 5:58 a.m. HT) all aired brief reports noting that he appeared at Monday's rally. Meanwhile, stories pointing out that benefit applications under the new GI bill are now being processed by the VA were broadcast by many local TV stations in various parts of the country.

The Washington Times (8/4, Weber, 74K) reports that while speaking before a "crowd of roughly 350 people" attending Monday's rally, Obama said the new GI Bill "was a hero's reward and a call for troops now to lead the country's economic recovery." The Times adds, "The Post-9-11 GI Bill...took effect Aug. 1," and the VA "began distributing tuition payments over the weekend to public universities in the program."

The Los Angeles Times (8/4, Silva, 797K), meanwhile, says that while the new GI Bill has "been widely praised by veterans groups, concerns also have been raised that universities and the VA could be overwhelmed because of the complexity of the benefit." In addition, there "have been complaints that veterans attending private schools in states that offer low public tuition face a huge disparity in what they can collect." The Los Angeles Times (8/3, Neuman, 797K) also took note of the new GI Bill in its "Top Of The Ticket" blog, which focused solely on Obama's remarks at Monday's rally.

Stars And Stripes (8/4, Shane), however, notes that Shinseki also spoke at the rally, urging those using GI Bill "money to 'make it count for your country.'" But veterans "groups at the event...noted that significant work still needs to be done" on the new GI Bill because "tuition payouts are based on the most expensive public school in each veteran's home state. As a result, the actual value of the new GI Bill is different from one veteran to the next, depending on where they live. Members of the Student Veterans of American and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have already begun lobbying Congress for a simpler approach, but one that still ties payouts to the ever-rising cost of a college education."

Thousands Of Guardsmen Frustrated By Glitch In New GI Bill. The Hill (8/4, Tiron), which also notes that Shinseki "marked the implementation" of the new GI Bill at Monday's rally, says up to 30,000 "National Guardsmen did not share President Barack Obama's enthusiasm Monday" for the bill, "frustrated by a glitch that is keeping them from receiving" the new educational benefits. The Guardsman "were activated under a provision in the law - Title 32 - that is federally funded but classifies them under the control of the state governors whom they usually serve." However, only "those who served on active duty - under Title 10, which is funded and controlled federally - are eligible for the post-9/11 GI Bill." The "administration and Congress will likely fix the problem in the fiscal 2011 budget, sources said. That would add to the bill's $78 billion price tag over the next decade."

Shinseki: New GI Bill Demonstrates America's "Abiding Respect" For Veterans. Meanwhile, after noting that the "Yellow Ribbon Post-9/11 GI Bill, a program to improve financial aid to veterans, went into effect Saturday, with four local institutions and 65 statewide taking part," the Clarksville (TN) Leaf Chronicle (8/4, Smith) reports that in a new release, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said, "The president and I know that the nation's courageous service members and their families have shouldered the heaviest burden for our country's security and safety over the past eight years," and this "new GI Bill is a way for a grateful nation to tangibly demonstrate our heartfelt appreciation and abiding respect for their service." The Springvale (AR) Morning News (8/4), meanwhile, reports, "Thirteen Arkansas colleges and universities will partner" with the VA "to provide scholarships to military veterans under the new GI Bill, the White House announced Monday."

Many Vets Attending "Welcome Home" Event In California Interested In New GI Bill. The website for KPBS-TV San Diego, CA (8/3, St. John) reported, "Combat veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan showed up at a 'Welcome Home' event" at the VA medical center "in La Jolla over the weekend. Many of them were looking for information on the new" Post-9/11 GI Bill. The "'Welcome Home' event reflects a Federal effort to help new veterans avoid the pitfalls that befell Vietnam vets, who got very little support when they returned home. The busiest booth was the one handing out information about" the new GI Bill, which went into effect August 1."

Medal of Honor


Private William Crawford

A Janitor's 10 Lessons in Leadership
By Col. James Moschgat, 12th Operations Group Commander, graduate USAFA class of 1977

William "Bill" Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.

While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, "G'morning!" in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties.

Why? Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job-he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed. Frankly, he did his job so well, none of us had to notice or get involved. After all, cleaning toilets was his job, not ours.

Maybe it was his physical appearance that made him disappear into the background. Bill didn't move very quickly and, in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny.

Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young person's world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level? Finally, maybe it was Mr. Crawford's personality that rendered him almost invisible to the young people around him. Bill was shy, almost painfully so. He seldom spoke to a cadet unless they addressed him first, and that didn't happen very often. Our janitor always buried himself in his work, moving about with stooped shoulders, a quiet gait, and an averted gaze. If he noticed the hustle and bustle of cadet life around him, it was hard to tell. So, for whatever reason, Bill blended into the woodwork and became just another fixture around the squadron. The Academy, one of our nation's premier leadership laboratories, kept us busy from dawn till dusk. And Mr. Crawford...well, he was just a janitor.

That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976. I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story. On Sept. 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy. The words on the page leapt out at me: "in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire ... with no regard for personal safety ... on his own initiative, Private Crawford single-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions." It continued, "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States ..."

"Holy cow," I said to my roommate, "you're not going to believe this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor winner." We all knew Mr. Crawford was a WWII Army vet, but that didn't keep my friend from looking at me as if I was some sort of alien being. Nonetheless, we couldn't wait to ask Bill about the story on Monday. We met Mr. Crawford bright and early Monday and showed him the page in question from the book, anticipation and doubt on our faces. He starred at it for a few silent moments and then quietly uttered something like, "Yep, that's me." Mouths agape, my roommate and I looked at one another, then at the book, and quickly back at our janitor. Almost at once we both stuttered, "Why didn't you ever tell us about it?" He slowly replied after some thought, "That was one day in my life and it happened a long time ago."

I guess we were all at a loss for words after that. We had to hurry off to class and Bill, well, he had chores to attend to. However, after that brief exchange, things were never again the same around our squadron. Word spread like wildfire among the cadets that we had a hero in our midst - Mr. Crawford, our janitor, had won the Medal! Cadets who had once passed by Bill with hardly a glance, now greeted him with a smile and a respectful, "Good morning, Mr. Crawford."

Those who had before left a mess for the "janitor" to clean up started taking it upon themselves to put things in order. Most cadets routinely stopped to talk to Bill throughout the day and we even began inviting him to our formal squadron functions. He'd show up dressed in a conservative dark suit and quietly talk to those who approached him, the only sign of his heroics being a simple blue, star-spangled lapel pin.

Almost overnight, Bill went from being a simple fixture in our squadron to one of our teammates. Mr. Crawford changed too, but you had to look closely to notice the difference. After that fall day in 1976, he seemed to move with more purpose, his shoulders didn't seem to be as stooped, he met our greetings with a direct gaze and a stronger "good morning" in return, and he flashed his crooked smile more often. The squadron gleamed as always, but everyone now seemed to notice it more. Bill even got to know most of us by our first names, something that didn't happen often at the Academy. While no one ever formally acknowledged the change, I think we became Bill's cadets and his squadron. As often happens in life, events sweep us away from those in our past.

The last time I saw Bill was on graduation day in June 1977. As I walked out of the squadron for the last time, he shook my hand and simply said, "Good luck, young man." With that, I embarked on a career that has been truly lucky and blessed. Mr. Crawford continued to work at the Academy and eventually retired in his native Colorado where he resides today, one of four Medal of Honor winners living in a small town.

A wise person once said, "It's not life that's important, but those you meet along the way that make the difference." Bill was one who made a difference for me. While I haven't seen Mr. Crawford in over twenty years, he'd probably be surprised to know I think of him often. Bill Crawford, our janitor, taught me many valuable, unforgettable leadership lessons. Here are ten I'd like to share with you.

1. Be Cautious of Labels. Labels you place on people may define your relationship to them and bound their potential. Sadly, and for a long time, we labeled Bill as just a janitor, but he was so much more. Therefore, be cautious of a leader who callously says, "Hey, he's just an Airman." Likewise, don't tolerate the O-1, who says, "I can't do that, I'm just a lieutenant."

2. Everyone Deserves Respect. Because we hung the "janitor" label on Mr. Crawford, we often wrongly treated him with less respect than others around us. He deserved much more, and not just because he was a Medal of Honor winner. Bill deserved respect because he was a janitor, walked among us, and was a part of our team.

3. Courtesy Makes a Difference. Be courteous to all around you, regardless of rank or position. Military customs, as well as common courtesies, help bond a team. When our daily words to Mr. Crawford turned from perfunctory "hellos" to heartfelt greetings, his demeanor and personality outwardly changed. It made a difference for all of us.

4. Take Time to Know Your People. Life in the military is hectic, but that's no excuse for not knowing the people you work for and with. For years a hero walked among us at the Academy and we never knew it. Who are the heroes that walk in your midst?

5. Anyone Can Be a Hero. Mr. Crawford certainly didn't fit anyone's standard definition of a hero. Moreover, he was just a private on the day he won his Medal. Don't sell your people short, for any one of them may be the hero who rises to the occasion when duty calls. On the other hand, it's easy to turn to your proven performers when the chips are down, but don't ignore the rest of the team. Today's rookie could and should be tomorrow's superstar.

6. Leaders Should Be Humble. Most modern day heroes and some leaders are anything but humble, especially if you calibrate your "hero meter" on today's athletic fields. End zone celebrations and self-aggrandizement are what we've come to expect from sports greats. Not Mr. Crawford-he was too busy working to celebrate his past heroics. Leaders would be well-served to do the same.

7. Life Won't Always Hand You What You Think You Deserve. We in the military work hard and, dang it, we deserve recognition, right? However, sometimes you just have to persevere, even when accolades don't come your way. Perhaps you weren't nominated for junior officer or airman of the quarter as you thought you should - don't let that stop you.

8. Don't pursue glory; pursue excellence. Private Bill Crawford didn't pursue glory; he did his duty and then swept floors for a living. No Job is beneath a Leader. If Bill Crawford, a Medal of Honor winner, could clean latrines and smile, is there a job beneath your dignity? Think about it.

9. Pursue Excellence. No matter what task life hands you, do it well. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "If life makes you a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be." Mr. Crawford modeled that philosophy and helped make our dormitory area a home.

10. Life is a Leadership Laboratory. All too often we look to some school or PME class to teach us about leadership when, in fact, life is a leadership laboratory. Those you meet everyday will teach you enduring lessons if you just take time to stop, look and listen.

I spent four years at the Air Force Academy, took dozens of classes, read hundreds of books, and met thousands of great people. I gleaned leadership skills from all of them, but one of the people I remember most is Mr. Bill Crawford and the lessons he unknowingly taught. Don't miss your opportunity to learn. Bill Crawford was a janitor. However, he was also a teacher, friend, role model and one great American hero. Thanks, Mr. Crawford, for some valuable leadership lessons. And now, for the rest of the story......

Pvt. William John Crawford was a platoon scout for 3rd Platoon of Company L 142nd Regiment 36th Division (Texas National Guard) and won the Medal Of Honor for his actions on Hill 424, just 4 days after the invasion at Salerno. You can read his citation at www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiia1.htm.

On Hill 424, Pvt. Crawford took out 3 enemy machine guns before darkness fell, halting the platoon's advance. Pvt. Crawford could not be found and was assumed dead. The request for his MOH was quickly approved. MG Terry Allen presented the posthumous MOH to Bill Crawford's father, George, on 11 May 1944 in Camp (now Fort) Carson, near Pueblo.

Nearly two months after that, it was learned that Pvt. Crawford was alive in a POW camp in Germany. During his captivity, a German guard clubbed him with his rifle. Bill overpowered him, took the rifle away, and beat the guard unconscious. A German doctor's testimony saved him from severe punishment, perhaps death.

To stay ahead of the advancing Russian army, the prisoners were marched 500 miles in 52 days in the middle of the German winter, subsisting on one potato a day.

An allied tank column liberated the camp in the spring of 1945, and Pvt. Crawford took his first hot shower in 18 months on VE Day. Pvt. Crawford stayed in the army before retiring as a MSG and becoming a janitor. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan officially presented the MOH to Bill Crawford.

May 26, 2009, namesake former President George H. W. Bush was airlifted aboard the USS Bush. - Did you read it in papers or see it on TV? No---unfortunately









On May 26, 2009, namesake former President George H. W. Bush was airlifted aboard the USS Bush for a one day visit. It had been his greatest wish to watch flight operations from the flight deck of the navy's newest nuclear powered aircraft carrier and to meet the Sailors. As a decorated former naval aviator in World War II, this has a special significance for him. He was accompanied by his daughter (and the ship's sponsor) "Doro" Bush Koch.

They observed flight ops from the flight deck and the bridge, dined with officers in the Flag Mess and watched night flight ops from the Flag Bridge . The next morning he dined in the Chief's Mess and was escorted around, meeting and greeting Sailors. Finally, we had the crew assembled in hangar bay 2. The CO pointed out that June 12th is his birthday (he'll be 85 years old) and nearly 2,500 Sailors sang happy birthday to him. He then swore in re-enlistees and read the promotion orders to all recently advanced Sailors (and there were a bunch of them). Lastly, he spoke to the crew. It was quite a moment - at the end of his short remarks, he looked up, paused for a second, and said "This ship means the world to me.." and he then broke down for a few seconds. There wasn't a dry eye in the hangar bay. He then continued on and thanked every one of the crew for their service to the country and for making him proud as one of 'his' Sailors'.

This may have been the first time in US Navy history that a ship's namesake (certainly an aircraft carrier) not only was alive at the time of commissioning, but was healthy enough to go aboard when the ship was at sea.

Ben Stein's final column.

For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called 'Monday Night At Morton's.' (Morton's is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time. Ben Stein's Last Column...

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'eonline FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened.. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails..

They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him..

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.

The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.

There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament..the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.

But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.

Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.

By Ben Stein

Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN THE U. S. needs to know....

Something happened..... H.R. 1388 was passed yesterday, behind our backs. You may want to read about it. It wasn't mentioned on the news... just went by on the ticker tape at the bottom of the CNN screen.

Obama funds $20M in tax payer dollars to immigrate Hamas Refugees to the USA. This is the news that didn't make the headlines...

By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza.

The "presidential determination", which allows hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States, was signed on January 27 and appeared in the Federal Register on February 4.

Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

Let's review...itemized list of some of Barack Obama's most recent actions since his inauguration:

- His first call to any head of state, as president, was to Mahmoud Abbas, leader of Fatah party in the Palestinian territory.

- His first one-on-one television interview with any news organization was with Al Arabia television.

- His first executive order was to fund/facilitate abortion(s) not just here within the U.S., but within the world, using U.S. taxpayer funds.

- He ordered Guantanamo Bay closed and all military trials of detainees halted.

- He ordered overseas CIA interrogation centers closed.

- He withdrew all charges against the masterminds behind the USS Cole and the "terror attack" on 9/11.

- Now we learn that he is allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refuges to move to, and live in...the US at American taxpayer expense.

These important, and insightful, issues are being "lost" in the blinding bail-outs and "stimulation" packages.

Doubtful? To verify this for yourself: Click on this link.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON... AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW

WE are losing this country faster than you know....

Dear Representative Castor:

As an active member of Tampa Bay's maritime community, I was pleased to see that such a significant allocation of the federal economic stimulus program money was designated for our local shipyards. Creating additional high-skilled, blue-collar job opportunities in our communities is a great thing for Tampa's, Florida's and our country's economy. I am writing to thank you for all of your efforts in securing this funding for this area. I am also writing as it occurred to me that there may be an opportunity to expand this stimulus to our local shipyards even further creating even more work while serving to preserve and maintain one of America's historical treasures here in Tampa at the same time and wanted to share this idea with you.

As you well know, Tampa is fortunate to have the S/S AMERICAN VICTORY berthed here in our port. As you also know, on board this 452' Victory Class ship we have educational tours, host events, teach maritime classes, provide training opportunities for regional military and law enforcement units, and conduct Relive History Cruises where we raise steam and get underway under our own power with up to 500 passengers aboard. What you may not be aware of is that of the approximately 5,500 “Ships for Victory” vessels built during WWII, the S/S AMERICAN VICTORY is one of the last four of these that have been restored and are fully operational remaining in the entire world. In light of the seldom recognized yet undisputed significant role these ships played in our successes in not only WWI, but also Korea and Vietnam, it is incumbent upon us to preserve this icon of American might and the stories of the women and men that gave their lives in this effort, which allow us to enjoy the freedoms we do today.

To this end, over the last 10 years, the American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum Ship has raised over $2 million and amassed an astonishing 500,000 volunteer hours in securing, transporting, restoring, reactivating, and maintaining the ship and for building the museum and memorial to these unsung heroes aboard the vessel. Though we are truly a grass-roots effort and have achieved these venerable accomplishments without one penny of public money, the time has come where it we need to do so. Sixty-five years of service and life on the sea has begun to take its toll upon our ship and we need to conduct an extensive drydocking to do maintenance and repairs below the waterline, including replacing some aging steel hull plates to remain in full compliance with USCG requirements so that we may continue to conduct cruises and remain open to the public. Topsides, we need to do blasting and repainting to preserve the superstructure and to get everything shipshape once again. In the museum, we are in desperate need of air conditioning to provide a proper climate to maintain the incredible artifacts with which we have been entrusted. Air conditioning will also make the visitor's experience more enjoyable during the summer months and allow us to utilize the ship in new ways such as sleep-over programs for scouts and school children. We have also been in discussions with representatives of the port and Hillsborough County School District about providing classroom space and serving as a “living laboratory” on board for a maritime magnet school here. This would be an extraordinary opportunity for our community, but we have to have these improvements to be able to provide an appropriate learning environment.

In addition to creating significant jobs in the port, a one-time $2.5 million allocation of stimulus program money to provide for the drydocking, painting, and facility enhancements would ensure our continued existence, allow us to provide the services described above, and become self-sufficient in perpetuity. This expenditure would not only stimulate the economy, create local jobs, help a not-for-profit struggling through this challenging time, but would also be a great investment in our country's heritage preserving it for generations to come. What an incredible way to accomplish so many worthy goals with one expenditure. I would like very much to speak with you in length about this great opportunity for us all.

Sincerely,

Captain John C. Timmel
Founder & Chairman
American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum Ship

Guild Investment Global Market Commentary
Written: July 23, 2009

RECENT CHINA TRIP SUMMARIZED

An analyst friend and I recently took a trip to China. Although I had been to China many times, I particularly enjoyed the trip because it was my friend's first visit. Seeing it though his eyes I re-experienced some of the wonder of the enormous current and future success that is China. If you wish to understand what China is and how it will impact the world in the years to come, I suggest that you pack your bags and take a trip there yourself.

There is really only one way to describe the China that I saw on this trip: BOOMING. Airplanes are full. Hotels are full. Traffic is busy on the streets. Chinese families are eating expensive meals in high end restaurants, and businesspeople are making deals in the private meeting rooms of exclusive hotels. Chinese consumers are in shops buying goods, in auto dealerships buying new cars, and of course, buying new homes and apartments.

We have written much about the economic growth seen there. However, I did not expect the current boom to be stronger than it was a year ago when I last visited China. I had expected the construction boom to peak when China hosted the Beijing Olympics, but I was wrong, there are more construction cranes in Shanghai and Beijing now than there were a year ago.

AUTOMOBILES

As many of you know China is now the number one auto producing and consuming country on earth. During my time in Shanghai and Beijing I saw many Audis, BMWs, Mercedes and high end Japanese cars. I saw few U.S. cars, although though I did notice a few Hummers. General Motors makes a lot of money in a joint venture selling low priced cars in China. Shanghai General Motors Co. Ltd. saw its June sales jump 71 percent year on year. They produced over 60,000 cars in June and may be one of GM's few highly profitable divisions. Nationwide, over three million cars were sold in China in the first five months of 2009, up 15% from the year earlier period.

TRAVEL Chinese airplanes are full in coach and almost full in business class. There are numerous flights a day from Shanghai to Beijing and they are booked up well in advance. The train stations, airports, waterways and roads are new and beautiful. In my opinion, their infrastructure is much more attractive and well planned than the transportation infrastructure in the U.S. The roads are wide, well maintained, and crowded…especially in Shanghai.

GENERAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

I left for China bullish on the country and its long term outlook, and I returned bullish on its short term outlook as well.

Here are a few economic statistics. China's GDP grew at a 7.9 percent annual rate in the calendar quarter that ended June 30th. This was above our estimates, and way above the estimates of the average economic observer. As mentioned earlier, China is the number one market for automobiles on earth. China also has fastest GDP growth of any major country. China consumes massive amounts of steel, iron ore, coal and other minerals to drive its immense infrastructure projects.

Huge buildings consume a great deal of steel; as do new electric generating plants, railroads, roads, ships, bridges, tunnels, dams and airports. Today, the Fortune 500 (which is made up of the 500 largest companies in the world on a sales basis) contains 37 Chinese companies. Ten years ago it contained only eight. We quote from an article in the July 21, 2009 issue of Investors Business Daily "…The number of U.S. firms fell to 140, the lowest total ever. But as the Chinese economy keeps expanding fast, experts say the shift will intensify. They predict one-fifth to a quarter of the biggest global players might be Chinese in five to ten years…Analysts say some rising Chinese stars in the high-tech, retailing, publishing, food and other sectors are just emerging on the world stage and are to be listed on U.S. exchanges. Others, like energy giant Sinopec, are on the NYSE and are near the top of Fortune's list."

China's premier Wen recently announced that the Chinese foreign exchange reserves totaling over $2 trillion will be used to acquire companies all over the world to build the store of assets to fuel China's remarkable growth. This has been expected, and is something that we have been pointing out for quite a while. China must grow their inventories of raw materials to achieve the remarkable economic transformation that they are undertaking.

EXPORTS FROM CHINA

Exports, which some observers felt would be China's undoing, are a smaller percentage of GDP with each passing quarter. Clearly, in spite of declining exports, China is booming. Most of China's exports go to emerging Asian markets, secondly to Japan, then to Europe and last to North America. Though exports have slowed with the depression in Europe, Japan and the U.S., China continues to grow. This growth is due to increases in internal consumption, increases in home and second home purchases by Chinese, increases in capital spending to add to China's already impressive infrastructure, and capital infusions from foreign investors buying shares and real estate. When world wide demand for exports from China heats up again in the next year or two, we will see even more rapid growth from China.

CHINAS BOOM IS SPILLING OVER HELPING HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN AND OTHER ASIAN DEVELOPING MARKETS

Here is an article from a recent issue of the FINANCIAL TIMES.

Optimism over China proves infectious with its neighbours
By Lindsay Whipp in Tokyo
July 20 2009

China's stock markets have been among the world's best performers this year, with signs that its various stimulus programmes are keeping its economy growing strongly amid the global slump.

Optimism over China has spilled into the neighbouring markets of Taiwan – itself a beneficiary of improving cross-straits relations – and Hong Kong. Both have significantly outperformed the US this year, begging the question: are they dancing to the tune of mainland China rather than the US?

Steven Sun, senior China strategist at HSBC, said: "Certainly you can say this is a greater China bloc, and it makes sense for policies made in mainland China to have more impact in either Hong Kong or Taiwan so, as a result, if the market correlation becomes higher, it would not be surprising."

The Shanghai Composite index has climbed 79 per cent this year, while the S&P 500 has gained just 5 per cent. The Hang Seng has risen 35 per cent – including a 3.7 per cent jump on Monday – and Taiwan's weighted index (Taiex) has rallied 51 per cent after Monday's 1.3 per cent rise. The H shares of mainland Chinese companies traded in Hong Kong have risen 47 per cent.

Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at JPMorgan, says: "Naturally there would be some degree of correlation in the recent performance of markets in Hong Kong and mainland China, since common themes are driving investor sentiment in both markets."

Among the world's leading economies, China has emerged as the least affected by the financial crisis, thanks to a swiftly implemented stimulus plan and record bank lending.

The country's economic growth accelerated to 7.9 per cent in the second quarter – at a time when many other big economies remained mired in recession or subject to anaemic growth. That growth has had an impact on the economies of those markets and countries that are geographically closest to China.

In Taiwan, improved cross-strait relations are playing a significant role in buoying market sentiment. That includes events such as China Mobile's proposal to make the first Chinese investment in a listed Taiwanese company by buying 12 per cent in Taiwan's Far EasTone mobile operator.

JPMorgan's Ms Ulrich also points out that Taiwan is expected to accept mainland investments into selected industries and its banks are set to become more active in the provision of financial services in China. The rise in the Taiex not only reflects Taiwan's thawing relations with China. Analysts say that since the Kuomintang won elections last year, Taiwanese have been repatriating their savings and investing them in the stock market and property.

Glenn Maguire, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Société Générale, says: "The Taiwan [market] has been playing a process of catch up." But the closer ties and benefits of the stimulus does not necessarily represent a sharp shift away from correlation with the US markets, to which both Hong Kong's and Taiwan's economies retain strong links.

Indeed, the rebound in the Hang Seng and Taiwan only began in early March at the same time as the US and other leading developed economies. The Shanghai market bottomed in early November and has surged 91 per cent since then.

Hong Kong remains highly dependent on international trade, much of which is ultimately driven by the US. Exports make up 60 per cent of Taiwan's economy. This exposure to global economic trends is not going to change any time soon.

This supports evidence that both the Hang Seng and Taiex remain more correlated to the US markets than to Shanghai for now.

Even last week, when China's better-than-expected GDP figures were announced, Shanghai closed down and the rest of Asia higher.

In any case, Hong Kong and Taiwan are not the only Asian markets that have rallied this year. The Indian market has risen 57 per cent while Indonesia is 55 per cent higher, suggesting the gains are also linked to a broader Asian emerging market rally.

Mark Matthews, Asia-Pacific strategist at Fox-Pitt Kelton, says: "If the US is not doing well but is not in crisis, then that can actually be quite a good scenario for Asian stocks. For example the S&P rose just 10 per cent from the beginning of 1992 to the end of 1994 in the aftermath of the savings and loans crisis. Over the same three-year period, Asian markets almost doubled."

Importantly, the very different investor bases for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shanghai affects trading patterns. Foreign investors have extremely limited access to Chinese domestic currency mainland shares. As a result, the direction of mainland markets is based as much on momentum and liquidity as fundamentals, analysts say.

Individuals also have very limited investment choices, making the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets extremely attractive when they start rising. Recent gains have been augmented by companies investing retained earnings.

Partly reflecting this difference, Chinese mainland A shares trade at a 47 per cent premium to the H shares, according to JPMorgan figures.

Conversely, only about 30 per cent of the shares on the Hang Seng are held by retail investors, HSBC's Mr Sun says. Fox-Pitt Kelton's Mr Matthews says H shares in particular are heavily dominated by international institutional investors, which means it has a very tight correlation with the S&P 500.

Although Hong Kong and Taiwan's links with the US look set to remain strong, the growing influence of mainland China is clear.

As HSBC's Mr Sun says: "This financial crisis has reinforced the broad trend across Asia that economic and financial power is shifting from west to east."

John started the day having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 am. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE), and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking breakfast in his electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he sat in his car (MADE IN GERMANY filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN job. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his Computer (made in MALAYSIA), John decided to relax. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL), poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV(MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA. NOW HE'S HOPING HE CAN GET HELP FROM A PRESIDENT (MADE IN KENYA)!

/s/ Anonymous

Hi Roy,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I wrote myself a pros & cons letter on the subject and realize that I would not want to return to Washington even if elected.

Repetitive heartburn, frustration, and elevated blood pressure are not attributes a normal person seeks. Not to mention associating with people with whom you would not normally associate.

I have run for elective office in the past and recall I did not like campaigning. One such memory is during a shift change at 0430.

So I think I'll just sit here with my feet over the porch, mindin' the store. Speech writing is and was my bag, so I'll just stick with that occasionally.....when prodded.

Blessings,
Steve

Time for an Israeli Strike?

By John R. Bolton
Thursday, July 2, 2009

With Iran's hard-line mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unmistakably back in control, Israel's decision of whether to use military force against Tehran's nuclear weapons program is more urgent than ever.

Iran's nuclear threat was never in doubt during its presidential campaign, but the post-election resistance raised the possibility of some sort of regime change. That prospect seems lost for the near future or for at least as long as it will take Iran to finalize a deliverable nuclear weapons capability.

Accordingly, with no other timely option, the already compelling logic for an Israeli strike is nearly inexorable. Israel is undoubtedly ratcheting forward its decision-making process. President Obama is almost certainly not.

He still wants "engagement" (a particularly evocative term now) with Iran's current regime. Last Thursday, the State Department confirmed that Secretary Hillary Clinton spoke to her Russian and Chinese counterparts about "getting Iran back to negotiating on some of these concerns that the international community has." This is precisely the view of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reflected in the Group of Eight communique the next day. Sen. John Kerry thinks the recent election unpleasantness in Tehran will delay negotiations for only a few weeks.

Obama administration sources have opined (anonymously) that Iran will be more eager to negotiate than it was before its election in order to find "acceptance" by the "international community." Some leaks indicated that negotiations had to produce results by the U.N. General Assembly's opening in late September, while others projected that they had until the end of 2009 to show progress. These gauzy scenarios assume that the Tehran regime cares about "acceptance" or is somehow embarrassed by eliminating its enemies. Both propositions are dubious.

Obama will nonetheless attempt to jump-start bilateral negotiations with Iran, though time is running out even under the timetables leaked to the media. There are two problems with this approach. First, Tehran isn't going to negotiate in good faith. It hasn't for the past six years with the European Union as our surrogates, and it won't start now. As Clinton said on Tuesday, Iran has "a huge credibility gap" because of its electoral fraud. Second, given Iran's nuclear progress, even if the stronger sanctions Obama has threatened could be agreed upon, they would not prevent Iran from fabricating weapons and delivery systems when it chooses, as it has been striving to do for the past 20 years. Time is too short, and sanctions failed long ago.

Only those most theologically committed to negotiation still believe Iran will fully renounce its nuclear program. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has a "Plan B," which would allow Iran to have a "peaceful" civil nuclear power program while publicly "renouncing" the objective of nuclear weapons. Obama would define such an outcome as "success," even though in reality it would hardly be different from what Iran is doing and saying now. A "peaceful" uranium enrichment program, "peaceful" reactors such as Bushehr and "peaceful" heavy-water projects like that under construction at Arak leave Iran with an enormous breakout capability to produce nuclear weapons in very short order. And anyone who believes the Revolutionary Guard Corps will abandon its weaponization and ballistic missile programs probably believes that there was no fraud in Iran's June 12 election. See "huge credibility gap," supra.

In short, the stolen election and its tumultuous aftermath have dramatically highlighted the strategic and tactical flaws in Obama's game plan. With regime change off the table for the coming critical period in Iran's nuclear program, Israel's decision on using force is both easier and more urgent. Since there is no likelihood that diplomacy will start or finish in time, or even progress far enough to make any real difference, there is no point waiting for negotiations to play out. In fact, given the near certainty of Obama changing his definition of "success," negotiations represent an even more dangerous trap for Israel.

Those who oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons are left in the near term with only the option of targeted military force against its weapons facilities. Significantly, the uprising in Iran also makes it more likely that an effective public diplomacy campaign could be waged in the country to explain to Iranians that such an attack is directed against the regime, not against the Iranian people. This was always true, but it has become even more important to make this case emphatically, when the gulf between the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the citizens of Iran has never been clearer or wider. Military action against Iran's nuclear program and the ultimate goal of regime change can be worked together consistently.

Otherwise, be prepared for an Iran with nuclear weapons, which some, including Obama advisers, believe could be contained and deterred. That is not a hypothesis we should seek to test in the real world. The cost of error could be fatal.
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