They Did Fight for Their Country

My friend Jay Jamieson wrote a reply to my blog on the thumb-suckers at SPU the other day that deserves it's own space as Veterans Day approaches, so without further ado:

You might want to remember the The 4th Marine Division. In WWII they fought  (and won) the Marshall Islands, Saipan (my 19 year old cousin was KIA there), Tinian and Iwo Jima. 

These veterans, who were then ages 17-22 for the most part, are now in their late 80s to 90s. They are old and tired and cannot keep the Fighting Fourth Association going. I am an associate member. I received my last Fighting Fourth magazine this week....  "The Final Muster" and they are signing off and disbanding because they are dying.

At a final color Parade at Camp Lejeune, NC  Major General  James L. Jones, 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, said this;

" The valor and sacrifice of the Marines and Sailors who fought on Iwo Jima is, today and forever, the standard by which we judge what we are and what we might become."

Another piece of the Greatest Generation is put to rest...  Sorry SPU is offended.. SPU  has the freedom to snub these guys because these guys fought, bled and died so we could continue to live in the greatest country on God's green earth.....

Semper Fi, 4th.... May your remaining days here on earth be happy and peaceful.  You earned it. You deserve it! 

As do all of you who faithfully served in our country's armed forces. Thank you for your service. 

Socialism Just Works

Oh yes it does - to royally screw up an economy. Venezuela became a Socialist Paradise under El Jefe Hugo Chavez. It has stayed on course when he died and the fruits are now being enjoyed by all. For example, everybody in Venezuela can now revel in the fact that french fries are back for lunches at Micky D's:

"After a potato shortage forced McDonald’s to remove them from menus, Venezuelans will now once again be able to purchase French fries at local franchises — made using only local ingredients, and costing about $133 for a large serving."

"Hello Central Planning, this is Bernie Sanders. About those potato crop allocations, we gotta talk." 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/11/06/mcdonalds-french-fries-return-to-venezuela-at-133-a-pop/

They Didn't Fight for Their Country

Our youngest went to Seattle Pacific University for 2 years and generally speaking, we have had a good opinion of SPU. Until now. 

In preparation for a Veteran's Day Chapel service, the university chaplain has decided to delete the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance, saying that there are diverse religious traditions amongst students at the school and the American flag and the Pledge might offend someone. So what country's vets fought that they could enjoy such freedoms? Hint: wasn't Sweden. If some weenies are offended, so be it! This country is being run by infantile thumb-suckers.
  
www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/11/06/university-drops-pledge-flag-from-veterans-day-service.html?intcmp=hphz05

Lighter Than Air

But stinky. A Singapore Airlines freighter was air lifting 2,186 sheep from Australia to Indonesia and ran into a little problem when the sheep started farting en masse. The crew, presumably donning their oxygen masks, decided to divert and land after the abundance of methane caused smoke alarms in the aircraft to go off. The plane landed safely with the help of the self-produced tailwind but the crew could not be reached for comment because no one wanted to go near them.

www.express.co.uk/news/world/617128/Singapore-Airlines-sheep-Sydney-Kuala-Lumpur-Bali

A Minor Problema

NASA just released a new satellite study that Antarctic ice is growing, not shrinking, as previously claimed by Global Warmists. Darn it's an inconvenient truth when the data just don't match your predictions!

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/02/nasa-shock-study-antarctica-growing-not-shrinking/

Politics Isn't Everything

If you've watched Fox News at all, you've seen Bob Beckel, a pugnacious, old-line Democratic operative who occasionally gets himself bleeped out of conversations on The Five. Cal Thomas writes a very nice column today about his friend, Bob Beckel, and his new book, I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV and Addiction. They are an unlikely pair, this conservative Republican and Democratic operative, but Thomas sees past the political to the heart of a man, which Beckel himself reveals in his book:

"I have known Bob for 20 years. I have traveled with him, shared meals with him and listened to him share deeply personal things, which only happens when one is a trusted friend. The real Bob is the one who rescues drunks and gets them into treatment programs; who talks about and loves his children, who cares deeply for the poor and underprivileged and who is able to see flaws in his own party, as well as in the other party."
Thomas is practicing a trait that should be normative for all of us - charity in outlook; we all fall short of the glory of God. And not surprisingly, God is involved in the story of why Beckel is not dead, as Thomas highlights:

"In his remarkable book, Bob reveals some of his failings, challenges and temptations, not to glorify them, but to give the reader a sense of the magnitude of the grace of God, Who rescued him in his darkest hour."

I once was lost, but now I'm found. Would that all of us have intimate personal familiarity with the truth of this verse. I am happy that Bob Beckel and his friend Cal Thomas do.

townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2015/11/03/bob-beckel-should-be-dead-n2074626

A Geography Lesson

The picture shows the location of the Spratly Islands, which both China and the Philippines claim. The islands are a group of coral atolls that China has been busily filling in with sand and crushed coral to build military bases. The U.S. drove a destroyer the other day past the disputed islands following the accepted international limit of 12 miles and China is howling, claiming a 200-mile territorial limit. 

Look carefully at the map. By China's definition (and assuming its sovereignty which I do not) the straits between the Philippines and Vietnam/Cambodia would be pretty much shut down within the Dragon's grasp. What's next - Mare Island in San Francisco Bay because it's close to Chinatown? Freedom of the seas is crucial to the U.S. and other nations and we were right to throw down the gauntlet. Japan is responding to China the same way. Stand by for future developments in this area. It could get interesting very quickly.