MTCW: Pic of the Day

We are living in the most dangerous times the world has ever seen!

MSNBC asks the most important question of the times.

Yes! We are! It is time we realize it. In fact I think that we are truly in a world war already . Some are calling it World War III, yet others are calling it World War IV as I do. World War III was the cold war, but it doesn't matter.

What does matter is that history will record whether Western Civilization survives and Islam be defeated, or is it just a given that Islam will succeed because we lack the desire to survive?

I truly don't know whether or not we have the stomach or the will to win this war...

So many just can't see the facts on the table. We are fighting an enemy accross the globe that wants to wipe out Western Civilization and replace it with the rule of Islamic law...that is the terrorists stated goal.

Currently, there are more than 100 "hot wars" being fought accross the globe with one definite muslim force on one side and a definite non-muslim force on the other. They are happening in the Middle East, the Phillipines, Somalia, the horn of Africa...and that does not take into consideration terrorists activites throughout Europe, and places like Thailand.

Iran, wants the bomb, has said they want to destroy Israel, Britian, and the United States. North Korea pretty much has the bomb and could sell it to the highest bidder.

These are the most dangerous times the world has ever seen. Yeah, the Cold War was scary, but Nuclear Weapons in the hands of people willing to commit suicide for their cause. It doesn't get more dangerous or scarrier than that.

The only thing scarrier is our inability to react to any of it, before it is to late.

Today I will post some of the things that really should be of the greatest concern to us.

Israel to ready public for 'all-out war'

With Iran racing toward nuclear power and IDF preparations for the possibility of a conflict with Syria and Hizbullah in high gear, the Home Front Command plans to launch a publicity campaign to prepare the public for war.

Yes, looks like Israel has had enough and rightly so. It is almost do or die time for Israel for they have just about givin up everything they can to their enemies. Let's hope that we stay out of their way this time and let them go after their enemies.

It amazes me that we reserved the right to go after our enemies, but always tell Israel to back off.

Signing peace treaties and giving up ground to terrorists state ran organizations is not ever going to win Israel peace. All it will do and has done is make their borders disappear until they are gone.

The world is ruled by overwhelming force, always has been, always will be. It is time we allo Israel to use some of that overwhelming force.

Speaking of Israel...Fred Thompson puts his two cents worth in.

Fred Thompson, I am not running for President, but really I am, has a column out today titled: Living in terror. Great read about the situation in Israel.

Thompson starts off the column asking a hypothetical question. What do you think America would do if Canadian soldiers were firing dozens of missiles every day into Buffalo, N.Y.? What do you think our response would be if Mexican troops for two years had launched daily rocket attacks on San Diego -- and bragged about it?

I can tell you, our response would look nothing like Israel's restrained and pinpoint reactions to daily missile attacks from Gaza. We would use whatever means necessary to win the war. There would likely be numerous casualties on our enemy's side, but we would rightfully hold those who attacked us responsible.

Thompson then goes on to say 13,000 rockets have been launched into Israel over the last two years and explains the situation. The ending of this column is the best part, because he ties the whole situation to Iran, and he is exactly right.

The irony is that Israel has the military might to easily win the war that is being waged against them today. They haven't used that might, in the past, out of compassion for Palestinian civilians and because it could trigger a wider regional conflict.

He left out because Israel's Western allies have convinced them not too.

That balance of power is about to change, though. If Iran develops nuclear weapons, the very existence of this tiny nation of Israel will be threatened. The Iranian regime has left little doubt that it intends to see Israel "wiped off the map.” Hamas is using the same language, not coincidentally, and has announced it will begin launching missiles into Israel from the West Bank too.

If the world doesn't act to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions, it must be prepared for the consequences of Israel defending itself.

If there is any doubt in your mind we are not already in World War...let this happen. Israel will remind us all that we are.

Coalition: Taliban have Iran arms.

U.S. and British forces in Afghanistan say Iran could be supplying the Taliban with the same type of weapons they have been sending into Iraq.

Coalition officials in Afghanistan tells CNN they have intercepted Iranian-made AK-47s, C-4 plastic explosives and mortars. One explosively-formed penetrator bomb (EFP) that was found can pierce American armor, a NATO official said.

The EFP is similar to the weaponry the United States says Iran has provided to militants in Iraq.

Are you starting to see a pattern of all roads leading back to Iran. We are already at war with Iran. Iran sends sniper rifles to Iraq to kill Americans, we do nothing. They defiantly tell the World to screw off, we are enriching urinaium. The World does nothing.

Here are more examples from the World War we are in.

This is a must read folks.

From Iraq to Algeria, Al-Qaeda's Long ReachSuicide Bombings in Algiers Suggest Network's Influence In Recruiting, Training North Africans to Fight at Home
Al-Qaeda has rapidly extended its influence across North Africa by aiding and organizing local groups that are demonstrating a renewed ability to launch terrorist attacks in the region, such as the triple suicide bombings that killed 33 people here last month, according to counterterrorism officials and analysts.

Turkish police capture 8 more al-Qaida suspects
Police on Thursday captured eight more suspected al-Qaida militants, CNN-Turk television reported, raising the number of suspects caught in the recent sweep against the group to 19. The eight were detained in Ankara, the television reported, without giving any other details. Police officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.


Turkey Seizes Syria-Bound Weapons
ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish authorities seized weapons hidden among construction materials on a Syria-bound train from Iran after Kurdish guerrillas bombed and derailed the train, a prosecutor said Wednesday. The cargo was discovered when authorities checked containers on the train, which was attacked by separatist Kurdish guerrillas on May 25 near the town of Genc in southeastern Bingol province, Prosecutor Ismail Sari told reporters Wednesday.


Islamic terror groups using Swiss base: government
ZURICH - Islamic militants are using Switzerland as a base because of its strategic location and different legal system from surrounding European Union countries, a government report published on Thursday said. The country may also face terror attacks itself, although no concrete evidence of any plans has yet been discovered, said a report by the Federal Police Office.

Turkey bolsters troops on Iraq border
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey has sent large contingents of reinforcement soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers to its border with Iraq as debate heated up over whether to stage a cross-border offensive to hit Kurdish rebel bases. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged the United States and Iraq to destroy bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq ...

Things do not look good there. The islamofascists are looking for leverage to take over the country, and they may have found it: The average secular Turk doesn't want religious governance, but they don't trust the US and they hate the Kurds. We're between a rock and a hard place if Turkey pushes into Iraq and starts killing Kurds -- defend them and the Turks hate us, abandon them and we break faith with the fledgling Iraq. Either one is bad.

80 killed as Somalia fighting continues
At least 80 people, including many civilians, have been killed in intensified fighting in Somalia over the past two days, according to hospital sources.

Around 300 people have been wounded in the fighting - some of the fiercest Mogadishu has seen since the transitional government took over the capital in December.

there is no mention of who the government is fighting in Somalia, but let it be known it is al-Qaeda.

Russia says new ICBM can beat any system
MOSCOW- Russia tested new missiles Tuesday that a Kremlin official boasted could penetrate any defense system, and President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe would turn the region into a "powder keg."First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple independent warheads, and it also successfully conducted a "preliminary" test of a tactical cruise missile that he said could

New sanctions planned against Sudan
President Bush will impose new economic sanctions against Sudan and call for a U.N. resolution to compel the country to stop stalling international efforts to halt the bloodshed in Darfur, senior administration officials said.

The new action will stiffen enforcement of existing sanctions, bar more companies in Sudan from using the U.S. financial system, and clamp down on individuals suspected of violence in Darfur where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million people chased from their homes in four years of fighting.

Military pumps up China's influence, Pentagon says
China's modernizing military will make it a more muscular player in world events, a U.S. Defense Department report says.

China's developing capabilities "will increase Beijing's options for military coercion to press diplomatic advantage, advance interests or resolve disputes," the Pentagon says in its annual report to Congress on China.

The report says, the Chinese army is transforming itself from a force designed to fight wars of attrition on its own territory to one capable of winning short but intense campaigns against high-tech adversaries.

15 arrested in terror crackdown in Spain

Darfur Genocide Has 'Made In China' Label

These are just a few of the things going on in the world war,that does not exist. Keep denying it if you want, but the longer we take to reconize it the more bloodshed it will be to end it.

Fred Thompson doesn't have to be Ronald Reagan, he just has to be Fred Thompson.

Thompson Watch Update: Fred Thompson quits Law in Order. He will not return next season, leaving law in order in September.


Is Thompson running for President and is his next roll Ronald Reagan?



CNN columnist Bill Schnieder has a column out today on former Senator of Tennessee and Law and Order TV actor Fred Thompson titled: "Can Thompson play the roll of Reagan?"



Scneider writes in his column: Republicans say they're looking for another Ronald Reagan -- meaning a conservative who's also a winner. Some Republican contenders, like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, look like winners but their conservative credentials are under challenge. Others, like Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, are staunch conservatives but it's not clear they have broad enough appeal to win.






Schnieder seems to think that Thompson needs to play an acting roll to become president, but really the only roll Thompson has to play is himself.


Fred Thompson is not the next Ronald Reagan, nor does he need to be. Fred just needs to be Fred Thompson, he is a winner, if he runs.


Thompson is a conservative, a real conservative, that ran for the Senate in 1994 as a Washington outsider running on a platform of term limits. He remained a Washington outsider while in the Senate and got out of politics in 2002 because he was sick of the DC bologni sandwich they were serving for food.


Now Thompson is back, and still running as the Washington outsider that he has been for years. Thompson is not a career politician and that may be exactly what we need. Plus how can you not like a guy that comes out and says exactly what we are all thinking?


"You wouldn't think you'd have to make the lower tax case again, but you have to make it every day in Washington, D.C.," Thompson said at the Reagan Library.


He has strong criticism of the new immigration reform bill, which Thompson calls "amnesty with promises to do something about the border.''


"They don't get it,'' Thompson said, "that putting it on a piece of paper does not convince the American people any more that they will do what they say."


Here is my personal favorite:


"I think the biggest problem that we have today is what I believe is the disconnect between Washington, D.C., and the people of the United States,'' Thompson said.


More than ever Fred, more than ever...



Is he running?


There is no doubt in my mind Fred Thompson is going to run. He has made every indication that he is getting in the race. He is doing interviews, writing columns in newspapers, has hired a staff and is raising money. Today he told Law in Order he is quitting the show, but would not say he is running for president.



There is no doubt he wants in this race, and no doubt the money and support is there for him to get in.


As I told you yesterday sources say Thompson will announce in July that he is running. So, why wait until July? Because Fred Thompson, right now, is not running against "Rudy McRomney." He is running against Washington D.C. insiders and elitists. Thompson is playing the I am not a candidate card, while exploiting the Washington DC disconnect. It is brilliant... At a time when a overwhelming majority of the American people are fed up with both parties, this is a winning campaign.






In fact, this may be the most genius campaign strategy I have ever seen.


This is the campaign I would run, if I was running, with one addition, the FairTax plan.

If you thought our weekend weather was bad look at the weather across the water

There was snow, freezing temperatures and tropical storms across Europe this weekend

Spitzing, Germany brought out the snowploughs for the first time this year and in Austria, Switzerland and even northern Italy there was snow, freezing temperatures and hail where temperatures in May routinely climb into the 80s.

In one Swiss valley, 3,000 were trapped in hotels and guest houses because trains could not reach them in the snow.

On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, two hikers died in freezing fog...

It must be global warming... Where is Al Gore to give a speach???

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Hope for America's Future...

It is often said that children are the future, as long as we have youngsters like this, hope in America's future can not and will not die.

After yesterdays news of flags being burned on veterans' graves and replaced with nazi swasticas, I really needed this today.

Thanks to Jack from S.C. for submitting.

A MUST READ...The Iran Threat must be dealt with, and now not later!

Norman Podhoretz has a column in the Wall Street Journal's Editorial Page today, The case for bombing Iran: I hope and pray President Bush will do it.

Yeah, I hope and pray he will do it before it is too late!!!

If you do anything at all today please read this column. It is a long column, but should be required reading for every man, woman and child that lives within our borders.

For over two and a half years now I have warned about the threat of Iran. I have said World War is on the horizon, if not already here. We are staring at 1938 all over again...

In fact, much of what Mr. Podhoretz, has to say can be found throughout this blog over the last two years.

After reading this column, I find that I am no longer frightened by the actions of Iran. Instead, I find myself terrified, because I truly believe the United States will not stomach the courage to do anything about it until it is too late, even though the consequences are perfectly clear.

I can not help to remember the words of a man who had no choice but to deal with a similar evil or be crushed in his time, Winston Churchill: "Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case; you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."

Sources Claim: Fred Thompson taking steps for a presidential run. Official announcement could come in July.

According to sources close to CNN, Fred Thompson, former Senator from Tennessee and actor, who played the District Attorney on TV's Law and Order, is taking the first steps in setting up a run for the presidency. Thompson is said to be "testing the waters" and will hire staff members and begin raising money as early as Friday.

Sources also claim that if things go well, he will officially announce his run the first week of July.

CNN has more of the story here.

Thompson has created quite a buzz amongst the conservative base of the party, who has been pressuring him to run for months now. He is third in most republican primary polls and is not even a candidate yet.

I really like Fred Thompson, and would like to see him run. We desperately need some "law and order" in this country.

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Here is one way to support the troops..

W is still president t-shirt $14.00

Poster Board $2.00

Markers to make a sign $3.50

Making a mockery out of an anti-war protest...priceless.

MTCW Country Boy Rant Alert!!!

Warning the following comments are the written expressed rage of the author right off the top of his head... proceed with caution.

This makes

my country

boy blood

boil!!!!

There is nothing on this Earth that makes my blood boil more than the disrespect that can be shown towards the dead of our veterans in this country, and I can not think of anything that could be much more disrespectful than this story from Orcas Island, Washington over Memorial Day weekend.

According to news reports some so called Vandals, I would use a different choice of words, like CWOS a Complete Waste Of Skin burned a bunch of flags that decorated veterans' graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas.

Forty-six flags were missing from the cemetary while another 33 flags were found burnt on Sunday and to top it off these bastards placed swastikas drawn on paper where 14 of the flags had been.

What kind of person does this kind of thing!!! Oh but wait these a-holes are not done yet...

Members of the American Legion on this island off Washington's northwest coast replaced the burned flags with new ones Sunday afternoon.

God Bless the American Legion....

So after the flags were replaced these scumbags came back on Memorial Day after a guard left at dawn and left 33 of the hand-drawn swastikas.

"This is not an act of free speech. This is a crime," Sheriff Bill Cumming said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

You are damn right this is not about free speech. This is not about right or left, conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican or anything like that. It is about decency, respect for the dead and the families of the dead. However, I guess some people are lacking in this department.

This is a crime, plain and simple. It is destruction of property and I hope they find the CWOS that did it.

These a-holes and people like them do not deserve one minute of freedom from the amount of time that has been sacrificed on their behalf.

Let me find the absolute complete waste of skin I have to share air with that did this... I will give him an old fashioned country boy ass whoopin!!!

This is just a complete disgrace...

Freedom is not Free...you have heard the saying before, but what does it really mean?

Well it is once again Memorial Day. The holiday that opens up the summer season across the United States. For most of us it was a three or four day weekend.

Some will enjoy family and friend barbecues, outdoor picnics, and parades. Others will hit the water and enjoy the day at the lake or on the beach.

Maybe you all ready had your fun this weekend at Indianapolis to watch the greatest spectacle in racing or went down to Charlotte, North Carolina to enjoy the Coca Cola 600, the longest race of the nascar season and you are just relaxing today.

While you are out there enjoying the extra day off do not forget to take the time and reflect on why you had the long weekend in the first place. Reflect on the sacrafices that have been made throughout history and continue to be made today so that you can enjoy freedom. Remember that we are a nation at war and there are troops in harms way who have given up there weekend so that you could have yours.

We continue to lose soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war on terror. If you know family members or friends of these fallen heroes you owe them a special thanks today for the sacrafices that they have made.

Before I enlisted as a paratrooper in the US Army to fight terrorism. I thought I knew and understood the phrase "freedom is not free," afterall I had heard it my whole life.

After being in Iraq and now Afghanistan with my fellow paratroopers and participating and witnessing first hand the sacrafices that are made I now know how little I actually knew about the phrase. "Freedom is not free" is not just about the ones that gave their life or the ones that were wounded. It is also about the soldiers who make it back alive but will never be the same person they were before they left. Its about missing a child being born, their first birthday, or graduation. "Freedom is not free" also refers to a mother who worries sick everyday that her son or daughter will be ok. It is about the army wife who stands proud and takes care of the homefront as she waits for her soldiers return. It is about the couples who's relationships will never be the same again. It is about all the sacrafices made not just by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, but by family members, friends and everyone that their lives effect. That is what "Freedom is not free" really means.

This weekend we remember veterans from all wars. We remember the greatest generation of WWII and their sacrafices and how they saved the world from tyrany. Let us not forget this generation that is fighting for the same thing. Let us not forget that like it or not, the world is governed by the overwhelming use of force, always has been always will be. Let us be thankful that we enjoy freedom because we have a volunteer military who are willing to make huge sacrafices and ready to use force to defend freedom.

So, If you know a veteran or a family member or friend of someone who served or gave there life in the service of our country, try to thank them for their sacrafice. And if you are a veteran or a family member or friend, then let me say thankyou for the sacrafice that you have made for the good of all humanity. "Freedom is not free" but it is worth the cost. May God Bless You.

Some say freedom is free, will I will have to disagree. I say freedom is won from the barrell of a gun.... ~ From An Army Cadence.

Country Boy Tony Spain.

No news or politics today folks. It is all about honoring those who need to be honored. The men and women of the U.S. Military, past and present. Make sure you thank a veteran for his service and sacrafice today.

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Remembering A Good Friend

and a Fallen Iraq War Vet

this Memorial Day.

Portrait by Artist Fran Milner of the

Atlanta Fine Arts League Art from the Heart project

Spc. Marshall James (Edge)Edgerton
September 24 1976 - December 11, 2003

Spc. Marshall Edgerton was killed on December 11, 2003 by a suicide truck bombing while on guard duty in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. The blast injured 14 others and sent debris flying over 400 yards away.

Marshall died as a hero. But not just because he died for freedom or his country, but because of the actions he took right before he died. In the moments before his death, he used every last breath to warn all those around him, because he saw it coming and new he couldn't save himself. He did not choose to coward in fear, but instead chose to sacrifice himself so that others may live. He saved many lives that day, and will forever be remembered for his courage, and bravery, and for making the ultimate sacrifice for his Country, and for his comrades.

It has been 4 and a half years now since I lost my friend “Edge” in Iraq, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. It’s a day I will never be able to forget as long as I live.

Just like all paratroopers, Spc. Edgerton was aware of the dangers when he became a part of this elite group. After all the 82nd Airborne Division is one of the most deployed divisions in the military.

Spc. Edgerton loved his family and country and was one of the finest soldiers I have ever met. He served for a year in Afghanistan and had only been home for a couple of months before being deployed to Iraq. He was proud to serve his country. He was the type of guy that would always be there ready and willing to help no matter what.

I leave you with the airborne creed in memory of Spc. Edgerton who believed in it and lived it better than most.

I am an Airborne Trooper! A PARATROOPER!

I jump by parachute from any plane in flight. I volunteered to do it, knowing well the hazards of my choice. I serve in a mighty Airborne Force- famed for deeds in war- renowned for readiness in peace. It is my pledge in all that I am- in all that I do.

I am an elite trooper- a sky trooper- a shock trooper- a spearhead trooper. I blaze the way to far- flung goals- behind, before, above the foe's front line. I know that I may have to fight without support for days on end. Therefore, I keep in mind and body always fit to do my part in any Airborne task.

I am self- reliant and unafraid. I shoot true,and march fast and far. I fight hard and excel in art and article of war. I never fail a fellow trooper. I cherrish as a sacred trust the lives of men with whom I serve. Leaders have my fullest loyalty, and those I lead never find me lacking.
I have pride in the Airborne! I never let it down!

In peace, I do not shrink the dullest of duty, not protest the toughest training. My weapons and equipment are always combat ready... I am neat of dress- Military in courtesy- proper in conduct and behavior.

In battle, I fear no foe's ability, nor underestimate his prowess, power and guile. I fight him with all my might and skill- ever alert to evade capture or escape trap. I never surrender, though I be the last.

My goal in peace or war is to succeed in any mission of the day- or die, if need be, in the try. I belong to a proud and glorious team, the Airborne, the Army, my country. I am its chosen, with pride to fight where others may not go- to serve them well until final victory.

I am a trooper of the sky!

I am my nations best!

In peace or war I never fail. Anywhere, anytime, in anything- I AM AIRBORNE!

May you rest in peace my dear friend...and I will see you went I get up there.

I know we will be in heaven, because we have already been to hell...

My ten days with the Paratroopers of the 1/508th, 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan.

As most of you know I am a photo/journalist in a Public Affairs Office in the Army. This is some of my personal thoughts, experiences and first hand accounts of what I saw while with the 1/508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. This is my account and does not represent the views of the Department of Defense, the Army, or the 82nd Airborne Division.

I have refrained from using names to tell this story as well.

I tried to upload some pictures and a video, but my internet connection is not capable of handling it right now. So I will have to try again later.


1/508th, 82nd Airborne continues to live up to WWII "all the way" motto in southern Afghanistan.


The roaring of the engines and chopping of the rotors from the British CH-47 Chinook pierced my ears as I flew with the 1/508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division on an air assault mission into the lower Sangin Valley of the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

In approximately 5 minutes we would be landing under the cover of darkness in the heart of Taliban country. This would be my first combat air assault mission, but for the combat proven 1/508th it would be their 2nd or 3rd air assault mission since “Operation Achilles” kicked off on in the early part of March.

Most of these paratroopers spent more than 40 days in the first and second parts of “Operation Achilles” only to return to the battlefield after a six day regrouping period. This is just another day and another mission for the elite group of Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne. These Paratroopers have a rich history dating back to World War II and living up to their “all the way” motto by doing whatever it takes to accomplish what their country asks of them.

“Operation Achilles” is the largest coalition operation to date in Afghanistan involving more than 4,500 troops from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and up to 1,000 soldiers from the Afghan National Army. The 82nd Airborne Division continues to conduct the largest air assault missions of “Operation Enduring Freedom” into the region that has not seen military operations since the Soviet Union occupation in the 1980’s.

The Paratroopers first mission in the Ghorak Valley of the Helmand Province was to search for the Taliban and their weapons caches. It was a quiet mission, a little to quiet. Except for a few skirmishes, Taliban was no where to be found and after a while the Paratroopers would begin its second mission in Sangin.

One of the heaviest poppy producing regions in the world and a Taliban stronghold, Sangin proved to be a real test for the Paratroopers. Paratroopers began their assault, engaging the enemy, kicking in doors, and clearing buildings of Taliban and weapons caches. Much of the same can be expected on this mission.

I feel the British Chinook touch down and the back ramp swings down. It is time to go to work. Everyone makes their way off the helicopter. I forget about the 9-inch drop from the ramp to the ground and fall face first into a poppy field under the weight of my rucksack. A couple of fellow Paratroopers instantly grab me from the poppies and help me to my feet and, we make our way to pull security. The flight crew on the Chinook makes sure we made it out ok. Then the rotors from the Chinook begins to kick up and pelt our faces with dirt, poppies, and debris as it roars off into the darkness leaving us in the poppy fields of the Sangin Valley.

We are not taking fire in the poppy field and it is calm and quite. The only sound comes from the Apache attack helicopters flying overhead. We begin to move out to our objective. The company that I am with has an objective to secure a bridge and search and clear buildings of Taliban and weapons caches while in route. We should reach our objective by morning.

Unlike missions in Iraq and other parts of Afghanistan the terrain will not allow the luxury of a humvee and all of our traveling will be done on foot for the next week and a half. A lot of the time we will carry all our gear as we travel through the poppy fields, jump irrigation canals and search homes. We march through the night for what seems to be an eternity, and I begin to regret packing so much gear. It is too late for regrets I tell myself; I drink some water and drive on.
I can now here small arms fire and mortar rounds in the near distance as Paratroopers continue to engage the enemy all around us. We approach a large mud hut home and the Paratroopers move in to search it. With a shotgun one Paratrooper shoots the lock off the door and the other Paratroopers move in with guns at the ready kicking in doors as they move from room to room stacked in single file formation in search of the enemy and or a weapons cache. They find the building empty and we move on.

It is now getting closer to morning as the tired and exhausted Paratroopers from the 1/508th continue on to their objective clearing buildings in similar fashion. The fighting has seemed to become less intense as I now only here sporadic bursts of gunfire in the distance and the continuous humming of the Apache attack helicopters patrolling and standing by in case we need their fire power from close air support.

Everything seems to be going as planned, when enemy AK-47s opens up on a near by platoon of Paratroopers. Under heavy fire they take cover and concealment in a nearby tree line and return fire. Somewhere in the confusion, sometimes referred to the fog of war, the Apache attack helicopter confuses the already pinned down Paratroopers for the enemy.

Most of the time an Apache attack helicopter is an infantry man’s best friend providing close air support when needed, but tonight it becomes their worst nightmare as the Apache’s guns open up on the platoon. Shocked Paratroopers scrambled for their lives as the rounds split trees and explodes around them. Two paratroopers dive into an irrigation ditch as they are pelted by wood and pieces of debris. Two paratroopers are hit with shrapnel from the rounds and require
immediate medical attention. One of the two a squad leader is in bad shape and bleeding heavily from his leg.

The platoon is able to contact the pilot of the apache and informs him he is shooting at them in a not so calm or nice manner, but can you blame them. These Paratroopers have enough to worry about from the enemy on the ground, and do not need to worry about their own helicopters taking them out. However, sometimes things like this happen in the fog of war.

The platoon still under fire calls for a MEDEVAV helicopter as the combat medic works to stabilize the injured. One, the squad leader, is severely injured and has lost a lot of blood. He will die if the MEDEVAC does not get their in time.

As the platoon continues to hold off the enemy, the MEDEVAC helicopter arrives. It is being flown by the British and in a bold move they land in the hostile area to retrieve the injured. Under fire the injured are loaded on and the British fly away with bullets bouncing off the bird. The MEDEVAC arrived in time to save the lives of both Paratroopers.

Much credit and appreciation needs to be given to the British pilots for landing on a hot drop zone, they are definitely not required to do so. If they had never landed under fire at least one of the Paratroopers would probably not be alive today.

It is now the break of day and the firefight rages on. The Paratroopers still pinned down by gunfire rely on another platoon of Paratroopers who have made their way to a rooftop on a nearby building. They locate the enemy begin to call in mortar rounds on the enemies position and fire at the enemy with an M136 AT4. [Captured in this video]

The AT4 is a light weight weapon carried by infantry personnel and is usually used as an anti-tank weapon. It is fired from the right shoulder and has virtually no recoil making it relatively easy for large projectiles like an 84mm round to be fired from the weapon.

The disadvantage of the weapon is that it can only be used once and creates a large “back-blast” area behind the weapon which can cause severe burns to personnel in the vicinity and in some cases the user himself. This makes it extremely dangerous to use in confined or urban areas.
A rooftop is an ideal place to fire the AT4 because it is an open area. The Paratrooper with the weapon places it over his right shoulder, stands up, and takes aim at his target. Other Paratroopers lean forward as far as they can and cover their ears anticipating the “back blast.”

“BACK BLAST AREA CLEAR,” yells the Paratrooper. “ALL CLEAR,” is yelled back and he pulls the trigger. The 84 mm round goes screaming into the early morning air hitting its desired target as the smoke from the “back blast” engulfs the Paratroopers. “IS EVERYONE OK,” yells the trigger man. “ALL OK,” is replied back.

The smoke clears, some Paratroopers are happy with the results from the AT4 and yell in excitement and approval. Then immediately returns fire eliminating the threat of the enemy.

The fire fight has come to an end. Paratroopers search the area for any prisoners and or information that may be useful for intelligence and then continue on.

It is well into the morning now, and the heat from the sun is now starting to beat down on us as the Paratroopers reach their objective of securing a bridge near the rural town of Gereshk.

After securing the bridge the exhausted Paratroopers will finally get a chance to rest, but not before setting up a command post out of an Afghan farm house. They build up fighting and guard positions around the perimeter, make a one hour rotating guard shifts. Most on guard shift eat a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) that taste like Meals Rejected by Ethiopians. A few not on guard shift eat as well, but most of them find a place to sleep.

Some find benches to sleep on; others sleep in the rooms of the building, most, like myself, just find a place on the rock-hard, uneven ground beneath us that will be our bed for the next week.

Even though we are extremely tired it is hard to sleep, because of the extreme heat and the annoying flies that keep buzzing around us. The average temperature was approximately 118 degrees reaching as high as 124 degrees during the course of the operation.

It is truly amazing the conditions that these Paratroopers are faced with while performing combat operations. Many of the service members who deploy to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan live the good life. Although they do not have all the comforts of home, service members at KAF enjoy T-bone steak and Baskin Robbins ice cream every Friday night in the dining facility. There are coffee shops, a Burger King, Pizza Hut and Subway. There is a Morale Welfare and Recreation tent that shows movies every night, has pool tables and play stations among other things. Some of these service members will never leave KAF the whole time they are here.

Out here in the Sangin Valley these Paratroopers do not even get the luxury of indoor plumbing and in the last 2 months has spent 6 days at KAF. The rest of the time they have been out here, sucking it up. There is no electricity, no internet or phone call home, there is no dining facility or ice cream, but after a couple of days in temperatures over 100 degrees the thing you miss the most is a shower.

In the next couple days Paratroopers would sweep through the countryside with very little resistance as they continue to search buildings for Taliban and destroying all weapon caches they find. By the end of the third day enemy contact has become non-existent.

Paratroopers now continue to run patrols from the command post as they move into phase II of their mission, which consisted of providing security reaching out, meeting and helping the local citizens in the area with humanitarian assistance.

So when a father showed up with his sick eleven-month-old child at the Paratrooper’s Command a combat medic came out to meet the family and provided aide.
The father said his child had been vomiting on and off for about a month and he had diarrhea. The medic then checked out some of the common causes for the symptoms the child was showing such as ear infections, or possibly teething.

The father also told the medic that they were still feeding the child dry milk and that he was not eating a lot of solid foods.

So the medic told him his child needs to be coming off the milk and go on to solid food. Also, to make sure to keep him hydrated in case he is teething.

It is events like these that could win over support of the Afghan people and make it easier for the Paratroopers to accomplish their overall mission.

I am told by the battalion commander of the 1/508th that the measure of success is not about body counts of enemy Taliban combatants, but rather giving the people of Afghanistan a sense of security in their government so they can bring in the Afghan National Security Force for long term security and help them form a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan.

One of the main efforts in doing this is to host local shuras, which is a meeting of local elders to discuss problems and concerns in their local area.

In the northern part of the Sangin valley the shuras was a successful. After the 1/508th organized and hosted the first couple of shuras the Afghans started running their own.

The 1/508th provided security for and hosted three shuras for the locals as well as a medical community action program to help Afghans who needed medical attention before turning the area over to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan National Security Forces.

The Paratroopers of the 1/508th are now heading back to KAF to get a chance to experience the good life.

Operation Achilles continues in the Heldmand province with no scheduled end date providing security for reconstruction and development objectives.

South Amboy mourns the loss of hometown hero

This story was written by a real good friend back at Ft. Bragg. Just a great story:

I hope this story touches you all in some way. This is a story about a Soldier who gave his life while saving several others. He laid down his own life to save to save the lives of his wounded Soldiers.

SFC Benjamin L. Sebban lived the Seven Army Values. Those values being Leadership, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Respect and Personal Courage. If this isn't someone who is deserving of high honors, if not the Medal of Honor, then I don't know who is.

By Army Spc. Aaron L. Rosencrans
27th Public Affairs Detachment

SOUTH AMBOY, N.J. -- Complete with a 21-gun salute and bagpipers leading the march of the procession with the Army Song, the mobile memorial service for a Fort Bragg Soldier left few dry eyes.

Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban, senior combat medic with 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, died from wounds suffered after an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit in Baqubah, Iraq.

People lined both sides of the road to watch the procession for Sebban March 28 in South Amboy, N.J. as it made its way to Christ Church. It was lead by emergency-services workers, military service members, bagpipers and mourners.

Inside the church, Rev. Lloyd Pulley, pastor, started the memorial service. He said the service was different because of Sebban's faith in God.

"This is uplifting in that (Sebban) had trusted in the lord Jesus Christ," Pulley said. "I believe the legacy that he left will influence many others, and that through his life, others, perhaps, will come to know the God that he came to know."

Pulley offered comfort to those close to Sebban by reminding them that Sebban believed he had more to come after his life was over.

Later, Sebban's youngest brother, David Sebban admitted he didn't prepare to speak because he didn't feel he could stay strong enough to say anything. However, he did work up the strength to say a few things between his tears.

"I will never try to understand why he's laying there dead, and I'm standing here alive," he said. "I will never understand it, and I will never try to understand it. But I'm going to move on."

He went on to say his brother's death was unexpected.

"I thought we all were going to grow old together and tell stories," he said. "And now that's not going to happen."

David called his late brother the "best man I ever knew."

Before the procession moved out of the church, bagpipers led in the singing of Amazing Grace and the Army Song as the mobile procession moved on.

According to Daniel Sebban, Sebban's younger brother, he was trying to warn his Soldiers of the impending danger when the device exploded.

"There was a vehicle with insurgents that ran into a ditch where his unit was," said Daniel. "He was getting out of a vehicle to warn the Soldiers outside they were getting ready to detonate the explosive. In doing so, as he was warning them, the explosive went off, and he was hit with shrapnel."

Rather than tend to his own wounds, Sebban provided care to his Soldiers.

"He basically ignored his own wounds and helped the Soldiers that were injured, thinking of them more than himself" said Daniel. "From what I heard, he died as he was taking care of the other wounded Soldiers."

Sebban's family has received over 200 emails from Soldiers he took care of during his time in the Army.

The Sebban family was visited by the mayor of South Amboy and the governor of N.J.

Gov. John S. Corzine, governor of N.J., visited Sebban's family March 27 during the Wake. He ordered that all U.S. flags and N.J. flags be flown at half mast March 28 to recognize and mourn the loss of Sebban. Corzine said Sebban was a true American hero.

"These memorial services were fitting for (Sebban)," said John T. O'Leary, mayor of South Amboy. "His dedication to his country and his Soldiers proved his heroism."

The Sebban family is accepting donations in memory of Sebban for the Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban Warrior Fund. This is a scholarship fund for individuals who plan to attend medical or nursing school. Donations may be mailed to Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin L. Sebban Warrior Fund, P.O. Box 111, South Amboy, N.J., 08879.

David Sebban said he couldn't believe his brother was gone. "My brother was more than just a brother," he said. "He was a hero and a friend."

For Vietnam vets, peace found on open road to D.C

Excellent story from the New York Times of all places. Jenifer Miller writes about the Vietnam Veteran biker organization Rolling Thunder.

Here is a sample:

If you traveled on one of the nation's interstates in these past few days before Memorial Day, you might have encountered an unusual sight: bikers by the dozens stretched half a mile down the highway, their motorcycles flying military banners and spewing exhaust. /snip/They are members of Rolling Thunder, a nationwide network of veterans and their supporters. Their destination: the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day rally on the National Mall in Washington. read more here

Repost from Sat...Operation Gratitude: See what these folks are doing for the troops.

This Memorial Day weekend, while most folks are heading to the beach, Operation Gratitude will be kicking off one of its biggest events of the year, what the group's founder, Carolyn Blashek, calls their "Patriotic Drive." The drive will have the group packing boxes starting this weekend and running non-stop until July 1--boxes that will be shipped to American servicemen in Iraq throughout the summer.

All the products they ship are donated by major corporations and individuals from around the country, BUT the postage on each box is $9.15, and Blashek says "there's nothing we can do about it, except pay it." She says the group's overhead only adds about 50 cents to the cost of each package, but that the value of each package is somewhere between $100 and $120. She needs $1.2 million just to cover the group's postage, and they've still got a ways to go.

If you have a friend or family member serving in Iraq, you can head to the website and request that the group send them a package. I'm sure they'd be extremely grateful for any donation you can make as well. And if you want to see your donation at work, Fox News will be covering the kick-off all afternoon Saturday.

Click here to go to the Operation Gratitude website, and click here to donate.

Hat tip to the Weekly Standard.

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Memorial Day Weekend Cartoon

It's a shame media coverage will only be about the

death and chaos from Iraq this

weekend.

Day by Day cartoonist Chris Muir, who was embedded in Mosul earlier this spring, publishes his Memorial Day cartoon--which you won't see in the NYTimes or WaPo:

Good News from Iraq: US Army rescues 42 Iraqis from al-Qaeda prison.

Good News from Iraq. Troop "Surge" showing signs of success.

U.S. forces rescued 42 Iraqi civilians from an Al Qaeda hide-out in Diyala northeast of Baghdad, including some who showed signs of torture and broken bones. Some among the 42 had been held as long as four months.

"The people in Diyala are speaking up against Al Qaeda,"said Maj. Gen. Caldwell, top U.S. spokesperson. "U.S. troops have been engaging more directly with Iraqi civilians in Diyala in recent weeks since an additional 3,000 U.S. troops entered the province."

This is the exact reason why we needed a troop surge folks. We are fighting a counter insurgency in Iraq. The only way you win that battle is getting the Iraqi civilians to trust and interact with you. If you do not have enough troops to interact with the locals then you have lost before you ever started.

Memorial Day message from Michael Yon reporting from Iraq.

Michael Yon has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan for years now and is about the most honest reporter out there. He reports the bad and the good news from the region.

Today in his Memorial Day message he writes: Although there is sharp fighting in Diyala Province, and Baghdad remains a battleground, and the enemy is trying to undermine security in areas they’d lost interest in, the fact is that the security plan, or so-called “surge,” is showing clear signs of progress. The city of Hit, for instance. Only about a hundred days ago, Hit was a city at war. Today, the buildings are still riddled with bullet holes, but the Iraqi people are opening shops and painting over the scars. They are waving and smiling while hundreds of men are volunteering to join the police.

MTCW Pic of the Day.

Celebrating 100th year of John Wayne.

"Life is tough, but it's tougher if your stupid" ~John Wayne

as Sgt John Stryker in The Sands of Iwo Jima

Listen here pilgrim, the Duke would have been 100 years old today. So lift up your glasses and have one for good ole John Wayne. There has probably never been an actor as beloved as John Wayne.

In January, a Harris poll ranked him third—trailing only Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks—as America's favorite movie star. Among those age 42-60, he was No. 1.

Why?" probably because of what he represents. John Wayne is the icon of America and represents the values America stands for: independent, responsible for his actions, loyal—almost to a fault—and somebody who won't take any crap, somebody who believes in what's right."

They are celebrating 1oo years of John Wayne this weekend in his home town of Winterset Iowa.

Here are what some others are saying about 100 years of the Duke:

100 reasons we love John Wayne

John Wayne, My Dad, and Me or How I Learned to Love The Western

On John Wayne's 100th birthday, we remember the grit

John Wayne: The noble Duke

Nearly three decades dead, but John Wayne remains larger than life

This one is a real good read. Here is a sample: Nothing says Memorial Day like sleeping late and watching John Wayne win World War II in black and white. Let's face it - John Wayne was the poster boy for Memorial Day heroes. The sergeant, the private and the Duke

President Bush Signs war spending bill no one loved.

The Soldiers fighting the "war on terror" will get the funds they need to continue their mission as President Bush signed the war spending bill today that was passed without a timetable for withdrawal by Congress and the Senate.

The news media is calling it a victory for the President, which to a certain extent I suppose it is. I think of it as more of a compromise than a victory as the democrats were able to get more than 8 billion dollars of non-war related spending out of the bill that no one loved.

Here is a look at what was actually in the bill:

• $99.5 billion for the Defense Department, $94.5 billion of it for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• $1.6 billion in U.S. aid for Iraq, which could be restricted if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks.

• $3 billion for land mine-resistant vehicles.

• $3 billion for military health care programs.

• $1.8 billion for veterans' care.

• $1.1 billion for homeland security, including airport, border and cargo container screening.

• $6.4 billion for hurricane relief efforts along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

• $3 billion for disaster farm aid.

• More than $650 million for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

• $465 million for fighting wildfires.

• $425 million for rural schools.

Oh and let's not forget the minimum wage hike that was also attached to the bill...

The Democrats are not happy because they didn't get their timetable for defeat, I mean withdrawal and the Republicans are not happy because the legislation included more than $8 billion in domestic spending, added at Democratic insistence.

"We've got a whole host of other issues that don't deserve to be put on the backs of our men and women in the military,'' said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio shortly before the vote. "It's a sneaky way to do business.''

It is a sneaky way to do bussiness, but that is how they do it.


This is what they call a Washington compromise... Something that needs to be changed in D.C.


I want to know why it is even legal to add all this pork on to a unrelated bill anyway.

Thanks to you: FairTax now getting National Media Coverage!!!

You have done it. You have put the FairTax onto the National stage. There is now not one politician that does not know what the FairTax is, and if they say they do not know what it is they are either lieing or are not paying attention.

Here are some stories that have popped up since the rally in Columbia S.C.

Here is a nice editorial in the Augusta Chronicle about the FairTax: "A New American Revolution?" ...Hey that was my line...maybe the author has been reading My Two Cents Worth....The writer says: "The rally and march also stood out because the mainstream media hasn't really sensed how serious this movement is." Well ... that's changing, isn't it?

CNN video from outside the debate. First there are some war protesters, but then at least the last half of the video is all FairTax supporters.

FairTax Rally Gallery from Neal Boortz nationally syndicated radio talk show host and co-author of the FairTax book who was also at the rally.

Now here's one article that showed up this morning. John Boyanoski was more than fair in his coverage of the rally, but take a look at his final paragraph:

The fair tax would do away with individual taxes, but ultimately raise taxes for basic everyday goods. Critics of the tax feel that it would hinder the working poor and be more of a benefit to people with larger paychecks.

In fairness to Mr. Boyanoski I don't think he was trying to be critical of the plan .. it's probably that he hasn't studied it. He either hasn't read the book or hasn't visited FairTax.org to see what is really going on here. As those of you who have taken the time to become informed know, the price for everyday goods will not go up, and the FairTax does a lot more than just "do away with individual taxes."

Neal Boortz is actually working on the second book "Ansering the Critics of the FairTax."

Republicans Agree on Lower Taxes (AP STORY)Forbes, NY- May 15, 2007... outside the building, and 4000 people were taking part in a rally organized by FairTax.org to promote a national sales tax to replace income taxes. ...

Fair Tax Crowd Shuts Down Columbia StreetsCampaigns & Elections (press release)- Jim Arab snapped pictures and shouted for anyone and everyone to hear as he looked at the rows and rows of white-shirted supporters of the fair tax lining ...

Around the city, a sense of 'something big' (THE STATE) Supporters of replacing the federal income tax with a sales tax flowed into the Carolina Coliseum, with a few thousand people attending a rally and debate-watching event. http://www.thestate.com/169/story/65277.html

GOP's Silver Elephant Dinner kicks off big week for Republicans. Hannity was also scheduled to speak at pre-debate event Tuesday at the Carolina Coliseum where FairTax.org expected 7,000 to rally and watch the debate, said Ken Hoagland, a spokesman for the group pushing a plans for national sales tax to replace income taxes.http://www.thestate.com/312/story/64028.html

MSNBC- May 15, 2007 Thousands of of people -- the anti-tax group Fair Tax say they have 7000 alone -- are chanting for their favorite candidate, hollering, and banging cowbells ... 30 minutes away

Video of Neal Boortz on Fox New with Cavuto and picture of march on FoxNewshttp://msunderestimated.com/2007/05/15/the-fair-tax-rally-pre-debate-in-sc-video/

Video of Huckabee in debate talking about the FairTaxhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm1ARFKWdow

Fair Tax RallyWCSC,SC- May 16, 2007 A crowd of about 7000 came together to spread the message behind www.fairtax.org. The group wants to get rid of the federal income tax system and replaces ...

Thousands gather for tax reform rallyhttp://www.thestate.com/169/

Thousands who support replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax have begun gathering at the Carolina Coliseum. .CNN video of outside the Koger Centerhttp://www.cnn.

Debate site draws diverse groups Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Protesters against war, taxes vie for candidates' attentionCharleston Post and CourierCOLUMBIA — If the Republicans presidential hopefuls were listening, there was plenty to hear around South Carolina's capital Tuesday as groups gathered to protest taxes, rally against the war and call for the Confederate flag to keep flying on Statehouse grounds. While only 2,000 were... Read story.

An Eyeful Of South CarolinaCampaigns & Elections (press release)- May 16, 2007Thousands of fair tax supporters, hundreds of campaign supporters, men in Confederate flag shirts, Condoleezza Rice for President stickers and a man in a ...

Republican rivals turn up heatSpartanburg Herald Journal (subscription),SC- May 16, 2007Huckabee highlighted his support for a so-called "Fair Tax." Earlier in the night, thousands of Fair Tax supporters marched around the Koger Center, ...

Hunter struggles to be noticed on GOP debate stageSan Diego Union Tribune,CA- 35 minutes ago"That was the first time I've heard him," Reynolds said at Tuesday's Fair Tax event. "Obviously he supports the fair tax. That's the only thing I know. ...

Huckabee Has Second Presidential Candidate DebateToday's THV,AR-"Fair tax, that's the first thing I'd want to do as president--put a going out of business sign on the IRS, just for them to operate. If we had a fair tax,

Spending Like John Edwards at a Beauty ShopGOPUSA,TX- Huckabee scored points by stressing the need for a fair tax. Rather than talking about a tax cut here or a tax cut there, Huckabee noted: ...

Huckabee's Edwards Zinger Sends Chris Matthews' Spittle SpewingRushLimbaugh.com (subscription),CA- HUCKABEE: If we had a Fair Tax, it would eliminate not just the Alternative Minimum Tax, personal income tax, corporate tax, it would eliminate all the ...

The Debate and Taxes 16 May 2007 by Ron Nehring Taxes were on the minds of those who attended the South Carolina debate last night -- one could hardly miss the impressive pro-tax reform rally put on by the group FairTax.org across the street -- about 8000 people. ...California Republican Blog: Updated Daily... - http://www.cagop.org/blog/

Hot and Fast!!! What? I was talking about the cars...3 woman drivers will start for Indy 500

Mika Dunno makes it 3 wide racing for the woman anyways for the 91st running of the Indy 500.

The rookie driver from Venezuela turned some of her fastest laps all month to tentatively qualify 29th for the May 27 Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 219.228 mph.

Dunno will join Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher, both veterans at Indy, on the 33-car grid.

It will be the first time 3 woman have started at the Indy 500.

Only 5 woman have made the field in the races 91 year history. Janet Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the 1977 Indy 500 but finished 29th with engine troubles. She would compete in two more Indy 500s, finishing as high as ninth in the 1978 race.

Women making the event has caused a real firestorm in the past among some male fans who do not like the idea of female drivers. Although the controversy has become less severe it still exists among some fans.

Some feel there may be some extra caution flags come Sunday.

I say what is the big deal. They got in a car and drove it fast enough to qualify, let them race. If you don't like it get your own car and drive faster, but good luck with that...219 mph...now that is fast!

In fact...I don't understand what the big story is about women making the field anymore. It is not like this is somekind of new phenomenom.

13 out of the last 15 indy 500s has had a woman in the field. So why does the media keep beating this story year after year.

The only difference between this year and years past it that a woman is actually being consideres as a contender before the green flag is dropped on Sunday.

Danica Patrick will start eighth in a top-flight Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda, and is one of 10-12 drivers that is being given real consideration as a contender by the experts. So perhaps that should be the story, not that women are making the field.

Anyways Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno have been mobbed by reporters in the days leading up to the Indy 500, and the questions are the same ones they've been answering since they reached the top levels of motorsports:

Do you feel like you're making history?

Can women compete against men?

Is this a significant statement for women?

What will it mean if a woman wins the Indy 500?

And, of course, each year a bungled question to a female driver comes out as this: How does it feel to be a woman?

For the most part, their male counterparts don't begrudge the women their place on the racetrack. Women on a racetrack is not that uncommon of a thing anymore, most of the men in the field at Indy have raced against women since their karting days.

Driver Sarah Fisher, who will also being racing on Sunday seems to agree with me.

"Just because there are other women out there doesn't make me want to go any harder or faster," Fisher says. "Everybody is the same in my mind. I think it's great what this has done for the league and the sport. We've drawn a lot of attention to it. It's made the league more popular. People are tuning in. That's awesome. As an open-wheel fan, I couldn't want any more for the series, so that's great. But to me on track, they're just two more cars."

In this day an age woman are competing on the track just the same as men and have been for a while. The old I am woman here me roar stories of the past is no longer news. If the media wants a female angle in Indy the real story is that this is all old news unless a female wins on Sunday and Danica Patrick very well could.

I am not a big indy race fan. I prefer NASCAR, but if the field keeps growing like this... Hot and Fast, it could get my attention. What? I was talking about the cars...

MTCW Pic of the Day

It is Memorial Day Weekend.

Get the flag out and fly it proud.

If you don't have a flag get one.

Thank a vet and remember those

of us serving far away. There are no barbeques

or picnics or beer for us this weekend.

remember those who have died for your

freedoms.

War spending bill passes house and Senate: Clinton, Obama vote NO to fund troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I take back the respect I had for Obama, and Clinton well I never had much respect for her to begin with.

The U.S. Senate passed the war-spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with no timetables for withdrawal 80-14 Thursday night, but the top two front-runners, Clinton and Obama in the Democrat Primary voted No.

Their votes Thursday night continued a shift in position for the two presidential hopefuls, both of whom began the year shunning a deadline for a troop withdrawal.

''I fully support our troops'' but the measure ''fails to compel the president to give our troops a new strategy in Iraq,'' said Clinton.

Yeah, new strategy, I guess she doesn’t know about the new Gen. in charge and the troop surge, which by the way is showing signs of improvement.

''Enough is enough,'' Obama, an Illinois senator, declared, adding that President Bush should not get ''a blank check to continue down this same, disastrous path.''

Right, and the troops shouldn’t get the money for the equipment that helps keep them alive. I guess if Obama or Clinton got there way we would start fighting al-Qaeda with a bag of rocks instead of bullets.

If this is the kind of support the troops the democrats want to give, they can keep it.

After the last democrat primary debate I stated that I do not agree with Obama’s position on Iraq, but I have the most respect for his position than any of the other candidates

“I opposed this war from the start because I thought it would lead to the disastrous conditions that we have seen,” he said, but he said he could not vote to cut off funding for troops once they were in the field.

Yeah well so much for that pledge…and Clinton well her position is even less respectable.

Clinton actually voted to authorize to send troops to Iraq, now she wants to abandon them and not give them the money they so desperately need.

This debate is not over either folks. The most critical votes on the war are likely to be cast in September when the House and Senate debate war funding for 2008. The September votes likely will come after Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus tells Congress whether Bush's troop buildup plan is working. Also due by September is an independent assessment of progress made by the Iraqi government.

You can guarantee the defeat-rats…I mean democrats will do everything they can to continue to embolden our enemies and make sure Iraq continues to be portrayed as a failure by September. It truly must be a proud moment in the history of the Democrat Party to realize that the success of your party is invested in the defeat of your country.

Poor Gen. Petaueus… he has lost before he even started.

New Poll: 25% Young Muslims in U.S. support suicide bombing. 60% Muslims in U.S. worried about growing Islamic Extremism in U.S.

A Pew Research Centerpoll released this week reveals that one in four young Muslims living in America supports the use of suicide bombings to defend their religion are just fine. So, how's that for a religion of peace?


On the brighter side of things three out of four younger Muslims, and about 80 percent of Muslims altogether, say that suicide bombings are not appropriate.


Well, that is good but still not comforting. 25% is a pretty significant number of young muslims living in the United States and what exactly would they consider defending there religion?


Is the idea of defending their religion include the act of killing people who draw cartoons of Mohammed or utter any negative comment of any nature whatsoever about Islam as we have seen in the past.


Here is another thing to ponder, these are Muslims living in the United States, most of them were born here. This would mean that they must have been taught the idea of suicide bombings from somewhere. Could it be that they have been taught to think this way in their Mosques an in their associations with other Muslims?


This is where homegrown terrorism comes from, the type of homegrown terrorism that has been showing up in England and Spain in recent years.

Here are some other numbers in the Pew poll worthy of note:

5 percent of U.S. Muslims have favorable views of Al Qaeda. Another 4 percent just wouldn't say. That's not a small number folks when you realize there are approximately 2.35 million muslims in the U.S.

Sixty percent say they are concerned about a rise in Islamic extremism in the U.S. Wow!!! that should set an alarm off. 60% of Muslims I remind you....concerned of a rise of Islamic extremism in the U.S. Unfortunately, most of the U.S. doesn't seem to concerned.

Now get this one --- only 25 percent of U.S. Muslims actually believe that the attacks of 9/11 were carried out by Arab men. They're either lying or they are brainwashed.

The poll also says about one-third of U.S. Muslims who have flown in the past year say they had to endure some extra security screening because they are Muslims.


Well, good profiling is a good defensive technique against Muslim violence.

MTCW Pic of the Day...

Here is a photo from Iraq that probably never made your morning paper.

Comming Memorial Day: MTCW Tribute to Veterans Special

Comming Memorial Day: My Ten Days with the 1/508th PIR, 82nd Airborne Div.

I am finishing up writing my first hand account of my time spent and what I witnessed while with the elite group of Paratroopers from the 1/508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.

I have decided to post it on Memorial Day with the MTCW Tribute to Veterans Special. It will consist of no news or politics, nothing but tributes to Veterans of the present and past.

I thought it would make a nice tribute to the Paratroopers of the present and those of the past.

The current Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division continue to make the Paratroopers of the past proud by living up to their "All The Way" motto in the Taliban strongholds of southern Afghanistan.

I will take you there with there remarkable story of courage, honor, bravery and duty.

Photo Information: A Paratrooper from 3rd plt. Co. A, 1/508th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division on patrol as the sunrises in the Sangin Valley of Southern Afghanistan. The Sangin Valley is one of the heaviest poppy producing regions in the world and has a reputation as a drug lord, Taliban and al Qaeda stronghold making it one of the most dangerous places for U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Tony J. Spain, 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

How I would have answered the questions from the debate in Columbia S.C.

I am definitely not running for president and probably never will, but I thought it might be fun to answer some of the same questions from the Republican Primary Debate held in Columbia S.C. from last week.

So…a buddy of mine and I got a stopwatch and a voice recorder. He asked me the questions and gave me the same amount of time the candidates got to answer. Here are my answers, let me know how I did…

Let's start with the war in Iraq.

Q: You say that you are willing to be the last man standing for U.S. involvement in Iraq. But the Iraqi government has failed to meet one political benchmark after another for political reform. Why should Americans continue to fight and die while Iraqi politicians continue to do so little?

COUNTRY BOY: Thank you for the question…Look I know the American people are frustrated with the war in Iraq. I understand your frustration, because I am frustrated with the war in Iraq as well…but just because things are not going well and frustration has set in does not mean you cut and run.

Have there been mistakes made…absolutely. Policy failures you bet…

But we must look at the consequence of leaving… losing the war does not mean we hang our heads, bring the troops home and go on and move on, like post Vietnam. The stakes are much higher.If we leave Iraq attacks from Islamic terrorists will not stop or decrease, but rather will steadily increase.

Prior to 9-11 there were more than 7,500 terrorists attacks throughout the world. Many on U.S. interests…1993 bombing World Trade Center…1996 Khobar Towers…1998 US Embassies in Africa…2000 USS Cole in Yemen. Since the war on terror began there has not been one successful terrorist attack on U.S. interests…If we leave Iraq the terrorists will no doubt follow us to the homeland…

Times up…

We either fight them there or fight them here at home….

Q: In the last debate, Governor Thompson said that you would, quote, "Require the Maliki government to vote on whether or not they want us to continue to stay in Iraq." He said that he would, quote, "Require the 18 provinces to elect governments and that he would split oil revenues." Is this the right approach to Iraq?

COUNTRY BOY: First off, I would not let the Iraqi government decide if we should stay in Iraq or leave. If I was president I would never outsource decisions on national security to the Iraqi government, the U.N. or anyone. That would be a decision left to the Oval Office.

I do agree, that the Iraqi government definitely needs to be held more accountable and needs to take a larger roll in the security of Iraq. Let’s be clear about something though…In the 5 years we have been in Iraq the people of Iraq and Iraqi government has made great strides. They have held free elections…they have built schools…and universities…and infrastructure.

There is no doubt a long way to go…and I am definitely not trying to grow you a rose garden in a pile of manure. Iraq still has many problems…

As far as the 18 provinces and oil reserves….that is up to the Iraqi people and their government…

Q: Can you foresee any circumstances under which you would pull out of Iraq without leaving behind a stable political and security situation?

COUNTRY BOY: Absolutely not…your question would imply that we lose in Iraq…I refuse to accept that premises…We are not going to lose in Iraq…we can not afford to lose in Iraq.

We have to understand that Iraq is a small part of the overall picture. What happens in Iraq has enormous impact on what's going to happen in this global struggle that we face. It will be crucial to what happens with Iran…by pulling out of Iraq before Iraq is stable and able to stand on its own would create a huge power vacuum in the region…Iran would quickly take over the Shi'a south, and set their sights on the rest of the region…giving them control of majority of the Worlds oil supply…and perhaps most frightening, you could have al Qaeda play a dominant role among the Sunnis and then have a setting where you'd have something far far worse than what Afghanistan ever was.

We must and we will provide the stability to allow a central government to survive and thrive in Iraq.

Q: When President Bush announced the troop surge, Sen. Brownback opposed it and said that instead he favored the Iraq Study Group, which has a goal of getting all U.S. combat forces out by March of next year. He said that he wanted to find a way for Republicans and Democrats to work together. Is that any way to fight and win a war, to look for a consensus among the politicians in Washington?

COUNTRY BOY: I completely disagree with just about every aspect of this question. I support Bush’s troop surge and thought it should have been done much earlier. I never felt we had enough troops on the ground in Iraq to begin with it.

If you are going to have an Iraq Study Group wouldn’t it make sense to have at least one military analyst, perhaps a general or someone who has actually partaken in the fight on the ground?

I mean this panel was about as bright as hiring a plumber to do electrical work. If you are going to fight a war let the military fight the war.

If the Generals on the ground ask for something to accomplish their mission then it should be given to them. We need to take a policy where we listen to the commanders and the troops fighting this war. This war will be won by them not in the halls of Congress…however the war could be lost in the halls of Congress if we allow it to be.

Q: Mayor Giuliani said in an interview the other day that congressional Republicans who say they must see progress by September are, quote, "fundamentally irresponsible," and that in effect they are giving a timetable for retreat to our enemies. What do you think?

COUNTRY BOY: No matter how you do it a timetable for withdrawal is the wrong answer in Iraq. The only time table for withdrawal is when the mission has been accomplished…and that will be when Iraq can stand on its own. The Democrats and many Republicans have got this issue fundamentally wrong.

Never in the history of warfare can I recall someone giving a date for withdrawal…before the war was lost…and the war in Iraq has not been lost.

The troop surge is working…We have a new General, General Paterus, with a new policy that is showing signs of success…If anyone can turn Iraq around it is General Paterus, but we must support him by giving him the funds for the equipment that he needs without ridiculous time tables for withdrawal. If you are going to make a time table for withdrawal why wait for a future date…why not just bring all the troops home today….the effect would be the same…

Q: A recent poll found that 77 percent of Republicans disapprove of the idea of setting a timetable for withdrawal. However another poll suggests that less than 50% approve of the way the Bush Administration has handled the war and yet another poll says 45% of Republicans say we should not have invaded Iraq. Was the invasion a mistake and if so why should we stay?

COUNTRY BOY: I am not going to sit here and say that invading Iraq was right or that it was wrong…whether going in to Iraq was the right thing to do or not is no longer up for debate…the fact is that we are there…and the consequences of leaving are to high. Iraq has become the center stage in the fight against al-Qaeda…more so than Afghanistan… We have to fix Iraq…accomplishing the mission is the only choice we have there…bottom line…we either fight them there or fight them here…either way we will be fighting them.

Q: You have talked about standing up the Iraqi military in the past and that at some point they will be able to replace some American troops. Now the Bush administration has been saying this, the same thing for basically four -- more than four years, and we now have as many troops in Iraq, U.S. troops in Iraq, as we did when we invaded the country. Why should we believe that this replacement is going to start happening any time soon?

COUNTRY BOY: …Thank you for the tough question…I appreciate you asking me that…It has been a tough time training the Iraqi forces…no doubt…just as it has been a tough time training the Afghan National Army….the main reason is because of the language barrier…but we are getting better at doing it…

Iraqi forces are getting better…a couple years ago we were having a tough time getting Iraqi forces to actually fight in places like Ar Ramadi and Fallujah…today they are better…with combat experience and continuous training they are now starting to stand up and fight alongside American forces. We must continue to train and rotate these forces into military operations…once they can stand on their own we can begin to rotate our forces out…The Iraqi forces will be one of the major keys to our success in Iraq…

Q: In the last debate Governor Huckabee said that President Bush made a mistake listening too much to civilians in suits and silk ties and not enough to the generals with mud and blood on their boots, especially when it came to how many troops were needed to stabilize the situation in Iraq...a point I know you agree with.

If the generals were to come to you as president and say, we don't have enough troops there; we need, let's say, 300,000, would you be open to significantly increasing our presence in Iraq?

COUNTRY BOY: We need to listen to the commanders and noncomissioned officers on the battlefield and pay attention to what they ask for, plain and simple…they are the ones leading troops in to battle…Yes, the President is the Commander in Chief and has the final decision…which are always tough decisions…but you better get the best advice you can get before making that decision…and the best advice doesn’t come from Washington, it doesn’t come from diplomats…it comes from the people fighting the war… It comes from the generals you have ordered to send his men into battle and if he says we need 300,000 more troops then that’s what we need….

This war will not be won in the halls of congress, but it can very well be lost there…It is time we stop worrying about the budget and how much the war costs…and just get it done right the first time…because right now…where we thought we could cut corners and save money is costing us more…because now we have to do it over again…We should have listened to the boots on the ground and done it right the first time…

Q: We have an internet question for you from Harry from Boston, who says, we should look ahead to the threat from Iran. He asked, quote, "What would you do to resolve this nuclear issue? And will you launch a pre-emptive strike if they were close to achieving a weapon?"

COUNTRY BOY: Well, I appreciate the question about Iran, because I think it is one of the real emerging problems that is facing not only this nation, but the entire world.

Iran is a very dangerous situation that really cannot be explained in a minute…We can not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon…We must use every option on the table and yes to include military force…Let’s be real clear about something in reference to Iran… Iran has already declared acts of war against us and our allies…

They attack our troops who are trying to provide security for the reconstruction in Iraq…they sell insurgents weapons and bomb making materials to be used against coalition forces… they fund Hezbollah in a proxy war against Israel…

They kidnapped British Sailors in Iraqi waters who were performing a U.N. mission…
After all of this the only response anyone in the world can muster is we are greatly concerned….I believe we are beyond

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concerned…it is time for action against Iran.


This question was directed toward Mitt Romney but focused on taxes so Country Boy will take it…
Q: Your critics have called you "flip-flop Mitt" for, among other things, your decision to take the "no new taxes" pledge this year after refusing to do so in 2002. Tell me why your decision to take the pledge shouldn't be seen as a blatant appeal to the party base, sir?

COUNTRY BOY: This question does not apply to me…I have always held my convictions and stood by them…even when they are not the most popular of ideas, of course changing your mind for the right reasons is not what I would consider flip flopping…but let’s talk about taxes…

My whole life I have held the belief that raising taxes… no matter if you raise them on the rich or across the board…hurts working families, reduces growth, and eliminates jobs.

When you raise taxes on the rich…the rich will just figure out away to pass the cost of taxes off to the consumer and the poor. Either through price hikes on goods or cutting jobs….tax hikes just don’t work…never have.

Since the introduction of the 16th amendment it has been rewritten and reformed by politicians and lawyers to many times to count. We have now reached a point where the current tax system is broken… It is time that we eliminate the IRS and start over with the FairTax. We…

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…We need a national sales tax and eliminate the IRS…

You supported President Bush’s 2001 tax cuts that are scheduled to expire. How can you convince Republican voters you will push a Democratic Congress hard enough to make those tax cuts permanent, sir?

COUNTRY BOY: There is no doubt that the Bush tax cuts have sparked the economy. Unemployment is the lowest it has been in 20 years…the stock market is the highest it has ever been and continues to rise.

The Bush tax cuts has increased revenue to the federal reserves as well…so there is no doubt that making the Bush tax cuts permanent would be good…but what would be even better is if we past the FairTax.

It costs the federal government 10 million dollars a year to run the IRS. The FairTax would eliminate the IRS…Estimates claim that it costs businesses up to 450 billion dollars a year just to comply to the tax laws in this country. The FairTax would eliminate that cost.

The FairTax is also good for working families and completely lifts the burden of taxes off of the poor…no more taxes withheld from your paycheck…what you make is what you take home…and a monthly allowance from the government up to the poverty level to guarantee…

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To guarantee that the necessities of life are never tasked.

Q: Gasoline prices headed north again. Should Americans resign themselves to living with $3.50, $4, $5 a gallon gasoline?

COUNTRY BOY: Thanks for asking this question…first off it is not really the governments responsibility to fix gas prices…so I would never support a price cap or price controls…or any type of windfall profit tax on gas companies… We live in a free market based on capitalism…that is based on supply and demand…right now the demand for oil is extremely high on the world market and the supply is having a hard time keeping up…making prices extremely high for oil from places like the Middle East…

There are things the government could do to help increase the supply and decrease our dependency on foreign oil…and that is get out of the way… Open the ANWR, explore off shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico…get rid of the government red tape and expenses to build new oil refineries…

This would greatly help us to become less dependent on unfriendly dictators like Chavez in Venezuela or Ahmadinejad in Iran. Until then…we will be forced to pay whatever they feel like charging for a barrel of oil…

Q: Brian from Fort Wayne asks this question via the internet, a question about controlling government spending. Tell me three federal programs you consider wasteful and would eliminate.

COUNTRY BOY: Oh my…this is like a dream for me…Where do I start??? Let’s start big… the Department of Homeland Security…that is right eliminate the whole shebang!!!…and put the agencies that existed before the department was created back where they where…If there was anything that we learned after Hurricane Katrina it was how useless this new department was…yes, FEMA gets the blunt of the blame…but FEMA was much more of an efficient program when it was its own independent agency before it fell under Homeland Security…

Next I would eliminate the Immigration and Naturalization Service and make them a division of the Border Patrol Agency and place them under the Department of Defense like the Coast Guard. This would destroy the Bureaucracy between the two and ensure that they share information easier and work better together.

Next I would give education back to the individual states and eliminate the Department of Education…how can politicians in Washington determine…

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determine what schools 1,000's miles away needs…

Q: You would eliminate the Department of Homeland Security in the midst of a war, sir?

COUNTRY BOY: Absolutely, we are not any safer after the creation of the department than what we were before…If anything I would say we are less safe because of the creation of the department… You do not have to look any farther than Hurricane Katrina to see that.

We were spending more than 40 billion on security before 9-11, and they had all the information they needed….but the way they handled the information was inefficient because of the bureaucracy and red tape between the different agencies…

Then we create an even bigger bureaucracy and we are spending at least 3 times as much…and we can not even manage a hurricane…

More bureaucracy is the last thing we need.

Q: In the next president's term, baby boomers will retire, the costs of Social Security and Medicare will soar...

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah..

Q: Tell me whether you'd be willing to reduce benefits even for wealthy Americans in order to avoid raising payroll taxes?

COUNTTRY BOY: Real good question… Social Security is a problem that is not going to fix itself…That is why I supported the Presidents efforts in privatizing social security. I believe things work better when you…the people are in charge of your own future and destiny not the federal government.. Did you know that if a private company tried to set up and offer you a retirement plan equivalent to Social Security they would be put in jail? However the government can get away with it….

There is another solution to Social Security and it does not involve cutting benefits or raising pay roll taxes on anyone…It is the FairTax plan that I keep mentioning…

The FairTax would actually increase revenue to the Federal Government, because it creates more taxpayers…it makes taxpayers out of the multi-billions of dollars underground economy from organized crime and others who escape the current income tax system…There are so many problems that th….

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That the FairTax will fix…

Q: Virtually all U.S. exporters want access to China's huge markets. You have said that you would deal with the enormous trade deficit this country has with that country. Tell me how you'd do it and how fast?

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah, China is not and has not been playing fair on trade. They devalue their currency by 40 percent which undercuts the American markets, wipes American products off the shelf not only here but around the world.

As a result we have lost close to 2 million jobs in the United States to china, mostly high-paying manufacturing jobs. A lot of those jobs were lost in South Carolina...more than 20,000 I think… I would make sure China plays by the trade rules and enforce the law...

The next thing I would propose a no tax on manufacturing for American manufacturers while working on getting the FairTax passed. This would make America the safest tax haven in the world for manufacturing and the FairTax would do it for all sectors of business. Let’s bring outsourced jobs back to America…

There's a lot of talk about the budget deficit and reducing that. But interest on the national debt is $400 billion. That's almost as much as the Defense budget. Do you consider that a problem? Would you reduce it, and how fast?

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah, it's a huge problem…If the average business conducted their business like the Federal Government they would be out of business in approximately 5 days…

We spend to much…and my party is part of the problem…It use to be the democrats that were known for big spending and they still are…but the republicans are not far behind…In fact the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress spent more money than any other administration and Congress in history…and that is after you take the money away spent on the war!!!

We have got to cut spending…got to…Republicans, we have to have some fiscal responsibility.

It amazes me that republicans can say we need to cut spending, but who voted for the No Child Left Behind bill, and the Medicare/prescription drug bill, that is going to cost trillions by the time it is said and done…

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Q: You have stated many times that the front runners in the Party are not conservative and they know they are not conservative. Would you tell us specifically why Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain and Governor Romney are not conservatives?

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah…let me correct myself…I don’t know if they are not conservative…I know positions they have taken that are different from my own, but many of them were trying to survive in blue states…and sometimes you may have to compromise I suppose…

Here are the positions we do not see eye to eye on…Giuliani says he thinks it is up to the states to decide gun control, but it is the constitution that gives us the right to bear arms not the states…

Mitt Romney and I actually seem to agree on a lot…but he supported a weapons band that I would not have…and he does not support the FairTax…which is my most important issue other than the war and immigration

John McCain and I disagree on a lot…there is the McCain / Feingold act…that I do not even believe to be constitutional…and now he is working on this illegal immigration bill that will basically award those who broke the law with amnesty…

McCain says he is the candidate that will work across the aisle with democrats…I say we have been working across the aisle with democrats for too long now. It is time we bring conservatives to Washington that will stand up for conservative beliefs not compromise them…

Q: You say that you're a full-scale Ronald Reagan Republican, and yet, you support the troop surge and you support comprehensive immigration reform. Are those the stands that Ronald Reagan would take?

COUNTRY BOY: Well, unfortunately Ronald Reagan is not here today to tell us what he would or would not do…I do consider myself a full-scale Ronald Reagan Republican and conservative. I think Ronald Reagan would have a lot of problems with what is going on in the Republican Party today I know I do…

I consider myself a Reagan conservative because I would fight to reduce the size and influence of government while expanding economic freedoms. There is nothing that would promote economic freedom better than the FairTax…

I also believe Reagan would have viewed our Islamic Fascist Terrorist enemies as the greatest threat of our time and would have supported a troop surge because that is what the commanders on the ground asked for…

Would we agree on everything…probably not…no one agrees on everything.

Q: Gentlemen, the right-to-life has been a part of the Republican party platform for more than 20 years, so I want to ask several of you questions about abortion and stem cell research. Some researchers say the lines of embryonic stem cells that President Bush has approved federal funding for are inadequate. Tell me why they're wrong. And more importantly, tell me how you would convince them that they have -- these researchers have all the tools they need.

COUNTRY BOY: Well…first off this question is more about the roll government should take in science research and what kind of government we want as a country… I do not believe it is governments roll to fund scientific research…and here is why…If you are a scientist and you know the majority of your money is going to come from the government then you will come up with research that supports the position of who ever is in power that is funding you…basically scientist become employees of the federal government.

A lot of this research involves serious hypothesis that could have a major impact on our health and lives. I do not care to entrust the federal government with our health and lives…

As far as embryonic stem cell research…I do not support any procedure that destroys embryos.
There are some research I have seen that says there are possibilities adult stem cells, could have the same characteristics as embryonic stem cells…and if this is the case that is good new, but I…

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But I still don’t think government should be involved with the funding.

Q: You have said that you personally hate abortion but support a woman's right to choose. Governor Huckabee says that's like saying, "I hate slavery, but people can go ahead and practice it." Tell me why he's wrong.

COUNTRY BOY: Well…first of all slavery is illegal for good reasons and perhaps abortion should be as well but it is not…and I can’t change it…

This is the only question I will answer on abortion, because one abortion is not a political issue but rather a personal moral issue that government should have no say in either way…and it should not be an issue in this debate…two there are far more serious issues facing this nation…three none of the candidates have the power to change the laws on abortion anyway.

My personal views is that abortion is wrong…I would never condone it or recommend it to anyone in my personal life…

As I said abortion is not and should not be a political issue, however when you take taxpayer money and use it to support abortion then it becomes a political issue…

That is why if I were president I would never sign any piece of paper that came across my desk that would fund abortion in anyway shape or form…

Q: Gentlemen, I have a series of questions on immigration
You have made your positions against illegal immigration well known. Do you think that Senator McCain and Mayor Giuliani and Governor Romney are soft on immigration, and if so, why?

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah…they are soft on immigration because they support amnesty…although they will never call it that themselves…

Since no one can seem to figure out this illegal immigration problem I came with my own plan. It is not rocket science, or revolutionary, just a 3 step common sense approach to what some would say a complex problem…although I will not be able to explain it in detail in 60 seconds here is a brief outline…

Now I know this may sound a little crazy but how about we figure out how to enforce the existing laws that we already have on the books? It is against the law to cross the border into the United States without the proper steps already…so how about enforcing the law.

First let’s take the proper action to secure the border by building up the border patrol and work on deporting illegal immigrants already here.

Second, Increase and strictly enforce the penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Third, stop rewarding illegal behavior and withhold all entitlements to illegal immigrants.

What we do not need is more worthless government legislation that awards the act of illegal immigration because they say it is the best we can do. Sorry I disagree, the laws are already in place to fight illegal immigration

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...lets enforce them.

Q: An Internet question. Royce from Philadelphia asks if South Carolina should be free to fly the Confederate flag from state buildings. (Groans from the audience.) That flag is still flying in front of the Statehouse. Should it come down?

COUNTRY BOY: Well thank you for asking the important questions facing the nation…I mean wow…how will the country ever survive if this issue is not resolved…

When this controversy arose in 2000 I stated that it should be up to the state of South Carolina what to do with the flag…I stand by that decision today.

Many perceive the flag as hatred because they believe the civil war was about slavery…but it was not…it was about economic freedom… Many do not know this but Lincoln even offered to let the South keep its slaves to avoid the South from leaving the Union…

I do not view the flag as a symbol of hate, but rather as a symbol of the confederate states…
however, the flag has been tainted as a symbol of hate by white power extremists.

So, it is really about perception and should be left to the state of South Carolina. I think this is an issue we should put behind us and solve the real problems facing the United States…

Q: The ambassador from the European Union says the United States and Europe bear a special responsibility for global warming because the greenhouse gasses causing the problem have been put there since the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. We put most of the stuff up there. Do you agree? And what should we do to deal with the problem, sir?

COUNTRY BOY: I am not a scientist…I don’t play one on TV…and I definitely didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night…

Look…I don’t know if global warming is the cause of man or if it is a natural phenomenon… and you know what scientists do not seem to know either…This whole issue of global warming is really interesting when you actually begin to look for information on it and not just listen to what the media and Al Gore are saying about it…, for every single scientist that tells you it's happening and that it's our fault -- I can find just as many scientist that say just the opposite.

Isn’t it also interesting that in April of 1975 Newsweek ran a feature story on the effects of global cooling and it was going to be catastrophic…now we have global warming…

From the research I have done I conclude there are natural climate changes that take place on the Earth…the Earth cools the Earth warms…and it is not caused by us…

Q: The questions in this round will be premised on a fictional, but we think plausible scenario involving terrorism and the response to it. Here is the premise: Three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by suicide bombers. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time.

First question How aggressively would you interrogate those being held at Guantanamo Bay for information about where the next attack might be?

the former director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, the current head of the CIA have both said that the most valuable intelligence tool they have had has been the information gained from what are called enhanced interrogation techniques to include, presumably, water-boarding.
What is your view whether such techniques should be applied in a scenario like the one I described?

COUNTRY BOY: First off…let me start by saying we should be focusing on how to prevent an attack like this from happening in the first place…but it is what it is…

So in the situation at hand we know that there is going to be another attack and the ones captured knows information about it… This is clearly a no brainer…I tell the guys doing the interrogating use every method possible within the law and get the information and then let’s act accordingly to stop it…

Q: Water-boarding?

COUNTRY BOY: Whatever methods deemed necessary…yes I would use water boarding…I am trying to save American lives…at that point world opinion is not on the list as high priority…

Q: Let’s enrich the scenario just a little bit. Let's assume for the sake of discussion here that we now also have additional intelligence that indicates with high certainty that the attackers were trained in a West African country hostile to the United States, in camps openly run by the terrorist organization that sent them. What kind of response would you agree to for that and would you involve the U.N. at all?

COUNTRY BOY: First thing I would do is verify the intelligence, make sure it is right…If it is…then I would unleash the gods of war on the hostile country…Send a quick, response, clear strong method of strength…that the U.S. is not one to mess with any longer…and tell the rest of the world this is what happens if you allow terrorist to train in your country…

No…I would not go to the U.N. for authorization. The U.N. does not decide when America protects themselves. I will never allow world opinion threaten the security of the American people.

Q: This kind of attack would pose immediate and obvious problems for the U.S. economy -- they've hit shopping centers. What kind of measures would you take to assure that the U.S. economy continued to grow in the face of an attack of this kind?

COUNTRY BOY: Well…uh…that is tough…excellent question…I think…uh… I think we...uh... already have some of the measures in place to keep a strong economy. After 9-11 the Bush tax cuts softened the blow the attacks left on the economy…and the economy remained strong.

So, if we could pass the FairTax our economy would be even stronger and easier to bounce back from the effects on the attack.

I would also encourage Americans to go back to shopping centers just as President Bush encourage Americans to continue flying after 9-11. However, I would also make a strong reminder that it is not business as usual in America…innocent Americans have been murdered on our own soil. So let's make sure that we do more than simply bring justice to those who did it; but that we ask the American people to join together in a sacrifice, the same kind of sacrifice that we all pulled together and made after Pearl Harbor and during WWII. Let’s realize we are in a fight for our survival against

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against an ideological enemy that wants us dead.

Q: What does it say about the Republican Party? what does it say that there is no woman, no Hispanic, no African- American, no minority in this field of presidential candidates?

COUNTRY BOY: I do not think it really says anything at all about the Republican Party itself. I think it says there were not any woman, Hispanics, African Americans or minorities within the party that wanted to run for President… There are certainly members within the party that are qualified to run. I think Condi Rice would make an excellent candidate…and Mel Martinez from Florida definitely has the credentials to run…

Q: Does it bother you that we see the 10 candidates on the stage, there is not a single minority running for president in your party?

COUNTRY BOY: Why, should it bother me? It doesn’t bother me…just as it wouldn’t bother me if there were all minorities on the stage.

These are the people who have chose to step forward and run for president. They have chose to have their public and in some matters private lives examined…and judged…by the media and people…It’s a tough gig…and a tough decision to make.

I know folks like to make the Republican Party out to be the “rich white boy country club,” but it is just not the case. We are a party of ideas that support freedom and the rights to protect that freedom. A party that stands for a smaller less intrusive, limited government, economical freedom…I don’t believe these ideas to only appeal to a certain class or limited to race.

Although a lot of members have seemed to abandoned those ideas, but that is what the party platform still says and that is what I stand for.

Q: Can you point to an area in which your position is less popular with the Republican base?

COUNTRY BOY: Maybe not so much with the base of the party, but definitely with the majority of the political leaders of the party who have abandoned the base. They have raised spending to uncontrollable measures, increased the size of government to limits we have never seen before…basically the RINOS of the party…which stands for Republican In Name Only…have become borrow and spend liberals rather than their tax and spend democrat counterparts.

I here a whole lot of people saying the Republican Party lost the midterm election because of the handling of Iraq. Well, to a certain extent that may be right, but the real reason they lost the midterm election is because they abandoned the base of the party and the base of the party never voted in the midterm elections. That is the real reason we lost.

I am one of the members from the base of the Party who didn’t vote, because I was so fed up… and I know many, many more who stayed home and did the same last November.

Q: Many people feel that billions of dollars in American debt that China holds is a problem. If the Chinese decide to convert those dollars to euros, the value of the dollar drops. Do you see that as a security threat, and what would you do about it?

COUNTRY BOY: Yeah, this is an important issue that is nowhere on America’s radar at the moment…In fact this is one of those issues I was talking about when I said we should be looking at the real problems facing America…because this is a real problem that has the potential to be a huge security threat if nothing is done about it.

One of the things that had initially concerned me about China was their increased demand for oil…while exploring that I found an even greater concern which is they are buying ships and planes and military equipment with hundreds of billions of American trade dollars coming in.

They've bought missiles from the Russians that were designed during the “Cold War” to destroy American aircraft carriers. So there is already a security threat really… but as we allow China to continue to cheat on trade, they are arming themselves with American trade dollars, lending our own money back to us. Some have said that China has to much of an economical tie to the U.S. to ever be a threat, yeah but for...

TIME

We must enforce trade rules with China, and level out the one way advantage.

Well folks there you have it...a little my two cents worth added to the Republican Primary debate...I wish the debate would have focused on illegal immigration a little more and less on non-important issues like abortion and flags...but overall it was not a bad debate...