The difference between lawyers in India and lawyers in the US….They get it

I saw this article on Foxnews.com.  It talks about the increased security measures and so on, but what really caught my eye was this:

 

Kasab, who was wounded and captured by police in the first hours of the Nov. 26 attack, has been repeatedly interrogated by authorities and reportedly offered key details about the planning of the assault and those responsible for it.

Many lawyers across the city, horrified by the attacks, have said they would not represent Kasab. On Thursday, Dinesh Mota, a lawyer asked by the court to defend Kasab, said he would refuse.

“I will not represent him, it is against all human values,” he said.

Here you have lawyers in India who actually get what terrorism is about, while in the US you have the ACLU and other ambulance chasers rushing to defend the GITMO detainees for reasons as petty as political posturing and fame.

Arlington National Cemetery

Below is from an email a very good friend of mine sent me.  If you have never been to Arlington National Cemetery you are missing out on one of our nations most moving historical sites you can see.  My wife and I had gone to DC on a site seeing trip and took our three year old son and two year old son to see the Tomb of the Unknown.  Even after the many hours of travel (we were stationed in Germany at the time) our two young boys watched in silent reverence as the guards performed their duty flawlessly.  Our boys still remember it to this day and they are now nine and ten.

 

 

This is really an awesome sight to watch if you’ve never had the chance.  Very fascinating.

 

 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

  

 

 1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the

     tomb of the Unknowns and  why?

 

     21 steps:  It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is

    the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

 

 

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face & begin his return walk & why?

 

    21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

 

 

3. Why are his gloves wet?

 

    His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

 

 

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and, if not, why not?

 

    He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.  After his march across the         path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder. 

 

 

5. How often are the guards changed?

  

   Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

 

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

 

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5′ 10′ and 6′ 2′ tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.

 

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way.  

 

After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin. 

 

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.  There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery . A guard must memorize who they are

and where they are interred. Among the notables are: 

 

President Taft,

 

Joe Lewis {the boxer}

 

Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII of Hollywood fame.

 

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for

guard duty.

 

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

 

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching  Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer,

 

‘No way, Sir!’ Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously,

 

24/7, since 1930.

Heading Out On Vaction Till The 21st of November!!!

Just thought I would give you all a heads up that I am heading home for some much needed R&R (and to vote!!!).  WIth travel time and my two weeks vacation I wont be back till right around the 21st of November (I am sure some of you are not heartbroken over it).

Philly Inquirer Opinion Piece: White People Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Vote

The Philadelphia Inquirer has printed this opinion piece in it’s Sunday Oct 26th edition (h/t newsbusters.org).

  

White people shouldn’t be allowed to vote

 

It’s for the good of the country and for those who’re bitter for a reason and armed because they’re scared.

 

Jonathan Valania

 

is editor in chief of the blog Phawker.com

 

As a lifelong Caucasian, I am beginning to think the time has finally come to take the right to vote away from white people, at least until we come to our senses. Seriously, I just don’t think we can be trusted to exercise it responsibly anymore.

 

I give you Exhibit A: The last eight years.

 

In 2000, Bush-Cheney stole the election, got us attacked, and then got us into two no-exit wars. Four years later, white people reelected them. Is not the repetition of the same behavior over and over again with the expectation of a different outcome the very definition of insanity? (It is, I looked it up.)

 

Exhibit B is any given Sarah Palin rally.

 

Exhibit C would be Ed Rendell and John Murtha, who in separate moments of on-the-record candor they would come to regret, pointing out that there are plenty of people in Pennsylvania who just cannot bring themselves to pull the lever for a black man – no matter what they tell pollsters.

 

These people are ruining things for the rest of us white people who are ready to move on. Sure, they have their reasons, chimerical though they may be: He’s a Muslim. He’s a terrorist. He’s a Muslim terrorist. He’s going to fire all the white people and give their jobs to blacks.

 

But those are just the little white lies these people allow themselves to be told, a self-induced cognitive dissonance that lets them avoid saying the unsayable: I cannot pull the lever for a black man.

Hey, some people just aren’t ready yet, even the governor said so. Just like some people aren’t ready yet for computers or setting the clock on the VCR.

 

Or, to hear Murtha tell it, some people – specifically some people in Western Pennsylvania – will never be ready. But the fact is, if you did a statewide head count of racists, you’d find just as many in eastern Pennsylvania as you would in the western part of the state.

 

That’s why this ban on white people voting I’m proposing has got to be statewide. And I’m sorry to say, it’s going to have to include all white people, even those who would vote for Obama, because you can’t just let some white people vote. That would be unfair.

 

By this point, you either think I am joking or are calling me an elitist. I assure you I am neither. OK, maybe a little of both. But it wasn’t always like this. I come from the Coal Belt, from that Alabamian hinterland between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, as per James Carville’s famous formulation.

 

I am, in fact, just two generations out of the coal mines that blackened the lungs of my grandfather, leaving him disabled, despondent and, finally, dead at the ripe old age of 54.

 

So, understand that I am saying all this for the good of the country and, in fact, for the good of those hard-working white people that Hillary used to pander to.

 

I know those people, I come from them. They are not some shameful abstract demographic to be brushed under the rug of euphemism by Wolf Blitzer and his ilk.

 

I have broken kielbasa with those people. I went to school with their children. I have gone to Sunday Mass with a deer-hunter hangover with those people. They are bitter with good reason, and they are armed because they are scared. They mean well, but they are easily spooked.

 

I fear for what is to become of them after the campaigns leave town for the last time, and Scranton and Allentown and Carlisle go back to being the long dark chicken dance of the national soul they were before the media showed up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet the Left is always trying to claim it is Conservatives who foster racist tendicies and want to keep the racial divide in America alive.

 

Here is the contact information for both the Philadelphia Inquirer and for the author.

 

Guess Who Obama Let Out From Underneath The Bus?

While I was surfing the web today I came across this article and thought it was of interest:

Oct. 23–SANFORD — Retired four-star Gen. Wesley Clark, who once commanded all of NATO’s forces in Europe, used a downtown coffee shop Wednesday as his theater for political combat.

Clark, stumping for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, said this election season has shown him just how divided the nation is.

This is interesting as Obama threw Clark under the bus back in June:

Besides Obama’s personal remarks disdaining criticism of McCain’s military service, the campaign’s spokesman, Bill Burton said, “Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain’s service, and of course he rejects yesterday’s statement by Gen. Clark.”

Makes you wonder who else might find their way back out from underneath the bus?

In case you forgot, here is what Clark said that got him sent packing to begin with:

“In the matters of national security policy making, it’s a matter of understanding risk,” Clark said “It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war.

“He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn’t held executive responsibility,” Clark said. “That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn’t a wartime squadron.”

Congress Starting To Feel Like They Have Been Had Over The Bailout Bill

It is being reported that Congress is starting to complain that the bailout bill they approved is no longer what is being done as is being 000reported on FoxNews here.  Many in the blogs (not to mention many a constitute) warned Congress that this would happen, but we were all told we did not know what we were talking about and that this was necessary to help the economy.

Well it looks like things have changed.  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that voted down the first bill now realize that some of their colleagues in Congress and the Bush Administration has changed what the original bail out was about into a huge monster (which is what myself and many, many others in the blogs warned would happen).

It started out to help homeowners stay in their homes, then it was lets by stakes in banks so that we can unfreeze the credit market (although banks have said they will use the money to buy other banks instead), now it is let’s buy into the insurance companies.  The only question is what is next?

I contacted my Congressman (Congressman Baird WA-3CD) about this issue and here is his response:

 As you may know, through the program, the federal government will buy troubled assets. It is quite possible, and even likely, that the value of these assets will go up over the next few years and that the federal government will be able to sell them at a profit. If this occurs, the federal government will make money off of this deal. (ed – I told him the government has never been any good at making money only printing it so I doubt this will happen) However, there is a chance that this will not happen. That is when my “recoupment clause” would kick in. Under this clause, a fee will be imposed on the financial services industry and that fee will remain in place until the taxpayers recoup the loss. This provision ensures that, at the end of the day, the taxpayer will not be forced to bear any cost associated with the program.

So Congressman Baird, do you still believe that this will help people stay in their homes?

 

Congressman Baird also had this to say:

 

I am pleased that the bill also provides for strong oversight. As you may know, the original proposal laid out by the Administration did not provide for any oversight or review of the Department of Treasury’s actions under this program.

Yet here is what Mr. Neel Kashkari (pronounced cash carry by the way) had to say about the safeguards:

Neel Kashkari, head of the Treasury’s financial stability program, told Dodd’s committee this past week that there are few strings attached to the capital-infusion program because too many rules would discourage financial institutions from participating.

 

Like I told Congressman Baird in my letter to him that oversight without any ability to actually enforce means nothing at all.  I wonder if the Congressman sees the truth in that now?

It seems to me that Congress passed yet another bad bill in an election year under the mantra of “we must do something” to help provide them political cover in November and ultimately it will be the taxpayers who get stuck with this $700 billion tab. 

 

 

 

Existing Home Sales Rise 5.5%, So What Happened To The Credit Crisis?

FoxNews Business is reporting that existing home sales have risen 5.5% for the month of September.  So what happened to the supposed not being able to get mortgages because of the Wall Street Meltdown?  Seems to me like it was hyped so that the government (yes both parties) could pass these massive bailouts that are slowly but surely leading us down the path to Socialism.

Obama Once Again Attempting to Use the DOJ Against Opponents

The Obama Campaign is at it yet once again.  This time the Obama Campaign wants the DOJ and the Special Prosecuters office to go after the McCain/Palin Campaign and the RNC for (Gasp!!!!) daring to bring up the ACORN voter fraud that is plaguing our nation!

Politico.com has the letter that was sent to the DOJ regarding this.  It seems to me the only change Obama wants to offer is to change our nation from the free society it is to a very type of society our Fore Fathers came to these shores to escape!

An Army of Joes

I was over on NRO and saw this great article.  It appears that “average Joe’s” are showing up to the McCain/Palin rallies with signs that proclaim who they are:

Virginia Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a yellow hard hat covered with McCain-Palin stickers, wearing an orange high-visibility vest, Munoz carried a hand-lettered sign that said CONSTRUCTION WORKER FOR McCAIN. He got a coveted spot in the bleachers directly behind McCain, where he could be seen in the camera shot along with the guy holding the sign that said PHIL THE BRICK LAYER and the woman with the ROSE THE TEACHER banner.

This got me thinking, wouldn’t it be great if all the Conservative websites got behind the “average Joe” call and posted something like this:

This is a call to arms to all the “average Joe’s” out there.  United we can stand against the media onslaught of other “average Joe’s” that dare to ask legitimate questions of our leaders.  Together we can make a stand and let the media know that we will not stand idle, that we will go forth and do the job they refuse to do.  We will continue to ask the tough questions of those who want our votes and when the media tries to destroy us we will stand shoulder to shoulder and defend our actions not there accusations.  We will not let them silence us, we will not let them dismiss us and we will not let them lead us astray from the truth!

TrueSoldier the blogger!

Shot in the Fannie Mae

A friend of mine sent me this and it has some great information regaridng the current financial crisis:

shotinthefanniemae1

Also,

Michelle Malkin has this great article on her site today.