Mahmudiyah, Iraq -- After providing more than 330 Iraqi citizens with medical attention April 11, Soldiers from Fort Drum, N.Y., helped 217 more people the next day.

Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, brought medical assistance and supplies to the people of Mamudiyah, Iraq. The previous day’s mission was carried out in Latifyah. The missions were part of an effort to improve relations with the local Iraqi people,

The units conduct such medical operations at least four times a month.

The clinic was set up at a local boys’ school with soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment of the Iraqi army assisting with security.

An American soldier was quick to praise the efforts of his Iraqi counterparts, such as Capt. Assad Muhammad Hamad. “He’s a little guy with a big heart – the heart of a lion,”

In spite of the disappointment of not being able to provide long-term solutions, Soldiers who participated in the mission had positive things to say about the end results. “We helped 217 people today,” said Sgt. John Sniadecki, a radar operator and the commander of the relief for Mamudiyah Base Defense Operations Center.

Sixteen years after the end of the Cold War, the transatlantic community and Russia are not adversaries. Indeed, on a number of issues, we are partners.

We both face a number of common challenges, among the most threatening is the possibility that a dangerous state will use ballistic missiles, tipped with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, to hold our societies hostage – or worse.

We need to be clear that the missile threat from Iran is real and growing, and it is a threat not just to the United States, but to Europe and Russia as well.

Looking a few years ahead, other such missile threats will likely emerge as well. It is with these new realities in mind that we are developing and deploying modest missile defenses.

Our goal is to field systems capable of protecting not only the United States and our forces, but also friends and allies like those in the transatlantic community. We speak of the transatlantic community because we have learned that our security is not divisible; that if our allies are not secure, America is not secure. America cannot "go it alone.




I'm not saying it is a bad idea. I'm just saying that it is not going to protect us from all attacks. We are not worried too much about countries that have the means to launch long range missiles at us. Lets face it, the most likely countries that would attack us or our allies will not be launching missiles at us. They will be brought into this country across our borders, by someone who will be willing to deliver the bomb themselves. These people are willing to blow themselves up in order to kill 20 or 30 people. Do you think they will think twice about taking hundreds of thousand more.

Wise up America. The only way to ensure our safety is to destroy these people. I am confident that Iran does not have nuclear weapons yet. If they had them they would have used them by now.

Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on “carbon credit” projects that yield few if any environmental benefits.

A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting some organisations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place.

The growing political salience of environmental politics has sparked a “green gold rush”, which has seen a dramatic expansion in the number of businesses offering both companies and individuals the chance to go “carbon neutral”, offsetting their own energy use by buying carbon credits that cancel out their contribution to global warming.

The burgeoning regulated market for carbon credits is expected to more than double in size to about $68.2bn by 2010, with the unregulated voluntary sector rising to $4bn in the same period.

The FT investigation found: 

¦ Widespread instances of people and organisations buying worthless credits that do not yield any reductions in carbon emissions.

¦ Industrial companies profiting from doing very little – or from gaining carbon credits on the basis of efficiency gains from which they have already benefited substantially.

¦ Brokers providing services of questionable or no value.

¦ A shortage of verification, making it difficult for buyers to assess the true value of carbon credits.

¦ Companies and individuals being charged over the odds for the private purchase of European Union carbon permits that have plummeted in value because they do not result in emissions cuts.

Francis Sullivan, environment adviser at HSBC, the UK’s biggest bank that went carbon-neutral in 2005, said he found “serious credibility concerns” in the offsetting market after evaluating it for several months.

Oh my, this can't be true, can it? Of course it is. This whole scam has brought all of Gore's bunch a fortune.

I am writing because I read the post you had about Cpl Rock. Consequently I know him, I was stationed with him in Washington a couple years back. And we have kept in touch on myspace since he has been in Ramadi. Also consequently I served in Ramadi with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines and was injured there a year and a half ago. He has let me know of the progress they are making in the city.

His views are not unlike other Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen. Its sad that we are the unspoken few in the political circus about the war in Iraq. We are the ones that take the brunt of the punishment, give our health, limbs, and lives there for the Iraqi people and for the man fighting next to us. But the politicians and the media rarely care what we have to say.

I was in Ramadi for three and a half months before I was seriously wounded and sent back to the states. During that time we did a lot of good in the city. We set up a tip line for the Iraqis to call and report IEDs and insurgent activity. And we got a lot of Intel from that, the people made it clear to us that they wanted our help. We would talk to them at our vehicle check points and they would tell us about the insurgent activities in their neighborhoods, arms caches, and IEDs set out to blow up our humvees and kill our Marines.

I was saddened after I was injured to find out that some of the good that we had done while there didnt even make a newspaper back home. We delivered over a million dollars worth of medical supplies to Iraqi hospitals in Ramadi. Hired Iraqis to take things into their own hands and clean up their streets. And helped rid the streets of the city of IEDs that not only hurt the Marines and Soldiers but the citizens as well. I guess our humanitarian efforts dont make for a good newspaper article back here in America, where people are more concerned with traffic on their way to work or a long line in one of their trendy coffee shops. After all who really cares if we are making the lives of the people of another country better if Americans are more concerned with their mindless daily trifles.

One great quote I recently heard about the war in Iraq was this:

“Our nation is not at war, our Military is at war, America is at the mall.”

Roughly put that is the war in Iraq. The American people simply don’t care what is really happening in Iraq. If they did they would look deeper and talk to the troops who have served there. Instead they rely on the news media for their flawed information.

And what’s worse than America not caring is our politicians who are supposed to know what is going on using the troops as a political lever to flaunt their own opinions and electoral goals. How many Democrats are in office today that go there because they didnt support the war in Iraq? Using the ignorance of civilian America to launch themselves onto a political platform.

These politicians don’t support the troops or anything that they are doing. The troops want a victory in Iraq. If nothing else to say that our friends, our comrades who fought beside us and never made it home, did not die in vain. I dont know many Marines like myself, who haven’t had a friend or brother die. Most know several, sometimes too many, who never made it home to the freedom of our great country. And that is a shame. To say that these great men who died for our country did it all for nothing is a travesty and does no honor to their memories.

I am not saying that Republicans are any better, personally I feel that our political party system needs a serious renovation. The way both parties have used the troops as a bargaining tool is personally sickening to me. Using human life as a chip to cash in for political power is disgusting. And thats what they are all doing. It just seems that as of right now the Republicans are the lesser evil in the political nightmare of the war.

I hope that you get this and are able to put my words out there for the people to see. I am no philosopher, but I tried to put things into the best perspective I could. For someone who has been there and seen the tradgedy of what Saddam created I know that we have done the right thing in Iraq. No matter what liberal America has to say.

Thank you,

Neil Frustaglio
Cpl/USMC (Ret)

WASHINGTON —  A defiant Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1, propelling Congress toward a historic veto showdown with President Bush on the war.

The 51-46 vote was largely along party lines. Like passage of the same bill in the House of Representatives a day earlier, the Senate vote fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn Bush's threatened veto. Nevertheless, the legislation is the first binding challenge to the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January.

"The solution is simple: Take out the surrender date, take out the pork, and get the funds to our troops," said Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who normally votes with the Democrats, sided with Republicans in opposing the bill.

"We delude ourselves if we think we can wave a legislative wand and suddenly our troops in the field will be able to distinguish between Al Qaeda terrorism or sectarian violence. Or that Iraqis will suddenly settle their political differences because our troops are leaving," Lieberman said.

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1.

"We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives to the political process," Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.

"Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."

This reaction is dangerously wrong.

....When politicians here declare that Iraq is "lost" in reaction to al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks and demand timetables for withdrawal, they are doing exactly what al-Qaeda hopes they will do, although I know that is not their intent.

...The challenge before us, then, is whether we respond to al-Qaeda's barbarism by running away, as it hopes we do -- abandoning the future of Iraq, the Middle East and ultimately our own security to the very people responsible for last week's atrocities -- or whether we stand and fight.

To me, there is only one choice that protects America's security -- and that is to stand, and fight, and win." -- Joe Liberman




A good quote:



"You can't have it both ways. You can't withdraw combat troops from iraq and still say you're going to fight Al Qaeda there. If you believe that there is no hope of winning in iraq or that the costs of victory there are not worth it, then you should be for complete withdrawal as soon as possible."

I could not have said it better.

By now, we're used to people like Iranian President Ahmadinejad denying that the holocaust ever happened, even while he and his regime promise not only the destruction of Israel but the elimination of Jews internationally.

It's bad enough hearing from a distance about the bizarre anti-Semitic theories taught by heads of state as well as schools and religious leaders. Now, according to a study funded by the British government, we find out that some schools in Great Britain have stopped teaching history that is offensive to Muslim students. The topics that have been erased from the curriculum, the study found, include both the Nazi genocide and the Crusades.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert lays a wreath during the annual ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial marking Holocaust remembrance day in Jerusalem, Monday, April 16, 2007. Israelis on Monday remembered the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. (AP PhotoYoav Lemmer, Pool)

This rewriting of history through omission wasn't some government policy. It was the result of individual decisions in local schools by teachers with large populations of Muslim students. Unfortunately, many of these students have been taught by parents and mosques that the holocaust never happened and that the Crusades were an unprovoked attack on Islam by European Christians. History books that present these events in any other light, they believe, are part some giant conspiracy designed to attack their very religion.

If anybody needs to hear these facts, it is the children who are being abused by those who are teaching the same hateful lies that have helped turn the Middle East into the self-destructive and often suicidal mess it is today.

The British are, in the main, a particularly polite people, but there is a point when the desire not to offend the easily offended becomes an even bigger problem. We've already seen an English organization ban images of Piglet, the harmless character from the classic Winnie the Pooh books, because of protests by those who imagine that simply seeing a cartoon pig is a violation of their civil rights. We've even seen the banning of pins bearing St. George's cross, because it reminds some of the Crusades -- accompanied by demands that Great Britain get rid of the venerable Union Jack for the same reason.

These views, common in the Middle East, are not just an academic or intellectual challenge. We have seen homegrown British terrorists act on the same lies and conspiracy theories that are now being used to silence teachers. Ideas do have consequences and we all need to understand that the war on terror is taking place as much in the realm of ideas as it is on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

America is a free country and we do not tell people what they can believe or say. We should realize, however, that there are people in America who are also telling their children that the holocaust is a lie and that those who say otherwise are their enemies. We cannot prevent them from doing so, but we also cannot let them promote their agenda by claiming they are victimized by historical facts.

This would be a good place to quote an important British writer, George Orwell, who wrote, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." Even in America, our children are often taught a watered down, inoffensive and culturally sensitive version of events ranging from the Crusades to the battle at the Alamo.

It's time for people who believe that they have a stake in Western civilization and its traditions to get a little backbone -- even if it offends somebody.

I know that many people disagree with my decision. I have also received many notes and calls of support. Please allow me to state why I'm doing this: I truly feel called, on a spiritual level, to allow my radio show to be a tool that prevents these angry, hateful people the opportunity to hurt grieving families. I fully comprehend the arguments against doing this ("giving in to 'terrorists', "allowing them a national platform", etc.) but my heart is telling me to do something positive here. If my radio show can prevent a circus atmosphere of protests, counter-protests, police protection, and media coverage from taking place in front of churches where grieving families are trying to say good-bye to their loved ones, then I think that's a good thing. I feel with all of my heart that this is the right thing to do.

If you don't choose to listen, I understand completely. If you disagree with my offer, I respect your position. Please know that I didn't come to this decision easily or casually. I've prayed and consulted with my family, friends and colleagues. I know that many people will slam my decision. Last time, I was publicly criticized and mocked by a CNN/Headline News talk host for doing this with the Amish funerals. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper wrote that I "surrender(ed) (my) radio show...giving them a minor victory."

I am proud when a radio show like mine can actually do something good for people. Most times, those of us with a radio show or newspaper column can just talk about issues. Once in awhile, we can literally stop a horrible event in its tracks. This is one of those times. And whether you agree or disagree with me, I just wanted you to know -- from me -- why we're doing this.

As always, thanks for your support. God bless America!

NEW YORK —  The Dow powered to a close above 13,000 for the first time and the broader market rose to its highest level in more than six years Wednesday, buoyed by a steady parade of strong profit reports and reassuring news on the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 135.95 points, or 1.05 percent, to end at 13,089.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 15.01 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 1,495.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 23.35 points, or 0.92 percent, to finish at 2,547.89



This is good news, right. I think so. But I have no doubt we will be bombarded with news that this is bad. All I know is that 6 months ago it had not been to 12,000. Tax cuts work.

Now you can try to deflect attention away from the fact that an illegal immigrant did this any way you want, but here's the reality:

#1) If Luciano Melendres were back home in Mexico where he belonged, instead of in this country illegally, Danny Sims would be alive today.

#2) If Luciano Melendres had been deported after he was caught driving while intoxicated, Danny Sims would be alive.

Danny Sims is dead today because his government failed to enforce our borders and his government failed to deport a drunken illegal alien who was driving around the streets of Charlotte. In other words, Danny Sims is dead because his government failed him.




If I drive under the influence, I expect to be prosecuted to the max. As an American citizen I would lose my licence, pay a bunch of fines, and spend some time in jail. That is the law. The law for an illegal alien who commits this crime is deportation. Enforce the law.

By word of mouth and example every Friday -- Americans can make the United States a SEA OF RED, much like fans support their team at a homecoming football game. If every individual who supports the troops will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED ON FRIDAY to let our uniformed military members know that the once "silent majority" is in full support of the troops.