Free Republic

This isn't a Vanity post. It is real. Below is an e-mail I received from a friend. It needs to be posted. A class of senior Army War College officers (all of whom are either Iraq or Afghanistan combat veterans with multiple deployments) were taking part on a tour of Congress. All of this was officially approved and part of the Army War College curriculum. The officers observing Congress hold multiple bronze stars between them; and other citations too numerous to mention. Congressman Pete Stark observed them in the gallery, and below is his official letter of outrage. If Congressman...

There is an organization attempting to stand in the way of the transformation of the US military into a more efficient, more effective, high technology force. That organization is the so-called Project On Government Oversight—POGO for short. Consider that the San Francisco Bay Area Progressive Directory lists POGO’s web site as a favorite web site. Hmmm. If the San Francisco Bay Area Progressive Directory likes POGO, something must be rotten.

I URGE you all to watch this hearing on cspan-2. Lawerence Korb, the ever weak and wobbly former Reagan's DOD official (I don't know how he could be the same then as he is now and measure up to Reagan's strength of character), AND Gen. Jack Keane (ret.) in hearing. Gen. Keane is hitting it out of the park .. Korb said we pulled troops out of Viet Nam to preserve the military, and Keane was unabashed in his contempt for those remarks and that opinion. Keane is praising the courage, command structure, morale and re-enlistment (in huge numbers) of...

Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) has gathered at least 202 Congress members’ signatures for a request that participants of an intelligence cell that may have identified some of the Sept. 11 ringleaders a year before the attacks be allowed to testify before Congress. Weldon has been leading the crusade for months, but his colleagues, several of them prominent members of the GOP conference, now appear to be listening. Weldon plans to send the letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the coming days requesting that he allow the participants in the cell known as “Able Danger” to testify in open congressional...

That said, it seems to me that Schwarzenegger badly needs a deal and shouldn't be too picky. Take what he can get from Democrats and warmly embrace it as his own. Pull out a two-by-four and beat Republicans into submission. Republican lawmakers need a rehabilitated governor to help them raise campaign money in the fall and perform little favors for the next four years. Not to mention improving flood control in their rural districts. Privately, some gubernatorial insiders agree. "It's been really hard to watch," one advisor says of the Republicans. "Don't they understand the part about the governor giving...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats praised Iraq's nationwide elections as "a great day for many." But Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, speaking on behalf of the Democratic Party in Saturday's weekly radio address, warned the outcome of Sunday's vote may be skewed in favor of the country's Shiite majority and "will likely not be completely representative of all ethnic and religious groups." "The Shia will likely control a significant majority of assembly seats, with considerable Kurdish participation," he said. "The Sunnis, on the other hand, are likely to be underrepresented and may denounce the legitimacy of the new government."

It's time again to grade the governor. Wednesday will mark one year in office for Arnold Schwarzenegger — one full year of learning on the job. How's he progressing? There is only one fair way to go about this: Split the grade in two. • One grade for politics. Give him a solid A. • A second grade for policy. He gets a generous C. A tougher grader would have given the guy a D in policy — or categorize it as substance, all that serious stuff a governor is supposed to do to solve state problems. The one problem...

Charlie Daniels recorded a version of Red Skelton's explanation of the Pledge, and it just played on Hannity's radio show. It's pretty good, and it's on his new album, which is out today in stores!

In the Friday house hearings, I read on the live thread, (I'm a cubie), that Congressman Skelton was shocked to find out that Central Command had a press conference and release in January re: Iraqi prisoner abuse investigation. The thread quoted him as saying to Rumsfeld, "you told the world but you didn't tell us". Can anyone give me a link to a transcript of Skelton's questioning of Rumsfeld in the House ? I'm writing a letter to the editor, and I want to be sure I am quoting correctly. TIA

The following words were spoken by the late Red Skelton on his television program as he related the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his students had come to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely something to recite in class each day. Now, more than ever, listen to the meaning of these words. "I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each...

UPI's Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.Seeing Red -- The ruling by a U.S. federal court in San Francisco concerning the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance brings to mind an essay comedian Red Skleton shared with his audience many years ago on the subject. The essay diagrams the pledge. "I -- Me; an individual; a committee of one.Pledge -- Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity. Allegiance -- My love and my devotion. To the Flag...