Posted on 02/21/2003 5:09:31 AM PST by snippy_about_it
|
Dear Mr President:Even as you keep your brave demeanor and tough approach to the current World situation, we surmise that in private moments you surely agonize over the weighty decisions that soon you will be called upon to make.
Our prayers are with you, and our support as well. We know that you will do the right thing, as you see it in your heart. You are a good man.
War is ugliness incarnate, and it is always to be avoided when possible. The day it becomes an attractive option, we fear, then we are all doomed.
But, to every season we must turn. Action now may be the only way to avoid a worse scenario down the road. That decision falls to you and the Congress. It is part of the job description. You must have known that when you signed on.
We don't envy you your task, but we will support you and our fine men and women in the military, as the future unfolds. Support in every way.
Of course, you will take a lot of criticism, no matter what you do. Stand strong. Your strength is our strength. As a nation, that is the way it must be.
God and history will judge us all, eventually.
Best regards,
RG Griffing,
Editor/Publisher San Antonio Lightning NewspaperPS: Our heroes have always been cowboys.
Posted on 02/19/2003 11:45 AM EST by Dixicrat
Tuesday, February 25, from 12:20 p.m. to 12:40 p.m., the Young Conservatives of Texas at West Texas will be holding a Pro-Bush/Support Our Troops Rally. We need everyone who can converge on our campus to do so.
We have already recieved notice the two other campus groups - young liberal texans and the leftist club - are coming to our rally to play the spoiler.
Be in Canyon, TX on February 25 to show our troops how grateful you are for their courage and sacrifice!
Posted on 02/19/2003 6:31 PM EST by Xenalyte
Chris Baker just announced a Houston-area Rally for America - Saturday, March 1, at (I think) Jones Hall. More details to follow!
Posted on 02/19/2003 6:43 PM EST by UCFRoadWarrior
On Saturday, Feb 22, 2003, at 2P, there will be a Rally For America being held at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. It is being sponosred by WFLA 540AM.
If any of you are in the Orlando area...come on down
Locations to date:March 1st, 11:00 AM
San Antonio, TX
Rivercenter Mall AmphitheaterNationally syndicated radio talk show host Glenn Beck and San Antonio radio station WOAI 1200 AM will host a Rally for America at the Rivercenter Mall Amphitheater.
Located on the gorgeous San Antonio Riverwalk near the historic Alamo, the amphitheater will host a celebration of American spirit and pride.
This event was conceived as a pro American freedom rally, to show the average Joe that he is not surrounded by the seemingly crazy people that much of our media focuses on. No, the crazies are surrounded by you, the ones in the majority in this great land, the decent God fearing hard working Americans that don't sue every time they spill hot coffee in their own laps!
The Rally for America is a group of people that are normal Americans; not media favored celebrities and money grubbing opportunist. The Rally for America is for the people that are the backbone of this country; people who despise war but understand that there are times when we have to fight a war. Both against our enemies abroad, and those within America who look upon the regular average American citizen as something less than decent and caring.
This event will feature local San Antonio KJ97s Randy Carroll, Mix96.1s Woody and Singer Beverly Houston + other Special Guests.
March 2nd, Noon Cleveland, OH
UPDATE, clic on Rosie pic for Cleveland update.
Rally for America Update: Trouble in Cleveland? Update, press picture below
Join Operation Infinite FReep! As the inevitable war with Iraq approaches, more and more of the America-hating leftist weasels are crawling out of the woodwork. So-called "anti-war" protests are popping up in cities all across the nation. We will not allow these communist organized and led demonstrations go unanswered. FReepers are countering these terrorist supporting leftists wherever and whenever they pop up. Form a group, grab your signs, unfurl the flag and prepare to support your country!
- Operation Infinite FReep
- Support our Troops Rallies
- Search for more Rallies and Protests
- Patriots Rally for America!
Pictures of past rallies This is weldgophardline returning from the other side.
Here is Beaversmom attending her first FReep. The little Beave is hanging on to fivetoes' sign.
Here is RandallFlagg and weldgophardline's new sign.
A shot of Trteamer and CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC
Push HERE to see tgslTakoma's DC Chapter Photos in support of freeper devildog0341-USMC
From the WSJ - Best of the Web Today - February 20, 2003 By JAMES TARANTO
'Antiwar' Is Pro-Saddam
Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Amir Taheri reports on his experience with the pro-Saddam mob this weekend:
I spent part of last Saturday with the so-called "antiwar" marchers in London in the company of some Iraqi friends. Our aim had been to persuade the organizers to let at least one Iraqi voice to be heard. Soon, however, it became clear that the organizers were as anxious to stifle the voice of the Iraqis in exile as was Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
The Iraqis had come with placards reading "Freedom for Iraq" and "American rule, a hundred thousand times better than Takriti tyranny!"
But the tough guys who supervised the march would have none of that. Only official placards, manufactured in thousands and distributed among the "spontaneous" marchers, were allowed. These read "Bush and Blair, baby-killers," "Not in my name," "Freedom for Palestine" and "Indict Bush and Sharon."
Not one placard demanded that Saddam should disarm to avoid war.
The goons also confiscated photographs showing the tragedy of Halabja, the Kurdish town where Saddam's forces gassed 5,000 people to death in 1988.
A 78-year-old Iraqi grandmother managed to reach featured speaker Jesse Jackson and asked if she could "have the microphone for one minute to tell the people about my life." Jackson's response: "Today is not about Saddam Hussein. Today is about Bush and Blair and the massacre they plan in Iraq."
Links to protest storiesProtests ignore Iraq's fascism - NY Daily News
Immorality of the Anti-War Marchers
Enjoy, beach.
On the East Coast, where I work, popular photo spots are Mt. Etna in Sicily, the ice fields of Keflavik, and the Bahamas.
San Diego-based DesRon 7 Shuts Down One-Third of Iraqi Oil-Smuggling
Story Number: NNS030219-07
Release Date: 2/19/2003 12:27:00 PM
From Destroyer Squadron 7 Public Affairs
ABOARD USS CONSTELLATION, At Sea (NNS) -- Feb. 11 wasn't just another day for the staff of San Diego-based destroyer squadron (DesRon) 7.
In partnership with a multinational maritime interception force (MIF) of partners from around the globe, staff members anxiously awaited reports from Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) Cardiff after weeks of intelligence collection and diligent planning. The goal: verification that a three-ship take down in progress by the Royal Marines and crew of Cardiff was a success, effectively shutting down one-third of the 'new wave' of Iraqi oil smuggling regime.
As reports came in, the results were clear. Boarding teams were able to take control of the three steel-hull ships, each boasting a 5,000 to 6,000 dry weight ton (DWT) capacity of illegal oil. The three tankers accounted for approximately one-third of the estimated fleet of consolidation tankers that specialize in the illegal marketing of Iraqi oil; pursuit of the remainder of the smuggling fleet is in progress.
Embarked aboard USS Constellation (CV 64) operating in the Arabian Gulf, the staff of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 7 has become accustomed to the waiting game. Data collection and careful assembly of evidence packages have become vital in the wake of last year's shift in oil smuggling tactics towards the use of "consolidation tankers," ships that bunker oil from smaller platforms and are more capable of slipping past the coalition of ships in position to detect and return them to Iraq. Verifying the transfer of oil from the smaller "dhows" to the larger tankers is key to the seizure and halt of the practice of illegal oil trade.
Current Gulf operations are a true coalition effort. Reports from a December routine boarding by the crew of HMAS Anzac assisted in paving the way for this effort, forming the data trail that links the smuggling community together. Hidden tanks were then confirmed, and the source of oil was verified as Iraqi. In close partnership with the staff of Commander, 5th Fleet, intelligence collection continued until conditions permitted the eventual "go ahead" given by Commodore Mark Balmert, Commander DesRon 7, to initiate the boardings.
"Today's seizure of approximately $1 million (U.S. dollars) in oil makes for a successful day," commented Lt. Bruce Stanley, one of the squadron's tactical action officers (TAO). "But in addition to impacting the operation of third-party smugglers, profits are prevented from returning to the Iraqi regime. The effects of the three-ship seizure will impede smuggling channels for months to come," Balmert added.
Monday's take-down could be considered a "jackpot"; three large tankers caught in the act of accepting Iraq's contraband oil. Analysis continued throughout the week to determine the exact origin of the oil and the fate of the three tankers. Lt. Lacey Edge, another TAO added, "Our work will continue. There's always another ship behind the one just captured."
News of the MIF's early-January seizure of the three consolidation tank ships has spread quickly throughout the smuggling network, and soon, new tactics and routes will emerge. With large profits to be gained, and a bounty of oil to smuggle, the profit margin is great. Meanwhile, the coalition's work continues daily in pursuit of the remainder of the smuggling fleet. Teamwork and multinational spirit drive them on.
Watch me burro my jumpshot: High school agriculture students haul ass after a loose ball during a Future Farmers of America donkey basketball game in Merced, Calif. The players had to hold onto their reins at all times and mount the animals to shoot or pass.
The surviving cubs of Kita, the 5-year-old lioness that died Feb. 10 at the San Francisco Zoo, frolic in a sterile quarantine room of the zoo's hospital. Animal keepers bottle-feed them every three hours. The male (right) and female are still in a critical period of life, but are so far growing normally. They weigh five pounds each.
Excerpt:San Francisco -- A survey using sophisticated aerial photography of Sunday's anti-war march and rally in San Francisco has produced results that indicate a far smaller crowd than the 200,000 protesters estimated by police and event organizers.
(my bold)
Homeric task: It took Zac Piatt and a pal eight hours to sculpt this Simpsons' sofa in Omaha, Neb.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.