A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-17-02

JohnHuang2 and Billie

[daisyscarlett]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues;  salute
and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new
word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who
are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which
we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.  I
can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands
of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett

MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17

BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,

dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony

BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx

MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law

BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog

MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son

BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7,
AlasBabylon.
BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad,
Aomagrat

                     

Campaign Odyssey in Baghdad

JohnHuang2

"Whew! We dodged a bullet," a senior aid to president Saddam Hussein confided to me last night, relieved as election returns, which began pouring in at sundown, showed the Iraqi leader had handily won another 7-year mandate.

He meant 'bullet' literally.

"Not that we expected a cliff-hanger," he quickly added. "Iraq is no Florida", he said, smiling ear-to-ear. "We knew he'd trounce that old tired goat." The aid was referring to Boublous al-Dole, nominee of the hapless opposition party. (A plane carrying all 10 members mysteriously disappeared tonight. No foul play is suspected, despite a hundred witnesses who swear seeing heat-seeking missiles flying towards the plane as it cruised over downtown Baghdad. Iraq Aviation Administrator, Fakih Frank Hull Hussein, dismisses the witnesses as Great Satan Conspirators.)

And what a campaign season it's been. "This one's for the history books," crowed a jubilant staffer, firing several shots in the air in celebration. He recounted the story of how, back in February, president Hussein ordered mortar fire and tank attacks on some fledgling all-news TV station in Basra. "I guess you can say it was the opening salvo of Campaign 2002," the aid fondly recalled.

But the assault wasn't just for fun, either. Hussein strongly suspected the outlet, founded by some right-winger named Abdul-Roger al-Ailes, was working for the opposition.

"Our President hated that station with a passion," one senior aid recalled. "He called it Faux News, mockingly. There was this host who would come on weeknights at 8, griping about all the charity money being siphoned off for nukes and presidential palaces. He really hated that guy." That's Bill al-Din O'Reilly, erstwhile host of what was the highest rated show on prime-time. As punishment for spreading infidel propaganda, he got 30 years in a re-education camp. As part of his sentence, al-Din O'Reilly was ordered to read First Lady Sajida!'s, 'It Takes an A-Bomb To Raze a Village', a runaway best-seller. Her book, in fact, has straddled atop the Anthrax Times best-seller list since its publication 15 years ago, easily outselling No. 2, "Between Smoking Dope And History," by Bill Clinton.

"To President Hussein, all cowards and traitors are beneath contempt," intoned a senior aid. "He has zero-tolerance for 'em. Except for Bill Clinton. Now that's a coward and a traitor our president can live with. Our dear leader has nothing but admiration for Clinton."

No qualms that Monica was Jewish?

Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed, "well, nobody's perfect."

As for the campaign, "there were bumps along the road," said one aid, "don't get me wrong. It wasn't all smooth sailing."

For campaign staffers, the biggest scare came on the closing night of the Baath Party National Convention in Baghdad. A major sex scandal had broke, involving Saddam's senior political strategist, Duqaq Dick Musa Morris. Hussein, forced to par his acceptance speech down to 12 hours, saw his approval ratings take a tumble, plunging down to 99.9%.

"Thanks to that moron, I never got my convention 'bounce!!'," yelled an angry Hussein that night.

"But we didn't flinch," said a staffer, "no-one hit the panic button, despite those tense days."

"Our dear leader, scrappy survivor that he is, stayed focused -- like a laser beam. As punishment, Saddam ordered a sex change for Duqaq Morris, his wayward advisor."

I asked him what Morris was doing for a living now.

"Well, after his sex change, he looked so much like Helen Thomas, he now subs for her in the White House press room."

So, where's Helen, then?

"I was told she went to Pakistan, to enroll in the Madrassas. She mumbled something about wanting to understand 'why they hate us so much', 'to feel the hate', or something like that," he said.
"After graduation, then come the big plans."

Big plans?

"Yeah, she plans to marry Yasser Arafat. Rumor has it his marriage is on the rocks."

Scarey.

Oh, speaking of which, there were two other scarey moments.

Tonight, as official election returns rolled him, some exit polls in the south were showing lower-than-expected returns, some a disappointingly low 99.6%. Oh no, not another Florida. cliff-hanger.

Then, magically, the big board numbers roar back up to 100%.

"You'd be amazed at what a few bullets, parked in the right places, can do," remarked a senior official in the Republican Guard.

I poked my head out the window of my Baghdad hotel, and lo and behold, you could feel the jubilation, the festivity. The victory rallies were huge, the air filled with chants of, 'We love Saddam -- and Hitler, too! Down with the Jews! Up with the Waffen-SS!'

Close your eyes, and you swear you're in Berkley.

The difference here, of course, are all the Soviet tanks lovingly aimed at the "festive" crowd. The place was ringed with military -- everywhere.

"No big deal, just crowd control, that's all that is" one senior Iraqi official insisted. "Everyone here is free to speak his or her mind -- so long as Saddam approves."

Curious, I decided to work my way into the crowd, mixing things up a bit.

One reveler caught my attention. "I love Saddam! I love Saddam! Down with Bush! Up with Daschle and the Democrats!', she screamed.

hmmm...a typical Boston voter, I thought.

I asked her why she loves Saddam so much.

"I'm here because Bush is threatening my job, my livelihood!"

I asked what she did for a living.

"I do nuclear weapons research at a Baby Milk Factory," she told me proudly. "I used to do Anthrax, but Saddam promoted me to nukes. That's why I hate Bush -- he's threatening to diss our doomsday weapons! That means I'll be out of a job!"

Oh, I see.

The other scarey moment, you ask?

Earlier, as we were watching election returns at the presidential palace, suddenly vice president Ramadan bursts into the room, "I have a cheerful announcement: Saddam had just received a call from the U.S. president!", he shouted.

Huh?

"Yes! President Jimmy Carter called to congratulate Saddam for his victory!"

Figures.

Anyway, that's

My two cents...

THIS WEEK'S THREADs

10-14-02 Molly Pitcher
10-15-02 Dutchess
10-16-02 Anniegetyourgun, RikaStrom

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

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[lodwick]

Day is done
Gone the sun,
From the lake,
From the hill,
From the sky.

All is well,
Safely rest.
God is nigh.

1968 WO1 Ralph O. Daugherty Jr. -- A/377 ART 101 ABN, Age 21, Decatur, Georgia
1968 CPT Joseph L. Powell Jr. -- HMM-161, Age 25, Alexandria, Virginia
1968 1LT James N. Sweet -- HMM-161, Age 23, South Lima, New York
1970 CW2 John R. Bregler -- 254 MED DET, Age 21, Tampa, Florida
1970 CW2 Gary W. Engelhardt -- 254 MED DET, Age 22, Muncie, Indiana
1971 1LT Robert M. Webb Jr. -- A/101 AVN 101 ABN, Age 26, Columbus, Georgia
1971 WO1 Jack E. Searing -- A/101 AVN 101 ABN, Age 22, Sterling, Illinois

Taps

Thank and praise
for our days ‘Neath the sun,
‘Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky.

As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

[ladtx]

Amen.

[lodwick]

[dansangel]

Good Morning All!

Excellent post, JH2. It was a great eye-opener this morning!

Daisy, you were up early once again! ;-) Thank-you for bringing us our early-morning dose of satire!

{{{{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} to all ....have a wonderful day!

[dansangel]

Good morning, ladtx

Today I am struck by how young all of these fine heroes are.

May God have mercy on their souls and protect them for all of eternity.

{{{{{{{{{{{ladtx}}}}}}}}}}}

[ladtx]

Many of the helicopter pilots in VN were quite young. I arrived at my unit having just turned 23 and felt like one of the old men in the company. Many Warrant Officers entered flight school directly from high school, so it was not unusual to see a 19-20 year old in command of a UH-1 with a crew of 4. To see a flight of five "slicks" carrying troops with an escort of 3 gunships flying into a hot LZ knowing that the oldest man among them may be 23 years old is a testament to the training we got before we went over and what we got in the unit in-country.

[Molly Pitcher]

Good morning!

Funny, funny essay, John!Great job, as always.

[MeekOneGOP]

Come have some coffee with us and read JohnHuang's column...It is fun and funny. I loved it and I'll bet you will, too.

Ah, yes ! Thanks. I'll check it out !!

Have a cup while you FReep !

For those who prefer hot chocolate.....

[MeekOneGOP]

did i tell ya i likes da early-bird threads?....

[lonestar]

How do I get there from here?

[MeekOneGOP]

I found these posted on some tommy da$chle threads recently, lol !.....

Two years ago, ...

[JustAmy]

Now lodwick ....... are you saying only Florida orange juice has natural folic acid? How about California orange juice?

[lodwick]

This will counter those filthy 'rats

[Flyer]

JH2, I'll see your 2 cents and raise you 2.

---

We've set the date for GlocktoberFest. Bumps and pings are welcome. See the link below. Ah. . . that's not my own photo today.

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God Bless America, land of the free, home of the brave. . .

-----

GlocktoberFest!

 

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[JustAmy]

Thanks for this daily post, ladtx. Another 7 fallen young men. All so very young, the oldest only 26.
God Bless and Comfort their families. God Bless you for keeping their memories alive.
God Bless our Military, Past and Present!
God Bless America!

[lodwick]

;-) Hi Central Valley [[[[[[[[[[[[[[squeeze]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Off for more OJ.

[ladyinred]

Good morning Daisyscarlett, thanks for the coffee. I need an extra dose of caffeine this am, it is one of my few work days today! :-)

JH2, I really enjoyed your report from Bagdad! Kind of a different style from you! Very entertaining humorous fiction, but I suspect some of it borders near the truth! ;-)

[LadyX]

Hooray for the weekly dose of our John!
Great, as always.

Miss Daisy, thank you for the recap of activities of some of our regulars - anniversaries and prayer cover for travel and updates on special needs.
The Finest is a unique Family of Appreciators, here to honor and celebrate and support every member, personally known or not.

Thank you, Billie, for the original concept of featuring veterans and current military who bodily stood or do stand on their principles for our beloved Republic, and turning a spotlight on some of those who perpetuate it in a significent way.

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

Remember to Vote to Keep The Republic going
in the 'Right Direction'

[LadyX]

Thank you for not allowing us to be complacent about the true cost of freedom.

Thank you to each reader who comes here
to help hold the flame for the Republic high!

~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~

[dansangel]

Good morning again!

Intellectually, I know what you're saying about how young and "green" some of our biggest heroes were during the Viet Nam War. Emotionally, especially now that I'm old enough to be their mom, it's hard to accept.

I pray that you'll keep getting your important message out...We Must Never Forget!