A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....03-20-03...Ultimatum from the East Room

JohnHuang2; Dutchess; Billie | Essay by JohnHuang2, Illustrated by Dutchess

[Billie]

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: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete
MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet
MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga
BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette
MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid
BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP
MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian
BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 5A: TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68. MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797. BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack.

GROUP 6A: 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.

GROUP 7A: 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.

GROUP 8A: 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.

      

GROUP 9A: 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.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

Ultimatum from the East Room

by JohnHuang2

"They had their chance, they have not led -- we will!" thundered then candidate Bush, Governor of Texas, during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia two summers ago. The remark, which drew wild cheers well beyond the walls of the First Union Center, was a not-so-furtive reference to the wasted Clinton years.

It could equally apply to that crowning emblem of colossal dysfunction -- the U.N. The notion of "collective security" via the U.N. itself was an Urban Legend, now effectively dismantled, thanks to French intransigence. When the dust settled, what mattered wasn't the U.N., but American resolve, as always.

"We will confront the hard issues -- threats to our national security... -- before the challenges of our time become crises for our children" vowed Bush in Philadelphia.

Much has happened, much has changed, in the 22 months since that speech. What's remarkable, however, isn't how much, but how little, Bush has changed in the interim. Despite the torrent of challenges, the train wreck, economic and geopolitical, left behind by the Clinton gang, Bush remains the steady-hand-at-the-wheel, as self-possessed and unruffled as ever. His relentless tenacity and resolution, his iron will and grit, against even the fiercest resistance, are key to Bush's effective leadership.

On Monday night, the limp-wrist Jacques Chirac, humiliated, out-flanked and out-maneuvered, learned what being Tom Daschle really feels like, struck by the business end of the Bush thunderbolt. Against it, there's no 'human shield.'

'Don't ever underestimate Bush,' Ma' Richards once warned.

"They misunderestimated me" Bush must have been saying Monday night.

The landscape in Washington is littered with the political corpses of foolish misunderestimators. Bush's checkmate maneuver means political corpses littering Germany soon, the downfall of Gerhard Schroeder no longer an 'if,' but a 'when.' As the smoke clears, after Saddam's swift defeat in Baghdad, even Chirac's hold on power, rocked as details of French-Iraqi WMD dealings emerge, could be thrown into doubt. If not for prosecutorial immunity as sitting head of state, the slimy scumbag would rot in prison today.

Chirac's Weapon of Mass Miscalculation has had domestic reverberations as well, effectively pulling the rug from under Bush's opponents here at home.

Democrats, bitterly divided on Iraq, had hoped diplomatic stalemate would hand them an opening to weaken the President. On CNN's Late Edition Sunday, Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid of Nevada sought to shift the blame for French obstructionism on Bush, backing the Franco-German-Russian position on weapons inspections.

Tommy Daschle Monday lashed out at Bush in a speech in Washington before a Leftie government employees union, accusing the President of having "failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war. [I'm] saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country" .

A new round of polls suggests the Democrat strategy not only failed, it backfired.

"By a 2-to-1 ratio, Americans favor invading Iraq with ground troops to remove Saddam Hussein from power" reports USA Today Monday, adding "Not since November 2001 have they approved so overwhelmingly. Nearly six in 10 say they're ready for such an invasion 'in the next week or two".

Even without U.N. backing, 54% of Americans favor going after Saddam's scalp, the new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows.

But, for Democrats savoring inroads on global affairs, here's the worst news of all: "...most [Americans] don't blame Bush for the impasse, even in the face of heavy U.S. and international media criticism that he botched the diplomatic job".

Continued: "By a ratio of more than 2-to-1, most Americans say the Bush administration has done a good job handling diplomatic efforts with other nations. Most focus the blame on France and Russia, which have led efforts to block a U.N. resolution authorizing war".

The latest FOXNEWS/Opinion Dynamics Poll shows much the same, with support for immediate military action against Saddam now pegged at 71%.

Jacques Chirac and the Democrats set out to isolate the President, hoping his standing in polls crumbled as international criticism grew louder. Bush's 34-nation 'Coalition of Willing Allies' -- in Europe, 18 of 26 nations back U.S. policy -- has helped him isolate foes instead.

"France showed their cards" the President told reporters Sunday after a meeting in the Azores with leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal.

The French, Bush noted, "said they were going to veto anything that held Saddam to account, so the cards have been played".

Result? Saddam isn't the only one being disarmed. So is Paris. Chirac, after this stupendous screw-up, looks more defanged than ever. And irrelevant. His country, powerless to block U.S. action, unable to protect key ally Saddam, becomes a laughingstock, a worthless paper tiger. Thought France was the butt of jokes? Man, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The Democrats? They're back at doing what they do so well: Being irrelevant.

Monday night, the focus shifted from circus antics in New York, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

With 250,000 U.S.-British forces poised to strike, the President Sunday called today the world's 'moment of truth,' challenging the U.N. to stand by its own resolutions calling on Saddam to disarm immediately and unconditionally, or face the music.

Memo from Bush to U.N.: Game's over. Issue an ultimatum, or I will.

That moment of truth has come and gone. Diplomacy has clearly failed. As a result, "the diplomatic window has closed" White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Monday following withdrawal of U.N. Security Council resolution numero 18, mostly a re-affirmation of language contained in 1441, unanimously adopted back in November.

Which brings us to Monday night's East Room Ultimatum: Get out, or be forced out. You have 48 hours. Your U.N. games are over. You're dealing with the U.S. now.

Addressing the Iraqi people, the President declared, "The day of your liberation is near".

To the American people, he outlined the reasons for war, chiefly, the Iraq/terror nexus and the threat posed by Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.

"The United States did nothing to deserve or invite this threat, but we will do everything to defeat it. Instead of drifting along toward tragedy, we will set a course towards safety".

Nuff said.

Anyway, that's...

My two cents..

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 03-17-03 Happy St. Patrick's Day's Day 03-18-03 To the Bushmobile W04 Man 03-19-03 sparkomatic

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

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

And if everyone lights
just one little candle.....

[dixie sass]

I've got to get to Ohio and meet all of my daddys relatives up there in Springfield, Washington's Courthouse and elsewhere! I hope that I can make it sometime within the next year.

[dutchess]

Hi lovely sistahs and half sistah. A beautiful sunny day here to celebrate the first day of spring (dansy...the three feet of snow we had yesterday miraculously melted overnight!)

Louie...great graphic yesterday. Sure do miss our daisy!

(((((((LOUIE))))))))

[dutchess]

We're only 40 minutes from Springfield. Be sure to let me know when you're up here!

[dutchess]

Hi Meekie...You sure were on a roll this morning LOL! Glad to see you out there supporting our troops. God bless GW and our military men and women!

[dutchess]

Hi Gail....It's a glorious first day of spring here...can't wait to get home and let the puppies out to play!

[dutchess]

Billie...just saw your "one little candle" graphic. I remember singing that song in elementary choir...how very precious!

[dutchess]

Love your airplane today...and you can bet there are prayers all over FR!

[dutchess]

Love your new little dancing m&m's!!!!

[dutchess]

Hi SassyMom...You're morning sunshine is adorable! You can't help but smile! Think I need to see that every morning!!!

[dutchess]

Eagle's Up to you too! Thanks for stopping by!

[dutchess]

great essay and illustrations, thanks!

Thanks...John's essays are always so fun to illustrate. He has such a way of words and doesn't hold back any punches!

[MeekOneGOP]

[dutchess]

Hi SpookBrat....great essay today wasn't it! Enjoy the rest of this first day of spring!

[dutchess]

Wishing all Freepers and their loves may be safe and lucky this day.

And wishing the same for you and yours!

Old Glory sure is beautiful this morning.

Sure it! A proud day to be an American!

[xp38]

Always a pleasure. God Bless America

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you. Me too . . .

[Dubya]

CLICK ON FLAG FOR MARINE'S HYMN

[SassyMom]

Hi dutchess! I'm glad the sunshine made you smile! :) Have a great day!

[LadyX]

Pitiful, Dubya...:((

Had to stand at attention and put my left hand over my heart while I listened to that!

The cast is off, but still have some range of motion limitations of the right arm - can't get it up to the heart yet.

(but I forgive you..:))

[Dubya]

I'm glad the cast is off.
I knew you could do it Marine.