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President Barack Obama, flanked by members of Troop A, First Squadron, 11th Armored Combat Regiment, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, during a ceremony honoring their service with the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions during the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) From the NYTimes at the beginning of this month: SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On the day Ray R. Moreno came home from Vietnam, the day antiwar protestors called him a baby killer, he decided to pack away his Army uniform for good. Memories and nightmares still intruded,...

'After I read the story, we’ll have an even gooder conversation, the 44-year veteran Congressman said..........'

The words of a local congressman on the issue of healthcare are coming under scrutiny. Democrat Eric Massa told a group in Pennsylvania that he would vote against the interests of his constituents on healthcare reform if he believes what he's voting for would be helpful to them. Massa has held dozens of town hall meetings, many focused on healthcare, but this past weekend while in Pittsburgh, meeting with the grassroots progressive political action group Net Roots Nation, Massa answered questions about where he stands on healthcare reform versus where his constituents stand. "I will vote adamantly against the interests...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key U.S. senator asked the Obama administration on Thursday to explain in detail its policy on the Honduran political crisis, warning that otherwise Senate confirmation may be delayed for a U.S. diplomatic nominee for Latin America. "The complexity of events that led up to the Honduran crisis has given rise to questions regarding U.S. policy," Senator Richard Lugar, one of the Senate's most respected voices on foreign policy, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The United States has refused to recognize the Honduran government led by Roberto Micheletti, which took over the Central American nation...

..(snip)…Does this not raise suspicion? While we hear of the “outrage” of the people who brought us the bonus scandal, the same people are rushing to pass the GIVE Act (you give, they take): national service. Senator Reid asked that the Senate proceed to act on this bill and then immediately asked for a cloture motion. Cloture The cloture rule–Rule 22–is the only formal procedure that Senate rules provide for breaking a filibuster. A filibuster is an attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter. Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending...

Gregg says Geithner, “You said you’re controlling spending but you’re not. ..You’re not addressing the Spending.”Gregg points out blow by blow the HYPOCRISY riddled through Obama’s Budget entitled ironically, “A New Era of Fiscal Responsibility.” Greg writes, “The argument that this budget doesn’t have tax increases is, I think, an Alice and Wonderland view of the budget.” -Raising the tax rate from 35% to 42%, eliminating deductions on mortgages and on charitable deductions. Small businesses will be feel the burden the most. -“Cutting the debt in half in four years is truly spurious, because you take the deficit and quadruple...

WASHINGTON - Companies that defrauded the United States and jeopardized American lives received new government work despite rulings designed to stop them from receiving federal contracts, government investigators report. Payments went to a company whose president tried to sell nuclear bomb parts to North Korea, a company that jeopardized lives on the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, and a seller of body armor that the Air Force said was defective. The companies were on a government database of 70,000 individuals and businesses suspended or barred by various U.S. agencies from receiving government contract work. Snip

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to a replacement to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat today, even as Senate Democrats assured the governor they will block the appointment. Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell Obama’s seat which is why he is facing impeachment and federal charges. U.S. Senate Democrats released a statement earlier this afternoon asking Blagojevich not to follow through, saying they would not seat the candidate that he names. They are part of large chorus of Democrats and elected officials that have been urging Blagojevich to step down since...

An intelligence assessment, the "Internal Homeland Security Threat Assessment for the years 2008-2013, obtained by the Associated Press projected several "dramatic" developments. Among these projections that terrorism directed against the US will "continue to be driven by driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa." The report asserted that WMD attacks "could be carried out against America" but then added that "these threats are also the most unlikely because it is so difficult for al-Qaida and similar groups to acquire the materials needed to carry out such plots." The report reasserts a number of predictions made before and noted...

Helicopter crash claims life of first 11th Signal Brigade soldier BY BILL HESSSpecialist Charlie Harris speaks Wednesday on Fort Huachuca about his friend Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) Herald/Review FORT HUACHUCA — The 11th Signal Brigade lost its first soldier in Iraq when an Army helicopter crashed on Saturday. To the Army buddies of Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, a wheeled-vehicle mechanic with Bravo Company of the 86th Signal Battalion, the loss was akin to the death of a family member. Of those who knew the soldier, he was more...

FORT HUACHUCA — A deployed soldier from the 11th Signal Brigade was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Saturday, according to the Department of Defense on Wednesday. Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, 29, of Decatur, Ga., was Identified as one of 12 soldiers killed when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down in Iraq. The incident is still under investigation. He was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, where he was a wheeled vehicle mechanic. Members of the 86th deployed last August to provide communications support in Iraq. Langarica is the first brigade soldier to die in any of...

FORT HUACHUCA — The Thunderbirds were treated to more than a turkey dinner Wednesday as part of a Thanksgiving event. The Thunderbird Dining Facility was deck out with the sounds, smells and sights of the holiday. Solider cooks of the 11th Signal Brigade, the unit usually referred to as the Thunderbirds, went all out in preparing food for the feast. The rations noncommissioned-officer-in-charge of the military eatery listed the amount of meat, fowl and seafood the cooks prepared for the meal. The list from Sgt. Brisher McGrath included 330 pounds of prime rib, 150 pounds of turkey, 108 pounds of...

Ever since I announced my bid for the United States Presidency, I’ve been questioned about some of my more radical political opinions. Most of those questions have dealt with my proposed economic policies – for example, the abolition of the IRS and the implementation of the Fair Tax. Today, I offer an answer to questions about why I am opposed to the idea of gays adopting or teaching children. Several years ago, I began writing columns questioning the so-called gay rights movement. I prefer to call it the “gay privileges” movement because gays are not presently deprived of anything that...

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 – All four services exceeded their active-duty recruiting goals in April for the 11th consecutive month and remain ahead of their year-to-date goals, defense officials announced today. And although four of the six reserve components slipped below their April recruiting goals, their year-to-date progress, particularly for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, shows promise, Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told American Forces Press Service. During what has historically been a slow recruiting period, the active Army recruited almost 5,700 members, 105 percent of its goal, for April. The Air Force signed...

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait —As Fort Huachuca soldiers wait for their communications equipment to arrive, some are fine-tuning systems that have been in Kuwait for years. A number of tropospheric systems were at Camp Doha were moved to Camp Virginia, where members of the 11th Signal Brigade repaired, checked out and inventoried the four tropos — as called by GIs — that send radio signals into the atmosphere and scatter the signals back to Earth to be used by the Army. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Brown said the systems will eventually head for Iraq, where soldiers of the 40th Signal Battalion will...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Michael Moore's controversial "Fahrenheit 9/11" will expand into 286 additional theaters Friday. But if you're an interested moviegoer in Grand Island, Neb., or Marquette, Wis., you'll have to drive to at least the next town to view Moore's critique of the Bush administration. Illinois-based GKC Theaters and Iowa-based Fridley Theaters have decided to not screen the film. Both theater chains, which were not in domestic distributor Lions Gate's original 800-theater release plan, are protesting the content of Moore's film. According to Fridley Theaters' Web site, the theater chain has received a deluge of e-mails, phone...

Heidelberg, Germany (dpa) - A couple go on trial in Germany Friday, accused of conspiring to set off a bomb at a U.S. base on the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.    The Turkish national and his American girlfriend deny any plot, saying chemicals were stockpiled in their apartment to prepare homemade fireworks. But a U.S. woman who was living in Heidelberg insists the girlfriend gave her a veiled tip to stay off the base.    It remained uncertain this week if the crucial witness would show up at the trial. Lawyers said her evidence might possibly be...

September 11 trial near collapse From Roland Watson in Washington WASHINGTON'S hopes of convicting the only man charged with a role in the September 11 attacks in a public trial were close to collapse last night. The District Judge from Alexandria, Virginia, presiding over the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui said that she doubted the Bush Administration's ability to prosecute the case given the "shroud of secrecy" thrown over the details. Judge Leonie Brinkema said that she was disturbed that the Government had classified so many court papers and orders. She agreed with the defendant's scepticism that the case could proceed...

July 20, 2002 Arabic atlas offers unique view of 11th-century world By Hannah Hennessy AN 800-YEAR-OLD Arabic atlas that gives an unusual insight into medieval concepts of the world and has never been seen in public before has been saved for the nation by Oxford University. Costing £400,000, but probably worth more than £1 million, the Book of Strange Arts and Visual Delights may be the most important Islamic scientific manuscript to have come on the market in the past century, university historians say. The two-volume 96-page manuscript contains 17 maps, including two of the world, one of Sicily and...