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Secretary Rice (Aug. 29): " I want to thank the members of the American Legion for your service to our country, and I want to join with all of you today in sending this message to our fighting men and women overseas: Your service is bringing hope to others, honor to yourselves, and you are making every American very, very proud." full text | video

Today the President addressed the 88th Annual American Legion National Convention in Salt Lake City He also met with with the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Later on he attended a fundraiser for the reelection campaign of Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah Today Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne celebrate their 42nd Wedding anniversary. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

On now...tune in!

The American Legion opened its national convention in Salt Lake City this week with high hopes the gathering would help "unite America" behind the war in Iraq. Instead, the veterans have found themselves in a fight with the city's anti-war mayor. Mayor Rocky Anderson, a Democrat in a city that is considered liberal by heavily Republican Utah's standards, has accused the Bush administration of lying about the rationale for war. He has called President Bush a "complete disaster." And he organized a protest rally Wednesday a few blocks from the Salt Palace Convention Center, just hours before Bush's arrival here...

by Mark Finkelstein August 30, 2006 - 22:14 Looking back, it all seems so predictable. The relentless criticism, the countless sneering jabs from Keith Olbermann directed at the Bush administration were building to an inevitable climax. It came tonight. Olbermann flatly accused the Bush administration of representing "a new type of fascism." Though the denouement was inexorable, the proximate cause of Olbermann's tirade was Donald Rumsfeld's speech to the American Legion on Tuesday in which he suggested that opponents of the war in Iraq have adopted the same attitude that slowed a military response to Hitler. Rumsfeld asserted that radical...

After Action Report - Utah Freedom Rally While the lefties and the Mayor of SLC (Rocky Anderson) were busy undermining the war effort and providing comfort to the enemy, we had the opportunity to stand with heroes in support of our nation and our troops. Things kicked off with the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance and some country music in support of our troops sung by a local talent. We heard speeches from Legionnaires, soldiers, the Attorney General, CWO Paul Holton, as well as a female Iraqi Doctor CWO Holton met and has coordinated humanitarian efforts with. All noted...

Indeed, in the decades before World War II, a great many argued that the fascist threat was exaggerated -- or that it was someone else’s problem. Some nations tried to negotiate a separate peace -- even as the enemy made its deadly ambitions crystal clear. It was, as Churchill observed, a bit like feeding a crocodile, hoping it would eat you last. There was a strange innocence in views of the world. Someone recently recalled one U.S. Senator’s reaction in September 1939, upon hearing that Hitler had invaded Poland to start World War II. He exclaimed: "Lord, if only I...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2006 – A small community in Iowa is among 86 cities and towns in 39 states planning Freedom Walks to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, as well as the nation’s veterans, past and present. The American Legion chapter in Milo, Iowa, a town of about 1,000, is sponsoring its Freedom Walk Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. The American Legion is a member of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which spotlights ways the American people and the nation's corporate sector support U.S. servicemembers....

Public Expression of Religion Act moves forwardhttp://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2006/07/28/news/05news.txt http://tinyurl.com/hp9ga Rees Lloyd, Banning-based attorney and Commander of American Legion District 21 (Riverside County), has been selected to testify on behalf of The American Legion before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution in support of passage of Senate Bill 3696, Veterans Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals and Other Public Expressions of Religion Act of 2006 (“PERA). S 3696 (PERA), sponsored by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan), a companion bill to H.R. 2979 (PERA), sponsored by Rep. Hostetter (R-Ind.), would amend all relevant federal laws to eliminate the authority of judges to award taxpayer-paid attorney...

When President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visit Salt Lake City next month for an American Legion national convention, Mayor Rocky Anderson plans a protest - even bigger than the one he spoke at last year. Critical of Bush on several fronts - from the Iraq war to funding cuts to environmental policies - Anderson expects "tens of thousands" to demonstrate. "I'm glad he's coming to Salt Lake City," Anderson said Friday. "I certainly hope there is an effective expression of opposition to where this country is headed right now under the Bush administration. When that happens in...

As the National Education Association meets in Orlando this year, I've been reminded of an old newspaper I picked up a few years ago that describes the NEA convention in 1938. Here's how it was written up by the Associated Press for the York Gazette and Daily June 30, 1938: LEGION HEAD NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK TO NEA CONVENTION Doherty Sought Permission To Answer Criticsm Of His Organization............... (By the Associated Press) New York June 29--A night gathering of the National Education Association came to an abrupt close at Madison Square Garden tonight when its president refused permission to Daniel...

SAN DIEGO – Three local congressmen have introduced a bill that would transfer the Mount Soledad cross from city control to the federal government, a step they hope will preserve the La Jolla landmark. Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad and Darrell Issa, R-Vista, sponsored the bill, which Hunter introduced late Monday. The city has been ordered by the court to remove the 29-foot cross from city property by Aug. 1 or pay a fine of $5,000 a day. A judge has ruled it is an unconstitutional preference of religion for the cross to be displayed on public property....

The decade-and-a-half assault by one, self-esteem challenged atheist with little more to do than spit on the memory of brave men who gave their lives to defend the freedom the ACLU regularly abuses has resulted in an unprecedented move by the California chapter of the American Legion. The largest veterans organization in the country will announce Thursday a line-in-the-sand campaign to protect veterans memorials from the shameful ACLU assault. Legal muscle is being provided by the Alliance Defense Fund. See the American Legion announcement: THE AMERICAN LEGION DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA TO LAUNCH STATEWIDE DEFENSE OF VETERANS MEMORIALS AT MT. SOLEDAD,...

MONROE TWP. -- About a half dozen American Legion members sat around an old picnic table behind Post 252 Friday, despite the humid heat. Inside, the air conditioner was keeping the bar cool -- but out here, they can smoke. Thanks to new state legislation prohibiting smoking in all public places but casinos, this American Legion post lost approximately $5,000 in bar income during the month of May, said Commander Joe Reed. The post has a gaming license that allows them to operate a couple of Pull-Tab gambling machines, and the income from them is down about the same...

WASHINGTON (BP)--Indiana’s John Hostettler is trying for the fifth consecutive Congress to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union from receiving government funds when it succeeds at legal challenges to public expressions of religion. This year, the Republican representative has more hope than before thanks to the American Legion. The country’s largest veterans organization, with about three million members, has aggressively thrown its influence behind Hostettler’s bill, and the persistent congressman is encouraged at his proposal’s prospects. Hostettler’s measure, the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), H.R. 2679, is designed to close what he considers a loophole in federal law that...

WASHINGTON (BP)--Indiana’s John Hostettler is trying for the fifth consecutive Congress to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union from receiving government funds when it succeeds at legal challenges to public expressions of religion. This year, the Republican representative has more hope than before thanks to the American Legion. The country’s largest veterans organization, with about three million members, has aggressively thrown its influence behind Hostettler’s bill, and the persistent congressman is encouraged at his proposal’s prospects. Hostettler’s measure, the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), H.R. 2679, is designed to close what he considers a loophole in federal law that...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are spending the weekend at the White House where, tonight, they host a State Dinner for the nation's governors. Today, President Bush made phone calls to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, a Shiite; the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Tarek al-Hashemi, a Sunni; and other prominent political leaders from different religious and ethnic communities, the White House said. The President urged the Iraqi leaders to work together to defuse sectarian tensions in the country after violence sparked fears of a possible civil war. President Bush...

Today President Bush met with Tom Bock, the national commander of the American Legion in the Oval Office, as well as John Sommer, executive director of the American Legion's Washington office and Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He also met in the Oval Office with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt to discuss key elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. First Lady, Laura and daughter Barbara were in Ghana today, where Mrs. Bush addressed an audience at the Accra Teacher Training College in Accra, Ghana, to launch the African Education Initiative Textbooks Program. They also visited with patients at...

As I am sure many of you have seen a group of protesers have been appearing at the services of those who gave the ultimate sacrafice in the Gulf. As an example of their protests the following picture will tell it all. http://patriotguard.org/Portals/0/pgr1.jpg As a result a grassroots organization has been formed with two purposes: http://www.patriotguard.org The following pamplet will give you the full details. http://pokefans.com/PGR/pgrpage.pdf I live in Tulsa and last Thursday the services for SPC Jerry Mills were being held in Ark City, KS. It was an extremely cold morning and I briefly consided riding up but better...

Sen. Bob Bennett has a new ally in his fight to make it a crime to deface the U.S. flag: Sen. Hillary Clinton. The New York Democrat and former First Lady has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Republican Bennett's bill. And she's taking some heat for the alliance, the Salt Lake Tribune's Washington bureau reported. Bennett's bill would allow the government to fine or imprison someone who intentionally defaces or destroys the flag. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines says Clinton's backing comes after talking with veterans who want the flag protected. "Burning or destroying an American flag is a...