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Civilian surgeonsStarted my day without much direction. I had arranged to go and draw helicopters on the runway at 9 a.m. Any photography of flight lines or hangars is strictly prohibited so I had to set up a specific time to visit. I chose first thing in the morning because I figured if I was sitting on the runway, I didn't want to be doing it when the day really heated up. The helicopters used by Canadian forces belong to the United States or the Dutch. This includes the helicopters used for casualties and it was these I was most...

<p>US Congressman Dr. Ron Paul was still hearing applause as he walked out the door of a private home in Pembroke on Saturday evening after speaking to 150 supporters who donated over $14,000 to seed his bid for the presidency. Paul arrived at 9 PM and stayed to mingle with the adoring crowd until 11:30 PM as they drank coffee and dipped fruit from a large arrangement into a chocolate fountain.</p>

WHAT A STORY OF GUTS AND COURAGE, AND A LOVELY WIFE AND FAMILY

Why I love America, Recited by John Wayne Written by John Mitchum. It’s one of those works that was written when Hollywood loved America, and we were "Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave." It will still give you that chill on how great America is, and why we should continue to fight for it. http://www.sagebrushpatriot.com/america.htm

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 12, 2006 – Despite a downpour and half-flooded streets, about 1,200 people braved the rain yesterday to participate in San Antonio’s first Freedom Walk, a 2-mile tribute to the 3,000 victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The walk, sponsored by Operation Homefront and USAA, was one of more than 130 that took place throughout the nation as a remembrance of Sept. 11 and a tribute to veterans and servicemembers still serving today. The trek through the soaked, yet still scenic, downtown area offered participants an opportunity to reflect on past tragedies, as well as a few more recent...

Petaluma, Calif. -- A Sonoma County woman remained hospitalized Tuesday after a Boy Scout leader driving a car full of scouts freed her from her burning vehicle seconds before it was engulfed in flames. Former firefighter Ron Balzer, of Sebastopol, came upon Julianne Mattaliano, 49, of Santa Rosa, screaming in pain after her car smashed into a tree on Saturday afternoon. The impact caved in the passenger door and her right leg was pinned, Balzer said. Flames were spouting from the engine.

A Waterloo man and his dog made a harrowing escape from the clutches of a vicious black bear Thursday while portaging near Wawa, Ont. Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear. "Love is a very powerful emotion and my thought right away was, 'You're not going to kill my dog,' " Tilley said yesterday. "I really consider my dog a hero. Without that first warning I would have had the bear clamping down on my...

WASHINGTON - Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday. The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings. The official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the yet-to-be-completed investigation, said the evidence developed by investigators strongly indicates the killings last...

FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 5, 2006) -- More than 300 Fallujan men stepped forward to be Iraqi police recruits during a three-day recruiting drive here, despite a homicide bomber attack and the threat of additional violence. The goal of the recruiting drive was to sign-up 300 Iraqi police recruits, however, the drive ended yesterday with 348 men accepted out of 402 screened applicants. “Our first mission was to ensure we got 300 successful applicants from the drive,” said Staff Sgt. Lamont L. Hall, the 33-year-old operations chief for the Police Transition Team assigned to the Fallujah Police District. “The second mission...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 6, 2006) -- Corporal Eric J. Bell poked his head down from the gunner’s turret and spoke in a monotone voice to the Marines inside the humvee, “Well, Happy New Year guys.” “Yeah, Happy New Year to you too,” responded Cpl. Thomas A. Wagar, who was behind the wheel of the vehicle. On the final night of the year under blackout conditions, the Motor Transportation Marines of II Marine Expeditionary Force, Headquarters Group, II MEF (FWD), did what they do best--get from point A to point B with the least amount of challenges to face. While...

Latin America: A weekend march by 5,000 Bolivians in favor of a free trade pact with the U.S. got little attention. But it was a clear signal to step up commerce in a troubled region we often don't know what to do about. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. The prospect of a growing free-trade movement, coming from humble factory workers, is startling. It surprised even other Bolivians who often hear anti-free trade rhetoric. After all, just about the only thing we ever hear about Bolivia is that a far-leftist, Evo Morales, leads in the presidential polls for...

Jeb Bush, Florida's Favorite Governor After more than an hour of solemn ceremony naming Rep. Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, as the 2007-08 House speaker, Gov. Jeb Bush stepped to the podium in the House chamber last week and told a short story about "unleashing Chang," his "mystical warrior" friend. Here are Bush's words, spoken before hundreds of lawmakers and politicians: ''Chang is a mystical warrior. Chang is somebody who believes in conservative principles, believes in entrepreneurial capitalism, believes in moral values that underpin a free society. ''I rely on Chang with great regularity in my public life. He has been...

After Action Report of rally in Indiana This photo essay was created to mark another day in Indiana history when real Americans came out to show their passionate concern and love for their country. The Pro-US rally in Indianapolis on September 5th was a huge success. Days of planning and work paid off when flag waving patriots lined the steps of the Indiana War Museum holding signs honoring our brave men and women of the US Armed Forces. Gold Star and Blue Star military families and some with family members currently serving in Iraq came to express their support for...

Freedom: Like a green shoot improbably breaking through dilapidated concrete, something extraordinary is happening down in Cuba. It's not one of those showy people-power street revolutions we see all over on CNN in the post-Iraq war era. It's more like letters John Adams might have written to Thomas Jefferson concerning the nature of government. Citizens from 365 groups across the island are gathering this weekend to hammer out a compact for the creation of a free post-Castro Cuba. This Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba is meeting for the first time under the most incredible of conditions — inside...

On Wednesday of last week, my friend and I just couldn’t stand it any more. The frustration, the anger, the sorrow overwhelmed us to point that we needed to do something. We had called the POTUS, the Governor, the Florida Senators and DCF numerous times. The responses to those calls ranged from “we’re doing everything we can.”…to…interrupting our message with a rude, disinterested “thank you for calling”. There was no place we would rather be on Good Friday that supporting Terri’s fight and Terri’s family. We took Friday off of work, loaded up the truck Thursday night and drove from...

DAY 1: FR_Addict and husband After driving 11 hours, we arrived about 12:30am on Thursday morning. We were able to park very close to the vigil. Perhaps 30 people were there. We went around and met some of the people there. The police told us to move behind the barricade, which we did. It felt surreal to be there after all this time. I decided to talk to the police to find out what they were thinking, so half-joking and half-serious; I asked why don’t you guys go on a “sick out”. One of the police said they couldn’t. I...

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr. listens as Maj. Gen. Mudhir Al Mawlla discusses the significance of the 41st Brigade during a ceremony honoring the activation of the unit March 3. Sgt. Andrew Miller Iraqi Army 41st Brigade activates By Sgt. Andrew Miller March 7, 2005 BAGHDAD (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) – The 41st Brigade of the Iraqi Army was activated March 3 during a ceremony at an Iraqi Army training facility here. More than 200 Iraqi Soldiers, who make up the headquarters element of the brigade, participated in the ceremony. Members of the brigade – who...

When I pulled my car into a parking space at Dallas City Hall, I looked over to my left, and there was the man in the red jacket and matching beret, talking on his cell phone as he paced slowly on the concrete strip. I had a 4 PM meeting with the leader of the legendary crime fighting group that has become an adjunct to the justice system in America. He had just emerged from a meeting with Mayor Laura Miller, who, he told me later, was very negative about his presence in “her” city. Curtis Sliwa, the founder and...

Reviewing AMERICA’S FIRST FROGMAN, The Draper Kauffman Story, by Elizabeth K. Bush. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2004. 220 pages, photos, appendices, index. Elizabeth K. Bush, sister-in-law of former president George H.W. Bush (who wrote the Foreward), has delivered an overdue biography of her brother, Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman. She tells the story well, spicing it with anecdotes, excerpts from Kauffman’s letters, while making full use of the admiral’s oral history. Here was a man who packed several adventurous lifetimes into his 66 years. Son of career naval officer James L. Kauffman, Draper dutifully entered Annapolis. Denied a commission...

The people of Kirkuk, Diyala, Salah Ad Din and Sulamaniyah will not soon forget. The Iraqis living in the cities and villages of those north-central provinces will long remember the contributions to their security and stability, to their daily lives, made by the Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division. Those Soldiers, in the honored tradition of their Big Red One forebears who fought at St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, in Sicily and on Normandy beaches and in Vietnam, have added a new chapter of courage, perseverance and devotion to duty to the division’s history as they prepare to leave Iraq.

Poor President Bush, so hated by "the world" and yet so incredibly popular at home. We all know why he's popular - he's a man of his word, he doesn't bend with political winds, he's willing to take the hard road and he means what he says. There's one other president in our hemisphere who resembles him, a man in the middle of another terror war whose inhumanly vicious enemies have tried to assassinate him two times in the past week, adding to a long string of other efforts. And his response has been like President Bush's - to defy...

The current war in Iraq and operations in Afghanistan, my personal recollections and the television interviews with veterans from wars past remind me of the adage that the more things change the more they remain the same. There is an incredible outpouring of support from the home front to our men and women under fire way over there. Bumper stickers, websites, and Herculean efforts from organizations and private citizens have all converged to send support, love, prayers and badly needed personal comfort items to our warriors. Don’t think for a minute that these efforts are not deeply and personally appreciated...

I am starting a new website dedicated to the Brave Heroes in our lives. The media is telling the negative stories from the front lines. Someone needs to make sure the great stories are told so our men and women come home to open arms. This site is not limited to war stories, or recent stories. It should include all rescue scenarios, with police, and fire-fighters. Please check out www.BraveHero.com send stories to the clickable e-mail. (Do not send me stories to publish through this thread.) Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

I am starting a new website dedicated to the Brave Heroes in our lives. The media is telling the negative stories from the front lines. Someone needs to make sure the great stories are told so our men and women come home to open arms. This site is not limited to war stories, or recent stories. It should include all rescue scenarios, with police, and fire-fighters. Please check out www.BraveHero.com send stories to the clickable e-mail. (Do not send me stories to publish through this thread.) Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Voters in November leapt before they looked when approving Proposition 71, an initiative that creates a $3 billion California stem cell research institute headed by a 29-member oversight committee. In coming days, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other elected officers will finish appointments to the committee. Those picks could determine whether this landmark research effort ends up financing medical breakthroughs or boondoggles. Called the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, this panel will have tremendous power but little accountability. It will be the final grant maker on $3 billion in research and building funds over 10 years. The committee - which meets Dec....

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has always been deeply valued as a friend to the us in the U.S. for his unwavering support in the war on terror. He's also Europe's staunchest defender of Israel, and seeks to help Israel not only on security matters but economic matters, too, insisting that Israel too be allowed to join the EU. And further still, Berlusconi's spirited defense of the Judeo-Christian values that created Western civilization signal he is a man of great intellectual depth. We admire him for his brilliant political skills, bringing out Italy's first stable postwar government by cobbling together...

<p>"Raymond's gun was the only one that was still working. He fought them to a bitter end," Henry White said.</p>

U.S. AIR FORCE Two of Four Quads Experience Life in Iraq By Master Sgt. Debbie Aragon 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq, July 30, 2004 — One is the older, “more mature” sister, freely giving advice and guiding her younger sibling -- even if she is only senior by about two minutes. The sisters, two of a set of quadruplets born to Joanne and Reginald L. Brown Sr., are deployed here together from their home units at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Airman 1st Class Lattrice Goldsby, a fire protection journeyman with the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer...

It was after that night, September 20, 2001, that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I was in full support of President Bush. No question. And I continue to be.

There is a poster with a screen name of "timwhit" who posts daily martyr threads on our traditional Catholic forum. These posts highlight martyrs throughout history who were killed, tortured or are being celebrated on that particular day. Timwhit dutifully posts them every single day, without fail. What a wonderful person to pay hommage to these people who thanklessly gave their lives (sometimes in the most horrific of ways) for our Lord and our faith. I make it a point to read timwhit's martyr thread every day, I'm often touched by what these dedicated people who came before us went...

THEY came together for one last walk with old comrades and the ghosts of their brothers who stayed forever young. They're smaller now these survivors of the Longest Day. Frail, stooped, white-haired and wide-girthed are the great liberators today. They hobble more than march, deep breaths puff out their cheeks and many need a stick, an arm or a chair to fight the ravages of time. But they still have razor-sharp creases in their trousers and shoes they can see their lined faces in. Their barrel chests still fill with pride at the medals they bear. Medals which set them...

Bravely bold Sir Kerry Rode forth to VietNam. He was not afraid to die, Oh brave Sir Kerry. He was not at all afraid To be killed in nasty ways. Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Kerry. He was not in the least bit scared To be mashed into a pulp. Or to have his eyes gouged out, And his elbows broken. To have his kneecaps split And his body burned away, And his limbs all hacked and mangled Brave Sir Kerry. His head smashed in And his heart cut out And his liver removed And his bowls unplugged And his...

AFP - Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini reiterated Rome's strong backing for the US-led coalition in Iraq and said he held "a prudent optimism" that three Italian hostages held there would soon be released. Frattini said Italy's 3,000 troops in Iraq would remain there despite threats to kill the remaining Italian hostages unless the soldiers are pulled out and decisions by Spain and Honduras to withdraw their forces from the coalition. "I confirmed that Italy is and will remain committed to build a democratic and free and prosperous Iraq," he said after meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell...

God Bless these fine young ladies and those sons and daughters just like them. The world is a better place for having known Michelle Witmer.

I dont know if anybody here has seen the pictures of journalists counting bodies at the DrudgeReport, but it sure ticks me off. The Military ought to stop this right now and not allow civilian journalists to belittle our dead in such away, its creepy and disrespectful. The military has there own guys who do such work and if the civilian press does not like it thats to damn bad.

Newlywed Gays Brave Critics in Search of Security Fri Mar 12, 3:43 PM ET By Teresa Carson PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Daffodils line the walkway, a tricycle sits by the front door and family photos are proudly displayed on the shelves in the house where two-and-a-half year-old Avery is trying to finagle himself a cookie. This tranquil domestic scene belies the turmoil, including death threats, lawsuits, Bible thumping and a bitter national debate prompted by this family and others like it. Avery's parents, both women, just got married. Kelly Burke, 34, and Dolores Doyle, 38, have been together for 16...

Amazing Bush Secret Kept With Iraq Visit Nov 28, 6:30 AM (ET By TERENCE HUNT President Bush holds up turkey during a surprise visit to troops at Baghdad airport Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003. ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) - Three hours from landing on a high-risk visit to Baghdad, President Bush was most anxious about keeping it a secret. "I was fully prepared to turn this baby around, come home," Bush said later aboard Air Force One. To everyone's amazement the secrecy held. The world did not learn that Bush had spent 2 1/2 hours Thursday on a Thanksgiving Day...

SAT IN BUSH'S SEAT GUY: [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Another e-mail worth sharing: [from NRO's "The Corner" section] All these people accusing Bush of grandstanding are know-nothing schlubs. Most of what they know about the military they got from watching J.A.G. on TV. I was in the Navy and had occasion to land on the U.S.S. Kennedy once. It was one of the most frightening things I ever did. The pilot literally crashes the plane intentionally on the deck and at the point of impact jams the throttle to full power. A hook grabs a steel cable stretched across the deck...

HE WAS carried on the shoulders of weeping comrades, a band of brothers who were clearly desolated by his loss, but comforted in the knowledge that war inevitably claims the bravest and the best first. In that belief, there was great comfort to be found in Perth yesterday as the city gave its final salute to Lance Corporal Barry "Baz" Stephen, a soldier who wore the blue bonnet and red hackle with honour. L-Cpl Stephen, 31, of the 1st Battalion Black Watch, was, in the words of those he left behind, the bravest - the only Scottish soldier to die...

Last week a local wanted to have a support rally for the troops, Bush, and the war in general. They organized it in a smaller community area in Las Vegas and well over 2000 people showed up. On the local news I heard them talking that the organizers were planning what would be the largest US support rally in history, and it's to take place in 2 weeks, more info to come.Anyone know more info about this, please post a reply !

The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old...

A U.S. Army infantry soldier faces towards north in the direction of Baghdad as he stands guard in the south of the city of Najaf in central Iraq, March 23, 2003. The U.S. Army announced that they faced about 100 local people, including soldiers and members of the Baath party, in a heavy gunfight last night, before the Najaf area could be secured.

Please remind everyone that:It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speechIt is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag. - Father Denis O'Brian - U.S. Marine Corps

From their homepage: The veterans, citizens and businesses of South Florida (Monroe, Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) and Tampa Bay (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Pasco counties) are grateful for the sacrifice our National Guardsmen and Reservists' families are making on behalf of America. MISSION To assist families of activated Florida National Guard and Reserve units South Florida ( Monroe, Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) and Tampa Bay (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Pasco counties). GOAL To provide $25 per month for each minor child of an activated service member during their call-up to active duty. THE PLAN Purchase $25...

dubya... BRAVO! For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 28, 2003 President's Remarks view State of the Union Address by President George W. Bush The U.S. Capitol       9:01 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, distinguished citizens and fellow citizens: Every year, by law and by custom, we meet here to consider the state of the union. This year, we gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that lie ahead. You and I serve our country in a time of great consequence. During this session of Congress,...

Hundreds mourn soldier By ANGELA PACIENZA-- The Canadian Press TORONTO (CP) -- Hundreds gathered at a downtown Mormon church Tuesday to bid farewell to a young war hero killed in Afghanistan, remembering him as a loving son, a brave soldier and a religious man who lived his life with honour and integrity. "Ainsworth was the most unselfish and compassionate person I knew," Carolyn Dyer, younger sister of Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, told the mourners. "He taught me the meaning of love ... he was able to make your heart dance." Family, colleagues and many who never knew the 25-year-old Dyer gathered...