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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' decision to award Sgt. Rafael Peralta a Navy Cross instead of a Medal of Honor makes no sense. Either Peralta grabbed a grenade to protect his fellow Marines or he did not. If Peralta grabbed the grenade then he deserves a Medal of Honor. If he did not grab the grenade than there is no reason to award him a Navy Cross. Peralta was born in Mexico and joined the Marines as soon as he received a green card. He subsequently became a U.S. citizen while serving in the Marines. On November 15, 2004, while...

New citizens, new voters Friday, September 19, 2008 By Sherri Williams THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Carmen Ladman used to plan her trips home to El Salvador around her country's presidential elections so she could vote. After becoming a U.S. citizen yesterday, she won't have to travel so far to cast her ballot this year. She will vote in America for the first time. "How important this election is for this country made me apply (for citizenship) to vote," said Ladman, 52, who has lived in the United States 12 years. "I'm a believer that we all have to do something. "If...

BAGHDAD, Sept. 2, 2008 – American citizenship became a reality for 192 U.S. servicemembers from 54 different countries during a ceremony yesterday at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory here. Army Command Sgt. Major Joseph R. Allen, command sergeant major for Multinational Corps Iraq, presents a servicemember and new U.S. citizen with an American flag Sept. 1, 2008, during a citizenship ceremony at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory in Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher M. Gaylord, 13th Public Affairs Detachment   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, Multinational Corps...

Posted Today, 11:35 AM Michelle M New Member = 100 Posts Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 94 Poster Rank: #345 (August 7, 2008) Things you might not know about Barack (Rocky Mtn News)- ObamaMentions Obama's Kenyan Citizenship! Gasp!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can't imagine how they let this slip out, but watch the scrambling by the bots!! Would love to know where they got this, even though they list their sources... http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...ahoo_headlines Entered Harvard Law School in 1988, was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991. Won two Grammys for Best Spoken Word...

Who is eligible to be POTUS under Article II of the Constitution and why? The answer isn’t what most people think and people need to know! People made a big ruckus about McCain’s eligibility but what about Obama? He may have held anything up to 4 other Nationalities. If a Naturalized Citizen cannot hold the Office of POTUS neither can a Dual National or a Dual Citizen. In Part Two of the Article I shall show the evidence that leads me to think Obama has held other Citizenship.

100-plus give a lesson in free speechBy John Henderson jhenderson@dailyprogress.com Published: July 5, 2008While thousands flocked to hear President Bush speak at Monticello on Friday morning, Dana Palmer stood by the side of Route 20 dressed like Lady Liberty to teach her kids a lesson in free speech. Palmer, her husband and their two children were among more than 100 people to protest Bush’s visit to Monticello with homemade signs, costumes, expressive T-shirts and their voices. Palmer wore bright green robes, a foam crown and had her face painted white to represent “the death of liberty,” while her husband, dressed...

Spc. Razan Saied seems like an unlikely soldier. She once taught elementary school in her native Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. That was before she, her husband and their three children fled the Saddam Hussein regime a decade ago. Later, as U.S. citizens, her husband and children supported her decision to enlist in the Army, even if they didn't fully understand it. "I kind of thought she was joking," said her 10-year-old son, Alan. "She's a soccer mom!" said daughter Sana, 14. But Spc. Saied felt a calling to serve, which she did as a Kurdish translator for U.S. commanders. She...

Mary Patricia McFadyen, a native of Scotland, stepped up to the microphone just moments after being sworn in as an American citizen and thanked her friends and neighbors. But, she added, President Bush was also a powerful influence in her decision. “Mr. President, I’d like to thank you for inspiring me to complete this process,” she said. “Without you, this day may have never come.” For new citizens like McFadyen, it seemed especially fitting that the president honored 72 new citizens and reflected on Thomas Jefferson’s legacy during the 46th annual Independence Day and Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – President George W. Bush will attend the July 4 event at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, the White House has announced. Bush will be the featured speaker at Monticello’s 46th annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. He will become the fourth sitting president to participate in Independence Day activities at Monticello, joining Franklin D. Roosevelt (1936), Harry S. Truman (1947), and Gerald R. Ford (1976). “We are truly honored to have President Bush as our featured speaker on July 4, and regard it as a great compliment that he has chosen to spend part of the...

As U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III began to speak yesterday, American flags fluttered in the breeze and military aircraft zoomed overhead. The graves of soldiers, freshly dug and from centuries past, bore silent testimony. The 70 people summoned before him had committed no crime -- it was the happiest day of their lives. Ellis had moved his Alexandria courtroom to Arlington National Cemetery to swear in immigrants from more than 30 countries as U.S. citizens, the first time a naturalization ceremony was held on the hallowed grounds in the cemetery's 144-year history. He wanted to impress upon the new...

               Sandeep Singh               June 04, 2008 The Department of Homeland Security last week showcased an India-born soldier, one of the six foreign-born members of the military, at a special naturalisation ceremony for new citizens of the United States.Ludhiana-born Sandeep Singh, 23, a soldier in the US Army's 3rd US Infantry Continental Color Guard Team, said he had "followed his desire to serve his adopted nation after the terrorist attacks of 9/11."He was among 26 men and women from 21 countries who were administered the Oath of Allegiance by...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 27, 2008 – The poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty beckons “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free,” but on this Memorial Day, quite the opposite was true, as 44 members of the U.S. military marched forward to become America’s newest citizens. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff congratulates a soldier May 26, 2008, on his new U.S. citizenship at a ceremony on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Forty-four soldiers and Marines became citizens at a naturalization ceremony. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Scott Davis  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

CLEARWATER — This month's death of Army Spc. Arturo Huerta-Cruz in Iraq cast a spotlight on troops serving in the U.S. military who are not American citizens. Huerta-Cruz, 23, was born in a small town in rural Mexico and moved to Clearwater with his family when he was 10. He was a legal permanent resident, or a "green card" soldier. That made him an exception. Noncitizens account for about 5 percent of the troops in all the branches of the U.S. military. Noncitizens now must have green cards to enlist. But as the nation fights wars on two fronts, some...

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008 – Marine Lance Cpl. Evan Eskharia, a basic water systems technician with Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), received his United States citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at Al Faw Palace here April 12. Marine Lance Cpl. Evan Eskharia shows off his certificate of naturalization after a ceremony at Al-Faw Palace, Baghdad, April 12. Eskharia has wanted to be a U.S. citizen since coming to America when he was a child. He serves as a basic water systems technician assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S....

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, April 14, 2008 – Two hundred fifty-nine foreign-born U.S. troops serving throughout Iraq became American citizens at Al Faw Palace here April 12 in the largest U.S. naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. Army Spc. Simon Nbenye, an Arabic interpreter with Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, admires his American flag and certificate of naturalization April 12, 2008, at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory, in Baghdad, during the largest American naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. Nbenye, a former citizen of war-torn Sudan, entered the United States...

Package of a Marine born in Baghdad becoming an American Citizen at a ceremony held at Al-Faw Palace in Baghdad. Produced by Staff Sgt. Ryan O' Hare. Also see "Iraqi Marine Becomes American Citizen" in the b-roll section.

Soldiers become American citizens in Africa DJIBOUTI (March 16, 2008) — Seven Soldiers supporting the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa mission became U.S. citizens during a Military Naturalization Ceremony at the U.S. Embassy March 13. After enlisting in the Army and serving the United States, Four Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry (Light), Delta Company, and three Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Delta Company, raised their right hands and said the Oath of Allegiance. During the ceremony, Ambassador W. Stuart Symington, U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti and keynote speaker, addressed the candidates reminding them about the oath...

U.S. Marine Cpl. Mario Ramos-Villalta put on his freshly pressed uniform early Thursday as a citizen of El Salvador. By the end of the day, he would be a citizen of the United States of America. Ramos-Villalta told CNN: "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments." 3 of 3more photos » "I am an American," he said with a smile, moments after his paperwork cleared. "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments, I finally get it, being an American. We are happy about it."

U.S. Marine Cpl. Mario Ramos-Villalta put on his freshly pressed uniform early Thursday as a citizen of El Salvador. By the end of the day, he would be a citizen of the United States of America. I am an American," he said with a smile moments after his paperwork cleared. "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments, I finally get it, being an American. We are happy about it." "It's all thanks to CNN -- my news coming out, my story. That helped me out a lot," he said, referring to a story...

A lawsuit filed Thursday in a New York federal court by Latino immigrants seeks to force immigration authorities to complete hundreds of thousands of stalled naturalization petitions in time for the new citizens to vote in November. (snip) The class action suit was brought by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of legal Hispanic immigrants in the New York City area who are eager to vote... (snip) “It is astonishing the government should be so unresponsive to immigrants who have enthusiastically taken all the steps to become Americans,” said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council...