Duck!!!

I've been thinking about about the lame duck sessions for Congress and the President lately and the concept just boggles my mind. Why after an election where a majority of people decide on a new Congress or President do we allow for a sitting Congress or President to make decisions or laws?

Let's start at the beginning (the very best place to start). In the original Constitution the date which a new session of Congress begins was the first Monday of December. The date which the Presidents term was to begin was not in the original Constitution. March 4 was the date that was 30 days following the casting of Electoral College votes in Congress (February 4, 1789)for George Washington. That gave him time to travel to the capitol (New York) to the inaugural.

The first Constitutional reference to the Presidential inauguration date (March 4) was in the 12th Amendment.

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President ... if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President...

That still did not set the exact inauguration date for President. That all changed with the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. This Amendment set both the Presidential and Congressional term start dates.

The Twentieth Amendment

1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

So that is the history of the lame ducks in a nut shell. Now I will get on with my rant on why this has turned crazy.

First off, this age of communications and travel advances there is no reason to have any kind of lame duck for the President or the Congress. The lame duck Congress and President have no accountability to what is passed during the lame duck sessions. I heard it explained on the Fred Thompson Show as "It is like giving your ex-wife your check book after the divorce." It just doesn't make any since. The "ruling" party could pass (and have passed) all kinds for legislation without having to account for their actions to the people they are to represent.

For example, There was a vote for censure of the crook Charlie Rangel. During that vote our Representative, John Salazar, voted no. Charlie Rangel is a convicted criminal and our Representative said essentially that the people of the Third Congressional District think that is A-OK. I don't believe that is true. That is just a small example.

I believe that after an election, there is no reason to wait until the Third of January to swear in Congressmen. Have the new congressmen sworn in the day their election results have been verified. The "official" start date of Congress could still be in January, but the new Congressmen could already be serving. That eliminates the lame duck problems with Congress.

How about the President? I think we could actually eliminate most of the lame duck for the President. The President does have to wait until the electoral votes are cast in the new Congress. If we change the Congresses start date back to the original Third of December of the election year, that gives time for the election to be settled.

You might asking yourself  "What about the time the President needs to create a new government?" I understand that the President needs to make key appointments during that lame duck session so they can "hit the ground running" when they are inaugurated. Why does that have to be after the election?

Wouldn't it be more informational for the electorate to see who a prospective President will appoint before the election? I mean it might have changed a few votes if we knew that folks like Tim "the Tax-Cheat" Geithner and "Rahm "Dead Fish" Emanuel were going to be in key White House positions.

I believe that we should be fighting to have a Constitutional Amendment to revise the Twentieth amendment. The time has come to make a change into the 21st century.

Seven Score and Seven Years Ago

Seven score and seven years ago, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address ...

Too Late to Apologize

Rebels take Yorktown!!!

On this day in 1781 the rebel American Army accepted the surrender of Chuck Cornwallis at Yorktown, for that I felt a little Yankee Doodle was in order...

Happy Constitution Day!

Everybody needs a little Schoolhouse Rock reminder, so here is a video about the Constitution....

65 Years Ago Today - We Won a War

Sixty-five years ago today, Paul Tibbits piloted his B-29 bomber over Hiroshima, Japan and dropped "Little Boy" to an unsuspecting city. Now today we are told that we are supposed to apologize for that action. Horse-pucky! That and the bombing of Nagasaki saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and her allies that would have occurred during the invasion of Japan.

The Japanese nation attacked our ships in Pearl Harbor, killed our men in Midway, Guadalcanal, the Philippines, and many many other places. They were so determined in their cause that they placed their own young men into an airplane and had them fly into our ships, killing our men.

President Truman had no choice but to do as much damage as he possibly could, to SAVE OUR MEN. Our citizens were in danger and he protected them, we should never be sorry for those actions. President Truman made a difficult decision that any leader, that loves his country, would have made.

Now 65 years later we have a President that has so little regard for his own country that he will allow for an enemy mosque to be built within blocks of Ground Zero. This mosque is a way for radical Islamists to celebrate a battle won. This should not be allowed to happen.

The next thing you know King Obama will ask for us to place a monument at Pearl Harbor to celebrate the Japanese attack of December 7th. Should we start looking for statues of Hitler at the World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C.?

We should always remember August 6th. Not as a day that killed 50,000 Japanese but as day that saved the lives of 500,000 Americans, and a great leader that made that difficult decision.

56 Men Who Changed the World

Here are the 56 men who gave their lives, fortunes, and their scared honor for our country...

Memorial Day 2010

Memorial Day 2010

December crossing late at night.
George had led us to the fight.
We crossed that river at such a cost.
Trenton gained us liberty lost.

Jefferson bound to stop their greed.
Ships were sailed on Barbary seas.
First time fighting on foreign land.
Marines they came and made a stand.

Redcoats set our House ablaze.
We fought again our union saved.
With bombs bursting in the air
An anthem gained when we were there.

Taylor and our fighting men.
Sent just North of Rio Grande.
Mexican soldiers met they their fate.
Land we gained now several states.

We were called the Blue and Grey
Though ideas were not the same.
We fought bravely with Grant and Lee.
A union joined from sea to sea.

A Cuban port here lies the Maine
We fight again, this time with Spain.
Teddy's there he fits the bill.
His Riders rode up San Juan Hill.

A powerful nation we've now become.
We help our friends in fighting Hun.
In holes they dug the Doughboy's fought.
Germans felt the wrath they brought.

To his people Herr Hitler lied.
American fighting stopped Nazi pride.
Another war but yet the same.
Hirohito would take the blame.

The United Nations requested men.
Off to Korea we went then
Contain the Commies we were told.
We did our job, the Commies fold.

Brave men sent to Vietnam.
Some folks said the war was wrong.
Without question their duty done.
They way we fought we should have won.

Iraqi's stole Kuwaiti land.
They called us in to make a stand.
A Storm'n Norman led attack.
100 days we broke their back.

One September in Twenty and One.
Cowards changed planes to bombs.
Now we fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Terrorists die for their attack.

Now for more than eleven score.
Our warriors guard our very shores.
They fight and die and not for greed.
They fight because we asked them please.

Our liberties worth to them is known.
Selfless gallantry is often shown.
Many fought and many died.
Your security they did provide.

The last Monday of every May.
We honor these men in a special way.
Your trials we will never know.
Let our thanks please be shown.

So take some time this special day
To find some place to sit and pray.
A prayer of thanks for fighting men.
The Lord will bless them in the end...

VE Day 65 years later

Today is the 65th anniversary of Germany's surrender to the Allies. Thousands of men died so there would be no more oppression, no more socialism, no pure race, for that President Obama I am not sorry.

Ragged Old Flag

Our great country took some hits this week, with the passage of Health Care, Karl Marx Barrack Obama easing sanctions on Iran while ignoring one of our best allies in Israel. I felt like I needed this little song and maybe you do too...

1969 vs. 2009

The other day I was looking at one of my favorite places to buy books, the Goodwill, and found a 1969 Readers Digest Almanac. Since I like statistics and facts and I was born in 1969 I thought that would be an interesting read. Here's a snap-shot of what the country was like in 1969 compared to 2009:



1969: Makeup of Senate (Jan 1): 63 Democrats, 37 Republicans
2009: Makeup of Senate (Dec 2009): 57 Democrats 40 Republicans, 2 Independent, 1 vacant



1969: Makeup of House (Jan 1): 246 Democrats, 186 Republicans, 2 vacant, 1 Not seated
2009: Makeup of House (Dec 2009): 257 Democrats, 178 Republicans



1969: Congressional Salary: $30,000/year
2009: Congressional Salary: $174,000/year



1969: President (Jan 1) : Lyndon B, Johnson (D)
2009: President (Dec 2009): B. Hussein Obama (D)



1969: Presidential Salary (Jan 1): $100,000/ year plus $50,000/ year for expenses
2009: Presidential Salary (Jan 1): $400,000/year plus $50,000/year for expenses, $50,000/ year for travel. $19,000/year for entertainment.



1969: Gallon of premium gas: $0.36
2009: Gallon of premium gas: $2.95



1969: Quart of milk :$0.24
2009: Quart of milk: $1.25



1969: Pack of cigarettes: $0.31
2009: Pack of cigarettes: $5.50



1969: Sugar 1 pound: $0.12
2009: Sugar 1 pound: $0.38

1969: Penicillin per tab: $0.19
2009:Penicillin per tab: $0.13

1969: Movie ticket: $1.26
2009: Movie ticket:$7.18

1969: Average manufacturing wage: $2.63/hr
2009: Average manufacturing wage $18.40/hr

1969: Unemployment: 3.8%
2009: Unemployment:10.0%

1969: Internet Invented (not by Al Gore)
2009: 1.7 billion people with Internet access

1969: CSU tuition: $402
2009: CSU tuition:$6318

1969: Largest computer has 16KB of storage (16,000 bytes)
2009:Largest database (Yahoo) has 2PB of storage (2,000,000,000,000 bytes)

1969: Average computer size = size of room
2009: Average computer size = fits on lap

66th Infantry

It was Christmas Eve 1944 and the 66th Infantry was attacked by a Nazi submarine. I blogged about this event one other time (see it here). I like to remember it so I thought I'd give a try at poetry. Please be gentle, I'm new to this poetry thing....

66th Infantry

Late in 1944

The war was almost done

But for us in 66

The war had just begun

Leopoldville I was told

I was going to board

Ships and me don't get along

Ask blessings from the Lord

"Sack-time" is what I seek

Hiding from the sea

I find a bed for my stuff

I find a bed for me

Just like Christmas Eve's of past

I find it hard to sleep

The reason's are much different now

I pray my "Soul to Keep"

As we head for Cherborg

on the north French coast

I start dreaming in my sleep

of chestnuts Mom will roast

With a boom, I shook so hard

It woke me from my sleep

Not knowing what was going on

I jumped up to my feet

As my feet had left the bunk

And stepped onto the floor

Water was 6 inches there

That wasn't there before

Not knowing really what to do

My life belt I did grab

I headed up to the top

Helping several lad

My Uncle Sam had warned me

Of carnage I would see

I somehow blocked it from my mind

As more I worked to free

We finally made it to the top

Brilliant was 'long side

Some men jumped onto her deck

Others missed and died

I see the lights of Cherborg

Oh not so far away

I pray for quick relief from them

On this tragic day

Only minutes later

Boats not ment for sea

Were gathering around us

God sent them here for me

Abandon ship was called out

So when I approached the rail

I don't give a second thought

The Channel I would bail

The water was so very cold

I'm glad that I could swim

The boys at Benning taught us well

I'm thankful Lord, for them

Not much later I was on a tug

and heading for the shore

Events that happened on that night

Memories forever stored

Fighting cats, the 66th

Dished out their revenge

Raining walls of steel fell

on the Nazi pens

They fought hard for our land

As warriors it was their lot

They gave all that they could

and never fired a shot

So every Christmas Eve I pause

and take some time to pray

For the freedom given me

on that fateful day

The Gadsden Flag

You have noticed at recent demonstrations, that some of the folks wave the Gadsden flag, I thought maybe you would like a little history of the flag and why I post the Gadsden flag on the right side of this web page.

The History

In 1751, Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way to thank the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England.

In 1754, Mr. Franklin used the snake again. This time as an illustration (the first political cartoon). This was an attempt to unite the Colonies during the French and Indian War. The newspapers all over the Colonies used the illustration and the snake as an American symbol was born.



By 1775, the popular snake symbol was no longer cut into pieces and it was being used all over the Colonies. It was used for all sorts of things: buttons, money, and of course, flags and banners. It was also no longer a generic snake but a rattlesnake.

The first time we find the snake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me":

In the fall of 1775, at the battle of Bunker Hill, Gen. Washington's troops were so low on supplies (namely ammunition) that they were told "not to fire till you see the whites of their eyes."

In October, a merchant ship called The Black Prince returned to Philadelphia from a voyage to England. On board were private letters to the Second Continental Congress that informed them that the British government was sending two ships to America loaded with arms and gunpowder for the British troops.

Congress decided that General Washington needed those arms more than the British. A plan was hatched to capture the cargo ships. They authorized the creation of a Continental Navy, starting with four ships. The frigate that carried the information from England, the Black Prince, was one of the four. It was purchased, converted to a man-of-war, and renamed the Alfred.

To accompany the Navy on their first mission, Congress also authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines. The Alfred and its sailors and marines went on to achieve some of the most notable victories of the American Revolution. But that's not the story we're interested in here.

What's particularly interesting for us is that some of the Marines that enlisted that month in Philadelphia were carrying drums painted yellow, emblazoned with a fierce rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and sporting the motto "Don't Tread on Me."

In December 1775, "An American Guesser" anonymously wrote to the Pennsylvania Journal:

"I observed on one of the drums belonging to the marines now raising, there was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, 'Don't tread on me.' As I know it is the custom to have some device on the arms of every country, I supposed this may have been intended for the arms of America."

This anonymous writer, having "nothing to do with public affairs" and "in order to divert an idle hour," speculated on why a snake might be chosen as a symbol for America.

First, it occurred to him that "the Rattle-Snake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America."

The rattlesnake also has sharp eyes, and "may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance." Furthermore,

"She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ... she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her."

"I confess I was wholly at a loss what to make of the rattles, 'till I went back and counted them and found them just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America; and I recollected too that this was the only part of the Snake which increased in numbers. ...

"'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living."

Many scholars now agree that this "American Guesser" was Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin is also known for opposing the use of an eagle — "a bird of bad moral character" — as a national symbol.


Why is it called Gadsden Flag?

Although Benjamin Franklin helped create the American rattlesnake symbol, his name isn't generally attached to the rattlesnake flag. The yellow "don't tread on me" standard is usually called a Gadsden flag, for Colonel Christopher Gadsden, or less commonly, a Hopkins flag, for Commodore Esek Hopkins.

These two individuals were mulling about Philadelphia at the same time, making important contributions to American history and the history of the rattlesnake flag.

Christopher Gadsden was an American patriot if ever there was one. He led Sons of Liberty in South Carolina starting in 1765, and was later made a colonel in the Continental Army. In 1775 he was in Philadelphia representing his home state in the Continental Congress. He was also one of three members of the Marine Committee who decided to outfit and man the Alfred and its sister ships.

Commodore Hopkins, portrait by C. Corbutt, 1776. Click here for a larger image. The Don't Tread on Me flag in this image appears to be a First Navy Jack. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Gadsden and Congress chose a Rhode Island man, Esek Hopkins, as the commander-in-chief of the Navy. The flag that Hopkins used as his personal standard on the Alfred is the one we would now recognize. It's likely that John Paul Jones, as the first lieutenant on the Alfred, ran it up the gaff.

It's generally accepted that Hopkins' flag was presented to him by Christopher Gadsden, who felt it was especially important for the commodore to have a distinctive personal standard. Gadsden also presented a copy of this flag to his state legislature in Charleston. This is recorded in the South Carolina congressional journals:

"Col. Gadsden presented to the Congress an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the commander in chief of the American navy; being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattle-snake in the middle, in the attitude of going to strike, and these words underneath, "Don't Tread on Me!"

Why do I post it on my page?

I post the Gadsden flag on my page because it represents a lot of the same things it represented back in 1775...

Like in 1775, we are fighting for our liberty from a controlling government. A government that would like complete control of all of our money, personal lives, and liberty.

I believe that it is representative of a joined, yet separate, Union (like the rattles of a rattlesnake) . A Union of people with vastly different ideas but can agree that this is a great country and its people need to be free at any cost.

I believe that the Gadsden flag represents how Americans feel right now, coiled and ready to strike. The corrupt and foolish politicians are starting to hear our rattle, but they are not taking heed that we are about to strike.

I feel how Ben Franklin felt in 1775, "She [the rattlesnake] never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ... she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her."

I know that this was a long blog but I wanted to give you a little background about the Gadsden flag. If you would like more information about the Gadsden flag and maybe pick up some clip art for your page, you can go where I went for the history part of this blog: Gadsden.info

President Lincoln's Proclamation

I would like to thank all of my readers for your continued support of Plumb and Square. It is hard to believe that I started this blog almost a year ago, Thank you, I've enjoyed writing this past year.

Even with all the things that are going bad around this country and the world, remember that we are blessed to live in this great country. President Lincoln knew we were blessed and set aside a special day, once a year, just so we could give thanks to our our "Most High God". The following is President Lincoln's proclamation creating Thanksgiving. God Bless You and Thank You again, Todd (Teesquare).


By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Youth Conservation Corps

As I read about stimulus money heading to the Grand Mesa for trail head improvements, like paving, it got me thinking about my one experience with government employment. When I was 16, I was selected to be a part of the Youth Conservation Corps.

From all the literature I thought it was going to be a great opportunity of camping all summer in some exotic place and fixing trails and enjoying the great outdoors; what a great way to spend a summer, I thought.

They selected my name and 4 others from a list of about 4,000 entries. They did not interview for the positions, they drew the names from a hat, 3 boys and 2 girls. The place we were selected for, was the Colorado National Monument. So there was no camping going to be happening and it was not too exotic, more like my own back yard. I was disappointed but I was happy to have another summertime job (I was also busing tables at Pantuso's 4 nights a week).

At least I could still enjoy the great outdoors and fix up cool trails maybe see some wildlife, etc.....NOT!

Evidently the trail they were talking about was the main road over the Monument because I spent most of the summer being a flag person for a road repair crew. We paved patches all the way from Frutia to Grand Junction. As an extra bonus they "allowed" me to clean the moleboard (blade) of the scraper every night. So I would put a pair of coveralls on, get 5 gallons of diesel fuel and a hand scraper and head for the scraper. I would dump diesel on the blade and scrape off all the asphalt. Oh what fun. Another little secret about paving is; gnats love new asphalt. They would get so thick we wore scarves and mesh hoods so we didn't inhale gnats with every breath.

The program lasted 3 months and in typical government fashion our first payroll check did not arrive until the summer was almost complete. I'm glad I had my second job to pay for the gas to get to my first job for the summer.

I said all that, to say this (my actual point): Why the hell do we keep adding pavement to our national parks? Doesn't anybody just enjoy going to a place that has been left alone? Isn't the difficulty of the adventure part of the fun of being outdoors and going camping or snowmobiling? What I mean is, if you have to unload your snowmobile in the mud or park in a ditch isn't that the outdoor adventure.

If I wanted to go camping in a Wal-mart parking lot I would. I would rather have to make a little extra effort and have more fun, in the absence of asphalt.

So I see a story like we are spending 1/2 million to pave the Grand Mesa I get a bit irritated.

D+23,741

That is today; D-Day (June 6, 1944) +23,741 days. Sixty-five years ago the long planned invasion at the Normandy beaches, occurred. At Normandy where many thousands who died and were wounded. These men are heroes. They sacrificed their time, families, youth, and sometimes their lives, for freedom.

More than that, these men sacrificed for someone elses freedom. People they did not know. They could not speak their language. They knew nothing of their culture, but they saved them from oppressive fascist rule. True heros.

The men I think about...

The foot soldier
In our family it was a 19 year-old young man named Lupe Torres who landed there in the second wave. Grandpa told his granddaughter this story of his landing...

Because of the exhaustion and a loaded backpack, wading/swimming towards the beach he started to drown. He was struggling to try to keep his head above water and was giving up. The chore of staying alive becoming much to difficult. Then two Sargents grabbed him and helped him to the beach. When he came around to what was going on, Lupe asked some of his other friends where the two Sargents were that helped him out of the water? The soldiers replied that their were no other soldiers there, you helped yourself from the water. When grandpa told Pam the story he said "It was two angels that saved my life that day." I believe it was God's hand that helped him that day.

The leader
On a trip I took to England in the early 1990's what I noticed walking around London was statues of General Eisenhower on the corners. Not FDR, not Truman but statues of Eisenhower, the General who planned D-Day and had the courage to carry it out. Truly a difficult task to commit hundreds of thousands men to their possible demise.

The Western Union telegraph man
I know it is strange to put such a man in this place but what I think of is, the everyday people who had to inform a mother or wife that their son was gone. Everyday people, often not trained for such duty, witnessed and participated in, the hardest day in a families lives. They did this everyday.

To these and so many other people during one of the most difficult times in our history the only thing left that I can say is: Thank You

444 days

That is how many days the Iranians kept 52 Americans in 1979-1980. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the current Iranian President) was the student leader in charge of organizing the attack which resulted in the kidnappings.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes that Israel should be "wiped off the map"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not believe the Holocaust occurred.

In a speech given in April 2008, Ahmadinejad described the September 11, 2001 attacks as a "suspect event." He minimized the attacks by saying all that had happened was, "a building collapsed." He claimed that the death toll was never published, that the victims' names were never published, and that the attacks were used subsequently as pretext for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

President Obama thinks giving this guy nuclear "power" technology is a good idea. Obama is so intrigued with the Iranian government, he also invited them to our Independence Day festivities.

To me this is a slap in the face of the American people by our own leader. Americans were captured and kept hostage for 444 days by this Iranian creep and our President has the gall to invited him over for tea? The Obama administration is looking a lot more like a bad Jimmy Carter administration. We can just hope that in 2012 there is another Ronald Reagan, like in 1980.

December 24, 1944

If you look to the bottom of the page you will notice a arm patch from the 66th Infantry Division. My grandfather, Larry Hunt was a member of this division. He was a Sergent in the 870th Field Artillery battallon. During World War 2 a majority of his job was two-fold, he was a mechanic for the big artillery guns and he trained members of the 66th on how to fire a machine gun. In December 1944 the division was finally called into action and was to be sent as replacements during the Battle of the Bulge. I have wrote the following story at other times and different places but never here. I felt during this time between Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day, it needed repeating.

These are the events as they occurred on December 24, 1944:

On Christmas Eve 1944, the Belgian troopship Leopoldville was transporting 2,235 American soldiers, all from the 262nd and 264th Regiment, 66th Infantry Division across the English Channel as reinforcements to fight in a fierce struggle that would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. The Leopoldville was protected by escort ships, including the British Destroyer Brilliant, but no air cover was made available even though the threat of attack by German submarines was high. Just five and one half miles from its destination of Cherbourg, France, the vessel was torpedoed by the German submarine U-486. The ship sank 2 1/2 hours later.

According to many survivors, the Belgian crew abandoned the sinking ship and left the American soldiers to fend for themselves. The British Commander in charge of the convoy ordered the Leopoldville's anchor dropped to prevent the troopship from drifting into a minefield outside the harbor. While this solved one problem, it created another. When a tug arrived on the scene, the dropped anchor prevented it from towing the sinking vessel into shore. Murphy's law states that whatever can go wrong will. On Christmas Eve 1944, Murphy's law was in full effect. Delayed radio transmissions for help, delayed response of rescue craft, heavy seas and freezing temperatures were just a few of the many things that sealed the soldiers fates. And it being Christmas Eve, serviceman at an American base in Cherbourg who could have aided the stricken Leopoldville were taking a night off from the war, either partying or attending church. No one seemed to be around to help.

By the end of that terrible night, 763* American soldiers were dead, many drowning or freezing to death in the icy waters of the English Channel. These soldiers represented youths from 47 of the then 48 United States. New York State alone lost 80 young men, including 39 from New York City. Many of those killed were only 18 to 21 years old and 493 of the bodies were never recovered. Three sets of brothers were killed, including two sets of twins.

Because of wartime censorship and to cover-up the mistakes made by the various governments and officials involved, the disaster was not reported to the news media. Survivors were told by the British and American governments to keep quiet. Amazingly, relatives of the victims received notices that their loved ones were Missing in Action, even though the U.S. War Department knew them all to have perished. Later, the men were declared Killed in Action, but even then no details of their deaths were divulged to their families. After the war, the tragedy was considered an embarrassment to the Allies and all reports were filed away as secret by the American and British governments. Families of victims searched vainly for information about the deaths of their loved ones. Only in 1996--over 50 years later--did the British declassify documents relating to the sinking of the Leopoldville.

The Leopoldville disaster was the worst tragedy to ever befall an American Infantry Division as the result of an enemy submarine attack. Yet, this is more than a story about a terrible wartime tragedy, it is about how governments, in order to hide their own mistakes, can hide the truth from those who need it the most.

*The death toll has often been reported as 802. A review of the official Leopoldville Disaster List from the National Archives totals 763 confirmed dead.

The Italic portion of the story is from the History Channel web page. My grandfather while not on board the Leopoldville, knew many of these fallen men. I remember being told that his worst experience in the war (and he was later wounded) was getting "sea sick" crossing the Channel. Many years later I think I know why he got so ill.

My point of this story is: Take the time, this Memorial Day and remember the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this land.

March 4, 1801

This was a "red letter day" in United States history, yet I am sure not to many people even have a clue about the important event that occurred on this particular day.

Some of the other issues of the time were: Tripoli declaring war against the U.S. , the government of the United States moving to the new city of Washington D.C. , and West Point Military Academy being established. I am not talking about any of these rather large events of the day. The event I am talking about is a peaceful transition of power.

March 4, 1801 was the day that Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as our 3rd President. What makes that inauguration more special than the 3 others (George Washington was elected twice, John Adams once) that occurred prior to that time? It was the first time that an opposition party took control of the federal government. George Washington and John Adams both belonged to the Federalist party and Thomas Jefferson belonged to the Democratic-Republican party.

It was the day which we proved that as a country we can peacefully change from a government with one set of opinions and ideas, to a government with another set of opinions and ideas. What makes it special is, that there was no bloodshed, no coup, no leader had to die, and no riots in the streets. Just an election and a man with his hand on the Bible, is all it took.

I think of this now, with less than a month until Barrack H. Obama takes office and it has me thinking a bit. While I do not agree with very much of what Barrack has to say, I will support him because he is my President. His failure is America's failure, so I have no other choice but to support him. I know there are will be many things Obama does that I don't like, but I also know that in 4 years we will have the opportunity to have yet another transition of governments.... and it will be one of peace....