I couldn't resist posting this one... Makes me very proud of our troops. Especially after what John Kerry just said the other day...Please read on...


Thought for the day

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all
the anti-American sentiment and negativity, we
should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony
Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked
by one of his Parliament members why he believes so
much in America , he said:
"A simple way to take measure of a country is to
look at how many want in ... And how many want out."
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die
for you:

1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.

One died for your soul, the other for your
freedom. If you want to pass this on I think it
would be appropriate, as many seem to forget BOTH of
them

Wow, I love it!!! I can't believe he said that! Very profound!




Colonel Electrofeather aka Humble Gracespreader

Two things:

1). Eye knot dumm. Eye gragitated frum purrdo younaverseti n makanakel ngenearng



2).

ROFL!! I wondered how my suthern sojur wood feel abut that quote! Corse we suthurn foks rnt to smart anyhow.

ROFL Jonathan!!! I love it!!

That was great and I've allready passed it on to all my friends..

Boy, you have some issues there...

I posted this to show how the Prime Minister of England looks and thinks of our country....a very positive thing. Yes, we live in a country that is FREE, and our American G.I.s have fought for that freedom. Simple as that. Our soldiers will lay down their lives for freedom. What other countries are actually over there fighting for freedom in Iraq? I really don't see any other soldiers willing to do such a thing as much as our soldiers...

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us to have eternal life. I really don't know of anyone else that would be willing to do such a thing...

Nothing wrong with that comparison...they are/were both willing to lay their lives down for somebody else...

God Bless the American Soldier! Enough said!!!!

I can only wonder what the British Troops thought....

Very nicely put Beth, I thank your husband and all the soldiers out there, their families for their sacrafices for me, for you and for all of our futures.

Out of curiosity, I looked up Blair's quote. This is what I found if anyone else is interested.

Quote:

Measure for Measure Claim: UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in and how many want out." Status: Multiple: Blair uttered (at least a version of) the quote now attributed to him: True. Blair was the first person to do so: False. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2006] The Measure of a Country In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the anti-American sentiment and negativity about our government and its policies, we should remember Tony Blair's words to his own people. During a recent interview Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain was quoted giving the following answer to one his parliament members as to why he believes so much in America and its President. And does he think they are on the right track? Blair's reply — "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at ... how many want in ... and how many want to get out." Variations: In October 2006 a variation composed of the basic e-mail with this following bit of text tacked onto the end of it began appearing in the snopes.com inbox: Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you: 1. Jesus Christ 2. The American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. Origins: The terrorist attacks of September 11 brought home to many the realization that, no matter what its own citizens think of it, beyond its own borders, the U.S. is not universally loved. This is a harsh realization to have to make one's peace with. Some look to lessen its sting by grasping at statements made by non-Americans that tend to confirm the enmity is limited to a rabid few, with the majority of the world's citizens continuing to regard the U.S. as the ideal nation and as a force for good. Because the Tony Blair quote offers support for that perception, it has been seized upon by those looking for this type of reassurance. Tony Blair, the United Kingdom's Prime Minister since 1997, is a charismatic and articulate speaker who moves easily on the world's stage. He is known for an ability to strike to the heart of complex situations with a few well-chosen words. It is therefore unsurprising the "simple way to take measure of a country" observation found its way to him or that he is now believed to have coined it. Blair did indeed utter a version of the adage now laid at his feet, even if it was worded and arranged a bit differently. In January 2003, during his address to British ambassadors in London, he said: First, we should remain the closest ally of the US, and as allies influence them to continue broadening their agenda. We are the ally of the US not because they are powerful, but because we share their values. I am not surprised by anti-Americanism; but it is a foolish indulgence. For all their faults and all nations have them, the US are a force for good; they have liberal and democratic traditions of which any nation can be proud. I sometimes think it is a good rule of thumb to ask of a country: are people trying to get into it or out of it? It's not a bad guide to what sort of country it is. While the PM's remarks are not an exact match for the wording now attributed to him, the substance of the two is the same. However, that substance had been given voice to before by various people. Blair was far from the first of offer the observation about judging a country's worth by looking at how many are trying to get in and how many are trying to get out. In 1992, the rejoinder's central idea was expressed by political commentator George Will, when he suggested it as a "gate test" indicator: Most of all, America passes the critical gate test. Open the gate and see where people go — in or out. This is still the country people flock to. Political writer Timothy Garton Ash put it to use in 1994 in the journal Foreign Affairs: The third dimension of power has to do with the overall attractiveness of a particular society, culture and way of life. Its crudest measure is the number of people inside a country who want to get out compared to the number outside who want to get in. (One might call this the Statue of Liberty test.) In 1996, it was posted online to a number of newsgroups as: One of the best indicators of what makes a country great is the number of people who want to get out compared to the number who want to get in. On that scale, America is on the top of the list. No doubt countless others have over the years worked versions of this appraisal of a country's worth into their public utterances. Yet we need not chronicle its every manifestation to settle the question about Tony Blair having being the author of it — he wasn't. Barbara "the blairfaced truth" Mikkelson Last updated: 26 October 2006 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/blair.asp

IMO regardless of what Kerry meant to say it did come out as an insult to our troops. As a "prior soldier" himself he should have known right off that what he said was going to be taken the wrong way and quickly apologize instead of waiting until the next day. Soldiers could care less about "political jokes" being made but they do care about being made to feel their choice to join the military to defend our country instead of going to college was a bad one. I can only imagine how his comments effected the morale of the soldiers in Iraq.

Pink
Prior Soldier of 10 years who is proud to still be serving the US Army

"Come ride with me through the veins of history I'll show you a God who falls asleep on the job
How can we win when fools can be king
Don't waste your time or time will waste you"


Knights of Cydonia
By Muse


I guess I have issues too

The following is a letter that I received from my husband shortly after being deployed to Iraq. It speaks volumes as to why we are over there...

Hello,

I had a few minutes so I though I would write. Anyway, the other day I figured out why we are here. When we were down at the embassy the other day we were at the bazaar and we were walking through there buying stuff. Well, there is this little girl, Norda, who is about 4-5 years old, big eyes, bright smile, dirty face etc. She sells Pepsi. The only English she speaks is "Pepsi sir". Of course my buddies and I wound up buying like $5 (a days worth of wages here) of soda and a couple of scarves and some other stuff from her mother. She is just so cute and the look in her eyes when I brought all the guys over really made it a sight to see. She was hopping around giving everyone the sodas that they asked for (if it happened to be a different can then the one you were looking at it didn't matter, that was the one you wanted). Her family lives in a little shack behind their stand at the market. They sleep on the floor and basically have nothing. But that little girl just made me realize that she is the future of this country and she might have a chance to grow up into something good if we can get these other idiots to stop messing around. I guess she humanized the whole situation here for me. There are times when I am just sitting around wondering what you are doing and feeling sorry for yourself for not being there with all of you. At least I know you are safe and well, but this little girl could be gone in an instant. It is a violent place here, as well there is a lack of good medicine and her family being so poor gives her a lot more strikes against her than our kids will ever face. But this little girl made one G.I. see past himself and look into someone else's life for once.

I know this isn't a normal e-mail that I write, but I was just sitting here thinking about the trip from Wednesday. Next time I write, I will try not to be so serious. But I just thought I would try and share some of my experience with you.

I love you.

Jim




The picture is Norda who was killed shortly after my husband wrote this letter...she was in the marketplace with her family, my husband was also supposed to be in the Marketplace at the time of the bombing (I might add this was not done by us, it was by the insurgents that so many people seem to think have a right to genocide). I am thankful that he was safe; but had he died, I know it would have been doing something that he believed in.

Another quote by that great American West Point ARMY man Gen. George S. Patton

"Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack." -- George S. Patton