Memorial Day is soon upon us, and as you may imagine, it has a fresh & heightened significance to our family this year.  With this in mind, this book caught my eye ... and heart.  It is a story about a child whose father is being deployed.  The boy wishes to give his father something of himself to make the separation more tolerable, so he traces his hands, measures the distance from one hand to his other hand and cuts a piece of yarn that length.  He sees it as a "paper hug."  Anytime his Dad feels lonely, he just has to wrap the paper hug around himself and feel his son's love.

 

The child center where I work has agreed to share this project.  We are making paper hugs and sending them to a unit about to deploy ... to any soldier who wants one, as many as we can make.

 

Ok so I will be the first to say that our government fucking sucks in so many ways and the "wars" that are going on right now are so stupid and the reasons we went in were all BS.. but for you on here that want to bitch about it all I ask PLEASE at the end of you rants be them fact or fiction just right something how you DO support you troops maybe not the cause but the troops them self, the guys with the American flag on there shoulders that DO feel as though they are doing good in these countries. You only really see what the media shows you which is not shit. They only show you the bad because THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT!! That is what you watch. You are not going to tune into a story about some soldier passing out supplies at a school or kicking a soccer ball around with a bunch of kids, or giving some family dog its shots so it will live longer and healthier for them. Those stories dont make it to you. You dont see the connections with the people that are made by us soldiers.

So I ask one last time. If you going to bitch about the money and government and war and deaths of soldiers that is ok because that is why I am a soldier.. but please.. make sure you add a little bit in there how you do support us and will back us.. other wise what did those guys die for?

~SPC Hayenga

Now, I know many of my fellow mindsayers are actively opposed to the military action in Iraq and the administration that initiated it.  You are certainly welcome to your opinions.  War is hell.  That is not a cliche for no reason.  I am not a blind supporter of either the war or the administration.  The fact remains, however, that thousands of our military personel are willing to put their lives on the line, whether right or wrong in our eyes, to preserve our freedom and perchance to help purchase it for the people of other nations.  With freedom, comes responsibility and many even in this country have yet to learn that truth, so it makes sense that in a place where freedom is a new thing, time is needed for the full concept to evolve. 

 

Both my X and I served in the Army, and now, in 20 days and a wake-up, my youngest daughter will embark on a great adventure.  I, of course, hope she is not sent to Iraq or one of the other "hot spots", but she is willing to go wherever she is needed along with the others who have enlisted in any of the branches of service.  I have been searching for a way to actively support her while she is gone.  In my search, I came across this letter petition.  I offer it to you for what it is ... a small way to support those in harm's way.

 

My name is John Ellsworth and I am the father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth U.S.M.C. who was killed in the fight for Fallujah on 13 NOV 2004.

 

I am the Co-Chair of "Families United for our Troops and their Mission" which is a member of the "America Supports You" network. We are a grassroots coalition of Gold Star families, veterans, families with loved ones in harm's way, and Americans who share a deep appreciation for our men and women in uniform and support them in their efforts to make America safer by winning the War On Terror.

 

We at Families United have recently started an on-line petition to show support for our troops and will be delivering it to our Congressmen around September 11th 2007. We have received endorsement from the National V.F.W. in this quest for ONE MILLION SIGNATURES!

 

I am requesting that you provide a link to this important petition on your web site and notification to all of your members to participate in this event.  To link directly to this petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-america-petition.html.

 

I believe that this is too important to ignore any longer and we need to let our troops know America really does support them, even if Congress doesn’t.

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me

 

Repectfully,

 

John M. Ellsworth,
Proud Father of LCPL Justin M. Ellsworth U.S.M.C.
K.I.A. / Operation Iraqi Freedom
13 NOV 2004 - Fallujah, Iraq

 

SIGN PETITION HERE

 

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, is directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated."  ~ George Washington

 

~ B

 

On August 4 I posted about the Moderator at a Kos Conference that not only snuffed an American Soldier’s comments on the Troop Surge, but also exploded with hostility toward the Soldier and demanded a Kos panelist to “stand down” that was going to respond to the Soldier. Then in a huff unceremoniously stated the Panel discussion was terminated and stomped off the stage. That is the memory jogger.

 

The link to the video (that link must be fast forwarded to the 40 minute mark) I had only showed the Moderator – Jon Soltz – expressing his hostility to the Sergeant.

 

Courtesy of Pajamas Media, a news reporter covers the end of the Panel discussion from the audience perspective. He captures Soltz’s rude anger and the voice of the Sergeant. The Pajamas Media reporter then attempts an interview with Soltz – that did not go so well. Then the reporter interviews the Sergeant and of course he was very forth coming. The Sergeant’s interview reveals that Soltz in a private room threatened to have the Sergeant dishonorably discharged for wearing his uniform at a political function. Apparently it is illegal to wear military uniforms at public forums except under certain guidelines.

 

You and I both know that Soltz – a former soldier currently involved with Leftist moveon.org and votevets.org – did not want to hear any positive information from an American Soldier the contradicted the Left Wing view of the Troop Surge.

 

Here is the Pajamas Media link to the Kos conference I described.

 

Here is a YouTube video of a debate between Jon Soltz and MoveAmericaForward Chairman Melanie Morgan. After you watch this video you can understand why Soltz was hostile toward the Sergeant. Soltz contends that his votevets.org is the primary organization in America representing veterans of the wars being fought by American Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. That of course is hogwash and thus the origin of the hostility from an American Soldier confronting Soltz in a public forum at a Kos conference.

 

Melanie Morgan in the August 8 MoveAmericaForward e-newsletter says this about Jon Soltz:

 

Jon Soltz has become one of the leading anti-war spokespersons for the "surrender" movement that is trying to force our troops to declare "defeat" in Iraq and surrender the nation to al-Qaida.

 

He puts a "military" face on the surrender/defeat/retreat message of the anti-war movement, but make no mistake - he is actively working to undermine support for the missions of our troops at a time of war.  His conduct is shameful, and we should all be aware of what we're up against.  We need to be prepared to fight back here on the home front to ensure our troops that they have the support they need to finish their missions and achieve VICTORY.

 

Soltz is a classic Lefty claiming to represent the hearts and the minds of the American citizens and troops he purports to be the “leading voice” for (votevets.org). Soltz’s claims are propaganda taking advantage of polls that ask skewed questions that provide a skewed answer. On the other side of the political spectrum there are organizations that lay to the same claim and are more legitimate because a significant amount of there funding is grass roots as opposed to Anti-American Leftist George Soros (the major billionaire donor to moveon.org and votevets.org). MoveAmericaForward and VetsForFreedom represent the grassroots people that comprehend the threat of Islamism to Western Civilization.

 

Soltz is a representation of the Left that will do all it can to snuff the voice of the Right to prevent Americans from making informed decisions based on finding a middle ground. Leftists only want you to see the Left side of the field. Often times the Left side is sugar coated with utopian promises that cannot be kept because they are delusional or impossible. Think of that in November 2008.

 

 

In recognition of Memorial Day, I'd like to offer you a couple opportunities to demonstrate your support for the troops.   This is not a politicial issue.  It is a human issue.

 

 

 

        

 

 

Armed Services Blood Program 

 

I encourage each of us to do something, to get involved in our local communities, to put our energy, our time, and our finances to work,

Not so much in support of our government as to support ourselves.