I AM STILL HERE

I stood by you, near your bed last night,

I came to have a peep.

I could see that you were crying,

you found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly,

as you brushed away a tear,

“It’s me,” I said, “I haven’t left you,

I’m well. I’m fine. I’m still here.”

I was close to you at breakfast,

I watched you pour the tea.

You were thinking of the many times,

your hands reached down to me.

I was with you at the store today,

Your arms were getting sore.

I longed to take your heavy bags,

I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today,

You tend it with such care.

I want to reassure you,

that I’m not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house,

as you fumbled for your key.

I gently put my paw on you,

I smiled and said, “It’s me.”

You looked so very tired,

as you sank into a chair.

I tried so hard to let you know,

that I was standing there.

It’s possible for me to be,

so near you every day –

 to say to you with certainty,

“I never went away.”

You sat there very quietly,

then smiled – I think you knew.

In the stillness of that evening,

I was very close to you.

The day is over now,

I smile as I watch you yawn.

“Goodnight, God bless, my Friend,

I’ll see you in the morning.”

And when the time is right for you,

to cross the brief divide,

I’ll rush across to greet you,

and we’ll stand there, side by side.

I have so many things to show you,

there is so much for you to see.

 Be patient, live your journey out,

then come home and spend ~eternity with me.

~ Author Unknown~

 

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE PETS & FOR THOSE THAT DON’T!

The Following is Posted Very Low on the Refrigerator Door.

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object and I’ll have you know that tripping me doesn’t help because I will fall faster than you can run!

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this, however; do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch forever to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also realize that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm on your part.

And, for the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! I have been using the bathroom for years and canine/feline attendance is not required. If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to bark, claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. Just realize I must exit through the same door I entered~ eventually!

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt~ I

cannot stress this enough!

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT & LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don’t.

(2) If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture! That’s why they call it ‘fur’-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly.

Remember, dogs & cats are better than kids because they:

(1) Eat less,

(2) Don’t ask for money all the time,

(3) Are easier to train,

(4) Normally come when called,

(5) Never ask to drive the car,

(6) Don’t smoke or drink,

(7) Don’t want to wear your clothes,

(8) Don’t have to buy the latest fashions,

(9) Don’t need a gazillion dollars for college,

and finally;

(10) If they get pregnant, you can legally sell their children!

If you don’t like our rules, don’t visit us! Remember; I’ll be watching you!~Duffy

Although the first writer of the above is unknown, I know that many “tweaks” to the original have been made over the years~ and through my own experience, I have done so as well! ~JGT

“A Day That Will Live in Infamy” (Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii)

1. 

On an otherwise calm Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese shocked the world by bombing the American naval bYase at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

This ‘dastardly attack’ was the turning point for America and for the War.

On December 8, the nation was gathered around its radios to hear President Roosevelt deliver his “Day of Infamy” speech. That same day, Congress declared war on Japan. On December 11, Congress declared war on Germany.

The slogan ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ mobilized a nation and helped awaken the mighty war machine and economic engine that was America.

**Eighty two years ago~ just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appears out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded.

The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and drew the United States irrevocably into World War II. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan; Congress approved his declaration with just one dissenting vote. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States, and again Congress reciprocated. More than two years into the conflict, America had finally joined World War II.

With diplomatic negotiations with Japan breaking down, President Franklin D.

Roosevelt and his advisers knew that an eminent Japanese attack was probable, but nothing had been done to increase security at the important naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was Sunday morning, and many military personnel had been given passes to attend religious services off base. At 7:02 a.m., two radar operators spotted large groups of aircraft in flight toward the island from the north, but, with a flight of B-17s expected from the United States at the time, they were told to sound no alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault came as a devastating surprise to the naval base.

Much of the Pacific fleet was rendered useless: Five of eight battleships, three destroyers, and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged, and more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded, many while valiantly attempting to repulse the attack. Japan’s losses were some 30 planes, five midget submarines, and fewer than 100 men. Fortunately for the United States, all three Pacific fleet carriers were out at sea on training maneuvers. These giant aircraft carriers would have their revenge against Japan six months later at the Battle of Midway, reversing the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy in a spectacular victory.

The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt appeared before a

joint session of Congress and declared, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941–a date which will live in infamy–the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” After a brief and forceful speech, he asked Congress to approve a resolution recognizing the state of war between the United States and Japan. The Senate voted for war against Japan by 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 388 to 1. The sole dissenter was Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a devout pacifist who had also cast a dissenting vote against the U.S. entrance into World War I. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, and the U.S. government responded in kind.

The American contribution to the successful Allied war effort spanned four long years and cost more than 400,000 American lives.

Eighty two Years ago, our parents & perhaps our grandparents learned of the atrocity perpetrated by the Japanese that was Pearl Harbor. Today our country is faced with a similar invasion with the incursion of our country by Illegal Aliens, Drug Smugglers, Criminals and significantly: Jihadi Terrorists. Some are even referred to as “home-grown” yet they are nonetheless invaders of our homeland, America! ALL Terrorists whether foreign-born or natural-born Americans are evil in my opinion and a threat to American Lives & Liberty. Call it whatever you like but today, the growing threat to America is Islamic Terrorism most believed to be instigated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also referred to as ISIS. So, my brother & sister Americans & Patriots~ during this holiday season, remember to say your prayers, kiss your loved ones, be vigilant & arm yourselves because America is once again under attack by Radical Ideology, Illegal Aliens & Islamic Jihadists! (Beware: The Barbarians are at the Gates.) Meanwhile, I wish you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! ~ JGT (updated) 12/6/2018

(Pictured L to R) My Father, Donald W. Flint, WWII Army Air Corps (Circa 1942) & My Father-in-Law, John Howard, US Army Ranger (Circa 1943)

Thank you, Daddy & Pop~ for your devotion & service to our country. You set great examples for your children, all US Navy & Marine Corps Veterans. We miss and love you both! ~ dfh

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS (160th Anniversary 2023)

November 19, 2023 marks the 160th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Ever since Lincoln wrote it in 1863, this version has been the most often reproduced, notably on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. It is named after Colonel Alexander Bliss, stepson of historian George Bancroft. Bancroft asked President Lincoln for a copy to use as a fundraiser for soldiers (see “Bancroft Copy” below). However, because Lincoln wrote on both sides of the paper, the speech could not be reprinted, so Lincoln made another copy at Bliss’s request. It is the last known copy written by Lincoln and the only one signed and dated by him. Today, it is on display in the Lincoln Room of the White House in Washington D.C..

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

~Abraham Lincoln November 19, 1863

Gettysburg, PA November 19, 1863

On October 12th 2000 the USS Cole was attacked

This Day in History-Oct 12, 2000

A US Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, refueling in Yemen suffered an enormous explosion in a terrorist attack. Initial reports had at least 6 sailors killed with 11 missing. The death toll was revised to 17. The 8,600-ton Cole was returned to the US aboard the Norwegian ship Blue Marlin. In 2001 a video tape by “Al-Sahab Productions” circulated among Muslim militants with footage of the bombed vessel.

The Cole returned to active duty in 2003 following $250 million in repairs.

Those killed: Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Kenneth Clodfelter, Electronics Technician Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Francis, Information Systems Technician Seaman Timothy Lee Gauna, Signalman Seaman Cherone Louis Gunn, Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels, Engineman 2nd Class Marc Ian Nieto, Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class Ronald Owens, Seaman Lakiba Nicole Palmer, Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, Fireman Patrick Howard Roy, Electronics Warfare Technician 1st Class Kevin Shawn Rux, Mess Management Specialist 3rd Class Ronchester Santiago, Operations Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Lamont Saunders, Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Ensign Andrew Triplett, Seaman Craig Bryan Wibberley.

MILITARY TRADITION UNDER ATTACK ~ AGAIN!

Obama Bans Military From Making Church Donations ~ Are you kidding me? President Obama has banned members of the US Military from making donations to churches.  Obama is trying to “suppress” religious freedom so that his “radical social policy” may be advanced.  Military people have been told,  “If you are supporting an evangelical Christian organization, then you are committing a crime and are subject to Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).” ~ Thanks Obama!

Religion in the Military ~ In a stunning attack on the speech rights and free religious exercise of U.S. soldiers, the Obama administration released a statement confirming the unthinkable: “Any soldier who professes Christianity can now be court-martialed and may face imprisonment and a dishonorable discharge from the military … even if they are a military chaplain”. ~ Thanks Obama!

The VA Strikes Again! ~ The Veteran’s Administration has Banned the Word, GOD from Services at Military Cemetaries.  The words, “God” and “Jesus” are forbidden and that “God Bless” should no longer be written in condolence cards to families. Volunteers are also banned from speaking a religious message when talking directly to veterans’ families on cemetery grounds. To add insult to injury ~ last December, the Obama administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prohibited veterans under treatment in VA Medical Centers from hearing Christmas carols by banning Christmas carolers from singing Christmas songs with religious references in public areas. BO even had the nerve to ban those veterans from receiving any  gifts wrapped in Christmas-themed wrapping paper. (What a creep!) Thanks Obama!!!

 

Obama’s Military: No Navy Jack, No Traditions, No God (As a Navy Veteran, this one really pisses me off! ~ dfh) ~ The Navy Jack – the ‘don’t tread on me’ flag – has been banned from use on Navy SEALS uniforms. The patch on Navy uniforms has been ordered removed.  The Navy Jack was the first flag of the Continental Navy during the war of independence and it has been in use through the centuries, including the current war on terror. This is a symbol of our heritage and it is being erased with one memo by someone in our administration. It’s probably not Mr. Obama because he doesn’t know anything.

An amendment to the Navy code called SECNAV Instruction 10520.6 clearly states that as of 31 May 2002 all ships are to fly the flag throughout the duration of the War on Terror. No longer. The Navy brass has ordered the symbol removed from all SEALs’ uniforms. Why would they do something like this? The obvious reason is because it is very similar to the revolutionary flag that has become the symbol of the Tea Party. ~ Thanks Obama!

TATTOOS (Portions excerpted from the NY Times article dated  April 30, 2014)

The military tattoo has a deep history, with reports going back at least to the Roman legions, historians say. Images of adventure or battle — if not a haunting beauty from the frontiers of Gaul — could be captured forever on a bicep. Declarations of unit loyalty or individuality, or both, could be sealed through rituals of ink and pain. But now a tightening of the Army’s regulations on the wear and appearance of uniforms and insignia — issued on March 31 with a 30-day window of unit-by-unit enforcement — had driven a land rush to tattoo shops around the country to get “tatted,” as soldiers call it, while the old rules still applied.

The new rules restrict total inkage on arms and legs visible on a soldier wearing short sleeves and short pants. They also limit the size of each visible tattoo to no bigger than the wearer’s open hand. But the Army is also generally allowing soldiers to keep the tattoos they had before the effective date of the new rules, as long as they do not violate prohibitions on things like obscenity, racism or extremism, and are documented with a photograph before the deadline.

Hence the rush to get inked. With some superior officers, many of them tattooed as well, giving ample warning as to when those photographs would be taken, soldiers said they have experienced a unique window of opportunity — but also, perhaps, a nudge — to get that next tattoo, or a lot of them.

Military regulation of tattoos, or at least the attempt, is not new. Shortly before World War I, military authorities tried to reign in wayward ink with a prohibition on “indecent or obscene” tattoos — mostly naked women in those days — but allowed existing depictions to be altered to meet the new rule, which led to many a discreet grass skirt as cover-up.

The Navy updated its tattoo policies again in 2003, and again in 2006, and with a further update in 2010 — nodding to the modern military of men and women serving together — that tweaks the rules on so-called permanent makeup tattoos, allowed for eyebrows, eyeliner, lipstick and lip liner. “Permanent makeup shall be in good taste,” the Navy’s regulations say.

The Marines tightened their personal grooming and appearance regulations in 2010, the Air Force in 2012. All four main military branches prohibit tattoos around the neck. No person with what is called a sleeve — or fully tattooed arm — can become a Marine.

AMERICANS UNITED

Obama is the shepherd I did not want, He leadeth me beside the still factories, He restoreth my faith in the Republican party, He guideth me in the path of unemployment for his party’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bread line, I shall fear no hunger, for his bailouts are with me. He has anointed my income with taxes, My expenses runneth over. Surely, poverty and hard living will follow me all the days of my life, And I will live in a mortgaged home forever.

OBAMA AND HITLER (TWO PEAS IN A POD)

In March, 2014 I published an article here entitled, “Why is Barack Obama Like King George III of England“? The comparison of the two was so interesting to me that I began making comparisons between Barrack Hussein Obama & Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s “T-4 Program” is another comparison that I attribute to OBAMACARE and that I published that opinion because I believe the Obama Administration and NOW the Veteran’s Administration are now finally in sync to murder Americans whom the Federal Government believes are too old, too conservative, too patriotic, pro-American ~ thus inconvenient to the radical, socialist agenda of liberal people who have either been indoctrinated, into socialistic policies that reward the politicians in power & do NOTHING for the working class in general. *******

COMPARE OBAMA TO HITLER © by Dorian F. Howard 2014

The similarities are terrifying, the conclusion inevitable. On March 23, 1933, the German Parliament met to consider passing a bill that Adolf Hitler had created called the Enabling Act. It was officially called the ‘Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich.’ Why were the German people in such distress? Because their government was in utter chaos, and the German leaders wanted to reassure the people that everything would be okay. The only fly in the ointment was that the Nazis had, behind the scenes, caused the distress themselves by creating the crisis, so that they could step in and solve it. Sound familiar?

Hitler promised the German people that the government would “make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures. The number of cases in which an internal necessity exists for having recourse to such a law is in itself a limited one.” So the German congress voted on the bill, with the end result being the legal destruction of the German Democratic Republic. The bill gave Hitler enormous, unprecedented powers to do as he saw fit for the government of the German people. It was the act that officially created a legal dictator who was answerable to no one. The people cheered, and National Socialism became the law of the land from that day forward. Today, Barack Obama is changing times and laws in America, giving himself unprecedented power never before seen. His Obama Care bill, now the law of the land; empowers him to create his ownprivate army, forces citizens to abide by unconstitutional laws, and will use the IRS in much the same way that Hitler used his brown shirts * eventually the SS to make people get in line behind his policies. Many Americans will awaken from their “Obama Dreamy-Eyed Coma” too late to the fact that Obama has subverted the United States Constitution, and stolen our precious liberties and freedoms. That’s why Obama’s followers are encouraged and taught to follow and have faith in Obama the man, and not in our God or in our country. This is exactly the ploy that Hitler used to great and terrible effect in Nazi Germany.

Some people would balk at the comparison between Hitler and Obama, saying it was unfair. After all, Hitler started WWII and killed 11,000,000 Jews and Gentiles in death camps, and Obama has done nothing like that. Well, it’s only unfair if you compare Hitler at the end of his rule to the beginning of Obama’s. But if you compare Hitler and Obama at the beginning of their rise to power, it’s extremely fair. Both Hitler & Obama held rallies in outdoor stadiums to excite and inflame people’s passions. Frequently, women would faint or break into tears. If that’s not enough, check out the following:

		Both Hitler and Obama wrote ghost-written autobiographies prior to the start of their run for political office. Hitler wrote ‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle), and Obama wrote ‘Dreams Of My Father’. (Some doubt exists that Obama actually wrote his so-called autobiography believing instead that it may have been ghost-written byWilliam (Bill) Charles Ayers, a former leader of the terrorist Weather Underground. A friend of Obama’s before he ran for POTUS.) Both Obama & Hitler then wrote a second book talking about their goals for German and America. Hitler wrote “A New World Order”, Obama wrote “The Audacity of Hope”.
		Both Hitler and Obama originally had last names that were changed later in life. Hitler used to be Schickelbruber, and Obama’s last name was Soetoro.
		Both Hitler and Obama hid their real identities. Hitler had a Jewish ancestry, and Obama Muslim one. But unlike Hitler, Obama flaunted his Muslim roots in his start as a politician in order to defuse the inevitable firestorm. His ploy of “hiding in plain sight” worked very well.
		Both Hitler and Obama’s supporters followed them blindly, and without question.
		Both Hitler and Obama used political power and coercion to conceal and hide their birth certificates from coming to public view. Hitler made his disappear, and Obama is unwilling and unable to produce his REAL long-form birth certificate.
		Both Hitler and Obama advocate using young people as a driving force to create an “army” of youth dedicated to their Ideals. Hitler had his Hitler Youth, and Obama his Obama Youth Brigade.
		Both Hitler and Obama were known for their tremendous oratorical skills. Albeit~ Obama uses a teleprompter.
		Both Hitler and Obama received Messianic comparisons, and both men had songs of adoration written about them and for them.
		Like Hitler, Obama rules in direct disregard to the will and wishes of the people. The American People mean nothing to Obama!
		Like Hitler, Obama has an obvious distaste for the Jews, and sides with the Muslims every chance he gets. Thus~ he ignores crimes against Christians & Jews all over the world!
		Both Hitler and Obama were able to mesmerize the people even when it was obvious that what they were saying was not true.
		Both Hitler and Obama used domestic terrorists to launch their careers. Hitler had his Brown Shirts from his beer hall days, and Obama had people like Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and Rashid Khalidi.
		Like Hitler, Obama advocates using murder as a means of population control.

This year; 2023 is THE 22nd ANNIVERSARY of 9/11 (NEVER FORGET!)

1. Many Americans remember exactly where they were when first learning of JFK’s death on November 22nd, 1963 in Dallas Texas, however; just one moment before 8:46 AM on September 11th 2001 in NYC, many more of us have the additional memory of the horrific events of “9/11” as well. Today~ my generation remembers the frightening events of 9/11 to add to our memories of knowing exactly where we were when we first learned of the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, NY, the Pentagon in Washington DC & the Flight 93 plane crash in Shanksville, PA.

.Here is a look at a brief timeline courtesy of the https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/attack-on-america History Channel ~ JGT

• 9:03 am – Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building

• 8:46 am – Mohammed Atta and the other hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crash the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

• 9:37 am – Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

• 9:59 am – The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

• 10:07 am – After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

• 10:28 am – The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today is a difficult day. The memories are painful and some of the wounds I fear may never heal. Yet I pray you will help me to go on living for truth, firm in my hope of your salvation. May I live for you, Lord, and by doing so, be an example to my friends and family. I pray, just like Jesus, I may learn obedience through these things that I have suffered. Help me not to question why, yet even if I do, give me courage to continue to trust you. Help me take the comfort and strength you’ve poured into my life and use it to comfort and strengthen others who need hope.

I pray I might become a better person and help make the world a better place because of this terrible event. Thank you for the heroes that gave so sacrificially on September 11. Help me to remember their courage and learn from them. I want my life to be worthy of you Lord, so make of it what you desire, and use me to fulfill your purposes. May the evil of that day cause me and my family to work harder to do good on this earth and to bring your light into the dark places. Help me to never stop believing in you and living my life for you.

Lord, heal all those who were crushed and broken on that day. May they come to experience your presence and know your peace.

Amen.

GAYS SERVING OPENLY IN THE MILITARY

CAN GAYS SERVING OPENLY IN THE ARMED FORCES HURT READINESS, LOWER MORALE & CAUSE TENSION AMONG TROOPS ~PERHAPS LEADING TO MORE CASUALITIES? (This Jersey Girl and Navy Veteran has an opinion which is all her own ~ at the bottom of this page. Love it or hate it, it is MY opinion as an AMERICAN, US NAVY VETERAN & my First Amendment right of Free Speech guaranteed under the US Constitution. To that end~ I welcome all opinions & promise to read them all, however; I will only respond to Veterans & current active duty Military Service personnel who actually are the only ones qualified and entitled to render their opinions on this particular matter! ~ JGT)

When I joined the military in 1979, it was illegal to serve if you were a homosexual, then came  “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” (1993-2011) when it was okay to serve as long as you didn’t tell anyone about it~ and now, (since 2011) it’s legal. Throughout its history, the US Military has had an inconsistent policy when it came to homosexuals in the military.  Here’s a brief history lesson courtesy of About.com. ~ JGT

Prior to World War II, there was no written policy barring homosexuals from serving, although sodomy was considered a crime by military law under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) ever since Revolutionary War times. In 1778, Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin became the first soldier to be drummed out of the Continental Army for sodomy. During World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the military defined homosexuality as a mental defect, and officially barred homosexuals from serving based on medical criteria. However, when personnel needs increased due to combat, the military developed a habit of relaxing its screening criteria. Many homosexual men and women serviced honorably during these conflicts. Unfortunately, these periods were short-lived. As soon as the need for combat personnel decreased, the military would involuntarily discharge them. It wasn’t until 1982 that the Department of Defense officially put in writing that “homosexuality was incompatible with military service,” when they published a DOD directive stating such. According to a 1992 report by the Government Accounting Office, nearly 17,000 men and women were discharged under this new directive during the 1980s. By the end of that decade, reversing the military’s policy was emerging as a priority for advocates of gay and lesbian civil rights. Several lesbian and gay male members of the military came out publicly and vigorously challenged their discharges through the legal system.

By the beginning of 1993, it appeared that the military’s ban on gay personnel would soon be overturned.  President Clinton announced that he intended to keep his campaign promise by eliminating military discrimination based on sexual orientation.  But, this didn’t sit well with the Republican-controlled Congress. Congressional leaders threatened to pass legislation that would bar homosexuals from serving, if Clinton issued an executive order changing the policy.  After lengthy public debate and congressional hearings, the President and Senator Sam Nunn, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reached a compromise which they labeled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue. Under its terms, military personnel would not be asked about their sexual orientation and would not be discharged simply for being gay. However having sexual relations, or displaying romantic overtures with members of the same sex, or telling anyone about their sexual orientation is considered “homosexual conduct” under the policy and is a basis for involuntary discharge. This is now known as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, and is the current Department of Defense Policy. (Proponents of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeatedly claimed that open service would undermine the unit cohesion and readiness of the U.S. military. DADT was Repealed September 20, 2011~ JGT)

As a 12 year veteran of the U.S. Navy and wife of a retired veteran, I can only sympathize with the current environment of the active duty soldier & sailor dilemma regarding homosexuals serving in the military. I was personally propositioned several times while living in the barracks at US Naval Air Station, Bermuda in the early 1980’s. After sharing open showers & other personal spaces with my friends & dozens of my other Navy female peers~ I was disgusted by those propositions, ALL of which came from young women I had trusted & believed to be heterosexual. I never reported the offenses even though at the time, homosexuals were being discharged from the military. I have had many friendships with both male & female homosexuals though the years including a few family members. I have no problem with their chosen lifestyle as long as it’s not thrown in my face or I am made to silence my own Christian Religious beliefs on the matter. However; in MY opinion~ outwardly & obviously gay individuals serving in the military disrupt the absolute necessity for bonding & comradely of ALL troops most ESPECIALLY when serving in any hostile environment or combat zone. ~ JGT

The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

Amendment 10 of the U. S. Constitution reads as follows:  “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Trying to recall a member of Congress is an idea that has likely crossed the minds of voters in every congressional district in the United States at one time or another. The concept of buyer’s remorse applies just as fittingly to the choices we make in who represents us in Washington, D.C., as it does our decisions on which house to buy or which mate to marry.

But unlike mortgages and marriages, which can be severed, elections are permanent.

There is no way to recall a member of Congress before their terms end. Nor has there ever been. No United States Senator or member of the House of Representatives has been recalled by the electorate.

No Recall Mechanism

Americans are unable to remove an elected member of the House or Senate from office before their terms end because there is no recall mechanism set forth in the U.S. Constitution.

The framers of the Constitution actually debated whether to include a recall provision but decided against it over the arguments of some state legislators during the ratification process. A Congressional Research Service report cited Luther Martin of Maryland who, while speaking to the state Legislature, lamented the fact that members of Congress “are to pay themselves, out of the treasury of the United States; and are not liable to be recalled during the period for which they are chosen.”

There were failed attempts in some states, including New York, to amend the Constitution and add a recall mechanism.

Attempts to Circumvent the Constitution

Voters in Arkansas amended their state constitution in 1992 with the belief that the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment left the door open for states to limit lawmakers’ length of service. The 10th Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

In other words, the Arkansas argument went, because the U.S. Constitution didn’t provide for a recall mechanism and state could. Arkansas’s constitutional amendment banned House members who had already served three terms or Senators who had served two terms from appearing on the ballot. The amendment was an attempt to remove elected officials through the use of term limits.

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the state’s amendments were unconstitutional. The court essentially supported the notion that the right to choose representatives belongs not to the states but to its citizens.

“In keeping with the complexity of our federal system, once the representatives chosen by the  people of each State assemble in Congress, they form a national body and are beyond the  control of the individual States until the next election,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote.

 

 

A BABY BOOMER’S LOOK BACK AT AMERICA

Do you remember the good old days here in America? The days when we had record players, transistor radios and 6 channels on television and our parents were happy if they could tune in to PBS or the occasional UHF station! We kids built forts out of rocks & sticks, played SPUD, Dodge Ball & roller skated in the street; climbed trees, played Army, Cowboys & Indians with metal cap guns that looked like the real thing; we rode our bikes without helmets, had drive-in theaters, neighborhoods were nice and free of crime, jobs were plentiful, and people took pride in what they did and were basically happy, safe and free? We had the milk man deliver our milk in glass bottles along with cream, butter & eggs sometimes. Do you remember the Good Humor Man? Whenever we heard those bells, all the kids in the neighborhood (and there were a lot) would start screaming to their parents, “Ice Cream! It’s the Ice Cream Man”! My brother & I considered ourselves lucky if there was an extra 25 or 30 cents for our Mom to give us for ice cream. Most times~ there really wasn’t. But, we survived anyway and did not have a tantrum or call it child neglect.

We survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant & usually spent at least a full week in the local hospital after giving birth! They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes. Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.  As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. Riding in the back of a station wagon or pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren’t overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing…that’s why!  We fell out of trees, got cut, skinned our knees, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, Ping-Pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse. Cell phones had not been invented yet but we would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And~ we were OKAY.

Do you remember the Vacuum Cleaner Salesman, the Kitchen Knife Salesman, the Insurance Salesman or the Avon Lady? They really did come to your house & ring the doorbell in those days. They were usually one of our neighbors & we all knew their names; all our neighbor’s names and every single kid on the street too. We didn’t need to lock our doors and windows & our parents never even dreamed of home alarm systems.

In the afternoons (after school) we watched Sandy Becker, Bozo the Clown & the Mickey Mouse Club but since most households had only one television in those days & if you were lucky~ after supper your parents may have allowed you to watch the only late night television show for kids, Terrytoon Circus with Claude Kirschner & Clownie, (7:00 PM – 7:30 PM). As we grew older we watched Ozzie & Harriet, Superman, Roy Rodgers and the Rifleman. In those days, TV stations went off the air by 2 or 3 AM & they showed a still photo of the American Flag, signing off with an orchestral rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. That lasted well into the mid 1960’s. It was post WWII & Korean War era America. In my neighborhood, we kids all got up early on weekend mornings and not wanting to bother our parents~ we turned on the TV. In the late 1950’s the only Saturday morning cartoons were either the old silent “Farmer Gray” or shows like Beanie & Cecil & in the early 1960’s, the Flintstones & Johnny Quest! Sunday mornings we kids had only Davy & Goliath & later in the morning it was either Gumby or Wonderama. You had 2 choices back then on a Sunday morning and it was either TV Preachers or going to Church with our parents~ and since all the parents in the neighborhood kept Sunday sacred, there were no kids allowed out to play until after lunch. Some never showed their faces all day.

The public schools were excellent back then and the classes had 20 to 25 student’s maximum. Sure we had air raid drills and “duck & cover” but we survived & the Russians never did send those missiles over here from Cuba. Indeed~ we all survived the cold war. Everything was simpler back then. No worries about such things as Sharia law in America. That could never happen! America was the leader of the world! Respected and rightly so! We set the model for which the world could follow and the entire world would be perfect. Sure we had gangsters but hey, they built Las Vegas and provided places to gamble and drink & the federal government wasn’t sticking its nose where it didn’t belong then too! But overall, America was beautiful no matter where you went. You could go to the beach and not have 20 foreigners throwing sand and screaming in a language you couldn’t understand or leave trash all over the place. Indeed, immigrants learned English to better fit in~ and they did.

We had room to move back then. We had space. And we all respected each other’s space. Plenty of parking. Very few traffic jams and no long lines unless you were at Palisades Park or Disneyland~ then you had to stand in line for 10 or 15 minutes. I miss those days and they are gone forever unfortunately…we have too many damn people here and that’s a fact! Too many illegal aliens breaking the immigration law that is rarely enforced here in America and those are the very people that those 1960’s & 1970’s TV commercials warned us about when they ran those advertisements about not forgetting to re-register their green-cards! I haven’t seen those ads in almost 40 years! Now days~ illegals sneak in and actually manage to vote or have their naturalized relatives vote for the Democratic party who is currently ignoring the law in favor of amnesty & changing American Immigration Laws to suit themselves!

But~~~ I digress.

We used to walk to a friend’s house, knock on the door or ring the bell, or we just walked in and talked to them. Barbie just got a new little sister named Skipper & she had a best friend named Scooter & how could we talk our mother’s into buying one for us. And~ Mary Wells has a great new song out called “My Guy”; isn’t it great? Hey, I saw “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” last week & it was really good! Want to try on your mom’s shoes?

More often than likely, we had to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! As a result, MY generation (Baby Boomers) has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors in History!

I am so lucky to have been born in the mid 1950’s and having lived through some of the best years that any kid could have grown up in here in America. The past 65 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We’ve had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all! Such a shame that we have failed to pass these great and really fun lessons, values & morals along to our children as well as our parents did. My guess is that we’ll know how well we did as parents & teachers when the time eventually comes for ‘them’ to decide whether or not to ’care for us in our old age’ or discard us in favor of an ‘assisted living facility’ as the current  politically correct climate prefers.  I guess, we’ll just have to wait & see if our children and their generation decide how best to deal with “us” the Baby Boomer elderly. (We took care of both of my parents & my father in law. There was NEVER a thought of a nursing home. We loved them & did what we morally thought was right. In the end, they were all done as an act of true love because that is how we were raised.) Indeed, the newest American law, OBAMACARE  & its ultimate consequences may just solve all the problems associated with caring for we, the newest elderly by way of “euthanasia for the us” (the NEW elderly). Because don’t forget ~ our parents are either dead or dying by now!  This will most likely be seen to be just as matter of fact to them, as is “abortion for the unborn” was to our generation! (FYI since the passing or Roe V Wade in 1973, the abortion murder count is approximately 55 Million Babies.  

To that end, I can only hope & pray that we (I) have passed on more of our (my) Moral & Religious values to our children than the cowardly & politically correct Bull Shit which is currently being peddled by the Liberal Media and their infectious Radical, Liberal and Socialist followers. Our Children and our Country, the United States of America deserve the very best~ from us ALL!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

“Old Glory” & the History of “Flag Day” in America

Did you know that the week of June 12–18, 2023 is designated as National Flag Week. “Old Glory” or rather, the American “Stars and Stripes” which originated as a result of a resolution adopted by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 14, 1777. The resolution read: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”

The resolution gave no instruction as to how many points the stars should have, or how the stars should be arranged on the blue union. Consequently, some flags had stars scattered on the blue field without any specific design, some arranged the stars in rows, and some in a circle. The first Navy Stars and Stripes had the stars arranged in staggered formation in alternate rows of threes and twos on a blue field. Other Stars and Stripes flags had stars arranged in alternate rows of four, five and four. Some stars had six points while others had eight.

Strong evidence indicates that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. At the time that the flag resolution was adopted, Hopkinson was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board’s Middle Department. Hopkinson also helped design other devices for the Government including the Great Seal of the United States. For his services, Hopkinson submitted a letter to the Continental Admiralty Board asking “whether a Quarter Cask of the public Wine will not be a proper & reasonable Reward for these Labours of Fancy and a suitable Encouragement to future Exertions of a like Nature.” His request was subsequently turned down since the Congress regarded him as a public servant.

According to legend, in 1776, George Washington commissioned Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to create a flag for the new nation. Scholars debate this legend, but agree that Mrs. Ross most likely knew Washington and sewed flags. To date, there have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag, but the arrangement of the stars varied according to the flag-makers’ preferences until 1912 when President Taft standardized the then-new flag’s forty-eight stars into six rows of eight. The forty-nine-star flag (1959-60), as well as the fifty-star flag, also have standardized star patterns. The current version of the flag dates to July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959.

The first celebration of the U.S. Flag’s birthday was held in 1877 on the 100th anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. However, it is believed that the first annual recognition of the flag’s birthday dates back to 1885 when school teacher, BJ Cigrand, first organized a group of Wisconsin school children to observe June 14 – the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as the Flag’s Birthday. Cigrand, now known as the ‘Father of Flag Day,’ continued to publically advocate the observance of June 14 as the flag’s ‘birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’ for years.

In 1916, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 became a nationally observed event by a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson thus establishing a national Flag Day on June 14 each year. Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day. Prior to 1916, many localities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years. Congressional legislation had already designated that date as the national Flag Day and it was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949; the legislation also called upon the president to issue a Flag Day proclamation every year. However, it was not designated as National Flag Day until August 3rd, 1949, when an Act of Congress designated June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

Though Flag Day is neither a federal holiday nor one can declare it as an official leave the state of Pennsylvannia was the first and foremost state in the U.S. who declared & celebrated Flag Day as a state holiday on June 14th 1937.

Today, Flag Day is celebrated throughout the country with parades, essay contests, ceremonies, and picnics sponsored by veterans’ groups, schools, and groups like the National Flag Day foundation whose goal is to preserve the traditions, history, pride, and respect that are due the nation’s symbol, Old Glory.