The Eyes of Our Soldiers

One has to click on this to experience it.

Million Word Picture

Words do not exist that do this picture justice. The story from the Tennessean is very touching.

Please note that you may donate to this young man's future, as well as to the children of other fallen heroes.

To donate to a memorial fund benefiting Christian Golczynski, go to any Pinnacle bank branch office or send a check to: Pinnacle National Bank, 114 W. College St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Checks should be made out to the Christian Golczynski Trust Fund.


Instead of a donation to the Golczynski Trust Fund, Heather Golczynski has asked those wanting to help to make a donation in Marc Golczynski's name to the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund. If you would like to contribute by mail, please make your checks payable to: Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund and mail your check to: CFSRF, P.O. Box 3968, Gaithersburg, MD 20885-3968.

One may also go to Hannity's Freedom Concert site to donate so that the children of slain soldiers will have their education paid in full.

Remembering

Great commentary from Fred D. Thompson. Of all the failings of our education system, the teaching of history is one of the more egregious.

One can read the entire commentary by clicking above or listen to it here.

I excerpt these tidbits as teasers, though great points abound!

I remember when I was a kid; one thing was clear to me. The more I learned about the rest of the world, the luckier I felt just having been born in America. The more I learned about America, the more I appreciated what those who came before us built; and how exceptional they were.

Over the years, a lot of people have tried to talk us out of feeling about America the way we do. Instead of pride in what America has done, they want us to feel guilty — generally because we have so much more than rest of the world. Of course, it wouldn’t help the rest of the world one whit if we had less — either of freedom or of prosperity. On the contrary, it’s our liberties that have made us prosperous and there’s no reason the rest of the world couldn’t be just as well-off — if they embraced freedom as well.

This is our quandary. Memorial Day is about remembering. It’s about remembering those who died for our country; but it’s also about remembering why they believed it was worth dying for. Too many Americans, though, have never been taught our own history and heritage. How can you remember something that you’ve never learned?

Cindy Sheehan's Goodbye Letter

Found on her kos diary entitled "Good Riddance Attention Whore."

Excerpted in part:

The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a "tool" of the Democratic Party. This label was to marginalize me and my message. How could a woman have an original thought, or be working outside of our "two-party" system?

However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the "left" started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of "right or left", but "right and wrong."

I think this excerpt pretty much tells the story. I hope she finds true peace & is finally able to work through the death of her son. Unfortunately, she also has so much after his death, being a willing foil for the anti-US crowd, that she would need to confront & atone.

AMNESTY DETAILS START TO EMERGE

From our little buddy Steve Gill on Southern Ledger, we get this great article:

The details of the secret “deal” constructed by the Bush Administration, Ted Kennedy and John McCain that will grant amnesty and immediate legal status to millions of illegals currently are slowly starting to emerge. And as usual, the details are proving devilish.
We have been told that there are 12 million illegal aliens in the country. Some estimates put the number much, much higher, closer to 20 million. The new Z-visa that is at the center of the amnesty plan does not put a cap on the number of illegals who will be eligible for the “probationary” path to citizenship. Why not? If there are really “only” 12 million of them why not put a maximum number of those who will be eligible for the visa at that precise number?
The plan also restricts those who can get “amnesty” to those who were here before January 1, 2007. Really? If we don’t know how many are here, how will we know when they got here? Does anybody seriously think this provision will be enforced?
Tamper-proof identification cards are supposedly a key component to insure that employers only hire those who are here legally. But how will the suddenly less-illegal illegals get these cards? Will they provide proof of who they are in the form of bogus drivers’ licenses that they have purchased on the black market here in the U.S.? Or maybe they can use the matricular consular cards that Mexico hands out like Halloween candy? Or perhaps they can use the voter registration cards that they have illegally obtained while illegally in the country?
Last year, one of the critical elements of the non-amnesty amnesty plan that was blocked in the House was a requirement that the illegals pay two out of the last five years of taxes in order to qualify for the non-amnesty amnesty. This time that burden has been completely eliminated. The illegals will apparently have no obligation to pay any back taxes or fines in order to qualify for their amnesty. They also get tax amnesty as part of the citizenship amnesty package. What a deal!
I am sure millions of American citizens would love to pay a $5000 one time fine and get the taxes they paid to the federal government over the past five to seven years returned to them. Count me in!
And do you remember the border fence that got so much attention last year during the fall elections when politicians were clamoring for our votes? They voted to build a 700 mile long fence to secure a 2100 mile border. The new amnesty deal trims that border fence to just 370 miles. So far, we have actually constructed just two miles of fencing. At this rate we will have secured about 20% of our southern border 200 years from now. As part of this “deal” perhaps President Bush can remove 80% of the fencing around the White House to prove his commitment to share in the same level of security he proposes for us.
The more we learn about the details of this “deal” the more clear it becomes that THEY have to pass it quickly and in secret, before WE figure out what is really happening. As more details emerge from this amnesty “deal” there will certainly be even more questions about it. Including: If this amnesty “deal” is really such good PUBLIC policy, then why have they crafted it PRIVATELY?

Steve weilds a bipartisan sword quite expertly! We need to continue to call our representatives & especially Sen. Alexander to let him know that we want a no vote on this!

The Lynchpin for the Illegal Alien issue

This is the illegal employment of aliens who are here in the US illegally. Enforcing our employment laws so that employers only hire those who can legally work in the US is the "head of the snake" for this issue. Doing this, imho, would have the single greatest effect on solving the issue of illegal alien entry into the US & the myriad problems it is causing. It is also the most politically charged & "dangerous" part of this equation for politicians. Companies like Tyson & others who hire massive amounts of illegals also give massive dollars to politicians of both parties. This is why so many politicians seem to have a disconnect, because they don't want to lose these dollars or see them go to an opponent. What is the answer to this? I believe part of the answer is to expose these companies & let them know your feelings on the illegal alien issue. Affect to their bottom line would get their attention. Another part is to continue to contact your senators & let them know that these campaign donations will not keep them safe @ the ballot box.

Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

Most of this past week has been taken up by the new amnesty bill to fix everything, which is just like the old amnesty bill of 1986 that was to have fixed everything. I have to laugh when I hear that senators are surprised by the visceral disgust they've heard from their constituents. Are they that out of touch or just trying to spin?

The pro-amnesty forces seem miffed that they are being questioned. Most of these have resorted to the old, worn-out tactics of name calling & condescensio because there truly is no reasonable argument to make the illegal legal. The reasons for opposing amnesty are solid & irrefutable. There is no reason on earth to believe that the enforcement provisions would be enforced. As I've posted many times, the executive branch & legislative branch have shown that they will not enforce the laws we have now; why should anyone expect that new enforcement language will have any effect? All the wonderful enforcement provisions & penalties for illegal employers mean nothing if not enforced. I urge everyone who cares about this issue to continue contacting their senators & representatives - they are feeling the heat & need to feel more heat. Let your senators & representatives know that you are against rewarding illegal behavior - the laws we have on the books should be enforced & that is what we demand!

Securing the borders so that illegals will not cross is important. What I feel is more important & will have an even greater effect is to remove the attractants for illegal aliens. This starts with the employers who knowingly hire illegals, who are charged with making sure that the workers hired are done so legally. Stern punishment for these employers will take away the reward for hiring illegal aliens. Couple this with removing the public assistance the illegals take, & that would remove the reward for coming here illegally. After that, the borders would be much more easily secured. Most of the illegals will go back from whence they came & those who want can come through legally, if they meet the requirements.

Immigrants come here legally; I'm all for them coming in legally. It's the illegal entrants that I do not want here because they are coming in illegally.

Keep calling your senators! There is a great number that can be used, toll-free 800-882-2005. From Tree of Liberty @ the Tennessean's forums:

Press 1 when you hear a Spanish message, then Press 1 again to be transferred to
your senior senator's office OR Press 2 when you hear a Spanish message, then 1
and you'll be transferred to your junior senator's office.

This is a direct number, based on area code & prefix for routing. It works great!