Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Wednesday Hero

L/Cpl. Samuel Joyce

U.S. Marine Corps.

Lance Cpl. Samuel Joyce, from Boston, accepts a bagfull of toys during the Toys For Tots 5k Run at Fleet Activities Yokosuka. Runners donated new toys to the local Marine's Toys for Tots program.



These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
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Men Like This Gave Us FREEDOM for America




I read this over at this great blog
and thougt it was worth passing on. To ofte we forget and overlook the old folks. You never know who you may be overlooking or what you can learn from just a short conversation.


As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something.

The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, "You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age." And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem."

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?"

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands all round again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name........ "Congressional Medal of Honor Society."


I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence.

God Bless America, our Veterans and Troops.

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Fly Fishing In Montana

Americans really know how to relax and enjoy life and what a better way than this. Ya just gotta love it.

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Frozen turkey used to club carjacking suspect

I would love to here the story he tells when he is in jail..Yea, I got my ass kicked by a women and a turkey.

Associated Press
Nov. 24, 2008, 12:41PMShare Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzRALEIGH, N.C. — Stopped. Cold turkey.

North Carolina authorities say a shopper clubbed an alleged carjacker with a frozen turkey as he tried to steal a woman's car in a grocery store parking lot Sunday.

Police say 30-year-old Fred Louis Ervin of Raleigh stole money from a gas station before running across the street to a Harris Teeter store in a town just south of Raleigh. Garner police say he began beating Irene Moorman Bailey while stealing her car.

Other shoppers came to her rescue, including one who hit Ervin with the turkey. Police did not release the person's name.

Despite serious head injuries, Ervin got away in Bailey's car and hit several other cars as he fled. But police arrested him a short time later.

He faces several charges including assault inflicting serious injury. Ervin was hospitalized today in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. He had not yet been assigned a lawyer and was to appear in court Dec. 30.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Interesting Geography

I didn't know but two of these facts (dumbass)
I am getting tired of politics, so might as well let some good information enter the old databank

Alaska

More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska .

Amazon

The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.

TheAmazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States .

Antarctica

Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.

Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica . This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ie.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.

Brazil

Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

Canada

Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning ' Big Village .'

Chicago

Next to Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.

Detroit

Woodward Avenue in Detroit , Michigan , carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road any where.

Damascus , Syria

Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

Istanbul , Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.

Los Angeles

Los Angele's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.

New York City

The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple. There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin , Ireland ; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy ; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel .

Ohio

There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio , every one is man made.

Pitcairn Island

The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.

Rome

The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome , Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.

Siberia

Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

S.M.O.M .

The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.MO.M.). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.

Sahara Desert

In the Sahara Desert , there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island . There has been no rainfall there for two million years.

Spain

Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'

St. Paul , Minnesota

St. Paul, Minnesota , was originally called Pig's Eye after a man namedPierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.

Roads

Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A : 1%, in Canada : 75%

Texas

The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas . It is as deep as 20 empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.

United States

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every fivemust be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

Waterfalls

The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls .

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

An email from Texas to the other 49 states.


By: bridgesr Nov 19, 2008 - 10:53 am
Texans are not whining about the elections.

Ok, Folks. Texas has given you complainers plenty of time to get used to the election results. After listening to all the whiners after the election, some folks from Real Texas have decided that we might just take matters into our own hands.

First, a little history lesson. It's our independent nature
to point out the people who enjoy the Texas Lifestyle have the right to secede and form our own country (it was in the agreement that annexed Texas as a state), whenever the people of Texas choose to do so. Some other states also have this right. The difference is, Texas has actually pulled that trigger before.

Yes, Texas was an Independent Republic before it became a state and can secede. Nothing inherently prohibits that from taking place.

Let's get this straight. John McCain, a real American hero, carried Texas by over a million votes. Texans can still smell the fires of the Twin Towers . We would also honor President Bush. George Bush simply did what any Real Texan would do and that is to go try his best to annihilate anyone who was responsible for attacking us. We don't fault him for that. We applaud that sort of behavior. It's Texas politics, Texas style.

We're ready to secede.

Don't get me wrong. We like ya'll — We just don't want to be like ya'll.

#1: Barak Obama becomes President of the United States (all the other 49 states).

#2: Ross Perot becomes the next President of the Republic of Texas and invites John McCain to be an honorary Texan. We honor our heroes in Texas and honor their service. McCain is welcome here and he can be Secretary of the Texas Navy. Native Texan George Foreman will be Secretary of Defense. After
that is all said and done, we wish Mr. Obama well. We really do.

#3. We expect one of Perot's first acts as President of the Republic will be to tear down the border wall and erect a 10' wall around Austin to keep the "Austin Weird" folks in and away from the rest of us. If they will
just pipe their Texas music out over the wall, it will keep the rest of us happy. (Just kidding my Austin relatives on that one.)

#4. Willie will be Secretary of Agriculture and music. Wonder what he will grow?

So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic? Here's a few things to be aware of. Texas is the 11th largest economy on the planet. We are bigger than Spain and right behind Great Britain. We are also
bigger than Russia . We are an economic force to be reckoned with. We have a constitutional amendment to balance our budget….and we do it (are you listening California?). We also have a multi-billion dollar budget surplus this year. We are so big, we have our own
power grid. Yes, that's true.

What else?

NASA is in Houston . (we will control the space industry).

We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States.

Defense Industry? We have over 65% of it. The term "Don't mess with Texas," will take on a whole new
meaning.

Oil - we can supply all the oil the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. Obama states? Sorry about that.

As David Werst said, "We like ya'll, we just don't want to be like ya'll." You can buy oil (pronounced like ya'll) from us instead of terrorist countries that hate you. We will love you for paying so much to us instead of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait and others.

You don't want to 'drill baby drill' or put up with those
nasty oil wells? Well, we do and we know how to do it without polluting the land, air, and sea. BTW-We have our own ports and shipping lanes. We're also not
"waiting on our FEMA check" to rebuild Galveston . We are doing it right now as we speak.

Natural Gas - Again we have all we need and again, it's just too bad about you blue Obama states who don't want drilling. We've been driving around with those big tanks in the backs of our pickups for years now. We'll switch over to compressed natural gas. Obama will figure a way to keep ya'll warm….according to your need. Or, you could use ocean waves, or make friends
with Hugo Chavez or what's his name in Iran .

Computer Industry - we currently lead the nation in
producing computer chips and communications: Small places like Texas Instruments, Dell, EDS, Raytheon, Motorola, Intel, Austin Technology Centers, etc., etc. The list goes on and on.

Health Centers - We have the largest research centers for cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world, and other large health centers.

We have enough colleges to keep us going: UT, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas State University, Rice, SMU, TCU, University of Houston, Baylor, UNT, Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the south anyway. By the way, we play some pretty good football and baseball at those schools.

We have a ready supply of workers (just open the
border when we need some more).

But, we won't have an illegal immigration problem. Former Texas Governor candidate Kinky Friedman solved that. He proposed we pay 5 Mexican generals a million a year to control illegal immigration-folks coming
from Mexico to Texas illegally. For every illegal that slips through, we deduct $10,000. Wonder how many will get across the border into Texas? We won't need a
Border Patrol.

We like tourism. Come stay a while. Enjoy a Cowboys game or go to Six Flags over Texas ….then go home. We don't need any more Californians or New Yorkers coming here and messing things up. Or, they could live in Austin where we can keep an eye on 'em.

We have control of the paper industry, plastics, insurance, etc. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. We don't have an army but since everybody down here is heavily armed and has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an army in 6 hours if we need it. That's the Texas way. When the tower sniper started shooting in Austin a few years back, citizens piled out of their cars and pickups and started returning fire within 2 minutes. Our citizens are
licensed to carry handguns on their person.

We have a saying down here: "If you mess with the bull, you're gonna get the horn." And an even more remarkable finding from the past….
Average Murder per 100,000 residents in counties won by Bush: 0.1 of one percent.

Average Murder per 100,000 residents in counties won by Gore: 13.2.

In Texas, even some of our school teachers carry guns. We won't surrender our kids to nuts and terrorists without a fight. Don't even think about messing with us.

If you want the sticker, click on it…

If the situation really gets bad, we can always call the
Texas DPS and ask them to send over a couple of Texas Rangers.

We are totally self sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs and vegetable produce and everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good. Don't need any food.

Arts? Bob Wills is still the king, but we also like
different types of music, Country….and….Western. We even have our own beer. Lone Star, The National Beer of Texas . This just names a few of the items that will
keep the Republic of Texas in good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have. Just keep on reading David Werst's Real Texas Blog for more
details on how to be a Real Texan.

Now to the rest of the United States under President Obama:
Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, We'll sell you gas too. We'll call the gas company Texasco or something like that. Happy to do it.

You won't have any TV as the space center in Houston will cut off your communications or ask you to pay for the signal. It will be Texas Direct TV. Hank Jr. will move here and be in charge of programming

Did you know we don't even have an income tax?

We have all we need here in God's country and like I've already said, if we don't have it, we don't need it. We will have cheap, plentiful energy. The new Texas Secretary of Energy, T. Boone Pickens will be
putting up thousands of wind generators all over the west Texas plains and since everybody else thinks Texas is full of hot air, we might as well take advantage
of it.

Good luck. Ya'll are gonna need it.

Signed, The People of Real Texas

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Why a gun is better than a woman...

Don't get mad ladies, I just found this and thought it was kinda funny>>>

10. YOU CAN TRADE AN OLD 44 FOR A NEW 22

9. YOU CAN KEEP ONE GUN AT HOME AND HAVE ANOTHER FOR WHEN YOU'RE ON THE ROAD

8. IF YOU ADMIRE A FRIEND'S GUN AND TELL HIM SO, HE WILL PROBABLY LET YOU TRY IT OUT A FEW TIMES

7.YOUR PRIMARY GUN DOESN'T MIND IF YOU KEEP ANOTHER GUN FOR BACKUP

6. YOUR GUN WILL STAY WITH YOU EVEN IF YOU RUN OUT OF AMMO

5. A GUN DOESN'T TAKE UP A LOT OF CLOSET SPACE

4. GUNS FUNCTION NORMALLY EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH

3. A GUN DOESN'T ASK," DO THESE NEW GRIPS MAKE ME LOOK FAT"

2. A GUN DOESN'T MIND IF YOU GO TO SLEEP AFTER YOU USE IT
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON A GUN IS FAVORED OVER A WOMAN....

1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN!!!!!!!

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Interesting information

You have to wonder how much worse it will become in the near future

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you tend to give gift
cards around the holidays, you need to be careful that the cards will be
honored after the holidays.

Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards
through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1.
There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred
to as 'Bankrupcy Planning). Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be
cautious about.


Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores
nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down specialty stores
J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots)
Pacific
Sunwear (also owned by Talbots)
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores mo re to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stor~s
K B Toys closing 356 stores
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores

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Wednesday Hero

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
55 years old from Fort Belvoir, Virginia
U.S. Army

Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general.

At an emotional promotion ceremony, Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform, said it was a credit to the Army—and a great surprise to her—that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

"Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding," she told a standing-room-only auditorium. "Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

"It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession," she added. "So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?' I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.'

"There is no one more surprised than I—except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.'"

You can read the rest of Gen. Dunwoody's story here.



These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Teenager, father in critical condition after shooting

Strange things happen during a full moon.

A man and his teenage son are in critical condition after the boy reportedly shot his father before turning the gun on himself during an argument in their north Galveston County home Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy and his father were involved in an argument — the cause of which remains unknown — in their home on Lazy Lane about 3:20 p.m. when the teen got a pistol and shot his 59-year-old father once in the head, said Galveston County Sheriff's Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo.

The boy's mother, who witnessed the incident, called 911, Tuttoilmondo said.

As sheriff's deputies entered the home, in an unincorporated area between the towns of Kemah and Clear Lake Shores, they spotted the teen with the pistol and ordered him to drop it.

However, the boy moved out of their view and also shot himself in the head once, Tuttoilmondo said.

The man and his son were taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where they are reported to be in critical condition.

No further information was immediately available.

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