Month: November 2004

UPDATE: Apparently, nothing is really all that new around the blogosphere. A few helpful blogger colleagues have pointed out that this seal has made the rounds before. Note to self: remember to beat your brother-in-law the next time he emails “new” pictures to post on the blog.

When they grow up, who will tell them that they were named after a terrorist killer?

While her husband was dying, Suha was negotiating her payday.

CBS fights tooth and nail against apologizing for airing fake documents on one of their premiere television shows, but when they cut off the final few minutes of CSI: New York to announce the death of Yassir Arafat, all hell breaks loose, and in less than 24 hours, a plea for forgiveness is issued. Unbelievable.

More here.

Still More: CableNewser has an “insider’s” perspective.

More More More: CBS Fires Producer who “cut in” to CSI. Mapes and Rather? Still collecting paychecks.

On this Veterans Day, I remember a certain speech delivered by Ronald Reagan in 1984:

We stand today at a place of battle, one that 40 years ago saw and felt the worst of war.  Men bled and died here for a few feet of – or inches of sand, as bullets and shellfire cut through their ranks.  About them, General Omar Bradley later said, “Every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero.”

Some who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today.  Others who hoped to return never did.

“Someday, Lis, I’ll go back,” said Private First Class Peter Robert Zannata, of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, and first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach.  “I’ll go back, and I’ll see it all again.  I’ll see the beach, the barricades, and the graves.”

Those words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zannata Henn, in a heart-rending story about the event her father spoke of so often.  “In his words, the Normandy invasion would change his life forever,” she said.  She tells some of his stories of World War II but says of her father, “the story to end all stories was D-Day.”

“He made me feel the fear of being on the boat waiting to land.  I can smell the ocean and feel the sea sickness.  I can see the looks on his fellow soldiers’ faces-the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty of what lay ahead.  And when they landed, I can feel the strength and courage of the men who took those first steps through the tide to what must have surely looked like instant death.”

Private Zannata’s daughter wrote to me, “I don’t know how or why I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but I do.  Maybe it’s the bond I had with my father.  All I know is that it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year old boy having to face that beach.”

The anniversary of D-Day was always special to her family.  And like all the families of those who went to war, she describes how she came to realize her own father’s survival was a miracle:  “So many men died.  I know that my father watched many of his friends be killed.  I know that he must have died inside a little each time.  But his explanation to me was, “You did what you had to do, and you kept on going.”

When men like Private Zannata and all our Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy 40 years ago they came not as conquerors, but as liberators.  When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongfully seized.  When our forces marched into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.

We salute them today.  But, Mr. President (Francois Mitterand of France), we also salute those who, like yourself, were already engaging the enemy inside your beloved country, the French Resistance.  Your valiant struggle for France did so much to cripple the enemy and spur the advance of the armies of liberation.  The French Forces of the Interior will forever personify courage and national spirit.  They will be a timeless inspiration to all who are free and to all who would be free.

Today, in their memory, and for all who fought here, we celebrate the triumph of democracy.  We reaffirm the unity of democratic people who fought a war and then joined with the vanquished in a firm resolve to keep the peace.

From a terrible war we learned that unity made us invincible; now, in peace, that same unity makes us secure.  We sought to bring all freedom-loving nations together in a community dedicated to the defense and preservation of our sacred values.  Our alliance, forged in the crucible of war, tempered and shaped by the realities of the post-war world, has succeeded.  In Europe, the threat has been contained, the peace has been kept.

Today, the living here assembled:  officials, veterans, area citizens, pay tribute to what was achieved here 40 years ago.  This land is secure.  We are free.  These things are worth fighting and dying for.

Lisa Zannata Henn began her story by quoting her father, who promised that he would return to Normandy.  She ended with a promise to her father, who died 8 years ago of cancer:  “I’m going there, Dad, and I’ll see the beaches and the barricades and the monuments.  I’ll see the graves, and I’ll put flowers there just like you wanted to do.  I’ll never forget what you went through, Dad, nor will I let any one else forget.  And, Dad, I’ll always be proud.”

Through the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any President can.  It is enough to say about Private Zannata and all the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades ago:

We will always remember.
We will always be proud.
We will always be prepared,
So we may always be free.

Thank you.

— President Ronald Reagan
Omaha Beach, Normandy, France
June 6, 1984

Today, remember those who returned from war, and those who have forever become a memory
with it.

Ace highlights the political contrast between two hollywood actors.

ABCNews has a story on moonbats who want to leave the U.S. now that Bush has been re-elected.

Jeez – does the MSM want a story on election irregularities or what?

Just so you know…Yassir Arafat is still dead.

While Governor wannabees Rossi and Gregoire battle for the last vote in my home state of Washington, Ruth Bennett wrestles away a bit of the spotlight.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY – Alongside the names Rossi and Gregoire was Bennett. Ruth Bennett. She was the Libertarian candidate in the recent election, which traditionally takes the stance of more liberty for all, and less government. But in this election, Bennett says she really tried to appeal to everyone.

“The Republicans have always dissed us (Libertarians) because they think we take Republican votes,” Bennett says. “I have just proven that we can also take some Democrat votes.”

So far, Bennett has garnered 45,000 votes, enough that could have swayed the election either way.

“It’s important, I think, for both the Democrats and Republicans to realize that we (Libertarians) can be the balance of power,” Bennett says.

Bennett admits she went into the race knowing that it would be close, and that she probably wouldn’t win. But that wasn’t the point of her candidacy. She simply wanted to be an option that wasn’t currently on the table.

No matter who eventually gets the gubernatorial nod, Bennett has some conversations planned.

“If Dino Rossi wins, we’ll go in and say ‘look, we want you to stay off same-sex marriage.’ If it’s Christine Gregoire, we’ll do the same thing. She wasn’t exactly a ringing endorser,” Bennett says.

Bennett hopes to not be known as the “spoiler” for either candidate. Instead, she says this election — and her 45,000 votes — proved Libertarians have power.

“That certainly doesn’t mean that you’re a ‘king-maker,’ but it means that you can at least have some sort of influence in the political process.”

Knowing Washington State like I do, it’s astounding that a third party candidate can gain 4,500 votes, let alone 45,000. It is very possible that this state is shading Purple and heading toward a good solid Red.

And No…we still don’t have a Governor yet.

UPDATE: Provisional ballots just might elect our Governor.