Veteran's Day

I have a friend who is a former Marine. In 2003, in Iraq, he was hanging on the side of a tank that went airborne. He landed in the sand and the tank landed on him. Because of the give of the sand and the protection of his body armor, he was not killed. He did, however, suffer major internal damage. He was flown to our base in Spain and spent time hospitalized there, and then came home and spent more time at Bethesda. He insists he was just doing his job. He came home with a Purple Heart. He never forgets that he was one of the lucky ones. I texted him one Memorial Day a few years ago to thank him for his service. He told me that his grandmother was the only other person who had said anything to him about it. It means the world to him to be thanked, and he rarely is.

Thank a veteran.

I went to Walmart the other day, and drove in behind a car with a license plate frame proclaiming that the driver was the proud parent of a U.S. Marine. I saw her walk in the store, and ended up right behind her getting a cart. I stopped her and thanked her for her sacrifice and her Marine's service. Her face just lit up. She was so pleased to be recognized and to have her son recognized.

Thank the active duty servicemen and women. Thank their families.

My dad was a reservist until he was forced to retire because of his age. He was nearly sent to Iraq after 9/11, but they sent a single man without children instead. When I lived with my parents at the time, our bishop was the adjutant general for the state of Utah. He had units in Iraq. He spent most of his weeks in Iraq with his men and women, and flew home every weekend just in time to be with us at church. I know he was sustained by the Lord in his service to his country and his God, and still it drained him. But he did it. Several days ago, two Idaho reservists were killed when an Apache went down in a training accident. Reservists are activated at home and abroad constantly, and serve without complaint.

Thank a reservist.

They each give their lives, even the ones who come home, because once they see combat they are never the same again. They stand for liberty all over the world. They stand for the freedoms that we all take for granted far too often. Thank them for it. It means a lot to be recognized, we all know that. No one likes their hard work ignored. Why would it be any different for them? It doesn't need to be elaborate or long-winded, simply thank them for their service. It means so much.

To all who serve their country, in so many capacities, thank you. Thank you for your service.

‘Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her.

I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain…

I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!’

‘Well,’ I said, slightly nonplussed, ‘the last time you saw me I’d just had a baby.’

What I felt like saying was, ‘I’ve produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren’t either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?’ But no – my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!

I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.


- J.K. Rowling

“Recently, Obama has been re-elected for a 2nd term by an illiterate society and he is ready to continue his lies of less taxes while he raises them. He gives speeches of peace and love in the world while he promotes wars as he did in Egypt, Libya and Syria. He plans his next war is with Iran as he fires or demotes his generals who get in the way.”

"He is a Communist without question promoting the Communist Manifesto without calling it so. How shrewd he is in America. His cult of personality mesmerizes those who cannot go beyond their ignorance. They will continue to follow him like those fools who still praise Lenin and Stalin in Russia. Obama’s fools and Stalin’s fools share the same drink of illusion.”

"President Vladimir Putin could never have imagined anyone so ignorant or so willing to destroy their people like Obama much less seeing millions vote for someone like Obama."


Pravda 11/19/2012 By Xavier Lerma

The Chicago Teacher's Union is WRONG.

Chicago teachers average salary: $70,000 – $76,000 per year (Highest or 2nd highest in nation).

Chicago average family income: $47,000 per year.

The city has already offered an 11% raise to teachers, but the union denied it.

The Chicago Teachers Union originally asked for a 30% raise.

Average health-care costs paid by teachers: 3%.

Out of every new dollar set aside for public education in Illinois in the last 5 years, 71 cents goes to teacher retirement costs.

Only 15% of fourth graders are proficient in reading.

Only 56% of students who enter their freshman year of high school wind up graduating.



Well, no wonder they don't want their jobs to be subject to teacher evaluations.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Remember when journalism was about facts and unbiased reporting? Yeah, me either.

Dear Chris Matthews and every other moron "journalist" out there - please learn the actual FACTS about Paul Ryan's Medicare plan before you go out and riff on them in public. NOTHING CHANGES FOR ANYONE 55 OR OLDER. PERIOD. Don't try to disparage or discredit the plan by talking about 80 year old people trying to find private insurance. It's flat out wrong, incorrect and either lazy or a deliberate lie. Knock it off. At least pretend to have some journalistic integrity.

Do people really not see the obvious logical fallacy in the party of Hollywood and high society screeching about the evil rich? So many of those who jumped on the "Occupy" bandwagon are the one percent.

Come on, people. Think.

And they call us the anti-intellectuals.