Brutally Honest

A Cox & Forkum Classic: To Futures Lost... And Futures Won

Cox & Forkum with what should become a Memorial Day classic.

MORE: Sgt. Hook lists the names of those who've perished while serving in the war on terror. Don't miss it.

Preserving their memory

This weekend, as the smell of barbecues fill our nostrils, as we gather with family and friends, as we enjoy a day (or two) off from our jobs, let us take a few moments to remember.

With props to Mike over at ColdFury for turning us on to Mudville Gazette's SACRED WORDS:

Blogging is vanity. By it's nature there is something about it that says, "people care what I say!"I started doing this by posting in comments sections of other blogs. I didn't think anyone would give a darn what I said, it just felt good to do it. It actually surprised me that my comments began to get responses (positive and negative). This led to starting this page as a place to put things that were too long for comments [...] Then this page grew. I write here because it's fun. Also because as an active duty military member I can say what I want and not worry about who might respond, who might misunderstand a joke, who might not laugh at what I laugh at.

But nothing I've ever written here compares to this letter home from Marine Capt. Ryan A. Beaupre:

Mom & Dad,
Well if you are reading this, then things didn't go well for me over in Iraq. I'm sorry for the pain that I have caused you because of this. Please do not be upset with the Marine Corps, the military, the government, or the President. It was my choice to go into the military. The President and my higher commanders were just doing what they thought was best. Realize that I died doing something that I truly love, and for a purpose greater than myself. There is a paragraph that I read from time to time when I lose focus. "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." John Stewart Mill Now there is a little Marine Corps bravado in there, but I do believe in the basic premise. I want you to know that I could not have asked for better parents, or a better family. ..... I'll never forget that one of my friends in elementary school said that if he could trade places with one person, he'd trade places with me because of my parents and home life. I truly feel that I've had a blessed life thanks to you two. Please give my love to Alyse & Ryan, Kari & Matt & the girls, Chris & Brandy, and everyone else in the family.
All my love,
Ryan

Beaupre, 30, of Bloomington, Ill., was killed March 20 in a helicopter crash in Kuwait.

And this from Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams' last letter home:

...I know I am here to do a job that not everyone can handle or they just choose not to do. I can't help but wonder what God has in store for me and for us. God knows I live to love and would die to give just one person a chance for life in a peaceful world. My weakness in life just might be my willingness to sacrifice my life for the good of this world we live in.I am not trying to make you worry about me, but only to know that I am here because I want to be here and that I believe God has given me the chance to help the people who have helped me, and also the people I have not even met yet. I love you Heather, and I want to spend my life with you, but God has called me to do this first. There is a phrase the Marine Corps adopted, it is "Semper Fi." It means "Always Faithful." To God, my country, my family I will always be faithful. You are now part of my family. When all of this is over, God will have revealed his plan for me being here ..... For now, I belong to my country, when I come back, I am yours.

And Marine Sgt. Michael E. Bitz wrote:

Dear Mom: This is the largest battle group the US has set up since the Korean War. The only difference is that we have the means of doing much more damage today than we did back then. Honestly, between God, you and I, I would rather go back home with my wife and kids. Janina and all the other wives were able to come out to the beach and stay for three hours the night before we splashed our Assault Amphibious Vehicles out to the ship. ..... That last five minutes was the hardest of my life. We both were full of tears. It was easy for Joshua cause he was asleep at that time. But I am sure that he woke up the next morning wondering where Daddy was. ..... Well Mom, that is enough about me. I love you very much and now your young warrior is to be going now. Love, your son, Michael

Bitz, 31, of Ventura, Calif., and Williams, 31, of Yuma, Ariz., were killed March 23 in Nasiriyah by Iraqi soldiers who pretended to surrender, then opened fire when Marines approached.

Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address said: "...we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground-- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here."

So what ground did these men hallow? Some sand? Your next tank of gas? No. Far from it. Freedom is the sacred ground hallowed by their blood. And it's yours and mine, to enjoy every day. To laugh, or cry, and hug our children. And hope that the John Smiths, those miserable creatures, may some day know of men better then themselves.

For those who can spare the time, you can get to know the people who died for you a little better here.

Be sure and read Mudville Gazette's SACRED WORDS, in it's entirety, paying special attention to the links at the end that allow you to give charitably to organizations that honor America's fallen, and while you're there, be sure to scroll up to this post and read about Rick Rescorla. You should not miss it.

MORE: Via InstaPundit, Jeff Jarvis ends with this:

Eliminating fascism and tyranny from the world is the truest memorial to the millions who fought and lost their lives in this cause in World War II.

Go read the rest.

Joe Carter: They Keep Using That Word - The Left’s Fallacious Use of “Dishonesty”

Do not miss this missive over at the Evangelical Outpost:

Their primary contention that “Bush lied” was founded on claims that Saddam had WMDs and ties to Al Queda. You would expect that when evidence of WMDs was found and Saddam’s ties to Al Queda were established that they would admit that Bush hadn’t lied after all.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, their cries of dishonesty grew even louder. It’s almost as if they truly believe that reality is a social construct and that if they repeat the claim often enough it will become “true.”

Let me offer some unsolicited advice to those on the Left: stop claming “Bush is dishonest.” While it may make you and your ilk feel better, no one else is buying it. In fact, it’s hard to take you seriously when those on the Left stood by Clinton as he looked all of us in the eye and lied to our faces.

“Yes, but that was a lie about sex! When Bush lies it's about…”

Stop. Really, just stop. Either you care about honesty or you don’t. When you chose to downplay and excuse Clinton’s perjury, you showed that you put partisan politics ahead of the truth. The left sold its integrity to support a perjurer. Now you have to live with the consequences of your actions.

Besides, one of the problems with the truth is that it can be verified. If Bush is a liar then those on the left should be able to prove it. But they can’t. They don’t even believe they have to. While they may not be able to prove that Bush lied, they feel it in their gut. And, for them, feelings are as valid as facts.

Fortunately, Bush’s critics are too smug and self-possessed to even know the harm they are doing to their cause. While it grates on the nerves of those of us who support the President to hear such scurrilous nonsense, it will only help Bush in the long run. For whatever they mean by “dishonest”, it doesn’t mean what they think it means.

And that's been my problem with many leftists over the years... the uncanny, incessant need to redefine terms to fit their purposes...

Excellent job Joe, you've nailed this on the head.

Cranky Neocon has a new look

Check him out. And add him to your regular read list. I especially love this post. Can you guess who, before you go see for yourself, he's talking about?

Former presidential nominee and spokesman for the new generation of Disaster Films With A Valuable Message, overheated his positronic brain, and began broadcasting a series of career-limiting statements.

Heh.

Lifting weights - Part Deux

Yesterday, I hinted that all was not well in the Brutally Honest household.

Today, I'm glad to report that all is much, much better.

My son is back on the varsity baseball team.

Tuesday morning, he was informed, less than politely, that he was no longer welcome on the team. For brevity's sake, let's simply say that he had messed up (missed a practice) but received a punishment that far outweighed his crime (getting unceremoniously booted off the team).

Today however, the coach made amends, showing a much more human face, and rescinded his decision.

He earned some respect from me today. He acknowledged that if given the chance, he'd have done things differently.

Lord knows I've lived that sentiment. Lord knows I'm likely to live it again.

The coach and I shook hands at today's meeting. We even smiled and at one time joked with each other. Given what took place Tuesday morning between us, definitive progress, even restoration, was made. I think he too may've learned to respect me a little more.

The old adage that all's well that ends well comes true once more.

The weight my family was lifting has been released. And yes, God's love for us is true. (I regret doubting that yesterday, and the day before, I don't regret communicating my doubts... I think it's what He wants us to do. )

God's love being true even in the darkness. Fodder for many many books.

Anyway, we, and the team, can now focus on winning tonight's district championship game, and moving on to the state tournament.

Denying the undeniable

A few days ago, I engaged in a discussion (of sorts) with folks who frequent Mike's Waving or Drowning corner of the blogorhood.

You can see for yourselves that things got a bit heated. I don't mind the heat as much as long as I can eventually return to being a bit cooler.

I'm normally very, very cool
:)

Today, I find this post that I think adds not simply heat but undeniable clarity to points I attempted to make with our Canadian friends at Mike's place.

Don't you agree?

And while we're on the subject, I'd like to, with kudos again to BlackFive, turn some of those Canadians on to some good news that they apparently don't get way up there in the North about what's going on in Iraq. If only they'd remove their Abu Ghraib/Bush hating blinders.

News not fit to print

Blackfive turns us on to this news item that will be purposely ignored by the mainstream media:

2nd Lt. Warren, the MP platoon leader, showed Abass the facility’s aid station, latrines, showers and even the contents of one of the Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) that the detainees are given three times a day.

The Imam said he was pleased to see that the detainees had access to copies of the Quran and were allowed their religious freedom.

Following their visit, Abass and his associates admitted that they had been pleasantly surprised at how well the detainees were treated. They said the detainees told them that they were well fed, cared for and treated with respect by everyone at the detention facility.

Abass mentioned that he had expected far worse conditions at the detention facility given the prison abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib Prison. But was pleased with what he saw at the 2nd BCT detention facility.

Those expectations fed and fueled I'm sure by the incessant and biased news coverage...

All the more reason this story ought to be trumpeted... but won't.

Al Gore: A french fry short of a happy meal

I listened to pieces of Al Gore's lunatic rant given yesterday.

I leave the response to this idiocy to Mike over at Cold Fury. Mike does a passionate piece of fisking. And I do mean passionate.

Y’know, it just occurred to me that this sorehead loser is not even worth another moment of my time. You lost, Al; get over it. You and the rest of your feeble-minded supporters. Or, put another way, isn’t it high time you and the rest of your camp-followers Move On?

Can there possibly be even one sane person left in this country who doesn’t feel a quick, sharp shiver of relief at the happy realization that this twisted, witless goon isn’t our current President?

Mike speaks for me... colorfully.

Be sure to read the whole PG-13 piece... I winced appropriately.

Special thanks to A Small Victory for the cogent graphics.

MORE: Do check out Mark Noonan's post titled "The Return of the Goron". Priceless.

Jill Carattini: Lifting Weights

Haven't much felt like blogging of late. I'm glad Fr. Tim has picked up the slack.

Some personal issues going on in the family that are frankly driving me bananas. It involves my youngest son and something that has happened to him at his high school.

I won't go into much detail now. Suffice it to say that someone with a Napoleon complex is occupying our time of late.

My wife and I are struggling. We're not exactly enamored, at this point, with the idea that God loves us. I think and hope that we'll get over that.

Which brings me to this Jill Carattini post at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM):

Is it possible to use life resistances to build character and faith? I believe it is. Yet, as it is in weight lifting, a weight is only beneficial to the body when it is lifted and released. As muscles grow during times of rest, to never release a weight would forfeit the benefits of weight lifting and make way for serious injury. As it was in my worrying, I more closely resembled a person lugging around a barbell, stubbornly refusing to set it down.

F.W. Boreham tells a story about a woman who spent her entire life as a worrier. As a small child she would sit in her dad's lap and momentarily lay aside the weight of worry as he took his thumb and smoothed out the wrinkles on her forehead. "Now keep it smooth," he would say, "don't let it pucker again."

But it was of little help. Now a grown woman facing the final days of her life, she sat confessing to Pastor Boreham, without seeing anything incongruous in her words, that it worried her that she had been such a worrier all her life. I suspect in some way we are all worriers like this poor woman, failing to see the absurdity of many of our worries.

I'm failing to see the absurdity of what my family is going through at the moment. Failing miserably. They say this is better seen through the eyes of faith. (Who's they by the way?) And perhaps that's a point amongst other points in Jill's commentary.

I'm not sure. I know that right now, I'm ready to see this circumstance in hindsight. I want this event behind me, in a big way. And I want to be able to trust that God, in His wisdom, is in charge here.

I want to...

... but right now, this weight is heavy... very heavy. Releasing that weight, as Jill suggests, is easier said than done.

Joe Carter: A General Misunderstanding - Gen. Anthony Zinni on Iraq

Don't miss Joe's fisking of 'good guy' Zinni's critique of Bush's Iraqi policies.

There has been a great deal of speculation that John Kerry is considering retired Marine General Anthony Zinni as a potential vice presidential running mate. Zinni is the former Commander and Chief of U.S. Central Command and was responsible for military operation in an area that stretched from the Horn of Africa, across the Arabian Penisula, to South and Central Asia. The General is a man of unquestioned integrity and a respected military commander and would lend such much needed gravitas to the Democratic ticket.

But to be a success leader in the executive branch requires more than just an impeccable character. It also requires sound policy ideas. In this respect, the General falls short.

There's much more so please go and read the whole thing.