Spoken like a True Tennessean...

Those of us around the state who know anything about Charlie Daniels know this about the man: you can always count on him to shoot straight with you and tell it like it is. Someone sent me this in email, I went to snopes.com to verify it (it sure as hell SOUNDED like Charlie, and sure enough, it WAS Charlie), and now I'm passing it along here with a GREAT big rebel yell...

Mexican Standoff 04/03/06

I don’t know how everybody else feels about it, but to me I think Hispanic people in this country, legally or illegally, made a huge public relations mistake with their recent demonstrations.

I don’t blame anybody in the world for wanting to come to the United States of America, as it is a truly wonderful place. But when the first thing you do when you set foot on American soil is illegal it is flat out wrong and I don’t care how many lala land left heads come out of the woodwork and start trying to give me sensitivity lessons.

I don’t need sensitivity lessons, in fact I don’t have anything against Mexicans, I just have something against criminals and anybody who comes into this country illegally is a criminal and if you don’t believe it try coming into America from a foreign country without a passport and see how far you get.

What disturbs me about the demonstrations is that it’s tantamount to saying, “I am going to come into your country even if it means breaking your laws and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

It’s an “in your face” action and speaking just for me I don’t like it one little bit and if there were a half dozen pairs of gonads in Washington bigger than English peas it wouldn’t be happening.

Where are you, you bunch of lilly livered, pantywaist, forked tongued, sorry excuses for defenders of The Constitution? Have you been drinking the water out of the Potomac again?

And even if you pass a bill on immigration it will probably be so pork laden and watered down that it won’t mean anything anyway. Besides, what good is another law going to do when you won’t enforce the ones on the books now?

And what ever happened to the polls guys? I thought you folks were the quintessential finger wetters. Well you sure ain’t paying any attention to the polls this time because somewhere around eighty percent of Americans want something done about this mess, and mess it is and getting bigger everyday.

This is no longer a problem, it is a dilemma and headed for being a tragedy. Do you honestly think that what happened in France with the Muslims can’t happen here when the businesses who hire these people finally run out of jobs and a few million disillusioned Hispanics take to the streets?

If you, Mr. President, Congressmen and Senators, knuckle under on this and refuse to do something meaningful it means that you care nothing for the kind of country your children and grandchildren will inherit.

But I guess that doesn’t matter as long as you get re-elected.

Shame on you.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels
April 3, 2006

HELL yeah, CD, you tell'em!

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Dog Lovers, You Need to Know This

Ever had a puppy?

Ever experienced a playful little friend who has learned how to jump flying UP onto the bed, across to your sleeping partner, and nailing you in the um, er, well, between the legs innocently every morning to let you know that she's ready to go outside, take care of nature's business, and then come untie your shoes as you're getting ready for work because she wants you to be home? Have you ever watched and laughed as a pair of litter mates that you've adopted into your family wrestle and play in the middle of the living room floor? Have you ever had a dog with a head as large as your three year old daughters body lay his head in her lap while she played with his ears and cooed at him?

A good dog is a good member of the family. They don't judge, they don't argue, they don't try to undermine you. All they want is to love and be loved, and to protect the family, even if it's a family of one owner, one dog.

There are, of course, a few "bad apples" out there, that's just natural.

Have you noticed I haven't mentioned any specific breeds?

Personally, I'm a Lab and English Shepherd lover. My best dogs through the years have been these two breeds, along with one that was a Lab/German Shepherd mix. She was a wonderful companion to all of us, and a fanTAStic extra set of eyes watching after a very, very active and rambunctious three year old toddler.

I've never been a huge fan of Pit Bulls. Frankly, they just don't appeal to me. That being said, I would hate to know that I sat idly by and said nothing about California's SB 861, which calls for the extermination of the breed within the state of California (yes, I know it says "dangerous dogs," but in looking over this knuckleheaded tripe, Pit's are specifically targetted). If this law is allowed to stand there, you can look for it to be proposed and passed in other states. Will it stop with Pit's? I doubt it; this sort of mindlessness seems to snowball. Chows. Rotties. Dobermans. Bassett Hounds. Bassett Hounds?

See my point?

Hold owners accountable for their animals.

The actions of people have given this breed a bad reputation.

ANY dog can be turned into an aggressive animal. Just as any dog who is given the proper love and attention can be a wonderful, loving member of the family.

I have to say, I never thought I'd be taking a stand to save the lives of Pit Bulls.

If someone proposes legislation to start exterminating cats, I'll know that the Someone is trying to teach me a HARD lesson because yes, I'll stand up for even a cat's right to live as a breed and species...

Once and Always, an American (and cat-allergic) Fighting Man...

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"A long time ago, in a galaxy not quite so far away..."

It was a different world one hundred years ago than the world we live in today. Lindburgh had not made his famous trans-Atlantic flight. The Wright Brothers had only recently proven that man could, yes, could, fly. Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii were not yet states of the Union. And the United States maintained, mostly, an isolationist policy in regards to the affairs of the rest of the world.

In 1914, war ravaged Europe. Three years later, in 1917, the United States entered into the war. And today, 90 years later, Military Times reports the last of our combat veterans from that war was laid to rest in Portland, Oregon a week ago on the 2MAR07.

PORTLAND, Ore. - The echo of a 21-gun salute and bugler playing Taps seemingly marked the end of an era as a state and national treasure was laid to rest in Portland, Ore., March 2.

Retired Army Cpl. Howard V. Ramsey, Oregon's last living World War I veteran and the last known U.S. combat veteran of WWI, died in his sleep Feb. 22 at an assisted living center in southeast Portland. He was honored in a memorial service attended by nearly 200 people at Lincoln Memorial Park exactly one month before reaching his 109th birthday.

"This is a very historic occasion; we lay to rest today our nation's oldest combat veteran," said Pastor Stu Weber, who officiated over Ramsey's memorial service.

In an Associated Press report, Jim Benson of the Veterans Administration said there are now only seven WWI veterans on record with the VA, although it is possible there are unknown veterans who may still exist.

Of the seven known WWI veterans still living, none were shipped overseas, making Ramsey the last known combat veteran of "The Great War." Ramsey inherited the title two weeks before his passing, when Massachusetts veteran Antonio Pierro passed away on Feb. 8.

Ramsey's lifetime spanned three centuries and 19 presidents. He was born in Rico, Colo., on April 2, 1898, when the U.S. flag had just 45 stars and President McKinley was preparing to declare war with Spain.

Too young to be drafted, Ramsey tried to voluntarily enlist but was told he was too skinny by Army standards. After gorging on bananas and water to successfully meet weight standards, he was placed in the Army's transportation corps.

Ramsey sailed to France in September 1918 to join General John "BlackJack" Pershing's American Expeditionary Force. Ramsey drove cars, trucks and motorcycles for the Army and trained other Soldiers how to drive. He was often selected to drive officers to special engagements, one officer "gigging" him for having a dirty truck despite the constant rain and mud in France. He also drove ambulances, transported troops to the frontlines and delivered water to troops on the battlefields.

Ramsey once recalled his service in WWI saying, "We were under fire a lot at the front, and we really caught hell one time. I lost friends over there."

After the armistice, Ramsey spent several months recovering the remains of American Soldiers who had been hastily buried in the trenches and transported them to the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, the largest American cemetery in Europe.

"You'd better believe it was pretty awful work," Ramsey told Oregonian reporter Rick Bella in 2005. "It was tough, but you became hardened to it."

Nearly 90 years later, Ramsey was still haunted by regret for not breaking the rules and keeping a diary that fell from the pocket of one deceased American Soldier. Ramsey told family and friends, "I wanted to keep that diary so badly to send it to his mother, but it was against the rules to keep anything from off the bodies."

Veterans of many generations and wars, and military representatives attended Ramsey's memorial service to pay their respects, including Brig. Gen. Raymond C. Byrne Jr., commander of the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Jim Willis, state director of Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs.

"If we are going to end an era, I can think of no better way than to do it with a person who is a model representation of the kinds of Soldiers who served this country in WWI, and someone who would be an example to any combat Soldier serving up to, and including those who serve in Afghanistan and Iraq today. All (veterans) would be justifiably proud to have known Corporal Howard Ramsey," said Willis.

Retired Army Col. Don Holden, whose father was Ramsey's classmate at Washington High School, shared fond memories of Ramsey's sense of humor. He said farewell to his old friend by reading the epic WWI poem "Flander's Field," which Ramsey could recite from memory well into his late 90s.

(Spc. April L. Dustin writes for the Oregon National Guard Public Affairs Office.)

In honor of Corporal Ramsey, I'm not going to make any political statements in this posting. I merely wished to pay my respects to a brother, a fellow American Fighting Man...

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