Thought for Today

"I hope to live long enough to see my surviving comrades march side by side with the Union veterans along Pennsylvania Avenue, and then I will die happy."

~~~~~ General James Longstreet

Thought for Today

"For those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we are grateful that such men and women were among us. For those who continue to serve, we honor their commitment. For those who return to civilian life, we honor their service."

~~~~~ Steve Buyer

Middle Tennessee Liberty Rally

A huge Tea Party rally on the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee is coming soon. It's called the Middle Tennessee Liberty Rally, and it will be held at high noon on Monday, June 29th. If you live anywhere within driving distance and you can get away from work for a couple of hours, come join us. So far, the scheduled speakers are Nashville talk show hosts Phil Valentine, Ralph Bristol, and Steve Gill, along with Ben Cunningham of Tennessee Tax Revolt and Ken Marrero, the Blue Collar Muse. By the time of the rally, there may be one or two more.

Here's a brochure (click to enlarge):

For the most current information, and to sign up for the mailing list, go to the Tennessee Tea Party website.

See you there!

Thomas Paine and Me, or It's a Small World

By now, you've probably seen the Thomas Paine re-enactor whose videos have become some of the most popular on YouTube. He's also been featured – and interviewed – on Fox News, which is where I first saw him.

When I first saw the man in his Tom Paine character, of course I was quite impressed, but I honestly can't say I recognized him. But his voice sounded vaguely familiar.

When he was interviewed on Fox News, I learned that his real name is Bob Basso – and I thought, "Surely not!" You see, a long time ago, I had the great honor and privilege of serving as an officer aboard a ship of the U.S. Navy, the USS MAURY (AGS-16), a geological survey ship. One of my fellow officers was one LTJG Robert L. Basso.

I studied the videos on YouTube and the picture in my copy of the USS MAURY's 1963-64 cruisebook. While there was certainly a resemblance, I couldn't be sure. So I found Thomas Paine re-enactor Bob Basso's website and used it to contact him with this simple message:

Was wondering if by any chance you're the same Bob Basso with whom I served aboard the USS MAURY during the 1963-64 cruise.

5 days later (Bob's understandably pretty busy these days), he replied with the news that indeed he was the very same Bob Basso with whom I served 46 years ago.

Here are then-and-now pictures of LTJG Robert L. Basso:

Here are the links to all three of Bob's videos:
The Second American Revolution
We the People Stimulus Package
Thomas Paine On to Washington

And just to be fair about all this, here are then-and-now pictures of your humble correspondent, who was then known as LTJG Morton A. Goldberg:

It's a small world, isn't it?

Col. Peters Is Furious ...

… and as a fellow military veteran, I can appreciate why. In response to the calculated and deliberate smear of veterans by our esteemed (NOT!) Director of Homeland Security, he wrote The Vet 'Threat': Gov't ID's Public Enemy No. 1. He begins like this:

HOLLYWOOD and countless professors warned us: Military vets are drooling trailer-trash who beat their wives and, at best, wind up as homeless street people -- at worst, as homicidal psychos deformed by war.

Now, thanks to our ever-vigilant Department of Homeland Security, the full extent of the danger has been revealed: Our so-called "war heroes" are rushing back to join right-wing-extremist hate groups to overthrow our government.

Let's not quibble about little things like evidence. The Obama administration just knows that vets are all racist, Jew-hating crazies waiting to explode. Thank God, DHS has a fearless leader, Janet-from-another-planet Napolitano, who isn't afraid to call white trash "white trash."

He then proceeds to let everyone know what he REALLY thinks.

I wonder how much Col. Peters' column had to do with Secretary Napolitano's subsequent lame, half-hearted attempts to extinguish the raging inferno of public outrage she had ignited.

Come to think of it, I also wonder if Janet Napolitano has any idea how utterly ridiculous she looks.

Hat tip: Lisa Benson and Townhall.com

Hat tip: Jerry Holbert and Townhall.com

John McCain – A Personal Glimpse

Ann Landers wrote, "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." Here's an almost forgotten story illustrating how John McCain lives by that creed: The Great McCain Story You've Probably Forgotten

What an old anecdote about Mo Udall in the hospital reveals about McCain's character.
By Michael Lewis

Back in 1996 and 1997, before John McCain was a presidential candidate or object of media fascination, Michael Lewis followed the Arizona senator around as he campaigned for Bob Dole and worked to reform campaign-finance laws. Lewis' pieces for the New Republic and the New York Times Magazine portrayed McCain as a passionate, cantankerous, astonishingly honest political character who frequently acted in ways that brought him no political gain. In the recent back-and-forth over whether McCain is a regular politician or a true outlier, we remembered a wonderful moment from Lewis' 1997 New York Times Magazine profile of McCain, "The Subversive." The passage below comes at the very end of Lewis' article.

Read it and learn about a man who doesn't need to fake good character because he personifies it.

Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, who in turn got it from one of his readers.

Thought for Today

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.

~~~~~ Calvin Coolidge

The last full measure of devotion...

Read this deeply moving account of the homecoming of a Fallen Soldier.


Hat tip: Ace of Spades, who in turn got it from Blackfive.

"There Are 17 Marines Who Are Amputees Fighting In Iraq"

If you share my conviction that those whose opinions of the Iraq War count the most are those doing the fighting, read Joseph Kinney's account of why "There Are 17 Marines Who Are Amputees Fighting In Iraq."

Hat tips: WorldNetDaily for selecting this piece as its Column du Jour and Pat Dollard for hosting it.

(Yes, this is the same Pat Dollard who gave up a cushy life as a wealthy Hollywood agent to become an embedded journalist with the Marines. You can read his story in this November, 2006 Maxim magazine article, and you can watch several video clips from his forthcoming documentary, Young Americans, here.)

Vets for Freedom

Have you seen this new TV ad from Vets for Freedom?


Senator Obama: When will you finally visit Iraq? – May 28, 2008

Well, here's another somewhat longer video from Blackfive featuring SPC Kate Norley along with Tennessee's superlative 7th District Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn.


Nashville, Tennessee – National Heroes' Tour – March 31, 2008 – Kate Norley & Interview w/ Rep. Marsha Blackburn

(I wish Marsha were my Representative, but I live in the neighboring 5th District, so I have to settle for Jim Cooper. I must admit that for a Democrat, though, he's about as good as it gets – one of the bluest of the Blue Dogs. If only he hadn't voted for that ditzy Nancy Pelosi as Speaker ... Anyway, Marsha, who, incidentally, is a brand new grandmother, is a whole lot better looking than Jim.)

If you like what you just saw, click on over to Vets for Freedom and check out the rest of what they have to offer.