On a crisp cold February morning the Patriot Guard Riders joined family, friends, dignitaries and well wishers to see the 455th Engineers off to their deployment in Afghanistan.
It was pretty chilly outdoors with 17 degree weather and a stiff breeze!
This photo was just after we moved indoors.
More and more people kept arriving until the room was literally packed wall to wall.
Here’s a video which shows much of the crowd and then the Girl Scouts singing the National Anthem.
The PGR adopted the unit with an offer to look after the families of the men while they are overseas and gave them a flag which everyone signed:
Alice of the PGR took loads of great photos which are here.
I had the honor to meet two American Heroes at the ceremony.
Matt Russotti of Lynbrook who was going overseas.
And Lt. Col. Steve Labate who came to the ceremony to see the unit off!
Many of you will become more acquainted with Steve this election when he will be running against the incumbent Steve Israel for the 2nd Congressional District seat.
Another of the Greatest Generation has passed.
Walter Haslam, Tech 5, USAAF, was honored and remembered last week.
Alice writes:
Walter Haslam served his country in Europe during WWII. He held the rank of Tec 5 in the USAAF. He never spoke of the battles he was in, but always said how proud he was to serve his country. He lived in Westbury for 50+ years.
Shortly after his neighbors, Bill and Maureen Johnson moved in, Walter’s beloved wife Muriel passed away. Bill and Maureen “adopted” Walter. He was invited to their home for every celebration. Maureen made sure Walter had dinner. They took him to concerts. For his 85th birthday we took him to see Michael Buble. Prior to the concert we had drinks and birthday cake at the Rainbow Room.
Every summer the Johnson’s would arrange a “Summer Soiree” for Walter and his friends. Enjoying cocktails and listening to his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra and other standards singers. He looked forward to that all year.
When Walter’s health started to decline he was moved to a nursing home. Maureen and Bill visited him religiously. They dressed up for Christmas and entertained there. Two days before he died, Maureen put on a CD of “Time After Time”. At one point, with eyes closed, he started belting out the song. He told Maureen that he knew his wife was waiting for him and he lay there holding Maureen’s hand.
He was a great friend and I always had a wonderful time when I would see him at the Johnson’s. We will all miss the light and sparkle he brought to our lives.
Remember each and every one of these heroes for their sacrifices helped ensure that the United States would become the greatest nation on earth.
In a stunning admission, Eric Holder has admitted that he gave the order to treat the Christmas Day Panty Bomber as an ordinary criminal.
Lets see now… FALN, Al Qaeda, More Al Qaeda… there is seemingly no end to the line of people, trying to kill Americans, that this guy will suck up to.
“I made the decision to charge Mr. Abdulmutallab with federal crimes, and to seek his detention in connection with those charges, with the knowledge of, and with no objection from, all other relevant departments of the government”
It is time to get this man away from any position where he can be as dangerous as he is now.
Eric Holder’s former law firm, Covington & Burling LLP, represented 18 of the Gitmo detainees before he was appointed Attorney General.
Covington & Burling, home to such illustrious attorneys as David Remes of boxers or briefs fame,
has been defending Terrorists since 2004. Particularly the Guantanamo Bay detainees. They have filed amicus curiae briefs (no pun intended) before the Supreme and District Courts and generally hindered any attempt to move forward with their prosecution.
Byron York writes in today’s Washington Examiner:
To Charles Grassley, a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the questions seem pretty simple. How many of the political appointees now in charge of terrorist detainee issues at the Obama Justice Department were, not too long ago, lawyers and activists working on behalf of those very detainees? Who are they? Have they removed themselves from cases involving their former clients?
So far, Grassley is having a hard time getting the information he wants. His problems started on Nov. 18, 2009, when Holder appeared before the Judiciary Committee and Grassley asked him to reveal which department lawyers had represented which detainees. Grassley is still waiting for an answer.
“He said something like, ‘I have to think about it,’ ” Grassley says. “He must still be thinking about it two and a half months later.”
Two years ago to the day the Gathering of Eagles paid a visit to Howard Zinn and his lefty cronies at his home in Newton, Massachusetts.
He was having a fund raiser for the IVAW to help their Winter Soldier project.
Can’t say I’m sorry he has left this mortal coil. Hope he packed lots of warm weather gear.
Jim B had video!
More pictures here, here and here.
Our friend Jim Hanson (Uncle Jimbo) is interviewed about the terrorist trials that the Obama administration still wants to hold in the United States:
What we have here is a massive failure on the part of this administration to identify the enemy and prepare a strategy and tactics with which to defeat them. The failures just continue to mount and paint a picture of collusion and incompetence which are actively endangering the citizens of the United States.
- Refusal to use the term “WAR” to describe our conflict with radical Islam.
- Attorney General Eric Holder’s failure to recuse himself from any decision regarding the Gitmo detainees in light of his law firm’s strenuous efforts to delay military tribunals for those prisoners.
- Halting all tribunal actions even in cases where the detainees had pled guilty or been found guilty.
- Deciding to move detainee jurisprudence from military tribunals to civilian federal courts where these terrorists whose intent is the destruction of the United States will be given the full rights of American citizens.
- Failure to transfer custody of the Detroit aircraft bomber to Intelligence or Military custody for intense questioning regarding his claim that there are more terrorists in training to execute similar attacks.
It has become apparent that the Administration’s policy has risen to a level of threat to the citizens of the United States that it deserves its own name, Lawfaregate.
Hat Tip: Blackfive
Under the relentless assault of 911 families and other groups opposed to holding terrorist trials in New York, the White House is now looking for other locations to hold the trials. Here’s a newsflash for Obama and Holder. How about holding them in Guantanamo Bay? At that brand new facility we built at great expense to the taxpayers. It would have the added bonus of keeping them out of our country, away from our courts, prevent them from obtaining the rights that are afforded to U.S. citizens, and comply with international law. D’oh
But instead they will probably scour the area around New York City to find another place. Like Governors Island, West Point or Stewart Airport. Their ideology will prevent them from accepting the logical and legal solution unless we keep the pressure up.
Listen to Schumer weasel out of his earlier support for trials in NYC.
The tipping point appears to have been Mayor Bloomberg changing his stance as reported here.
Here’s some background on recent developments in the fight to halt this travesty:
Michelle Malkin has more here.
911 Families check in:
Moving danger? So what if Obama is reconsidering moving 9/11 trials
