Keep the FAITH!

July 5, 2009

By Laura Armstrong
Columnist

For so many of us this Independence Day our flags might be flying high, but our patriotic spirits are profoundly troubled.

Allow me to point out the dichotomy of the weekend. Amid your celebrations, were you uneasy? As you watched parades, or fireworks, or ate barbecue, perhaps a little voice inside said something like, "It took America eight years of bloody Revolution to become a free republic, and in just months look at how far we've strayed from that ideal."

Oh sure, this holiday weekend has been fun. We right-wing extremists were born to hum along with Sousa or supervise the decorating of bikes in red, white and blue streamers. Who can't muster a smile for a child with his first sparkler?

As I watched my 30th Peachtree Road Race on TV (I've never quite made it downtown on the Fourth) I marveled again at American creativity and our ability to take good ideas and build them into something truly grand - if government doesn't interfere, that is.

Yet then I remember: In the statist Obama nation, private enterprise and achievement are under attack - distinctly un-American.

Meanwhile, despite his "Mission Accomplished" moment last week, when Obama announced his bailout policies have really, truly worked (is Baghdad Bob running White House communications?) we have 9.6 percent unemployment, the highest in 26 years. In June alone, Americans lost 476,000 jobs.

As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for you, Barack?"

In just months, corporations have been taken over by the feds. Profitable private auto dealerships were closed and individuals, even CEOs, were threatened, victims of the new gangster politics.

Last week, our Democrat Congress and eight turncoat Republicans moved us closer to the change America so ignorantly voted for, passing the largest tax increase in history, despite a harsh recession and Obama's "no middle class tax hike" pledge.

Obama lied, but Gov. Sanford cried and Michael J. died, and the media barely noticed. Now we're close to enacting the Cap-and-Trade (Waxman-Markey) Bill, aka, the Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

Based on phony science, this monster levies more taxes on everyone, will reduce GNP, possibly destroying 1 to 2 million jobs each year, and will force us to live in the strange little world of carbon emission haters, i.e. environmental inspections by the feds before selling your home and restrictions on appliance use from wood stoves to light bulbs, none over 60 watts allowed. It even specifies where to plant trees in your yard, if it even allows yards - no one has read the whole 1,200 pages of the legislation yet.

Still to be considered in the Senate, this bill needs to die. It's un-American.

So this week, call Johnny and Saxby. Attend a future Tea Party, like the one conducted in Cobb last Friday. It's good to be with others who understand history, political theory and the implications of creeping socialism and fascism.

Continue to support our troops, and pray for them as they push deeper into Afghanistan, fighting Obama's refocused War on "Overseas Contingencies," his PC term for Terrorism.

And keep the faith until Election Day, if you can.

(My friend Laura Armstrong nails it again! It is good to be with others who understand what American is facing! It strengthens our resolve to stand tall and proud, knowing that we do not stand alone. Keep up the great work Laura, you are making a lot of us very proud. As Laura said, "How's that working for you, Barack?"
Yeah, she said it and we are entitled to her opinion on this blog too! VN8)

My friend Laura writes another great article!

‘Silent patriots’ applaud victories

By Laura Armstrong
Columnist

In early 2002, the world watched news reports of American Special Forces fighting valiantly on horseback to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan. Barely a year later, we were glued to footage of Saddam's statue being pulled down in Baghdad's Firdos Square.

As euphoric Iraqis beat on the fractured stone with their shoes that day in April 2003, I admired Lt. Col. Bryan McCoy's Third Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment, the young Devil Dogs who made history after a three-week, record-breaking, hard-fought push from Kuwait. As the moment was broadcast live, they stood fast among the Iraqi mob and the world marveled at their bravery.

I recall two Iraqi men with a banner reading, "Saddam is a wanker." It seemed positive at the time.

In July that year, Saddam's sons were radically deprived of their rape and torture rooms. By December, the Army's Fourth ID tracked their evil enabler to his sorry hole in the ground.

Despite ensuing turmoil (did we really expect a walk in the park?) purple ink in the creases of a finger never seemed so grand. Freedom, to those of us who value it, shined much brighter in the world.

But before we could finish the job, some Americans turned to tearing down anything resembling a victory. Rather than fully reporting the exceptional successes of the war, or even giving credit where credit was due, coverage became negative with a vengeance.

When things on the ground became positive again, or when a negative story was shown to be untrue, coverage stalled altogether.

To date, despite their successes, our brave troops have been described as victims (Obama), as murderers (Murtha), as Nazis (Durbin), or as too dumb to stay out of Iraq (Kerry).

Last week's AP wire (reported on the MDJ's front page) reminded us once again of the pervasive posttraumatic stress among vets. Two days later it was their propensity for suicide. But no Medal of Honor news, ever.

Also missing is news of the exoneration of six Marines so publicly charged (by John Murtha and in Time Magazine) with murder in a place called Haditha. After months in limbo, six of the eight accused have been completely cleared of all crimes, a likely disappointment for those who hoped for another My Lai.

Too bad pop-psychologist Joyce Brothers hadn't heard the news yet when she penned yesterday's syndicated column furthering the perception all troops are brainwashed to kill and have no minds of their own.

"Training and combat," she opines, "desensitize even the nicest young men … Blind obedience is a tragic part of war."

Military families everywhere give you the one-finger salute, Dr. Brothers.

But here's my point:

Many people, including me, still believe we've generally done the right thing in Iraq. We're glad Americans are killing terrorists there; the more the better. We think the troops are heroes, not damaged goods. And we value American victory, not appeasement, certainly not retreat.

We're just tired of talking about it.

You can call us silent patriots, warmongers or chickenhawks. Whatever. We don't much care. We're still here. Have a nice day.

lbarmstrong3378@comcast.net

(Way to go Laura, you speak for many of us! Semper Fi! VN8)

A word from Laura Armstrong

Below: Helicopter pilot Bruce "Snake" Crandall (played in the movie by Greg Kinnear) with Armstrong, whose dad was "Black Bart" Bartholomew. He was later KIA on his second tour in 1968.




July 21, 2007


It's been too long since we last heard from Laura Armstrong. Laura is the daughter of the legendary Vietnam War hero Roger ("Black Bart") Bartholomew, and a hero in her own right as far as we at Power Line are concerned. As such, she is particularly well situated to comment on my take on Dean Barnett's Weekly Standard cover story "The 9/11 generation." Laura writes:

I read with interest your generational observations, Boomers vs. 9/11 generation.

I'm 46 -- too young for Vietnam (though you might remember I spoke in WSJ.com about the Vietnamization of this war back in 2004 and John Kerry, which Paul commented on in Power Line). I'm on the tail end of being a Boomer, born in 1961.

My contemporaries and I were just old enough to remember the turmoil of the sixties, but too young to participate. Our parents were the silent majority, tsk-tsking the "hippies" at the dinner table, too old to participate in the Summer of Love, just trying to earn a living and keep us away from a world gone mod. We saw Munich, Entebbe, the Achille Lauro and other terrorism-related events. We watched Navy diver Robert Dean Stetham sacrifice for us in 1985, during the takeover of TWA flight 847. His name comes freely to mind, even after 22 years.

When we went to college in the late '70s, we knew we were there to learn, not to protest. We were the impressionable generation in elementary school when Americans walked on the moon. They were heroes, and we were too young to be cynics. We watched the space shuttle land safely for the first time while in college, and many of us realized space travel would be a reality for us. Unlike the seemingly untouchable astronauts of the Apollo days, we knew (even the girls) we could actually attain that job, or any other, if we just wanted it and worked hard.

We were also the group who saw the remnants of a troubled, post-Vietnam military, savaged by the left (opportunists like Kerry) and wrongly regarded as pathetic by most. Jimmy Carter almost broke that military, but it was the young men of my generation who joined anyway because they were patriots DESPITE the boomer's who tried to tell us service to this country was a joke. Those same boomer's went on to take from this country in so many ways, while never giving back. And those optimists who joined and made the service their career are the ones who lead us today.

Most of all, we watched our embassy held hostage in Iran, and we cried when American soldiers were tragically killed during a rescue attempt.

We were the Reagan generation, watching from our dorms as his impending presidency ended Nightline's never ending daily countdown. Reagan talked to us about the Shining City on the Hill, the Boys of Point du Hoc, and tearing down the wall. We listened.

I absolutely believe that military families hand down their ideals of service. But I also believe my generation understands today's threat in a way the average Boomer cannot (because his facts are so clouded by his experiences in the 60s). And it's our kids who're out there on the front lines as second lieutenants and gunnery sergeants, having been raised to believe our country's ideals are worth fighting for.

I only hope the aging hippies, socialists, Che-lovers, etc. will begin dying off before they do much more damage. It's time for the Reagan kids to have their turn.


Laura B. Armstrong
Atlanta

Laura Armstrong: Blogger says war is not a GAME

By Laura Armstrong
Columnist
3-30-2008

The fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq coincided with my visit to the Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance. It was a privilege to speak at their March meeting, where I encouraged them to keep standing fast for the troops currently filling their rather large boots.

Guys like President Jim Baskin, Bob Humphries, Lou Costello, Al Rowe, Jack Moses, Chuck Johnson and Robert Ledee (Lt. Col. Ledee is executive director of Armor 4 Troops) are among Alliance vets continuing to work on behalf of their brothers in arms.

As I reminded, there's a domestic war being waged on today's troops that's bolder, more organized and better funded (don't we wonder, by whom?) than ever. The rhetoric and actions of groups posturing for "peace" have become violent. First they defamed troops; now they bomb recruiters and incite murder.

"Freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors …" English professor John Daly to Marquette University freshmen, 2005.

"We support the troops when they kill their officers." - "Peace" slogan.

They "killed innocent civilians in cold blood…" U.S. Rep. John Murtha, slandering subsequently cleared U.S. Marines.

"Put the gun down or turn it around." - Peaceniks' message to troops, Portland, last week.

We military families are usually tolerant, but our patience with this ongoing rhetoric is about gone. One mom, blogging at www.bluestarchronicles.com, sounds off:

"Those who call for the murder of our troops do so openly, without one second of consequence to themselves. They're cowards, covering their faces and marching … where they don't have to worry about snipers or roadside bombs or dictators making them disappear … or look into the eyes of their enemies, of someone trying to kill them.

"They can go home and go to bed, not realizing the damage they do. They're just out having a good time … hiding their faces, calling for the death of MY SON.

"… It's a safe shot for them, they'll sleep in their warm beds tonight and attend classes tomorrow, while our sons don't sleep.

"God help me, I despise them … for their cowardice … their disloyalty to our nation … their lack of understanding of the fortunes they inherit simply by accident of birth.

"While they're out chanting and covering their disgusting cowardly faces, our sons and daughters are fighting people with real guns and a real will to kill them. This isn't a GAME.

"…Here's a clue you little wussy, snotty-nosed, prissy wimps:

"We have an all-volunteer army. You're free to go about your littsle meaningless lives and pursue your dreams ... without interference from the unpleasantness. Go back to class, drink wine and eat cheese in the park and discuss the philosophy of Marxism with your elitist latte liberal friends. Leave the work of this nation to people who can deal with real life.

"Now shut up, sit down, suck on your bong, cry to your mamas about how everybody is unfair to you and let the adults run the freaking nation."

Way to go Blue Star Mom!

And to the 233 heroes of the Marines' Red Dog squadron (HMLA 773), returning to Marietta Friday after serving with distinction in Iraq - A Heartfelt and Proud Welcome Home! Semper Fi.

http://www.mdjonline.com/content/index/showcontentitem/area/1/section/21/item/108143.html