From the Hanoi Hilton to the Halls of Power

At forty Navy Comdr John McCain had survived a North Vietnamese Prison Camp and gone through months of agonizing rehabilitation preparing to fly again. McCain soon regained flight eligibility and commanded the largest air squadron in the U.S. Navy. He recently spoke at Cecil Field marking the 35th anniversary of his return to America-" When I came to Cecil Field and eventually assumed command of VA 174, the state of military readiness in the United States was very low. And my squadron's readiness was no exception. We had about fifty planes, and nearly half of them were in such bad shape they had been grounded. I was determined to improve the situation". He successfully returned all of the planes to service. Soon he was appointed to serve as the Navy's liaison by Admiral James L. Holloway III. The job opened John McCain's eyes to a whole new world -"a great opportunity-to travel, meet people and to learn" according to McCain.

From the time He moved into his small office in the Russell Building ,Senators and senior staff began to regularly seek out his company. Sen. Gary Hart, a frequent visitor and friend describes McCain "as a fascinating character. He had a great sense of humor, he was smart and funny to be around". Hart says of McCain's office-"It was the place."

During this time McCain became a favorite for many Senators and was frequently requested to serve as detail for their Committee travels. As a detail John had the responsibility of handling logistics for the Senators on trips to China, the Soviet Union, South Korea, Oman, Israel and many other countries. John McCain was always aware of protocol and rank, never complained about menial tasks and carried out his duties gingerly. McCain formed a bond with many of the Senators. Even those that had adamantly opposed the war respected him. On one trip in particular many of those senators one by one all made their way to the back of the plane where McCain was sitting to make their peace with a hero.

Serving as Navy Liaison to the Senate and traveling with top politicians exposed McCain to some of the world's great leaders and he says he gained a lot from observing them. Two of his heroes , the late Sen. Henry (Scoop) Jackson and Sen. John Tower were both friends and mentors. Their friendships and political nurturing helped shape John McCain's destiny. An article in National Journal describes the friendships :

One of his heroes was the late Sen. Henry (Scoop) Jackson, D-Wash., whom McCain has praised as “one of the country’s leading hawks” at a time when most Democrats were anti-war. McCain devoted several pages of his autobiography, Worth the Fighting For, to Jackson, who, he wrote, “suffered the disdain of elites who mistook fashion for wisdom.”

McCain described his gratitude for Jackson’s unwavering support for the Vietnam War. “A lost war is a terrible calamity and, in this instance, all the more so for its last casualty, America’s faith in herself. Thank God for Scoop Jackson, for his willingness to stand apart from the new conventions of his party.” McCain told National Journal that he learned some of his important lessons from Jackson, especially this one, spelled out in his book: “Political courage in practice is the resolve to do what’s right whatever the personal consequences one must suffer.”

Jackson’s fierce support for Israel and the adoration he received when he arrived in Tel Aviv on a 10-day trip impressed McCain profoundly. “I will never forget landing in the airport in Tel Aviv and they were all carrying signs: ‘God Bless You, Scoop.’ It was a heartfelt and emotional greeting.” When Jackson spotted the wife of then-imprisoned human-rights activist Natan Sharansky in the crowd, McCain says, “He stopped the bus and had her come on the bus with us. I will never forget it. I saw the effect that a person can have in office.”

Although McCain deeply admired Jackson, he characterizes the relationship as strictly professional. His relationship with Sen. John Tower of Texas, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, was much more. With Tower, whom he also called a “leading hawk,” he struck up a deep friendship, one that many have described as a father-son bond. “I was inspired by Tower,” an unwavering advocate for increased defense spending, McCain says.

McCain accompanied Tower on 20 trips. He loves to tell the story about one visit to Oman, where they met with the Sultan Qaboos bin Said in his palatial desert tent. All of the other guests knelt or sat cross-legged, but McCain could not bend his legs because of his war injuries. So he sat with his legs straight out, feet facing the sultan. Unbeknownst to him, showing the soles of one’s feet to the sultan is an unforgivable insult. Tower knew that, however; realizing that Sultan Qaboos and his guards were becoming incensed, he intervened to explain McCain’s predicament. McCain wrote that Tower “loved to remind me time and again how he had once saved my life in the Omani desert.”

As a liaison , John McCain was able to observe the best at work. Soon McCain knew Washington was calling. His destiny found. Upon retiring from the Navy as a captain, he decided to run for office. Arizona was now John McCain's home with wife Cindy, unfortunately there were no open House seats in the Phoenix area. John McCain began making the rounds, speaking with Republicans and making speeches throughout Arizona.
Through a dose of great luck, and the right connections, he was able to win a House seat for Phoenix's 1st district and eventually the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Barry Goldwater.John McCain now leads the Republicans on the Armed Services Committee and draws on the wisdom learned from his mentors, Tower and Jackson. "What I learned from them was: Be smart on the issues. Know it better than anybody else. Really inform yourself. Understand the personalities. Understand that national security issues are very complex at times."

Read the rest of the National Journal article "McCain's Turning Point" at:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20080426_1107.php

Man in the Middle

This week, McCain took his campaign on a tour of locations not usually visited by Republican candidates. Most notably, he visited Selma, Alabama, the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, and Youngstown, Ohio -- all Democratic strongholds. For these visits he has taken a certain amount of criticism from the Democrats for appearing to be disingenuous in order to gain their votes. However, like John McCain said:

"I may not get the majority of votes in Selma, Alabama. I understand that. But I want to assure them that when I'm president, I want to be president of all the people."

Far more disturbing is the heat McCain is taking from extremists in his own party for "pandering" to Democrats, and for his comments rebuking the North Carolina Republican Party's anti-Obama ad that includes video of Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright. During a blogger conference call, McCain laid out his position:

"It's just not the tenor of the kind of campaign I want to run. I understand the discussion of Rev. Wright, and he has brought this up by doing media appearances, but there are differences that are mad... There are many differences between our parties and differences between myself and Senator Obama, and I want this race to be about those differences."

Apparently the vilification coming from Republicans seems to be that they want to continue working from the same playbook used by Karl Rove. While these tactics might have worked in the past, they can't be used this time.

Why? Because John McCain is a different kind of candidate, whose main appeal is to independents and moderates of both parties. Allowing far-right wing tactics to be used in his name will only HURT his chances in the fall, as he will lose the independents and moderates who are HIS core constituency.

Matt Bai at the New York Times discusses this and the falsehood of Red State/Blue State polarity:

"In fact, the fastest-growing bloc of American voters remains independent, meaning that more Americans than at any time in modern history are consciously choosing not to affiliate with a party. Pollsters tell us that some segment of these voters tends to be economically conservative, socially libertarian and concerned about national security. And the evidence suggests that while they may vote with one party or another for a period of time, they are essentially free agents, open to an argument and deeply suspicious of party orthodoxies. These are the suburban and exurban voters we have called “Reagan Democrats” or “Perot voters,” and they are potentially decisive in any American election."

So, while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight it out to determine how far LEFT the Democratic Party will go, John McCain, who appeals to many conservatives and many more moderates, has deftly positioned himself with a broad constituency across the ideological spectrum. When either Obama or Clinton do get their party's nomination, when they try to appeal to independents, they're going to find out McCain has established this decisive territory as his own.

Why We Should Worry About Our Educational System

Seen at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco.

Dude, put down the bong and get back into class -- you're falling behind!

Thanks To Andrew Sullivan.

What a Democratic Mess

Senator Hillary Clinton's Pennsylvania victory is much more than a symbolic one. She denies Senator Obama another victory in a big state, again. Obama has not carried a large state beside his home state, Illinois. Why is that important? Because this is the traditional Democratic path to White House – winning big states with large electoral college votes. What is more troubling is that Clinton has a good chance surpassing Obama in popular votes. In fact, she has already claimed she surpassed Obama in popular votes: she includes voters from Florida and Michigan. This is a mess produced by DNC Chairman Howard Dean. To deny their voices, when the race is so close, is clearly an act of disenfranchisement. Yet, to include their votes after the game rules has been established will be vastly unfair. Afterall, Obama did not campaign in Florida and his name is not even on Michigan primary ballots. A revote would have been the best alternative, but the Democratic Parties of the two states have killed that option.

What about the popular votes? What if Clinton wins the popular votes while Obama leads in delegates counts? Should the superdelegates reward the candidate with the popular supports? Or should they support the candidate who leads in delegates? No matter who get nominated, a good number of Democrats will feel the nomination is stolen from them. What a mess!

Earth Day 24/7/365

Earth Day

April 22, 2008

As Americans we are privileged to live in a country that still has pristine lands and protected sanctuaries for wildlife. Those environments are threatened daily. Urban growth and commercial greed are eating away at our inheritance. As a moral leader in the world we need to push for cleaner manufacturing processes and greener forms of transportation. Other countries will follow suit. I laud Senator McCain for being among a small group of politicians ready to stand firm in his pro-environment beliefs and for his willingness to encourage our nation to find ways to go green.

America has been blessed with a rich and diverse natural heritage. In the tradition of his hero, Theodore Roosevelt, John McCain believes that we are vested with a sacred duty to be proper stewards of the resources upon which the quality of American life depends. Ensuring clean air, safe and healthy water, sustainable land use, ample greenspace - and the faithful care and management of our natural treasures, including our proud National Park System - is a patriotic responsibility. One that must be met not only for the benefit of our generation, but for our children and those to whom we will pass the American legacy.

John McCain on the environment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_LwMJqjeBo&feature=related

Finally take a moment today to view the next video and think of ways little by little we can all leave our country a better place for generations to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fFAgAOvAk

Vets For McCain

Those Small Town MoveOn.org People

After the infamous "bitter and cling" comments made by Senator Obama in a closed-door fundraisier , a new revelation is made of Senator Hillary Clinton. Evidently, Clinton criticized the MoveOn.org wing of her party in her closed-door fundraisier. Ben Smith wrote a short blog on the story. While Obama's comments will be especially damaging in the general election, Clinton's MoveOn.org comment will likely hurt her in the upcoming primaries. Luckily for her, the story has not received the same level of media attention, so she may escape unharmed in the Pennsylvania primary.

Ironically, MoveOn was founded to defend Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky impeachment - thus the name of the website. Another interesting thing, HuffingtonPost again broke the news, as it did on the Obama's bitter and cling story. The audio can be heard on there.

Most interestingly of course, Obama appears less appealing to me everyday and Clinton starts to look much better - maybe soon I will prefer Clinton over Obama.

The Road Less Traveled

Republican presidential nominee John McCain will be visiting places not often visited by Republicans. Areas that historically have been Democratic strongholds. Next week the Senator will be shaking hands and talking with people from a host of backgrounds. Residents from a struggling steel town in Ohio, people in Alabama's fertile "black belt" and those living in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. New Orleans and citizens hard hit by Hurricane Katrina are on the list. While Kentucky may be more open to his visit, McCain will have an uphill climb in Alabama and Ohio. Regardless of the outcome, He should be commended for taking the road less traveled.
"I want to tell people living there that there must not be any forgotten Americans"
Senator McCain is proving he is a different kind of Republican, a different kind of candidate. One who promises to be a different kind of President

Full Article:http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-04-17-mccain_N.htm

Vets For McCain

Self-Righteousness

On Monday, Arianna Huffington wrote a column critical of Senator Clinton's handling of the "bitter" comment made by Senator Obama. The title speaks it all: "John McCain Should Go on Vacation. Hillary Clinton is Doing His Job for Him." Huffington wrote:

Hillary Clinton, adopting the frames, lies, stereotypes and destructive clichés long embraced by the likes of Lee Atwater and Karl Rove. She has clearly decided that the road to victory runs through scorched earth.

You know Huffington is mad when she links Hillary Clinton to Karl Rove. Well, here is a problem:
Arianna, You broke the news !!!

Foxnews, Chicago Sun-Times, Political Intelligence all attest to this.
Vets For McCain

His Logics Behind the Bitterness

The recent “bitter” speech by Senator Obama needs no introduction. He has offered apologies which deserves amounts of praises. We should be willing to accept apologies when offered. Yet, we should also be critical when explanations are given. Unlike his apologies, Obama's explanations on this matter are plain “illogical." Here is the controversial statement by Obama:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The word “bitter” is not the issue here, neither is “cling”. Clearly people are allowed to be bitter and many are bitter. People do cling to things and ideas, nothing special here. The problem is that he implied these small town people ONLY cling to religions, guns and antipathy to stranger because they are bitter. In other words, they will stop the “clinging” once they are not “bitter” – once they get a job. So, if you attend a church and own a gun, then you are probably unemployed. This is, of course, very condescending and inaccurate. He thought he has us all figured out, except he does not.

Mikey Kaus has a neat little blog which points out four major problems with the Obama statement. The first problem is that the speech lumps everything good and bad together. He lumped “religion”, “guns”, “antipathy to people who aren’t like them (racism?!)”, “anti-immigrant sentiment” and “anti-trade sentiment” all together. Yesterday on CNN, Obama explained that he meant "cling" in a good way. Here is what he said:

"Well, first of all, you know, scripture talks about clinging to what's good. And so it's very important -- my words may have been clumsy, which happens surprisingly often on a presidential campaign...
(LAUGHTER)
... but this is something that I've talked about before, I've talked about in my own life, which is that religion is a bulwark, a foundation when other things aren't going well. That's true in my own life, through trials and tribulations. And so what I was referring to was in no way demeaning a faith that I, myself, embrace. What I was saying is that when economic hardship hits in these communities, what people have is they've got family, they've got their faith, they've got the traditions that have been passed onto them from generation to generation. Those aren't bad things. That's what they have left."

So if his “cling” is a good cling, then does this also apply to "the cling to racism and anti-immigrant sentiment"? Are racism and anti-immigrant sentiment the traditions that have been passed onto them from generation to generation? Is that what they have left? Kaus’s second point is that even if Obama’s “cling” are good and bad at the same time, Obama has suggested Pennsylvania small town people are racist, and what is worst is that Obama did not say this straight to Pennsylvanians. He said it in a close-door high donors meeting in San Francisco. He was persuading the wealthy San Franciscians that he needs their money because only then he can become our next President and stop these small town people from clinging to religions and racism - an image of an confused elitist maybe? Vets For McCain

Bitter? Not the Small-Town Americans I Know!

Last week, Barack Obama made a comment at a closed-door fund raising event with San Francisco donors:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Much has been made of the "elitist" connotations of these remarks, especially given that he was saying these things to very wealthy donors about voters elsewhere, who were not. Obama has spent the past several days trying to spin his way out of this one, and we here at MacPac'08 are looking forward to watching the fun. But in consideration of the comments, there also appears to be another insult to small-town America beyond the religious/guns/immigration overtones.

That is the subtle implication that those hit hardest by the changes to our economy, from an industrial to an information-based one, have been, instead of working to change their lives, waiting helplessly for the Federal government (meaning Obama, of course) to come and rescue them from their misfortune. I'm sure there are some, a minute minority, for whom that might be true. But as someone who grew up in small towns in the Midwest, I take exception to that.

The vast majority of small-town Americans (and all Americans, for that matter) I know are hard-working, persistent people who want to make their lives better, and to take care of their families. They are the descendents of men and women who built this country, fought a war to free slaves in America, and liberated Europe and Asia from fascism and Nazism.

John McCain characterized this American spirit today:

"During the Great Depression, with many millions of Americans out of work and the country suffering the worst economic crisis in our history, there rose from small towns, rural communities, inner cities, a generation of Americans who fought to save the world from despotism and mass murder, and came home to build the wealthiest, strongest and most generous nation on earth.

"They suffered the worst during the Depression, but it did not shake their faith in, and fidelity to, America. They did not turn to their religious faith and cultural traditions out of resentment and a feeling of powerlessness to affect the course of government or pursue prosperity. On the contrary, their faith had given generations of their families' purpose and meaning, as it does today."

Perhaps Senator Obama should spend a little more time learning about these people before he characterizes them so cheaply. Vets For McCain

You Don't Know Burke

Burke who you ask? Don't fret, the average American does not know a single detail about the man considered the father of modern conservatism. Right Wing conservative movers and shakers like Gingrich, Dobson and a host of other politicians and pundits alike think they know Burke. They don't. Ironically the man most argue is "not conservative" or "not one of us" knows exactly who Edmund Burke is and pursues change in much the same way. According to Jonathan Rauch's article in The Atlantic.com, John McCain is Mr. Conservative. Mr. Rauch lays out in detail how McCain is more conservative than those that consider themselves CONSERVATIVE. This is a great piece that helps to show there is a method to change and that John McCain has learned from a great master.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200805/mccain-conservatism

Enjoy!

Vets For McCain

Surge the Counterinsurgency

There are many encouraging signs from the newly adapted "surge" strategy. The surge strategy is much more than military brute force. As General Petraeus stated, "They [Western militaries] falsely believe that armies trained to win large conventional wars are automatically prepared to win small, unconventional ones. … ; they almost always fail." The "surge" is a new counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy, a combination of political, economic, intelligence and military strategies. According to Petraeus, the success of COIN requires the government to be accepted as legitimate by most of the uncommitted middle. In addition, the insurgency must be separated from its resources, not necessary to hunt down every insurgent. Focusing on the latter too much actually risks generating popular resentment. In short, a successful COIN must win the popular trust by supporting the civilians, while rendering the insurgents irrelevant. This COIN strategy is vastly different than the earlier pure counterterrorism strategy.

As Senator McCain has repeatedly stated, the war was badly mismanaged for a long time. We have made mistakes, some small and some large. Abu Ghraib and deBaathification are certainly the two larger ones. DeBaathification went completely overboard under Paul Bremer. When we complained about Iraqi Government was unable to pass the reconciliation laws, a major one was about reversing the original deBaathification. Michael Yon wrote a very short and wonderful column on the WSJ. In it, he stated the Iraqi civilians are slowly accepting the Americans.

"But as Gen. Petraeus demonstrated in Nineveh province in 2003 to 2004, many of the Iraqis who filled the ranks of the Sunni insurgency from 2003 into 2007 could have been working with us all along, had we treated them intelligently and respectfully. In Nineveh in 2003, under then Maj. Gen. Petraeus's leadership, these men – many of them veterans of the Iraqi army – played a crucial role in restoring civil order. Yet due to excessive de-Baathification and the administration's attempt to marginalize powerful tribal sheiks in Anbar and other provinces – including men even Saddam dared not ignore – we transformed potential partners into dreaded enemies in less than a year."

The ISF must shows strength in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Iraq Government, and it has, in Basra. Every Iraqis should feel the ISF is their protectors, not the local militia. Yon rebutted critics and stated that we were not simply renting the Sunni tribesmen:

"Soldiers everywhere are paid, and good generals know it is dangerous to mess with a soldier's money. The shoeless heroes who froze at Valley Forge were paid, and when their pay did not come they threatened to leave – and some did. Soldiers have families and will not fight for a nation that allows their families to starve. But to say that the tribes who fight with us are "rented" is perhaps as vile a slander as to say that George Washington's men would have left him if the British offered a better deal."

We are not simply achieving our military goals but also some political ones:

"The huge drop in roadside bombings is also a political success – because the bombings were political events. It is not possible to bury a tank-busting 1,500-pound bomb in a neighborhood street without the neighbors noticing. Since the military cannot watch every road during every hour of the day (that would be a purely military solution), whether the bomb kills soldiers depends on whether the neighbors warn the soldiers or cover for the terrorists. Once they mostly stood silent; today they tend to pick up their cell phones and call the Americans."

Now, we have deployed a new COIN strategy and the Sunnis have their "awakening" moments. We have a second chance in succeeding this.

Senator Obama's Iraq Strategy is faulted. On his official website, as well as past statements, his strategy is composed of "Bringing Our Troop Home" and "Press Iraq's Leaders to Reconcile" and others. First, how do you PRESS Iraq's leaders to reconcile? You would have removed all the troops and money from Iraq. Exactly what will the leverage be? As for bringing the troops home, Obama stated that he will still keep some troops in Iraq. If Al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he said that he will carry out target strikes on Al Qaeda. Isn't this based on the light footprint counterterrorism strategy in the last few years, which has essentially failed? What if the new Iraq government does not approve US strike teams running through its country shooting at terrorists? What countries allow this kind of things? Moreover, Al Qaeda is already in Iraq. So we will move out of Iraq and then move right back in? Vets For McCain

Are You Still In The Game?

Margaret Carlson, in today's Bloomberg News, has penned a compelling reason to stay the course in Iraq and explains why McCain is capable of taking an unpopular war all the way to the White House. Carleson compares the optimism of McCain to the doom and gloom view of both Clinton and Obama. The article goes on to give an undeniable reason why McCain can make his case with Americans.

McCain's optimism is seductive no matter the facts because Americans aren't good losers. It's not that we're sore losers. We're just not losers generally and have no practice at it.

The reigning national philosophy is we can do anything if we just stick with it. Anyone who can shield us from the reality of losing is tapping into an abiding need that exists in poker, illness and war: As long as you don't fold your cards, turn off the respirator, withdraw your troops, you're still in the game. You haven't lost.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_carlson&sid=arwII9vothC4
Worth the read.

Character of IslamPart III: Africa’s gift to the Americas

Part III of IV. Click below for parts I and II.

In Part I, we found that Caliph Umar decreed that there be only one religion in Arabia and starting a forced deportation of Jews and Christians from the land and from thereon, the Holy Land of the Hijaz was forbidden to non-Muslims.

In Part II, we acknowledged Christian society upholds universal love to all and allows for forgiveness of sins. Compared to the Koran interpretations, that fundamentally impede the virtue and hopes of a humanitarian and civil survival and allows the killing of their own kind for discarding beliefs. An act can then be carried out, religiously, under the law.

In the American society, this overture is lawless under the United States Constitution, where judges and magistrates must rule under civil and case law for release or punishment. No one can challenge or doubt that religious ties to the Bible formed our society and its laws. Many parts of our original laws contain part of Biblical passages in part or in whole! One only needs to skim through Leviticus or Deuteronomy and see these foundations. In the same breath, all societies have lived under some form of religious or prophetic laws. Hereon, I will try to provide origin of Muslim integral roots that promenaded into America in the 1960’s.

If you are going to continue this article, please open all links and read complementing references (so grab yourself a sandwich and a beverage). The first given is the article: Africa’s gift to the America’s. Here, the Islamic perspective portrays Africa was seen and concealed by historians and scholars as a backward and uncivilized society. And the perspective is extended to all people of color!

Wait a minute... Everyone knows that the African Continent populous is predominately of the Black race and Islam’s fold are Persian heritage! Just what other people of color are we talking about? Seems to me that Islamic influence here is centered on the black race. I won’t dwell further and accept the read.

Historically, all societies stemmed from collective clans. Diaspora ravaged all societies from incursions and wars, exploiting rape, pillage, slavery and social reintegration while enlarging regional expansion. Additionally, these incursions strengthened bloodlines and survival in some cases, most were bound into slavery for nation-building! But this is not all that diasporas accomplish. We see seeds of religion unfold. Missionaries of all sects have and are introducing secular beliefs to many regions of the world for centuries. Christianity is now on the rise in the predominately Islamic regions of war-torn Iraq. Could one view this as retaliatory in nature for Islamic penetration in America? No.

By the time slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, the slaves homelands in Africa were embracing Islamic beliefs. In the early 20th Century, Hollywood movies as Roots and Amistad brought interest to African-Americans and stirred interest to trace their heritages of their African ancestry. This renewed pride of the Muslim culture of Islam allowed them to embrace a new identity they so desired, giving more worth than the given slave names they had in America.

One profound example of identity change was Hajj Malik El Shabazz. Born under the given name of Malcolm Little, incarcerated in 1946 in the Massachusetts State Prison, he became an angry man that express hatred toward the Bible, religion and of God. It was here that Malcolm Little set roots in the Nation of Islam, guided by another spiritual man named Elijah Muhammad, emerged from prison in 1952 as Malcolm X and adopted the spiritual reverence of the Nation of Islam. The X in his name was symbolized his rejection of slave names from the “X“ branded on arms of many slaves by their owners prior to the Civil War. In 1954, Malcolm X led the Nation of Islam’s Temple Number Seven, where he taught that the white race was created in a misguided breeding program by a Black Scientist and predicting the return of blacks to the top of the social order! At that time, Malcolm X was considered the Second most influential leader of the movement to Elijah Muhammad, until his departure in 1964. We all know how the story ends.

After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, his legacy continued through his son, steering the Nation of Islam into mainstream Sunni Islam and created a rift in 1978 with a new riser named Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan was reared as a Christian in Boston, Massachusetts. One only needs to read and understand the anti-Semitism controversy of Race. This same hatred has spilled over the Black Christian Community shown in recent media releases over the Trinity United Church of Christ’s Reverend Jeremiah Wright. What raises and eyebrow was Wright’s statement on non-endorsement when he visited Muammar al-Gadafi in Tripoli in 1984 with Farrakhan. Be sure to read his comments on “US Domestic Policy,” that have rallied reprisal amongst all Americans. Analogies used by Reverend Wright are placed on the hearts of his congregation. Do they disagree and forgive, I do not know. I would pray they do. But if my Pastor spoke subjectively, in a similar fashion, I would render the courtesy to tell him that I didn’t approve... I’d be gone! Americans do not live that way... we rise above malice.

I do not want to forget Muammar al-Gadafi, a Sunni Muslim, and his stance on the War on Terrorism and where al-Gadafi stands today from this exert:

In March 2004, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, became one of the first western leaders in decades to visit Libya and publicly meet Gaddafi. Blair praised Gaddafi's recent acts, and stated that he hoped Libya could now be a strong ally in the international War on Terrorism". In the run-up to Blair's visit, the British ambassador in Tripoli, Anthony Layden, explained Libya's and Gaddafi's political change thus:

"35 years of total state control of the economy has left them in a situation where they're simply not generating enough economic activity to give employment to the young people who are streaming through their successful education system. I think this dilemma goes to the heart of Colonel Gaddafi's decision that he needed a radical change of direction.”

On May 15, 2006, the US State Department announced that it would restore full diplomatic relations with Libya, once Gaddafi declared he was abandoning Libya's weapons of mass destruction program. The State Department also said that Libya would be removed from the list of nations supporting terrorism. However, on August 31, 2006, Gaddafi openly called upon his supporters to "kill enemies" who asked for political change.

Where have we heard this before?

Is this an blueprint of the future of America? Our Constitution and her Amendments guarantee the freedom of speech and religion. There are many radical movements alive and prospering in this nation. Movements on sexual preferences, not forgetting to mention Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. Most are social issues. Truly not in the realm of Constitutional interpretation, thus should not be something addressed at the National level in our highest court. Why not... its social. It’s a backyard problem and some people... it’s starts in their backyard!

However, when subversion and sedition are not backyard problems and they should be dealt with swiftly. It has been a long time since a trial of that sort has taken place in this country since 1961, most acts can usually be handled with a public apology from all parties. Have we really become insensitive to this type of behavior? Prior to the birth of our nation... death was the punishment. Yes... we have grown, we have become tolerant, we are forgiving, we work and live together... but there is a machine out there that sees us as weak and they will exploit it, again and soon.

Why is there a racial divide in this country? Because there are those who will not let go of the hate. Our Public Education system loads the poop-chute full of hate with American History and Civics. One of the greatest milestones in our history was Colonial America, 1812, Spanish-American War, the Civil War, the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and now Iraq. One way or the other... they started with hate and hate will continue until we explain forgiveness; in most cases forgiveness will never come. Why... we need reminders.

In the long run... I challenge the courts to remove hate from this nation as easily as Jesus was tossed out of schools, or as the 10 Commandments have been removed from our Government institutions.

How about to Swear or Affirm Oaths on the Bible (because of different religious preferences). Is this an Allegiance problem? Not really... because perjury will land you in the same house! This is a lead-in to the final Article where Allegiance will mean everything for one to lead the most powerful and revered nation in the world... The United States of America.


Previous reads to this series of the Character of Islam:
Part I: Measuring Dangers Palate
Part II: The Spirit of Tolerance

Upcoming:
Part IV: Following Barack Obama

Support for McCain from a Marine in Iraq

Recently, a young Marine Sergeant posted on the John McCain 2008 blog entries expressing her support for the Senator and requesting some McCain for President stickers for dissemination around her unit in Iraq. I established an e-mail dialog with her and will get her those bumper stickers. We discussed, and she is interested in talking to us about her tour in Iraq, what goes on in her life, and her perspective of supporting John McCain's candidacy while serving her country during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

She has agreed to send me an e-mail from time to time during her busy schedule that talks to us about her thoughts on the campaign and her efforts to win over voters for Senator McCain. As we receive her reports we will be posting a blog entry from "Sgt Ellen, USMC".

In my initial e-mail contact with her, I explained that I was retired from the Army and asked her not to hold that against me since she was a Marine. She responded "I can't hold the Army against you, I'm an Army brat. My grandpa was a retired MSgt, my dad a retired 1st SGT and my sister is a Capt in the Army." It seems her upbringing gave her some pretty strong military values before she decided to join the Marine Corps.

Sgt Ellen told me that she became interested in the campaign when she learned that Hillary Clinton was running for President. She said she had heard of Obama, but really knew nothing of him. She has always considered herself a Republican because of the values she was taught from her dad. She said "When I went home on leave, my dad spun me up on everything." She also said that when she first went in the Marine Corp, a lot of people tried to persuade her to abandon her Republican principles. In spite of some persuasive arguments, she said "I knew I was going to remain a Republican" To this, I say Bravo Sgt Ellen. Stick to the principles you believe in. Senator McCain serves as a fine example of someone who does this.

Regarding the Democratic candidates, Sgt Ellen says "I have very strong feelings toward the other candidates and I don't think they have any interest in taking care of America." She also says that she thinks they are pandering for votes by promising to pull the troops from Iraq after they take office. She goes on to say "I watch Fox channel every day out here and I get more and more disgusted when I hear anything about Obama or Hillary and it just seems like they put so much attention on them for no particular reason." She says she often wonders if it has anything to do with gender or race when it occurs. It disturbs her that the presidential race has turned into these trivial snipes between the candidates instead of the issues important to Americans.

She went on to tell me of a discussion she had with another Marine before they deployed to Iraq. She said she had asked him who he was voting for. She said when he had responded Obama, she asked him why? He told her "I don't want to go to Iraq and he'll take us out if he gets elected." She said she wondered to herself "Why did you join the military, and the Marine Corps at that..." Personally, I wish she had asked him. I would be curious to hear that answer.

Our Sgt Ellen is a busy Marine, so this is all for our first installment of her views from Iraq. I am looking forward to future correspondence from her. She has a great head on her shoulders and knows what she believes in. I ask all of you to join me in praying for her safety and the safety of her unit and for their quick return from Iraq. Thanks Sgt Ellen for the excellent insight.

McCain's Prescription for Economic Stress

Senator McCain pitches his prescription for the economic stress facing many Americans today. He proposes a system that allows struggling homeowners the opportunity to"trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects the market value of their home".
In response to rising energy costs, the Senator says the U.S. should stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to lessen demand for oil and urges Americans to cut back on their energy consumption.
The Unemployment crisis will also be addressed in the speech. Sen. McCain states "I propose that we build a new system so that as women and men work, their taxes help to build up a buffer account against lost earnings" he continues "then if they are unfortunate enough to lose their job, they will be able to better meet their obligations".
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1032923920080410?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10112

"Let me make it clear that in these challenging times, I am committed to using all the resources of this government and great nation to create opportunity and make sure that every deserving American has a good job and can achieve their American dream."

Costs and Dividends

General Petraeus will appear today in the Senate, facing all three presidential candidates. Unfortunately, there will be no exchange of ideas. Petraeus will not be asked about the progress in Iraq. Instead, he will be told about the situations in Iraq, especially from Senator Clinton and Obama. Yes, they will probably use the opportunity to talk about their respective campaign themes - hoping for a good moment for their next campaign TV ad. Meanwhile, here is a wonderful column by Senator Lieberman and Senator Graham on the Wall Street Journal (in case you missed it):

The fact is that America's prosperity at home and security abroad are bound together.

Enjoy.

MoveOn's 10 LIES About John McCain

Before the loony left even knows who the Democratic Party nominee will be, they have already started smearing their Republican opponent, by sending out their distortions, lies, and slanders against John McCain with a viral email campaign.

In this article, we will counter these distortions with the truth. And because the organization sending out this trash is trying to get everyone to send it to everyone they know, we, in turn, encourage you to do the same.

Distortion #1. A Blatant Attempt to Smear John McCain as a Racist.

"John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws."

Actually, John McCain has worked to improve existing Civil Rights laws and provide for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. He also was an original sponsor of legislation honoring Jackie Robinson with a Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to the Civil Rights movement.

John McCain has also been a voice in the Senate to make sure that Congress does not exempt itself from Civil Rights legislation. In a 1991 speech, he said:

"...we must not continue to set separate standards for the Congress. The Senate currently exempts itself from the following laws in part or whole:
* The Civil Rights Act of 1964;
* The Americans With Disabilities Act;
* The Age discrimination in Employment Act of 1967;
* The Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
* The National Labor Relations Act;
* The Fair Labor Standards Act
* The Equal Pay Act of 1963;
* The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970;
* The Freedom of Information Act; and
* The Privacy Act.

All of these measures must be applied to the Congress. Anything less should be recognized as the Senate's stubborn insistence on keeping its status as the Nation's last plantation..."

We here at MacPac'08 find it interesting that MoveOn would bring out charges against John McCain on issues of race, since he has stayed out the arguments about race being conducted by the Obama and Clinton campaigns.

Perhaps charges of racism are just part of the electoral strategy for the liberal left and Barack Obama?

Distortion #2 Attempts to Make John McCain Out As A Warmonger.

"According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain 'will make Cheney look like Gandhi.'"

The U.S. should be concerned with the growing political tensions between the
West and Putin. Putin has actively pursued friendly relations with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , who vehemently wants Israel annihilated and wishes the US ill.

In spite of the eagerness of the liberal media to announce that Iran isn't really pursuing a nuclear weapon, Intelligence officials indicated in the same report that while stopping warhead development, the Iranians are accelerating their uranium enrichment efforts and development of a ballistic missile delivery system.

The leaders of Syria, Libya, China and a host of other anti western/Israel countries are being courted by Putin. Russian Nuclear technologies being sold to some of these countries under
the guise of nuclear energy production is a credible reason to question the power-play tactics of Putin. Russia has much to gain from such alliances. Oil monopolies and strategic battle grounds for aggressive military threats to Israel and our few allies in the Middle East make the geographical area a gold mine for Putin's Russia.

China is also being wooed by Vladimir Putin and the two authoritarian countries are fast becoming friends. This friendship would benefit any move by China to threaten Taiwan's independence and disrupt the balance in the Pacific.

The world continues to be a dangerous place.

Distortion #3 Attempts To Say John McCain Is PRO-TORTURE

"His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban."

In a statement, McCain said the measure went too far in applying military standards to intelligence agencies and maintained that existing law already forbids waterboarding. "Staging a mock execution by including the misperception of drowning is a clear violation,'' he said. McCain did not specifically vote against a ban on waterboarding. He said it was technically already illegal, and voted against this bill because of military/intelligence disagreement.

In an interview with the New York times, McCain said,

“All I can say is that it (waterboarding) was used in the Spanish Inquisition, it was used in Pol Pot’s genocide in Cambodia, and there are reports that it is being used against Buddhist monks today,” McCain said in interview with the New York Times in response to Giuliani comments. “They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture.”

MoveOn's attempt to tie John McCain to torture simply goes beyond the pale. As someone who spent over five years as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison camp where he was subjected to prolonged periods of daily beatings, rope torture and solitary confinement, McCain has long spoke passionately on the issue.

Distortion #4. John McCain opposes a woman's right to choose.

"He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

Senator McCain has always opposed Roe vs. Wade and according to an article appearing in the Washington Post he stated "I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary" He goes on to say "But certainly in the short term, or even long term, I would not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade, which would force X number of women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerous operations"

He is also smart enough to realize that Roe v. Wade can not be repealed without being done in conjunction with efforts to reduce abortion through other means, including adoption and counseling.

Since the majority of Americans are pro-life, Sen. McCain is not radically different than most. There will always be a great divide on this issue, so this should not be a presidential litmus test, but rather a matter of one's own conscience.

Distortion #5 Attempts to Paint John McCain As Against Children.

"The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill."

Again, MoveOn takes a few of the facts and spins them to suit themselves. The CDF website states this when evaluating Senators and representatives:

"Members not voting and votes cast as "present" are scored as votes against children. While we acknowledge that some missed votes are unavoidable due to Member or family illness, it is not possible for us to objectively determine the reason behind each missed vote. For example, as a result of the presidential election in 2008, scores for some Members who have devoted significant time to campaigning for the upcoming election may be considerably lower than in past years."

Of the 10 votes held in 2007 of concern to the CDF, Sen McCain voted in two: He voted YEA in one (increase minimum wage) and NAY in the other (SCHIP). So for the votes he actually cast, he would be in the 50% category -- hardly the worst. In the previous 3 year's scorecards, Sen McCain did not appear in either the best or worst category.

It is interesting to note when looking at the scorecards over several years, that the supposedly "non-partisan" Children's Defense Council ALWAYS lists Democratic congressmen (by name) as BEST for children and Republicans (again, by name) as WORST for children. So, Democrats are UNIFORMLY more interested in protecting children, and Republicans are UNIFORMLY not interested in protecting children.

Non-partisan? Really?

Distortion #6 Plays Class Warfare By Calling John McCain "Rich"

"He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations."

Looks like the folks at MoveOn didn't quite do their homework. The article they cite about the McCain's wealth also states:

"McCain is routinely ranked among the richest senators. But a prenuptial agreement has kept most assets in his wife's name..."

"McCain himself reports little more wealth than when he started in politics. With his book royalties and radio-appearance fees donated to charity, McCain's Senate salary of $169,300 and Navy pension of about $56,000 are his only significant sources of income. He has accounts at two banks with his wife worth up to $15,000 each, according to his most recent financial disclosure report."

Perhaps MoveOn thinks its only bad to marry an heiress to a BEER empire, but it's OK to marry the heiress to a KETCHUP empire, like John Kerry did.

Looks like Hillary Clinton's doing pretty good herself. But MoveOn doesn't tell you that!

Distortion #7 Implies John McCain's Temper May Make Him Cause A War

"Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: 'The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

So, John McCain has a temper--big deal. Lots of politicians have tempers. Bill Clinton's and Hillary Clinton's temper are quite well known.

Again, MoveOn quotes part of the story, so here's what they didn't tell you:

"McCain has also smoothed things over with Sen. Thad Cochran, who had said very recently that the idea of McCain as GOP nominee sent a chill down his spine. McCain has battled for years with the Mississippi Republican, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, over pet projects or "earmarks" inserted by committee members into spending bills.

On the Senate floor last Tuesday, Cochran greeted McCain warmly, with a broad smile and a hug."

Hardly the behavior of someone who got chills down their spine by another.

John McCain himself explains that sometimes he uses his temper strategically. In his memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain provided what appears to be his fullest explanation of the subject, acknowledging his temper but writing that he sometimes uses it strategically.

"My temper has often been both a matter of public speculation and personal concern," McCain wrote. "I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public's. I have regretted losing my temper on many occasions. But there are things worth getting angry about in politics, and I have at times tried to use my anger to incite public outrage. I make no apologies for that. . . . When public servants lose their capacity for outrage over practices injurious to the national interest, they have outlived their usefulness to the country."

Distortion #8 Attempts To Put McCain In Bed With Lobbyists

"McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates."

Obviously, MoveOn is trying to make John McCain out to be more indebted to lobbyists than either Senators McCain or Obama. But instead of just counting the number of lobbyists working on campaigns, let's take a look at a few other numbers.

Barack Obama makes many claims that his campaign takes no money from lobbyists. But that's not the full truth. The Columbia Journalism Review reports:

"Opensecrets.org, the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics, is the most authoritative source on campaign finances. Basing its reports on data from the Federal Election Commission, the Center shows that Obama indeed doesn’t take much money from a sector the Center calls “lobbyists.” Through the end of December, Clinton received more than $800,000 and McCain around $400,000 from this group...

...Significantly, the Center’s lobbyist sector excludes in-house lobbyists who work solely for one company, union, trade association, or other group. These people may lobby, but their contributions are grouped in the totals for the various industries they represent...

...Consider the sector called lawyers and law firms. Clearly, lawyers and law firms lobby on behalf of their own interests—like fighting malpractice reform, which could again surface as a thorny issue for the new administration. Clinton and Obama have raised similar amounts from lawyers and law firms—$11.8 and $9.5 million. McCain and Huckabee have taken far less. The health sector has also given to Obama, Clinton, and McCain. In the pharmaceutical and health product industries, contributions to Clinton total $349,000 and $338,000 to Obama. Again, McCain trails in donations at about $98,000..."

Senator Obama also has extensive relationships with lobbyists, he just doesn't (can't, because its illegal) take their money.

Disortion #9 Associates McCain With Religious Radicals.

"McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a 'false cult.'"

Again, MoveOn changes a few words to distort the facts into something completely different from reality. According to the article MoveOn cites, McCain called Rod Parsley "A spiritual guide", not HIS spiritual guide. That relationship has yet to be defined, but I hardly think a Senator from Arizona, who spends a large amount of his time in Washington, flies to Columbus, Ohio to hear sermons every week.

Regarding Pastor Hagee, Senator McCain stated, "We've had a dignified campaign, and I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics”.


To MoveOn, I say, given the information about Senator Obama and his long-time pastor that has emerged in the past few weeks, is this really an issue that you want to reopen?


Distortion #10 Paints McCain as Anti-Environment
"He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year."

Yes, but like the CDF, the LCV considers not voting to be a vote against their agenda, and Senator McCain did not make any of the votes last year, many of which were on cloture and amendments rather than straight up-or-down votes on bills. However the LCV did say this about Senator McCain:

"...Sen. McCain holds the distinction of being the only candidate to make global warming a part of his campaign agenda and to regularly address it on the campaign trail. Sen. McCain has been a leader in the U.S. Senate on climate issues for several years. In 2003, he introduced the first Senate bill attempting to curb global warming pollution with Senator Joe Lieberman, and reintroduced similar legislation in 2005 and 2007. One of the areas in which Sen. McCain particularly separates himself from the field of Republican presidential hopefuls is in his recognition of the economic benefits of tackling climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels."

MoveOn also fails to mention that LCV endorsed Senator McCain for re-election in 2004.

The Republicans For Environmental Protection say "John McCain has built an impressive record of conservation and is a "true leader in advancing environmental policy":

"It is worth noting that Senator McCain took significant political risks to champion the climate issue and energy conservation during the 2008 Republican primaries.

• He featured his years-long efforts to address climate change in flyers sent to voters in New Hampshire.
• He advocated for stronger fuel economy standards in Detroit, while his primary opponents pandered to the auto industry.
• He repeatedly raised the climate issue in the Republican debates—even when the question did not directly relate to it.

For well over a decade, Senator McCain has been out in front on the need for the Republican Party to return to its conservationist roots..."

---

It's apparent that the liberal left will go to every length to slander John McCain and slander him at ever opportunity. Since the Democratic nominee has yet to be determined, it's obvious to this writer that we will be hearing these LIES many times over the next few months.

If you want to help defend John McCain against these LIES, please email this post to your friends and fellow McCain supporters. Please bookmark this page for your future reference -- you're going to need it.

Heartfelt thanks to gwen4mac and JohnnyFive for their contributions to this article.

Jacksonville, Florida

Click on Photos to Enlarge Them

JBStephens is taking a picture with some chairs and Maureen France.


JB and his dad are bullying Orson Swindle.



Shaking hands



Senator McCain and his wife are walking in.
That lady reporter is looking straight at JB's camera?!?!



Speech time!



Senator McCain, JB's dad, JB, and maybe Greta van Susteren.
McCain appears to be ignoring our JB.



Now JB is ignoring Senator McCain.



Emotion is running high here.


JB's brother Warner, who is responsible for most of the photos here. Thank you, Warner.

Thoughts On McCain In Jacksonville

Editors Note: JBStephens is our special www.macpac08.com correspondent in Jacksonville and was privileged to attend the McCain "Service To America" events there on Thursday. The following are his immediate thoughts and observations from that event; he promises another bulletin in the next couple of days.

I've had a great deal of difficulty deciding how to relate the event at Cecil Field, in Jacksonville, Florida to you folks. For me, it was an experience that stimulated all of my senses and touched me on many levels. It appealed to my love of country, history, politics and personality simultaneously. No single person other than John Sidney McCain III can evoke such a response from me, at least not to such a degree. He is my hero, my inspiration, my ideal for what we all should aspire to, though very few can attain.

Does a great man shape events, or do events shape and create great men? Clearly, it can be either or both. For Senator McCain, it was his destiny, almost inherent in his very being. His heritage gave him the values necessary to achieve greatness, but it took experiences half a world away from his home and family for that greatness to emerge. He said:

"I once thought I was man enough for almost any confrontation. In prison, I discovered I was not. I tried to use every personal resource I had to confound my captors, and it wasn't enough in the end. But when I had reached the limit of my endurance, the men I had the honor of serving with picked me up, set me right, and sent me back into the fight. I became dependent on others to a greater extent than I had ever known before. And I am a better man for it."

John McCain had within him the potential for greatness, but it took extreme adversity for that greatness to be forged. Having withstood these tests, the greatness of his character is undeniable.

Speaking of the demands of war, but not of himself, only those who served before, during and after him, he says:

"It is a surpassing irony of war, for all the horrors and heroism it occasions, it provides the soldier with every conceivable human experience. Experiences that usually take a lifetime to know are felt, and felt intensely, in one brief passage of life. Anyone who loses a loved one knows what great sorrow feels like. And anyone who gives life to a child knows what great joy feels like. The combat veteran knows what great loss and great joy feel like when they occur in the same moment, the same experience. It can be transforming."

Speaking further about the lessons of war, McCain said:

"However glorious the cause, it does not define the experience of war. War mocks our idealized conceptions of glory, whether they are genuine and worthy or something less. War has its own truths. And if glory can be found in war, it is a different concept altogether. It is a hard-pressed, bloody, and soiled glory, steely and forbearing. It is decency and love persisting amid awful degradation, in unsurpassed suffering, misery, and cruelty. It is the discovery that we belong to something bigger than ourselves.

Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. It is not a prize for being the strongest, the most clever, or the boldest. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to the cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely, and who rely on you in return. No misfortune, no injury, no humiliation can destroy it.

We are not a perfect nation. Our history has had its moments of shame and profound regret. But what we have achieved in our brief history is irrefutable proof that a nation conceived in liberty will prove stronger, more decent and more enduring than any nation ordered to exalt the few at the expense of the many or made from a common race or culture or to preserve traditions that have no greater attribute than longevity."

Speaking on the greatness of our nation:

"But as blessed as we are, no nation complacent in its greatness can long sustain it. We, too, must prove, as those who came before us proved, capable of the work history has assigned us. Nothing is inevitable in America. Nothing. We're the world's leader, and leaders don't pine for the past and dread the future. We make the future better than the past. We don't hide from history. We make history. That, my friends, is the essence of hope in America, hope built on courage, and faith in the values that have made us great. I intend to make my stand on those principles and help move this country forward, to our future greatness, and trust in the judgment, decency and resolve of the people I have served all my life."

John McCain's life has been one of service and belief in the greatness of our nation. It is a permanent guiding force for his actions, thoughts and beliefs. Though we are all mortal, John McCain's shining example will inspire greatness in generations to come.

The Next Battle

While many people focused on the little sparring between Senator Clinton and Obama last week, the true fight occurred in Basra, Iraq. Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lead the Iraq Security Force (ISF) against militia and criminal groups in Basra. Al-Maliki never declared his offense on Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, but that did not matter. They fought in Basra. Ceased-fire is established now. We will learn more about the Basra battle in the coming weeks. There are a lot we do not know at this point, which is why everyone has their own interpretations. Yochi Dreaszen and others believe al-Sadr is the winner because he has demonstrated that he has full control of his Mahdi Army. The fighting stopped almost immediately after al-Sadr asked them to. Most importantly, al-Sadr survives. Others believe ISF is the winner because al-Sadr is the one who asked for the ceased-fire and the ISF was able to do most of the fighting. The most interesting analysis is from Nibras Kazimi. He believes al-Maliki did not need to nor want to finish off the Mahdi Army:

Maliki won, pure and simple. The western media invented the narrative that Maliki was at war with the Sadrist movement, even though no such declaration was ever made. No one was interested in turning the Sadrists into martyrs when their stocks are sinking faster than Bear Stearns' anyway. Why turn the Sadrists into desperadoes with nothing to loose? Maliki’s approach is piece-meal: he’s taken out the intimidation factor that kept much of the Sadrist sway in place and he’s done that by showing them that they are no armed match for a better-disciplined, better-supplied Iraqi Army with plenty of stamina.

In short, it is better to shame the Mahdi Army and diminish al-Sadr's appeal, instead of destroying the Mahdi Army and turns them into heroes.

Daniel Henninger on his column suggested something more interesting than the actual Basra battle. He believes many opponents of the war actually hoped the Basra operation would have gone horribly wrong and become George W. Bush's Tet Offensive (See a Daily Kos article for example). It would once and for all prove to voters that Iraq is unwinnable. Henninger asked:

The Democrats appear so invested in a failure that a half-week of violence erases a year of progress. What is the source of such instincts?

Henninger used a 1974 film, "Hearts & Minds", for his explanation. The film declared that "We weren't on the wrong side in Vietnam. We are the wrong side. The problem is not the military. The problem is militarism." This is the mindset behind the desire to lose in Iraq.



ISF had its most important military offense last week. Next week, a critical showdown will occur here. General Petraeus will testify the progress in Iraq in front of the Congress - before Senator McCain and Senator Obama. As the Iraq War is being fought on the streets of Iraq, it is also being fought here in United States – in our Congress, in our citizens' hearts and minds.

McCain Steals the Show in Letterman Appearance

Senator John McCain appeared on the David Letterman show this evening, Tuesday April 1, 2008. It was not officially part of the biographical tour but he flew to New York for the appearance.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee verbally sparred with Letterman during the taping of the "Late Show." It was on Letterman’s show of February 28, 2007 that McCain formally announced his run for the Presidency.
During the monologue, Letterman made his usual McCain jokes. These are of the format “John McCain reminds me of the guy who…” Tonight he joked during his monologue that the senator from Arizona reminded him of "the guy at the hardware store who makes the keys" and of "the guy who can't stop talking about how well his tomatoes are doing. He looks like the guy who goes into town for turpentine. He looks like the guy who always has wiry hair growing out of new places. “After he added that McCain looked like "the guy who points out the spots they missed at the car wash," the senator appeared on stage."Hey Letterman” McCain said,“You think that stuff's pretty funny, don't you?" He tossed at Letterman: "Well, you look like a guy whose laptop would be seized by the authorities."McCain also said David resembled the guy caught smuggling reptiles in his pants, to which Letterman replied, "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it."Senator McCain also compared Letterman to the guy about whom neighbors later say, "He mostly kept to himself." He also quipped "the guy who enjoys watching his swim trunks inflate in a hot tub" and "the manager of a creepy motel." Later in the show during an interview, the two discussed more serious issues, including the national credit crisis, Iraqi casualties, the U.S. prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the government's bailout of investment firm Bear Stearns and the accusations that McCain is not a true conservative Republican."I think maybe some people think that you ought to have exactly the same position they have on every issue," McCain said.




Tonight, Senator McCain showed his sense of humor, as well as his serious, thoughtful side. He was funny, and charming and well prepared to answer Letterman’s questions. Senator McCain looked every bit the part of Chief Executive of the United States in this appearance.

Consequences, Judgment and Experience

Unlike fairy tales, there is no ending in history. It continues. Yet the course of history alters depending on previous events.

In Iraq, we have as many national security reasons as we have humanitarian causes to stay -- to fight for a safer world for us and a better life for average Iraqis. Some say military withdrawal is not an option. Others declare the war is lost. Neither is correct. Otherwise, we will not be debating it and I will not be writing this. We have a choice here. Sometime, military defeats are not worst. It is what comes after. There can be dire consequences if our military retreats from Iraq.

Contrary to some opinions, Senator McCain is far from a warmonger. He opposed the Lebanon peacekeeping action in 1983 and insisted troop withdrawal from Mogadishu, Somalia after 18 US servicemen were killed. McCain regretted the latter decision "as a retreat in the face of aggression from an inferior foe". Many believe our withdrawal from Mogadishu has emboldened Osama bin Laden. McCain is one of the many. Bret Stephens wrote a sobering article on Wall Street Journal, where he believes the Mogadishu episode is especially interesting following the two recent speeches by Senator McCain and Senator Obama. Like any general election candidates, the two men appear to be running toward the political center. The one issue which the two men differ significantly is on the Iraq War. It is where they will fight. Of all the issues on the campaign trail, their beliefs on Iraq best reflect them because they have made their stances known long before this election.



Obama has stated that the current Iraq War is a flaw policy, while McCain believes that military withdrawal will have dire consequences. Stephens sharply pointed out:

Yet what distinguishes Mr. McCain's foreign policy from Mr. Obama's is not about the nature of America's commitments in the Middle East. It is about their understanding of the consequences of defeat. Mr. McCain seems to have some. It's not clear whether Mr. Obama does.

Stephens is correct. Looking pass all the rhetorics and promises from Obama, his Iraq policy rests on a single assumption: There will be no consequence in troop withdrawal. In other words, Iraq will not get worse after troop withdrawal. This is a particularly dangerous assumption in light of the troop surge. The surge has help reduced the casualties in Iraq, both for US servicemen and for Iraqis. A quick withdrawal will certainly reverse the progress. To quote Stephen's last and most important point:

In his speech, Mr. Obama noted that there was no point trying to best Mr. McCain in matters of experience, that what counted was good judgment. Very true. How one can have the latter without the former is a question for the rest of us to consider.

History will continue. The question is: how?

Hillary Clinton Refuses To Quit,Declares "I Just Wanna Go the 15 Rounds"

Hillary Clinton arrived in Philadelphia today to speak to a raucous crowd of supporters, cheering her as she landed in her customized campaign plane.

Taking the podium to the theme song from the "Rocky" movies, Sen Clinton unleashed a tirade against calls for her to quit her campaign, comparing herself to Rocky of "Rocky" fame:

"Sen. Obama says he's getting tired of the campaign. His supporters say they want it to end.

Could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum stairs and said, 'Well, I guess that's about far enough'? That's not the way it works," Clinton said, referring to a famous scene in the first "Rocky" movie.

Let me tell you something. When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit"

Sen Clinton then had the blisters under her eyes cut, roared: "B-I-L-L!" and departed as rapidly as she came.

These things happened today, April 1st, 2008.

Character of IslamPart II: The Spirit of Tolerance

Part II of IV. Read Part I Here.

Now... two years after 9/11, Secretary of State, Colin Powell made this speech (or an appeal) to the Arab (let’s call them Muslim) Leaders in Detroit. We have tried to meet you halfway, but...

Remember Part I where:
“Caliph Umar decreed that there be only one religion in Arabia and starting a forced deportation of Jews and Christians from the land and from thereon, the Holy Land of the Hijaz was forbidden to non-Muslims.”

The same hatred boils among the Muslim people, the United States approaches them with Diplomacy with Muslim “Spirit of Tolerance,” trying to get along. As I said before... only if it suits them. Just what is this “spirit of tolerance?”

Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Ph.D. tried to set the record straight of “what the spirit of tolerance means from an Islamic point of view.”

He said: Tolerance is a basic principle of Islam. It is a religious moral duty. It does not mean "concession, condescension or indulgence." It does not mean lack of principles, or lack of seriousness about one's principles. Okay... so no bargaining, no hurting your feelings and don’t tell anyone else.

He said: Sometimes it is said, "people are tolerant of things that they do not care about." But this is not the case in Islam. Tolerance according to Islam does not mean that we believe that all religions are the same. It does not mean that we do not believe in the supremacy of Islam over other faiths and ideologies. It does not mean that we do not convey the message of Islam to others and do not wish them to become Muslims.

He said, “Consistent with respect for human rights, the practice of tolerance does not mean toleration of social injustice or the abandonment or weakening of one's convictions. It means that one is free to adhere to one's own convictions and accepts that others adhere to theirs. It means accepting the fact that human beings, naturally diverse in their appearance, situation, speech, behavior and values, have the right to live in peace and to be as they are. It also means that one's views are not to be imposed on others."

Tolerance comes from our recognition of:

... the dignity of the human beings,

... the basic equality of all human beings,

... universal human rights

... fundamental freedom of thought, conscience and belief.

So... it’s okay to disembowel your enemies, chop their head and arms off and drag them through the streets... just like the old days? Must be...because your still do it. Where is dignity? Maybe the United States should re-issue our Military sabers again and practice your belief of dignity... I’m okay with that, are you?

In a nutshell, you want to be left alone. Okay! All nations will pull out our troops, shut off all trade, blockade and sink any ship that comes near to protect you. Second, so that you don’t have our views imposed by you... gather all your people, we will encrypt all communication signals and jamming everyone else’s so you don’t have to listen to Western corruption. We can adhere to your convictions. Maybe then your behavior and values will change because your situation surely will. It is so obvious that arrogance strives to keep you above all others ... not just the beasts and creatures of the Earth, including all other humans not of your fold.

Your reference: (al-Ma idah 5:92) We also read in the Qur’an, The worshippers of false gods say: If Allah had so willed, we should not have worshipped aught but Him - neither we nor our fathers, nor should we have prescribed prohibitions other than His. So did those who went before them.

Muslims have been generally very tolerant people. We must emphasize this virtue among us and in the world today. Tolerance is needed among our communities: We must foster tolerance through deliberate policies and efforts. Our centers should be multi-ethnic. We should teach our children respect for each other. We should not generalize about other races and cultures. We should have more exchange visits and meetings with each other. Even marriages should be encouraged among Muslims of different ethnic groups.

It was those of your fold that started this... obviously you condone their actions on your behalf because I don’t see you intervening to try stopping it; or are you tolerant because you have duped your poor and unwanted into strapping on a bomb and martyring their way out of this miserable world you coddle? Interracial marriages? I do not understand. Why you would desire to have half-infidel off-spring?

That’s what you call the “Spirit of Tolerance,” huh? I beg to differ. It is so obvious that this discourse has caused a state of “intolerance” that has caused nothing but death, violence and religious persecution worldwide, including your own through sectarian uprisings. And boldly you profess that you can be and are tolerant of all around you... as long as it is not contrary to your beliefs. Are the words tolerant and arrogant have the same meaning? Frankly so... because seemingly, you can’t live with your own kind.

Today in Iraq, Shiite and Sunni militants are fighting civil war; a war that has waged for thousands of years... in the name of religion. After all these years, why won’t set aside differences and try living together? Have you allowed your faith and your cleric’s guidance and interpretations lead you to death... a death that is less than honorable? I appears so because you are fighting your own flesh and blood.

Christianity teaches universal love to all. Yet common references among the followers of the Koran do nothing but impede virtue and all hopes of becoming a humanitarian and civil society. In closing this part, a given reference in:

Bukhari:V4B52N260 “The Prophet said, ‘If a Muslim discards his religion, kill him.’”

America witnessed the killing of Malcolm X in 1965, allegedly killed by his own from the Nation of Islam. Where was his right to “live in peace?”

Previous Read:
Part I: Measuring Danger’s Palate
Upcoming reads to this series:
Part III: Africa’s gift to the Americas.
Part IV: Following Barack Obama.