Grant County PowerNet

Today is the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. May we have a moment of silence, please.

My friend David Wilson was there. He was a signal man on the U.S.S. Tennessee (BB-43). After a couple of years of visiting him at Hearthstone, David finally told us what he remembered of the day.

David passed away a few years back, but I have not forgotten his words or him.

My dad went into the Navy in 1944. He served aboard an LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) in the Philippines and the Indo-China area.

He is still alive today at 82 years old and he still remembers World War II.

The Korean War vets remember.

The Vietnam vets remember.

The Gulf War vets remember.

The Iraqi war vets remember.

Let us remember.

And what should we remember?

How about these for starters….

The world is a dangerous place. Not everyone is our friend.

Freedom is a gift and a treasure. It was purchased for us at a great price. Let us not squander our gift.

They gave so that we might have the lives we live today.

Let us live our lives in a manner which honors their sacrifice.

If you get the opportunity, do something nice for a veteran today. At least tell him or her, “thank you”.

Clint Bridges

written by Webmaster \\ tags: Freedom, Pearl Harbor, Veterans, War, World War

“What I told the prosecutors and what I will tell you is that failure is not an option. These are cases that have to be won,” Holder said. “I don’t expect that we will have a contrary result.”

NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated 11:32 a.m. PT, Wed., Nov . 18, 2009

“WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Wednesday predicted that professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be convicted and executed, as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified in the Senate to defend the strategy of civilian trials for the alleged Sept. 11 plotters.

In an interview with NBC News, Obama said those offended by the legal privileges given to Mohammed by virtue of getting a civilian trial rather than a military tribunal won’t find it “offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.”

Obama quickly added that he did not mean to suggest he was prejudging the outcome of Mohammed’s trial. “I’m not going to be in that courtroom,” he said. “That’s the job of the prosecutors, the judge and the jury.”"

As if the melting down of our financial system wasn’t enough and the devaluing of our money and our word both home and abroad, here is something else which gives me the shivers:

A President who pronounces people guilty or innocent from the White House steps before he has any facts, and before the gathered evidence is brought into the courtroom to be examined by the judge, the jury and the legal process.

Not so, you say. I say so. President Obama publicly exonerated Professor “Skip” Gates and condemned the police officer and the campus security guard and the witnesses who were there at the scene, before he ever had any evidence of who did what to whom.

Now we have US Attorney General Eric Holder and the President talking about the surety of a conviction and an execution of an accused terrorist prior to the man going through the process of trial. I think this is out of order for both of them.

I think it is appropriate for Eric Holder to say that he will seek for a conviction and a maximum penalty, but to say that “failure is not an option” is a terrible choice of words and frankly gives me the shivers. The President should simply say that the man will be tried, the evidence weighed and a verdict reached. Let there be no more talk of there will be an execution.

This is important less someday you or I find ourselves before a Federal Court for a possible offense.

This is the United States, not Iran, or Nazi Germany, or Fascist Italy, or Stalin’s USSR.

Opinion

Clint Bridges

written by Webmaster \\ tags: America, Freedom, Holder, Justice, Liberty, Obama, Terrorism

The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, and decide whether the right to keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment protects Americans from overreaching state and local governments.

At issue is a 27-year-old Chicago law banning handguns, requiring the annual taxation of firearms, and otherwise interfering with the right of law-abiding individuals to keep guns at home for self-defense. The case was brought on behalf of four Chicago residents, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Illinois State Rifle Association.

written by Webmaster \\ tags: Bill of Rights, Constitution, Freedom, Guns, Handguns, Right to Bear Arms

This morning, President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in a decision that has drawn a wide array of responses from people around the world, from surprise and joy from those who support him to outright anger from his detractors.  Even President Obama himself was stunned by the decision, saying, “I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership.  I will accept this award as a call to action.”

Perhaps that is exactly what the Nobel Committee intended when they chose him to be the recipient of the award.  President Obama has only been in office for nine months, and his accomplishments on the diplomatic front have been seen as significantly less than the profound deeds normally associated with what has traditionally been a very prestigious award.  So, why exactly would an international organization that is designed to award great deeds recognizing great effort instead?

They are betting on his future actions and great deeds to come.  When a person gambles, he or she can be expected to do everything they can (legally, of course) to improve their odds of winning.  That is what the Nobel Committee is likely doing now.  In providing President Obama with what has traditionally been considered to be a unique recognition of excellence, they are showing their support in a manner above that of a simple commendation or a public address praising him for his efforts thus far.

Such a commendation, however, would have little influence on an international stage that is opposed to America at this point.  After eight years of, “cowboy diplomacy,” and an economy teetering on the edge of meltdown, America’s influence in the world is not what it was even ten years ago.  After eight years of what has been seen internationally as America’s arrogance and independence, as well as a diplomatic disregard for the rest of the world, President Obama’s efforts to rebuild relations and re-engage the United States on an international level make for a sharp turn in policy that has drawn much international attention.

In a way, it could be seen to be in part to be the Nobel Committee simply saying that they are grateful that George W. Bush is no longer president, and that could very possibly be part of their reasoning behind this award.  It has certainly given fire to the president’s critics, who have been very vocal regarding every decision he has made since taking office, some of them making valid points and others misleading with outright fabrications.

The question now is whether the Nobel Committee’s gamble will pay off.  In placing their bets on President Obama by giving him this award, they are likely hoping to boost his standing, at home and abroad, to give him the recognition and political clout necessary to accomplish the goals he set out when he became president.  Whether or not that bet pays out, we will only know after more time passes and we see if the efforts being made, internationally and at home, bear fruit.

Seeing as how President Obama was born in Hawaii, I’m hoping that fruit is a pineapple.

written by Tim \\ tags: Europe, Freedom, International, Obama, Politics, Silly Season, War

“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”

“In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.”

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”

“Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”

John Adams

written by Webmaster \\ tags: Constitution, Freedom, John Adams