Happy Birthday, Marine Corps!

My favorite Marine was a retired Gunnery MSgt. named “Carolina” Leon Choceij. Sarge loved the Corps. He ALWAYS conducted himself as a Marine, even long after he retired. He called women, “Ma’am,” and men, “Sir,” as if they all had rank. On the Corps’ birthday, he could be found in the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, his old steel helmet beside him on the bar, hoisting his beers to his only real love, the Corps. He had a unique honor — the bartenders in the Red Dog loved Carolina, and just for him, they ordered his favorite beer in quart bottles, because he could down a 12-oz bottle in one gulp. The quarts at least gave the bartenders time to wait on other patrons.

He rented a basement apartment in a little house just up the street from the Red Dog, and he never drank anywhere else, except at home. And he never missed a day of work as a chef in the cafeteria of the Federal Building where I worked.

If I wore a hat, it would be off today in honor of the best Marine I ever knew. Ooh-Rah, Sarge!

“When I give you the word, together we will cross the Line of Departure, close with those forces that choose to fight, and destroy them. You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon. Share your courage with each other as we enter the uncertain terrain north of the Line of Departure. Keep faith in your comrades on your left and right and Marine Air overhead. Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit. For the Mission’s sake, our country’s sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division’s colors in past battles – who fought for life and never lost their nerve – carry out your mission and keep your honor clean. Demonstrate to the world there is No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy than a U.S. Marine.” – Major General James N. Mattis. Commander, 1st Marine Division, March 30, 2003, on the eve of crossing into Iraq

Veterans’ Day, 2009

“VETERANS’ HONOR” Rose

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

From Flopping Aces

Our friends at Flopping Aces blog has posted the following. I am including the link here, so you can go give them plenty of hits. Pray, pray, PRAY for our military. Once again, the most THANKLESS job in the world.

Ralph Peters on the Ft. Hood massacre.

Bargains

Why were the Democrats so desperate to ram this healthcare bill down our throats? They were like frantic lemmings, rushing headlong into something they haven’t read, studied, or considered, almost as if there was a deadline they had to meet.

There is a socialist agenda at work here, and it’s been lurking in the shadows ever since the current resident started his move in Illinois several years ago. He is doctrinaire, true, but he also has a “manager,” a puppetmaster who is putting money and influence behind everything this one tries to do. There is one major candidate for this position, and we all know it’s the collaborator and self-hater George Soros, who never met an American he didn’t despise.

It has been not only interesting but saddening to see the decline of politics in America in the last fifty years or so, especially in the democrat party, which at one time had much to recommend it. Today’s RINO Republicans are more paleo-democrat than they could ever be conservative today.

There is also a desperation in the way the political movers and shakers, the office-holders, and their sycophants cling so depserately to the destruction of American freedom. It is almost as if there has been a mass substitution of malevolent aliens for our elected lawmakers at some dark and secretive point in the past. They no longer care to represent their constituencies. Like iron filings and magnets, they gravitate to the left as quickly as they can move, and they seem bent on undermining all that ever made America unique and FREE. What is the secret hold on these people that drives them relentlessly to the left?

It’s amazing what one is capable of when one sells one’s soul to the devil. It’s been done on many levels lately, most noticeably among the democrats in congress, whose craven rush to pass an evil, monstrous bill can only mean that they have finally shucked off the last shreds of morality and scruples they ever might have had.

It would be interesting (but probably revolting) to see just what it took to blackmail them into voting for this heinous monstrosity. But something (somebody?) has been pushing them into this desperate race to pass all the evil un-American things they can in the first year. It isn’t all the current resident’s idea. He’s slick and devious, we know. But something else is at work here, and I am beginning to wonder if there hasn’t been some bargains struck with the Father of Lies.

We probably will never really know (or even want to know) what has transpired to seal these people’s souls to evil, but the first giant step in the total sellout of this country to the socialist master-plan has just been taken. Be on your guard. Watch and pray.

The Deep, Hot Biosphere

Hydrocarbons in the deep earth?

The Deep Hot Biosphere

Wired Magazine’s “Fuel’s Paradise”

This concept fascinates me. The book is a very interesting read. I’ve often wondered about this, and Gold is daring enough to make a case for it.

What Are YOU Doing Today?

Today is the KILL THE BILL march on Washington.This is the first report I have found. I’m sure there’s lots more, and still more to come. Thank you! For all of us who were unable to attend, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Lives On The Line

My heart aches for the parents of people in combat. There can be no worse anxiety known to parents in America. I’m not sure I would be able to stand the stress and worry, if it was one of my three sons. Two of them served honorably, and have been out for several years. The anxiety is always there, even in times when our military is on peacetime duty around the world.

Other parents of adults are anguished over their children in danger from their own choices. I can’t even stand to watch the A&E program, “Intervention.” The sorrow of the parents and the self-destruction of their children is too much for me to stand to observe.

Still more parents have children in dangerous jobs. Firefighters risk their lives every time the siren sends them for their trucks. Policemen put their lives on the line every time they put on their uniforms. There aren’t words in the lexicon sufficient to express our gratitude for the heroes who go out their doors every day to uphold the law. Airline pilots, bush pilots, game management officers, steeplejacks, ironworkers, window washers, miners. The dangers are out there, and they are everywhere.

My son has a dangerous job. He has a commute of nearly 5,000 miles every two weeks. This means he is in the air for long hours at a time. But his danger comes from a different source. He works in the oil fields on the North Slope. The size of the machinery the crews handle would make an observer’s eyes pop out. Big means heavy, and heavy means danger. Crushed extremities and falls are probably the most common types of injuries in the field. It’s no wonder their employers put so much emphasis on safety.

But there is something about his job that is dangerous in a different way. He and his fellow workers work on a little manmade island in the Beaufort Sea. It’s a favorite stop for polar bears. A fact most people don’t know about polar bears is that they will stalk humans for food. Those cute, fluffy cubs? They will eat you too, if mom brings you home for lunch. Needless to say, trips between buildings on the island can be about as dangerous as anyone would care to experience, especially in view of the fact that the environmental laws have more protections in place for the bears than for the people. It’s an uneasy feeling to know that your adult child can be stalked by a predator unlike any other. This may look funny, but to the particpants, it was deadly serious.

Kids in danger. Not a good thing for parents of adults whose chosen careers put them in harm’s way on a daily basis. And danger doesn’t necessarily have to come from the muzzle of a gun, an IED, or a deranged perpetrator. Pray for these plucky, brave, dedicated people who put their lives on the line every day and for their safe return to the parents and families who love them.

Looks like inside-out seal on the menu

Another Graveyard Whistler

Poor Ian McKellen. I usually cut him a little slack because he did such a good job as Gandalf in the LOTR trilogy. But sometimes, there are days, like today, when I really wonder why they didn’t cast somebody like Richard Harris in the part, instead. Anyway, the old poofter has been going around for years making his statement against the Bible, especially the part in Leviticus that calls down the punishment on sodomy, bestiality, and other twisted pursuits peculiar to a certain type of person.

Somehow, he’s gotten the idea that by tearing these pages out, he is “neutralizing” what they say, and he thinks he is poking a finger in God’s eye by defacing somebody else’s property. He should be getting a big fat bill from the Gideons every time he thumps his faggoty old chest and brags about his latest conquest over one of their books.

Old queers and old atheists have a lot in common when it comes to “teasing God.” Somehow, they have gotten the idea that because they haven’t been vaporized by a lightning bolt, smitten with boils, or turned back into toads, that God doesn’t exist and that they can do these things with impunity. But they have the wrong idea about how one winds up in Hell. To them, they must be sent, and, “if there really is a God, why doesn’t he do something about all the evil in the world?” Well, why don’t THEY do something about it?

But God’s patience and mercy doesn’t work like that. To HIM, one sends oneself to one’s eternal destination. By his choices and behavior, each one of these sinful unbelievers is writing himself a one way ticket to a very warm climate. The closer these guys get to their demise and the judgment they know is coming, unbeliever or not, the more frantic they are to prove there is not only no God but no Judgment and no Hell.

But McKellen’s another believing unbeliever who knows he’s going to be “smelling hot dirt” pretty soon. For somebody who thinks ripping a page out of the Bible from every hotel room he stays in makes a powerful statement, he’s certainly not showing much courage. How much guts does it take to vandalize a Gideon Bible? As a trusted advisor says about the practice, “If he had any balls, he’d be peeing on the Koran every day and bragging about it.”

Yep, Ian. You just go ahead and rip, honey. And you let me know how that Judgment thing goes for you, okay?

Just As I Suspected…

All Souls-All Saints

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10 RSV)

All Hallows Eve. This is not a time for black cats, witche’s hats, and carved pumpkins. It is a time to remember all the faithful believers who have gone before us. Their witness, very frequently in blood and life, have assured them a place in Heaven. May we all be humbled by the sacrifices they made for the sake of their faith — and for ours.

Tomorrow, All Saints Day, we will celebrate all those we are more certain have made it into the realms of Heavenly blessing.

“Saints are sinners who kept on trying.” I was in seventh grade when I first saw this little epigram. +Sister Mary John Berchmans, FSPA, God rest her soul, had stuck the letters up on the concrete block wall of our classroom with rubber cement. I’m pretty sure Sister made it to Heaven. She was a missionary in China when the Japanese invaded there, and was interned for years in abject misery and privation. She regaled and revolted us with the stories of the rats, bugs, and mice they ate in the prison camp to survive. She called me her “Little Pill.” Coming from her, it was the ultimate compliment.

Saints are our role models. They are not lesser gods and goddesses. When we pray for a saint to intercede on our behalf, we are asking a friend or teacher to take our petitions to the Throne. So, for this feast of all the Holy Ones of God, canonized and uncanonized alike, I will be praying that we all discover the legacy of faith and fidelity so beautifully handed down by those now in God’s presence.

May your festal weekend be blessed and joyful.