| Wendy's profileWeink's WondersBlogLists | Help |
|
27 November Silver Bells, silver bellsA couple things passed along to me through one of my email groups:
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which don't agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published - but with your help it will get published via cyberspace!
New Immigrants From: David LaBonte
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to print it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor: So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags. And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
P. S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!! I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!
Perhaps this could help save one of us!!
STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters.. S.T.R. My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. *STROKE IDENTIFICATION:* During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. *It only takes a minute to read this...** *A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. *RECOGNIZING A STROKE** *Remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!** ** *Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.* * ** * *Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: ** **S** Ask the individual to SMILE** **T** Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE*(Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today.)** **R** Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.** NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately!! and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. 23 November Happy ThanksgivingI hope your Thanksgiving dinner looks as good as the one below. (It looks better if you click on it and enlarge it) 17 November A littl funny for your afternoonTaken from Johnny
Once upon a time, there was a SPC Schwarz stationed with the Army in the Balkans. SPC Schwarz was either very clever or very bored; but probably both, since he managed to attempt or be warned about 213 things he wasn't allowed to do. He collected those things into a hilarious list and posted them to the web. 1. Not allowed to watch South Park when I'm supposed to be working. 2. My proper military title is 'Specialist Schwarz' not 'Princess Anastasia'. 3. Not allowed to threaten anyone with black magic. 4. Not allowed to challenge anyone's disbelief of black magic by asking for hair. 5. Not allowed to get silicone breast implants. 6. Not allowed to play 'Pulp Fiction' with a suction-cup dart pistol and any officer. 7. Not allowed to add 'In accordance with the prophesy' to the end of answers I give to a question an officer asks me. 8. Not allowed to add pictures of officers I don't like to War Criminal posters. 9. Not allowed to title any product 'Get Over it'. 10. Not allowed to purchase anyone's soul on Government time. 11. Not allowed to join the communist party. 12. Not allowed to join any militia. 13. Not allowed to form any militia. 14. Not allowed out of my office when the president visited Sarajevo. 15. Not allowed to train adopted stray dogs to 'Sic Brass!' 16. Must get a haircut even if it tampers with my 'Sampson like powers'. 17. God may not contradict any of my orders. 18. May no longer perform my now (in)famous 'Barbie Girl Dance' while on duty. 19. May not call any officers immoral, untrustworthy, lying, slime, even if I'm right. 20. Must not taunt the French any more. 21. Must attempt to not antagonize SAS. 22. Must never call an SAS a 'Wanker'. 23. Must never ask anyone who outranks me if they've been smoking crack. 24. Must not tell any officer that I am smarter than they are, especially if it's true. 25. Never confuse a Dutch soldier for a French one. 26. Never tell a German soldier that 'We kicked your ass in World War 2!' 27. Don't tell Princess Di jokes in front of the paras (British Airborne). 28. Don't take the batteries out of the other soldiers alarm clocks (Even if they do hit snooze about forty times). 29. The Irish MPs are not after 'Me frosted lucky charms'. 30. Not allowed to wake an Non-Commissioned Officer by repeatedly banging on the head with a bag of trash. 31. Not allowed to let sock puppets take responsibility for any of my actions. 32. Not allowed to let sock puppets take command of my post. 33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody. 34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation even if I *did* bring enough for everybody. 35. Not allowed to sing 'High Speed Dirt' by Megadeth during airborne operations. ('See the earth below/Soon to make a crater/Blue sky, black death, I'm off to meet my maker') 36. Can't have flashbacks to wars I was not in. (The Spanish-American War isn't over). 37. Our medic is called 'Sgt Larwasa', not 'Dr. Feelgood'. 38. Our supply Sgt is 'Sgt Watkins' not 'Sugar Daddy'. 39. Not allowed to ask for the day off due to religious purposes, on the basis that the world is going to end, more than once. 40. I do not have super-powers. 41. 'Keep on Trucking' is *not* a psychological warfare message. 42. Not allowed to attempt to appeal to mankind's baser instincts in recruitment posters. 43. Camouflage body paint is not a uniform. 44. I am not the atheist chaplain. 45. I am not allowed to 'Go to Bragg boulevard and shake daddies little money maker for twenties stuffed into my undies'. 46. I am not authorized to fire officers. 47. I am not a citizen of Texas, and those other, forty-nine, lesser states. 48. I may not use public masturbation as a tool to demonstrate a flaw in a command decision. 49. Not allowed to trade military equipment for 'magic beans'. 50. Not allowed to sell magic beans during duty hours. 51. Not allowed to quote 'Dr Seuss' on military operations. 52. Not allowed to yell 'Take that Cobra' at the rifle range. 53. Not allowed to quote 'Full Metal Jacket ' at the rifle range. 54. 'Napalm sticks to kids' is *not* a motivational phrase. 55. An order to 'Put Kiwi on my boots' does *not* involve fruit. 56. An order to 'Make my Boots black and shiny' does not involve electrical tape. 57. The proper response to a lawful order is not 'Why?' 58. The following words and phrases may not be used in a cadence- Budding sexuality, necrophilia, I hate everyone in this formation and wish they were dead, sexual lubrication, black earth mother, all Marines are latent homosexuals, Tantric yoga, Gotterdammerung, Korean hooker, Eskimo Nell, we've all got jackboots now, slut puppy, or any references to squid. 59. May not make posters depicting the leadership failings of my chain of command. 60. ‘The Giant Space Ants' are not at the top of my chain of command. 61. If one soldier has a 2nd Lt bar on his uniform, and I have an E-4 on mine It means he outranks me. It does not mean ‘I have been promoted three more times than you'. 62. It is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, no longer applies to Specialist Schwarz. 63. Command decisions do *not* need to be ratified by a 2/3 majority. 64. Inflatable novelties do *not* entitle me to BAQ or Separation pay. 65. There are no evil clowns living under my bed. 66. There is no ‘Anti-Mime' campaign in Bosnia. 67. I am not the Psychological Warfare Mascot. 68. I may not line my helmet with tin foil to ‘Block out the space mind control lasers'. 69. May not pretend to be a facist stormtrooper, while on duty. 70. I am not authorized to prescribe any form of medication. 71. I must not flaunt my deviances in front of my chain of command. 72. May not wear gimp mask while on duty. 73. No military functions are to be performed ‘Skyclad'. 74. Woad is not camouflage makeup. 75. May not conduct psychological experiments on my chain of command. 76. "Teddy Bear, Teddy bear, turn around" is *not* a cadence. 77. The MP checkpoint is not an Imperial Stormtrooper roadblock, so I should not tell them "You don't need to see my identification, these are not the droids you are looking for." 78. I may not call block my chain of command. 79. I am neither the king nor queen of cheese. 80. Not allowed to wear a dress to any army functions. 81. May not bring a drag queen to the battalion formal dance. 82. May not form any press gangs. 83. Must not start any SITREP (Situation Report) with "I recently had an experience I just had to write you about...." 84. Must not use military vehicles to ‘Squish' things. 85. Not allowed to make any Psychological Warfare products depicting the infamous Ft. Bragg sniper incident. 86. May not challenge anyone in my chain of command to the ‘field of honor'. 87. If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it. 88. Must not refer to 1st Sgt as ‘Mom'. 89. Must not refer to the Commander as ‘Dad'. 90. Inflatable sheep do *not* need to be displayed during a room inspection. 91. I am not authorized to initiate Jihad. 92. When asked to give a few words at a military ceremony ‘Romper Bomper Stomper Boo' is probably not appropriate. 93. Nerve gas is not funny. 94. Crucifixes do not ward off officers, and I should not test that. 95. I am not in need of a more suitable host body. 96. ‘Redneck Zombies' is not a military training aid. 97. Gozer does not dwell in my refrigerator. 98. The proper response to a chemical weapon attack is not ‘Tell my chain of command what I really think about them, and then poke holes in their masks.' 99. A smiley face is not used to mark a minefield. 100. Claymore mines are not filled with yummy candy, and it is wrong to tell new soldiers that they are. 101. I am not allowed to mount a bayonet on a crew-served weapon. 102. Rodents are not entitled to burial with full military honors, even if they are "casualties of war". 103. My commander is not old enough to have fought in the civil war, and I should stop implying that he did. 104. Vodka, green food coloring, and a ‘Cool Mint’ Listerine® bottle is not a good combination. 105. I am not allowed to bum cigarettes off of anyone under twelve. 106. I may not trade my rifle for any of the following: Cigarettes, booze, sexual favors, Kalishnikovs, Soviet Armored vehicles, small children, or bootleg CD’s. 107. Must not mock command decisions in front of the press. 108. Should not taunt members of the press, even if they are really fat, exceptionally stupid, and working for UPI. 109. I am not authorized to change national policy in Eastern Europe. 110. Never, ever, attempt to correct a Green Beret officer about anything. 111. I am not qualified to operate any US, German, Polish, or Russian Armored vehicles. 112. When saluting a ‘leg’ officer, an appropriate greeting is not "Airborne leads the wa- oh...sorry sir". 113. There is absolutely no need to emulate the people from ‘Full Monty’ every time I hear the song "Hot Stuff". 114. I cannot trade my CO to the Russians. 115. I should not speculate on the penis size of anyone who outranks me. 116. Crucifying mice - bad idea. 117. Must not use government equipment to bootleg pornography. 118. Burn pits for classified material are not revel fires - therefore it is wrong to dance naked around them. 119. I cannot arrest children for being rude. 120. An EO briefing is probably not the best place to unveil my newest off color joke. 121. I should not use government resources to ‘waterproof’ dirty magazines. 122. Radioactive material should not be stored in the barracks. 123. I should not teach other soldiers to say offensive and crude things in Albanian, under the guise of teaching them how to say potentially useful phrases. 124. Two drink limit does not mean first and last. 125. Two drink limit does not mean two kinds of drinks. 126. Two drink limit does not mean the drinks can be as large as I like. 127. ‘No Drinking Of Alcoholic Beverages’ does not imply that a Jack Daniel’s® IV is acceptable. 128. "Shpadoinkle" is not a real word. 129. The Microsoft® ‘Dancing Paperclip’ is not authorized to countermand any orders. 130. ‘I’m drunk’ is a bad answer to any question posed by my commander. 131. No dancing in the turret. This especially applies in conjunction with rule #113. 132. The loudspeaker system is not a forum to voice my ideas. 133. The loudspeaker system is not to be used to replace the radio. 134. The loudspeaker system is not to be used to broadcast the soundtrack to a porno movie. 135. An order to put polish on my boots means the whole boot. 136. Shouting ‘Let’s do the village! Let’s do the whole fucking village!’ while out on a mission is bad. 137. Should not show up at the front gate wearing part of a Russian uniform, messily drunk. 138. Even if my commander did it. 139. Must not teach interpreters how to make "MRE" bombs. 140. I am not authorized to sell mineral rights. 141. Not allowed to use a broadsword to disprove ‘The Pen is Mightier than the sword’. 142. 'Calvin-Ball' is not authorized PT. 143. I do not need to keep a 'range card' by my window. 144. 'K-Pot, LBE, and a thin coat of Break-free' is not an authorized uniform. 145. I should not drink three quarts of blue food coloring before a urine test. 146. Nor should I drink three quarts of red food coloring, and scream during the same. 147. I should not threaten suicide with pop rocks and Coke®. 148. Putting red 'Mike and Ike's'® into a prescription medicine bottle, and then eating them all in a formation is not funny. 149. Must not create new DOD forms, then insist they be filled out. 150. On Sports Day PT, a wedgie is not considered a legal tackle. 151. The proper way to report to my Commander is 'Specialist Schwarz, reporting as ordered, Sir' not 'You can't prove a thing!' 152. The following items do not exist: Keys to the Drop Zone, A box of grid squares, blinker fluid, winter air for tires, canopy lights, or Chem-Light® batteries. 153. I should not assign new privates to 'guard the flight line'. 154. Shouldn't treat 'piss-bottles' with extra-strength icy hot. 155. Teaching Albanian children to taunt other soldiers is not nice. 156. I will no longer perform 'lap-dances' while in uniform. 157. If I take the uniform off, in the course of the lap-dance, it still counts. 158. The revolution is not now. 159. When detained by MP's, I do not have a right to a strip search. 160. No part of the military uniform is edible. 161. Bodychecking General officers is not a good idea. 162. Past lives have absolutely no effect on the chain of command. 163. Take that hat off. 164. There is no such thing as a were-virgin. 165. I do not get 'that time of month'. 166. No, the pants are not optional. 167. Not allowed to operate a business out of the barracks. 168. Especially not a pornographic movie studio. 169. Not even if they *are* 'especially patriotic films'. 170. Not allowed to 'defect' to OPFOR during training missions. 171. On training missions, try not to shoot down the General's helicopter. 172. 'A full magazine and some privacy' is not the way to help a potential suicide. 173. I am not allowed to create new levels of security clearance. 174. Furby ® is not allowed into classified areas. (I swear to the gods, I did not make that up, it's actually DOD policy). 175. We do not 'charge into battle, naked, like the Celts'. 176. Any device that can crawl across the table on medium, does not need to be brought into the office. 177. I am not to refer to a formation as 'the boxy rectangle thingie'. 178. I am not 'A lesbian trapped in a man's body'. 179. On Army documents, my race is not 'Other'. 180. Nor is it 'Secretariat, in the third'. 181. Pokémon® trainer is not an MOS. 182. There is no FM for 'wall-to-wall counseling'. 183. My chain of command has neither the time, nor the inclination to hear about what I did with six boxes of Fruit Roll-Ups®. 184. When operating a military vehicle I may *not* attempt something 'I saw in a cartoon'. 185. My name is not a killing word. 186. I am not the Emperor of anything. 187. Must not taunt officers in the throes of nicotine withdrawal, with cigarettes. 188. May not challenge officers to 'Meet me on the field of honor, at dawn'. 189. Do not dare SERE graduates to eat bugs. They will always do it. 190. Must not make s'mores while on guard duty. 191. Our Humvees cannot be assembled into a giant battle-robot. 192. The proper response to a briefing is not 'That's what you think'. 193. The Masons, and Gray Aliens are not in our chain of command. 194. Shouldn't take incriminating photos of my chain of command. 195. Shouldn't use Photoshop® to create incriminating photos of my chain of command. 196. I am not allowed to give tattoos. 197. I am not allowed to sing 'Henry the VIII I am' until verse 68 ever again. 198. Not allowed to lead a 'Coup' during training missions. 199. I should not confess to crimes that took place before I was born. 200. My chain of command is not interested in why I 'just happen' to have a kilt, an inflatable sheep, and a box of rubber bands in the back of my car. 201. Must not valiantly push officers onto hand grenades to save the squad. 202. Despite the confusing similarity in the names, the "Safety Dance" and the "Safety Briefing" are never to be combined. 203. 'To conquer the earth with an army of flying monkeys" is a bad long term goal to give the re-enlistment NCO. 204. NEVER nail a stuffed bunny to a cross and put it up in front of the Battalion Headquarters sign as an "Easter Desecration." 205. Don't write up false gigs on a HMMWV PMCS. ("Broken clutch pedal", "Number three turbine has frequent flame-outs", "flux capacitor emits loud whine when engaged") 206. Not allowed to get shot. 207. The Chicken and Rice MRE is *not* a personal lubricant. (Skippy wanted this noted for the record that this is not something he has ever attempted or considered! It was something we heard at dinner on 22 September 2001 and it was just so obscene it had to go here.) 208. Not allowed to play into the deluded fantasies of the civilians who are "hearing conversations" from the NSA, FBI, CIA and KGB due to the microchip the aliens implanted in their brain. 209. An airsickness bag is to be used for airsickness *only*. (Also not a Skippy-ism...this was the same dinner.) 210. Must not make T-shirts up depicting a pig with the writing "Eat Pork or Die" in Arabic to bring as civilian attire when preparing to deploy to a primarily Muslim country. 211. Don't ask LTC Steele to sign my copy of Blackhawk Down. 212. Must not go on nine deployments in six years that require a security clearance that I don't have, even if the Army tells me repeatedly that I have one and I have no reason to question them. 213. Do not convince NCO's that their razorbumps are the result of microscopic parasites. 07 November Please VoteI wasn't going to post any of the Sgt Grit newsletters anymore, cause it seems no one really cares, but I stumbled over this letter while reading last week's newsletter, and I decided to post it for you all. Plus, it's talking about today. Read the newsletter in full here.
We have Marines and other military fighting and dying attempting to bring democracy to a foreign country. What will you be doing on November 7? In Iraq, even attempting to vote can get you or a relative assassinated. Through two plus centuries, freedom is one of the things Marines have fought, bled and died for. File your absentee ballot or wear your gear to the polls and vote for the candidate of your choice. Don't like any of the choices? Write in your own name. This nation has been well served by Marines and Marine Family. We need more of those people in Washington. s/f Dennis Benson Proud Marine Dad |
|
|