The freedom of speech of Sheehan, Murtha, most of the media and all Islamic “protection” groups (ACLU, CAIR, etc.) to speak out are protected by the very same military they weigh down with their insane rantings. They just don’t get it!
Cox & Forkum see it the same way:
While the mainstream media jumps into a frenzy about the incident in Haditha, Iraq, we’re going to take the position that in America, and certainly in the military, the credo of innocence before guilt applies. We’re saddened by the loss of life, and the allegations that there was wrongdoing, but beyond that we will wait to see how this plays out.
Meanwhile, we assert that the men and women of the U.S. Marine Corps and all of the Military are, by and large, the finest, most professional military ever. We continue to support them both spiritually and by helping out military-oriented charities when we can.
At a recent military event, the Marines brought this nice toy and other exhibits to celebrate Armed Forces Day.
I watched the White House press conference yesterday. Long-time press corps matriarch Helen Thomas tried to rant about the administration’s international surveillance of potential terrorist communications. She repeated her talking points over and over while Tony Snow diffused her poison apples until she was silenced by this last exchange:
Image: Helen Thomas prepares a poison apple for Tony Snow
Thomas: Privacy was breached by turning over their phone numbers.
Snow: Well, again, you are jumping to conclusions about a program, the existence of which we will neither confirm, nor deny.
Thomas: Why? Don’t you think the American people have a right to know–
Snow: Because–what’s interesting is, there seems to be a notion that because the president has talked a little bit about one surveillance program and one matter of intelligence gathering, that somehow we have to tell the entire world we have to make intelligence gathering transparent. Let me remind you, it’s a war on terror, and there are people–I guarantee you, al Qaeda does not believe–
Thomas: He doesn’t have a right to break the law, does he?
Snow: No, the president is not talking about breaking the law. But al Qaeda doesn’t believe in transparency. What al Qaeda believes in is mayhem, and the president has a constitutional obligation and a heartfelt determination to make sure we fight it.
Tony then went on to the next reporter while the wicked witch Thomas sputtered her way to silence.
Perhaps James Taranto of National Review Online made the best point about Tony Snow’s value to the White House when he wrote this about Thomas in his Best of the Web column yesterday:
All you have to do to win an argument with Helen Thomas is let her gibber; she discredits herself with her outlandish and tendentious statements. It’s to Snow’s credit that he’s not satisfied outwitting her by default but instead used her embarrassing performance to make a serious and substantive point. This is what we need more of from the White House.
More and more I think Dubya made an excellent choice when he named Tony Snow to be Press Secretary.
I had a Cockney friend who used to use the expression “pissed as a newt” for describing someone who was “buzzed.”
Is it just me, or was Newt Gingrich a little buzzed during his appearance on Hannity and Colmes tonight? Overmedicated? Brain hemorrhage? He was even agreeing with Colmes! Sleep it off, Newt. We love ya, but ya gotta be in working shape when you get in front of the camera.
New post at Michael Yon : Online Magazine – Why We Write.
Michael tells about helicopters, the pilots and why he can’t publish his best photos of them.
As a former helicopter pilot, reading this article got the old juices flowing, almost wishing I could be back in it. Almost. However, I’m OK with my job of contributing to the technology that helps these great men and women win wars. That, in itself, is my satisfaction.
Congratulations to Tony Snow for being selected to be the new White House Press Secretary.
From WikiPedia: Career information about Tony Snow:
Snow began his journalism career in 1979 in newspapers as an editorial writer for The Greensboro Record in North Carolina. Next as an editorial writer at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia (1981-82), editorial page editor of The Daily Press in Newport News (1982-84), deputy editorial page editor of The Detroit News (1984-87) and editorial page editor of The Washington Times (1987-91). Also The Detroit News published his commentary from 1993 to 2000, and he was a Counterpoint Columnist for USA Today from 1994 to 2000.
Image: Tony Snow
Snow also wrote a syndicated column for Creators Syndicate between 1993 and 2000. As a nationally syndicated columnist, his commentaries appeared in more than 200 newspapers nationwide. Snow won numerous awards during his print career, including citations from the Virginia Press Association, the Detroit Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, The Associated Press and Gannett.
He has appeared on radio and television programs worldwide including The McLaughlin Group, the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, Face The Nation, Crossfire, and Good Morning America. Prior to the 1994 elections, Snow was the writer, correspondent and host of a PBS news special, The New Militant Center, which anticipated some of the upsets that shook the political establishment.
In 1991, Snow took a sabbatical from journalism to work in the White House for President George H.W. Bush, first as chief speechwriter (Deputy Assistant to the President for Communications and Director of Speechwriting) and later as Deputy Assistant to the President for Media Affairs (1992-93).
From 1996 to 2003 he served as the host of FOX News Sunday. Before being given his own radio show, Snow frequently served as a commentator on National Public Radio and guest host on the Rush Limbaugh program.
In February 2005, Snow revealed that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer. He returned to work in April 2005. In 1973 his mother died of colon cancer.
In 2006, he was appointed to the position of White House Press Secretary to replace Scott McClellan.
. . . in the mainstream media:
Fluff-Filled Toys and Children, Perfect Match
By SPC Karl Johnson – 363rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Right: Sara, a child living in Baghdad, with Beanie Baby “Courage”. The toy was a gift from Army Maj Jim Barker, whose letter back home telling his family how much the child loved the toy resulted in he non-profit organization Beanies for Baghdad being founded in May 2003. To date, more than 150,000 of the stuffed toys have been passed out by Soldiers since the project began.
BAGHDAD — In a country where having a toy is a rarity, Soldiers passing out beanie babies to Iraqi children can become very popular.
“The children’s faces just light up when they see you,†said Sgt. 1st Class Alan Certain, Company C, 490th Civil Affairs Battalion. “It’s amazing to see what an effect a simple toy can have on a kid.â€
The civil affairs Soldiers pass out the small toys during their missions in central Iraq.
To date more than 150,000 of the miniature stuffed animals have been distributed throughout the war-torn nation with the help of Beanies for Baghdad, a nonprofit organization. What started as an attempt to get one child to smile has turned into a project that is helping Soldiers build positive bonds with the Iraqi people.“This is forming the beginning of friendships between the children and the Soldiers,†said Donna Ward, Beanies for Baghdad project manager. “The hope for a better tomorrow is found in the children of Iraq.â€
“We are hoping to see an entire new generation of Iraqis who trust that we are their friends and that we’re here to help them,†said Capt. Darrell Retheford, Co. C, 490th CA Bn.
The success of Beanies for Baghdad has just begun, said Ward. “We have so much more we hope to accomplished,†she said. “These little ones didn’t ask to be born in the conditions they are growing up in and this is a way we can make a difference.†“I personally feel this is a small gesture we as Americans and other countries can do to help our Soldiers sow seeds of friendship and to give these children something to smile about in a war-torn land,†said Ward.
Reprinted from the CENTCOM Newsletter.