Pearl Harbor Day

 Take a moment or two today to think of all those who lost their lives or were otherwise injured on December 7, 1941 when the naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. Over 2,000 Americans lost their lives that day; several ships, the biggest and most powerful, of our naval fleet were sunk or badly damaged in that sneak attack on the United States by the Imperial Japanese Navy. That attack led to Predsident Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) asking Congress to declare war against Japan on the following day when he opened his speech to them by saying:

 

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

 

 

 

This video is worth the watch, the whole thing. The response to FDR's speech was unified and amazing. Congress, it seems most everyone, if not every single member of Congress, actually applauded when FDR asked that Congress declare, that since the attack, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. Sadly, I think even if we were if there was a secret & brutal attack on the USA today, and President Trump gave a similar speech in response, my guess is almost half of Congress would boo him because the Democrats would be afraid to lose their support from the loons on the left who probably would support our assailants. It's that bad today as I see it.

  

Anyway, it certainly was an infamous date. What happened on December 7, 1941 not only was a terrible attack but it brought the United States of America into World War II. Now, I for one, and maybe you too, would think it only right and proper if  someone, whoever made up the Pearl Harbor webpage which is linked below - at the National WW II Museum, New Orleans - could have gotten it right but apparently he or she does not know what FDR actually said as they call it 'the day that will live in infamy" (source: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/pearl-harbor-december-7-1941). That evidently incorrect wording is right there on the page when it pops up. It really is sad, in my opinion, that a museum commemorating Pearl Harbor seemingly could not get that right. Historians getting history right, even the small facts, is important or at least I think so. Once they start getting the small facts wrong and getting people to believe them by passing them off as truth, it seems to morph into the so called historians getting the big facts wrong as well, and thus misleading folks on the truly important facts.

 

Regardless, the attack on Pearl Harbor was indeed terrible and what followed were the even more  terrible consequences of that attack culminating in Japan's surrender but only after two atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. So, as I said, take some time to think of the sacrifices made by U.S. Service members and civilians that day, and during our involvement throughout WW II, and give thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice and for those others who fought for and preserved our freedom.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

North Korea Recalling Embassy Personnel Around The World...

...and closing down their embassies. Some seem to think it's due to an economic crisis in North Korea (more at the source). I can think of another reason they'd want to recall embassy personnel a much more gloomy reason at that. They may be preparing for the imminent outbreak of WW III. You may think me saying so qualifies me as an arsehat or a a doomsayer but let's face reality folks - we in the United States of America are sitting on a virtual and very unstable powder keg that has fires raging all around it. If you don't see that being a very real and somewhat probable outcome of the current world situation, I think you are blind. Let me tell you why I think so:

 

President Biden - the weakest most bumbling, inept president of my lifetime and I have been around since the nineteen fifties. 

 

Kamala Harris - a joke as a vice president.

 

The changes/ threat to the security of the United States created by President Biden, his handlers (be assured that mentally decrepit man has handlers and he has essentially admitted to such many times). The security threats created by him & his administration during his time in the White House include:

 

-the depletion almost half of the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserves (source, that source is Politico which is considered left-center but I consider them to be democrat apologists - you can see why if you read the entire article in which they admit Biden has lowered the reserve to the lowest since 1983 and then they try to tell you, in essence, that's alright. The thing is, if WW III breaks out the amount that has been depleted may become totally disabling for us.)

 

-the wanton disregard for the sovereignty of this nation as seen in Biden opening up the U.S. borders to illegal aliens entering our country in all time record numbers and then him letting them remain in country. I just heard a radio report a few days ago about 200 aliens on the terrorist watch list who were captured trying to enter the U.S. illegally (not as a single group). How many do you think entered undetected or even detected but who got away. In addition fentanyl seizures around the country are at record highs with enough of it being seized  in total to wipe out the populations of at least a few states. Imagine 20 kilos dumped in a reservoir for a city like NY or Dallas! Who knows what military weapons may also have been brought in during the tsunami of illegal entries. And who did Biden appoint as Border Czar but the laughing hyena Kamala Harris - I think she is the worst incoherent babbling twit I have even seen or heard anywhere.

 

-the depletion of U.S. military weaponry and other military equipment. That started pretty much during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. it was estimated by the U.S. Department of Defense (part of Biden's own administration) that over seven (7) billion dollars worth of U.S. military equipment including weapons & aircraft were left behind when the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan (according to CNN a very liberal source but seemingly on the money with this article).  Read that whole report, what was left behind is mind boggling and most certainly is a strategic loss for our military readiness. Add to that all of the military weaponry and equipment the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine and that Biden publicly announced shortages pertaining to our military weaponry thus informing our enemies Russia, China. Iran, North Korea and other countries of where we are lacking. On top of all that the Biden administration keeps pumping BILLIONS of our dollars into Ukraine while inflation here is killing our economy; in fact it's been more than 75 billion dollars worth of aide to Ukraine. Almost one third of what Biden sent to Ukraine has been in the form of 23.5 billion dollars worth of military weapons and equipment taken from U.S. Department of Defense stock - in other words taken away from our own armed forces (more at this source)! Read the article at that last source because it give a breakdown of each type of weapon and how many we have given to Ukraine to fight Russian aggression. These would be weapons we'd sorely miss should WW III erupt or even if we merely get involved in a regional conflict much as we are currently doing in the Middle East right now. Yes the timer is ticking on the fuse to that powder keg, ticktock-ticktock-tick-BOOM.

 

I supplied some links for you to be able to see my sources, but this is all pretty much common knowledge to anyone who has been paying attention. That would be as in paying attention to what is going that has weakened our country as caused by Biden & the Biden Administration and rather than wondering how many wine glasses fit on a Kardashian's behind. By now, if you are unaware how much Biden has weakened us militarily, economically and with regard to our strategic oil reserves - to the point we quite possibly could not withstand a military attack on our own soil; well, you must have your head buried far up your own arse. If you think a big war is not a very real & a somewhat probable possibility that is becoming more probable each day with what is going on in Ukraine, the Middle east and with China having been building its war machine for decades completely unfettered and with the Chinese actually running illegal police departments in the USA and because you consider yourself a maven of all things Geo-political - well then all I can say is think of Japan prior to WW II and then how they sucked us into it with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that dragged us into that conflict. Our nation was the most industrial nation in the world at that time and we had a very hard time recuperating from that devastating attack on our Pacific fleet. Today what industry do we have that is not in the great part dependent upon imports from Red China! Relatively speaking - almost none is the answer. China pretty much runs the world economy right now (source) - they may not have the strongest economy but soon will if Biden continues to support current ties with them,

 

The truth is, if our enemies had planned it this way - they could not have weakened our defenses better with any other president at the helm than Joe Biden (or in the event of his demise than Kamala Harris).

 

Someone will have to tell me again how the North Koreans pulling their personnel out of embassies worldwide is only related to a crisis in their economy (their economy already has been in crisis for decades) and is not possibly a prelude to another world war.  I hope not but if it happens, I hope we are more ready that I believe we are ready after reading about how that bumbling buffoon in the White House has set us up for a terrible defeat.

I guess I forgot to mention one important thing - what Sleepy Joe has done for morale in out Military & Civil Services. Joe Biden calling the bravest people he ever met to be so called transgender types who in reality are male & female impersonators of the natural thing. Way to go Joe - nice boost to the morale of America's military personnel and other first responders. I swear, if Trump goes to prison - he'll still get my vote unless he endorses someone else and there are few if any who could fill his shoes. There is no way President Trump would get us into this black and bloody mire as Biden had done. Hell Biden has all but invited the Dire Wolf Into our country to murder us all.

 

So, while we may not actually get involved in WW III any time soon, Joe Biden has done almost nothing of any real value to keep our nation prepared and just about everything to weaken it. As for me, I am preparing for calamity as best I can – just in case. As I’ve said before, I liked one thing about the Boy Scouts of America – their motto – Be Prepared.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Is The USA About To Come Under Another Surprise Attack...

 ...just as we did on December 4, 1941when who I think was that other terrible socialist of a Democrat FDR was the president? He ignored the warning signs and so did his administration, Congress and our military. Our ships and they who manned the ships & the base were oblivious as were most of the rest of nation at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked. Despite the writing being on the wall we ignored Japan.

 

"The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades." (Source.)

 

Today we seem to once again be ignoring what are obviously threats to America's security and people. Again it comes from the far east but this time probably emanating in Red China not in Japan (which has become a great ally of the USA). So far, as of sometime earlier today, it has been reported that the U.S. military shot yet another suspected spy object out of the sky - this time reportedly over Lake Huron in Michigan (more at the source). That is number 4 in eight days or so. Some in government seem to be taking heed but is it to late!

 

Some may think these intrusions of our air space to be harmless, others may think them violations of international law and as potentially dangerous in as much as they may be spy aircraft, and in as much as they pose a potential threat to air traffic.

 

I, on the other hand, wonder if they are a definite prelude to all out war with China and any other countries that have a hand in these possible spy aircraft. Our President does not seem too concerned and the White House has not given out much info about them or about what it means for us - We The People Of The United States Of America. In that regard he and his minion seem much like the president, Congress and the military back in 1941 - clueless and indecisive. Is the writing on the wall again?

 

If you think about it, for all we know we may have already been attacked. While these aircraft may indeed be spy-craft, I ask myself - is it possible that they had a dual or a totally different singular purpose. That dual or singular different purpose may have been to disperse germ warfare agents. Where was it that COVID-19 was created? Where did at least one of the four aircraft, recently shot down over U.S. airspace, come from? What country probably posses the greatest risk, or at least the second greatest one, of engaging the United States in a major war? If the answers you can up with are the same for all three questions that I just asked and if the common name of the country begins with a C and ends with an A and often has the word Red placed before its name - then maybe you think a bit like me.

Of course maybe they are just spy-craft gathering intel on our military. I wonder why they'd do that! If war breaks out and these aircraft were the prelude to an attack, then I think Biden potentially should be the prelude to the losses we will suffer. To do that, he should be handed a double barrel shotgun and a helmet and be the first man on the front. Of course, if Biden had to do that, I wonder if the Chinese would just welcome him into their ranks as their best ally.

 

How, I hope my suspicions are unfounded. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Take A Few Moments Today To Remember & Honor Those...

 ...who lost their live or limbs and innocence on December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Up until 9/11/2001, it was the largest loss of life in a single attack on the United States of America proper. A total of 2,403 U.S. military & civilians were killed that day during the attack or died as a direct result of it. Only the attacks of 9/11, specifically the attack on the World Trade Center had a higher casualty count at 2,763 (source). Of the casualties at Pearl Harbor, not counting those wounded who survived, the fatalities break down like this by branch of service and civilians:

  

2,008 Navy

218 Army

109 Marines 

68 civilians  

Most of the deaths occurred on one ship. On the USS Arizona, a b battleship, there were 1,177 fatalities (source).

It was a horrific and surprise attack by a vicious  enemy, an enemy that later paid the price, for attacking freedom, in a manner as never seen or even imagined before when, on August 6,1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Then on August 9, 1945, another was set off in the air over Nagasaki, Japan. Those two devastating bombs, it is estimated they killed anywhere from about 130,000 to 240,000 people (mostly civilians) finally brought the Japanese to surrender unconditionally (source).

 While those bombs ended WWII, they also ushered a new age - the atomic age and later to nuclear age in which we still live with the threat of nuclear destruction hanging over our heads each and every day. If there truly is a God in Heaven, I pray God help us that we, or any nation, never again set(s) off another such bomb and pray that no further attacks like the one on 9/11 or the one on Pearl Harbor ever happen again.

Yet, we can be thankful to the brave men and women who died or were injured and of course to those who did not die nor were injured but who fought bravely during the attack at Pearl Harbor. We also should never forget those who  answered the call, that went out after Pearl Harbor, to stand for the USA and battle our enemies until they were defeated.

All the best,

Glenn B

Is It Coincidental That Russia & China Have Flexed Their Military Muscle...

 ...at the same time more or less relative to their neighboring countries and making it look like invasions are imminent. I think it is no coincidence and also believe that what we have seen so far may be all the warnings we are going to get before one or both of those world powers commence(s) military action against the nation(s) they have in effect been targeting. Should Russia and China actually both invade their neighbors, the Ukraine in the case of Russia and Taiwan in the case of China (both allies of the United States of America) what will we do. 

 

My guess is little more than spout rhetoric from the mouth of the current presidential administration. Of course, we may also take action and my further guess is that if we do take action it will be essentially ineffective and that any countermove by Russia and China may bring us to our knees like the weakling they believe us to be under Biden or may land us smack dab into the middle of a nuclear attack and WWIII. Of course - none of our experts seem to believe that to be possible but I seem to remember that is what out experts thought in 1941 too when the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor took place and landed us in WWII. Those two other nations currently see us as being extremely weak right now because of us having extremely weak and ineffective leadership (if you can call Biden & Harris leaders), because of our terrible economy, because of supply chain issues and because one of our military leaders had pledged to notify China if we planned to attack them under president Trump (I cannot believe this guy is still in the military). I would not be surprised if they staged concurrent attacks on the 7th.

 

Besides all that, Joe Biden seems to be in the pocket of China and seems to be a mumbling fool when it comes to Russia (he is talking about economic sanctions should Russia invade the Ukraine, one of our allies). I would like to doubt that I am even possibly correct but I am an absolute pessimist when I see all the things going on with our enemies beating the war drums and virtually nothing going on with our president except him making up new mask mandates and lying through his face about his own past exploits. Honestly folks, I think his son would be a better president than him (although I am not suggesting that Brandon ever even consider politics and thus continue to ruin the USA). 

 

So, what is bumbling Biden's plan right now to deal with these situations? Well, he is going to have a meeting with Putin on December 7th (is it a coincidence that was the date of the last invasion of the United States by a foreign power). Let me tell you in his own words what he expects:

 

"We’ve been aware of Russia’s actions for a long time and my expectation is we’re gonna have a long discussion with Putin," (source). 

 

Meanwhile, Russia has 94,000 troops on the Ukrainian border poised to attack if that is what they decide to do. What will SlowJoe do then! He plans to place economic sanctions against them (source). He said we have no shortage of sanctions but we evidently have a shortage of oil. Wasn't he just recently begging the Saudis and the Russians to produce more oil hoping that wold lower oil prices that have skyrocketed (source) under his administration!

 

"...Biden in August 2021 begged Saudi Arabia and other Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia (OPEC+) to pump more crude oil." (source). 

 

Then when Russia and other nations did not produce more to help lower prices, what did Biden do but dip into our strategic oil reserve - not once but twice. Guess where it was expected he would send those reserves - China & India (source). Our oil reserves are now lacking for us but maybe are a big help to at least one of our enemies. Should we wind up in a war with them, their jets - the same invading Taiwan's air space as of late - may wind up dropping bombs on us while burning the fuel we gave to them. Our fossil fuel situation is a far cry from what it was under president Trump when we had oil independence for the first time in more than 6 decades (source). What the heck is wrong with how Biden and the leftists in this country think or is it they just do not think!

 

Let's go Brandon or better yet, let me say it outright - FUCK JOE BIDEN because my bet it that is what Vladimir Putin will tell him just that on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. It would not surprise me in the least if Russia and China attack their neighbors on that day and would only surprise me a little bit if they went straight for the big money and attacked us as well. Of course, all the muscle flexing is probably just a way to get Sleepy Joe to acquiesce to the whims of the Russians & the Chinese. As I said, they see us as weak and I am sure they want to capitalize on our weakness but then again, who knows what evil lurks in the minds of commies.

All the best,

Glenn B

If You Are Going To Make Pro-Gun Statements...

...at least do a little fact checking to prevent posting balderdash. For instance, I saw this today over on Facebook (yes I still visit FB now and then):

If you do not know what is wrong with that statement then you really need to study up on your U.S. history because it is very wrong. In fact, the United States of America (and you must understand what is or was the USA at the relevant times) has been invaded at least three times by way of feet on the ground invasions. So no, I am not talking about Japan attacking Pearl Harbor. I am certainly not a historian but I know at least that much about U.S. history to know we have been invaded.

One of the invasions of the U.S. (two different battles in two different areas), of which I can think, were during WWII. The first battle in that war, in which foreign troops had feet on the ground, was Japan attacking the Philippines . The second was Japan attacking the Aleutian islands. The Philippines was a U.S. territory at the time and anyone born there then a U.S. citizen - thus it was indeed part of the United States of America. As for the Aleutian Islands, they were & remain part of Alaska; while Alaska was not yet a state during WWII, it was indeed part of the USA in the form of a territory.

Then there was the invasion of the USA by foreign forces on the mainland of our nation. In the east - New York, Baltimore, New Orleans and even Washington, DC were attacked and parts of our capital was burned to the ground. Many of our territories in the northwest were also invaded. That was during the War of 1812 when British troops invaded our mainland. 

The other invasion of which I now write is for you to figure out. We indeed were invaded at least one other time with enemy troops having feet on the ground of the USA and tens of thousands of U.S. troops were injured and killed during that invasion. In fact, during that invasion in a single three day battle, U.S. casualties amounted to about 25,000 wounded or dead - and our enemy's casualties to about 28,000. Those were extremely high losses if not the highest casualties suffered by U.S. forces in any single battle. That invasion was part of the bloodiest war, as far as American casualties go, in which the USA was ever involved. If you do not know or cannot guess: which was the battle,  what was the name of the war nor of the invading country - you truly should have never passed U.S. history in grammar school.

All the best,
Glenn B

75 Years Ago Today

The United States of America was hit by a peacetime surprise attack at Pearl Harbor from the Imperial Empire of Japan. We ended WWII with a bigger surprise attack during the war, the two most devastating bombs ever to be used in wartime. Many were killed but in fact man lives were saved by those bombs because the death toll would have been higher had we needed to invade mainland Japan. It is a shame we have not learned how to live in peace since then but as much as I would love to see word peace, I would not hesitate to do likewise, against any nation or group that attacked our country, in order to save American lives and put an end to any war waged against us.

Take a moment today to remember and keep in your prayers the men and woman (military and civilian) who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor. There were 2,403 of them (source) who made the ultimate sacrifice that day. Also keep in memory and in your prayers all those U.S. Servicemen and women who perished in the war that followed.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was the largest American loss of life, during a single attack by a foreign enemy, on U.S. soil prior to the attacks on 9/11 where in the World Trade Center alone 2,606 people died (not including those in the planes that struck the towers).

All the best,
Glenn B

The Sneak Attack On Pearl Harbor Happened Today In 1941...

...and the United States of America was brought into WWII because of a bunch of religious fanatics, who had extreme religious views about their god being the one god, and that they were at his beck and call to conquer or destroy the rest of the non-believing world as they saw fit and they saw fit to enslave, torture, maim and kill (all in the name of their god) in some of the most horrendous ways throughout history.

Yes, today is the anniversary of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. You may also recall, it took years of warfare plus two very large bombs, to in essence bomb them back into the stone-age, before they surrendered and gave up their religious fanaticism. From then onwards, all the way through today (and probably for many years to come), they have been at peace with us and with the rest of the world. They completely lost all desire to conquer and or destroy in the name of their god, in fact, they got rid of their god (as far as being a god went).

Funny how that worked after they were nuked a couple of times! I wonder if such a response to ISIS would end with similar results? My bet is yes there would be a similar end to a terrible aggression by a heinous enemy because too many of the enemy would have perished to allow them to continue.

Anyway, my prayers and all the respect I can muster go out to all those U.S. Servicemen and Servicewomen who were injured and or lost their lives on this day in1941.

All the best,
Glenn B

Oldest Survivor Of USS Arizona Has Passed

Joe Langdell, the oldest survivor of the sinking of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 100 when he passed away last Wednesday. Take a moment to read the linked article and to say a prayer or have a thought in his honor and to honor all of them who lost their lives protecting the USA.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/02/05/pearl-harbor-uss-arizona-survivor-langdell/22953077/

All the best,
Glenn B

"A military man can scarcely pride himself on having "smitten a sleeping enemy"..."

If you don't know what I mean with the title to this post then it is evident that you are not a student of U.S. or world history. The events that took place, on December 7, 1941, were some of the most important in the history of the world. They changed the United States of America - they changed the world - forever. It was on that day that the Empire of Japan launched a sneak attack on the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor and those words, in this post's title, reference that attack.

I don't think I can do it any more justice than I did in a previous pot, so I'll just link to that post. If you don't know about what took place at Pearl Harbor, on that day, do yourself the favor of reading a bit about it in my post of seven years ago or here in the post I wrote a year ago. Those events truly set the USA on a new course and the events that followed while we set off on that new course assured there would be an America today. December 7, 1941 was a date of importance as much as is 9/11, it was a date on which American united, it was "....a date which will live in infamy..."!



Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in early January 1942, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander in chief of Japan's naval forces, replied to a newspaper editor about the editor's assessment of the attack: "A military man can scarcely pride himself on having "smitten a sleeping enemy"; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack." America indeed launched a counter attack, one of a magnitude never before and never since matched. If you do nothing else today, learn something about December 7, 1941 and its aftermath because it truly was an earth shattering and world changing date.

All the best,
Glenn

Today In History - The Sneak Attack On Pearl Harbor

At 7:48 Hawaiian time,  on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor commenced. It was the worst single attack on U.S. soil prior to the attack on 9/11, specifically the attack on the World Trade Center in which 2,606 people perished (not including those on the plane). At Pearl Harbor, there were 2,402 Americans killed and 1,282 wounded, many ships of the Pacific fleet were sunk and otherwise damaged, hundreds of aircraft were destroyed and many ground installations likewise. The attack brought President Franklin D. Roosevelt to call on Congress for a declaration of war on Japan, on December 8, 1941, the very next day.

It was a quick and almost unanimous decision on the part of the president and Congress to declare war. At 12:30 in the afternoon, on December 8, 1941, Roosevelt commenced a brief speech, of  7 minutes, to a joint session of Congress in which he made the eternal statement that December 7, 1941 was a date that would live in infamy.



Immediately after the speech, the issue was brought to a vote, first in the Senate and then in the House. The vote in the Senate was unanimous, 82-0, the vote in the House was 388 to 1 (the first woman elected to Congress, an avowed pacifist, was the sole no vote). The votes were lightning quick and a declaration of war achieved by 1:10 PM. It took only 33 minutes, from the conclusion of Roosevelt addressing Congress, to the completion of the vote and for war to be declared on Japan! The president signed it within three hours. The speech and declaration of war brought applause from our elected representatives. Only Great Britain declared war on Japan faster than did the U.S. after the attacks of December 7th. (British territory in the Pacific has also been attacked simultaneously.) Winston Churchill essentially lived up to his promise to declare war on Japan within an hour of any attack by Japan on the United States.

The attack on Pearl Harbor brought about instant and dramatic change to the spirit of Americans - a nation that had been very politically divided at the time.

"It was a most dramatic spectacle there in the chamber of the House of Representatives. On most of the President's personal appearances before Congress, we found applause coming largely from one side—the Democratic side. But this day was different. The applause, the spirit of cooperation, came equally from both sides. ... The new feeling of unity which suddenly welled up in the chamber on December 8, the common purpose behind the leadership of the President, the joint determination to see things through, were typical of what was taking place throughout the country." (source)

What was taking place throughout the country was national unity! The speech by Roosevelt was broadcast on the radio and was the most listened to radio broadcast in U.S. history. The peace and isolationist movements crumbled. Charles Lindberg (remember him, first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to Europe), a leading anti-war proponent and critic of President
Roosevelt said:

 "Now [war] has come and we must meet it as united Americans regardless of our attitude in the past toward the policy our Government has followed. ... Our country has been attacked by force of arms, and by force of arms we must retaliate. We must now turn every effort to building the greatest and most efficient Army, Navy and Air Force in the world." (source)

Recruitment for the U.S. military was at an all time pace.  Never before, not even after the U.S. got involved in WWI, had it been so high, recruiting stations were kept open round the clock. Civilians agreed to rationing to support the war effort and worked toward that end causing U.S. manufacturing of military ordnance to boom. The national spirit had risen to heights never before seen and never seen since and it lasted until the war's end in 1945. It was a different world, most certainly a different country, populated by a different class of people - United Americans.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy_speech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

Today In History - One of America's Greatest Battles Commences At Gettysburg, PA

One of this country's greatest battles began today, July 1, 1863. It was a battle that would last through three days of some of the most terrible fighting our military has ever seen and would result in some of the highest ever casualty numbers for our troops throughout U.S. military history. The Battle of Gettysburg resulted in the highest number of casualties of any single battle in the Civil War (the Civil War, on the whole, eclipses all other U.S. conflicts to date regarding deaths of Americans). I am also pretty certain that the Battle of Gettysburg had the highest rate, per day, of U.S casualties of any single battle in which our country ever has been engaged. It had, more casualties, by far, than even battles like those of: Pearl Harbor with 2,335 dead and 1,143 wounded (duration one day), the Guadalcanal Campaign 7,361 dead and 1,000’s wounded (186 days), the Battle of Bataan 10,000 dead and 20,000 wounded (99 days). Remember that Gettysburg lasted only 3 days, yet there were and estimated 46,000 to 51,000 military casualties between both sides (and both sides were Americans). That works out to an astonishing 15,333 American troop casualties per day for the lower estimate, or 17,000 per day for the higher estimate, over only 3 days of fighting.

We should never forget the sacrifices made on that day. No matter which side's cause you favor, they were Americans. As President Abraham Lincoln later put it (November 19, 1863):

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

It is a shame that politicians and many of the American people seem to have forgotten that our government is supposed to be government of the people, by the people, for the people and that our nation was conceived in Liberty. It is truly a crying shame that we are all probably familiar with the words of the Gettysburg address, words that Lincoln thought would soon be forgotten but which have been meorialized forever; yet, we seem to have forgotten the sacrifices  made by those who fell in that battle. They were sacrifices to assure we would never allow our great nation to turn into what it has become recently.

All the best,
Glenn

19 Words, As Valid Today As They Were On December 7, 1941

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

How the world once feared and respected the United States of America can be seen in the quote attributed to Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Yes, Japan lost its fear and respect for us and paid the ultimate price for it, unconditional surrender after a brutal few years of terribly destructive battle. The truly sad thing though is that Japan was merely ahead of its time by about 70 years, today being the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the final even that brought the United States into WWII. Had the Japanese been more patient, maybe as seem to be the Chinese (they are almost at the point where they have no reason at all to respect us and little reason to fear us), the Japanese may have won. This is no longer 1941 and we have changed.

Our people are no longer indivisible, we no longer are a patriotic unified force. We have, to a large degree, lost the will to fight to protect those things that made us the greatest nation on the face of the earth - the one to which people flock for opportunity to achieve the American Dream, and we are now filled not with those who worked hard to get here and waited their turn to come here legally but with those who sauntered across our southern and even our northern borders virtually unchallenged - even welcomed by vote greedy politicians. We are a nation of people who have in great part forgotten our once great liberties and rights, who have given them up for this or that promised to us by those same politicians as we slide closer and closer each day toward the exact same things from which people once fled to our shores - things like tyranny, communism, fascism, and socialism. We truly face an enemy as we have never before and that enemy is the enemy within.

Yet, there are still many of us willing to fight, willing to uphold the things that made us strong. To stand for the rule of law, to uphold our Constitution and its amendments. To remain unfailingly patriotic when we face an enemy from without or within. Those among us who would give all to defend our way of life. Sadly though, we are diminished in number as each day goes by if only because of how these sacred things, sacred to any country with liberty and justice for all, are so easily obscured by those to whom we have given our trust to act as our leaders. In order to overcome this, we need only look to the sources of our having been born as a nation. Read the Declaration of Independence. Read the Constitution. Read the Bill of Rights. Then tell me, does out current administration really have our best interests at heart. I think not and I believe that if you truly sit back and read those fairly brief documents I just mentioned then you will believe likewise, if not then  believe you too are the enemy the enemy of the greatest nation on earth. I will be doing all that I can, in the upcoming 11 months or so to change how we stand. Stand by me and do the same, then on election day make sure to vote the current administration out of office. Let them know, the 19 words that began this post have not been forgotten and are as valid today as they were when first uttered 70 years ago, let them know that you and I are part of that sleeping giant and we are filled with a terrible resolve, one that means we will do all it takes to protect the United States of America just as did our forefathers in 1941.

All the best,
Glenn B

America Under Attack Since 1979

This speech was given by US Navy Captain Dan Ouimette, the Executive Officer, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida back in Fenruary 2003:

"America WAKE UP!

That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized / right sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more. Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more. Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber. The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid. Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the Snooze Alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US soil is continually attacked. Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed. The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259. America wants to treat these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war...the Wake Up alarm is louder and louder.

The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women. A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500.

The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively. They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision, they kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.

In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979. The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 23 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough.

America has to "Get out of Bed" and act decisively now. America has changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to hit the Snooze Button again and roll over and go back to sleep. We have to make the terrorists know that in the words of Admiral Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor "that all they have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.

Thank you very much."

Dan Ouimette

Pensacola Civitan
19 Feb 2003

We are still snoozing but surely should not be. We need to be ready for this to get worse before it gets better and to realize the enemy does not care about us or our way of life but only wants to conquer and convert or kill us. In order for us to defeat our enemy - we need to first an foremost be united in our recognition of our enemy. If we cannot do that, across all divisive lines such as political, ethical, racial, ethnic, sexual preference, education level, wealth status, and so on, then we are doomed. How dare our politicians ask us to diversify further and how dare thye play one group against another as we face this threat for our very existance. We are already a nation of diverse peoples, cultures, languages, religions and have always been such. Until recent years we have always stood united, regardless of our diversity. Our unity, instead of trying to play one diverse group against another, has always been the true strength of the United States of America. Unite or die!

All the best,

Glenn B