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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
John McCaslin :: Townhall.com Columnist
Angels' Flight and Horse Sense
by John McCaslin
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Angels' flight

The inevitable end comes to us all, as we were reminded when Congress this week passed a resolution expressing the nation's sincerest appreciation and thanks to members of the 303rd Bombardment Group, also known as the "Hell's Angels" during World War II, upon the occasion of its "final reunion."

"Due to age and the declining health of many of our veterans, the 303rd Bomb Group Association board of directors has made the difficult decision to dissolve the association at the end of 2007," we read on the bomber group's Web site.

There we find historical pages preserving the memory and legacy of the men who served in the 303rd. They were the Eighth Air Force, B-17 Bomber Group stationed in Molesworth, England, and they adopted the motto "Might in Flight" in October 1942, "and lived up to it on each of their record 364 combat missions."

More importantly, the site contains a "taps" list, revealing that the past several months have been a particularly tough time for the surviving men of the 303rd:

Victor N. Shook died Sept. 19; Robert E. Lyda, Sept. 5; Robert E. Galbraith, Aug. 16; Martin E. Plocher, Aug. 3; William E. Olson, July 30; Deane K. Day, July 26; Leroy P. Christenson, July 21; Robert L. Rosier, July 19; Carl K. Shumar, July 13; Richard P. Dubell, May 6; Kenneth G. Hildebrand, April 25; and Burnham E. Shaw Jr., April 8.

 

So that's it

It's becoming clear why U.S. military-bashing MoveOn.org has House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats in a state of paralysis.To paraphrase a line from the Tom Cruise film "Jerry Maguire," they've been shown the money.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) points out in a David Letterman-style "Top 20 Reasons Why Nancy Pelosi" has not brought herself to defend Gen. David H. Petraeus that MoveOn.org has made substantial contributions of late to Congress' newly elected Democrats:

1. Rep. Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut: $502,998

2. Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania: $447,940

3. Rep. Joe Donnelly of Indiana: $378,951

4. Rep. Michael Arcuri of New York: $183,495

5. Rep. Zack Space of Ohio: $170,158

And the list goes on ...


Party's over

"I think it's been hijacked by incompetency. I think that's what has driven the Republican Party right off the cliff. And we are not who we say we are, and that's at best, dishonest."

So a disgruntled Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska complained the other night to HBO's Bill Maher, in the wake of his announcement that he will retire from Congress and not seek the presidency.

Now it's 2008 Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney saying that the Republican Party cannot continue on its present course, with "ethical standards that are a punch line for Jay Leno."

If change is to come to Washington, Mr. Romney said this week, "Republicans have to put our own house in order."


Horse sense

Words President Reagan said to Virginia Sen. John W. Warner while the two rode horseback at the senator's Atoka Estate in Middleburg were recalled by the retiring Republican senator Monday night at an Alexandria fundraiser for Virginia General Assembly candidate Mark Allen.

"Democracy is not a spectator sport," Mr. Warner quoted Mr. Reagan as saying, applauding the Republican Mr. Allen for seeking office in the overwhelmingly Democratic 45th District.


Serving baloney

Responding to the much-publicized Associated Press article promoting fears of rising sea levels in the United States, relying on computer-model predictions of global "warming," Richard S. Courtney, a climate and atmospheric scientist and consultant, tells the minority press blog for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: "Rarely have I read such a collection of unsubstantiated and scare-mongering twaddle."


In closing

This columnist is touched by the many thoughtful cards and letters sent in by readers after genealogists determined that yours truly and former President Bill Clinton are "cousins," sharing an 8th-great-grandmother, Frances Jacocks Champion.

"Many people pay $500 to have their family tree looked up," notes Stan Welli of Aurora, Ill. "Later, they pay $5,000 to have it hushed up."

"My Deepest Sympathies," reads the card from Lorna Gladstone.

"The family resemblance is clear — you and Bill both have great hair," writes famed Washington malpractice lawyer Jack H. Olender, who wonders: "Will this propel you into the White House press secretary slot if Hillary wins?"
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About The Author

John McCaslin is a contributing columnist on Townhall.com and author of Inside The Beltway: Offbeat Stories, Scoops, and Shenanigans from around the Nation's Capital .

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(5 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 27, 2007 - 11:57 AM EST
Real heros...
The men of the bombardment group will go down in history as true American heros. They did their duty honorably in spite of the unimaginable risk. What a wonderful example and legacy they leave. God bless them and may their memory live forever.
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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 27, 2007 - 12:09 PM EST
interesting post.
A number of interesting points.

I have been experiencing a crisis of conscience regarding political affiliations. I had been a stalwart GOP for the last number of years, but the neocon seizure of the Bush foreign policy(whether Bush was a willing participant or witless dupe)has caused me to rethink this entire issue. I totally reject the notion that we have some messianic mission to squander our troops, sacrificing our finest as well as our treasury, in some woefully illconceived and self-destructive venture to free peoples of the world from tyranny.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the specter of an enviro-radical leftist democrat in the form of a John Edwards or an Al Gore inhabiting the whitehouse, going beyond even what Kyoto calls for(which would devastate the U.S. economy)and making our great nation into a pathetic nanny-state where power-hungry bureaucrats ban anything from those dreaded suvs and pick-up trucks to trans-fat foods, gives me great pause.

Where is sanity anymore?
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Reply # 3
Date: Sep 27, 2007 - 3:47 PM EST
Where Chaus rules We All Lose
Discipline and sacrifice are the elements of victory over the evils of complacent, indifferent, ignorant behavior. Chaos and confusion are the result of duplicity and compromised moral values, which degenerate and canker at every level of society.

There are levels of which the human mind will not sink or even rise, but what we must overcome progressive, regressive tendencies or we unwittingly give into undesirable, mental and emotional conditioning.

The greatest danger lies beneath our awareness, to be oblivious to any danger.

The 303rd Bombardment Group succeeded because they would rather hang together defending the principles of freedom, than to hang separately, as Franklin said,” We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."

It is integrity that holds us together, firmly on a foundation of principles of truth, a treasure that money cannot buy that we share. It is an insecure spirit that would shrink form the moral duty of protecting the weak or innocent form tyranny and oppression everywhere here on the earth. That struggle first comes from the victory within not from without, as our forefathers did with the help of God, made this land of America freedom's home, from sea to shinning sea. Is it not a time to make the earth free form pole to endless pole?

The greatest danger lies beneath our awareness, to be oblivious to any danger. Ignorance is no friend, fear is poor company, failure has no excuse, and success needs no explanation.

Can we ignore, we all have become corrupt, and have need of repentance: conservative, liberal, or independent. We must do better or we all have lost. "We are not here to win; we are here to be faithful." I will vote for that person who is willing to sacrifice the most and work the hardest with integrity for my loyal vote. Will you?
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Reply # 4
Date: Sep 27, 2007 - 6:05 PM EST
Spiceman
So it is our insecurity that prevents us from assembling huge armies to go about the globe to rescue the world's oppressed from tyranny?

I daresay there are fifty nations around the world whose inhabitants are oppressed.

Since we can scarcely deploy enough troops to handle Iraq, which, by the way is on the road to costing our treasury one trillion dollars, just how do you plan to free the oppressed in the world?

We are maxed-out.

Maybe the draft. Now, that's a novel idea.

American mothers and dads, send your children to be cannonfodder to free the oppressed in Bangladesh and Uganda.

I am sure that will go over well.
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Reply # 5
Date: Sep 27, 2007 - 10:24 PM EST
Where Chaus rules We All Lose Part 2
jerabaub wrote: Thursday, September, 27, 2007 6:05 PM
"Spiceman
So it is our insecurity that prevents us from assembling huge armies to go about the globe to rescue the world's oppressed from tyranny? "
--
It is becoming more and more apparent that the real battle is within, not without. If we fail to tame our nature, we fail to determine our future.

Can we ignore, we all have become corrupt, and have need of repentance: conservative, liberal, or independent alike. We must do better or we all have lost. "We are not here to win; we are here to be faithful." I will vote for that person who is willing to sacrifice the most and work the hardest with integrity for my loyal vote. Will you?

However honor and integrity are lacking and excuses and bipartisan bickering, used to justify many unjustifiable acts.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport," Mr. Warner quoted Mr. Reagan as saying, applauding the Republican Mr. Allen …” Moreover, neither is it a game of football. The game playing that is going on in the house and senate must stop. And, many should learn to find their own bedrooms.’ Until we change our ways, war will be continue to be the rule, not the exception. Obviously, we must fight the enemies we have, and the ones we create, but first we must conquer the one within.. Until we change that will not change. “Insanity,” beautifully defined, as “doing the same thing over and over, hoping for something else to happen.” We do not get what we want, we get what we are.

That struggle first comes from the victory within not from without, as our forefathers did with the help of God, they made the land of America freedom's home, from sea to shinning sea. Is it not a time, that with the help of God, working together to make earth free form pole to endless pole? We cannot do that without honor and integrity that is grossly lacking. "An injustice anywhere is a threat every where," a UN Motto
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