Dear Mr. President,

Your speech was just another economic diatribe that lacked any real substance.  I could see your eyes searching out each teleprompter, and fumbling at times to read the words.  You were incredibly insincere and you showed absolutely no emotion.  How the hell could you speak with any passion if you’re trying to read each word?  Memorize something for once in your life, and then at least pretend that you really give a shit.  You never thanked or congratulated our soldiers for a hard earned WIN.  You never gave George W. Bush any credit for doing what was un-popular when he supported the surge in Iraq.  Which you did NOT support and you even said that it would “FAIL”.

We didn’t need to hear more crap about how our economy sucks, I’m pretty sure everyone already knows this, and they are now starting to blame YOU.  Oh, and I loved the poke at Bush again when you mentioned that over the last decade we have spent way too much for these wars.  Yep, that was a good one… Maybe if you and your Progressive clowns would stop spending so damn much on entitlement programs we would have already paid for these wars.  The bottom line is that you are incapable of showing passion for our country because you don’t like our country, that’s why you are trying so hard to change it.  Well, I do love this country, and so do all the soldiers that helped us WIN the war in Iraq.  Yes, that’s right we won, it was a VICTORY. 

This is what I would have said:

I’m here tonight to claim victory in Iraq.  We have freed these people from a vicious dictator and given them the groundwork for a democratic society.  Mr. Bush was correct in supporting the surge, and I was and idiot for saying that it would fail.  And for that I apologize.  I would like to sincerely thank all of the soldiers and their families for helping us achieve this historic victory.  God bless you all, and God bless America!  Uh-Rah!

If you don’t know who Zac Brown is then you had better take a listen to some of his music.

Help the Ram Truck Brand and Zac Brown Band reach their goal of sending 1 million letters to U.S. soldiers with just a few "clicks" as the "Letters for Lyrics" campaign takes to the Web. More than 325,000 letters have been collected to date and many more are needed to reach their goal.

In exchange for writing a letter to a U.S. soldier, participants will receive a special compilation CD titled "Breaking Southern Ground." This exclusive CD features three all-new songs from Zac Brown Band, as well as music from artists signed to Zac Brown's label, Southern Ground Artists – Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey. The new online campaign gives participants the choice of either donating their complimentary CD to a U.S. soldier or receiving their CD by printing out their letter and bringing it in to a Ram Truck dealer.

I have written about David Crowley previously.

Iowa City Troops Headed To Afghanistan

This information courtesy of Iowa City Press Citizen

First Sgt. David Crowley of Iowa City is the senior enlisted man of Iowa City-based Company B, First Battalion, 133rd Infantry, which is among about 2,800 Iowa National Guard troops being deployed to Afghanistan. The unit currently is training at Camp Shelby, Miss. Crowley is chronicling the unit's activities in periodic dispatches for the Press-Citizen.

This is his first installment:

Here is something that you probably didn’t see reported by the main stream media:

On May 6, 2010 it was the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Pilsen in what is now the Czech Republic. American soldiers from the 2d Cavalry Group, Third Army, under the command of General George S. Patton, were the first to reach south-western Bohemia and turn back the Nazis.  Despite being the 65th anniversary, this was only the 20th year the city was able to celebrate. Pilsen was freed from Communism in 1989 and has since then educated their citizens on the circumstances of their liberation, which were kept from them during Communist rule.

Since 1990, the city of Pilsen has organized the annual “Liberation Festival” taking place in May, which has become a local tradition, and has been attended by many American and Allied veterans. This year 3d Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment was at the Festival in full force, with a display of vehicles and equipment representative of the Regiment today. The display included Strykers as well as an M777 Howitzer from the Squadron’s Artillery Battery. The main event consisted of historical and modern day weapons systems as well as a parade of classic WWII era military vehicles, many of which are kept in working condition by the Pilsen Military Car Club.

Here is a video of the celebration: 

Look at the excitement and reverence for America and American soldiers.  American soldiers are treated like rock stars during this event, and the American flag is displayed with great pride and honor.  If only it were this way here in America.  Soldiers are forgotten, wars are politicized, and people are asked to remove the American flag.  People here re-enact the civil war in great detail, but then don’t even recognize that we were at war in Korea.  Everyone in this country should be proud, and be able to display the flag wherever they want without worrying about hurting someone’s feelings.  If you see a soldier, recognize them, and thank them for their service.  I’ve even been at the gas station, noticed a soldier, and thanked him for protecting our freedom.  Most of the time they are almost speechless, but very happy to be recognized.  This is America… if you’re not proud of it, or your not happy here, LEAVE.

Tomorrow in Iowa City, IA there is a sendoff ceremony for 94 members of the Iowa City based Company B, First Battalion, 133rd Infantry.  They will be headed to training grounds in Mississippi, followed by more training in California. Then finally, in mid to late October, they will be deployed to the mountains of eastern Afghanistan and a war zone that is becoming more perilous as the insurgency escalates.  They are among the 2,800 Iowa National Guard troops being deployed to Afghanistan.  Their mobilization is part of the 30,000 troop surge in an attempt to resolve the nine-year-old war. 

First Sgt. Dave Crowley, the senior enlisted man in the local Guard unit is one of the brave soldiers that is being deployed.  Dave is the brother of one of my co-workers and he has also contributed many comments to this website.  

Dave, at the age of 45 is preparing for his fourth deployment.  He has previously been deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2000, Egypt in 2002 and Iraq in 2006-07, he says that he's learned the separation often is more difficult for the families left behind than the soldiers.  I’m sure his wife Linda and his kids will attest to that. 

I think that Dave exemplifies what a true hero and patriot is, and I will be praying for God to watch over him, his fellow soldiers, and his family.