Skalduggery

Sketchbook Pro by Autodesk and a great new tablet 🙂

Sometimes veterans are in the unenviable position of being called a patriot when that word is not quite in vogue. When in fact, many of the self-proclaimed “educated” call these same men and women “jingoists” or worse. I wished to those I know on Facebook – yes… I am on Facebook – and  to those I knew, I wished:

Best of Veterans Day to everyone, but especially to those for whom the holiday is named! I’m proud to say it includes my immediate family (my father and daughters) my extended family (sons-in-law, fathers-in-law, and fellow parents!), and a myriad of friends that extend through all these wonderful patriots! I call them patriots not because our political views are the same, but because despite the differences, they wrote a blank check to their country with their lives.

Strength and Honor, Woodstock.

“Woodstock” is a name some brothers-in-arms call me – a group of motorcycle riding veterans – and those brothers exemplify what is best in our country. We (Spirit Warriors – a group of vets whose mission is service to veterans in need) were honored to participate in Albany, Oregon’s celebration of Veterans’ Day – from the early morning benediction through the parade at midday.  I’m not sure how many motorcycles, or for that matter, how many clubs showed up… but it seemed to number beyond a hundred bikes! Rolling thunder? Louder. As my son-in-law encouraged me, “Ride LOUD pops!” It was definitely that!

In any detachment, squad, battalion or other group, there are few who could truly be called heroes.  I had the pleasure of serving with a no bullshit hero – and the rest of us followed him – and by extension we became brave because we followed him into hell. I like to remember a quote by Mark Twain when I run across those who think, by virtue of their education, that they somehow know better how to characterize a veteran’s service:

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. ~Mark Twain

I suppose I could quote Harry Reid next, you know, his comments about how the war was already lost, not winnable, ad nauseum. Instead, I offer a celebration of Veterans’ Day by a bunch of  young and old vets on motorcycles, and a crowd of Albany’s finest joining in the fun! So here’s a not so professional video of a few moments in the day.

Strength, honor, and courage!

The Skald 😉

P.S. ~that’s my life long honey(aka “Weasel”) on the back of my Harley trying to catch bits on her little video camera!

Update: Switched to YouTube for the video… it provides for HD much easier – hope you like it.

RightChange has put together a final video “get out the vote” video… styled on, what else? Big Brother – no, no, no, not the reality show. You know, the book by – no, no, no, wait, maybe, YES! It’s a reality show!

1984 – Big Brother Obama from RightChange on Vimeo.

VOTE!!

Had to throw this up!! Follow it back to see all the pieces… WOW!  VOTE!!

Remember November: The Final Act from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

Watch the video that tells the story of why every American should Remember November! Please click “Share” to help spread the message about the most important election in our lifetime.

Cheers All!

(H/T Diary of a Mad Conservative) This is worth the watch, but more important, visit the site the video invites you to visit! It’s the Institute for Justice – poke around a bit and kick the tires!

I’ve written about virtue in this blog often enough to make some of my friends call me names… oh, there goes the wanna be philosopher that writes about “virtue… as though there are any virgins left in America over the age of eighteen.” Ok, it’s funny – a little, it stings – a little, but I don’t really think I’ll be stopping any time soon. You see, was a time I truly considered myself amoral. I believed that morality was pretty much a conventional thing and that each culture had its own unique brand. I’ve changed, but there is one thing I’ve never stopped believing – primarily because I’ve lived in so many different countries – and that thing I’ve continued to believe? Yup, right in the title, American Exceptionalism. NOT the kind that President Obama believes in – surely you remember when Obama said,  “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism, and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”

Nope. Not. No. Nyet. Non. Na. Nao… well, you get the idea. Marco Rubio’s video to cap off his campaign is simply awesome, we should all take it to heart and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!

Just in case you don’t drop by the site listed in the previous post, here is the Republican Governors Association’s response to the MSM’s attempt to smear the Remember November campaign. If you didn’t watch “V,” the fantasy telling of the Guy Fawkes story, or if you’re unfamiliar with the story, then some of this may not make sense… but I’m betting it will!

VOTE!!

The Republican Governors Association put up a new ad worth watching, and the site is worth the trip too! Vote!

I encourage you to watch all the videos at the “Remember November” site.   VOTE!!

My Sincerest Apologies

I’m not much of a fan of overly private/personal websites – on the other hand, when one is making excuses for failing at a job… well; offer the “reasons and explanations” prior to failing to meet a deadline! So then, without too much private information, it seems I’ve a chronic medical condition that is a little more challenging than I had anticipated. That’s my excuse for the past weeks. I’ll do my damndest to put up a post to notify before any other hospital stays in the future. Moreover, I’ll also work on trying to figure out the “automatic” posting that I know is possible – but have never tried to accomplish. Despite the excuses, reasons, and explanations I am old enough to feel an apology is in order: You all have my sincerest!

And here, because it’s so much better than I have on hand, is another great video by Andrew Klavan. ENJOY!

Big hat tip to Diary of a Mad Conservative! I was surfing around before work and came across this on her site – had to repost this video:

Enjoy the new ad!

Cheers all 😉

Suess Appeasement

Bill Whittle, in this installment of Afterburner, takes us to school on the consequences of appeasement and cowardice – a demonstration of head in the sand suicide. The cartoon’s link lead’s to Bill Whittle’s video – a worthy dozen minutes or so – and before you go, here’s a spot from The Weekly Standard that is definitely worth the entire read… but here is the closing paragraph that speaks to the same subject:

We need to recover our sense that, while any regime is capable of lapses in the protection of human rights, for democracies like the United States and Israel, these are lapses from their own standards, lapses which they work to redress. For tyrannies like Iran and Syria, as for jihadist revolutionaries, by contrast, human rights abuses are not lapses from a higher standard. On the contrary: The behavior we term “abuse” is their standard, one they strive to implement every day. We must also overcome our discomfiture at being labeled enemies of “the Muslim world” or the Iranian or Syrian “people.” Tyrants and dictators, and the jihadists who aspire to join them, do not represent their peoples, and they cannot represent high religious values. The West’s unambiguous moral opposition to such regimes and the terrorism they sponsor, whether deployed against their own populations or against innocents abroad, is at the service of liberating their peoples from fear and oppression.

Cheers you princes of our future!