For Dennis

Last Wednesday I put up a blog post that was about so much more than the much-anticipated football game between my beloved Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers.  I talked about the compassion I felt for our wounded service members returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan with seen and unseen wounds like PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

In the post I mentioned the story of one wounded warrior whose story touched me deeply.  The brief public service announcements we see on television don’t tell the full stories of these brave men and women.  So when I ran across the story of Dennis, I wanted to share it with as many people as I could to ignite in them a desire to help.  After all, we now know that the Veterans Administration is a colossal failure to our most deserving citizens—the veterans who sacrificed their broken bodies for our freedom.

My blogger sister Diogenes and I have made friendly wagers for a couple of years now that the loser of the game between our two teams would make a donation to Wounded Warrior Project. 

Alabama won the game, but our wounded service members are still losing so I have donated what I could afford to honor them and help in some small way to continue the vital services Wounded Warrior Project provides them.

This Wednesday is Veterans Day.  Won’t you consider giving what you can?

Click here if you would like to give a one-time donation or here if you’d like to participate in the WWP Advanced Guard monthly giving program   Please help carry these warriors the rest of the way home.

Thank you and God bless.

The Empty Chair On Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a joyful time for families to gather, reconnect and celebrate. But for families experiencing a military separation, holidays can be yet another reminder that a deployed family member is not at home to enjoy hearth and home.  Some of us do not stop to think about the responsibilities and pain these families bear.

Here at home the banquet is on the table, but in a military family the focus is often on the chairs. Some of us will have empty chairs, because of deployment or distance from family members. Some will have extra chairs around the table to make room for friends and neighbors to join our uniquely American celebration.

For those who gather near an empty chair, they pray for those who are responsible for their loved one’s safety knowing that the empty chair still holds the promise of their sitting in it next year.

I am thankful for the men and women who sacrificed throughout our nation’s history, from the very beginning up to this very day to secure and preserve freedom in this great land of ours.

We have so much for which to be thankful, one day hardly seems adequate.

Sophie, my little furkid, and I wish for you and yours all the good things in life, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year.  May God bless you.

Free Because Of Their Sacrifice

Service in the military is a credential that deserves every American’s deepest respect.  Service in the military is an expression of love of country and a desire to keep men free.

From Mark Pryor, who insulted his opponent in his bid to be re-elected as senator for Arkansas, to some mealy-mouthed worm at Salon, there are those of my countrymen who have no idea what service means.

Honoring our veterans is not an act that deadens real democracy, it strengthens it.

I was moved to tears as I read an article from Great Britain’s Daily Mail reporting on the poignant tributes to her fallen heroes one hundred years after the start of World War I.

David Masciotra blithely wrote at Salon (I'll be damned if I'll link to that bastard), “It is equally challenging for anyone reasonable, and not drowning in the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, to stop saluting, and look at the servicemen of the American military with criticism and skepticism.”

In contrast, the Daily Mail article discussed an exhibit that captured the heart of that nation.  It was, in a word, eloquent.  The exhibit’s creator filled the moat of the Tower of London with red ceramic poppies—888,246 in all—one for each of the young men who died fighting for their country.  He called the exhibit “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.”

Millions of Britons have visited the Tower, including Her Majesty. Instead of closing the exhibit today—Remembrance Day—officials will continue it until the end of the month. Nigel Farage wiped tears from his eyes, as did the Queen.

In all, there are 84 photographs that depict the honor and respect of a people for a military that fought against tyranny.  Scrolling down the page, there is a picture of the stunning sight of all those poppies in the moat, another where someone tied a picture of a soldier of that time to a railing and in the background are the poppies.  There’s one heartbreaker of a little four-year-old boy who laid a wreath made of poppies in honor of his father whom he never met.  There are others which I hope you will take the time to view.

Make no mistake, I know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but it is important that America realize that our world would be a nightmare without the service and sacrifice of the men and women who served and are serving in America’s military in order to make men free.

It has been said that we are only alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. Our veterans are our treasures—precious treasures that remind us of why America is a beacon to the world.

No liberal agenda, no politician, no community organizer, no hack writer at some delusional magazine speaks for me.  I clamor for the syrup of patriotic sentimentality, I will not stop saluting our service men and women and I will never stop honoring their service.  God bless ‘em all. 

Troopathon VII

Nothing brings a serviceman or woman more joy than knowing that someone back home is thankful and thinking of them while they are on deployment.  You can help make the daily routine of our 33,000 troops putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan a little more bearable and thank them for their services all at the same time.

We've heard from countless members of the Armed Forces about items that the military does not provide, are hard to come by and they really appreciate getting. That's why Move America Forward has responded and compiled care packages that contain these goods as a way of saying "thank you" for their sacrifices and courage.

Each care package will include a personal message written by you where you can express your gratitude to our military.

Troopathon is a once-a-year month long campaign.  This year’s Troopathon begins on June 25, 2014 at 1PM Pacific time, 4PM Eastern live from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. The webcast will be available on www.troopathon. If you miss the 8 hour broadcast you can still find videos and information on the website right now, leading up to, and after the show.

As in years past, we are partnering with Breitbart.com. The late great Andrew Breitbart was a constant co-host of the Troopathon and it was a charity and cause close to his heart.

While our Troopathon campaign culminates with the big event on June 25th, it is a month-long drive and we need people to donate today.  Our troops need support now.

Move America Forward is a 501(C)3 so all care package donations are tax deductible.

You can purchase a care package by clicking on the link, make a donation through PayPal or mail your personal check made out to MOVE AMERICA FORWARD at 8795 Folsom Blvd. #103, Sacramento, CA 95826.

You can follow Troopathon on Twitter and Facebook.

UPDATE:  I spoke with Jonathan Salazar, columnist with Breitbart News this afternoon, and I have asked him to coordinate an interview with one of my all-time heroes Gary Sinise.  So stay tuned for my interview with Lt. Dan.

For Those Who Sacrificed So Much So That We Can Live In Freedom, Thank You