This is your chance to show your devotion to the men and women serving in our all volunteer military. Exercise your First Amendment right to Free Speech by joining us on the sidewalk of 7th Street in Saint Paul tomorrow, Labor Day, September 1st. Bring a small American flag and pick up one of our "Victory Over Terrorism" signs and greet the anti-war protesters with a warm "Minnesota Nice" smile.
Yesterday we gave away 1,875 of the initial order of 2,000 "Victory Over Terrorism" signs. Again, I want to thank the Minnesota American Legion, the Minnesota Disabled American Veterans, and all those who volunteered their time and their support in making this initial printing and distribution possible. I would also like to thank Stephano's Restaurant, and the many members of Families United, Minnesota Vets for Freedom and the Minnesota Blue Star Mom's who stopped yesterday to get a sign or two.
The donations by those who picked up signs were extremely generous. We are going back to the printer to purchase an additional 3,000 signs for distribution before and on September 1, 2008 in Saint Paul.
Your support has guaranteed that when the anti-war, anti-military, anti-capitalism & anti-America crowd marches on the Excel Energy Center during the Republican National Convention, they will face thousands of patriotic American's holding the "Victory" signs and showing their support for our brave men and women in service to our nation.
Deb and I thank you all for standing up and being counted.
Tom Hauser from KSTP - TV 5 will run a story on this evenings (Monday) news about the Victory Over Terrorism sign effort.
MINNESOTA SUPPORT OUR TROOPS COALITION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 7, 2008
EAGAN, MINNESOTA - The Minnesota Support Our Troops Coalition, that brought you the 30,000 "LIBERATE IRAQ - SUPPORT OUR TROOPS lawn sign campaign in 2003, is at it again. This time the Coalition, with the help of Minnesota’s American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars, are printing thousands of signs that read “VICTORY OVER TERRORISM – LET OUR SOLDIERS WIN!”
At noon on September 1, the anti-war crowd claims they’ll have upwards of 50,000 marching from the Minnesota Capitol Building to the Excel Energy Center where the Republican National Convention, at the Excel Energy Center in Saint Paul.
We are asking everyone who supports our men and women in uniform defending America in the War on Terror to line the streets from the Excel Center with our signs. It is our way of being "Minnesota Nice" and wishing these protesters a "nice day in Minnesota." We encourage no discussion or verbal exchange with the demonstrators - only a pleasant “smile!
You can pick up a sign as long as the initial order lasts on Saturday, August 16th, in the parking lot of STEPHANO'S Restaurant, the corner of Highway 13 and Cliff Road (across from Walgreen's) from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM. Please arrive early since we are printing a limited number. Your donations will be greatly appreciated and will allow us to print more signs.
Buried deep in many newspapers today is the revelation that leaders of Al-Qaeda in Iraq have decided to flee to Afghanistan while the getting was good. Intelligence gathered from captured Al-Qaeda leaders indicate that there is a potential shift in priority as to where the main Al-Qaeda effort will be fought, Iraq vs Afghanistan. Seems too many of their terrorist buddies have been meeting untimely deaths or have been captured by the new Iraqi Army and our Coalition Forces. So some have fled into Iran on their way to Afghanistan.
Now surprise here, our soldiers in Iraq have been saying it for months now. The main stream media finally has been forced to report that the "surge" has worked. Iraqi's have more security, far less sectarian violence, their economy is beginning to flourish and Iraqi security forces have proven their ability to protect their people. Too bad that Barack Obama just can't bring himself to admitting it, but he's afraid of the spanking he would get from MoveOn.org, Code Pink and the Daily Kos folks. Now that's "change & leadership" for you!
Iraq became the major focus of Al-Qaeda's efforts to confront the United States when in 2003, Al-Qaeda's leader Osama bin-Ladin declared he would defeat the US in Iraq. Since then Al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni based insurgency, has met with set back after set back as the Iraqi Government and Army has grown. The Iraqi Army has nearly 200 battalions in the fight and has greatly increased local security through the Sons of Iraq (SOI) program. The SOI program has grown to over 100,000 strong. It was only after the increase in US troops with the commitment of "the surge" that Sunni Sheiks came forward to commit to fighting Al-Qaeda. Now, US casualties are at their lowest point since the start of the war in March 2003.
We are winning. Now let our soldiers finish the job!
I have been getting some interesting e-mail from some very strange people. The most creative is the one at the bottom. Maybe some of my readers would like to drop them a line or two. These idiots show about as much "support to the military" as Barack Obama did in Germany last week! I wonder if they wear flag pins?
davebourgeois@mac.com
“Thanks Joe. Say it with me: "president Obama." I know it's tough for racists to say it.”
“Glad to see you're so pro military. You must have been a John Kerry supporter.”
robinmichael@verizon.net
“You do sound like an angry white man.”
“I do worry about people like you that have such thick skulls that your thinking is Neanderthal-like – enough to hunt and eat, but not enough to care for others.”
boblegere@roadrunner.com
“You support Bush a failure and a liar, and now you want us to support McCain, an old incompetant. The biggest military threat is the economy.
Open your eyes, the military industrial complex is your problem, a great President was able to see the enemy, some 50 years ago.”
wibint@aol.com
“You're a moron. Rant on. McCain will lose.”
hesiod_2k@yahoo.com
“How do you sleep at night knowing that you are such a disgrace to the armed forces you once proudly served? You have no honor.”
”Since you obviously cannot beat Barack Obama in a fair fight and with an honest discussion of policy differences, you have resorted to outright lying and disingenuous, hypocritical attacks. Shame on you.”
“If you have a shred of decency or honor, you will retract what you said and resign from the McCain campaign or disavow any further participation in it.”
ragin12@bellsouth.net
“I find your comments to be absolutely racist. You must have been a very light colonel in the KKK. Really you probably graduated at the bottom of your class, as demonstrated by the way you spell. I'm happy you're for McSame. Maybe you all can coddle each other after November and tell racist jokes. You Lose. LOL”
triperegrin@yahoo.com
“John McCain is not fit to be president. Joe, please listen, pay attention, and you too will support Obama.”
Planetjeffy
“Joe, I've read all you writings - good work. After reading everything, I can tell you might want to join a group like this - http://online.logcabin.org/ They might help you deal with your anger issues, by getting in touch with your real feelings. Much love, pj”
For the record, here is the official press release from yesterday on my comments:
Subject: MCCAIN CAMPAIGN ON BARACK OBAMA'S CANCELLED TROOP VISITS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office
Saturday, July 26, 2008
ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, retired Lt. Colonel Joe Repya issued the following statement on Barack Obama's cancelled visit to Ramstein and Landstuhl:
"The most solemn duty of a commander in chief is to fulfill his responsibility to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. Barack Obama had scheduled a visit with wounded American troops who have served with honor and distinction in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he broke that commitment, instead flitting from one European capital to the next. Several explanations were offered, none was convincing and each was at odds with the statements of American military leaders in Germany and Washington. For a young man so apt at playing president, Barack Obama badly misjudged the important demands of the office he seeks. Visits with world leaders and speeches to cheering Europeans shouldn't be a substitute for comforting injured American heroes."
Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Joe Repya served 30 years of duty and three wars, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was born in 1946 in Gary, Indiana. He was the oldest son of a disabled combat wounded veteran of the European Campaign of World War II. Awarded an ROTC scholarship he attended Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, graduating in 1969. Upon graduation he was appointed to the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. His 30 years of service in the US Army (12 years Active and 18 years in the National Guard & Reserves) lasted from 1969 until 2006. He served as a Combat Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader in Viet Nam in 1970/71 with the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment (Band of Brothers "Currahee's"), and an Aero Rifle Platoon Leader with A Troop, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. In Desert Storm 1990/91, he served as a Combat Helicopter Pilot and Staff Officer with the 4th Brigade (Aviation), 1s t Infantry Division (The Big Red One). He initially retired in 1998.
After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he was one of 12,000 US Army retirees who volunteered for Retiree Recall to Active US Army duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom. LTC Repya was selected as one of only 350 retirees who were returned to active duty status. At 58 years old on October 1, 2004 he returned as an Aviation Branch Officer for two more additional years of active duty service with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY. He served for nine months as the G-3 Air for the Division. In 2005 he served as the Senior Liaison Officer for the 101st Airborne Division with the Multi National Corps Headquarters at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. He reentered retired status at the end of September 2006 at the age of 60.
“The most solemn duty of a commander in chief is to fulfill his responsibility to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. Barack Obama had scheduled a visit with wounded American troops who have served with honor and distinction in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he broke that commitment, instead flitting from one European capital to the next. Several explanations were offered, none was convincing and each was at odds with the statements of American military leaders in Germany and Washington. For a young man so apt at playing president, Barack Obama badly misjudged the important demands of the office he seeks. Visits with world leaders and speeches to cheering Europeans shouldn’t be a substitute for comforting injured American heroes.” Joe Repya, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Retired)
UPDATE: It appears that the statement I gave this morning to the McCain Campaign is being quoted on FOX News. I'll try to get video. Joe
UPDATE #2: WOW! I must have hit a nerve with the Obama Kool Aid drinking crowd. The hate mail has been flowing in non stop. Unfortunately, the only insults they seem to be capable of throwing is a misspelled word or two on a previous blog posting. Even the journalists at the New York Times have the same problem. Check out how the NYT's political writer spelled lieutenant (here). At the end of the day the fact remains the same, Obama made a major political mistake by not visiting our wounded. "Visits with world leaders and speeches to cheering Europeans shouldn’t be a substitute for comforting injured American heroes.”
My friends Scott Johnson at Power Line Blog and Ed Morrissey at Hot Air had great comments on Obama canceling his tour to visit wounded soldiers at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. Frankly, I think Obama was scared that one of our wounded soldiers would tell him to win in Iraq and not surrender to terrorism while the cameras rolled.
UPDATE: Obama's campaign people attempted to put the blame for not visiting the wounded on the Pentagon but that was quickly refuted by the military. I guess if Obama can't be surrounded by his pack of 200 adoring journalists, he hasn't the guts to face wounded heroes! This is the man that wants to be your next Commander-in-Chief. Lord help us!
Politics is largely about priorities; so is life, for that matter. Barack Obama's priorities were put into sharp relief today when he canceled visits to two American military bases in Germany. He still has time, of course, to play the "rock star" in front of cheering multitudes of Germans.
Der Spiegel’s blog reports on Obama’s priorities:
1:42 p.m.: SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that Obama has cancelled a planned short visit to the Ramstein and Landstuhl US military bases in the southwest German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The visits were planned for Friday. “Barack Obama will not be coming to us,” a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced. “I don’t know why.” Shortly before the same spokeswoman had announced a planned visit by Obama.
The message here is that thousands of screaming German fans at the Tiergarten take precedence over visiting Americans serving their country at Ramstein and Landstuhl. Maybe one of the networks following Obama could interview a few of the soldiers about how they perceive that set of priorities from Obama.
Landstuhl, of course, is where soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan are sent for treatment. Obama's visit there no doubt would have included meeting some of them.
It turns out that Obama didn't stiff the servicemen because of a schedule conflict. Rather, as Jake Tapper pointed out, apparently without knowing that Obama had canceled planned visits to the two military installations, Obama is going sightseeing in Berlin tonight. I can't say it any better than Ed did:
Obama canceled a previously-planned stop to visit thousands of American service personnel, including troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan being treated at Landstuhl, so he could hold a political rally for Germans and go shopping in Berlin. Now that’s a nice set of priorities for a man who wants to become Commander in Chief.
UPDATE: A reader adds:
I think there are other considerations that went into his calculation, er, decision. For instance, the possibly uncomfortable question of the very existence of the bases in Germany almost sixty-five years after the end of WWII and twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Does that raise doubts about how long The-One-We-Have-Been-Waiting-For might keep "residual forces" in Iraq? on "bases"?....does moveon.org know about this? Or perhaps meeting wounded soldiers from Iraq would require The One, etc. to explain how proud he is of them for suffering for a "mistake" based on "lies"….
Those explanations are more likely than the one offered by the Obama campaign:
"The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign," explains spokesman Robert Gibbs.
No doubt that will provoke some hollow laughter at Landstuhl.
