Uncle Ruslan's American Dream

A friend sent me a Washington Post op-ed by Asra Nomani regarding "Uncle Ruslan," that I highly recommend you read. Seriously, just go read the whole thing and then come back here.

Ruslan Tsarni, as you probably know, is the uncle of the Boston marathon bombers (and no, I'm not saying "alleged bombers." Dzhokhar can sue me. Bring it.) and I was struck by the huge difference between his attitude about America and the views that his nephews apparently held. 

"Uncle Ruslan's" heartfelt press conference last week captured America's attention, partly because of the sharp contrast between the brutality of the bombings and Tsarni's humble attitude and unequivocal condemnation of his nephews' actions:

Still Proud.

Sigh...anyone who has spent five minutes reading this blog knows that many of tonight's results are not what I wanted, and some of them are not just disappointing, but shocking.

A moment of silence, please

Please consider taking a moment today to say a prayer for all those who lost their lives nine years ago today, and their families and friends.

God Bless America.

Five For Fighting - Note to the Unknown Soldier

This is a very powerful song from Five For Fighting, in honor of our fallen military heroes.

YouTube | Five for Fighting | Note to the Unknown Soldier

In honor of D-Day

Today marks the 66th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy, France.  

As we honor the rapidly-dwindling numbers of WWII veterans today, and give thanks to all of the brave and courageous members of our military, I invite you to watch this short video (hat tip to Smart Girl Politics).  

Warning: this video is highly likely to cause rapid onset of tears and warm patriotic feelings.  

God Bless our troops and their families, and God Bless America.

More thoughts on Memorial Day

Frank Torres, a fellow local Republican and political blogger, has posted some beautiful and poignant thoughts about the Memorial Day and the Orange County War Memorial Rededication ceremony held at the courthouse today.

...I start to reflect on my time in the military. The great leaders I followed and my time in uniform that I’ll never forget and always consider returning to. The bond that the men and women in uniform share is one that lasts a lifetime and the bravery of our service members is one of the finest examples of why the United States is the greatest country in the world.

Downtown on Memorial Day | Frank Torres' Blog

Take some time and check out some of Frank's other posts.  He's got some great and humorous comments about a lot of local political issues.

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Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day, and for those of us involved in politics, that means our inboxes are filled with generic patriotic statements from every single political candidate who has managed to find our email address. OK, we get it, you support the troops, you love America, yadda yadda yadda. How about next time you disable the "Contribute to My Campaign" link when you're talking about those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country?

Seriously though, it drives me absolutely bonkers that President Obama couldn't be bothered to attend the ceremonies at the Arlington National Cemetery today.  It's not like he had to travel very far...all he had to do was stay in town.  Pathetic.  Google Maps shows that it's only 2.2 miles from the White House to Arlington.  He could have walked.


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