#Shutdown doesn't stop WWII veterans from visiting their memorial [UPDATED]

Visiting WWII veterans were confronted with
barricades at the WWII Memorial...but not for long.

There's plenty of room for debate on the merits of this government shutdown, but I'm glad to see that reasonable people are agreeing that our active duty military and veterans shouldn't be harmed. The House unanimously passed a bill to protect military pay that President Obama signed yesterday, Veterans Administration health care functions will continue, among other measures.

Then there's this delightful story...

A group of WWII veterans from Mississippi visiting the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of an Honor Flight trip decided they were going to visit their memorial, government shutdown or no. From the Twitter feed of Stars and Stripes reporter Leo Shane:

This ad may ruffle some feathers...

...especially up here in Massachusetts.

Click below to see why...

Romney's Full Speech to VFW Convention [VIDEO]

Mitt Romney gave what, in my opinion, was one of his best speeches of the campaign so far, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention yesterday. Here it is, in its entirety, for you to enjoy:

Once a Soldier...

...ALWAYS a Soldier... 

The Price of Freedom

Meet Landon Carpenter...

Happy Veteran's Day

In honor of Veteran's Day today, I wanted to share a quick story with you from my trip to D.C. last week.

After our conference ended, we headed back to our hotel and there were a lot of people in military dress uniforms walking around. It turned out that there was a big gala honoring veterans that evening, and it was a really special group of veterans.

"It's your right...but..."

 
'Nuff said.

Will George LeMieux Apologize to the Veterans?

"Something's rotten in the state of Denmark."

This quote, from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is used in modern times to refer to a situation that is "rife with errors from top to bottom," or exhibiting evidence of rampant corruption or suspicious motives.

Well, something's rotten in the Florida Senate race, and the people of Florida deserve some answers.

"The Colonel Has To Use the Restroom" aka McCalister's Post Debate Debacle [UPDATED]

Earlier today the Florida Family Policy Council and the Central Florida Tea Party hosted a debate between Florida Republican Senate candidates Adam Hasner, George LeMieux, Mike McCalister, and Craig Miller.

I'll share my thoughts about the debate in general later, but wanted to post this about what happened after the debate first.

You may have noticed a bit of a kerfuffle this week between McCalister and a veterans' group called the Stolen Valor Task Force, who have questioned some of the claims made by McCalister during the campaign.

After the debate, reporters were chatting with different candidates, and Marc Caputo with the Miami Herald approached McCalister. The second Caputo mentioned the issue with the veterans' group, things got interesting.

McCalister claimed, "I did not say testify in front of Congress," became very agitated, and he and his handler hastily headed for the exit.

Here's a link to Caputo's post and video:

RPOF event honoring WWII veterans

The Republican Party of Florida is sponsoring a great series of non-political events around the state to honor Florida's World War II veterans. The "Greatest Generation Tour" comes to Orlando this month in a free event at the Marks Street Senior Center on August 27th.

The event is open to the public and free to attend, but registration is required (click here). This, and many other don't-miss events, are also listed on the "Events" tab on the top right corner of this website.

Complete event information and a copy of the invitation available after the jump:

Morning Coffee Reading for June 20, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• Tim Pawlenty spoke at the Right Online conference last weekend, and knocked their socks off. Don't write him off yet, folks.

RedState | Erick Erickson | Tim Pawlenty impresses Right Online

• Looks like President Obama's quick visit to Puerto Rico may have been a good fundraising trip, but has the potential to become a public relations nightmare. Apparently spending only four hours on the island territory "unleashed a growing political furor."

Salon | Obama's Puerto Rico visit spurs anger, discontent

• Here's an interview with Attorney General Pam Bondi by Sunshine State News, discussing public records and transparency in government:

YouTube | TheSunshineStateNews | AG Pam Bondi on Public Records

• Legal Insurrection is an excellent legal/political blog written by conservative law professor William A. Jacobsen. The site recently went through a nice redesign. Same great content. Go check out the new site. and follow Professor Jacobsen on Twitter: @LegInsurrection.

• Here's a heartwarming story about a charity, American Veterans Empowerment Team (AVET), which sends care packages to troops overseas and pampers them when they visit home. This Fox Orlando video shows one service member getting picked up in a limo at the airport.

My Fox Orlando | AVET offers support to troops and military families

• Great blog post by @ChrisOfRights with a more accurate perspective on the Robin Hood story:

Chris of Rights | Liberalism and Robin Hood

Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, please take a moment to think about those who sacrificed so that you and I may continue to enjoy living in freedom.

God Bless our military and their families. For anyone who has lost someone, I hope that the prayers of a grateful nation may be a comfort to you.

Arlington National Cemetery. All over the country, volunteers placed flags on the graves
of our veterans to honor their memories this Memorial Day.

"Proudly Serving Those Who Serve"

This is officially my new favorite Budweiser ad:

YouTube | Budweiser | "Coming Home"

Please support our troops by making a donation to these great charities:

Wounded Warrior Project

Not Alone (PTSD programs for veterans)

United Service Organizations (USO)

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

[Cross-posted at The Minority Report and Red County]