Star One Smart Blog's

I took these photos at Winslow, Arizona, at the World Trade Center Remembrance Memorial Garden. There's a big push to get more WTC steel sent to communities around the nation, to help our current Americans remember the heroes who fell, the firefighters and policemen, and also those who've since fallen in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

''The best way we can honor the memory of those we lost on 9/11 is to find homes in the W.T.C. Memorial and in cities and towns around the nation for the hundreds of artifacts we've carefully preserved over the years,'' said the Port Authority's executive director, Christopher O. Ward. The Port Authority hopes to generate more interest in the steel with new advertisements in police, fire and municipal trade magazines. There are 1,800 to 2,000 pieces, half of them very large, which are available for carting away, at the recipient's expense. This does not include about 200 pieces, among them the most familiar and iconic, that have been claimed by the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum.

These words on the Winslow Plaque...

REMEMBRANCE GARDEN
These two steel beams from the World Trade Center
entrusted to the citizens of Winslow
By the City of New York,
along with this flag that was flown at the Pentagon;
stand as the centerpiece of our Remembrance Garden.
The words 'United We Stand" remind the world
that we will not fear terrorism.
We hereby dedicate this Garden to Northern Arizona's
Promise that
"WE WILL NEVER FORGET"

How often do we remember that world-changing day way back in 2001? How often do we feel the same sense of 'togetherness' we all seemed to have, for at least a few months?

How often can you recall Barack Hussein Obama saying "America is a GREAT NATION, Americans are a GREAT PEOPLE"? He doesn't seem to be proud of America, BHO; every time he sets foot outside the country he's apologizing to somebody for something.

Well, whether Barack Hussein Obama agrees or not, America IS a GREAT NATION, and her people ARE a GREAT PEOPLE. Otherwise we wouldn't have been blessed with such a successful run.

When we worked together, there wasn't a problem that we couldn't solve.

Is that over? Is America now on the skids, falling, soon to be overwhelmed in the Globalism that's promulgated by our current leadership? Are we to be forever splintered, and doomed to lose this Republic, falling into some kind of Global Collectivism event horizon?

How much longer do we have to fly our flag? Proudly? As a Great Nation?

Will we ever have a President again say that America is a Great Nation, that her people are among the finest in the world?

I don't think the current president and his entourage has it in'em.

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July 4, 1776: Independence Day. Our Continental Congress adopts the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. From July 8, 1776 until August 1776, that profound document was read publicly. People listened, and celebrated whenever they heard it. The next year, in Philadelphia, bells rang and ships fired guns. Firecrackers were lighted.

But we were at war. The War of Independence against King George III dragged on until 1783. After we won that war, Independence Day was made an official holiday. But it wasn't until 1941 that Congress declared July 4th a Federal Holiday.

Hey, this country is 232 years old. We've come a long way since 1776, winning over slavery and allowing women to vote. Now, we've challenges abroad and at home; some would gladly dissolve our constitution and allow us to be absorbed into a "World Community" with a fraction of our current rights and privileges.

Let's not let that happen. The U.S.A. is independent and we should stay independent.

Maverick, and all of that.

The O!ther person leads us towards socialism, and a weakened nation.

From the Dayton Daily News; dateline today...

Our view: Gas prices can't bring down a country

"The cost of gasoline (and natural gas and heating oil, which we'll be talking more about come November) is really a symptom of a host of other bigger issues: A failure to have a national energy policy that's not so excessively dependent on foreign oil, and, at bottom, this society's insatiable demand for bigger and more things.

"While we've been consuming and refusing to plan and invest, oil wells have been being drained and our competitors have been gaining on us, and, yes, besting us in research, development and innovation. As a result, wages have been brought down, jobs have evaporated.
...

"Time and again we're given modern-day proof that there's no definitive guarantee of liberty simply because a piece of parchment inside the National Archives says it shall be so. With the privilege of freedom comes the responsibility not to be so myopic and unimaginative that we mistake fixable problems for impossible catastrophes.

"The pain of high gas prices will end when we, as a country, commit ourselves to changing habits that are not immutable and exploiting the ingenuity that no one doubts exists, but has not been tapped, rewarded and brought to market."

See there? Hope from the heartland.

Let's keep that sort of hope alive. Hope that's not saddled to socialism. Hope that's not dragging down everyone to the lowest common denominator.

We can do better than that, and we must do better than that.

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Memorial Day...to commemorate those who have died in Military Service to our country.

In particular, I want to repost this from April 9, 2007.

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On a cold Saturday morning, Smyrna honored hometown Fallen Hero Neal Mitchell, with a ceremony unveiling an inscription in stone. In attendance were Rolling Thunder, local officials, the Smyrna High School ROTC Color Guard, and family. Taps were sounded.

SPC Raymond N. "Neal" Mitchell III was born Dec. 30, 1985, in Smyrna. SPC Mitchell died Jan. 6, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds sustained during routine security operations.

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I'll bet Buckley's Presidential Endorsement this year would be "We prefer McCain."

I can't write any more than what you can read here at the New York Time's eulogy. The old gray lady can get some things right, occasionally; this piece is well put together (of course they've probably had it written for 10 years, in hopeful anticipation...

Personally, I became enthralled and in awe at a young age with Buckley's voice and his wickedly sharp barbs for the pompous assholes in elected office. I owe this guy much for the lasting impression he left on me.

Of course, with some of his views I'm sharply disagreeable. Of course, he wouldn't give a shit.

All the more reason to admire the man.

RIP YAF founder, sailboat rider, NRO and Firing Line founder, Yale tormentor, and Liberal scourge*, who stands athwart history as the Father of Modern Conservatism.

*Quotes...

“A Conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling "Stop!"”

“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”

“Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich.”

“Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples' money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people's freedom and security.”

“Conservatives should be adamant about the need for the reappearance of Judeo-Christianity in the public square.”

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From Karl at Protein Wisdom, a link to a New York Times Magazine story on Steve Gilliard, liberal blogger who's early death is much lamented in Progg world. I remember clearly the weekend Gilliard died, as I was much saddened by the death of The Skipper, Allan Kelly of BMEWS, who passed the day before. Of course, death isn't pleasant to behold, and both saddened me. And, of course, today, I'll say I miss The Skipper much more than...Steve Who?

Gilliard's death set off a chain of events in blogworld...a week long kerfuffle. If Smantix of Six Meat Buffet hadn't made that unfortunate post mocking Gillard (a bit early in my estimation; should've waited a couple weeks), and Britteny hadn't picked up on Smantix's post and aggregated it to Nashville is Talking, and that sorry piece of shit J.C. Christian at Jesus' General hadn't come to town to feast on Brittney (who was also liberal, but in his feeding frenzy, General Azzclown didn't stop to check to see what was really was going on...he's such a pussrag...) then NIT might still be active and not a den of ghosts. Brittney may not have had to flee to San Francisco (well, given the liberal atmosphere there, she's probably better off).

And I would still wholeheartedly miss The Skipper.

And you would not have to look at this photochop of Jesus' General's Short-Sighted Staff of Bloggers who eat their own (damn, this is an early effort; I might have to revisit this...)

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All the links are at Karl's post. Check out the comments there as well...

"Let’s dig up his skeleton and f*ck his eye-sockets."

;D

This is a bit dated. Napster is way long gone, and Metallica is faded away. Much in part to their assholery in 2000 when they attacked Napster.

Worth a look, if you haven't seen it previously, just to see Lars Ulrich scurrying around and over James Hetfield like a small caged primate in search of a banana to stick up it's arse...

Truth...I never cared for Metallica. Can't recall many any of their songs.

We're at the 6th anniversary of the event that's shaped this new 21st century. Our country is locked in a conflict with terrorist agents of Islam, Fundamentalists who use that easily-corrupted religion to seek to destroy our way of life. They may yet succeed, if they can destroy our economy and break the fragile hold we have on civilization...a narrow thread that separates us from the past, a thread composed of strands of technology and knowhow and still dependent on the free-flow of Oil, a substance that will eventually dry up.

These photos are mine, I took them last year at Winslow's Memorial Garden. Others around the nation have similar themes of remembrance of for the heroes who fell, the firefighters and policemen, and since in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

REMEMBRANCE GARDEN
These two steel beams form the World Trade Center
entrusted to the citizens of Winslow
By the City of New York,
along with this flag that was flown at the Pentagon;
stand as the centerpiece of our Remembrance Garden.
The words 'United We Stand" remind the world
that we will not fear terrorism.
We hereby dedicate this Garden to Northern Arizona's
Promise that
"WE WILL NEVER FORGET"

WARNING Don't clik that link, boy, if you are still wet behind the ears...or you, either, if you are at work! That's Anna in her prime...the way she should be remembered.