The Americans are not giving up

Neither are the Iraqi.

Matt Sanchez, a Marine reservist, presently embedded with The 1-4 Cav in Baghdad, reports. Let us take a little trip - take a little trip, with me:

"Iraqi kids are plentiful, and unabashed by the presence of American military."

"...what is striking is how unafraid the children are of towering soldiers in complete body armor, dark glasses and imposing weaponry."

"On one block, the 1-4 Cav is such a frequent guest that the children follow them around. Despite the heat, heavy body armor and the constant threat of enemy attack, I have never seen a member of the military lose his or her temper..."

"I talked to one young boy who insisted on a picture (the girls are far more shy):
"Are you in school?" He nodded.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be a doctor."

The boy was 13 years old and living in a country that had many problems, but beyond imagination children know no boundaries. Tomorrow, this child will inherit an Iraq that is built – or destroyed – today."

"Where do you want to live? Do you want to leave Iraq?"
"No, I want to live here in my neighborhood."

"Are you afraid of Americans?"
"I love them!"
"Why?"
"Because they don't shoot at us."



We must not abandon Iraq. Victory!

Also blogging the surge:

Skye,BillT,Donald, and Mike.

If you are also blogging surge news, let me know and of course Grizzly Mama will include your link!

The House Is Sold

We settle in a month. We start school in 9 days. Saint Joseph stays in the garden until settlement is complete.

***UPDATE***

OMG. What have we done???! We have nowhere to go! Nothing's packed! I have to start school in a week!

We signed the papers last night, I went to bed, woke up this morning and FREAKED OUT.

Troll is working a million hours at the new job. Most of it's on me. I have to make a plan.

Surge News = We're Kicking Terrorist Ass.

Army Maj. Gen. James E. Simmons, deputy commander for support for Multinational Corps Iraq has a lot to say. Shhhhhh - let's listen in on some of it:

“We will continue to hunt down their leadership, deny them safe haven, disrupt their supply line and significantly reduce their capability to operate in Iraq.”

He's talking about what we are doing to the islamofascist terrorists in Iraq - kind of like shooting fish in a barrel these days. Ooh. Here's some more:

In the first 24 hours of one operation, Multinational Division North soldiers captured and killed several enemies and seized weapons caches in the Diyala River Valley. Called Operation Lightning Hammer, this operation targeted extremists as they tried to reestablish sanctuaries, the general said.

Ha! Just try and reestablish sanctuaries, you dirty islamofascist terrorists. We're waiting for you.

“We believe that a continued, aggressive offensive operation to seek out and destroy these extremist networks will prove to be the most effective way to continue to protect the citizens of Iraq,” Simmons said.

Yeah, baby.

Operation Phantom Strike comes on the heels of Operation Phantom Thunder, a corps-level offensive launched June 15 that targeted al Qaeda, Sunni insurgents and Shiia extremists in, near and around Baghdad. In 142 battalion-level joint operations, Iraqi and coalition forces detained 6,702 suspects, killed 1,196 enemies and wounded 419 others. Combined forces also killed or captured 382 high-value targets, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said during an Aug. 17 Pentagon briefing.

WOW! That's a LOT of freaking bad guys.

Troops also cleared 1,113 weapons caches and scores of IEDs and car bombs. “The number of found and cleared IEDs, (car bombs) and caches are approximately 50 percent higher than the same period last year due, in large part, to effective tips provided by concerned Iraqi citizens,” Odierno added.

Oh yes. Those Iraqi citizens are getting tired of your terrorist crap, too. EVERYONE is!

“Al Qaeda and other extremist elements will have to contend with an Iraqi population that no longer welcomes them,” he said, “as well as quick-hitting offensive operations by coalition and Iraqi forces.”

The only way we lose is if we quit. God Bless America! God Bless a Free Iraq!

Reason Gajilliontyeightsix To Thank God For Being a Citizen of America

The neighbors don't want to see these families move. The overbearing Education Department in Quebec has come down on this Mennonite community, forcing them to use the state sanctioned curriculum in their community school. If the Mennonites do not comply, the state has threatened to remove the children from the homes and place them in foster homes. The Mennonites do not subscribe to the Theory of Evolution. The Mennonites are moving out of the community and the community is appealing to the Education Department to stop threatening this group.

Children at an Amish school.

Townsfolk Sad to See Mennonites Move Away.

From the article:

"They're good neighbours. They integrated into the community, they work hard, they have farms, they work in businesses in the region. They're everywhere - it's not a sect that closes itself off from others." "These schools are okay in other provinces; they should be allowed here, too," said Claude Dutilly, taking a break from mowing his lawn next to the Mennonite church and school." "We should be open-minded. These are good people, part of the community. The children are respectful, well-behaved."

The Almighty State of Quebec says:

"The community could home-school their children but would have to follow the official curriculum and make arrangements with the local school board, Lefebvre added. "Kids who are home-schooled have to use the same materials as those in public schools and be evaluated as well," he said."

WorldNetDaily also has the article.

From the WND article:

"Children are taught reading, writing, math, science, geography, social sciences and music, as well as English and French. But they didn't use the government-mandated curriculum that includes the teachings of evolution, and other subjects to which parents objected."

Ronald Goossen, one of the first Mennonites to move to this area in the 1990s, says, "We don't agree with the emphasis on evolution, which we consider false; we don't like the morality standards; and we don't like the acceptance of alternative lifestyles," he said.

Fair enough. We could debate Evolution until the cows come home. The fact is that the theory has many weaknesses. It's a fascinating theory but another fact is that these weaknesses are not discussed with the kids in school when Evolution is taught. Kids aren't stupid. They are able to take it all in - strengths and weaknesses. I'm all for looking at it with a critical eye, but you have to admit that there are some real whacks on both sides of it.

This particular Mennonite community is moving and I don't blame them. It's a shame because it is their home - and not only that but the rest of their community does not want to see them go. The law is, apparently, the law.

I wish them well and I thank God every day that I live in the United States of America.

Surge

I am following in the footsteps of Bill T, a conservative Philadelphia blogger, and blogging surge news.

Here are some snippets from the article:

"Five brigade equivalents have moved into Baghdad and are now participating in Operation Phantom Thunder, bringing the total to between 10 and 12 brigades operating in and around the Iraqi capital. The operation clears neighborhoods in Baghdad, holds them safe from terrorists’ re-infiltration and then builds infrastructure in the neighborhood."

"...surge troops rolled in and introduced joint security stations, where coalition troops partner with Iraqi security forces, Morin explained. “What’s the byproduct of that? Kids going to school again, shops opening (and) selling everything from sandals to safes to paint to major appliances. It’s like Home Depot or Wal-Mart on a street,” he said."

"He also noted that the coalition is finding an unprecedented numbers of weapons and munitions caches, including items that can be made into improvised explosive devices. This increase in cache finds partly can be attributed to Iraqis turning in caches. Iraqis also are pointing out insurgents, helping maintain their neighborhoods, and supporting local government councils, the sergeant major said. Terrorists and insurgent groups are reading the writing on the walls and leaving. “We are definitely inside their decision cycle now,” Morin said. “The surge is allowing us to do that."

"...the surge has really just gotten under way. The enemy has a vote, and terrorists can always launch vicious car-bomb attacks, he said. These attacks draw attention, but are not changing the trend toward normalcy, he added."

Grizzly thoughts:

The surge is working. We must not abandon Iraq. If we remain committed to victory then victory will be ours.

Semper Fi

***UPDATE***

Blackfive has an interview with this young man on his blog.

***

God Bless America.



As seen at LGF

Grizzly Report: Hugh Hewitt Live Broadcast

**UPDATE**

Thanks to Mike, you may now click on the title to listen to the audio of the show. If you fast forward it to about 11:30 then will be the broadcast from The Constitution Center.

***

We had a grand time at The Constitution Center last night. If you EVER visit Philly, make sure that you include The Constitution Center on the itinerary. You won't regret it - at ALL. You will walk away with a new appreciation for our founding fathers and the vision that they shared for our country.

We were late and very worried about that. No problemo! Hugh Hewitt hadn't arrived yet either, due to weather problems which delayed his flight. We were so engrossed in talking to people and catching up with Skye that I have no idea what time Mr. Hewitt arrived, but when he did he talked with the audience for quite awhile. The live on-air thing wasn't going to start until 8:00 p.m. due to the flight delays and I suppose the contingency plans that had already been implemented. He wanted to talk about the upcoming election and was interested in where we stood with the candidates thus far. It is Hugh's belief that we will end up choosing between Romney and Giuliani. I still think it's a bit early to tell - although he's certainly mulled this over more than I. He does not believe that Gingrich will enter the race. (Troll became crestfallen at this news...) Fred Thompson is a factor that is unknowable at this point.

He also shared about a meeting he and other conservative talk radio hosts had recently had with President Bush. All present urged Bush to get out there and communicate more effectively about Iraq. The effectiveness of the surge, and the fact that victory is imperative in Iraq must be disseminated to the American public. One of the bloggers present, Bill T, will be blogging surge news and I think that I might like to do something like that too. Maybe once a week - as this damnable dusting is really eating into actually living a life or thinking about anything..

There was a rousing question and answer session and a picture taking session. Tons of fun!

When on air, we heard from former US House District 8 Representaive Michael Fitzpatrick. He talked about the need to get the conservative base mobilised and the unique problems that we face in the Philadelphia area. Exceedingly Democrat in Philly. In fact, most of PA is RED - with Philly and Pittsburgh as big blue blotches on either edge. Anyway, the results were unbelievably close when Fitzpatrick lost the last election. Here is a link that shows the 50/50 split between these candidates. Scroll down for District 8.

Colin Hanna, from Let Freedom Ring, was the next guest and he spoke about their project called Their Own Words. He spoke about the islamist menace in America - not just in America though, worldwide. He would like to educate the people who believe that if we just love and try to understand the terrorists enough, they will reciprocate with love and understanding. This is not true. Their Own Words uses just that: the radical imams own words to show that this is a very naive way to deal with terrorist killers who believe that they have a mandate from their god to kill non-believers. He uses MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) translations to drive this point home.

Without further ado - here are my pictures. Enjoy!

Hugh Hewitt at work in The City of Brotherly Love:




Independence Hall looking particularly lovely:



Mr. Hugh Hewitt was kind enough to consent to some pictures. Here he is with a group of conservative Philadelphia area bloggers:



If you look closely, you will see Dr. Bucolo of Total1 Internet Solutions (sorry Doc - website not found!), FourInchHeels - contributer to the BillT blog, Skye, who we all know and admire, next to Skye, my love - The City Troll, Hugh Hewitt himself, Moi - the incredibly vertically challenged Grizzly Mama, and Bill T. We also met Mr. Chaitt (not in photo) who does not have a blog but is very personable and took many photos. He joined us afterward at a wonderful little eatery, and treated Troll to a cigar, which Troll enjoyed very much!

NEXT UP!

The timelessly beautiful, always intelligent, and ever insightful conservative bloggers: Skye, Jennifer Gallagher and Grizzly Mama:



And here is a picture that has nothing to do with the current Grizzly Report:



It is a taste of the area around which we are searching for a new house. Doesn't it sort of remind you of broccoli at sunset?


We had a great time! Thanks to everyone!

Hugh Hewitt Live Broadcast Event

Troll and I will be attending Hugh Hewitt's live broadcast event at The Constitution Center in Philadelphia Thursday, August 9th. We hope to meet up with Skye, a Philadelphia blogger, and her companion - the mysterious 'JG'. We probably won't be there at 5:00, Skye. Troll is working so we'll be breezing in fashionably late. (as usual...) Cameras will be charged up.

As for me - I have been like the Devil himself keeping the house clean and dust-free for showings. Ten of the last 14 days several parties per day have tromped through my house. C'mon Saint Joe!! Do what you do best out there buried in my little garden! We've got the financing squared away for the house that we want in the hills. I checked on you the other day and you're still buried under the basil - God bless you.

I finished the latest Harry Potter book just this afternoon. Wow - really enjoyed it. We were at the pool on this nasty Philadelphia summer day, and I hid under the shade of my umbrella and sopped my teary eyes with my beach blanket. Now I can get back to my Weekly Standards for bedtime reading.

Will update with pics of Hugh Hewitt's event - hopefully soon!

***UPDATE***

Had a wonderful time. The mysterious 'JG' is none other than our very own Jennifer Gallagher! Other conservative Philadelphia bloggers there. Will update with pics later. Went out to a trendy, yuppie-ish cafe for food afterward - YUM! We were late. So was Hugh Hewitt so no big deal. Further details with pics.

Skye - at Midnight Blue - has a few pics up. She mo-blogs, you know! The pic of Troll is priceless. That is me next to him and Jennifer Gallagher is next to me. She and I are talking to the gentleman in the row in front of us. Great crowd!