In Training

The Argument for John McCain

As found via Hot Air headlines and written by Quin Hillyer of the American Spectator.

Read it here.

Whatever your vote, go vote!

Two Princes: 007 Premiere

Every time I read a new article on these two I become even more proud of them.

The night Wills and Harry met the real heroes at James Bond premiere

It was their first movie premiere in their own right. (They attended Spiceworld: The Movie in 1997 with their father Prince Charles.) You could call it a genuine excursion by the brothers In Her Majesty's Service. And it had a serious motive.

The aim was to raise more than £500,000 from the evening for two military charities, The Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes.

A Clarence House spokesman said: 'The princes chose these two great causes because they are linked to Remembrance Day, but most importantly because they want to make the point that this is a film about a British action hero, but the money is going to our country's real heroes who put their lives in the line of fire day in, day out, in Iraq and Afghanistan.'
....
Prince Harry was reunited with Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, whom he met previously while touring the Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre. Corporal Ormrod, who had originally trained alongside Harry, later lost both legs and an arm after treading on a landmine.

He said: 'It's great to see Harry again. We are on first name terms, we are mates. He's just one of the lads.'

Harry revealed to one former soldier his favourite James Bond actor.
'There's only one Bond, and that's Sean Connery,' he told a former 9th Para Battalion member Stan Pepper, 88, from Fulham.

Definitely click on the link, there are some really precious photographs of the princes with the soldiers. I added the Legion and Heroes links in case anyone would like to check those sites out and possibly donate!

Seen in Texas

Yes, I really saw these on a drive and they are my pictures!


Cowboy


Git R Dun
It's really too bad I don't have a backward R on my keyboard...

For every bad, there's several good

At least that's what I'm pushing for!
I was over at Blackfive and saw this post by The Wolf. Go watch and read. He reminds us to be ready for more civilian bad behavior concerning our troops, and that it's only going to get worse. I understand his point and certainly we've all seen it before, both here in the States and in hubby's Britain. But, I can't help but think that sometimes we forget the good.

I got to thinking about that and realized that in the past week, I've seen several good things regarding our troops.
For one, Royal and I went out of town last weekend and stopped at a Borders. We decided to get some caffeine at the in-store Seattle's Best for the drive home. There, on the counter, was a sign that said (paraphrased)
"Thank you for donating coffee to support Soldiers' Angels".

Then on my way to work this morning I was listening to a radio station, KLUV, and they spent about ten minutes speaking about the Dallas Rotary Club 4th Annual Salute to America's Veterans. Speaking with sincerity.

Then this afternoon I read an article that said that the finalists from the British television show X Factor are releasing a single to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Little things I hadn't really noticed until I read Mr. Wolf's post. All of which happened in a week's time and none of which are connected. And, of course you can include the wonderful, wonderful people that helped Lieutenant Burke Jensen as well.
Kinda puts a smile on my face actually.
Good things do happen. We remember our serving men and women and there will always be people who will fight for them.

--> UPDATE
Royal and I just went to Wal Mart (chapstick, a hoodie & deodorant if you must know!) and were happy to see a table set up across from the checkouts for people to write thank you notes to the military! I saw the America Supports You logo, so I believe it was in conjunction with them. The table was nice, it had two American flags, a red and blue tablecloth and a couple of nice pens. Really cool thing to see.

Mom of the year says Brit teachers are too soft : Your laugh for the day

Only it's not funny.

Obviously the article comes from a gossip rag, but the sad fact is that Ms. Holt probably really does feel that way about her daughter. So do too many other parents these days.

Vote Baby Vote

Today I voted! Even got my American flag 'I Voted' sticker which I'm taking home to show my English hubby.
So exciting!

Y'all go vote!

Twilight

I love to read. Usually it's from the history, biography, or military history section of the bookstore, but occasionally it's a light romance or something popular from the teen section (if that's what it's called... not sure actually!).

Twilight had been on the extreme fringe of my radar until a co-worker suggested - several times - that I read it. Finally she gave up asking and thrust the book into my hands. This was last Friday afternoon. I thought, well, I might take a look at it tomorrow at the hotel (Royal and I were going out of town for two days).
Fast forward to 1:00am Sunday morning: I'm halfway through the darn thing! Could. Not. Put. It. Down. I think that if my poor husband hadn't have been there I would have fallen asleep face-in-book.

The next day on our way back home we stopped at a bookstore so that I could buy my own copy... and of course the next book in the series (there are four total).

I finished all four books in one week, Saturday to Saturday. Now, I've always been pretty proud of my reading speed and comprehension, but this has put a smile on my face for the last few days! Obviously I would recommend them, though the second and third books, like most series' I've read, were not quite as much fun as the first and last.

I haven't become one of those obsessed, screaming fans (no offense to them though, been there done that in my past I admit!) but I am excited to see the movie that comes out in November -- see, I told you I was late coming to all of this! You can see the preview at the site, guess we all know where I'll be next month.

Hero Airman Laid to Rest 64 Years Later

May God bless his family.

From the Daily Mail:

The haunting notes of The Last Post drifted across a lonely war cemetery in Germany yesterday as an RAF airman who died on a bombing raid 64 years ago was finally laid to rest. John Bremner was 21 when a German night-fighting ace struck his Halifax bomber nicknamed ‘Old Flo’ on January 20 1944. He was one of four crewmen for whom the night assault on the dark heart of Nazism was to be the final mission.
....
Among them was navigator Reg Wilson and rear gunner John Bushell, two of the four other members of the crew who parachuted to safety moments before the aircraft ploughed into woodland. Mr Wilson, Mr Bushell and the two others who survived, bomb-aimer Laurie Underwood and pilot George Griffiths, spent the rest of the war as prisoners. Sergeant Bremner, wireless operator Eric Church, second pilot Kenneth Stanbridge and Canadian mid-upper gunner Charles Dupries were all killed.
....
Mr Wilson said: 'It is only right that we honour him today, a true war hero.'

John Bremner's sister Marjorie, 89, hugging the flag for her brother.

From BBC News:

Flt Lt Bremner's Halifax was hit shortly after releasing its bombs. Four crew members managed to bail out and parachute to safety before it exploded and crashed into woodland at Hirschgarten Friedrichshagen on the outskirts of Berlin. They were then taken prisoners of war.

Mr Wilson travelled to Berlin in 2005 with his daughter to meet local historians and witnesses to the plane's demise. The pair returned the following year and, with the help of a team of volunteers using metal detectors, eventually discovered the wreckage.

Within it were the remains of Flt Lt Bremner but those of the fourth victim, gunner Warrant Officer Charles Dupueis, were nowhere to be found.
The burial service on Thursday will be witnessed by two of the surviving crew members, Mr Wilson, from Chigwell, Essex, and John Bushell, a sergeant on the aircraft, from Oakley, Bedfordshire, as well as family members of the other crew.

Song for Today

It's been cloudy here - dark clouds - for a few days now so it's time for a sunny song!
Keith Urban: Romeo's Tune

Have a happy day!

Livin' off the government

I try not to judge others. I try not to always believe media articles when they victimize or demonize people.

But, WOW.

Tracey Crompton has never had a job, and her husband Harry has been out of work for 15 years. Yet the couple live for free in a seven bedroom house with their ten children and receive £32,656 in benefits a year. They even have their own vineyard in their 270ft long garden.
....
The couple say they are enjoying the credit crunch because it has forced down the price of luxury goods like TVs and computer games, but do have two gripes.
Firstly, they want even more benefits. Secondly, that their neighbours have nicknamed them 'Britain's Biggest Freeloaders'.

Mrs Crompton, 40, moaned: 'I'm not satisfied with the benefits we get - I want more. I haven't been able to work because I've had to bring up the kids and Harry's got health problems.'
Fortunately their benefits do stretch to a £250 weekly shop which usually includes 50 packs of crisps and ten litres of fizzy drinks.
....
As both are unemployed, their weekly £120 rent is paid by housing benefit and they receive another £628 a week in income support, disability and carer's allowance and other payments.

Mrs. Crompton said if she gets a job it would have to pay more than the benefits. This is what it's come to in Britain. You can read story after story and talk to the British people and you'll hear it time and time again - people choosing to live off the government and the taxpayers. Sigh.