Girly-Men or Manly Men?

We all know that the Democrats are all girly-men and weak on defense, right? Their cravenly “peace at any cost” mentality leaves our country vulnerable to attack at any moment. This is, of course, fact!

We also know those brave hearty men of the Republican Party will protect us and lead us valiantly to victory over our evil foes! We MUST trust their judgment in martial matters without question! Our sons and daughters serving in the military are most assuredly in trustworthy hands!

But, please don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at the military records of members of both parties distinguishing the men from the boys:

The cravenly cowards of the Democratic Party

* George “Peacenik” McGovern: He flew 35 combat missions as a B-24 bomber pilot in Europe, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star &DFC during WWII.
* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam January,
1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze
Star with Combat V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star &Bronze Star,
Vietnam.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam,
DFCs, Bronze Stars, and Soldiers Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple
Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in
Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star &DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments.
Entered draft but received #311.
* Jimmy Carter: Annapolis graduate, skippered nuclear sub, seven years
in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18
Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII.
Saved by Raoul Wallenberg from forced labor camp.


The manly men of the Republican Party

* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Five deferments, the last by
marriage.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." (This is the man
who attacked Max Cleland`s patriotism.)
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard service; assigned to Alabama to campaign for a family friend running for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam; AWOL
* Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role
making movies.
* B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Lt. Commander, USN; Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit,
Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued
playing in the NFL for 8 years.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John Engler: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Prominent Rightwing Pundits & Preachers & Posers

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a `pilonidal cyst.`)
* Bill O`Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.
* Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
* Ted Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that can’t
shoot back.)


Can we spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E, boys and girls?

A God-fearing, Christian Nation?

Perhaps one of the most irritating espousals frequently heard these days is that our system of government was founded on “Christian Principles”. In fact, it is said so often and with such authority, that it is rarely questioned. While the United States, like the rest of the western world, is heavily influenced by something we obliquely refer to as the “Judeo-Christian” tradition, its origins lie more in the Enlightenment with its emphasis on the rationalism and empiricism of John Locke and David Hume, not to mention Adam Smith, than the parables of Jesus.

As for our “God-fearing” Founding Fathers – there does not seem to be much enthusiasm for a godly or Christian state. It might be mentioned, that if these men were to walk among us today they would be labeled “secular humanists”; which, by the way, was exactly what they were. At the very least, most of these men were agnostics, some were no doubt atheist. But, enough of my opinions; let them speak in there own words.

Thomas Jefferson said, “Our civil rights have no dependence on religious opinions, any more than our opinion in physics and geometry.” And if that is not enough to cause apoplexy among the cousin-lovin’ crackers for Christ, Jefferson went on to state; “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.” No god-fearing here!

In 1797, our second president, John Adams, signed the Treaty of Tripoli (along with the majority of the senate), stating that “The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.” In a 1756 letter, he wrote: “This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.”

James Madison, later to be our fourth president, was forthright in his argument: “Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise…the legal establishment of Christianity [results in] superstition, bigotry, and persecution.”

Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense” and credited with rallying the colonists in their darkest hour, rejected all denominations of Judeo-Christian faith, saying, “I disbelieve them all.”

But, what about good, old, honest Ben Franklin? Surely, he was a god-fearing Christian? Well, this was his assessment, “The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason: The Morning Daylight appears plainer when you put out your Candle.”

Ethan Allen, the leader of the Green Mountain Boys and hero of the Revolution, was straightforward in his writings with a simple declaration, “I am not Christian.” Years after his death, the Reverend Nathan Perkins wrote in his diary, "Arrived at Onion River falls and passed by Ethan Allyn's grave. An awful infidel, one of Ye wickedest Men Yt ever walked this guilty globe. I stopped and looked at his grave with a pious horror."