A Holiday, a Harley and a Mission

Memorial Day has always signaled the start of summer for me. And what a wonderful way to begin our 15 weeks of summer, but with a holiday that commemorates those who fought and died to ensure the freedoms that underscore our enjoyment of summertime.

Enjoy your leisure time over the next 15 weeks. Travel the country. Visit a historic civil war battlefield or travel to Washington D.C. to visit the Smithsonian Institute or the National Archives. You can see the original, founding documents there. Immerse yourself in showing your kids our history, because our history is rich and meaningful. I guarantee you, they will be spellbound to hear about the Battle of Gettysburg, or "the shot heard round the world" in Lexington.

I was always focused on making sure that my kids had the opportunity to enjoy their summers. Whether playing baseball, swimming in a pool or lake with their friends and then enjoying hamburgers on the grill after a full day of fun, summer was defined as just that, FUN!

Like many of you, we all have traditions that define our summertime. Last weekend, an event in Washington, D.C. underscored our reverence in honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our liberty. Rolling Thunder is a national organization that was created to honor our POW/MIA's. Here is their purpose:

The Rolling Thunder Story

In the fall of 1987, Vietnam veterans met to discuss their personal concerns about the POW/MIAs from the Vietnam War. Having honorably served their country and having taken an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies..." and to "bear true faith and allegiance to same," they were deeply troubled by the abhorrent neglect of attention given to those who did not make it out with their lives or their freedom. These veterans discussed the more than 10,000 reported sightings of live Americans living in dismal captivity. Intelligence reports of these sightings were generally ignored by the government and mainstream press.

The First Rolling Thunder Demonstration

The Founders of Rolling Thunder were ordinary men who understood that they had a right to have their voices heard and proceeded to lay down the plans for a gathering in Washington, D.C. during the 1988 Memorial Day weekend. They reached out to their families, fellow veterans and veteran's advocates to unify and form a march and demonstration in the nation’s Capitol. Their arrival would be announced by the roar of their motorcycles, a sound not unlike the 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder. Hence, they would call themselves "Rolling Thunder" a title that would endure time and be trademarked in 1990. Word spread quickly and by Memorial Day weekend in 1988, approximately 2,500 motorcycles from all over the country converged on Washington, D.C. to demand from our leaders a full accounting of all POW/MIAs. As the Founders of Rolling Thunder made their stand that day in front of the Capitol, they reflected thankfully for the people who came in support of the POW/ MIAs and for the unity that was felt. This was Rolling Thunder's first demonstration. Only until ALL POW/MIAs ARE ACCOUNTED FOR, it will not be their last. On that day, the foundation was laid for the annual "Ride for Freedom" to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall (also referred to as the "Ride to the Wall"). The number of participants/spectators in the Memorial Day weekend Ride for Freedom has grown from 2,500 to an estimated 900,000.

Wow, wouldn't that be fun to participate in? I think my kids would have been ecstatic to participate in such an event. After it was over, they would have been excited to travel on a heritage trail, visiting Mount Vernon, Monticello and walking the streets of Philadelphia. From there, I would want to travel to Boston, and follow the path of Paul Revere's ride, as he awakened the countryside to the approaching British army, which led, ultimately, to "the shot heard round the world" on April 19th, 1775.

You see, kids love to learn about history. How many of you remember sitting at your grandfather's knee while he reminisced about his youth? I was always enthralled to be around my grandfather. He brought history alive for me, with both his knowledge and his grace. He was the ultimate gentleman and never ventured out on a Sunday without a suit and tie.

Today, we are being treated with another family's similar story. Would you not love to be able to afford a motor-home to travel the country and show your kids all the things that we just talked about? Of course you would! I would have hand-painted signs to festoon our car to get the kids fired up about the vacation.

Sarah Palin and her family are living the American dream. After participating in the "Rolling Thunder" rally in Washington D.C. yesterday, they have embarked on a tour to re-enact the foundational events that define us as a country. Where else would you go to learn about our founding besides the Northeast? It has to be the very first stop on a tour to appreciate our history. It too bad that the current residents of the area have forgotten our history. Perhaps Sarah and her family will change that in their search for knowledge and, hopefully, ours.

Thank You

Stunning Time-Lapse Video

This is an absolutely stunning time-lapse video of clouds and sky over the Canary Islands. Make sure and set to the highest resolution, go full screen and turn up the audio.

Thirsting for knowledge

I had a great exchange with my sister this evening. Living in Indiana, she was dismayed by the fact that Mitch Daniels bowed out of the Presidential race. Moreover, she is worried about who will fill the void, fearing the possibility of another 4 years with Obama.

The fear is palpable and it exists everywhere. Never in the baby-boomers lifetime has this country been on the brink of destruction from within. Yet throughout our history we have survived civil wars, civil strife and we have ALWAYS responded to external threats. Why does today seem so different?

Perhaps it is because we have never experienced such a threat to our liberty in the course of our lifetime. Although our parents certainly did and our grandparents did as well, to us, this is a first. "This" is the current threat that WE must deal with and we have to write our own history in doing so.

If you thought the 2010 elections were bad for the socialists in our midst, just you wait until 2012. The meme being pushed by the lamestream media is that Obama is unbeatable in 2012. In my mind, nothing could be further from the truth. For the first time in our history, our population is plugged into the information age like never before and that number is growing exponentially. Research shows that more people get their news from the Internet than ever did from the traditional nightly news that our parents and grandparents relied on. This is a good thing.

The light of truth cannot be hidden under the bushel basket that is the mainstream media. Their time is over. They need to clean out their closets and start to provide their viewers with real news and unbiased opinion. If they don't, their existing business model will become the stuff of legend, taught in Business Schools for decades about what NOT to do. Trust me, it will happen.

To my sister, I say, hang in there. We are only now approaching the 2012 election cycle and we are all chomping at the bit to get after it. Be patient, for I believe that God is on our side. He just had to make us suffer for a while to believe in Him again.

Daniels is out!

Breaking news. The Wall Street Journal just announced:

After months of stewing and despite widespread encouragement from many within his party, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels sent out an e-mail to supporters early Sunday saying he had decided against jumping into the 2012 presidential race.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels answered questions on Thursday at the Palais Royale ballroom during a breakfast speech in South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Daniels announced Sunday he wouldn't seek the Republican presidential nomination.

The decision is sure to disappoint the governor's many supporters, among them several prominent Republican governors who thought Mr. Daniels's deep résumé and record as cost-cutter in Indiana would add ballast to the 2012 GOP field.

In the end, he said, the decision came down to family. "I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all," he said in an e-mail sent after midnight.

Mr. Daniels, a two-term governor who had worked the administrations of both George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, had often expressed concerns about the strains a national campaign would put on his wife and four adult daughters.

His decision to stay out of the race eliminates one of the last big Republicans still known to be eyeing a presidential campaign and rounds out a week that also saw two other well-known figures— Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump—take their names out of contention.

"If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry," Mr. Daniels wrote. "If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise. I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached."

In classic Daniels fashion, the governor ended his note with a bit of self deprecation. "Please stay in touch if you see ways in which an obscure Midwestern governor might make a constructive contribution to the rebuilding of our economy and our republic," he wrote.

Sarah Palin's Ring-Tone

In an interview with Judge Jeanine on Fox News tonight, Sarah Palin revealed her preferred ring-tone. This revelation came in response to her being told that Newt Gingrich's ring-tone is "Dancing Queen", a tribute to Barney Frank. Sarah told Judge Jeanine that she didn't have a special ring-tone, but if she did, it would be this:

W100 Highlight Video

This is a great video about the wounded warriors' rehabilitation effort that former President George W. Bush has embraced. It's worth the watch and notice that "Dubya" plays a very minimal role in the video, although touting it on his Facebook page.

Sarah, we have your back

When all the world is falling down around us, we look for leaders. We look for those few amongst us that exhibit the characteristics that we wish we had. But we are all human.

We have concerns about family, income and our walk with God. We pray that we will be guided to do the right thing.

What if we were called to a task that seemed to be in conflict with our primary concerns? What if we were called to leadership on a level that confronted every thing we ever felt was the primary focus in our life? What if we were called to lead our nation?

I can't imagine the thoughts that must be coursing through the Palin family's mind. Do we take this plunge into national leadership, or do we take solace in the knowledge that we are convicted toward our love of family and stay put?

I can only say one thing. Sarah, if you believe that you're inclined to run for President, we have your back. We can't be there to guard the door, but we can deliver a withering defense of everything that you believe in.

We will defend your family with our dying breath. We will hold Trig up upon our shoulders to acknowledge your commitment to his life, because it is part and parcel to our own.

We will stand in defense of everything you say and will stand in the vanguard of your cause. We are your avant-garde and will defend you to our lives' end, in defense of this country, and in all that we call our own.

Sarah, don't ever think that you embark on this campaign without allies. You have so many more than you could ever imagine.

Cross-posted on Sarah Palin Information Blog

The Honor Flight

This should be an outstanding documentary. I encourage you to honor our fathers and grandfathers in supporting this mission.



Hat Tip: Don Vogel

Huckabee's Out

Mike Huckabee just announced that he is NOT running for the Republican nomination. He waited until the end of his show, a way to pull in a larger audience than he's ever been accustomed to for many, many months.

How Presidential is it to keep people waiting while you "jam" with Ted Nugent?