ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20091022

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

Promoting "God's Holy Values and American Freedoms"!



"Daily Motivations"

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose." -- Wayne Dyer



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

He is the Rock; His deeds are perfect. Everything He does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright He is! (Deuteronomy 32:4)

What hidden factors guide your decisions? On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank your ability to judge fairly?

Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink describes how we "think without thinking." In other words, there are many surprising influences behind our decisions. He tells the story of how symphony orchestras once auditioned new musicians. The judges were certain they made their selections based only on the performances they heard.

But when a few orchestras began having the candidates audition "invisibly" from behind screens, the decision-makers were shocked by the changes in their final choices. Women, for example, were far more likely to become part of the orchestra. Physical appearance no longer played a role. The conductors had been certain they were being entirely objective. But the "blind test" proved otherwise.

We all have our preconceptions, known and unknown. Most of us want to be just and fair. However, only God is perfectly just. In fact, Deuteronomy 32:4 says, "Everything He does is just and fair."



"The Patriot Post"

"It is freedom itself that still hangs in the balance, and freedom is never more than one generation from extinction." — Ronald Reagan

"[A]lthough a republican government is slow to move, yet when once in motion, its momentum becomes irresistible." -- Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Francis C. Gray, 1815



Less Hot Air From the Federal Government?

Expanding an initiative originally authored by President George W. Bush in 2007, President Obama signed an executive order setting emissions targets for federal agencies to be met by the year 2020. Federal agencies now have 90 days to spell out how much they will reduce the greenhouse gas load from their facilities, with the more difficult setting of reduction goals for employee commutes and travel due by the middle of next year. Obama's revision of the Executive Order added long-term goals missing in Bush's original.

Noble as these ideals may be (cough, cough), the difference between this executive order and the pending cap-n-tax legislation before Congress is that private-sector companies would be penalized for not meeting the goals set by legislation, whereas the executive order exempts all federal agencies from any penalty for not meeting the guidelines. Indeed, the order states, "This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal Government and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States."

If only the onerous environmental regulations proposed by Congress and put in place by faceless Beltway bureaucrats for the rest of us would be so lax.



News From the Swamp: Rangel Stays Put

The House voted 246-153 to refer a GOP privileged resolution (H Res 805) to the Ethics Committee. The resolution was aimed at forcing out New York Democrat Charlie Rangel as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee until completion of an investigation into his shady financial dealings. The vote effectively killed the resolution, though the Ethics Committee voted Thursday to expand the probe to look into Rangel's failure to report $500,000 in assets on financial disclosure forms -- a minor oversight.

Rep. John Carter (R-TX) sponsored the resolution, saying, "We cannot tolerate a double standard in this country, one for the common man and another for the rich and powerful. To allow Mr. Rangel to continue to serve as chairman ... sends a clear message to the American public that this government refuses to abide by the same laws they impose on the working people of this country." Leave it to Democrats to circle the wagons around another scofflaw. And so much for Nancy Pelosi's raving back in 2006 about the "culture of corruption."



New & Notable Legislation

The Senate passed the Pentagon budget, including war funding this week by a vote of 93-7. The $626 billion measure also bans the transfer of Guantanamo residents to prisons in the United States and includes $128 billion for Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

The House voted 281-146 Thursday to pass its $680 billion defense-spending bill, complete with the totally unrelated expansion of federal hate crimes to include those committed against people because of their sexual disorientation.



Republican Suicide

In a potential political suicide, the New York Republican Party selected NY State Assembly member Dierdre "Dede" Scozzafava to replace U.S. Rep. John McHugh (confirmed as Barack Obama's Secretary of the Army) in an upcoming NY-23 special election. In the ultimate sign of these perverted times, supporting Scozzafava is the National Republican Congressional Committee -- along with ACORN, SEIU and their affiliate, the Working Families Party.

To get those dubious endorsements, Scozzafava backs Obama's stimulus bill(s), Card Check, Cash for Clunkers and the Davis Bacon Act; refuses to sign either no tax or no pork pledges; and voted for bank bailouts, forced union dues payments from NY state employees and more than 190 instances of higher taxes. Furthermore, the company for which she recently resigned as chief operating officer has over $192,000 in tax liens.

As for the Republican endorsement, it is just a dark indication of how lost and misguided the GOP remains to this day.

If Scozzafava sounds like the ideal Democrat candidate, she is -- NY Democrats considered running her as their candidate but, allegedly, developed cold feet over, of all things, the tax issue (or maybe Democrats calculated it easiest to run her with an R in a Republican district, especially considering the weak political novice Democrat attorney that they did choose.)

The third choice in this three-horse race is NY Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. With national backlash against both parties and with endorsements from powerhouses Fred Thompson and the Club for Growth, Hoffman has strong polling numbers. But, as the mother's milk of politics, Hoffman requires substantial financial backing, and quickly, to defeat his ACORN/SEUI/WFP opponent and send true hope and change to Washington..



Obama No Friend of Dalai Lama

It's been at least 18 years since the Dalai Lama trekked to Washington without paying a visit to the White House, but this week's visit from the Tibetan religious leader lacks a meeting with Peace Prize-winning Barack Obama. And while an appointment with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is on the agenda, the fact that Obama is snubbing a face-to-face visit with this prominent human rights advocate and critic of the Chinese regime is yet another signal of his willingness to bow to the world's despots. Strangely, it also serves as a rare break from the Obama sycophants in Hollywood who desire to "free Tibet."

Furthermore, environmental concerns can't be discounted.. Considering the huge sum of Treasury bonds currently held by the Chinese government, this appeasement could be seen as part of a larger shift in our relationship with China. The administration appears willing to overlook Chinese human rights and trade abuses in the interest of worldwide cooperation on environmental issues.

While the Dalai Lama is a man symbolic of a people's plight, China's abuse of its Tibetan minority is real. It's unfortunate that, while Obama snubs their religious leader, Tibetans may be persecuted out of their enjoyment of the greener planet Obama's supporters seek in their dealings with the Beijing regime.

Clearly, standing firm for human rights in the face of tyranny is not a prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.



From the Left: ACORN Fraud Numbers Are Fudged Too

Leave it to ACORN to prune its own accounting. While the community organizers have admitted to the embezzlement of just under $1 million by then-president Wade Rathke, documents acquired under subpoena by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell peg the take up to $5 million. Rathke and an anonymous donor repaid the $1 million, but the whereabouts of any additional money not previously accounted for is unknown.

Caldwell's investigation, which centers on alleged violations of state employee tax law and obstruction of justice, comes at a time when ACORN is already under fire for advising two undercover investigative reporters on how to skirt tax law and bring illegal aliens into the country as child prostitutes. The fallout from that scandal has led to renewed efforts (still pending in Congress) to de-fund ACORN of the millions of federal dollars they receive and ACORN's removal from "assisting" in next year's census.



Essential Liberty Project

"Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day." -- Thomas Jefferson

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Warfront With Jihadistan: McCrossing Swords With The One

The Leftmedia reported this week that "The One" was unhappy with his commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. Shortly after the publication of a leaked report warning of a high potential for failure without additional forces, the general publicly disclosed his request to the commander in chief for 40,000 additional troops. Gen McChrystal currently leads 68,000 U.S. as well as 100,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan.

In advocating his position -- actually, the president's position announced by Obama in March -- Gen. McChrystal flatly rejected a diametrically opposed half-measure favored by many leftists, including Vice President Joseph Biden. That alternative favors a significantly scaled-back presence composed of unmanned aerial vehicles and Special Operations forces, a move McChrystal characterized as leading to "Chaos-istan" -- this state is also known as "Democrat-istan," but we digress. The general further highlighted the folly of this option metaphorically, remarking, "You can't hope to contain the fire by letting just half the building burn."

Of course, liberals immediately launched the Newspeak juggernaut to undermine both McChrystal and his request. Tactics included hauling out the usual "experts" to comment on the "constitutionality" of the general's "insubordination," and of course the inevitable comparison to Gen.. Douglas MacArthur and his high-visibility firing by President Harry Truman during the Korean conflict. Unfortunately, logic and an objective understanding of history have never been a strong suit for Dim-o-crats, as evidenced by their failure to appreciate the substantial disconnect deriving from the MacArthur-McChrystal comparison.

In the former case, MacArthur disobeyed a direct order by the president to sue for a negotiated peace, instead issuing his own call for victory and public announcement that U.S. forces could easily defeat opposing forces in battle. Truman promptly removed the general for blatantly disobeying orders and challenging authority. In contrast, if anything, Gen. McChrystal's remarks simply detailed conditions necessary to satisfy the administration's policy mandated when he assumed command in Afghanistan.

For our part, we believe Gen. McChrystal understands the score very well in Afghanistan. Having weighed the options, he took a calculated gamble to use the media to place the onus on Obama to follow through with his stipulated policy. Gen. McChrystal and, more importantly, his troops lose that gamble only if he receives just enough support from the Obama administration not to get the job done. Of course, that would never happen -- right?



"USA Today"

Opposing view: ‘We learned our lesson’

Republicans offer better solutions and a path to fiscal sanity.

By John Boehner

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/10/opposing-view-we-learned-our-lesson.html#more

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

As I've stated before, Republicans lost our way on fiscal responsibility when we held the majority in Congress. Since then, we have held firm to our commitment to show the American people we learned our lesson by offering better solutions to hold the line on spending, rein in red ink and get the nation's fiscal house in order.

We offered an alternative economic recovery plan that, according to a formula used by one of President Obama's senior economic advisers, would have created twice the jobs at half the cost of the Democrats' trillion dollar "stimulus." We developed a budget that keeps spending under control without raising taxes by instituting a spending freeze for five years, exempting defense and veterans' benefits.

In stark contrast, the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress have gone on a spending spree the likes of which our nation has never seen.

In fact, the federal government ran up a budget deficit of $1.4 trillion during the past fiscal year, more than triple the size of the previous record high. This level of reckless spending is unfathomable to out-of-work families struggling to make ends meet, but it has become the status quo for out-of-touch Washington Democrats.

What's worse, this spending binge hasn't produced the jobs this administration promised. The "stimulus" has failed to keep unemployment from rising to near 10%, and roughly 3 million private sector jobs have been lost since it became law. Families are rightfully asking: "Where are the jobs?"

Now, even while operating on a budget that doubles the debt in five years and triples it in 10, Democrats are proposing a new round of spending — and borrowing — to make up for the "stimulus" that isn't working. This is on top of a trillion dollar government takeover of health care, a cap-and-trade national energy tax and other costly initiatives passed this year.

By continuing to spend money we don't have, Democrats are making matters worse for our economy, not better. It's time to start working together to ensure the American people have a government that lives within its means.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, is the House minority leader.



"The Web"

Obamacare Line (1): What a phone call for health care may sound like in the near future

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kAlFk5MO4o&feature=player_embedded%20...



Rep. Issa: We're Going to Get a Countrywide Subpoena, We're Going to Get to the Bottom of the Bribes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpeXzyMum8E



Hatch: MoveOn.Org Is Scurrilous, And I'm Going To Kick Them In The Teeth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK_3Pperv74



CBS Evening News On Oversight Republican Investigation of Countrywide VIP Loan Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBreRhaoa8U&NR=1



Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room

By Susan Crabtree

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/63941-democrats-lock-republicans-out-of-committee-room#

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren’t present.

Towns’ action came after repeated public ridicule from the leading Republican on the committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), over Towns’s failure to launch an investigation into Countrywide Mortgage’s reported sweetheart deals to VIPs.

For months Towns has refused Republican requests to subpoena records in the case. Last Thursday Committee Republicans, led by Issa, were poised to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a Committee mark-up meeting. The mark-up was abruptly canceled. Only Republicans showed up while Democrats chairs remained empty.

Republicans charged that Towns canceled the meeting to avoid the subpoena vote. Democrats first claimed the mark-up was canceled due to a conflict with the Financial Services Committee. Later they said it was abandoned after a disagreement among Democratic members on whether to subpoena records on the mortgage industry’s political contributions to Republicans.

A GOP committee staffer captured video of Democrats leaving their separate meeting in private chambers after the mark-up was supposed to have begun. He spliced the video to other footage of the Democrats’ empty chairs at the hearing room, set it to the tune of “Hit the Road, Jack” and posted it on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s minority webpage, where it remained as of press time.

Towns’s staffers told Republicans they were not happy about the presence of the video camera in the hearing room when they were not present. Issa’s spokesman said the Democrats readily acknowledged to Republicans that they changed the locks in retaliation to the videotape of the Democrats’ absence from the business meeting even though committee rules allow meetings to be taped.

"It's not surprising that they would choose to retaliate given the embarrassment we caused by catching them in a lie on tape,” said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella. “If only they
would use their creative energy to do some actual oversight rather than resorting to immature tactics, but I guess we're getting some insight into what lengths they'll go to avoid addressing the Countrywide VIP issue."

Towns’s office said in a statement the locks were changed on Republicans "because they don't know how to behave." As for the video the GOP made, Towns's office pointed out: "The minority is using taxpayer dollars to make these campaign style videos."

Bardella replied: "It's also those same taxpayer dollars that paid for them to sit in a room while they came up with an excuse to cancel the mark-up -- what exactly do they do all day?"

The partisan sniping recalls a similarly bitter name-calling match between House Republicans and Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee in 2003 when Republicans controlled the majority and former Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) chaired the panel. The episode ended in Thomas, known for his acerbic tongue, summoning the Capitol Police to evict an outraged gaggle of Democratic colleagues from a library in the Longworth House office building.

The committee had convened that morning to consider a bipartisan bill that would revise the nation's pension and retirement-saving system.

Democrats objected when Thomas brought up a 90-page substitute measure that had been released shortly before midnight the night before. Democrats said they needed more time to read it. Thomas disagreed.

In response, Democrats objected to a normally perfunctory motion to dispense with the reading of the dense legislation. A clerk obligingly began reading it line by line.

Democrats departed to a library just off the main hearing room, leaving only Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark (D-Calif.) to prevent the Republicans from obtaining unanimous consent to skip the reading. After a few minutes, Thomas asked again for the unanimous consent, and instantly brought down his gavel. Stark told reporters he had objected, but Thomas had replied, "You're too late."

Even before Thomas gaveled the reading to an end, he had directed staff to call the Capitol Police to remove the Democrats form the library.

Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America, was reported to have given VIP loans and treatment to lawmakers and officials at the federal and local level who were in a position to influence policy affecting the mortgage giant. Issa has repeatedly reminded Committee Democrats that Bank of America officials had said they would turn over records on the VIP program – but only in response to a subpoena.

Towns, who received a mortgage loan from Countrywide but insists he was not part of the VIP program, has said he declined to launch an investigation because he does not want to interfere with an ongoing Justice Department probe into the matter.



The Volunteerism Scandals Hollywood Won’t Be Broadcasting

By Michelle Malkin

http://townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2009/10/21/the_volunteerism_scandals_hollywood_won%e2%80%99t_be_broadcasting?page=full&comments=true

Hollywood hearts Obama. Obama hearts government-directed national service. That is why you won’t be able to change the TV channel all week without getting lectured about the need to get off the couch and Do Something. (After your favorite shows are over, of course.) Creeped out? You should be.

The entertainment industry, inspired by Obama’s $6 billion expansion of government volunteerism spending, is coordinating plot lines and ads to push public service. “The message will be nearly ubiquitous,” reports the Los Angeles Times, “starting in the morning with programs such as ‘Today’ and ‘The View,’ and then echoed on soap operas, prime-time series and late-night shows.” First lady Michelle Obama, a relentless AmeriCorps promoter who publicly extolled the Tinseltown initiative last month, will cap off the week with an appearance on “The Jay Leno Show” on Friday.

But don’t expect Leno to ask Mrs. Obama about her reported meddling in personnel decisions at the scandal-plagued AmeriCorps. Or about the program’s long history as a government boondoggle stuffed with make-work jobs, permanent bureaucracies, left-wing slush funds and partisan lobbyists. More on that in a moment.

Spearheaded by a nonprofit called the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), organizers deny any partisan or political motivation. But editor John Nolte published an internal memo from EIF titled “Answering the Call,” which describes the entire multiyear campaign as a direct response to President Obama’s call “for a new era of responsibility.” The massive leftward tilt in Hollywood donations to Democratic campaign coffers speaks for itself. As do the celebrity vows of volunteer-mongers like Demi Moore, who pledged in a recent national service PSA not to be a servant to her fellow citizens or her country, but “a servant to Barack Obama.”

EIF is working in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the parent organization of AmeriCorps.

It’s the same CNCS that last year suspended Sacramento mayor and Obama crony Kevin Johnson from receiving federal funds after then-inspector general Gerald Walpin blew the whistle on massive fraud and abuse of AmeriCorps dollars for personal and political gain.

It’s the same CNCS that then sat by and meekly watched Team Obama and the U.S. Attorney in Sacramento railroad Walpin after the November 2008 election for doing his job.

It’s the same CNCS that has hired Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff, Jackie Norris, as national service adviser to ensure -- in her words -- that corporation officials are their “No. 1 cheerleaders.”

It’s the same CNCS that smeared Walpin as “confused” and “disoriented” -- and then sacked the honest, independent watchdog for raising questions on behalf of taxpayers.

And it’s the same CNCS that last month administered a mere slap on the wrist to the largest AmeriCorps program in the nation for massive fiscal mismanagement. As Youth Today, a niche publication that covers the national service sector, reported recently, “CNCS docked the City University of New York (CUNY) $345,700 for this year, reducing its grant from $900,000 to $554,300.”

Walpin had uncovered a raft of grant violations, including criminal background check lapses and “pervasive problems of eligibility, timekeeping and documentation” in an audit earlier this year. He challenged duplicative educational awards of more than $16 million. CUNY refused to return excess funds that it had drawn down, failed to revise procedures to prevent such grant abuse and refused to provide proof documenting that its AmeriCorps participants actually existed.

Walpin advised AmeriCorps’ parent organization, CNCS, to cut off any new funding and reexamine past government funding totaling upward of $75 million. But internal notes from CNCS discussions show that they had more “concern about potential for damage being done” and were irked by the “bad timing” of Walpin’s audits. In the end, the agency settled for cutting its current grant by less than half and keeping CUNY on the dole.

So much for a “new era of responsibility.”

Walpin is suing to get his job back as the Obama political machine takes over the national service juggernaut. It’s a David vs. Goliath, made-for-TV plot line. But when the government-undermining message threatens the White House narrative, it’s not fit for prime time.



Cash for Clubbers

Congress's fabulous golf cart stimulus.
We thought cash for clunkers was the ultimate waste of taxpayer money, but as usual we were too optimistic. Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama's stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart.

The federal credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart. Even in states that don't have their own tax rebate plans, the federal credit is generous enough to pay for half or even two-thirds of the average sticker price of a cart, which is typically in the range of $8,000 to $10,000. "The purchase of some models could be absolutely free," Roger Gaddis of Ada Electric Cars in Oklahoma said earlier this year. "Is that about the coolest thing you've ever heard?"

The golf-cart boom has followed an IRS ruling that golf carts qualify for the electric-car credit as long as they are also road worthy. These qualifying golf carts are essentially the same as normal golf carts save for adding some safety features, such as side and rearview mirrors and three-point seat belts. They typically can go 15 to 25 miles per hour.

In South Carolina, sales of these carts have been soaring as dealerships alert customers to Uncle Sam's giveaway. "The Golf Cart Man" in the Villages of Lady Lake, Florida is running a banner online ad that declares: "GET A FREE GOLF CART. Or make $2,000 doing absolutely nothing!"

Golf Cart Man is referring to his offer in which you can buy the cart for $8,000, get a $5,300 tax credit off your 2009 income tax, lease it back for $100 a month for 27 months, at which point Golf Cart Man will buy back the cart for $2,000. "This means you own a free Golf Cart or made $2,000 cash doing absolutely nothing!!!" You can't blame a guy for exploiting loopholes that Congress offers.

The IRS has also ruled that there's no limit to how many electric cars an individual can buy, so some enterprising profiteers are stocking up on multiple carts while the federal credit lasts, in order to resell them at a profit later. We should note that some states, such as Oklahoma, have caught on to the giveaway and are debating whether to cancel or limit their state credits. But in Congress they're still on the driving range.

This golf-cart fiasco perfectly illustrates tax policy in the age of Obama, when politicians dole out credits and loopholes for everything from plug-in cars to fuel efficient appliances, home insulation and vitamins. Democrats then insist that to pay for these absurdities they have no choice but to raise tax rates on other things—like work and investment—that aren't politically in vogue. If this keeps up, it'll soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for living.



Preventing the Flu: Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm

Fact Sheet

The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent the flu.

Avoid close contact.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

Stay home when you are sick.

If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.

Cover your mouth and nose.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.

Clean your hands.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.



Dear American Patriot, (Rno)

http://reno.craigslist.org/pol/1429503672.html

From: Richard Thompson, Thomas More Law Center

Dear American Patriot,

Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani refused to throw his men under the bus to save his career. So the government is doing everything it can to grind him up.

He urgently needs your help.

He served three tours of duty in Iraq, including the Second Battle of Fallujah. He also served in Panama and in the First Persian Gulf War. He honorably served his country as a Marine officer for over 20 years.

His superiors considered him a superb leader, who demonstrated moral courage with unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps.

Despite all of this, on December 1, 2009, LtCol Chessani will face a Military Board of Inquiry (BOI) to determine whether he is guilty of misconduct and should be demoted in rank because of the so-called "Haditha Massacre" - a massacre everyone now knows never happened.

The bogus criminal charges against LtCol Chessani were triggered by a fierce house-to-house, room-by-room combat action taken by four of his enlisted Marines after insurgents in Haditha, Iraq ambushed their convoy on November 19, 2005. The rest of the story below.

LtCol Chessani was first criminally charged with failing to accurately report and investigate that incident. Essentially, the government said he did not file the proper paperwork. Pretty lame! Yet, had it convicted him, he would have faced 2¨ö years in prison.

The government lost at every stage of the criminal process.

Because it couldn't win in a court of law, the government has now ordered a Board of Inquiry to decide LtCol Chessani's fate. This is the government's clever way to "finish off" LtCol Chessani without having to follow normal court rules.

With your help, and the help of thousands of patriotic Americans, we were able to defeat the prosecution at every stage of the criminal process.

LtCol Paul Ware, USMC, a military judge who heard testimony in one of the cases involving the November 19th Haditha incident, had this to say about the government's case:

"To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary and sets a dangerous precedent that, in my opinion, may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq. Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy..."

But a Board of Inquiry is an administrative hearing where the normal rules of evidence are thrown out the window. The Board can consider material without the benefit of a cross examination; they can consider the tainted record of the Article 32 Hearing; LtCol Chessani cannot subpoena witnesses; and the government need only prove misconduct by a preponderance of the evidence (50.1%) rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Board could force LtCol Chessani to retire and be demoted in rank. Aside from the obvious disgrace to one of our most effective combat commanders, this would cost him and his family huge losses in retirement pay and benefits.

For a man and family that dedicated their lives to the defense of our great nation - you and I cannot allow this to happen.

A BOI finding of misconduct will not only be a tragedy for LtCol Chessani and his family, but for all our troops the government places in harm's way.

Your generous financial support can help end this personal tragedy and injustice to Jeffrey Chessani and his family... and insure the future of America's fighting spirit.

Remember, your contributions are tax deductible.

Now, for the rest of the story . .. .

The four Marines were members of the battalion commanded by LtCol Chessani ¦¡ 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines ("The Thundering Third") ¦¡ one of the most decorated units in the Marine Corps.

On the morning of November 19, 2005, a Marine convoy was rolling through Haditha, Iraq - an insurgent stronghold. Suddenly, a roadside bomb went off under a Humvee, killing one Marine and seriously injuring two others.

Marines immediately received fire from the ambushing insurgents who were shooting from nearby civilian-occupied homes.

Following orders from the officer at the scene, and at great risk to themselves, the four Marines stormed the houses from which the insurgents were firing. In the ensuing room-by-room, house-by-house gun battles, the Marines killed at least nine insurgents.

Tragically, 15 civilians were also killed in the crossfire. In urban combat where insurgents purposely use civilians as human shields, civilian casualties are an unfortunate, but not uncommon occurrence.

As tragic as these civilian deaths were, we can't shackle our combat commanders' ability to make decisions by placing them in fear of criminal prosecution or Boards of Inquiry every time there are civilian casualties as a result of combat action.

LtCol Chessani immediately reported the deaths of the 15 civilian Iraqis to his superiors.

The Pentagon had his battlefront report within 24 hours.

Not one of Jeffrey Chessani's superiors - including top generals - learning of the 15 civilian deaths considered it unusual. Not one of them suggested an investigation. In fact, his superiors commended him for a job well done.

But a few months later, an inflammatory Time Magazine news lead, instigated by an insurgent propaganda operative, accused the four Marines of massacring innocent civilians.

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, the leading anti-war politician, appeared on major television networks and stated there had been no firefight. He publicly accused the young enlisted Marines of "cold blooded" murder and Marine officers of a "cover-up." He blamed it on the stress of being in Iraq too long.

Political and media pressure caused the military to buckle. At least 65 fulltime investigators, the largest investigation in the history of the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Services) were assigned to conduct a year-long, multi-million dollar investigation focused on LtCol Jeffrey Chessani and his four enlisted men.

Every patriotic American should be concerned with the outcome of this case because it could drastically curtail the future ability of American soldiers to defend our Nation.

For twenty years Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani has been defending our nation... often away from his wife and children... so that we could be safely with ours.

I am aware that these are hard economic times for many, but please consider the sacrifices that LtCol Chessani and his wife and children have made for each of us and our families, so that we may have peace at home. This is one of those times that you can show your gratitude. So please be as generous as you can.

Note the absurdity of it all... LtCol Chessani is charged with failing to accurately report and investigate a crime that the military now knows never happened.

With their false accusation, insurgents eliminated one of America's most effective combat officers. They know...

"A nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten."

Our representation of LtCol Chessani is without charge. But we need your financial support to carry on this fight.

Without our help, LtCol Chessani's legal bills defending against the criminal charges and now the charges in the Board of Inquiry would already be astronomical - out of reach for a husband and father of six young children (the seventh on the way) surviving on military pay.

In preparing for the Board of Inquiry, TMLC lawyers will again examine thousands of pages of investigative reports and personally interview countless witnesses.

The Board of Inquiry will take place at Camp Pendleton, California. It will last several weeks. The Thomas More Law Center will bear the enormous costs associated with establishing a second office, paying hotels, and all the other expenses associated with two lawyers handling a case 2,000 miles away.

LtCol Chessani was in Iraq because his country sent him there. He willingly answered the call to serve his country in our defense. That's why he deserves the support of every patriotic American. Now is the time to show him our gratitude.

As tragic as these civilian deaths in Haditha were, it's essential that we not shackle our combat commanders' ability to make decisions by placing them in fear of criminal prosecution every time there are civilian casualties as a result of combat action.

LtCol Chessani has devoted his life to the defense of OUR country... NOW he needs OUR help.

Show him your gratitude for his service by sending the largest gift you can.

May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.

Richard Thompson, Esq.

President and Chief Counsel

Thomas More Law Center



"The e-mail Bag"

Bambi, a blonde in her fourth year as a UCLA Freshman, sat in her US Government class. The professor asked Bambi if she knew what Roe vs. Wade was about.

Bambi pondered the question; then, finally, said, 'That was the decision George Washington had to make before he crossed the Delaware .'