ConservativeChristianRepublican-Report - 20091207

Motivational-Inspirational-Historical-Educational-Political-Enjoyable

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



"My Comments"

Remember Pearl Harbor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suuN6bkYiug



Attack on Pearl Harbor - 1st trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FCL94gQe9Q&NR=1



Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941

Overview and Special Image Selection

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm

The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant.

Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese agression. The Japanese military, deeply engaged in the seemingly endless war it had started against China in mid-1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these was gradually curtailed as the conquests continued. In July 1941 the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable.

By late November 1941, with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end, informed U.S. officials (and they were well-informed, they believed, through an ability to read Japan's diplomatic codes) fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the Philippines. Completely unanticipated was the prospect that Japan would attack east, as well.

The U.S. Fleet's Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an aircraft carrier force, and the Japanese Navy secretly sent one across the Pacific with greater aerial striking power than had ever been seen on the World's oceans. Its planes hit just before 8AM on 7 December. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army was ashore in Malaya.

These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously divided American people into a level of purposeful unity hardly seen before or since. For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered.

However, the memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight on. Once the Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan's striking power, that same memory stoked a relentless war to reverse her conquests and remove her, and her German and Italian allies, as future threats to World peace.

This page features a historical overview and special image selection on the Pearl Harbor raid, chosen from the more comprehensive coverage featured in the following pages, and those linked from them:

Pearl Harbor in 1940-1941

Japanese Forces in the Pearl Harbor Attack

Overall Views of the Pearl Harbor Attack

"Battleship Row" during the Pearl Harbor Attack

Attacks off the West Side of Ford Island

Attacks in the Navy Yard Area

Attacks on Airfields and Aerial Combat

Other Raid-related Events

Damaged Ships after the Attack

Raid Aftermath

Post-Attack Ship Salvage

Remembrance of the "Day which will live in Infamy"

For additional information and related resources on the Pearl Harbor attack, see
The Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Click photograph for larger image.

Photo #: NH 50603

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from a carrier as the second wave attack is launched. Ship's crewmen are cheering "Banzai"
This ship is either Zuikaku or Shokaku.
Note light tripod mast at the rear of the carrier's island, with Japanese naval ensign.

NHHC Photograph.

Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 540

Photo #: NH 50931

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Torpedo planes attack "Battleship Row" at about 0800 on 7 December, seen from a Japanese aircraft. Ships are, from lower left to right: Nevada (BB-36) with flag raised at stern; Arizona (BB-39) with Vestal (AR-4) outboard; Tennessee (BB-43) with West Virginia (BB-48) outboard; Maryland (BB-46) with Oklahoma (BB-37) outboard; Neosho (AO-23) and California (BB-44).
West Virginia, Oklahoma and California have been torpedoed, as marked by ripples and spreading oil, and the first two are listing to port. Torpedo drop splashes and running tracks are visible at left and center.
White smoke in the distance is from Hickam Field. Grey smoke in the center middle distance is from the torpedoed USS Helena (CL-50), at the Navy Yard's 1010 dock.
Japanese writing in lower right states that the image was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry.

NHHC Photograph.

Online Image: 144KB; 740 x 545

Photo #: 80-G-266626

USS Utah (AG-16)

Capsizing off Ford Island, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, after being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft .
Photographed from USS Tangier (AV-8), which was moored astern of Utah.
Note colors half-raised over fantail, boats nearby, and sheds covering Utah's after guns.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 605

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: 80-G-K-13513 (Color)

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

The forward magazines of USS Arizona (BB-39) explode after she was hit by a Japanese bomb, 7 December 1941.
Frame clipped from a color motion picture taken from on board USS Solace (AH-5).

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 55KB; 740 x 610

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Note: The motion picture from which this image is taken is shown backwards, with the fireball oriented to the left. The image is correctly oriented as shown here.

Photo #: 80-G-19942

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

USS Arizona (BB-39) sunk and burning furiously, 7 December 1941. Her forward magazines had exploded when she was hit by a Japanese bomb.
At left, men on the stern of USS Tennessee (BB-43) are playing fire hoses on the water to force burning oil away from their ship

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 115KB; 740 x 610

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: 80-G-19930

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

Sailors in a motor launch rescue a survivor from the water alongside the sunken USS West Virginia (BB-48) during or shortly after the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) is inboard of the sunken battleship.
Note extensive distortion of West Virginia's lower midships superstructure, caused by torpedoes that exploded below that location.
Also note 5"/25 gun, still partially covered with canvas, boat crane swung outboard and empty boat cradles near the smokestacks, and base of radar antenna atop West Virginia's foremast.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 119KB; 740 x 620

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: 80-G-19949

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

USS Maryland (BB-46) alongside the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37).
USS West Virginia (BB-48) is burning in the background.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 605

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: NH 86118

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

The forward magazine of USS Shaw (DD-373) explodes during the second Japanese attack wave. To the left of the explosion, Shaw's stern is visible, at the end of floating drydock YFD-2.
At right is the bow of USS Nevada (BB-36), with a tug alongside fighting fires.
Photographed from Ford Island, with a dredging line in the foreground.

NHHC Photograph.

Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 605

Photo #: 80-G-19943

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

The wrecked destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) and USS Cassin (DD-372) in Drydock One at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, soon after the end of the Japanese air attack. Cassin has capsized against Downes.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) is astern, occupying the rest of the drydock. The torpedo-damaged cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) is in the right distance, beyond the crane. Visible in the center distance is the capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37), with USS Maryland (BB-46) alongside. Smoke is from the sunken and burning USS Arizona (BB-39), out of view behind Pennsylvania. USS California (BB-44) is partially visible at the extreme left.
This image has been attributed to Navy Photographer's Mate Harold Fawcett.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.

Online Image: 158KB; 610 x 765

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: 80-G-32836

Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941

PBY patrol bomber burning at Naval Air Station Kaneohe, Oahu, during the Japanese attack.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, in National Archives collection.

Online Image: 91KB; 740 x 605

Reproductions may also be available at National Archives.

Photo #: NH 72273-KN (Color)

"Remember Dec. 7th!"

Poster designed by Allen Sandburg, issued by the Office of War Information, Washington, D.C., in 1942, in remembrance of the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
The poster also features a quotation from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "... we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ...".

Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Center. Donation of Dr. Robert L. Scheina, 1970.

NHHC Photograph.

Online Image: 83KB; 525 x 765



"Daily Motivations"

The goal of effective communication should be for the listener to say, "Me, too!" versus, "So what?" -- Jim Rohn

"You will never win if you never begin." -- Robert H. Schuller



"Daily Devotions" (KJV and/or NLT)

The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword ... It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

Many years ago, I was speaking at a large university. A young radical student, who was the head of the Communist Party on campus, confronted me. He railed at me, because I was encouraging students to follow Christ.

Rather than argue, I invited him to come to our home for dinner. After dessert, I said, "I want to read something to you from the Bible." He reacted with obvious irritation. "I have read the Bible from cover to cover," he exclaimed. "It's a ridiculous book. It's filled with contradictions, lies and myths. "

I replied, "If you don't mind, I will read it anyway."

I read to him from John, chapter 1: "Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God. He created everything there is -- nothing exists that He didn't make. Eternal life is in Him, and this life gives light to all mankind ...." (The Living Bible)

When I concluded reading, he said, "Let me see that." He read it thoughtfully, then handed the Bible back to me without comment.

Then I turned to Colossians, Chapter 1, which records, "Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God...." (The Living Bible)

He was very sober. After reading a couple of other passages, he was obviously very moved. His entire countenance had changed.

Later, as he stood to leave, I asked him if he would sign our guest book. He penned these words, which I shall never forget: "The night of decision," a decision to follow Christ.

Your View of God Really Matters …

When someone asks you if you believe if Jesus really is the only way to God, do you duck, argue or do you read (or quote) them Jesus' very own words from the Bible? Who has greater credibility: you or Jesus? Today, let Jesus speak through you.



"The Patriot Post"

"In disquisitions of every kind there are certain primary truths, or first principles, upon which all subsequent reasoning must depend." -- Alexander Hamilton

"It's always a struggle for those of us in political life to take the long view and to brave decisions without regard to personal political cost. There are times when we fail in the struggle and times when we succeed. And I suspect the next few years will test us more than usual, but I know we're up to it. ... We'll have our battles ahead of us, but they're good battles, and they're worth fighting for. .... I hope the loyal opposition realizes exactly how committed I am and you are to changing the status quo and improving our national life. We won't be resting on our laurels, even if we were so inclined, which we're not. History wouldn't allow it. We've been handed great opportunities and great challenges, and we intend to meet them together." -- Ronald Reagan



U.S.S.A.: The Democrats' Dream

Opinion in Brief

"This is how I see health care reform working: If you are a doctor who has spent a lot of money and time becoming a responsible and caring physician, the government will tell you how much to charge your patients and, in fact, whether you will be allowed to treat them at all. Bureaucrats, having given themselves the power of God, will decide whether a patient is worth the cost of treatment, thereby deciding who lives and who dies. Despite the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, somewhere down the line taxpayers will be forced to underwrite abortions in violation of the consciences and faith of the majority. This is the triumph of the humanistic, atheistic worldview. We are all to be regarded as products of evolution in which the fit and the powerful will decide our survival and worth. ... The new breast and ovarian cancer screening guidelines may soon become mandatory as health care rationing kicks in. The unwanted, the inconvenient and the 'burdensome' could soon be dispatched with a pill, or through neglect. Great horrors don't begin in gas chambers, killing fields, or forced famines. They begin when there is a philosophical shift in a nation's leadership about the value of human life. ... In our day, the consequences of government seizure of one-sixth of our economy and government's ability to decide how we run our lives (it won't stop with health care) are foreseen. They are just being ignored in our continued pursuit of personal peace, affluence and political power. ... Welcome to the U.S.S.A., the United Socialist States of America." -- columnist Cal Thomas



Government

"When you knowingly pay someone to lie to you, we call the deceiver an illusionist or a magician. When you unwittingly pay someone to do the same thing, I call him a politician. President Obama insists that health care 'reform' not 'add a dime' to the budget deficit, which daily grows to ever more frightening levels. So the House-passed bill and the one the Senate now deliberates both claim to cost less than $900 billion. Somehow '$900 billion over 10 years' has been decreed to be a magical figure that will not increase the deficit. It's amazing how precise government gets when estimating the cost of 10 years of subsidized medical care. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill was scored not at $850 billion, but $849 billion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her bill would cost $871 billion. How do they do that? The key to magic is misdirection, fooling the audience into looking in the wrong direction. I happily suspend disbelief when a magician says he'll saw a woman in half. That's entertainment. But when Harry Reid says he'll give 30 million additional people health coverage while cutting the deficit, improving health care and reducing its cost, it's not entertaining. It's incredible." -- columnist John Stossel



For the Record

"[T]here is an array of taxes on the horizon -- increased federal income tax rates; promised hikes in health-care surcharge taxes; and even rumors of value-added federal sales taxes. These increases are said to be aimed at the proverbial wealthy. But that could change -- given that the top 5 percent of households already provide 60 percent of the nation's income-tax revenue. And many are already paying 50 percent to 60 percent of their incomes in combined local, state, federal and payroll taxes. Just consider. The price of gas will soon likely increase. The cost of servicing our profligate borrowing will, too. One more terrorist attack like at Fort Hood, or nightly sermons from a grandstanding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, or a new Taliban offensive, and the momentum could shift to radical Islam in their decades-long war against the United States. Next year's tax hikes will be real and large -- and no longer just this year's idle talk. As these storm clouds gather, Congress bickers on Saturday nights about borrowing even more money for health-care reform, yet another federal entitlement. If you thought things have been rough so far, hang on, 'cause you ain't seen nothing yet." -- historian Victor Davis Hanson



Faith & Family

"Peter Vidala was being harassed at work-subjected, over and over again, to views he found offensive. When he finally spoke up, he was fired. It's an illustration of the double standard that often prevails when it comes to same-sex 'marriage.' Vidala was a deputy manager at a Brookstone store in Boston's Logan Airport. Last August, a manager visiting from another store told Vidala she was planning to 'marry' her female partner.. Vidala said he 'quickly changed the subject.' As a Christian, he considered homosexual behavior immoral, and same-sex 'marriage' an 'oxymoron.' The woman's comments made him uncomfortable. But the visiting manager didn't get the message-or maybe she did. She talked about her wedding plans over and over. Vidala later told Fox new she was goading him into commenting on her relationship. Vidala said, 'By the fourth time she mentioned it, I felt God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter. So I did.' He told her, 'Regarding your homosexuality, I think that's bad stuff.' He also reported that he had intended to tell her he would prefer she not bring up the subject at work, but she just started laughing. And then she told him, 'Get over it .... keep your opinions to yourself.' She then complained to human resources, and Vidala was fired. Why? Because by 'imposing' his beliefs on her, it constituted 'harassment.' So pummeling a junior-level Christian employee with endless comments he finds offensive is OK. But making a single critical comment to a lesbian senior-level employee is a firing offense. Even more disturbing is the reason Brookstone gave to back up its decision. In Massachusetts, same-sex 'marriage' is legal. So a lesbian employee can prattle on about her wedding plans without harassing anyone. The implications of this are frightening. If same-sex 'marriage' is foisted upon other states, then expressing disagreement with it-or even criticizing the homosexual lifestyle-could become a firing offense for everyone. If employers had taken this attitude 90 years ago, people could have lost their jobs for disagreeing with laws forbidding women from voting! This is how far the gay agenda has come in this country. Any disagreement is portrayed as hatred and harassment. And the victim-as in this case-is often a Christian. Peter Vidala's firing will have one beneficial effect, at least. It will help the rest of us understand why same-sex 'marriage' laws are like no other. Oppose them beforehand or speak out afterward, and you will be punished." -- author Chuck Colson



Re: The Left

"Of somewhat more import was the news last week that a bunch of climate scientists --in fact THE bunch of climate scientists -- who have been at the center of the global warming movement were found to have cooked the books to make the 'Earth-is-warming' numbers work. According to ... Dr. William Hamilton's weekly 'Central View' column, emails which were hacked and released, 'reveal that climatologists at Penn State, Amherst, the University of Arizona and England's East Anglia University have been engaged in a conspiracy to: hide data that the planet is cooling, apply pressure to scientific journals to exclude studies casting doubt on their theories of global warming, hide data being requested under the Freedom of Information Act that would discredit global warming, and, delete any data in their files that would support the existence of global cooling.' Yikes. The very people who 10 days ago were laughing and pointing at global warming skeptics for hanging on to their position notwithstanding the evidence in support of the man-induced effect on the Earth's climate, are now very quiet. A lot of people have a lot invested in the business of global warming, and the concept of their scientific beards having cheated on the numbers, coerced their opponents, covered-up the data and shredded potential evidence is impossible for them to accept. Notwithstanding the evidence." -- political analyst Rich Galen



The Last Word

"As Air Force One heads to Copenhagen for the climate summit Dec. 9, it will presumably not make a U-turn while flying over the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at University of East Anglia near Norwich, England. But perhaps it should. The 61 megabytes of CRU e-mails and documents made public by a hacker cast serious doubt on the ballyhooed consensus on manmade global warming that the Copenhagen summit was called to address. The CRU has been a major source of data on global temperatures, relied on by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But the e-mails suggest that CRU scientists have been suppressing and misstating data and working to prevent the publication of conflicting views in peer-reviewed science periodicals.. ... For those of us who have long suspected that constructing scientific models of climate and weather is an enormously complex undertaking quite possibly beyond the capacity of current computer technology, the CRU e-mails are not so surprising. Do we really suppose that anyone can construct a database of weather observations for the entire planet and its atmosphere adequate to make confident predictions of weather and climate 60 years from now? Predictions in which we have enough confidence to impose enormous costs on the American and world economies? ... The more interesting question going forward is whether European and American governmental, academic and corporate elites, having embraced global warming alarmism with religious fervor, will be shaken by the scandalous CRU e-mails. They should be." -- political analyst Michael Barone



"Jim DeMint"

With the current debate over a government takeover of our health care raging and so many other pressing issues, I wanted to call your attention to some good news: a victory for freedom for our friends and allies in Honduras.

This past Sunday, Hondurans secured a victory for democracy and the rule of law after they voted for a new president in free and fair elections. This only happened after they took a courageous stand against international pressure to reinstate the disgraced Manuel Zelaya, a close ally of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and the Cuban Castro brothers, who had tried to install himself as a dictator.

Initially, the Obama Administration supported Zelaya, but they have recently reversed this flawed policy and committed to stand with the Honduran people and their fight for freedom. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I applaud the Obama Administration for now recognizing the election of Porfirio Lobo as Honduras’ new president, and look forward to restoring our relationship with Honduras, a faithful U.S. ally.

If you’d like to read more about this important story, below are some articles from around South Carolina that highlight this great news for the people of Honduras.

The Post and Courier: “The international community held that the removal of Mr. Zelaya from office was irregular, a view disputed by the Honduran political establishment. The Obama administration initially demanded the return of Mr. Zelaya, but in recent weeks made a welcome change of policy. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who had been an outspoken opponent of the administration's initial position, said Monday that he was 'very encouraged' by the shift.”

The Rock Hill Herald: “Some, in fact, claim that Zelaya was bought and paid for by Chavez. When the coup occurred, Zelaya was campaigning to annul a constitutional clause limiting the president to a single term and to hold a referendum on the change. Chavez, similarly, has annulled term limits in his country, allowing him to seek office indefinitely. DeMint was convinced that the coup was both constitutional and a boon to U.S. foreign policy. He has lobbied hard since the coup occurred and even has visited Honduras to consult with military leaders there.”

The State: “Arturo Valenzuela, U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, recognized the Sunday voting, won by Porfirio Lobo, presidential candidate of the National Party. 'He will be the next president of Honduras,' Valenzuela said Monday. DeMint, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had blocked Valenzuela's nomination for months because the Obama administration was insisting deposed Honduras President Manuel Zelaya be restored to power.”

Sincerely,



"The Web"

Navy Seals Could Face Year in Prison Over Alleged Punching of Terrorist Suspected of Masterminding Fallujah Murders

By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/58016




U.S. troops in Iraq (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – The Navy Seals facing court martial for the alleged abuse of a terror suspect arrested for killing four Americans face up to a year in military confinement, discharge for bad conduct, and forfeiture of two-thirds of their pay for a year, if convicted, according to defense attorneys.

Further, their attorneys said that the possibilty that they would not be able to cross-examine their clients' accuser would be grounds for dismissing the case.

The accuser, Ahmed Hashim Abed, is the alleged architect of the murder of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. The bodies of the four Americans were burned and hanged from a bridge for display.

The three Navy Seals--Matthew McCabe, Jonathon Keefe, and Julio Huertas--will be arraigned on Monday in Norfolk, Va. They are facing a special court martial--which is equivalent to a misdemeanor charge--and have each denied the allegations of abuse and cover-up.

The trial date for McCabe, the Seal charged with the alleged assault, is tentatively set for Jan. 19, 2010, McCabe’s attorney Neal Puckett said.

Defense attorneys told CNSNews.com that they are waiting to see the evidence from military prosecutors because it is still under review to determine if it is classified. Even the charges, the only court filings in the case thus far, are still under review.

“The government has not handed over anything,” Huertas’ attorney Monica Lombardi told CNSNews.com. “They are now claiming that things are classified, but they are not saying what’s classified and what’s not classified. I filed my discovery request, and they denied it, pending a classification review. … We have no photographs of the alleged injuries. We have no medical reports of these alleged injuries.”

U.S. troops in Iraq (AP Photo)

Keefe’s attorney Greg McCormack will not speak to the media about the case, his receptionist told CNSNews.com.

Attorneys for both McCabe and Huertas said they would insist on cross-examining Abed. The Constitution grants Americans the right to face their accuser at a trial.

“If somebody was trying to claim that you assaulted them, but they refused to come into court, what prosecutor in what state would deny you your right to confrontation of the alleged victim?” Lombardi said.

When CNSNews.com asked what would happen if the military declined to bring Abed to the United States to testify for security reasons, Lombardi said, “It would be, at that point, we could ask the judge to dismiss the charges.”

McCabe, a special operations petty officer, second class, is charged with assaulting the detainee for reportedly punching him in the midsection; with dereliction of duty for failure to safeguard the detainee; and with making a false official statement on the matter.

Though news reports differ on whether it was a punch to the gut or a bloody lip, Puckett says the official charge is a punch to the mid-section.

Huertas, a special operations petty officer, first class, is charged with dereliction of duty, making a false official statement and impeding an investigation.

Keefe, a special operations petty officer, second class, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement.

Under special court-martial rules, all three defendants would face the same maximum penalty, Puckett said, even though the charges against each one deviate slightly. The maximum penalty for the charges would be one year in military confinement, reduction of two-thirds of their pay for a year and discharge from the military for bad conduct.

Lombardi said Huertas greatly appreciates the public outpouring of support since the reports first surfaced of the arrest.

“My client is extremely grateful for all the support from the American public,” Lombardi said. “He’s a career professional who’s just doing his job. It boosts your morale when you know that you go over there and are doing your job and the American public actually does care about what you’re doing. He’s really humbled by it.”

The military first sought non-judicial punishment, called a “captain’s mast.” It would have spared them any chance of imprisonment but would have severely harmed and possibly ended their military careers, Puckett said.

“There was some pressure on them to accept a lesser form of punishment,” Puckett said. “That would have meant that some commander had predetermined their guilt and would have punished them in a way that would have ended their careers. They weren’t willing to accept that and felt that it would not be a fair hearing.”

They each refused the captain’s mast and opted for a court martial, which is a military trial, to clear their names. The punishment from a court-martial conviction could be greater.

Though it was a better option than accepting guilt, Puckett said, such charges should have never been brought.

“Forget what the punishment would be, even a conviction would be a federal conviction for these guys,” Puckett said. “A federal conviction alone--even before you consider what punishment they get--is grossly disproportionate to the misconduct that’s alleged.

“If we’re talking about the detainee getting punched in the gut by Petty Officer McCabe, given the evil that guy [Abed] is alleged to have wrought on American contractors back in 2004 in Fallujah, it seems that it’s overkill to think that it’s appropriate to send these guys to court martial,” Puckett added.

Puckett suspects this was an overreaction by military brass in regards to detainee abuse.

“The most obvious speculation to me seems to be that the American military and particular Army commanders, and this was an Army commander, are overly sensitive to allegations of detainee abuse in the wake of Abu Ghraib,” Puckett said. “I think they feel a need to overly punish, overly react to these allegations to keep future ones from happening again.”

The alleged punch happened on Sept. 1 when Abed was in captivity.

Abed, after his capture, was held at Camp Baharia, a U.S. base outside of Fallujah. He was briefly handed over to Iraqi authorities and then returned to U.S. custody. Another petty officer, not a Navy Seal, reported the alleged abuse, Lombardi said. It then went up the chain of command, and the commanding general ordered the charges.

Lombardi believes if there was any abuse, it might have happened on the Iraqi side.

“He was turned over to the Iraqi police,” Lombardi said. “He is an Iraqi citizen. Eventually, he’ll go home. Wouldn’t it be a lot better to claim the Americans abused you than the Iraqi police?”

Lombardi said there is a legal defense fund for the Seals, and that she is glad the public can see the Seals were doing the right thing.

“They were capturing a terrorist that we’ve been searching for, for five years. They did it in a professional manner,” Lombardi said. “When you think you’re doing everything right and you’ve got somebody saying, ‘no, you did it wrong,’ it’s really nice to know everybody is saying, ‘you did it right. You did us a favor. Why are you being punished?’”



Embryonic stem-cell funding - an incentive to kill

Jim Brown - OneNewsNow

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=796820

An internationally recognized expert on stem cells and cloning says President Obama's decision to lift restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research is wasting lives and taxpayer dollars when all resources should be going towards adult stem cells.

The Obama administration on Wednesday approved 13 new human embryonic stem-cell lines for taxpayer-funded experiments. The 13 lines are the first to be approved under an executive order from President Obama, and the National Institutes of Health says dozens more cell lines will be available soon.

During the Bush administration, federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research was limited to cell lines that were already in existence before August 2001.

Dr. David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences with the Family Research Council, says that by approving funding for new lines, the Obama administration continues to push political ideology, not science.

"Embryonic stem cells have not helped any human being. In fact, [they] haven't helped that many rats and mice in the lab," Prentice notes. "Only adult stem cells are actually helping patients. The unfortunate part of this new approval is there are now more incentives for researchers to destroy young human embryos just so they can get taxpayer funds."

Prentice reports that nearly 80 diseases or injuries have been treated successfully with adult stem cells.



No National Day of Prayer service at White House

Obama's decision disappoints evangelicals. Under President George W. Bush, the event was held at the White House with political fanfare.

May 08, 2009|Johanna Neuman

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/08/nation/na-prayer8

WASHINGTON — For years, it has been a staple of the White House calendar.

On the first Thursday of May, dedicated as the National Day of Prayer, President George W. Bush hosted an ecumenical service in the East Room.

(The event is different from the National Prayer Breakfast, held elsewhere in Washington on the first Thursday of February.)

President Obama opted not to have a service in the White House this year.

"Prayer is something that the president does every day," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, adding that Obama would sign a proclamation to recognize the day. "I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays."

President Truman signed the first declaration of an annual National Day of Prayer, and President Reagan established it as the first Thursday in May.

Under Bush, the day was a political event, confirming that religion was a core tenet of Republican politics.

Prominent evangelicals, including National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairwoman Shirley Dobson and her husband, Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson, expressed disappointment in Obama's decision.

"At this time in our country's history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer," Shirley Dobson said in a statement.

Obama was the first president to mention nonbelievers in an inaugural address: "For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers."

Nonbelievers took heart at Obama's decision but urged him to go further.

"It's not his job to tell people to pray," David Silverman, national spokesman for American Atheists, told CNN.

"We are very happy he did away with the George W. Bush-era celebrations and party, but we wish he wouldn't do it at all."

Neuman writes for The Times' blog on national politics, Top of the Ticket.



"The e-mail Bag"

Surround yourself with intelligent people

Barack Obama meets with the Queen of England. He asks her, "How do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?"

"Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

Obama frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?" he asks.

"Oh, that's easy," says the Queen. "You just ask them to answer a simple riddle."

Just then Gordon Brown walks into the room.

"Gordon, your mother and father have a child," says the Queen. "It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Brown answers, "Oh. That would be ... me, your majesty?"

"Yes! Very good," says the Queen.

Upon his return to Washington, D.C., Obama asks Joe Biden the same question. "Joe. Your mother and your father have a kid. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," says Biden. "Let me get back to you on that one." He goes to his advisers and asks every one, but no one can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Robert Gates' shoes in the next stall. Biden asks Gates, "Robert! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Gates responds, "That's easy. It's me!"

Biden smiles, and says, "Thanks!" Then, he goes back to speak with Obama.

"Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Robert Gates."

Obama gets up, stomps over to Biden, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Gordon Brown!"