Re-enlistment ceremony in Baghdad sees 1215 soldiers re-up

Via Allahpundit at HotAir, there’s this vid of a truly inspiring sight. Over 1200 soldiers re-enlisted at a ceremony conducted by General David Petraeus:

Magnificent!

Bush-haters ruin naturalization ceremony at Monticello (Updated with video link)

There are 76 freshly-minted fellow citizens who were being honored and welcomed today in a naturalization ceremony attended by the President of the United States. It’s a shame that people so blinded by their hatred of the President that they couldn’t do the decent thing and allow these people to have their moment without being forced to attend a protest rally just had to show up. Instead of a ceremony marking the happy occasion of their completing the monumental effort of becoming a citizen of this country they were a captive audience to a bunch of BDS-suffering morons with no common courtesy to their names.

Protesters made it hard to hear President Bush Friday as he welcomed new citizens and marked Independence Day at the home of Thomas Jefferson.

As is the tradition each Fourth of July, a naturalization ceremony was held at Monticello in Charlottesville, Va. This year, 76 immigrants from 30 different countries came to take the oath of citizenship.

But Bush repeatedly was interrupted as he welcomed the guests.

“That man is a fascist!” one protester yelled. Another swore at him.

The protesters later were removed from the ceremony by law enforcement officials.

“To my fellow citizens to be — we believe in free speech in the United States of America,” Bush said when the protesters started shouting.

Fascists are people who can’t bear the thought of another person actually being allowed to speak. Fascists are those who feel that forceful disruption is a perfectly valid response to anything that just so happens to tick them off. The President is not a fascist. The greatest likelihood, in fact, is that the people flinging that epithet at the President are more guilty of that themselves. (Want an actual reasoned explanation of why that is? Read Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg. He’ll explain the situation far better than these idiots disrupting the ceremony ever will.)

There’s a time and a place for protest, even that conducted by people who can’t seem to successfully compete in the marketplace of ideas and must, therefore, simply scream louder in an effort to deny anyone they oppose their freedom of speech. There are also times and places where protests should not be. Funerals. Weddings. Graduation ceremonies. And, of course, citizenship ceremonies. These are all events commemorating something specific and general political protests – to say nothing of clueless moonbat protests – just aren’t appropriate. A little common decency and – wow! – empathy for our fellow citizens and particularly new fellow citizens should be all that’s required to see that. The selfish, “my baseless name-calling is more important than anything!” attitude of these protesters should be denounced by every true patriot in the land, left or right. I’m not holding my breath.

To those 76 new citizens, I offer my congrats and my welcome to this, the greatest nation on earth. You’ve overcome much to get here and your commitment to become citizens speaks well for you. I ask that you please not allow the actions of a few jerks to make the sweet smell of your accomplishment turn rancid. Some people here don’t know how good they’ve got it and take every chance they can steal to complain that the nation isn’t letting them have their way. I assure you, we’re not all like that. Enjoy this day and all of the days of your citizenship to come. Welcome aboard!

Update: See for yourself at the Washington Examiner.

Nation’s first National Security Cutter goes online with the Coast Guard

The 418-foot Coast Guard cutter Bertholf is the first of her kind and she’s entered formal service, patrolling the Pacific coast.

“The bubble that’s around this ship that we can see and hear and respond to is much larger than any cutter we’ve ever built,” said Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, referring to the range of the guns, fast boats, and helicopter aboard the Bertholf.

The helicopter has guns and sniper rifles mounted on its sides and infrared equipment under its belly. The infrared allows pilots to scope out boats from miles away.

“We can count how many people are on board, we can determine how many engines based on the heat signatures,” said Lt. Steve McCullough. “If we’re lucky, we can determine if there’s contraband on board prior to even getting over the vessel.”

The Coasties have needed something like this since the remainder of the cutter fleet started getting retired or, unfortunately, “upgraded” to the point of being unusable. There are a couple of links in the story to Fox vids of the vessel. She looks pretty nice. But, then, I’m an aviation nut, so what do I know?

Flipping the bird legal again in Belmar, NJ

Well, I’m f*%@ing glad they got that sorted out.

Senator Jesse Helms died today, July 4th, 2008. He was 86.

Former Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina died at 1:15 am today, according to the web site of the Jesse Helms Center. He was 86 and was fighting the growing list of ailments that eventually forced his retirement. It’s said he died of natural causes.

Godspeed, Senator Helms. Our prayers are with your family and friends and with you as well.

232 years and still the best

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

With these words, men who were patriots in the truest sense pledged to stand both with each other and behind the principles they so carefully spoke of. It is a lesson that we, 232 years later, would do well to remember. We enter into that most fractious time of the campaign to elect a President to lead us. We may disagree, as did those men 232 years ago, and we be loud in doing so. Today reminds us to never lose sight of the qualities we share and the desire we long for – to live in the most prosperous, free, and vibrant nation that has ever graced the face the earth.

Happy 4th of July, America.