How powerful
Make sure you don't get LEFT BEHIND.
posted by D. Maria @ 5:41 AM
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
GATHERING OF EAGLES RALLY - PERMIT UPDATE
GATHERING OF EAGLES RALLY - PERMIT UPDATE
March 12th, 2007 | Category: Logistics
The National Park Service has issued a permit for the Gathering of Eagles demonstration and rally on March 17 in Washington, D.C. as illustrated on the Eagle web site “Maps” link under “Sections”.
BOTTOM LINE: AS UNACCEPTABLE AS THE PERMIT GRANTED IS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL WALL
We view the permit decision unacceptable and will be taking immediate steps to appeal what we believe is an unworkable decision. If the National Park Service is unfavorable to our appeal, our legal arm will pursue immediate court action to acquire an equitable, realistic solution.
The good news is the Park Service is granting the Eagles large amounts of territory adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial as well as along the march route of the antiwar protesters. We are being given the use of the western side of Constitution Gardens, which is contiguous to the Vietnam Memorial, thus giving us controlling ground. That permit is for an estimated 10,000 people. If things stand as they are, we will use that as a staging area for our people to cycle along the pathways, visiting statues and the Vietnam Memorial which comprise the Memorial area. (The maps are included below for convenience and are also available under “Sections” on the Eagle web site - click on the “Maps” tab and look at maps 1 and 2 for illustrations of areas permitted for each group)
Bad news is the Park Service decided to grant the other half of Constitution Gardens to the so-called antiwar group ANSWER, with a no man’s land in between. This is unacceptable and will be challenged in our appeal.
ANSWER is telling their supporters to gather at the park on Henry Bacon Dr. on Saturday morning for a ‘People’s Assembly’ before their march kicks off at 12:30 p.m. They have no announced plans to use Constitution Gardens anymore–in fact they have removed all mention of Constitution Gardens from their updated maps for March 17–yet they are refusing to relinquish their permit application for that area in an effort to inhibit the rights of the Eagles to assemble in a consolidated location. This will be part of our appeal.
The pathways through the Memorial are narrow and can accommodate about four abreast. We must keep in mind the Park Service is intent on keeping the Memorial open to the general public. Many have plans to stand watch all day in front of the Vietnam Wall, which the Park Service understands, and is working to make sure Memorials are protected while maintaining access by the general public.
The Park Service has granted us demonstration areas along the antiwar march route. Those areas include the sidewalk on the Lincoln Memorial Circle from Henry Bacon Dr. to Memorial Bridge as well as two large grass areas across the street from that sidewalk leading up to the bridge. (Again, review the Maps below)
Also, we have been granted a permit for half of Memorial Circle closest to Arlington National Cemetery on the Virginia side of Memorial Bridge. We intend to occupy this area and serve as a symbolic guard as the antiwar marchers pass on their way to the north parking lot of the Pentagon.
More bad news is that as of now, the Park Service is insisting that we not hold our morning rally/program at Constitution Gardens but that we hold it almost two blocks from the Vietnam Memorial on the other side of the antiwar rally vicinity Ohio Drive, SW. They are also insisting that we stage our First Aid, water station, portable toilets and operations center in the same far off location. This is also unacceptable and will be part of the appeal.
We are perplexed as to what the Park Service expects to happen by forcing Eagles to move through, near, or on the sidewalk along the antiwar rally in order to visit our two main gathering areas as currently permitted. This would create a near intolerable situation, particularly for disabled or others with limited mobility. We have asked for the entirety of Constitution Gardens for the day so that we can contain our main operations to one location, for obvious reasons.
It appears the anti-war ANSWER group want their population in a single area for ease to begin their march… Eagles want our population in a single area for ease of control and facility support….in short both groups want to be separated from one another. The Park Service solution fails to meet the common sense and public safety test by creating a potential conflict.
As mentioned above we will be appealing this permit decision on Monday 12 March, 2007.
We hope to have the issue favorably resolved in the coming days. In the meantime, please review the maps posted detailing where things stand at this time as permitted by the Park Service.
In any event, our gathering location vicinity the Vietnam Memorial wall as shown on map 1 is not expected to change..also note the metro stops on map 2.
We have a mission on March 17. We will accomplish that mission.
Eagles Up!
More Here:
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/
posted by D. Maria @ 9:32 PM
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"Gathering of Eagles", Stand Beside Our American Heroes
Forwarded from a friend:
(These words were written by many people, i just put the puzzle together)
On March 17th, expect a lot of police presence and preparation at the Vietnam Memorial Wall...the cops are being told that "biker gangs" and various other parties will attempt to stage a counter-demonstration and confrontation of the anti-war crowds at The Wall, word is the authorities will plan on diverting/dissolving the "Gathering of Eagles" before it gets into place at The Wall...they are seeking to prevent a confrontation.
I'm hearing that this Gathering of the Eagles is going to be one of the largest pro-war protest in history. I read a site the other day that says they expect crowds in the millions on the pro-war side. This is also literally a liberal/conservative standoff and it has built up extreme tension and passion on both sides. I honestly don't know if D.C. has a large enough police force to stop much from happening. And these troops and veterans aren't the average Joe when it comes to trying to keep them from the Wall.
This unprecedented Gathering is a historic event - significant in both scope and meaning. It is a pure grassroots movement like nothing I've ever seen. It's that miraculous! I can't possibly predict what the socialist anti-military demonstrators will do on March 17th - but I would not put anything past them. I expect the worst from them. But consider this: there will be no safer place on earth than among the warrior class of America. They are combat-tested and proven and they will not let anything happen to our children. I truly believe that. I know that there will be those among our opponents that will try and cause problems - that is their way.
The anti-American left, led by the usual cast of professional protesters, America-haters, communists and anarchists from Hanoi Jane Fonda, (and others from our moronic and hardly relevant pop culture), various rebels without a clue, to some of our own opportunistic political "leaders" (a term used with all due sarcasm), plans to hold a huge anti-war protest on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and they plan to use the Vietnam Memorial Wall as their main staging area, all to take place on March 17, 2007. Well, there are a few million honorable veterans of the United States of America's armed forces, and many more patriotic civilians who take a dim view of that plan. And many thousands of these patriotic Americans plan to gather in Washington to meet that protest head-on, not through violence, but through a very patriotic and pro-American presence as well as creating a human barrier to any attempt to desecrate our memorials or dishonor the memories of our fallen heroes. The Gathering of Eagles will not allow any desecration of our war memorials to take place.
The Gathering of Eagles is described as "an act of love by thousands of veterans (and friends) who choose to honor the sacrifice of the fallen by guarding the memorials from those who would desecrate them on March 17th in a so-called "peaceful" anti-war rally in Washington, D.C."
It is also a call to action for every American Patriot to stand and say "No More!" and "Never Again!" to those who would spit on our veterans and troops, and ridicule their service to our nation.
Decades ago, we expected total victory against the Germans and the Japanese. We demanded it, for we knew what anything less would bring to our homeland–and yes, it was our homeland, regardless of our place of birth. We were united, together in the absolute, unshakable belief that freedom was worth blood, even our own lives.
Many years later, the American Left called for the defeat and humiliation of our military, even going so far as to support the barbaric hordes of Islam in their quest to destroy America. The college-age hippies of 1969 were now parents and grandparents, with families who didn't have the faintest idea where Iwo Jima is and wouldn't dream of enlisting in the "imperialist army" of their nation. These past flower children, still apparently lost in the fog of free love and LSD, forgot their fathers' old "war injuries," received in places like Normandy, Bastogne, or Wake Island. Their children hated authority, hated America, and hated anything that stood in the way of the freedoms they abused. To them, freedom of speech meant they should be able to wear their "F*** You" shirt to school.
During the War on Terror, it seemed as though these families were the only Americans left here at home, as our best and brightest went to Iraq and Afghanistan. The families of our heroes stayed quiet, their support showing in the form of tangible things like batteries and treats shipped in boxes with "We Love You" written on the side, in marker as permanent as their worry. For those who changed their blue star to gold, the pain of their loss often made them shy away from the pure, vitriolic hatred of the ever contradictory motto of the Left: "Support the troops…bring them home."
Meanwhile, the antiwar crowd marched in Washington, San Francisco and New York.
And in the day-to-day grind of American weekday life, millions of patriotic Americans simply went to work and came home. We couldn't afford to miss work to stand on a street corner. We put our yellow ribbons on our cars and our flags in the window, hoping that the troops knew we cared. We yelled at the TV and the radio when appropriate and muttered to our friends about how infuriated we were at these people who thought liberty was a commodity. Our anger burned deeply, but slowly.
The antiwar crowd kept marching and declared themselves the majority. They had the funding, the celebrity backing, the media fascination. They were everywhere. They spray-painted the Capitol steps, sent money to the terrorists, and staged media feeding frenzies outside the President's home. They even held up their anti-American signs outside military hospitals, where soldiers and Marines who gave pieces of themselves in exchange for freedom tried to get used to life without their best friends, their limbs, and in some cases, their sanity.
The Cindy Sheehans and Jane Fondas of the nation got bolder, spurred on by the silence of those who kept their medals and memories locked away. It seemed as though there was no stopping the force of those who sought to bring the mightiest nation on earth to her knees.
But then, the antiwar groups announced plans to begin their next march at the Vietnam Wall. Fifty-eight thousand names cried out in protest, and America heard the call of her fallen.
We were finally angry enough.
It began like a quiet rumble, the hint of an impending storm. A small group of veterans slowly rose to their feet, their combat disabilities unable to hinder them this time. A gas station attendant, a lawyer, a doctor, a housewife. One by one, Americans stood, setting down their lives to answer the reveille, minutemen once again in the cause of freedom.
They came from New York City and Nowhere, Indiana. They drove in from the mountains of Idaho and flew in from Hawaii. They rose up from all walks of life, all financial situations. The wave rolled across the United States like a tsunami, determined to reach Washington, D.C. for one purpose: to deliver a message to the flower children that was forty years overdue.
The message was simple, and as thousands of Americans stood in stoic rows around the memorial, it reverberated off the ebony beauty of the Wall. The silence of their stand deafened the obnoxious antics of the defeatists and sent a clarion call like a beacon across the globe.
Half a world away, soldiers and Marines lifted their heads a bit higher and stood taller.
And at the Wall, as thousands of American faces reflected in the polished surface, the ghosts of more than 58,000 men smiled back in silent, grateful pride as their lips mouthed the message their countrymen had come so far to deliver: Freedom!
MGM
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For More Info On The Gathering Of The Eagles......
If you would like to keep up to date on information regarding Gathering of Eagles on March 17th 2007, copy and paste the url below and click on go...There's information and things you can expect including reservation information and rallying point with tips...
God Bless Us All...Let's Roll!!!!!!
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Important New Detailed Info. About "Gathering of Eagles"
March 17th brief, the source is official--US Dept. of the Interior and US Park Police memorandum obtained through a colleague who has access. On March 17th, expect a lot of police presence and preparation at the Vietnam Memorial Wall...the cops are being told that "biker gangs" and various other parties will attempt to stage a counter-demonstration and confrontation of the anti-war crowds at The Wall, word is the authorities will plan on diverting/dissolving the "Gathering of Eagles" before it gets into place at The Wall...they are seeking to prevent a confrontation.
Anti-War Demonstration and March
The main sponsor of this First Amendment activity is ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). ANSWER has a permit application for the Henry Bacon Ball Fields (across Henry Bacon Drive from the VVM), which has not yet been approved. This group plans to assemble (10,000 - 30,000) persons in this area and conduct speeches, music and ultimately march to the Pentagon, where more of the same activities will occur. This group is attracting high profile supporters such as Jane Fonda, Ed Asner, and Cindy Sheehan. Their stage will be erected on the south side of this area and their main rally will occur here. They plan to gather various groups of supporters prior to the march in Area 5 (the area just east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial) in Constitution Gardens.
Several like-minded groups (The International Action Center, the DC Anti-War Network, and UFPJ) also plan on attending and joining ANSWER for the rally and march. Specifically, IAC plans on assembling approx. 100-300 persons on the Reflecting Pool steps of the Lincoln Memorial, approx. 200-500 persons at Sylvan Theatre, and approx. 500 persons on the Mall from 3rd to 4th Streets. The group on the Reflecting Pool steps and at the Sylvan Theatre plan to march over to Area 5 and join ANSWER for the rally and march. Another IAC group will also conduct a several day vigil in the National Mall from March 12th to March 17th; however, will not join the rally.
The USCP also anticipate some activity on the West Front of the Capitol and Upper Senate Park.
Several other NPS areas (Lafayette Park, WAMO, and other areas of the National Mall) were under application by these groups; however, the applications were not acted upon.
All venues will begin set up between 0500-0600 Hrs. The rally in Area 5 will begin at 0800 and conclude at approx. 1300, when the march will commence. The smaller rallies will conclude between 1230 and 1300 and will join the main rally.
The protesters plan to arrive either via mass transit or buses from outlying areas. The buses plan to drop passengers on 23rd Street @ Constitution Ave. then travel to the Pentagon for passenger pick up at the end of the rally at the Pentagon.
The current march route is w/b Constitution to Henry Bacon to LMC to w/b Memorial Bridge to s/b Washington Blvd to the Pentagon North Parking Area.
DC Free Republic - aka "Freepers" is currently the only counter-protest group that is in negotiations with the NPS for a permit. This group initially wanted the north curb of Constitution Ave. near the site; however, it now appears that they will be issued permits for the area west of 23rd St. and S/O Constitution Ave. They will also be issued a permit for a portion of Area #5 that is just east of the V.V.M.
Intelligence has revealed an impassioned movement among several groups [Vietnam Veterans groups, POW/MIA groups, GoldStar mothers/Goldstar families, Rolling Thunder, etc] intent on traveling to the VVM to protect it from the Anti-War demonstrators. The USPP has contacted the leaders of these groups to provide the accurate information concerning this event and assuring them that the USPP will ensure all monuments and memorials are protected during this event. This group is not looking for a permit to demonstrate; however, the reality is if they get large numbers we will need to find a location for them since they cannot demonstrate at the VVM. D.O.I. Solicitor, Randy Myers has been consulted and involved in the negotiation process.
Just as with the UFPJ event of Jan. 27th, we do anticipate anarchist groups to assemble and mingle with the main group. There MO is to incite the crowds, conduct civil disobedience, and damage/destroy property. The USPP has monitored isolated threats by individuals to vandalize the VVM wall. Additionally we have received information that biker gangs intend on coming to this event armed and seeking to confront the anti-war demonstrators. The lessons learned from UFPJ will be incorporated into this security plan to ensure the protection of life and property. These lessons will include magnetometer screening at the VVM and a significant police presence here and at the other memorials as well.
A substantial fence plan has been coordinated with the NPS. This plan will entail a double row of bike rack between Area 5 and the VVM, which will be connected with snowfence in the adjacent green areas.
None of the groups are anticipating any civil disobedience.
SFB anticipates approx. 200-250 USPP officers will work this detail and the hours are anticipated to be from 0600-1500. HMP squads, scooter and motor squads, reactionary teams, etc. will be utilized. Squads of officers will be assigned to each individual group as well. A Vending Squad will also be deployed. DHS-Protective Medicine will also be requested.
Constitution Ave. (17th to 23rd Streets), Henry Bacon Drive, Memorial Bridge, and Washington Blvd will be closed during these events.
The Media will arrive at 0700 and will be located on the s/s of Constitution ave. @ 20th St.
The ELO request for this event that will include personnel and commissary costs has been completed and submitted to WASO. Due to the increased security concerns and the resulting increased staffing needs, a formal request to increase this funding amount is forthcoming.
The USPP hosted a joint police meeting on February 27th. MPDC, Pentagon Police, Arlington County P.D., D.C. Fire Dept. and other agencies attended.
A supervisory briefing will be conducted on Friday, March 16th @ 1000 Hrs. at the USPP Anacostia Operations Facility.
The USPP received word that on Friday evening March 16th an anti-war group plans to march from the National Cathedral at approx. 2045 Hrs. to the White House. At this location they plan to engage in civil disobedience on the White House Sidewalk where as many as 600 persons intend to be arrested. The USPP is in negotiations with this group to reduce this number of arrests to a more manageable size.
No group (counter-demonstrators or anti-war) has been granted any permit to demonstrate at the Wall or any other war memorial...and the Wall will be cordoned off by police, in order to keep all demonstrators away.
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/
posted by D. Maria @ 5:21 AM
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Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Patriotism At Its Best! Priceless short film! REVEILLE (Video)
Light Hearted Fun and very sad movie in Tribute to the US Military!
posted by D. Maria @ 5:47 AM
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General Batiste Speech to Washington DC (Video)
Forwarded by a friend:
Here is a must see speech by General Batiste that tells it like it is in Iraq on the battlefield and about the failures caused by Washington because they would not listen to our leaders on the battlefield. This speech is 10 minutes and 30 seconds long but General Batiste covers all the failures and shortcomings that the media will never tell you. This is from one Republican about the failures of another. Enjoy!!!
posted by D. Maria @ 5:32 AM
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
CAIR Denounces Peaceful Muslims, But Not Stoning Women
(Hat Tip: Little Green Footballs)
Watch as CAIR's Executive Director Ahmed Bedier absolutely avoids denouncing the Sharia, which among other atrocities, demands the execution of Apostates and the beating and stoning of women.
posted by D. Maria @ 6:19 AM
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Duty, honor and curveballs
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
March 5, 2007
PEORIA, Ariz. – They asked their parents to send baseball gloves. When time lurched for Cpl. Cooper Brannan and the 12-man squad he led into war, they retreated to their barracks, grabbed the gloves caked with dust like everything else in Fallujah, Iraq, and remembered, momentarily, what home was like, only for the impediment of a 60-pound flak jacket to snap them to attention.
"Talk about bad mechanics," Brannan said Sunday, chuckling, which he could do now because he was at San Diego Padres spring training, and he was here to play for a living, a right-handed pitching prospect among dozens. Two hours earlier he had walked into the Padres' clubhouse and seen a jersey with his name striped across the back.
He wanted to cry. He steeled himself.
Brannan had enlisted in the Marine Corps right after high school, learned honor and courage and commitment and Semper Fi, heard bullets whiz by his head, seen friends die, lost his left pinky to a flash-bang grenade. He had lived "in the Bible times," as he liked to say, so for a moment he allowed himself to appreciate the fortuity of this, him, here, sun and grass, in the uniform of a completely different kind.
"You still remember how to put that stuff on?" said Grady Fuson, the Padres' vice president of scouting.
Brannan nodded. He was weaning himself off "yes, sir" and "no, sir," learning to address his superiors by their first names and nicknames.
The last piece of the uniform was his hat. Brannan, 22, slipped it on nice and snug so it would cover his high-and-tight haircut. Officially, he is still a Marine until he receives his honorable discharge on May 31, so he'll stay clean-shaven and hang dog tags in his locker. The Corps is allowing him to complete his duty with the Padres as an ambassador of sorts, proof that there can be success after war.
"This is about the military," said San Diego CEO Sandy Alderson, a former first lieutenant in the Marines and the man responsible for Brannan being a Padre. "This is about all Iraq veterans. This is about people who are wounded. This is a story that makes everybody feel good. And it's predicated on the fact that he can actually throw the baseball.
"I hope the military sees this as a positive. Because if you look at this, here's an injured Marine in contrast to what's happening at Walter Reed and so forth. After today, he's a ballplayer."
Sixteen months ago, he was just another injured soldier among thousands. Brannan was 20 then and had ascended to squad leader of a dozen men as lance corporal. He was on his second tour of duty, this time in Fallujah, one of Iraq's most dangerous cities.
During a pre-combat inspection before an infantry patrol, one of his charges was short a flash-bang grenade, a device used to stun opposing forces, so Brannan reached into his flak jacket to lend him one.
The grenade exploded, and with it so did his left hand.
Doctors scurried to save what they could. They reattached his thumb and index finger. They could not salvage his pinky, and Brannan needed three major surgeries, three more minor ones and months of occupational therapy to regain use of his hand, which still swells and subsides so often he prefers to wear his wedding band on his right hand.
"I'm pity-partying about a pinky, about my little finger?" Brannan said. "It was then that my mindset changed. I would get better and make a difference.
"I always told my dad I'd make it in baseball. I didn't know how I would."
A mouthy friend, it turns out. On Nov. 10, the Marine Corps birthday, Brannan and Pfc. Jeff Huben were at a San Diego radio station for an event. Alderson showed up, too, as the Padres' military ties go far deeper than just the fatigue-colored uniforms they trot out once a year.
Huben told Alderson that Brannan could really pitch. Brannan begged him off. Huben kept pushing. Brannan had pitched for Highland High in Gilbert, Ariz., and traveled with the All-Marine Corps team, and, hey, there would be no harm in watching him for five minutes, right?
"It didn't take that much to push the right buttons with me," Alderson said. "It was right after they played the Marine Corps Hymn on the radio show. The timing was excellent."
Soon thereafter, Brannan worked out for area scout Brendan Hause. His fastball touched 93 mph. That was enough to convince the Padres to offer him a minor-league contract, and when Brannan went to Petco Park to sign the letter of intent – he is still property of the Corps, remember – he said, "They treated me like a first-round draft pick."
Now, they'll try to think of him as just another prospect. Brannan stands 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. The Padres like his curveball. They sent him to a pitching coach in the San Diego area to learn how to pitch again. He'll probably stay here for extended spring training, then report to the Arizona Rookie League for his first organized season.
And yet the Padres know Brannan is different, that he slips his ring finger in the glove hole made for the pinky and adjusts the rest of his fingers accordingly, that sometimes he'll go to grip a water bottle and it'll slip out of his hand, that nightmares occasionally stun him awake.
He should be a firefighter. That's what Brannan thinks sometimes. That was the plan upon his discharge. He would serve the public like his father, Linwood, a police officer.
"Your job," said Lindsay Brannan, Cooper's wife, "is playing baseball."
So he left their rented apartment on Sunday morning to do just that. It was the Padres minor leaguers' first official workout, the start of Brannan's new career. He'll make $1,000 a month. He'll sweat through a desert summer. He'll try to distinguish himself again, a face among many in an unfamiliar place.
And he'll do it in another uniform he's proud to wear.
"It's not so much if I make it," Brannan said. "It's when I make it."
Cpl. Cooper Brannan, right, accepts
congratulations from Pvt. 1st Class Jeffrey
Huben, who was also wounded in Iraq Tuesday
at Marine Corps Recruitment Station in
San Diego.
Cpl. Cooper Brannan forces back the tears for a
moment as he remembers his comrades in arms
while accepting a contract with the Padres
Tuesday.
Cpl. Cooper Brannan shakes hands with Padres
Vice President for Scouting and Player
Development Grady Fuson just after handing
Brannan a Padres contract Tuesday at Marine
Corps Recruitment Depot in San Diego.
Marine corporal plans to pitch for Padres
By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO ---- Wearing his new Padres camouflage jersey over his military fatigues, Marine Cpl. Nels Cooper Brannan stood at a podium Tuesday morning, overwhelmed by emotion.
Before paying gratitude to the Padres executives responsible for the improbable news conference at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Brannan tried to salute his fallen comrades ---- soldiers, like him, who fought bravely for their country in the war in Iraq. He faltered. The words became lodged in his throat.
"They say Marines don't cry, right?" Brannan said, his soft tone belying his strapping 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame.
The dozen or so fellow Marines in the room were prepared to cut Brannan a break. After all, it's not every day that one of their own ---- in this case, an infantry squad leader who served two tours of duty in Iraq and nearly lost his left hand in a grenade explosion ---- gets a chance to play Major League Baseball.
"This is a great story," Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas said. "I want to keep the rights to the book and movie."
On March 2, the 22-year-old Brannan ---- who goes by Cooper ---- will report to the Padres' spring training camp in Peoria, Ariz., and try to stick with the organization as a right-handed pitcher. The gathering Tuesday was to announce that Brannan had agreed to terms on a minor-league contract, although he won't be able to sign it until his discharge paperwork is final in late May.
"It's kind of hard to explain," Brannan said. "When you're over there (in Iraq) living one day at a time, you can never imagine something like this. Knowing I was serving my country and now I have this opportunity, it's so overwhelming I can't put it into words."
The Padres pride themselves on being the team of the military. When they honor Marine units from Camp Pendleton during Sunday afternoon games at Petco Park, the crowd noise is as loud as after any home run or strikeout.
And the club's friendliness toward the armed forces is only bolstered by the presence of Chief Executive Officer Sandy Alderson, a former Marine officer who served in Vietnam.
Alderson beamed like a proud father throughout the news conference, and he admitted afterward that he was happy to give a Marine a shot to realize a dream. Yet Alderson insisted that the signing is no mere publicity stunt from the franchise that once invited country star Garth Brooks to spring training.
Rather, the Padres said, Brannan ---- a standout pitcher and football defensive end when he attended Highland High in Gilbert, Ariz. ---- earned his contract by his performance at a tryout early last month at Point Loma Nazarene. Supervising the session was Brendan Hause, a Carlsbad-based Padres scout who covers San Diego and Orange counties.
"Right away you saw the good physique," Hause said. "Right away you could see the drive. He definitely exceeded all my expectations. It's going to be exciting to see how quickly he makes up for lost time."
Brannan said he received interest from junior colleges out of high school, but that he decided to enlist in the Marines after graduation as a means of straightening himself out. He was deployed to Hitt, Iraq, in February 2004 and served for eight months before returning to Twentynine Palms.
Redeployed to Fallujah in September 2005, Brannan led a squad of 12 Marines. During a precombat inspection on Nov. 1, he reached to retrieve a flash-bang grenade from his belt, and it malfunctioned, blowing up in his hand.
Brannan underwent one surgery in Iraq and three more at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Doctors used a skin graft to sew his left thumb and ring finger back on, but his pinkie could not be saved.
"I'm very blessed to have what I have on my hand," said Brannan, who's doubly blessed by the birth of a daughter, Brooke Taylor, to he and his wife, Lindsay, last Friday.
His competitive itch returned during a rehabilitation that lasted more than a year, and last spring he pitched for the All-Marine Corps and USA Military All-Star teams. He actually dominated, although the modest Brannan would never advertise that.
Indeed, he might never have gotten his big break if not for a bit of salesmanship by a Marine buddy. Last November, Alderson was a guest on a sports radio segment promoting the annual Marine Birthday Ball, and Brannan and his friend, Pfc. Jeffrey Huben, were among the soldiers invited to join him.
After they were off the air, Huben approached Alderson and told him about Brannan's ability.
"This guy is way too shy," Huben said, pointing to Brannan. "I got the conversation going. That was all it took. It was just like dominoes falling into place."
Said Alderson: "It was easy for me to offer a tryout. Our scouts felt he had some real talent."
It's a talent that Brannan has been honing in regular workouts with Poway High pitching coach Dom Johnson, who has helped the raw pitcher iron out his mechanics and increase his velocity by about 5 to 7 mph, into the low 90s.
When he heads to spring training next month, however, Brannan will be the center of attention not for his arsenal of pitches but for his inspirational background. It's safe to say he'll be the only young prospect who will be able to tell literal war stories.
"He may never be a Trevor Hoffman," said Col. Matt Redfern, Brannan's commanding officer, referring to the Padres' longtime closer. "But Trevor Hoffman will never be a Marine corporal."
-- Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.
posted by D. Maria @ 6:04 AM
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Sgt. Smith Medal of Honor (Video)
This is the true story of Sgt. Paul Smith, and his actions that earned him the Medal of Honor in Iraq.
posted by D. Maria @ 5:43 AM
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50 IRANIAN WOMEN ARRESTED AT PEACEFUL RALLY!
Photos of some of the arrested women:
Campaign Activists Arrested in Tehran
Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 04, 2007
50 of the women's rights movement activists were arrested in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
The security police forces attacked a peaceful gathering of women's rights activists that had taken place at 8:30 am in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran in objection to the recent governmental oppressions and the summoning of some of these activists. The police forces used violence to scatter the crowd.
Shadi Sadr. Asieh Amini, Jila Bani Yaghoub, Mahboubeb Abbasgholizadeh, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh, Sara Loghmani, Zara Amjadian, Mariam Hossein Khah, Jelveh Javaheri, Niloofar Golkar, Parastoo Dokoohaki, Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, Maryam Mirza, Saghar Laghayee, Khadijeh Moghaddam, Saghie Laghayee, Nahid Keshavarz, Mahnaz Mohammadi, Nasrin Afzali, Tal'at Taghinia, Fakhri Shadfar, Maryam Shadfar, Elnaz Ansari, Fatemeh Govarayee, Azadeh Forghani, Sommayeh Farid, Minoo Mortezayee, Sara Imanian.
Nooshin Amhadi Khorasani, Parvin Ardalan, Shahla Entesari and Susan Tahmasebi—five prominent members of the women's rights movement—who had to attend their court hearing left the court session in support of their fellow activists. They, too, got arrested upon their departure from the court.
The police officers hit Nahid Jafari's head to the police van and as a result of such violent actions, her teeth broke and the officers are currently refusing to take her to the emergency room.
PLEASE URGE YOU TO SIGN THE PETITION CREATED IN IRAN , TO RELEASE THEM NOW.
http://www.meydaan.com/English/petition.aspx?cid=52&pid=11
Photo of Shadi Sadr (Nazanin's attorney) while giving speech at the gathering before the arrest. She was taken to the same prison (Evin) that Nazanin was kept:
Photos of peaceful gathering:
SOURCE:
BBC NEWS,
KHOSOOF.COM
ZANESTAN
IRAN-ERMOOZ
http://www.meydaan.com/English/petition.aspx?cid=52&pid=11
Photo of Shadi Sadr (Nazanin's attorney) while giving speech at the gathering before the arrest. She was taken to the same prison (Evin) that Nazanin was kept:
Photos of peaceful gathering:
SOURCE:
BBC NEWS,
KHOSOOF.COM
ZANESTAN
IRAN-ERMOOZ
posted by D. Maria @ 5:26 AM
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Reagan - A Rendezvous With Destiny (Video)
Reagan - A Rendezvous With Destiny
Ronald Reagan's wise words are just as relevant now as they were when he made them forty years ago.
posted by D. Maria @ 5:12 AM
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So Called PEACE PROTESTORS (Video)
DC Progressives Threaten Violence Against Wounded Vet
Apart from being spat on, Iraq War Veteran, Col. Joshua Sparling, was Jeered at by a protester...
"You're just mad because you can't walk, faggot!"
The protester and his friends rhen attempted to assault Sparling and those standing with him. They were prevented by police.
The incident is reminiscent of progressives' violence against counter-protesters at the same location two years prior.
posted by D. Maria @ 5:09 AM
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Justified Jihad? (Video)
Glenn Beck At His Best
Exposes The 'Yes, But...' Muslims
posted by D. Maria @ 5:03 AM
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Monday, March 05, 2007
Honoring Officers Killed in the Year 2007
| Honoring Officers Killed in the Year 2007 |
EOW: Saturday, January 6, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Sunday, January 7, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Sunday, January 7, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Thursday, January 11, 2007 Cause of Death: Heart attack |
EOW: Friday, January 12, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Friday, January 19, 2007 Cause of Death: Vehicular assault |
EOW: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Thursday, January 25, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Thursday, February 1, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Saturday, February 10, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Sunday, February 11, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Friday, February 16, 2007 Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle |
EOW: Saturday, February 17, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Monday, February 19, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Cause of Death: Automobile accident |
EOW: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Cause of Death: Heart attack |
EOW: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Friday, February 23, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Cause of Death: Gunfire |
EOW: Saturday, March 3, 2007 Cause of Death: Vehicle pursuit |
EOW: Sunday, March 4, 2007 Cause of Death: Motorcycle accident |
Total Line of Duty Deaths: 24
Automobile accident: 7
Gunfire: 11
Heart attack: 2
Motorcycle accident: 1
Struck by vehicle: 1
Vehicle pursuit: 1
Vehicular assault: 1
By Month:
January: 10
February: 12
March: 2
By State:
Alabama: 1
Arizona: 1
Florida: 2
Georgia: 1
Hawaii: 1
Iowa: 1
Louisiana: 2
Maryland: 1
Missouri: 1
New Jersey: 2
New York: 1
North Carolina: 4
Ohio: 1
South Carolina: 1
Tennessee: 1
Texas: 2
Washington: 1
Average tour: 10 years, 8 months
Average age: 36
By Gender:
Female: 0
Male: 24
posted by D. Maria @ 8:29 PM
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About Me
- Name: D. Maria
- Location: Pennsylvania, United States
God Bless our troops around the world, fighting for OUR freedom - freedoms we take for granted every day. Thank GOD above for the successes in freedom's cause, especially the rescue of our POW/MIAs, and I continue to pray for those still missing and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for this wonderful country. Thank GOD also for the blessing of such a strong and decent commander in chief, who has our best interests in mind and heart, even as those he fights for protest him. He deserves our respect and reverence, each and every day, as do our brave soldiers. And God Bless all of the men and women protecting us at home!!! You and your family/friends will forever be in my thoughts and prayers!!!