Why I Love Ronald Reagan--Part 1!!

Mike over at Mike's America celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Reagan's inauguration by posting about him this past week. He invited others to post about Reagan and linked to them as well. There is a bunch of really good stuff over there that I encourage you to take a look at. I had Reagan on my list of conservative profiles to do so I figured now was as good a time as any. But what an overwhelming task. How do you fit all you want to say about Ronald Reagan into one post? I decided I can't so this profile will have at least 2 parts.

Before I share all the things about Reagan that I love I want to share my personal odyssey of coming to know him. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to politics during Reagan's presidency. I was 10 yrs. old when he became president and 18 when he left office. Oh how I wish I had been paying attention to all those important events that happened during that time.

So how did I come to learn of Reagan? .
After graduating from College it hit me that I should know something about current events and I started paying attention. As I listened to Rush he kept talking about what a great man Reagan was and I wanted to find out for myself. I was also really into Presidential biographies about all the presidents. So I read lots of books on the presidents and I watched documentaries. I also listened to Dinesh D'Souza's "Ronald Reagan" and Peter Robinson's "How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life" on tape.


But Peggy Noonan is the real reason I grew to have such a respect and admiration for Reagan. Her book "When Character Was King" did an awesome job of capturing the man who was Ronald Reagan. She enabled you to see his heart and who he really was. It gave me a love for Reagan and a great appreciation for Noonan as an author. It is one of the best books I have ever read. She was honest about his strengths and weaknesses. And even his weaknesses made him likable because it showed that he was human.


A brief factual biography:
Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois to a poor family. His father was an alcoholic but his mother was a woman of faith who passed her faith onto her son. He graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and then became a Radio Sports Announcer. His film career lasted from 1937 until about 1954 and by the time it was over he had acted in 50 films. He married Jane Wyman in 1940 and later they had a daughter Maureen and adopted their son Michael. In 1941 during World War II he spent 3 years in the army in the Motion Picture Army Unit. In 1947 he became President of the Screen Actors Guild. Also in 1947 they lost a baby who was born 4 months premature. In 1948 Reagan and Jane divorced. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis and they later had Patricia and Ronald. In 1954 he began to work on a GE TV program that lasted for 8 years. In 1962 he officially switched from the Democrat to the Republican party. And in 1966 he ran for Governor of California and won and was also re-elected. In 1976 he ran for the Republican nomination against Gerald Ford and just barely lost. In 1980 he won in a landslide against Jimmy Carter and again in 1984 against Walter Mondale. He was shot in 1981 by John Hinckly Jr. In 1994 he announced he had alzheimer's and on June 5, 2004 he died at the age of 93.


The Nation's 40th President was loved and hated. He inspired many but was controversial to others. When asked once what his place in history would be this is what he said: "What I'd really like to do is go down as the president who made Americans believe in themselves again." Reagan was hopeful and optimistic and he was exactly what America desperately needed in 1981. JFK had been assassinated and we had had four failed presidents after that. Combine this with watergate and the American people were starting to lose their faith in America. Reagan helped restore that. When Peter Robinson was asked how to sum Reagan up he simply stated "conviction and joy". How true that is. He stood up for his strong convictions in the face of fierce opposition and he did it all with optimism, humor and joy. Ronald Reagan himself said: "There's no question I am an idealist, which is another way of saying I am an American."

Tomorrow in part 2 I will share stories and quotes and examples of his heart, his convictions, his response to criticism, his belief in freedom, his faith and his optimism.

SOURCES:
Biography of Ronald Reagan
"When Character Was King" by Peggy Noonan
"How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life" by Peter Robinson

Voting Has Begun

Some of us made it to the finals. Here are the different places to go to vote for various people.


To vote for Suzie from Assorted Babble in the Military blog category go here.


In the Chick and Mommy Blog category Kelli (I Read So You Don't Have To) and Angel (Woman Honor Thyself) made it so go here to vote for them.

In the random category go here to vote for Cajun Tiger. Go here to vote for Patrick and Blogs for Bauer.


And then here is where the difficulty comes in. Little Orange Fox (The Outlaw Republican) and I both made it to the finals for Political Blogs. I think you can only vote once a day so today you could vote for me and tomorrow for Little Orange Fox or vice versa :-). Go here to vote for me..

Who is Hezbollah?

Toon Credit: Glenn McCoy

"...the Hizbollah movement has occupied a central position as the "A-team" of terrorist organizations with a global reach for successive American administrations. Prior to 9/11, Hizballah was charged with being responsible for the greatest number of American casualties worldwide in terrorist attacks..."--From the book The Making of a Terrorist, Chp. 15--The Hizballah Training Camps of Lebanon by Magnus Ranstorp

Before 9/11 I didn't know much about Al-Qaeda and similarly before now I didn't know much about Hezbollah and Hamas. I decided to do some research and do some posts on the background of Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Iran and all the connections. I'm going to start with a post on Hezbollah. I had heard many people say that these groups are all linked to Iran and Syria and I found that to be oh, so true.


"The conflict with Israel is viewed as a central concern. This is not only limited to the IDF presence in Lebanon. Rather, the complete destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of Islamic rule over Jerusalem is an expressed goal."--From the political platform of Hezbollah, first published in 1985

"As a political entity, Hezbollah is dedicated to the destruction of Israel."

ORIGINS

Hezbollah made its appearance in 1982. It became public in 1985. Aliases of Hezbollah are: Islamic Jihad, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, Party of God, Revolutionary Justice Organization, The Islamic Resistance. It is a Lebanese Shia Islamic group that got its inspiration from the Iranian Revolution in 1979.


Their current leader is Hassan Nasrallah. The U.S. government estimates there are several thousand members.
Here are some of the basics from wikipedia:

"It was formed primarily to combat Israeli occupation following the 1982 Lebanon War. The United States and Israel say that Hezbollah has received financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training, from Iran and Syria. Founded with the aid of Iran and funded by it, Hezbollah follows the distinct Shia Islamic ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States the United Kingdom and Canada."

TERRORIST ATTACKS

Since 1982 Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for nearly 200 terrorist attacks that have killed more than 800 people according to The Terrorism Knowledge Base.
Here is a listing of some of the attacks:

--The suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy, which killed 63, including 17 U.S. citizens
--The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241 U.S. servicemen
--The bombing of the French multinational force headquarters which killed 58 French troops
--The bombing of the replacement U.S. Embassy in East Beirut on September 20, 1984, killing 20 Lebanese and two U.S. soldiers
--The 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome
--Attacks in Argentina in 1990 and 1994
--Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 17, 1992
--The AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) bombing, the building was the headquarters of Argentina's Jewish community, 85 people died (mostly Jews) and over 300 were wounded

They are also suspected of kidnapping and torturing 32 westerners from 1982-92.

CONNECTIONS TO IRAN AND SYRIA

"Hizballah was established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who came to Lebanon during the 1982 "Peace for Galilee" war, as part of the policy of exporting the Islamic revolution. It receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria. Published reports that Iran provides hundreds million dollars of aid annually are probably exaggerated. Iran probably provides financial assistance and military assistance worth about $25-50 million.

Hizballah is closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran but has the capability and willingness to act independently. Closely allied with, and often directed by Iran, it may have conducted operations that were not approved by Tehran. Though Hizballah does not share the Syrian regime’s secular orientation, the group has been a strong ally in helping Syria advance its political objectives in the region."--GlobalSecurity.org

ATTEMPTS TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH

Hezbollah has defied numerous attempts that have been made to disarm them. In 1989

"the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese civil war, required the "disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias" and required the government to "deploy the Lebanese army in the border area adjacent to Israel."

Ofcourse this was never enforced and Hezbollah was allowed to continue. Then in 2004

"the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1559, coauthored by France and the United States. Echoing the Taif Agreement, the resolution "calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon" and "for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias." Lebanon is currently in violation of Resolution 1559 over its refusal to disband the military wing of Hezbollah."

What I am incredulous about is how it has become the biggest joke that you can commit genocide, mass murder, terrorist attacks, commit human rights abuses and what will the UN do? They will draft a resolution!!! Will they ever enforce it? No!! Does everyone know this? Yes!! So evil people have nothing to fear and thus the UN is worthless. The UN and the rest of the world is still upset that the US actually had the gaul to do something about Iraq and give some teeth to the 17 resolutions that Iraq violated. Resolutions mean nothing unless you back them up with consequences. This is basic common sense 101. If you threaten a child with punishment but never punish him he knows he can get away with murder. And with Hezbollah that is literally true. Since no has called them to account for violating Resolution 1559 they have continued to attack and murder people.


And in another example of how appeasement never works it is reported that Hezbollah gained a lot of respect in the Arab and Islamic world when Isreal left Lebanon in 2000. The pullout did not bring peace but only emboldened Hezbollah to continue its aggression towards Israel.

Isreal is defending itself right now against Hezbollah's terrorism. It has been stated that Iran and Syria are getting nervous about losing their hold on the Middle East. As they see Iraq becoming a democracy they are getting scared that their time may be running out to grab control. I think this is all true. If the citizens of Iraq enjoy freedom and Iranian and Syrian citizens see this they too will want to taste freedom. Thus we must support and stand with Israel as they fight their branch of the war on terror. And when the time comes the U.S. will have to take our stand against Iran and Syria.

SOURCES:
Main source-Wikipedia-Hezbollah
The Hizballah Training Camps of Lebanon--Magnus Ranstorp
Hizbollah--GlobalSecurity.org
Hezbollah--Council on Foreign Relations
Hat Tip to Mike for being my Resource guy

LMC's Smorgasboard

Okay, I found this awesome pic at Skye's. I was waiting for some really important post about the troops to post it. But alas I couldn't wait so it is posted here for mine and all the other chics' enjoyment and ofcourse to re-iterate how much we love the troops :-)!!

Blogging Friends:

I have a couple of mentions here. I started noticing some great comments made at Cajun Tiger's blog by someone named Ron. He really made my day when he came to my defense over a liberal troll who was whining about being banned from my blog. He started commenting here and thats when I started encouraging him to start his own blog. He has and its entitled Ron's World. I encourage all of you to check it out and pay him a visit!!

Another similar blogger has been a wise commenter forever and a partner at Gayle's blog. He's another one I harassed, I mean encouraged to start his own blog. Old Soldier has and he has given this saturday the 15th as his official date to start posting. Check him out!!

The next 2 bloggers seemed to have disappeared for awhile but now they're back. Matthew (Robosquirrel) is in Peru and his having trouble with blogger so his site is temporarily at livejournal. Go check him out and encourage him as he is far from his family and has the deployment blues. Exile was gone for so long I was concerned he was never coming back but he has. And he seems to be in full-force troll butt kicking mode :-).



I was really bummed that I missed getting to do a Happy 60th Birthday post for W!! I was gone at the Memorial Service that day and didn't have access to a computer.


So I decided I would still do a belated HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH!! My mother will kill me (maybe this will get her to finally make a comment here) but she turned 60 this year too!! I was telling her how awesome that was because all these famous people are turning 60 this year including Bush, Clinton (she's real happy about that), Dolly Parton, Donald Trump, Diane Keaton, Suzanne Somers, Reggie Jackson, Cher, Jimmy Buffett, Laura Bush, Loni Anderson, Susan Lucci, Patty Duke, Sylvester Stallone, Timothy Dalton, Tommy Lee Jones and Pat Sajak. So it's a great year to turn 60. I hope the President had a wonderful birthday.

Remembering a Special Woman

The world lost a wonderful woman this week but Heaven gained one.

Last November some of you may remember that I lost my beloved Pastor and wrote 2 posts about it--One Life Can Make a Huge Difference and A Legacy. I came to the church he pastored at the time Northside Calvary Memorial Church when I was 13 yrs. old. Thats when I met my Pastor and his wife and many other special people. My family and I got very involved in this small church and in many ways it became my extended family. In fact most of my extended family lived far away and we even spent many holidays with people from our church.

There were several couples that my parents were friends with that all had kids similar ages. Many, many sundays my parents would stay after church for an hour or more talking and doing things around the church and so us kids bonded and/or found things to do or trouble to get into :-). Marikka and Bill were one of those couples. We would spend Fourth of July at their house and if we weren't out of town they would spend Thanksgiving with us.

My memories of Marikka are of a very kind, gracious and honest woman who had a great sense of humor. She was one of my mom's closest friends and very special to me. Probably the most meaningful memory of her that I have to share is how she reached out to me during one of the hardest times of my life. When I was 17 a very close friend of mine committed suicide. It was extremely painful and very traumatic for me. When you lose a loved one people don't know what to do or say and so sometimes they understandably don't do or say anything. You walk around with this gaping emotional wound and feel that so many don't understand.

But Marikka reached out and shared a personal story with me. It meant so much that she understood and cared and wrote a special letter to me. In fact I still have the wonderful letter that she wrote to me 18 yrs. ago. I dug it out and tears just streamed down my face as I read it. Please indulge me as I share some of what she wrote:

"Please, Dionne, don't let this crush you and destroy your joy in the Lord! Make it a reason to even more share with anyone you meet the gospel of our Lord and the new life we can have in HIm when we accept Him as Lord of our life! Make this a stepping stone for greater service for Him because one never knows how much someone we meet will need Him in their lives! There are many terribly hurting people around us like your friend; good at hiding their desperation and anguish! Rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show you the needs of people around you and to share with them about the Lord. You will experience much heartbreak yet also much joy as you grow and mature in the Lord. Through our darkest days we learn to trust Him more and more for everything and He is always faithful. In time He will turn your sorrow into joy again and by His power make you even more sensitive to the needs of people all around you. He truly is "A shelter in a time of storms"! Bring all your sorrow, confusion, pain before Him in prayer, trusting Him to ease the pain and He answers prayers!!! Matthew 11:28--Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

As I reflect on that letter 18 years later I see everything she said in this letter came true. God used that tragedy in my life to enable me to empathize with others. And He was and is my shelter in time of storms and even though I couldn't imagine it at the time He did indeed turn my sorrow into joy.

Marikka will be greatly missed by all those that loved her but she is now in Heaven where she is free from pain and rejoicing with our Dear Lord and talking to my Pastor.

Linda's Post on Marikka