IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Valour-IT Auction

The Valour-IT bloggers' fundraising campaign is well underway and, as in previous years, an auction is now being added. The following press release was issued today, so it is a good idea to get your bids in now! Remember, this campaign ends on Thanksgiving Day, but the need and value of these laptops for our precious wounded heroes is year-round:

Soldier's Angels

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Best-Selling Authors Provide Autographed Books to Support Project Valour-IT

Seven noted authors have stepped up to support Project Valour-IT by donating autographed books for auction, and more are anticipated to join them. The books are being auctioned on eBay to help raise money to help Soldier's Angels provide adaptive laptops to wounded or disabled service members.

David Weber, David Drake, John Ringo, David J. Williams, Dean Ing, Mark L. Van Name, and Travis "Doc" Taylor have all agreed to provide works for auction as part of the annual fundraiser, which kicked off on Veterans Day and ends Thanksgiving Day. The works are being auctioned on the eBay Giving Works listings (seller spliffslips) with the money raised going directly and fully to the Project Valour-IT fund.

Currently, there are seven items up for bid on eBay:

The Last Centurion by John Ringo.

The Quantum Connection by Travis S. Taylor.

Warp Speed by Travis S. Taylor.

Von Neuman's War by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor (autographed by Travis S. Taylor only).

The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 by David Drake.

Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor (autographed by Travis S. Taylor only).

Slanted Jack by Mark L. Van Name.

Works by David Weber, Dave Williams, and Dean Ing will be posted for auction soon. The end time for each auction is different, so please check each listing to determine its end date.

John Ringo is a New York Times best-selling author with more than a million copies of his works in print. A veteran (Airborne!), he is known for his solo "Posleen" and "Ghost" series, as well as his "Empire of Man" series co-authored with David Weber.

Travis S. "Doc" Taylor is a rising light in the science fiction sky. He's earned not only a Ph.D. in optical science and engineering, but Master's degrees in physics, aerospace engineering, and astronomy and a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering as well. The author of several books, he may be best known for the "Looking Glass" series co-authored with John Ringo. The start of a series of video interviews with Taylor can be found here.

David Drake is the New York Times best-selling author of the "Hammer's Slammers" series. Having written on a variety of subjects, his Hammer's Slammers work is based on his service in Vietnam and he is known to describe the series as the 11th Armored Cavalry with ray guns. The start of a series of video interviews with Drake can be found at here.

Mark L. Van Name is an author who also runs a technology assessment company in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. A former Executive Vice President for Ziff Davis Media and national technology columnist, he's published over a thousand computer-related articles in addition to his "Slanted Jack" series and numerous short stories. The start of a series of video interviews with Van Name can be found here.

David Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed "Honor Harrington" series. The author of multiple best-selling books and series, he has seen his works develop a world-wide reach and following. The start of a series of video interviews with him can be found here.

David J. Williams is another rising star in the science fiction universe. Born in Hertfordshire, England, he now resides in Washington, DC. Mirrored Heavens is his first novel.

Dean Ing is the author of multiple science fiction and techno-thriller novels. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he earned a doctorate in communications and worked in aerospace engineering. He served on the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy.


Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:
Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions.

Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member's recovery.

Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 626-529-5114. Tax ID# 20-0583415

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ARMY!!!

*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*

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Sudan Liberation Movement Supports Relations with Israel

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle


To view the clip

Leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur Supports Relations with Israel: An Israeli Embassy in Khartoum Will Serve the Interests of the Sudanese People

"People from Darfur and Sudan Have Gone to Israel – And They Are There Now, Studying, Eating Israeli Food, and Living... We Will Open an Israeli Embassy in Khartoum"

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "There are two types of normalization. There is normalization between peoples, and this has already happened. People from Darfur and Sudan have gone to Israel, and they are there now, studying, eating Israeli food, and living among them. This has already happened.

"As for political normalization, the Sudan Liberation Movement says loud and clear: If we come to power, we will open an Israeli Embassy in Khartoum and consulates next to the Palestinian Embassy and consulates, because we believe that people should resolve their problems by peaceful means. As for the war between Israel and the Palestinians, we are against the killing of civilians, whether in Israel or in Gaza..."

Interviewer: "But Israel kills Palestinians, and you accept this by your presence there."

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "Let me finish. We are against the killing of innocent civilians – whether in Israel or the Palestinian territories. But as I previously said, we would open an Israeli Embassy because this would serve the interests of the Sudanese people in terms of politics, industry, agriculture, and investments." [...]

"I Haven't Seen Any Israeli Who Killed a Sudanese... [But] Our Government Killed Its People by the Hundreds of Thousands"

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "Tell me, how can you compare Sudan to Israel? I haven't seen any Israeli who killed a Sudanese, or who interfered in Sudanese affairs. In Sudan we have a saying: 'You see an elephant, but you attack its shadow.'

"Our government killed its people by the hundreds of thousands – sorry, by the millions. In the name of religion and race, it turned tens of thousands of families into refugees with its 'Public Interest' system, by means of the Islamic Front, and it killed people during Ramadhan. In the name of development, it drove hundreds of thousands out of their homes everywhere – and then it creates the smokescreen of hatred of Israel.

"Resolve the problems of the Sudanese people first, and then talk about Israel. Start with yourself, and stay away from the problems of others."

With the Arrest Warrant for Al-Bashir, "The Rule Of Law Has Been Transferred From This Failing, Illegal Government To The ICC"

Interviewer: "Are you pleased about the issuing of the arrest warrant against the Sudanese president? As a Sudanese, do you feel that this is a political victory for you?"

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "First of all, this is a legal matter, and as a lawyer, I am very pleased that Al-Bashir and his government now know that the world is no longer a jungle of wild beasts, and that it will not allow them to kill their people and remain at large. The issue of the warrant is purely a legal matter. Every nation in the world has the right to protect its citizens and bring them justice.

"In Sudan, we have an outlaw government. Instead of protecting its citizens, it annihilates them. Therefore, the rule of law has been transferred from this failing, illegal government to the International Criminal Court."

From Monkey in the Middle:

Refugees from Darfur and Sudan are fleeing their nation and finding a haven in Israel. The Egyptian government has shown not only contempt for these people, but has systematically robbed, raped and murdered them. The Western world gives lip service to the plight of these poor, unfortunate people and does nothing to help them. It is only Israel that these men, women and children have found a refuge, a safe harbor. This is the nation that the Muslim nations of the world calls the most hateful and vile nation on the planet. Yet these same Muslim nations give no aid to these fellow Muslims.

The refugees from Darfur and Sudan, living in Israel have more than just food, shelter, and clothing. They gain freedoms that they cannot and never had in their own lands. Only recently did this happen:

Teen refugees win Tel Aviv race

Two young Eritreans who fled their country only six months ago win first and second place on national 10,000 meter road race this weekend. Now they dream of representing Israel in the Olympic Games.

It was only six months ago that John Pasahi and Taspaldat Dasta, both 17-years old, fled the bloody civil war in their homeland of Eritrea, crossed through Sudan and Egypt to Sinai, and at the end of an exhausting and dangerous journey found refuge in Israel.

"I escaped from Eritrea to Sudan because of the terrible war," recounted Pasahi, who won first place with a result of 33.47 minutes. "The journey took me several months, and after I crossed Sinai and arrived in Israel I was sent to study at the Kadoorie Youth Village in the Lower Galilee."

Dasta, who won second place in the race with a result of 35.49 minutes, also arrived at Kadoorie after enduring the long journey from Eritrea.

The principal at the youth village, Hillel Hillman said that "when they got here they told us horrific stories of parents who disappeared in the war, of hunger, plundering and a difficult, long journey through Egypt."

Full Story

These aren't Jewish young men, but Muslim youths. Yet they are finding a place in the Jewish nation. And that may be the most telling of all. Israel welcoming those who will find no other place in the world from violence and death. It is the legacy of the Holocaust and a reminder to the World of its commitment to ALL refugees not just the Palestinian ones.

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Survivor Corps

Cross-posted from Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Check out the banner above. This is from an organization called Survivor Corp. Here’s an excerpt from a recent blog entry on their site:

Homecoming Is A Process, Not A Parade
Nov 17, 2008
U.S. Army Captain (Retired) Scott Quilty knows first hand about the challenge of recovering from both the wounds of war. On October 1, 2006, Scott was on patrol in Iraq when he was severely injured by an improvised explosive device.

“I lost my arm and my leg in Iraq, but I gained a sense of self. The toughest part for me was answering some of those existential questions, ‘How am I going to go on from here, and how will I take care of my family?’ Now I am working to rise above my circumstance and give back to others.”

Scott joined Survivor Corps in 2008 as the manager of the U.S. Program. The U.S. Program links veterans and service members to each other for support. “I know from personal experience that some of the best help comes from those who have been there too,” explains Quilty.

Of the more than one and a half million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, an estimated 20% have reported symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or major depression. Roughly 200,000 veterans are homeless, and the suicide rate among service members and veterans is the highest it has been since the Vietnam War. READ MORE

Stop by Survivor Corp when you get a chance and donate if you are able.

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About Roger Gardner and Radarsite: Friendships in the Blogosphere

It is odd how well we can get to know a person by their blogs. When someone writes consistently, daily, and writes about subjects affecting our daily lives, our writing is a perfect profile of who we are.

I "met" Roger Gardner of Radarsite seven months ago. It seems much longer. The bloggers in my circle of blogger friends do not trade much personal information back and forth...just enough to ask for prayers when one of us, or one of ours, needs prayer. We might know a little about another's children or grandchildren...and we might not. What we do know is that we are all passionate about traditional American values. That is our common bond.

Roger obsessed over the elections. He laid-out all of his election emotion in his writing. He was "up" in spirits in one post, and "down" in spirits in the next. He waged the battle. He never gave up. In a recent post, he said:

Of course my friends think I take it all too seriously. They have a much healthier view of it all, a much more cavalier attitude. Politics is politics, they say. It's the same old game. Not worth getting yourself all upset about it. Liberals who have responded to my emotional pleas and dire warnings have invariably characterized me as a bitter, lonely, hate-filled right-winger racist, an obsessive anti-social paranoid, clinging to a semi-mythical and long-gone past. An uptight reactionary, fearful of change, stubbornly rejecting the promise of a bright future.

Most of us did not think he took it "all too seriously." We recognized that he could put it into words better than most of us, and was driven to do so.

The elections are over. Now Roger has another battle to wage. Here is his message.



Dear loyal Radarsite readers --

This is a strange message for me to be writing. But it must be done. But how? What can I say? I think I'll just say it up front. Two days ago I got diagnosed with acute leukemia. It is considered "lethal". I have been told that it could come to an end in as short a time as 2 weeks. I have been allowed to come home for one night before I go into the hospital tomorrow for chemo. If I survive the first week, things could get better, if I survive four weeks thing could really get better.

However, as of now, the first prognosis does seem the most likely. I think we all wonder how we might react to news like this. At this point I can tell you that I am in a good mood, and I have accepted it and I have nothing but gratitude that I have been allowed to live this long, and to have found such a fulfilling mission this late in life.

I am so grateful to have made so many good friends and to have found so many worthy patriots who love this great country of ours as much as I do, not despite what we have done but because of what we have done.

This may be my last article and of course I would like it to be my best. I would like to fill it with everything I have learned or felt. I would like to say something really profound and meaningful, but I just can't. I'm getting too tired right now to go much further.

I can only say thank you for all I have learned from you and for your steadfast loyalty. My fondest hope of course would be that I would come back home all cured and find this article to be an embarrassment to me. lol But of course that's not up to me.

Please, all of you, all of you who are my fellow warriors, all of you who have commented here, and all of you who have been quiet readers, keep up the good fight, and I hope that you have enjoyed me as much as I have enjoyed you.

With great respect,
Roger W. Gardner
Radarsite

*****

Roger has been a beloved contributor at Maggie's Notebook and Miss Beth's Victory Dance. Please continue to visit Radarsite and comment there. Several of us will continue to post for Roger. I have great confidence that he will be back. Help us keep his blog alive until he is back and posting again.

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A Sane Voice in a Dim-Witted Congress: Freeze the Bailout

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Photo courtesy of dagonvalek


Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is introducing legislation requiring Congress to ratify the spending of the remaining $350 billion bailout fund, abolishing the sole rights given to Treasury Secretary Paulson to spend American taxpayer monies at his will - and hopefully, to completely freeze the bailout.

Inhofe voted against the prior bailout legislation for two reasons:

The first is that I wasn't convinced that asset-purchase program was the right way to do this, and the second is that it would lead to increased lobbying for handouts and bailouts by any industry facing financial trouble.

I stated at the time that my vote was against the Paulson plan - not against taking extraordinary action to provide necessary confidence to financial markets. I stated that "The Paulson plan would have Washington take $700 billion worth of toxic Wall Street assets from financial firms' balance sheets and put them on the balance sheet of the federal government.... I'm not confident in its success."

Inhofe's press release points to the many problems:

On October 14th, in a significant shift, Treasury outlined a plan to directly purchase equity stakes in of major financial institutions.

The Wall Street Journal noted that "critics...say Treasury should have formulated a comprehensive plan earlier in the crisis." This past week, Secretary Paulson announced that he has completed a remarkable about face,

November 13^th Investor's Business Daily front page headline, which read, "In Major Reversal, Treasury Won't Buy Bad Mortgage Debt." This is a complete reversal. Why did Paulson reverse course?

Thursday's Los Angeles Times provides the answer. "Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson's decision to abandon plans to buy troubled bank assets shows that he has come to two conclusions about what was once the chief focus of the government's $700-billion bailout: The first is that it wouldn't work.

About the constitutionality of the bailout:

Congress abdicated its Constitutional responsibility by signing a truly blank check over to the Treasury Secretary. However, the lame duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous opportunity to change course. We should take it.

Inhofe's plan:

During the lame duck session, I will be taking the following actions.

First and foremost, if Secretary Paulson submits his plan to Congress in order to access the remaining $350 billion while we are in session, a doubtful prospect, I plan to immediately introduce the disapproval resolution pursuant to Section 115 of the EESA and push for its enactment.

I will also introduce and actively pursue enactment of legislation to do two things: First, it will amend Section 115 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to require an affirmative vote on the part of Congress to approve Treasury's plan for the remaining $350 billion, instead of the current statutory process which gives Secretary Paulson far too much latitude.

Second, it will require a freeze on any remaining funds of the first $350 billion. It is imperative that we not allow that amount of money to be added to a deficit approaching $1 trillion this year without any input from the legislative branch.

Inhofe's assignment: "Kick Republican Ass - Find their Conservative Values...Stand up and find a spine" Click here, then click the double bars to listen to Senator Inhofe's comprehensive interview with Glen Beck.

Beck: Do you believe our Constitution is hanging by a thread?
Beck: When did we stop believing in bankruptcy?

Beck: How could Obama say we don't have to worry about the deficit over the next couple of years?

Beck: How long before we don't recognize our country anymore? This is a tsunami...

This is an opportunity for us to tell Congress to support Inhofe's legislation. To find your Senator's name and contact information, enter your zip code below and hit "go.":

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