Instead of writing about the meaning of Veteran’s Day as I suspect many will today, I wish to show you the men who served my country and whom I call my family. As I collect and write this post, I am listening to the soundtrack from the HBO series Band Of Brothers, inspiration that, to this day, makes my eyes water when I hear its orchestral notes — such as they are now, though I continue typing.

(Please note that, depending on how many photographs Blogger will allow me to publish at one time, I may have to break my thoughts into a number of smaller posts.)

Charles A. Johns served in the Civil War for the North. He was my great-grandfather on my father’s side. Here is a photograph of Charles Johns taken shortly after the Civil War itself. He had a brother named Lafayette Johns.

Charles Johns served his nation during the Civil War as a Second Lieutenant, Company “K”, the 9th Regiment, of the Kansas Volunteers Cavalry. He was promoted to 2nd Lt. at Topeka, on the 22nd of November, 1864, by Kansas Governor Thomas Carney.

I have Charles Johns’ original promotional papers as well as his original discharge. His discharge is on the right, and indicates that he served three years in the war and was honorably discharged on the 24th of June, 1865, at DeValls Bluff in Kansas, under Government Order #83. Further, his discharge papers indicate he was born in Germany, was 25 years of age upon discharge, 5’9″, light complexion, blue eyes, sandy hair and, by occupation, when enrolled, a “clerk.”

The photo on the left is from a hand tinted original photo I have of Grandpa Johns from the 1920s.

Clearly, my family had served in the Civil War on the side of the United States. Reparations? Besides not being a viable plan and a ridiculous idea on its face, I and the line of my family owe no reparations to any one for any reason.

If anything, those desiring reparations owe my family, me and my future kin extended reparations for fighting on the proper side over 131 years ago.

Blogger has now limited the photos I can upload so it is time to conclude this post.

BZ

It’s a good day for the United States Marine Corps: Happy 231st Birthday to our USMC fighting men! Marine Commandant Mike Hagee writes here about this day and what the Marines mean to a free United States.

It was a bad day for moviegoers: Jack Palance died today at the age of 85. His family said he was actually 87.

Palance, a wonderful “bad guy” in the movies, kept me enthralled with his work and was one of the most down-to-earth actors around. He received his Oscar for 1991’s “City Slickers” and, besides being a WWII veteran, was a heavyweight boxer.

Anyone remember the ’91 Oscars when Palance dropped to the floor and whipped out a number of one-armed push-ups in front of millions of television viewers?

It was a bad day for my area where, not more than five miles from my house in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a train derailment occurred yesterday in which eight persons were injured and one man was killed.

Today, a second man feared missing, was found dead in the wreckage. The first man was crushed horribly; the second was burned beyond recognition in the ensuing fire.

The train was not a standard Union Pacific freight train, nor an Amtrak passenger train — the sights usually seen on the rails adjacent my house.

Instead, it was a Harsco Track Technologies rail grinding train, on contract to the Union Pacific Railroad. A rail grinding train usually consists of two custom diesel-electric locomotives on either end, with various cars in the middle to include a water car, fuel car, two cars for the crew and the actual grinding cars. Six of the ten cars derailed and chewed up over 1,400 feet of track.

A Placer County Sheriff’s Department representative, Lt. Chal DeCecco, said “If you look at the crash site, it looks like excessive speed was a factor.”

The yin and yang of Life.

BZ

President Bush is still providing indicators he cannot or purposely is refusing to understand the concern that America has with ILLEGAL aliens.

When meeting recently with “Conservative” reporters, National Review reporter Byron York brought up the issue of illegal immigration; President Bush said, in response (per Byron York himself on the Bill Bennett show this morning: I heard this with my own ears) that he doesn’t believe it’s that large an issue as he isn’t hearing many people mention much about it. York appeared to be reticent, due to the timbre in his voice, in even mentioning this to Bennett.

Despite everything that has occurred, it is plain that either President Bush is a completely ignorant dullard, or he is purposely avoiding having to secure our American borders. At this point, particularly after the massive drubbing Conservatives took yesterday, these are the only two polar opposite conclusions I can reach.

What could otherwise be the point for saying this? Either Bush has a purposeful agenda he is revealing to no one, or he really is beyond hope.

To some, this may seem to be “post election Bush Bashing.”

But here’s what happened: until listening to Bennett on the way to work very early this morning I was planning to write about some of the potential results of the Democrats coming into power within the House and Senate. Bush himself was not on my scope.

Bush put himself on my scope this morning.

And I really have had enough of this.

The United States of America is finding itself taken apart with illegal immigration.

• It is draining our limited resources;
• It is taxing our social programs;
• Our Emergency Rooms are being utilized as general health care check-in facilities;
• Unfiltered aliens are bringing TB, hepatitis and other diseases into our country;
• Mexicans are refusing, more and more, to assimilate;
• The country is ENABLING this lack of assimilation;
• Untaxed cash is returning directly to Mexico;
• Coyotes are killing their own countrymen and women;
• The borders are worse than porous; anyone can come through;
• For any reason;
• Including pieces of “equipment;”
• Including Islamists.

What part of that, President Bush, is difficult to comprehend, to really manage to wrap your brain around?

In the meantime, more people; no, more AMERICANS die at the hands of ILLEGAL ALIENS:

Three students — two North Carolina University students and a 16-year-old – have been killed by an illegal alien, who allegedly was driving drunk, and already had a record of crime in the United States.

Authorities say Pastor Rios Sanchez, 55, is expected back in a North Carolina court on Nov. 15 on charges he killed Helen Meghan Hughes, 22, of Summerville, S.C., Jennifer Carter, 18, of Jacksonville, N.C., and Hughes’ stepbrother, 16-year-old Ben Leonard.

Mark Krikorian writes, in National Review Online:

What’s more, if legalizing illegals is so widely supported by the electorate, how come no Democrats campaigned on it? Not all were as tough as Brad Ellsworth, the Indiana sheriff who defeated House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Hostettler, or John Spratt of South Carolina, whose immigration web pages might as well have been written by Tom Tancredo. But even those nominally committed to “comprehensive” reform stressed enforcement as job one. And the national party’s “Six for 06” rip-off of the Contract with America said not a word about immigration reform, “comprehensive” or otherwise.

That’s because widespread amnesty for illegal immigrants is NOT a “popular” idea with Americans, you blithering idiots.

Those persons perishing in the car crash involving Sanchez were, essentially, murdered.

And still we move along merrily concerned with gay marriage, bringing down crosses and bringing down America.

Maybe we really do all deserve to see this country go down in flames if we lack even the wherewithal to support and defend her. Maybe we don’t deserve freedom.

BZ

First: GOP sycophants, get over it; I reserve the right to say whatever I wish about the GOP for any period of time.

— I get to rag on the GOP for being stupid in any number of ways. GTFOI.
— I get to make my future plans for the GOP clear and distinct.

Let the ragging commence (and it won’t stop with this post):

The GOP got their asses handed to them. And it occurred this time for any number of reasons. But throughout it all the future plans, in my opinion, and the roadmap is clear. I shall lay out this easy roadmap — one that should have been followed, without deviation, from the start. Finding the roadmap in October, much less discovering the route, is too little too late.

I’ll keep it simple from the beginning:

There will be, I suspect, some Moderates cloaked as Conservative Poseurs bleating: “See? See? See? The GOP is too Right Wing, too Conservative for people to back! The future plan for the GOP must be to get back on track and try to encompass: be everything to everyone! Go for the numbers!”

Do not be distracted, duped or derailed by any single person or group of so-called GOP’ers saying anything even remotely like this. This is not correct. It is a lie.
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This is the reason, this is our plan:

THE REASON:
The Republicans got their asses handed to them because they abandoned their Conservative base and principles.

THE PLAN:
Only by re-discovering and closely adhering to Conservative Principles will the GOP find its mind, its place in politics, and begin to reacquire its greatness. It needs to secure its true Political Base and reawaken an awareness of its core principles and precepts.

________________________________

This isn’t the end of the world, boys and girls.

And over the course of the next few days, weeks and months I shall lay out, in greater depth, the reasons the GOP tanked and stand back for a greater, more global view of what it means for the future of the GOP and, moreover, Conservatives. For if we do not come to terms with our past, our history, and understand what we did to enable this turnover, we run the risk of allowing history to repeat itself. We must learn from our history.

Folks, we’re not dead; we just smell funny right now.

BZ

In the TTLB, I have now been elevated to “Adorable Little Rodent” status.

That is up from my “Flappy Bird” status.

There is only one way for that to occur, and that is for more persons to visit my site and read my mind dribblings.

So I wish to thank all who visit my blog, my Usual Suspects and new readers to the blog!

Today, I am all out of politics. I’m not doing politics, I’m not writing about politics, I’m politicked-out. End. Fini. Zero. Zed. The null set.

I suspect tomorrow will be a huge, HUGE day for Blogdom. The GOP may get their asses handed to them. And they may render a few surprises.

Thanks once again to all my readers! You are the best.

BZ