Senator George Allen 2006

(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

I stopped by downtown Harrisonburg with friends to see Senator George Allen formally announce his campaign for re-election as a Republican Senator for the Commonwealth of Virginia. There were approximately 150-160 people in attendance and the Senator was introduced by Republican Congressmen Bob Goodlatte on the steps of the City Hall where Allen had his family and numerous elected officials standing behind him. Senator Allen spoke for approximately twenty minutes and hit on numerous topics that effect Virginia and the rest of the country.

During this time Senator Allen spoke about the strong economy both here in Virginia and across the United States and advised that the leading “Cash Crop” for Virginia is now computer related technology and this replaces Tobacco for the first time in history. He stated the importance of making President Bush’s recent tax cuts permanent to keep this outstanding economic growth going and allowing workers to keep more of what they earn.

He also stated three goals for his next term and this included securing freedom, making sure that "America remains a land of opportunity for all", and keeping traditional values as a focal point.

Another topic that is very musch in the news now is Immigration and the borders. The Senator talked about the importance of controlling the border and stated "A country that can not secure it's own borders can not control it's destiny"...

Rhonda Winfield and Senator George Allen

April 12th, 2006

I had the privlege to attend the Senator George Allen rally in Harrisonburg with several Republican friends from Augusta County including my new friend Rhonda Winfield from Stuarts Draft, VA.

Rhonda is the mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Jason C. Redifer who was killed in action while serving in Iraq on January31, 2005. I have met her several times but only for short periods and never had the opportunity for an extended conversation. I have had the opportunity to hear much of her story from a mutual friend and have learned that Rhonda is a very powerful and special person when it comes to the sacrifice her Son made to our country.

At the completion of the Senators remarks I was taking photo's of the Senator when I noticed Rhonda standing in line to meet and talk with Senator Allen. Knowing that she was coming up in

line I was sure to get in a good position to get some photos for her and maybe one for the blog. I had noticed earlier that Rhonda was wearing Jason's dog-tags and I knew she had been wearing them ever since getting them returned to her with other personal effects of Jason. But when Rhonda got to meet with Senator Allen she had the dog-tags clenched in her hands. As she talked with the Senator I was able to frame some nice shots but at a distance so as not to intrude into the conversation. I could tell by the Senators face that she was telling him of Jason and his sacrifice for our country and his beliefs. I then saw Rhonda give the dog-tags to the Senator and this had a very profound affect on the Senator and his wife Susan.

Later in the day I was able to have that extended conversation with Rhonda who told me that the dog-tags were Jason's extra pair for the originals were lost when he was killed in action. She has been wearing them ever since receiving them and she did not plan on giving them to the Senator. She said that the Senators speech had a very moving affect on her and that she knew he should have the dog-tags for she knew he believed in Jason's mission and truly understood her loss.

Rhonda also told me of the numerous letters of condolences she received from many people and some from elected officials. She told me that Senator Allen's letter was different from the "form" letters she received and there was a hand written note from the Senator telling her that "Susan and I pray for you"...

She also told me that Jason and Senator Allen shared the same values and beliefs in our country and she recalls talking with Jason about the Senator that he admired. She also admires Senator Allen for she sees the same values and morals that he shares with President Bush. She knows that they hate to have to make the decision to send troops into harms way but they understand that "Freedom isn't Free"...

Rhonda then told me that she feels Senator Allen is not just doing this to get re-elected as Senator or possibly as part of a campaign to be the next President. He is doing what he believes is right for the country...

I am very glad that I was able to have that "extended" conversation with my new friend...

(Click on Photo)

"How glad are you this guy did not win?!"

This week Iran announced that they have reached the 2nd of four steps in developing the nuclear material needed to make a nuclear bomb. Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has already stated that once they have these bombs they will use them against Israel...

Iran with Nuclear weapons will also threaten all of Europe and also the United States. It is known that Iran is developing these weapons and materials deep underground and the only way to eliminate these "Projects" will be with a Earth Penetrating low yield nuclear gravity bomb...

During the 2004 Presidential debates Democrat Senator John Kerry stated: "The President is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons... It doesn't make sense"...

How glad are you this guy didn't get elected ?.......

Tuna & Environmentalist...

Blackfin Tuna (Click on photos)

The Florida Keys is a very unique Sportfishing environment for it is possible to catch many different species of fish on a single day trip as well as the many different "seasons" each year. When the water gets cooler the Blackfin Tuna make their way thru the area on their migration and these are some incredible fish when caught on light tackle and very good eating...

The Sportfishing boat that I worked on was operated by Capt. Jim Sharpe who has fished in the Florida Keys for 30+ years and knows the area and fish species well. Capt. Sharpe also operates a tackle store and a weekly radio show that talks about sportfishing and recent catches... He also did a 2 minute morning radio remote that would talk about what the fishing conditions were and what we would be looking for that day...

In the 5+ years that I had the privilege to fish with Capt. Sharpe there were many great tuna seasons and it was a fish that I always looked forward to. During this season we would talk about the catch on the radio show and would go indepth on how the fish was caught, it's habits, and the environment that the fish lived in... Blackfin Tuna would usually get up to about 30-35lbs. and are not usually sold as a commercial fish for they did not command a great price. They are caught by "Line & Tackle" (Fishing Poles) and are usually found under birds that are working the baitfish on the surface...

There were several occasions where people would hear about the Tuna catch on the radio and meet us when we got back to the dock from a days fishing. I can recall at least 2 times where "Environmentalist" would meet us at the dock to condemn us for fishing Tuna and endangering Dolphin (Mammels, Flipper Dolphin) while fishing for the tuna. I specifically recall one time where a lady pulled up to the boat, got out, and asked if we were the boat that were catching tuna that day. She then asked which of the fish caught and displayed next to the boat was the tuna at which time I pointed out from the other species caught that day. She them went into a rant on how we were Killing Dolphin (Mammal) when fishing for the tuna. I attempted to inform her that this was a different species and in fact caught in a completely different ocean from the tuna she was thinking about. I informed her that the tuna we caught were caught on line & tackle and there were no dolphin in the area at anytime. Unfortunately this lady had only heard and believed what she wanted from the environmental groups and that all fishermen were "evil card-carrying Halliburton" people and did not care a bit about the Dolphin or environment... After explaining to her that these were different fish and caught in a different manner she did acknowledge that she may have been "Mistaken" by which species were being caught but then left after saying "You would probably kill the other ones if they were here"...

It always amazed me when we had people on the boat who grew up in the mid-west and it was their first time on the ocean or even seeing the ocean. I would talk with these people and there were times where they had pre-set facts in their minds that there was massive over-fishing going on everywhere and that any fish we caught was sure to push the species to extinction...

The "Marketing" programs by the environmental groups are impressive and work well at times. It was interesting to talk with these people and show them that each environment is different and unique...

"Go catch your own fish"...

Dolphin, Mahi-mahi, Dorado, Coryphaena hippurus...

Here is a good one for you... It's cheaper to get the one from Peru...

A few years back I lived in Key West Florida and worked on a Sportfishing Charter boat that took people out fishing in the Florida Straits for day trips. The photo above is of a female Dolphin fish that is also known as Mahi-mahi, Dorado, and numerous other names depending on your location and what ocean you were in... Dolphin is a very fast growing fish and is also very good eating. The Florida Keys has become a popular place for tourist to escape to and get in some fishing and great dining in town. Key West has some incredible restaurants with all the "fresh" seafood you could ever want...

An interesting fact was that times during the year I could fish during the day catching all of the Dolphin we want and then stop by the supermarket on the way home only to find foreign caught fish for sale. Many times I would catch an outstanding fish like the one above only to find Dolphin in the fish section that was from Peru or some other country thousands of miles away.

One of the main factors to this was that a charterboat had to maintain the proper licenses and permits to be able to catch and sell the fish caught during the trip. There were days where I saw the price of fresh Dolphin as low as $.40 a pound and many commercial boats could not pay fuel to go out fishing. The fish caught also had to be maintained at a cold temperature and was inspected at the fish house before sale. The Charterboat also had to report catche's for there were also quota's that once reached the season would be closed. All of these restrictions made it possible for the local supermarket in Key West, surrounded by water and some of the best fishing in the Atlantic, offer Dolphin from Peru cheaper then that caught 5 miles offshore...

It was interesting to see that there were so many restrictions on American fishermen who abided by the rules only to be undersold by countries that operated under very few restrictions let alone few inspections.

"How 'bout we give you $140,000"...

Assembly Line

Last week the news came out that GM General Motors has offered up to 130,000 employees to “Buy” them out of their jobs for $140,000 each. Now the calculator on my desk will not calculate the total dollar amount of that buyout without giving me an “error” message on the screen, but I am sure one of you visitors will post the correct amount in a reply. The guys over at IBD (Investors Business Daily) did provide some other information as to how GM has gotten themselves into this situation. Great paper, you need to start getting this paper just for the facts that are not provided by many “Media outlets”.

It seems that GM has been losing a good amount of money over the years and in fact it is reported that they lost $10.6 Billion last year alone. Now this has been a long time coming and in fact GM has lost market share from 50% in the 1950’s to just barely 24% now. There have been many factors to this decline and it is interesting to look at them. Remember back during the 1970’s energy shortage and there was a mass move to smaller vehicles made in Japan and the likes for their MPG was much greater? GM and many of the U.S. Automakers responded somewhat but they still lost market share over the years. The problem is not totally the selection of vehicles they produced, it is the deals they made over the years with the Auto Worker’s unions. It is also estimated that GM is losing over $25 million dollars a day at it’s present rate. Now over the years GM made benefit deals with the union that are now coming due and pretty much puts the company in “Dire Straits”. Many of these deals were made for the “bills would be due later” and worry about it then. Well its time. GM is currently paying out almost $800 million a year to workers the company has laid off and this is almost at full pay and including full benefits for no work produced. GM is also operating under health care liabilities totaling almost $75 billion dollars and that does not include the pension plans.

Now Unions were needed in the past but there is a reason why the membership has dropped off to almost only 12% of the workforce now and most of those are government workers. Many companies have moved their operations to the southern U.S. where there are less unions and also out of the country to avoid unions altogether. GM once employed 520,000+ employees in the 1970’s and now just a fraction of that number. GM is not the only U.S. automaker with this problem, look at Ford, the company stock is now at $6 a share…

It is not always the evil top management people who takes the lion’s share of the profits. It appears everybody had their hands in the pot on this one…

Making some noise...

Augusta County VA.



Several members of the local Republican group SWAC (Staunton-Waynesboro-Augusta-County) got together to take some additional photos to send to the troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. These photos will be included into "Care Packages" that will be assembled and sent to the troops in just a few weeks. This is part of the "From Our Hearts" program that was created and maintained by Benny & Dianne Rankin who are the owners of T-Bone Tooter's out of Churchville Va.

In the above photo's are Jan & Kelsie Harman, wife & daughter of Ssgt. Herb Harman who is presently serving in Baghdad and is a strong Republican from the Augusta County area. While taking these photo's the majority of the traffic passing under the overpass blew their horns and probably every tractor trailer did the same. The support for the troops is there, we need to make sure that we show it to the troops whenever possible....

Please visit the "From Our Hearts" blog for more info: http://fromrhearts.blogspot.com/

What does it take to be a "Bush~Hater?"

AFP 27 March 06

Chris Graham over at the Augusta Free Press did a great article on "What is a Bush Hater" since it has become such a big topic and favorite past time for many from the "Left"...

http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$39336

It is interesting to see how this topic is viewed from many different directions and the history of this topic. Many feel that President Clinton was attacked for a minor incident, "It was only Sex" I had a problem when he lied about it to a grand jury to avoid prosecution in the Paula Jone's case which would have resulted in fines, political fallout, and additional legal actions.

Unfortunately we have come to a point where lying to a grand jury by the top executive is considered trivial. "He was just protecting his family"...

"Positives" from Iraq?

IBD

Oh those crazy guys over at Investors Business daily (IBD) are at it again. Once again they are reporting those facts out of Iraq that we all suspect the Mainstream media (MSM) knows about but just haven’t had the opportunity or the right time slot to run the story themselves. In today’s issue in the “Issues & Insights” section, (located in paid section so unable to link to story, subscription is well worth it) there was information on the “positives” happening in Iraq that the MSM just seems to ignore.

“Our schools, government services, businesses and offices were closed”, wrote Najim Abdullah Abid Al-Jubouri. “Our streets were silent, and no one dared walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorist occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city.”

In a report presented to Congress by Gen. John Abizaid, some of the good work being done by our troops was duly noted:

* Over 3,600 schools have been rehabilitated, and over 47,000 school teachers and administrators have been trained.

* Approximately 240 hospitals and more thean 1,200 clinics have reopened.

* Baghdad’s three sewage plants, which serve 80% of the city’s population have been rehabilitated…

A recent visit to the Georgia National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Iraq by several U.S. Senators found: “During their “Occupation,” the team had built a generating plant for a town that never had electricity, built a school to replace a mud structure and dug wells to provide fresh water to a town were children were being sickened from filthy, contaminated water”.

Note from Baghdad...

15 March 2006
1241 hrs.

Hi Steve,

I am Honored.

What a morale builder to see that sign & our beloved flag on one of my favorite highways. Thank you & all involved. You all have made my deployment and I am humbled indeed.

I speak to many of the locals over here in broken or no english whatsoever, they tell me or make me understand just how much they love America, our President, and our free society. We did the right thing here. We had the means, that gave us the responsibility.

So many of these good people have told me the horrors under which they have lived and the tragedys of losing family...

I spoke with a Colonel and a Captain of the Pifsh-merga Malitia (Kurds). The Colonels family was buried alive under their house by Red Guards. The Captains brother was fed to the lions-alive! These truely world class warriors, respect us and loved that I take time to learn as much as I can from them. I really enjoy soldiering with such good people. They teach me (with patience) their language, their culture, customs & courtesys.

They also love to hear of America, my family and my good friends back home. I'm happy to be here. I'm blessed to have supporters like you, your fellow workers, and of course SWAC... Thanks to all of you! Our home-front warriors!

Your Militant, Conservative, Republican Warrior,

Herb Harman

Ssgt. Herb Harman is presently serving his country and all of it's Citizens in Baghdad Iraq. He volunteered for this duty and assignment and finds time to let us know that our efforts are appreciated by he and his fellow troops. I have been fortunate to meet several soldiers that have served with him and he is held in the highest regard. He is a member of SWAC (Staunton-Waynesboro-Augusta- County Republican group) and is also coordinating distribution of "Care Packages" being sent over to him by the "From Our Hearts" program operating out of Churchville, Virginia...