Happy Birthday to the greatest nation on this earth. After seeing the Capitol’s 4th Celebration on PBS, NASCAR on ESPN2, and watching fireworks off of my patio, I was so truly proud to be an American on this day. It also reminded me of a stunning exchange I recently had with a former co-worker of mine, which left me wondering “aren’t all other people proud of their own countries?”

My company is based in Germany, and my colleague Ingrid (I’ll call her), was in town here in Atlanta to do training for my department. Ingrid has been with the company since the mid 1990s, and she was an integral part of the IT team that conducted software implementations and rollouts to most of the other sites around the world when they would come online with our global platform. So she’s been around the world quite a bit. I really didn’t know Ingrid very well, as I had met her only a few times. However, on her last trip to Atlanta, I was in a week-long intensive training with her, and really got to spend some time talking to her.

One day in training, she came in and said the night before when she arrived back in her hotel, she tuned in to C-SPAN. That particular night, they were showing Congressional hearings about whether or not to begin impeachment proceedings on President Bush and V.P. Cheney. She said she was fascinated by it, and remarked that if he was half as guilty of things as they were saying he was, she thought they should be impeached.

Not knowing she was talking to the department’s resident political person, my American colleague just shot me that look like “oh, no… please don’t go there,” but I just couldn’t help it. I told her that even without knowing or having seen the hearings she watched, I could tell her that probably the majority of those testifying were also buying into the 9/11 truther mindset. She said she had seen Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” and believed every bit of it. Needless to say, my American colleague decided it was time for his lunch break.

Ingrid said she had a general impression that Americans didn’t like to discuss politics because in the past when she’s brought them up to folks in our Atlanta office, people would just not engage her, or they would give the pat response “I’m not into politics.” I told her that most likely she’d encountered others who were either unarmed in terms of what’s going on in the world, or those who had such a visceral response to American politics, that they could not effectively argue their points and they just refused to participate in a civil discussion.

We had to get back to our training, but we both agreed we’d like to have a further discussion later. On Friday after work, we decided to go out for a few beers and appetizers at a local Taco Mac restaurant by the office. I thought we’d be there for an hour or so, but I went home around 9 p.m.

We fully engaged in robust debate and discussion about the realities of the world today, and we both educated each other to some extent. Ingrid’s main contention as to why she hates George W. Bush is because she thinks the Iraqi war was his personal choice and that he was responsible for all the deaths of the troops, as well as the suffering of military widows, parents who’d lost children, etc., and that it was all President Bush’s fault. She hates war with such venom that she cannot see past that emotion. I told her that nobody likes war, and that sometimes, war is a necessary evil. I told her one of the phrases that most pisses off a lot of Americans is the phrase “this is an unpopular war.” What war is popular? Even the Revolutionary War was unpopular, as were all that followed, but it didn’t mean they weren’t necessary or warranted. The “unpopular war” theme is just a tag to further enhance Bush Derangement Syndrome.

She said she she felt there were too many casualties in war, not just on the battlefield, but all of the families back home who suffered when their loved ones were wounded or killed. That seemed to hurt her the most. I almost wondered if she thought we DIDN’T have an all-volunteer military? Did she think that President Bush was ordering folks into war against their will? I said “Ingrid… if I’m an American wife, or if I am an American mother who had a son who enlisted, I would know that part of what that entailed was the possibility that my loved one might not come home.” This seemed unrealistic to her. Did she think men and women were pulled from their homes to serve? I’ll never know. But in retrospect, it makes my next point even more clear to me now.

She related a story to me that really took me aback. She moved here to Atlanta for a brief period in 2004. When she was here, she did the typical “touristy” thing and went to Stone Mountain Park to see the famous laser show. The laser shows are put on seasonally, and during certain times they are nightly, and others just on the weekend. Stone Mountain is a mountain where the granite face has been carved with the images of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

The carved granite surface of Stone Mountain

The laser show is conducted to the sound of different music, but one segment surprised Ingrid.

Toward the end of the show, some images were shown on the rock face of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ingrid was frightened as she witnessed everyone around her jump to their feet, cheer, clap, “woo-hoo,” high-five each other, cry, hug, and chant “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” and carry on about our men & women in the U.S. Armed Forces. She could not fathom the depths of our pride, as Americans, of our country. She told me she could not believe it that we were so proud! Now, for one who is not easily surprised, I dropped my fork, dropped my chin, looked her in the eye and asked “are you serious?” She said “yes, I’m completely serious - I was frightened!”

For the first time that night, I was truly speechless and incredulous. Was she really serious? She said that she later would have friends over to visit from Germany, and she would take them to Stone Mountain to see the laser show. She wanted them to witness the same thing she had. And she was not surprised they all reacted the same way she did. They were shocked at the overwhelming pride we have for our troops and our country.

I am only one voice in America and have my opinion. So it wouldn’t be appropriate to say all Germans feel the same way Ingrid does. But from what she explained to me, all of her friends and all of her visitors felt the same way. I would have thought that every person on this planet would be robust with pride of their own country. But apparently not, at least for this small group of Germans I knew. Did they have an undying shame for what Hitler did? Could they not overcome that and realize how far they’d come? Certainly America has had her flaws, and I am ashamed of slavery and other injustices of the past in America, but we have come a long way. And so has Germany. How can this shame be so ingrained and not be able to be shed?

I’m reminded of a recent book by Shelby Steele called “White Guilt.” And I wonder if some Germans didn’t feel some sort of “Hitler Guilt” for their past. Can’t they recognize how far they and the rest of the world has come? We have to learn to forgive what has happened in the past so we can move forward, but I wonder what it is in the German psyche that won’t allow that? Even if it’s just in the persons whom I know personally?

Ingrid still has her opinions of President Bush and America, and I told her that Al Qaeda has been attacking Western interests for a long time, and that the desire for the Islamic Caliphate is something that has long been festering. She seems to have been stuck in that guilt phase, and thinks all countries just should mind their own business.

Then she talked about the lack of WMDs found in Iraq. Oh, boy, here we go. I told her that whether or not she knew it, there were WMDs in Iraq (hundreds of ricin-filled weapons heads), and that all of the other intelligence agencies (including Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak) had told us that Saddam had WMDs and would use them on our troops in Afghanistan. After all, why wouldn’t we believe them if he’d used them on hundreds of thousands of Iraqis? Plus, I reminded her, that as the world’s greatest superpower, what would have happened if Pres. Bush wouldn’t have acted, and Saddam DID use WMDs on any Western country? Bush was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

I reminded her of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, the attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, the attacks on the U.S. Marine barracks, and countless other atrocities against the West since the 70s. Clinton lobbed a few missiles at an aspirin factory, but President Bush was finally the one to do something about the problem with Islamofascist terrorism. She said she still hated war and that’s why she didn’t like Bush. I respect that, but it just confirms my belief that our media (as well as the International media) are wholeheartedly to blame for the world’s opinion of the U.S.

I then asked her hypothetically, “who is it that the world comes to for help in times of need?” She correctly answered “America.” We talked about the Tsunami in Indonesia and the U.S.S. Mercy Ship being the first there, and that politics were the last thing the U.S. considers in times of need around the world. She also was not aware of Bob Geldof’s befuddlement about the world’s lack of recognition of Pres. Bush and his commitment to helping with AIDS in Africa. From a Washington Times article:

Mr. Geldof praised Mr. Bush for his work in delivering billions to fight disease and poverty in Africa, and blasted the U.S. press for ignoring the achievement.

Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, “has done more than any other president so far.”

“This is the triumph of American policy really,” he said. “It was probably unexpected of the man. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion.”

“What’s in it for [Mr. Bush]? Absolutely nothing,” Mr. Geldof said.

Mr. Geldof said that the president has failed “to articulate this to Americans” but said he is also “pissed off” at the press for their failure to report on this good news story.

“You guys didn’t pay attention,” Geldof said to a group of reporters from all the major newspapers.

I told her that regardless of what other countries think of America, it IS America the world first looks to in times of need, and that we always come running. She acknowledged that and said the world should be grateful. However, she did say Germans were generally glad that their country refused to participate in the war in Iraq. And she railed about the U.S. not allowing the Red Cross to visit detainees in the War on Terror. Geez, what is the international media telling the rest of the world? She knew nothing of KSM, Abu Nidal, the Blind Sheikh and others. This conversation was a long one.

Lastly, she knew nothing of Gen. Petraeus, the counter-insurgency, what’s truly happening in Iraq, but was completely enamored with Barack Obama and his “change” mantra. That’s when I decided Ingrid needed one more gift to go back home with. I gave her my copy of Michael Yon’s “Moment of Truth In Iraq,” and told her if she was as hungry for knowledge as she said she was, she should read the book. I told her it was not all rosy about the war, but it was a first-hand account of what’s really happening in Iraq. She promised to read it, and before she left, she said she was learning a lot from it. But in the end, she said she still detested war.

I reminded her that we do, too.

But I love my country so much I can never understand her bewilderment in that pride.

All I can say is get out your umbrellas…there will be Chris Matthews’ spittle a-flingin’ everywhere after this!

UPDATE: 8:45 PM EST - Here’s a portion of the official Presidential document:

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

Of course, the left is falling apart. Look later for more on that.

And finally, Maher includes President Bush in one of his “New Rules.” I get the general idea this idiot doesn’t like Bush at all; you think my perception is correct? What a blowhard Maher is.

I have a “New Rule” for Maher: If you don’t know squat about foreign policy or wars, then keep your worthless observations about those things to yourself. You and your insipid audience are apparently the only ones who agree with each other.

It was a brief piece, but it was funny, irreverent, and somber in just the right places.

You can watch it here.

In his live press conference today, Bush told the Democrats in no uncertain terms; if they want a fight, they’ve got one. Damnit, where has this GW been? I think a lot of the rest of the RINOs who have abandoned him and our party need to watch this presser several times over and remember what it was like way back then when they all had some balls!

From the AP story:

“If the Democrats truly do want to move forward and find the right information, they ought to accept what I proposed,” Bush said. “If scoring political points is the desire, then the rejection of this reasonable proposal will really be evident for the American people to see.”

Bush said he would aggressively fight in court any attempt to subpoena White House aides.

Bush is standing by Alberto Gonzalez, and with good reason. Gonzalez did nothing wrong. And if the dems want have “show trials,” as GW said, he will not put up with them. When asked by a reporterette whether or not Gonzalez would still have support after the hearings, Bush adamantly declared “he’s got support from me!” WOOHOO! GO GW, GO!

Watch the presser here.

Even though Tammy Bruce is a self-admitted liberal, she has more common sense in her pinky finger than folks like Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha have in their whole bodies. Tammy’s long been a friend of the moderate Republicans, and I really enjoy seeing her on TV and listening to her on radio. She was fantastic on Bill O’Reilly tonight, and I honestly don’t see how liberals can continue to say that Fox News is ONLY conservatives; Tammy admits she disagrees with a lot of Bush’s policies. I guess the left has their own definition of what a true “liberal” is. And I think to them, a true liberal has only one definition: “Hates George Bush.”

Bill also shows the segment from a recent Letterman show where Bill Maher truly spews real venom about the President. Tammy calls things like that an “orgy of personal attacks.” She also talks with Bill about Hollyweird and their hatred for Bush and their policy differences, as well as Bill Clinton’s bad behavior that “destroyed peoples’ lives,” and distracted this entire nation almost to its own detriment.

Watch Tammy on O’Reilly here.

Well, well, well… this completely explains the mild-mannered side I’ve witnessed in Whoopi lately. I’ve wondered why, especially on O’Reilly, she didn’t come off as a total left-wing whack job, and actually had a very nice debate with him. Other liberals should take such a cue. Now, Whoopi didn’t officially say this is what caused her more even-tempered attitude of late, but to me it shines a whole lot of light on the subject.

Today on The View, Whoopi was guest-hosting, and she was talking about the joke she made about Bush at the DNC fundraiser back before the 2004 elections. She says a lot was taken out of context, but what she says next is very revealing. She said, to an obviously stunned panel (except for Elizabeth), that the only person who stood up for her after that brou-haha was Sean Hannity! She said that he had noted his disagreement with her politics, positions, and stance on a lot of issues, but said she absolutely had the free speech right to say what she said; no matter how many people disagreed with her.

The most enlightening part about the whole conversation was that after the DNC party, which was a private event, was that the DNC refused to release the video, which would have shown in full context the comments she made. But, the DNC refused to do so because other folks at the soiree said things that they didn’t want to be known. So, the DNC apparently bent to the pressure, didn’t release the tape, and they basically threw Whoopi under the bus as the sole person to take the heat. She said when lil’ Sean Hannity was standing up for her free speach rights, the DNC cut and ran, leaving her in the dust.

Cutting and running; isn’t that their forte’ anyway?

As I said… now I understand why she’s not so cozily sidled up to them as of late. And it’s apparently with good reason. I never knew this; did you?

Watch Whoopi on The View today here.

Folks, Drudge has excerpts of the President’s (yes, some people still call him “President Bush,” and not “Mr. Bush”) address he will give tonight to the nation. There is one very key segment that is more true than any. And not for reasons the dems would love - that the President admits his efforts “failed.” It’s because our troops have been held back for far too long by a politically-correct policy on fighting this war.

“Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work…and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.”

MP Photo courtesy of CentCom

I know this to be true because I’ve heard it from too many military friends and sources that I know personally that have served in Iraq, and some I just met. I was in the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport last June en route to vacation back home, and as I waited for my flight time, I sat in the Chili’s at the airport, coincidentally next to a couple of Army MP’s who were coming back for a brief R&R. They were relaxing with a couple of drinks and snacks as they decompressed and celebrated being home if for only a short while.

I think I’ve related this before on this site, but I’ll re-iterate it because it’s very important. I had “Godless” with me as reading to take on board the plane, and they both saw the title “Godless: The Church of Liberalism.” They didn’t know who Ann was, and they just caught the “liberalism” part of the title, and said “she probably wouldn’t like us.” I had to explain to them who she was and why she WOULD like them.

I then asked if they minded a few questions about Iraq, which they most cordially welcomed. I just asked for general observations (no structured questions), and let them talk. They told me about the Mahdi Army (they pronounded it “Mokdi” and called them warlords, not an “Army”), and how ruthless they were. They said they were the most vicious, brutal force our guys have ever seen. This was a bit before the Mahdis became a household name, so I know what they were talking about now. They told me interestingly their biggest frustration was the fact that they could not return fire blindly, or immediately shoot at pinpointed sources of RPG fire identified by and relayed by surveillance aircraft. The reason?

The Sadr savages would launch RPGs or other mortar rounds after sundown toward U.S. posts, but would immediately run toward crowded markets or residential areas. The precision surveillance aircraft would immediately radio the location of the terrorists, but because of the “image” the MSM so dearly loves to show the death of innocent civilians, the ground team (who had been attacked, remember) would have to radio command units and wait at least six full minutes before they returned fire. As you can guess, the majority of their return attacks were turned down because the targets were no longer in the areas surveilled. This pissed these guys off more than any of us can ever know.

AC130 Gunship

But one good thing I learned from them was this: We do instill fear with some of our military machines. They said that there was a certain warplane (if memory serves me correctly, it was the AC130 Gunship) the terrorists in Iraq referred to as the “Cross of Death.” The reason they did so is because this military plane, the behemoth it is, would ascend into the sky with its payload fairly slowly. Once it reached its pinnacle, it would turn and head directly toward earth, and shortly thereafter, they would release their cumbersome load of bombs upon the intended target. When the plane would breach in the sky, it would form, with its wingspread, a “cross” was formed by the silhouette; thus, the moniker “Cross of Death.” They knew that if they were in an area close enough to see the Cross of Death, it was the end for them. And they knew it was the last thing they would ever see.

Don’tcha just love it?

We need to release these chains from the arms of our soldiers and Marines. Every time I see a newscast on CNN, MessNBC, etc., and they are whining about the military killing “innocent” people, I want to yell at the screen “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU SEND IN THE MARINES? IF YOU DON’T WANT KILLING, DON’T SEND IN OUR MILITARY, YOU JACKASSES!”

I’m worried about the country’s future, but I hope they do what Bush is alleged to say in his speech: release the politically-correct bonds our troops are inhibited by, and more directly, let them take out Sadr and his Mahdi Murderers. Leave them alone, and….Let. Them. Do. Their. Jobs.