I was thrilled to learn that one of my all-time favorite charities, the USO, opened a center in Iraq! Not only is this great news for the troops there, but it’s further evidence that things are stabilizing over there. All good news for the troops.

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Colin Powell Sets an Archbishop Straight

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building’ by George Bush.
He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its f ine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

Why We Ignore Insults From the French

Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?‘ A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce severa l thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?‘

Why We Will Never Speak French

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, ‘whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.‘ He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?‘  Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied ‘Maybe it’s because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.‘

French Customs Officer is Put in his Place

A group of retired American teachers recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.  At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. “You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.  Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.  “Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.“  The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.“  “Impossible. Ame ricans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!“  The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. “Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in ‘44 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find any damn Frenchmen to show it to.”

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The mission of the Veterans Business Training Center is to train disabled veterans for potential careers in a variety of industries. Through training and use of readily available technological resources graduates have moved into career position such as market researchers, emergency hotline responders, help desk managers, customer service coordinators, and numerous other positions.

To help support the great work this nonprofit does for veterans and their families make a small donation. (Click the image above to go to the donation page.)

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VA Card offers members over $20,000 in benefits from some of the top American companies including Amtrak, Apple, Avis, Continental Airlines, Dell, GNC, Greyhound, Hertz, Hyatt, People Mag, Target and too many more then we can list. Suffice it to say that these companies want to be a part of recognizing your service.

Is there a profit motive involved as well? But of course. We’re not the former Soviet Union. We try to get worthwhile things accomplished using our capitalist system. Check out the program and if it looks like you can take advantage of it and a fair deal then sign up. You have 30 days to test it out and take advantage of what they have to offer and if you decide it isn’t for you then cancel and owe nothing.

Give a test drive by clicking here: Veterans Advantage, Inc.

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First and foremost it’s a great tool for finding and contacting military friends made during various engagements. The new Veterans Business Directory is useful for businesses looking for veteran owned businesses to engage and for vets to get more exposure for their businesses.

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We couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present then the safer conditions in Iraq have provided. Even the NY Times is writing about the calm in Iraq although you’d think Chicken Little was the author of the article as every positive development is abruptly challenged with a “but…”. It’s as if they feel a need to point out the frailties of our successes in Iraq to avoid depressing their readers. Their warped passion for our defeat is truly bizarre.

Even Iraqi Christians came out in droves to celebrate Christmas Mass today.

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Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Joel Jacobs lost his leg in service with the 92nd Engineer Battalion in Iraq and still makes a trip to Warriors Walk nearly every day to support the fallen warriors from the 3rd Infantry Division. He makes sure the personal effects that adorn the resting places of these warriors are intact and places new items on the sites as well.

Despite not knowing those he so selflessly tends to he feels a strong connection to them and understands just how close he came to being killed himself. I have to believe that if he hadn’t lost his leg he’d have found a way to b back over in Iraq alongside other brave warriors serving our country.

Joel Jacobs is an Able Veteran everyone can look up to! Thank you sir.

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As can be expected it was a tearful event with the President leaving politics out of the event and focusing instead strictly on making sure the event was an honorable one that would make the families of the fallen proud.

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