Michael A. Rothman
March 17
Most folks know that I despised Hillary, but was somewhat dismayed that the alternative was Trump. Trump for me was the lesser of two evils, but that's water under the bridge. I stumbled into this article about a Gold Star Mom, and figured I'd share.

Billy and Karen Vaughn are the parents of fallen Navy SEAL, Aaron Carson Vaughn (SEAL Team VI). On August 6, 2011 Aaron was killed in action in the Tangi River Valley of Afghanistan when a chopper (call sign Extortion 17) carrying thirty Americans was shot from the sky. Let me tell you, when a Gold Star Mom speaks, people listen. These moms have endured unimaginable loss and have earned the right to a bully pulpit. They are not some fawned over TV show host or starlet. GSMs are the stuff that made America truly great, raising kids who understand the meaning of "the last full measure of devotion."

Here are her words:

Sometimes God uses the no-nonsense, salty sailor to get the job done. Appreciating what the man is doing doesn't mean we worship the salty sailor or even desire to be like the salty sailor. It doesn't even mean God admires the salty sailor. Maybe He just knows he's necessary for such a time as this.

I believe with all my heart that God placed that salty sailor in the White House and gave this nation one more chance in November 2016. Donald Trump is what he is. He is still the man he was before the election. And without guilt, I very much admire what that salty sailor is accomplishing.

He's not like me. That's okay with me. I don't want to be like him. I will never behave like him. I know we've NEVER had a man like him lead our nation. It's crazy and a little mind blowing at times. But I can't help admire the ability he has to act with his heart rather than a calculated, PC, think tank-screened, carefully edited script. I still believe that is WHY he became our President and WHY he's been able to handle a landslide of adversity and STILL pass unprecedented amounts of good legislation for our country AND do great works for MANY other nations, including Israel.

I'm THRILLED with what he's doing for my nation, for the cause of Christ (whether intentional or unintentional, doesn't matter to me), and for the concept of rebuilding America and putting her FIRST. I will not be ashamed of my position because others don't see him through the same lens.

Should it matter to me if a fireman drops an f-bomb while he's pulling me from a burning building? Would I really care about what came out of his mouth in those moments? Heck no! I'd CARE about what he was DOING. He wasn't sent there to save my soul and I'm not looking to him for spiritual guidance. All I'm thinking in those moments is, "Thank you, Jesus, for sending the fireman."

This man is crass. Okay. He's not careful with what he says. Okay. You feel offended that he's not a typical statesman. Okay. But he is rebuilding the nation my son died for...the nation I feared was on a fast track to becoming a hopeless cause. Forgive me if I'm smiling.

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I've decided to accept the fact - I'll always be a big kid!

Sweet.

When the stupid twat is done riding her son's bones and jerking off the Orange turd to bolster her book sales, maybe she could talk about all the vets returning from the "war on terra" who got shafted by Rump's hiring freeze.

Or maybe she'd like to write about his proposal to deeply cut VA benefits of 60%-100% disabled vets who LIVE ALONE.

Perhaps she'd be interested in helping the 579,000 non-VA served vets who got kicked off of ACA plans due to his cuts.

Maybe address the disabled vets who have less of a chance of making the VA lottery due to his $154 billion cuts he made to give his buddies a tax break.

Never mind the $79 billion he cut from disability that largely serves our veterans.

How about the 1.5 billion $ SNAP cuts he proposed? That affects 400,000 veterans, most of whom have a combat related disability, annually.

Woot woot for the 340,000 veterans who rely on HUD-VASH assistance. His "housing choice voucher" idea royally screws those on HUD-VASH.

This is just the vets themselves. Many have spouses and children.

Hey, maybe if we're lucky, the orange pig will involve us in another two-decade, needless war to enrich his friends and detract from his failures. Then well make more dead kids like Vaughn and more living that we can screw over.

Wave your flag at your parade, JB. Wave it alone.

Well, it looks like the spacing issue is resolved

Although I'll refrain from comment on the OP material, (two returns here) I fear that the spacing (and political) issue remains. - note for record, the returns seem to work reply pane, just don't show up in the actual page.

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add a signature since I'm here in profile anyway

Edited: 08/09/2018 at 05:00 AM by tom

Wow, that was great. By acknowledging that the "lesser of two evils" is merely a salty sailor, you can minimize everything about what he has done and feel great about who he is to his base. I am surprised this type of saccharine sweet soothsaying still placates the dull eyed "better red than dead" staters.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

What's the chance that this was penned in Macedonia?

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I was right.

EPIC rant from Damon.


I'm afraid the poor mom is traumatized and grief stricken. Parents of fallen heroes often times experience PTSD like symptoms. I thank her for raising a fine , patriotic son who died protecting all of us.

I hope that she will be able to get the consoling she so very badly needs.

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

Too funny Cole! I come from a long time surfing/military/Republican party supporting family and knowing my father and how big he was on character and conducting yourself with professionalism; I am sure he would be hugely disappointed. I am amazed at how people look at a turd and spin it to be a chocolate bar. I would like to see a miracle. I do not want to see our country crash and burn. But so far, I have seen zero evidence that this is a person who can only view his supporters as good and the rest of the country as bad. He is elected to lead the country as a whole; not his base or his friends who he ignores the rules of government transparency and profits for. A piss poor leader is a piss poor leader...Even if they are nice, cruel, or rich.

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My parents went to Cocoa Beach and all I got was this lousy surfboard!

http://www.bustle.com/articles...her-has-made-her-voice

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I was right.

Pence from the web archives. The Two Schools of Thought on Clinton With the news on August 17th that the President of the United States lied to the American people (and very likely under oath) about an illicit relationship with a college student, readers are no doubt wondering "where to from here?" The two schools of thought can be summed up in the choices presented through various and diverse sources, namely, move on or move out. The "move on" crowd's argument goes something like this; 'the President admitted he made a mistake, you have your pound of flesh, now let's move on with the serious issues facing the country'. While this approach is appealing even to some of us who have little regard for the policies of this Administration, it's just not as simple as all that. The 'Move On Crowd's argument is predicated on the notion that presidents, just like the rest of us, ought to be entitled to a little privacy. This argument fails on two grounds; (A) President Clinton made this issue public when he denied it eight months ago and (B) President Clinton is not, by definition, 'like the rest of us'. On the first count, the President has admitted to having taken advantage of a college intern working at the White House (that's a public building) who was on the White House Staff (that's public employment) on many occasion in and around the Oval Office (again a public building). Also, the President lied about the affair in public and (very likely) under oath in Jones vs Clinton. He also may have used the power of his PUBLIC office to cover up the whole sordid matter. This was not a private matter and cannot legitimately be argued as such. A truly private matter in this realm might be an affair between the President and a friend not working in the White House for whom no favors were granted and no cover-up attempted. That, it seems to me, could be argued as part of one's (immoral) private life. Ms. Lewinski is a part of the President's public life not his private life. On the second count, that the President is 'just like the rest of us', he is the most powerful man in the world. If you and I fall into bad moral habits, we can harm our families, our employers and our friends. The President of the United States can incinerate the planet. Seriously, the very idea that we ought to have at or less than the same moral demands placed on the Chief Executive that we place on our next door neighbor is ludicrous and dangerous. Throughout our history, we have seen the presidency as the repository of all of our highest hopes and ideals and values. To demand less is to do an injustice to the blood that bought our freedoms. So we get to the other, and in my view, only school of thought remaining. For America to move on, and we must, the Clintons must move out of the White House. Either the President should resign or be removed from office. Nothing short of this sad conclusion will suffice to restore the institution of the presidency to its former and necessary glory." 1997 Hubler Group Inc. 8220 US 31 South Greenwood IN 1.800/868.4999

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Why Clinton Must Resign Or Be Impeached It has been rightly observed that we are a government of laws and not of men, and, I would add, neither are we are government of the opinions of men and women. To follow the debate over the fate of the Clinton Administration, in the wake of the Presidents admission to having become sexually involved with a college student working at the White House, is to witness a national press corps unfamiliar with the aforementioned edict. With the intense media attention paid to the president's approval ratings before and after his half confession/half excuse speech, a passive observer might conclude that we live in a pure democracy, the likes of which was sought in the French Revolution. In such a realm, the Supreme Law of the Land is the Vox Populi, literally 'the voice of the people'. There is no law apart from what the people recognize to be the law at any given time. This was best illustrated to me recently by a security guard who approached as I read a front page story about the President and the polls and sarcastically asked, 'what is the law today?'. News flash to the major media networks: we live in a constitutional republic. We are governed by written constitution which defines, among other things, the rights, privileges and responsibilities of high office with great clarity. Under Article II, Section 1 the executive power of the United States of America is vested in the President. In the oath of office proscribed, a president commits to faithfully execute the office and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. While the office brings with it the duties that attend the administration of the government, as President Herbert C. Hoover wrote, "The Presidency is more than executive responsibility. It is the inspiring supreme symbol of all that is highest in our American ideals." When a president fails to fulfill his oath of office, as is the case where the law is broken in a big way or a small way (another way of saying high crimes or misdemeanors), the Constitution provides for a mechanism whereby the legislative branch might impeach him. This may seem drastic to the average American. It is. Our founders intended it to be so because they intended the President of the United States to be the center of the government of the United States. Other constructs were considered, including the appointment of a prime minister-like president by the legislative branch, but all were rejected in favor of a strong and elected President. Alexander Hamilton defended this concept in 'The Federalist' writing, "the Executive is a leading characteristic in the definition of good government... it is essential to the steady administration of the law." Hamilton also cautioned against long suffering where a President failed to meet this high standard, writing, "a feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of government. A feeble Executive is but another name for a bad executive; and a government ill-executed... must be proclaimed a bad government." Against this recitation of the Supreme Law of the Land, only one sad conclusion attaches; President Bill Clinton must resign or be removed from the office of President of the United States. Despite his absurd assertions to the contrary, President Clinton's admission to a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky stands in diametric opposition to his sworn testimony in the Jones vs. Clinton case. The President's responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the land begins in his own administration. The President committed perjury. Perjury is a crime. President's who commit crimes should resign or be impeached. Further, the Presidents repeated lies to the American people in this matter compound the case against him as they demonstrate his failure to protect the institution of the presidency as the 'inspiring supreme symbol of all that is highest in our American ideals'. Leaders affect the lives of families far beyond their own 'private life'. In the Bible story of Esther we are told of a king who was charged to put right his own household because there would be "no end of disrespect and discord" among the families of the kingdom if he failed to do so. In a day when reckless extramarital sexual activity is manifesting itself in our staggering rates of illegitimacy and divorce, now more than ever, America needs to be able to look to her First Family as role models of all that we have been and can be again. The challenge for the Republican Congress lies in the fact that the polls may be right. The American people may deeply wish to move on and put this unpleasantness behind us. Regrettably, the Constitution does not permit such a national denial. If the President does not resign, the Republican Congress must impeach him even if it costs them their majority because the laws of this republic charge them with the duty to so act. Absent an uncharacteristic act of selflessness by the President, it is left to the Republicans to live up to their label and defend the laws and institutions of this Republic. If our leaders flinch at this responsibility, they would do well to heed the Proverb "if a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked". Our leaders must either act to restore the luster and dignity of the institution of the Presidency or we can be certain that this is only the beginning of an even more difficult time for our land. For the nation to move on, the President must move out. Home Contribute Issues Biography Team 2nd District Gallery Volunteer Mailing Address The Mike Pence Committee PO Box 408 Anderson, IN 46015

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Block text hell. (return button). Pence must have changed his mind (return button). Regardless, it isn't salty or blunt language in Trump that is a problem. (return button). The terrible policies and constant lying are the big problems.

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^It seems clear (return) this is some sort of plot (return) against gardening, (return) surfing, (return) environmental types. (return)

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add a signature since I'm here in profile anyway

Edited: 08/09/2018 at 10:28 AM by tom

The cause of Christ?

Intentionally take kids from their parents to use them as a deterrent?

She's not right in the head.

The second she brought up 'Christ' period, regardless of context, should of told you that.

Ok that wasn't fair, not regardless of 'any' context. It is fair game to talk about christ in a mythology topic.

Edited: 08/09/2018 at 10:59 AM by miker

It like a wife explaining an abusive husband, but it's not just her, it's the entire Republican party and those who voted for him.

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I was right.