On this day of weird internet connections, slow loads, and dropped lines, I pray you are having a good day and that you have the time to stop over and listen to the latest show on BlogTalkRadio.

Oh, and that you are wearing a red shirt to show any troops that happen to see you that you support them!

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Remember back last week when I posted this?

No, that’s all right - go ahead and read it while the rest of us wait here…

OK, are you back?

The weekend following that posting, I received this e-mail:

Hello Mr.Cartter,
I do not believe that you are a bad American, only a little self centered because you are appear to be unable to see things from someone else’s point of view. I believe that you were totally correct about your entire ” Bad American” post. I am a young black woman who is a U.S. Army Combat Medic. I love this country and will kick the ass proudly of anyone who opposes what is morally right. I do not believe in reparations or illegal immigration. There were a few things that I did see that, maybe you should look at from a different point of view. The police statement, I have never been so much as pulled over. I drove from Texas to Georgia, 17 hours to see my family for the first time in years because I was serving my country and as you know medics are constantly needed. We were pulled over in a small town by the police shortly after crossing a 4-way stop. He asked where I was coming from what I was doing in his town with Texas plates. He claimed that my fiance looks like he smokes drugs. He said we were speeding -a lie- but we complied everything checked out but it wasn’t enough for him. he got out with his dogs to check my car then claimed they alerted him to cocaine inside. I knew this was a lie I complied. He tore my car apart, my black hawk bags, he broke the latches on my door handles tore through my bags while I stood there and did nothing. All he found was an asthma pump which belonged to my fiance who has lung disease. He claimed the pump was the reason for his dog alerting him. Then wrote a false ticket claiming he’d clocked us at 65 in a 30. I was due back to go to court in a month just one more thing they had no courthouse for me to dispute it in. The officers father was the sheriff and refused to allow me to file a grievance. I drove all the way back to this town for court and the said that the building they usually have it in was closed so they’d have it behind someones house the directions they gave me to get there led me to on old dirt road and no one was there so I drove back to the office but the police station was closed. I met a man a black man claiming the exact same story who was looking for the place they hold court so I took his name and number and got on the road to head back home. They told me the ticket was over half a grand and wanted me to pay it in cash at the police station or their judge would suspend my fiance’s license. The clerk also refused to give me documentation of the ticket and why it was so high…Long story short I never went back but I was hurt deeply to know this is what I fight for what I risk my life for. On a good day I had 500 brothers of all races. I went to III Corps NCO Academy at Fort Hood Texas you may remember last summer a soldier died in training. We were taught to keep an open mind to what another person is going through always! We all go through our struggles and have a reason for what we believe in. Thats what I would like you to understand. Can you see things from another person’s point of view before you pass judgement now that would make you a Great American!

Well, I couldn’t help but notice a few things about this e-mail. First, and I’m sure you noticed it too, is the lack of detail. Little things - like which state, exactly, this supposedly took place in. The name of the town. The “highway” they were traveling on. Kind of reminded me (and a couple of trusted advisers) of a certain movie plot.

In today’s political environment, not reporting this to people higher in the chain than the local sheriff or justice of the peace is a form of enabling the crime. By not reporting the treatment received, the “victims” become an implicit part of the crime, making their actions criminal in nature also. Not being able to file a grievance in the jurisdiction in which the action took place sure shouldn’t have kept this person from filing a grievance at the state level - whatever state in took place in. Also by not reporting it the “victims” have allowed the crimes to continue - by not blowing the whistle, they have told the people who are responsible for this activity that it’s OK, they won’t tell anyone…

To top it off, if it had been me, I would have been talking to the media folks as soon as I got to where I was going. The media types love to jump all over this kind of story - perceived mistreatment of the black folks, over-reaching Johnny Law types, keeping the law in the family, that sort of thing - in fact, it tends to lead on certain newscasts.

The physical evidence alone should have been enough to take to somebody who could do something. Gosh, I would think that broken door handles and damaged personal belongings would draw some pretty good fines, fees, and reparations to the victims, wouldn’t you?

I sent the person a reply, and have yet to hear back from her:

Good morning:

Thank you for your service. It is the spirit of those who serve that embodies what I stand for.

The posting stands - I am a “Bad American” because, unlike a very vocal liberal left group, I don’t believe that the United States is guilty of anything but being a free country.

I am not a lawyer. I do, however, have the nasty little habit of applying common sense and critical thinking to a situation.

Now, as for your episode: I sure hope you have more notes and details than what you provided me. And, I hope you took pictures of the damages incurred by this rogue lawman. Beyond that, I certainly hope you have filed charges in that state’s supreme court, and I hope you have been very vocal about the incident both in that state’s papers and your home state’s papers and other media outlets as well.

Without some basic information (the name of the officer, the date(s) involved, the name of the town, the name of the state, the time of day, the names of the people you spoke to/with) you have allowed yourself to become victimized. If you have all this information, you need to be sharing it with that state’s prosecuting attorney. If you believe that whole state to be involved in this very “Deliverance” -like scam, then the next level is the national Attorney General.

By standing by and not resisting at the time, you did the right thing. By standing by and not doing anything NOW you are allowing a crime to continue. If you continue to stand by and do nothing NOW, you move out of the realm of victim and into the realm of enabler - enabling this scenario to be repeated on others.

My prayers are with you as you continue to serve. My prayers are also with you as you move to resolve this injustice.

Cary

Let’s see how this develops, shall we? I get the feeling that it will be much like the time I tried to engage the “moderate muslim” a while back - no response, because there was nothing to stand on. I’m not calling you a liar, Ms. Nayas, I’m just saying there seems to be more to the story and I would love to see it resolved with you coming out on top, so to speak.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

As you may or may not remember, Wednesday is usually a day of rest from the blog. Today is one of those rare days when TMBWitW is working not from home but in her office in The Dark Tower today (end of an accounting cycle, you know) and I get to play on the computer until MEG wakes up.

First thing out the gate on this auspicious occasion? Gawfer opens up a can and shares a video that he got from Jake. The video has some very good information and connecting of the dots in regards to a certain young presidential candidate (notice the use of the word “young” - that rules out McSame and Clintoon) and should, in my opinion, be required viewing for anyone who thinks this dude is some sort of political messiah.

Video available here.

Second - sometimes, Windows drives me crazy. I try to get logged on and get going on the computer before MEG wakes up, and something needs to be updated. Or, something needs to be restarted. Or, something has magically uninstalled itself and needs attention. Que sera.

When MEG does wake up, she will wander into the office at some time, point to the monitor, and say “Wha wha?”

No, she’s not asking for water. She is asking for this. TMBWitW accidentally showed this to MEG one day while trying to find a certain Dalmatian game on disney.com. Now, it’s all MEG wants to see on the computer. Never mind some of us actually do other things with the computer…

I hear MEG now, so that’s my cue. Have a good hump day, ya’ll.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I, Cary Cartter, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To all who have served: Thank you. May this day help us all to remember those who have given everything in defense of the ideals that is the United States of America.

And thank you, Dad, for instilling in me the morals and ideals that I needed to become the man I am, no matter how painful it was at the time. I miss you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Bonus! I got this from a friend of mine via e-mail:

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, “Which do you want, son?”

The boy takes the quarters and leaves.

“What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.

“Hey, son! May I ask you a question?” he says. “Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?”

The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because the day I take the dollar, the game’s over.”

Now, who’s the dumbest kid in the world?

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Are you wearing your red shirt today, to show any troops that you may come across that you support them?

I am.

I’m also hosting The O Word on BlogTalkRadio this morning at 0700 Mountain Standard Time. Click to listen, call in at (347)838-9573, or join the chat room.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Shamelessly lifted from Texas Fred’s:

I Am Your Worst Nightmare. I am a BAD American.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some mid level governmental functionary, be it Democratic or Republican!

I believe that owning a gun doesn’t make you a killer, I believe it makes you a smart American.

I believe that being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything.

I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.

My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and whoever canceled Jerry Springer.

I don’t hate the rich. I don’t pity the poor.

I know wrestling is fake and I don’t waste my time watching or arguing about it.

I’ve never owned a slave, or was a slave, and I WILL NOT pay reparations for something that I didn’t do.

I haven’t burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and neither have you! So, shut up already.

This is AMERICA, I believe if you don’t like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country!

I want to know which church it is exactly, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution. Can I get an AMEN on that one?

I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you’re running from them, because if you’re not guilty, WHY are you running?

I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you’re breaking the law, regardless of what color you are, that’s the job we’re paying them to do.

And, no, I don’t mind having my face shown on my drivers license. I think it’s good, it lets you know it’s really me.

I’m proud that the word ’God’ is written on my money.

I believe that if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don’t want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making ‘donations’ to their cause.

I believe that it doesn’t take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.

I believe ‘illegal’ is illegal no matter what the law makers think.

I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed to fly over American soil! If you want to fly the flag of YOUR nation at the top of a flag pole, by all means, do so, IN YOUR OWN NATION! And if the American flag is NOT your flag, then this is NOT your nation!

If this makes me a BAD American or causes you to classify me as a racist, then yes, I’m a BAD American and a racist.

If you’re a BAD American, if you share the same feelings and beliefs that I do, please, copy and post this on your web site for everyone to see.

We want our country back! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

AMEN.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Well - here it is Thursday.

Last Friday, if you recall, I didn’t have a BlogTalkRadio show - I took the day off to enjoy time with TMBWitW and MEG. This Friday, I will be continuing the theme from the previous show, talking about my blogroll links on The O Word. Click here or on the blue BlogTalkRadio box in the sidebar to listen. Better yet, tune in on Friday morning at 0700 Pacific Daylight/Mountain Standard, join the chat room (you need an account at BlogTalkRadio to actually chat - it’s free to sign up for one), or call in at (347) 838-9573 and let me know what YOUR blogroll looks like. If I get enough participation in this, I might be able to milk use this subject for another week or so…

Be sure to visit my blogrolls - on the tabs at the top of the page, just under that beautiful picture of a sunset over the White Tank Mountains, click on the one that says “All Blogrolls Here” and you will, believe it or not, find all my blogrolls listed there.

Last night we had a good service - Pastor talked about Romans 9 in relation to witnessing or evangelizing. God will have mercy on those He will choose, and God will harden the hearts of those He will harden. Basically, it means that if you evangelize or witness to someone, and they receive the word, then the seed you have planted will take root and grow; if the person you are talking to doesn’t want to believe, then God has already made that person’s heart hard to His word, and no amount of work by man will change that. In other words, don’t beat your head against the wall of devout unbelief!

I’ll remember that the next time I try to talk to elroy…

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Tip of the cap to The Loon, who sent this to me and I just saw it last night (mea culpa, mea culpa):

Before You Go Home

Quite the reminder of what we are losing, everyday.

In case I haven’t said this lately, let me say it now - go out and thank as many veterans as you can find. Doesn’t matter how old they are or how young they are. Tell them you appreciate their service to this country. Doesn’t matter if they claim they were forced into it, or if they served willingly and would do it again. Thank them for their service. I thank every veteran I run across. I usually get tears in return, if the veteran is older than I am. I’ll get a “It was my pleasure, sir!” out of the younger ones. If the veteran is a little stooped, and his baseball cap with the 1st MarDiv patch on it has World War Two battlegrounds listed next to it, I’ll learn some military history and some personal service history. If the names on the cap are oriental and difficult to pronounce, I’ll get clarification of the names, and why they are on his cap. Sometimes, from a Viet Nam vet, I’ll get five minutes of silence while his stare goes out to a thousand yards and he runs down his mental list of buddies he can’t see anywhere but in his mind… that’s when I sit quietly, and watch his face, and start to tear up for him, and for my cousin, who died with the epithet of “babykiller” still ringing in his ears, thirty years after he stepped off the freedom bird. Thank them all, because they did something not everyone is willing to do - put their beliefs and their lives fully behind the greatest nation in the world.

Thank you, Gawfer.
Thank you, Doug.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you, Kris.
Thank you, Old Soldier.
Thank you, Greybeard.
Thank you, Gunny.
Thank you, GuyK.
Thank you, Akinoluna.
Thank you, dtodeen.
Thank you, Hans and Lewis.
Thank you, Fix4RSO.
Thank you, Mac.
Thank you, Stu.
Thank you, Eric.

Added 5-19-08
Thank you, Richard.
Thank you, Rogue.

And thank you to the ones I missed, whether because I couldn’t remember or since I was writing this so late at night I shouldn’t even be up…

To all the veterans out there: Thank You.

First, hop over to Texas Fred’s to answer a few questions. My reply, in part, was thus:

We need leaders who are not afraid of enforcing OUR laws on OUR land. Kowtowing to the vocal minority is what got us to where we are.

The list of conservatives who are qualified to lead this country where it needs to go is short; the list of those qualified and willing even shorter. Certainly, none of the “presumptive” candidates for either of the major parties is going to get the job done when it comes to maintaining the sovereignty of the United States. I certainly don’t know who I am going to vote for. The “candidates” decry the “single issue voter” but fail to realize that this one issue drives 75% of the rest of the issues we as a nation are facing today.

I do, however, know this: You will never find out how well armed I am or how well trained my dogs are unless you stop by the house personally. I would suggest you call first if it’s meant to be a friendly visit.

Leave a comment there to let him know how you answered.

If you recall, last Saturday was not a good day for The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. Her Camry was rear-ended by a lady* who, it turns out, was not insured. In fact, presented an insurance card to the highway patrol officer (DPS) that she knew was not only expired (in January) but had not been valid since she cancelled her insurance in November of 2007. At this point in time, I would like to say that so far, our insurance company has been very good to work with. MetLife, you have my thanks for the way you have handled this claim. On my way to either pick up TMBWitW and MEG and the Momma from the accident site or to make sure they were able to get going under their own power, the air conditioning in the Road Rhino (aka the QX4) died a horrible death. (in unrelated news, we had our first 100° day today) With TMBWitW driving a rental, and the Rhino being repaired by an A/C specialist, flexibility was strained.

Transportation issues (and the patience of MEG) were put to the test today. You see, my lovely wife, the Bride of the Century, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, participated in her commencement exercises today. The degree of Bachelor of Science, Accounting, was bestowed upon her. This simple action required us (due to a lack of a second vehicle) to arrive at the graduation ceremony site by 1100 hours for the Graduate to take part in the group pictures (Accounting class, Golden Key International Honor Society group) and then wait for the ceremony to begin. There were several other group photos to be taken, but she was not involved in them; this was a typical “hurry up and wait” scenario. MEG and I, meanwhile, got to wander around the grounds of the MArriot where the ceremony was scheduled. Since we left the house about 0930, and MEG’s first nap time is usually around 1000, someone was not in the mood to cooperate very much, although she was a real trooper and didn’t fuss. The ceremony started promptly at 1300, which is about an hour prior to someone’s second nap time, and concluded about 1530. Still, no fussing, and a minimal amount of squirming. I tell you, God has blessed me twice in this lifetime - first, with the wife I didn’t deserve, and then with a daughter that is so darned cute AND loving AND patient with all this adult silly business. We were joined by family and friends, and we all had a good time, with the majority of the group convening to the nearest Islands restaurant for dinner.

Did I mention how proud I am of my wife?

She has worked so hard to get to this point. She is now a degreed accountant, instead of just trained - she has book knowledge and a piece of lambskin to back up what she knows!

Woo HOO!

Honey, if you are reading this, I just want you (and the rest of the blogging community) to know how darned PROUD of you I am. I can’t say enough about you, and even when I do run on at the mouth I can’t cover it all. People think I’m gushing, but I”m barely getting started.

TMBWitW BS/A, you rock.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

*The use of the word “lady” in this instance is a capitulation to the fact that the driver was a female. My testimony prevents me from describing the illegal immigrant other driver in any other term, no matter how accurate that alternate description would be.