William Wallace: I AM William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my country men, here, in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Soldier: Against that? No, we'll run, and we'll live.
William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take away our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!
From the movie "Braveheart"
On Saturday, March 19, the Anti-War kooks decided to gather in recognition of the 2-year anniversary of the Iraq war.
As the leader of the MN chapter of Protest Warrior, a conservative counter-protest organization, I was on the "front lines" in defending the notion of Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East. Naturally, I was met with strong resistance. Oh, the kooks' knee-jerk arguments were perpetuated:
-"Where are the weapons?"
-"Bush lied!"
-"No blood for oil!"
-"The war was paid for by taxing the poor!"
-Finally, the ever timeless "Give peace a chance!"
We all certainly remember the purple fingers displayed by the Iraqis upon voting in their first free election. This will be the enduring symbol of what we all hope is a successful Democracy. Naturally, we at PW had to remind the anti-war crowd of this monumental event. We took purple, foam "We're #1" hands and painted them all white, with the exception of the finger tip. We at least expected some retort like, "Well, I'm glad they were able to vote and are rid of Saddam Hussein, BUT...." Leave it to us to believe that a leftist kook is capable of having even a scintilla of rational thought. Instead, the prevailing rationale was the mere chance of Freedom and Democracy is not worth the 1000+ American soldiers perishing or the loss of several thousand Iraqi citizens. "Oh, I get it," I remarked to the crowd. "You Liberals love to spew your twisted ideology because you're free to do so. But if any other country desires Freedom........"
It was then I was struck, literally and figuratively.
Literally, when I was pushed, spat on and verbally accosted by a leftist kook.
Figuratively, when I realized that the aforementioned anti-war kooks have no concept of the sacrifice required to both establish and preserve Liberty.
Think about it! We lost upwards of 400,000 American soldiers during World War II. It's that enormous sacrifice which allows us all to enjoy the Freedoms and Liberties we have today. Because many of our great WWII veterans are passing on, we take for granted the tremendous price they paid to preserve Freedom and Liberty. The concept the leftist kooks need to grasp is under the Hussein regime, Iraqis signed their own death sentence if they dare oppose their leaders. Even with Saddam out of power there was still tremendous risk when Iraqis went to the polls in late January. Yet oppressed people who yearn for freedom are willing to put their lives on the line. The Iraqis have seen a first hand account of the carnage in the effort to instill a democracy.
As a result, there weren't a lot of voting Iraqis with their hands in their pockets on Iraq election day.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Friday, March 04, 2005
Vikes say "No Mas", so No Moss!
After seven breathtaking and exasperating seasons, Randy Moss is no longer a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings have officially shipped Moss to the Oakland Raiders for LB Napoleon Harris, the Raiders' 1st round (seventh overall) and seventh round draft picks.
I believe we can not fairly judge this deal until we see what Harris produces on the field. In addition, the Vikings have a more prominent draft position as well as approximately $30 million of salary cap space. Obviously, that is a discussion for another day.
While we will all miss Moss' big play ability, we will strain our rotator cuffs waving goodbye to the shenanigans on and off the field.
-1999 Divisional playoffs: Squirts an on-field official with water after a disputed call in the 49-37 loss to the St Louis Rams.
-2000 NFC Championship Game: Approximately two hours before the matchup with the NY Giants for the right to go to the Super Bowl, Randy was as focused as a magnifying glass on frying ants, right? Nah. How could Moss possibly concentrate on a game of such magnitude when he can't have his buddies come on the field? Randy proceeds to berate security personnel for not allowing his pals to trespass. Moss is so preoccupied with the snub that he doesn't bother to put forth much effort in the game. The Vikes are edged, 41-0.
-2001 season: After a tough, hard fought 48-17 loss in Philadelphia, Randy was in a rather surly mood. After boarding the team bus, Moss verbally abused a corporate sponsor who unknowingly sat in the seat normally reserved for Randy (an incident which invoked an absurd Randy Moss-Rosa Parks comparison by Minneapolis "journalist" Larry Fitzgerald).
The infamous declaration of "I play when I want to play" is first uttered. This is in response to an inquiry of why he performs so well on Monday Night Football. Moss backs up that statement six nights later (The Sunday Night game on ESPN) with a half-hearted effort in a home loss to the Chicago Bears. What's most shameful was he knew to how much scrutiny he would be subjected after his asinine comments were blasted across Sports Nation. No Matter. He still dogged it in prime time.
-2002 season: The year of "Moss vs the meter maid". Moss took an illegal right turn in downtown Minneapolis then refuses to stop when directed by the officer. While I feel that was overblown, what could not be overlooked is the trace of marijuana found in his ashtray.
-2004 season: Walks off the field with two seconds remaining in regular season finale loss in Washington. Is privately accosted by teammate Matt Birk in the locker room afterwards, an incident where Moss later bristled and stated he didn't care what Birk said.
But the final coup d'etat was his comments regarding the mock "mooning" he performed after his game clinching TD in the playoff game at Green Bay. While the end zone "celebration" itself was certainly overblown by the moral authority that is Fox Network (see such family fun shows as "Temptation Island"), what could not be ignored was Moss' defiance regarding the incident. His insinuation that his next celebration would be even more vulgar had to be the final straw. If you continually say on one hand that you have Super Bowl aspirations yet perpetually undermine what the team attempts to put together on the field, we as fans received mixed signals.
One caveat while playing in Oakland, Randy: If you decide to leave a little early, watch out for the flying batteries.
The Vikings have officially shipped Moss to the Oakland Raiders for LB Napoleon Harris, the Raiders' 1st round (seventh overall) and seventh round draft picks.
I believe we can not fairly judge this deal until we see what Harris produces on the field. In addition, the Vikings have a more prominent draft position as well as approximately $30 million of salary cap space. Obviously, that is a discussion for another day.
While we will all miss Moss' big play ability, we will strain our rotator cuffs waving goodbye to the shenanigans on and off the field.
-1999 Divisional playoffs: Squirts an on-field official with water after a disputed call in the 49-37 loss to the St Louis Rams.
-2000 NFC Championship Game: Approximately two hours before the matchup with the NY Giants for the right to go to the Super Bowl, Randy was as focused as a magnifying glass on frying ants, right? Nah. How could Moss possibly concentrate on a game of such magnitude when he can't have his buddies come on the field? Randy proceeds to berate security personnel for not allowing his pals to trespass. Moss is so preoccupied with the snub that he doesn't bother to put forth much effort in the game. The Vikes are edged, 41-0.
-2001 season: After a tough, hard fought 48-17 loss in Philadelphia, Randy was in a rather surly mood. After boarding the team bus, Moss verbally abused a corporate sponsor who unknowingly sat in the seat normally reserved for Randy (an incident which invoked an absurd Randy Moss-Rosa Parks comparison by Minneapolis "journalist" Larry Fitzgerald).
The infamous declaration of "I play when I want to play" is first uttered. This is in response to an inquiry of why he performs so well on Monday Night Football. Moss backs up that statement six nights later (The Sunday Night game on ESPN) with a half-hearted effort in a home loss to the Chicago Bears. What's most shameful was he knew to how much scrutiny he would be subjected after his asinine comments were blasted across Sports Nation. No Matter. He still dogged it in prime time.
-2002 season: The year of "Moss vs the meter maid". Moss took an illegal right turn in downtown Minneapolis then refuses to stop when directed by the officer. While I feel that was overblown, what could not be overlooked is the trace of marijuana found in his ashtray.
-2004 season: Walks off the field with two seconds remaining in regular season finale loss in Washington. Is privately accosted by teammate Matt Birk in the locker room afterwards, an incident where Moss later bristled and stated he didn't care what Birk said.
But the final coup d'etat was his comments regarding the mock "mooning" he performed after his game clinching TD in the playoff game at Green Bay. While the end zone "celebration" itself was certainly overblown by the moral authority that is Fox Network (see such family fun shows as "Temptation Island"), what could not be ignored was Moss' defiance regarding the incident. His insinuation that his next celebration would be even more vulgar had to be the final straw. If you continually say on one hand that you have Super Bowl aspirations yet perpetually undermine what the team attempts to put together on the field, we as fans received mixed signals.
One caveat while playing in Oakland, Randy: If you decide to leave a little early, watch out for the flying batteries.
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