Patriotism

Trump tells West Point graduates America’s institutions endure against ‘passions and prejudices of the moment’

President Trump on Saturday addressed the graduating class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, telling them they are the “bravest of the brave” and hailing the durability of America’s institutions “against the passions and prejudices of the moment.” “To the eleven hundred and seven cadets who today become the newest officers in the most exceptional Army ever to take the field of battle, I am here to offer America’s salute. Thank you for answering your nation’s call,” he said. The address at West Point in New York was the one remaining military service academy where he had yet to give a graduation address. “This premier military academy produces only the best of the best — the strongest of the strong — and the bravest of the brave,” he said. “West Point is a universal symbol of American gallantry, loyalty, devotion, discipline, and skill.” Trump’s speech comes amid a backdrop of dueling crises of the coronavirus pandemic and recent protests and questions about police conduct related to the recent death of George Floyd in police custody. He made a number of references to national unity, telling the graduates that they “exemplify the power of shared national purpose to transcend all differences and achieve true unity.” Later, he hinted at the instability rocking the country: “What has historically made America unique is the durability of its institutions against the passions and prejudices of the moment. When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring and eternal,” he said. On the topic of foreign policy, Trump declared that his administration is “restoring the fundamental principle that the job of the American soldier is not to rebuild foreign nations, but defend — and defend strongly — our nation from foreign enemies.” “We are ending the era of endless wars. In its place is a renewed, clear-eyed focus on defending America’s vital interests. It is not the duty of U.S. troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of,” he said. In a lighter moment, he drew applause when he used his power as commander-in-chief to absolve “all cadets on restrictions for minor conduct offenses, and that is effective immediately.” The address comes amid tensions between Trump and the military. Trump reportedly yelled at Defense Secretary Mark Esper for opposing his call to use active-duty troops to quell rioting. Meanwhile, Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said it was a “mistake” to accompany Trump on a trip to St. John’s Church on June 1. Critics had accused Trump of putting cadets at risk of coronavirus for the purposes of a photo opportunity. A group called Veterans For Peace held a protest outside West Point’s main gate against what it called “Trump’s dangerous narcissistic Photo-Op Stunt at the West Point Graduation.” But Army officials defended the move, saying the cadets would have had to brave the health risks of traveling back to campus anyway for their final medical checks, equipment and training. The cadets had been home since spring break, just before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. They returned to campus in late May. A number of health precautions were in place to stop the spread of the highly contagious virus. The recently commissioned second lieutenants wore masks as they marched onto West Point’s parade field, instead of into Mitchie Stadium, the longtime commencement venue. They were also sitting six feet apart, and saluted the president instead of shaking hands. Meanwhile, there were no guests, with family and friends watching online instead.

The speech by the President this morning at West Point was excellent.  It wasn’t political.  It was perfect for the occasion, and I think the cadets appreciated it.  To see it, click on the text above.  To all the cadets today, congrats from a former Army Major.  Go Army!     🙂

Father and sons build American flags for veterans and police officers

In 2018, Georgia native Tom Saccenti and his then-8-year-old son Micah decided to make an American Flag from leftover wood, something they had seen done in a YouTube video. After a few failed attempts they finally had an end product they loved and a new hobby to do together. “My dad and me thought it would be a good idea to do it as a father-son project. We loved it so much that we went to our church and we showed them how to do it for Veterans Day. We made about 20 flags before we got it right,” Micah told Fox News. Saccenti, a former police officer, goes around the country with his family teaching new safety techniques to local police departments, universities and churches. Two years later Micah, 10, is still making flags except now he makes them with his 8-year-old brother, James. The two brothers have continued to make flags for their community even while they traveled with their father to his educational conferences. During each of their father’s trips, the boys give a flag away to one lucky raffle winner. The flags are given out for free to veterans or officers, but conference attendees have the option to donate to the Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge, a Christian organization focused on educating children about religion in other parts of the world. Once coronavirus stay-at-home orders were put in place, Saccenti’s conferences were put on hold but that did not stop James and Micah from making flags. The boys had the idea to transition to making blue-line flags and delivering them to police officers in nearby police departments. “We thought what can we do at our home to kind of still honor people who are working during this time. And so we thought what a great way to honor some of our local heroes, police officers,” said Saccenti. So far, the Saccenti boys have given away 50 flags and have raised over $2,000 for the Boys and Girls Missionary Group, and they have no plans of stopping anytime soon. Their next step? Saving up for an engraver so they can put the hero’s name on the flag before giving it to them.

How great is this?!?  For more info, or to buy a flag from the Saccentis, click on the text above.  Outstanding!!      🙂

Memorial Day: 5 things you didn’t know about the holiday

Many Americans see Memorial Day as an opportunity to relax in the yard, gather around the grill with friends, or plan a weekend getaway — and it usually is, even though the latter two traditions may be hindered by the ongoing coronavirus health crisis. But no matter how we choose to observe, it’s important that we never lose sight of the day’s significance. With that in mind, here are five interesting things to consider while we’re celebrating, and paying respects to, the men and women who died serving this country. #1. We’re all aware that Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, but Congress has also established an exact minute of remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance Act, which was adopted in December of 2000, encourages every citizen to pause each Memorial Day at 3:00 p.m. local time to remember the brave men and women who died serving this country. In addition to any federal observances, Major League Baseball games usually come to a stop during the Moment of Remembrance, and for the past several years, Amtrak engineers have taken up the practice of sounding their horns in unison at precisely 3:00 p.m. #2. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Memorial Day is celebrated in late May because that’s when flowers are likely to be blooming across the country. It was Union General John A. Logan who — after serving in the Mexican-American War and Civil War — proposed that Congress institute May 30th as Decoration Day (the predecessor to Memorial Day) to allow citizens to decorate the graves of deceased veterans with fresh flowers. (It’s also believed that Logan settled on the date because it wasn’t already the anniversary of any significant battles, according to History.com.) #3. The Ironton-Lawrence Memorial Day Parade in Ironton, Ohio, is recognized as the oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade in the nation, beginning all the way back in 1868. However, the oldest (and first) Memorial Day parade in the country was held a year earlier in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. (It’s also worth noting that both the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., and the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade in Queens, N.Y., each bill themselves as the largest Memorial Day parades in the nation.) #4. “Taps,” the bugle call typically performed at military funerals as well as the annual Memorial Day wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was actually adapted from a separate Civil War bugle call known as “Scott Tattoo,” which was used to signal lights out. But, according to both the “Arlington National Cemetery Legacy of Honor” by Jim Harris, as well as “Stories Behind the Hymns that Inspire America” by Ace Collins, the new melody later became the preferred accompaniment at military funerals after Captain John Tidball of the Union Army ordered his men to quietly play “Taps” at a fellow soldier’s funeral, for fear that a traditional three-volley rifle salute would alert nearby Confederate troops to their location. #5. For the first time in 20 years, the American Automobile Association (AAA) chose not to release a Memorial Day “travel forecast” in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which “undermined” the accuracy of the annual report, according to AAA. However, the organization predicted that 2020’s travel trends would set a record low. “Last year, 43 million Americans traveled for Memorial Day Weekend — the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000,” said Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel, in a press release. “With social distancing guidelines still in practice, this holiday weekend’s travel volume is likely to set a record low.”

Guess we’ll see…   Don’t forget to take that moment at 3p.  Happy Memorial Day.

Boy Scouts banned from planting American flags on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day due to coronavirus

A longtime Memorial Day weekend tradition to honor veterans is now canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are persisting calls to bring it back. For decades, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other groups have devoted part of the holiday to place small American flags at the graves of veterans and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice as a way to honor our country’s war heroes. Yet this year the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has prohibited public events at the sites because of COVID-19. The Boy Scouts and other groups have been barred from carrying out the mass flag placements. On Long Island, N.Y., where more than 500,000 veterans are buried at two national military cemeteries, there are demands for the VA to reconsider and rescind the ban. “If we can’t figure out a way to make sure we are placing flags at their graves to honor them, then something is seriously wrong,” said Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone, whose county includes the sprawling Calverton and Long Island National Cemeteries, which hold more veterans than any other military cemetery in the nation, including Arlington National Cemetery. Bellone is confident that officials can carry out a plan that would keep the Scouts safe. “What we’re asking the VA to do is, rather than have a blanket policy across the country, allow the national cemeteries at the local level, to make this determination in conjunction with the local health department,” he said..

Fair enough, and agreed..  As a vet myself, I find this whole blanket policy ridiculous and offensive on oh so many levels.  Besides, c’mon..  Give the kids some masks, and have them wash their hands when they’re done, for crying out loud.  And, they’ll be outside getting that Vitamin D, which is what is helping kill this Wuhan nonsense anyway.  Hopefully the VA Secretary will fix this bs.  For more on this developing story, click on the text above.

Thunderbirds honor coronavirus responders with Las Vegas flyover for ‘true heroes’

High in the skies over Las Vegas, the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron — also known as the “Thunderbirds” — showed its support on Saturday for those on the frontlines responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The Thunderbirds said the flyover was to show appreciation and support for health care workers, first responders and other essential personnel in Sin City and around the nation working in the battle against COVID-19. “It is an honor to fly for the Americans at the forefront of our nation’s fight against the coronavirus,” Lt. Col. John Caldwell, Thunderbirds commander and leader, said in a news release. “They are true heroes and we look forward to demonstrating the support of the 685,000 total force Airmen of the U.S. Air Force for health care workers, first responders and COVID-19 essential personnel in Las Vegas and across the nation.” The flyover on Saturday featured eight F-16 Fighting Falcons, which soared throughout Las Vegas starting at 2:30 p.m. and lasted about 25 minutes. The Thunderbirds’ flight path started at Nellis Air Base and took them through Centennial Hills, Summerlin, Spring Valley, along the Las Vegas Strip, and down to Henderson before returning to Nellis Air Force Base. Images showed the aircraft soaring over the famous Las Vegas Strip and casinos now empty due to the virus outbreak. Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett shared a video on Twitter of an inside look of the planes flying over the Strip. Las Vegas residents were able to enjoy the flyover safely from their home-quarantine. The Thunderbirds had asked that people refrain from traveling to landmarks and gathering in large groups to view the flyover. “While our jets will be flying close together, we want (to) stress that no one should travel or gather to see us fly,” Caldwell said. “We want Las Vegas residents to look up from their homes and enjoy the display of American resolve and pride while keeping front line coronavirus responders in their hearts during this unprecedented time in our nation.” Officials in Clark County, Nevada, said the show in the sky was a “great viewing experience” as the aircraft flew by. “We haven’t had much to enjoy lately, but today the Nellis Air Force Base U.S. Air Force team provided a much-needed lift,” the Clark County communications team said on Facebook.

How great is this?!?  I’m sure the folks in Sin City really appreciated this.  The Thunderbirds are based there at Nellis AFB.  So, this was a real  treat for the locals.   To see videos and pics from yesterdays show, click on the text above.      🙂

WH trade adviser slams 3M for ‘acting like a sovereign nation’: ‘Stop whining’ and make masks for Americans

White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro accused U.S. manufacturing conglomerate 3M Friday of “whining” about criticism from President Trump over its distribution of N95 masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Let me just say that 3M needs to stop whining and just produce masks and get them to the American people,” Navarro told “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “I’ve been dealing with hundreds of CEOs on the front lines here [of] President Trump’s war against the virus,” Navarro added, “and 3M has been doing nothing but dissembling, he can’t get any data out of them.” Minnesota-based 3M has come under fire for exporting U.S.-made masks and other protective equipement to Canada and Latin America. On Thursday, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to order 3M to prioritize orders of N95 masks for the federal government’s national stockpile. “We’re not happy with 3M, we’re not happy and the people that dealt with it directly are not at all happy with 3M,” Trump said during the White House coronavirus task force briefing earlier Friday. 3M CEO Mike Roman told Fox Business Network’s “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” Friday that the company sells its respirators “through authorized distributors and we sell directly to governments and the distributors take those to customers that have the greatest needs and we’ve been working with FEMA in the U.S. to make sure we are prioritizing those with the greatest need … A small percentage, less than 10 percent of our respirators in the United States are exported to Canada and Latin America to support their health care workers. We are often the sole provider of those respirators in those countries.” “As we’ve been telling the administration for days and days,” Roman added, “We’re happy to ship our overseas production to the U.S. However, there are consequences on a humanitarian level and that includes stopping exports to Canada and Latin America.” Navarro accused 3M of “acting like a sovereign nation” and said the company’s public relations department “thinks it’s the State Department.” He said that U.S. companies will and should continue to export goods, but added that 3M brass have to stop “whining and spinning” and work on behalf of the American people. “We don’t have the hours, much less the minutes to deal with them,” said Navarro, in response to which host Tucker Carlson remarked endearingly that the trade adviser continues to be “the most blatant public official in government.”

Peter Navarro is a no-nonsense kinda guy, and we appreciate his candor.  I saw 3M’s CEO respond to questions that weren’t even asked in that interview…and how he kinda danced around questions.  So, I can understand Peter’s frustration.  3M definitely needs to step up to the plate and support the crisis HERE, in America, like so many other companies are doing.  OUR hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other caregivers are in desperate need of those N95 masks, and while other countries are having their issues to be sure, 3M needs to support the efforts here for now.  They are a globalist company, and it’s that globalist mentality that has gotten us into the mess we’re in now with respect to the supply chain, pharma-dependency on China, and so on.

65 Companies in America Doing Their Part to Fight the Coronavirus

President Donald Trump continues to ask all companies in America to find ways to help the country fight the coronavirus. From offering free meals and assistance to medical and health care workers to constructing masks, ventilators, and protective equipment, here are some of the top ways that America’s top businesses have answered the call. President Trump has welcomed several CEOs to the White House to thank them for their efforts, and Breitbart News has been tracking some of the biggest contributions from America’s businesses. Click here to see their list.

Great job all!!!     🙂

Ford teaming with GE to build 50,000 ventilators by July 4, working on ‘Trump time’

Ford is partnering with GE Healthcare to build 50,000 ventilators by July 4 at the automaker’s Rawson Components Plant in Michigan, the companies announced on Monday. The automaker will produce the Airon Model A-E ventilator, which has been licensed by GE Healthcare for the effort. Airon currently manufactures the devices at a rate of just three units per day at its Florida location, and Ford will assist in boosting production there as the new line is set up in Michigan. The current retail price for the device is approximately $7,000. A press release accompanying the announcement quoted White House Defense Production Act Coordinator Peter Navarro as saying Ford and GE are working on ‘Trump time’ to get the project going. The Model A-E is a relatively basic model that is sufficient for treating COVID-19 patients, according to Tom Westrick, GE Healthcare vice president and chief quality officer. It is compatible with masks and intubation and operates pneumatically via its oxygen supply without the need for electricity. A team of 500 paid-volunteer UAW members will work three shifts, 24 hours daily when the Ford facility reaches full production. Ford is also helping GE double the production of its own more complex CARESCAPE R860 through a separate effort. The news comes following an announcement from General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that the automaker is converting one of its electronic components factories to produce the Ventec VOCSN ventilator at the rate of up to 10,000 units per month.

This is SO awesome!   Kudos to both Ford Motor Company and GE for their joint effort here!  Excellent!!    🙂

Apple secures 10 million masks for US health care workers

Apple has secured 10 million masks for U.S. health care workers and is donating millions more to countries globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and strain manufacturing chains for the medical supplies. Tim Cook, the tech giant’s CEO, announced the news in a video tweeted out Wednesday afternoon. The video was filmed from Cook’s home. “Apple has sourced, procured and is donating 10 million masks to the medical community in the United States,” Cook said. Cook also encouraged everyone to follow instructions from public health officials by staying home if possible and keeping at least six feet between themselves and anyone else if they must leave the house. Other tech firms, including Facebook, have stepped up to say they will donate the much-needed masks or provide assistance in manufacturing respirators. All of these items are in short supply, and in many cases countries and states are competing against one another to get their own.

Excellent!  Thanks to Tim Cook, and the folks at Apple, for stepping up in a big way.    🙂

Starbucks offering free coffee to front-line responders amid coronavirus outbreak

Starbucks may have drastically modified service in response to the coronavirus outbreak, but its operational locations are still hoping to fuel front-line responders. On Wednesday, Starbucks announced that it would be offering a free tall coffee — hot or iced — to front-line workers through May 3, adding that the move was directly inspired by employees who were already finding ways to give back to their local communities. “Over the last few weeks, partners have found ways to support those who are keeping our communities safe – particularly responders on the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak,” Starbucks wrote in a news release shared Wednesday. “Building on this commitment, Starbucks announced it will offer free coffee to frontline workers until May 3.” In the past few weeks, Starbucks said it has observed employees (or “partners”) helping out their local first responders and healthcare workers by organizing deliveries, coffee donations, or even just sending messages of support. “I am inspired by our Starbucks store partners around the world who proudly wear the green apron and who are rising to the occasion. They demonstrate our resilience and our commitment to the communities we serve,” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in an open letter to employees shared on Sunday. In the same release announcing its deal for front-line responders, Starbucks further confirmed that it had donated $500,000 total to Operation Gratitude and Direct Relief, two organizations that work to help those same responders. Earlier this month, Starbucks locations in the U.S. had closed all seating areas to customers in response to the growing global outbreak of COVID-19, while still allowing for carryout, drive-thru and delivery options. On March 20, the company announced it would be restricting all ordering to drive-thru and delivery — and closing off cafes to walk-in customers — at all company-owned locations. The exception, however, being Starbucks locations “in and around” health centers or hospitals, to continue to serve medical workers. Starbucks had also announced that employees would still be eligible to receive 30 days of pay, whether they were able to work or not.

Kudos to Starbucks for supporting our first responders like this.  For more of this story, click on the text above.