At Home On Piety Hill

George Will nailed it.

There was a lot of screaming about Senator Barak Obama’s (D-Illinois) green hypocrisy a while back. It seems he was playing the perennial Democrat global warming panic and fear card to a town hall meeting, preaching on the eeeevills of the SUV and was seen leaving the scene of his scolding sermon in one of those humungous gas-guzzlers. His handlers attempted to deflect criticism by lamely pointing out that the vehicle burns a an e85 blend. But, that hardly cools the controversy or the atmosphere, for that matter.

Then you have this editorial exposing Al Gore’s (D-Planet) appetite. Sure, these guys are hypocrites but that’s not really the issue… you can find plenty of double-dealing in politics, religion, the office, the classroom… I wish these guys were that benign.

What really bugs me in all of this is their Animal Farm approach to foist a radical green revolution upon the rest of us. You see, Mr. Gore (let’s think of him as the Napoleon character in the book) has discovered that the planet is being destroyed by human prosperity and consumption. He acts as though he made this discovery, in much the same way that he claims to have been a pioneer in the formation of the information superhighway (just like the appropriation of Snowball’s plan for building a windmill in the story). He assures us in his Green Seven Commandments that we are all equal and we are all forbidden to drive gas-guzzling SUVs (on the Animal Farm, “all animals are equal”).

In the end, Al and Barack’s green revolutionary society looks more and more like an environmentally friendly version of Animal Farm, in which “all citizens of the planet are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Those privileged few are free to drive or fly whatever to wherever they please, while the rest of are forced to buy the type of vehicle they decide suits our needs and station in life. You see, Barack and Al fancy themselves responsible global citizens, who possess knowledge and sophistication the rest of us commoners lack. They put these “bad” machines to good purpose, while the rest of would only squander precious fuel and resources in the vehicles of our choice.

These sham environmental crusaders will do whatever they can, legislatively and culturally, to deny us choice in the kind of vehicle we buy, as they herd us into the mode of transportation that suits their utopian ideals. But, if that comes to pass, it will only happen because we ceded that power to the pigs in Washington. And, I doubt these elitist, finger-wagging, moralizing hogs will stop at deciding merely what type of car is appropriate for us.

Well, sort of. The left pulled out all the stops, including one final threat from President Clinton’s lawyers. But, a slightly edited version of The Path To 9/11 aired last night and the second installment (critical of George Bush) will go on tonight as scheduled, with no attempts by the Bush administration at censorship.

This, in spite of last minute threats by the enemies of freedom: Bill Sics Legal Eagles on ABC:

Clinton’s lawyer, Douglas Band, and the CEO of his foundation, Bruce Lindsey, penned the fuming missive to ABC bigwig Bob Iger.

An ABC statement on the situation said, “Many of the people who have expressed opinions about the film have yet to see it in its entirety.” The final edits were made, but reported to be minor in its showing in New Zealand. All sides are monitoring how extensive the edits are and they appear to be slight. The biggest change so far seems to be the disclaimers.

What a lesson this has been! Beware of people who trumpet themselves as tolerant, progressive and champions of civil liberties, while censoring the opinions of others, stifling the artistic freedoms of those who they find offensive and seeking to limit free speech in order to deflect criticism.

One of the two administrations faulted for not taking the war on terrorism seriously before 9/11 is freaking out over the ABC docudrama The Path To 9/11 and it’s starting to get scary. When one party threatens the broadcast license of a major network over a mini-series, it’s time to let them know that the Bill of Rights is just that… it’s not the Bill of Permits granted or doled out to citizens by government.

• Our borders and ports remain open to infiltration, Social Security is going down and what is the Democratic leadership in the Senate doing? Reminding ABC that they control the licensing of broadcast media.
• Meanwhile, President Clinton went straight to the top and demanded that the program, which cost ABC $40 million, be censored in order to protect his legacy.
• Then, he has his lawyers intimidate Disney.
• Madeleine Albright’s ability to earn a living as a consultant is threatened, so she started howling.
• Sandy Berger, convicted thief of classified documents, joined in the chorus of whining.

Meanwhile, yet another “hate Bush” film premiers in Canada, but the Bush administration calmly goes about their business. In this day of petulant pop-star politicos, it’s comforting to know there are some adults out there holding things together.

Denise and I don’t get commercial TV in our home (missed Katie’s big splash), but I heard about a mini-series I’d love to see: The Path To 9/11 on ABC, starring Harvey Keitel. We’ll either watch it when it comes out on DVD or perhaps a friend will invite us over when it airs (hint).

Evidently, the mini-series not only makes the Bush administration look bad, but makes out Madeleine Albright and Sandy Berger (the guy who steals classified documents in his clothing) to be incompetent cowards. For those accustomed to hagiographical portrayals of the Clinton administration from the entertainment industry, this docudrama evidently crosses the line and troubles the faithful.

I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews from people who have actually seen it from start to finish, but the bete noir bloggers and enemies of free speech on the left have reportedly tried to get ABC to edit it, because of “lies and half-truths.” All the clips I’ve heard and the in-depth reviews lead me to believe that it’s substantially accurate. But, even if it isn’t, since when are lies and half-truths a sin in the infotainment industry? Leave it to the “tolerance and diversity” crowd to impose their morality on the rest of us.

For my prog-lib friends, I would suggest that you watch The Path To 9/11 for the entertainment value first and historical accuracy second. I think that’s the way one would normally view other works of the genre, such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Who Killed The Electric Car, Bush’s Brain, Triumph of the Will, etc..

End Of An Affair

“It’s unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.”

Those of us who are engaged never did take him seriously.

On the heels of the news that US GDP is up above expectations, we learned that gas prices are heading down (as they do this time of year, historically – it’s called supply and demand — a mysterious concept to those of us hobbled by our public school education). Gasoline consumption growth in the US has been less than anytime in the past 20 years. But, you probably won’t see that reported in the prog-press, because that kind of news doesn’t cause the anxiety and pessimism the media desires in the run-up to the elections in November. You have to look beyond the opinion pieces reported as “news” in the AP or al-Reuters to find these kinds of facts. In all the major news outlets, that little factoid was missing — I had to go to the hard news sites to find that out.
As is always the case, this good news for Americans is bad news for the party out of power — the Democrats. But, all is not lost for the party of “no,” as it appears that they will be reclaiming their birthright in November of this year — control of the House of Representatives. All of their resources and energy will turn from opposing any meaningful legislation dealing with Social Security, WW III and other pressing issues to the items on their legislative agenda (I wish I knew what those were, besides hearings and Bush). Then, you know we’re going to see some serious energy policy coming out of the Congress… NOT!

I’m here at Panera again, blogging as Denise does our shopping… this is wonderful and peaceful… and it’s a long way from Uganda… a real long way.

My nephews (names withheld to preserve their privacy) were talking about the lost children of Uganda and how they would like to do what they can to help these victims of the most brutal civil war imaginable. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) under the command of Joseph Kony continues to ravage the northern districts of Gulu and Kitgum in Uganda along the Sudanese border. You can follow the links for the details of this devilish “rebel” leader and his recruiting methods, along with the different ways that people are helping the “night commuters” — children who make the nightly trek into town to avoid being abducted in their villages. The civil war has been going on for about twenty years, but as is often the case, many people in the west are just now becoming aware of the problem.

I’ve wanted to write about Uganda a number of times before… I’ve visited twice, made lifelong friends and hope to return in the future (with Denise and the kids, too). Camille has been there to teach accounting to medical staff and she has expressed a desire to return.

The first time I traveled to Uganda with Emma in 2000, our hosts took us to a “safe place,” well out of range of the LRA. We were in Nakasake in the Luwero district, just north of Kampala. Our church team taught the Bible, preached in the open air, operated medical clinics and worked with the many schools in the area. Immediately upon arrival, we received news that there were elements of the LRA on “the prayer mountain,” which was a hill about a mile away! We continued to do our work, but the presence of paramilitary security men became more visible and they kept us near the center of town or watched us closely as we traveled to nearby villages. These security men did not like their photos taken, so you will have to settle for these shots of one of our “guardian angels” from a later trip.

I have dozens of stories to tell (ebola outbreak, goat on a stick, naked muzungus showering, etc,) and hope to blog about them later, but the subject at hand is the crisis in northern Uganda. Our first trip to Uganda was the result of a call for Christian workers to establish and support ministries to women, who had been abducted, raped and/or mutilated by the LRA. When they escape or are returned to their villages, they are often treated as outcasts. We helped set up training centers, where these women learned trades like sewing, bicycle maintenance and other skills to earn a living. We also sent food and medicine.

My second trip was with another team, which headed south to take building materials and the Gospel to a small village, where we also held a huge medical clinic. Then, we went north to Kumi, which is very close to the frontlines in Uganda’s war with the LRA and even shuttled people to a leprosy hospital there. We never saw or heard anything about the LRA in Kumi. However, on that trip we arrived in Kampala at the same time our host was just returning from a harrowing escape from southern Sudan, through LRA territory in Gulu. He and another missionary had gone up and met someone with a bulldozer in Sudan, where they had built a landing strip for relief cargo planes to use to supply refugees, fleeing the fighting in Darfur and other places. The first plane to use the strip landed to pick them up, taxied to the end of the runway and planted the nose of the plane in the ground! So, they had to walk out of Sudan into Uganda and then seek safe passage back to Kampala. Life is never easy in Uganda!

What kind of hate am I listening to? Another news and opinion source I go to regularly is National Public Radio. How much hate do they generate? That depends upon the host or the feature, I suppose. I’ll comment on various NPR programs in later posts. One thing I do know: actions speak louder than words and hateful acts are much more unpleasant and intolerable than hate speech. I learned this first hand when our local NPR affiliate, Capitol Public Radio, broadcast two interviews by Steve Inskeep during the presidential campaign of 2004 and I expressed my negative opinion to “the staff and the management.” The result? A member services rep sent me a threatening email message from his personal Yahoo! Mail account. He told me, through a personalized and bizarre literary device, that I should be very concerned for my family’s safety, because he knew my phone number and address.

He wrote it under a pseydonym and thought it was coming to me anonymously. Fortunately, I was able to follow the path and found that he had sent it to me through his personal account, from a Cap Radio computer, while he was on the clock, over the California State University Sacramento network. He and his managers stonewalled me for a few days until I contacted the CSUS system administrator, who referred me to the legal staff in the President’s office. The staff member apologized immediately.

I don’t think that NPR, for the most part, is bigoted or hateful but evidently some of their local affiliates could benefit from some sensitivity training… perhaps a lesson or two in common courtesy and appreciation for or tolerance of diverse ideas and lifestyles.

What kind of hate am I listening to? That was the question I posed and answered in an earlier post. I listen to Rush Limbaugh regularly and I wouldn’t consider his program to be hateful unless sarcasm, analysis of current events, critique of opposing views, parody and the expression of strongly held opinions constitutes “hate.” If that were the case, Rush would be numbered among such notable haters as Garrison Keillor, Mark Twain, Al Franken and Will Rogers. The Simpsons, South Park and Saturday Night Live would be justly condemned as vehicles of bigotry, if Rush’s show is judged to be offensive. Why do I listen to Rush?

First, his show comes on at just the right time, while my hands are busy and my ears and mind are free. He’s the most professional talk-show host out there, regardless of ideology, and he’s generally funnier than the rest of the pack. The fact that Al Franken has enjoyed phenomenal success as a comic writer does not seem to translate to laughs on his radio show, while Rush is much funnier on air than he is in print. Go figure.

I started listening before the Web existed and I tuned in to hear him read news and comment on articles or opinion pieces in publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation and others. If anything captured my attention, I would go to the library and check out other literature on the subject. His show was a catalyst for me and it still is. He seems to have a real knack for identifying issues and trends which resonate with a vast number of Americans, across a wide spectrum of political or social viewpoints.

Child molestation cases involving Catholic priests have been all over the news since the 1990’s, pointing to serious sexual abuse among clergy of all faiths and denominations. What makes this such a powerful story is the fact that priests had built a solid reputation as trustworthy advocates for children over the years, yet that has all been undone now. When someone my age thinks of children and priests, we are immediately reminded of Father Flanagan and Boy’s Town. But, a relative few betrayed that trust and robbed so many children of their sexual innocense, plunging the Roman Catholic church into one of the most costly and devastating crises in its entire history.

What is more frightening is that these sexual abuse cases are relatively small in number and scope, when compared to the hundreds of thousands of children in the United States, who have been or are being sexually abused by professional educators over a similar time period. A study conducted for the Department of Education, Educator Sexual Misconduct, found that about 10% of all school children will be the target of some sort of physical sexual misconduct by a teacher during their K-12 grade education. Carol Shakeshaft, who authored the study, points out that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found that about 10, 667 children had been victimized by priests between 1950 and 2002. Based upon numerous studies which she has worked with, Shakeshaft extrapolated the number of school children suffering abuse by professional educators to about ten times that of the clergy!

One study of 225 cases of admitted sexual abuse in New York found that none of the cases had been reported to police and only 1 person lost their teaching license. Often the offenders in these cases are let off with a slap on the wrist. I wonder why that is. Perhaps it has something to do with the behemoth NEA, the teacher’s union that is so solicitous in having parents turn over their children to the “professionals,” when it comes to instilling morals and teaching about sexuality!

I noticed this trend about a year ago and have found a few local news stories, but rarely a national expose´or serious article on this disturbing, almost universal assault on our kids. There are stories of female teachers initiating sexual relations with young men, young women, kids with special needs and one teacher who molested 9 year olds, then slashed her wrists in front of the class. It’s about time for the progressive media get this story out across the country and, perhaps, save a few children some life-long trauma.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a letter to the editor of The Union, our local newspaper. Here’s the text:

With the elimination of al-Zarqawi, pundits point out that there are hundreds al-Qaida to take his place. This would be the safe bet. However, history demonstrates that Islamic terrorists can change. The Baha’i faith is a good example.

Baha’is trace their lineage to the Bab, a 19th century Muslim terrorist who called on world leaders to repent and join him under the flag of the Mahdi. His followers carried his message through armed conflict, beheadings and murder until they were brutally suppressed by the Persian government.

After the Bab’s execution, leadership fell to one of his lieutenants, Baha’u'llah, who quickly began modernizing the various cells. He made gains, yet continued to own black slaves, hold plural wives and carry on a blood feud with his brother.

Baha’u'llah’s son, Abdu’l-Baha, guided the movement into the 20th century, abandoning the Bab’s tactics of “the striking of necks, the burning of books and papers, the destruction of shrines, and the universal slaughter of all save those who believed and were faithful.”

If the world responds to al-Qaida with condemnation and military force, perhaps they too will adopt a quietist expression of their religion, as the Baha’is have. Let’s hope they do.

A Baha’i reader took exception with my premise and, unfortunately, I was unable to develop it as fully as I would have liked to. The newspaper has a word limit for publication. However, I hope to carry on a dialogue in the comments. I think that by the current definition, the Bab and his followers would definitely be classed as terrorists. If you would like to read more about Babi militancy, you can check out these sources:

• From Babism to Baha’ism: Problems of Militancy, Quietism, and Conflation in the Construction of a Religion by Denis MacEoin
• An Examination of Distortion and Suppression in 20th Century Baha’i Literature by Vance Salisbury (that’s me)
• The Baha’i Faith: It’s History and Teachings by William Miller
• The Babi Movement: A Resource Mobilization Perspective by Peter Smith and Moojan Momen

The other day at work, I was following my usual routine… performing menial labor, while I listen to talk or opinion on the radio. One of my customers, who would probably consider herself progressive, tolerant and erudite, came to the counter and asked, “how can you listen to so much hate?” I was taken aback and then responded, “man, you should have heard the hate I was listening to this morning driving up here. I had NPR on the radio!” Then, it was her turn to look surprised.

So, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on what I listen to and why; then blog about it. I don’t watch commercial television and what little time I do have to enjoy video, I try to spend watching good films or something educational. But, I have hours every day when I am commuting or doing production work, so I listen to a very specific, well-rounded mix of radio and spoken word.

Now, before I start blogging about what I’m listening to, you may be wondering if I was serious about National Public Radio (NPR) and “hate?” Well, “yes” and “no.” You see, I am an amateur media analyst… I love watching how art, film and communication media are employed to educate, sell, persuade and manipulate people’s thinking. And, I’m equally fascinated by people’s response, when they are “getting worked.” But, I don’t see this process as necessarily bad and I’m not using the term “worked” as a pejorative, nor do I think all propaganda is bad. However, I do think there is such a thing as what Francis Schaeffer called “true truth.” And, I actually enjoy the challenge and the excitement of “drilling down” through what’s presented to me throughout the day and sorting out “what’s really going on.” It’s something of a hobby for me.

NPR is one of my staples… it’s one of my main sources of news, opinion and entertainment and I wish them success, even though I’m always urging Congress to cut their funding and make the private Corporation For Public Broadcasting earn their keep and compete on a level playing field with their commercial counterparts! I think, by and large, they do a good job, but they lean left and I find it amusing that there are actually folks who think that NPR or the BBC are “objective.” Face it folks, no news or opinion source is objective and I really don’t expect them to be. If NPR had to compete for listeners ($$$), I think they would be more diverse and cover a broader range of cultural and political perspectives in their programming.

When we are talking about “hate,” as defined by my customer, we are actually talking about critical opinion, parody, sarcasm, downright ridicule, etc.. So, do I hear that on NPR? By her definition, sure! I’ve heard some of the most narrow, bigoted, hateful language and opinion from NPR’s most vaunted personalities: Terry Gross, Garrison Keillor, Daniel Schorr and Steve Inskeep. But, more on them later… I suppose what I’m saying is that “hate” is a loaded word and its definition often depends upon which side of the opinion you’re on. Your sense of humor and ability to laugh at yourself and the absurdity of some of your deeply held opinions, along with the discipline it takes to be objective (when news organizations are not) will play a part in ones idea of what qualifies as “hate.” A rudimentary grasp of history can also be helpful, in putting things into perspective.

Today I called into the Rush Limbaugh radio program and made my talk radio debut to approximately 15 million listeners. The really cool part is that my remark about the film Mars Attacks became the inspiration for Rush’s parody, Mahmoud Attacks in his regular feature, See, I Told You So… (“You can stream the audio of the call segment here)
I am the caller identified as “Arthur from Nevada City.” I used my middle name, in case I totally embarassed and humiliated myself. I pointed out that, while the press is receiving the letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Bush as some sort of diplomatic overature of peace, the text of the message actually sounds like a religious authority claim by Ahmadinejad, calling Bush to repentance and the recognition that the Qaim, the messianic figure in Twelver Shi’ism, is at the door. Instead of a friendly appeal to avert a nuclear showdown, this epistle may be akin to the Martian declaration, “we come in peace,” being broadcast while blasting or disintegrating anything and anyone within range! It was comforting to know that Condoleeza Rice sees the letter for what it is, a sermon on “history, philosophy and religion.” It may be more than that, but only time will tell. Keep your eyes on the horizon for the Black Standard at the head of an army coming out of Khurasan!

Rush took off on the Mars Attacks remark, so I didn’t really get into the details about the letter. I wrote a paper some time ago about the Bab, a nineteenth century claimant to Mahdihood, and you may glean some insight under the heading Holy War and the Babi Uprising at Shaykh Tabarsi. Also, Juan R. Cole wrote an article about the messianic claims of Baha’u'llah and the letters he sent to world political and religious leaders, calling them to repentance and the recognition of his exalted station. I think you will see what I was getting at. Do I think Ahmadinejad is claiming Mahdihood? Not really. Some other authority claim? Perhaps. Still, it’s funny to watch the sympathetic response to the letter in the Congress and the press — they do not have a clue about what’s going on in this man’s head.

P.S. In the transcript of my call, “Twelver” is the word that was “unintelligable” right before “Muslims.”

Transcript:

Sadico Junction does it again… Sadie posted a reasonable response to counter some good ol’ fashioned intolerance and a trinity of religion experts showed up to remind her that Christians are to be seen, but not heard. One of these erudite scholars made the time-worn observation, “The problem is that most “Christians” don’t exactly follow Jesus’s example.” At last count, there were about 2.1 billion Christians on the planet, so does that mean that he’s monitored the WWJD quotient of a third of the world’s population? I suppose 1.52 billion would qualify as “most” and that would be a more manageable number for him to keep tabs on. Still, that would make him God… or, at least a demi-god. Then, another wizard tossed out the chestnut “I’ll say it again - what about the christian anti-abortionists who blow up Dr’s & abortion clinics?” Let’s see, how many clinics and doctors have been blown up? I looked online, but couldn’t find the statistic. I think it would be safe to say that it’s less than the number of Christians burned, blown up or murdered in the past week by pagans, atheists and socialists around the world. Finally, this gem: “How about the Christian groups who work to remove practical sex education from public schools - thereby forcing their view (that sex is icky, evil and BAAAAD) onto all the rest of us?” I really don’t know how to respond to this kind of silliness… so, on one hand Christians think “sex is icky, evil and BAAAAD,” but then these same folks will rail on the Jesus crowd for having too many kids. I suppose they think Christians with kids are simply breeding and not deriving any pleasure from… Aaaargh. why am I even talking about this? It’s laughable so, check out my comments.

Now, this is blogging! No more long posts. I simply let others more qualified raise an issue, then I get to come in with am emotional, unedited, spontaneous comment or two revealing what I really think. The Zombieslayer is one of the most rational and winsome bloggers on the scene and he had a great post about whiners. So, if you would like to know why I think Democrats don’t win any longer and Rush Limbaugh is on top, check out the post and comments. By the way, I still maintain that if the hardcore wing of the Democrat Party had held their noses and nominated Joe Lieberman for President in 2004, he would have beaten Bush by about 8 points.

Published November 17, 2005

For decades, Republicans have struggled to reach out to black Americans. But now in Orange County, the GOP has to reach no further than the NAACP. As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County’s NAACP, has switched parties — to become a Republican. “I’ve thought about this for two years,’ Wallace said Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after returning from the elections office. ‘This is not a decision I made yesterday.” It is, however, a decision that rang out like a shot among political circles.

Man, wait until the house slaves at the DNC hear about this guy. You know… the Democrats… the ones who fought to preserve slavery during the “war of seccession” and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If Mr. Wallace continues to act all uppity, he may get the same treatment that Michael Steele is getting from those thoughtful, tolerant progressives in Maryland.

Vice President’s Remarks at the Frontiers of Freedom Institute 2005 Ronald Reagan Gala
The Mayflower Hotel
Washington, D.C.

7:14 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: 2008. (Laughter.)

We could only dream

How a determined twosome turned a ravaged battlefield into a duffers’ oasis
By Tim McGirk/Kabul
Posted Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005

Like most obsessive golfers, Paul McNeill occasionally ponders the game’s standard frustrations–the blown putts, the sliced drives into the rough–and questions his devotion to such a maddening pursuit. But as a regular at Kabul’s only golf course, McNeill puts up with some extra hazards that would test the mettle of Tiger Woods. The grassless fairways of rock and stubble are cratered by rocket shells. The greens are in fact brown, a mix of oil and dirt with the consistency of quicksand. Approach shots are complicated by the possibility that insurgents have planted land mines on the course. And your swing may be off-kilter because you probably have a pistol strapped to your thigh, just in case kidnappers are lurking nearby. ‘Sometimes you look over,’ says McNeill, an aid worker from North Carolina, ‘and your partner is carrying a rifle in his golf bag.’

This amusing, heart-warming and inspirational story was reported here back in March, but evidently the editor at TIME.com just got around to reading PietyHill Press and found it newsworthy. Check it out. Our cub reporter remains committed to bringing you the best human interest stories from around the globe.

Honor After The Fall
Jim Sheeler / Rocky Mountain News
Posted Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005

Each door is different. Some are ornately carved hardwood, some are hollow aluminum. Over the past year, Marine Major Steve Beck has stood at the front door of five family homes in three states to deliver the message no one wanted to hear. When a Marine dies, Beck’s goal is to reach the kin within four hours, before they hear it on the news. With the permission of the families whose men died in Iraq, we watched as they cursed Beck, embraced him and learned to trust him. He stays by them that first day or night and then guides them through the dark months that follow. ‘In this business, I can’t save his life,’ he says. ‘All I can do is catch the family when they’re falling.’

After slamming the tabloid press a couple of days ago, I came across this feature in TIME magazine; a heart-rending article about Major Steve Beck and his incredible love for the families of fallen Marines. I was in tears when I saw the photo of Katherine Cathey collapsing on Beck and I can hardly type this right now. Good job Jim Sheeler and kudos to TIME magazine for publishing a powerful, uplifting story.

Follow this link to a slideshow of the photos from the TIME article. The full article, including video and spoken word by Katherine Cathey can be found at The Rocky Mountain News. Please take the time to listen to Katherine’s message from her husband about the people of Iraq.