Toughest thing

Had a great fall with my Farmall 100 and LoBoy. Feedplot is planted and the turkeys and deer are going nuts. There is NOTHING more relaxing than a ride on a humming IH!!!

But that's not the only reason why I"m hitting the forum.

Some time ago I told you all the toughest thing I ever did was to send my oldest son off to Iraq. It was, and it was a tough year, for me, his Mom, grandparents, and his brothers. And believe me, him too, most of all.

Well he returned in September, a bit worn around the edges, but in pretty good shape, and once he decided to chat, was full of tales. I"m proud as all get out of this kid, and his fellow servicemen and women. It"s good to have him home, even if only for a little while longer. Your wishes and prayers were very sustaining, and frankly FANTASTICALLY great; THANKS!!

I made a decision early on that I wouldn"t make up my mind on the upcoming election until I heard what he had to say. Boots on the ground thing, you all can appreciate that. Well in a nutshell, I remain confused a bit after hearing it and want to know what others of my ilk have to say. He was in Fallujah with 1st Marines, and here"s what I"ve heard from him and his chums: The insurgents aren"t Iraqi, they"re Egyptian, Syrian, Saudis, Iranians and Chechnyan. The weapons are coming across the border from Iran, They were hit with mustard in August (no WMD"s?) They ate from our care packages in April, because highway 10 convoys took a lickin"; nevertheless, he says Halliburton Brown and Root did an admirable job bringing the supplies. The buried weapon caches the Marines unearthed will boggle your mind. The boys feel strongly they are making a difference in the war on terror. They remain committed, motivated, and ready to go for the next deployment.

Gang, why aren"t we hearing this message from the press? From our leaders? What"s up?

I know this isn"t tractor stuff. Sorry to anyone I offend, but this is important to think about. Let me know your thoughts.

John

Scott

"Lord , by your almighty power , I pray you will keep our men and women overseas out of harms way and in your protective care until they safely return to their loved ones. AMEN!"

John:

I am a Canadian Vet, and I wish to thank your son for his service not just to his country, but for mine and for all the free democracies in the world today. He is making a difference and you should be very proud of him.

I really think the only reason we do not hear the good stuff is cause the media feels bad is better for ratings and good is not. How else to explain it. I have asked the question of Aaron Brown and Newsnight - that was about 9 months ago.... still have not gotten an answer.

I too hope that President Bush gets re-elected. I would rather have him, even though he doesn't think much of us Canadians, (much to his loss as we have been the US's best friend/business partner and ally for almost 200 years) than to face 4 years with that dunce on the donkey.

I think Bush is a good president, and I know that the economy is not his fault, medicare is not his fault, but not letting cheaper prescription drugs from Canada into the states is. Not sure if they are safe ???? -- maybe he really should check the labels -- most of them are produced in the US!!!!! !!!!

Course the dunce on the donkey isn't too much quicker on the uptake there either. Oh well.

Tell your son Canada appreciates his gift!

• Cub Manuals

Dave:

I think I heard something many years ago:

"Give us your poor, your down-trodden ..... "

Come on up. Up here seniors don't have to choose between medication and food or rent, for the most part. Canada isn't perfect, but we cope.

I still feel though that the two greatest nations on earth are both Canada and the US. For very similar reasons that most of us already know.

I am just glad that I live in this area of the world and not in some of those other rag-tag countries ruled by despots.

Hey, maybe we could send HMO's and Insurance providers there! Then they could really start crying. Poor babies aren't making 3 or 4 figure profit margins, poor things!

By the way, our doctors here make good salaries. Not as much as they could in the States, but they are all making 6 figures which should be enough for anybody.

More than I make -- wayyyyy more. I too am 100% disabled. I get a $256.00/month VA cheque!!!!! whoopee ding!

• Cub Manuals

Dave:

One thing you guys do better than my fellow Canucks is you know about patriotism.

Here, they call ya when they need ya and as soon as they don't need ya anymore they forget entirely about ya! That is one of life's little truths.

It isn't politically correct to like soldiers. So as soon as the need is no longer there, no one want's to help never mind give them a pension that one can live on. If it wasn't for family benefits we would be in big trouble.

Nope, no free licence tags, licences for hunting or fishing, no extra goodies at all. Pay for whatever you need. Even my meds have to be directly for a pensioned condition or they don't pay squat. Soo, needless to say they don't pay anywhere near 1% of my meds.

Oh well, such is life.

I have friends who are US Vets and they make a lot more than I do.. that is for sure and they don't have to pay for any medical stuff at all.
Wish it were the same here.

• Cub Manuals

Thanks for your post. It's great to finally hear the truth from someone who has actually been there. God Bless your son and his comrades for their efforts and sacrifices in order that the rest of us can go on living the way we do.

It's unfortunate that the majority of us are only able to hear what the liberal media wants us to hear. What's even more infuriating is to know that the same liberals who think it's no big deal that a president wears his pants around his ankles, will villify a good man with integrity who has had to make some very hard choices when it comes to our national security.

I remember how I felt the day those towers fell. I also remember the speech President Bush gave while standing next to a rescue worker on a pile of rubble. Through his megaphone he said we would seek out and destroy these terrorists where they live. He has kept his promise.

Freedom is not free. God Bless our soldiers, and God Bless our country.

Sam

I served in Gulf 1 - that was a piece of cake. But it was tough, mostly on our families, because they didn't know where we were, what we were doing, etc. And communication home was mostly restricted to letters (no email then). Anyways, enough about that.

We've known for a while that the Iraquis have picked up arms and joined us rather than opposed us. They know a good thing when they see it. We offer them hope and a chance to have a say in the way things are. A warm meal and a clean bed. Clean water and safe streets. They aren't safe yet, but they will be.

As far as the insurgents go - here is my theory - let them come. I would sooner take care of them all in one place than to go globe trotting looking for them. The more the merrier. We will win this, but it will be long and expensive, with both dollars and personal I regret to say. Fight them there or fight them here. I chose the latter.

You bet, this is the same story I've been hearing from the vast majority of those returning.

Read this article about a doctor (Watertown, SD) returning from Iraq:

• One doctor's year in Iraq

I too have a friend of mine that is full time National Guard that was away from home for 15 months, 12 of them in Iraq. Like others have mentioned here, when he finally started to open up about the experiences, he too said we are doing the right thing. Things are getting better over there, and the general populace of Iraq is glad that we took Sadam out!

Again thank you to all that have served this county with their military service! God bless you, your families, and the USA!!!

"If you cn read this, thank a teacher.

If you can read it in English, thank a vet"

Thanks, Veterans

Bob

You bet! And further, there are two distinct and definite crowds of folks all standing in two very different lines here.

There are those who actually produce and there are those who cannot or will not provide for themselves and they stand there with their hands out wanting to be supported and pampered by the government. These types always make their way in the world by leaching off the labors of others.

Don't have much time for that check-cashing bunch.

Allan

Tim

Me too. What the he!! is going on? I watch that news and just shake my head.

'Course ya know what I think? Those that are a makin' all that noise just have never worn the hat. Most don't ya know; a few good ones take care of the masses.

I think there are lots and lots of folks who think like you & I do and in in about 18 days, they will speak and speak very loudly.

Allan

The liberals warned us we would lose thousands taking Iraq. Since they were wrong on that, they act like rooting out terrorists should be a cake walk.

WHAT IF Gore had been elected? We couldn't have sent them enough money after 9/11 to apologize for making them do it. Look to the Phillipines response and all the beheadings that has caused to see what Sore Loserman and the other liberals would have gotten us into.

If anybody is naive enough to think our homeland security is doing anything but harrassing Americans, think again. The thing that is keeping us safe is going after them HARD in their homes, hiding behind their neighbors' wives and children. They don't have time to think about coming over here.

Maybe I lean toward the conservative line of thinking.

I'm buyin' your coffee this mornin'. :>)

I gotta say the liberals do serve a function, however. The nice thing about the liberals is that hey sure make the sane folks with common sense look good. :>)

Allan

All the old tractors would be in museums and it would be illegal to privately own one, or worse yet, possibly damage it by running it, or, horror at the thought, working it.

Any extras not needed in museums would be recycled to provide steel for developing countries to make weapons with. After all, we would not be making them feel poor and inferior if we gave them the materials to make their own weapons.

If any of you ever bothered to read any books you would find that your hero has never earned an honest dollar in his life, that his Daddy's friends bailed him out of every hole he got into and that every business, including the state of Texas, (And now the USA) went broke right after he left.