Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
The ACLU has nothing on Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi. In a Dec. 11 sermon, Al-Qaradhawi, a Qatari imam described by the Middle East Media Research Institute as "Sunni Islam's most prominent cleric," denounced Christmas:
I could almost ask what kind of society we are living in--Muslim or Christian? What is going on in the shops and on the streets of Doha--all these celebrations of the so-called birth of Jesus, the so-called Christmas? It is as if we are living in a Christian European country! . . .
Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: Celebrating Christmas in Muslim Countries Is Prohibited
We do not even celebrate [the birth] of the Prophet Muhammad, but we celebrate Christmas?! Christmas trees, four or five meters high, are erected in shops, which are owned by families known to be Muslim. What is this?! It means that the nation is abandoning its Muslim identity. Islam wants us to maintain our Islamic uniqueness. . . .
Are the Muslims in Europe and America--and there are millions of them in some countries--able to celebrate Ramadan and the Muslim holidays in the city centers, like some people do in our Arab and Muslim countries and cities, in the Arabian Peninsula? Is this conceivable?! What has happened to this nation?!
In fact, in September America.gov, a U.S. State Department Web site dedicated to "engaging the world," published a report on American Muslims' celebrations of Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan:
The crowds at Atlanta Masjid reflect the region's large and growing Muslim population, now estimated at 75,000. But the fact that Eid fell on a normal Sunday holiday this year increased the numbers, Saddiq points out. After the service, worshippers gathered in native dress and traditional Islamic attire, highlighting the diversity of Atlanta's Muslim-American community. Families came from more than 50 countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
In many respects, American Muslims, whatever their backgrounds, celebrate Eid and the completion of a month of Ramadan fasting--one of the five pillars of Islam--much like the rest of the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. Two weeks later, a Muslim from Nigeria allegedly attempted to transform Christmas into "12/25." You've heard the story by now unless you were vacationing with us, but here's a summary from ABC News: In full by James Taranto in the WSJ
