Yes folks! I am packing my bags as I type!

I will be joining Move America Forward and Free Republic in the These Colors Don't Run/ Gathering of Eagles PRO-TROOP Rally in Washington, DC!

I met up with the caravan here in Atlanta this morning, (see Pictures HERE) at the Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, and will be heading to DC tonight!

I will be attending some special events (including at Walter Reed), and getting interviews all weekend. Be sure to check in here for all the latest!!!! Also be sure to listen in to the Control Congress Radio Show this Saturday (WGKA 920 AM), from 2-3 pm, as I will be doing the show LIVE from the RALLY!

Do any of you remember how magazines and TV shows were pondering over what was the greatest invention of the 20th century? If I remember correctly, I think they finally decided on the paper clip. I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but I believe I have proven them wrong. I left my home in Acworth, GA at 11:30 pm Wednesday night, headed for Washington, DC. I discovered that the truly greatest invention of the 20th century is CRUISE CONTROL. Hands down!

You see, I like to sit with my heels planted firmly underneath the opposite thigh. (Have we started sending folks to re-hab for using the term ‘Indian style’ yet?) I have even mastered the art of sitting this way in a dress for any occasion. (Do NOT attempt this in public; be sure to practice at home. And NEVER try this in a miniskirt- NO ONE is THAT talented) This is just the most comfortable position for me to sit, in fact, I am in this very position as I type. Needless to say, I drove about 75% of the trip this way- thanks to great automotive engineers who invented cruise control. It was a much better drive with this feature, as it allowed me to set my speed, crank up the radio, and “seat dance” my way to DC.

I realized that I was slated to arrive in the DC area smack dab in the middle of morning rush hour traffic, so I stopped off about an hour south of Roanoke, VA to catch about 2 hours of shut-eye. This sounded like a much better way to spend two hours rather than in traffic. As I pulled off the exit, I noticed a Hess gas station with a closed Burger King behind it, and a Flying J truck stop behind the Burger King. I figured sleeping in the Burger King parking lot would allow me to be close enough to lights without being directly in the lights, which would allow for better power napping. Just as I pulled into a spot to park, I looked in front of me and low-and-behold, what did I see? John McCain! (well, not him exactly, but the tour bus he was sleeping in)

I was eager to ask the Senator a few questions. I had them all lined up. “So what makes you think that Congress can shut down the First Amendment and call it “finance reform?” Or “If you are elected to President, will you insist on being paid in pesos?” “Why do you call yourself a Republican? Do you actually know what the GOP claims to stand for? Can you define ‘conservative’ for us?” I quickly ran inside the Flying J desperately searching for any sign of a self-righteous hypocrite, surrounded by servants, as he tried to avoid touching anything inside a business frequented by ‘commoners’. No sign of any such person. I decided against knocking on the bus door at 4:45 am, and risk seeing the immediate response of the 2nd Amendment in full usage. Instead, I just parked my car smack dab in front of the tour bus so as to be assured they couldn’t leave without waking me from my slumber. Yes, I got to sleep next to John McCain. (Yes, I showered extra long once I reached my destination!) I awoke at 6:50 am, and still no sign of life from the bus. I was anxious to get on my way, so I hit the highway to continue my journey.

Stay tuned for more…….

March 17, 2007 was an historic event. You surely would not know this if you are using the Main Stream Media for your information, let alone for a balanced perspective. I will be addressing this fact even further in a future piece on Walter Reed. I will also be writing articles to cover the history leading up to Gathering of Eagles and the silent heroes that dedicate so much of their lives to our country, our military, and their families.

Let me make one thing clear. I whole-heartedly believe that there are people in America who oppose war altogether, and people of all political ideology who are sincerely against the War in Iraq, but are NOT Communist. These are not the people you will find leading these protests.

The media does their very best to portray the members of ANSWER and other communist groups as being peaceful, peace-loving, patriots with a human rights agenda. Listen up folks, these protestors are NOT any of these things. They are anarchists, Marxists, and Communists, who celebrate people like Castro, Che Guevara, and Saddam Hussein. Make no mistake, these people HATE America, all we stand for, and the very foundation of our existence. These people have gathered donations here in America and sent the money to terrorist gangs in Iraq to help fund their bloody attack on our troops. You can go to the websites of these groups and research this information for yourself. You can also visit American and Patriotic blogs and web sites to see the pictures you won't find in the MSM (Main Stream Media).

(Click on the photo for a bigger and better look)

Most of the media did not cover the anarchists covering their faces. NONE of the media covered the flag burning that took place that day, nor did they report on the conspiracy kooks milling about trying to give away their propaganda on how President Bush was the mastermind behind 9/11. They never mentioned the aroma of illegal drugs wafting through the air. I stood right there on media row with them and got a whiff of the stuff myself. I watched these folks try desperately to incite violence by charging into the GOE permitted areas with their Che Guevara flags, and desecrated American flags. I saw first hand how they called out to Gold Star Mothers, telling them that their sons were rapists and murderers. I saw the ones who were literally stumbling around high on drugs.

The people organizing and attending these protests are hard-core anti-American Communists. They are working hand in hand with many members of the Democrats in Congress. Patriotic Democrats shoud be the group speaking the loudest against their members who associate themselves with the behavior, antics, and agenda of groups like ANSWER and Code Pink - much like true pro-lifers spoke out so clearly against the violent criminals who bombed abortion clinics claiming to be pro-life. Sharing a common thought with someone does not mean sharing the same values. I fully believe that one can disagree with the War in Iraq AND be a Patriotic American, although I may question your knowledge and judgement. I do not believe that it is patriotic to seek media attention and go to extreme measures to feed hope to the enemy we face. The way to peace in Iraq, bringing our troops home, and keeping America safe is to allow the troops to finish their mission.

One of the truths you will not see the media cover is that on Saturday, March 17, 2007, the Americans outnumbered the Communists by 3 to 1. I arrived at the Vietnam Memorial Wall at about 8:00 am and there were a good 500 to 600 Americans already there. Total strangers started chipping in to help carry thousands of flags that the Gathering of Eagles/Rolling Thunder/Move America Forward had collected from patriotic Americans across the country who donated these flags for this event. Move America Forward will also be sending these flags to our troops overseas.

I ran into some technical problems with my interviewing equipment that I had in tow for my radio show, so I headed to ‘media row’ (this is basically the gathering area for media vans, etc). For this event, 'media row' was located on Henry Bacon Dr (map of area provided later in this article). I approached one of the media vans and said, “I need help from some friendlies.” We never got the equipment operational, but I had a revealing conversation with them. They pointed out that the turn out was pathetic for the Communists (who had claimed they would show up 100,000 strong), and the GOE obviously had them outnumbered. They were also kind enough to tell me to watch out for the anarchists in red and black. (more on this group and others to be covered in future articles)

This brings up an important point. At the previous Communist rally against our troops, on January 27th in DC, a FOX News van had its windows busted out by these folks, but nary is a word heard about this by any media outlets. If you notice in the first picture above, the police are wearing gas masks. You won’t see this highlighted in the media either. A standing joke among the DC FREEPers is “No Tear Gas Necessary" in our areas, after all, we are conservatives. This tidbit of info, along with the picture above, surely helps to put things into perspective.

Here are some more facts about the events of March 17th in DC. The original plan for the Communist group ANSWER (yes- they are communists, you can do the research yourself- another fact rarely mentioned in the media), was to gather at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, in order to use it as a backdrop in the media coverage for dramatic effect. Above is a map of the area. I have shaded in areas to help show and explain the events leading up to the 17th and the events of the day itself. First notice the circle area. The circle area is the original area permitted and sought out by the Communists. This area is known as Constitution Gardens. Three weeks before March 17th, ANSWER announced that they were switching from the Constitution Gardens to the triangular shaped park off Henry Bacon Dr. on the west side of the Wall. The DC FREEPers were handling the permit for the GOE, and immidiately ammended their permit to hold their rally at Constitution Gardens. This set off a turn of events that would leave the ultimate outcome unresolved until the days before the actual rally. The final decison of the the DC Parks service was to split Constitution Gardens between both groups, because ANSWER insisted that even though their main gathering point would be in the triangular park, they would have 10,000 people gathering at their designated area of Constitution Gardens. Because of ANSWER's intransigence the Eagles were forced to hold their rally in a narrow mud filled swamp. On March 17th not one ANSWER protester showed up to make good their word to the Park service.

Map Legend for March 17, 2007:

GOE presence = white shaded areas
ANSWER main rally point = red shaded areas
ANSWER forsaken area - pink shaded areas
ANSWER march through the gauntlet of Eagles = purple

(The Eagles also lined the bridge across the Potamic River but my technical abilities lack in presenting this in the best light possible)

Keep in mind these folks were planning on 100,000 fellow Commies to show up. Their intent was to use the entire Constitution Gardens area around the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial.

There were many DC area Americans who had already planned to show up on March 17th. These particular Americans were also present- with permits for areas at the National Archives (across from the Navy Memorial) and Upper Senate Park (on Capitol Hill) - at the January 27th Communist rally organized by United for Peace and Justice. Don’t let the name fool you, they are another anti-American gang. Again, the American people don’t know this, because the media purposefully refuse to inform you of these things.

On January 27th, a group of the Communists managed to vandalize the steps of the Capitol. The police were ordered by their political masters in Congress (the Democrats) to avoid arresting these people as much as they could. In fact, they were ordered to fall back and just protect the doors of the Capitol. The authorities were in a tough spot there. They were responsible for maintaining peace and order, but were also instructed to allow these folks to spray paint the Capitol. I surely don’t want to sign up for that gig!

It is important for people to realize that it is a goal of Cindy Sheehag (A well deserved title) and her minions to purposely break the rules in order to be arrested. They salivate for the media coverage of their arrests. I know some of you think I am making baseless accusations, but I assure you- this IS A FACT! They know the media coverage of their arrests will make the international media and this gives them the opportunity to travel to other countries and claim that they live in a “police state” ruled by the iron fist of the Bush “regime.” (I will cover more about this in a future article, including how I gained this information)

The above information is important to know in order to understand how and why the GOE (Gathering of Eagles) was birthed.

How did the Gathering of Eagles start?

In a telephone conversation between COL Harry Riley and me. We were commiserating about the fact that Janie Fonda was going to get another free pass to protest another (more-important) war, and we just agreed to try to do something about it. I called a friend, Kristinn Taylor, in DC, and asked if he would front for us (permitting, PR, etc.), and, when he agreed, Gathering of Eagles was underway. Then a gal in Tulsa, Kit Jarrell, volunteered to become our webmistress, and the GOE website was born. Her buddy, Heidi Thiess, of Houston, who blogs and runs an on-line radio show, came aboard, and we were off to the races.

Back to the map. As I mentioned earlier the media was camped out on Henry Bacon Dr. The white shaded areas are those areas permitted and/or patrolled by GOE (GOE were also gathered across the bridge- not shown in the map- to protect Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial). In the circle area you will notice a strip of non shaded area through the center. The police used temporary metal dividers (the dividers resemble the metal structures you might find in public areas for bike riders to park and lock up there bicycles) here on either side with a 12 foot open space between the two areas.

The Communists all ended up gathering in the red shaded area. If you visit the ANSWER web site, you will see where the Carlos Commie announced their plans to march on Constitution Ave. The original announcement on their web site specifically stated that they planned to meet at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial with ‘Constitution Gardens’ written in parenthesis. The thick black line in the map is Constitution Ave. For any of you nay-sayers, let me point out, if the presently posted claim by the Commies were true, and they did not originally intend to bother The Wall or families visiting the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, how pray-tell did they plan to “march on Constitution Avenue”?

It is plain to see by looking at the map that the GOE was sincere and honest about their true intentions to protect the sacred ground of our Memorials to our fallen heroes. If you take a good look at the map above, you will see how spread out the GOE were. You will also notice the small area in which the Communists gathered. If the main goal and purpose for the GOE had been media coverage, the planners would have not sought to spread their people out so much. While the GOE was hopeful that the media would accurately report on our presence, it was not expected nor the paramount goal.

Once the Communists crossed the bridge, they were supposed to turn to their left and continue on to the Pentagon. This was so clearly understood by ANSWER, GOE, and the police that at the area where the road splits to the left and to the right, there was only one lone officer standing between the GOE on the path to the right. Lo and behold, a group of Communists decided to break away from the plan and headed towards us GOE folks standing at the split to the right. The officer started to get quite nervous, fervently waving them back and informing them to not come any further. One of the Vets called out to the officer, “Do you need any help?” The officer held up his index finger of his right hand, turned his head back to the Vet and yelled, “I’ll tell you in a minute!”

The group ignored the officer and kept marching towards us. The GOE all gathered tightly, shoulder to shoulder, forming our own wall to protect the sacred ground we had come to guard and as they approached from one side we shifted that way; as they tried to move to the other side we shifted that way. The Veterans showed GREAT restraint, quietly keeping their heads down and just shifting side to side when needed and avoiding any chance to ignite violence. Finally, the police on horses came galloping to the scene- pushing back the rush of Communists approaching in the grassy areas, and a motorcade of cycle-mounted authorites came roaring to the scene with lights and sirens blaring to push back the Commies still on the paved streets. They were finally forced to give up, and retreated back to the rest of their anti-American marchers.

Sadly- it has taken over 30 years for the Vietnam Vets to finally be shown the support and honor they deserved all along. As Kristinn Taylor (Co-Leader of the DC Chapter of Free Republic.com) put it, “We didn’t do this for the media. We did it for the Vets, for our troops, and for patriotic Americans who love this country.”

Eagles gathered to protect the Memorials of our fallen heroes. We gathered to show the world that the silent majority will no longer go ignored. We gathered to honor our Vets. We gathered to let our troops in Iraq know that we will NOT ALLOW ANYONE to do to them what our media, John Kerry, and Jane Fonda did to our Vietnam Vets.

This is why Eagles Gathered.

As Kristinn Taylor said on Fox News on the morning of Monday, March 19, 2007……

Don’t believe all the bashing you hear about Walter Reed Army Medical Center. No, I am not condoning the conditions of the rooms in Building 18 described by the media. Not nearly ALL the facts have come out, and quite frankly, I am not sure they ever will. The entire issue has become a media and political frenzy (almost a witch hunt from both sides) instead of a real attempt to fix the problems in the system that lead to the entire situation.

There are plenty of problems with the “socialized” health care system our military Veteran’s are forced to endure. These problems have existed for decades. The system is full of bureaucracy, the chain of command leaves much room for finger pointing, and dealing with Congress to fix anything is skull splittingly painful. Unless of course you break the rules. Media and reporters are strictly forbidden inside- they take the whole right to medical privacy thing very seriously- and rightfully so! Could you imagine if reporters were allowed to wander the halls of hospitals? If you are willing and able to break the rules, you can always find someone disenfranchised and then publish an article intended to trash Republicans, while painting the image that your real agenda is to "support the troops."

Even then, it’s not likely that Congress will actually fix the cause of the problem. Instead they will merely waste a lot of hot air trashing anyone other than their own, holding public hearings to share their “deep concern,” and finally just whipping out a big fat band aid to battle the growing cancer sore. These clowns countinuously practice knee-jerk reactionary politics; always running to a fire, but never bothering to notice the matches in the hands of a two year old.

When reading about the terrible conditions at Walter Reed's Building 18, keep a few things in mind. The residents of Building 18 have a few “perks” not available in other buildings. Some facilities may provide satellite, cable and internet access while others may provide cable and DVD players, etc- or any variance of such commodities. My sources tell me that one of the soldiers complaining was offered other accommodations, but was unwilling to move to another facility because he didn’t want to give up certain perks. Some of his fellow soldiers are quite angry with this guy, but are not able to share with the media, assuming the media would even care to bother with such information.

There is a lot more information I found out during my visit (none of this information was gained inside any Walter Reed facilities), but sharing it would just lead to more problems. For starters, I would be smeared for accusing a soldier of some very unbecoming behavior; and with the “PC police” out there we are not allowed to tell the truth about “victims” (in fact I bank on getting smeared for just sharing this much). Secondly, it would all just be discounted as “rumors” since I am not a professional journalist. Although I could take a few lessons from Rather and Mapes and just claim I received this information from an Hispanic woman in Texas, via kinkos and dare anyone to “prove” I lied, since this seems to be the new journalistic standard.

But I digress.

The third and most significant reason I won’t share is because I very much want and plan to return to Walter Reed (and other military facilities). The highlight of my visit to DC was not the rally on Saturday; it was my visits to Walter Reed on Thursday and Friday when I was able to welcome home, support, and love on our troops. If I don’t respect and adhere to their rules, they won’t allow me to come back. This just goes to prove that I am not cut out to be a reporter (see "the new journalistic standards" above). I hold values that would leave my family and me starving. I learned this lesson about myself 2 years ago when I traveled to La Grange, GA to cover an important story.

There is one very important thing to point out. The medical care for our troops inside Walter Reed is extraordinary. Walter Reed is a place of miracles and life. Walter Reed is responsible for many children not losing their mothers and fathers. The medical care our troops receive at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital is exceptional. The problems (that our media has so courageously uncovered) start once a patient is released. Like any business or household, prioritizing is a necessary tool for optimum effectiveness, success, and growth. The majority of resources are spent treating the patients at Walter Reed in their most critical stages. Once a soldier has healed enough to check out of the hospital, the soldier slips down the list of priorities. There is nothing sadistic or malicious about this, it is just a logical step based on reality.

My point is this; the problem is NOT Walter Reed and the quality of medical care our troops receive there. In fact the real problems and the real sotry lies in the system in place to deal with the living facilities for outpatient care and follow up medical needs once our veterans return home. This is what socialized medicine looks like folks. This is Hillary and gang’s plan for you and your family. Could you imagine having to call or write your Congressman in order to receive adequate health care? Anyone ever heard of the phrase, “It would take an act of Congress?” As if this is not encumber some enough, it’s strange how the media seems to support socialized health care, and yet write about this “scandal” with total blindness to how they are actually proving how socialized medicine is so ineffective.

It is also sickening that so many in DC have known about these problems for years, but neglected to do anything effective to address it. It has been a “pass the buck game” of utter neglect in the halls of Congress until the media was able to find a smoking gun. Instead of the media and politicians focusing on how Congress is responsible for not just enabling but actually creating such problems (Building 18 is a sniffle compared to the real fractures in the system), they are hiding under their desks, and lobbing bombs at those men who have served this country with dignity and honor for most of their lives.