military deaths per year

I found some interesting statistics the other day. Below is a list of deaths per year in our Military. My heart goes out to all of the families that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Thanks to the poster for revealing a pasting error. The figures come from page 10.

1980-2,392.....1981-2,380.....1982-2,319.....1983-2,465
1984-1,999.....1985-2,252.....1986-1,984.....1987-1,983
1988-1,819.....1989-1,636.....1990-1,507.....1991-1,787
1992-1,293.....1993-1,213.....1994-1,075.....1995-1,040
1996-974.......1997-817.......1998-827.......1999-796
2000-758.......2001-891.......2002-999.......2003-1,228
2004-1,874.....2005-1,942.....2006-1,858


You may initially feel confused when you look at these figures --especially when you see that in 1980, during the term of President Jimmy Carter, there were 2,392 US military fatalities. What this clearly indicates is that our media and our liberal politicians pick and choose and tend to present only those facts that support their agenda driven reporting. Another fact our left media and politicians like to slant is that these brave men and women losing their lives are minorities. Wrong again - Iraqi Freedom Fatalities over March 2003-June 2007 appear similar to our population breakdown. Regardless of how we crunch these numbers, we must remember that these figures represent the life of a son or daughter that gave up our their life for our freedom. (from page 22):
American Indian or Alaska Native...........259......1.00%
Asian......................................227......0.88%
African American........................2,1108........17%
Hispanic or Latino.......................1,682......6.51%
Multiple races, pending, or unknown......2,377......9.20%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander........146......0.57%
White...................................18,919.....73.24%
Total 25,830

These statistics are published by DOD

Government's stomach needs to be stapled!

As you probably know, the state took in 1.5 billion extra bucks this year. We missed the perfect opportunity to be responsible with the extra cash, yet the beast of unquenchable thirst for gratuitous spending won the fight and government was fattened again. Since Sen. Glenn McConnell recognizes the need for constitutional restraint, I’ve been appointed to a subcommittee that will tackle his bill. We’ll meet on October 24 at 1pm in Gressette 105. I understand we’ll take these meetings around the state to listen to the frustrated taxpayers.

McConnell writes in an op-ed:
…There will always be more needs than revenue no matter what the economic times and the amount of available new funds. Government must, therefore, temper its conduct to spend so that, over the highs and lows in revenue forecasts, the necessary revenue will be there to fund essential needs without pressure for new taxes. When government is flush with money, the spending goes up to fund many new initiatives — some good, some questionable, and some not good. In other words, projects get funded not so much out of merit but merely because the money was available. Some one-time expenditures also occur the same way.

In the face of a bountiful taxpayer buffet, government cannot control its appetite so its stomach must be stapled. At stake is the need to at least control the rate of growth in the recurring base. Thusly, I have introduced a constitutional amendment to cap the rate of spending of state government. Government would be limited to growth at an amount that would not exceed the rate of population growth plus the growth in personal income. Basically, government should not grow any bigger than it needs to be or any faster than people's ability to pay for it…to read the full article

BTW, the above picture is not my belly, not yet.

i don't believe in atheists do you?

World Magazine-Gene Edward Veith: Not so bright
If atheists think they are bright while the rest of us are stupid, their opinion will probably alienate the public more than their views on God.
Atheists are coming out of the closet. Today, some 5 million Americans claim to be atheists. Throw in agnostics and you have 20 million. Five books making the case for atheism have become bestsellers. The 9/11 attacks have sparked a backlash against "fundamentalism" of every sort, painting conservative Christians with the same brush as Islamofascists. Atheists would seem to be poised for growth, but they have a public-relations problem.

A University of Minnesota poll last year found that atheists were America's most distrusted group. According to a recent Newsweek poll, 62 percent of Americans would refuse to vote for an atheist running for president.

As a result, atheists allege a whole host of slights, hostility, and civil-rights violations. And so many atheists are trying to do what homosexuals did when they pulled off one of the biggest public-relations coups in history, in part by rebranding themselves as "gay." Atheists are calling themselves "brights."

why are they always picking on me?

The local Democrat Party is at it again. I'll admit, they do a great job in creating their newsletters, but for the second time they single me out along with our great Congressman. On page 2, it says: ...we need candidates for many different offices. In particular, we need someone to run against Gresham Barrett in the Third Congressional District and someone to run against Kevin Bryant in the SC Senate race...

who's your candidate for prez?

Here's a pretty cool candidate picker for president. By the wording of the questions, I think a liberal put this test together. What do you think?

To take the test

McConnell: Immigration Constitution Convention

COLUMBIA — Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell is calling for a national constitutional convention that would give states the right to deny benefits to illegal immigrants and have them forced out of the country.

It is an unprecedented move that would first require approval by the S.C. Legislature, then 33 other states would have to sign on, and 38 would be needed to approve a constitutional amendment.

"I don't know where else to go," McConnell, R-Charleston, said Thursday. "It's really an act of frustration. The state is bearing the burden because of the power failure in Washington.

"The constitutional amendment would say that if Congress continues to refuse to act, then states would have the ability to act in order to protect themselves and their pocketbooks."

Read to full article: Post & Courier

Speaking during a recent news conference at the National Press Club, a past economic advisor to former California Governor Pete Wilson says the five million illegal aliens living in California are having a devastating fiscal impact on the state. Dr. Philip Romero, a professor of business administration at the University of Oregon, found that for every dollar an illegal alien in California pays in taxes, they are absorbing $8 to $12 in taxpayer-funded services.
"When you multiply that per immigrant number by the number of illegal immigrants -- which as I said has tripled at least in the last dozen years -- you get numbers on the order $10 to $40 billion costs to state taxpayers," stated Romero. "To put that in [a] national perspective, if you did that same estimate at the national level, you'd probably be talking between $100 and $150 billion."
According to Romero, the current federal deficit is "on the same order of magnitude."
The economist also estimates that one out of every seven Californians is an illegal alien with an average skill level of only three years of education. He says this "underground" population consumes about 20 percent of the entire state budget.
"So as a result, through three main programs -- through healthcare for the indigent, Medicaid; through education; and through the criminal justice system -- [state taxpayers] are paying very substantially more for the services provided to those immigrants than the taxes the immigrants pay," he explains.
Romero is one of four contributors to a new report titled, "The Illegal Population Explosion." The report estimates that between 20 and 38 million illegal aliens are currently residing in the U.S.

Pendleton gets a new bridge Central Rd (SC 140) over 18 mile creek

The South Carolina Department of Transportation plans to replace a bridge over 18 mile creek on SC 140 (Central Road)/S-93 (Nettles Road). The bidding process began in September with construction to follow in early 2008.

congratulations Massey!

Congratulations to Shane Massey in his resounding win in Aiken for SC Senate in the Republican Primary. Now let's not count our chickens before they hatch, he's got to win the General election, but I wonder if he'll join us in the William Wallace Caucus? The "Shake up Columbia" message may get disemboweled on the Senate Floor, which would qualify.

to read the article in the Aiken Standard