"Peralta, a Mexican immigrant who became a US citizen while in the Marines, fell to the ground face-first after being shot... investigation showed he was probably hit by fire from a member of his own unit"
Up for a medal, is he?
"Fewer Medals of Honor awarded" by Kevin Freking, Associated Press | August 2, 2009
WASHINGTON - Eight years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 4,000 US soldiers killed in action. More than 34,000 wounded. Just six considered worthy of America’s highest military award for battlefield valor.
For some veterans and members of Congress, that last number doesn’t add up. They question how so few Medals of Honor - all awarded posthumously - could be bestowed for wars of such magnitude and duration. Pentagon officials say the nature of war has changed. Laser-guided missiles destroy enemy positions without putting soldiers in harm’s way. Insurgents deploy roadside bombs rather than engage in firefights they’re certain to lose.
But those explanations don’t tell the whole story, said Representative Duncan Hunter, a first-term lawmaker who served combat tours as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has sponsored legislation that directs the defense secretary to review current trends in awarding the Medal of Honor to determine what’s behind the low count....
Hunter, a California Republican:
“The basis of warfare is you’ve got to take ground and then you’ve got to hold it. That takes people walking into houses, running up hills, killing bad guys, and then staying there and rebuffing counterattacks. That’s how warfare has always been, no matter how many bombs you drop and how many Predators you have flying around.’’
That's why we are LOSING in AFGHANISTAN and PAKISTAN!!
Sergeant Rafael Peralta of San Diego.... died on Nov. 15, 2004, during fighting in Fallujah, Iraq. The military’s investigation showed he was probably hit by fire from a member of his own unit as they engaged insurgents inside a house.
Witnesses said Peralta, a Mexican immigrant who became a US citizen while in the Marines, fell to the ground face-first after being shot in the crossfire. A fleeing insurgent threw a hand grenade into the room, which bounced off a couch and landed near Peralta’s head.
“Sergeant Peralta grabbed the grenade and pulled it underneath him while we took cover,’’ said an unidentified soldier whose name is blacked out as part of the investigative file the military released publicly.--more--"
More medals....
"Kennedy’s children to accept his Presidential Medal of Freedom
WASHINGTON - Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s children will be at the White House today to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of the 77-year-old senator, who is in Hyannis Port battling a brain tumor and mourning the loss of his sister....
The award citation calls Kennedy “one of the greatest lawmakers - and leaders - of our time,’’ and lauds the veteran senator’s longtime fight for universal healthcare, a goal Obama has made a priority of his young administration....
See: Obama Looks Backward
I figure we are going to get healthcare "reform" about the time Teddy dies (about two months from now; why do you think the globalists are keeping him alive with their life-extension technology?).
Think about it: the Ted Kennedy Memorial Healthcare Act.
Who could vote against a dying man's wish?
The honor follows a series of awards Kennedy has received in the past year, including an honorary degree from Harvard and an honorary knighthood by the queen of England.
Yeah, yeah, we know he's been coopted by the globalists; otherwise, he would have joined his brothers by now.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died yesterday at 88, was also a Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, receiving the award in 1984 from Ronald Reagan. The president will also award the medal to 15 other recipients today, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu, and tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King.
Even Tutu is a TOOL, huh?
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And when it comes to SAVING JOBS?!!!
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. --A New Bedford leather-goods factory raided in 2007 by immigration agents will close its doors by July 31, the company that owns the plant announced Friday.
ATK spokesman Amanda Covington said the factory's 350 employees were notified of the closure Friday. In 2007, federal immigration agents raided the plant and arrested 361 undocumented workers. Immigrant advocates criticized the raid for separating families and leaving children without proper care....
Francesco Insolia, who owned the Michael Bianco Inc. factory at the time of the raid, later was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay a $1 million fine after pleading guilty to knowingly hiring and concealing illegal workers....
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank called the closure "absolute corporate savagery" and said it made ATK "unfit" to continue as a U.S. contractor. "To buy a company sole for the purpose of closing it down, presumably to eliminate a competitor, is irresponsibility of the worst sort," Frank said. "In my view, this makes ATK unfit as a supplier to the U.S. government, and I will make this clear to the appropriate federal agencies."
But using the ILLEGAL LABOR was okay?
Please see: Barney Frank Benefited From State Debts
What a rotten, stinking, scum-s***, huh?
And look at the liberals go to bat for war loot!
Related: Meet Your Antiwar New England Liberals
"Lawmakers call on Army to examine plant closing" by David Abel, Globe Staff | June 9, 2009
The new owner of a New Bedford factory that makes load-bearing vests for the Army has engaged in "egregious" conduct that may violate federal law, asserts a letter sent to Army officials from senior members of the state's congressional delegation.
The lawmakers called on the Army to review its $9 million contract with
"It is devastating to a community when a company buys a productive plant, and subsequently terminates hundreds of hardworking, committed employees during the worst recession since the Great Depression," according to the letter, which was signed by Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and Representative Barney Frank. "When a company whose business plan is dependent on substantial federal contracts behaves this way, it is particularly egregious."
The lawmakers suggested that the company - a large defense contractor based in Minneapolis - may have planned to close the factory as a response to attempts to unionize the plant's workforce, which would violate federal law.
Union of illegals? And why is the Globe ignoring that aspect of the story here?
"We can be justifiably indignant and even surprised when a company assumes it can take taxpayer money, devastate the lives of hundreds in a community, create uncertainty with regard to its ability to deliver on a contract needed to support our troops, and simply assume that future federal contract revenue will continue unabated and without examination for the foreseeable future," the lawmakers wrote.... hardships that a shutdown would cause....
Unless you are a BANK.
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It's amazing to me how the politicians scramble for the illegals but could give a hoot about Americans.
"Scores of low-wage workers from a New Bedford factory that makes Army backpacks gathered for an emotional meeting yesterday with elected officials, clergy, and labor activists to demand that the 350-employee plant not be shuttered.... US agents detained at least 361 illegal immigrants there in March 2007...."
"Workers battling factory closure; Planned shutdown to displace 350 in New Bedford" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | June 21, 2009
Scores of low-wage workers from a New Bedford factory that makes Army backpacks gathered for an emotional meeting yesterday with elected officials, clergy, and labor activists to demand that the 350-employee plant not be shuttered next month as planned.
“I’m scared,’’ said Ana Valle, 41, a single mother of four teenagers who works for Eagle Industries. “Where am I going to go? Where am I going to find a job? There’s no more work in New Bedford.’’
Valle, who makes $9 an hour, urged 100 of her co-workers to fight for their jobs, even though Eagle’s parent company,
A delegation of Eagle employees will travel to Washington Thursday to meet with US Senator John F. Kerry, US Representative Barney Frank, and the staff of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy to press their case. Those officials have written to the Army in defense of the New Bedford factory, the closing of which they have described as “abrupt and unnecessary.’’
In addition to the Washington trip, another delegation of workers is scheduled to visit the US Army Soldier Center in Natick, which awarded the backpack contract three years ago, to tell officials of the hardships that a shutdown would cause.
Brian Cullin, a spokesman for Alliant, confirmed yesterday that plans to close have not changed. The factory has been “underutilized,’’ Cullin said, and closing the plant is necessary to keep Eagle on sound economic footing....
That stance was greeted with scorn by Brian K. Gomes, a councilor at large in New Bedford who attended the meeting. “I call this corporate Monopoly,’’ Gomes said after the gathering. “I believe those jobs are being taken for profit down to Puerto Rico. They came here and used the people of this city.’’
The factory has changed hands three times since a massive raid by US agents detained at least 361 illegal immigrants there in March 2007. The plant, then owned by the Michael Bianco Co., was purchased eight months later by Eagle Industries.
On April 1, Eagle Industries was bought by Alliant Techsystems, a Minnesota-based defense and aerospace company. Less than two months later, on May 31, Alliant announced its plans to close the factory....
On Thursday, the Community Economic Development Center in New Bedford estimated that closing the factory, one of the city’s largest employers, would cost taxpayers more than $4 million in unemployment and health benefits.
For illegals, taxpayers, while you don't get those things. I'm not trying to divide and anger; I'm only pointing out a fact.
“We’re committed to continuing this fight with the workers, and demanding that the Army deny the company permission to move out of New Bedford,’’ said meeting attendee Stephen Wishart, a coordinator with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.
The Eagle workers, many of whom are Hispanic, Cape Verdean, or Portuguese immigrants, are not members of a union....
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