By Bob Haus

On Sunday, I attended one of the many military “sendoff” ceremonies that took place over the past two weeks in Iowa. It was one of the most emotional experiences of my life.

As you know, Iowa’s Reserve and National Guard units are in the process of the biggest deployment since WWII. In total, over 2,800 soldiers from Iowa and Nebraska have been activated for duty. They have been training in Iowa, Minnesota and Georgia for months. This week, units shipped out to Mississippi for a final month of training, then they will deploy active duty to Afghanistan.

One of the soldiers being deployed is a close friend of mine, Gabriel Haugland. I was first introduced to Gabe by his wife, Carolyn, who worked with me on a presidential campaign. Gabe was in his last year of law school at Drake. Carolyn, also a lawyer, had just found out they were expecting their first child. Anyone who spent several short minutes with Gabe and Carolyn could immediately recognize these were two wonderful people. There is an aura around some couples…and Gabe and Carolyn have an aura that simply beams.

Gabe is a man’s man. He hunts, he fishes, he drives a truck and played baseball for the Hawkeyes. He is a man of deep faith and of even deeper patriotism. He is a man of great pride but amazing humility.  He came from a rock solid Iowa family, and now has his own. It is pretty easy to see why I so quickly valued my friendship with Gabe.

Gabe invited me to come to the Sendoff Ceremony, which was being held for his unit in Shenandoah. I expected the ceremony to be an emotional one, but I was unprepared for what I witnessed. The town was decked out in yellow ribbons. Those entering the high school walked passed the Freedom Riders, each proudly holding an American flag. As the members of the “Wolfpack” marched past (1st Battalion, 168th Infantry), bagpipes played “America the Beautiful”. The eyes of the soldiers showed confidence, strength and emotion for having to leave their loved ones.

After the ceremony was over, the soldiers had time to talk to their families before departing. The orderly gym quickly devolved into a sea of mothers and fathers hugging their sons, wives hugging their husbands, and children clinging to their fathers’ legs. As I waited to talk to Gabe, one of his fellow soldiers was next to me with his young daughter and wife. He had his face literally buried in his daughter’s neck and her stuffed animal. He looked up at his wife, his eyes streaming, and he told her that he was trying “to never forget how beautiful she smells.”

And that’s when I lost all sense of my composure. As I approached Gabe, I went to shake his hand. He grabbed my hand and then wrapped me up in a Class A Bearhug. In the School of Manliness that I attended in New Hampton, Iowa, you learned two unwritten rules: Men Never Cry, and Men Never Tell Other Men ‘I Love You.’

In that bearhug, I violated both of those rules. In fact, I violated the rules a couple of times.

I had every intention of writing a long story about my friend Gabe. I wanted it to be a tribute to him, and how proud I am to call him my friend. And as I started writing, I realized that everything I wanted to write had already been said.

Gabe and Carolyn have a blog post that shares their experiences as a young family going through a deployment. It’s called “Our Army Life”, and please check it out here. Bookmark it, check it closely over the next year. When he can, Gabe will write. When he can’t, Carolyn will write in his absence.

One of Gabe’s last posts prior to departure was entitled “I Need You.” You can read it by clicking here. Once you read it, you will understand Gabe, and the thousands of other soldiers who voluntarily join the Armed Forces, leave their families, and walk into harm’s way for our benefit.

There’s just not much more than can be said, even for me.

Gabe also promised to come home when his work is done and help me coach my son’s Little League team. I can’t wait to throw that first pitch.

Godpeed, Gabe. Trust your training, trust your instincts, and trust your soldiers.

As a person who was not alive during World War II, I cannot remember a time in my life when there has been so much hostility directed at Jews (and Christians), and nobody in the media seems to think much of it.  In fact, a lot of people are coming out in support of it.

On the Jewish front, how many nations have come out backing the whack-job alleged “aid ships” that are carrying God knows what besides food in to Gaza?  Pretty much everybody.

Would we let the Iranians send a ship into Guantanamo with “aid supplies” for the prisoners being held there?  No, of course not.  We have a right to prevent our enemies on our soil from taking “supplies” that will be used against us.  And that is exactly what is happening in Gaza.  These people have picked fights with Israel since its inception, and the Israelis are just supposed to sit there and take it?

No, they have a right to defend themselves and their land.  And yes, it is their land.  If you don’t believe it is their land, I’m sure you are okay with giving Texas back to Mexico, because that would be the same thing.  To the victors go the spoils.  That’s just how it is.  If the Palestinians didn’t want to give up land, they shouldn’t have started wars with Israel giving it an opportunity to claim those areas as needed buffer zones.

And what has our dear president said about this situation?  Not a whole lot.  You know it’s bad when your strongest defender in the administration is Joe “This is a big f—ing deal” Biden.  That doesn’t exactly instill confidence.

Then you’ve got loud mouthed idiots like Helen Thomas telling a Rabbi that the Jews needed to “get the hell out of Palestine.”  At least she got fired for her statements (or, I’m sure she’d tell you “resigned”), but there are lots of other liberal talking head idiots out there on news channels saying the exact same thing.

I’ve even read about some schools in Britain (which has a fast-growing Muslim population) that have stopped teaching about the holocaust for fear of offending or “upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.”

Do I agree with the Jewish people on everything?  No, like for example, the issue of Jesus comes to mind.  But they are our spiritual brothers, and they have suffered more as people than just about any other race or nation on Earth.  We should be on their side.  Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because, if we were attacked, we’d want someone on our side, too.  And that’s not going to be anyone from Palestine.

“THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

-Martin Niemöller

Seven years ago we took an extraordinary vacation with our four sons to France. One of the highlights was a tour of the D-Day beaches with Colonel Oliver Warman, a retired British officer and war historian. Col. Warman majored in modern history and war studies at Oxford, lectured at the Royal Military Staff College, and served as a former military assistant to the British Prime Minister in addition to seeing tours of duty in three wars.

In arranging our trip, a Normandy beaches tour company recommended that since we had rented a minivan for the week, a private guide would cost us less money than tickets for a family of 6 on one of the charter tour buses. We connected with Col. Warman by email before the trip and arranged to meet with him Caen for a day-long adventure of history.

At the time our sons were 10, 12, 13 and 17. To augment their limited understanding of World War II history, we bought the DVD set to the miniseries Band of Brothers and a copy of Saving Private Ryan. The boys took these along with a portable DVD player to watch on the plane and in the car as we drove around the French countryside. Just like on family vacations to the Rockies and the Gulf Coast, the DVD player helped mitigate sibling car fights and the proverbial road trip question “are we there yet?”

By the time we met up with Col. Warman, the boys had watched Saving Private Ryan several times and were more than half-way through Band of Brothers. Col. Warman hopped in the car as co-pilot and gave directions to our first stop, Gold Beach. Deciding Bob was a better name for my husband than Bill, he would chirp, “Straight on, Bob.” The boys relished in their dad’s new name and teasingly still give him driving directions in a mock British accent, “Can you get a move on it, Bob?”

As we drove along, Col. Warman narrated the trip, pointing out landmarks, including the pox marks of mortar and bomb craters along the Normandy coastline, many that had been created by in the weeks leading up to the largest amphibious landing of 160,000 troops in addition to an air assault of 24,000 U.S., United Kingdom and Free French soldiers. He took us through back roads that led through private French farmland near Arromanches-les-Bainsto recalling the history of the Nazi occupation and the Allies invasion. Over the years, Col. Warman has cultivated relationships with the farmers who permit him to take small groups to places along their fields where important battle events took place.

Coll. Warman showed the boys the difference between Gold Beach, where the British came ashore and Omaha Beach where the Nazi’s had great geographical advantage because they were stationed high above the beach. He took the boys to the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach and showed them where the German machine gun nests were located. Later as we stood on Omaha beach, Col. Warman used his cane for a pointer and the beach as a chalk board as he drew a schematic of the assault by the allies. It was a chilly March day and a stiff wind blew across the English Channel, but the boys stood in rapt attention as this elderly war historian made a day of history come alive for them and their parents.

He told us of the sacrifices made by American, Australian, British and Canadian troops 66-years ago today to liberate Europe from the Nazi’s. Our tour ended near sunset at the American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer. We arrived in time to walk the colonnade and watch as an American World War II veteran lowered the flag, a daily ritual whenever an American World War II vet is available. Today, the youngest veterans of this historic event are about 84.

My father fought in the China-Burma-India theater, one uncle served in the Pacific, another as a bombardier who helped make some of those craters in northern France and Belgium in the weeks before the allied, and one uncle, First Lt. Charles A. Eckert, was shot down over Germany a week before D-Day and is buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial outside Metz, France. Walking the hallowed ground of the Normandy battlefields was an unforgettable day, one that makes Memorial Day, the Anniversary of D-Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans’ Day have richer meaning.

We want to teach our kids that the liberties they enjoy have been purchased by people who have made tremendous sacrifices and have lived for causes greater than themselves. I hope the day in Normandy stays with them forever.

(If you are traveling to Europe and want to contact Col. Warman about a private or group tour of Normandy, click here.)

While there is no doubt that Palin broke through the glass ceiling for Republican women on the national stage, she now shares that space with another woman, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann was the guest of honor for Congressman Steve King’s annual Defenders of Freedom banquet on Saturday night. The event drew about 500 people, many of whom were new donors to King’s campaign, organizers told TheIowaRepublican.com.

King reminisced about how, when he was first elected, he came into the majority. Conversely, Bachmann arrived in 2006, the same year that Republican’s lost the majority. In his introduction of Bachmann, King said, “She [Bachmann] came in with a natural instinctive skill. With a deep convention, strong Christian faith, and an understanding of the constitution. You could just see the bright light that is Michele Backmann on the first day she arrived in Washington.”

Bachmann showed in her speech why she is rapidly becoming national figure. Her speech was full of red meat. The audience, who had just feasted on Iowa pork and beef, showed that they left a little room for what Bachmann was serving Saturday night.

Bachmann articulated a clear path for how to rollback Obamacare. She first said that a Republican majority in the House and Senate needed to be elected in November. Second, that new Republican majority has to be committed to defunding the healthcare reform package. The final part of Bachmann’s plan is to make sure that President Obama only has one-term in office.

Bachmann also flexed her muscles on economic issues and tired them directly to our national security. Bachmann said, “In the last 18 months, the federal government has taken ownership or control of one private industry after another.” She mentioned the bank bailout, the insurance industry bailout, the automobile bailout, as well as the take over of the student loan and healthcare industry. Bachmann then said, “If you add all of that up, the federal government either owns or controls 51% of the private economy.”

Bachmann also warned the crowd about the huge amount of debt the country is racking up under President Obama. She said, “If you take the debt accumulated by every president from the first day George Washington was in office through the last day of that big-spending George W. Bush, (who was a big spender, he spent $459 billion in debt his last year, which was his worse year in office), Barak Obama spent more money in debt in one year than was spent by the other 43 Presidents combined.” Bachmann then asked the crowd, “Does that give perspective to how much of a big spender this president is? And how dangerous he is to the future and the present of this economy? That should give us pause.”

Bachmann believes that President Obama’s reckless spending has America on a path of economic failure, which could also impact our national security. She told the crowd that, during World War II, America financed its own debt to fight that war. Now, other countries like China own half of our debt. “We went from being the world’s largest creditor to being the world’s largest debtor. That’s what happened when your main goal is to have a welfare state, and that is what has happened under President Obama,” Bachmann warned.

Unlike Sarah Palin, Bachmann speech was full of facts and figures instead of just clever one-liners. While Palin’s speeches excite any crowd she speaks to, Bachmann’s call to action is much more serious. The crowd in Sioux City on Saturday night was focused like a laser beam on what she had to say, and while there were some good one-liners, there were more gasps and head shaking at the substance of what was being said than anything else. The tone that Bachmann took was a serious one.

There is no doubt that Sarah Palin is a star in the Republican Party, but if Republicans are looking for a female who could be the standard bearer in future years, Michele Bachmann is more prepared for that roll. TheIowaRepublican.com asked Bachmann if she might run for president in 2012, she quickly defused the question by saying that she has a tough re-election campaign in front of her and then said that Congressman King should entertain national office.

While it is politically expedient for her to blow off the idea of a 2012 campaign, if she did run she, would be a force to be reckoned with in the First-in-the-Nation caucuses. Bachmann is as conservative as they come. She would be a natural fit with social conservatives who make up a large voting block in the caucuses. Her close relationship with Congressman King would also be a big help.

Last time, King didn’t get active in the caucus campaigns until just a few months before the caucuses. After seeing the fondness that King and Bachmann share for each other, it’s doubtful that King would stay on the sidelines like he did for most of 2007. Bachmann is also a native Iowan, another bonus if she ever makes a presidential run.

Typically, members of the House are not considered to be serious contenders for the Presidential nomination, but those rules might not apply to Bachmann, who is reaching Palin’s rock star status. The only obstacle she would have to overcome is finding the ability to raise the type of money it would take to run a nationwide campaign.

Ironically, Palin was the keynote speaker for a fundraiser for Bachmann just last week. The event raised $1.5 million for Bachmann’s campaign, but if Bachmann does ever want to run for national office, she will have to be able to raise that type of money on her own.

Still, if you are looking to place your money on a female Republican, the safe bet is on Bachmann. She’s attractive, articulate, smart, dynamic, and undoubtedly conservative. If Palin thinks that she is the only woman that Republican voters have their eyes on, she would be mistaken. Bachmann might be the one to ascend through the glass ceiling that Palin broke through.

In addition to Bachmann and King, a large number of statewide candidates were also in attendance at the event. Bob Vander Plaats and Rod Roberts worked the room. George Eichhorn and Matt Schultz, who are both running for Secretary of State were there, as was Dave Jamision, who is running for State Treasurer. Brenna Findley, the Republican nominee for Attorney General, was the only statewide candidate who was allowed to speak. Findley was formerly King’s Chief of Staff.

“As an Iowan, I am troubled that the federal government is forcing Iowans to purchase health care. This is an infringement upon our own individual freedoms and upon our state sovereignty,” said Jim Gibbons. “I would hope that Governor Chet Culver and Attorney General Tom Miller would join the other 37 states like Nebraska, South Dakota, and Texas that are filing lawsuits against the government’s overreach of the interstate commerce clause,” said Gibbons.

According to some constitutional scholars, forcing individuals to make certain transactions, like requiring citizens to purchase health insurance, goes beyond the limits of the Interstate Commerce Clause. Forcing individuals to purchase a product or service from a particular private firm is unprecedented, according to Georgetown Law Professor, Randy E. Barnett. Barnett said, “Even during World War II, the federal government did not mandate that individual citizens purchase war bonds.” While states do regulate the purchase of auto insurance, citizens are given the freedom to choose from numerous different firms or choose to not participate at all if they do not operate a vehicle.

Gibbons added, “I am encouraged that some states have the ability to stand up and fight against an out-of-control federal government. Leonard Boswell should have fought to protect Iowa from this type of government oppression. Instead, Boswell joined his liberal colleagues in Washington to tax and control Iowans. I am running for Congress to bring common-sense values back to Washington and fight for working Iowa families.”

Read more about the Jim Gibbons for Congress campaign at: www.GibbonsforCongress.com.

Winston Churchill once said, “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

If you take the two minutes to watch the adjacent embedded YouTube link you will catch some of the solemn spirit that was in the room that night. With an emphasis on World War II the audience heard heartfelt stories from Iowa veterans.  For some stories it was the first time they ever were shared due to the horrific nature of the memory.  This type of initiate story telling intoxicated the room with a patriotic spirit of both pride and mourning.

While having my boys shake the hands of many veterans was a highlight, the most memorable moment for me occurred when a former European resident, now silver-haired women took the microphone from her seat and thanked the veterans for saving her life.

Tamara Scott, State Director for CWA of Iowa, says, “In Iowa we are so thankful that we have individuals who understand that there are evils far greater than war. And unfortunately sometimes it takes war to stop them. We are grateful for our men and women, our sons and daughters, and our brothers and sisters who have offered themselves in the most sacrificial way to protect us from those who would destroy us.”

“We take time to remember the fallen, we honor those who have served, and we take time to support and encourage those who have family members serving now,” Scott recalls about the occasion. “We will display photos, honor family members, and hear stories that have never been told before. The sacrifice is not just being made by the soldier across the sea; it is also being made by the family who has trusted their beloved into the hand of God.”

Montage Fusion Film by Dave Davidson

The following post was written by State Rep. Jodi Tymeson and sent out on Veteran’s Day… Pass it on! – Dave

Dear Friends,

Today is a sacred day for our nation.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson established November 11 as Armistice Day because World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. As momentous as that day was, it has taken on even more meaning over the years. In 1921, on November 11, an American soldier known but to God was buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Armistice Day was officially named by Congress in 1926 and became a legal national holiday in 1938.

Unfortunately, World War I was not the war to end all wars. We endured World War II and Korea, and in 1954, Congress changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. With the new name, the observance was given broader scope: To honor all American veterans, living and dead, in whatever war or period of peace they served. Today we honor all veterans for their service in the military in the defense of freedom.

You might think the American military began when America became a country. But the Massachusetts militia (the early National Guard) began mustering in 1636. These were farmers, hunters, shopkeepers who banded together to protect their families.  It wasn’t until 1775 on Lexington Green when Captain Jonas Parker and 75 armed minutemen stood up to more than 600 British regulars. As the British raised their weapons, Captain Parker ordered, “Don’t fire unless you are fired on, but if they want a war, let it begin here.”

Those first colonial fighters who died in Lexington sacrificed their lives for the idea they could form their own country. We owe them all our gratitude and we honor them today.

Today we honor veterans like those who fought in the Civil War. Iowans like Private George Healey of Company E, 5th Iowa Cavalry who was awarded America’s highest military honor, The Medal of Honor, presented to individuals for exceptional valor, in recognition of their individual acts of courage.  Private Healey was from Dubuque.

We honor veterans like those who fought at the Battle of the Bulge during WWII and at Chosin Reservoir during the Korean Conflict.

We honor veterans like Colonel George Day, an Air Force officer and F-100 pilot from Sioux City, Iowa who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Vietnam War. Despite being shot down, seriously injured and tortured cruelly, Colonel Day offered maximum resistance and his bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy.

Today we honor veterans like Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal, whose hometown is Afton, Iowa. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery under fire.  SGM Kasal was attempting to rescue Marines in Fallujah, Iraq when the enemy threw a grenade at them. Kasal rolled on top of a fellow Marine to absorb the shrapnel with his own body. SGM Kasal was shot seven times, wounded by 40 pieces of shrapnel and lost 60 percent of his blood. He refused medical attention until all of the other Marines had been treated. I had the honor of meeting SGM Kasal recently when he was back in Iowa.  There is not doubt how much he loves our country and his fellow Marines.

We should all be truly inspired by these heroes. They have and continue today to defend our freedom.

Many of us have long family histories of military service.  From time to time on the campaign trail, Bob has shared the compelling story of his late dad John’s service in some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during World War II. I am also blessed to come from a family of veterans. My grandfather, father, husband, and brother all served or are currently serving in the military. My grandfather was an infantry soldier in the trenches of WWI. My husband flew a medivac helicopter in Vietnam. I recently retired as a brigadier general in the Iowa National Guard.

On behalf of Bob and the entire Vander Plaats campaign team – including state co-chair Dick Johnson, who himself has had a long, distinguished career in the Iowa National Guard – I say thank you to all our veterans.  And we thank their family members, too, because they also make many sacrifices. We know they are the heroes at home who wait nervously and patiently until their loved ones return.

While today is a special day, we can honor our veterans every day by doing a few simple things:

Proudly fly the flag of the United States.  Stand and put your hand over your heart when the flag is marched by. Never desecrate the flag. Flying the flag shows respect to our veterans as it is our symbol of freedom.

• Proudly sing our national anthem with your hand over your heart.
• Proudly say our Pledge of Allegiance.
• Support the troops with a yard sign, a yellow ribbon, or attend a troop support rally.
• Send a note to a hospitalized veteran.
• Send a note to a veteran in a veterans home.
• Help a local veterans organization with one of their projects.
• Donate blood.
• Listen to a veteran tell their story.

Take time to say thank you to a veteran – it will mean more to them than a medal or ribbon.

We’ve all been inspired by past generations of veterans and today’s new generation of veterans – those returning today from fighting the global war on terrorism. It’s impossible to say which generation is the greatest because they have each done what was asked of them – they defended our freedom.

May you always remember that you live in freedom today because of the service and sacrifice of veterans willing to fight for freedom, willing to die for freedom. May you always cherish your freedom and never take it for granted. May God bless our men and women serving in harm’s way around the world today.

Jodi Tymeson
State Chair

photo by Dave Davidson