The true story of American WWII heroes, The Doolittle Raiders:

It's the cup of brandy that no one wants to drink.         On Tuesday, in Fort Walton Beach , Florida , the surviving Doolittle Raiders gathered publicly for the last time.         They once were among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States . There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history. The mere mention of their unit's name, in those years, would bring tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.         Now only four survive.         After Japan 's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor , with the United States reeling and wounded, something dramatic was needed to turn the war effort around.         Even though there were no friendly airfields close enough to Japan for the United States to launch a retaliation, a daring plan was devised. Sixteen B-25s were modified so that they could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. This had never before been tried -- sending such big, heavy bombers from a carrier.         The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier. They would have to hit Japan and then hope to make it to China for a safe landing.         But on the day of the raid, the Japanese military caught wind of the plan. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety.         And those men went anyway.         They bombed Tokyo , and then flew as far as they could. Four planes crash-landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three of the Raiders died. Eight more were captured; three were executed. Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it to Russia .         The Doolittle Raid sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And, no matter what it takes, we will win.         Of the 80 Raiders, 62 survived the war. They were celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a motion picture based on the raid; "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, was a patriotic and emotional box-office hit, and the phrase became part of the national lexicon. In the movie-theater previews for the film, MGM proclaimed that it was presenting the story "with supreme pride."         Beginning in 1946, the surviving Raiders have held a reunion each April, to commemorate the mission. The reunion is in a different city each year. In 1959, the city of Tucson , Arizona , as a gesture of respect and gratitude, presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of 80 silver goblets. Each goblet was engraved with the name of a Raider.         Every year, a wooden display case bearing all 80 goblets is transported to the reunion city. Each time a Raider passes away, his goblet is turned upside down in the case at the next reunion, as his old friends bear solemn witness.         Also in the wooden case is a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Very Special cognac. The year is not happenstance: 1896 was when Jimmy Doolittle was born.         There has always been a plan: When there are only two surviving Raiders, they would open the bottle, at last drink from it, and toast their comrades who preceded them in death.         As 2013 began, there were five living Raiders; then, in February, Tom Griffin passed away at age 96.         What a man he was. After bailing out of his plane over a mountainous Chinese forest after the Tokyo raid, he became ill with malaria, and almost died. When he recovered, he was sent to Europe to fly more combat missions. He was shot down, captured, and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of war camp.         The selflessness of these men, the sheer guts ... there was a passage in the Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Mr. Griffin that, on the surface, had nothing to do with the war, but that emblematizes the depth of his sense of duty and devotion:         "When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day. He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night, he washed and ironed her clothes. Then he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her death in 2005."         So now, out of the original 80, only four Raiders remain: Dick Cole (Doolittle's co-pilot on the Tokyo raid), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher. All are in their 90s. They have decided that there are too few of them for the public reunions to continue.         The events in Fort Walton Beach this week will mark the end. It has come full circle; Florida 's nearby Eglin Field was where the Raiders trained in secrecy for the Tokyo mission. The town is planning to do all it can to honor the men: a six-day celebration of their valor, including luncheons, a dinner and a parade.         Do the men ever wonder if those of us for whom they helped save the country have tended to it in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice? They don't talk about that, at least not around other people. But if you find yourself near Fort Walton Beach this week, and if you should encounter any of the Raiders, you might want to offer them a word of thanks. I can tell you from firsthand observation that they appreciate hearing that they are remembered.         The men have decided that after this final public reunion they will wait until a later date -- some time this year -- to get together once more, informally and in absolute privacy. That is when they will open the bottle of brandy. The years are flowing by too swiftly now; they are not going to wait until there are only two of them.         They will fill the four remaining upturned goblets.         And raise them in a toast to those who are gone.         PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO WERE TOO YOUNG TO KNOW ABOUT THESE GUYS. THIS SHOULD BE READ BY EVERY KID IN GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL SO THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

OSU Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&vq=medium#t=19*

Thank you, Oklahoma

I hope 100 million watch this! Oklahoma State University is located at Stillwater, Oklahoma. This is without a doubt the best video that has come out and apparently 6 million others agree because there have been 6 million hits in 4 days.
Please watch it again and again and send it on to others. I believe the pendulum has started to swing so let's keep it going.  This is very well done.

OUR THANKS GOES OUT TO THE GREAT OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, FOR THIS OUTSTANDING JOB.

Conversation on Racism

Finally, someone in the media calls it for what it is  http://www.billoreilly.com/video?chartID=556 

What has Obama done for YOU in the last 5 years ..

The White House more or less admitted it has “has largely taken its eye off the ball,” and that President Obama will have to “make yet another pivot back” to jobs in a speech this Wednesday (he’s done this several times before). 

When he does, we wonder if he’ll address the mess his policies have created … Five years into the Obama presidency, economic “growth is slowing, and there still aren’t nearly enough new jobs to employ the almost 12 million people seeking work,” says the Washington Post. 

The Obama administration predicted the ‘stimulus’ would lower the unemployment rate to five percent by 2013. Instead, it’s 7.6 percent. And “America is well on its way to becoming a nation of part-timers and full-time temps,” reports the Daily Beast, who says we’re mired in an “economic dystopia.” 

The “share of Americans who work part-time for economic reasons, meaning they can’t find full-time jobs or because their hours have been cut, is 78 percent higher than in December 2007, when the 18-month recession began,” says Bloomberg News – some economists say ObamaCare “exacerbates the trend,” making it harder for small businesses to hire. 

Democrats claimed ObamaCare would lower health care costs (it’s even in the official name – “Affordable Care Act”). Instead, “[t]he law’s heavy-handed approach to the health insurance market massively drives up premiums for the average person,” says Forbes. A report from the nation’s largest insurers says premiums are going to skyrocket. A person buying an individual policy in Ohio, for example, will pay an average of nearly $200 more – every month. 

And while “gas prices soar nationwide,” the president continues to block popular projects like the Keystone XL pipeline and lock-up America’s energy resources. AAA says “[m]otorists shouldn't expect gasoline prices to ever fall below $3 again.” Slow economic growth and rising prices are part of the “new normal” Americans struggle with under President Obama, says Speaker John Boehner. 

The Republican Plan for Economic Growth & Jobs is designed to address these challenges by strengthening our economy and making life work for everyone. Read more at gop.gov/jobs, and stay tuned for more information on the president’s speech this week. - See more at: http://www.speaker.gov/general/five-years-obama-presidency-slow-economic-growth-rising-prices-newnormal#sthash.qDNhLv0N.dpuf 

See more at http://www.bing-vs-google.com/?q=boehner

What has the Lake Ashton Leadership actually done for its Residents? Part 2

To All Lake Ashton Residents:

There is a forthcoming CDD meeting (will be held Friday, July 12 at 9 am in the Ballroom) to discuss the deteriorating roads of our community.  

For those residents who have recently moved to the LA community and for the long time residents, I encourage your attention to the the following link  http://lakeashtontherestofthestory.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html where the road way problem was addressed.

In summary:  Past and current CDD leadership have misled both  this community but also the lawyers 'we' paid to represent us, the Residents, interests regarding this issue.

In the referenced posting, Jack and Brenda Van Sickle, Jake Eaton, Paul and Carol Pontious, Margot and Keith Stevens, Carol Hanson, Jackie Perez, Frank Ota, David Ross, Murray Zacharia, Steve Mattox, Jim Moyer, Jo Ann and John De Winkler, Sonny Robinson,  Jeffery Salvin - ALL of these people have intentionally lied to this community and to the lawyers hired to protect our, the residents, interests, by not informing the lawyers of the full scope and magnitude of the life long, multi-million dollar road repair issue facing this community.

Why would these residents who have held or hold elected office would lie about this issue is anyone's guess, but the facts are the facts.  Either these 'leaders' are incompetent  or that they are invested with the Developer.  Maxwell (the developer) had sold to many in this community, via Robert Ference (a Lake Ashton resident) company, an investment based upon Maxwell's financial holdings, of which many of the aforementioned people, have or are invested.  In short, these 'leaders' have been protecting their OWN financial interests at the expense of the financial interests of the Residents.  

Since 2006, The Lake Ashton AdHoc Committee, has attempted to educate all Lake Ashton Residents about this issue and the financial impact, both to the future value of our property and direct impact to our wallets each and every year.

The Carpetbaggers have worked very hard via the Lake Ashton Coconut Telegraph, (word of mouth) to demonize anyone who challenges their views on this or any issue.  

It is time for all Residents to do their own due dillegence regarding this issue.  GET the facts and do not rely on what someone tells you to be the facts.  The failing road issue will NOT go away just because 'we' do not like the issue -- sticking our heads in the sand clearly isn't solving this issue.

on 22 May 2011, below is what was posted regarding what these 'leaders' did regarding this issue: 

What these ‘leaders’ have said / done	What these ‘leaders’ are saying / doing now
Regarding the Lake Ashton Roadways:	Regarding the Lake Ashton Roadways:
·        There is NOTHING wrong with our roads	·        Less than a year after wasting $78,000 dollars by not following through with law suit and failure to inform the Lawyers that Lake Ashton faces a multi-million dollar life long road repair problem, NOW suddenly our ‘leaders” recognize that Lake Ashtonroadways are failing
·        Lied to the Residents by misrepresenting the truth and the extent of the problem	·        Refuses to file a law suit against the FOUR companies (3 of which are still in business) , that were responsible in the building our defective roadways
·        Resisted and fought against obtaining  engineering assessments regarding the statues of our roadways	·        INSTEAD of holding those who built these defective roadways accountable. are making plans that will cost the Residents hundreds of thousands of dollars to attempt to repair our failing roads
·        Wasted $78,000 of residents money by NOT informing lawyers that there was a lifelong, multi-Million road repair problem	·        That is right – these ‘leaders’ much rather reach into YOUR pocket to pay for the life long road repair problems vice having those who built these defect roads held accountable and pay for these repairs
·        All of their votes and actions to date, have been in favor of the Developer and at the expense and determent to all the Residents
·        Continue to Refuse to file a law suit against the FOUR companies (3 of which are still in business) , that were responsible in the building our defective roadways

Six months after our 'leaders' mis-led the law firm hired to address the failing roadways, the CDD spent $500,000 in effort to 'repair' part of the failing roadways.  Now, less than a year since this 'repair' the very same road sections are failing once again.  The CDD had contacted several road construction companies and ALL have refused to do future repairs since, per their expert opinion, is that the roadways installed in Lake Ashton were improperly installed (roads do not have the required base) and as a result, these companies do not want to be held liable for what amounts to only a short term cosmetic 'repair'.  

Submitted by the Lake Ashton AdHoc Committee 

WARNING: IF YOU TAKE PHOTOS WITH YOUR PHONE

IF YOU TAKE PHOTOS WITH YOUR PHONE

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY "Warning" If you, your kids or grand kids take pics from your phone---WATCH THIS! This is truly alarming - please take the time to watch. At the end they'll tell you how to set your phone so you don't run this risk! PLEASE PASS THIS INFO TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO TAKES PICTURES WITH THEIR CELL OR SMART PHONE AND POSTS THEM ONLINE. I want every one of you to watch this and then be sure to share with all your family and friends. It's REALLY important info, about what your posting things on your cell phones can do TO YOU!!! Too much technology out there these days so beware...........PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH THIS VIDEO, AND TAKE THE RECOMMENDED PRECAUTIONS. If you have children or grandchildren you NEED to watch this. I had no idea this could happen from taking pictures on the blackberry or cell phone. It's scary. THANK YOU for deleting my address, any other addresses, and personal information, from this E-mail, if you plan to forward it.   THANK YOU also for using "Bcc" instead of "To " and "Cc " when initiating both individual and group e-mails. Erasing the history helps prevent Spammers and Hackers from obtaining/mining addresses, thus the proliferation of spam, and prevents viruses from being propagated.

The Truth about Fat Burning Foods

VERY interesting ... clearly WE all need to do our OWN due diligence when it comes to our health


http://truthaboutfatburningfoods.com/special/truth.php