America has long had a fascination with Heroes: cowboys wearing a ten gallon hat and riding a white stallion, a firefighter rescuing someone from a building engulfed in flames, the Sheriff putting dangerous criminals behind bars, the athlete, the underdog overcoming impossible odds, and of course the special kind of person that volunteers to serve our great Country.

Becoming a Soldier is a choice that involves sacrifices. The sacrifice of knowing you may be required to leave your family, loved ones, and the comforts of home on a moments notice. The sacrifice of knowing that the time spent away from your loved one’s can never be reclaimed. The sacrifice of knowing that there is always the possibility that you may not make it back. The choice to become a soldier is never an easy one.

Welcoming our Soldiers home

Soldiers do not enlist because they want to go out and kill, they do so for a myriad of reasons, some do so for a paycheck, some for assistance with college tuition, some because they lack of other viable choices. Every Soldier has their own individual reasons for enlisting, but for most at the root of their decision to enlist, stems a deep and abiding love for their country, and our freedoms. For these Soldiers patriotism isn’t an abstract concept, it is an essential part of their being.

When Soldier swears their oath, they mean every word of it:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

They also recognize that their duty to their oath does not end, just because they have left the service of their nation.

Clarksville Online’s Tim Cash was one of those soldiers….

Tim Cash

Due to circumstances beyond our control neither my family or myself could provide the opportunity for me to attend college right out of high school. The Army offered me a chance to serve, and in exchange they would provide me with the assistance to allow me to attend college. Which I did eventually did, and I am a mere twelve credits from earning my bachelor’s degree.

A sense of duty to our Nation, and my Family turned what was to be a three year tour, into a twenty year career. This was not something I had planned on, but my path in life became clear to my during my fledgling years of service. I, like many who served before me, and who still today, did not make the career choice based upon money.

For most soldiers it is the knowledge that we were (and are) protecting our Families and way of life here in the United States, that drives us to make that difficult choice. We would gladly lay down our lives fighting in a far away land, rather than allowing our enemies bring their fights to our shores. Many of our soldiers have ended up paying that ultimate price, and should be revered by all Americans for the sacrifice they and their families made for us.

Soldiers are not political, they march off to war because they believe that they are doing so in service of a just cause. Our Soldiers service gives us the ability to sleep in peace at night; to wake up in the morning; and to allow us enjoy the freedoms promised under our Constitution, without fear of retribution.

As we honor our Veterans today, please take a moment to say a prayer for all those who have served, are serving, or will soon serve their nation on this hallowed day!

Photo Gallery

Images from the 2009 Veterans Day Parade, that was held in Clarksville, TN

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The stamp in question

Clarksville Tennessee’s Mayor, Johnny Piper has sent an inflammatory anti-Islamic email to employees of the city, encouraging them to boycott a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the stamp in question commemorates the two most important festivals—or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other “Eid mubarak,” the phrase featured in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. “Eid mubarak” translates literally as “blessed festival,” and can be paraphrased as “May your religious holiday be blessed.” This phrase can be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The email in question is the equivalent of a chain letter, which according to the Snopes Urban Legends web site was first seen in 2002. The letter was modified in August 2009 to falsely accuse President Barack Obama of ordering the U.S. Postal Service to issue a 42 cent first class stamp in honor of these Islamic holidays. In fact the stamp was first issued on September 1st 2001, and has been re-release several times since then. Mayor Piper’s email painted everyone of the Islamic faith with the same brush as those who carried out the various terrorist bombings over the years.

Several questions arise regarding the Mayor’s actions in sending this email that must be answered….

• Did the sending of this email by an elected official violate any local, state, or federal laws.
• Did this email violate city policies.
• What action would have been taken under current city personnel policies had another city employee sent the same email.
• Did the sending of this politically oriented email using city computers, on city time, to city email addresses constitute misuse of city computing resources.
• What was the cost to the city in time and resources from this incident, and will the Mayor reimburse the city for these costs.
• How do we prevent this from happening again.

Mayor Piper has since attempted to defend his actions, but they are simply indefensible. Muslims are a integral part of this country. They serve honorably in our armed forces, defending our nation, and our freedoms. No one should be treated like a second class citizens based on their religious beliefs, or the actions of a radical fringe. This incident created by our Mayor  has been an embarrassment for our City, our State, and our Country.

It is time for the City of Clarksville to establish a clear policy of non-discrimination, and to prohibit the City of Clarksville, the municipality’s elected officials, and city employees from engaging in activities or personal conduct which discriminates, or directly encourages discrimination by others on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, age, medical condition, ancestry, marital status,sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran or special disabled veteran. The penalty for the violation of this policy this should be termination for employees; and removal from office for our elected officials, who should be held to a higher, not lower standard of behavior.

Many Montgomery County voters found another mailing from incumbent State Senator Rosalind Kurita assailing the character of her challenger, Clarksville attorney, Tim Barnes. This latest mailing seems to be an extension of her proposed ban on advertising by attorneys who accept DUI cases. That proposed ban was ruled unconstitutional by the State Attorney General as a violation of the State Constitution’s and the U.S. Constitution’s freedom of expression and legal representation guarantees.[Leaf-Chronicle, April 27, 2008: "Kurita's bill looks like politics"]

The new mailing attempts to paint Barnes as specifically tailoring his law practice to represent spouse abusers, drunk drivers and repeat offenders. Mind you, the yellow pages are filled with ads by a myriad of attorneys offering their services for a wide of array of legal situations. Tim Barnes has no exclusive lock over legal representation for anyone needing it. Thus, it would seem the declared ‘three strikes’ of this flyer are invalid. Voters must be vigilant and diligent in reviewing campaign material that ends up in their mailbox.

This media outlet is reminded of a previous refrain by the senator when her ban proposal failed, “I’m a nurse, not an attorney.” Fortunately for her, we are all U.S. citizens with guaranteed rights and protections of the U.S. Constitution and Tennessee State Constitution.

When contacted for a response to this last minute mailing effort, Barnes, who is challenging Senator Kurita for the Senate District 22 seat, would only say, “Either this an intentional attempt to deceive the public or an appalling display of ignorance of our constitutionally protected rights in a criminal proceeding.”

Thursday, August 7th, is the State Primary Election. For any registered voter who has not yet voted, please exercise your franchise, in other words, your right to vote and cast your ballot. Examine the candidates and make an informed decision.

Vote. It’s the “American Citizen” thing to do!

We see no issues with the city purchasing a couple of mobile surveillance camera systems to be used in parks and other areas for which a documented history of problems can be shown, such as at the train station. Clarksville Online believes that both the park rangers and city police department should have their own mobile systems with which to target crime hot spots.

These systems which can run from a few thousand to a over a hundred thousand dollars. The park rangers preferred system has a price tag of $9,600.

The cost of these systems can be more than paid for by their preventing additional acts of wanton destruction.

A citizen review board should be established with the responsibility of setting clear policies to ensure that the city’s fixed and mobile surveillance camera network systems are not being used to infringe on law-abiding individuals’ right to privacy. Such a board should also establish a reasonable policy to ensure that the city can use surveillance when it is warranted, while protecting the constitutional and civil rights of our citizenry. Ultimately, government surveillance should only be used in areas where a pattern of illegal or illicit activity has been reported.

The standard straw-man argument will likely be raised in response: “if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.” We disagree; everyone has an inherent right to privacy, even if the legal system may not always agree.