DRAINING THE SWAMP IS MESSY!
 
Our home is in a community of 2,000 homes located on the intercoastal in North Carolina.   Everything lives here.   Alligators. Water moccasins.  Rattle snakes  Sea hawks.  Egrets.  Giant blue heron.  Mosquitoes… blood sucking mosquitoes.  We’ve watched from our back porch as dolphins chased sail boats and motor boats up the intercostal and watched the moon rise over the ocean to cast its glow over the inter-coastal.
 
When the community decided to drain the swamp in the center of the community, it was a big deal.  
 
Draining the swamp was messy.   The swamp was about 10 football fields, about 6 feet deep, with lots of creatures living in it.   It was a dangerous swamp.  Not one that you would walk  or swim.   You would not dare sit next to it in the dark of a moonless night.   If not the snakes, then the mosquitoes would eat you alive. 
 
As the water level decreased, the creatures were exposed.   As the water level disappeared, all that was left was 3 feet of yucky black mud and the roots to dying cypress trees.   The fish, snakes, frogs, rats, and birds were all stranded in the yucky mud.  
 
Those creatures of the swamp fought for their lives as the swamp disappeared.   The fish flopped around in the black mud looking for some water for life.   The frogs croaked incessantly all night while their young pollywogs were stranded  lifeless at the top of the black mud.   Snakes slithered in every direction in the black mud in search of food.   The rats that live in hollows all along the water abandoned their nests while the birds that feed off the swamp creatures also abandoned the area.  
 
Finally, the mud dried out.   No more snakes.  No more rats.  No more fish.   No more frogs.  No more mosquitoes.  And no more birds that feed off those creatures of the swamp.  
 
That same thing is happening to the political swamp in America   Trump is draining the swamp.   His picks for his cabinet are all swamp drainers.   Yeah, 3 are from Goldman Sachs.  3 of 23.   Practically all of his cabinet have executive experience (military, or government, or private sector) .. and it is the executive branch, now isn't it?  
 
The mud is becoming visible as all the creatures who live in the swamp are fighting for their lives.   Government employees at the IRS, EPA, and Education are flapping in the mud like dying fish.   The lobbyists are slithering here and there looking for government funds like the snakes in the mud ... especially those who wrote Obamacare.  The liberal media cartel is chirping and croaking  all the time like frogs trying to reverse the draining.   The tax and spend politicians are dying off like the blood sucking mosquitoes.  The political appointees of Obama are fleeing DC for other jobs like the birds who lost their meal tickets.   And the information leakers like Comey and Lynch are looking for new places to nest like the rats that left the swamp.  Soon, all that will remain will be the dying institutions like public education as the dying cypress trees of our society. 
 
Everyone who lived off the swamp is praying for rain.   Election rain so Democrats might win some elections from Republicans since the Democrats suffered such horrible defeats during the 8 years of Obama.   Impeachment rain so the professional politicians can get rid of Trump as the swamp drainer.   Low approval rating rain so the media can claim they were correct about Trump.   Virtual rain, fake rain, so pundits can claim that Trump is not making any progress even though the results say the opposite.  
 
Draining the swamp is messy, muddy.   But the mud will soon dry.   Democrats just lost special elections in Arkansas and Omaha after sinking millions into them.  Democrats might grab an election here or there in places like Georgia where the demographics are changing to black communities, but not without millions and millions of campaign money ... and Democrats cannot afford to do that for all the elections in 2018.  Democrats must defend 23 Senators in 2018 as compared to 10 for Republicans and Democrats must win 25 seats in the US House from Republicans and then win back 900 state legislative seats and 14 governorship's.  If Georgia is an example,  that will cost Democrats hundreds of millions to try. 
 
SCOTUS will be rendering its decisions about Trump executive orders just before the 2018 elections ... and more than likely, SCOTUS will rule against the Obama appointed judges who live in the lower court swamps.  SCOTUS will help Trump.
 
Comey is gone.  Lynch is in trouble.   Clinton is back in trouble. The Clinton Foundation donors are talking.  Clapper and Yates both said that there is no evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russians.
 
Schumer is gasping for rain like one of those stranded fish.  His Republican swamp buddies like McCain will abandon him as he dies … a rat leaving the swamp even though they shared an apartment together.   His Wall Street swamp buddies cannot help him.   The Washington Post and The New York Times and CNN and NBC are all trying to seed the clouds.  But none of it is producing enough rain to help Schumer stop Trump from draining the swamp.  
 
Draining the swamp is loud.  Listen to all the hysterical liberal media cartel who are trying to make it rain in order to save the swamp where they live.   Chanting.  Lies.  Rain dances.   But no real rain is coming.  Only fake rain.   The swamp will soon be dry.    And when it is, then the next task to make America great again
Every once in a while, an email arrives that is soooo good I must share it with all on my email list.  This is one of them well worthy of posting and circulating.
Title:  Draining the Swamp is Messy. May 14, 2017
By Michael Master (author of Save America Now, Rules for Conservatives, The Birth Famine)

Recently there was an amateur art contest in the Netherlands, and people were invited to create a work of art depicting the current era of multiculturalism in Europe a depiction of their experience in the modern melting pot.

This was the winner.

Bar Drinks

A union boss walks into a crowded bar next to the factory and is about
to order himself a drink, when he sees a guy close by wearing a "Make
America Great Again" cap and a TRUMP for President button, and a beer
in front of him.

He does not have to be an Einstein, to know that this guy, is a Republican.

So, he shouts over to the bartender so loudly that everyone can hear,
"Drinks for everyone in here, bartender, but not for the Republican."

Soon after the drinks have been handed out, the Republican gives him a
big smile, waves at him then says, "Thank you!" in an equally loud
voice. This infuriates the union boss.

Later, the union boss once again loudly orders drinks for everyone,
except the Republican. As before, this does not seem to bother the
Republican. He continues to smile, and again yells, "Thank you!"  The
union boss says to himself, "Damn Republican!"

After a while, the union boss once again loudly orders drinks for
everyone, except the Republican.

As before, this STILL doesn't seem to bother the Republican who
continues to smile, and again yells, "Thank you!"

The union boss asks the bartender, "What the hell is the matter, with
that Republican? I have ordered three rounds of drinks for everyone in
the bar but him, and all that silly ass does is smile and thank me. Is
he nuts?"

"Nope," replies the bartender. "He owns the place."

ADVICE TO DEMOCRATS, LIBERALS AND ALL LEFTIES: WHEN THE HORSE DIES; DISMOUNT!

GreatOrators of the Democrat Party - PAST:

"One man with courage makes a majority." ~Andrew Jackson

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

 "The buck stops here." ~ Harry S. Truman

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." ~John F. Kennedy

AND NOW:

Great Orators of the Democrat Party – TODAY:

"It depends what your definition of 'is' is?'’ ~ President William J. Clinton

"Those rumors are false. I believe in the sanctity of marriage." ~ John Edwards

"What difference does it make?" (re: Benghazi) ~ Hillary Clinton

"I invented the Internet." ~Al Gore

"America is, is no longer, uh, what it, uh, could be, uh, what it was once was, uh, and I say to myself, uh, I don't want that future, uh, for my children." ~ Barack Obama

"I have campaigned in all 57 states." ~ Barack Obama (Quoted 2008)

"You don't need God anymore; you have us Democrats." ~Nancy Pelosi (Quoted 2006) (A really, really stupid remark….!!!)

"Paying taxes is voluntary." ~Sen. Harry Reid

"Bill is the greatest husband and father I know. No one is more faithful, true, and honest than he is." ~Hillary Rodham Clinton (Quoted1998)

"You have a business. You didn't build that. Someone else did!" ~ Barack Obama (Quoted 2012)

And the most ridiculous gem of wisdom, from the "Mother Superior Moron":
"We just have to pass the Healthcare Bill to see what's in it." ~ Nancy Pelosi (Quoted March,2010)
(As one Doctor said: "That is also the perfect definition of a stool sample.")

Beyond a doubt, the greatest statement of all was made by Democrat House Speaker Sam Rayburn at the first Congressional session after Ted Kennedy was caught, on camera, having sex with one of his aides on the deck of his yacht.

"Ah see that the good Senatuh from the great state of Massutwoshits has changed his position on off shore drillin”... !

HOW FORTUNATE WE ARE TO HAVE HAD SUCH BRILLIANT MINDS IN CHARGE OF OUR ONCE - GREAT COUNTRY!!

________________________________

A Great Republican:

"Life is tough! It's even tougher when you're stupid.'' ~ John Wayne

Recollecting Charlie Chaplin's 3 Heart Touching Statements:

(1) Nothing is Permanent
  in this World,
  not even our
  Troubles.

(2) I like Walking in
  the Rain, because
  NoBody can see
  my Tears.

(3) The Most Wasted
    Day in Life is the
    Day in which we
    have not Laughed.

LIFE is to Enjoy with
Whatever you have with
You, Keep Smiling...!

If you feel STRESSED,
Give yourself A Break.

Enjoy Some..
Icecream/ Choclates/
Candy/ Cake...

Why...?
B'Coz...

STRESSED
backwards spelling is
DESSERTS...!!
Enjoy...!

Very Beautiful lines
Pls Store it.

ONE Good FRIEND
is equal to ONE
Good Medicine...!
Likewise ONE Good
Group is equal to ONE
Full medical store...!!

Six Best Doctors
in the World....
1.Sunlight,
2.Rest,
3.Exercise,
4.Diet,
5.Self Confidence &
6.Friends.

Maintain them in all
stages of Life and
enjoy healthy life...!

If you see the Moon...
You see the Beauty of
God.....!
If you see the Sun...!
You see the power of
God....
And....
If you see the Mirror,
You see the Best
Creation of GOD...!

So,
Believe in YOURSELF.
We all are Tourists & God is our Travel Agent
Who has already fixed
all our Routes, Reservations
& Destinations
So....
Trust him & Enjoy the
"Trip" called LIFE...!!

Life will never
come Again.!!
Live Today..!

SUBJECT: COLONOSCOPY

ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry was a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.
 
Colonoscopy Journal: I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.
A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis.
Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.
I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy' s office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.
Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.
Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.
The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'
This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point.
Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.
There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.
'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.
'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.
On the subject of Colonoscopies...
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!'
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5. 'You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all:
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'

Breaking News from Newsmax.com

Bill O'Reilly: My Firing Was 'a Hit' by the Far Left

Bill O'Reilly broke his silence Friday in his first interview since being fired by Fox News, saying his dismissal was "a hit" caused by the "destroying voices" of the "far left."

"This was a hit and in the weeks to come we're going to be able to explain some of it," O'Reilly told "The Glenn Beck Radio Program."

Last month, Fox News parted ways with O'Reilly after a series of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior claims leveled against him in recent years. The New York Times had reported that five women received large payments in exchange for not pursuing litigation or speaking about the accusations.

Important: Author Says Bill O’Reilly ‘Murdered in Cold Blood,’ Trump Is Next – More Below!

O'Reilly said Fox was pressured by left-wing activists who came in and threatened sponsors unless they stopped running commercials on the highly-rated "O'Reilly Factor."

He said he and his legal team would soon be naming names of those they believe are behind a plot to get him fired. But he named liberal billionaire businessman George Soros as one of the chief funders against conservative opinion.

"There's going to be an exposition soon but I can't tell you when … I was target No. 1, it's sad for me, it's sad for my family … From now on, when I 'm attacked I'm going to take action, mostly legal action," he said.

O'Reilly said he was returning to the United States from a trip to Rome and the Vatican when he learned he had been dismissed by the Fox News Channel.

"My attorneys told me and we were all shocked … I had 20 good years at FNC. We were caught by surprise, but it's [Fox's] prerogative," he told Beck.

"People know that the left-wing media hates Fox and hates me … but they don't know the extent of it… We're accumulating information and someday it will all be clear."

O'Reilly also attacked the press, saying some media outlets are as "evil as it gets.'' He chastized Beck for believing news reports that he had received a $25 million kiss-off from Fox.

"In American journalism right now, very few are seeking the truth. What they do ... is come up with this scenario and try to reinforce that," he said.

Asked about this week's firing of FBI Director James Comey, O'Reilly said there were several reasons President Donald Trump had acted.

"Trump does not trust James Comey … He doesn't like the fact that Comey is unpredictable [and] … that Comey would not aggressively investigate the leaks that have plagued the Trump administration," O'Reilly said.

But he also criticized the White House for being too "undisciplined" in its day-to-day management.

"The Trump administration always makes mistakes by being undisciplined … The messaging is always the problem … [White House Press Secretary Sean] Spicer's just weak," O'Reilly said.

He said the "straight press, the journalists, the hard news reporters, they now are devoting most of their time to destroying Donald Trump."

"They hate him, by extension anybody who gives Trump a fair play, anybody, is going to be attacked as well … There's this monolithic and very powerful industry that's developed to get Trump out of office," O'Reilly said.

"On the left you get, 'We're going to take him out.' … That's what the New York Times wants to do … This dishonesty in the media is harming this country."

RETARDED GRANDPARENT

After Christmas vacation, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school.
 
One child wrote the following:
 
We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Stayyoung Bay in Florida, where everyone lives in nice little houses, and so they don't have to mow the grass anymore!
 
They ride around on their bicycles and scooters and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now. They do exercises there, but they don't do them very well.
 
There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.
 
At their gate, there is a dollhouse with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out and go cruising in their golf carts!
 
Nobody there cooks; they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night - early birds.
 
Some of the people can't get out past the man in the dollhouse. The ones who do get out bring food back to the wrecked center for potluck.
 
My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday, too.
 
When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the dollhouse. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

PRICELESS!

Remember Slow Food?

'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when
you were growing up?'

'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up, I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'

'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'

'It was a place called 'at Home,'' I explained !

'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down
together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put
on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going
to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about
how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my
childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore Levi’s, never set
foot on a golf course, never traveled out of the country or had a
credit card.
In their later years they had something called a revolving charge
card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears &
Roebuck.
Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because
we never had heard of soccer.

I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow)

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 11.

It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air
at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God;
it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a
locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.

I was 19 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid
off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that,
too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in
the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you
had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't
already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home.  But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered
newspapers--my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost
7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents.  He had to get up at
6 AM every morning.

On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His
favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to
keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed
to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the
movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were
responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity
or violence or most anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may
want to share some of these memories with your children or
grandchildren

Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES from a friend :

My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December)
and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top
was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it
was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make
it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the
end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't
have steam irons. Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?
Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.

Ignition switches on the dashboard.

Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.

Real ice boxes.

Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.

Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.

Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.

Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with table side jukeboxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines on the telephone
8 Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11.. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and
were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were
only 3 channels...[if you were fortunate)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15.S&H green stamps
16. Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packard’s
21. Roller skate keys
22.Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You' re older than dirt!

I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best
parts of my life.

A POEM WORTH READING

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Joe has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Veteran died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Veteran died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Veteran
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Veteran,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?
Or would you want a Veteran
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Veteran,
Who would fight until the end.
He was just a common Veteran,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
 For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Veteran's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY."

Where Eagles Dare: French military using winged warriors to hunt down rogue drones
 
Following incidents of drones flying over the presidential palace and restricted military sites – along with the deadly 2015 Paris terror attacks – the French air force has trained four golden eagles to intercept and destroy the rogue aircraft. 

Aptly named d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis – an homage to Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” – the four birds of prey have been honing their attack skills at the Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France since mid-2016.


“A drone means food for these birds,” Gerald Machoukow, the military base's falconer, told FRANCE 24. “Now they automatically go after them.”

The use of hunting birds – normally falcons and northern goshawks – by militaries around the globe is common practice in the fight to scare other critters away from runways and so cut the risk of accidents during takeoff or landing.

But it wasn’t until 2015 when the Dutch started using bald eagles to intercept drones that other militaries started to see the benefit of these winged warriors.

The French bred the four golden eagles – three males and one female -- using artificial insemination since eagles are a protected species and harvesting wild eggs is strictly forbidden.

They chose the golden eagle because of the birds hooked beak and sharp eyesight. 
 
Also, weighing in around 11 pounds, the birds are in a similar weight class as the drones they’re sent to destroy and clocking in at a top air speed of 50 miles per hour, with the capability of spotting a target from over a mile away, the eagles are deft hunters.

To protect the eagles from drone blades and any explosive device that might be attached the them, the French military designed mittens of leather and Kevlar, an anti-blast material, to protect the bird’s talons.


A golden eagle carries a flying drone away during a military training exercise at Mont-de-Marsan French Air Force base, Southwestern France

February 10, 2017.  REUTERS