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News
Adoptive family seeks award for bomb dog that went to war
News Published: Wed, June 19, 2013
Ruby and Wade Ridpath with their combat veteran dog, Carlos, who served five years as an explosive-detecting dog in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Ridpaths nominated Carlos for the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards in the military dog category. by Erin Prater erin.prater@gazette.com – “Bring him home.” As Ruby Ridpath typed those words into an [...]
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- Bernie Herpin may face Sen. John Morse in recall, if he gets signatures
- FIRE NOTEBOOK: Reception canceled for Waldo exhibit
- Red flag fire warning for El Paso County, dry conditions all week
- Man in custody after traffic stop
- UPDATES: New areas to open temporarily Wednesday morning to Black Forest fire residents
Life
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s ‘gentlest giraffe’ dies at age 32
Life Published: Tue, June 18, 2013
Courtesy of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo The Gazette – The most recognizable giraffe at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, known for her unique, nearly all-white coloring, died Tuesday morning due to complications of old age. Becky, a 32-year-old reticulated giraffe, had been on a “quality of life watch” for about a year and a half, the [...]
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A&E
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: The dogs who went Hollywood
Arts & Entertainment Published: Tue, June 18, 2013
by t.d. mobley-martinez tracy@coloradosprings.com – I love dogs. And I’m not alone. Which is probably why they have found themselves pictured or portrayed since men began to walk upright. Cave paintings and Egyptian murals. Those “Blue Dog” paintings. Tin Tin’s Snowy, L. Frank Baum’s Toto in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Astro, Scooby Doo and [...]
Sports
Sky Sox use Chris Volstad’s pitching, solid defense to top Tacoma 4-1
Sports Published: Tue, June 18, 2013
by JOE PAISLEY joe.paisley@gazette.com – Colorado Springs starter Chris Volstad got into a rhythm and the Sky Sox defense came up with three big double plays to down Tacoma 4-1 Tuesday night. The first two double plays ended Rainier scoring threats in the second and seventh innings and the final, a line drive grab by [...]
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- Former Rockie Esmil Rogers shuts down former team in 8-3 Toronto victory
- Northern Colorado football camp entry fees given to Red Cross after fire
- Subhead
- KLEE: With limited roster, CSU football must rely on flexibility of coaches
- McBride and Paulsen can’t carry Colorado Springs Sky Sox to victory in 12-7 loss to Las Vegas
Business
New hires, promotions & honors
Business Published: Wed, June 19, 2013
The Gazette – Tom Reiter has been named chief executive officer and president of Rocky Mountain Health Care Services, which provides a continuum of services to people who are elderly, blind, brain injured, disabled or living with diabetes or AIDS. Reiter will start July 1. He has more than 23 years experience in health-care organizations, [...]
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Military
Army show at home base brings a case of nerves for Fort Carson soldier
Military Published: Mon, June 10, 2013
In The Soldier Show, the stars of the show are not only performers, but soldiers. The Soldier Show travels the world to entertain our soldiers and their families. The show came to Ft. Carson on Thursday, May 30, 2013. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette) by erin prater erin.prater@gazette.com – hen the Army’s “Soldier Show” rolled into [...]
Send the Marines
December 20th, 2012, 11:58 am by Seth RichardsonCalifornia Marine stands to and shows us all our duty to our children
By Seth Richardson
For 237 years the soldiers of the United States Marine Corps have been dedicated to protecting each and every one of us from all enemies, foreign and domestic and have honored the Marine Corps motto “Semper Fidelis“, with faithful obedience to their oath.
Few exemplify the “Always Faithful” motto better than Marine Sgt. Craig Pusley of Hughson, Calif, who responded to the horrific and heartbreaking massacre of innocent schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in the very best traditions of the Marine Corps.
Rather than rail against fate, argue over gun policy or wring his hands in helpless fury, Sergeant Pusley put on his desert camouflage Marine uniform and stood to duty at Hughson Elementary School, his orders coming only from his conscience and his oath.
Without a firearm, but hardly helpless, Pusley presented himself to Principal Laura Fong at 0730 Wednesday and offered to stand guard at the entrance of the school, an offer that Principal Fong gladly accepted. After saluting the American flag in kindergarten teacher Annette Diliberto’s class, Pusley spent his seven-hour watch, from 0730 to 1430, vigilantly guarding and greeting children. The Modesto Bee quotes him as saying, “I just want to have a word to this community that I stand between them and any danger.”
And so he does, just as every Marine has done since 10 November, 1775. “I don’t need to be armed to do this. I don’t have a fear in the world that if someone came here I’d have the strength and the ability to protect them,” Pusley said. There is little doubt that he, or any Marine could do just that.
We should all be heartbroken that Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school Psychologist Mary Sherlach did not have the training or the right equipment to take on a heavily-armed deranged murderer when they flew at the killer without a single thought for their own safety and were killed on that terrible day.
Their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of teachers Victoria Leigh Soto, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau, and Rachel D’Avino, who all died trying to protect their students with nothing more than their bodies, along with all the other teachers and staff who responded quickly to the attack by sheltering children and doing everything they could do, must never be forgotten or minimized.
What should be forgotten forever is the name of the rampaging murderer. It should be extirpated from our national memory to deny him the infamy he sought.
The lesson to us all given by Sgt. Pusley and every adult and child at Sandy Hook Elementary School is that someone else is not responsible for the safety of our children, we are. Each and every one of us. We have a duty just as important as Sgt. Pusley’s duty to the honor of the Marine Corps to stand to and sacrifice our own comfort and safety to ensure that no one can attack our children unopposed.
In Israel, volunteers guard schools every single day, carrying firearms and sacrificing their time to keep Islamic terrorists from rampaging through the hallways. Since Israel approved this volunteer effort, armed attacks on schools in Israel have ceased.
It’s time we learn this lesson and take to heart the words of Sgt. Pusley and make them our own. We must all say “I stand between this community and any danger,” and we must stand to and perform, as Sir Robert Peel, founder of the London Metropolitan Police said, “…the duties that are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”
There are not enough police officers or soldiers to man the entryways of every school in the United States. There is only we, the People who can protect our precious children, and that is what we must do.
Update:
New reports in indicate that Craig Pusley may have lied about his service record as a Marine, including his rank, which is unfortunate, but that does not change the value of the act or the important message to all of us, in my opinion.
© 2012 Altnews
Posted in: Commentary | 5 Comments »