OK, maybe it’s just me. But it seems like there is one really obvious question still unanswered in this whole “TB Andy” case. Why is it that Andrew Speaker, now commonly referred to as “TB Andy” was so urgently attempting to return to the United States for treatment of his tuberculosis?

I was under the distinct impression (thank you, Michael Moore…thank you, Hillary) that the state of health care in the United States was nothing short of dismal. I mean come on…TB Andy’s route back into the U.S. even took him through Canada, the health care utopia of liberals. Why not just stop there?

Am I the only one who has thought of this question? Liberals would have us believe that almost anywhere would be a better place to go for health care than their own country. Yet when faced with such a serious illness as tuberculosis, all Andrew Speaker wanted to do was get back to the United States for treatment.

During his interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Speaker said he feared he would die in Europe. “Before I left, it was made clear to me in order to fight this I had one shot and that was here (Denver)." All of Europe has publicly sponsored health care, as does Canada. Why would Speaker bypass all of these health care systems, which are often pointed to by liberals as examples which we in the U.S. should strive to emulate? His life on the line, Andrew Speaker took a pass on any opportunity to be treated in one of these so-called superior health care systems and made returning to the United States for his medical care his singular goal.

How can this be? Does anyone have Michael Moore’s phone number? I’m going to need his help on this one…

This weekend we kick off the summer season...beaches and amusement parks, children splashing in lawn sprinklers, backyard barbecues with melty ice cream cones and drippy watermelon.  Enjoy it.  I will.  To do less would be a disservice to those who served and died so that we could do so in peace.  So I say that this weekend IS about the barbecues and all those fun things we do on Memorial Day and all summer long.

This year on Memorial Day I will remember CPT Daniel Graybeal, US Army.  Danny Graybeal was the pilot of an Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter which was shot down on a medevac mission on February 27th, 1991.  Five hours before the cease-fire which ended the war.  Danny and I were classmates in the ROTC program at East Tennessee State University, and trained together in the Eddie Reed Ranger Company at the university.  (sidenote: the Eddie Reed Ranger Company was so named in honor of CPT James E. Reed, an ETSU graduate killed in action in Vietnam in February 1, 1968.)

We were fortunate to have serious instructors who were Rangers on active duty, so they pushed us hard and made the training difficult and intense.  I can honestly say that most of the training I received in that cadet Ranger unit was more strenuous (and effective) than the training I later received on active duty myself.  The effect was a close-knit group that knew that they could depend on each other.

I remember him fondly as a happy guy with a big smile which came out regularly; he was that guy that was never down, no matter how cold or wet or tired he was.  I remember a trip we all took to Ft. Benning one year, and we got to go to the Airborne School and visit the Ground Training Branch.  We even got to try out some of the training equipment, including the 34-foot tower.  We had great fun jumping out of the tower and sliding down the cables safely to the ground.

But in typical Army fashion, there was a downside.  Here it was "running ropes."  Long yellow nylon ropes had to be attached to the harnesses that had just been used so that they could be pulled back up the cable run to the tower so that they could be retrieved and used again.  That meant a 100-yard sprint over Georgia red clay which ended by the tower where you had to pull the ropes in at the correct angle for the instructor to reach out and grab them.  And in the instructor's opinion, you were never fast enough.  It was the hot, sweaty work you had to do for the fun part.

I have a photo in a shoebox somewhere of Danny Graybeal pulling those ropes at Ft. Benning.  I can't find the shoebox, or I'd scan it and post it for you.  But it is as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday.  I can plainly see Danny standing there, leaning into that yellow rope.  Trying hard to pull it within reach of an Airborne School black hat who is certainly giving him an earful.  Danny looked straight at my camera and broke into that big grin.  Ear-to-ear.  I snapped the picture, and still have it somewhere.

But I don't really need it.  The mention of his name instantly brings that single image back to me.  And then I remember that he also graduated from East Tennessee State, became a medevac pilot, and gave his life trying to reach a group of wounded Marines.  The other effect of his sacrifice is that this weekend I can go out to my favorite fishing hole and wet a line.  I can throw a burger on the grill and enjoy a cold one.  I can enjoy a full, rich life free from the type of hazards he endured.

So I owe it to Danny to live and be happy, and enjoy the benefits of life in this wonderful United States.  But I also owe it to him to remember why I am free to do so.  I will enjoy myself this weekend...but I will be sure to pause and remember that hundreds of thousands of Americans have given the "last full measure of devotion" to this great nation.  So enjoy your weekend, because Danny Graybeal would want you to.  That's why he did what he did.  But take time to remember.

It is working.  The U.S. Senate is slowing their effort to push the immigration amnesty bill through:

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070521/ap_on_go_co/congress_immigration_25

Why do you suppose that is?  A sudden attack of conscience and a desire to do the right thing by their constituents?  No.  It is because of the reaction of Patriots who have called and e-mailed their elected representatives in Washington and expressed their displeasure with this proposal.

Pile on.  Call your Senators, your Congressman, and tell them NO to amnesty.

With the announcement of the Senate immigration "reform" package yesterday, this is as good a time as any to start a blog of my own.  My name is Dave, and I am titling this blog "The Patriot," for that is what I am.  The American Heritage Dictionary defines a patriot as, "one who loves, supports, and defends his or her country." 

I love my country, and not blindly, for during my time in military service I have had the opportunity to travel the world and see what other countries have to offer.  I have been to many other countries and for the most part enjoyed the times I spent there.  But I love America the best, and I would not trade the advantages of life here for a life in any other nation.

Apparently millions of others feel that way, too.  They cross our borders daily in violation of our laws in order to find a better life than their native land can offer them.  But they are not Patriots.  A Patriot also supports his country, and defends his country.  Those who flagrantly violate our laws to come here are doing neither...quite the opposite.  They invade rather than defend, and they work to tear down our system of legal immigration rather than support it.

I have no patience for these lawbreakers, and even less for the politicians who would grant them amnesty veiled behind semantics.  The bill currently being floated in the U.S. Senate is a disgrace, and should be viewed as unacceptable by any Patriot.  The so-called "triggers" will not work.  With no real enforcement teeth in this bill, why would anyone expect an illegal immigrant to comply with it?

They are supposed to voluntarily step forward and pay thousands of dollars in fines and wait years for permanent legal status?  Forgive my bluntness, but they already had a chance to step forward and do the right thing, and that was at our border.  I do not believe that they will now, out of love and respect for the United States and its laws, step forward to pay fines and embark on an 8-13 year process toward full legal status.  They are not Patriots.  They are invaders.

Let me be clear.  I do not have a problem with legal immigration, or legal immigrants.  They love their new country, support its laws, and by their participation in the legal immigration process, they are defending the sovereignty of the United States.  Love, support, and defend.  I welcome them as new Patriots.

Call or email your elected representatives and tell them that as a true Patriot, you oppose this bill and expect them to oppose it as well.  Tell them you expect them to do their Patriotic duty and stop this disgraceful piece of legislation immediately.  The bill enters debate in the Senate on Monday, and the time for a Patriot to act is now.