May 06, 2004

Born to Run

On 9 January 2003, 31-year-old Staff Sergeant Mike McNaughton of Denham Springs, Louisiana, a member of the Louisiana Army National Guard, was serving with the 769th Engineer Battalion in Afghanistan, scouting for land mines. Suddenly, according to Sgt. McNaughton, "I closed my eyes for a second going up in the air and then landing on the ground, and that's when I just — I knew exactly what happened." Sgt. McNaughton had stepped on an anti-personnel mine, and in the resulting blast he lost his right leg, as well as the middle and ring fingers of his right hand and a chunk of his left leg. Sgt. McNaughton was evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for immediate treatment and later flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for follow-on care.

In the months since his wounding, Sgt. McNaughton has undergone at least 11 separate operations as a result of his injuries and has been fitted with a thin, robotic prosthetic shaft to replace his right leg. While recuperating at Walter Reed, Sgt. McNaughton was honored to receive a visit from President Bush. One of the subjects of common interest they discussed was running, and the President extended an invitation to Sgt. McNaughton to come running with him once he was up and about.

The President's invitation posed something of a dilemma for Sgt. McNaughton: "He said give him a call and we'll go running. How are you supposed to just call the president?" Fortunately, Sgt. McNaughton's doctor at Walter Reed was also a doctor for the President, and the two men were able to keep in touch through her.

In April 2004, Sgt. McNaughton and his family made the trip to Washington, and — true to his word — the President went for a run with him. According to Baton Rouge television station WAFB, Sgt. McNaughton described his return visit with President Bush thusly:

"It rained a little bit. I didn't care if it was storming or lightning all around, I didn't care. It was nice to run with him.

"He has a weight room upstairs, in the White House. We worked out for about 45 minutes, we tried different equipment. He said I couldn't do it, so I had to prove him wrong.

"This goes back to my military training. I never once stopped something and said I can't do it or quit. Just because I lost my leg, why should I start now?"

Sergeant McNaughton says the president was more interested with his new leg than even his own children. McNaughton says the president couldn't stop looking at it or asking questions about it.

I don't think President Bush is supposed to run anymore because of his bad knees, but we'll let that slide this time.
And I've got to send out an "Outstanding, soldier!" and a "Hooah" to Sgt. McNaughton for getting back on his feet (literally!) so beautifully!





Bush pauses to comfort teen

'This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11'

In a moment largely unnoticed by the throngs of people in Lebanon waiting for autographs from the president of the United States, George W. Bush stopped to hold a teenager's head close to his heart.

Lynn Faulkner, his daughter, Ashley, and their neighbor, Linda Prince, eagerly waited to shake the president's hand Tuesday at the Golden Lamb Inn. He worked the line at a steady campaign pace, smiling, nodding and signing autographs until Prince spoke:

"This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11."

Bush stopped and turned back.

"He changed from being the leader of the free world to being a father, a husband and a man," Faulkner said. "He looked right at her and said, 'How are you doing?' He reached out with his hand and pulled her into his chest."

Faulkner snapped one frame with his camera.

"I could hear her say, 'I'm OK,' " he said. "That's more emotion than she has shown in 2 1/2 years. Then he said, 'I can see you have a father who loves you very much.' "

"And I said, 'I do, Mr. President, but I miss her mother every day.' It was a special moment."

Special for Lynn Faulkner because the Golden Lamb was the place he and his wife, Wendy Faulkner, celebrated their anniversary every year until she died in the south tower of the World Trade Center, where she had traveled for business.
[How awful. Does this mean that Lynn Faulkner just happened to be there on that black day? God rest her.--Jen]

The day was also special for Ashley, a 15-year-old Mason High School student, because the visit was reminiscent of a trip she took four years ago with her mother and Prince. They spent all afternoon in the rain waiting to see Bush on the campaign trail. Ashley remembers holding her mother's hand, eating Triscuits she packed and bringing along a book in case she got bored.

But this time was different. She understood what the president was saying, and she got close enough to see him face to face.

"The way he was holding me, with my head against his chest, it felt like he was trying to protect me," Ashley said. "I thought, 'Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is pretty unusual for me."

The photo has been circulating across the country, Faulkner said. Relatives have passed it on to friends, bosses and acquaintances. As they tell the story, they also share in Wendy Faulkner's legacy, which her family continues through the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's Foundation.

"I'm a pretty cynical and jaded guy at this point in my life," Faulkner said of the moment with the president. "But this was the real deal. I was really impressed. It was genuine and from the heart."

How neat is this?
God be with the Faulkners (and all the other families who lost loved ones on 9/11) as they continue to deal with their sorrow and go on with their lives without their loved ones!
As far as I'm concerned, President Bush is doing this for me, too, because I would love to hug all of the 9/11 victims' families and comfort them myself and don't have the opportunity.





Bush Vows Justice on Iraq Prison Abuse

Acknowledging mistakes but stopping short of an apology [The Left media is making big hay out of this "no apology" thing, as if the President's outrage about the abuse and attention to the problem is somehow "second rate" because he's not assuming accountability for someone else's bad behavior. Bill Clinton spent a good part of his presidency apologizing and look where that got us!
And Bubba would apologize for things he could have done something about, like the Rwanda massacre.--J.T.] ,
President Bush told the Arab world on Wednesday that Americans are appalled by the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers. He promised that "justice will be delivered."

"The people in the Middle East must understand that this was horrible," Bush said, trying to calm international outrage. He went on two Arabic-language television networks to take charge of the administration's damage-control efforts.

Bush said he retained confidence in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, but White House aides said the president let the secretary know he was not satisfied with the way he was informed about the unfolding controversy. In particular, Bush was unhappy he was not told about incriminating pictures before they were shown on television or about a 2-month-old Pentagon report before it turned up in the news.

Rumsfeld did not know about the images until CBS aired them last Wednesday, a senior White House official said.

Doesn't the media know there's a war on?
The Pentagon had already launched an investigation of this Iraqi prisoner abuse several months ago, but they were aware that there was a problem.
The matter was going through channels--something that is crucial for the smooth functioning of a good military.
We are at war--there's no reason for either SecDef Rumsfeld or the Commander in Chief to be made aware of every little problem in the theatre of war.
The Left (through their media megaphone) is now pushing for Rummy's resignation over this brouhaha; they wish!
They've been whaling on Rumsfeld before and trying to "get him," because he stands for everything they hate: a strong, viable military, Conservative leadership, "Alpha" maleness (no metrosexual, he!) and in his particular case, a penchant to make the fourth estate look like the assinine fools they are!
Go Rummy!

But I found it extraordinary that President Bush would choose to go on Arab TV to personally address the problem.
This is fighting fire with fire, as Al-Jizz was one of the chief press organs giving big play to this story!
I'm looking forward to hearing the reaction of some of our Iraqi bloggers to Bush's appearance.
(It seems the Saudis were "unimpressed," though.
Not that we care about them!
As we know from the testimony of Westerners who've gotten released from Saudi prisons, their treatment of prisoners is nothing short of APALLING, so they can go suck an oil well! LOL)