The annual Project Valour-IT fundraiser started again this year on Veterans Day. It will continue throughout the next 2 weeks until Thanksgiving. In the past, I always joined the Marines Team, (well, lead the team - same thing) because they were the underdogs. Last year however, we almost won! In fact, for a short period of time we were in first place - the first time ever to be in first place (if even for only a day).

This year, for the first time, there are 5 teams instead of 4. The US Coast Guard is the newest team, and as the newest underdog I've switched loyalties to help the Coast Guard team ("help" being used loosely). And, other than the team leader, CG Blog, I'm the ONLY member! The Coast Guard team is also last place in donations, with only $225. You can view all team standings on the fundraiser page here:
http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=fundraiser

So...I'm putting out an alert! We need bloggers willing to join the newest Valour-IT fundraising team - the US Coast Guard! You can join the team here. It's quick and painless to join, and all you need to do as the newest teammate is blog about the fundraiser. Encourage your readers to visit the fundraising page and learn more about this wonderful program Project Valour-IT!

And, of course, you can add a donation button to your blog's post or sidebar to make it easy for readers to donate to the team you are supporting. I love a challenge, and it sure would be nice to recover from last place and give the other 4 teams a run for their money!

JOIN THE COAST GUARD TEAM!

Grace Church in Eden Prairie will host its 9th annual “We Salute Our Veterans” program to honor veterans on Saturday, May 17, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The program will feature former NASA astronaut Jack Lousma (Colonel, USMC, Retired). Colonel Lousma was in the Marine Corps for 25 years. While working for NASA, he was a pilot and performed two spacewalks aboard Skylab (America’s first space station). He was also the commander of an orbital test flight of the space shuttle Columbia. He has received four honorary doctorate degrees.

The program will include veteran testimonies and recognition, plus inspirational and patriotic music.

Pastor Dean Morin, pastor to adults at Grace Church who organizes the event, remarked, “The war in Iraq has elevated our awareness of the great sacrifice our veterans have made to preserve our freedom. This program will give everyone from the Twin Cities an opportunity to honor our brave military men and women who serve our country. And we are delighted to have Colonel Lousma as our featured speaker.”

The “We Salute Our Veterans” program is a free event. An optional lunch is provided after the program for $8.00 with advance reservations by calling 952-224-3032 before May 8.

For more information about Col. Lousma, click here.

Grace Church is located in Eden Prairie at the southeast corner of Pioneer Trail and Eden Prairie Road, one mile west of Flying Cloud Airport. For directions, go to http://www.atgrace.com/directions or call 952-224-3180.

Learn more or get the code to share this video on your website here:
Soldiers' Angels Traveling Museum

Brandon nominated his mother for America's Favorite Mom. Copy and paste this link in your address bar and vote for her! We'd really appreciate it!

http://www.americasfavoritemom.com/mothers-day-2008/mom/Patti-P-3418

My Mother Patti-Patton Bader
Is one of the most amazing woman in the world, literally. She has done more for me and the entire Military then another mother in the world. And I do mean that to be a fact, not a build up or over dramatic use of the word. She started a organization called Soldier's Angels http://www.soldiersangels.com/ when I was in Iraq...

Read the rest and vote for Patti Here!

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/federal/AboveandBeyondAwards/PattiPattonBader.mspx

Patti Bader, the founder of Soldiers' Angels, has been awarded Microsoft's Above and Beyond Effort Award! Patti will be accepting the award next week on November 12th in New York City's Rainbow Room.

From the Microsoft site:

Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with the United Service Organizations (USO), is proud to announce the winners of the Microsoft Above and Beyond Awards. The awards recognize the contributions of citizens across the country who brighten the lives of U.S. troops throughout the world.

"These winners are remarkable examples of how everyday people can do extraordinary things," said Curt Kolcun, Vice President of Microsoft Federal.

"Their actions showcase the best of American citizenship, selflessness, and support for our service members and their families - they are true testaments of how to salute our troops."

Learn more about Above and Beyond and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society here.

Michelle is donating $25 to the Project Valour-IT fundraiser for each left-wing blogger that joins the fundraiser blogging competition (any team, I assume), up to $250. That seems simple enough - just join a team, and $25 will be donated! Any left-wing bloggers up to the challenge?

There are also a few nice auctions going on in the Project Valour-IT auction house. It'd be great to see the auctions filled up with great stuff! You don't have to necessarily post a product - why not offer a service? Bloggers, you could auction 2 week blogads, or guest post spots?

For those of you that can come up with some truly interesting and creative auctions, I'll feature them on the fundraising homepage at Soldiers' Angels. What say you?

And as for the Army being temporarily ahead of the Marine Corps team...

Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines.
Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918

We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on?
Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff
during the assault on Grenada, 1983

Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985

They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli ahow," which means "Excuse me, I didn't mean it, my mistake".
Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991

My only answer as to why the Marines get the toughest jobs is because the average Leatherneck is a much better fighter. He has far more guts, courage, and better officers... These boys out here have a pride in the Marine Corps and will fight to the end no matter what the cost.
2nd Lt. Richard C. Kennard, Peleliu, World War II

You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are.
Father Kevin Keaney
1st Marine Division Chaplain
Korean War

Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army.
Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War;
shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered
to not wear their khaki leggings.

The annual Project Valour-IT Veteran's Day Fundraiser is coming in less than 3 hours! (if you're on CST that is ) It's that time of year again, and I'm honored to again have the privilege of being the team leader for the Marine Corps Team! Whoo hoooo!!

To those of you who are new to the fundraiser, it is a yearly blogging competition with the goal of raising money for a very worthy cause - Project Valour-IT. Four military teams are created, based on the service branches, and include Marine Corps, Army, Navy/USCG and Air Force. Bloggers may join any team they like, and have a military blog is not required. Throughout the fundraiser each blog will write posts encouraging their visitors to make a donation to Project Valour-IT on behalf of their chosen team. That's it!

Each team has their own donation meter, and you can find all four of them here. Once you've selected a team to join (*ahem* *cough* *Marine Corps team*) click the "<>Copy" link on the appropriate donation graphic to get the code for your own blog.

Besides these awesome donation meter widgets there are other great ways to participate and help us raise money.

1. You can start a benefit auction here. These auctions are just for the fundraiser, and it is free to list your item. Registration is required to list or bid, and is quite simple to do.
2. You can also design a flier and hang in your local businesses
3. Plan people/businesses/organizations to contact. For example: community clubs, professional organizations, veterans' groups, pro-military businesses, churches, etc.
4. Check for employer matching donations (or prep for a corporate donation during the fundraiser)
5. Give a heads up to your press/political connections by offering links to Valour-IT and telling them about Valour-IT's history
6. Share your ideas on the bulletin board created just for the fundraiser!

Join the Marine Corps Team and help us raise money for our wounded heroes!

The funniest post of the day here. Don't miss out on the comments too! Some absolute, stomach busting screamers in there!

Microsoft and is having a 'Salute to the Troops' (week? month? not sure there) ..event, in any case, and part of it is having a few awards. Patti Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels is a finalist for the Above and Beyond award.

Microsoft Corporation, in partnership with the United Service Organizations (USO), is recognizing the contributions of the military community - the friends, family, and other individuals who help brighten the lives of U.S. troops throughout the world - with the creation of the first annual Above and Beyond Awards.

The Above and Beyond Awards is our way of publicly honoring and thanking the outstanding commitment, exceptional service, sacrifice and achievements of individuals who have shown extraordinary dedication in brightening the lives of our troops over the past year.

So go vote for Patti!

You can vote every day until the 12th of November.

Michael Yon is offering permission to all newspapers that are a member of the National Newspaper Association to print excerpts of his dispatches, along with photographs.

Those readers can first check to see if their local paper is a member of the NNA . Because only NNA members will be able to

” . . . print excerpts of Michael Yon’s dispatches, including up to two of his photographs from each dispatch. Online excerpts may use up to 8 paragraphs, use 1-3 photos, and then link back to the full dispatch on his site saying ‘To continue reading, click here.’”

If their local paper is a member of NNA, readers can contact the editor, urging their participation.

My local newspaper is a member of the NNA, so I will be doing just that!

The purpose is to encourage more balance and accurate reporting of the news from Iraq in the main stream media. Have you noticed lately, how ever since Charlie Gibson announced on World News Tonight on ABC...

"One item from Baghdad today. The news is… that there is no news. The police told us that, to their knowledge, there were no major acts of violence. Attacks are down in Baghdad and today no bombings or roadside explosions were reported."

...that there's been a focus change in the main stream media regarding the war in Iraq? You'd think that logically the focus would change from a negative one to a positive one. US troops dying = bad, US troops not dying = good.

But that's just not the case. Now, the media is focused on all the innocent civilians bad old soldiers have needlessly slaughtered today. It's absurd! From calling terrorists criminals in quotation marks:

'US forces killed 49 "criminals"... '[AFP]

To just calling all dead from a firefight 'people', refusing to distinguish militants' and terrorists' (insurgents if you MUST) deaths from innocent civilian deaths (and being sure to include the tired and worn out "baby killers" mantra in there while they're at it):

"Troops come under fire during a raid in Sadr City, and as many as 49 people, including children, die in the ensuing violence." [LA Times]

The trouble with such reporting? It doesn't acknowledge fact from possible or even outright supposition and fiction. From the NY Times (shock upon shock!):

The episode highlights the difficulty of determining the facts after military operations, especially ones involving firefights in which much happens quickly. The military said the reason so few bodies were taken to hospitals was that the militants picked up the bodies of their own people to prevent American soldiers from gaining intelligence about them.

In cases where Iraqi casualty numbers are far higher than American numbers, the American military sometimes says the discrepancy is a result of exaggeration by Iraqis. In any individual occurrence it is hard to tell which factors play the most important role.

So, look up your local paper here, to see if it is a member of the NNA. Then let them know you'd appreciate the accurate reporting from Michael Yon that they can print free of charge.