Is another "Red Dawn" just over the horizon?

If you have not seen the movie "Red Dawn," I strongly suggest that you see it, and see it quickly.

(There were two versions of this movie: one made in the 1980s, and another more recently.)

Why do I write this?  Because if you haven't been sticking your head in the sand, like an ostrich, then you must know what is going on in our country.  I'll bring your attention to just one, recent event that occurred within the last couple of days, and this event is truly unbelievable and frightening to any freedom-loving American.  I am talking about a duly elected congressional representative, Maxine Waters, calling for, and advocating assault against anyone who supports our president, Trump, and his cabinet, or other supporters.

Recently, various members of his cabinet have been verbally, and nearly physically, harassed and driven out of places of business simply because they are part of the Trump administration.  Complicit in this unheard of attack on American citizens freely exercising their right to move and enjoy the benefits of our hard-fought freedoms, is the ultra-liberal media and their lackeys.

Almost every day, this is occurring.

As you can see, we are not being attacked from a formal enemy army from without --at least not right now --, but we are definitely being attacked from within from the "deep state," and their minions.

One way they have been executing this massive attack, is by flooding our porous borders with illegal aliens to such an extent, that we will be unable to stop the tsunami without outright positioning our Army to stop this invasion dead in its tracks.

This is not the only way we are under siege, but also by the radical left calling for our right to bear arms -- the Second Amendment -- to be destroyed, and anyone who dares to defend that right, will be labeled a terrorist.   In fact, we are NOW being labeled terrorists!  Keep in mind, that "deplorable" Americans, and that includes you and I, especially veterans, pro-life and pro-family, God-fearing citizens have been included in that group, and must be annihilated first, in their sick, warped minds.

These radical, leftists enemies are traitors to our country.

All this just might be a distraction for the real threat from outside forces, and it is not, in my opinion, Russia, but China.  In the long run the Chinese Communists would love to enslave our country, not only for political gain, but also for economic dominance.

I do have a warning for the anarchists and haters of our God-given natural rights: if you study history, you should know that some of those very same instigators of the French Revolution, themselves, lost their heads under the guillotine, as a rabid dog turns on its master, and needs to be put down.

When I joined the military so many years ago, I took an oath to defend my country and our Constitution.

We know that there are times that we renew our Baptismal vows as a reminder of who we are -- practicing Catholics.  But now, I renew my oath that I took to defend and protect my homeland regardless of the consequences.  Remember, it is Church teaching that it is a good and noble act to fight and die for one's country.  This is not my opinion, but CHURCH TEACHING!

In closing, I would acknowledge that our nation has got to end the anti-life culture, and embrace LIFE, not only within our own shores, but also change our foreign policies toward other sovereign countries that leads to death and mayhem.  This will take time.  But I also realize that we are a generous nation, feeding a good percentage of the world's population.  Still, there is much work to be done to redeem ourselves from our most grievous faults.

In the end, we must, as a people, call upon God Almighty for His generous grace, and beg for strength for what might be coming; to be steadfast in our faith; to be vigilant, and be prepared to sacrifice for our families and our country.

Gene DeLalla

The tactic of the leftists..

Have you ever been shouted down when you attempted to express a "conservative" talking point, i.e., speak some common sense, or received a piece of hate mail without a return address?

What the radical left does is to label someone a racist or bigot, or hurl some other epithet at those who disagree with their ideology or agenda.  In effect, since they cannot counter the truth, they accuse you and I of what they themselves do.  It really makes no sense at all.  But then the left makes no sense.

If these folks want to turn what is left of our republic into some type of socialist utopia, -- hint, they will not succeed! -- why don't they just go live in Communist China or some other third-world hell-hole?

Let's face it, far too many leftists are, in fact, communists.  There, I said it.

In case anyone is wondering, this short post is a follow-up to my "Domestic enemies beware," and is intended to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, when it comes to just how much you and I will endure before we have a little target practice, and sharpen our self-defense skills.

Let's not kid ourselves, there is a real movement in our country to take down a sitting president, and I might add, us!  You know, pro-life, pro-family, pro-2nd amendment, veterans, church-going, God-fearing Americans; we're all in their cross-hairs; we are their targets.  But I say, we have the means to protect and defend ourselves, a lot more than "they" think.    

The gutless media and their minions, are taking far too much for granted when it comes to what those punks think we'll swallow.

Has anyone seen the movie: Tora, Tora, Tora?  It was produced around 1970, and was a compilation of events that lead up to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

After the initial successful raid at Pearl, Admiral Yamamoto was in council with his officers on the battleship.  There was a lot of self-congratulating going on, until the admiral (who, by the way, was a Catholic) made a very somber and sobering statement.  He said that he had great fear that all the attack on Pearl Harbor did was to awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve.

You see, he lived and was educated in the US back in the 1930s, so he knew when an American is pushed into a corner, they would strike back, and strike back very hard, until the enemy is destroyed.

He was right.  I apply that same warning to those who think we -- the "silent majority" -- are a sleeping giant.  That would be a very big mistake!

If anyone doesn't like this post, too bad.

Man-up; woman-up.

Gene DeLalla

Despicable hate and malice directed at the president and his cabinet...

I have been around since President Truman; now that's a lot of years!

But I have never, ever seen anything like the hate, malice, and lies that is directed each day at President Trump and his cabinet, not to mention his family, including his young son.

The leftist, radical, anti-American media and their lackeys, are themselves beyond despicable.  Lets face it, they want nothing but upheaval and anarchy.  But I would caution these merchants of hate, that, as in the French Revolution, the instigators of same, eventually went to the guillotine themselves, as a rabid dog turns on its master.

I must warn those that attempt to destroy our country, that I, for one, will fight to the end, and I'm not just talking about peacefully either.

So beware: this is one veteran that will act, and act hard with everything at my disposal to preserve and protect my country and my family from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Gene DeLalla 

Sentimentalism: good or bad?

Being sentimental is good.

Why?

Because it is built into us as humans; it is part of what we are; it is part of our DNA, if you will.

Webster's describes sentiment as: an idea, opinion, or attitude based more on feeling than on reason.  A susceptibility to emotion.

Its brother, sentimental, is marked, swayed, or affected by sentiment... nostalgic or romantic feelings.

Nothing wrong or detrimental about that, right?

I'm sentimental (shock!).

Take, for instance, our dog, Dolce... We lost her about three years ago, right around Christmas time.  She was a great Lab/Retriever mix; warm and friendly; she loved us, and we loved her!

When she passed, we were saddened, and we still miss her to this day.  When I think of her now, I am being sentimental, very much so.  Again, nothing wrong with that.

But when it comes to judgment, can being sentimental steer us in the wrong direction, causing us to cast reason aside in favor of sentimentalism, sister to sentiment?

On a more serious subject, say religion or faith (here I'm talking about the Catholic faith, but this applies to anyone that believes that there is a Heaven and hell and judgment after we die) for instance, how can or does sentimentalism figure in?

Can it sway our judgment when someone we love; a family member, a close friend, a neighbor, a former military brother, etc., passes away, and we immediately place him or her "in a better place"?

How many times have we heard that?  I've lost count...

Sure, I know it's not my job -- or your job -- to say where that soul ended up, but to presume that we know he or she is "in a better place," is a grave error; it is a sin against the virtue of hope.

On the other side of the coin, is despair, a grave error; also a sin against hope.

Don't we also hear that God would never condemn anyone to hell?  I agree, He wouldn't; we condemn ourselves (rejecting God's grace) by how we live our lives.  Or, we save ourselves (with God's grace) by how we live our lives; it works either way; we have the free will to choose.

Always pray for the ability to discern fact from fiction, and leave the subjective judging to God Almighty.

Gene DeLalla

Render (give) to Caesar...

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's...

What is meant by this, and how do we reconcile the evil things that "Caesar" does with the money and goods we render (or, should I say, are confiscated from us to give) to "him"?

We, as a people, must be governed, that is, we must be controlled to a certain extent, lest we revert to the jungle mentality, where anything goes; where anarchy runs rampant.

We live in a society, and because we do, we obey most laws, such as motor vehicle requirements, pay income taxes (completely unjust!), etc.  Some of those very taxes are used for purposes that violate our personal beliefs; our faith; the natural law, yet short of the anarchy I just mentioned, we can fight back, if not in the physical sense, then, by means of how we live our lives, raise our families, and live by the Commandments, essentially, how we treat our neighbor.

This is a tough position to be in.  But our good example speaks a thousand words to those around us.

Of course there are other alternatives; teaching, writing, evangelizing, general conversations not only with extended family members, but also with strangers, that is, if they are open to such.  Each one of us has different talents, ministries, if you will, God-given abilities that we can use and share.

In other words, we have to be social; interact with others.  As the saying goes: no man is an island.

As was promised to us, He will not leave us orphans; He is with us all days, even to the consummation of the world.  Now if that doesn't give us hope, nothing will!

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

Gene DeLalla

"We the people..."

"We the people..."  Taken from the Constitution of the United States; a document that I quote often along with the Declaration of Independence, but I think there must be some clarification regarding that iconic phrase.

These two fundamental documents are the cornerstones of our nation from its nascent formation to the present day.  However, my patriotism must yield to my Catholic faith, and not the other way around.

What do I mean?

As stated in the Declaration of Independence: ...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

In reality, "their just powers" are not derived from the consent of the governed, but from above, from God.

Remember, when Christ stood before Pilate, He stated that he (Pilate) would have no power over Him if it were not given to him from above (from His Father in Heaven).

To their credit, the founding fathers refer to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" concerning our unalienable rights (granted by the Creator); those of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

But keep in mind, the French Revolution also received its powers from the "consent of the governed," in that case, a horde of anarchists, determined to trash the Natural Law and religion in favor of a do- whatever-I-want attitude so long as those "rights" don't violate the "rights" of others.

The majority rules ethos (democracy), can lead to another French Revolution mentality right here in our beloved country.  It's called mob rule.  As an example, even if a man-made bill becomes law, must it be obeyed no matter how unjust it is to basic rights, such as the right to life?

The answer is no.

Any man-made law or court decision that violates the Natural Law is automatically null and void.  That is not my opinion, but the constant teaching of tradition (and the Church!).

I admit that good and decent people have gone to jail, and will go to jail over this fundamental truth.

The "mob" in the case of the "right" to terminate a pregnancy, came to us from a supreme court ruling that directly violated the Natural Law and the Fifth Commandment: thou shalt not kill (murder).

We have no one to blame but ourselves; we are not perfect, but must hope and pray to become so, or else nothing will change.

Gene DeLalla 

Vietnam Veteran finds his brother's gravestone in Arlington National Cemetery..

From my book: Mutiny! The Battle of Dong Ha..

[Randy] … parked his car.  Entering upon the pedestrian walk-way, he gazed upon the expansive display of white crosses and headstones...

As he checked for names and locations to make the job of finding his brother easier, he could see that fateful day at Dong Ha as if it were yesterday.  He felt again the savagery of war with death all around him.  How could he ever put those thoughts to rest?  With his faith weakening, Randy became more superstitious, imagining the ghosts of those who died in past battles.  He could almost feel their presence.

After a while, he proceeded down the section of the renowned cemetery to search for, and locate Biffi.  It took nearly half an hour to finally come to the appropriate area of recent graves.  Some of those graves were filled with the veterans of the Dong Ha battle.  Some names he recognized from C Flight and his Bravo Flight.

Suddenly, his feet couldn't move.  He started to shake as if a fever or a deep chill had penetrated his very being.  But the day was sunny and mild.  He quickly thought about those lousy malaria pills that he was supposed to take for six weeks after his return from Vietnam, but threw in the garbage the day after he arrived home.

His eyes became fixed on the gravestone right in front of him.  He had found his brother, Lewis Biffi.  For nearly two years, he hadn't had the ability to cry.  There were no more tears left, so he thought.  But now, they flowed freely.

What could he say to his friend and brother that would make any sense, any difference?  It was too late for such things.  Or was it?

He had to clear his eyes in order to read the simple etching in the stone:

Air Force Staff Sergeant of Security Police Lewis Biffi; Born July 11, 1947; Died November 29, 1968 at the Battle of Dong Ha, Vietnam.

…

After a couple of minutes, he was able to compose himself.  In a half-broken, softly spoken voice, he said, "You made Staff, Biff."

Randy stepped back a couple of feet, came to attention and hand-saluted his brother for nearly a full minute.  Still, he could not reconcile the cold fact that his friend was now reduced to a number on a gravestone, and another name added to the Wall...

Gene DeLalla