Why I Love America!

Peace Out,
~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Patriotic Moment - Local Man Returns From War

A local man came home from Afghanistan this week.

He arrived draped in an American flag.

Spc. Kevin J. Graham was 27-years-old.

While I've tried to protect my anonymity here, I believe I owe him this much. Here is the article in its entirety. American Hero

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Kevin J. Graham, 27, of Benton, Ky., died Sept. 26 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.


In annother article, Kentucky Solder Killed in Afghanistan, his minister says that Kevin felt he was doing his life's work. He was married and had a step-son.

If his parents and wife choose to bring him home for burial, I will be pulling all of my children from school to stand by the side of the road as he is brought home to be laid to rest. As far as I'm concerned, school should be closed and every business should shut down as we bring our young man home. He is a true hero, as all military personnel are, but he will never gets to hear us say "Thank-you." It will be our one chance to do so and to let his family know how much we appreciate his service and how much we are supporting them in their time of loss. Please remember them in your prayers.

Thank-you, Kevin.

Champion!!!

Champion!!

LIZZIE MILLER
for being comfortable with herself

and

Glamour Magazine
for FINALLY posting a picture of a REAL woman

Lizzie Miller is a HEALTHY woman who is physically fit ... and a lovely size 12-14. She isn't afraid of showing what a REAL woman looks like. As a woman, I am just so proud to see this! I hope this is the beginning of a trend of using NORMAL sized women as models. I hope magazines will STOP STOP STOP with all the airbrushing, putting an image into our minds that can NEVER be. Yeah for Glamour for doing this! I hope they will keep this up!

I have to say, I LOVE her thighs! I'm always complaining about mine, but she's a size 12-14 ... so am I at the moment. My pooch is a bit bigger, but hey ... five kids! My husband is always saying how sexy I am. Seeing Lizzie, same build and size, made me see myself in a new light.

Please read the article: Finally - A Model Who Looks Like Us!

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champions!!!

It's been a while since I've done a Champion post. This woman definitely deserves this as well as the women who are protesting the court in solidarity for her. They are quite literally putting their lives on the line.

CHAMPION

for standing up against misogyny and for standing up for women's freedom and rights in oppressive governments

Lubna-Ahmed al-Hussein is a journalist with the United Nations Mission in Sudan. She, along with eleven other women were arrest for wearing "indecent clothing" at a public restaurant. And what was she wearing? A loose-fitting top, headscarf and green slacks. Ten of the women have already accepted their punishment of 10 lashes.

Lubna-Ahmed will not accept that. She wore the same outfit to court and was sentenced to 40 lashes. She plans to appeal (and wear the outfit to court again).

"If I'm sentenced to be whipped, or to anything else, I will appeal. I will see it through to the end, to the constitutional court if necessary," Hussein said. "And if the constitutional court says the law is constitutional, I'm ready to be whipped not 40 but 40,000 times."

She is trying to have the law repealed (***The Sudan is muslim, right? Long live the religion of peace.***).

The most amazing part of this story is that she waived her immunity as a U.N. worker to fight for the rights of women in Sudan. She said that thousand of women have been flogged over the last twenty years for their clothing, but they fear coming forward and making this a known to the world because of possible retribution.

She is an incredibly brave woman. And I will keep her in my prayers.

Story Here

More Champions of the Cause

Police Beat Women Opposing Sudan Dress Code Trial

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudanese police fired tear gas and beat women protesting outside a Sudanese court Tuesday during the trial of a female journalist accused of violating the Islamic dress code by wearing trousers in public.

In the clashes outside the courtroom, witnesses said police wielding batons beat up one of Hussein's lawyers, Manal Awad Khogali, while keeping media and cameras at bay. No injuries were immediately reported.

The case has drawn criticism from the United Nations. The U.N. Staff Union urged authorities last week not to flog Hussein, calling the punishment cruel, inhuman and degrading.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply concerned" about Hussein's case and said flogging was a violation of international human rights standards.


Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champion!!

Champion
for not Giving Up

and for Having Courage

to Stand Tall

Susan Boyle

It can't embedded, so you'll have to go to YouTube to watch. Her voice brought tears to my eyes. You need to pay close attention to how she was treated before and after. PLEASE watch it all.

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champion!

Champion
for Observation, Compassion
and Understanding
Mrs4444 has an AMAZING post about a high functioning autistic child she knows. Having one myself, well, this is just so wonderfully stated. Please go read it. Print it out. Read it to your children. Copy it and hand it out to the parents at school. Pass it out at church. We need more understanding. It goes a long way.

Odd Man Out
Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champion!

Champion
for Saving His Family
and Acting Like a MAN

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champions & Scoundrels

Tony Duncan

Champion Against Big Business

&

Anonymous Persons

Champions for Helping a Person in Need

I have no pictures, but the article says it all. In summary, Tony Duncan has had several strokes and seizures making it impossible for him to find a job for over a year. He has a five-year-old-daughter who has a feeding tube and other medical machinery NECESSARY for keeping her alive. Even though he'd been out of work, he'd been successful at keeping the electric paid until July. When the bill reached $2,000, Gulf Electric said they were cutting him of DESPITE KNOWING THAT HIS DAUGHTER WOULD DIE. The father chained himself to the meter drawing in the attention of the news. Upon hearing about the situation, an anonymous donor paid the bulk of the bill, while other donors finished paying the bill and offered him work.

Scoundrels

Gulf Power

For making money more important than a person's life.

Goldman Sachs Execs
Champions

Goldman Sachs execs are foregoing their yearly bonuses this year and will be living solely on their $600,000 yearly salary. Why? Well, maybe they realize they don't need it. Or maybe thye've decided the company can't afford. Maybe they want to make themselve look good in a time when other company execs are taking millions while their companies tank.

Or maybe it was just the right thing to do considering the state of our economy. Either way, they'll have to get by on just $50,000 a month (well, minus taxes of course). Whatever the reason, good for them.

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Champion

Adam Taliaferro

Champion for Those Without Hope

From AOL Sports Adam Taliaferro was a cornerback for Penn State in 2000. "In the fifth game of his freshman season, Taliaferro was left paralyzed by a spinal cord injury sustained while making a tackle against Ohio State. Despite overwhelming odds against him ever walking again, he worked through eight months of rehabilitation and led the Nittany Lions on the field at home for the first game of the 2001 season.

"Taliaferro graduated from Penn State, earned a law degree from Rutgers in 2008 and started the Adam Taliaferro Foundation to help support others with spinal cord injuries."

* The pictures came from Penn State web sites.

Tom Dart, Champion
UPDATE

While trying to find an update on Sherrif Dart, I came across some more information on the man. He's never been an officer of the law. He drives himself everywhere. He didn't plastered his name all over after being elected (like previous sherrifs). He is a lawyer, however. This works well for his stand on refusing to evict the innocent victims of foreclosure. While many people will do what is morally right, Dart has the education and background to LEGAL standing for his refusal to follow court ordered evictions.

From Geeklan.com, "Sheriff Dart has noted that Bank’s are not following the letter of the law and doing their due diligence (finding out who actually resides at a given residence). This is against the law and is putting Sheriff Dart and his Officers in an odd position.. one of potentially breaking the law themselves by serving these evictions."

He is still standing by his refusal to evict innocent persons. I'll post more updates as they come available.

~*~*~Krystal Out~*~*~

Champions

Sheriff Tom Dart

Champion to Innocent Victims of Foreclosure

Sheriff Dart (right) has refused to evict renters from properties that have fallen into foreclosure. The renters have been paying their rent, but the landlords haven't been paying their mortgages. In a written statement, Dart said, "I may be held in contempt of court over this. If that's the case, I'm willing to accept it..." He later said that his department would no longer do the banks' work for them. Full Story

AMEN! Thank-you, Sheriff Dart for standing up for the little guy!

My solution: Let the banks foreclose on the properties BUT allow the renters to stay and pay their rent directly to the mortgage holder. The mortgage holder should be required to honor all current leases and give a 90-day notice if they plan not to renew.

The Breiner Family

Champions to the Down, Out, and Drunk

Bob Breiner (pictured) and his wife came home to find a stranger asleep in their bed. When the police arrived, they discovered that the man had lost his job three weeks ago and had been out drinking. The man was responsible enough to take a bus home instead of driving. However, he was so drunk that he got off at the wrong bus stop...eight miles away from home. I guess their homes look alike, because he thought he was in his own bed. Not only did the Breiners not press charges, but his wife packed homemade soup, spare ribs, and cookies for the man to take home with him. Full Story

What an amazing couple! On behalf of all of us who have, on occasion, had just a wee bit too much to drink, I thank you. Y'all are the bomb diggity!

~*~*~Krystal Out~*~*~