by Lance Thompson

On 12 December, Ann Scott Tyson of the Washington Post put out a story on an American Special Forces unit in Afghanistan that prevailed against overwhelming odds in a desperate battle against heavily-armed insurgents. The story was also covered by the Associated Press, and the AP story was posted on the FoxNews website. If you rely on other media for information about the world, you probably missed it.

The battle took place in early April when twelve army Green Berets from the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group and a few dozen allies from the 201st Afghan Commando Battalion were inserted by helicopters onto a 10,000 foot peak in northeast Afghanistan’s remote Nuristan province. Their target was the village stronghold of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin militant group–previously thought unreachable by Allied forces.

The American Green Berets and their Afghan allies were immediately taken under fire. The enemy were more numerous than expected, armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, and occupied fortified positions on all sides of our troops, including some that were 1000 feet above them. The Special Forces team was caught in the open, surrounded, and was fired upon from all sides.

Nevertheless, the Americans and Afghans never lost their nerve or their resourcefulness, maintained good fire discipline and employed sound tactics. In the ensuing seven hour battle, the team was nearly overrun more than once, they nearly exhausted their ammunition, and were aided by friendly air support dropping 2000-pound bombs dangerously close to their position.

The team fought their way downhill through murderous fire, carrying their wounded to a streambed where the first medevac helicopter was driven away by enemy fire. The wounded were evacuated on a second helicopter that landed in midstream, and the rest of the team was extracted by subsequent helicopters. Two Afghan commandos were killed, and fifteen of the group were wounded, including four critical injuries among the Green Berets. The enemy’s losses were estimated to be 150 to 200.

For their valor in this two mile high battle, ten of the twelve Green Berets in the unit were awarded Silver Stars, the army’s third-highest decoration. No unit of elite troops has earned such a quantity of the decorations in a single action since Vietnam.

The story went out on 12 December, as mentioned above. There was no mention of it on the websites of the Los Angeles Times, New York Times or MSNBC.

Once, in an alternate universe known as the mid-20th Century, feats of courage, sacrifice and heroism in combat were honored by our news media. Victories were celebrated, and the men who won them were lauded. I believe Americans still want to hear about soldiers like Staff Sgt. Seth Howard, who accounted for 20 of the enemy with his marksmanship, or Staff Sgt. John Wayne Walding who, after having his lower leg virtually amputated by enemy fire, applied his own tourniquet, or Staff Sgt. Luis Morales, who knelt on the hip of wounded Staff Sgt. Dillon Behr–the only way he could apply pressure to the wound and continue firing–until he too was twice wounded. The true stories of men like these are inspiring, and demonstrate the best and highest aspects of the American character.

Today, the media outlets that ignore stories like these prefer to chronicle the antics of misbehaving professional athletes, scandalous starlets, or corrupt politicians. But the men and women in our armed forces set sterling examples of behavior that we can all aspire to. Our troops continually show that they are indeed drawn from the best America has to offer, and prove it with their courage, commitment and sacrifice. Yet our media would rather spotlight the infrequent mistakes and missteps of the few while ignoring the achievements of the many. Reporters dwell intently on the costs and tragedies of combat, but seldom celebrate the hard-won victories. The media will gladly place blame for the ravages of war, but only reluctantly give credit to those who endure it and prevail.

The men of the 3rd Battalion do not consider themselves heroic. They did their duty as they saw it, and each is more comfortable talking about the courageous deeds of others rather than his own. The vast majority of Americans in uniform fit this profile, but you would never know it from the media coverage of the military.

The people who serve our country in uniform do not consider themselves heroes. But every other American should, and we have an obligation to honor the gift of freedom that they provide for us every day. If your source for news–in print, on television, or on line–covered this story, then you’re fortunate. Too many don’t, and of those, we should ask, “Why not?”

by Lance Thompson

Washington–December 2009

Once the Democrats had control of the White House and Congress, they found it surprisingly easy to pass legislation reinstating the “Fairness Doctrine,” which mandated that no conservative thought or utterance could go unchallenged or unpunished. At first, this was applied only to the last bastions of free market principles in media–Fox News and talk radio. But the new regulations were so effective in silencing conservatives that follow-on legislation found countless new means of expression in which to quash conservative voices.

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Chef Newt presenting LowDownCentral’s favorite dish: Cooked Goose

7 – John Edwards – for running on family values while fathering a child with his mistress during his wife’s fight with terminal cancer. Yes, we know this is a peacock.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

As many conservatives already know, and the rest of the country is discovering, truth trumps tall tales — sometimes. This little adage was borne out by MSNBC’s recent admission that they had been taken in by the Eisenstadt Hoax.

As the disseminators of unchecked lies, the media wanted everyone to believe Sarah Palin was just John McCain’s flight of fantasy, not smart enough to be vice president, let alone stand a heartbeat away from the presidency. Unfortunately, as evidenced by Obama voters interviewed on Election Day, the lies about Sarah Palin had morphed into truth.

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by Lance Thompson

The recent election left the Republicans out in the cold. Some have recommended that the GOP chase the Democrats and their votes leftward across the political spectrum. Others believe we should return to the core principles of conservatism, and stand up for the issues which once defined us.

But what are those principles? Where is the source? Is there an ancient conservative manifesto buried deep under some Revolutionary War monument, awaiting discovery by intrepid archaeologists?

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by Lance Thompson

In the wake of the presidential election, some Republicans are recommending that the party should soften its views, back away from hard-line conservatism, and blur the differences between us and the Democrats. These people are called moderates, and the prescription they offer is deadly.

The Democrats did not win with a moderate candidate. Barack Obama was the nation’s most liberal Senator until he became the nation’s most liberal president. John McCain, on the other hand, was a moderate Republican, with a record of reaching across the aisle and favoring Democrat views on issues such as immigration, global warming, and tax cuts. This moderate candidate was clobbered by his immoderate opponent.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

“When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Irony never fails to slip through the cracks in our lives at some of the bleakest moments – like the black widow that entrenches itself in damp crevices and awaits its prey, closing in on it in ever-tightening circles.

When the moment is ripe, irony rears its fangs and sinks them into our moral, intellectual and spiritual arteries, and none are conscious of how fast the poison spreads until it’s too late.

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by Lance Thompson

This column will focus on the positive aspects of the week, so it will be brief.

The loss of the presidential race is the work of John McCain and his campaign. Though many other factors contributed to Obama’s win, a good candidate and an effective campaign could have prevailed. After a bruising bare-knuckle campaign in the primary, McCain elected to follow the Marquis of Queensbury rules in the brutal street fight of the general election. This was hardly unexpected–McCain was always tougher on Republicans than Democrats.

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by Lance Thompson

Americans will vote tomorrow in an election which, contrary to all predictions and manipulations, will be a close one.

The arguments against Barack Obama and for John McCain are well known and seem to be gaining some traction in the final hours. I’d like to take this space to mention a few reasons to vote for McCain that aren’t commonly addressed

First, vote for McCain and against the mainstream media. Show the broadcast and cable networks that we don’t want them choosing our president for us. Our free press is an important part of our political system. But remind journalists that their job is to cover and investigate candidates, not to anoint them. Their job is to follow the campaign, not influence it. Show them that when the media picks a winner months before the election, they not only jeopardize that candidate’s chances, but lose their credibility in the process.

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by Lance Thompson

Here we are, a few days before the election, and Barack Obama finds himself in a very tight race with his most potentially devastating opponent–himself.

In the long campaign that is coming to an end, Obama has knocked off Democrat rivals like the once-sure-thing Hillary Clinton and his own running mate, Joe Biden. Then, when the GOP chose its standard-bearer, Obama ran rings around the incompetent campaign of John McCain.

But now, as time runs out, Obama hopes to cross the finish line before the greatest threat to his victory catches up with him. The threat comes from the real Obama, the Obama that the mainstream media has shielded from public view, the Obama that Americans are only now getting to know.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

The MSM and the powers that be in the Democratic Party have proven Sir Isaac Newton’s theory wrong: What goes up does not necessarily come straight down.

The stratospheric rise (or holy ascension, as the liberal knee-benders prefer to think) of Barack Obama is unprecedented in modern and perhaps even ancient history. It has changed the laws of political physics so radically that the once reliable landscape of hero monuments in our nation’s capital is being overgrown by scraggly liberal ivy.

http://www.lowdowncentral.com/feature-article/2008/10/23/the-manchurian-voters.html

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by Lance Thompson

It has long been a Democrat tactic to accuse Republicans of whatever unprincipled, illicit or deplorable act that they themselves are about to perpetrate. This tactic has been repeatedly employed with great success, and is about to pay off with the grand prize of the Presidency.

The Democrats paint themselves as champions of free speech. The broadcast news networks, MSNBC, CNN and the major newspapers and news magazines all support the Democrats. Only FoxNews and talk radio are free of liberal bias, yet even these outlets are unacceptable to Democrats. Thus, Democrats plan to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, a regulation that requires media outlets to present balanced views. This regulation will not be applied to the already liberal-leaning news outlets, but to talk radio, whose conservative voices the Democrats cannot bear. Democrats ask for votes to protect free speech even as they plan to muffle conservative voices.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

The party of Ronald Reagan is looking more and more like those persons who stand idly by and watch strangers get mugged. Except the “mugees” are members of their own party.

We would be putting it mildly if we said we’re sick and tired of hearing so-called conservatives (are you listening, John McCain?) tossing about docile rhetoric at his opponents the way nymphs sprinkle flower petals on a placid pond. We hoped McCain would throw down the gauntlet, swing away at Obama and show no mercy. As a military man, he knows well the country we love is at stake, and this is no time to worry about hurt feelings. The anger “out there” is palpable and he needs to address it today.

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by Lance Thompson

During the second presidential debate of this campaign, Senators McCain and Obama were at pains to explain the merits of their respective health plans. Obama seeks to bring all people under one plan to capitalize on economies of scale. McCain plans to bring market forces to bear on medical costs by giving consumers a tax credit to apply toward any medical plan they choose. Though McCain’s plan is marginally more sensible, neither addresses the root cause of high medical costs, which is medical insurance.

Imagine a small community of twenty or thirty people. In this community there are two doctors. Each charges his patients for each service as it is rendered. The doctors are roughly equal in skill and experience. Obeying the law of supply and demand, the doctor who charges less for his services gets more business, and thus forces the doctor who charges more to lower his prices to compete for that business.

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by Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

There is a vaccine for nearly everything: typhus, influenza, polio, the pox – or so we thought.

A new pestilence has reared its ravenous head and has enveloped the U.S. with such wildfire speed and intensity that even the American Medical Association cannot cope with this contagion: the Political Plague, or as it is better known – Obamapox.

Symptomatically similar to louse-borne typhus, Obamapox produces a smoky or lazy state of mind. That effect was obvious in the faces of the crowds following his gratuitous thank you speech in Munich, – the vacant stare, wild-eyes and incoherent babble. That’s where the global outbreak of Obamapox was initiated and has since grown into a pandemic – and the hysteria is now reaching worldwide proportions.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

Hey, all you cats & kittens out there in funny money land, the clock is tick, tick, ticking. It’s almost time we hit the mattresses and harvest that stashed cash we’ve been storing for a rainy day, ‘cause our savings and 401(k)s’ might be “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and then it’s going to be “See You Later, Alligator” from our Pension Funds.

The Dow Jones had its “19th Nervous Breakdown” when the The 3 Gs (Good Guys & Gals in Government), better known as “Strangers in the Night,” did a “Shake, Rattle & Roll” and voted “no $$$$-ING way” to bail out the credit market a/k/a the “Space Oddity” – that was famous for its jingles “We Can Work it Out” and “My World is Empty Without IOUs, Babe.”

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

“Love him or hate him” means there have been no shades of gray sentiment for George W. Bush, except for what we see now on the top of his head. When you look at a photo from the year 2000 of the newly elected 43rd President of the United States (or “appointed” if you’re a lefty), you see a man in his prime — nary a sign of misspent youth on this face. The full head of wavy medium ash brown hair was well-groomed, but not the pampered $400 coiffures of the opposition party prima donnas.

It is well documented scientifically that stress is a silent killer. Many of us are familiar with its effects and can expound at length on the various levels of pressure we personally tolerate on a daily basis. There are few among us that don’t reach for the Advil or a cocktail just to level out. Workers from the highest to the lowest end of the totem pole experience some form of stress whether physical or emotional, or both. An unexpected financial or health crisis can debilitate the strongest among us.

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By Rose Pedenko and Tanya Simon

In 1917, Vladimir Lenin spearheaded his leftist revolutionaries in a massive people’s revolt, which smashed Russia’s monarchy to dust, and forever disfigured the face of worldwide power politics.

Nearly fifty years later in the 1960s, radical feminists and other useful idiots here and abroad placed a bear hug on Lenin’s adage that “a lie told often enough becomes the truth,” and wouldn’t let go. Those hipsters believed that their efforts would absolve them of negative connotations, hostile repercussions, or the drilled-in-stone truths in connection with the fresh-anointed “pro choice” movement – or so they thought. They were, to a large degree (and to the detriment of all things sacred), successful. They inculcated the notion of “choice” into their husbands, into their offspring, into their work, and into their fused-at-the-hip hippie mates. “Choice” (not unlike “Change”) began to spread and ultimately rooted itself into the American lexicon, into legislation, and promulgated to extremes in the media.

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