Censorship at its best...

...is the liberal U.S. news media HIDING the success and benchmarks of the war in Iraq. So, where do we go to get ACCURATE news coverage? British news outlets, of course!

It irks me that so many Americans think that the news outlets in the U.S. are giving them accurate and TRUTHFUL accounts of what happens in Iraq. If they were doing that, then there would be more support for our troops and more understanding of WHY we are over there to begin with. Sadly, so many are blinded by the smoke and mirrors that the liberal media put in place to hide the fact that they were WRONG. Sadly, so many are treating our troops today like those that came home from Vietnam just because the media is bent on an agenda to control society's decisions. That isn't freedom, people.

So, here is the point of the whole post, which does step away from my usual theme.

"Winning Isn't News By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Monday, July 07, 2008 4:20 PM PT Iraq:

What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.

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London's Sunday Times called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul.

The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering. We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.

Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there. Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended. Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul, found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside.

Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks - a big change for the better from a year ago. Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad - an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.

But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, "the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks" that signaled political progress.

The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to consider this historic event a big story. "

Chew on that for a bit...

More Celebrations...

Friends of our two oldest boys have a fireworks show the day after Independence Day and invite all their friends (and the families) to come watch. They live on top of one of the ridges, so they have no worries about space for the show. This year, thanks to my mom, I was able to go. Like the good little Shutterbug that I am, I took my camera and my tripod.

These are taken in order, though it is only a few of the many fireworks that went off that night. My favorite is the second to last photo.

Independence Day!

Normally, we all gather at my grandparents for a full day of activities. This year, however, I stayed home most of the day. It was a rare treat to have all four boys in the house at the same time (and not fighting!) and we just wanted to enjoy the moment. Mr. Chef did have to work in the evening but finished around 8pm, so we were able to go to Grandma's after that.

The porch was the popular place to be due to the soaking rains that happened on and off during the day. Rebel and Li'l Pirate were off and running playing with their cousins in the evening light as soon as they were out of the van. It was nice to see everybody.

Aunt Martha and I sat for a while, playing with our camera settings, hoping to find the right combination. In the end, I settled on the FIREWORKS setting, just to be on the safe side. The soaking rains that had let up and given us hope for a cloudy but rain-free show decided to make a comeback! Aunt Martha and I stood under a tree with umbrellas protecting us and our camera (although mine started to leak right on my head!). Mom found a perfect spot for us to stand after discovering our first location gave us a great shot of a telephone pole.

Following the County show, my older brother set off a few...

And following that, my two oldest, Mr. Gamer (19) and Mr. Chef (17) decided it was time for Balls of Fire! Oh, yes. Literally. I have it ALL on video. But that is for another time but only because I still have to edit.