“It doesn’t really matter who the nominee is gonna be.The core philosophy that they’re expressing is the same. And the contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and what — where they say they want to take the country is gonna be stark.”WEDNESDAY - Febrary 8, 2012, 7:00 P.M. Next Westside Republicans Meeting
Come hear from & meet
Lynn Haueter - our new GOP County Chair
Lynn is an educator, a mother and longtime GOP grassroots activist with bold plans for the Rrepublicab Party of Los Angeles County.
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Jerry’s Deli – Westwood. 10925 Weyburn Ave. Westwood, Ca. 90024
Col. John Fer, USAF (ret.)
Hanoi Hilton POW John Fer to speak.
We’re excited to inform you that Colonel John Fer, a former cell-mate of Senator John McCain, & Constitutional Law Attorney You won’t want to miss
this.
It was February 4, 1967, when Captain John Fer and six other airmen were dispatched in a Douglas EB66C Skywarrior over North Vietnam. About 40 miles from the China border, in Bac Thai Province, the aircraft was hit by two missiles from a mobile tracking station, breaking the aircraft in half. Three of the airmen, including Fer (then just age 30), were captured. The remains of two others later were recovered; and one remains missing. Bleeding from shrapnel wounds and dressed only in shorts and undershirt, Fer at first feared that the prevailing winds had taken him into China, from which he would never emerge. Fortunately, that was not the case.
Forty-five minutes after touch down, Fer was surrounded by crowds of people waving aged rifles. Marched by the militia along paths lined with peasants holding sickles, he came to a building—the village head man’s house in which a picture of Uncle Ho hung. Fer breathed a sigh of relief; he was not in China. Chants of “war criminal” and “air pirate” filled the air for three hours until a truck arrived with John’s navigator inside. 
Both men were taken to Hanoi. It was February, and it was cold.
An interrogator they called the “Eagle” came into the room where Fer sat waiting. The Eagle asked John what his unit was. John responded with name, rank, and service number. He was smacked in the face. The Eagle asked a second time for John’s unit. Again, John replied with his name, rank, and service number. Again, he was smacked in the face, only harder this time.
After a third attempt by the Eagle failed, Fer was handcuffed and his arms stretched out behind him and strapped so that all circulation was cut off. The Eagle left the room, and John called out, “Okay, I’ll tell you the unit.” The Eagle returned, untied Fer, and the circulation rushed back.
“What was your unit?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Fer was back in the straps again. He learned that the key to avoiding painful torture was to give false information. But you had to remember what information you gave because the interrogators took notes.
B-52 bombing runs from Guam frightened the North Vietnamese captors and provided some breathing space for Fer and the other POWs. While in isolation, he began a prayer ritual. From a small piece of rope, he formed a rosary, which became part of an early morning ritual of pacing five steps up and back while praying, exercising, and praying again.
For the North Vietnamese, isolation was key to breaking down allegiance to your country. For the POWs, communications was instrumental in maintaining their sanity. A 5×5 alphabet matrix was developed, in which prisoners communicated by tapping on the walls. If the message was understood, the recipient tapped twice; if not, he tapped several times. It was a simple, yet ingenious way to communicate. On Sundays, camp-wide church services began with a tap on the wall signaling individual recitation of the Lord’s Prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance while facing east toward the United States. Before sleep, tapping would spell out “Good Night, God Bless You” (actually spelled out “GN, GBU”).
Another key to remaining sane was mental exercises. Learning aerodynamics or a foreign language were great ways to maximize quiet time. One POW memorized t
he 350 names of his fellow POWs alphabetically. Fer learned Spanish, French, German, and Russian during his stay.
Feeding the spirit was also vital. Each religious denomination had a chaplain. John McCain (right) was the Presbyterian chaplain. Every Sunday, church services opened with a prayer, reading of memorized scriptures, and hymns that were written by a POW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd9HJaHkXI4
Paul Ryan’s 2012 Budget Reform plan,“Path to Propserity,” is a big deal. A very big deal. Its proposed $6.2 trillion of savings over 10 years (measured against Obama’s budget); Revising Medicare; Spending limitations, rollbacks, and freezes. Repeal of ObamaCare. Cutting corporate welfare. But his “Path to Prosperity” is about economic growth, not just spending. Tax simplification is one aspect, and so is lowering corporate taxes on businesses. Ryan respects Americans—especially taxpayers. He speaks to us like adults. While most of his critics carp without offering any alternative, Ryan has delivered a needed challenge before we fall totally over the fiscal cliff. =======================================
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Pres. Obama on being asked by CBS reporter Steve Kroft how the president sized up the field of Republicans vying to be his opponent in 2012.
