Fraters Libertas

From Russia, With Love

Recently, Fraters correspondent the Silver Bullet was dispatched to Russia with two missions. First, get the straight dope on European media bias for posting on Fraters Libertas. Second, adopt a child. I'm happy to announce she has successfully accomplished both. Here's her report:

This will be a rambling epistle, I'm sure. I'm suffering from jet lag, new parenthood, and the ill effects of returning to work 3 days after returning from Russia with the most beautiful 7 month old baby boy on earth. Self employment has its benefits, but "family and medical leave" ain't one of them.

For the last two weeks, our only news source has been the BBC. Since our return, I haven't had time to read Fraters Libertas, watch Fox News, or listen to Hugh Hewitt to cleanse my brain of the anti-American filth. There was almost no mention on the international news of the beheading of an American civilian, but there was hourly coverage of the "atrocities" perpetrated by the American soldiers. I don't know, but to me, most of the so-called atrocities looked more like bad high school football hazing incidents. Worthy of prosecution, but not comparable to, oh I don't know, A RECORDED BEHEADING OF A CIVILIAN.

We were fortunate, though, that the two couples traveling with us were military. One, a lieutenant colonel in the Army, just back from a year in Iraq, and the other a Marine just returned from his 6 month tour. The stories they told were 180 degrees from what the media portrays. They contended that, with few exceptions, the Iraqis are thrilled that the Americans are there. That the schools are being rebuilt, the infrastructure renewed, the people being fed and receiving medical care. That the "insurgents" are terrorists imported from across Iraq's porous border. And the military is happy to be fighting them over there, and not over here. And both these guys, one stationed on the west coast, and one on the east, came home from the desert, and immediately packed up their wives and headed back around the world to adopt a baby and bring them back to the greatest country ever seen on earth.

Real nasty jerks, those American military guys. To get these children out of a country that hasn't yet rebuilt from WWII. It struck me as I was there, listening to the BBC bitch about the US not doing enough to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, that I've never heard ANYONE complain that Germany hasn't done enough to rebuild Russia after World War II. And hell, after 60 years, why hasn't Russia done enough to rebuild Russia??

I learned a lot, I guess. I learned that I'm safer kissing the dirty floor of JFK airport than I am drinking the water in Europe. That Europe is not even able to solve its own most basic problems, much less those of other parts of the world. And that, right now, I wouldn't want anyone other than George Bush calling the shots on what's best for America. As if I didn't know the last part already.

Fraters Libertas sends out a hearty congratulations to the Silver Bullet family on their bouncing new baby boy. As the progeny of a Russian immigrant grandmother myself, I couldn't be happier to have another comrade added to the great American mix. And it sounds like this kid is going to be brought up right. Extremely right, since apparently his early cognitive development will be highly influenced by nationally syndicated shock jock Hugh Hewitt.

No sooner had I finished writing you my rambling Russian saga, than I turn on the Hugh Hewitt show to give my new baby his first dose of brilliant conservative commentary, and it's not Hugh, but you!! And he promptly puked on me. I'm sure it's a coincidence......Teasing of course. How great!!

Coincidence or not, I think puking might be the least of your worries. Give this kid a few months of exposure to Hugh Hewitt and his first word just might be "Minne-so-cold". Or worse yet, "Erwin Chemerinsky". Don't say we didn't warn you.