Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas: A Message of Hope

 

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During 1943, more than 6 million military men and women spent time deployed overseas. The United States was in the midst of its involvement in World War II, and that meant sacrifices had to be made. There were food shortages, and as factories and businesses were transformed for military use, meat, shortening, and butter (among other things) had to be rationed.

The world was changing. We were changing. But during the Christmas season, time stood still. That year, Bing Crosby released his version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)" and gave voice to what millions of military men and women who would not be home for Christmas and their families were feeling. The song became the most requested tune at U.S.O. shows and, according to Yank magazine, "accomplished more for military morale than any[thing] else of that era."


Sitting around a miniature Christmas tree and opening a Christmas
package are (front row, left to right) S/Sgt. John F. Suchanek;
and Pfc. Joseph G. Pierro; and (back row) Sgt. Charles M. Myrich;
and Sgt. Leon L. Oben. All are members of F. A. Bn., 3rd Div.
Pietramelara, Italy. December 16, 1943. (Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Army)

As those men and women fought for everything that Christmas represents—peace on earth and good will toward men, new hope, and deliverance from hatred and suffering—they sacrificed all the pleasures, great and small, of the season. For them, there was no white Christmas, no mistletoe, no family gathered around the warm glow of a Christmas tree. But there was hope.

That is what this season means: hope. The Christmas story is a story of new beginnings spun from nothing. It isn't, in a traditional way, the story of a prince born into a palace. It's the story of "no room in the inn," of a child laid in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes, of a man who never did any of the things associated with worldly wealth and power and yet changed the course of human history forever. It's the story of the Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords, who chose to make a life of humility, as a carpenter and preacher, the greatest the world has ever known.

The hope we have in Christmas is the power each of us has to change the world—to improve the lives of others, and restore the brotherhood of man. Let's resolve to use that power in the New Year.

My family and I want to send our warmest greetings and best wishes to all of you. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and ring in the New Year, I invite you to join me in praying for wisdom and peace and in remembering those who won't be spending Christmas at home.

I wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Offices

Yorktown Office
401 Main Street
Yorktown, VA 23690
Phone: (757) 874-6687
Fax: (757) 874-7164

Stafford Office
95 Dunn Drive
Ste. 201
Stafford, Virginia 22556
Phone: (540) 659-2734
Fax: (540) 659-2737

Tappahannock Office
508 Church Lane
Tappahannock, VA 22560
Phone: (804) 443-0668
Fax: (804) 443-0671

Washington D.C. Office
2454 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4261
Fax: (202) 225-4382

 


 


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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Notification: York Board of Zoning Subdivision Appeals @ Thu Dec 24, 2015 7pm - 8pm (PeninsulaTeaParty.org)

York Board of Zoning Subdivision Appeals

York Hall
When
Thu Dec 24, 2015 7pm – 8pm Eastern Time
Where
301 Main St., Yorktown VA (map)
Calendar
PeninsulaTeaParty.org
Who
Admin PeninsulaTeaParty.org - organizer
Robert Bruce Alexander - creator

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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Notification: York County Board of Supervisor's meeting @ Tue Dec 15, 2015 6pm - 8:30pm (PeninsulaTeaParty.org)

York County Board of Supervisor's meeting

When
Tue Dec 15, 2015 6pm – 8:30pm Eastern Time
Where
301 Main St, Yorktown, VA 23690 (map)
Calendar
PeninsulaTeaParty.org
Who
Admin PeninsulaTeaParty.org - organizer
Robert Bruce Alexander - creator

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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Notification: York Planning Commission Meeting @ Wed Dec 9, 2015 7pm - 8pm (PeninsulaTeaParty.org)

York Planning Commission Meeting

7:00 PM - 7:00 PM Planning Commission Meeting
York Hall, 301 Main Street, Yorktown (map)
The Planning Commission typically meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm.

For more information, call the Planning Division at 757-890-3404.

View Agenda here: http://www.yorkcounty.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=1715

When
Wed Dec 9, 2015 7pm – 8pm Eastern Time
Where
301 Main Street, Yorktown, VA (map)
Calendar
PeninsulaTeaParty.org
Who
Admin PeninsulaTeaParty.org - organizer
Robert Bruce Alexander - creator

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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Rob Wittman's Weekly Update

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"Are they dead that speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act?"

Sebastian Junger, a journalist and documentary film-maker who spent a year in Afghanistan embedded with a platoon in the Korengal Valley (once considered the deadliest valley in the country) made an important observation about war. He said that "the core reality of war isn't that you might get killed out there, it's that you're guaranteed to lose your brothers."

That is a reality that I have seen, and it's one that I revisited last week as I traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan to meet with leaders in the region about what can be done to combat terrorism and create political and governmental stability in the Middle East. During the second leg of the trip, we visited the Kandahar Province, and being there with my feet on the ground took me back to a visit to the same region some years ago. I had been visiting Camp Leatherneck in the Kandahar Province with Lt. Gen. David Berger and Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus when I received word that a young Marine had been killed earlier in the day during engagement with members of the Taliban. He was going home. Together, with his brothers-in-arms, I huddled in the back of a C-130 cargo plane to mourn and honor the fallen as his dignified transfer from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base began. Being there for that and watching as those Marines paid, with precision and grace, their final respects to a brother was one of the most humbling experiences of my life as a public servant.

That's why it is so important, as we push forward with efforts to combat and destroy ISIS in the Middle East, for us to remember what is at stake. A sloppy or loose strategy that isn't properly resourced doesn't just mean that ISIS gains tactical and strategic strength, it means that American lives are unnecessarily lost.  

On Tuesday, the House Armed Service Committee held a hearing about our overall strategy for combatting terrorism in Syria and Iraq, and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the United States, at the invitation of the Iraqi government, will deploy special operations troops to conduct raids in Iraq and Syria and is looking for opportunities to "expand" U.S. special operations in Syria. Carter said a new "specialized expeditionary targeting force" will be sent to Iraq and "will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture." But if history has taught us anything, it is that putting troops on the ground without a comprehensive, well-resourced strategy is not a plan for their safety or for our military success. We need a ground presence to gain and hold territory, but without other strategic components and cooperation from our partners in the region, that is not enough.

At the same time, the major Arab powers that have been identified as essential in the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq are pulling out. Fewer than 12 of the 65 "coalition" nations assembled to fight ISIS are offering any significant support to the campaign. And General Joseph Dunford confirmed Tuesday that ISIS has not, as President Obama has claimed, been contained nor have they been contained since 2010. Now is the time for the United States to step up and be a leader and to be at the forefront so that our allies have the confidence to make a commitment to defeat global terrorism.

At home and abroad, we cannot needlessly sacrifice more American lives to ISIS's deadly campaign against the people and values of the United States and the West. We have to do more, and we have to do it in a measured and intentional way.

Offices

Yorktown Office
401 Main Street
Yorktown, VA 23690
Phone: (757) 874-6687
Fax: (757) 874-7164

Stafford Office
95 Dunn Drive
Ste. 201
Stafford, Virginia 22556
Phone: (540) 659-2734
Fax: (540) 659-2737

Tappahannock Office
508 Church Lane
Tappahannock, VA 22560
Phone: (804) 443-0668
Fax: (804) 443-0671

Washington D.C. Office
2454 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4261
Fax: (202) 225-4382

 


 


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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Notification: York County Board of Supervisors meeting @ Tue Dec 1, 2015 6pm - 9pm (PeninsulaTeaParty.org)

York County Board of Supervisors meeting

When
Tue Dec 1, 2015 6pm – 9pm Eastern Time
Where
York Hall, 301 Main Street, Yorktown, 23690 (map)
Calendar
PeninsulaTeaParty.org
Who
Admin PeninsulaTeaParty.org - organizer

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