"Before You Go" - Thank You Veterans And Happy Veterans Day!!!!

I got the below email from an online friend and thought I would share it on this day of thanks and remembrance for our Veterans.  Here is the video on YouTube, which I wanted to embed here but they have the embedding turned off so you'll have to go to the YouTube or the "Before You Go" website to watch and hear this fine song.

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg (WWII and Korean War Version)

http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg_vn (Vietnam War Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A393E3wF-o

(The below email that I received seems to be an edited version of the full story here... http://www.beforeyougo.us/the_story_behind_before_you_go)

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!


Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, FL, eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss " the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach . "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:
http://www.managedmusic.com/Music/PlayBeforeYouGo.php

Thank you Veterans... and Happy Veterans Day!!!

Lenny Vasbinder

A Taxpayer Petition in Support of Preventing Tax HIkes - NTU.org (National Taxpayers Union)

I just signed the petition from the NTU directing Congress to pass legislation continuing the current tax rates (aka The President Bush Tax Cuts), otherwise a THREE TRILLION DOLLAR tax hike will take place next year... and we all know that Washington does NOT need to be spending and wasting even more money.  They already get $2.4 TRILLION to spend and can't even spend that responsibly and since Obama has been in office, they have been spending over a TRILLION DOLLARS MORE than the allowed $2.4 TRILLION (meaning deficits of OVER A TRILLION dollars a year under Obama AND $1.4 TRILLION THIS YEAR... which would be comparable to a family making $100,000 a year and spending over $140,000 a year and we all know that won't work!!!!)

Anyhow.. here's the link where you can sign the petition and I strongly encourage you to do so.

https://secure3.convio.net/ntu/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=983&JServSessionIdr004

A Taxpayer Petition in Support of Preventing Tax Hikes

If Congress doesn’t act before the end of the year to prevent it, we’ll see an enormous $3 trillion tax hike take effect on January 1, 2011. Every single American, rich, poor, or in between, will see their income taxes rise, investment taxes skyrocket, and the revival of the currently expired Death Tax. These new burdens will devastate families and businesses across the country as they struggle to shake off the effects of the recession. Congress should act immediately to permanently extend current tax rates.


Recipients:
 
President Barack Obama
Your Senators
Your Representative

Message


A Taxpayer Petition in Support of Preventing Tax Hikes

Dear [Decision Maker],

Whereas, failing to act before the end of the year would lead to $3 trillion worth of tax hikes taking immediate effect at the beginning of 2011;

Whereas, failing to act before the end of the year would cause every income tax bracket to rise, investment taxes to skyrocket, and the currently expired Death Tax to return with a vengeance;

Whereas, higher taxes will devastate our shaky recovery by reducing incentives for individuals and businesses to work and invest;

Whereas, more than 300 economists from all across the country and the ideological spectrum signed on to a letter supporting extension of lower tax rates;

Whereas, the American people sent a resounding message in the 2010 midterm elections that they support lower taxes and smaller government;

Therefore: I urge the President and the United States Congress to act immediately to prevent huge new tax burdens by permanently extending current tax rates.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Scariest (or cutest) costume of the year? - GlennBeck.com

Kids dressed as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin... best costumes of the year...

Halloween, Mardi Gras, Tea Party Events, etc.

Read the full story here:

 http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/47496/