MORE LIVE BLOGGING BY KICK BUTT NCOs

[trillian]

FIGHTING DEM TRIBUTE TO SARGES II – More Live Blogging by Kick Butt NCOs!
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/2/125810/3597

In our honoring of the "Fighting Dem Vets" running to take back Congress, we encounter a goodly number of commissioned officers – men of command, intelligence and skills that can now be of service to their country in yet another theater of combat. Yet we must not allow their high profiles to overshadow a number of non-commissioned officers (technically E-4 and up, but we include all enlisted personnel here) who are also battling to take back the Hill.

There are, in fact, about 30 former enlisted personnel running for office this year. For this reason, the Tribute to Sarges will be divided into several segments and presented on different days over the next month or so, with the first group up today.

Last week we honored the following eight enlisted personnel running for the House of Representatives. Since some of them will be return blogging today, you can read about them here:

Rick Bolaños (TX-23), John Courage (TX-21), Bill Durston (CA-03), Bill Falzett (CA-02), John Laesch (IL-14), Karen Marie Otter (CA-52), Steve Waterworth (IL-18), and Bill Winter (CO-06).

This week we are paying tribute to seven more NCOs, some of whom will be live blogging today as well.

Lee Ballenger, Tom Kovach (PA-18), Richard Siferd (OH-04), Eric Streit (KY-01), Joe Sulzer (OH-18), Tim Walz (MN-01), and John L. Wolfe

Next week we will present the remaining NCOs and other enlisted personnel in Fighting Dem Tribute to Sarges III.
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The paeans of praise for crusty sarges as the backbone of the military are legion. Here is a litany of items that describe what a Real Sergeant is:

"The first sergeant...is about the most indispensable, certainly one of the most famous and probably the most terrifying personage in the United States Army" (Samuel T. Williamson, NY Times, 1942). And when Gen. George Marshall was asked in 1933 what he could spare to use for his command with the Civilian Conservation Corps, he replied, "I will run this command with first sergeants." And there is even one of Murphy’s laws about Sarges with the dread warning: "Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants."
And a Real Sergeant one that can cuss for ten minutes without ever repeating a word. A Real Sergeant has a spine. A Real Sergeant can play a cherry Lieutenant like a finely tuned instrument. A Real Sergeant has eyes in the back of his head and can see in the dark. A Real Sergeant doesn't give a damn about being politically correct. A Real Sergeant would have paid money to see Custer getting his clock cleaned. A Real Sergeant know spit from Shinola. A Real Sergeant has more time on the front-line than most officers have in the chow line. And a Real Sergeant has more stripes than officers have bars or stars.

Below are the profiles of our Fighting Dem NCOs and enlisted personnel that are now running to kick a$$ in Congress

(See also our Muster Roll on Fighting-Dems.com and Band of Brothers): Other sites promoting Fighting Dems are Air America, VetPAC, Swing States Project, IAVA PAC, and /Blue Force).

Lee Ballenger for U.S. Congress (SC-03)

U.S. Navy
Website
Contribute
Lee Ballenger spent six years in the U.S. Navy as a missile fire control technician and was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for service during U.S. operations in the Iran-Iraq War and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his role during operations in the Persian Gulf. He also earned the Navy Achievement Medal for saving a fellow shipmate's life in that conflict. As a veteran, he understands what it is to serve on the front lines on behalf of our country. Lee says, "In government, dignity is best expressed through democracy that lives in the hearts of all humans and is rooted in self-determination. We must ensure that no one threatens the core principles of democracy: values, security, liberty and prosperity. By promoting and protecting these ideals, we are promoting and protecting not only our future, but also the future of our children. We are extending to them that which our forefathers, through the hard-won liberty of our great nation, extended to us: the hope that we call America."



U.S. Navy
Website
Contribute
Tom is proud to be one of the millions of Americans who has served this country and its defense. He enlisted in the Navy and was trained as a nuclear machinist mate. Most of his career was spent on USS Nimitz minding the teakettle. That experience, training, and confidence led him to become a fighting Democrat in Pennsylvania’s 18th District to take that seat away from the do-nothing, rubber stamp of Tim Murphy next November. Tom says, "I'm running for U.S. Congress because I'm sick and tired of seeing average Americans getting stuck with the short end of the stick. We are tired of getting a smaller share of America's economic pie. We are tired of mortgaging our futures and the futures of our children to pay for higher education. We are sick of seeing the very wealthy get tax cuts, while we shoulder more of the tax burden. We are tired of paying more for health care while getting fewer benefits. And finally, we are sick and tired of being doormats for corporations. I will provide the type of representation in Washington our district deserves. I need your help to return our country back to the middle class. We are inviting people from every walk of life to join our campaign. This grassroots push will work hand-in-hand with support from Democratic party officials to show we are the party of cooperation and can get things accomplished by all working together."


Eric Streit for Congress (KY-01)


U.S. Navy
Website
Contribute
At the age of 17, Eric enlisted in the United States Navy. He was stationed aboard the USS Simon Lake in Holy Loch, Scotland for two years before serving aboard the USS Paul and USS Gallery, both deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Eric later pursued a career in the entertainment industry, accepting a variety of internships and entry level jobs in Orlando, Florida from 1993 to 1995. After arriving in Los Angeles in 1996, Eric found work as an assistant before rising through the ranks as an associate producer, writer, development executive and segment producer before finally becoming a member of the Director's Guild of America. Working on location for six months in 1997, Eric had an opportunity to see a new democracy being built from the ground up in Lithuania. Mr. Streit's recent work includes Animal Planet's That's My Baby, Travel Channel's Underway: Life at Sea, and Intervention, the critically acclaimed documentary series that reveals the harsh realities of drug addiction. When elected, Eric wants to bring the same principles of teamwork and compromise that he learned in the Navy to the Halls of U.S. Congress, and end the partisanship and corruption that has gone on for far too long. Eric will devote tireless energy to the citizens of Kentucky. No longer should a rich Washington insider dictate the lives of the hard working residents of Kentucky’s first district.

Richard Siferd for U.S. Congress (OH-04)

U.S. Army
Website
Online contributions on home page on link at the top of the page, /Online Contributions.
Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965. After Basic training at Ft. Knox, KY, and then Ft. Sill, OK for training in artillery, he was sent to Germany before volunteering for service in Vietnam where he served in the Central Highlands. When rotated out of Vietnam, he was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky where he served out his enlistment as a drill sergeant and was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant. He returned to Ohio State University and finished with a B.A. in 1970 and entered law school at Case Western Reserve. He graduated in 1973 in the upper third of his class. He began practicing in Lima in 1973 in a general business practice. He was hired as an assistant City Prosecutor in 1974 and in 1981 he was elected as Law Director for the City of Lima and served a four-year term. Richard is married to Mary Beth and has four children and two step-daughters. His youngest son is a senior at Lima Senior High School. Richard says, "I will fight for the citizens, businesses and governments in this District. I want to restore balance in Washington. I want to restore the good stewardship that has been lost. I was born in this District, grew up in this District and have raised a family in this District. As a lawyer and small businessman, I know the problems confronting businesses and how governmental regulations can help and hurt businesses. As a Vietnam veteran, I will fight for the rights of veterans. I honor those who are serving and have served. I will fight for an orderly withdrawal of our men and women in uniform from Iraq. I am a fighter and I will fight for you. Be strong and we will win."

Joe Sulzer for U.S. Congress (OH-18)

U.S. Army
Website
Contributions
Joe Sulzer is an Army veteran who volunteered to serve during the Vietnam War and was in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. Joe continued to serve his country after returning home and attending Ohio University on the G.I. Bill. Joe was first a Chillicothe City Councilman and later Mayor of Chillicothe and then a State Representative. He is now taking on the scandal-plagued Republican Bob Ney in his heavily Republican district. Joe says, "The long overdue winds of change are blowing throughout Ohio. I am running for Congress to restore our values to Washington and because for too long I've seen what the current culture of corruption in Washington has done to our communities. Devastating trade deals have sent our good paying jobs overseas. Horrible health care legislation, written by the big pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, has increased the cost of prescription drugs and created more concern and stress for our seniors. Unfunded federal mandates have devastated our local schools' budgets, and have only taught our children how to take more and more tests. I am running because people like Bob Ney, people who abuse their office and our trust for personal gain, have to go. I was born in raised in Chillicothe, Ohio, and for more than 30 years I have served my country and my community. We all have too much invested in this state and this country to let it slip away because of corrupt politicians. It's time that we stand together against the powerful special interests and the politicians that are in their pocket. Together, we can clean up Washington and return our values of honesty, integrity, and common-sense solutions to Congress."


Tim WALZ for U.S. Congress (MN-1)

U.S. Army National Guard
Website
https://services.myngp.com/ngponlineservices/contribution.aspx?X=VY%2bP6pStlMidPvE%2fUCe%2b%2bxf4h8MYJ03O">Contributions
After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired after serving overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. After he finished high school, Walz accepted a temporary teaching position at the Native American Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. It was his experience at the Pine Ridge reservation that convinced Tim to follow his father’s lead and become an educator. In 1989, Walz earned a B.S. in social science education from Chadron State College in Nebraska. Harvard University offered Walz an opportunity to teach in the People's Republic of China. Following his return, Tim developed a program of cooperation between American and Chinese students that continues to this day, called Educational Travel Adventures, Inc. Over the years, Walz has also served as a visiting Fellow of International Relations at the Macau Polytechnic University and full-time in the Army National Guard. He taught and coaching in Nebraska where he was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce for his service in the education, military, and small business communities. Married in Nebraska where he met his wife, Tim and Gwen Walz moved to Mankato, Minnesota where both taught at Mankato West High School and where Tim continues to teach today. Tim has been recognized as the 2002 Minnesota Ethics in Education award winner, the 2003 Mankato Teacher of the Year, and the 2003 Minnesota Teacher of Excellence. Walz completed his master's degree in educational leadership in 2001 and is currently working on his doctorate at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota. Tim says, "Improving America requires that we improve the quality of our leadership. The era of closed-door favors to insider lobbyists must come to an end, but we cannot rely on those that are part of the culture of corruption to police themselves. To bring about such an end, change must come from the grassroots level. When elected, I will consistently vote to give the House ethics committee authority to investigate and indict members without the consent of party leadership. I will also vote to strengthen lobbyist registration rules, bar lobbyists from congressional chambers and ban all privately funded congressional trips."


John L. Wolfe for U.S. Congress (OH-13)

U.S. Army
Website
Contributions
John is a veteran of World War II and served in Korea. He is dedicated to improving the economic well-being and quality of life for all Ohioans. His primary issues are: A STABLE AND SECURE FUTURE for our country by quickly ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq, which has spawned needless loss of life, out-of-control military spending, unmanageable and oppressive national debt, and made us less secure. PROTECTION OF WORKERS rather than the protection of large corporations and vested interests, including the enactment of wise and fair trade agreements with competing nations, the protection of retirees' pensions and benefits, and the elimination of unfair employee benefit laws. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY for all Americans, including more affordable educational and vocational training opportunities, and the repeal of the newly-enacted Bankruptcy Act, which favors corporations over individuals and denies equal protection. SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR ALL, including reforming our health care system, protecting our environment, repealing unfair tax breaks for the wealthy, protecting social security, and respecting our right of privacy. His accomplishments show great dedication and perseverance in whatever endeavor he pursues. If elected in 2006, John will give the same dedication in representing the people of Ohio’s 13th District in the United States Congress. John Wolfe will be a worthy successor to Congressman Sherrod Brown, who has so ably represented America, Ohio, and the 13th District.

DEDICATION

In Memoriam:
Major Noel William Schutz (ret.)
The best top kick in the army


This diary is particularly dear to me since my Dad began his career as a S/Sgt in the Missouri National Guard at the famous “Battery A” Armory in St. Louis and spent most of his career as a top kick. He was also a lifelong Democrat (perhaps from his parents’ roots as farmers in Southern Illinois).

We lived in a house a couple doors down from the armory on Hickory Street, and I remember running up the horse ramp at the back of the armory to meet Dad after work every night. Battery A, first battalion, of the 128th Field Artillery was inducted (25 Nov ’40) and went to Fort Jackson, NC and then to the Tent City at Camp Blanding, FL. We lived in St. Augustine except when my sister Joanne was born when Dad put me on a mat under his bunk in the huge tents they used for barracks. I even went on maneuvers in a swamp riding the cook truck (how did he get away with all that?). We were shot down by a plane passing overhead (I guess we were representing the enemy) so had to just hang around and enjoy the chow. I had the run of the camp and especially liked going to the canteens where the soldiers bought me candy bars and cokes. The life of an army brat!
Dad left for OCS before their unit was deployed to become part of Patton’s Third Army. I recently got a note from a bona fide war hero, John Glascock, who maintains a World War II Gallery site” (my Dad is in one of the pictures). John wrote me, "Hi Noel, Thanks for reviewing my WWII gallery! I joined Battery A in January 1939 and knew your dad from that date on until he left us to go to OCS. I am sure I met you when you visited the Battery. Best regards, John Glascock." Though Dad went to OCS and became an officer for the better part of WWII, and later served as such with the occupation forces in Germany, actually with Patton’s Third Army, Dad came back to the States and re-upped as a top sarge doing recruiting in his beloved Minnesota (fishing when not recruiting). He was called away to serve as the “Old Man” with the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea, running up and down Old Baldy. Dad’s ended his career after serving at the Marquette University ROTC unit as the first sarge, though he retired with his reserve rank of major. He planned to settle in Florida, but passed on before he could realize his dream.

Noel William Schutz, Jr.

[Dunvegan]

1. The Fighting Dems are extraordinary, and a major affirmation of the party.

This is the party I grew up supporting...a party that embraces Americans that build this country as hard-working, brave and sacrificing citizens that believe in public service.

I'm having strong "JFK" flash-backs whenever I read about our military first-time Democratic politicians.

This is a MAJOR "big tent" building paradigm shift for the Democrats. I just cannot emphasize enough how incredible this spontanious combustion of new military service people into our ranks strikes me.

This SHOULD be one of our "Top Five" (no more than 5) platform issues at the convention in 2008: Industrial military complex overhaul. From the bottom up, and from the inside out.

And this massive influx of vets gives us the undisputed expertise in addressing this particularly charlie-foxtrotted psychopathy-on-steriods of the current Republican Empire.

Considering the numbers, and their strong grass-roots foundations, we're going to see a big impact from our new vets...Dubya and ilk have their "Base"...the hyper-haves, and we have ours: the everyday heroes.

"I'll take courage and competence for 2008, Alex."

These candidates, that have already served our country with personal valor, builds our Democratic spectrum to the full glory of the true American patriot prism.

Had they been with us earlier, in the 2004 election, they would have joined to jam the "swift boating project" straight back down the non-serving CIC's and Veep's throat, in a combat second.

Come November, I'd say the dedication, discipline, and sacrifice that these candidates show will be a "tipping point" in gathering support among the swing/undecided/disgruntled Paleo-Conservatives. The Democratic party IS the party of the people, all the people.

These incredible candidates are one of our top five keys to taking back the kingdom, and sending all the Nero's home to fiddle with themselves while we burn through the House and the Senate seats.

[trillian]

3. You bettcha!

Go on over and say hello to them.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/2/125810/3597

[Dunvegan]

5. Thanks for the link...

...I'll follow it.

I'll follow these candidates through Hell itself, if I have to.

It's Support Our Troops time!

[jen4clark]

2. Thanks trillian!!

Everybody come over to the kos diary where a bunch of Fighting Dem Vets are "talking", answering questions, etc!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/2/125810/3597

[Dunvegan]

4. You're a treasure, Trillian. I cannot thank you enough for posting...

...these "Profiles in Courage"...I just keep misting up with inspirational memories of the Kennedy administration's cornerstone American philosophy, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Many thanks, Trillian. K*R, "to the moon, Alice...to the moon!"

[Joanne98]

6. We need Dems who can fight. Let's run more of them.

[Dunvegan]

7. Support Our Trooops...Just a little means so very much.

Over at Kos, one of the Fighting Dems posted, and I'm reposting it below.

I went to the site of one of my state's Fighting Dems and signed up for a small monthly contribution.

They are saying that just $10 from supportive Dems will make all the difference for them.

Remember: These people are NOT gorging from anyone's pork-barrel trough.

Want to beat the lobbist's strangle-hold on Washington? Help these people afford to run a basic campaign. Their reputations will carry the rest.

Just $10 each, one time, to turn America around?

That's the Bargain of the Century.

Fighting Dems - Eric Streit

Leo,

We need about 3 million more activist dems like you. The republicans have stomped on the democrats in every KY-01 election for the past 12 years because the republican party ensures their candiates are well funded by large corporations and special interest groups.

If we had a more democrats who were willing to contribute just $10 to their favorite candidate, we could take back the congress much more easilly. As it stands, it is so tough to fight a Republican smear campaign with the budgets we have to work with, as opposed to the million dollar republican machine.

Spread the word that it only takes $10 contributions to help affect change! A little spare change makes a huge difference!

Thanks so much for pointing it out!

Eric Streit
www.StreitForCongress.com

by Fighting Dem Vets on Sun Apr 02, 2006 at 01:11:17 PM PDT