I picked up the May/June issue of Military Spouse magazine recently and though I really enjoyed the whole thing, my favorite part was an article in which they featured three mompreneurs who have a lot to offer.  (I blogged about the article over at Workerette.com, it was so interesting!)

I know there are a lot of military homeschoolers popping in here at HomeschoolBlogger, so I want to encourage y'all to go visit Tara Crooks of ArmyWifeTalkRadio.com the next time you need a lift or a laugh.  I found her site because of this article, and it's the most impressive of the three businesses featured.  I can't wait to hear more of what she has to say!

There's also an excellent two-part feature about stress...a must read!

We remain the land of the free, because of the brave.  This holiday weekend, and all days, remember to honor those who have gone before and those who serve today.  Independence is not only about having the "right" to do what you please; it is about taking the responsibility to answer for what you've done and to think through what you will do.  Those who do not recognize their weaknesses will never overcome them.

(Flag image courtesy of BusinessKnowHow.com.  Used by permission.  Get your own flag images here.)

Three more reasons I love the Patriot Post:

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." —Plato

"[D]uring World War II, the Japanese...gave their psychological warfare script to their famous broadcaster 'Tokyo Rose' and every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in different ways, hoping it would have a negative impact on American GI's morale. What was that demoralizing message? It had three main points: 1. Your President is lying to you. 2. This war is illegal. 3. You cannot win the war." —David Horowitz

And one for a chuckle:

"First Lady Laura Bush said President Bush wakes her up every morning by bringing her coffee in bed. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton says Bill Clinton wakes her up every morning by sneaking back into bed." —Conan O'Brien

It doesn't take a genius to know that sometimes the folks who live and work in a community are the ones best charged with keeping it safe.  After all, don't many of us have an urge, at one level or another, to keep the places we love sound and enjoyable?

Unfortunately commitment levels vary.  That's why I was so impressed by this article about "airport rangers" in the Washington Post (free registration required).  Drawing on a resource that pulls in members of the community, and relies less on expensive technology than on supplies many of the folks already have (cell phones and horses). 

Now that's genius!  Citizen soldiers and community police are not new ideas.  They are positions each of us can fill in one way or another.  How are you helping to keep your neighborhood and city safe?

Read this article over at Yahoo! a moment ago.  It gives a good look at a unique situation some military families face as members of the Alaska National Guard are called up for service in Iraq.  It's my belief that many military spouses and families are well-versed in being prepared for what may come; these families serve an even better example of what preparedness and hardship can really mean!

Just read this in the PatriotPost:

"The Marine incident, and its aftermath, at Haditha tells us much more about the media than it does about the Marines. And what it tells us ought to outrage us to the core. On every radio and television show I appeared on last week (and all I observed) in which this topic came up, without exception at least one of the media people immediately attempted to implicate not just the still-presumed-innocent Marines, but the American military's leadership and methods in general... The [media] has already started to report this story in a manner that is likely to do vast damage that may last for several years to the morale (and possibly recruitment) of our military. It will create a propaganda catastrophe of strategic proportions in our mortal struggle with radical Islam and its terrorist spear point. And all this is being done by journalists who are seemingly oblivious to the consequences of their acts... To see the gleam in the eyes of reporters happily cackling on about 'other possible incidents' —about which they know not whether they even exist—is to be filled with a fury that we have a system of journalism that permits people with such mentalities to poison the minds of the world with their malice... [I]n the lunatic asylum that is today's America-at-war journalism, one possibly unfortunate event opens a floodgate of over-reporting, misreporting and just plain lying. Nothing is too harsh or too untrue to say about our military by these (fill in the blank)... [T]he journalists today are too swept up in their own danse macabre to even notice the murderous consequences of their own malfeasance—or to hear the demands of simple decency." —Tony Blankley

Just a quick reminder that next Wednesday, 14 June, is Flag Day. 

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) website has some good resources for learning about the flag, including flag etiquette and proper disposal of flags.

For a lesson about the history of Flag Day itself, check out USFlag.org, which has quite a few interesting articles. 

Feeling crafty?  Try EnchantedLearning.com for some project ideas.  Families who use the Unit Study method of homeschooling may enjoy the suggestions over at TheHolidayZone.com as well.

I just spotted this announcement on the HomeschoolBlogger Company Porch...watch for my own contribution later this evening. 

Here's the basics: Trish Nonaka, HSB's coordinator for military homeschooling, has asked us to participate in Patriotic Fridays on our blogs. 

She says:

We (myself and the other writers for the HomeFront e-Newsletter) decided to start Patriotic Fridays on our blogs. We've set aside each Friday to show our pride in America and our support for our military troops. We would love to have everyone from HSN and HSB join in! They simple [sic] have to blog about something positive about America, the troops or show their red,white and blue pride and then let us know they did either by a comment on HSN-Military or link to us in their entry with this: Show your American pride!

This post over at Policital Cortex broke my heart.  Too many of my generation have no clue what PTSD is...and too many who are learning about it the hard way will suffer after service to their country with no one to help them.

Please take a moment to remember ALL of our troops, past and present, today (the observance day) and tomorrow (the original date of Memorial Day).  Take a moment to learn about the background of the holiday as well.

Hoping this holiday weekend found you and yours safe and sound.

Today, 20 May 2006, is the third Saturday of the month...which officially makes it Armed Forces Day.  Go to the Department of Defense site for links to the history of the holiday, an events listing, and more. 

To all the troops that have gone before us, that serve today, and that will grow and learn to serve in the future...and to the families and friends that support them...thank you.

To the men in my family, who have all served (4 in the Army, 2 in the Navy, 1 in the Marines and 1 in the Air Force), along with the truly countless friends who have served or currently serve in our armed forces...thank you.