Yesterday was a great day....

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Yesterday were the finest 15 hours I, along with my better half, spent in many months, supporting the Oregon/SW Washington American Diabetes Association "Tour de Cure."

The morning at Hillsboro Stadium (and what a great facility THAT is!) was jammed with activities, set up, bike riders, staff, boxes, tables chairs and an amazing attitude for service were

prevalent. There were bands, tables, food, drink, different sponsors like UPS, Columbia Sportswear, Comcast Cable set up communications and a whole host of others gave up their days to help in this amazing effort.

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Others arrived long before we did, and we rolled in at 5:30 a.m. to get our assigned routes and to get out in front of the riders so we could check to make sure the signs were still up. And unlike last year, sign-damage and theft was minimal to non-existent.

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Each rest stop offered bike mechanics, high energy foods and drinks, great companionship and the knowledge that we were working on a project of the greatest importance for so many.

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This was our 4th year involved, and the second year in this location. The people were fantastic and the participants and support crew had a great time! With 5 routes from 10, 27, 43, 65 and 100 miles long, there were levels of participation available for all.

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Here's some pictures, but there weren't many because we put 360 miles on Big Red's clock.

A lot of signs picked up from the routes at the close. It was amazing how well the signs held up.

I look forward to it every year... the work, the people, the cause.

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Three weeks from now it's going to be the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, a walkathon at Battle Ground High School that we do for 24 hours. This will be Luke Jensen's Victory Team.

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I know money is tight, but please... either of these cause's would be well worth your cash... and your time.

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I'll be talking about this next year as well. Have a great "what's left of the Summer!"

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Does this infuriate you? It does me: The US Government is deporting Veterans.

I've made my position clear on the issue of illegal aliens: As a Nation, if we're truly concerned about ending this violation of the law, then we need to stop becoming the destination resort for the world's illegal aliens.

Giving them in-state tuition, education, medical and all the rest of the benefits they do not deserve while we're told by various governments and groups within our own borders that they will do NOTHING to enforce the laws they're sworn to uphold because they don't happen to like them.

HOWEVER, I welcome the LEGAL immigration of those who view the United States as what it is. And taking it a step further, I would guarantee American citizenship for anyone either completing an enlistment or a combat tour; anyone awarded a Purple Heart or anyone given a medical discharge for a service-connected disability.

As it turns out, it appears that SOME recruiters (certainly not all) are promising close to instant citizenship to enlistees (They have to be enlistees, since non-citizens cannot be commissioned) for signing on the dotted line.

In writing this, this isn't a "Bush" thing or an "Obama" thing. How we could POSSIBLY deport ANYONE who's put their ass on the line for this country is simply beyond my understanding. Yet, apparently, that is what we're doing:

Former National Guard soldier fights deportation

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry's father told him to serve the country he loves.

By PHIL FEROLITO

Yakima Herald-Republic

YAKIMA, Wash. —

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry's father told him to serve the country he loves.

Heeding those words, the 36-year-old Pakistani immigrant living in Yakima joined the Army National Guard and was sent to active duty at Fort Lewis and Fort Irwin in Southern California.

Now, the country he served is kicking him out.

Immigration authorities are denying him U.S. citizenship because he failed to disclose old misdemeanor convictions in Australia when he applied for a visa a decade ago.

Chaudhry - who claims he was coerced into pleading guilty to the crimes, for which he paid fines - says he didn't realize they were classified as convictions at the time. He alerted U.S. immigration authorities after learning otherwise years later.

He says his honesty is costing him his dream of living in this country with his wife Ann, a U.S. citizen.

But immigration authorities say he misrepresented himself just to further his stay in the United States. In April, he faces an immigration judge in a deportation hearing.

"There's not a word to describe the overwhelming depression," Ann Chaudhry said as her eyes moistened. "It gets you down. You just want to go crawl in a hole sometimes. It's constant and people who haven't gone through this type of problem can't comprehend what it's like."

On a recent morning, Chaudhry sits quietly in his wheelchair in his west Yakima home. His wife hands him a napkin filled with pills he takes to tolerate the pain that shoots from his broken back.

He rarely leaves his home.

He arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1998 and planned a life in the U.S. military when he joined in March 2001. A month later his application for permanent residency was approved. But a series of back injuries he sustained during training exercises that required him to repeatedly sprint and drop to the ground while toting a rifle and pack at Fort Lewis eventually confined his life to a wheelchair. He was honorably discharged in May 2006.

Despite his infirmities, Chaudhry is not leaving the country without a fight.

More:

This is wrong on so many fricking levels I can't even begin to address them all.

Sen. Patty Murray portrays herself as some sort of Veteran's Goddess. I will be discussing this with her local office tomorrow, which can be reached at 360.696.7797 or go on down there like I am to the Marshall House in beautiful downtown Ft. Vancouver.

Do NOT let this go. If Murray is all she claims, she should be able to fix this with a letter, a note, a phone call.

These men and women have bled for us and in some case, died for us. The least we can do is recognize their sacrifice and let them die as Americans... for any one of them deserves it much more than anyone else here in violation of our laws.
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Saturday was the best of times... and the worst of times. Vandalism at it's worst.

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The charity of choice for me and the missus is the American Diabetes Association. Every year they have a major fundraiser where many business and corporate entities come together to support hundreds of intrepid bicyclers who brave the heat and terrain to do the "Tour de Cure," one or more of 4 courses ranging in length from 10 miles to a bruising 108 miles.

These are all fantastic, giving people who have stood up for a cause.

This is our third year in this activity. The last two years, we acted as CinC Ice, taking care of all of the ice needs for the rest stops and the base (Start/finish) in the "Summit to Surf" events from The Summit of Mt. Hood to the town of Hood River at the confluence of the Hood River and the Columbia River.

Yesterday, the site was moved to a base in Hillsboro Stadium and points North, West and Southwest.

Friday, we joined with La Center City Councilman Troy Van Dinter and went out to "sign" the 68 mile route. Being completely unfamiliar with the area, it took on the order of 7 hours to get it done. But along with 3 other teams, all iof the courses were carefully marked with the safety of riders and motorists utmost in the minds of event organizers.

So, the next day, we get out there and begin to patrol the routes while assisting in the rest stops... only to discover that many of our route marking signs had been torn down, stolen, or moved.

Fortunately, no one was hurt as a result, but dozens of riders were misrouted into dangerous situations and up extremely difficult climbs on hills to nowhere.

Thus, we have a situation where we have people giving of themselves combined with people, or a person, whose idea of "funny" is a sickening statement of some people in society today.

This "joke" put people's lives at risk. Let us hope it never happens again.