Thomas Paine

These past few days have been trying, no doubt. But a patriot long ago wrote that "these are the times that try men's souls." It was December 23, 1776 and the essay, or pamphlet was titled "The Crisis" written by Thomas Paine. If you've never read this brilliant piece, do so because when you feel like giving up because of anger, despair, frustration and/or pessimism, we have to decide what price we are willing to pay for liberty.

Most of you know that my son Sergeant Eddie Jeffers paid the price, as President Abraham Lincoln said at the Gettysburg Address, "the last full measure." Eddie at times felt like giving up; he even wrote about in his article "Freedom Feels Good":

But more than anyone, I sometimes see futility in my actions. I fight, I kill, I scar myself emotionally, psychologically, and in some ways physically...and as I lay in the dark at night, I wonder what it's for. I wonder if the Iraqi people will ever get it together or if the country will collapse on itself whether I am here or not. It makes me angry, and a big part of me is content to let it fall apart. Part of me doesn't care what happens to this God-forsaken city after I leave it...as long as “me and my boys” make it out in one piece.

But that is the viewpoint of a man who wishes his actions to be in vain. I do not. I have lost very close friends over here. I don't want their lives to have been given in vain. Simply put, we are fighters. We are all in the same place for various reasons, for me, it's personal. I am in a modern day crusade to exterminate evil. People whose atrocities I cannot even begin to name cannot be allowed to exist among us. As long as these people are here, everything that is just and good is at risk.

I get as mad as the next person over our side not fighting the good fight, the strong fight, fighting in a manner I was never allowed to while in the Army or my son would have never entertained in combat.

And then I remember that those, for the most part, serving in Congress are not our military...not even close. They have the luxury of compromise, bipartisanship, winning the media war, and whatever else excuse they come up with to justify their weaknesses.

But I cannot dwell on that; it is a distraction. I need to keep focused on ensuring that we continue to fight the statists in the White House and the Democrat Party. I need to keep focused on continuing to scourge the Republican Party of the RINOs in leadership and those so quickly willing to "cross the aisle" to work in a bipartisanship manner...with the statists.

Patriots, we need to continue to elect men like Marco Rubio who refused to vote for the languid legislation some are still trying to tell us was a good bill.

And be there no doubt that many in the ruling class of the GOP would love for us to stomp our feet and take our toys home. You see, many of the Rockefeller Republicans are perfectly comfortable being in the minority because then they can "vote on principle" knowing their vote will not change the outcome but give them top cover. That is the height of political cowardice and those are the politicians who should no longer be representing WE the People.

So, now that a few days have passed, let's take some glass cleaner to our looking glasses and be ever vigilant of Capitol Hill and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

We do not let up the pressure.

We do not take our eye off the objective.

We cannot be "summer soldiers" or "sunshine patriots" that "shrink from the service of [our] country."

We must and can stay the course.

Our very liberty is at stake...