Op-ed:

On Memorial Day...And Always  

By: Diane Sori / The Patriots Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

This an opinion piece and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com and was originally published on Memorial Day 2018. 

Today is Memorial Day and while many will go to the beach or enjoy a hearty barbecue, let’s not forget the real reason for this most special and solemn of days…a day to remember and honor those who put their lives on the line for our beloved country…a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for a purpose they believed was greater than themselves…a purpose of keeping "We the People" safe and free at home.

And while political battles continue in D.C. and across the nation, Memorial Day offers us the chance for all Americans…no matter our race, creed, color, religion, party affiliation, or whether this president is our president of choice…to unite together and remember the one thing we all we have in common...gratitude...gratitude for those who served…gratitude for the brave men and women who proudly wore but sadly died wearing our nation’s uniform…gratitude so that we can go to that beach and can enjoy that barbecue.

On Memorial Day there should be no hyphenated Americans (nor should there ever be)…just Americans bowing their heads together in prayer as the flag of these United States is raised throughout this great nation, and then as it's solemnly lowered to half-staff. On this day let us remember the more than one million American patriots who gave their lives in service to this country. And when the flag is once again raised high at noon we must also remember to not allow their sacrifice to be in vain for a nation that forgets its true heroes is a nation that loses its soul.

Memorial Day is a day when we should teach our children the importance of the sacrifices made by so many to ensure their freedoms and the freedoms of generations to come.

Memorial Day is a day when many Americans will visit cemeteries or memorials nationwide to place small flags at the base of the headstones of the fallen to let them know they are not forgotten nor will they ever be.

Memorial Day is a day to honor the remains buried at the Tomb of the "Unknown Soldier" for while he, brave soldier whomever he may be, is home resting on American soil he is not with his loved ones, but serves as a reminder of the many who never made it home, and should remind us that there are still some left behind who must be brought home.

Memorial Day is a day when the "Pledge of Allegiance" should take on a renewed meaning, and should reawaken in us all the realization that we do live in the greatest nation the world has ever known, and remind us that some things are indeed worth both fighting and dying for.

Memorial Day is a day to honor courage for while those lost in battle knew fear, they sacrificed with courage of heart and strength of conviction, something that must never be forgotten for without knowing fear there can be no courage and without courage there can be no victory. Those who gave all deemed their love of country and duty to freedom were of greater value and more important then the fears they faced in dying.

Memorial Day is a day to also honor the very freedoms those lost in battle gave to each and every one of us…the freedom we have in our beloved America to act, speak, and think as we so choose without hindrance or restraint…a freedom we intend never to lose…a freedom we will fight for with just as much passion, dedication, determination, and courage as those who sacrificed before us…for we will not allow their sacrifice to be forgotten nor will we allow our freedoms to be taken away.

No…we will never allow their sacrifice to have been in vain.

Memorial Day is a day for prayers for those lost…a day for honoring their memories not just with tearful remembrances but also with a smile…a day to rediscover the meaning of what our military fights and dies for…our liberty, our safety, our individual rights guaranteed us under our Constitution, and the continuing American story of which we all play a part in.

So on this Memorial Day I will bow my head in solemn prayer and thank and remember those who made that ultimate sacrifice to keep our nation free…and pray to God that someday…"nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)

Someday…someday soon I pray. And may God our Father Bless America today, tomorrow,  and always.

Copyright @ 2024 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

Op-ed: 

What Happened In Moscow...A Different Perspective 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The Op-ed posted here is this authors opinion alone,and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google.

“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings including in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.” - U.S. embassy public advisory alert sent out this past March 7th warning American citizens in Russia to “avoid large gatherings,” due to intel regarding “imminent plans” for an attack by “extremists.” This alert was also sent to Russian authorities as per our “duty to warn” policy even though Russia already had intel of it's own to that effect.

And so the twists and turns in the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia in over 20 years is, as expected, channeling the usual heading known as the “blame game” with Putin first claiming ISIS terrorists were the perpetrators of the attack than switching his story to blame Ukraine instead. And not surprisingly, with Putin's main concern always being to hold onto his iron grip of power, he's now even lobbing accusations against we who tried to warn him of what was expected to come...which sadly it did.

So while our intelligence is, at least for now, going with Putin's ISIS story line...Putin continues to state that he's putting additional countrywide...too little, too late... “security measures” in place. And this comes after his having issued a statement that the four perpetrators of the concert attack have been found and are being detained by the Basmanny district court where they face a maximum sentence of life in prison...and isn't it odd that they're not facing a death sentence. But then again this comes from the man who then tried to switch the narrative by saying that, “They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”

No Vladimir, I don't think so.

And while Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has rightfully denied both his and Ukraine's involvement in the concert attack...what I believe was a well planned internal massacre masquerading as a terrorist attack...now sees upwards of 140 people having been killed and countless others wounded...the blame in Russian intelligence eyes, at least for public consumption, remains with the “Islamic State Khorasan” or “ISIS-K” as it's more commonly known. So why this focus...because the “Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia” remains, as per Putin, working to identify what they call the “entirety of this terrorist group's support base.” Simply, why would Putin keep the focus thereif he really wants people to believe that Ukraine (or even the U.S.) was involved. In my opinion Putin would not unless this murder of innocents was all pre-planned to either “divert and deflect” the truth away from him via a cover-up so vile that it could change the entirety of not only the Russia v. Ukraine War, but of his regime and Mother Russia herself.

But, before I get into specifics regarding Vladimir Putin, know that “ISIS-K” is the very same terrorist group that murdered 13 American service members at “Abbey Gate” in Kabul during the Biden initiated 2021 U.S. military pullout from Afghanistan. You know the pullout I speak of where Biden not only left a number of Americans behind, but also some of our allies, our Afghan helpers and their families, as well as millions of dollars of key U.S. military equipment behind as well...equipment now in the hands of the Taliban...equipment now being used against the Afghan people themselves and others when need be. So why would “ISIS-K”  now suddenly choose to cause havoc in Russia knowing that her leader is more aligned with known terrorist countries...think Iran, North Korea, etc...than he is with the West. Simply I do not believe that “ISIS-K” was the perpetrator of the Moscow concert attack especially when their stated enemies are the Taliban and the West.

And while what I just stated regarding “ISIS-K” is still something to keep in the back of one's mind as terrorists, at times, need no reason to do what they do...so too is the fact that Putin himself knew in advance of a possible “imminent attack” yet he willingly chose not to add additional security but to pull security away from the “Crocus City Hall”...one of Russia's largest suburban concert halls...a concert hall belonging to a group of companies owned by the Azerbaijani-Russian construction tycoon and billionaire oligarch Aras Agalarov (who happens to own a home/property here in South Florida and is friends with Donald Trump), thus leaving the venue with but minimum security at best. And if that name sounds familiar it's because back in 2016 Agalarov “allegedly” offered Trump’s team supposedly “damaging information” from the Kremlin about Hillary Clinton which led Trump Jr. to hold a meeting at their Manhattan offices, which in turn was the beginning of the Trump witch hunt. An interesting side note if nothing else.

And so the scheduled performers the night of the attack were the Russian “heritage” rock group “Piknik” (“Picnic” in western-vernacular)...a group inspired by western “progressive rock” bands but with a classic Russian twist, and who for this concert were to be accompanied by a symphony orchestra. And “Piknik” was set to play the first of two sold-out concerts when four gunmen in combat gear first opened fire by shooting concert attendees at point blank range while at the same time setting off numerous smoke bombs. Now here is where it gets not only a bit interesting but possibly why I believe this particular concert was targeted, and it falls in line with why I also believe that Vladimir Putin had if not a direct hand in the attack itself, he at least had a hand in covering up the attack's truth.

First some background info on the Russian band “Piknik.” The band's lead vocalist and guitar front man Edmund Shklyarsky, is of the Catholic faith...as opposed to the predominate and Putin favored Russian Orthodox faith... and is not a current “booster,” as he calls it, of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even though, at first, he supported Putin's “Special Operation” into Ukraine. Also know that Ukrainian authorities had previously banned “Piknik” from performing in the country because the group had played a number of concerts in Russian occupied Crimea including in Sevastopol, and who later released the song “To the Memory of Innocent Victims”...a song about those who were politically oppressed under communism. A quite surprising side note for a man who actually received a degree from Leningrad Polytechnic in the construction of nuclear power plants I'd say.

And the reason I bring up Edmund Shklyarsky's Catholic faith is twofold. First, recently deceased Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who vocally condemned Vladimir Putin and who died in an Arctic prison under mysterious circumstances...was for many Russians not only still running “posthumously” to replace Putin as president, but Navalny was also of the Catholic faith. And second, the Catholic faith is now growing in number amongst young people in Russia, and it's young people who, like young people almost everywhere else, that do make up the bulk of Russia's concert goers.

Could the gathering that night of what was thousands of predominately young people... those most likely to oppose Putin at the ballot box...have been the actual planned target of the attack all along...an attack as payback for Putin's 12% loss in votes...a loss to one demanding 100% loyalty...a loss happening even in a “rigged election.” Something to at least think about as nothing is beyond the whelm of the former head of the KGB, the man now calling himself president instead of what he actually is...a bonafide dictator. 

Remember, dictators need absolute power in order to help perpetrate ongoing fear which in turn helps keeps the masses in line, and hence themselves in sole control. And in Putin's Russia there's no place for freedom itself nor even for the entertaining of free thoughts for his is a regime that demands absolute control over one's everyday lives and thoughts...no variations from the accepted norm allowed...ever.

And what better way to keep fear ongoing than to allow a pre-planed attack of violence to take place against those most likely to be perceived as a threat to the regime in power. And what better way to mask it than with Putin's pretty words said...words to the affect that, and I quote,“Those who provided them with transport, planned escape routes from the crime scene, prepared caches, caches of weapons and ammunition... means it's obvious that we are faced not just with a carefully and cynically planned terrorist attack, but with the organized mass murder of peaceful, defenseless people. The criminals were cold-blooded and purposefully going to kill, shoot our citizens at point-blank range — our children.” So said Vladimir Putin in his very own words.

And Vladimir Putin is the very man I believe not only knew that the attack on the concert hall was going to take place and when, he might even have helped in the planning of it courtesy of not only his deliberately pulling security out of the venue instead of his increasing it, but because his above stated words themselves, in my opinion, give it away. How so? Because how else would Putin have known that the victims were going to be shot dead at “point-blank range” instead of randomly being fired upon as is the usual case in mass shootings...how else indeed. Remember, some of the victims were followed into what they thought was the safety of the bathrooms, were picked out and shot dead at “point-blank range” while others were simply ignored. Sounds to me like some were selectively targeted to be killed.

Simply, why would a man as vile and ruthless as Vladimir Putin stop something whose aftermath would surely see a rise in the Russian people's collective fear, the very thing needed to help keep him in power, while at the the same time allowing Putin to place blame on the very enemies he is at war with...as in outwardly Ukraine and in the shadows the U.S.? Why indeed?

 

Remember, ever since the “Iron Curtain” went down there has been an influx of Russian nationals into the U.S. and they are some of the biggest boosters of both capitalism and freedom. And with many still having family in Russia they are able to tell them the truth about a regime trying to hide the fact that Russia is a dictatorship where freedom is not allowed and where the west is continuously lied about. And Putin knows this to be truth, and truth is what all good dictators fear the most of being exposed. Expose the truth and in time the aforementioned dissatisfied 12% grows to 20%, then 50%, and more leading to a possible second “Russian Revolution”...that is if Putin's own war weary military doesn't get to him first.

So while Vladimir Putin continues spewing that “ISIS-K” and/or either Ukraine or the U.S. is to blame for the attack, I think the U.S./Ukraine scenario can safely be put to rest for neither have anything to gain from being party to such an attack. Nor do I think ISIS itself...nor any of its sub-groups...had anything to do with this attack even though ISIS and its offshoots are always the first to take credit for attacks they actually didn't do, after all publicity is everything even in terrorist circles...nor do I think that any Russian “splinter groups” had anything to do with it either. And why...because the fact remains that Putin's hold on power is indeed slipping and what better way to regain what is lost than to create an act so vile that it installs in the masses a fear of things getting even worse if he, a man of war who rules with an iron fist, were to lose power.

Just something to think about...and with that case closed.

 Copyright © 2024 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, A Bridge Way Too Far.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!                                             

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26th, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'What Happened In Moscow...A Different Perspective'; 'A Bridge Way Too Far'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.

 

Op-ed: 

Survival's Driving Force 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots Radio 

The Op-ed posted here is my opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com

WARNING...this article contains some graphic images that may be upsetting to some.   

Many deem history to be a cruel mistress for many do not learn from history...mistakes continue to be made and lessons remain unlearned...both personal mistakes and lessons and that of ones country.

And now as history again unfolds in the seemingly unending war between good and evil...Israel on the side of good and Hamas most especially on the side of evil... we here in the United States, and in many countries around the world, are bearing witness to anti-Semitism again rearing its ugly head.

Shows of anti-Semitism against the Jewish people in general coupled with pure hatred for the Jewish State of Israel is now all too commonplace on America's streets and on college and university campuses. Egged on by some in our Halls of Congress, the media itself helps spread the hate by giving these overtly antisemitic sorts even an iota of airtime by which to promote their hate. But something else noticed...at least by me...is that when anti-Semitism is in the forefront cries of self-perceived racism and inequality against blacks just seems to melt into the background of the 24/7 news cycle. Now being replaced by words like “communists,” “elitists,” and “globalists ”...the no longer veiled antisemitic “code words” for Jews in general and successful, accomplished, and wealthy Jews specifically...has taken over the public discourse.

Simply, some here in our country are once again, via their hateful uncalled for words and actions, helping to divide us from within, and the only one that will bear the scars is our beloved America herself as extremism is again born and thriving courtesy of “selective hate”...hate that will destroy us way before the “enemies from without” ever get a chance to.

And while there has always been a smoldering hatred...or should I say jealously...of the Jewish people here in our country by both the extreme right and the extreme left, the October 7th inhumane and savage attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians...women and children especially...has brought what was smoldering to the surface. Jews were and still are the intended victims and victims do have a right to fight back. And while some cry for the Palestinians lost in Israel's rightful retaliation...especially the anything but innocent Palestinian children...there really is no need to cry for any of them because said children are but the next generation of indoctrinated Jew-hating terrorists in waiting, and their parents still unwavering Hamas supporters.

The now war between Israel and Hamas will be settled by Israel alone, only the specific timeline remains unknown. Hamas nor their “string pullers” in Iran are any match for the military might of Israel, and her arsenal of weapons. And if pushed too far Israel...as in Benjamin Netanyahu... will surely do what needs to be done for both Israel and for the Jewish people to survive. Simply, both will survive because both must survive...that is a given...for even Iran has to know that while their driving force is hate, the need for survival itself trumps hate almost every time. History has shown that to be true more times than not for in the end it really does seem that good tends to triumph over evil.

But ultimate triumph does not mean the battle will be easy nor that casualties will be light for when one is fighting an enemy who does not know what it is to “value life,” innocent blood will be spilled and will flow in the streets to stain the hands of many. A tangible reality of war that should strike fear in the hearts of Israel's enemies, for without the valuing of life itself the cause one was fighting for remains unjust. Hamas has yet to learn this while Israel has known this...as have the Jewish people...for longer a time than many.

The Jewish people, throughout all of history, have been persecuted and victimized more than any other group of people. In fact, black slavery and its aftermath does not even compare in scoop to what the Jewish people have faced.*

Briefly, from the time of their “bondage” in Egypt...which started about 300 years before the time of Moses...to the time of the Roman Empire, Jews were enslaved even while unrest and attempts at freedom were not uncommon. But unrest only goes so far, and when Masada fell in 73 AD the Romans expelled the Jews from what was then called Judea, thus starting what is known as the “diaspora.”** And yet the Jewish people continued to survive no matter the hatred, brutalities, and actions taken against them in the lands they were now forced to call home. Also, throughout the early years of Christianity the Jewish people were persecuted, faced expulsion, were slaves in many nations, and were massacred in vast numbers during the Crusades.

And with what became known as anti-Semitism taking hold throughout the Middle Ages, the massacres of Jews increased as the call for “blood libel”*** grew. Convert or die was the only option given as the Church grew more powerful in their hate. And with the Spanish Inquisition in 1480, the massacres and expulsions of Jews continuing on as did the hatred and fear of them. And when Jewish folks started emigrating to America, a degree of anti-Semitism started taking hold in our country as well.

And all this led up to something no black person has (thankfully) had to experience...as in the “Holocaust”... where six million Jews were simply “exterminated” for no other reason than they were Jews.

But why as a people are the Jewish people so hated even today? Beyond the obvious holdover that the Jews killed Jesus...they did not as the Romans and Pontius Pilate did...many are jealous of Jewish success...success due mostly to Jews stressing the importance of intact families, the importance of education, and of course hard work...a cultural pattern that defines Judaism as a whole. But when there's trouble in the Middle East, especially when it involves Israel, anti-Semitism again tends to rear its ugly head. And here in the U.S. the sad fact is that while Jews make up only 2.4% of the American population, they are the victims of 60% of all religious-based hate crimes...and that number is now growing.

Growing, thanks to the hateful rhetoric of some in Congress and certain groups on today's major collage and university campuses...campuses like Harvard where 34 Harvard University student organizations recently signed a statement that they, “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” and that Israel's “apartheid regime is the only one to blame.” Simply, I know Israel is not to blame as much as I know that the hate perpetrated against both the Jewish people and Israel herself, are today's tangible realities. And when hate turns into fear...fear that many Jews now face on a daily basis...it becomes fear not seen since the days of the Holocaust...fear that “Never Again” will indeed happen again.

And while many nations have vowed “Never Again”...for most it's proven to be but politically correct lip service at best...as anti-Semitism continues to grow worldwide. In fact, to one degree or another the hate has never really stopped. And yet many continue to cry over a useless, terrorist supporting people whose own blood brethren don't want to take into their countries. They know who and what these people are...a people whose children have been indoctrinated solely to hate...a people who bred and still breed the next generation of terrorists...a people who cheered Hamas' savagery when they returned to Gaza with both brutalized victims to display and hostages taken. These are the very people the world is crying over...so it now seems. And how sad is to see that those who made the “desert bloom” are deemed the “bad guys” while those relishing in killing are the ones to be pitied.

Israel is the only country in the world that warns enemy civilians to get out of harms way many days before harm is inflicted, while the enemy that is Hamas kills their own people who try to heed those warnings. Hamas is the only one who places rocket launchers and munitions inside and next to schools and hospitals while using their own people as “human shields,” thus deeming their own cowardly and miserable lives to be more important than that of their fellow so-called Palestinians. And yet again, these are the people who many in our country are crying for while shedding not a tear for Israeli babies beheaded and burnt alive, not a tear for whole families slaughtered nor for the atrocities committed on their person both before and after death. These are the forgotten Israeli victims whose only peace comes in the fact that they no longer have to witness a world gone mad, and whose unspeakable deaths, for some, are but media generated propaganda and fodder that they want you to believe never happened.

These are the people whose deaths, in my opinion, sees Barack Obama's hands stained with their blood as well. How so? Obama knew what the outcome would be when as president, his Iranian nuclear deal emboldened Iran into becoming a terrorist supplying powerhouse. Also, by then putting the hoped for normalization between Israel and moderate Arab states in jeopardy, Hamas was able to become Iran's “annihilate Israel” proxy army of sorts. And while Obama's goal has always been to see “political islam” becoming the dominant force in the Middle East...which would then allow the “Levant” to come to fruition...it should come as no surprise that he recently stated,“Both sides are to blame for the Israel-Hamas conflict and nobody’s hands are clean.”

Really Obama, sticking up for your brethren yet again it seems while urging Americans to “take in the whole truth.” Well, here's some truth for you Obama and for those of your ilk...if you had not emboldened Iran...and hence terrorists everywhere...with your aforementioned Iranian nuclear deal; if you had not pushed for a two state solution knowing well that what you called Palestine as a muslim homeland never existed; if you had not stabbed Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the back every chance you had...Hamas would not have become as strong as it now is, and Iran would have better been kept in check.

This is reality as I see it for the Hamas initiated war with Israel has truly become a war of survival for both Israel and the Jewish people...and maybe even for Western civilization itself. And with the growth of anti-Semitism taking over both common sense and the media discourse, we here in our country again see the Jews wrongly being blamed for all the world's woes. And it's all courtesy of the far-left's indoctrinated version of hate that sadly seems to have taken over our country's very soul.

But no matter the misplaced insanity of some wanting evil to triumph over good, the fact remains that Israel and the Jewish people will not only survive but thrive. And why.. . because the Jewish people were God's chosen people who have well proven themselves to be survivors. And when those out to destroy what has become the very driving force that is survival...a force deeply ingrained within Jewish blood... they not the Jewish people nor Israel, will find themselves to be the losers in the end. Case closed.

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* Click to read an actual timeline of the persecution the Jewish people throughout history.

** Diaspora relates to the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland; Today it's usually used in regards to Jewish people living outside Israel.

*** Blood libel is the overtly false and maliciously perpetuated accusation that Jews murdered non-Jews in order to use their blood in rituals. 

 Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.

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For more political commentary visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, The Cancer on College Campuses.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!                                             

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 14th, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Survival's Driving Force'; 'The Cancer on College Campuses'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.