I asked David to write a Memorial Day message which he penned here. It is very moving and should make us all think about our freedom and those that fight for it. Don’t miss the video below which he made in 2004. – Erich

A Moment of Silence
By David J. Pigott

On the morning of April 3, 2003, I filed into the West Point Mess Hall along with four thousand other cadets. My classmates and I were exactly 58 days away from graduation. The breakfast began as it always did; and exactly ten minutes later, our meal was interrupted, as it always was, for the day’s announcements.

We listened as the public address system bellowed out a few routine things, and then we heard this: “Captain James Adamouski , Class of 1995, was killed, yesterday, when his helicopter went down in central Iraq. Please join me in a moment of silence.”

That moment lasted a lifetime. James was the first West Point graduate to die in the Iraq War. In that moment, I thought about what it must have been like as that helicopter went down. I thought about his family, and I thought about mine. I wondered why he was the first, and I wondered how many more would follow.

So far, 81 graduates have followed. 25 of those graduates were sitting in the Mess Hall that morning. 7 had not yet begun their West Point journey. James and our 81 fellow graduates join 5,932 other Americans who have also given their lives fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 1775, more than 1.3 million Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This memorial day, please join me in a moment of silence. Take it whenever you wish. Think about what it must be like in those final seconds. Think about the families with a folded up flag on the mantle, and think about your own. Think about the ones who have fallen, and think about the ones who will fall. Remember the high cost of freedom. Remember its blessings. Remember them.

Mr. Pigott is the Broomfield Republican Committee Vice Chairman. He is also an attorney with the Colorado National Guard, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and an Iraq War Veteran.

This is a video of the men of A Company, 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor Regiment during their 2004 deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On this Memorial Day, I trust you’ve had some time with your families and I know that you have remembered all of our troops currently serving, our Veterans and those that have sacrificed to keep us free in this greatest country on earth. I’ve enjoyed my weekend with Linda in Northern Michigan. We watched Taking Chance last night – a hard film to watch but appropriate for Memorial Day weekend.

There are many many displays of patriotism and flags flying everywhere here in what some refer to as flyover country. If it is flyover country, they better not fly too low lest they get tangled in all the stars and stripes. It is great to see indeed. Enjoy your families and friends and I’ll see you soon so we can continue our quest to preserve our freedoms.

Erich

P.S. – I’ve included a link to Red Skelton’s presentation on the Pledge of Allegiance, which I’ve shared before but is well worth repeating, HERE.

and

One from 2008 – Gene Simmons and Kiss’s Tribute – really, HERE.

May 22, 2010.

Pictures on FLICKR:
State GOP Central Committee Meeting 21 May 2010 HERE.
HD33 Assembly 21 May 2010 HERE.
CD2 Assembly 21 May 2010 HERE.
BBQ 21 May 2010 HERE.

The Main Event – Our 2010 Assembly HERE.

The last two days were the most fun I’ve had in a long time. And, we sure had some great results. How ’bout Ken Buck, JJ, and Dan Maes? The roof came off the Budweiser Event Center today. I’ll bet the papers will be very interesting tomorrow and given that I saw Lynn Bartels there, I expect some fair coverage. Don Beezley will be on the primary ballot for HD33; Stephen Bailey and Bob Brancato for CD2. One thing is for sure, it ain’t the same old Republican party and the new folks that have joined us have shown that hard work pays off. I knew all of you newbies would be great for our party — THANKS so much for your leadership!

Results – (over 3500 ballots cast):

U.S. SENATE
Robert Greenheck: 2%
Cleve Tidwell: 15%
Steve Barton: 1%
Ken Buck: 77%
(Jane Norton and Tom Wiens are petitioning onto the ballot.)

Candidates need to get 30 percent of the delegate vote to get on the primary ballot outright. If they get between 10 and 30 percent, they can petition on to the ballot.

Thank you so much to all the Delegates and Alternates that stepped forward and did the work to make it all happen and to our County Officers and helpers. We only had 3 delegate no-shows today and were able to promote alternates to vote 42 of our 43 allocated ballots (one person had to leave for an emergency after the cutoff time).

Let’s get some rest and then launch the next phase to our big WIN in November. We are off to the races.

Erich

This link takes you to a Flickr page to see the photos of the Caucus. At the top you can hit browse (or scroll through the pictures). Once you hit browse you can select slide show if you wish. 101 Photos.

These are the Broomfield and State wide results of the preference poll taken last night at the Caucuses.

I received this from Steve Bosley. A touching Tribute-Trace Adkins and the West Point Cadet Glee Club – Wounded US Warriers.
Trace Adkins Video

Our next Central Committee meeting will be held on Jan 14, 2009 at 7:00pm.

Open to all registered Republicans so come on down and bring your Republican friends. Remember to park outside the Sill TerHar gates because they are locked at 8:00 p.m. Jane Norton, Candidate for US Senate will be our guest speaker in January. In addition, we will be giving you an overview of the Caucus process and your involvement in one of the most important events of the political season. The 2010 caucus will be held on 16 March at 7:00pm. A location and details and pre-registration will be announced early in 2010.

See EVENTS PAGE to review all events. Also, see our calendar on this website.

Jan Peticolas will be conducting our quarterly Adopt-an-Area cleanup near her house on Friday Jan 15, 2010 between 3:30-4:30pm. If you want to help, call Jan directly or meet at her house at 3:30.