An Internet first: From the Frontlines airs today! LIVE at 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific; Update: Midnight $1,055,719!!!!!!
(Screen grabs courtesy Tim Sumner)
I’ll be in beautiful Mountain View, CA all day today for “From the Frontlines,” our ground-breaking web-a-thon for the troops. Move America Forward’s Melanie Morgan and I will go live on Ustream.TV and right here at MichelleMalkin.com (as well as at HotAir.com) at 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific. (Just hit the play button on the embedded video player above when showtime arrives; if you’d like to join the live chatroom, make sure to register at UStream beforehand!) I’ll be updating this post all day as I liveblog the event from UStream’s studios. Thanks to all our fellow bloggers who’ve helped spread the word!
We’ve got a star-studded line-up of troops, military charities, celebs, and talk radio stars — from Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin to Dr. Laura and Laura Ingraham to musician John Ondrasik and “Lone Survivor” author and Navy SEAL hero Marcus Luttrell — who’ll be joining us in our eight-hour marathon fund-raising drive to help send the largest number of care packages in history to our men and women in uniform serving overseas.
Sean Hannity announced yesterday that he’s personally donating $15,000 to the From the Frontlines effort. Awesome. Here’s my challenge to regular readers and commenters of this site and Hot Air. At the end of the web-a-thon, I’d like to see you collectively match that donation. Can you take up the challenge and make a pledge? Can you all help me walk the troop-supporting walk and raise $15,000 by the end of the night? Can we do it? Yes, you can.
You can sponsor a care package right here, with items ranging from $15.99 to $899.99. Let me know what you picked out (leave it in in comments or e-mail me) so I can keep a running tally.
I’ll start things off with the purchase of a $499 “The Deluxe Platoon Pack,” which contains:
Containers of SPF30 Ultra-Sweatproof Sport Sunblock
Sticks of Delon Intense XL Deodorant
ChapX Lip Balms
Packs of 100ct. Baby Wipes with Aloe and Lanolin
Insect Repelling BugButtons
Maxi Mini Fans with belt clip and break-away neck rope
Packages of Premium Jerky
Gatorade Drink Mix packets [1 Gallon Size]
Bags of “Connoisseur Class” fresh ground coffee
Tubs of Deluxe Military Emblem cookies
Bags of Jelly Belly “Candy Diplomacy” packages
Diana Nagy’s new CD feat. “Where Freedom Flies”
As it happens, today is the birthday of the greatest, most decorated Marine in American history: Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller. He was born June 26, 1898. We couldn’t have picked a better day to hold “From the Frontlines.” General Puller’s heroism, esprit de corps, and leadership are legendary. And an inspiration to us all:
Born in the peaceful village of West Point, Virginia, where his father had a wholesale grocery business, Puller was reared on tales of Confederate glory. His grandfather, Maj. John Puller, a heroic cavalryman, was killed in 1863. Determined on a military career, Puller completed one year at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in August 1918. VMI may have given him the exaggerated military bearing for which he was nicknamed, but it was during more than four years as a Marine NCO and concurrent lieutenant of the Gendarmerie d’Haiti (1919–23) that Puller developed his distinctive leadership techniques: perfectionism; mission overachievement; and fearless, inspirational conduct under fire. Varied assignments followed his commissioning in 1924, including two tours in Nicaragua, in each of which he was awarded the Navy Cross. His third and fourth Navy Crosses came during World War II at the Battle of Guadalcanal and at Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island; and the fifth in Korea where Puller commanded the 1st Marine Regiment in the assault landing at Inchon, the seizure of Seoul, and the fighting at the Chosin Reservoir.
Fuller was promoted to brigadier general in 1951 and to lieutenant general upon retirement in 1955. During the 1950s, the colorful and outspoken Puller gained attention as a champion of tough, realistic training; a defender of the basic soundness of American youth; and a critic of higher leadership. His legend continued to grow; photographs of his bulldog visage hung in homes and service clubs across the country as a symbol of invincible heroism and fidelity to traditional military standards.
Among Puller’s most famous quips:
“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time.”
“Great. Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction.”
“We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them.”
“Remember, you are the 1st Marines! Not all the Communists in Hell can overrun you!”
“Take me to the Brig. I want to see the real Marines.”
“Alright you bastards, try and shoot me!” (to Korean forces)
“Where do you put the bayonet?” (upon seeing a flamethrower for the first time)
“You don’t hurt ‘em if you don’t hit ‘em.”
“Hit hard, hit fast, hit often.”
If those don’t prompt you to pitch in and help the troops, nothing will! God bless ‘em all and stay tuned for the From the Frontlines web extravaganza.
***
4:00pm Eastern/1pm Pacific. We’re about to start…get ready! Rush Limbaugh is scheduled to come on about 4:20pm/1:20pm.
Rush is blasting the PBS documentary airing next week on how America was morally equivalent to our enemies during WWII. Joined us by webcam from Palm Beach.
4:40pm Eastern. Oliver North is with us now via webcam.
5:17pm Eastern. We’ve reached the $297,283 mark!!!
5:33pm Eastern. Sean Hannity is on.
6:41pm Eastern. John Ondrasik just gave an amazing interview. I’ll try and clip it for you later.
7:25pm Eastern. We’re taking a quick technical intermission. Back in a flash.
7:30pm Eastern. Current tote board total: $448,553!
8:42pm Eastern. New total: $614,448!!!
10:05pm Eastern. Laura Ingraham has kicked in $15,000! Tons of great folks have joined us. We are now at $698,011.
12 midnight. We heard from the White House and the office of Gen. David Petraeus and troops from Ft. Leavenworth.
Final tally: $1,055,719!!!!!!!!!
Thank you all!!!!!!
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Just sent a Goodies From Home large pack. I had been waffling back and forth and went with the Personal Care pack earlier in the day because of lgm’s dumb comment about the baby wipes, which I know the soldiers love. But the Candy Diplomacy thing kept popping in my head tonight so I had pull the trigger on another one.
And the fact that I was eating the new Coldstone Creamery jellybeans from Jelly Belly may have had something to do with it as well.
One million fifty five thousand.
Unbelieveable.
God bless us all, esp. our troops and MM.
BSR
Congratulations to Melanie and Michelle. Well done. I for one am proud to be part of your little community here. Very Proud. Thanks.
I did a $39.99 comfort pack for two and my son did a $39.99 comfort pack for two.
I’m glad to see the $1 million mark passed!
Darn, I missed Marcus Luttrell.
Great job Michelle! Love ya’.
This is SO great.
YES WE CAN – bahaha – take that Obamas.
God bless the troops and all the lovely people that put this on. Thank you Michelle for such a wonderful and patriotic opportunity!!
great job all
I got laid off for two weeks but still sent one of the basic packages. I have it good so I can pony up….
Congratulations Michelle!
Get some rest. You and Melanie deserve it.
Screen shot of 11:59 PM EDT total:
http://www.911familiesforamerica.org/images/DebbieLee_6th_total_1159_PM_EDT.jpg
Great job all!
Should of hyperliked that. My apologies.
A bit tired I guess.
gopftw,
F*** Obama. That’s how I feel. And if he gets elected it will be f*** Obama everyday until he is deposed.
Congratulations!!!!!!
Gee, I dunno…you think she’ll be doing something like this again?
Surpassed my expectations, to say the least.
Great lead-in to Independence Day.
G’night, America (and friends).
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!
God Bless America, God Bless the troops and God bless everyone who gave back to those who give so much for us . I was amazed that even in these hard times {or so i am told by the left } so many were able to reach into their pockets and shell out to support our men and women in uniform. It was a wonderful thing M&M did.
This just solidifies my desire to put on a charity wrestling event next year for the WWP. It feels so good to give back, its better then any drug.
Haven’t you been paying attention to the news as of late, LGM?
Just like your Democrat/socialist brethren have been doing all these years, eh LGM?
Just to let Michelle know… I had trouble getting them to take my card tonight, and I most certainly have funds…I sent them a customer service complaint…we will get it fixed.
Wow! This is great to see how much we helped.
I too, would like to see their faces when these pasckages start arriving. I imagine it would be like Christmas morning. I’m sorry I couldn’t view the show but I bet it was a hoot.
God Bless All (including lgm, he needs it).
My ex-father in law sent some as well and when they called last night so I could speak to the little Prince before he went to bed, he was telling me what Rush was saying about an upcoming “Frontline” episode. That is really sickening and sad. I’m glad to see so many wonderful posts.
I will try to listen to the posted interviews (will there be more?) when I get home this afternoon.
What a wonderful event, hope we can do it again sometime. Everyone have a nice day.
Chap,
Not sure if you will come back and read everything. I know we have butted heads before and it is all in good fun. The idea that you submitted something in our sons honor makes me gald to know you across the net.
Thank you very much.
Thanks to all who have added our son, Ben, to your prayer list.
Thanks Michelle for putting up with my garbage now and again. (Your #1 groopie)
Thank you troops for doing a great job which must seem thankless at times. You are the best in the world – never forget that.
Thanks to the trolls for proving there are people our troops are fighting for, for your right to be complete asses.
LGM,
I can vouch for our body armor. It works. No issues. Our HMMWVs and MRAPs are saving lives as well. Continuous improvements are being made, as with all things. People can blame them for not thinking of things sooner, but I don’t. These systems work and have saved the lives of many of my friends.
Improving care of wounded vets: I’d encourage you to visit any Army installation and ask those questions. There is always room for improvement, but the problems are normally internal systems problems, not problems of getting support from higher levels of government.
Increasing pay: Of course I wouldn’t mind a bigger raise, but I didn’t join for the money. We get a raise about every year or so, with which I’m fine.
“Contact your Senators and Congressmen”: Why do folks need to involve Big Daddy Government in efforts to support the troops? The President and SECDEF provide the task and purpose for me, and Congress provides the money. Beyond that, I don’t need much from them. I have more faith and confidence in the American people than I do my government. I’ll take a care package for myself or my fellow Soldier over any platitudes of a Congressman. For example, do you think I ever heard from my Congressmen while I was deployed? Do you think I ever got a letter from Durbin or Obama saying, “Dear Deployed Illinois Soldier…”? Nope, but I did get packages from old teachers, strangers, school kids, folks from church, and from one of the local bars who had a tip jar for packages to deployed Soldiers. In the end, all I need from Congress is for them to release our funds in a timely manner and stay out of the way. If you did want to call, you can tell them that.
I hope this answers your concerns, LGM.
Send_Me,
Nicely done. Thank you for your service.
30
Email from a friend I had to pass along:
$25.00 Troll pack sent directly to lgm……….
1.)Diapers/Depends
2.)Panty Hose
3.)No more tears shampoo
4.)Easy bake oven
5.)Deodorant/Soap
6.)Gingko
7.)Bus ticket
8.)A Clue
Oops. I forgot baby wipes!
He forgot a binky too.
*bows in Send_Me’s general direction.
I second 30! You are a great American.
Send me, nice post but you’d have bettter luck talking to a door knob. lgm doesnt let facts get in his way in making ignorant comments.
On June 26th, 2008 at 5:18 pm, lgm said:
How about applying those same standards to your government? You question how much “overhead” a private charity has, but don’t question the overhead from government bureaucracy for money forcibly taken from the American people.
Soap
You forgot 9) Blankie
Send_me
Awesome, I third Soap and 30
Thank you Michelle for making this possible. I am proud to be a very small part of it. It is so important to give to the troops and show them we care.
Any donations from the Berkely city council?
I didn’t think so.
Nuff said.
Send_me,
All you soldiers rock. I’ll keep buying care packages every month.
This is is an example of how far reaching lgm’s sanctimonious arrogance really is. Putz.
God Bless the US Military!
Wow – SendMe #222: I want to not only thank you and your buddies for your service, but I want to commend you on your common-sense approach to responding to big daddy government politicians who are all bull when it comes to REALLY caring about our troops. Thank you also for having faith in the American people who really love and respect you. As a vet, I know how goodie boxes can make one feel. I’m in for a couple of goodie packs. Appreciate the hard work Melanie and Michelle.
I wrote an article a few months ago that may resonate with a few of you all. Here’s the intro:
“In the past few years, ‘We Support the Troops,’ has become a sort of cliché
whose meaning has never really been discussed. One hears it all the time: on the radio, on billboards, those little yellow-ribbon magnets, from politicians on the stump, from store marquees… It makes people feel good about themselves. One doesn’t win an audience by saying, ‘We Don’t Support the Troops.’ The question though remains: What does it mean to ‘Support the Troops?’ Speaking for myself, it means three things; 1) Supporting their mission, 2) Encouraging more of-age men to enlist, and 3) Encouraging our troops, not by showing their sacrifice, but their accomplishments.”
You all are doing these things, for which I must say: thank you.
$1,055,719
Michelle and Melanie,
Great Job
Send_Me,
All of the thanks goes to you guys!
God bless!
Send Me #233: Golly, your unit is so lucky to have someone like you and our country is so blessed to be protected by someone like you. Twenty years in the AF, with some years in recruiting, I hope I made some small contribution to your meaning of supporting the troops. You’re officially on my prayer list.
Great job Michelle, you make a difference. I would love to see an article from you about the emotional compact of the web-a-thon. Would you do it again and if so, do you have a better understanding of Jerry and his kids?
Also Michelle, thank you for the ‘Chesty’ mention. I had the honor of shaking this Marines hand.
Thank you for all you do, it helps diminish the memories of returning home from Viet Nam.
Great job Michelle. Thanks.
My family came from Cuba to stay in this free nation. The troops are what keep this nation free and prosperous. They deserve so much and the least I can do is contribute. I can not thank them enough nor the people who organized this event.
Great job everyone … especially by M&M … I saw a few of you (Sgt Tim, William Amos, Azygos, starlight, see-dubya, gatewaypundit and others) in the chat room they had at UStream alongside the broadcast …
was fun to see that many other people we had never heard of before and realize there are many more of us than the MSM would like the world to believe … (and yes … just like here … we got “spammed” and “trolled” a couple of times) … but we hit their room limit of 1000 people more than once …
Hope to see this be only the first of many such events … but right now I am still waiting to hear about the great response on the news … not even F&F mentioned it this morning … maybe they are waiting for Michelle to get back from CA or be available for an interview …
if not sooner I feel sure it will be on radio from Rush and Hannity and on TV with Laura and Hannity tonight …
Also found out about a number of troop and military family support groups and websites I was unaware of before … lots of good people out there …
Again … thanks to everyone …
Apologies to anyone that I failed to mention that was on the ustream chat … I know I left jennybea off the list … I also realize that some of you might have had to use a different login id there …
Kudos to the whole darn crew involved in this mission to Support the FRontline troops!
God bless ya All!
Afternoon DL,
I wanted to chat but couldn’t log onto UStream. UStream feed was better than the link here for those of you who were not happy with the streaming on MM.com
soap …
agree on the feed … hopefully they learned a lot and will do better next time … the advantage of getting into that chat room was that we were giving suggestions … such as putting the phone number on the screen … showing the contents of the packages … etc. … sorry you couldn’t get on there … had a 1000 person limit … it went up and down but you had no way of knowing when to try to sign on …
were you able to see the comments without being signed in to the chat?
On behalf of my Marine son and myself, thank you for all your hard work, ladies… very well done.
Have a safe and restful weekend.
I managed to get in the chat room for maybe the last 45 minutes last night.
Congratulations Michelle et al. I teared up when I saw the total at midnight.
Some have mentioned the lack of reporting on this by the MSM. What a surprise! However, how wonderful to have heard from the White House, the office of Gen. David Petraeus and troops from Ft. Leavenworth!
Well just sent another 2 packs, 1 in honor of Chap’s brother in law, the other in honor of Soap’s son.
Here’s a piece of advice when dealing with Tricare and doctors (I’m not sure if I can spell correctly or not- been a crazy 3 days at Walter Reed with the Princess) don’t say you’re taking your kid to St. Jude. Goes over like the proverbial lead balloon.
Good night all and job well done. I do hope we can do this again sometime and sorry I wasn’t able to catch the audio. I thought it was on the page with Rush’s picture put no dice.
Have a great weekend!