Stephanie B Smith

Some losses arrive with noise. Others arrive with silence so complete it changes you forever. August 6, 2011. Wardak Province, Afghanistan. A CH-47 Chinook helicopter - callsign Extortion 17 - lifted off into the dark carrying 38 men on a mission most people would never hear about. Navy SEALs. Army Rangers. Air Force specialists. Afghan commandos. An interpreter. Different branches. Different backgrounds. One purpose. They never landed. A single rocket - propelled grenade found them in the sky. No warning. No final transmission. No chance to fight back. In one devastating moment, Extortion 17 became the deadliest single loss in the history of Naval Special Warfare. Among the fallen was Aaron Carson Vaughn - callsign "Chainsaw." SEAL Team VI. Husband. Father of two. A man who had already walked through danger more times than his family could count, and who had chosen, every single time, to go back. He wasn't the kind of man who talked about what he did. He was the kind of man who simply did it. Multiple combat deployments. High-risk missions in places that don't appear on briefing slides released to the public. He earned the trust of the men beside him - and in that world, there is no higher currency. His medals reflected courage. But the men who trained with him, who flew beside him, who trusted him in the dark - they were the real measure of who he was. On August 6th, the world lost 38 men who had chosen a life most would never choose. Thirty Americans and eight Afghan allies who understood the cost and showed up anyway. Their families woke up that morning not knowing it would be the last ordinary day they would ever have. There was no dramatic final stand. No last radio call. Just a mission, a moment, and then - silence. Extortion 17 is a name that should never be forgotten. Not because of how those men died. But because of how they lived. Quietly. Purposefully. With a commitment to something larger than themselves. Aaron Vaughn didn't fail that night. He answered the call - the same call he had answered a hundred times before. Sometimes, that is the whole story. And sometimes, that is enough. 📷 Rest easy, operators. Your service is remembered.

The funeral of General Patton in 1945. 🪖

Hunter Lopez was just 22 years old when he was killed at Kabul airport during the final days of the Afghanistan w@r. In the moments before the explosion, he was helping evacuate children from the chaos. Lopez was a U.S. Marine from California, raised in a family with a strong tradition of public service. Both of his parents worked in law enforcement, and those who knew him said he had always been certain about his path in life. He chose to serve his country and became a Marine. In August 2021, during the frantic evacuation after the Taliban took control of Kabul, he was deployed to Abbey Gate, where thousands of civilians crowded in desperate attempts to flee. Families were separated in the crush, children were lost in the chaos, and panic filled the air. Lopez moved straight into that danger. Witnesses later said he helped pull children from the surging crowd and carried them to safety. At one point, he is believed to have rescued two young girls who were at risk of being crushed. He passed children to safety, handed out water, and helped guide frightened civilians through the gates. Moments later, a suicide bombing occurred near Abbey Gate. The explosion killed 13 U.S. service members, including Hunter Lopez, along with more than 170 Afghan civilians.

Great point from a caller today -- the media excoriated Donald Trump over anonymously sourced claims he mocked wounded soldiers. Graham Platner, in his own words, did the same and said they got what they deserved. Where's the Atlantic/CNN/MSNBC excoriating Platner?

Spotted outside the Park Slope Food Coop after members voted to ban Israeli products.

Jill Biden was SO concerned her husband had a stroke during the debate she started a “4 more years” chant right after. What a power hungry sociopath.

"My body, my choice" until a Muslim man tells them to cover up

So it’s cultural appropriation if your four-year-old dresses like Moana for Halloween but not when this Latina chick cosplays as a Muslim during a religious event she doesn’t celebrate to score cheap political points

The @vademocrats ought be worried about defending their seats in Districts 7 & 10, especially with the way their party has been acting in Richmond this year.

Absolute LOSER in Buena Park, California, was captured on camera vandalizing and kicking American flags on Memorial Day.

“RGGI is a carbon tax—plain and simple.” RGGI was a disaster for Pennsylvania. It was a disaster for Virginia too, costing taxpayers $828 million. Now it’s projected to cost $500 million/year in higher energy bills. Democrats are robbing hard-working families to pay for a program that won’t even deliver what it promises.

These data centers are still getting built right up on people’s property lines. Some counties don’t really seem to care. Cutting down Virginia forest and destroying people’s neighborhoods just for “tax revenue.” It’s got to stop.

It took a non-Jewish host on CNBC this morning to say in 20 seconds what so many are afraid to: “Anti-Zionism gives the left an out to be antisemitic.” @JoeSquawk nailed it, Anti-Zionism “gives them an excuse” — a shield for the Jew-hatred we’re watching explode across campuses, media, and culture. The 2.1M impressions on my pinned “orgy of antisemitism” post — and the nonstop “it’s not antisemitism, it’s anti-Zionism” replies — prove him right. Stop hiding behind the label. Stop pretending this is a distinction with a difference. It isn’t. Call it what it is: antisemitism. We document it all at @AntisemitismWatch. #JewHatred

I don't want James Talarico to steal Graham Platner's thunder as the absolute worst person the Dems could have recruited to run for Senate. The Nazi tattoo enthusiast is now smearing the memory of a hero Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The response from Kyle's widow is worth your time 👇

Mahmoud Khalil has been unemployed this whole time. How does he afford to live in NYC? Who pays him just to be himself?

This is unmitigated horseshit. The only role Islam played in America’s history is that the first war America fought after the American Revolution was against muslims (Tripoli) who were attacking US shipping and taking Americans hostage. #Marines @USMC

The "far right conspiracy theory" in "Modern France".

Virginia is headed toward the first partial government shutdown in our Commonwealth’s history because of Democrat dysfunction and failed leadership. Democrats in the General Assembly adjourned in April from their session without reaching a budget agreement — even while prioritizing some of the most radical legislation in the country. Weeks later, Virginians still have no answers, no certainty, and no evidence that meaningful progress has been made. The budget deadline is June 30…. We will be watching….!! 👀

BREAKING: Last night the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn, NY voted 67% to boycott Israeli goods (Bamba snacks, tahini, olive oil, peppers, persimmons etc.) — but refused to boycott: • China (Uyghur genocide/Xinjiang forced labor + Tibet occupation) • Russia (invasion & occupation of Ukraine) • Turkey (Northern Cyprus occupation + Syria) This Israel-only discrimination on national origin clearly and blatantly violates NY Exec Law §296(13). Both I and S.A.F.E. Campus condemn this bigotry, racism, and antisemitism, and we have today filed a discrimination complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. We will hold them accountable. jpost.com/diaspora/antis… #BDSisIllegal #SafeCampus

The Muslim Nanny who decapitated a girl then carried her head through the streets screaming 'Allahu Akbar' “She will be free after just five years in a psychiatric ward after doctors "cure" her. Western Civilisation is in moral decay & is collapsing.