Meet Christian Bagge. Christian was wounded in Iraq, a double-amputee. You can read his story here .

Christian Bagge participates in sports - running, golf, biking. He mows his own lawn and does his own home repairs. He works on the Wounded Soldier Project and is a spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation, which is raising funds for a memorial to wounded veterans. He also speaks at events around the country, but especially enjoys speaking to school children.

Christian is a finalist in the Energizer “Keep Going” Hall of Fame. You can Vote for Christian here .

Amity Shlaes debunks the most common claims of the liberal-Left regarding FDR’s New Deal.

Roosevelt did famously well by one measure, the political poll. He flunked by two other meters that we today know are critically important: the unemployment rate and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In his first inaugural address, Roosevelt spoke of a primary goal: “to put people to work.” Unemployment stood at 20% in 1937, five years into the New Deal. As for the Dow, it did not come back to its 1929 level until the 1950s. International factors and monetary errors cannot entirely account for these abysmal showings.

With regard to the main claim often posited by liberals such as the late Arthur Schlesinger, that Herbert Hoover was a right winger whose laissez-faire caused the 1929 Crash and the resulting Great Depression:

But a review of the new president’s actions reveals him to be a control freak, an interventionist in spite of himself. Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which worsened a global downturn, even though he had long lived in London and understood better than almost anyone the interconnectedness of markets. He also bullied companies into maintaining high wages and keeping employees on their payrolls when they could ill afford to do so. Perhaps worst of all, he berated the stock market as a speculative sinner even though he knew better. For example, Hoover opposed shorting as a practice, a policy that frightened markets at an especially vulnerable time.

As to the claim that the “Brain Trusters” of the Rosevelt Administration who developed the alphabet New Deal programs were “moderate.”

In the summer of 1927, a group of future New Dealers, mostly junior professors or minor union officials, were received by Stalin for a full six hours when they traveled on a junket to the Soviet Union. Both Stalin’s Russia and Mussolini’s Italy influenced the New Deal enormously. The Brain Trusters were not, for the most part, fascists or communists. They were thoughtful people who wrote in the New Republic. But their ideas were wrong. Their intense romanticization of the concept of the economy of scale ignored the small man. One of the New Dealers from the old Soviet trip, Rex Tugwell, even created his very own version of Animal Farm in Casa Grande, Ariz. As in the Orwell book, the farmers revolted.

The third major claim is that Rosevelt inspired the American people and that his New Deal programs got America through the Depression.

Roosevelt’s radio voice may have inspired — yes. But the New Deal hurt the economy, and that mattered more. At some points Roosevelt seemed to understand the need to counter deflation. But his method for doing so generated a whole new set of uncertainties. Roosevelt personally experimented with the currency — one day, in bed, he raised the gold price by 21 cents. When Henry Morgenthau, who would shortly become Treasury Secretary, asked him why, Roosevelt said that “it’s a lucky number, because it’s three times seven.” Morgenthau wrote later: “If anybody ever knew how we set the gold price through a combination of lucky numbers, etc., I think they would be frightened.”

And the author concludes:

In the past half-century, we have learned that much of our capital comes from the private sector, not the public sector, and that most of our growth inheres in the private sector. After the 1980s and 1990s we know that markets can do much of the work that Roosevelt believed only government capital could do.

If only today’s Big Government Democrats(and even some purported conservative Republiacans) would learn what we now know(and have known for many years) that Rosevelt’s New Deal Programs only exacerbated the Grat Depression and that the best way to generate economic growth is not via government socialist entitlement programs but via low taxes, regulations, and the competitive free market.

That’s the conclusion that Joshua Muravchik reaches in today’s Wall St. Journal with his piece (subs req) entitled “Winds of War.”

Today, this same dynamic is creating a moment of great danger. The radicals are becoming reckless, asserting themselves for little reason beyond the conviction that they can. They are very likely to overreach. It is not hard to imagine scenarios in which a single match–say a terrible terror attack from Gaza–could ignite a chain reaction. Israel could handle Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria, albeit with painful losses all around, but if Iran intervened rather than see its regional assets eliminated, could the U.S. stay out?
With the Bush administration’s policies having failed to pacify Iraq, it is natural that the public has lost patience and that the opposition party is hurling brickbats. But the demands of congressional Democrats that we throw in the towel in Iraq, their attempts to constrain the president’s freedom to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the proposal of the Baker-Hamilton commission that we appeal to Iran to help extricate us from Iraq–all of these may be read by the radicals as signs of our imminent collapse. In the name of peace, they are hastening the advent of the next war.

The only thing that bullies respect is strength. Trying to achieve “peace” via negotions and diplomacy with those intent on destroying us at all costs who don’t believe that our Western ideals and beliefs are compatible with theirs will only prolong and exascerbate the inevitable. Western Civilization and Jihadist Barbarism cannot peacefully co-exist. It seems to me that diplomacy with Iran and Syria are useless (despite what Ambassador Pelosi may say). Time to send them a message that there will be consequences for their repeated acts of war and agression against the free world. And that will be the most effective way to achieve the “peace” that so many desire and the quickest way to “bring home the troops.”

It was a pleasure to welcome Bill Roggio and Bruce McQuain, who gave us an overview of Operation Phantom Thunder, the major offensive unfolding in Iraq. This was a very interesting, extended discussion of the strategy and tactics at work. There was praise for Gen. Petraeus and a few swipes at the MSM, and the president, for their respective shortcomings.

Bruce and Bill provided incredibly valuable analysis for those who still care about Iraq.

Bill is one of the sharpest analysts on the long war, period. It was great to welcome him back to the show. Tonight he joined us from vacation. Previously, he’s joined us from Kabul, Afghanistan, the Milblog Conference and Iraq.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

Someone You Should Know is a weekly series that highlights the battlefield heroics of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bruce McQuain from QandO, a Vietnam veteran with 28-year’s experience in the U.S. Army, does a wonderful job with the series because he knows of what he speaks and he is an incredible writer and narrator.

Tonight he told us about Maj. James Gant who serves as chief of the Iraqi National Police, Quick Reaction Force Battalion Transition Team in the area of Balad, Iraq.

As part of his Project Hero series at QandO, Bruce said the following about Jim Gant,

His story is an incredible one and highlights the determination and professionalism these fine soldiers take to this tough and mostly unnoticed job.

The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

We had an lively and fun discussion about the media, new and old, with Town Hall’s Dean Barnett and Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media. Paul predicts that in a few years, we will be left with five national newspapers, and local papers. Big dailies like to the Globe will be obsolete, unable to align their cost structure with future prospects.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

What is left to say about Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats? Our friend Bruce McQuain from QandO, a man who wore the uniform for twenty eight years, spotted something fishy on the Speaker’s web site today. He saw a post about how much the Democrats care for the troops, and how they were increasing veterans benefits. All well and good, but they got a small detail wrong. The soldier getting medical treatment in the above photo is a Canadian soldier. So what, some will say, a low level staffer screwed up. That might be a decent excuse, if this was the first time it happened. But it isn’t. One time is a mistake, maybe. Two times is a pattern.

Bruce is wondering,

Do they even know what our uniforms look like?

and Michelle Malkin adds,

Can the Dems get anymore snort-worthy?

UPDATE: Since Bruce spotted the photo, we had to ask him about it when he joined us tonight for another edition of Someone You Should Know.

Michael Yon is embedded with the troops in Iraq, and about to enter heavy combat as the so-called surge truly gets underway,

Thoughts flow on the eve of a great battle. By the time these words are released, we will be in combat. Few ears have heard even rumors of this battle, and fewer still are the eyes that will see its full scope. Even now—the battle has already begun for some—practically no news about it is flowing home. I’ve known of the secret plans for about a month, but have remained silent.

This campaign is actually a series of carefully orchestrated battalion and brigade sized battles. Collectively, it is probably the largest battle since “major hostilities” ended more than four years ago. Even the media here on the ground do not seem to have sensed its scale.

Read the whole Dispatch, and don’t forget,

Michael Yon does not receive funding or financial support from Fox News, movie, book or television deals at this time. He is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers.

Our friend Paul Gillin, one of the most most respected journalists in the IT industry, returned to Pundit Review Radio to tell us about his excellent new book, The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media

Blogging, podcasting and other social media are profoundly disrupting the mainstream media and marketing industries. Paul Gillin’s The New Influencers explores these forces by identifying the influencers, their goals and their motivations. The book also offers advice for marketers at both large and small organizations on how to influence the influencers.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Leader.

Tonight was a special Father’s Day edition of Someone You Should Know. Bruce McQuain from QandO, a Vietnam veteran with 28-years experience in the U.S. Army, does a wonderful job with this series because he knows of what he speaks and he is an incredible writer and narrator.

This week, Bruce told us about Raynham, Mass. native Jared C. Monti. He did so not through media accounts, but from the comments of Jared’s fellow soldiers. It is an amazing testimonial.

Immediately following Bruce’s moving tribute, we were honored to welcome Paul Monti, Jared’s father. This was a difficult night for Paul. Father’s Day was the last time he spoke to his son, who was killed three days later, on June 21, 2006.

Paul spoke movingly about Jared, the determined kid, how he made the varsity basketball team on his third try, and ended the season as one of the teams best players. Jared was always sticking up for the little guy. He was the kind of man that every father would be busting with pride to call their son.

Last night Jared’s family and friends held a poker tournament and raised $17,000 for a scholarship fund in his honor benefiting students from Bridgewater-Raynham high school.

You can send a donation to:

Jared C. Monti Scholarship Fund
Bristol County Savings Bank
Main Street
Raynham, MA 02767

Our hearts go out to Paul, the Monti family and his many friends. We thank him for letting us know why Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti is Someone You Should Know.

The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive.

What is Pundit Review Radio?

Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week Kevin and Gregg give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Hailed as “Groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Leader.