The Passing of a Great Man

Justin Smith eulogizes the passing of his Editor and friend – Pete Doughtie. Here are a few brief introductory remarks from Justin’s submission:

Pete Doughtie, the owner and editor of The Rutherford Reader died at 12:04 AM on January 10th, 2019, after a serious and extended illness. His symptoms started in June, and at the time of his death, his doctors still hadn't determined what was killing him. 

Born on April 8th, 1941, Pete was 77 years old.

JRH 1/13/19

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The Passing of a Great Man

I Was His Friend

By Justin O. Smith

Sent 1/12/2019 8:44 PM

Pete Doughtie - he was my editor, but he was my friend first and foremost, and I have never regretted knowing him or having him in my life, not for one second. He was without a doubt one of the finest men I have ever known, and this community, Tennessee and America are going to be lesser places without such a fine, wonderful and dear man, who entered a room bigger than life and always filled it with a smile, wit, humor and love for all he met. And I don't think Pete ever met a stranger in his life.

Pete had the faith of Abraham and trusted his life and the lives of his sons and grandchildren to God. He was a rare combination of someone who had a love of life and a firm understanding of life's most important matters, like the simplicity of living a life with those you love, although his life was far from simple, offering up complexities and many struggles. His main concerns, over any material possessions, were always family, God and America first.

Who would have ever thought that a little boy from Virginia would grow up, serve in the U.S. Army and in Korea, and go on to make such a huge impact in the state of Tennessee and America, through The Rutherford Reader, a newspaper he and his dear and loving wife, Kaye Sadler Doughtie, established nearly two decades ago right here in Murfreesboro, TN. He gave a voice to millions of voiceless Americans, who were being silenced daily by the Progressives in power and the mainstream media that has moved steadily farther and farther left.

We can't speak of Pete's life without acknowledging the many battles he fought on behalf of the people of Rutherford County, Tennessee and America, and the fact that he was deeply involved in the politics of the country. Whether it was issuing numerous warnings about the Islamization of America and Sharia law and calling for the deportation of the Muslim Brotherhood; his fight with the county over recognizing his paper for public notices use; his fight against censorship -- in defense of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press and his regular defense of the U.S. Constitution and Christianity, his strong conservative Christian worldview made Pete a force that could not be ignored across the state of Tennessee. And it was amazing to see all the shakers and movers, from Steve Gil and Lou Ann Zelenik, congressional candidates, to State legislators, such Joe Carr, Bill Ketron, Rick Womick, and many others over the years, come to him for his blessing, as the editor and owner of one of the best conservative newspapers in the country, with over two million views a year. He was even invited to a private meeting with Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom in the Parliament of the Netherlands in May of 2014.

He loved all and had a wealth of friends everywhere he went, and although he made an abundance of enemies by way of his conservative stance in the many political arena's, he never really hated his enemies. He strongly disliked what many of his enemies did, but he also hoped to awaken them and one day bring them to the love and joy that came through knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So wrong were those who too often accused him of hating his opponents and those who would destroy America.

Pete was a speaker of TRUTH, a newsman since 1965, and it was his well thought well delivered truth that warmed the hearts of so many good and decent people. As a journalist -- which he sometimes ironically denied being -- he stood in great company and often beat Andrew McCarthy and Frank Gaffney to the heart of the matter on issues, especially concerning national security. Pete often asked, "Who will stand up?" Well ... he did, and often, with hard-hitting, factual articles, that placed him on the front lines of many battles to preserve the freedoms you and I hold so dear -- his words shining like new silver dollars in the sunlight.

In 2011, Pete wrote: "I'm sick and tired of not being counted when I'm offended. So many of Us are offended every day, but we do not speak up; we just smile and take it, yet if you are something other than 'white American', you are allowed to demand things be YOUR way. And the sad thing is, you get what you demand. Well, it's time WE demand a few things."

In an interview with Jerry Gordon, publisher of the New English Review, Pete related how the September 11th terrorist attacks prompted him to his battle against the spread of Islam in America. Pete remarked: "After 9/11, I knew we could no longer ignore the fact that Islamic terrorists were carrying out their plans with a vengeance for the destruction of the West. We reflect a Christian perspective through the paper. When I got into Sharia law, I knew we were in trouble."

Even Christian men have their limits, and it was impossible not to laugh 'til your sides ached, on the day that after an especially aggressive provocation, Pete justifiably told Eric Allen Bell, a freelance reporter and Muslim apologist at the time, to step away from him and Lou Ann Zelenik, adding: "I'm going to stuff that camera right up your ass". Pete certainly did not broker any nonsense on his watch.

And I can't count the times I have heard Pete observe, rightly so: "We have been a strong Christian country, and if we don't get back to it, the whole face of this nation is going to change."

After nearly two decades of friendship, I came to know Pete as a man for all seasons. Just as in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, he knew there was a time for all things under the sun and under Heaven:

"A time to be born, and a time to die ... a time to kill, and a time to heal ... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance ... a time to love ..."

Pete's life was really a love story. Of all the people he touched, his most proud achievement in life was marrying Kaye Sadler, who he had known from their kindergarten days 'til his final breath. So poignant is the telling of their first "date" and a walk to the local theater for a movie, in the 4th grade. Kaye supported him in all his glory during his heyday -- they supported each other, as they raised their sons and watched their family grow with many grandchildren. Kaye lovingly supported him physically and spiritually during their last days together.

I am sure that most of you have thought about Pete a great deal, much as I have, and with warmth in your hearts and in your recollections. Someday, some year, there will be old men and women whose pride it will be to say: "I knew Pete Doughtie:" Some will be able to say: "I saw him and I heard him -- the unforgettable voice and his fine and memorable words." And some will be able to say: "I knew him and talked with him, and I was his friend."

How his eyes shone and sparkled, whenever he spoke of his wife and his sons and grandchildren.

This I can, with a mixture of pride and humility, say for myself. The memory of this moves me deeply now that he is crossing the River Jordan, but is remembered by me as he goes to his burial amid the sorrow, and pride, and thanks, of all of you who stand and feel for yourselves and so many thousands who mourn the passing of this wonderful man.

Pete Doughtie stood tall among his peers, a lion and a leader of men, a man of intelligence and chuckling humor and penetrating understanding, who expressed the simple and enduring feelings of ordinary men and women. As a great American patriot, he was able to speak for the American people, and as a Statesman of excellent character and morals -- although he never served in public office -- he was able to warm hearts and inspire courage across Tennessee; he was such a fine human being that he lit the lamps of hope at many firesides and relieved many of our countrymen from despair. I thank God for him and I celebrate his life with all the joy that he brought to so many, who truly knew him.

And never forget this. Pete's wife is with us here in Murfreesboro, a great and gracious lady in her own right. Could I send her your love, and mine? She has suffered an irreparable loss. But she has proud and enduring memories. Happy memories, I venture to say. We share her sorrow, but I know she would love to hear our wonderful memories of this fine man, who she loved for all her life.

Pete was a fountain of light and hope, and as he makes his journey to Heaven, I'm sure St. Peter has the gates wide-open in anticipation. It has been many a decade since one man in Tennessee accepted so many burdens and left behind so many precious and splendid memories. 

Pete was a voice of truth and reason and he spoke with courage, defiance, and hope and a rugged confidence for himself, for Tennessee and for all America. His was a life well lived.

Good-bye Dear Friend. 'Til we meet on the other side, You will be sorely missed.

~ Justin O Smith

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Pete Doughtie Obituary

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Edited by John R. Houk

Source links by the Editor.

© Justin O. Smith

Sacrifices and Exemplary Lives

Justin Smith has written a heartfelt essay on what Memorial Day is for Americans. Justin’s theme is - do not be provoked by our American government to go to war due to the painful costs to each individual soldier involved in bloody military action. A very thought provoking piece every American should read.

JRH 5/25/16

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Sacrifices and Exemplary Lives

By Justin O. Smith

Sent: 5/23/2016 12:13 PM

Many millions http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article24746680.html of men and women have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, from WWII to the present. They all may have had numerous assorted reasons for joining, from benefits and education opportunities to travel and real world experiences, but for the most part, they understood that U.S. military might was necessary for peace. They have stood ready and leaped to action against our enemies, making them pay a terrible price for any aggression or attack, and they have made many personal sacrifices in the process, in order to keep this Great America of Ours safe and free forever.

And today our Service Members follow in the tradition of such American patriots, such as Tennessee Representative Felix Grundy who addressed the U.S. Congress in 1811 with the following: [The question is] "whether we will resist by force the attempt, made by the [British] government, to subject our maritime rights to the arbitrary and capricious rule of her will ... http://college.cengage.com/history/ayers_primary_sources/debate_war_congress.htm Sir, I prefer war to submission."

There is not anyway to properly acknowledge the service of so many wonderful and deserving people in a list. Many of us have family members or someone in our community who left the military service and carried on through exemplary lives, pursuing their dreams.

Aside from my father, a much decorated U.S. Army sergeant who served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam, some of those Veterans who most influenced my life include:

*A.C. "Ace" Wintermeyer, a WWII U.S. Army Veteran and Chief of LaVergne Fire Department, who gave me my first real job.

*Sam Ridley, a much decorated WWII Air Force Veteran, who did many fine things for Smyrna, TN as its mayor and always had a moment for some great conversation with Smyrna's youth.

*Professor (Lt. Colonel) Ralph Fullerton, my mentor at MTSU and a former aide to the Ambassador to Nicaragua, who was one of the most adventurous, interesting and intelligent men I ever had the pleasure of knowing.

*SSGT Barry Sadler, a Vietnam Veteran and author of the 'Ballad of the Green Beret' and 'Nashville With a Bullet', who often regaled me with fascinating stories, good advice and a bit of philosophy over many a cup of coffee at Shoney's Big Boy in Hendersonville, TN.

*Pete Doughtie, a U.S. Army Veteran, who owns and operates The Rutherford Reader, along with his wife Kaye, and who has been gracious enough to give me the opportunity to keep the community informed through one of the few conservative and ethical newspapers left in America.

Most able bodied men and a small number of women, nearly 10% of the entire U.S. population, served in the military during WWII and were on active duty by war's end. As a result, most Baby Boomers have at least one family member who served in uniform, and approximately one-third of all Americans born since 1980 are related to someone with military experience.

Today, our Armed Forces are comprised of an undrafted, all-volunteer cadre, most of whom enlisted after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. and has included nearly 300,000 women, cut from the same cloth as Lt. Col. Courtney Rogers, a Tennessee State Legislator, Lt Col Joni Earnst, Iowa's Republican Representative and SRA Shevontae "Smitty" Smith who served with http://www.afcent.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/4779/Article/218042/walking-with-the-reapers.aspx Reaper 5 in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Soldiers who fully comprehend and believe in the mission usually come home and are able to adjust well. These are the hard men in battle, living, breathing and eating combat operations around the clock. But it's their love of family, country, and often God, and love returned that saves them from the ravages of mental anguish and Post Traumatic Stress, "battle-fatigue", upon their return home.

The vast majority of recent Veterans, roughly 90% according to numerous studies, are not bitter or angry. They say they still would have enlisted, even in consideration of all they now know about war and military service.

U.S. Army Sgt. David Moeller, http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/03/29/a-legacy-of-pride-and-pain/ who served two years in Iraq, told Kaiser Family Foundation in 2014: [We] "had a positive impact there. I don't regret it. It's something I'd do over and over again."

However, even the strongest among us might succumb to the pressure cooker of multiple tours of duty and an untold number of bloody and horrific combat actions. One in two soldiers have reported to government inquiries, that they know a member of the military who has attempted or committed suicide, and over one million soldiers say they cannot control their anger (The Atlantic).

No one person can presume to actually understand the mental and physical toll military service takes on a soldier, unless they have been where it's real, where an IED can end your life in a second or where an old Muslim with a mild smile on his face and gentle empathetic eyes says "Allah Akbar" and detonates himself and all within a hundred-foot circumference. Unless one has hunted for the enemy along goat paths and in little mud and wood constructed towns, where an RPG can scorch a man's flesh from his body in a second, raided a cave by moonlight taking fire all the way to extract, and lain in their own urine and defecation for three days for a high-value shot, one cannot fully comprehend the soldier's sacrifice.

How many old soldiers live with the memories of young soldiers following their orders being blown to pieces? How many remember their own fears, panic and pleas to God as they clinched in the wake of incoming blasts and repelled human wave attacks with every last ounce of strength they could humanly muster?

During a recent conversation, it was heartbreaking and shocking to hear a 90-year old WWII Veteran reminisce and say, with a voice weakened by time, "I wish I'd died over there." I told him his life and his experiences were valuable to his family and this generation, and that he was loved by me and millions of other Americans, who understood he had laid it all on the line in the name of freedom. His only answer was a nod of his head, a half-smile and tears welling in his eyes.

How many old soldiers returned home only to send their sons off to war to fight and survive or return in a flag-draped coffin?

Since our nation's founding, the strong independent nature of the American people carried over into the military, which enabled America to pursue her best interests and to become the strongest and wealthiest nation in the world. The wheel of destiny has turned so that any hope for peace and freedom will hinge on America's moral courage and a U.S. military that ensures "peace through strength."

This Memorial Day and every day forward, take a few moments, whenever the opportunity presents itself, to offer the most sincere, well-thought thanks to the men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces, with more than just a smile and a handshake. Offer a friendly ear on occasion and really listen. Offer a helping hand to those Veterans struggling to re-enter civilian life, and offer friendship to all of these brave men and women. And, as we acknowledge that so many have sacrificed their lives defending America, the U.S. Constitution and freedom and liberty worldwide, we offer our prayers for all the U.S. Armed Forces, who protect this nation's existence each and every day, and we pray for America.

By Justin O. Smith

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Edited by John R. Houk

© Justin O. Smith

Doughtie Declares "Deport"

Justin Smith agrees with his fellow Tennessee resident Pete Doughtie that foreign Muslims residing in the USA should be deported back to their Sharia loving Muslim nations of origin. Now I realize this rubs in the face of the usual American tolerance of foreigners and people of diverse religious beliefs, BUT Islam is different. The doctrine and theology of Islam calls for its adherents to spread Islam by peace and failing that, then by force. If any Muslim tells you differently they are either lying or are ignorant of the totality of their writings considered holy.

I concur with Justin Smith.

This brings up a problem that Justin doesn’t really address in this essay. Foreign born Muslims have lived long enough in the USA to have produced progeny born on American soil. You cannot deport a home-born citizen of the USA to the nation of their parents. I personally do not how to deal with the home-born Muslims that espouse their parents’ radical views of Islam to the detriment of American Constitutional Government. I’ll leave for another time. Perhaps even Justin will deal with a Just solution pertaining to home-born Islam that teaches a superiority complex over everything non-Islamic.

JRH 12/10/13

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Doughtie Declares "Deport"

By Justin O. Smith

Sent: 12/8/2013 4:13 PM

America has often and fruitlessly held forth the hand of friendship and equal freedom to Muslims abroad and here in the United States, but the greatest majority of Muslims (70%) reject equal liberty, equal justice and equal rights in favor of Islamic "fiqh" or Sharia law, and since before 1993 and the first attack on the World Trade Center, Muslims have significantly increased their Islam-inspired terror plots and attacks on U.S. soil. First and second generation U.S. Muslims have turned against our nation, a fact many of us have known for years but one that the 'Tennessean' and the 'New York Times' seemingly just discovered last week. And, the Muslim Brothers continue to infiltrate the upper echelons of the U.S. government, while only a handful of our state and local leaders, Congressmen and Senators seem to have any real concern over the emerging islamoNazi threat to the United States.

Last week, Mr. Pete Doughtie, editor of 'The Rutherford Reader', called for Muslims to be deported from the U.S., especially members of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Mr. Doughtie fully understands the subversive tactics used by CAIR and the MB; his solution is both necessary and supported by the facts.

CAIR has a long history of associating with felons in terrorism probes, suspected terrorists and convicted terrorists. The list is long and includes Nihad Awad, CAIR's director; Ghassan Eli, who was convicted in April of 2005 on charges of conspiracy to deal in the property of a specially designated terrorist; and Randall "Ismail" Royer of Virginia Jihad infamy, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and weapons violations.

Closer scrutiny of a few Muslim Brotherhood members, who follow the credo "Jihad is our way and death in the cause of Allah is our dream", reveals a picture indicative of thousands of others operating within all levels of the U.S. government throughout America. Their views on Sharia Law and terrorism should have precluded any entry level position in the U.S. government.

Azizah al-Hibri was appointed by Obama to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. She has stated that Islamic law, the harshest on earth, is more moral than the U.S. code of law, because it accepts "blood money" from murderers. She has also made appearances with a top Al Qaeda fundraiser, Abdurhaman Alamoudi, now serving 23 years in prison.

Rashad Hussain is the Special Envoy to the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He is held in high esteem by Sharia Law advocates, because he has memorized the Koran. And bear in mind, the OIC, headquartered in Jeddah-Saudi Arabia, is dedicated to spreading Sharia Law globally.

Obama's "Sharia Czar" is Imam Mohammed Magid, and he is also the president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a Muslim Brotherhood front organization. His father, Al-Haj Majd Haj Mosa, is a Cairo-trained MB scholar, and he was once the top cleric in the Republic of Sudan, one of the most Sharia compliant nations in the world.

After a wide-sweeping terror finance investigation in March 2002, Customs Agent David Kane testified that the All Dulles Muslim Society Center (ADAMS), led by Mohammed Magid, was being used to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars for the targeted finance network that shared offices with the ADAMS Center. Eleven ADAMS Center officials were also targets of this investigation.

Former Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM) board member, Mossad Rawash, was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), much like Sami al-Arian. Arian was a tenured professor at the University of South Florida, until he was indicted on terror support charges after 9-11-01 and his leadership role in the PIJ was discovered. On November 3, 2013, the ICM featured a roving board member of the ISNA, Jamal Badawi, who is also a terrorist supporter and an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Conspiracy. Saleh Sbenaty, MTSU professor and ICM spokesperson, is a member of the MB. So...Yes! ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation should be looking deep into the finances of the ICM.

On December 1, the 'Tennessean' put forth a ridiculously low figure of "20 American citizens", who have joined Islamic terrorist organizations in order to participate in the numerous wars across the Middle East and North Africa, which would only account for the young Somali-American men who went to Somalia last year to join al-Shabaab. There are hundreds of well documented cases of American and European Muslims joining jihadist causes and "holy wars", from the 1980s and Afghanistan up to this year in Mali. And just as battle-hardened jihadists returned from their "holy war" against the Soviets to fight in Serbia for a separate Islamic state, America can one day expect American Muslims returning from service in Al Qaeda, al-Shabaab, Islamic Jihad, the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to foment rebellion, increase their practice of terrorism on U.S. soil and attempt to establish a separate Islamic state within the United States.

And let us not forget the ordinary Muslims living in America, like Basit Sheikh, a legal resident of North Carolina, who was arrested last month by the FBI, as he attempted to leave for Lebanon in order to join Jabhat al-Nusrah, a terrorist organization. Do not forget the two Iraqi men living in public housing in Bowling Green, KY since 2009, who were discovered to be Iraqi Al Qaeda terrorists with the blood of U.S. soldiers on their hands.

Pete Doughtie is in good company, since journalist Andy McCarthy and Frank Gaffney, ex-deputy assistant Defense Secretary, have both called for precluding Muslims from Muslim majority nations and "sharia-adherent Muslims" from the U.S., just as we banned advocates for communism after WWII. After the Boston Marathon Bombing, Laura Ingraham, Fox News contributor, called for a ban on Muslim immigration, and several U.S. Senators, such as Rand Paul, suggested much the same.

"Who will stand up", asked Mr. Doughtie.

We all should be standing shoulder to shoulder in a movement to deport all Muslims not holding U.S. citizenship, much as I have advocated since 1993. Some of us should even be considering running for local, state and federal offices, in order to enforce Article I - Section 8 power "to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization", in agreement with past Supreme Court affirmations that Congress and the American people have the "power to make rules for the admission of aliens and to exclude those who possess those characteristics which Congress has forbidden". Moreover, Muslims can be stripped of their U.S. citizenship and deported, if they have actively fought and taken up arms against the U.S., according to many legal/Constitution experts: All those now standing and advocating for the deportation of Muslims, especially CAIR and MB members, understand that protecting U.S. interests and American citizens and maintaining American sovereignty, independence and freedom of action must be the primary, overriding concern of our nation and its leaders.

By Justin O. Smith

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Edited by John R. Houk

© Justin O. Smith