Tribe.net. Local Connections Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#d4364fba-06d8-44d4-a416-3aa4a31efbcb 2009-06-08T18:42:59Z 2009-06-08T18:42:59Z

Nicole; I just think that the focus changes when more women are involved. We think about the quality of water and air that our kids are goin' be growing up in. Not to say that many men don't think of this too but there seems to be something wrong with the dynamic when our financial system is falling down around us and we're in two wars, etc. The war mongers are corporate pirates in the military industrial complex and combined with the financial industry they've bought and paid for the representatives to make decisions in their favour. The Ministry of Peace could have reports from the left academia and the right academia sent in on what they think should have been learned. Heck, these studies have all been done in the universities but they haven't been synthesized into useful information for legislators. For example, Margaret MacMillan changed the world's perceptions about the cause of WWII with her book Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, published in 2002. http://www2.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e40d5e9a-0693-4fab-a7a4-404167b48407 Everyone thinks it was the Treaty of Versailles alone but she shows in a deliberate and factual way what the other causes were and some of them are surprises. Most times we are not honest about what causes war and conflict. Almost always it's related to money but we're too nice to talk about those truths. The sandbox theory is frankly patronizing to even bring up. I've been a UN peacekeeper so I know what I'm talking about when it comes to war but I've also learned mediation and conflict-resolution. We are not applying the skills we have to avoid the horrors of war. Full stop. So what do you propose we do to change our outlook? We just allowed the money machine to tell us lies and take us into a $4 trillion war where hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed or injured not too mention the American soldiers. Plus it's almost bankrupted the United States. And we let it happen. How do we stop that?

Deb 2009-06-08T18:42:59Z Nicole♫ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#026bd8ab-65f4-4dad-bb50-c423b6b5d083 2009-06-08T16:39:03Z 2009-06-08T16:39:03Z

i can't believe there are still women that believe 'if women had more control over more shit, everything would be better.' less men means less anger and warmongering and conflict? because the remaining men, and additional women, would obviously all agree on tactics and paths towards peace? please. "I may be naive but I'd like to see the adoption by the US of one of Dennis Kucinich's ideas - the Department of Peace. The first task would be to look back through history to understand what lessons should have or could have been learned from the wars of history. Then using that information to counter the war hawks in America." who would do this 'looking back through history' to determine what lessons were missed? who decides what 'lessons should or could have been learned'? sometimes, historically, it seems that doing anything and everything to 'prevent' war hasn't been much of a solution to a problem. if there's a potential for something so extreme as war, it doesn't sound like being thrown in a sandbox with 'learn to play nice' is gonna cut it. i think war is a horrifying thing. that doesn't always seem to be enough to make it avoidable.

Nicole♫ 2009-06-08T16:39:03Z JSin http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#bdb3f195-7f7a-4275-8e44-13b15dbdb64f 2009-06-07T03:51:57Z 2009-06-07T03:51:57Z

Deb wrote: >"On the American revolution, I'm not sure if the British empire could have been appeased and to the satisfaction of the American revolutionaries but I will say that Canada came into being by negotiation with Britain. We became a country in 1867 with the passage of the British North America Act which further evolved in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster and then in 1982 the Canada Act."< Consider this though... Canada's independence began nearly one hundred years after the founding fathers of the US gained their freedom, during the period Great Britain saw vast expanse of their empire crumble much of it as a result of the American's successful defeat of what widely considered the most powerful nation on the planet. This emboldened many of her colonies and increasing pressure from the widely stretched colonies made the British conducive to negotiate. I think a very different path would have been taken if the US had not been successful. You also have to consider the the British were fighting multiple wars on multiple fronts during that period including many small conflicts in Africa, the far east and India. Finally due to the American Civil war Britain saw their textiles industry <a major source of income> collapse due to lack of cotton. Finally a steep drop in income from the dissolution of the East India Company. Meanwhile numerous rebellions and violent skirmishes were occurring across Canada. Given that the economy of canada at the time was quite primitive there was not a lot to fight over as opposed to the American colonys that the Brits were heavily exploiting for Cotton, tobacco, iron coal and timber while refusing the right of the people to manufacture goods from their raw materials. In fact at one point the oppression of the American colonies was so severe Americans were not even allowed to produce their own shovels. The Iron ore and coal was mined from the colonies and then the colonists were expected to buy the finished shovels <shipped back> at a tidy profit. John Ames illegally produced shovels and his shovels were used to dig the trenches for the Americans during the revolution. Under these conditions it is quite apparent that the Canadian colonial experience was quite different from the Americans. It also likely is not a time line most Americans would be willing to follow... You guys really didn't get legislative independence until early in the last century. There are many that argue that while you have some autonomy you are still bound by the Queen of England and have no independence. In my view given that you accept the Queen as the head of state you are still a British colony. So yeah over a 200+ year period Canadians have negotiated not a bad gig as a puppet state without significant violence. The American founding fathers had a different vision. One of an independent country free of British rule and rule of law. To accomplish that it became clear after extensive negotiation no option remained but war. I would consider that a just war and a required one. JSin

JSin 2009-06-07T03:51:57Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#27bb048c-b80a-4aac-9573-9f9271564d0f 2009-06-07T03:29:46Z 2009-06-07T03:29:46Z

I suspect we won't know until we have at least one country on earth that gets to this point. Having worked on some community groups where I was the only woman, I can tell you it's difficult to get your voice heard. I've left some of those boards at the end of a term partially because I didn't like what I was turning into. I didn't like the person I needed to become to succeed in that group. I don't expect this mattered much to Maggie Thatcher.

Deb 2009-06-07T03:29:46Z Xiomara http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#e30a0a79-63be-4e55-b459-ef61adced4a8 2009-06-07T03:25:16Z 2009-06-07T03:25:16Z

I don't know, did she really act like an ass just because she thought that is what she should do because she was in the minority or did she do it because truly she is an ass? I suspect the later

Xiomara 2009-06-07T03:25:16Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#fb58c312-1b62-4cc3-b3b2-df7cc01f563c 2009-06-07T03:21:53Z 2009-06-07T03:21:53Z

I didn't say that women can fix it by themselves. In most cases the women, like Maggie Thatcher, ACT more like men because they are in the minority in the situation and the value of what they can contribute as women is devalued by the institution they are in. With 50% women and 50% men in the roles of power, then the benefits come out.

Deb 2009-06-07T03:21:53Z Xiomara http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#55c71df3-5b25-4923-8bc1-3113fdab3a5d 2009-06-07T03:21:17Z 2009-06-07T03:21:17Z

Maggie Thatcher was female? I've always had my doubts.

Xiomara 2009-06-07T03:21:17Z JSin http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#4182af69-b5a7-459b-8954-cc7903b8f59f 2009-06-07T03:13:38Z 2009-06-07T03:13:38Z

Yeah I can think of one Modern one off the top of my head... Maggie Thacher and her war of aggression against Argentina. Tits are not going to fix it. JSin

JSin 2009-06-07T03:13:38Z Elaine~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#74504593-398f-4f3e-ac1a-60c0a8f257a6 2009-06-07T02:42:09Z 2009-06-07T02:42:09Z

Plenty of examples of despotic female rulers( in title or defacto) through out history. I really don't think our magic boobies make women any more peaceful than men. We just haven't had as much of a chance to push the buttons as the men due to the whole patriarchy thing they had going on for a while. And yeah, Japan was all up in everyone's business for while there leading up to the world war.They had a manifest destiny thing going on for sure. Germany wanted their collective self esteem back after being so thoroughly trashed in world war one. Hitler was in the righ time and the right place, saying the right thing. I think if it hadn't been him, it would have been someone else filling that vacuum of crazy.

Elaine~ 2009-06-07T02:42:09Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#41f084c0-4074-468b-9a6b-8cbad35d8aa0 2009-06-07T01:56:32Z 2009-06-07T01:56:32Z

"I will say both the War monger speaker in the fdirst post and the "Oh all wars are wrong and can be avoided" groups are naive." JSin, you're probably more right than wrong with this statement however doesn't that mean that there's a happy medium somewhere and that some or even most wars could be prevented. I don't know enough about the Japanese expansion plans pre-WWII and that's probably a matter of our Canadian education system focussing on the European part of that war. So I won't comment. On the American revolution, I'm not sure if the British empire could have been appeased and to the satisfaction of the American revolutionaries but I will say that Canada came into being by negotiation with Britain. We became a country in 1867 with the passage of the British North America Act which further evolved in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster and then in 1982 the Canada Act. Aggression should be met with resistance from all the international community, first with negotiation, then sanctions, then force. I'm not sure any group of countries had the capacity to oppose the war of aggression that America perpetrated on Iraq but I do believe we have all reacted in different ways mostly by the collectively lowering of America in our sights as a country that can be looked up to. The election of Obama has gone some way to assuage that however if Guantanomo isn't closed, America will remain a scourge for some time to come. The rule of law is critical. I may be naive but I'd like to see the adoption by the US of one of Dennis Kucinich's ideas - the Department of Peace. The first task would be to look back through history to understand what lessons should have or could have been learned from the wars of history. Then using that information to counter the war hawks in America. This would be a good first step. Then i do still wholeheartedly believe that if more women were represented in all of the governments of the world, each country would spend more time focussed on enacting legislation that is good for the family and for children. In other words, there would be a better balance of focus on cleaning up our own backyards than worrying about what's going on elsewhere.

Deb 2009-06-07T01:56:32Z Xiomara http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#4149a7c4-de27-44ea-8035-0eaca29bd08f 2009-06-07T01:05:11Z 2009-06-07T01:05:11Z

<<Should the founding fathers simply folded under unjust rule and exploitation? What solution would you propose then? >> They should have hugged it out.

Xiomara 2009-06-07T01:05:11Z JSin http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#ead34d7b-fe9d-4569-803e-aef9fab32ed7 2009-06-07T00:52:55Z 2009-06-07T00:52:55Z

The solution to WWII was rebuilding Germany rather than saddling them with the burdens they did. The support should have happened then. At that point Hitler would not have risen to prominence and subsequent policy of appeasement would not have occurred... But then again Hindsight is 20/20. During the same period... What about the Japanese? Should they have been allowed to continue their aggressive expansion by force? So for those who claim all war can be avoided... what about the American revolution... Should the founding fathers simply folded under unjust rule and exploitation? What solution would you propose then? In my opinion there are such things as just wars. most are not just wars.. If a sovereign nation is attacked out of aggression, as Saddam did to Kuwait, i think it is up the the world community to use required force to repel said attack. By this reasoning yes the world community should have used required force to throw us out of Iraq. Force beyond the amount needed to resolve said issue would become unjust. The politics and ethics of war are far to complex for this forum but I will say both the War monger speaker in the fdirst post and the "Oh all wars are wrong and can be avoided" groups are naive. JSin

JSin 2009-06-07T00:52:55Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#6b118b13-3e42-4ca8-9ed8-8bea7bd9d0e0 2009-06-07T00:08:27Z 2009-06-07T00:08:27Z

Yes, Elaine, you're right the Treaty of Versailles was a despicable travesty. It could have easily been foreseen that another war would erupt. "head full of hate and numerous sociopathic disorders who finds cooler heads to be weak and to be despised. " My political involvement leads me to believe that if there were an equal number of women in the halls of power that the "head full of hate and numerous sociopathic disorders who finds cooler heads to be weak and to be despised" would be outnumbered by the rational men and rational women in the majority.

Deb 2009-06-07T00:08:27Z Elaine~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#1ab1af5d-d3d5-44a0-acff-e40ef2168153 2009-06-07T00:07:26Z 2009-06-07T00:06:26Z

Perhaps Hitler was preventable. But I don't think WW2 was because the way things shook out at the end of WW1,

Elaine~ 2009-06-07T00:06:26Z lori http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#a69bfde5-4aaf-4251-908b-fe5dd35550cc 2009-06-07T00:02:29Z 2009-06-07T00:02:29Z

Hitler was preventable, turning our backs on the desperation of others always results in a hefty price tag.

lori 2009-06-07T00:02:29Z Elaine~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#6cbf4818-a670-403d-a8e5-c85f5f5f96ef 2009-06-07T00:00:42Z 2009-06-07T00:00:42Z

WW2 had it's beginning in the WW1, actually. But sometimes, wars occur because there is a head full of hate and numerous sociopathic disorders who finds cooler heads to be weak and to be despised. There are entire cultures who have based their survival and continuation on conquering and subjugating their neighbors, since the beginning of organized human community settlements. But this thread got godwinned early.

Elaine~ 2009-06-07T00:00:42Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#4d46ccc4-0145-4b98-a2cd-42c60c938696 2009-06-06T21:51:45Z 2009-06-06T21:51:45Z

That's unfortunate. Until we have these discussions, we will continue to go to war.

Deb 2009-06-06T21:51:45Z candy cain http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#3a0b9a0c-da16-4d41-88d8-fa858bc6dcca 2009-06-06T21:49:00Z 2009-06-06T21:49:00Z

i refuse to engage with that level of (willful) naivete, Deb really.

candy cain 2009-06-06T21:49:00Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#9682df0d-f2b9-4e47-9021-dbeffe35e1f3 2009-06-06T21:44:24Z 2009-06-06T21:44:24Z

"some wars have been fought out of necessity rather than choice" I'd like to have one example that couldn't have been solved by cooler heads prevailing. Even WWII could have been stopped by giving the German people some support in questioning Hitler early on instead of having the elites in the West supporting Hitler.

Deb 2009-06-06T21:44:24Z Elaine~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#600f6af8-403a-420f-be76-c8cdfd42bd03 2009-06-06T16:58:59Z 2009-06-06T16:57:39Z

This guy is someone who made my eyes glaze over two paragraphs into the speech. I hate that "Peace activists are stoopid" crap. God forbid anyone question the whole " saving our freedoms from the turrists" bull shit the conservative soldier guys spout off every so often.

Elaine~ 2009-06-06T16:57:39Z candy cain http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#7a593aaa-857c-42c8-921f-4cbb6754ba59 2009-06-06T16:26:23Z 2009-06-06T16:26:23Z

>>War is not a solution, it is a symptom that you are unable to reason or incapable of reasoned diplomacy.<< not always, Deb some wars have been fought out of necessity rather than choice

candy cain 2009-06-06T16:26:23Z Deb http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#c448ee58-7073-4cdc-9836-244f1bc8031a 2009-06-06T07:59:45Z 2009-06-06T07:59:45Z

>>>>>>War is such a messy business, and there are many who want no part of it, but rush to bask in the security blanket of its victory. >>>>>> I think most people have wizened up in the 8 years since this speech and are rushing as fast as they can away from being associated with it. Many including Barack Obama spoke against it from the beginning. Obama's speech in Cairo labeled Iraq as "a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible." War is not a solution, it is a symptom that you are unable to reason or incapable of reasoned diplomacy.

Deb 2009-06-06T07:59:45Z Rich http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#d9a1e3b6-46ed-4e23-8f70-a17b8ba1a951 2009-06-06T07:04:03Z 2009-06-06T07:04:03Z

You asked how we would react to this speech. Personally I couldn't disagree with most of it more. I wonder if even the speaker's opinion has remained unchanged in the eight years since this speech was given. In those eight years we have discovered no link between the 9/11 hijackers and the poor relatively unarmed country we attacked and destroyed, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civillians as well as thousands of innocent American soldiers. Face it we went to war to gain oil riches, help the wealthy companies like Haliburton make money and to provide Bush's right wing regime a reason to wire tap and restrict American freedom while shredding the constitution. >>Did we imagine that a President who practically gave away the store on his watch, was insuring national security? While our country was mired in the wasted excess of a White House sex scandal, the drums of war beat loudly in foreign lands, and we were deaf... Did we not realize that America had become a laughing stock around the world? We had lost credibility, even amongst our allies. << Actually I'll take the strong economy over our current weakened one, although I agree that the Republicans shouldn't have wasted so much time and effort on a meaningless sex scandal. Bush is really the one who gave away the store. Outsourcing not only civilian jobs but military ones as well. Giving up not only jobs but any real hope of national security. He tried to allow DuBai to own the security details at our ports, which thankfully was prevented. Helost 9 billion dollars in cash in Iraq, a pile of money that could be seen from space. We became the laughing stock of the rest of the world thanks to the Republican leadership, needless war mongering, and wasteful selfish practrices designed to enrich their wealthy supporters. We lost our international credibility by attcking for no justifiable reason, endorsing torture, and refusing to build any sort of meaningful coalition with other governments. >>You are the true patriots, you are the soldiers of this war, you are the strength of America. << A real patriot would never endorse a needless war, torture as a policy, and domestic spying as routine. I'm glad we are finally moving away from that. The real strength of this country is shown by people who are willing to speak honestly about the crimes our leaders have commited in this needless killing and the damage done to our constitutional freedoms by our previous political regime. Once we address that maybe the world will regain some respect for us.

Rich 2009-06-06T07:04:03Z ~glen~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#a3b3d99c-bb4d-4a1d-b400-dc97e21336f1 2009-06-06T05:18:11Z 2009-06-06T05:18:11Z

"...in order to form a more perfect union...", the rest is mine although I'm suer the basic ideas have been around shortly after the dawn of something.

~glen~ 2009-06-06T05:18:11Z Bloke. Trivia Pimp http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#601d92a7-3ea7-428e-a3c5-42503f98c46c 2009-06-05T09:33:52Z 2009-06-05T09:33:52Z

It that yours or a quotation ?

Bloke. Trivia Pimp 2009-06-05T09:33:52Z ~glen~ http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#34275bce-c7cf-4a05-997f-1bd21f74ea98 2009-06-05T05:48:23Z 2009-06-05T05:48:23Z

More I have no cause to be credit less or blameless, I am neither too important to spare or too insignificant to waste, no need to be exalted for bravery nor desire to cringe with fear, and yet at all times my effects sprinkle among the stars with all of these and more… It is this more, that I search, build and grow. Not upon your brow will your sweat feed me without your consent, nor I my pleasure denied in recompense, my labored tears are quelled amid the days and nights we share, for this I stand. No man, no woman, no child, no creature big or small has a hold on me, that does not come to me uninvited, my arms wide open receive with pleasure the welcoming songs of the voices I hear, both near and far, both strange and wonderful. And still my unbridled joy is reined in by the cries of many a fallen friend, only in these quiet moments of riotous screams is laughter left without a place to dwell, only in the dusty memories of triumph and defeat is the squalor and resplendent a hasty footnote. The victories are all stolen, the losses forgot, now I but recall your loves that faced and kept my smile a shiny window that bears the fruit and tastes the wine of the many days we had where mourning was excused and grief meant a moment's peace so full of grace was held, all for this and more, so much more, my tongue stutters to speak, my lips tremble with awe and my fingers know their own kindness is to find a way back home. "...in order to form a more perfect union...", is a promise, if not kept there is no home to find on a way to or back.

~glen~ 2009-06-05T05:48:23Z Bloke. Trivia Pimp http://extremehonesty.tribe.net/thread/1327dcfa-09fd-422c-90a7-c36823eb61b8#a6bf7752-3f2a-4f00-8dca-1847add38fa9 2009-06-04T07:53:03Z 2009-06-04T07:53:03Z

Sorry this is so long. A good friend of mine was an Infantry Battalion Commander in the Vietnam War, He often hoids different views of the world than mine. Reading the below, I wondered what he would think of it. Then I wondered what reaction you guys might have.... Claim: Vietnam veteran Brian Shul delivered a patriotic speech in Chico, California, in 2001. Status: True. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2003] Speech by Brian Shul in Chico California in the Fall of 2001 Brian Shul is a Vietnam era USAF fighter pilot with 212 combat missions. He was shot down near the end of the war and was so badly burned that he was given next to no chance to live. He did live, went on to fly SR-71s and completed a 20 year career in the Air Force. Has written four books on aviation and runs a photo studio. This is a speech he made in Chico California in the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the U.S. Thank you for the opportunity to address this rally today. It is not often that a fighter pilot is asked to be the keynote speaker. There is a rumor that they are unable to put two sentences together coherently. I'd like to dispel that rumor today by saying that I can do that, and in fact that I have written several books. I always wanted to be an author, and I ARE one now. I'm a pretty lucky person really. I'm like the little boy who tells his father that when he grows up he wants to be a jet pilot, and his father replies, "Sorry son, you can't do both". I made that choice a long time ago and flew the jets. I was fortunate to live my dream, and then some. I survived something I shouldn't have, and today, tell people that I am 28 years old, as it has been that long since I was released from the hospital. It was like I received a second life, and in the past 28 years, I have gotten to see and do much, so much that I would not have thought possible. Returning to fly jets in the Air Force, flying the SR-71 on spy missions, spending a year with the Blue Angels, running my own photo studio.... and so much more. And now, seeing our country attacked in such a heinous way. Some of you here today have heard me speak before, and know that I enjoy sharing my aviation slide show. I have brought no slides to show you, as I feel compelled today, to address different issues concerning this very difficult time in our nation's history. I stand before you today, not as some famous person, or war hero. I am far from that. You know, they say a good landing is one you can walk away from, and a really great one is when you can use the airplane again. Well, I did neither...and I speak to you to today as simply a fellow American citizen. Like you, I was horrified at the events of September 11th. But I was not totally surprised that such a thing could happen, or that there were people in the world who would perpetrate such deeds, willingly, against us. Having sat through many classified briefings while in the Air Force, I was all too l aware of the threat, and I can assure you, it has always been there in one form or another. And those of you who have served in the defense of this nation, know all too well the response that is needed. In every fighter squadron I was in, there was a saying that we knew to be true, that said, when there was a true enemy, you negotiate with that enemy with your knee in his chest and your knife at his throat. Many people are unfamiliar with this way of thinking, and shrink from its ramifications. War is such a messy business, and there are many who want no part of it, but rush to bask in the security blanket of its victory. I spent an entire military career fighting Communism, and was very proud to do so. We won that war, we beat one of the worst scourges to humankind the world has known. But it took a great effort, over many years of sustained vigilance and much sacrifice by so many whose names you will never know. And perhaps our nation, so weary from so long a cold war, relaxed too much and felt the world was a safer place with the demise of the Soviet Union. We indulged ourselves in our own lives, and gave little thought to the threats to our national security. You know, normally my talks are laced with numerous jokes as I share my stories, but I have very few jokes to tell this afternoon. These murdering fanatics came into our land, lived amongst our people, flew on our planes, crashed them into our buildings, and killed thousands of our citizens. And nowhere along their gruesome path were they questioned or stopped. The joke is on us. We allowed this country to become soft. We shouldn't really be too surprised that this could happen. Did we really think that we could keep electing officials who put self above nation and this would make us stronger? Did we really think that a strong economy adequately replaced a strong intelligence community? Did we imagine that a President who practically gave away the store on his watch, was insuring national security? While our country was mired in the wasted excess of a White House sex scandal, the drums of war beat loudly in foreign lands, and we were deaf. Our response was to give the man two terms in office, and even then barely half the American public exercised their right to vote. We have only ourselves to blame. Our elected officials are merely a reflection of our own values and what we deem important. Did we not realize that America had become a laughing stock around the world? We had lost credibility, even amongst our allies. To our enemies we had no resolve. We made a lot of money, watched a lot of TV, and understood little about what was happening beyond our shores. We were, simply, an easy target. But we are a country awakened now. We have been attacked in our homeland. We have now felt the reality of what an unstable and dangerous world it truly is. And still, in the face of this unprecedented carnage in our most prominent city, there are those who choose to take this opportunity to protest, and even burn the flag. If I were the regents or alumni of certain large universities in this county, I would be embarrassed to be producing students of such ignorance and naïve notions. Like mindless sheep, they march with painted faces and trite sayings on signs, blissfully ignorant of the world they live in, and the system that protects them, hoping maybe to make the evening news. Perhaps if they had spent more time in class they would have learned that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. They might have learned that all it takes for evil to succeed in the world, is for good people to stand by and do nothing. If they had simply gone back in history as recently as the Viet Nam War, they would have learned that an enemy that knows it can never defeat us militarily, will persist as long as there is dissention and disruption in our land. Their ignorance can be understood, as their young empty minds have been filled with the re-written history tripe that tenured leftist professors can spew out with no fear of removal. But the unwitting aid they provide the enemy, in disrupting the national resolve, is unforgivable. I think this is wonderful country, though, that gives everyone their voice of dissention. I am all for people expressing their views publicly because it makes it much easier for us to identify the truly foolish, and to know who cannot be counted on in times of crisis. These are the weak and cowardly who, when the enemy is crashing through the front door, will cower in the back room, counting on better men than themselves to make and keep them free. Well, the enemy is at our front door, and isn't it interesting those who cry loudest and most often for their rights, are usually those least willing to defend it. I heard a student on TV the other day say that this war just wasn't in his plans and he would simply head to Canada if a draft occurred. Just wasn't in his plans. I wonder what plans the young men at the beaches of Normandy had that they never got to live. I wonder if it was in the plans of 19-year-old boys in Viet Nam to lie dying in a jungle far from home. I guess the men and women at Pearl Harbor one morning had their plans slightly rearranged too. Gee, I hope we haven't inconvenienced this student. Those people in the World Trade Center have no more plans. It is up to us to have a plan now. And it isn't going to be easy. Who ever said it would? Just what part of our history spoke of how easy it was to form a free nation? It has never been easy and has always required vigilance and sacrifice, and sometimes war, to preserved this union. If it were easy, everyone would have done it. But no one else has, and we stand alone as the most unique country on earth. And isn't it amazing that we have spent a generation stamping God out of our schools and government, and now as a nation, have collectively turned to God in memorial services, prayer vigils and churches around this country. I am also very disturbed to hear that there are people in this country, at this particular time, who feel it inappropriate to wear the flag on their lapel because they are on the news or in a public job, and school officials who want to remove pro-American stickers so as not to offend foreign students. Well I am offended that these people call themselves Americans. I am offended that innocent people were killed in a mass attack of unthinkable proportions. And I am offended at listening to TV broadcasters speak to me condescendingly, with a bias that screams of their drowning in a cesspool of political correctness. I pity the person who thinks they are going to remove this flag from my lapel. This flag of ours is the symbol of all that is good about this country. America is an idea. It is an idea lived, and fought for, by a people. We are America, and this is our symbol. We are imperfect in many ways, but we continue to strive toward the ideal our forefathers laid down for us over 225 years ago. I could never imagine desecrating that symbol. Perhaps there are many people in this nation who have never been abroad, or in harms way, and seen the flag upon their return. Those poor souls can never know the deep pride and honor one feels to see it wave, to know that there is still a good ol' USA. With all our warts we are still the greatest nation on earth, and the flag is the most powerful symbol of that greatness. When I was in grade school, we used to say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. It is something I never forgot. I wonder how many children even know that pledge today. This flag is our history, our dreams, our accomplishments, indelibly expressed in bright red, white, and blue. This flag was carried in our Revolutionary War, although it had many less stars. But it persevered and evolved throughout a war we had no right to believe we could win. But we did, and built a country around it. This flag, tattered and battle worn, waved proudly from the mast, as John Paul Jones showed the enemy what true resolve was. This banner was raised by the hands of brave men on a godforsaken island called Iwo Jima, and became a part of the most famous photo of the 20th Century. Those men are all dead now, but their legacy lives on in the Marine Memorial in Washington, DC. Those of you who have seen it will recall that inscribed within the stone monument are the words — When Uncommon Valor, Was A Common Virtue — I don't believe you'll see the words, "it was easy", anywhere on it. This flag has even been to the moon, planted there for all time by men with a vision, and the courage to see it through. I personally know what it is to see the flag, and feel something deep inside that makes you feel you are a part of something much bigger than yourself. Laying in a hospital bed, I can vividly recall looking out the only window in the room and on Sundays, seeing that big garrison flag flying proudly in the breeze. It filled the entire window, and filled my heart with a motivation that helped me leave that bed, and enabled me to be standing here today. And many years later, while fighting another terrorist over Libya, my backseater and I outraced Khaddafi's missiles in our SR-71 as we headed for the Mediterranean, and I can still clearly see that American flag patch on the shoulder of my space suit, staring at me in the rear view mirror as we headed west, and it was a good feeling. Now don't ask me why we had rear view mirrors in the world's fastest jet. I can assure you, no one was gaining on us that day. I am so happy to see so many flags out here today. Long may it wave. History will judge us. How we confront this chapter of American history will be important for the future of this great nation. This will be a war like none other we have endured. The combatants will not just be the soldier on the battlefront, but will be fought by us, the citizens. We are on the battlefield now; the war has been brought to us. We will determine the outcome of this war by how well we remain vigilant, how patient we are with tightened security, how well we support the economy, and most importantly, in the resolve we show the enemy. There are some things worth fighting for, and this country is one of them. I pray for our leaders at this time. In the Pacific, during WW II, Admiral Bull Halsey said, "There are no great men, just great circumstances, and how they handle those circumstances will determine the outcome of history". Our future and the future of coming generations are in our hands. Wars are not won just on military fronts, but by the resolve of the people. We must remain tenaciously strong in the pursuit of this enemy that threatens free people everywhere. I am encouraged that we will win this war. Even before the first shot was finished being fired, there were brave Americans on Flight 93, fighting back. These people were the first true heroes of this conflict, and gave their lives to save their fellow countrymen. This nation, this melting pot of humanity, this free republic, must be preserved. This idea that is America is important enough to be defended. Fought for. Even die for. The enemy fears what you have, for if their people ever become liberated into a free society, tyrannical dictatorships will cease and he will lose power. How can they ever understand this country of ours, so self-indulgent and diverse, yet when attacked, so united in the defense of its principals. This is the greatest country in the world because brave people sacrificed to make it that way. We are a collective mix of greatness and greed, hi-tech and heartland. We are the country of Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mantle; from John Smith and Pocahontas to John Glenn and an Atlas booster; from Charles Lindbergh to Charley Brown; from Moby Dick to Microsoft; we are a nation that went from Kitty Hawk to Tranquility Base in less than 70 years; we are rock and roll, and the Bill of Rights; we are where everyone else wants to be, the greatest nation in the world. The enemy does not understand the dichotomy of our society, but they should understand this; we will bandage our wounds, we will bury our dead; and then we will come for you . . . and we will destroy you and all you stand for. I read this quote recently and would like to share it with you: We are pressed on every side, but not crushed, Perplexed, but not in despair, Persecuted, but not abandoned, Struck down, but not destroyed. That is from II Corinthians. Not too long ago it would have been politically incorrect to quote from the Bible. I am so happy to be politically INCORRECT. And I am so proud to be an American. Thank you all for coming out today and showing your support for your government, and your nation. You are the true patriots, you are the soldiers of this war, you are the strength of America. Source http://www.snopes.com/rumors/shul.asp ~ What do you think ?

Bloke. Trivia Pimp 2009-06-04T07:53:03Z