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>To:
>Subject: Fw: Fw: 4th of July in California Assembly
>Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:15:15 -0400
>
>Very good article....take the time to read.... Judy
>----- Original Message -----
>Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 9:56 PM
>Subject: Fwd: Fw: 4th of July in California Assembly
>
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> I verified this as true on www.snopes.com How sad!
>
>Don
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>From John Campbell,
>California Republican Assemblyman
>
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>
>4th of July: In each of the 4 years that I have been a member of the state
>Assembly, we have had many "celebrations" on the Assembly floor. These
>"celebrations" are orchestrated by the Democrats who control the House and
>often involve singing and dancing. Every one of my 4 years have seen
>substantial celebrations of Cinco de Mayo (which Commemorates the Mexican
>victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla ), St. Patrick's Day (for
>the patron Saint of Ireland), and Chinese New Year's Day, among others.
>But never once have we celebrated America's Independence Day, the 4th of
>July.
>
>
>
>So, this year, Republican Assemblyman Jay LaSuer of San Diego arranged for
>Vietnam war hero Admiral Jeremiah Denton to come to California to be a part
>of a 4th of July ceremony. As you may know, Admiral Denton was a Navy
>pilot in Vietnam who was shot down and spent 8 years in a Vietnamese
>prison. In 1966 while in prison, he was interviewed by North Vietnamese
>television in Hanoi after torture to get him to "respond properly." During
>this interview, he blinked his eyes in Morse code to spell out the word
>"torture." He was asked about his support for the war inVietnam to which
>he replied "I don't know what is happening now in Vietnam, because the only
>news sources I have are Vietnamese. But whatever the position of my
>government is, I believe in it, I support it, and I will support it as long
>as I live." Four of his 8 years in prison were spent in solitary
>confinement. He later wrote the book "When Hell was in Session"
>chronicling his experience in Vietnam.
>
>
>
>When he stepped off the plane after being released from prison in 1973, he
>said "We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country in
>difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our
>Commander-in-Chief for this day. God bless America." He was later elected
>to the U.S. Senate from his home state of Alabama, becoming the first
>retired Admiral ever elected to that body. I could go on and on about his
>accomplishments.
>
>
>
>Suffice it to say, Jeremiah Denton is unquestionably an American hero.
>
>
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>The Democrat leadership refused to allow him on the Assembly floor, and
>there was no 4th of July celebration. A memo from the Democrat speaker's
>office said "problems have arisen both with regards to the spirit, content,
>and participation of various individuals with regard to the ceremony."
>Apparently, they said that he did not believe in the "separation of church
>and state" and they didn't like the policies he supported as a United
>States Senator and therefore they would not allow him to be on the Assembly
>floor or to speak.
>
>
>
>Upon hearing about this, Governor Schwarzenegger offered his meeting room
>for a ceremony with Admiral Denton. The room was overflowing with people.
>Only one elected Democrat was in attendance. A number of veterans of the
>last 4 wars were present. Admiral Denton gave a very moving speech about
>the 4th of July and about the undeniable commitment of our founding
>fathers' to their faith in God. He talked about how the war on terrorism
>may be the most difficult war we have yet fought. And he went on to say
>that he fears that partisan attacks on our mission and our troops in Iraq
>and Afghanistan sound too familiar to what he experienced in Vietnam.
>Following his speech, The Governor came out to personally spend time with
>him.
>
>
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>Then this American hero, whose debt from us all can never be repaid, flew
>home to Alabama.
>
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>The Assembly did meet on that day. And we did have a ceremony that lasted
>nearly 20 minutes. That ceremony was to celebrate the career of a reporter
>from the LA Times on the occasion of his retirement. Democrats universally
>praised him as being "balanced." He was allowed to speak for about 10
>minutes. Admiral Denton was no longer in the building.
>
>
>
>Four years of Cinco De Mayo and not one recognition of the 4th of July. An
>LA Times reporter praised, and the very person whose sacrifice allows him
>to express his opinion is banned. It is perverse. It is wrong. And it is
>disrespectful to all the men and women in uniform who have stared death in
>the face and to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the American
>people.
>
>
>
>Admiral Jeremiah Denton is a hero not because he was politician, but like
>all the other men and women of the Armed Forces, because he defended the
>ideals set forth with America's independence.
>
>
>
>Democrats are always railing about intolerance and discrimination. But yet
>in practice, it is they who engage in regular state-sanctioned
>discrimination and who are intolerant of the presentation of other views.
>Maybe they are worried that people will listen.
>
>
>
>I do not send you this to bash Democrats. I send you this to demonstrate
>the huge chasm that exists between registered, voting Democrats, and
>elected Democrat leadership. I hope those of you who are not Democrats,
>will send this to your friends who are. If you are a Democrat, don't be
>ashamed. Be angry. Straighten out your party and your leadership, or
>leave it.
>
>
>
>Fortunately, we do not need the approval of the Speaker of the Assembly to
>celebrate our nation's independence. Nor do we need his permission to
>thank those who fought to give us and to maintain our freedoms. On the 4th
>of July, as the burgers cook and the fireworks fly, let us always
>remember......and give thanks.
>
>
>
>As a final offering, I give you a poem that Admiral Denton read to us,
>through eyes clouded with tears:
>
>"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
> Who has given us freedom of the press.
> It is the soldier, not the poet,
> Who has given us freedom of speech.
> It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
> Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
> It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag,
> Who serves beneath the flag,
> And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
> Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
>
>Amen. God bless America.
>
>
>
>Until next time, I remain,
>Assemblyman John Campbell
>
>
Posts
3 comments:
My niece recently sent me the POS it is the veteran...." complete with waving flags ect. I replied: (Veteran was lined though) As a vet, your uncle, and a grandpa, I am replying to the e-mail you forwarded with the best of intentions . While the thoughts contained in the e-mail might make people feel good, it is extremely inaccurate, even fundamentally un-American, and simply reinforces a very inaccurate destructive meme.
Let's focus on taking care of the vets, not using them as pawns in jingoistic myth building propaganda.
In the oath they take when being inducted into any branch of the service, young men or women who will become veterans promise to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;" It is their DUTY to DEFEND the CONSTITUTION, not the flag. Remember, only one other country has had a "Pledge to the Flag."
It is a shame and a disgrace that the 'war president' is allowed to dishonor the 3900+ dead by secretly returning their flag draped coffins to American soil in the dead of night. God forbid the American public see some of the results of his illegal and immoral war. I find it disgusting that he has not attended a single funeral of a troop who has lost their life in his illegal and immoral war.
Luv ya bunches - Uncle Rocky
It is the V-----N CONSTITUTION, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the V-----N CONSTITUTION,, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the V-----N CONSTITUTION, , not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the V-----N CONSTITUTION, , not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the V-----N CONSTITUTION, , not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the V-----NCONSTITUTION, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote.
LA Times was never spoken of as balanced
Love the LA paper
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