Stand Up for America Rally Speech Alabama State Auditor Beth Chapman. Attached is a copy of Mrs. Chapman's speech, which resulted in five standing ovations, tremendous applause and an encore. It's a short read and well worth it. Stand Up for America Rally Speech By: Beth Chapman I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States military have given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me. If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy. Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippy, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else. After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden. I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn. The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go. No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war - - innocent people have lost their lives - - and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my husband, or even worse my own son. On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen - -underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return. When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship - - where were the human shields then? If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets. If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity that epitomizes courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding! Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all - "What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case a country. We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield - they WERE human shields. I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future. America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said terrorism is a war against them and us and if you're not one of us, then you're one of them. So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country. May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth! The END ************************* LB 59
I THOUGHT IT WAS AN EXCELLENT VIEW POINT. It's about time we started putting the screwballs in their place.
As the wife of a military wife Thank You! Living overseas we don't see of the Pro-America Rally's that hopefully exist back there. Glad to know their are people out there on "our" side.
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss As a military wife Thank You! Living overseas we don't see much of the Pro-America Rally's that hopefully exist back there. Glad to know their are people out there on "our" side. kelcol =================== My wife's first cousin just got shipped over there. His wife is in Alabama. We know how hard this is on her and can sympathize with you and all the other military spouses be they husbands or wives. The END ************************* LB 59
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss Great patriotic post indeed. But where are we headed? What will be the outcome of our actions in Iraq? We now have bases in 137 countries world wide and our troops are in every one of them. Will we ever leave Iraq and the Iraqi people to their own ends? Or will Iraq become as all other countries have, ipso facto states of the United States of America? In words more plain and simple, are we slowly becoming the modern day incarnation of the Roman Empire, forcing our opinions and our beliefs upon the world through military action? Who will be next? North Korea, Iran, Lybia, Palestine? Who? It has been estimated that an expenditure of only 3.8 percent of our national budget spent on the military over the years should be more than sufficient to create the military might with which to give America the strength to take over the world. Guess what? It just so happens that 3.8 percent of our GNP would amount to approximately $380 billion dollars a year. Another guess what? Our projected military spending for this year just reached $380 billion dollars. We are now spending more money for military buildup than any other nation on earth including China. Why? We are maintaining military bases and power in countries where we established them almost 60 years ago. Clinton promised us that we would be out of Bosnia by the end of 3 years max and we are still there. Beyond any shadow of a doubt we are becoming the world's police force. While I am most vociferously anti-UN, this action against Iraq will set precedence for the US to act in whatever it considers to be it's best interests regardless of what the UN says or does or what our interests may be. It is indeed a dangerous path we are choosing.
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss CLINTON STARTED THE "MILITARY MEALS ON WHEELS" FOR ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES... CLINTON cut the military to it's LOWEST ever... ALSO we have MILITARY protecting countries like GERMANY and JAPAN and FRANCE...DON'T WE???
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss lbrown, Thanks for posting this speech. My husband is in the military. During all the other conflicts, he didn't sit on his ass in a comfy living room somewhere in California and whine about cows being munched on. The vital point of fact right now is that it's not about war\no war any more. Our elected folks have made a decision and now we can either support our military or, as it was aptly put on this web site many other times, go pound sand. PawMix
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss Well said. Both my ex-husband and my current husband are retired military. I lived through a YEAR of my husband being in Viet Nam. At least this war won't last that long. I feel for all of the families. I know what you're going through. Many times I wish I had joined, but I think I have served my country in other ways. I'm proud of our men and women who defend the movie stars' right to protest. They could try going to Iraq and protesting against the government there, and see if they live to come back. God Bless our military, our President, and our country.
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss GEORGE--we have military in Germany and Japan, but we haven't had troops in France in many years. I was in Germany in the mid 70s and our bases in France were closed by then. I don't know exactly when we left France. But we have troops in Belgium, Spain. and Turkey as well as other places. It helps us as much as them in situations like this. bbauer--there are many ways to twist statistics. We should have a higher military budget than any other country. We're bigger then most of them, have more people and more money. Look at it as a percent of GDP. You'll find it's about the same as in the 50s and 60s. As GEORGE said, our military has been decimated in the last decade.
Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss AS A VETERAN of THESE great UNITED STATES, I can say a few things: (1) I love my country, yet I do not love some of the things we do AS A country. I sit here ashamed of our lack of options to deal with Iraq. I know well and damned good it's not as it appears boys and girls, that there is much more than what we see. SHHHH! Don't tell anyone, but I think we want some of that Iraqi oil, etc. I am NOT ashamed of our service members, as they are doing as they are told, true to their word. I wish every one of them a quick and speedy return to the US of A ASAP. (2) I do not love G W Bush, yet I respect the office of the president. Why don't I like Bush? I'm a vet, and frankly some of the shit he's pulled really irks me : http://www.talion.com/georgebush.html I'm going to stop talking about our President, because, frankly, some people may like him. I don't wish to offend more folks than I absolutely have to. Semper Fi!
Re: Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss We have military in Germany and Japan, but we haven't had troops in France in many years Hedwig ----------------------------- WE still have troops in France. The END ************************* LB 59
Re: Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss TRYING TO HELP" > By Dennis Miller > > All the rhetoric on whether or not we should go to war against Iraq has > got my little brain spinning like a top. I enjoy reading opinions from > both sides, but I've detected a hint of confusion from some of you. > Maybe this can help. > > As I was reading the paper recently, I was reminded of the best advice > anyone ever gave me. He told me about the "KISS" method ("Keep It > Simple, Stupid!"). So with this as a theme, I'd like to apply this > theory for those who don't quite get it. My hope is that we can > simplify things and recognize a few important facts. > > Here are ten things to consider when voicing an opinion on this > important > issue: > > (1) Between President Bush and Saddam Hussein ... Hussein is the bad > guy. > > (2) If you have faith in the Useless Nations to do the right things, > keep this in mind: the UN has Libya heading the Committee on Human > Rights and Iraq heading the Global Disarmament Committee. Do your own > math here. > > (3) If you use a Google or Yahoo search and type in "French Military > Victories," don't be surprised if your computer panicks at its inability > to respond to your inquiry. > > (4) If your only anti-war slogan is "No War For Oil," hire a pit bull > lawyer and sue your school district for having allowed you to slip > through the cracks and robbing you of the minimum education that any > non-troglodyte deserves > > (5) You can take this one to the bank: Saddam and bin Laden will NOT > seek UN approval before they try to kill us. > > (6) Despite common belief among some, Martin Sheen is NOT the President. > He only plays one on TV. > > (7) If you are anti-war and even an outright "America Basher," to bin > Laden you are still an "infidel" whom he wants dead. > > (8) Be careful: if you believe in a "vast right-wing conspiracy," but > not in the danger that Hussein poses, the only job you may be able to > get is as an Ivy League college professor. > > (9) Even multi-culturalists who try to browbeat us into believing that > all cultures are equally deserving of respect have trouble explaining > the past 500 years of Islam. > > (10) Whether you are for or against military action, our young men and > women overseas are fighting to defend our right to speak out on these > issues. They deserve our unreserved support. > > I hope this helps. > The END ************************* LB 59
Re: Re: Re: Ot~ But Too Good To Miss It was quoted that we currently have troops in 137 different countries. Does it only take a couple to count as "troops in other countries"? If so, then we have troops in every country where the US has an embassy. Remember, the Marine Corps guards every US embassy. Semper Fi!
Pop quiz QUIZ Who said this? We should not march into Baghdad. To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant into a latter-day Arab hero. Assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an unwinable urban guerilla war, it could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater instability. Who wrote this? I am certain, that had we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like the dinosaur in the tar pit. We would still be there, we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of that occupation. This is a burden I am sure the beleaguered American taxpayer would not have been happy to take on. Who came out with these thoughts? The Gulf War was a limited-objective war. If it had not been, we would be ruling Baghdad today - an unpardonable expense in terms of money, lives lost and ruined regional relationships. .... would it have been worth the inevitable follow-up: major occupation forces in Iraq for years to come and a very expensive and complex American proconsulship in Baghdad? Fortunately for America, reasonable people at the time thought not. They still do. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS... 1. George Bush I 2. Norman Schwarzkopf 3. Colin Powell http://blogorrhoea.blogspot.com
