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We rarely get a chance to
see another country's editorial about the USA. Read this excerpt from a
Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and
published under the title "C"ntarea Americii meaning "Ode To America")
on September 24, 2002 in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei ("The
Daily Event" or "News of the Day").
~An Ode to America~
Why are Americans so
united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all
one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an
astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still, the
American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on
the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the
secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to
empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to
gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a
helping hand.
After the first moments
of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on
T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed
flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a
government official or the president was passing. On every occasion,
they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!" I
watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to
the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a
wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey
player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the
plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or
thousands of people.
How on earth were they
able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every
word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of
tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of
dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a
family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unite
the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their
economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming
songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace.
I thought things over,
but I reached only one conclusion...Only freedom can work such miracles.
Military is not a job?
Some people still don't
understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This
exchange Between Senators John Glenn and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum is worth
reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive and impromptu speech, but
it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women
in the Armed Services do what they do for a living. This IS a typical,
though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the
Military.
Senator Metzenbaum to
Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a
"real job?"
Senator Glenn: "I served
23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I
flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different
occasions. I was in the Space Program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard;
it was my Life on the line. It was not a nine to five job, where I took
time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.
I ask you to go with me
... as I went the other day... to a Veterans Hospital and look those men
- with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold
a job!
You go with me to the
Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans
of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee...and you look those kids in
the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job.
You go with me on
Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have
more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those
waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this Nation, and you
tell ME that those people didn't have a job?
I'll tell you, Howard
Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking
God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held a REAL job. And they
required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a
dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their
self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.
I HAVE held a job,
Howard! ---What about you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those who don't remember - During WWII, Howard Metzenbaum was an
attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. Now he is a
Senator!
"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night
to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
-George Orwell-
DON'T BE FOOLED,
AMERICA IS HAVING MUCH SUCCESS AGAINST TERRORISTS
By Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post Columnist Washington, July 25,
2003 --
Here are the strategic realities. Consider what has happened in the Near
East since Sept. 11, 2001:
(1) In Afghanistan, the Taliban have been overthrown and a decent
government installed.
(2) In Iraq, the Saddam regime has been overthrown, the dynasty
destroyed, and the possibility for a civilized form of governance exists
for the first time in 30 years.
(3) In Iran, with dictatorships toppled to the east (Afghanistan) and
the west (Iraq), popular resistance to the dictatorship of the mullahs
has intensified.
(4) In Pakistan, once the sponsor and chief supporter of the Taliban,
the government radically reversed course and became a leading American
ally in the war on terror.
(5) In Saudi Arabia, where the presence of U.S. troops near the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina deeply inflamed relations with many Muslims,
the American military is leaving -- not in retreat or with apology, but
because it is no longer needed to protect Saudi Arabia from Saddam.
(6) Yemen, totally unhelpful to the United States after the attack on
the USS Cole, has started cooperating in the war on terror.
(7) In the small stable Gulf states, new alliances with the United
States have been established.
(8) Kuwait's future is secure, the threat from Saddam having been
eliminated.
(9) Jordan is secure, no longer having Iraq's tank armies and radical
nationalist influence at its back.
(10) Syria has gone quiet, closing terrorist offices in Damascus and
downplaying its traditional anti-Americanism.
(11) Lebanon's southern frontier is quiet for the first time in years,
as Hezbollah, reading the new strategic situation, has stopped
cross-border attacks into Israel.
(12) Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been restarted, a truce
declared, and a fledgling Palestinian leadership established that might
actually be prepared to make a real peace with Israel. That's every
country from the Khyber Pass to the Mediterranean Sea. Everywhere you
look, the forces of moderation have been strengthened. This is a huge
strategic advance, not just for the region but for the world, because
this region in its decades-long stagnation has incubated the world's
most virulent anti-American, anti-Western, anti-democratic and
anti-modernist fanaticism. This is not to say that the Near East has
been forever transformed. It is only to say that because of American
resolution and action, there is a historic possibility for such a
transformation. It all hinges, however, on success in Iraq. On America
not being driven out of Iraq the way it was driven out of Lebanon and
Somalia -- which is what every terrorist and every terrorist state wants
to see happen. And with everything at stake, what is the left doing?
Everything it can to undermine the enterprise. By implying both that it
was launched fraudulently and, alternately, that it has ensnared us in a
hopeless quagmire. Yes, the cost is great. The number of soldiers killed
is relatively very small, but every death is painful and every life
uniquely valuable. But remember that on 9-11 we lost 3,000 lives in one
day. And if this region is not transformed, on some future day we will
lose 300,000. The lives of those as yet unknown 300,000 hinge now on
success in Iraq. If we win the peace and leave behind a decent
democratic society, enjoying, as it does today, the freest press and
speech in the entire Arab world, it will revolutionize the region. And
if we leave in failure, the whole region will fall back into chaos, and
worse (is that the legacy the Democrats want to achieve in trying to win
the next election?).
Amid the general media and Democratic frenzy over Niger yellowcake
(molehill), the fact that the Democrats and the media can't seem to let
go of it, however, is testimony to their need (and ability) to change
the subject. From what? From the moral and strategic realities of Iraq.
The moral reality finally burst through the yellowcake fog with the
death of the Hussein Brothers, psychopathic torturers who would today be
running Iraq if not for the policy enunciated by President Bush in that
very same State of the Union address.
That moral reality is a little hard
for the left to explain, given the fact that it parades as the guardian
of human rights and all-around general decency, and rallied millions to
try to prevent the very policy that liberated Iraq from Uday and Qusay's
reign of terror.
-------------------------------------------------------
The above newsletter by Charles Krauthammer briefly tells about many
hopeful events brewing in the Middle East.
Living conditions in 80 per cent of Iraq are now back to normal and
better now than before the war started. Why doesn't our news media tell
us that most Iraqis are glad we are there, instead of just interviewing
disgruntled Hussein's Baath Party favorites. Our news media hasn't told
us how many more soldiers in Iraq are accidentally killed or injured
compared to those by enemy ambushes.
JUDGE WILLIAM YOUNG, SENTENCES THE SHOE BOMBER
I hope you will read every word! Pray for more Judges like this one.
US
District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in
sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and
deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to
you and anyone you might wish to forward it to.
January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: Mr. Richard C.
Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.
On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the
custody of the United States Attorney General.
On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison
on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the
other. That's 80 years.
On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive
to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the
eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.
The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to
restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre
Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.
The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because
the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I
need go no further.
This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair
and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to
you.
We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We
are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too
much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.
Here in this court, where we deal with individuals as individuals, and
care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for
justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are
not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that
reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature.
Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who
does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist. And we
do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not sign documents with
terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.
So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But
you are not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a
terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.
In a very real sense Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were
taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press
and where the TV crews were and he said you're no big deal. You're no
big deal.
What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able
United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly
as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so
horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I
have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to
search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led
you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I
have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this
entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know. It seems to
me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom.
Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to
come and go as we choose, and to believe or not believe as we
individually choose.
Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it
everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual
freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that
everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly,
individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your
lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed
appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other
judges. We are about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you,
Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though.
It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, to preserve
our freedoms.
Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to
long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be
forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom
and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to
see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual
justice is in fact being done.
The very President of the United States through his officers will have
to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters
can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that
evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of
justice.
See that flag Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of
America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That
flag stands for freedom. You know it always will.
Custody Mr. Officer. Stand him down.
How much of this Judge's comments did you hear on our TV sets? ZERO!
Please pass this around. Everyone needs to hear what the judge had to
say. |
