Some people need to learn a greater respect for America, this is worth reading

[Patriot]

I ran across a quote which is very relevent to the time in which we are living. It seems some people (except for most Mustang owners) have lost sight of what it means to be American and the importance of Patriotism.

"Americanism means courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood - the virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity - at - any - price, peace - at - any - price, safety - first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get - rich - quick theory of life." ~Theodore Roosevelt

We all ought to be proud to be Americans. I appreciate the people that oppose the "peace"/"anti-America rallies and show their support for America's President, troops, and ideals. May God "silence" (a nice euphamism for something I can't say in a chat room) people like Peter Arnett who disrespect all of those that have cared enough about this country to give their life for it. May justice swiftly come to those who trash this great country.

God Bless America,
The Patriot

[Crazy Horse GT]

those protester's suck, they might not like the war but, it's our brother's, sister's cousin's etc, over ther dying, so that these idiot's can protest. they need to think about that, 12 year's military, beirut vet, gulf war vet. salute to my brother's in arm's.

[Mr 5 0]

America is the greatest country on earth; the freest, richest and militarily strongest nation that probably ever existed. We got that way in a tad over 200 years mostly due to the freedom we offered to any and all of our citizens to do and be whatever they were able to be, unrestricted by caste, class, religious bigotry or financial or social status. Tens of millions of immigrants struggled to come to America and taste it's freedom, and they were welcomed. The immigrants repaid the nation with their hard work, creativity and loyalty and helped make us the strong, wealthy and powerful country we remain, today.

America fought one war to be free, another to free others from slavery and others to free the world from tyranny and evil and that fight goes on, today, in Iraq and against Islamic terrorism. Two of the first soldiers to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay and Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, were granted posthumous citizenship this week. They were Mexican immigrants who volunteered to fight for the country they loved and wanted to serve and protect. They are a rebuttal to those who claim America is wrong about everything or a threat to peace. America is a nation of grateful immigrants and we are the one country that has the will, the resources and the motivation (for freedom) to fight to free other nations from tyranny.

Unfortunately, too many Americans now seem to despise their country and it's ideals. We see it in the communist-sponsored anti-war marches and other protests, in the dopey Hollywood leftist crowd denoucing the war and the president and the world of academa where hard-left Professors like Nick De Genova of Columbia University called for the defeat of the United States in Iraq and the deaths of our young fighting men (and women). They are a minority, to be sure, but they have the minds of our youth in colleges, the megaphone of fame in Hollywood and the liberal media that sees only the negative in the war and avoids the positive both in the war and the nation as a whole.

Politics are getting nastier than ever and the hatred for President Bush that comes from the left is alarming. This good man, fighting terrorism and attempting to foster democracy is vilified not only here but in Europe and often called a terrorist or compared to Adolph Hitler, which makes no sense at all. I beleve the American left is becoming slightly insane as they lose their once-firm grip on information to the internet and media outlets like FOX. The growing voice of the long-silent majority is finally being heard in the land and the liberals and leftists not only don't like it, they don't know how to respond to it. Hence, we see and hear the absurd and often delusional rants from leftists across the media spectrum, crying about America's perceived faults and wishing they were not Americans (Jessica Lange said this as have some other Hollywood leftists). They pretend that the election of George W. Bush was the end of the world and I guess, to a leftist, it was. That darned democracy.

Meanwhile, the majority of Americans support both the war and the president and are not only grateful but proud to be Americans. The naysayers and whiners will always be with us but they can be safety ignored for the most part and of course, in a nation of almost 300 million people, we will never have total agreement on anything, much less politics. Still, the vast majority of us realize that we are living in the greatest nation on earth with freedoms and access to comforts most nations only dream about or if they exist, are reserved for the very few.

I'm proud to be an American and as a unapologic conservative Republican I support the president and the war. I acknowledge other's right to disagree and I debate them on the internet (in other forums) when time permits. Not to convice them of anything (they never change their minds) but to oppose their negative thinking and sometime lies about this nation and it's government.

I close with the reminder that while we may not all agree on every issue, we should all recognize the freedom and opportunity America offers, paid for by the sweat and blood of those who went before us. I appreciate that and I trust most clear-thinking Americans do, too. We are Americans and despite the negative and twisted views some of our citizens insist on holding toward their country, in reality, we need never apologize for America. That is more than simple patriotism, it's the recognition of the truth of the good this country stands for and upholds, despite it's imperfections. Call it patriotism or whatever you wish, I call it simply being a justly proud American.

[Patriot]

Right back at ya my friend. I agree with everything you said. I would also like to bounce something off you to see if you agree with my theory. I am a proud supporter of the Republican party- by the way. But anyway, I think that the Democrats might be burrying themselves, but I'll get to that in a minute.

First off, you mentioned the Hispanic Immagrants that aided us in the past. For that I commend you, I have found at school I attend and the city in which I live, that some of the immigrants (even the people that have the green card) are more Patriotic or "proud to be an American;" Than many of the richest kids that were born in this country. Some people dislike the immigration of these people- to them -I think that is disgraceful. At least these people appreciate this country. And I thank them for it. Now that that is out of the way.....

I think think that the Democrats are dooming some of their political future for a few generations. I think they could be doing this in two ways. They are condeming and fillabustering Miguel Estrada - a man of Mexican descent- now correct me if I am wrong but aren't the Democrats supposed to be the "looking out for the 'little guy' (please no one take that as offensive- it's their slogan)" and on top of that we are finding chemical weapons in Iraq. The Dems. said, and keep saying, "there are no chemical weapons. Tell me your thoughts. And I too am very proud to be an American.

And to the guy who drives the GT and responded to my thread. I salute you sir. I thank you for what you have given to this country, in battle and in support. God bless you.

God Bless America,
The Patriot

[RBatson]

Love it or leave it. Some folks may need to move away to appreciate the USA.

[RBatson]

Originally posted by Patriot

The Dems. said, and keep saying, "there are no chemical weapons.

That is the first I heard this, I must have missed a big portion of something somewhere.

[Mr 5 0]

Originally posted by RBatson

That is the first I heard this, I must have missed a big portion of something somewhere.

I guess you did, Rick.

This was said pre-war when the both France in the U.N. and the Democrats in the U.S. were trying to claim that "We need to let the U.N. inspectors do their work". Problem was, Saddam Hussein had hidden or shipped some of his WMD outside the country (Syria, probably) or offshore, in ships. Meanwhile, the U.N. inspectors played hide-and-seek, trying to figure out where the chemical weapons were. In reality, the Iraq government was supposed to turn them over, not make us look for them, but they bald-faced lied and said "we have no chemical weapons" so the inspectors had to look for the weapons, which was really just a stalling game. Democrats favored this approach which, intentional or not, insured nothing would be found and Saddam would remain in power. Fortunately, President Bush and the U.S. military decided to put an end to this and the rest is now history.

[Mr 5 0]

Originally posted by Patriot :

I think think that the Democrats are dooming some of their political future for a few generations. I think they could be doing this in two ways. They are condeming and fillabustering Miguel Estrada - a man of Mexican descent- now correct me if I am wrong but aren't the Democrats supposed to be the "looking out for the 'little guy' (please no one take that as offensive- it's their slogan)" and on top of that we are finding chemical weapons in Iraq. The Dems. said, and keep saying, "there are no chemical weapons. Tell me your thoughts. And I too am very proud to be an American.

The Democrats are self-destructing in many ways and for a variety of reasons. They thought they had the 2000 election fixed (in FL) and when Bush ended up winning the electoral vote via the ruling of the U.S, Supreme Court, they just never got over it - and still haven't, in my opinion. They consider George W. Bush their inferior in every way and they have nothing but contempt for the man, bordering on hatred, which clouds their political judgement. Early on, they underestimated him and his staff and decided to block him at every turn, hoping to make his an 'unsuccessful' presidency that they could attack in 2004 - but a few things happened.

September 11, 2001 changed everything. Suddenly, the economy wasn't as half as important as our national security and the Democrats were left with drooping jaws when the man they constantly mocked and ridiculed rose to the occasion and truly led the nation with a perfect and sincere mixture of sorrow, pride and grim determination to not let this happen again (the Bush Doctrine). President Bush became a true leader, made the speech of his life in his 2002 State of the Nation address and the country was both grateful and pleased at his performance in office, then and now. He defeated the Democrats on a number of domestic issues and compromised on others to take hot-button issues away from them (Campaign finance reform, for one). A far better politician than his father ever was.

In the 2002 elections, Bush campaigned hard for Republican candidates, putting his political capital on the line - and he won. Few Republican candidates were defeated and most won, giving the Republicans a majority in the Senate, a bigger majority in the House and many Governorships. The Democrats, not admitting the reason for their defeat (negative polices and candidates) decided they hadn't 'separated themselves' from the Republicans clearly enough and began a series of very hostile acts against the administration, including holding almost all federal judgeships hostage and especially that of Honduran immigrant Miguel Estrada, a very qualified candidate for the federal bench. I agree that this will come back to haunt them. Their claim to being for the 'underdog' rings hollow when they purposely block a very qualified Hispanic man from a judgeship because he's not a liberal Democrat. It stinks - and this kind of petty obstruction on pure ideological grounds does them no good at all with the public but the Democrats, now controlled by the far-left wing of the party, don't get it.

The liberals have lost their former control of information. Where we once had to depend on CBS, ABC and NBC for all our news, we now have the FOX network, growing like crazy, and of course, the internet, including messageboards like this. The New York Times is no longer the last word on political issues and they are getting more irrelevant as they grow more stridently liberal. All this has unnerved the liberal Democrats and they are lashing out with stupid political moves and making huge mistakes. They cannot decide whether or not to fully support the war in Iraq, for instance. How dumb is that? The debate is over (after almost a year) the war is on and the U.S. is doing what it set out to do, removing Saddam Hussein and his corrupt dictatorship. Yet many elected Democrats mutter and complain and find fault with the war, even as we win it, handily. Not wise.

As for the 'No chemical weapons' claim that Iraq made and many Democrats parrotted, well, they were wrong. We're going to find lots of chemical and even biological weapons in Iraq and elsewhere and they'll no doubt try to ignore this and pretend they never said it but the public isn't as stupid as some Democrats believe. Yes, they are self-destructing because they have no real positive ideas for America. Their foreign policy consisted of appeasment and keeping France happy and their domestic policy concentrates mostly on emotional issues and blocking tax cuts for working Americans.

An over-simplication of course but really, what do they have to offer? Their leading presidential candidate, John Kerry, is a mega-millionaire with his foot in his mouth most of the time but Democrats still think it's sophisticated to call President Bush 'dumb'. That's the secret. The Democrats so despise Bush and have so much contempt for the President that they cannot think straight. They underestimate him at every turn while he mostly wins each political battle and the public continue to support him because they discern his honesty and integrity. I enjoy watching the Democrats go nuts and self-destruct as they continue to do. I look forward to a second term for President Bush, won by a margin so wide that no one will be able to question his mandate in 2004. The Democrats will probably committ mass suicide but hey, they had their chance and they choose Bill Clinton. Now, post 9/11, we've grown up as a nation and are ready for real, mature leadership. Thanks to President Bush, we have it.

[Patriot]

Ride on bro....
Oh and to prove that we [Republicans] have not lost the Hollywood battle, I ran across this article. It took some searching (due to the liberal slant of the press) but nonetheless- here it is.

The Province

Willis tried to sign up for Iraq war but friends and Bush told actor that he's too old

Knight-Ridder

Friday, February 28, 2003
U.S. President George W. Bush is getting celebrity reinforcements in his campaign against al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein.
Bruce Willis said this week that recent events made him seriously consider joining the U.S. armed forces.
"I thought about signing up," said the 47-year-old, who plays a Navy Special Ops commander in his new film, Tears of the Sun. "But my friends told me I was too old. I called the White House, called President Bush and asked what I could do."
Dubya apparently agreed with Willis's friends. So instead, the actor said, "I got involved with the national foster-care program."
The longtime Bush supporter said he was bothered by Hollywood's anti-war brigade, led by Sean Penn, Richard Gere, Martin Sheen, Madonna, George Clooney and Susan Sarandon, to name a few.
"This is America," he said. "You're allowed to say what you want."
While other stars remain undecided, the White House does have the support of a curious coalition of celebs.
Kid Rock said that "we got to kill that mother-(bleeper) Saddam. Slit his throat."
Jean-Claude Van Damme told Globe magazine that "some of those in Hollywood are part of the axis of ignorance!"
Then there's George Michael. The goateed popster has opposed the war, last year releasing a cartoon video that depicted British Prime Minister Tony Blair as Bush's pet poodle. But he's doing both leaders the favour of discouraging a new anti-war song that would bring together young stars such as Justin Timberlake, Kylie Minogue and Pink, saying they are "extremely young and extremely lacking" in political knowledge.
A spokesman for Timberlake says, "We have not been formally approached but it's sad when people get old and act old in this business."

To bad he wasn't younger, eh? Anywho, oh yeah I was going to suggest (if you don't already) tune into Sean Hannity. He is one of the very best talk show hosts out there. If you live in a small town you might not get him on the radio but you can always turn him on at hannity.com last night he had the organizer of the "peaceful" [to quote the NY times] protest where the protestors threw rocks bottles etc at cops. The big problem [as you probably know] was that they were trying to stop the shipping to the troops. Which logically doesn't make sense on their part. Whether the war is right or not [which it is of course] they would actually be killing people by not getting them supplies, which is what they are protesting against!! If anyone out there was a part of this hoop-la let me know, I would like the opportunity to see how you would justify what you are doing. Anywho, thanks for your response to my threads. Hope the article is encouraging!!

God Bless America,
The Patriot

[Crazy Horse GT]

jim your right on every point, except one, the civil war was fought over un fair taxation, slavery wasnt an issue until well into the war , about 1863 or so , ck it out. to our soildier's in crapland iraq, go, i back you all 100%, they should have let us do it it in 91. god bless america.

[MidNiteBlu 5.0]

nothing like a long winded political thread by Mr. 5.0 to bring back old memories

[Mr 5 0]

Patriot:

Thanks for the kind words. I'm a longtime fan of Sean Hannity as well as Rush Limbaugh but I don't have a lot of time to listen to them these days.

The San Francisco war protestors actions bordered on seditious as they were attempting to block shipments to the U.S. military in Iraq, which is illegal as well as immoral as some of those shipments consisted of humanitarian aid for Iraq. I find it ironic that while today (4/9) newly free Iraqi citizens dance in the streets and pull down statues of Saddam Hussein, the clueless, self-righteous leftie protestors would have kept Saddam in power to continue murdering an estimated 200,000 Iraqi citizens a year. Events in Iraq are showing these leftist anti-war people as well as the rerst of the world how happy the Iraqi people are to see the Americans and be rid of Saddam Hussein. We don't want to control them, take their oil or their land and as that becomes more clear, Iraqis will continue to embarce the fall of Saddam at the hands of the coalition.

Some more good news on the homefront: According to a new CNN poll, President Bush enjoys a 70% job approval rating this week and 80% of the respondents consider Bush a strong and decisive leader. No surprise - because he is.



Crazy Horse:

The 1861-65 U.S. Civil War may have been fought over a lot reasons, from taxes to states rights, but slavery was always a part of the conflict between the states and it did end during the war, whether that was the intent of the war, or not. I'm not going to debate the origins of the U.S. Civil War, I'm just making the observation that America was the first nation to voluntarily end slavery and that it occured within the framework of a civil war.


MidNiteBlu 5.0:

If you're not careful, you might even learn something from one of those long-winded political threads.