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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
>
>
>
>
> I verified this as true on www.snopes.com How sad!
>
>Don
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>
>From John Campbell,
>California Republican Assemblyman
>
>
>
>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.
>
>
>
>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.
>
>
>
>Then this American hero, whose debt from us all can never be repaid, flew
>home to Alabama.
>
>
>
>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
>
>
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