33 Senators Voted Against English as America ’s Official Language on June 6, 2007.

On Wed. 6 June 2007, Colonel Harry Riley, USA , Ret. wrote:

"Senators:

Your vote against an amendment to the immigration Bill 1348…. to make English America’s official language is astounding.

On D-Day, no less, when we honor those that sacrificed in order to secure the bedrock, character and principles of America , I can only surmise your vote reflects a loyalty to illegal aliens.

I don’t much care where you come from. What your religion is. Whether you’re black, white, or some other color…male or female……Democrat, Republican or Independent……. But I do care when you are a United States Senator representing Citizens of America…and Vote against English as the official language of the United States.

Your vote reflects Betrayal; Political Surrender; Violates Your Pledge of Allegiance; Dishonors historical principle; Rejects Patriotism; Borders on traitorous action and, in my opinion, makes you unfit to serve as a United States Senator…impeachment…Recall……..Or other appropriate action is warranted, or worse.

Four of you voting against English as America ’s Official Language are Presidential Candidates: Senator Biden, Senator Clinton, Senator Dodd and Senator Obama. Four Senators vying to lead America , but won’t, or don’t, have the courage to cast a vote in favor of English as America ’s Official Language when 91% of American Citizens want English officially designated as our language.

This is the second time in the last several months this list of Senators have disgraced themselves as ‘political’….. Unworthy as Senators and certainly unqualified to serve as President of the United States .

If America is as angry as I am, you will realize a backlash so stunning it will literally ‘rock you out of your socks’……… And preferably totally out of the United States Senate. The entire immigration bill is a farce… Your action only confirms this really isn’t about America … it is about self-serving politics……despicable at best.

It has been said: ‘Never Argue with an Idiot….They’ll drag you down to their level!’

PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN SAID: ‘Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damages morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, quickly tried and hanged!!!’

Just incase you have a bit of trouble reading it, the subtitles in the video say as follows:

You stay up for 16 hours
He stays up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

You protest the war
He fights for your right to do so.

You make sure you’re cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren’t with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn’t get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today.

You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He’s told he will be held over an extra 2 months.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love’s perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they’ll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t.
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.

Since there are no credits, the song is: "Far Away" by Nickelback

"I Support the Troops, but I Don’t Support the War." I hear this statement often, it’s usually after I tell someone that I come from a military family and my husband is serving overseas.

I know there is a lot of emotion surrounding our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has proven to divide us pretty harshly here in the US and abroad. I’m not asking that you reconsider your position on the war: for, against or neutral. What I am asking is that you support the troops, the very ones defending your right to an opinion.

They are enduring more hardships in one tour than many of us will ever experience in our lifetime. Their families sacrifice every birthday, holiday and celebration without them. The families do not sleep during an entire deployment and are on edge every time the phone rings or there is an unfamiliar car in their driveway. Please take this into consideration when you meet a military family or greet a military member.

If you would like to say "Thank You" to any of our local men and women, sign up to be a part of their welcome home. Shake their hand, give them a hug or just wave an American flag.

Pride is contagious; courage is, too.

With humble beginnings in its founder’s garage, the group focuses on sending care packages of food, as well as comfort and entertainment items, to troops serving overseas. Since its inception in November 2004, the organization has grown tremendously, David Whitten, Packages From Home’s marketing director said.

“I never realized that I’d be standing here today in front of a center that’s 3,500 square feet and sends 2,500 care packages a month,” he told the group of about 50 gathered for the ceremony. “This is all from a mother’s labor of love.”

Kathleen Lewis founded Packages From Home while her son, Army Sgt. John Christian Lewis, was serving in Iraq. She began by shipping 25 to 30 packages. As the number of donations and, consequently, packages grew, so did the need to find a home more permanent than volunteers’ garages.

The search led them to Phoenix Memorial Hospital, which has provided the group a facility with a one-year lease. “Lease,” however, is a relative term since the group is incurring no cost for the use of the building, Whitten said. Renewing the lease for a second year, and perhaps longer, also is possible.

“I see us here for a long time,” Whitten said.

That’s a good thing for the group that now has space to sort and pack all its donations in the same building, Lewis said. She added that it’s also good for those who work with Packages From Home. “It is good for your heart,” she said. “It’s good for your soul, and ultimately, it’s very good for the United States of America.”

Retired Army Lt. Col. Dawn Lake vouched for the fact that Packages From Home is a good thing for servicemembers as well.

“I was one of the lucky ones. There were lots of people who served there who did not have family,” she said. “So when you do send a package, it’s very possible that someone’s getting a package who perhaps never got one, and if it were not for you, they would not get one.”

Lake was a beneficiary of Packages’ efforts while she served in Afghanistan, and though she had a sizeable support system back home, she still appreciated getting those packages. That included the packages of “girly things,” which she said she never had time to use. She did, however, find they had a significant value in other ways.

“In this box was a pair of pink flip-flops with purple plastic flowers on them, and they were quite ‘not military’ to put it mildly,” she said, chuckling about the reaction she surely would have gotten from her male counterparts had she worn them to the shower tent.

“What occurred to me when I looked at those and this whole package of really lovely things was that I could give them to the women of Afghanistan,” Lake said. “To see the look on the faces of the women, the children and the parents of those children in the villages that we went out to … you talk about winning the hearts and minds.”

Army Sgt. Arthur Walker agreed that getting a delivery from Packages From Home meant a lot, and the packages that included something for the local children were extra special.

“Just being able to give out candy and stuff to kids, we always felt that kept our area a little bit safer,” Walker said. “On behalf of all the soldiers over there, I want to say thank you.”

Roxie Merritt, a retired Navy captain who now works for Public Affairs in the Pentagon, also offered the group praise on behalf of the America Supports You program.

“Everything you’re doing is so important to our troops,” she said. “You are supporting the finest military men and women in the history of this nation.”

The ceremony started with the presentation of the colors by a Marine Corps color guard and Jordan Leigh’s performance of her musical tribute to the troops, “Soldier I Thank You.” It concluded with guests breaking in the new facility by filling care packages for the troops.

“It’s the most exhausting, but most rewarding, job I’ve ever had,” Peg Gildersleeve, a Packages From Home regular volunteer, said as she instructed new packers on how to fill every bit of space in a care package.