What is an American? Jack P. from Keith & Pat Brooker

Thanks Jack and the Brookers! Good things from good Portsmouth people!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Keith & Pat Brooker
Date: Apr 21, 2009 1:06 PM
Subject: What is an AMERICAN ?
To:




























THANKS AUSTRALIA THIS IS AWESOME























Written by an Australian Dentist

To Kill an American
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a
report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an
offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let
everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found
one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish
, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican,
African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian,
Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot,
Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as
native Americans.

An American is Christian , or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or
Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims i n America than in
Afghanistan.The only difference is that in America they are free to
worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will
answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming
to speak for the government and for God.








An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.







The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of
Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to
the pursuit of happiness..

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every
other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing
in return.


When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago,
Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back
their country!


As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any
other nation to the poor in Afghanistan .







The national symbol of America , The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your
tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the
homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built
America .


Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September
11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told
that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different
countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided
and abetted the terrorists.







So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did
General Tojo , and Stalin , and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty
tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing
yourself . Because Americans are not a particular people from a
particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of
freedom.. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an
American.


Please keep this going!
Pass this around the World .
Then pass it around again. It says it all, for all of us
Please do not just delete.
Pass it on first.
Thanks!

Chuck Norris- Is O Afraid of the J-Word?

Frank Hunter says:

Thanks Sam, I say this...

Amen Chuck,
You are a real man.

And I say to Obama, if you are truly Christian, you had better start saying so.
Personally... Ye shall know them by their fruits and Mr. Obama, I don't see any fruit.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Sam Kegley
>Sent: Apr 21, 2009 5:33 PM
>To:
>Subject: Chuck Norris- Is o Afraid of the J-Word?
>
>Blank
> http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31375
>
>
>
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>
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> Comments Is Obama Afraid of the J-Word?
>by Chuck Norris
>
>04/07/2009









http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31375






Comments Is Obama Afraid of the J-Word?
by Chuck Norris

04/07/2009


According to a new national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 11 percent of Americans still believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim. Seven percent of Democrats believe it. And nearly 20 percent of evangelicals do.

What I find fascinating is that the same study shows only 55 percent of Democrats know or believe Obama is a Christian, even after Obama spent nearly two years on the presidential campaign trail spouting his views and beliefs on everything under the sun.

Moreover, about 1 in 3 people don't have any idea what his religious convictions are. Should the percentages be that high? Religion might be a private choice, but should it be a secret one, too, even for leaders?


While those stats say something about Obama's neutrality and respect for representing our nation's religious melting pot, they also say something about the politically correct climate across our land, in which people are afraid to stand up for their convictions so as not to be branded as intolerant or bigots. We have become a nation that fears opinion. Even Holy Week, once celebrated in the corridors of the Capitol, is now a clandestine commemoration full of holy hesitations.

America's Founders built this nation upon religious freedom. They valued denominational pluralism. They were unified in their diversity. They all believed in a Creator. And they were almost all vocal about their Christian beliefs. They certainly weren't ashamed. And neither should we be, especially during this week.

I believe in God, just as our Founders did. As Benjamin Franklin noted in his 1787 pamphlet for those in Europe thinking of relocating to America: "To this may be truly added, that serious religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated but respected and practiced. Atheism is unknown there."

I also believe in the First Amendment, which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The American Civil Liberties Union and like-minded groups are not preserving First Amendment rights; they are perverting the meaning of the Establishment Clause (which was to prevent the creation of a national church, such as the Church of England) to deny the Free Exercise Clause (which preserves our right to worship as we want, privately and publicly). Both clauses were intended to safeguard religious liberty, not to circumscribe its practice. The Framers were seeking to guarantee a freedom of religion, not a freedom from religion.

I agree with John Jay -- the first chief justice of the United States, appointed by George Washington -- who wrote to Jedidiah Morse Feb. 28, 1797 (the same year the Treaty of Tripoli was ratified): "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." I believe that we should not fear religious diversity, but we never should forget we were born a Christian nation.

Under Article VI, Section 3 of the new Constitution, denominational tests for public office were prohibited, but the idea that Judeo-Christian ideas and practices must be kept separate from government would have struck our Founders as ridiculous because the very basis for the Founders' ideas were rights that were endowed upon all of us by our Creator.

Many may not realize there was an active clergyman (Presbyterian minister John Witherspoon) among the signers of the Declaration of Independence. And two others had been ministers previously. Others were sons of clergymen. Virtually all were Protestants.

Even signers of the Constitution included Abraham Baldwin, a minister. Others had studied religion but never were ordained. And again, most signers of the Constitution were also Protestants. Two, Charles Carroll and Thomas Fitzsimons, were Roman Catholics.

I, too, respect all religions but adhere to one. I believe what Benjamin Rush -- a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the presidential administrations of Adams, Jefferson and Madison -- wrote: "Such is my veneration for every religion that reveals the attributes of the Deity, or a future state of rewards and punishments, that I had rather see the opinions of Confucius or Mohammed inculcated upon our youth, than see them grow up wholly devoid of a system of religious principles. But the religion I mean to recommend in this place is that of the New Testament."

Like George Washington, I don't believe we can maintain morality and civility apart from a religious foundation: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. … Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

Mostly, I believe in the collection of beliefs stated so poetically in the Apostles' Creed: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried; he descended to the grave: the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where he will come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian church; the fellowship of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and eternal life. Amen."

No Holy Week hesitations here. His name is Jesus, and I believe he was born into this world to die for the sins of mankind, that whosoever believes in him shall have eternal life -- just as I chose to do decades ago at a Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles.

Is Obama afraid of the word "Jesus"? I'm not, and maybe that's where my heart and mind should dwell during this period, in which 1 billion people around the world are commemorating his Via Dolorosa. Rather than asking what we believe about Obama's religion, maybe we should be answering what we believe about ours.

Whatever your religious persuasion, don't be ashamed of it. And don't hesitate to let others know where you stand, but do so with respect. This is America. And that's one of the things that still make us a great nation. In God we trust.

Two stories Easy Eddie and Butch- Ronnie Walters

These are re-cycles and very interesting. Thanks good friend and Mcconnell Avenue neighbor Mound Park Urchin kid, Ronnie!

*Two Stories......You decide or google it.
BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!!!!*




* STORY
NUMBER ONE*

Many years ago, Al Capone
virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was
notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze
and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer
nicknamed 'Easy Eddie.' He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie
was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal manoeuvring kept Big Al out
of jail for a long time.

To
show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money
big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his
family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the
conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an
entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life
of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went
on around him.

Eddie did have one soft
spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his
young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld.
Price was no object.

And, despite his
involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from
wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he
was.

Yet, with all his
wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his
son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie
reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had
done.

He
decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al
'Scarface' Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some
semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The
Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he
testified.

Within the year, Easy
Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street
. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to
offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his
pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped
from a magazine.

The poem
read:

'The clock of life is
wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will
stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live,
love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be
still.'

*
STORY
NUMBER TWO*


World War II produced many
heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch
O'Hare.

He
was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the
South Pacific.

One day his entire
squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at
his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel
tank.

He
would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his
ship.

His flight leader told him
to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and
headed back to the fleet.

As
he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his
blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward
the American fleet.

The American fighters were
gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn't reach
his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he
warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do.
He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts
of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.
Wing-mounted 50 calibres’ blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised

enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken
formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition
was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued
the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in
hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit
to fly.

Finally, the exasperated
Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch
O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the
carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported
in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the
gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of
Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact,
destroyed five enemy aircraft.


This took place on
February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace
of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of
Honor.

A
year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home
town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and
today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of
this great man.

So, the next time you find
yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's
memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located
between Terminals 1 and 2.

*
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH
OTHER?*


Butch O'Hare was 'Easy Eddie's' son.


(Pretty cool, huh?)