Shrek's Mom's call for Courage

This is an email I received. Without further ado, please read it. It is from Shrek's Mom.

Families United Call to Action - United for a Strong America!

Your Voice needs to be heard today! You've seen the news today. General Petraeus presented to the President his PRELIMINARY Report. The congressional leadership are referring to it as done/final and are again discussing legislation aimed at undermining our Troops while they are in harms way - protecting us! They are discussing bringing them home - before they complete their mission.

They are discussing ways to weaken our country by weakening our military - tying their hands when they've been asked to do a job that they are succeeding at! The surge is finally at it's full strength and some leaders are saying it has failed - without ever giving it a chance to succeed! I don't know about you but this feels like they are aiding the enemy! In fact - this is exactly what the enemy wants!

Is that what you want? Is that the future you want for your children and grandchildren? Is that what your son/daughter/spouse/mom/dad/neighbor fought for? In Iraq ... Afghanistan ... Vietnam ... Korea ... WWII?

I didn't think so. Now - today is the day to do something about it. Please take a few moments today to email or call your congressional leaders and let them know where you stand and that you need them to work and speak out for victory in Iraq, that you expect them to provide the Troops with the funds they need to be successful on the war on terror, and they need to start standing United for a Strong America!

Here's how to start - call your congressional leaders that ARE supporting the Troops and Their Mission and thank them for doing so. Tell them you appreciate it and will continue to support them. Many of these legislators are being hounded by the "anti-war anti-military success" crowd and need our support! Then, pick up the phone and call your legislators that are working against our Troops.

Of course you will just be getting started - then it's time to call your friends who believe the same and urge them to call too!

Please let me know the representatives you have contacted and their response to your message - if any. Please know that you may only get to leave a message with one of the aides, but those messages do get passed on. Email me at Info@FamiliesUnitedMission.com. Provide me with the date of contact, legislator, and response if any.

Here is a list of Senators that the we hope you will contact today. These representatives are wavering and need to hear from you:

• Sam Brownback, Kansas (202) 224-6521 brownback.senate.gov.
• Saxby Chambliss, Georgia (202) 224-3521 chambliss.senate.gov.
• Norm Coleman, Minnesota (202) 224-5641 coleman.senate.gov.
• Susan Collins, Maine (202) 224-2523 collins.senate.gov.
• Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina (202) 224-6342 dole.senate.gov.
• Pete Domenici, New Mexico (202) 224-6621 domenici.senate.gov.
• Lindsey Graham, South Carolina (202) 224-5972 lgraham.senate.gov.
• Mitch McConnell, Kentucky (202) 224-2541 mcconnell.senate.gov.
• John Sununu, New Hampshire (202) 224-2841 sununu.senate.gov.
• John Warner, Virginia (202) 224-2023 warner.senate.gov.
• Lamar Alexander, Tennessee (202) 224-4944 alexander.senate.gov.
• George Voinovich, Ohio (202) 224-3353 voinovich.senate.gov.
• Chuck Grassley, Iowa (202) 224-3744 grassley.senate.gov.
• Richard Lugar, Indiana (202) 224-4814 senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov.
• Benjamin Nelson, Nebraska (202) 224-6551 bennelson.senate.gov.
• Ken Salazar, Colorado (202) 224-5852 salazar.senate.gov.
• John Rockefeller West Virginia (202) 224-6472 rockefeller.senate.gov.
• Joseph Biden, Jr, Delaware (202) 224-5042 biden.senate.gov.
• Ted Stevens, Alaska (202) 224-3004 stevens.senate.gov.
• Jeff Sessions, Alabama (202) 224-4124 sessions.senate.gov.
• Michael Enzi, Wyoming (202) 224-3424 enzi.senate.gov.

This link will connect you direct to the Senate and House of Representatives membership lists.

Keep Informed - Check these links for facts - Make them a part of your daily newsbrief!

The White House - Presidential Press Conference with Link to the Preliminary Report.
Defend America.Mil.
For The Record - Defense Link.
Iraq Fact Check - Responding to Key Myths.
Heroes in the War on Terror - Defense Link.
Michael Yon On-Line.
The Weekly Standard.
Vets for Freedom.
(And one of favorites, Iraq the Model.

Call Tips

When you call the legislators, a few important things to remember:

Always be courteous. The person answering the phone is likely a young staffer.

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who represents your home state, say "I am from [City, State] and am a (Gold/Blue Star Mom/Dad, Veteran, Patriotic American). I recently returned from Iraq [or insert relevant experience] and I respectfully request to speak with Senator/Representative [name]." When they ask to take a message, say "I'm calling to ask Senator [name] not to support a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq . Because [cite three reasons below]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who is not from your state, say "I am a veteran of the Iraq War [or insert relevant experience] who served with [insert unit] in [insert location] from [insert dates]. I am calling to ask Senator [name] not to support a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. Because [cite three reasons below]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who is not from your state, please be patient yet persistent. Remember that they are making decisions that affect more than their state - they affect your heroes in harms way from every state!

In the future, we will be asking Families United members to request personal meeting with Senators and Representative both in their home districts and on Capitol Hill, so make sure you get the relevant contact information from the person you're speaking with so you can follow up.

REASONS:

General Petraeus deserves enough time to implement a winning counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq.

Retreat means a failed state in Iraq and a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan future attacks against America and her allies.

Decisions about Iraq should be made by military commanders and generals on the ground-not politicians in Washington, DC.

My deepest thanks to you for reaching out to our leadership in this way. It is working together and stand United for a Strong America that we honor our heroic men and women serving us in our Armed Forces.


Merrilee Carlson, Chair
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission
merrilee@familiesunitedmission.com.
Shrek's mom

America - Home of the Free because of the Brave!

I hope many of you will heed her wishes. This is our country and our countrymen who are in danger, whether or not they realize it. These men and women are giving up everything so that we may preserve that which is here at home. What is the sense in fighting if you have no home to come back to after all is said done?

Bush: Troops’ Hard Work in Iraq Will Impact the World

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service.

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 - The hard work U.S. troops are doing in Iraq is “laying the foundations of peace for generations to come,” President Bush told soldiers and family members today at Fort Irwin, Calif. “The work that you have volunteered to do will have a lasting impact on the world in which we live,” the president told the troops.

By helping Iraq become a country that can sustain, defend and govern itself -- and become an ally in the war on terror -- the U.S. military will have delivered a significant blow to those who want to harm the American people, he said.

“The amazing thing about our United States military is that thousands and thousands of you have signed up knowing full well that we’re a nation at war,” he said. “You decided to put your country ahead of self in many ways.”

Bush said he’s proud to be the commander-in-chief of such decent, honorable and noble people. He noted that it gives him great confidence to know that “standing with the president of the United States is a fantastic military, well-trained, courageous and dedicated to protecting this country.”

He also thanked the families and said he understands the troop rotations are difficult and deployments create anxiety. “You are an integral part of making sure this volunteer army is as successful as it is today,” he told the family members.

The president said the troops are facing a “tough war” and the American people are weary of it. But in his judgment, leaving before the job was done would make the United States at risk to further attack.

Bush noted that his new plan for military operations in Iraq involves sending in more troops and naming a new commander, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, an expert on counter-insurgency. Bush said about half of the reinforcements expected to go to Baghdad have arrived, and the security situation is improving.

American and Iraqi troops are on the move, Bush said, rounding up both Sunni and Shiite extremists and going after Al Qaeda. They’re destroying car bomb factories, killing and capturing hundreds of insurgents, and reclaiming neighborhoods.

“There is progress,” he said, “but the enemy sees that progress and they’re responding in a brutal way,” For example, Bush said extremists used two children to drive into a crowded area, and then they got out and blew up the car with the children inside.

“It only hardens my resolve to help free Iraq from a society in which people can do that to children, and it makes me realize the nature of the enemy that we face, which hardens my resolve to protect the American people,” Bush said.

What’s happening in Iraq is not a civil war, he stressed, “It is pure evil and I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil.”

The president said the Iraqi government is doing its part and is meeting its obligations. They’ve committed additional troops to Baghdad, named a Baghdad commander, and manned checkpoints. They’ve also committed $10 billion for reconstruction.

While the United States wants the Iraqi government to succeed, the president said he warned Iraqi officials that U.S. patience is not unlimited.

“It’s in the interest of the United States that this young democracy succeed,” Bush said. “It’s in our interest that we gain a new ally in the war on terror in the midst of a part of the world that produced 19 kids that came and killed 3,000 of our citizens.”

Bush noted that Congress has passed legislation that would impose an artificial deadline from Iraq. He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker have warned that delaying the funds past mid-April will have significant consequences for the armed forces.

When Congress returns from spring break, Bush said he will “urge Congress to work on legislation to fund the troops, but that does not tell the military how to conduct war and sets an artificial timetable for withdrawal.”

“The enemy does not measure the conflict in Iraq in terms of timetables,” he said. “They plan to fight us and we’ve got to fight them alongside the Iraqis. A strategy that encourages its enemies to wait us out is dangerous. It’s dangerous for our troops. It’s dangerous for our country’s security, and it’s not going to become the law.”

Acknowledging the Congress members’ patriotism, Bush said he understands people have passionate points of views about this war. “Yet we cannot allow honest differences in Washington to harm our troops in battle or their families here at home,” he said.

“Members of Congress have sent their message now they need to send me a war spending measure that I can sign into law so we can provide our troops and their families with the funds and support that they deserve and they need,” he concluded.

Delay in war funds will hurt Military readiness, morale Says Bush

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WASHINGTON, April 3, 2007 - Further congressional delay in forwarding an appropriate emergency war spending bill to the White House will damage military readiness and morale as well as endanger the nation, President Bush told reporters today at a White House news conference.

“Congress’s failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines, and others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to,” Bush said.

That scenario is “unacceptable,” Bush said, noting he believes the American people would agree with him.

“Members of Congress say they support the troops. Now they need to show that support in deed, as well as in word,” Bush said. Congressional debate over the conduct of the war against terrorism “shouldn’t come at the expense of funding our troops,” the president said.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have both passed emergency war supplemental funding bills providing funding for U.S. troops, but the money is contingent on troops being withdrawn from Iraq according to a set timetable. Each chamber’s bill also contains unrelated domestic spending.

The president sent his recommended military spending bill to Congress almost 60 days ago. Bush has rejected the recent Senate and House legislation out of hand, saying he’d veto any military funding bill with set timetables for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Bush said he’d just received an update on the U.S. troop reinforcement, or surge, to Iraq from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Two of the five additional Army brigades involved in the surge are now operating in Baghdad, Bush noted, with another now making its way into Iraq from Kuwait.

“And the remaining two brigades will deploy in April and in May,” the president said. It’ll be early June, he said, before all five brigades and other U.S. reinforcements are in place in Iraq.

The U.S. Army brigades already in Baghdad are having a positive effect on reducing violence there, Bush said.

“And as more of those reinforcements arrive in the months ahead, their impact will continue to grow,” the president said.

The current House and Senate war spending bills “undercut the troops by substituting the judgment of politicians in Washington for the judgment of our commanders in the ground, setting an arbitrary withdrawal from Iraq, and spending billions of dollars on ‘pork barrel’ projects completely unrelated to the war,” Bush said.

If Congress fails to forward the White House a favorable war spending bill for presidential signature by mid-April, then, “the Army will be forced to consider cutting back on equipment, equipment repair, and quality of life initiatives for our Guard and Reserve forces,” Bush said.

Bush said those cuts would become necessary, “because the money would have to be shifted to support the troops on the front lines.” The Army also would have to consider cutting training for stateside-assigned Guard and Reserve units, he said.

That scenario would negatively affect unit readiness and might delay the affected units’ availability for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush said.

Additionally, if Congress doesn’t pass and forward a favorable war spending bill by mid-May, then potential problems would become more acute, the president said. The Army would be forced to consider slowing or freezing funding for its equipment-repair depots, Bush said, or delay training of some active-duty forces for overseas deployment.

“If this happens, some of the forces now deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq may need to be extended because other units are not ready to take their places,” Bush explained. “The Army may also have to delay the formation of new brigade combat teams.”

Bush then read from a letter to Congress written by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, who informed legislators of the impending funding crisis for his service: “‘Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures which will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our soldiers and their families.’”

A shortage of funds, Bush explained, would cause some stateside-based Army units to be unavailable for mobilization to Iraq and Afghanistan to replace units set for rotation back to their home bases.

The president acknowledged that some Americans are concerned about U.S. policy on Iraq, but he emphasized that failure to defeat terrorism there would doom the fledgling Iraqi democracy and endanger U.S. citizens.

American military forces serving in Iraq are providing its young government “breathing room” so that it can eventually defend and sustain itself against its enemies, Bush said.

If U.S. troops leave Iraq too early, it could become a “caldron of chaos, which would embolden” the Sunni, Shiite and other extremists who are now trying to tear the country apart, Bush said. Terrorists could then use Iraq as a safe haven, he pointed out, from which to launch new attacks against America.

Bush said his primary presidential task is to protect the American people.

“And, I firmly believe that if we were to leave (Iraq) before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here,” the president said.

Photo: President George W. Bush discusses the emergency supplemental bill with the press Tuesday, April 3, 2007, in the Rose Garden. White House photo by Eric Draper.

U.S. congressional delegation visits Baghdad

Monday, 02 April 2007
By Spc. Stephen P. Kretsinger Sr.
Combined Press Information Center

BAGHDAD — A U.S. congressional delegation visited Baghdad Sunday. The Delegation, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, consisted of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, making his sixth trip to Iraq, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana and Rep. Rick Enzi, also from Arizona.

The delegation landed at Baghdad International Airport and traveled to various locations in Baghdad by military convoy.

The congress members visited the Shorga marketplace and interacted with local merchants while walking the streets with Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general, Multi-National Force–Iraq.

“It’s a resilient people here in Iraq,” said Graham. “We went to the market and we were warmly welcomed. I bought five rugs for five bucks and people were engaging. Just a few weeks ago, dozens of people were killed in the same place. There are plenty of people here in Iraq that want the same thing for their families that (the American people) want for (theirs’) and are dying for their freedom.”

“When we were there at the market place, we had an opportunity to go to the very spot where back in February over 240 lives where lost to a major car bomb and on that very spot we saw the entrepreneurism; we saw the small business spirit; we saw people rebuilding,” Renzi said.

The delegation also visited a joint security station in al Karradah where they met with U.S. and Iraqi troops.

“We met the Iraqi police commander who was very optimistic that this new strategy is paying dividends,” Graham said. “Is it hopeless? No. If we’re patient as a nation and stand by the Iraqi people, who are fighting and dying for their freedom, we will win this war. If we talk about leaving and losing, the car bombers win.”

The members of the delegation spoke of their belief that the American people were not receiving the full story on Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I believe that we have a new strategy that is making progress and it’s not to say that things are well everywhere in Iraq; far from it,” McCain said. “We have a long way to go.”

“We read everyday about suicide bombings, kidnappings, rocket attacks and other terrible attacks,” McCain said. “What we don’t read about everyday and what is news since the surge began is a lot of the good news.”

The good news the senator spoke of included the drop in murders in Baghdad, the establishment of joint security stations throughout the city, the deal among al-Anbar province sheiks to fight back against al-Qaeda, the deployment of additional Iraqi brigades to Baghdad from across Iraq and the increase in locals providing tips to U.S. and Iraqi forces.

“These and other indicators are reasons for very cautious optimism about the effects of the new strategy,” McCain said. “I believe just as we read about all the negative events in Iraq, the American people must be aware of the positive development under this new plan.”

Photo: Sen. John McCain, Arizona, Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina and Gen. David H. Petraeus, Multi-National Force-Iraq commander, make a transaction with a local merchant at the Shorga market Sunday. Photo by Sgt. Matthew Roe, 10th Public Affairs Operations Center.

Bill S. 641: No cutting of funding for the troops

This is a copy of what I retrieved from the Thomas guide. I copied it because everytime I've tried to link to it in the past, it did not work. Grr. The words I used were: no cutting off funding for the troops. If you would like to do the same search. Also, you will get 0 for exact match, etc. Go to the last one that has 1000 bills containing one or more of your search words.

Well, how did the vote go in the Senate? 82 Senators approved it! A lot of talk for all those blowhards. Wouldn't ya say? lol. BTW, why isn't anyone touting this bill? Are the Republicans really this stupid? Oh, nevermind. For a minute there I lost my mind and thought they found their spine. I'll try not to do that in the future. Ho hum. Here is the whole copy:

Update: I was listening to the radio when I received this information. Apparently this bill has been tabled to be put on the calendar at a later date. I don't know where Mark Levin got the 82 votes from...maybe another vote? (My fault. Sorry.) Rep Mike Pence also has a bill that has gone to the Congressional House Committee on Armed Services. The number is H.CON.RES.64.

GPO's PDF Display. Congressional Record References. Bill Summary & Status. Printer Friendly Display - 3,532 bytes. [Help].

To express the sense of Congress that no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field which would result in undermining their safety or their ability to complete... (Placed on Calendar in Senate)

S 641 PCS

Calendar No . 45

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 641

To express the sense of Congress that no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field which would result in undermining their safety or their ability to complete their assigned missions.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 15, 2007

Mr. MCCONNELL (for Mr. GREGG) (for himself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. COBURN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. KYL, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. DEMINT) introduced the following bill; which was read the first time.

February 16, 2007

Read the second time and placed on the calendar.

A BILL

To express the sense of Congress that no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field which would result in undermining their safety or their ability to complete their assigned missions.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ELIMINATION OR REDUCTION OF FUNDS FOR THE ARMED FORCES IN THE FIELD.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Under article II, section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, the President is the `commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States', and in such capacity the President has the command of the Armed Forces, including the authority to deploy troops and direct military campaigns during wartime.

(2) Under article I, section 8, of the Constitution of the United States, Congress has the power of the purse specifically as it relates to the Armed Forces, and in such capacity Congress has the responsibility to fully and adequately provide funding for United States military forces, especially when they are at war and are defending the Nation.

(3) When United States military forces are in harm's way and are protecting our country, Congress and the Nation should give them all the support they need in order to maintain their safety and accomplish their assigned missions, including the equipment, logistics, and funding necessary to ensure their safety and effectiveness, and such support is the responsibility of both the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch of Government.

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that Congress should not take any action that will endanger United States military forces in the field, including the elimination or reduction of funds for troops in the field, as such action with respect to funding would undermine their safety or harm their effectiveness in pursuing their assigned missions.

Calendar No . 45

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 641

A BILL

To express the sense of Congress that no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field which would result in undermining their safety or their ability to complete their assigned missions.

February 16, 2007

Read the second time and placed on the calendar.