Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[REGGAB]

   The newspaper stated today that some Muslim doctor is saying we are profiling him because he has been checked three times while getting on an airplane.

   The following is a letter from a pilot with American Airlines.

   "YOU WORRY ME!"

    By American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco

   I've been trying to say this since 9-11, but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country.

   But you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me.  I notice you because I can't help it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate, but I know that nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks.

   On September 11, nineteen ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends, favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers.

   The Palestinians Celebrated, the Iraqis were overjoyed as was most of the Arab world. So, I notice you now. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and prejudice that have destroyed the soul of these terrorists. But I need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist.

   How do I differentiate between the true Arab / Muslim-Americans and the Arab Muslim terrorists in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children?

   The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of  its different citizens, with all of its faults.  It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.

   I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know, whether or not you love America?  Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation, that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah will destroy it in one of your Jihads? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords?  A  freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by also paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America?

   If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.

   Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America.

PLEASE SEE PART 2.

   

[REGGAB]

             Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy. I am only interested in action.

   What will you do for America - our great country - at this time of crisis, at this time of war?

   I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting "Allah Bless America " I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole.

   The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize right now in Muslim communities. You know them. You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals.  The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating.

   They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing "leaders" like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat.

   If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people, then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good, and pure, and true, when your "leaders" are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance?

   It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if huge numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after a year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.

   We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world.

   I want to know where every Arab Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family. I am pleading with you to let me know.

   I want you here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American.

But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your allegiance and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand.  Until then. "YOU WORRY ME!"

[Hoist!]

Awesome 2 posts Henry! That pilot speaks for me there! That's for damn sure! Why do we even have to explain this? It's part of our foundation, to defend our freedom that we fought so hard for to achieve. We shouldn't have to explain how we propose to defend our freedom to anyone. Live and let live until you mess with us, or pick on the weak and needy, which we will also help defend. Living in NYC, anything related to 9/11 like this still gets me very emotional. Things changed in this country forever as a result of their cowardly actions. Damn right they'll bear the brunt of it. And if they don't like it, they can all get the hell out. We'll know exactly where we stand then!!!

Thanks Henry!

Hoist!

[SOKOOLJ]

He has so thoughtfully put into words how many of us feel. And as many of us believe, PERCEPTION IS REALITY!
 And my position on profiling is...how many of us fear being targeted by thugs while approaching a group of young males wearing nice casual clothing, sporting a clean look, and flashing nothing more than a welcomed greeting or a smile? May not be the best annalogy, but I am a pretty simple person, albiet pretty passionate about our freedom and safety in this awesome country.

[lilbear]

Great post Henry!  That's one gutsy pilot to put into words what most of us are thinking.  It's O.K. to remember your heritage, but it's America - Love it or leave it!  Be an American and everything that goes along with it, or be something else - somewhere else! 

Thanks for the post Henry. 

[Chief]

Right on!!! 

[HUBBARD]

Wise Old Indian 

A few years ago someone browsing through the 40th Anniversary Issue of Reader's Digest, (dated Feb. 1962), came across this reprint from the Washington News and found it quite interesting in light of our current debates.

The quote reads:
Vice President Lyndon Johnson received the following message from a Native American Indian Chief on a Reservation:  "Be careful with your immigration laws.  We were careless with ours."

There endeth the lesson.  Later--HUBBARD 

[Chief]

Wise Old Indian 

A few years ago someone browsing through the 40th Anniversary Issue of Reader's Digest, (dated Feb. 1962), came across this reprint from the Washington News and found it quite interesting in light of our current debates.

The quote reads:
Vice President Lyndon Johnson received the following message from a Native American Indian Chief on a Reservation:  "Be careful with your immigration laws.  We were careless with ours."

There endeth the lesson.  Later--HUBBARD 

That was one wise man.

[REGGAB]

That was one wise man.

And he speaketh true words!

[erniezap]

Unfortunately, too many Americans have forgotten how it felt that day when the towers came down.  All they do is bitch and moan saying that we shouldn't have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and are making it a big political campaign issue.  If it wasn't for those troops being there, we'd be seeing more attacks like the one on 09/11 on our soil.

Howie,

Being from New York and losing 2 friends that day, I will NEVER forgive or forget!

[Hoist!]

Unfortunately, too many Americans have forgotten how it felt that day when the towers came down.  All they do is bitch and moan saying that we shouldn't have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and are making it a big political campaign issue.  If it wasn't for those troops being there, we'd be seeing more attacks like the one on 09/11 on our soil.

Howie,

Being from New York and losing 2 friends that day, I will NEVER forgive or forget!

Sorry Ernie, I lost some friends and co-workers too. And I sure never will either! It changed me forever!

Hoist!

[REGGAB]

Ernie, Howie,
God Bless the both of you for your losses on that terrible day.  Soon we'll mark the 6th anniversary of the tragedies of 9-11-01.  Each year since 9-11 I get REAL irritable about this time of year.  I'll NEVER, EVER forget where I was and what I was doing that morning, nor how it has changed my life as well as the lives of all Americans since that morning.  So am I looking?  Youbetcha.  It is what it is, Folks.  That chit ain't happening again.............not on my watch!

Henry

[Fired00d]

Ernie, Howie,
God Bless the both of you for your losses on that terrible day.  Soon we'll mark the 6th anniversary of the tragedies of 9-11-01.  Each year since 9-11 I get REAL irritable about this time of year.  I'll NEVER, EVER forget where I was and what I was doing that morning, nor how it has changed my life as well as the lives of all Americans since that morning.  So am I looking?  Youbetcha.  It is what it is, Folks.  That chit ain't happening again.............not on my watch!

Henry

I'm with you on that. I'll never forgot where I was, what I was doing, and the thoughts going thru my head. I was ready to go reenlist so I could "get some", but thought with my bad hip I'd be burden if they even let me in. Like you I'm keeping my eyes/ears open at all times.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[SOKOOLJ]

Not only do I think about those who lost thier lives to the terrorists on 9/11, but I share my thoughts and prayers
with the 3,706 members of our armed services that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror. And I will not forget the countless contractors and civilians who have given thier lives as well. I speak from my own expireinces, that without the civilian contractors helping fight this fight, it would come to a skreeching halt. And to our brothers/allies from around the globe...I pray for you to.
Other Coalition Countries have sacrificed as well:
Country Total
Australia  2
Bulgaria  13
Czech Republic  1
Denmark  7
El Salvador  5
Estonia  2
Hungary  1
Italy  33
Kazakhstan  1
Latvia  3
Netherlands  2
Poland  21
Romania  2
Slovakia  4
South Korea  1
Spain  11
Thailand  2
Ukraine  18
United Kingdom  168
 
I have been serving in the Active Duty Army for 19+ years now and had it not been for that fatefull day, I'd be ACAP-ing right now, but those SOB's started the fire and I'll be fighting back as long as they'll let me.

[erniezap]

I have been serving in the Active Duty Army for 19+ years now and had it not been for that fatefull day, I'd be ACAP-ing right now, but those SOB's started the fire and I'll be fighting back as long as they'll let me.

Let me be the first on this thread to say THANK YOU for your service and sacrifices.  USAF 76-80

[erniezap]

A Wake Up Call From Luke AFB, AZ
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 10:10 PM

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain Lieutenant Colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back.

Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16's that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:

"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call,or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."

The response:

Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday): On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flyby of F-16's from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques was an
Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.
Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United
States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
CO 63rd Fighter Squadron
Luke AFB

My hats off to Lt. Col. Scott Pleus! 

[RJ749]

Based on Snopes the above is true and actually happened in 2005.

As to the point of the original letter writer he followed the letter from the Lt. Col. with this:

McRae wrote a follow-up letter to the newspaper that was published on July 9 in which he apologized for his original complaint:

I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my
unfortunate letter to The Republic concerning an Air Force flyby ("A
wake-up call from Luke's jets," Letters, June 23).

I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have
insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known.

I have received many calls from the fine airmen who are serving or have
served at Luke, and I have attempted to explain my side and apologized
for any discomfort my letter has caused.

This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.

I have been made aware in both written and verbal communications of the
four-ship flyby, and my heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman
and woman in this war in which we are engaged.

I have been called un-American by an unknown caller and I feel that I
must address that. I served in the U.S. Navy and am a Vietnam veteran. I
love my country and respect the jobs that the service organizations are
doing.

Please accept my heartfelt apologies.

Tom MacRae, Peoria

[hard10]

The sign outside of the gates to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort reads:

The 'noise' you hear is the sound of FREEDOM

We are very proud of our service men & women!

[Fired00d]

The sign outside of the gates to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort reads:

The 'noise' you hear is the sound of FREEDOM

We are very proud of our service men & women!

OOH RAH!!!! Semper Fi!!!

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[SOKOOLJ]

Let me be the first on this thread to say THANK YOU for your service and sacrifices.  USAF 76-80

I must thank YOU, for your support. One thing is for sure, service members all know how much we are appreciated across this land, despite the media reports. And we all understand that there is a separation between the administration and the troops, and it is unfortunate. I can't imagine what the boys went through when they returned from south-east asia. They too are my HEROES!

[CVOJOE]

The 'noise' you hear is the sound of FREEDOM

   

[cuthbertss]

I must thank YOU, for your support. One thing is for sure, service members all know how much we are appreciated across this land, despite the media reports. And we all understand that there is a separation between the administration and the troops, and it is unfortunate. I can't imagine what the boys went through when they returned from south-east asia. They too are my HEROES!

I feel the need to respond to this as well with my experiences....
in the last several years i am approached almost daily by some citizen who wants to shake my hand and thank me for my service.  This means more to me than I will ever be able to express to them, and I graciously accept their thanks as best as I can for the young men and women who are doing the heavy lifting.

I am a staff guy, in an office buidling.  I have been there and done that, but not lately.  But I always express to these citizens my thanks on behalf of the fine Soldiers in harms way today.  Thanks to all of you and all of them for caring

[PHAZE]

Thanks to all who have served and are currently serving!

[theslash]

Your Welcome
and thank you for thanking us