U. S Marine meets Lord Krishna Options

[babu]

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The Marine stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.
< BR>"Step forward now, Marine,

How shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek?

To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.

Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep...

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears

If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the Marine waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, you Marine,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell."

~Author Unknown~



It's the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us the freedom of the press.

It's the Soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us the freedom of speech.

It's the Soldier, not the politicians
That ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag.



If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the Military,
Please pass this on and pray for our men and women
Who have served and are currently serving our country
And pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

[Gerard]

Donovan sung his commentary on the above statement in The Universal Soldier.

[babu]

phil ochs sang about it too

[babu]

stevie wonder and glen campbell sing about the answer

[Gerard]

And Billy Joel not about the answer, more about the troops.

And, while on the subject, this great scene from "A Few Good Men" always makes me think.

[babu]

one of those clips from billy joel was from khe sanh where my brother-in-law jim helped protect our country from vietnamese invasion

gw bush cited vietnam this week in a speech saying we must not make the same mistake in iraq, especially so since the tide seems to be turning and we are finally starting to win the war

great scene from "a few good men"

i for one feel we will get to the higher ground due to the soldiers who have kept on warrin'

[Kalisurfer]

gw bush cited vietnam this week in a speech saying we must not make the same mistake in iraq, especially so since the tide seems to be turning and we are finally starting to win the war

G W Bush finally makes the Iraq/Vietnam connection, and coming from someone who tried so hard to go there and fight but was held back by the dark powers of smack parties and the freedom to miss most of his National Guard duty due to hanging out with future political friends who also ducked out of war that was fought by those too poor or foolish enough to get drafted or join… this has deep meaning. He must not be labeled as the leader of the country once the troops withdraw one day and the war is historically categorized a failure, no…that will be left up to the next guy or woman to occupy his desk, so he can sit at his ranch in retirement while being on the board of all the companies he allowed to run the country during his reign and say, “We could of won the darn thing but nobody listened to me that we should have stayed there forever while increasing troop levels like we did in Vietnam with so much success!”

If historical truth is inconvienient to your goals and monetary interest...well...just change it, for most people won't notice.

And why is it that those who never fought in a war or found ways to duck one in their youth, are often the most likely ones who clamor for one and once they get it, want it to continue for a long, long time while no one close to them serve in it?

[babu]

the speech we are talking about

[babu]

most people don't know about the intense preparation that goes into gw bush's speeches

[babu]

interview with bush's speech writer