"Oh Say Can You See..."

[kentuck]

"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave"

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The first and last words of the Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem. The Republicans and the 16 Democratic Senators that voted against our Constitution should read it closely. There is no place in our country for fear or fear-mongers.

There is no place for those that say they are willing to give up a little freedom and a few rights so they can be safe. That is not our America. And those that preach fear and security will pay dearly in the next election. If they think 2006 was bad, just wait until 2008.

America has no place for cowards or those that whimper in fear. As the national anthem states, we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We will not put up with cowards or wimps leading our country. We will not surrender our Constitution for a little security.

When the President and the Senators are sworn into office, they are not sworn in to protect and defend the people of this nation - they are sworn to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". There is a world of difference.

What does it mean to "protect and defend" the Constitution?
It means that we are a nation of laws, not men. We have certain rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights. For example, the Fourth Amendment states that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

We sent these folks to Washington to defend these laws and these words - not to kowtow to fearmongers or to protect us from real or imagined enemies. Those that fail to understand this will suffer the wrath of the citizenry and the consequences of the next election.

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. All of the lyrics of the National Anthem

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/banner.htm

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Unfortunately, the war-mongering jingoism of the song ("Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just") fits perfectly with the Junta and it's Democratic enablers in Congress.

[jedicord]

2. The crowd at Sunday's NASCAR race booed....

at the part where it says "that our flag was still there".

Amazing, NASCAR dads are waking up.