These group is composed of families that have members in Iraq or Afghanistan or that have lost members of their family in the war on terror.
I immediately wrote a piece, emailed everyone I could and set it up on the Victory Caucus forums.
This morning I see that many have cross posted and linked to the petition as members of the Victory Caucus have signed and continue to sign this petition.
Thank you, on behalf of the people that emiled me for help, thank you for your quick actions.
This is the wording of the petition:
Whereas, we understand the War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring stability to the Middle East and protect America from further attack; and
Whereas, we believe that victory can and will be achieved by U.S. and Iraqi forces fighting together for liberty and democracy in Iraq; and
Whereas, we believe all Americans should be united in our gratitude and appreciation to our military men and women for the risks and sacrifices they endure in the protection of our liberty and unalienable rights; and
Whereas, there exists amongst the citizens of the United States, disagreement regarding the appropriateness of the war on terror being waged in Iraq; and
Whereas, as Americans, we recognize that voicing these divergent views is guaranteed and protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, granting Freedom of Speech; and
Whereas, we further understand that these views have been appropriately voiced and debated by our Congressional Representatives; now
Therefore be it resolved
We the under-signed are indicating in the strongest of terms that we stand proudly in support of our men and women who are fighting to defend our nation and Liberty and Democracy in Iraq; that we believe victory can and will be achieved by U.S. and Iraqi forces; and we strongly oppose the efforts by some to harshly criticize and undermine the mission of our military engaged in the field -- heightening the danger that our fighting forces face on a daily basis; and
We stand with our men and women in the military to ensure that they and their families receive the support and respect they deserve here at home, and furthermore we support legislative efforts to improve the level of support for military and their families, especially those killed or injured while in action.
The under-signed proud Americans,
SIGN THE PETITION
I also took some time to browse through the Families United site and found some truly touching stories from mothers, fathers, families and Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans.... these stories can be found here.
Our veterans, our active military and the families of both those and the men and women that have died do not ask for much so when they do, it is an honor to pass their request around and try to help them with their efforts.
I thank them for the opportunity to help and for telling their stories, these are the people that our media ignores in favor of people like Cindy Sheehan, which should say plenty about our media and their bias.
Please check out this page and read just a few of their stories and why they are asking for nothing more than patience to finish a job they have started and that they feel strongly that they can achieve victory in.
Families United for our troops and their mission also has this on their site about the emergency supplemental:
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission Urges Congress to Pass War Supplemental.
Minneapolis, MN - Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission, Inc is urging all 535 members of Congress, Republican, Democrat and Independent, to adopt the President's emergency war supplemental legislation without adding troop withdrawal language and unrelated spending.
Merrilee Carlson, a Gold Star Mother and President of Families United, is calling on the more than 40,000 members of Families United to contact Congress and insist they give our troops all the tools necessary to complete their mission and to do it without delay.
"Tacking on controversial troop withdrawal language and additional spending amendments to this critical supplemental funding bill will only serve to put our men and women at further risk while politicians debate these unrelated issues on the evening news," Carlson said.
"It is imperative that our soldiers in harms way have every tool they need to be successful and these include the funds, the equipment, and the complete support of the American people. Ploys that add timeframes to funding give aid to our enemy it leads them to believe that we are divided, that we can be beaten and that is simply not true! Our military is comprised of the finest and the best they are the Great Defenders! We ask Congress and the people of America to stand strong and united for our troops and the completion of this vital mission!"
Contact your Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Contact your Representative:
http://www.house.gov/writerep
There is also a letter the Republicans in the Senate have sent to Nancy Pelosi (Hat Tip to QandO)
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
We are writing to urge you to call the House back into session immediately so that Congress can finish its work on the emergency legislation to fund the Global War on Terrorism. This funding request has been pending since February 5, but your leadership team chose to leave town for more than two weeks rather than completing this bill. As a result, our troops have been put at risk.
We are especially troubled by the House's failure to appoint conferees. The Senate appointed conferees on March 29, moments after passing its bill, but the House never did so despite passing the bill a week earlier. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Senate that he hoped the House-Senate conference would begin on March 30. That hoped-for progress has been thwarted by your failure to act.
It should go without saying that our military leaders are in the best position to know the needs of our troops, and they have left no doubt that this funding is needed urgently. General Peter Schoomaker, United States Army Chief of Staff, has written that, "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." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also emphasized the dangers of delay: "This kind of disruption to key programs will have a genuinely adverse effect on the readiness of the Army and the quality of life for soldiers and their families."
Our troops need this funding, and they need it soon. The Senate is in session and ready to work. We respectfully request that you cancel the remainder of your break, call the House back into session, appoint conferees promptly, and work in good faith to pass a clean supplemental funding bill that the President can sign as soon as possible. Every day we don't fund our troops is a day their ability to fight this war is weakened.
Read the rest of QandO's piece please, there is some spot on analysis below the letter.
It is time for Congress and the Senate to stop playing games with the military's money and send a bill to the Presidents desk that does not have billions, yes BILLIONS of added pork barrel earmarks for matters completely unrelated to the war on terror. (Scroll down at that link for a list of what was used to bribe and buy the votes needed to pass a bill that they already KNOW will be vetoed.)
If you own a blog please consider doing a piece for Families United for our troops and their mission and link to their petition.
Thank you.
Those that have joined in the effort to help this group:
Perri Nelson
Right Truth
Faultline USA
Cerebral Catharsis
Jeffrey Mark
Iowa Voice
Maggies Notebook
A huge thank you for helping this worthwhile cause and our Gold and Blue Star families.
Monday Open Trackbacks
Trackposted to Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Perri Nelson's Website, Mark My Words, The Random Yak, Big Dog's Weblog, DragonLady's World, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, Hollywood Gossip, Jo's Cafe, Conservative Thoughts, third world county, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tracked back by:
Johnny Hart -- R.I.P. 1931 รข€“ 2007 from The World According To Carl...
Reveille -- A Very Touching Video Regarding Military Veterans from The World According To Carl...
Where is Private First Class Keith Matthew Maupin? from Blue Star Chronicles...
Google shows Terrorists how to reach America from Planck's Constant...
Soprano Home Movies - Episode 78 from Planck's Constant...
Don Imus Goes, Rosie O’Donnell Stays from Blue Star Chronicles...
Don Imus: Not Nappily Ever After from Maggie's Notebook...
Four 4-Star Generals Request Funds Before May 15th from Maggie's Notebook...
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