Santa Rosa Says "Thank You" To Our Troops
Veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as Vietnam and current active duty personnel were in attendance, as well as a cross section of North Bay citizens of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to showing support for our troops, they show that not everyone in the Bay Area agrees with the blame-America-first, cut and run mentality of politicians like Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Boxer.
There was a play area for children, as well as tables with greeting cards that attendees could write messages of support, as well as petitions, which would be given to those serving in the Middle East. Musicians performed patriotic songs.
Specialist Evan Kubota, who served with the 579th Engineering Battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom told the crowd how much the support of Sonoma County residents meant to him and others deployed overseas.
Melanie Morgan of KSFO-AM's morning show and Move America Forward, was there. Joining her were Deborah Johns, spokeswoman for last year’s "You Don't Speak For Me, Cindy" tour and Gold Star Father Joseph Williams of Vacaville, CA.
Johns, whose son William has signed up for his third tour of duty in Iraq, said Saddam Hussein, his sons as well as al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, were weapons of mass destruction and have been removed. She also mentioned how components to assemble weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq but this information has not been mentioned by the mainstream media.
"It is a disservice to our troops," Johns said. She also noted how CNN, ABC and SeeBS refused to run an advertisement from Kurdistan that thanked our military for liberating Iraq and getting rid of Saddam Hussein.
It is noteworthy that, with the exception of what appeared to be a reporter from the Press Democrat, I did not see any other MSM outlets, including any Bay Area television stations, covering this event, yet these same media outlets do not hesitate to cover even the smallest of anti-war demonstrations.
The topic of Cindy Sheehan, the anti-American activist who has called those who killed her son Casey "freedom fighters," came up among the speakers. Johns mentioned how Sheehan has said America should "use words instead of bombs" to deal with people like Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.
"These men (Hussein, bin Laden) are not wayward children who have gone astray, you cannot negotiate with them" she said.
Williams, whose son was killed in Iraq in March 2003 joined Move America Forward to counter Sheehan in Crawford Texas. In his speech, he noted many accomplishments in Iraq not mentioned by the MSM, that 47 nations have reestablished embassies in Iraq and 95 percent of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received their first polio vaccine. Hospitals and schools have also been built throughout the nation.
Another speaker, Brigadier General Joseph Schroedel said when he was in Iraq, he heard from Iraqis that Saddam Hussein told them the Americans would "steal their lives and their money. But the only thing you stole was our hearts." He also told the story of how he saw a mud hut in Iraq with a satellite dish outside and television inside the hut. He also told of the number of Iraqis who are using cell phones. This did not happen while Hussein was in power.
Johns, Williams and Morgan said when they went to Crawford TX to counter Cindy Sheehan, they received 500-600 e-mails from parents who lost a loved one in Iraq to take down a cross bearing the name of their loved one that Sheehan and her crowd set up there. Sheehan has been asked to stop exploiting those killed in Iraq for her political purposed but she has refused. She refused to speak to Mr. Williams, saying he and other Gold Star Families who don't agree with her are "brainwashed."
Johns told of how, in February of this year, she confronted Sheehan for using the names of those killed in Iraq to further her agenda. Sheehan refused to answer Johns and the moderators abruptly ended the Q and A session.
Morgan told those in attendance that people like Sheehan, John Kerry and Jane Fonda didn't understand the values of the American people and vowed to do all she can "so that this country does not lose it's resolve" in fighting the War on Terror.
