Posted on 02/05/2002 6:02:28 AM PST by Jeff Head
As I type this, the:
DEPICT THE WTC FLAG RAISING AS IT ACTUALLY OCCURRED
petition has surpassed 150,000 signatures. It was three weeks ago today that this petition was started in response to plans by the city of New York and the Fire Department officials there in New York to create a memorial to the fallen fire fighters of 9-11 that included an altered depiction of the flag raising that occurred at ground zero on that fateful day. The alteration attempted to change the ethnicity and physical appearance of those that did the flag raising to a "culturally diverse", "politically correct" version of events. It was a blatant attempt to project what some thought "should" have happened and what the event "should" have represented over what actually took place.
This attempt has struck a raw nerve in many tens of thousands and now hundreds of thousands of citizens across this nation and the world (,hundreds have signed from Canada, England, Australia, Germany and many other places). I am sure of it were more widely known, it would do the same in tens of millions.
Revisionism of this nature occurred in totalitarian nations such as Stalin's Russia, or Hitler's Germany or Mao's China .... not in America. The liberty we enjoy in America is based on virtue and the truth. In order to make the responsible free will decisions that we make in this nation every day, we must have access to the truth and then act as moral agents on it.
Those politicians and planners and ideologs who proposed such an alteration are completely out of touch with the liberty and principles that make us all Americans. There attempts subvert the very foundational principles our Republic rests upon. Those three men who raised that flag did not do so as "whites" or "males" or any other descriptive term other than this one ... AMERICANS. The flag they raised represents us all, of all creeds, of all parties, of all ethnicities and races, of all genders. They raised it as a message to all, a message about our liberty and determination to maintain it in the face of the most appalling horror and dastardly attacks.
We have made progreee in this effort. The city announced over ten days ago that they would not raise the altered statue. They have indicated that they now have other plans. There is no official word on what those other plans are as of yet.
According to the second point of the petition, the petition will continue until plans are announced that portray a memorial with no political agenda and that is historically accurate.
I am moving forward with plans to deliver the first 100,000 signatures to New York in the next week or so. I have formatted 40,000 names for print and will complete the formatting on the next 60,000 in the next day or two and then have them printed, bound and shipped to firefighters there in NYC who will present them to the mayors office. I will follow this up with the second 100,000 as they are completed, and so forth ... as long as I can and as long as needed.
I want to thank everyone involved. Those who have signed, those who have spread the word, those who have unrelentingly kept the threads and the reoprts up here on FR and elsewhere on the internet, those who have prayed, and all of those who have donated any time or sent funds to help get these signatures to the City of New York.
If you want some heart warming, hope inspiring experiences .... spend a few moments browsing the comments on the petition.
I will close with my favortie comments to date, from signature 11497:
"WHAT A PATHETIC NATION WE HAVE BECOME when we have to alter history, and the TRUTH, to accomodate bleeding heart liberal, blood sucking interest groups. I am of hispanic origin, my parents were born in Puerto Rico, but i was born here, in the land God himself chose to be America. So what if the firemen who raised our glorious flag were white, they were AMERICANS, showing cowards we cant be pushed around. If you poor unloved, misunderstood crybabies want to be represented in the monument, take a close look and see that you are, in the flag itself. The glorious flag that will wave long after we're all eaten by worms. Political correctness has become morally and politically incorrect. Wake up and smell the coffee before we destroy ourselves. signed, an AMERICAN."Would that we all had such conviction and willingness to state and share it.
FRegards
comes back up ... I don't believe we will see any progress. If it goes on long enough, it will effectively kil all existing petitions because people will not forward something that cannot be signed. Although I believe, from what I have seen, that signatures are still being captured.
We'll see.
Later.
September 11, 2001 Somerset County, about 80 miles SE of Pittsburgh
Group Responsible: The main suspect is Osama Bin Laden, the head of a network of terrorists.
Synopsis:
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial jet planes and attempted to fly them into several U.S. targets. The terrorists planned to fly this plane into a key U.S. target like the capitol building as part of their terrorist campaign that included the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. However, the terrorists got more than they bargained for on United Airlines Flight 93. Some of the passengers had heard of the events surrounding the other terrorists targets and took action. The terrorists discovered first hand the resolve of Americans under duress and in their final moments maybe glimpsed the will that has made America great. These heroes epitomized the sacrifice and courage this great nation was founded upon. Although, authorities are unclear of the exact sequence of events involving this flight, they are sure these Americans died protecting the lives of countless others.
America's Response:
The people of America have banded together like few other times in American history. People have responded with donations of blood, effort and money. The terrorists hoped to break the will of America but they have only inflamed the will of Americans to insure that freedom, liberty, and the American way of life continue.
The President of the United States has called for all civilized nations to band together and fight terrorism. The military of the United States has been mobilized for war. This operation has been code named Enduring Freedom. The government has declared Osama Bin Laden to be the main suspect and is currently seeking him in the country of Afganistan. Unfortunately, the Taliban, or ruling party of the country is not cooperating with the U.S. Government.
Oregon-bound airline, in 1849? Don't laugh--it almost happened. Rufus Porter, founder of Scientific American, planned to fly pioneers to Oregon on propeller-driven balloons powered by steam engines. He advertised the endeavor, and 200 brave souls signed up for the trip. But the "airline" never got off the ground.
Then there was the wind wagon, a cross between a sailboat and a wagon. Because it can be very windy in the West, it seemed like a good idea on paper. A prototype was built, and for a brief moment it barreled across the plains at the advertised 15 miles per hour. Then it went out of control and crashed. The inventor, "Wind-Wagon Thomas," kept trying for years, but never succeeded.
Others took a more low-tech approach, making the trip with only a simple wheelbarrow. It's hard to imagine pushing a fully loaded wheelbarrow for 2,000 miles, but several dozen people tried. For a time, they could outpace everything on the Trail, but human endurance has its limits. It is uncertain whether any of them made it all the way.
Mormon handcarts were somewhat more sophisticated. Like wheelbarrows, they were human-powered, but handcarts were pulled, not pushed. Thousands of handcarts made it to Salt Lake City, Utah, but there is no record of anyone taking a handcart further west.
It also looks like the petition signers are also being very sincere in their efforts to remember the flag-raising as it happened. There are again 'signatures' since the latest update being captured on the 'View Signatures' link. It may take awhile, but it appears 'all' will be well again in 24 hours, and we'll see how many 'signatures' were picked up. My hopes is that the signers didn't miss a step, and that only the on-going viewing was affected.
Thank you, Petitiononline, for your part in making this all possible.
Just clicked on the 'link' in this thread header, and then the 'View Signature' link(their site) at it is at 37,011 (rebuilding).
FGS
Looks like they're putting it back together; adding several hundred signatures/minute over the last 5 minutes. It does seem to vary quite a bit, though. Whoa; just went up a couple of thousand in the last few minutes. At the rate they're going, it should be caught up in another hour or so.
I'm also wondering if a "hack job" wasn't done on POL. The whining bedwetters on the left are a nasty bunch when they don't get their way. Don't you wish we could give 'em all a "GROW UP" pill? It's a shame there so many people in positions of authority that never made it past puberty emotionally.
FGS
I'd be curious to know what happened to their server.
FGS
Old signatures being 'reinserted', better? Thanks for the update.
Bad choice of words on my part. Reconstituted or reconstructed might have been better. I just checked on mine, and it's in the same place and time as it originally appeared.
FGS
The first of the most recent ones
128170. Earl Bollack Forest Hill ,Maryland 21050 Feb.10 ,2002 Let's keep history true
The last, so far, of the restored ones
128169. Phil and Chris Moy Torrance, CA 90505-3166 January 31,2002 Don't DESTROY History
I think the sentiment lies somewhere between 'Let's keep history true' and 'Don't DESTROY History' {;~)
Two-thirds restored in about 12 hours. We should be 'back in the saddle' by this evening, Lord willing.
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