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It’s the soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the
PRESS.

It’s the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of
SPEECH.

It’s the soldier, not the campus
ORGANIZER,
Who has given us the freedom to
DEMONSTRATE

It’s the soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a
FAIR TRIAL.

It’s the soldier who salutes the flag,
Serves under the flag
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protester the right to burn the flag.

Father D. E. O’Brien

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A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more the say,
Had come to burn a flag that day.

A boy held up the folded flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An old man pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier’s grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.

“Freedom of Speech” the old man said,
“Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn.
But before any flag gets burned today,
This old man is going to have his say!”

“My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all wars.
But Tommy and I wasn’t even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima’s beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn’t quite reach
Where five good men raised this flag so high,
That the whole world could see it fly!”

“I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old flag.
Now there’s but one shot in this old gun,
So now it’s time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You’ll burn in Hell ‘fore this flag burns, son”

Now this riot never came to pass.
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a “dirty rag”,
Handed the old soldier the folded flag.

So the battle of the flag this day was won
By a tired old soldier with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
This flag may fade, yet the colors don’t run!

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No one is blasting anything. The fact is that the taxpayers have given plenty, at the national level, the state level, the county level and the city level. If I thought for one minute these guys were doing anything but trying to protect their own wealth, and that they truly care about the average taxpayer and employee, I would change my opinion. A couple of the speakers could have produced the $200K on their own. Here is another fact for you. I worked for a major corporation at a high level. My experience was that when push came to shove, the officers took care of themselves first and had no problem at all dumping the working people that really made the company a success. When things turn around (if they do), let’s watch to see if Mr. Fleming gives us all a discount on a new Acura. Or maybe we can get some free legal advice from another of the SCVEDC board members. One might even be able to give us free flight training.
So David if you want to rethink supporting the taxpayers
rather than aligning yourself with those that think they own this city, please let us know.

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Another for Veteran’s day:

The Young Dead Soldiers….

The young dead soldiers do not speak. Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses…..who has not heard them?

They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.

They say…..We were young. We have died. Remember us.

They say…..We have done what we could. But until it is finished, it is not done.

They say…..We have given our lives. But until it is finished, no one can tell what our lives gave.

They say…..Our deaths are not ours. They are yours. They will mean what you make them.

They say…..Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope, or for nothing, we cannot say. It is you that must say this.

They say…..We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. Give them an end to the war and a true peace. Give them a victory that ends the war and a peace afterwards. Give them their meaning.

We were young, they say. We have died. Remember us.

Archibald MacLeish – 1892

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– I support clear benchmarks for the SCVEDC.

– As co-chair of the Small Business Committee, I am specifically engaged with the SCVEDC to represent our city’s small business owners, the vast majority of whom are completely unaware of the public programs available to them.

– Three years into this recession, I see the city’s failure to better communicate these programs to our entire business community as a grave error of leadership.

The city must increase communication with all business to avoid the “GOBN” perception that Cash mentioned in a previous post. The cost of doing so is negligible and if our public is paying for these programs, they should have a seat at the table. This is a rally cry for me.

The fact that people take advantage of programs –and sometimes grow richer- from public programs does necessarily mean the programs are bad or that they should be rejected. With proper benchmarks, scrutiny, and quarterly or annual reviews, such problems can be largely eliminated. I support all of these.

Here’s what I know. The city needs to make money for the public services we want from more Sheriffs to patched potholes. If we do not get a better vision and plan for how to attract business here, we will have more subpar mini-projects with revolving-door businesses.

We all say we want to avoid reckless density in our city but getting there will require some give on the city’s part if we want to attract the business we need to supplant this quick ‘n dirty planning approach. That’s not GOBN mentality – that’s reality.

Although the issue was raised by two council members, what didn’t happen last night was the reduction of our staff’s Economic Development budget. Our city staff has neither the authority nor the vision to grow our city to the next level and I mean that with all due respect. Their budget can and should be modified to offset the cost of this grant but I think the requesting members forgot to pursue the issue at vote time.

In the end, it’s easy to blast any public expense for what is seemingly private enterprise but in my view, the cost of not having a dedicated group adequately address these issues will be far greater.

My campaign of “People First” is very much about the homeowners who want better planning, as well as the protection of small and struggling SCV business. They are all people and my focus in the SCVEDC has never waivered. I have never “sold out” or “crossed over” and I never will. But there are costs to make our city great – this is one of them.

For a more complete explanation of my views, visit here.

I am also happy to meet face-to-face to further discuss this –or any other- issue. Your insights are valuable to me. My opinions are shaped through the information and facts.

Thank you,
David Gauny

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Growing up I recall many people selling poppies at the stores.

Now? Just another old memory like Flanders Fields.

So sad.

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