Happy 90th Birthday, Senator Byrd!

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U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd celebrates 90th birthday



November 20, 2007 8:53 AM

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Byrd spokesman Jesse Jacobs says Byrd plans to spend his birthday quietly reading the hundreds of birthday wishes that have flooded his offices. Byrd also expects to have lunch with his staff and to visit with his seven great-grandchildren.

A surprise 90th birthday party was held Thursday in the ballroom of the Capitol Hill hotel. More than 300 people attended, including West Virginia's entire congressional delegation and Governor Manchin.

Manchin presented Byrd with a West Virginia Living Legend Award, which the governor created as a tribute to renowned West Virginians. The award has been given to only two other people: pro football Hall-of-Famer Sam Huff and retired Brigadier General Chuck Yeager .

Byrd, who has served in the Senate since 1959, is the oldest member of the Senate and longest-serving senator in history.


http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/wv/news1.shtml


Arrogance of Power
Today, I Weep for my Country...

by US Senator Robert Byrd
Speech delivered on the floor of the US Senate
March 19, 2003 3:45pm

I believe in this beautiful country. I have studied its roots and gloried in the wisdom of its magnificent Constitution. I have marveled at the wisdom of its founders and framers. Generation after generation of Americans has understood the lofty ideals that underlie our great Republic. I have been inspired by the story of their sacrifice and their strength.

But, today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.

Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.

We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.

After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe.

The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice . . .

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0319-04.htm

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1. Byrd: Senate’s ‘Saber-Rattling’ Is ‘Sleep-Walking’ America To War With Iran

"It is deeply troubling to see the U.S. Senate joining the chest-pounding and saber-rattling of the Bush administration. I am no apologist for the Iranian regime, anymore than I was for Saddam Hussein, but I fear that we may become entangled in another bloody quagmire. We have been down this path before. We have seen all too clearly where it leads."

We are truly “sleepwalking through history.” In my heart of hearts I pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not in for a rudest of awakenings.

To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50% children is “in the highest moral traditions of our country”. This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time."

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/04/iran-byrd-speech/

[texpatriot2004]

2. Happy Birthday Senator Byrd nm

[IndianaJones]

3. time to retire! nt.

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4. He was on the mark on Iran just a month ago

but, let's just put him out to pasture . . . :eyes:

[IndianaJones]

5. yes...out to pasture. nt.

[bigtree]

6. kick

October 31, 2007

"Today is a fitting day to discuss the issue of Iran. Today is All-Hallow’s Eve — Halloween — a day when people don masks and costumes to frighten others. The White House has been busy unleashing its rhetorical ghosts and goblins to scare the American people, with claims of an imminent nuclear threat in Iran, as they did with Iraq."

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/31/byrd-blasts-bushs-rhetorical-ghosts-and-goblins-on-iran/

[Qutzupalotl]

7. It's Joe Biden's birthday today too.

He's 65.