The Eagle Will Rise

[Gauracandra 1]

I watched President Bush's address to Congress and was quite impressed. He hit all the right points, was very controlled, strong, and showed real emotion (especially as he held the police man's badge). I think thus far he is handling this situation like an Ace.

 

I'm sure this won't be like any war that has been fought before. But the Eagle will Rise, and America will be victorious.

 

God Bless America, God Bless our President, and God Bless the members of Congress, who will work united in this effort.

 

Gauracandra

[Guest guest]

'Out of respect'

 

Hockey fans in Philadelphia demand to listen to speech

 

Posted: Thursday September 20, 2001 10:17 PM

 

Updated: Thursday September 20, 2001 11:06 PM

 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- With President Bush on the big screen, hockey suddenly didn't matter anymore, not to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers or the thousands of fans in attendance.

 

The start of the third period of the NHL exhibition game was delayed and then called off Thursday night as fans demanded to watch the President's speech to Congress instead of the game.

 

"We get paid to play this game because people want to watch us," Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch said. "They made it pretty clear when they were going to shut that speech off that they wanted to see it."

 

By the time Bush finished speaking 36 minutes later, the teams lined up at center ice to shake hands.

 

"I thought it was great to shake hands," said Leetch, who lost a close college friend in the World Trade Center collapse. "At the end, everyone was giving the President a standing ovation. It was a nice end to that game.

 

"I was very impressed. The speech was unbelievably written, and he delivered it like a true leader."

 

As a video flag waved on the screen, an announcement was made that the game was declared a 2-2 tie after two periods "out of respect for where the United States was headed in the near future."

 

"It was very impressive," said Flyers forward Jeremy Roenick, who did not play. "I think everybody in this building felt confident when he was done."

 

The speech was about to begin as the intermission clock counted down the final minutes in between the second and third periods. The scoreboard said that play was about to resume, and the speech could be seen in the outer concourses.

 

When the speech was taken off the screen, the 19,117 fans began to boo, before chanting in unison "Leave it on."

 

"I thought it was a no-brainer for us to wait," said Leetch, who also has a brother in the Green Berets stationed in Kuwait. "If they started cheering 'Let's play hockey' then we'd play hockey."

 

As the teams returned to the benches for the third period, the speech was restored to loud cheers.

 

The players from both teams were as interested in watching the address as the fans. Some knelt along the side boards, next to the four game officials who straddled the center ice line.

 

"It's our reality right now," Leetch said. "It's not part of a movie, it's part of our life now. There's no denying it or trying to get away from it."

 

In the speech's most dramatic moments, the fans roared -- drowning out the applause that could be seen on the screen.

 

Spontaneous cheers of "USA! USA!" also rang out, and fans waved some flags. But when Bush was speaking, the arena fell silent.

 

The biggest cheers from the crowd came when a widow of one the passengers, who helped thwart the terrorists' plan to crash a fourth airliner into another building, was singled out by the President. They cheered again when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was recognized by the President.

 

Fans even roared when New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York Gov. George Pataki were shown -- almost unheard of for Philadelphia fans to salute New York.

 

"I am absolutely proud," said Ron Ryan, the Flyers chief operating officer. "I'm proud of our fans, I'm proud of our team. I think it worked out all for the best. These are unusual circumstances and I think it all turned out right."

 

Around the large arena, the scoreboards that line the upper level displayed video red, white and blue bunting.

 

Before the game, the patriotism of the crowd also came out. As Lauren Hart, the daughter of the longtime Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, sang "God Bless America" fans sang and cheered.

 

"God Bless America" has been a rallying anthem for the Flyers since the mid 1970s, but never did it have the meaning it held Thursday night.

 

Former Flyers captain Eric Lindros, traded by Philadelphia to New York during the offseason didn't make the trip. Mark Recchi tied the game at 2 in the second period, flipping the puck over Blackburn's shoulder at 16:45. Jesse Boulerice also scored for Philadelphia (1-0-1). Barret Heisten and Mikael Samuelsson scored for New York (2-0-1). There were six fights in the game as the team combined for 112 penalty minutes -- 96 in the first 16 minutes. "It was a tough game out there, fighting and working hard," Leetch said. "It had lost all of that for the third period."

 

On Wednesday night, the Rangers beat New Jersey 6-1 at Madison Square Garden in the first pro sports event in New York City since the attacks.

 

[Caitanyachandra 0]

gc:

"I'm sure this won't be like any war that has been fought before. But the Eagle will Rise, and America will be victorious."

 

doubtz.

[Caitanyachandra 0]

should put the great white shark instead of eagle as it's emblem. would of helped some.

[Caitanyachandra 0]

DAa egale is a fascinating animal. it flys. HUNTS for fish (salmon good). it builds it's nest in high pressure areas in the air above where few predators can attack it. Itz livz in caves.

 

I beleive they're in Alaska. been There once in cruise vacations with f&f's. Alaska is not a cold area. At least the Juneau in summer time. however, it is not beautiful. there is not much facemarks of human civilization there. not good for spiritual development.

 

more info on egale appreciatez. also how to get inside earth from Alaska interesing &&& appreciatedd.

[Guest guest]

September 21, 2001 -- THE greatest presidential address of our time was given last night by a man that many (including this writer) once mindlessly and pompously derided for his halting style of speech.

 

No more. Not ever.

 

Not when George W. Bush has just joined the ranks of FDR and JFK and Ronald Wilson Reagan in elevating a nation through the power of his discourse and the passion of his conviction.

 

Like the great leader that he must become if America is to prevail in this world-historic conflict, Bush simultaneously gave the nation comfort, steeled its spine and sent a message that is as inspiring to Americans and our allies as it should be frightening to our enemies: "We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment. . . . We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail."

 

The speech's greatness was in part due to the enormity and gravity of its subject. There hasn't been a more important presidential address since the darkest days of the 1960s and 1970s - the days of Vietnam and Watergate, when the country's foundations were being rocked by our losses in war and a profound distrust of our political institutions at home.

 

Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon weren't up to the job - in part because they were responsible for the crisis. President Bush, still new to his job, speaks from the fresh perspective of the startled nation he leads.

 

And though we are told the president is more comfortable speaking extemporaneously and informally - as he did brilliantly on Friday while standing at Ground Zero - his ability to rise to the most formal of presidential occasions offers hope that he can rise to the far more difficult occasion of being a wartime president.

 

Certainly he made clear last night, as he spoke the extraordinary words crafted for him by chief speechwriter Michael Gerson, that he knows what this nation needed at this time of uncertainty. And that was grandeur of tone and of vision.

 

"We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or rest," he said in tones redolent of the great orations of the 19th century, even as he readies the nation to fight a war in the 21st.

 

He made clear that we are fighting a powerful ideology that American ideas can and will defeat: "We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. . . . They follow in the path of fascism and Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies."

 

At that moment, George W. Bush sounded like the greatest of our wartime presidents and the greatest of our presidential speech-givers - Abraham Lincoln.

 

John Podhoretz (podhoretz@nypost.com) was a speechwriter in the Reagan White House.