Robert C. Byrd

“ Even the winner of a dog-fight commonly suffers from massive bleeding, ruptured lungs, broken bones, or other life-threatening injuries. The training of these poor creatures, weigh those words, the training of these poor creatures, weigh them, the training of these poor creatures to turn themselves into fighting machines is simply barbaric, barbaric, BARBARIC! ”

“ One key problem in trying to balance the demands of states for National Guard to perform homeland security missions with the deployment of Guardsmen to deal with international crises in Afghanistan, Iraq, and perhaps elsewhere, is that the military reserves are the well from which the active duty forces must draw for units with unique skills. If the military needs large numbers of military police, engineers, or civil affairs specialists, it has no choice but to draw from the reserve components. ”

“ Congress has made it a federal crime to engage in dog-fighting. Madame President, God, God, the one eternal everlasting God made man caretaker of the earth. God gave man the responsibility of attending to the natural world with dominion over animal life. ”

“ At a time when port security has become increasingly important, and in which we have learned what a tiny fraction of incoming ships and containers are being searched for weapons of mass destruction, the Coast Guard is reducing its interdiction capability by sending one-sixth of its patrol craft to the Persian Gulf. How many more Haitian refugees will be able to land on our shores? How many more drug shipments will make it in? How many ships in distress will have to wait to get help? How many terrorists will be able to land on our shores? ”

“ If the losing dog survives the ordeal, get this, it is usually so mangled that it is no langer, no longer of any use and therefore it is put to death, put to death. I seen a human being put to death for killing another human being. But why put a poor dog, poor dog, poor dog. If the losing dog survives the ordeal it is usually so mangled that it is usually no longer of any use. ”

“ Madame President, I am confident, Madame President I am confident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God's creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt. ”

“ But one British think tank has estimated that occupation of Iraq may require 50,000 to 200,000 troops and cost $12 billion to $50 billion per year, for five years, and perhaps more.
So long as this occupation continues, how is the National Guard supposed to help our states in homeland security missions? Our police forces can hardly pick up the slack – they are already working full tilt performing the myriad tasks that keep our streets and schools safe twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. ”

“ President, Iraq is not the only crisis on the American agenda. Hundreds of thousands of troops are shipping out for distant lands while the threat of terrorism is growing at home. They have our support and our prayers for their safe return. The families they leave behind also need the very best that we can do for them. They need more than our prayers. They need to have programs designed to improve their safety and security funded and implemented, not put on hold. ”

“ The depravity of dog-fighting is also a multi-million dollar business that involves training innocent, innocent, innocent vulnerable creatures to kill, to kill, to kill and putting them in a ring to be killed or to kill for the entertainment and/or the profit of their owners and other spectators. ”

“ If the United States goes forward with a war with only token support from some of our allies, it is not hard to see that we will also bear the greatest burdens in the occupation of Iraq. The Department of Defense has, so far, been reluctant to hazard a guess at how many troops might be required, and how long their mission might last. ”

“ And we honor God when we treat all of his creatures responsibly and with decency and with respect. The book of Proverbs in the Holy Bible, King James Bible, tells us, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." ”

“ Just because the threat of terrorist activity is higher does not mean that run-of-the-mill villains go on vacation. Just because Osama bin Laden is still on the loose does not mean that the John Allen Muhammeds of the world will decide not to go on random nationwide shooting rampages. ”

“ It involves teaching the dog to maul by using smaller animals such as cats or rabbits or small dogs as training bait. The results of this most cruel business reaches beyond the fighting ring itself. There are cases of dogs trained to kill that have broken loose and mauled human beings to death. It is reported that dog-fighters have often involved children in their bloody activities with severe damaging psychological impact. What a sin. What a sin! Studies have revealed that children exposed to dog-fighting activities develop a greater acceptance of aggressive activities and behavior. ”

“ If an attack strikes a city in the United States, who will respond? Governors might wish to call out the National Guard in order to respond to an attack and restore order, but will any units be left to pick up the phone? ”

“ Military and political tensions in South Korea are as high as they have been at any time since the Korean War. Over 51,000 U.S. personnel live in South Korea, including 35,654 active duty military personnel. ”

“ National Guard and reserve forces have been mobilized not only to go to the Persian Gulf, but also to guard military installations around the United States, leaving vacant spots around countless dinner tables and in countless work places. ”