E2240 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks October 3, 2008 

Who are but all our finest daughters and 

sons, who so bring us to tears . . . 

Who but live by a code . . . 

Who but carry that burden, who but teach us 

all so . . . as they carry that load . . . 

As now once again, such a very fine man . . . 

by the name of Kody, so shows us the 

way . . . 

What the word hero so means! 

Like Bob Dole of Kansas, they are both one 

and the same . . . 

Who from this great heartland the word hero 

can claim! 

Without his one leg . . . 

He lives by a code of honor and faith so 

strode . . . that would make any heart 

beg . . . 

For there in his darkest of pain, in what God 

has so left to him . . . so remains . . . 

the greatest I say . . . 

As we so watch him and learn . . . 

As Kody so teaches us all to discern . . . how 

a heart full of courage can burn . . . 

As the leg he has lost, but like all our great 

heroes of the past he accepts that great 

cost . . . in turn . . . 

You see, he’s got a life to live . . . 

And so much more to this our world to so 

give . . . 

To teach us, to reach us . . . as we so watch 

in wonder, as his most magnificent 

heart gives . . . 

For on this day . . . we must understand . . . 

This Army Man, so shows us the way . . . as 

taller than most he now so stands . . . 

And if I have a son, I pray he’d be like this 

one . . . who runs with his heart all the 

way to Heaven’s sun . . . 

From Out of The West . . . 

Once, again . . . as here has so come one of 

our Nation’s best . . . 

Who our hearts will so bless, who leave us 

breathless . . . 

In Honor of Kody Wilson 

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask that you join 

me in honoring CPL Kody Wilson, and recognize his courage, commitment and patriotism 

to serving the United States and the people of 

Kansas. I truly wish all the best for him in his 

future endeavors and will remain grateful for 

his service to our country. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO RAMONA RIPSTON 

HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, my colleagues, Representative JANE HARMAN, Representative HENRY WAXMAN. Representative 

ADAM SCHIFF, Representative DIANE WATSON, 

Representative MAXINE WATERS, Representative XAVIER BECERRA, Representative LINDA

SA ́NCHEZ, REPRESENTATIVE HILDA SOLIS and I 

are greatly pleased to join Ramona Ripston’s 

army of fans in recognizing her decades of 

service to the American Civil Liberties Union 

of Southern California, ACLU/SC, and also in 

celebrating the dedication of the Ramona 

Ripston Center for Civil Liberties and Civil 

Rights in Los Angeles. Over many years of 

friendship, we have admired Ramona’s work 

and sought her advice, as she guided the 

ACLU/SC as its executive director. She is one 

of the Nation’s premier and most distinguished 

advocates for civil rights and against violence 

and hatred. 

Many of us have known Ramona for 30 or 

more years and have been fortunate to work 

with her on a whole host of issues ranging 

from immigration reform to the Voting Rights 

Act, the Constitution and the first amendment. 

It’s been a great pleasure to watch the grace 

and dedication she brings to everything she 

does. Whether working with corporate leaders 

in the boardroom, policymakers on Capitol Hill, 

and movie stars, or walking Skid Row, she 

has always brought something extra and very 

special to the table. 

Ramona’s view of civil liberties embodies 

action more than words. She is a frequent visitor in the poorest parts of our communities 

where she meets with the homeless and destitute of Los Angeles, serving them by making 

them aware of what a civil liberties organization is and how it can help them know and exercise their basic rights. She does this not 

only from compassion and empathy, but because she is more comfortable there than sitting in her office. Because of this propensity, 

the ACLU/SC is the only affiliate to advocate 

an economic Bill of Rights. She simply succeeded in making economic rights a civil liberties issue. 

When civil wars in Central America brought 

thousands of refugees to America, Ramona 

could be found where immigrants gathered. 

She was seeking information about how the 

INS and our social service and educational 

entities dealt with them, carrying on the decades of work done by the ACLU/SU in advocating for the rights of all people, including racial and ethnic minorities and the newly-arrived. 

In the same way, Ramona made equality of 

educational opportunity a priority—not just by 

reading scores and statistics, but by going out 

to schools in poor areas and meeting with students. She made her office a part of those 

communities. 

Even a quick and cursory review of Ramona’s accomplishments and the legion of honors awarded her by prominent community and 

national leaders and by numerous organizations dedicated to human rights demonstrates 

the extent of her work: her assertive and articulate voice constantly advancing the causes 

dear to her and vital to the protection of our 

liberties—from the right to free speech to the 

ability to organize as workers, the protection of 

antiwar demonstrators, the fights against censorship and the defense of civil rights. The 

ACLU/SC and Ramona have often held controversial positions and done so in the face of 

vociferous attacks. It is with profound appreciation for their courage, foresight, and tenacity that we salute both her and the organization she has guided. 

The ACLU holds that the Constitution is its 

client, but for Ramona Ripston, it has also 

been all about the clients themselves. It is a 

joy to honor her and to congratulate her for 

the high esteem in which she is held and for 

the width and breadth of her humanitarian and 

democratic ideals. 

As the new headquarters building—the Ramona Ripston Center for Civil Liberties and 

Civil Rights—is dedicated, we ask our colleagues to join us in paying tribute to Ramona, 

and to the ACLU of Southern California for 

decades of work in defense of liberty and justice for all. The fight is never over and we are 

grateful for the bulwark you will continue to be. 

THE THINGS WHICH MATTER 

HON. CAROLYN C. KILPATRICK OF MICHIGAN

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

MS. KILPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I would 

like to submit the following poem, written by 

Mr. Albert Carey Caswell, in memory of our 

late great colleague, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. 

THE THINGS WHICH MATTER

The things which matter . . . 

The moments which count, the ones all the 

end which so amount . . . 

All in our lives, are all of those things in our 

hearts of which are so tantamount . . . 

The very ones . . . 

Which all in the end, are what our souls are 

really so all about . . . 

As to this our world, what we so give no 

doubt . . . all in these our lives to tout 

. . . 

Are all those things which really matter . . . 

Are but the ones, which so make The Angels 

hearts so shout! 

All in the end, are but really what our lives 

are all about! 

The Ways and Means . . . 

By which we overcome all the odds, all in 

our life’s themes . . . 

Are but the ones, our songs which so make 

our Lord’s heart so shine and gleam 

. . . 

Stephanie Tubbs Jones . . . 

A Heroine . . . A Pioneer . . . A Champion 

for Civil Rights so seen! 

A great strong great woman of firsts, who 

but lived The American Dream! 

The only thing bigger than her bright big 

smile . . . 

Was but her fine kind and warm heart, that 

which so caressed all . . . all the while 

. . . 

For in these our short lifetimes, these are 

but the things you’ll find! 

For it’s how we live . . . 

And it’s how we lead, all in this world which 

so helps her to succeed . . . 

And who we care for, and for whom we bleed 

. . . giving to her what she so needs! 

Are but All Those Things Which Really Matter . . . 

All in these our times, all in these our short 

lives which we so bring about . . . 

All in the end, what really up in Heaven . . . 

what so matters no doubt! 

f 

SCHOOL SAFETY ENHANCEMENT 

ACT 2007 

HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam 

Speaker, I support H.R. 2352, the ‘‘School 

Safety Enhancements Act of 2007’’, which is 

aimed at making America a safer place. The 

bill under consideration addresses health and 

safety issues for children. I support this bill 

and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. 

H.R. 2352 is necessary and will ensure the 

protection and safety of our children in a 

learning environment. Violence at our schools 

have increased at an alarming rate in States 


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