Mo Brooks

Mr. Speaker, as background, I have served on the House Committee on Armed Services for 11 years and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

There is an old saying: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The lesson from Vietnam is that war is hell. If America is unwilling to do horrible things required to win a war, then America should not fight it. Be all in or all out.

A World War II lesson is that Europe's pre-war appeasement strategy does not work against aggressor nations. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers' Party time and again seized more and more of Europe. Beginning in 1935, Adolf Hitler and dictatorial socialist Germany annexed the Saarland; invaded and seized Austria in the Anschluss; seized the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia; seized the Slovak state Bohemia and Moravia; and forced Lithuania into ceding the Memel Territory.

In response each time, Europe and the free world tried appeasement and did little to nothing, thereby emboldening Adolf Hitler and dictatorial socialist Germany.

The result? Hitler and Germany invaded Poland, triggering the Holocaust and the deaths of tens of millions of people in World War II.

The question is: Has the world learned from history?

In 2014, Vladimir Putin and Russia invaded Crimea. The free world did little to nothing.

Also in 2014, Vladimir Putin and Russia inspired a rebellion in Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine, costing thousands of lives and creating hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees. The free world did little to nothing.

Last month, Russia invaded Ukraine again, apparently seeking the total destruction and conquest of Ukraine. I admire the bravery and kindred spirit of citizens who fight and die for liberty and freedom against overwhelming odds.

They remind me of American Revolutionary War heroes like George Washington and Patrick Henry and places like Valley Forge, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, and Saratoga.

Fortunately, something is different about this Russian attack on Ukraine. This time, the world does not do nothing. This time, the free world is helping Ukraine during their time of peril. This time, time will tell whether the world's help is enough and effective.

First, Europe and America impose economic sanctions on Russia. In that vein, we must learn from Vietnam. Economic sanctions must be all in or all out. There can be no half measures. America must be in this to win or not be in it at all.

Second, Europe and America must be, and are, supplying Ukraine with much-needed tank-killing Javelins, aircraft-destroying Stingers, advanced fighter jets to replace those lost in combat, and other military equipment Ukraine desperately needs.

Third, Europe must decide whether to deploy combat troops. For emphasis, it is my view that America should not even consider providing combat troops in Ukraine unless Europe first does so in significant numbers. Even then, whatever America decides about troop assistance should never go beyond assistance to our European allies.

I, like many Americans, am tired of America spending our Treasury and our lives in so many parts of the globe. It is time for the rest of the free world to step up.

Ukrainians bravely shed themselves of the dictatorial boot in 1991. Russians can, and should, do the same.

My message to the Russian people is this: Your Russian comrades fought side by side with you in World War II against Adolf Hitler and dictatorial socialist Germany. Now, Vladimir Putin forces you to kill each other and die by the thousands in Ukraine. It does not have to be this way. The true way to peace is to do what America regularly does: replace our political leaders.

I urge freedom-loving Russians to bravely stand up and do the same. Do what is necessary to get the leadership Russians want and deserve, and do it before it is too late. That is the lesson of World War II.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary Alabamian, on the occasion of his 100th birthday, Mr. Ross Malone, Jr.

Ross Malone Jr. was born February 10th, 1922, to Ross Malone Sr. and Corine Bibb Malone in Decatur, Alabama. When he was in Junior High, his parents relocated to Louisville, Kentucky for his fathers' job at L&N Railway. In 1941, Mr. Malone graduated from Central High School in Louisville, KY.

From 1943 to 1946, Mr. Malone honorably guarded depots and Prisoners of War (POW) during World War II, where his battalion was sent to Normandy one week after D-Day. On July 2, 2019, he was presented with a Quilt of Valor, a handmade quilt awarded to a service member or veteran who fought for our nation. After returning from war, he married his high school sweetheart, Ethelda Mason, on June 5th, 1946, and together they raised five children. Mr. Malone worked at the Decatur Southern Railway Depot. He and Ethelda were married for 64 years before the Lord called her home in May of 2011.

After working for the Decatur Southern Railway Depot for 35-years, Mr. Malone was given the distinguished honor of having the ticket office at the train depot named after him in 2016. He is currently the oldest living employee of the Depot today.

Since 1975, Mr. Malone has been a devoted member of Alpha Seventh Day Adventist Church where he remains active today. In 2012, he was featured on the cover of Radar, a premier business and entertainment magazine, spotlighting Mr. Malone as making a difference in his community and his country. Also in 2012, the Decatur Minority Development Association partnered with local businesses and corporations to host the first annual Ross Malone Charity Golf Tournament in his honor.

Madam Speaker, Ross Malone, Jr.'s military service, work ethic, and passion for serving others represents the best of America.

I wish Mr. Malone and his family the best as they celebrate his 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, COVID-19 originated in the Communist Chinese Party's Wuhan bio-weapons lab, and forces Americans into a damned if you do, damned if you don't choice.

You can refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine and face the risk of death and debilitating injury when you catch COVID-19. Or you can take the COVID-19 vaccine and face the risk of death or debilitating injury from the vaccine's side effects, as described in a letter by Mary Constance Seibert, who honorably served America in the United States Navy.

Ms. Seibert states: ``Dear Congressman Mo Brooks: This is my explanation and statement regarding the impact of the vaccine that was being given as a result of extreme pressure but now is mandated by the Armed Forces. This has resulted in my partial paralysis that has confined me to a wheelchair.

``On March 22, 2021, I received my second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine supplied by Pfizer. Shortly after, I became sick for a few days, as expected. A few weeks later, I got sick again, and was so ill I was out for 2 weeks. Medical staff were unable to determine what I had caught. I developed ringing in my ears, which I still have.

``After, I started to develop medical problems where muscles would inflame along with severe restless leg syndrome, which sent me screaming from pain in the dead of sleep. I went to physical therapists and Navy doctors alike to no avail to stop it. Shortly proceeding, my knees started to give out, and I'd need--and still need--to pop them to terminate the pain. I also experienced the development of digestive problems like IBS and joints that would become so painful that I would cry from the pain in my hips and feet just from standing for 30 minutes.

``All these symptoms developed in 2 months with no explanation. Eventually, they would level out as I was put into a command to focus on medical problems.

``By May, I started losing vision in my right eye and slight vision in my left. This was accompanied by pain and my vision going from 20/20 in my right eye to 20/25 and from 20/17 in my left eye to 20/20. They assumed I had optic neuritis in my right eye but were wrong and still do not know why the pressure was off in my eye.

``On July 2, I experienced my first painful set of convulsions. They started small but grew as the days went on.

``On July 5, I was sent to the ER as I was no longer functional and the feeling of electricity going through my body would not stop. I went into the ER walking and on July 8, I came out in a wheelchair as I slowly lost my ability to walk as the days went by and the spasms kept happening. They never did figure out what was wrong with me. I only knew my copper was high, my white blood cells were high, and my inflammation levels were very high, with no explanation. My current symptoms have been trouble breathing, joint pain, migraines, unknown convulsions, vision loss, unsteady gait, vomiting, nausea, mouth ulcers, frequent heavy nose bleeds, tremors, slurred speech, heat aversion, and lack of motor coordination.

``I am now reliant on a wheelchair and now await separation from the military. I have been told there is no other explanation other than a reaction from within my body due to the vaccine.''

Let me repeat that.

``I have been told there is no other explanation other than a reaction from within my body due to the vaccine.

``Respectfully submitted, Mary Constance Seibert.''

Mr. Speaker, I stand for freedom and liberty and against vaccine mandates because in America, Americans should have the freedom to choose which of two bad COVID-19 options is best for them, vaccination or no vaccination. I stand against dictatorial government vaccine mandates because mandates are the antithesis of the liberty and freedom on which America is based.