08:30 - In meetings with congressional leaders, Harris urges them to pass a special act expediting the Medal of Honor for PFC Murphy.

09:00 - The following ad appears in newspapers across the country:

Image: A city right out of TNG's 24th century Earth... as seen through a chain-link fence. To the left, we see a black child; to the right, a Latino child. Both of them have their fingers in the fence, their postures as if longing to go inside to join the white children at play in the midground, below the skyscrapers.

The caption: MacCANN'S TEXAS

10:00 - Harris and Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice hold a joint Rose Garden news conference:

*** TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ***

JOHN H. HARRIS:  Ladies and Gentlemen, we have some statements to make, and then we'll take questions.

Today, I have the unfortunate duty of firing Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice for cause.  Many things can be forgiven as slips of the tongue or statements made in the heat of passion, but insulting one's superior based on lifestyle is not one of them.  My administration has had to fight to prove that it is not a joke.  Dr. Rice's actions and words of June 15 has set that effort back by giving the impression that the chain of succession had been usurped.

Despite these events, Dr. Rice has served this nation with honor, and I thank her for her service in my administration.  I am sure that she will be successful in her future endeavors.  Dr. Rice, would you like to say a few words before I move on to other topics?

CONDOLLEEZZA RICE:  Thank you, Mr. President.  I accepted his invitation to stay on as Secretary of State with the understanding that the post would be temporary.  Today, my tenure in that position ends, and rightly so.  When all is said and done, the President was right to fire me.  I messed up in a way that undermined his authority and that of the Vice President.  My actions and words, eleven days ago, were derogatory, and I regret saying them.  Despite the... manner in which my time as Secretary of State ends, I have enjoyed working with the President, and I bear him no ill will.  Thank you.

JOHN H. HARRIS:  I have one more thing to say before taking questions.  This morning, I signed an executive order removing the ban on homosexuals in our nation's armed forces.  The attitudes against gays in the military are archaic at best, at worst dangerous.  All court-martial procedures against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered persons are hereby dismissed.  From this day onward, the military forces of this nation will not tolerate bigotry of any kind.

I'll take questions now.

*** TRANSCRIPT ENDS ***

11:30 - At the UN, former Secretary General Kofi Annan announces that he will go to China and North Korea in an attempt to help mediate a cease-fire. As part of the statement, he says:

It is my hope that President Harris can be disuaded from his aim of eradicating North Korea as a nation.  It has been at peace with the world for the last fifty years, and should be given the opportunity to remain so, once this terrible war is ended.

14:00 - In a rare multi-partisan action, leaders from the Republican, Democratic and Federation parties co-sponsor a bill which expedites the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor to Private First Class Aaron Patrick Murphy. It passes both the House and Senate by acclimation.

19:00 (08:00 Local Time, Next Day) - In a camp some miles north of the battle front, General Kang Li Kwan summarily executes three of her soldiers for the attempted rape of an American POW. The executions are carried out in full view of the POWs and North Korean soldiers.

19:22 (08:22 Local Time, Next Day) - A woman collapses at the gate of a US Army camp south of the dead zone surrounding Ohsan Airbase. With her is an American man who has been seriously injured. The woman is identified as Seaman Recruit Thandi Argun of the USS Elrod, who was last known to be jailed in Seoul for participating in a bar fight two days before the start of the war.

20:00 - President Harris and First Lady Park address the American people:

*** TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ***

JOHN H. HARRIS: Good evening.  We're speaking to you tonight from the residential section of the White House, rather than the Oval Office or Press Briefing Room because what we have to say is as much personal as political.

LINDA PARK: To start, we'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and hopes during these past days.  It was you, the American people, who kept us going while we were on the run from the North Koreans.  Over the last ten days, more cards, letters, gifts, emails, phone calls and telegrams have been sent to the White House since the days immediately following 9/11.  The outpouring of compassion, not only toward us but toward our soldiers and the people of Korea, has been nothing less than inspiring.

JOHN H. HARRIS:  But inspiration is not enough to win a war.  It will take sacrifice.  It will take our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines; both active duty and reserves, to end the blight that is North Korea.

Some question our stated goal of the destruction of the state of North Korea and the reintegration of its land and people into the Republic of Korea.  To do any less would only postpone an even bigger war, and that is something I cannot sanction.  Better that some of our fighting men and women die now than millions of us face the destruction which has been visited on Honolulu and Anchorage.  Yes, it sounds callous, but it must be done to preserve and ensure a bright future.

LINDA PARK:  As in previous conflicts, service flags are being hanging in windows across America.  Sadly, several of these stars bear gold stars on top of the blue ones which signify a family member serving in our armed forces.  The time has come to recognize those who make lesser, yet still grievous, sacrifices in the defense of liberty.

JOHN H. HARRIS:  There has been a movement to add another degree to the service flag by placing a silver star to signify a member of the armed forces who has been wounded in action.  However, the Silver Star is a decoration awarded to a member of the armed forces for valor.  It is our nation's third highest military decoration.  Thus, we believe that a silver star is a bad choice for such a service flag device.

LINDA PARK:  Instead, we propose this...

(image: a silver heart superimposed upon a blue star on a white square surrounded by a red border.)

The silver heart would be shown on the service flags for those members of the armed forces who have been wounded in action against an enemy.  With this, we recognize the sacrifice of not only that brave and gallant warrior, but of their family, who must also live with the consequences.

JOHN H. HARRIS: As in the days immediately following 9/11, our armed forces recruiters have been flooded with volunteers.  Sadly, some of these men and women have had to be turned away as unfit for military service.  While it is important to have the most highly trained, fittest soldiers on the front lines, there are other jobs, here at home, which can be filled by those unfit for more rigorous duty, thereby freeing more soldiers to fight in Korea, where they are desperately needed.  To this end, I will be sending emergency legislation to Congress relaxing the physical standards for non-combatant positions in our armed forces, not only for this conflict, but for our continuing commitments around the world.  We need infantrymen, but we also need file clerks, mechanics, secretaries, lawyers, doctors, and all the varied and sundry mundane jobs that support our fighting men and women.  No longer must those who also serve merely stand and wait.

LINDA PARK:  As part of your ourpouring of compassion and generosity, we'd like to ask that you keep two of our nation's service organizations in mind: the American Red Cross and the USO.

The Red Cross provides essential services not only to our fighting men and women, but here at home.  They are the ones who are reaching out to the survivors of Honolulu and Anchorage, to the families of those slain by the North Korean nuclear weapons.  They maintain many of our nation's blood banks, saving thousands of lives every year.  Elsewhere in the world, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent provide similar services, sometimes putting their people in harm's way to accomplish their tasks.  The President and I proudly support the American Red Cross, he as Honorary Chairman; I, in a slightly more active role.

JOHN H. HARRIS:  Another organization we support is the USO.  Formed in 1941 in response to a challenge by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the USO is concerned with only one thing: the morale of the American serviceman.  They do this by providing for religious, spiritual, social, welfare, educational, and entertainment needs, both overseas and here at home.  If there were no USO, this nation's armed forces could not be as effective as they are.  As the organization's Honorary Chairman, I wholeheartedly support its aims, as their slogan states, 'Until Every One Comes Home.'

LINDA PARK:  While our fighting men and women are primarily served by these two organizations, there are many others who serve their families here at home, and we urge you to give whatever you can to them, as well.  If you can't give money, give time by volunteering.

JOHN H. HARRIS:  Sixty-four years ago, this nation showed the world what it could do when its people came together for a common goal.  Today, we ask that you join us and come together again, so that the world may, once again, see what we can do.

Thank you, and good night.

*** TRANSCRIPT ENDS ***

While the speech is met with generally positive reactions, the pundits again comment on how haggard the president looks (though not as much as he did in Canberra) and on how much weight he has lost.
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