Operation New Dawn

Is there a new dawn happening this moment as I type?

I have NOT had a good day. Crazy blankity blank who is in charge at work makes me nuts. First class scheduled tonight that is not online. Flat tire after I grabbed a quick bite to eat. I love my brother and I appreciate him coming when I called, but it took him FOREVER. (He was less than a mile away!) Then I got home, checked Facebook and my cousin was posting stupid stuff about the President WANTING a mosque ON Ground Zero. Which is not what he said. When I disagreed respectfully, she wasn't nice.

Then DSD said, "Troops pulled out of Iraq today."

What?! What?!?!? What???

Really? But, they said, on the radio.... "It was on the news," he said, completely nonchalantly.

Why? What? No one mentioned this TO ME. Did the President discuss this on Saturday while he was HERE? With the SecNav? 90,000 troops have left Iraq in the last 18 months, since he took office.

Another campaign promise kept.

PLEASE let this be the right thing to do!

Six Years

Six years ago today, the United States of America attacked the soveriegn nation of Iraq with absolutely no reason, no cause, no anything, except the stupidity of a President who wasn't actually elected and a Congress who was afraid of appearing weak.

Six years ago today we were still a nation in mourning for those lost in the Twin Towers, in the Pentagon and in a lonely field in Pennsylvania. We were all Americans, not democrats or republicans, flying our American flags, beloved by 90% of the world who felt we had been persecuted. Until we decided to do the same thing to Iraq, albeit more publicly and with no stealth.

Six years ago today this nation made the biggest mistake in its history, in my opinion, even larger than the quagmire that was Vietnam.

My thoughts are with the families of those who have been lost, of those who are not home, of those who will never be the same. If there is a God, I hope George W Bush is one day held accountable for the murders and brutality that he has caused to be committed. I hope Dubya burns in hell for his actions.

Let's stop counting at six. Bring our troops home.

We Can Finally Honor our Fallen Soldiers

Whether you are for or against this Iraqi War (and I believe it is an immoral affront to thinking people everywhere) you must realize that those who are actually fighting and dying in that foreign land have no choice in the matter. Yes, for whatever reason, they did choose to join the military, but they took an oath to defend the Constitution and follow the orders of the President. They (probably) assumed the President would do the same, but they were wrong.

Now, almost 6 years from the time the public was lied to about the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction and a non-extistant link between Iraq and 9/11, the fallen soldiers, sailors and airman will be publicly recognized, if their families allow it.

Families of America's war dead will decide whether the flag-draped caskets of their loved ones can be photographed by news organizations when the fallen return to U.S. soil, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

According to the article, Robert Gates is taking full credit for lifting the ban put in place by the Bush administration, but if you read the article carefully you will see that President Obama asked him to look into it.

I have always felt the ban on photgraphing the flag draped coffins was disrespectful to those who gave their lives in this farce. But I have also felt that it allowed the American public to be able to turn an even greater blind eye to what was happening. We, as a nation, have grown incredibly self absorbed through the years and do not seem to pay attention to anything that occurs outside of our safe little worlds. We have been asked to sacrifice nothing, do nothing, think nothing about the so-called War on Terror. Maybe, with the lifting of the photography ban, we will at least be called upon to FEEL something for those who gave the greatest sacrifice.

Another HodgePodge

I'm still here! There's been no time for blogging lately, and I really shouldn't be now. I should be working. But I figured a couple of minutes out of my day wouldn't kill anyone.

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I'm sick of the Republicans bitching about the deficit. The budget was balanced 8 years ago, now it isn't, whose fault is that?

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I don't know if this stimulus package is what the country really needs. I don't know that it will help; I don't know if it will hurt. All I know is that for the last 8 years whenever Dubya wanted to spend money, whether it was tax cuts for the rich or an immoral war, Congress passed it. Let's let President Obama do what he feels is best for the country at this horrific time.

John McCain, "I cannot and do not support the package on the table from the Democrats and the Obama Administration. Our country does not need just another spending bill, particularly not one that will load future generations with the burden of massive debt. We need a short term stimulus bill that will directly help people, create jobs, and provide a jolt to our economy,” McCain says in the e-mail. “I hope you will join me in saying no to this stimulus package as it currently exists by signing this petition” can kiss my ass.

And, no, I'm not linking to his stupid petition.

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I can barely read or watch the news. Tens of thousands of jobs lost every day. No one spending any money. It's going to get worse before it gets better and my heart breaks for those in trouble and in need.

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On a happy note, though, DSD does have a job interview tomorrow. It will probably be only part time and he probably won't be making much more than he is right now in unemployment, but it will be good for him to go back to work. Cross your fingers!

My (Really BAD) Salute to Dr. Suess*

Oh, My! look at the Spot
Which Americans are in
All thanks to that twat.


First there was that ridiculous G.W.o.T.
Where we claimed moral high ground
Of which we have NOT.


Then there was the wireless spy
Which broke the Constitution
And made some of us cry.

And the torture of which we were told
The high ranking claimed ignorance
The low ranking did fold

Now prices have reached the sky
Of food and fuel
This will cause more to die

America the Beautiful
Home of the brave
Land of the free
As long as you are a rich, white, SUV driving, straight, Christian man
Or God won't shed His Grace on thee.

*Maybe I should keep my day job and not depend on my poetry to eat.

Happy May Day

If we accomplished our mission in Iraq five years ago, why are we still losing soldiers?

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended,” Bush said at the time. “The battle
of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and
still goes on.”

How can the White House admit that hanging that banner was wrong, but not that Dubya's words were?

“President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more
specific and said ‘mission accomplished’ for these sailors who are on this ship
on their mission,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. “And
we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I
recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do
every single year.”

Oops, the MEDIA is spending all their time working to embarrass this adminstration!

Maybe this administration shouldn't be working so hard to make it easy on them.

4,000

I managed to avoid most news this weekend. DSD and I spend Saturday with my parents and we visited instead of watching TV. On Sunday there was house cleaning, laundry, homework and video games to be played. The only news I recieved concerned the NCAA tournament, and I got most of that by accident.

So, imagine how great it was to start my car this morning and get slapped in the face first thing by the news that the number of Americans killed in Iraq has reached 4,000.

This news is being blogged about all over the web. And it is being done much more eloquently by others than I could ever hope to provide. So, forgive me, but I liked my life better when I was living under a rock this weekend. I think I will go back there now.

Five Years Later

I posted on this date last year. I will probably post on this date next year. I will most likely be posting on this date for as long as I continue this blog.

I want to say something eloquent. I want to bad mouth GWBush. I want to rage about the insanity of it all. Sadly, I can only sit here and shake my head in confusion.

Why did we go to Iraq?
Why are we still there?
What has this country turned into?

I have taken several moments of silence this morning and will continue to take several more throughout the day. I am doing my best to remember those we've lost. American, Iraqi, man, woman or child. I don't know what else to do.

I wish I could understand.

IMPEACH the SHRUB

Help hold contractors accountable

Jamie Leigh Jones was working in Iraq for a subsidiary of Halliburton when she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by several coworkers.For the last two years, she's been asking the US government to hold the perpetrators accountable, but the men who raped her may never be brought to justice because Halliburton and other contractors in Iraq aren't subject to US or Iraqi laws.

I just signed a petition urging Congress to investigate the rape of Jamie Leigh Jones, hold those involved accountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law. Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/contractors_accountable/?r_by=-8538128-9YIom5&rc=confemail

Thanks!

My Sentiments Exactly

Since the beginning of this stupid war in Iraq, I have found it funny (not, funny HA HA) that the politicians fighting so hard to send our children off to die have (for the most part) not been in war. I have thought many times that maybe if these men and women were to spend time in Iraq, doing the soldiers job, maybe they would not be so willing to leave our troops there any longer. Of course that is never going to happen, but, for the first time, the soldiers doing the job have expressed the same opinion.

"Back in Iraq, there's no access to the news for the troops at the heart of the surge, but the soldiers are fully aware of the political debate and the sentiment back home. The troops long to be back in the States. But if that's not going to happen, they really wish the politicos would take a tour with them, deep in the trenches of war."

I have never served in a war, but I don't have to to be able to empathize with those who are doing the job. I have a very vivid imagination and, while I am sure I know NOTHING about what it is actually like, I can make myself sick with the images on TV and those in my own head. I don't need to be in the trenches to understand these men and women need to come home NOW.

A War Quote

“It doesn't require any particular bravery to stand on the floor of the Senate and urge our boys in Vietnam to fight harder, and if this war mushrooms into a major conflict and a hundred thousand young Americans are killed, it won't be U. S. Senators who die. It will be American soldiers who are too young to qualify for the senate.” George McGovern.

Please feel free to substitute Iraq for Vietnam.

Thank you for your Support

It is amazing to me that this administration, this flag waving, saluting, tie a yellow ribbon, "We support our boys in uniform" administration, is being sued by the same troops they allegedly love so much because the troops are being screwed out of their benefits when they return home. Look, the Veteran's Administration (VA) is a mess, it has always been a mess, and it will probably always be a mess without a complete overhaul. But I know plenty of people who play the system like a fine tuned piano and get money (tax free money) they have no business receiving every month for the rest of their life. But to deny claims by veterans serving in a WAR (not their fault it is an illegal war) or to discharge them with nothing is CRIMINAL.

What is the White House doing about this? Why, they've convened a panel, of course. The panel has made its recommendations.
"But the White House said not to expect action right away." Of course not, why would we?


Of course, there is more of a pro-W spin at this site (where is the liberal media when I need it. But both stories, amazingly, have this to say about the VA's mental health support.

"Only recently, the VA has taken steps to add mental health counselors and 24-hour suicide prevention services at all facilities, after high-profile incidents of veterans committing suicide. In the past, the VA had failed to use all the money for mental health that was allotted to it."

Because, you know, it hasn't been repeatedly proven that war causes mental health problems.

I am glad that W isn't supporting me.

Has it really been 4 years?

This bullshit that is being called the Iraqi War has dragged on for four years. For those of you who did not (or do not) pay attention to your history, World War II was declared on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. V-E (Victory in Europe) was May 8, 1945. V-J (Victory over Japan) Day (it is now being referred to as the more politically correct V-P for Victory in the Pacific) was August 15, 1945. Two separate wars, during the same time frame, across oceans and continents from each other and neither one took FOUR years. And we won.

I know what will be said, “But look at all the men who died, we haven’t killed near that many in Iraq.” Of course not, do you know how far medicine has come in 60 years? Do you know how far medicine and training has come in the 35 years since Vietnam ended? We have a lot less dead G.I.’s in this farce due to doctors and corpsman doing a fantastic job of keeping them alive. Alive, but damaged, physically in ways that were not even thought of in WWII and psychologically in ways that we may never know. What have we done to this generation? Why are we continuing to do it? What is another 20,000 troops going to do in the middle of a civil war? How many more Iraqis can we kill or maim? WHY are we there again?

You can comment all you want (if this ever gets read) about how I am not patriotic. You can tell me I am hurting morale among the troops. You can say what you want; I have heard it before. Keep in mind that some people believe that supporting does not equal murdering. You can yell about being a patriot & supporting the troops all you want. I prefer to support the troops by bringing them home safe & mentally sound. Too late for that, isn’t it?

So, let us please take a moment to remember those we’ve lost and those that have been injured in the past four years. Let’s think about the damage that has been done to our wonderful country, at home and abroad. Let’s think of the lies told to us by this administration. And let’s withdraw the troops, starting now.