What a flashback to the sixties! "We coulda won that war, but there wasn't the political will." When will we demand a definition of "winning," never mind one of "is." "When will they ever learn..."

I'm also flashing to early Watergate days, when all the pundits concluded that impeachment would be far too traumatic for the country to pursue...

Well, these spineless bastards couldn't even declare war.. it was "too much trouble and would disprupt American's lives too much".. so they just passed the reigns (illegally) to Shrubman.

You start out of the shoot on an illegal action 1/2 assed, it's only gonna get worse at time goes on.

Can anyone say where this $300 billion has gone in this war? Certianly not to making sure our war-machine is running at top-notch.. Though, lots ($33,000/mo per indipendant civilian soldier) is going to places OTHER than our troops..

It has been a year since Congress demanded DOD reimburse soldiers for protective equipment they had to purchase for themselves. DOD cannot figure out how to do it. Soldiers and families are still buying goggles, protective body armor, even medical supplies. Up to $1,100 per item.

Senator Dodd of Connecticut wants to take that issue out of the appropriations for DOD and give it to the Field Commanders. DOD said it would cause "undue financial hardship on their budget."

I guess it is more cost effective if our soldiers are just killed.

duh? of course it's more cost effective.. especially since they are removing funding for Veterans Affairs.. dead or wounded with the lowest rung of society there to take those jobs (some of the best paying and almost all that's left anyway), letting them die is the best thing they can do to "fight poverty" and "cleans the country"..

What I don't get is, why have we not stormed the White House and lynched these scum yet? Oh, wait.. sure I do.. we live in a country where MOST people have no clue what they would do if they lost their "job".. if they become "activists" and piss off their conservative repubilcan bosses, they lose their jobs, their homes, their cars, their TVs, their computers, their means to survive (and all the other things that help distract them from their bar-less prisons).. They have NO place to go to live or eek out a living on the land.. it's all owned by private intersts and if you don't have a j.o.b, you can't buy anyplace to live.. and there isn't even enough square-acreage left in this country for that anyway..

So, yeah.. it's easier for -all- of us to let soldiers die. Hey, they were dumb enough (or desperate enough, as the case may be for a lot of them) to join the Military.. Hell, if they were smart, they could be getting $33,000 a month for the SAME job, AND have all the latest new-fangled tech. they need to survive.

That's what makes me sick about this country (and I'm part of the problem, it seems.. I'm worried about being able to provide for my family as well). We're all huddled in the dark, shaking and afraid.. but we won't admit it.. we won't grab a stick and start beating back the glowing eyes that are surrounding us, threatening to eat us if we step out of the shadows.. It's just.. sad..

savanster - I was hoping without the draft it would be harder for some dumb ass president to take us into an illegal war. Boy was I wrong.

Until this affects ALL Americans it won't stop. If we have a draft all must go..college no excuse. Then listen for the weeping and wailing of the white, upper class over losing their children. And I bet Bush's war will end real quick.

Texaslady..

Therein lies the nature of the problem.. Politicians draft the guidelines of the Draft.. they intentionally leave it set up so that rich folks can find ways to keep their kids out of harm's way (college for a 40 year old with a degree.. get back in, a few grand is nothing compared to dying.. right?)..

I agree with you, until it affects -all- Americans, we're screwed.. we're screwed.. it won't ever affect all of us the same.. and, the alternative isn't viable (make a stink and lose your job and live off the land for your principles). How, in our society, do we escape the need for jobs? How do we own land that we work for our own sustinance, and still be part of the rest of the world? If you don't sell your crops, you can't pay for your land.. so you have to own it outright? which means having a job to save the money to buy the land... /sigh and not enough land for 350,000,000 people in this country.. and if we all become share-croppers again, we have no means of providing for a military and national defense.. and the Chinese come in and round us up and put us in camps and use the land to feed the Chinese..

No, the only way to fix our problems is to reform our attitudes about corperations. They are -not- people, they do -not- deserve to be treated like people, they do -not- have rights like a living being does, and they need to be regulated.. The money needs to stop going to the priveledged few born into business and money (and those willing to screw over their neighbor for a buck) and needs to be redistrubted to the masses.. -That's- what our government should be doing.. passing laws that restrict how much a board member can get as a salary.. and start pulling the U.S. back into an industrialzed nation, not letting us slip further and further into a service nation (which includes financial markets).. there just aren't enough livable jobs for our Citizens if that happens.. and we need to stop letting foriegn intersts buy up so much of our country, that can only lead to bad things for the masses..

The myth of winning the war in Iraq. Some think the neocon agenda dead. I do not. Simply more desparate. They foment discord to ensure remaining in Iraq. And then Syria and Iran in whatever order. Having some soldiers die is simply one of the costs of keeping to the PNAC agenda. They are now even spreading the neocon movement (trying to) to Europe.

Our government has little intention to make anything 'better'.

Donald Sutherland said in an interview this weekend, how very sad it is to see us wasting our country's strength and youth the way we are doing.

Hopefully enough of us will get mad and start working toward a change...before we lose 58,000 men and women as we did the last time.

I read an article (probaby on Rawstory) about how Iran is pissing off our Government by using Euros, instead of dollars, as the basis of their oil trade.. and that Iraq was contemplating the same thing before we invaded.

What a slap in the face to the rich-elite of this country, eh? The U.S. Dollar is no longer being used as the basis of all comerce around the globe.. "When you feel that stinging, ignore it. That's your Pride"

sick sad part is, these guys (the richest 1% in the country) already divest most of their money in foriegn currency (or so I'd guess.. they are pretty ignorant if they don't).. and own property all over the globe (well, again, ignorant if they don't.. and just read a comment at Rawstory about how Shrubman, as rich as he is, never travled outside the U.S.?.. guess he's not (personally) got property outside the U.S. .. what's his plan for when he turns us into a 3rd world nation? oh, yeah.. daddy will fix everything.. or Rove.. or Chenney.. or maybe he'll start schtuping Rice and let her take care of him, presuming Laura doesn't survive the start of the Civil War he's druming up)

Savanster did you read that Venezuela is planning on taking their money out of our banks?
Don't blame them abit. Boy that will be a hole in our credit rating.
And they have the oil we need so much too.
Maybe we will have to invade them. Shouldn't be too hard don't think they have an army.

No income tax....no services..but no income tax.
I worked for a Venezuelan company, many of the employees never went back to Venezuela because of the lack of service for anything.

America is still the best place to live we just need a reality check and get our feet back on the ground.
Clean up our government...both parties are scaming the American public.

At least after Nixon got kicked out politicians were watching over their shoulders for a few years...but the watchdog stopped watching and crooks and liars took over.

If we don't have troops dying then there isn't a war.
If there's no war Bush isn't a "War president".
If he isn't a War President then he can't be a success.
So, people must die so Dubya can be a success.

It's sick.

TEXASLADY#11

.....America is still the best place to live????gotta be kidding me......compared to what country....My family and I are 12yr expats and could never have dreamed of the happiness we have now living in da good ole usofa....I wish you and all the best of luck,for another 3 plus yrs under the neos will surely bring the mighty usa into a 3rd world life.......

Well, no taxes = no services is true.. but, our government has a LOT of ways to get money in taxes WITHOUT the un-Constitutional direct tax on individuals.. again, we have the issue of companies not being people, and therefore SHOULD be paying a direct tax for the privledge of doing business in the U.S. .. and, tariffs and the like are more ways for the Government to get money from businesses.. THEN, on top of that, perhaps a "real" flat tax with NO write-offs for -anyone-.. The U.S. could get plenty of money and still not be putting the screws to the average American..

As far as "the best place to live", that only applies to the top 60% or so of our society. There are a lot of people in this country that would be better off in Austrailia or Britton or some other country. Business folks, religious zealots.. they fare well here.. Lots of us are better off, but that's at the expense of a LOT of people who don't need to suffer for everyone here to have a decent life. But, that would require the billionares of this country to pony up their "fare share", what ever that is. I'm sure Bill Gates and his $51 billion net worth isn't paying near as much as he should be.. not to mention, a lot of that money comes from his illegal activities (he keeps buying/stalling his way out of lawsuits).

Personally, I'm considering trying to find someplace else to go before the U.S. devolves into a 3rd world country.. gonna do a lot of research and watch for things to completely fall apart.. then I'm off. I'm lucky, I have a marketable trade.. 10s of millions of Americans don't have that same claim..

"again, we have the issue of companies not being people, and therefore SHOULD be paying a direct tax for the privledge of doing business in the U.S."

Actually, there is a lot of reason to belive the 16th amendment was intended to explicity state that point.. But, it got twisted to be something that was meant to "undo the original articles", something no law can do.. ever.. period.. The Supreme Court determined that any law or amendment that contradicted the Constitution was invalid, any law passed must not conflict with it. The 16th Amendment, as applied by the IRS and our Government directly counterdicts the original articles, yet you get all kinds of people that try to refute that, or say it's ok to "undo" some of the Constitution..

redneckprincess - if you found happiness I wish you well. However, many others in my family, Taiwanese, Mexican, German feel this has been a good move for them. Every country has problems, it is when you complain but do not try to correct them that is giving up.

Those on this blog exchange ideas, thoughts and are working to correct the election fraud, the incompetent politicians now in power.

My son spent a year in Ramadi and is close to going back to Iraq for another year, possibly to Baghdad this time. This news is really hard for me to hear. Very upsetting. He shouldn't be going back, but is caught in the stop loss, which makes it even tougher to deal with.....

He scraped and scrounged in scrapyards for amor for his humvee (which I luckily didn't know about until he got home), but what upset me the most is exactly what you are talking about. They worked them 12 hours on and 12 hours off, for WEEKS on end, without one day off for a solid year. He probably had 10 days off the entire year over in that hell hole, if that many. That's not right. Many of our military are on their 3rd and 4th trips over there. That's not right either, for so few to carry the load for all - again and again and again.

This is exactly what I've been whaaaaaa'ing about lately on other threads. They talk about numbers, but don't talk about how they are working the numbers they have to death. There were 4 of them snuck up on and shot dead, from all falling asleep at the same time. I'm glad to see someone else address this problem.

Also, they have them doing 5,000 different "specialties" which is hard on them too. My son did everything, from firing howitzers, to manning guard towers at their FOB, patrolling Ramadi and Fallujah in their unarmored humvee, training the Iraqi army, guarding convoys, surveillance from rooftops, supply detail at the FOB, ammunition detail at the FOB, building their FOB, building schools, door-to-door search and seizures, quick-reaction response team, numerous special missions as far away as the border, etc. etc. (there's more I can't remember). That's bullshit.

Can we say OH SHIT, DOWNSIZED TOO MUCH???

God Bless Our Troops.

MMIIXX - thank you so much. It's going to be very very difficult for me to stand in the hangar this time and say good-bye again. It's horrible over there right now and even more dangerous than before, which is hard to believe. I already know I'm going to have a major breakdown as soon as he's out of sight, omg, this is all such a horrible nightmare.

Why the hell don't we piss or get off the pot (pardon the expression)???? Lordy, how long are we going to allow our children to be picked off one by one, or two by two? What a bunch of morons in Washington, both parties.

I hope they all rot in jail.

Brad, you will be a household name when we regain our country. You deserve so much credit. You give us military mom's hope. Also, you handle yourself so well in "debates" with the knowledge-impaired. You don't stoop to their level and that pisses them off lol. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I just woke up and hit the net as I have been doing for the last couple of months. This topic was the first one I came too and I just want to cry. I am so moved by what is being written here and it sickens me. I have never felt so helpless as I do this morning. I cannot even begin to understand the pain of ACC, I have not experienced that pain, but I feel it in the written words. Please, know that some of us do care about your son and all the others over there. Keep sharing what is happening to your son, people need to hear the Truth. My heart goes out to you. I am so sorry.

TEXASLADY
"America is still the best place to live"

UMM, would you settle for "Great place to live",best for what ?
Don't get me wrong I'm not being rude when I ask by what metric do we judge "best".
Corruption?
Crime?
Cronyism in government?
Schooling?
Free medical for all?
Unemployment rates?
Unemployment benifits?
Energy use vs. Population?
Pollution?
Suicide rates?
GDP/military spending?
Electral System Integrity?
Legal System?

You earn the top spot or its not yours.One planet,six billion owners and rising.

...A Concerned Citizen ,best wishes to you and your son.

A Concerned Citizen ,6 or 7 of us are on your side.
The usurpers have planned this take-over for many years and have placed "operatives" in many positions of influence but they forgot one very important thing when dealing with these type of "operatives" (who work for self-interest only) and thats "once a traitor always a traitor".These type don't "fall on their sword" to protect the other conspirators.
Hope springs eternal.
mick

Concerned Citizen,
I truly wish all the best for you & your son. May he come home safe & sound. Christ in Heaven, how I wish we could get them all out of there & back home where they belong NOW. TODAY.
Our hearts are with you 100%.

CC

You are right when you say troops are doing many different things in this war then they were trained to do. But if you look back into history you will see that it's the same for every soldier in every war. One must adapt to the enemy they are fighting. You are however, wrong about the feelings of the people in Iraq now verses a year ago. If the press would ever venture from the green zone they would see that. They stick a mike in front of a Sunni that once had all the power and ask them if things are better, is like asking the plantation owners after the civil war if they think things were better. The Shiite' and Kurds will not let things fall apart. Despite what the media says the Iraq Army is completing missions every day. They are being well trained by the US forces. There are just a few hot spots left with fighting and most of the people fighting are not from Iraq.

The Iraqi People can not wait for the elections and are excited about the direction their Country is going. In December they will get to choose their own leaders. Not just the party like in the last election.

The Muktars are asking the fighters how are you helping us by killing us, and they are tired of it.
They are bringing in the fighters from other countries to our gates and turning them in. So don't give up hope for the people of Iraq. The only way out is their victory against those seeking to continue to oppress them.

Because the people of Iraq has see your son doing everything, ""from firing howitzers, to manning guard towers at their FOB, patrolling Ramadi and Fallujah in their unarmored humvee, training the Iraqi army, guarding convoys, surveillance from rooftops, supply detail at the FOB, ammunition detail at the FOB, building their FOB, building schools, door-to-door search and seizures, quick-reaction response team, numerous special missions as far away as the border, etc. etc. (there's more I can't remember). "" they are thankful, and see themselves in a different way and are inspired by his knowledge and commitment.

And all they have seen the takfurest do is kill their children, and not do one thing to help the people here. They are changing for the better thanks to people like him.

Despite what liberals (and militant Muslims) say. In fact, the same Rasmussen survey found that 71 percent of Americans believe that withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq is unlikely to stop terror attacks like this summer's London bombings.

...To wit: that while most Americans will not regard withdrawing from Iraq as a defeat or surrender, the important point to consider is that al Qaeda will. Americans recognize that the terrorists will regard any American pullout as a total victory, and victories tend to embolden jihadists. It was the Red Army's humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan that gave Osama bin Laden the idea, the confidence, and the will to press on with his jihad against America and the West.

MMIIXX - There is no where in the world that doesn't have problems...do we need a better health care system, like Canada, you bet ! My husband and I cannot afford health insurance, we just do our best to stay healthy.

Talk with some old timers who remember the depression, times were really scarey then, corrupt politicians have always been here. I agree this bunch in the White House are the worst, greediest ever. But can't you see change coming?

I hear staunch Republicans agreeing that we need a change. That is remarkable in my opinion.

MMIIXX, If you had seen the outpouring of help down here the last weeks, you would have been heartened. Americans are like a family, squabble within ourselves but band together when we need too.

There is hope for us, Brad, Cindy Sheehan, Andy Rooney, Sen Christopher Dodd, and others are waking all of us up to realize we can make a change.

HCOCDR - There are arguments for any opinion, you choose to believe what you believe...

Again, I ask where are the children of Congress, and Bush in this noble cause?

We have created a situation, in Iraq, yes we need to fix it, but would you want another country occupying your town? Shooting you by mistake?
Blowing your home up?

I certainly understand the anger we have created, I would be an insurgent too if Iraq was Texas.

We need to make an honest effort to let the Iraq people rule themselves and start bringing our guys on their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tour home. Show this country we are really giving their country back to them.

HCOCDR - Just read an interesting interview with Sen John McCain and Gen Myers. McCain said, "things have not gone as we planned or had been told by you."

I think we all respect Sen McCain's view point, just his 5 years in an Hanoi cell gets my admiration.
But Sen McCain wants to hear what is the course, that we are staying losing men and women everyday.

I would like to ask how many more do we have to bury before we get a plan?

You might also google ret Genl Wm Odom's opinion of what would happen should we leave Iraq.

Not asking you to change your view...just get some perspective from other military people.

TEXASLADY you said "If you had seen the outpouring of help down here the last weeks, you would have been heartened. Americans are like a family, squabble within ourselves but band together when we need too."

I know this is true ,I'm an Australian living in New Zealand ,my family hosts international exchange student and we have had 1 Swiss,2 Germans,1 American,2 Japanese,2 Chinese,1 Latvian and 1 Icelander.These students are normally 15-18 years of age and typically say with us for 1 year as part of the family.My eldest boy is 20 and currently living in Japan and my daugther (18) is in France,so I think I can honestly say that I have a good "sampling" of young people of the world to base my observations on.What I can not avoid saying is that WE ARE ALL THE SAME ,all these kids have hopes and dreams but like you and me they had no control of where they where born.
I sincerely hope your son returns fit and well from his duty in Iraq and as sincerely ,hope that no Iraqi parent has reason to mourn the results of his assignment in Iraq.

The people of the world will never forget what the USA has done in Iraq ,your country has broken a "trust" for profit and gain under the banner of bringing democracy (current excuse) to the oppressed and here you are with no democracy at home.As bad as the hijackings of 911 were the hijacking of your country overshadows that tragic day by many levels of magnitude.

At some level we need to do as you say "like a family, squabble within ourselves but band together when we need too." for all our children we need to band together now!

MMIIXX, I couldn't agree with you more.

And the people of the World shouldn't forget what has been done by this group of mass murdering , greedy,crazy men. Sadly, America has a short memory.

"War is not nice" Barbara Bush

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