War is Hell

He was one of America's first defenders on Sept. 11, 2001, a Marine who pulled burned bodies from the ruins of the Pentagon. He saw more horrors in Kuwait and Iraq.

Today, he can't keep a job, pay his bills, or chase thoughts of suicide from his tortured brain. In a few weeks, he may lose his house, too.

Gamal Awad, the American son of a Sudanese immigrant, exemplifies an emerging group of war veterans: the economic casualties.

More than in past wars, many wounded troops are coming home alive from the Middle East. That's a triumph for military medicine. But they often return hobbled by prolonged physical and mental injuries from homemade bombs and the unremitting anxiety of fighting a hidden enemy along blurred battle lines. Treatment, recovery and retraining often can't be assured quickly or cheaply.

These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. But the cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come, say economists and veterans' groups.

"The wounded and their families no longer trust that the government will take care of them the way they thought they'd be taken care of," says veterans advocate Mary Ellen Salzano.

How does a war veteran expect to be treated? "As a hero," she says.


And this is the way we "support our troops." This is a shame. Our government who happily collects our tax dollars as pay, no longer represent us. They stand for, they support their special interests and wealthy friends.

A longer break for these brave troops was shot down by the idiot who bellows and coined the phrase, "support the troops." The idiot and his supporters pointed at the left and called us traitors and anti-American, yet, it is we who see the injustice here. It is we who see the pain and suffering. They see dollar signs.

My friend Stram over at 12 Seats has a live troll who is one of the last of the true bushies. He still name calls and let's face it, he's an idiot too. He called me a moron. Why? Because I said McCain was one of his and he said, "McCains a liberal you moron." These jackasses vote! Scares the hell out of me!

My point about Hank... I mean anonymous... is that he will read this and not see the true meaning. He will shrug and utter, "war is hell you moron."

Hell is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to blow up innocent Iraqi's yet refusing to care for the wounded soldiers who do nothing more than their commander in chief asks.

Every morning, Awad needs to think of a reason not to kill himself.

He can't even look at the framed photograph that shows him accepting a Marine heroism medal for his recovery work at the Pentagon after the terrorist attack.

It might remind him of a burned woman whose skin peeled off in his hands when he tried to comfort her.

He tries not to hear the shrieking rockets of Iraq either, smell the burning fuel, or relive the blast that blew him right out of bed.

The memories come steamrolling back anyway.

"Nothing can turn off those things," he says, voice choked and eyes glistening.

Word!

Cuba's foreign minister walked out of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday in protest of President Bush's speech in which he said the "long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end" on the communist island.

The Cuban delegation issued a statement saying the decision by Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque to leave was a "sign of profound rejection of the arrogant and mediocre statement by President Bush."

In his speech, Bush looked ahead to a Cuba no longer ruled by Fidel Castro, the ailing 81-year-old leader who has not appeared in public in more than a year, since ceding power to a provisional government headed by his brother Raul.

"In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end," Bush said. "The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly and, ultimately, free and competitive elections."

Cuba's U.N. Mission said the American president had no moral standing to criticize anyone.

It accused Bush of responsibility "for the murder of over 600,000 civilians in Iraq" and for "the torture of prisoners" at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where more than 300 men are being held on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

"He is a criminal and has no moral authority or credibility to judge any other country," the mission's statement said. "Cuba condemns and rejects every letter of his infamous tirade."

I don't think I need to say anything else here.

Moveon Bush

The spoiled war mongering, oil thirsty king rants on and on about any differences of opinion. He stamps his little feet and throws himself on the floor, holding his breath if someone disagrees with his murderous, lying rampage. We know this, its no secret. Yet, we all know, it's gone too far.

The stragglers on the right, drool when the king speaks believing every lie that spews from it's foul mouth. The rest of us just stand in awe of it all.

The latest of these is the kings calling Moveon.orgs advertisement that criticized the top U.S. commander in Iraq was "disgusting." Well of course it was! The truth about this idiot king and his henchmen is always disgusting. Truthful, none-the-less.

It boggles the mind how anyone out there isn't screaming and marching up to the white house. It scares me that thirty percent of Americans still think the Iraqi's are terrorists and they still believe this is a just war and they still bow to their master, the almighty dollar and, mind you, do this all in the name of God.

Now, here's the ad. Moveon has backed every statement they make with links, proof, documentation and not the manufactured type like king shrub used to get us into this living hell, using the constitution as a fire starter.

Are they wrong? Are we done listening to his babble? Are we fed up with the lies, spins and name calling yet?

I'm sorry if I sound bitter and sarcastic. It is, unfortunately, how I feel. I, for one, have had enough.

The Constitution According to McCain

Sen. James Webb has offered an amendment to the annual defense bill that would mandate that troops get a home stay as long as their last combat tour of duty before they can be shipped out again. John McCain has tried to shoot down this rather sensible idea with the claim that the Constitution does not allow Congress to do that.

"Where in the Constitution of the United States does it say that the Congress decides how long people spend on tours of duty and how long they would spend back in the United States? It's blatantly unconstitutional."

Well, I'm not a scholar, but I know how to read. In Article 2, Section 8:

The Congress shall have power to... [long list] To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.

Call me crazy, but it looks to me like Congress has the power to make just about any sort of rule or regulation it wants regarding the military. Of course, the significance of this battle goes far beyond the particular question of mandating tours of duty. This administration and its supporters effectively maintain that Congress only has an "ON/OFF" switch when it comes to making war. Once Congress declares a war, the argument goes, it's only way to rein in the executive branch is to completely cut off spending. (Of course, they know this is politically almost impossible.)

In fact, if you take the trouble to read the Constitution you can see the Congress is given pretty broad power over the military. And it makes perfect sense. Having thrown off one king, why would the Founders have wanted to create another one? Granted, the religious right beg to differ...

Standing Up?

This is going to be interesting to watch.

We all remember the "they stand up and we'll stand down" proclamation by Bush, right? I always thought that a spin sentiment rather than a truism. How can a government stand up while still being occupied and controlled by the military and government of another country? So, if you think about it, that statement is nothing more than than a typical lie-spin to appease the doubters.

Now, throw in the monkey wretch.

The Iraqi government said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm accused of involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.

The Interior Ministry said it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force in the Sunday shooting. It was latest accusation against the U.S.-contracted firms that operate with little or no supervision and are widely disliked by Iraqis who resent their speeding motorcades and forceful behavior.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of western Baghdad.

"We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Khalaf said.

I now eagerly await the fall out of this one. My personal guess is the Interior Ministry will suddenly change their mind and reinstate the license, maybe a nice little kiss on the cheek, pat on the ass and it'll be back to business as usual.

I hope for that not to happen. I hope that they do stand up to the evil empire and throw our asses out of their bloodied country. I hope that the bushies eventually wake up and smell the gunpowder and see the death and destruction they have wrought. I hope their conscience haunts them for all eternity.

New World Order - Time to blow the cover

Truth In Advertising

My husband and I took a little road trip through Jerome and into Sedona. The ride was stunning though littered with "Vote for so and so" signs. It's an election year, so this is to expected. What wasn't was the elimination of one thing. Democrat and Republican.

Two years ago each displayed their party affiliation proudly. Now, "Republican" is like a bad word, not to be uttered in public. Considering "Truth in Advertising" I suggest we completely do away with party affiliation and just go with "For the people" and "In it for the cash Baby!"

I'm certainly not saying that all democrats are great and all republicans are bad. Though, I've yet to find a sane and rational republican... there has to be one, right?

I just think that if you're so proud to be something, anything, display it. Don't hide it, especially from voters. For example, If Bush ran again it should be labeled "Asshole" and Cheney, if he chooses to run for anything should be labeled "Anti-Christ". Got anything better?

Oui ou Non?

It's become an American obsession, more evil than Bin Laden, more deadly than the republican party. What could this be? Smokers.

In most states there has been blanket no smoking laws. I can't speak for all states but New York state was blanketed without a vote. Now, I know, I know it's bad for you and second hand smoke is evil and the smell of smoke and smokers are disgusting. It's a bad habit, I know.

My question is, is it right for the government to tell a business owner what he can and can not do?

Before this law, one could walk up to two restaurants. One bragging on the door in large bold letters "NO SMOKING" the other "SMOKERS WELCOME". The patron had a right, like the business owner to choose. Now, we and they do not.

Granted, I know smoking is bad for you. But for one moment, consider this. I have a friend, an owner of a bar in Lake Placid. It's a sports bar and the majority of his business is local customers. Now, enter the no smoking law. My friend is going out of business and in need of filing his chapter 11. Is this right?

I do agree that restaurants who cater to children and malls and such should be non-smoking. But should we take away the right of the business owner and the patrons right to choose?

Whether I smoke or not, is not the issue here. My point being, the air we breath is toxic, or at the very least borderline. Remember in first grade when the teacher told you that you're breathing the same air as the dinosaurs? Well, it's all still relevant. Nuclear testing. Atomic testing. White Phosphorous (being used in Iraq to kill the bad-evil brown people). It doesn't go away. It's all still there and we are all breathing it. If one is so afraid of the air they breath, then why not stop that too. Or, my personal favorite, make the right stop talking - foul air and all...

I think, and this is just MHO, that we have no right forcing a private business owner into bankruptcy for the offended few.

Thoughts?

Why?

The right insists that the left hates the troops. Nothing could be farther from the truth. However, reports such as these are disturbing. More than disturbing. They are, in my humble opinion, actions of hate and fear. A hatred and fear that has been instilled into the hearts of many Americans.

How many soldiers honestly believe they are fighting the orchestraters of 9-11? How many of the these men and women would not normally commit such atrocities under normal circumstances?

The documents, released by the American Civil Liberties Union ahead of a lawsuit, total nearly 10,000 pages of courts-martial summaries, transcripts and military investigative reports about 22 incidents. They show repeated examples of soldiers believing they were within the law when they killed local citizens.

The killings include the drowning of a man soldiers pushed from a bridge into the Tigris River as punishment for breaking curfew, and the suffocation during interrogation of a former Iraqi general believed to be helping insurgents.

Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer was convicted of negligent homicide in the death of Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush following a January 2006 court-martial that received wide media attention due to possible CIA involvement in the interrogation.

But even after his conviction, Welshofer insisted his actions were appropriate and standard, documents show.

"The simple fact of the matter is interrogation is supposed to be stressful or you will get no information," Welshofer wrote in a letter to the court asking for clemency. "To put it another way, an interrogation without stress is not an interrogation — it is a conversation."

Welshofer said in the same letter that he was "within the appropriate constraints that both the rules of law, and just as importantly — duty, imposed on me."

Considered against recent cases, including soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division convicted of killing detainees in Samarra, Iraq, last year and the ongoing courts-martial of Marines accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha, these new examples shed light on the frequency soldiers and Marines may disregard the rules of war.

Nasrina Bargzie, an attorney with the ACLU's National Security Project, said the documents also show that theres an abundance of information being withheld from public scrutiny.

"The government has gone out of its way to hide the human cost of this war," Bargzie said. Releasing the documents now "paints at least a part of that picture so people at least know what's going on," she said.

The lawsuit seeks to compel the military to produce all documents related to all incidents of civilian deaths at the hands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 2005. The ACLU contends the materials are releasable under federal law.

The Defense Department declined to comment on the lawsuit until it could review its claims.

Among the files released to the ACLU were the court-martial records for two soldiers convicted of assault in the drowning of a man pushed into the Tigris for violating curfew and three soldiers convicted in the "mercy killing" of an injured teenager in Sadr City.

The teen had been severely injured; one soldier explained that he shot and killed the teen "to take him out of his misery."

Other killings included:

• A man shot after a search of his home near Balad uncovered illegal weapons and anti-American literature. Immediately after the shooting, according to testimony, Sgt. 1st Class George Diaz, who was convicted of unpremeditated murder, said, "I'm going to hell for this." Diaz also was convicted of mistreating a teenage detainee when he forced the youth to hold a smoke grenade with the pin pulled as Diaz questioned him at gunpoint.

• A suspected insurgent in Iraq by Staff Sgt. Shane Werst, who said the man appeared to be reaching for a weapon. Werst was acquitted of murder despite acknowledging he had fired and then planted a chrome Iraqi pistol on the suspect to make his claim of self defense more believable.
In a previously unreported case, Pfc. James Combs was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for shooting an Iraqi woman from a guard tower in what he claimed was an accident, though court documents and testimony indicate his weapon was set to fire multiple shots despite a regulation advising against such a setting.

Another previously undisclosed case involved Sgt. Ricky Burke, who was charged with murder for killing a wounded man alongside the road following a firefight. Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, a member of Burke's military police company, testified he heard Burke say before the shooting, "It's payback time."

Burke, a member of the Kentucky National Guard, was found not guilty of the charges that stemmed from the same battle that led to the first woman since World War II being awarded the Silver Star.


My question is why? Why do they feel that these crimes are right or justified? What have we done? This is not a war on terror. This is a war for terror.

One would certainly think that if 9/11 taught us anything it was what it feels like to be hated for who you are, for what you are. It is sad that many still don't get it.

Mirror Ignored

I read this, in complete and utter disbelief.

Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S. troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense after ABC News inquired about the program.
Operation Start Up (OSU) Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among soldiers, will not be sending the "apocryphal" video game in care packages as planned, according to the department.

Let's forget that "separation of church and state" thing for a minute and think about this. The premise of this game is to "convert" or kill.

"It's a horrible game," said the Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress. "You either kill or covert the other side. This is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us."

Poor Rev Tim, like he and all of the rest of the religions right, they feed upon the lies of a corrupt administration. Hopefully, I am not the only one who sees the irony of the poor mans statement.

Sadly, this is what they think. This is the mentality of the bushites. They see fear and hatred for anything that just might be different without ever seeing themselves. What must these self important people think of Bush bringing "democracy to the Middle East"? That's good right?

What about "Thou shalt not kill.."? Did the religious right leaders feel the need to add "unless the son-of-a-bitch is different than you?" Or what about "judge not"? was the final phrase added to that too?

What about U.S. soldiers that are atheists? Muslim? Jewish? Must our lovely government ignore their religious, or non beliefs as well? Is there truly no end to this hypocrisy?