OK, I haven't written in ages, but today's news about this lovely governor of South Carolina just got my blood boiling, I mean, it is one thing to have an affair, things happen (I am NOT advocating them at all though) ... but when one belongs to a group of right-wing morons that try to legislate behavior and/or morality and then strays off himself, my words to him are: "SHUT THE @)*$)* UP."  If you are falling of your moral highhorse, then do not even attempt to tell anybody who they can marry, whether they can use a certain sex-position, what to do with one's body, whether one can smoke pot to temper the effects of chemotherapy etc.  We all by now get it that you all are only human, which is fine, but don't lecture others about behavior and morality when you can't live it up yourself. 

Below is a pasted link about 'republican moral values' (couldn't paste the title, and forgot it already) ... but it is a fun read

Edited on Wed Jun-24-09 05:10 PM by Political Tiger

John McCain - Left his first wife after she had been severely injured in an automobile accident for a rich former rodeo beauty queen 18 years his junior. Investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee for attempting to influence federal regulators inquiring into the Lincoln Savings and Loan, owned by McCain's friend and campaign contributor Charles Keating. Between 1984 and 1986, McCain failed to disclose over $15,000 worth of trips and gifts from junk bond king Charles Keating on his financial disclosure forms, and only reimbursed Keating after the scandal broke. 

Cindy McCain - Stole drugs to feed her drug habit, including Percocet and Vicodin, from her own nonprofit medical relief organization, American Voluntary Medical Team. An AVMT employee, who had discovered her illegal drug use, tipped off the Drug Enforcement Administration and a federal investigation ensued resulting in McCain paying the costs of the government's investigation.

George HW Bush - Linda Tripp says had he an affair with a woman named Jennifer Fitzgerald while president.

George W. Bush - Convicted of drunk driving. Lied to congress and US citizens about Iraq's nuclear capability just to justify his pre-emptive war. Covered up Saudi aid to 9-11 hijackers. Lied on a juror form about his arrest record, a felony in Texas. Lawsuit filed by Christian book writer Margie Schoedinger claimed Bush raped and harrassed her. She was found dead of a gunshot wound 9 months after filing the lawsuit.

Neil Bush - Fined for his "ethical disability" in Silverado savings and loan investigation. Cost to tax payers: 1 billion dollars (still paying interest), Cost to Bush: $0. The $50,000 fine was paid by a banking deregulation lobby. Admitted that he had sex with prostitutes while on trips to Thailand and Hong Kong.

Jeb Bush - Defaulted on a $4,56 million loan from Broward Federal Savings in Sunrise, Florida. After federal regulators closed the S&L, the office building that gave Jeb used that loan, the $4.56 million to finance was reappraised by the regulators to $.5 million, which Bush and his partners paid, thereby leaving the taxpayers with a $4 million LOSS.

Columba Bush - Smuggled $16,000 worth of clothes and jewelry into the US after a trip from France.

George P. Bush - Broke into ex-girlfriend's house and drove circles in her front yard with his car during a fit of rage.

John "Jebby" Bush - Caught by the police with his pants down in a parking lot, having sex with a teen-age girl.

Noelle Bush - Arrested for prescription fraud. Ordered by a judge to attend a rehabilitation program. During her time at the facility, Bush was found in contempt of court twice - once after being accused of taking prescription pills from a nurse's office and once after she was caught with cocaine.

Barbara and Jenna Bush - Arrested at an Austin restaurant, Jenna for trying to use a fake ID and Barbara for being in possession of alcohol. Jenna had received a citation in April 2001 for possessing alcohol. Her boyfriend was jailed in March, 2001, and was released to the Secret Service.

Dick Cheney - Convicted at least twice for drunk driving. Received five draft deferments from serving in Vietnam because he "had other priorities in the sixties than military service."

Tom DeLay - Had to resign in disgrace as House majority leader after a Texas grand jury indicted him on a conspiracy charge stemming from a long-running campaign finance investigation. Admonished by House ethics committee three times for unethical behavior.

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - Indicted on five charges related to the CIA leak probe: one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements. He was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in a grand jury's investigation of the outing of CIA operative Valierie Plame. The trial also implicated Karl Rove and Dick Cheney in a campaign to discredit her husband, retired diplomat and Iraq war critic Joe Wilson.

Paul D. Wolfowitz - Served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for George W Bush and considered the architect of the Iraq War. Nominated by Bush for president of the World Bank, where he became involved in a relationship with World Bank Senior Communications Officer (and Acting Manager of External Affairs) for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office Shaha Ali Riz, despite the organization's own ethics rules precluding simultaneous employment of couples if one reports to the other even indirectly through a chain of supervision. Wolfowitz promoted her to a job at the state department under Liz Cheney, the daughter of the vice-president, resulting in a raise of over $60,000, as well as guarantees of future increases, more than double the amount allowed under employee guidelines, while keeping her on the World Bank payroll. 

Larry Craig - Idaho's anti-gay Republican Senator was arrested and pled guilty to soliciting gay sex in an airport restroom in June 2007.

Glenn Murphy Jr. - Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation accosted two men by attempting to perform oral sex on them as they slept.

David Vitter - A "family-values far-right conservative" Senator from Lousiana, had an affair with a prositute in 1999 and admitted to a "serious sin" after his telephone number was disclosed by the so-called "D.C. Madam" in 2007. Lost a lawsuit for assulting a woman at a town hall meeting. Had a pack with white supremacist David Duke to suppress the black vote.

John Ensign - Admitted he had an extramarital affair with a staffer after the threat of being blackmailed.

S.C. Governor Mark Sanford - Disappeared for a week without telling anyone, including his wife and State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for him. Later Sanford's spokesman told the press that Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail. After returning to duty, he admitted he had actually been in Argentina with his mistress.

Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after "sexually explicit" emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy. 

Ted Haggard - Adviser to George W Bush on "spiritual matters" and fervent homophobe who resigned his leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals and stepped aside as pastor of his church after admitting to having a three year affair with a male prostitute and using methamphetamine.

Bob Allen, Florida Republican representing District 32 of the State House of Representatives, arrested 7/11/07 for solicitation for prostitution after he solicited an undercover male officer inside a public restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. Before his arrest, Representative Bob Allen sponsored a failed bill that would have tightened the state's prohibition on public sex. He also has been a supporter of amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and has opposed a bill to curb bullying of gay students. After his arrest, he blamed his actions on a fear of African-Americans!

Coy Privette, the president of the Christian Action League, a North Carolina ultraconservative Christian political organization based in Raleigh, arrested on 7/19/07 for soliciting prostitution after paying his hookers with checks and then reporting then stolen. Privette also served as a Republican in the N.C. Legislature from 1984 to 1992 and has been a member of the board of commissioners in Cabarrus County since 1998.

Philip Giordano, Republican mayor of Waterbury, Conn., was convicted of paying a crack-addicted prostitute to bring her daughter and niece to him for sexual encounters in 2000 and 2001, when they were 8 and 10. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison for sexually abusing the two girls.

Matteo Fontana - Department of Education official under George W Bush, overseer the student loan industry, was put on leave after disclosure that he owned at least $100,000 worth of stock in a student loan company.

Julie MacDonald - Apointed by George W Bush to oversee the Fish and Wildlife Service although she has no academic background in biology. She overrode recommendations of agency scientists about how to protect endangered species and improperly leaked internal information to private groups.

Philip Cooney - Former oil-industry lobbyist who became chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality under George W Bush, acknowledged to a House committee that he edited three government reports to eliminate or downplay links between greenhouse gases and global warming. He left the government in 2005 to work for Exxon.

J. Steven Griles - A former oil and gas lobbyist who became Deputy Interior Secretary under George W Bush, convicted in the Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, pleading guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff. Abramoff repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.

Darleen Druyun - Air Force procurement officer under George W Bush served nine months in prison in 2005 for violating conflict-of-interest rules after agreeing to lease Boeing refueling tankers for $23 billion, despite Pentagon studies showing the tankers were unnecessary. After making the deal, she quit the government to join Boeing.

David H. Safavian - White House aide for George W Bush was convicted last year of lying to government investigators about his ties to Jack Abramoff and faces an 180-month prison sentence.

Claude Allen - George W Bush's domestic policy adviser, pleaded guilty to theft in making phony returns at discount department stores. He was to two years of supervised probation and fined $500.

"Jeff Gannon" - Pseudonym for James Guckert -- who worked for fake news agency Talon News, with "daily passes" obtained from the Secret Service and FBI allowing Guckert/Gannon access to White House press briefings and to parse questions to President George W. Bush. Guckert/Gannon was later exposed as a gay prostitute.

John Doolittle, Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House, resigned from the Committee on Appropriations in response to a raid by the FBI at his Northern Virginia home investigating his involvment with Jack Abramoff. His wife worked for Jack Abramoff and was paid via a company called Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, based at the couple's home and founded just after Congressman Doolittle gained a seat on the Appropriations Committee. She is the only employee.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), caught by police with a prostitute in a parked car in California. Subsequently, Calvert repeatedly attempted to cover up the incident for nearly a year, publicly denying that it ever occurred.

Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - Under investigation from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about his sale of stock in his family's hospital company one month before its price fell sharply. Accepted over $23,000 from the tobacco industry, although he is a doctor. Adopted cats from animal shelters so he could kill them.

Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham - Resigned from the House after pleading guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes and underreporting his income for 2004. Plead guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Sentenced to eight years and four months in prison and an order to pay $1.8 million in restitution.

Bob Dole - Cheated on his first wife with his current wife, Elizabeth Dole.

Henry Hyde - Had a seven year affair with a married woman with three kids, an affair that continued even after the woman's husband, Fred Snodgrass, found out about it and demanded that Hyde leave his wife alone.

Newt Gingrich - Dumped his ex-wife while she was in a hospital bed suffering from cancer. Was screwing his aid while sitting in judgment of President Clinton. He resigned as speaker of the house. Also funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to his campaign donors. His district received more taxpayer's money than all the other districts in America.

Bill Bennett - When not telling Americans how to be virtuous can be found in Las Vegas gambling the night away.

Gov. John Rowland - Had to resign after it was discloses he illegally accepted gifts from state contractors. Plead guilty federal charge of criminal conspiracy.

Rep. Bill Janklow - Convicted of manslaughter. Habitual speeder and reckless driver.
John Linder - Has a wandering eye for his female staff members.

Mike Bowers - Cheated on his wife for fifteen years.

Jack Ryan - Had to drop out of senatorial race after it was disclosed he forced his wife to perform sex acts in front of strangers.

William Cohen - Cheated on his wife then dumped her for his mistress..

Jeanine Pirro - Republican District Attorney required a grocery chain to hire Bernard B. Keriks security consulting firm in 2004 to settle charges brought by her office. In 2005, Ms. Pirro was caught on tape asking Mr. Kerik to secretly tape her husbands conversations to see if he was having an affair with another woman, prompting a federal investigation.

Bernard Kerik - Had overlapping affairs with Judith Regan, the publisher of his recent memoir, and a city correction officer. He used the same New York City apartment for liaisons with the women. Accepted unreported gifts of thousands of dollars in cash and other items from associates at a New Jersey construction company while serving as NY police commissioner. Ordered to pay a conflict-of-interest fine for using three police officers to do research about his mother for his autobiography.

Guy Millner - Has been married three times, partly because he has sex with women he isn't married to.

Rush Limbaugh - Cheated on at least two of his four wives. Dope addict. Used his maid as a drug runner. Accepted plea agreement to avoid charges of prescription fraud. On probation with mandatory drug screening. Avoided draft during Vietnam by saying he had an anal cyst. Fired seven times.

Mitch Skandalakis - Hired hookers from his Las Vegas hotel room.

Rudolph Giuliani Married three times. His first marriage was to his second cousin. He lived with his second wife while still married to his first wife. His second wife found out through a press conference Giuliani was leaving her for his assistant who he was having an affair with. Estranged from both his son Andrew and his daughter Caroline.

Michael Deaver - Was so drunk he doesn't remember hiring hookers.

Richard A. Delgaudio - Nationally-known Republican party fund-raiser plead guilty to producing child pornography after paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos in a Baltimore hotel.

Nicholas Elizondo - Director of the "Young Republican Federation" molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Earl "Butch" Kimmerling - The Republican anti-gay activist was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.

Bill Randall - A Florida Congressional candidate and minister, he fathered an illegitimate child during his affair.

Phil Gramm - Funded porn movie. Draft dodger. Laundered illegal campaign funds. Wife Wendy corporate crook.

Rep. Bob Barr - Cheated on all three of his wives. Used pro-lifer's money to get elected and then forced his wife to have an abortion. Also a member of the CCC, a KKK like organization.

Bill McCartney - Promise Keepers founder who didn't keep his Promise to his wife and then lied about it for 20 years.

George Will - Divorced his first wife, leaving her with a mentally disabled child, for a younger woman.

Bob Dornan - Regularly beat his wife but he is a 'family values' republican.

Rep. Ken Calvert - Christian Coalition ally was caught by police in 1993 receiving oral sex from a prostitute. His ex-wife also sued him for failure to pay alimony.

Rep. Dan Burton - Had at least six adulterous affairs, and fathered an out-of-wedlock child which he ignores.

Rep. Robert Bauman - Homophobic Congressman charged with soliciting sex from a 16-year old boy he picked up at a gay bar, admitted that he had been the victim of an extortion scheme by a man who had a sexual relationship with him.

Rep. Bill Thomas - Cheated on his wife with health care lobbyist Deborah Steelman.

Sen. Strom Thurmond - Cheated on his fourth wife at age 88! Raped his underage maid and fathered a child by her.

Gilbert Davis - Paula Jones' attorney, who allowed himself to be videotaped drunk during his adultery.

Bob Packwood - Drank huge amounts of hard liquor and then tongue-kissed his female staffers against their will.

Gov. Kirk Fordice - Got so hopped up by his mistress that he crashed his Jeep Cherokee and got himself hurt.

Beverly Russell - The Christian Coalition coordinator and Republican activist molested his stepdaughter Susan Smith, who later killed her own two children.

Gov. George Ryan - Found guilty by a federal jury of all 18 counts of federal public corruption charges against him.

Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens - Found guilty of having sex with a minor and sent to jail.

Rep. Sue Myrick - Cheated on her husband and left him for another man.

Bob Livingston - The GOP Speaker-to-never-be, cheated on his wife Bonnie - with at least four women.

Michael Huffington - The Former GOP Congressman who cheated on his wife Arianna - with other men.

Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin - Had an adulterous affair with her Security Guard - a state trooper.

Edward Schrock - Republican Congressman resigned from Congress after he was caught searching for sex on a gay telephone service.

Rep. Helen Chenoweth - After criticizing President Clinton for the "sordid spectacle" of an extramarital affair and airing a campaign advertisement in which she says that "personal conduct and integrity does matter," she admitted that she had engaged in a long-term affair with a married man.

Rep. John Schmitz - Extreme right-wing Republican fathered two children by a mistress, a former student named Carla Stuckle whom Schmitz taught when he was a professor at Santa Ana College. His daughter, Mary Kay LeTourneau, made national headlines when as a school teacher, she was arrested twice for having sex and producing two children with an underage student of hers (beginning when he was only 13 years old).

Rep. John Boehner - Distributed money from tobacco industry lobbyists on the House floor to members who had voted in favor of tobacco interests.

Gov. Bob Taft III - Plead no contest in Aug. 2005 to charges that he violated state ethics laws, becoming the first governor in the state's history to be convicted of a crime.

Spokane Republican Mayor Jim West - Homophobic mayor admits meeting men online for sex - as well as offering gifts, favors and a City Hall internship to a young man for sex.

West Hartford Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

Edison Misla Aldarondo - Republican legislator was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.

Donald "Buz" Lukens - Republican Congressman was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.

Neal Horsley -Republican anti-abortion activist admitted to having sex with a mule.

Matthew Glavin - President of the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation, which sought to have President Clinton disbarred in Arkansas; resigned after being charged with public indecency for fondling himself and an undercover park ranger in May in Georgia's Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.

Jim Bakker - Cheated on his wife. Stole millions of dollars. Eventually got locked up in chains and sent to federal prison.

Jimmy Swaggart - Who broke down crying after he got busted with an ugly hooker. Turns around and is caught doing it again.

Pat Robertson - Impregnated a girl and refused to marry her until her parents threatened to contact the media. Owns interest in gold mine in Liberia and supported the ruthless dictator Charles to protect his mine. Advocates abortion for Chinese women.

Lou Beres - Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.

Richard Nixon - Forced to resign in disgrace. Covered up Watergate. Pardoned by Gerald Ford for "for any and all crimes" that he might have committed while President.

G. Gordon Liddy - Convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping.

H.R. Haldeman - Convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

John Ehrlichman - Convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

Attorney General John N. Mitchell - Convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

Spiro Agnew - Resigned office of Vice-President after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

Ronald Reagan - Dumped Jane Wyman by cheating on her with several Hollywood starlets. Secretly sold weapons to terrorists then lied about it.

Oliver North - While guest host on the Rush Limbaugh show he advocated the assassination of President Clinton. Lied to congress. Sold arms to enemies. Guilty of obstruction of justice, shredded Iran Contra documents, ordered his secretary to smuggle out incriminating evidence in her panties.

A Dead Horse, A Love-Crazed Astronaut and Anna Nicole Smith -
a reflection on the 24-hour news

About two weeks ago, a Kentucky Derby-Winning Horse died. CNN even went so far as to send a breaking news alert to my computer (I am crazy enough to subscribe to such a thing) and then actually interrupted their regular broadcast to show a press conference about the demise of said horse. OK, I admit it, I am not crazy about horses, they are too big and don't come with brakes, and yes, I understand that some people like them. However, showing tearful owners, vets, and assorted two-legged friends of the horse in a press briefing was a bit too much, considering, some crazy-assed suicide bomber just blew himself up somewhere in Iraq, taking dozens of incocent people (PEOPLE, not horses) with him.

Then, in the beginning of last week, some love-crazed astronaut actually went through the painful ordeal to load up her car full of assorted torture instruments, stuffed herself into a space diaper (really) and drove 900 miles from Houston, Texas, to Orlando, Florida. This all in an attempt to kill some other lady whom she suspected had a love affair with her "lover" or whatever this man was to this married mother of three. No matter what newschannel I turned on, same story, NASA people, skrinks, experts commenting on a love triagle gone a bit off. Heck, one does not need to be a rocket scientist (excuse the use of language here) to figure out that a Navy Captain in diapers is insane or at least quite deranged. But no, we got two full days of that crap, again, against the background of Iran playing big guy, people being blown up in Iraq and New York being snowed in with poor people without heat. Insane.

On Thursday morning or whenever that was (I really must have lost track of time ), they were still at it about this astronaut when I thought to myself, "Petra, there is no getting out of this, this one is big, bigger than you realize, maybe bigger than life itself." Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the heavens were sounding, another CNN news alert came to me through the digital nirvana, I thought to myself, hmmm, maybe Fatah and Hamas signed some agreement to not kill each other off (no), maybe the insurgents in Iraq laid down their arms and called it quits so the US forces would leave them alone (no, again), maybe the Senate passed some meaningful bill for all of us (heck, wrong again), or maybe yet another US helicopter was shot down by those bastard insurgents leaving many of our own dead (totally off here on my part). Then my hopes for world peace turned into rubber right there and then, when I read about Anna Nicole Smith having been found unresponsive in some hotel in Florida . I was stunned, because for a moment I thought I had all figured out ... the newsfolks were just a few steps behind me ... reality (for me) was that this diaper-lady drove to Florida (she did) and accidently hit some former stripper, instead of the other lady, things sure were beginning to look interesting there for a minute when CNN's live coverage threw me be back to reality: the astronaut apparently had nothing to do with Anna, and darn, there went a really good story in my mind. A few minutes later another "news alert" for me, again, hoping against hope, that the Palestinians and Israeli police have stopped trying to kill each other at the site of the Old Temple, maybe that the Iraqis have finally gotten their act together, a Scooter Libby conviction, but no, a dead Anna Nicole. For those of you who have missed the news lately, she is dead, and continues to be dead to this day, I have figured this out without CNN breaking news alert, or FOX's "Just In" Alerts, or some other interruption on MSNBC.

Just as I thought that things could not get much worse, virtually every news channel stopped reporting about the news and covered the live and death of Anna Nicole in great depth. I do have to give some credit to Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs on CNN for actually spending the majority of their shows reporting about what they said they would report about, only mentioning Anna Nicole in passing (AMEN). But a big BOO to Larry King, he actually dedicated at least two hours of his program to this women. Again, tearful friends, experts, lawyers abound, trying to figure out who on earth the father of her baby girl really is (at that point only two in the contest) and how her estate would be divided.

The only sane person (apart from Anderson and Lou) seemed to have been Jack Cafferty, who finally asked the viewers something about their feelings about the excessive coverage of this ex-playmate, ex-stripper, someone, who really hasn't done anything for anybody else (heck she couldn't even keep her son alive who apparently died of an overdose cocktail of anti-depressants and methadone, shaken, but not stirred) and who married some half-dead dude millionaire when she was in her 20s. Yes, I have made my discontent with the whole situation known, especially to Jack, and Wolf Blitzer who actually claimed that "viewers were watching with interest." No, Wolf, we weren't watching the story unfold with interest, we were enduring it, over and over again, because you all couldn't be bothered to actually report the news of the day, there was nothing else on you moron.

What a depicable state of this nation's new media. In a letter to Larry King, I asked him to please start devoting five full minutes to each and every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the same empathy he gave to Anna-Nicole's sister. He hasn't started yet (maybe not even read my letter). But I think he read my letter but figured out he just couldn't do it. Think about it, at five minutes for each service member (for simplicity's sake let's say, oh, around 3,000 or so dead Americans), that would add up to a grand total of 15,000 minutes airtime, or would come up to about 250 hours. Let's again assume that Larry King airs about 250 times a year (bingo), that would mean, he would have to spend a whole year talking about people who really mattered to a lot of people, and can't have questionable characters such as that bizarro Jon Benet-wanted-to-be-killer on, and no, no experts either. Maybe mentioning our fallen servicemembers' names would be a start, but that might take up too much airtime and distract you all from reporting about the news from a parallel universe.

Refelections about MSgt. Kenneth Hunt Jr, USMC, our dead and wounded, and about a President out of touch with what is going on.

The first repost of my musings was originally posted back in August of 2005, right upon my return from Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where I visited a wounded warrior, a friend, and a now fallen hero to so many who knew him. I was very angry when I returned and hated the Iraq war more than ever.
The second repost (original post from August 2005) are my thoughts about Cindy Sheehan's trip to and stay at Crawford, Texas, demanding an answer from the President, who again, seemed to have been living in some sort of paralel universe, refusing to acknowledge even for one minute, the pain and suffering caused by "his" war.
The third repost, originally written as a reaction to the President's visit to Brook Army Medical Center in January 2006, sums up how I felt seeing this man at this location moking the wounded by pointing out his "wounds" secondary to not being able to walk a straight line.

"HOW FAR AWAY IS CRAWFORD?" (originally posted on Thursday, 4 August 2005)
Bear with me on this one. This July has been bad in many ways. Both kids were sick with UTIs and Rota Virus respectively. I have not gotten much sleep, because I was busy doing laundry at odd times of the night and feeling sorry for myself. At times I had to step back and think about how good we really have it, a few poos here and there, a couple of doctor visits and better we are. We got better, but some of us did not. By some of us, I mean, servicemen and women.
The last Sunday of July 2005, I volunteered to make a phone call to one of our spouses that I expected that I had to make at one point but dreaded to make. I had to ask the spouse how she was doing after learning that her husband has been severely burned after his vehicle hit an IED somewhere in Iraq. I think that somehow I found the right words, because we managed to cry, laugh, and share some stories together. At one point after that, when I learned that this remarkable Marine wife was going to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, I suggeted to my husband in theatre that I was considering going out there to be with her and help her out when the family members and our beloved Gunny left. Hubby said, "go" and here I am booking plane tickets. Thankfully, I have the most wonderful friends in San Antonio as well, and they were immediately "enlisted" for help, they did not fail me a second, I guess, they have been a military family for so long that they just understood.
So, in order to "prepare" myself for what I was going to see, I searched the good old internet for burn trauma, most of it was first aid and medical stuff beyond my understanding. So off to San Antonio. This wonderful wife wanted me in her husband's room. So, I am scrubbing down, got the surgical gown on and in I went. He looked good, thus far, everything considering. His face was HIS face, but many in that burn unit were not that lucky. It was shocking to see that on a Sunday afternoon. I never realized how much a tiny squeeze of my hand could mean so much, I never realized that coughing is great when one is intubated. I never realized that it is necessary to be in 97F to not be cold when 50% of the skin is burned.
Monday morning, back to the base, got some groceries for the wife as she was just running back and forth between the burn unit and her room at the guest house and surely not even thinking about eating. This was when things hit me fast. As we approached the hospital entrance, we saw "babies", not youngsters, but teenagers whose adult life has just begun, without an leg, an arm, or both, burned beyond recognition, with helmets, to help heal the head wounds, help heal the missing piece of skull that has been replaced by a piece of metal. See the mother my age carry out children my kids age, and whose kids cried for their "daddy". I told my friends there that if I see another kid without a limp, I was going to scream and not going to stop. Well, I saw more, did not scream, and was just shocked. I have never in my entire life combined seen so much misery and human suffering in six hours.
At one point I was asking my San Antonio friend how far away Crawford was. I knew this president was on his nth vacation there, and I wanted to go there, drag him to the burn unit to see the misery, he hurt, the pain, the screams, the faces burned beyong recognition. The youngster, whose adult life has been cut short in many ways by losing a limp, or two, or three, who is managing somehow scratching his back with his new artifical leg. Sad. Really sad. Pain and human suffering. Our Marine was covered in gauze, laid in the "cruzifix" position to keep him from pulling lines of sorts out of his body that are keeping him alive. The only dignity he had left was a tiny little green towel to cover his private parts. I remember taking a break outside from visiting with him when I saw a mother my age, carrying out two boys my boys's age, and boys screaming and crying for their daddy, and all I could think was, "this could be me". It wasn't me. I was lucky, but someone wasn't and someone is responsible.
Mr. President, you "landed" on some carrier over two years ago and proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" and this week you said that the troops that have died, died for a "noble cause". What do you mean by that? I though "mission accomplished" took place when you imporsenated a REAL pilot like my husband, to further some agenda that I don't understand. If the cause is that "NOBLE", why are your children not in Baghdad or Najaf or Mosul? Answer those question to Cindy Sheehan, who is at your ranch, just wanting to know why her son died?
Mr. President, I don't want to be a hateful person, but I have become one. I hate you, for putting our service men and women in harms way for what the Project of a New American Century told you to do. I hate you for not suffering the same way we do. I see a family torn apart by the burns one Marine has suffered. I hate you for not scrubbing up and holding a hand of someone who just has involuntary reflexes. I hate you for disrupting my family in as much that we need to learn to be a family again. I hate you for not welcoming home those in a coffin, who will be burried in the name of your ghastly smile of threats of weapons of mass distruction, when you KNEW they were not in Iraq.
However Mr. President, I offer my sincere congratulations for making the facts fits your fiction. For making Iraq the breeding ground for "insurgents" from whereever, which it has not been before, even by assessment of your own CIA. Mr. President, I congratulate you on making my husband, the father of my children, be a sitting duck for attack. Let me ask you, when was the last time that you wore body amor, a gun, a pistol, to walk some distance to relieve yourself from what you need to do? Do you UNDERSTAND Mr. President?
Mr. President, two years ago I was in the minory, I have been told to shut up. But now I am in the majority of people who "disapprove" of your handling the war on terror, Iraq, the economy, and pretty much every thing else. You are a chickenhawk, you are not a cowboy. You said "Bring them on" and now one of our own is at BAMC (do you even know what these letters stand for???), a few hours away from you.
Mr. President, answer Cindy's questions, don't be the coward you have been years ago, give us a plan, so our families can be like yours, "NORMAL"

Wednesday, August 24, 2005
THE TROOP SUPPORTERS VERSUS THE ANTI WAR MOM
This morning, as I was driving home, I listened to one of our local radio stations. During the regular programme, one of our local TV stations gave a quick run-down on what was happening in Yuma. One of the main news-stories this morning was that the "anti Cindy Sheehan" cararvan was coming through Yuma from their starting point in Fresno, California, on their way to Crawford, TX, to counter demonstrate Cindy Sheehan, who has been (with a brief interruption to tend to her sick mother) camped out in front of President Bush's "Ranch" for over two weeks now. In this brief presentation, Cindy was referred to as the "Anti War Mom" and the other group as the ones supporting the troops. This short newscast sounded very biased, not only to me, as I have received a few phone calls regarding the "biased" way in which this news was presented, e.g. Cindy as the madwoman out on a political rampage versus the "true" supporters of the troops (like the guy who ran over the crosses of Arlington West).
Upon returning home, I phoned the particular newstation here in Yuma and requested to speak to someone in the newsroom. I finally got some real person on the other line and the whole conversation was pretty much one-sided as it was a chance for me to speak off the record (e.g. my name can't be used but the content of the message can) and vent off thoughts that have been mainly bottled up over the last few months).
The main points that I have tried to cover were the following:
I started off by explaining to him why I found the particular radio broadcast biased and misleading. I explained to him that if he really listened to Cindy's message in Crawford, it would become very clear that she would like to have her questions regarding the now infamous Downing Street Memos answered, an issue, which has been largely ignored by the mainstream press. Second, Cindy's remarks regarding the non-existing stockpiles of WMD in Iraq, again, and issue not much elaborated on in the main-stream media. Third, the non-existing link between Al-Queda and Iraq, and the the fact that Iraq only NOW has become a breeding ground for the ever-stronger growing insurgency (as by recent assessments of the CIA). My main point was, that the media has neglected these issues as they have neglected to question assumptions by this government after September 11, which have ultimately led this nation into two wars with casualties mounting almost daily in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I literally accused him of having sold out to the propaganda that happened during the built-up for the war in Iraq, by selling out to the fear-mongering of this government instead of questioning and helping us perservere and keep a spirit of dissent as well as resistence to the "forces of evil".
My next issue was why the counterprotesters were portrayed as patriotic and troop supporters while Cindy Sheehan and the assorted members of groups such as Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans against the War, Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Mothers for Peace as well as Code Pink were labeled as an instrument of the far left. I explained to him that I have been a member of Military Families Speak since before the present conflict in Iraq and that I have gotten death threats because I did not follow some prescribed line of love of country by questioning this war and questioning the motives for engaging in it. I conveyed to him that I find it utterly absurd to even suggest that I am not supportive of the troops when my husband in this war and my main concern is to have him home safe, along with his fellow service members. I told him that it is insane to even suggest that I don't support the person that I love, married and intend to spend the rest of my life with. I assured him that Cindy's supporters, many of whom have travelled long distances to get to Crawford, feel the same way.
I also raised some concern about the "yellow ribbon people", those who have put the yellow ribbon on their car or whereever, but think that it is enough to display this particular token but do nothing else to support the people who are actually fighting the war on their behalf. I explained that patriotism and support the troops does not mean to wrap oneself in a flag and chant for the troops when we sent them into harms way (I give someone else credit for that, I believe it was Tom Paine), it means that we have to look at them when they return home, minus and arm or leg, burned, or a combination of both. If we do not do that, we dishonor them big time, not only as individuals, but we dishonor ourselves as a society. We dishonor ourselves as a society when we do NOT question Secretary of Defense when he asserts that "another 12 years" in Iraq are possible for Coalition forces. What does that mean? It means the number of years of formal schooling for a child in America. It means more in years that my child are of age combined. It means that my oldest son could potentionally be drawn into the conflict. We dishonor ourselves, when we do not question conflicting statements made by members of our government, e.g Mr. Rumsfeld comment, Mr. Cheney's statement, that the "insurgency is in its last throes", some General who thinks we need more troops, and another one that says the troop level is fine, and a President who says "we will stay the course" (whatever that is at the time he says it). A President, whose first premise was ridding Iraq of WMD, then regime change, than and election and now the drafting of a constitution as well as fighting the insurgents when he said to "bring them on". A president who says that it "would be a mistake to leave early." Earlier than WHAT?
We will keep out message out there loud and clear, we support the troops, we love this country whose founding fathers' values we hold so dearly as "truths" and whose rights we so cherish. We thank so much the troops who are defending this right for us. On a final note, maybe we should look at the whole Crawford situation from a constitutional standpoint, Cindy, and even her counterparts, are now sitting in Crawford facing each other, each of them exercising their First Amendment Right to Free Speech and Assembly that family members of each side have been ordered to defend, and that some have given their life for. Cindy does not understand the noble cause, I don't either, and many others don't either, and many do not want to believe that their family member has died in vain, however, as I explained to the gentleman on the receiving end of my "talk", should anything happen to my husband, I would feel his death was in vain and that I would never been able to describe the reasons why to his two sons.
The message is out there loud and clear and even if we completely disagree with the counter-demonstrators in Crawford, I am proud to say that really none of the so-called "radical left-wing groups" have yet even remotely resorted to the level of name-calling of the "right", people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. I can say that, because I have listened to these two Gentlemen a lot lately. When they and their followers use the word "Liberal" almost as an insult when they run out of well-made arguments (that is, if someone from the other side is actually able to get through their "screeners" to get on the air), my question is: since when has a particular political orientation became a "criminal" act as Ms. Coulter claims in her works "Treason" and "Slander"? Since when has honest dissent become an act of subversion and undermining patriotism and aiding the enemy? This country was founded on the basis of dissent, dissent of absolute rulership in Britain, without dissent, we all would still be paying the Tea Tax (thanks to the folks in Boston in 1773, we don't do that anymore.) When people call me a liberal I take that as a compliment, I feel I find myself in the company and spirit of our founding fathers, great thinkers of the political enlightment, what company do they find themselves in?
To paraphrase Al Sharpton at the Democratic National Convention: We will keep on marching, we will keep on working, and we will keep on trying. To all of those in Crawford supporting Cindy, I would love to be there with you (am there in spirit), but due to circumstances in my life are unable to attend. I will continue to spread the message that Cindy and us have further and further and not stop. Thank you Cindy for having given many of us a voice.

Saturday, January 07, 2006
Wounded, the President, this is
This morning (January 7,2006), reading my usual news related stuff on the internet, I found a video link on the Crooks and Liars webpage (http://www.crooksandliars.com) showing our glorious president talking to some staff at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) during a visit there last week. This particular video was titled "wounded". Now, initially I thought that something useful and empathetic would escape this man's mouth, especially considering the locale where he was. I expected too much. After watching this short clip, I needed to pick my chin up from the floor, and then after a few moments of complete and utter disbelief that I have just heard what I heard, I replayed it, and replayed it again. We have heard a lot of "Bushisms" in the past five years, but this one was probably the worst for me. Ok, for those not able to get to this video, here is the main point of Mr. Bush's short "speech": he was thanking the staff at BAMC and then pointed out that he was "wounded" as well after having some run-in with a cedar tree while simultanously pointing to some spot on his forehead.Again, this man was at BAMC in San Antonio. I have been to BMAC, and after having seen what I have seen there, the misery, the young amputees, those burned and in recovery and my friend Ken in the intensive care burn unit, I wonder whether Mr. Bush was really there. I think that if he had seen what I and many other visitors and family members and friends of our wounded troops had witnessed, he would not have uttered such absurdity in less than one minute. Here is a president, who at hardly ever leaves out a chance to speak in front of military personell, almost rediculing and minimizing what they have sacrificed: a limp, maybe two, a piece of skull, their skin, half of their brain. I have never in my life seen one person exploit the finest men and women that this country has to offer, joking about their physical injuries by pointing out that he is obviously too stupid to walk a straight line without missing a tree. Talking like this in front of the men and women in one of the most honorable profession that there is, men and women who are willing to give it all, is a shame. It is a shame for most of us with working morals and a sense of when to keep one's mouth shut and not to joke. My mom taught me that, keep your mouth shut when nothing useful can come out of it, what has Barbara done? Told you to keep on yapping? BAMC is NOT a place to joke, unless initiated, which your "joke" didn't seem to have been. I wonder how the doctors and nurses felt when they listened to their commander in chief? I wonder what they were thinking? I wonder if they wanted to trade places with Bush for a day? Spending a whole morning to change the dressing of a burned man. Bagging a man with an oxygen pump for hours, sitting and waiting. Doing rehabilitation therapy with a 19 year old to help him learn how to substitute the functioning of one finger with the functioning of a normal hand? Trying to teach another 20 year old how to walk, again, on prothetic limps? The level of care and caring, the level of humanity despite the inhume consequences of this war by the staff at BAMC is something that anyone ill can only hope for. These doctors and nurses and therapists don't give up, smile, and encourage our wounded. After two days there, I left in complete disarray and at times I am still suffering from nightmares about what I have seen. The crying for hours until I could hug my kids again and cry to my friends. The anger at the senselessness of it all. Mr. President, apologize, apologize to those wounded, apologize to the family members of those of have died at BAMC. Apologize to my friend who after a seven months deployment, interrupted his vacation with his family to accompany and escord his friend home in a flag-draped coffin, the ones that you, Mr. President, don't want us to see. Apologize to the staff, who have treated our friend during his 11-week stay at BAMC, who operated him 22 times in 78 days, to keep him going. By the way, his last operation was a leg amputation, but even that could not safe him. Apologize to his widow, who was bedside with our friend, hoping and praying she won't be a widow, who saw not only her husband die, but witnessed on a day-to-day basis the pain of others in this hospital. Apologize to those who never left the widows side for a week to help out and who tried to take just a little bit of her pain away. Apologize to those who have been there and witnessed this injury of one of our finest, a husband, a father, and a wonderful friend. Apologize to those who heard the 21 gun shot salute to a fallen hero, that is our friend by the way. Mr. President, I don't believe that someone who can't avoid a tree without being "wounded"should be leading 300 million people, should not "command" the most wonderful men and women that this country has to offer who have made sacrifices that you have absolutely no idea about: separation from family, spouses and children, holidays and other family events spent apart, young men without limps and burned, leaving them with a future that was probably not what they had envisioned for themselves, and paying the ultimate price for almost 2,000 of young lives cut short. I am just angry now, very angry, Mr. President, maybe because you have not been at Ken's funeral. Maybe because you have not seen his mother breaking down when she said her last good-bye before the coffin was closed one last time, maybe because you have not seen Ken's wife not moving away of his body for days, cherishing the last minutes she had with the love of her life. Maybe because you have not seen the pain in his children eyes, maybe because you will never understand that his daughter's birthdays in the future will be very different, as Ken died on her birthday. Maybe because you have not seen hundreds of Marines in tears (they usually don't cry, you know), maybe because you have not seen wives holding hands thinking, "that could have been me" when watching a widow clutching the flag. Mr. President, apologize, if you can't be seriously touched in front of cameras, don't visit a war hospital again, these men and women there are worth much more and deserve much better than what you offered during your visit there. They are worth being appreciated, and not being rediculed by you, their commander in chief, for sending them in harms way. Repeatedly, again and again.

Why are you so afraid my Republican Friend?

(this was originally posted on my old blog about one year ago, I thought that it was kind of outdated, but reality is, the same fear-mongering machine is still out there and louder than before..., so here is the repost of my old musing on the new blog.)

My dear friend, we have spoken a lot recently about politics and we agree on a lot of things so it seems, but even though we differ politically, I still like you, even though I have problems understanding where you are coming from. You are a die-hard republican, I am a democrat with some conservative ideas. But then again, I am also very liberal in many respects and think that the democratic party at this point in time gives me what I am looking for. Some clearity with regard to what should be done, or much rather, what should not be done.
You tell me that you want your kids to be afraid of terrorists? It is fine and good to be aware of the problem, to be vigilant, but to be afraid and have fear and a mindstate of being fearful on one's mind constantly, isn't that itself creating a state of terror? Are you not terrorising your kids and yourself by being afraid?
You say that you wouldn't do certain things or travel certain places because of "people getting killed there all the time". Well, even if that statement, in this case travel to Israel was true, which it is not, changing your behavior and your life is allowing the real terrorists to win. While Israel has had her share of terrorism, I still think that I will travel there again, with my kids, because overall, it is pretty darn safe. People there don't change their lives around something that might happen at one point in their lives, maybe we all can learn from them. Maybe we can learn from Israel's government that fear is not a way of life, rather, it is state of mind that impedes one's way of life. Their very healthy attitude towards living is amazing, they live every day to the fullest and enjoy without much thinking about where to have pizza or a cup of coffee.
Then again, I challenge you to come up with the per-capita homicide figures for both Israel and the USA, you might find that living here is much more hazardous to your health statistically than you might imagine. I also challenge you to add up the number of people that have died in terrorists acts worldwide and compare them to the number of homicides in this country, and then come up with your own conclusions, but be careful, you mind end up moving to the Maldives for a safer lifestyle :) But then again, if you continue to subscribe to Mr. Bush and his refusal to even accept the concept of global warming, the Maldives might not be a good idea after all, because they will probably be submerged in the Indian Ocean soon due to ocean levels rising secondary to glaciers melting ... oh, also, with the whole global warming stuff that you and yours refuse to admit exists, use sunscream, lots of it, remember that ozone layer that protects us, it might be gone soon too.
You say that being in Iraq made us safer, why on earth are you so afraid of everything then? If you honestly believe that the current adminstration's policies keep you so safe, why are you afraid to take the subway? Travel to London? To Israel? Whilst I agree with you that terrorist acts happen in these places, and have for a long time, I felt pretty darn safe in Israel. Yes, I was careful, yes, I was aware of my surroundings, but I was not afraid. Living in England for combined about 4 years or so, heck, I never locked my car, never locked my house, and went about my own happy ways with other happy folks, who didn't even for a minute thought about "being afraid."
Now, our Secretary of defense tells us that a long war (20 years or so) lies ahead of us to fight the war on terror. Now, here is a misnomer in the first place. Terror is a state of mind, that people in distress, victims of domestic and child abuse and people in gang-ridden neighbourhoods across this country feel. Ask yourself, what does this administration want? Do they want to wage war on our state of mind? Judging for myself, they are doing a really good job at that one, however, they do not fight the war on terrorism correctly. One should never attack a nation-state in order to fight one individual. Get that individual. Don't back off that one, especially not the one who has been responsible for killing at least 3,000 people on 11 September 2001.
You say that we "have to pay a price for freedom" and that "freedom is not free". Would you mind quantifying this one for me please? What is the price to pay? How many more body bags and flag-draped coffins do we need? How many more amputees? How many more with mental problems? How many more with DU poisoning? Plus, explain to me that if freedom is not free and we have to pay for it by sacrificing many ideas and ideals and freedoms set forth in the Bill of Rights, then it is not freedom anymore is it?
Mr. Bush stated at one point that "they hate us for our freedoms." Now, back to some argument I made above, everytime we allow wire tappings of our phones without a warrant for the sake of finding an elusive man with a white turban, we give up a freedom, we give up the protection of illegal 'searches and seizures'. Every time we allow ourselves to be searched without warrant before entering a subway station in New York (just and example), we give up our freedom. Every time we do not dare to speak out loud, we give up our freedom. This is not what this is about. We are not supposed to give up our freedoms, we are supposed to live it. But look now who is really taking our freedoms away? It is not the "wanted-dead-or-alive-bearded-muslim-western-culture-and-their damn-freedom-haters", it is our very own government, the government that you have elected and are so proud of. Is Mr. Usama winning yet?
I am just amazed at people like you. I am reminded of a kool-aid-drinking lemming that is willing to walk to the end of the cliff and jump on command because of fear. I refuse to buy into this mindset. I am not afraid of terrorists, because really, I am not giving up living, I will not give up the liberties that we have been granted by our founding fathers and certainly will not give up my freedom to voice my opinion.
Stop calling me anti-American, I would not live here if I was that. Stop telling me that I am supporting the terrorists or that I am undermining the troops. For anybody to suggest that I am not supporting the troops means that I am not supporting the man that I have chosen to spent the rest of my life with, so, this "argument" on your side is absurd. Actually, it is not even an argument, it is a statement meant to cut off any discussion and honest exchange of ideas, why? Do you have nothing better to offer than insults and the repeating what Mr. Hannity told you?
I challenge you to be open to some ideas from those stupid-do-gooder-long-haired-smelly liberals ... just joking about the smelly part. Maybe you will rethink a bit and will be accepting of other ideas, I am not saying to embrace them right-out, but at least, LISTEN.

Keith is right and have we mutated into sheep?

Tonight, as was looking through the Crooks and Liars webpage, there was another link to a very satirical, but nevertheless, mindful comment by MSMBC's Keith Olberman. Somehow I think that he and I are twins separated by birth, because he says what I think. Of course, he does it much better than I do .... before I post the link to the short video, please bear with me ...

More than three years ago, after then Secretary of State Colin Powell gave his indictment of the Saddam Regime in front of the United Nations, I spoke to now ex-friend about what the ex-general had to say. I remember that at one point I broke out in tears and said something to the extent of "they might as well throw the Constitution and Bill of Rights away", I had no idea then how true this has become today. This ex-friend became just that after my outburst, now I just call her a misguided Kool-Aid drinker or sheep, because that is what I think she and fellow Kool-Aid drinkers have become.

In the name of fighting the war on terror(ism), it seems that the majority of the American populus has become a herd of sheep, willing to go and be slaughtered and at the last moment of not getting their word into a court of law starting to wonder what has happened to them and why. The changes have been subtle, to subtle to notice for most, those driven by the fear card that this admistration plays so well, the lies that they have told about Democrats wanting to be attacked again, the lies that they have told to get the nation's finest into Iraq, calling those who happen to disagree with this President traitors, America-haters and Appeasers ...

Now, the Senate has rushedly passed a bill that deals with the Geneva Convention (and that the President has still not signed into law yet), in as such how it DOESN'T apply or how this President sees it fit to interpret the new bill to keep us safe. Sorry, waterboarding someone is not going to keep me safe when the one being waterboarded just says anything that comes to his mind to end his or her ordeal, thus leading to convaluted "evidence obtained" that most likely will be completely useless. Really, torture does not seem to be a useful tool to obtain useful information for the most part. But again, people bought is and felt safer. Bah-Bah.

Then The Writ of Habeas Corpus, the right to see the evidence against oneself when thrown into court, is out of the window. A right for each citizen, yes citizen, because even citizens can be declared terrorists by this President, is gone, bye bye Bah-Bah. When I asked people about this, whether they don't find it frightful that this could happen to them, the answer usually is "no, I am not a terrorist." True, but just the thought that any President, whether Republican or Democrat, can hold so much power as to be able to throw our "rights" away, the answer is still no, because it keeps them safe. Bah-Bah.

Is this about stifling dissent at all costs? I am not sure. I am just reminded of the words of a friend of mine last year when she said that considering the current political climate, she would be fearful to have MFSO meetings at her house, because she didn't want someone infiltrate the group. I have heard others who want to go to political rallies but are fearful of being watched. Thus, dissent appears to have been suffocated at its roots, never mind the fact that this nation was found on the basis of dissent, but apparently, now I wonder what we have to fear more, a terrorist attack or disagreeing. I am sorry, but when even only a minority in a free country is fearful about being critical, than this country or its society is not free anymore. When we are worried about exercising the 1rst Amendment Rights, we are not free anymore. Didn't Bush say that OBL "hates us for our freedoms"? But who is taking the freedoms away? Is OBL winning yet, by having a proxy doing the job for him?

Sorry, I am angry and bitter about all that. This President swore to protect the Constitution but with the stroke of a pen will be managing to do away with one of the most important rights that distinguishes a free society from lets say, North Korea or Cuba or some African Dictactorship. But then again, what is one to expect from a man who thinks that the Constitution is nothing "more than a piece of paper" and who says that he is "in charge of the Federal Government"? Mr. Bush, read the Constitution, you are only in charge on one branch of government. You have managed to maybe keep us safe, but if we are afraid to speak, we have lost, if we are afraid to be critical thinkers, we have lost. We can't be afraid to speak, but most are. Anyone want lamb for dinner?

Anyway, here is the link to Keith, he is amazing, in his commentary, I believe he is right too. Thank you Keith, keep up the great work. http://www.crooksandliars.com/ If you can't get to the link this way, go to CrooksandLiars.com, then in the search bar type in Keith Olberman and look for the video titled "Why does Habeas Corpus Hate America?" Enjoy and cry a few tears while at it, I did.

MILITARY SPOUSES

The following about Military Spouses is something I wrote last year, during hubby's second deployment to Iraq. It goes hand in hand with the musing about the Bubble People, which I posted earlier.

I am taking some talking points from a speech given by someone years ago in this one. I have no idea who the military person was, who gave that speech, but I credit him with the inspiration he has given me.The speech centered on how military families are different from "other" families. We move a lot, spend a lot of time alone, while our loved are away on routine or war-time deployments. We spend tremendous amounts of money to hear our love one's voice. We even have kids on our own (no, don't call the Vatican just yet, I mean, our spouses might not be there when we welcome a new life into this world). Every 2 or 3 years, we say good-bye to the friends we have made and have to make new ones in another location. We understand how we somehow bond together by what our spouses do. It does not mean we are best of friends or even buddies, but it means that we can still pick up the phone when we are down, call another military spouse and they understand, simply because they have "been there, done it, and bought a t-shirt" or two, three or whatever number of deployments or time apart.What I have observed in my neighborhood (we live off base) is that people were more than willing to offer support for our left-behind-family before my husband deployed. However, when actually asked for help when the situation warranted it, it is hard to count on them at times because they have their own families to take care off. Thus, we turn to each other for help, support, relief, a laughter and a cry.Recently, our unit had an outing to just get out have have a bit of fun and relaxation. Here is the son of our commanding officer, relieving all the mother's present of their "duties" by taking their kids to the pool, so the mothers could have a few minutes of "time off". What a wonderful young man. He just did it, no questions asked, because he knew what needed to be done.
At that outing too I looked into the faces of the spouses here. Tired, worn, pride, fed-up, temporary "single parents", as we are left with the resposibility of raising our children, now, without the help of our partners. Parenting is hard under the best of circumstances, it gets harder when a parent is alone, it gets even harder when one parent is gone to fight a war that some of us don't even understand. Yet, we still reach out to each other, help each other, find ways to make each other laugh, and also afford an opportunity to listen to someone else cry, be angry. We don't have nannies, day or night, we can't usually go to get our hair cut without one or more child/ren present, and taking a bath by oneself without interruptions or even company, has become a distant dream or memory.
Then I look at the faces of our civilian counterparts. They are tired too in a lot of ways, tired of worrying who will win the playoffs, if the cat is going to die, who wins "American Idol" and the latest celebrity gossip and being a parent. I am not saying that we don't watch "American Idol" or some soap, but even if we do, I don't think we ever fully relax. They are actually tired of the same things we are in a lot of ways, but at times fail to give us the much needed break. Instead of saying "I will help you when you need it", why don't they just take over for a while to give us that break that our Commanding Officer's son just simply understood we so much need?I have heard a lot from spouses about the responses they get from their civilian counterparts. Rejection, the suggestions that some anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs should be taken, that help should be hired. I don't get it. We don't want to be rejected, we would like to be respected for being alone and dealing with all the challenges thereoff while our loved ones are gone. We would like to be able to say that we don't feel good, without being offered medical advice. I am not saying that some meds are not appropriate at times, but what we are experiening is a heightened sense of nervousness, anxiety, sadness and vulnerablity. It is a normal reaction to abnormal circumstances. It is NOT normal to spend 1/2 of ones marriage away from each other. It is NOT normal to deal with the tension before the loved actually goes and experience that pain when we see the plane leave. It is NOT normal for children to associate their father with a plane and saying "daddy bye-bye" or phone by pointing at it saying "daddy hello". It is NOT normal for children to spend 1/2 of their lives away from a parent. It is NOT normal to find it normal that that spouse is gone. It is NOT normal to have a reunion briefing to address issues of bonding, PTSD, roles and reponsibilites in a family and readjusting. It is NOT normal to spend 5 out 6 wedding anniversaries apart. But hey, in some ways it is another anniversary together, even though apart.So, instead of offering medical advice and tell us that you know how we feel, help out and don't evade to donate your time. Instead of telling us that we "know what we married", accept our reality and offer some help. We have not chosen to be alone for a long time, but we accept it and will be alright. By telling us that we "know what we married" you not only discard us and our reality, that, again, is much like yours, except for we are doing it alone at times. We don't "whine" about our live, we talk about our realities that in many ways are very different from yours. We understand that you might not understand, but please, do not discard us. By doing so, you dishonor the servicemember that serves you. The servicemember who needs to know that his family will have the help that it needs in times of need, the servicemember who has to be on guard when going the restroom or some port-a-loo in a remote desert when being attacked or rocketed. We don't want to bother you with our experiences, but if we do, tough, we talk about it for a few minutes and then stop, you feel uncomfortable, tough, we have felt uncomfortable in many ways for months, so, are we asking to much to just vent at times when we are tired?
Coming back to our spouses during this deployment, here is what we see: Again, tired faces, proud faces, fed up faces, happy faces and sad faces. I look at the fact that despite of our stress of having our loved ones in harms way, we never cease to reach out to each other, to help an expectant mother deliver her baby, to celebrate birthdays, communions, anniversaries together. It amazes me. I am sure not at times how our volunteers muster the energy to make up to 60 phone calls at any given time at the drop of a hat, without questions asked, it amazes me. I see spouses stick together when a baby is born to give the mother a bit of a relief by simply supplying a meal, it amazes me. I don't know how we have managed to run on that amount of adrenaline for so long now, but we do it and will see it through until our loved ones are back. Then we can "collapse" and get some rest. For now, suffice it to say, we will keep on going, hoping, praying and waiting. To all of our spouses out there, a big thank you for the service that you have given to each other, mostly unnoticed to rest of our extended communities. My hat off to you all, you have served too, big time, and this is my way to salute you and thank you. It is a thank you to the more experienced spouses than me, you have mentored me and guided me in times of need, a thank you to the ones that I have "guided" and "mentored" for getting ready to be the mentor and guide in times to come. Thank you military spouses, I owe you in so many ways for your abiltity to share and giving me the chance to do the same.

The Bubble People

I know, I haven't written in a long time, but I was just too disgusted with the politics as of lately and haven't been able to get anything coherent down into my musings. So, for those of you actually read what I write and enjoy it, my deepest apologies.

I was talking to a fellow Military Families Speak Out friend in Houston this morning, as we haven't had a chance to talk for quite some time. We talked about our recent travels and people who are disconnected from this war in Iraq and the increasing quagmire in Afghanistan, apperently yet another military adventure that can't be won military. But really, this musing is not so much about politics as such, it is more about those who are not affected by the war, but who nevertheless "appreciate" the services and sacrifices that military members render to this country.

I am of the firm belief that these people are truly clueless as to what this "service" and "sacrifice" really means to those left at home. I have been a military spouse for eight years now, and yes, there were deployments even before Iraq, some routine and some operational in the Balkan theatre, it was hard, but somehow, this all made some sense and subsequently made the time apart something that one could understand. I am not saying that being by myself with a toddler for an average of 4-5 months per year was easy, but it was managable and understandable.

Now, five years after 9/11, some 1.5 million service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. I do not know if this number includes repeat deployments that are counted as 2 servicemembers going or if actually 1.5 million different service member have been in theatre. But just for simplicity's sake, let's assume that about 1 million different people have deployed. That is less than one percent in my math book.

What does the vast majority think about or what are they concerned about? Do they think about the servicemember's spouse down the road when she can't get a haircut without hiring a sitter? Do they help when the spouse is sick and can't just lay down because there are children to raise, feed, and to play with, soccer practices, homework? Do they turn away when the spouse says, "it just sucks right now" when asked how she is doing? Yes, they do turn away, they turn away from our pain of loneliness, emptiness, sadness, and at times anger when we tell them how we feel, it is too uncomfortable to listen to, to deal with and to offer a helping hand. At times last year, I was tempted to draw a gigantic smily face on a piece of cardboard and hold it up when people asked how things were going, because it seemed, that is what they wanted to see. Or we hear, "you know what you have married," not whom, but what. Sorry, my husband is not a "what" and no, i have not expected to spend most of our marriage apart.

I have heard stories about people having nannies, maids, and two parents at home and they could not find five minutes to call a spouse left at home. I have heard from my ladies (I am still very protective of all of them) that they have been told to take Prozac while their loved ones are away. I have heard of spouses whose neighbors had 4th of July picnics in their backyard but could not bother to invite the lonely spouse. These people, these 99 percent, who so much appreciate everything our servicemembers do, can't be bothered to help on the homefront. Oh, sorry, yes they are some who help, but they are a few here and there, some of which I have never met, but to whom I largely owe my sanity during repeat deployments. Those, who listen to the crying, those who let us vent and those who are just there when needed, a huge thank you and I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support, love and friendship.

I am not saying that we are totally alone during deployments, we have each other, some kind of a "sisterhood" that is just there, no matter how well we really know each other, how exhausted we might feel with our own issues when hubby is gone, we still sit each other's kids to give each other a break, we still manage to have our routine and go on with our live, really, we don't have a choice do we? Even when we are sick and feel like sleeping for days or when we are down and just don't even want to get out of bed. I am not saying we are better than the rest, but we are certainly better than the "Bubble People", those mentioned above, who pride themselves in knowing about a service member but really don't do anything else. They are worried about football scores of universities that they never attended, or baseball games in cities that they have never visited themselves.

It is rediculous, but those who support the war the most, would never even consider sending their own (as per my own experiences) and they have also been the least likely to lend a helping hand. But they have the yellow sticker on their car, probably supporting some poor little child in China labouring for 10 cents per hour .... I just want the Bubble People to wake up and walk a mile in our shoes, I want them to look into their child's eyes and try to answer the question whether or not daddy will die. I want them to calm down a child who cries because he hears about a bomb in a faraway land that has killed Americans, when that child is afraid that his or her own daddy is not going to come home. I want them to try to find words when their 8-year old doesn't care anymore if daddy gets shot or wounded, as long as it means that daddy is going to come home. I want them to see the sadness in their kids eyes when daddy is not there for yet another birthday or Christmas or fill-in-blanks.

Yes, I am bitter at times at those who have their hubbies at home and whine about how hard their lives are. But they have two parents at home for the most part, for some reason, I just want the draft back NOW, so everyone is affected by this insanity, this insanity of not knowing when we wave another plane good-bye or when we are facing the fact that daddy will only be home for a few months before heading out again. I want them to stop telling us that they "understand". No, sorry, you Bubble People,you don't understand and I seriously doubt that no matter how much you stretch your imagination, you will never understand. So Bubble People, put your money where your mouth is, live up to your yellow ribbon slogan of "Support the Troops" by starting to support those at the homefront. When you have done that, and share with us a bit, then maybe you can say that you understand a little, because the reality is, you are not sitting in a house full of memories every night, wishing you could be like the other families down the street when daddy comes home for dinner. Oh, and maybe you could be bothered to call when the kids are in bed, so we are not just watching CNN all day and night long, getting nervous about yet another casualty in the Al Anbar provice. Al Anbar is on the left side of the Iraq map, close to the Syrian border, most dangerous area over there you know. Oh yes, we know Iraq's map really well these days, somehow we feel like we could drive a convoy from Ramadi to Falluja blindfolded, but we care about what our service members do, every day, it frightens us and we do lose sleep, but we do move on somehow.

So Bubble People, I challenge you to do more than put the yellow ribbon on your car and do to more than just ramble about how grateful you are about our spouses' service and sacrifice. Sometimes, thinking about the Bubble People, I really come to belief that this war in Iraq or Afghanistan is not a war that America is fighting, it is less than one (1) percent of the population who is fighting it, again and again, they are truly the war against terror, everything else is empty and ignorant lipservice, and most of all, an insult to those who really serve and those left behind.