U.S. Military Barracks Squalor

I don’t have any children serving in the military but if I did I would be very proud of them. Parents can stand proud when telling a neighbor or a friend of the great service their child is offering our nation. What I am ashamed of is how we continuously have to find out from our sons and daughters is where the military is letting them down.

Wasn’t Walter Reed enough of an eye opener for the government to see that the American people will not tolerate our children serving in our military subjected to squalor and inhumane conditions. This isn’t about conditions in Iraq or Afghanistan, this same kind of treatment is happening at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Over at Yahoo News they have this on it…

By ROBERT BURNS,
AP Military Writer Tue Apr 29, 7:29 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Army officials said Tuesday they are inspecting every barracks building worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg, N.C., last week are widespread.

Brig. Gen. Dennis Rogers, who is responsible for maintaining barracks throughout the Army, told reporters at the Pentagon that most inspections were done last weekend but he had not seen final results.

Snip N Flush

Rogers said it was too soon to know whether the Fort Bragg problem was an isolated incident. He acknowledged the revelations from a video shot by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier showing poor conditions such as mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage.

The soldier's father, Ed Frawley, said he was disgusted by the conditions that greeted his son and the rest of his 82nd Airborne unit that returned on April 7-8 after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

"We let our soldiers down, and that's not like us," Rogers told reporters. "We let our soldiers down. That's not how we want America's sons and daughters to live. There's no good excuse for what happened." - Yahoo News

Below is the video from the father of the soldier. Or click here for the VIDEO. It runs about 8-9 minutes but worth viewing it all. To be honest with you, I’ve seen prisons in far better conditions…




Please write, email, phone or contact your representatives in the Congress and voice your anger. Our troops should not have to live in third world conditions while wearing our nations uniform on American soil! They have defended this nation and now it is our responsibility to defend them here at home and make our voices loud and clear that this kind of treatment and abuse will not be tolerated.

Papamoka

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Feel free to link to and borrow this post…

Now It’s Working

The post featured below is from my newest friend BJ from South Carolina. She is a former Newspaper Editor and her political opinion writing can be found at I See My Dreams. Not many people can write like she does and I was so glad that she allowed me to cross post “Now, it’s working…” here at Papamoka Straight Talk. Thank you BJ!

Now, it's working ...

There’s a joke in upstate South Carolina about two Clemson University students riding around campus. The driver pulls over and asks his buddy to get out and tell him if his right blinker is working. The buddy yells back to the driver, “Now, it’s working; now, it’s not; now, it’s working, now it’s not.”

So, is the so-called U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq working – or not?

Can the surge be working when armed U.S. troops celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the heart of a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when a single American soldier looks into the camera and wishes his family “Happy Holidays” with tears running down his cheeks?

Can the surge be working when there are those who would have the United States become a fundamentalist theocracy while our soldiers are dying to prevent one in a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when U.S. troops are fighting to liberate Iraqis from years of tyranny while the Bush administration has systematically chipped away at our own freedoms here?

Can the surge be working when major Iraqi factions cannot exist in harmony, and there are, quite literally, "warring" factions right here in America?

Can the surge be working as long as the neoconservatives who have shaped this administration’s foreign policy are building the world’s largest foreign embassy – a virtual fortress – in Baghdad with plans for a U.S. presence and U.S. bases protecting Iraq’s oil reserves for the unforeseeable future?

And, finally, you are hearing that the surge is working militarily, if not in terms of a successful Iraqi government. Is this true?

Examine six periods of this almost five-year war in terms of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, verified by the DoD:

20 March 2003 through 1 May 2003 (end of major combat operations): 140 in 43 days

2 May 2003 through 28 June 2004 (sovereignty turned over to Iraq): 718 in 424 days

29 June 2004 through 30 January 2005 (Iraq elections): 580 in 216 days

31 January 2005 through 14 December 2005 (Iraq general elections): 715 in 318 days

15 December 2005 through 31 January 2007: 933 in 412 days

Beginning of the surge – 1 February 2007 to date: 811 in 328 days

Total deaths: 3,897 U.S. troops (Total coalition: UK, 174; other, 133)

Check out I See My Dreams for other great posts by BJ…

Papamoka

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Pay Up Westboro Baptist Church!

Picture courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery

Did you ever think that for every bad action in the world there will come several opposing good actions to bring the scales of good and evil into balance. I believe that sometimes the scales of good need to be tipped just a little bit more in the world when it comes to our troops. Especially, in times when one of those soldiers is killed in the line of duty. At times like those, a family is devastated and lost in grief.

I hate to even write about the Westboro Baptist Church because I honestly believe that they are a group of radicals hiding behind the cloaks of their church with their message of hatred against homosexuals. Well, some nimrod in that organization had an epiphany that the only way to spread that hate message was to blame God first and point it out that God killed your son or daughter serving in our military for a reason. Showing up at military funerals and protesting that your spouse, your son, your daughter, or even a parent died while in service to America because God hates homosexuals was not a bright idea. Westboro Baptist Church disgusts me with their actions. How you can call yourself a Christian and think that selling hate at a funeral makes you a better person or more God like is beyond my mental comprehension. I’m not being anti Christian, I’m just pointing out how stupid and self centered these people are.

Tip the scales of right and wrong back to the right side and along comes the Patriot Guard Riders. This is a group of bikers and just regular folks that believe in supporting our troops and proudly show up by invitation of the family, to support a fallen son or daughter of America’s military. They don’t ask for any money, many of the Patriot Guard Riders will drive thousands of miles at their own expense to be there for the funeral to legally block the protestors from the families view. Big American flags and bikes lining both sides of the street is a sight to see that I am sure the parents or spouses of the fallen soldier appreciate more than anyone will ever know. Law enforcement officers tend to have a little more respect for people with a positive message than folks with a very negative message at a military funeral. Gee, that took a ton of brain activity to figure out.

Tipping the scales a little bit further for the good side and we have this court case by a parent against the Westboro Baptist Church by the Associated press in the Houston Chronicle…

Church that pickets military funerals ordered to pay $2.9 million

By ALEX DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press

BALTIMORE — A grieving father won a $2.9 million verdict today against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members staged a demonstration at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.

Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."
A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman. - Houston Chronicle

Three words, IT’S ABOUT TIME! I can hear the Amen coming from all my proud to serve brother and sister Patriot Guard Riders over this decision. My own personal applause goes out to the father of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder. Albert Snyder, you sir deserve this court decision and from my family to yours I offer my thanks for your sons service to our nation and of course my heart felt prayers over the loss of your son.

Thank you Mr. Albert Snyder.

Papamoka

Proud Member of the Patriot Guard Riders!

Cross posted at Bring IT ON!

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Rush Limbaugh Dictates Military Courage?

Picture courtesy of the White House

Let me just begin by saying that any person that has never served in the military of the United States of America has NO place dictating who is in service to our nation or not. I don’t care if you are a freaking whack job Congressional member or even the President of the United States of America. Let me go further and say that radio talk show host’s that never served in our military have NO room to talk about who is a soldier in service and whom is not. Especially, when they have never served in the theatre that is the Iraq, Afghanistan, War on Terror, and KBR and Haliburton balance sheet surplus.

Rush Limbaugh is a phony! He proves it more times than not by being the “Water Boy for the Republican’s”, his words, not mine. How dare he call any of our service members “Phony Troop’s”! Talk about spitting in the faces of the troops? Rush saved himself the trip to the airport or the bus terminal and just broadcast that half of our military personnel are “Phony Troop’s” on his radio program. Those would be publicly owned airwaves regulated by the FCC. I’m told that the Democrat’s in Congress are moving to pass a non binding resolution to denounce Rush Limbaugh.

Let me just offer this advice to the very ignorant Rush Limbaugh and any of his listeners that buy his words as gospel of his EIB broadcast, when the hell that is Iraq or Afghanistan is going down, there is no division among the close knit men fighting for their lives. Bullets and IED’s do not single out just Republican troops. Both side of the political aisle come home in body bags. Rush Limbaugh is a God damn hypocrite and a traitor to all of the United States Military. While your son or daughter would give up their lives to save someone in their unit Rush is calling them a coward and a phony. Screw you Rush!

I highly recommend the read over the past few days at the Gun Toting Liberal.

His anger is frankly more relevant and on topic than any point I could ever make. I’m proud of him and many like him that served our nation and I for one would never question it. Check all the posts at the GTL on this topic. He speaks from the heart on being called a part of what Rush Limbaugh calls the “Phony Troop’s”. Screw Rush Limbaugh and anyone that thinks half the troops are phony! America has one flag and our troops in any service fight the orders they are told. By no means do they have to agree with it but they are in service to their nation. Military service is not about politics, it is about serving and obeying orders from the civilian government. They are not drones! Each man or woman in service has a mind and a right to think what they believe is wrong or right. Being in the military of our nation does not automatically make you a Republican strong base.

My friend Gunny over at the Gun Toting Liberal has this highly emotional topic covered more than I could ever give it justice…

I guess I was one of the (obviously) crack-smoking Rush Limbaugh’s “phony Soldiers”; well — TECHNICALLY; a “phony Airman” since I was appalled by the waste of lives and money I personally saw being poured into the meatgrinder called “Iraq”, up close and PERSONAL in my capacity of being one of those “boots on the ground” in support of what was originally supposed to be our enforcement of U.N Resolution 1441; rapidly accomplished within WEEKS, I might add. Apparently, about half the other troops I served in the “sandbox” with were also “phony Soldiers”, too. Thanks for NOTHING, Rush — you hypocritical PIG. - Gun Toting Liberal

As a Democrat and a Liberal I support ALL of our troops. I do not support why they are there but I support our troops one hundred percent and then some. No political party affiliation is required when the military funeral service is happening and just a bunch of guys and gals from all over America called the Patriot Riders show up in support of the families.

Rush Limbaugh never served in the military, neither did many of the strong supporters of this war. Bill O’Reilly is just another loud mouth that never served. At the least Don Imus did serve and wore the uniform but that is another topic for another day.

In the halls of our Federal Government are many Republican’s that never wore the uniform of our military but are calling the Democrat’s cowards. Vice President Dick Cheney never served and he is one of the loudest voice among most of them. Google search it for yourself.

Many of the Democrat’s including Teddy Kennedy, John Kerry and Al Gore actually wore the uniform. Google search your favorite Republican military record and tell me what you find out? I think you will be surprised by the results.

This war is turning into Vietnam all over again and the division of the people at home has begun to come to a boiling point. Democrat’s want the troops home and Republican’s call us all out to blindly support the war. If our military is a sampling of America then they too are of the same opinion of both political thoughts on this topic. Some support it and some do not. And still they are on the front lines. Some will die, some will rotate out. The ones that rotate out are the lucky ones.

Rush Limbaugh is a piece of crap!!! I support ALL of our kids in MILITARY SERVICE to America, Rush supports just half.

Awesome couple of post Gun Toting Liberal!

Papamoka

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Political Inteligence with a great piece on those that served and those bragging the most about sending our troops into war! MUST MUST READ!

Please steal this post and forward it to all your friends in the military!

I SUPPORT ALL OF OUR TROOPS!!!!!!!!!! SO DOES THE GTL!!!!!!!

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THE PATRAEUS/BUSH REPORT: A GRAIN OF SALT, PLEASE

Written by Michael Linn Jones

One cannot but notice the giant bubble quickly rising to the poltical surface in the form of the "Patraeus Report" due shortly. General Patraeus is to ascertain what effects the "surge" has had on the Iraqi mess.

There seems to be two basic lines of thought. One is that the report will have Gen. Patraeus' name on it but actually written by the White House. Therefore it is a sham before anything is printed.

The other approach seems to say that the surge is a huge success and that the general's report is superfluous; Kaite Couric can walk around a market and announce that everything has "improved" since....well, it was her first trip but she has to say something for $15 million a year.

What strikes me is the lack of analysis based upon common sense, rather than political wishful thinking. I am sure that with increased troop strength that many areas in Iraq are more "stable," as in less overt violence. This is testimony to the concept that the more troops we have there the greater control we (the U.S.) will exert upon everyone, including insurgents.

The problem with this is that one can extrapolate that here is a solid case for instituting a draft, raising the troop level in the armed forces considerably, and properly holding the hands of the Iraqis for decades. That would mean forcing young Americans to do something they don't want to do. It would also require more of the American population to sacrifice, in that paying for the war...really paying for the war will mean less money for consumer items. Yes, as horrible as it sounds, war interrupts lives. Or it's supposed to.

Since Vietnam there has been a silent compact between the American people and its government. Have any conflict you want, just make sure there's lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from great video footage, and it's over in less than a month.
The Iraqi conflict has violated that compact. I won't argue with anyone that a bunch of idiots got our nation involved in this, but warfare is also like a barbed arrow. You can't just pull it out without inflicting even more damage than it made going in.

The Patraeus Report cannot tell Congress the truth about one thing: American armed forces are burdened with the impossible task of permanently policing an entire nation afterhaving fulfilled its military mission within six weeks. Using the military to maintain civil order is like shoveling sand with a pitchfork.

What is needed is a firm committment by the Iraqi government (whoever they turn out to be) and the people it represents to take the training wheels off themselves.
Also, please spare me the "democracy" hub-bub. We are not concerned with democracy in China or Russia, or a lot of other places. Some areas of the world seem allergic to democracy, and Iraq is one big rash.

In the end, the Patraeus Report will do no more than once again place the mantle of Iraqi responsibility upon the U.S. military. Oddly, and sadly, the accounting to the families of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, those, living, wounded, or dead, must come not from Washington, but Baghdad.

The silence so far is deafening, if not offensive.

Michael Linn Jones
*****************************
This post also at Michael Linn Jones.com

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Loss of the Greatest Generation

Picture courtesy of Dinoto Funeral Home

I hate to steal the line from Tom Brokaw but I admire his work and his tribute to the many veterans of World War II. For some of us World War II is a history that many never have the chance to understand from the point of view of those that served during the war. For that matter, many of the brave men and women that served never talked about it. They did what our nation asked and returned home changed but lived an amazing life none the less different for it.

Our veterans from World War II are fading into the final adventure that is part of life and I think it only just to pay tribute to them for the sacrifices they made when not only our nation needed them but the world needed them. I’ve posted several lost military service people here on Papamoka and I am proud of what I have posted on their behalf. I am truly thankful for all of our military people and when they have a loss so do I in my heart.

I grew up knowing my father served in World War II and in Korea. He never spoke of the horrors of his service till his later years. His later years took him from me but all the books and events he never missed when it came to veterans he passed on to his youngest son. My father and my friend was always a family man first. He lived for his family first and the past was just what it was. Jack O’Keefe didn’t bring the war home to Manor Road, he brought family to Manor Road. As much as my mother made us feel that home was our entire families home, Dad made sure that it was just that by just being our Dad. He wasn’t perfect but he was not a push over for any bull that any of his seven children could pass on at any given time.

While the pages of Military persons that are dying in Iraq or Afghanistan are filling up on the internet I find it kind of ironic that the people that fought to defend the atrocities in Europe are being laid to rest by the thousands every single day without any tribute. If any man or woman that served in any battle or war there is no generation that we as a nation should be more thankful too than the WWII Veterans.

Life is funny, my father never pushed any one of his sons into the military unless we were completely out of control. He cried when he came back home to sign my older brother up for the Navy. He didn’t regret it though. What the child he signed up learned was respect and to this day he knows what that means. If Jack didn’t make that step, our families future and that child’s future would have been very different. That was a very difficult decision and given our fathers experience during war time that he never wanted to see any of his sons experience what he endured that became a life time of pain for him.

Enough of that stuff and here is a tribute to just one other WWII Veteran. I hope and pray that his family does not mind that I post his obituary here.

Over at the Worcester Telegram they have this WWII Veterans obituary…

Robert Thore Gustafson, 88, died Friday, August 24th, at home.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, E. Marcia (Hooker) Gustafson; his two children, The Rev. Lisabeth M. Gustafson and Donald P. Gustafson. Bob was the son of Thore and Clara (Benson) Gustafson. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret Engwall, formerly of Worcester, now residing in Beavercreek, OH. He was predeceased by his sister, Ethel V. Nelson and brothers Walter, Roy, Carl, Ralph "Nick" and G. Herbert Gustafson.

Mr. Gustafson was a lifetime resident of the Worcester/West Boylston area. He grew up in the Quinsigamond area of Worcester. After graduating from South High School in 1937, he joined the Navy, serving throughout World War II. He was serving on a cruiser during the attack on Pearl Harbor and then transferred to submarine duty in the Pacific for the remainder of the war. After returning home from the service, Mr. Gustafson went to work for the New England Telephone Company where he worked for over 37 years. - Worcester Telegram

Thank you Robert Thore Gustafson for your service to not only your nation but to your family as well. My personal thanks to his family and my condolences on his passing. Our nation and the world is a far better place to live in thanks to the people like him that did what they had to do and did it damn well!

Papamoka

Feel Free to thank a Veteran here...

Military Deaths Just Being a Number

Picture courtesy of Patriot Guard Riders

While many of us bloggers bitch and moan about the war in Iraq and our reasons to oppose it or support it our children from both sides of the argument are still dying. That fact alone is nothing to beat your chest over regardless of what point of view you have concerning the war. Burying a child is still the same and your political affiliation does not matter. Undertakers and funeral homes have all the rituals and pomp and circumstance for any service required. Mothers will cry and be broken hearted and fathers will be proud and strong to support the family left behind. Tears of the fathers will be shed when not a soul is looking but the lost child from above.

From my very liberal mind I understand fully the need for a national defense and I fully support all of our troops and members of our military. One of the last things that I want to do is attend a funeral for a fallen soldier friend or family member because I know how much heart ache the parents are going through. It’s so easy to toss stones when you have never served in the military. It’s even easier if you only look at one side of the equation that is the war in Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever our military is sent. Stones are easy to pick up but serving your country is not. That commitment takes guts and it is the children we have and our brothers and sisters that made that commitment that we need to respect.

Serving in our nations military is never about politics. It is about honor and respect for what has been given to you as an individual and your personal choice to give back to America. For some people that is the ultimate price to pay and for others it is the experience of a life time that will never be equaled.

For the families that have to bury a loved one killed in war time, I offer my humblest of condolences and my families prayers. I also offer you thoughts of many grateful Americans that are The Patriot Guard Riders. They and I appreciate your lost family members sacrifice in service to our nation in our United States military. With dignity and respect The Patriot Guard Riders ride for the family and support the fallen soldiers and I am so grateful that there are people like them around to do that. It touches my heart and I think that it means so much to the families to know that absolute strangers will travel thousands of miles to just stand quietly with our nations flag waving in support of the family that is burying a loved one.

No greater loss to a parent is to bury a child. Knowing that many people that belong to The Patriot Guard Riders that care is a gift in a time of great sorrow. It is a memory that will never be lost.

Thank you Patriot Guard Riders for supporting the troops by being there when their families need you the most. If the families do not ever get the chance to thank you then you have a blanket thank you here. Ride hard, ride fast, and ride because you believe you are just in your mission. Thank you!

Hopefully, we can end your missions and our nation and our military will still respect bloggers like me posting to end the war and bring all of our troops home alive and well.

Papamoka

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Broken Hearts from a Broken War Strategy

While the President is insistent that we stay the course with regards to the war in Iraq the base of his political support is fading steadily. What were once strong holds of the Republican Party are becoming opponents to the president in what seems to be a never ending parade of funerals for our fallen sons and daughters.

As the President plays on the peoples worst fears the battle truly being fought does not have a definition to declare the war over. There will never be a signing ceremony where the opposing parties agree to an end of the hostilities. In its place we have an endless loop of a war that has the appetite to continue for generations if so allowed.

Each day the numbers of killed in the war in Iraq have become just that, numbers. To many people these numbers have no faces, families, or friends. Have we as a people become numb to the consistent body count that is on the news every single day? That is not the case in small tightly bound communities where everyone knows everyone not just by a face but by a name, who your family is and more importantly as a friend.

As more Republican Senators and Congressman join the ranks opposed to the war the President will dig in deep wearing his cast iron resolve like a life vest. As his strategy for the war in Iraq sinks below the waves and the president clings to the tip of the mast, the only thing certain is that the strategy that was his ship is in fact sinking.

The days of this President’s personal war in Iraq are coming to an end. Not today, or tomorrow but with the increasing loss of support from Republicans in the Congress, and in the heartland.

Papamoka

Staff Sergeant Daniel A. Newsome

My heart felt prayers are with this young mans family that is left behind. He served his nation and joined the ranks of many brave young men and woman that have paid the ultimate price in service to our nation. There are no greater words to say than a simple thank you to his family.

Just as an outside observer I appreciate the fact that our Governor, Deval Patrick is taking a personal stance on our sons and daughters lost to us in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some people might choose to call it politics but I tend to believe that the Governor is a man of honor and respect. Respect and tribute for the life lost is what the families that are burying their dead need most. They above all need to know that the loved one lost in service to America was not just another number on a tote board.

Over at the Boston Globe they had this to say about Daniel A. Newsome and his life…


Chicopee bids farewell to another hometown soldier
By Claire L. Cummings, Globe Correspondent
July 6, 2007

CHICOPEE -- The fallen soldier's little boy smiled as Governor Deval L. Patrick gave him a comforting rub on the back. The 1-year-old, dressed in a gray Army exercise shirt and miniature camouflage pants, is already the spitting image of his father, relatives said.

As family and friends gathered yesterday to remember Army Staff Sergeant Daniel A. Newsome, they recalled that his life's mission was to raise his son to be a great man. For those who love and miss Newsome, who died June 27 in Baghdad from injuries he sustained in an explosion, it is a mission they will now make their own.

"All of us are the mold that made Dan the man he was, and though we cannot make a new Dan . . . a new Staff Sergeant Daniel Allan Newsome, we can do our best to mold and shape a man very much like him," said Eric Ritter, the soldier's stepfather. "He already looks like his Daddy. His little hands and feet are Dan's. He has Dan's eyes. And when he frowns, his forehead wrinkles just like his Dad's did."

Others said the 27-year-old Newsome was a responsible leader who took his job seriously, but thrived on making people laugh. – Boston Globe

This war is taking its toll on the young people serving in our military and the toll it is taking on families is multiplied exponentially. Not one person in America will understand the loss that these families will go through over the next decades of what we all call life. Little boys, little girls, wives and husbands will go through life without the one person that was a very influential part of the small part of the world we call a family. There is only one way for any of us to understand the pain of the Newsome family and that is to bury one of our own. Something no parent, spouse or child would ever want to have to go through.

Their voice may have been silenced in death but the spirit of their life will live on. In service to our nation and with a respectful burial we as the American people need to be thankful for the sacrifice but be diligent in thought when placing our military in harms way.

Daniel will be in my prayers and thoughts along with a long list of other fallen heroes in service to America.

God Bless them all,

Papamoka

Proud Member of the Patriot Guard Riders

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Is Giuliani G. W. Bush Version 2.0?

Picture courtesy of the Boston Globe

What is the former Mayor of New York City thinking when he continually plays the 9/11 card? America gets it that you were the super hero of New York City and did all the right things post 9/11. You attended many of the funerals for the fallen Fire Fighters, the Police, and any media event you could tack onto your political resume. We get that!

When did he become George Bush version 2.0? What is more important to ask is if he comes with a Dick Cheney version 2.0?

We get that part but Ruddy, you are not the savior for America because you manipulated your way into many families grieving process and ceremonies. I fully apologize to all the families that lost a loved one on that tragic day but this man is abusing the memories of all Americans when he says that he can lead the people with the same message as our current President. Our current President is not leading anything other than his personal agenda of a shiney object over here while he and his friends do as they please over there.

Giuliani is playing the fear card and that is the same set of cards the current President is playing. Unlike the former Mayor of New York City the current President can select the audiences he wants to talk to and have them screened as always supportive to the message. Any dissenting thoughts are not allowed in his holiness presence at the King of the United States appearances.

Over at the Boston Globe they have this to say about the former Mayor and his message of fear…

Giuliani watchers wonder if he will overplay 9/11 card
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff
July 5, 2007

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Rudy Giuliani was just six seconds into his speech when he played his campaign trump card: the memory of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I'll tell you the reason I wear this flag," the former New York City mayor told supporters at a recent rally here, pointing to the American flag pin on his lapel. "Before September 11, I only wore this flag rarely. But I started wearing it right after September 11. I wear it every day now. Each time I wear it, it reminds me of September 11."

For Giuliani, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and his response to them have become his strongest campaign pitch, as the GOP presidential candidate reminds voters again and again of the role he played when terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center towers, killing nearly 3,000 people.

It is a message that appears to be resonating among Republicans. They have put the blunt-speaking former mayor at the top of a crowded GOP field in most polls, and his campaign said Tuesday that he raised more money in the second quarter than any other Republican candidate.
Political analysts say Giuliani's pitch is a powerful message to an electorate worried about another assault on US soil, especially after the recent attacks in Britain.

At the same time, many of these analysts question whether Giuliani can ride the anti terror train all the way to the White House. They say Giuliani risks being tagged as a single-issue candidate for his Sept. 11 performance just when his handling of the attack and its aftermath is drawing increasing criticism from his home city of New York. – Boston Globe

If the former Mayor is privy to any information regarding any future attacks on America then why is he not just saying such? Selling fear is what Bush does best, Giuliani is not convincing me one bit. I’m gambling but the next President of the United States will not be a Republican. George Bush burned the office and the trust of the American people. He will continue to do so as long as he is the emperor without a conscience in the Congress.

We can live in fear or we can live free? You decide? There has not been any diplomacy from this nation since W took office and there will be no diplomacy if G takes the highest office in the land.

Fear sells headlines but diplomacy is difficult and takes deep thought. Long term thought for the betterment of many people. Not just on shores here at home but for people in lands most of us will never have to be in unless we are lied to into the situation.

I don’t think that America needs a George W. Bush version 2.0 so the former Mayor can sell his fear somewhere else. What do you think?

Papamoka

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Flags at Half Mast for Military Fallen In Mass.

In the wake of the Romney is the next best thing to sliced bread as a governor in the main stream media we finally have a Governor that isn’t about what people want to hear or see at the state level. We have a Governor that will do what is right and just by the families that have lost a loved one in service to our nation from Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick today ordered all state buildings have their flags at half mast on the day of the burial for any of our fallen heroes. Governor Deval Patrick has brought forth the sacrifice to all of our minds that many of our families have paid in service to our nation with a simple gesture of respect that these brave men and woman deserve.

Over at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette they have this to say about this issue…

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Patrick orders flags lowered on day of soldiers' burial
The Associated Press

BOSTON— Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday ordered that all flags on state buildings be lowered to half-staff on the day any Massachusetts soldier killed in a war zone is buried.

The order takes effect immediately, and means that all flags on state buildings will be lowered on Thursday for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Newsome of Chicopee.

Newsome died last week of wounds suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Legislation passed by Congress last month would also require all federal agencies in a state to comply with a governor's request that they fly their flags at half-staff to honor a fallen service member.

"We want to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice that these servicemen and women and their families have made to this country and the commonwealth," Patrick said. - Worcester Telegram

I salute Governor Patrick for this declaration. Let us not forget the brave sons and daughters that serve our nation.

Enjoy your fourth of July celebration and just for the hell of it, thank a family member or friend that is a veteran. It can’t hurt and they just might need the hug.

Papamoka

Military Service Recruits Down Amongst Blacks

First statement I have is why is it that this piece in the Washington Post is focusing on just “Blacks” also known as African Americans or simply Americans. What about the amount of White Anglo Saxon Americans not signing up for service in our nations military? What about those folks from the Asian parts of the world that just happens to be an American too? What about those pesky Canadians that dared to dream to be American or for that matter what some people would say settled for the lesser of two evils?

Serving in our nations military is a volunteer based academic and lifestyle choice. It is a choice that a person makes based on many levels of thought and current political atmosphere on what the current President calls something that could be a thousand year war is not very appetizing to the pallet for signing up to serve your nation in the military.

This is what the Washington Post has to say on this issue that I personally found very racist…

Number of Blacks Joining Military Down

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
The Associated PressMonday, June 25, 2007; 12:18 AM

WASHINGTON -- The number of blacks joining the military has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services.
According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the decline covers all four military services for active duty recruits. The drop is even more dramatic when National Guard and Reserve recruiting is included. – Washington Post

Let us just assume for argument sake that any family, no race needed to be divulged, parents love their babies and those same parents learned the mistakes of past wars. Wars fought for true freedom can be justified but wars for political friend’s business profits are just wrong. How many parents would be willing to sign up their child for service knowing that the profits from that child’s service are bank rolling friends of politicians? Nope, not doing it here! This matter transcends race across America that is filled with just… Ummm Americans.
More from the WA PO…

The decline in black recruits overall has been offset partly by an increase in Hispanic recruits and those who classify themselves as other races or nationalities.

This category could include people who consider themselves Portuguese, or of other European descent that are not covered by the main categories of white, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan, black or Hispanic. –Washington Post

(Snip-a-Roo)

At the same time, the military is opening the door to many recruits it has not welcomed in the past. That includes people who are a bit older; who score lower on aptitude tests; and who have medical conditions such as asthma or attention deficit disorders that can be controlled better now with medicine.

The Army, for example, increased its age limit for recruits from 35 to 42. – Washington Post

Somebody slap me up side the head and call me stupid! If African Americans are not signing up for military services then the standards for being in the service are lowered? What is the military saying about our friends in the African American community? Are they calling my friends in the African American community less than knowledgeable on the ways of the world when it comes to military service or complimenting them as an American?

I have to say that I encourage service in our military but I can not ask any parent to encourage belief in a war that our President has no plan to end other than opening his Presidential Library in Texas. Passing the buck is easy when you don’t care about the kids that will die for an imagined war with no clue as to how to offer a solution. Let the next guy or gal worry about it.

Then again, who are you voting for in 2008?

Papamoka

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Memorial Day With A TWIST

Contributed by Michael Linn Jones

About two hours drive north of Paris there is a small village; la Neuviille-Houssett. Not far from this village is a farm, dissected by a small lane. This is old country, originally civilized by the Romans and witness to centuries of the horror of warfare. Across the lane from this farm is a Cross, with a small retaining wall holding a bronze plaque.

The monument, standing about 15 feet high, looks out upon a rising field, facing a hillock where on a cloudy night in 1944, an American bomber crashed at nightfall. The aircraft split in half, and all the crew were ejected. Local men dragged the men away from the flames. They were carried to the farmhouse. Three men survived, and the other four died. One was a young man from West Virginia. He died on a kitchen table, with Last Rites being read by a local priest. Aware of the fact that the dying man was Protestant, this priest did not care; a man of God performed his duty. This particular priest turned out to be the kind of man who did a lot of things not expected of him.

The West Virginian in question was the bomber's tailgunner, a SSgt. Wetzel Kimball. Several years before he had fallen in love with a girl from Jackson, Tennessee named Camille Owen. Camille had to accept the loss of her husband, a common experience in those days.

The village priest, Father Heroux, dedicated himself to bringing closure to the families of the dead airmen. In 1946 Fr. Heroux raised the funds necessary to erect the original Cross, at the same site where it stands today. He travelled to the U.S. after the war and met Camilee and other family members of the crew.

In 1948 Camillle opted to have her husband's remains returned to the United States from his resting place at Epinal in France. He was finally laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2001, the local people of la Neuville-Houssett learned the details of the old Cross along the farm lane. Without government involvement or support, a huge amount of money was raised, and the result is what you see in the photograph. It is, if I may say so, as much a testimony to the gratitude and good hearts of good people as it is a remembrance of dead soldiers.

*********************************
Near the southern border of the Netherlands is a small town named Margraten. Nearby is an American cemetery from World War II. Please watch this short video; it'll only take a moment of your time. It's important that you do so because within the clip is a short mention of the fact that the people of that area regularly visit the graves of the 8,000 men buried there.

What the video does not show is that following World War II, and also 9/11/2001, a system of "adopting" American graves took place. These people waited their turn to have "their" American to lay flowers upon at every American holiday, such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and so on. They WAITED to have the opportunity to express their thanks to men who died long before many of them were even born.

Camille Kimball never remarried. She died a widow in 2003. After 59 years, she and her husband were finally reunited at the Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. The love of one person for another can be most powerful, and in this case stretched for decades.
The story of the Kimballs is an interesting and poignant one. But you don't need to dwell upon them. In any city or town in this country there are cemeteries, and in each of them lies some man or woman who served us up gifts that we love but take for granted.

Sad to say, yet I'm proud to say, certain human beings in France and the Netherlands do not take these gifts for granted. It is part of their tradition that whatever frustrations they may feel in trying to figure out Americans, their gratitude is more than just talk. They walk their walk and, as in the case of Margraten, compete to do so.

Perhaps without knowing it, they are simply responding to the request of a dying Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan." He said, "Earn this. Earn this day."

If people an ocean away can do this, why cannot we start a similar tradition? On this Memorial Day, before you go off to your well-deserved rest or fun, take a moment to do something you've probably never thought of doing. Pick up some flowers...anywhere, it doesn't matter. Find the grave of a veteran and do no more than say "thanks."

You'll have a whole year to think about what you've done to earn that gift.

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A SUGAR-COATED LEGACY

Contributed by Michael Linn Jones

George S. Patton was a brilliant tactician. He served his nation well despite his tendency at times to put his foot in his mouth. His nickname was "'ole blood and guts." Some of the soldiers who served under him groused that yes, it was his guts, but their blood. In other words, Patton's roaring rhetoric was paid for by someone else's physical sacrifice. It must be said, though, that General Patton was no coward; he was a brave man, a throwback to 19th century thinking that even generals should be prepared to stand the front lines if need be.

I mention this because it has come to the forefront of my mind that enough is enough. The much-vaunted "Operation Iraqi Freedom" has become nothing more than a huge millstone around the neck of the United States of America. It has become a disease eating at the vitals, and the vitality of our nation.

Say what you want about anyone in the Bush administration involved in starting the debacle on its downhill lurch towards disaster. Take your list of names....Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Wolfowitz, Pearl, Rice, and so on. The fact is, no buck stops with them. It stops, one way or the other, in the Oval Office. And the man currently employed there by the American people is the ONLY one who matters. It is HIS judgment that we live with.

The point has been reached where the grasping of straws is commonplace; the tried and true method of blowing smoke up the ass of the populace. But....but, as Lincoln said, not with all the people all of the time. When I hear these complaints that the media is not telling the "full story" on Iraq, that the wonderful works being done with schools and hospitals is going unheeded in the press.....I no longer cringe. I get angry.

For, it is put across like some dubious business deal. Look at all this great stuff that's been done in Iraq. They have water, electricity, facilities, their zoo is making a comeback. And ALL it is going to cost you to 3,500 (so far) totally forgettable people and a mere trillion dollars or so. So give us your son or daughter, and even if they return home in a coffin, well, you get a free flag. And, the eternal thanks of a nation.....along with a passing glance by the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Maybe a tear or two if the cameras are rolling.

I woke up thinking about the scene from the film "Full Metal Jacket." Sgt. Hartman discovers a contraband jelly doughnut in the footlocker of Private Leonard Lawrence, branded by Hartman as "Gomer Pyle." Hartman has the entire platoon do push-ups while Private "Pyle" stands on his footlocker and eats the jelly doughnut. He tells "Pyle" to enjoy it, because the other marines are paying for it.

And so goes our nation. We have a rich boy who will never really grow up sitting in the White House. His flawed decision making is evident in business and politics. After 9/11 he really broke bad and proved to his daddy that he, not his father, has the bigger pee-pee. What is life, after all, if one is asked to face the consequences of their own decisions? Such burdens are for the little people.

So, enjoy your sugar-coated jelly doughnut, Mr. President. In 2009 you can do the 1,000-mile mosey back to Crawford and rest your laurels. Enjoy it all, because everyone else is going to be paying for your sweet tooth for a very, very long time.

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