Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Sorry for the inactivity on here as of late - it's been a very busy and tough 2009 thus far, but I will be back at it soon. I have been keeping up with the issues lately, though, so I have plenty to write about in the coming days.

Just wanted to post a tribute and thanks to all of our vets and troops, for all they do and have done. I sure am one lucky guy - this American has plenty to be thankful for, without question, and today, I'd like to thank those past and present in our armed forces. While I don't always agree with their use and deployment, specifically in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, that doesn't mean I'm not thankful for their service.

Unfortunately, I strongly feel that the country isn't doing all it can and should do for our returning troops, especially those who are wounded mentally and physically. I'll have more on that soon - I saw a story on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday that had me hopeful, saddened and angered - it was about our troops who have been wounded and severely burned by IEDs in Iraq. But, more on that a bit later.

Happy Memorial Day

Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) has made a very fitting, appropriate Memorial Day tribute to our troops who have served and who are still serving in our armed forces around the world - take a look - it's only six minutes long.

Allen, who has distinguished himself in many ways in the U.S. House, is running for the U.S. Senate this year against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a rubber-stamp GOPer who needs to be shown a different career path. Allen is in for an uphill fight, but hopefully he will ride into the Senate on an expected wave of Democratic victories this fall. If you wish to support Allen, you can visit his U.S. Senate Website, or by visiting ActBlue.

Allen would make a wonderful, Progressive addition to the U.S. Senate - I wish I could cast my vote for him.

Anyway, Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing today, please take a moment to think about our troops and how fortunate we are to have our fighting men and women protecting us from those who mean us harm. We really do owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude, and I can only hope that Congress, President Bush, and our next president all see to it that they are given the benefits they so richly deserve. It's the very least we can do. (The G.I. Bill proposed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) and recently passed by the House would be a good start.)

In the coming days, I'll be writing about some ways we can support our troops overseas. Whether you agree with the War in Iraq or not, they are still our soldiers who are just doing their duty, and we will have to support them in the coming months years in many, many ways large and small. We can, we will, we must.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Olbermann on war crimes by W's cabal

This one's a little old, but it still merits a mention. Just under a few weeks ago, Keith Olbermann unleashed a tirade against the Bush administration for its conduct in Iraq. After thinking about it, Olbermann clarified his remarks backed up his proverbial bus, and ran over Bush and his war-making cabal again, calling some of them (including Bush, and presumably, Dick Cheney) "cold blooded killers." I won't apologize for agreeing with him.

Bush and many in his cabinet (but not all, as Olbermann rightfully points out) almost certainly deserve to be tried for war crimes. It's a pretty sticky issue that many would take offense to - so be it. But, any American who can possibly even try to evaluate and analyze the War in Iraq objectively would almost certainly come to the conclusion that if Bush were the leader of another country, invading a neighbor, the U.S. would most likely be up in arms, beating the drums of righteous indignation, calling for a war crimes trial. Oh wait, haven't we already done that? Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein are two recent examples that come to mind, specifically Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, an invasion we went to war over. Desert Storm was a farce in many (but not all) ways. We certainly weren't liberating a democracy, that's for sure. But, I digress.

Anyway, it's important to note that neither Olbermann nor probably the overwhelming majority of liberals (including me) lump our troops under the statement or thoughts behind his label "cold blooded killers." Olbermann in the footage above rightly classifies them as the heroes they truly are, and on this Memorial Day, it's worth mentioning again that we can and must give them the resources they will need, for the rest of their lives, to confront, combat and conquer the physical and emotional obstacles that await them once they return home from battle.

This administration and those who support it make great sport of constantly repeating, over and over, the slogan of this war by many on the home front: Support the Troops. Well, Supporting the Troops is going to take a lot more than putting a ribbon on your car in the coming years. Yet, thus far, this administration has done little more than just that for returning troops, and for many troops in the field, some of whom have had to go without adequate body armor, etc.

At the end of his Special Comment, Olbermann takes one final swipe at two of his critics by saying, "Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin, why do you hate our troops?" I don't know what he's specifically referring to there, but that's bound to stoke the flames of partisan bickering in the weeks and months to come, which will surprise no one. But, in the end, Olbermann is spot on for calling out this administration for its massive, criminal negligence in not giving our troops what they need.

Olbermann truly is a voice in the wilderness - an island of reality in a sea of diarrhea that passes for what many call our "free press," which should be called what it really is - our corporate media. Frankly, it's a miracle that NBC lets him air his show at all. Make no mistake - it's only because there's money to be made, not because of his political views.

One more Memorial Day tribute

I just had to bring you one more Memorial Day tribute video, because this one is pretty good, plus it includes some war dead statistics that you may not have known. (I for one didn't know we lost that many in World War I and Korea.)

Desert Storm and the current Occupation of Iraq are the only two wars that I've lived through (full disclosure - I was born in 1971, so technically I lived through Vietnam, but not really). I'm a pretty enthusiastic student of history, and I look back with pride on how American society as a whole sacrificed during times of war during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. That's not the case now. While I don't believe in the Occupation of Iraq at all and think it's highly immoral, I find it even more immoral that America isn't being asked to sacrifice anything, other than our futures because of the cost of this war.

When people dare to raise their voices in opposition, they are often shouted down, sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally, as being unpatriotic. To sell this war, this administration has resorted to slander, smear and fear, PR gimmicks and tactics and a slick marketing effort. And now, it's all collapsing, or is it? Bush continues to get his way, and his war funding.

When will it all end? Not soon enough, but according to Bush, Iraq may be another South Korea. From Reuters:

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush would like to see a U.S. role in Iraq ultimately similar to that in South Korea.

"The Korean model is one in which the United States provides a security presence, but you've had the development of a successful democracy in South Korea over a period of years, and, therefore, the United States is there as a force of stability," Snow told reporters.

He said U.S. bases in Iraq would not necessarily be permanent because they would be there at the invitation of the host government and "the person who has done the invitation has the right to withdraw the invitation."

"I think the point he's trying to make is that the situation in Iraq, and indeed, the larger war on terror, are things that are going to take a long time. But it is not always going to require an up-front combat presence," Snow said.

"The president has always said that ultimately you want to be handing primary responsibility off to the Iraqis," he said.

"You provide the so-called over-the-horizon support that is necessary from time to time to come to the assistance of Iraqis but you do not want the United States forever in the front."

Snowjob is back to his old self again. I wish I could say that's a good thing, because I hope he beats cancer.

But Iraq, like Korea? That's like comparing a bottle rocket to an ICBM.

Quickly now - how many American soldier deaths have there been in Korea since a cease-fire was declared in July, 1953? Without checking, I'd have to say zero, or very close to it. Certainly none from combat.

Anyone think that when the U.S. declares "victory" (which will be sometime next year, before the election, but more on that in a later post) that the senseless slaughter of U.S. troops will cease. If you think that, kindly go back to burying your head deep in the sand.

A late Memorial Day video tribute

I know, this one's late, but it's still worth a look. It's a well-done video tribute to Connecticut's war dead. And this is just one state. I cannot even imagine what it's like for some of the other states. I don't have the numbers, but I know my home state of Pennsylvania has been hit particularly hard with war dead and wounded.

What our troops, and their friends and families are going through is just unspeakable. And it's far from over. Since a progress report is due in September, you can bet that this summer is going to be a bloody one. President Bush even said as much the other day, predicting a "tough August."

Since commanders want to be able to say that we are turning the corner when it's time to report to Congress in September, so you can bet July and August are going to be very tough on our military.

We need to continue to demand that this war come to an end.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone

I thought I'd have more time to write this morning, but we have too much to do around the condo to get ready for our annual Memorial Day party, so I'll leave you with this photo I took yesterday in the city. It's a picture of one of my favorite murals. For those of you who have never visited Philadelphia, the city is well known for its extensive number of well-done murals - one of the largest of any city in the world.

This one seemed appropriate to post on Memorial Day. I pray for our troops, and I hope they are out of harm's way, today and every day. May they get home soon.

Poignant Mem Day msg from John Edwards

I heard this message from John Edwards tonight, and it resonated with me on this Memorial Day Weekend. I really am going to have the troops on my mind this weekend. We are having a party, and, without being pushy about it, I'm going to talk to my friends about what we can do to end the war, and what their thoughts are about it. Normally I eschew political discussions among friends and family, but the more this war drags on, the more we have a responsibility to speak out and speak up, not shut up.

On Monday, I pledge to write President Bush and my elected Congressional representatives to let them know what I think about the latest war funding bill.

I'm also going to look into the Yellow Ribbon Fund that Edwards mentioned in his video. I just did a little poking around on the Website, and it looks like something very worthwhile, and I'm going to schedule some volunteer time. Click on the image below to go to Yellow Ribbon Fund's Website.