1,720 - Time To Go Down The Hill Again

[ThomWV]

I have put up two signs, one aside the small road in front of my home, and a second three quarters of a mile away down at the hard road. The second road gets a lot of weekend traffic, locals and Campers mostly.

Both signs are of old Kerry-Edwards metal frames and stiff cardboard backs, now wearing a skirt of simple buff newsprint. I've got a roll of the stuff. The covering paper is stapled in place, the number is in red primer spray paint. At once starkly visible but unpretentious. I update each sign each morning. Yesterday the signs read 1,714. This morning I painted the number 1,718 on each side of each sign. Now the correct number is 1,720. I do not know what it will be tomorrow.

No one has asked me what the number signifies. No one has asked me why it changes daily. Either question answers the other.

Soon a neighbor will figure it out. The the word will spread like wildfire. This time I think it will sink in.

[kster]

1. I put the number

of the fallen on every e-mail I send.

[SharonAnn]

5. Or maybe the number is much, much higher? Read this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/jim-lampley/the-ultimate-deception_2838.html

The Ultimate Deception?

A Bush-watcher website identified as TBRNews.org is reporting under the byline of "domestic intelligence reporter" Brian Harring that the Department of Defense is using a cynical tactic to mislead the public regarding the true death toll for American military personnel in Iraq. Harring claims he has an internal pdf. file from the D.O.D. which establishes that nearly 9000 Americans have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but that the official number has been held to 1713 by designating as Iraq deaths only those who perish on Iraqi soil. The remainder, he says, are military personnel who have died en route to Germany or in German hospitals-- casualties of the war, but not listed in the official death toll.

If this is true it would explain the apparent statistical discrepancy between dead and wounded. A combat action which produces nearly eight times as many officially wounded-- 13000 plus-- as officially dead...well, it's not the norm. It goes without saying it would also further jolt a public majority already disturbed by the war's "progress" and eager to see the troops come home.

[geek tragedy]

6. TBRnews is a far-right disinfo site. Smart liberals should avoid it.

There aren't thousands of missing dead soldiers. Soldiers have families and everything.

Amazing what people will fall for.

[kster]

8. Thank you

always kinda figured the number was low, and I think Lampley story is right,and we should start another DU investigation into it. Between the election,the DSM whats one more to come at them with.

[blue sky at night]

2. thanks for a wonderful idea.......

I am itching like crazy to make public my outrage. During the election I was full tilt, with signage on the car and yard. Post election I flew the Flag upside-down for a few weeks, until I was harassed by neighbors and passer bys. Now I adamantly refuse to fly the flag, upside-down or not. I feel it supports the morans in power, and I will not do it. I do believe your idea will work just fine. I am curious, where you get the total everyday? Thanks, and keep it up.

[ThomWV]

3. Link

There are certainly quite a few sites that keep track but I use the same one every day - for consistancy's sake:

http://icasualties.org/oif/

[kster]

4. Heres one place

http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

[dchill]

7. "...supports the morans in power"

Indeed. These morans have stolen the flag, kidnapped patriotism, slandered the word "liberal", and raped the truth. They really do hate us for our freedoms.