Someone Else's Child

[True_Blue]

It has become clearer than ever that Americans do not want to fight George W. Bush's tragically misguided war in Iraq.

You can still find plenty of folks arguing that we have to stay the course, or even raise the stakes by sending more troops to the war zone. But from the very start of this war the loudest of the flag-waving hawks were those who were safely beyond military age themselves and were unwilling to send their own children off to fight.

It's easy to be macho when you have nothing at risk. The hawks want the war to be fought with other people's children, while their own children go safely off to college, or to the mall. The number of influential American officials who have children in uniform in Iraq is minuscule.

Most Americans want no part of Mr. Bush's war, which is why Army recruiters are failing so miserably at meeting their monthly enlistment quotas. Desperate, the Army is lowering its standards, shortening tours, increasing bonuses and violating its own recruitment regulations and ethical guidelines.

more....
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/20/opinion/20herbert.html?hp

[jojo54]

1. Lives in the Balance

by Jackson Browne.

I want to know who the men in shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die.

[thecrow]

3. One of my favorite songs, jojo!

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. I just finished this

and this is my story for the day...

I was doing demos of a new sci fi combat game I am writing (The tactical side to the RPG)... so one item in the rules includes the fact that you can shoot through walls, assuming you can lock on.

So this guy, who we know is a Hawk, starts going over how unrealisitic this is (yearh really, modern American Armor can do this under certain conditions)... add some centuries and yep common thing)

So I got tired... and asked him (he is originally from Israel), so what branch of service did you serve in?

What does it matter, I moved here when I was 12.

So yuo did not go back at 18 to do your four years of mandatory service?

I ... was a US Citizen by ... then (Never mind you cannot give up Israeli Citizenship)

Ok that is nice... (sarcam)

Well you know we hve to keep fighting this war against ....

Look buddy go USarmy.com, put the uniform and go over there... put up or shut up!

He walked very sheepishly away from me... for the record my husband is a USN Veteran and has seen combat and I saw combat as a medic with the Red Cross in Tijuana (nore shoot outs than I care to think about... )

So I did call him a yellow belly coward without calling him one... I felt good. I don't think he will talk to me any time soon

;-)

Or so I hope.

[katinmn]

4. Ha. Good on you, Nadine.

Shut the hypocrites right up.