11/4/04

            I was going to let my self calm down a bit before I wrote.  I’m still more then a little shocked that evil won.  However I have heard that this is a “Christian Victory”.  If that is true Christians are people who don’t have to play by their own rules.  They do not have to be healing accountable fro lying, killing or stealing.  O.K> he isn’t technically stealing he is legally giving tax money to his V.P.’s company while not arming the troops.  Regardless of weather you think this war is necessary or not more Money goes to Hal Burton then to the military.  So tell me again how getting rich not just while soldiers die but BECAUSE of it is Christian.  More later when I’m Calm.

102204

Here’s some facts good ol dad sent me:

> Just one more filter for the rhetoric........ 

>  

>  

> RECOGNIZING THOSE WHO SERVED 

>  

> It is interesting to note who is willing to put his

> life on the line for what he believes in...and who is

> not. This could be the last election where military

> service in Vietnam has any political currency. But

> just for the record, it's worth noting who really

> served among the heavyweights in each of the major

> political parties. Be sure to check out the bottom of

> the list where the people who spend their time

> jabbering about military service, (the TV pundits)

> have their military credentials exposed. Read it and

> weep...for your country. 

>> 

>> Democrats 

>> 

>> Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71. 

>> David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72. 

>> Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72. 

>> Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan.

> 1971 as an army 

>> journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade. 

>> Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor,

> Vietnam. 

>> Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, WWII. 

>> John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze

> Star with Combat V 

>> Purple Hearts. 

>> John Edwards: did not serve. 

>> Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze

> Star, Korea. 

>> Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star &

> Bronze Star, Vietnam. 

>> 

>> Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-1953. 

>> Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve,

> 1968-74. 

>> Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army

> Reserve 1979-91. 

>> Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII, receiving the

> Bronze Star ! and 

>> seven campaign ribbons. 

>> Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam,

> DFCs, Bronze Stars,  and Soldier's Medal. 

>> Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart,

> Silver Star and 

>> Legion of Merit. 

>> Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne,

> Purple Heart. 

>> Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in

> Vietnam; Bronze 

>> Star with Cobat V. 

>> Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star. 

>> Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57 

>> Chuck Robb: Vietnam 

>> Howell Heflin: Silver Star 

>> George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII. 

>> Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments.

> Entered draft but 

>> received 311. 

>> Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy. 

>> Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953 

>> John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal

> with 18 Clusters. 

>> Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII.

> Saved by Raoul Wallenberg. 

>> Wesley Clark: U.S. Army, 1966-2000, West Point,

> Vietnam, Purple Heart, Silver Star. Retired 4-star

> general. 

>> John Dingell: WWII vet 

>> John Conyers: Army 1950-57, Korea 

>> 

> 

>> Republicans 

>> 

>> Dennis Hastert: did not serve. 

>> Tom Delay: did not serve. 

>> House Whiip Roy Blunt: did not serve. 

>> Bill Frist: did not serve. 

>> Rudy Giuliani: did not serve. 

>> George Pataki: did not serve. 

>> Mitch McConnell: did not serve. 

>> Rick Santorum: did not serve. 

>> Trent Lott: did not serve. 

>> Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the

> last by marriage. 

>> John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to

> teach business. 

>> Jeb Bush: did not serve. 

>> Karl Rove: did not serve. 

>> Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man

> who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism. 

>> Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve. 

>> Vin Weber: did not serve. 

>> Richard Perle: did not serve. 

>> Douglas Feith: did not serve. 

>> Eliot Abrams: did not serve. 

>> Richard Shelby: did not serve. 

>> Jon Kyl: did not serve. 

>> Tim Hutchison: did not serve. 

>> Christop! her Cox: did not serve. 

>> Newt Gingrich: did not serve. 

>> Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as aviator

> and flight 

>> instructor. 

>> George W. Bush: six-year Nat'l Guard commitment

> (incomplete). 

>> Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a

> non-combat role 

>> making movies. 

>> Gerald Ford: Navy, WWII 

>> Phil Gramm: did not serve. 

>> John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of

> Merit, Purple Heart 

>> and Distinguished Flying Cross. 

>> Bob Dole: an honorable veteran. 

>> Chuck Hagel: two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star,

> Vietnam. 

>> Jeff Sessions: Army Reserves, 1973-1986 

>> JC Watts: did not serve. 

>> Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer. 

>> G.H.W. Bush: Pilot in WWII. Shot down by the

> Japanese. 

>> Tom Ridge: Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam. 

>> Antonin Scalia: did not serve. 

>> Clarence Thomas: did not serve 

>> 

>  

> 

>> Pundits and Preachers 

>> 

>> Sean Hannity: did not serve. 

>> Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal

> cyst.') 

>> Bill O'! Reilly: did not serve. 

>> Michael Savage: did not serve. 

>> George Will: did not serve. 

>> Chris Matthews: did not serve. 

>> Paul Gigot: did not serve. 

>> Bill Bennett: did not serve. 

>> Pat Buchanan: did not serve. 

>> Bill Kristol: did not serve. 

>> Kenneth Starr: did not serve. 

>> Michael Medved: did not serve 

Here are my thoughts and opinions:

I would never claim to be a good coach of any sport, because I was a theater guy.  I don’t have the experience to make good calls that would allow my team to win.  In fact I could make calls that would get the players hurt.  Well the business guys with NO war experience ARE making calls in war that are getting the players er um soldiers DEAD.  I vote for Bush is a vote for inexperience that has killed.

101904

All I can say is pay attention people.  See I’m one of those people who find it REAL strange that the guy, who barley took the presidency, had the final votes counted in his brother’s state.  Now I was also one of those people who said we needed to get over it once the Gore retired…Yea I thought he did so to soon but once he GAVE UP it was sadly over.  Now after 911 we all kinda forgot about the election weirdness.  Well it’s time to remember it. 

There a lot of weird reports from all over the country. Little things like in Florida where people who were not felons were put on the list of ineligible voters.  Perhaps we should talk about Arizona where a Republican group threw away voter registrations if they weren’t republican.  Then there’s here in Calli, where my parents noticed that the absentee ballots need two stamps because they are slightly too heavy, I’m not even sure that one made the news.  This is my point.

I’m sorry but at this point I have no choice but to believe that the Republicans, based on there actions, will lie and cheat to steal the vote.  There is way too much suspicious activity especially in light of the events of the last election.  And you can not count on the Democrats because they are afraid to make accusations.  Well I’m not.  No I can’t prove any thing.  However when there is a pattern this obvious and when the only people who are accused are all part of the same group then everyone with a brain is suspicious of that group.  Members of that group who don’t or wouldn’t behave that way should understand given the circumstances.  (Yes that dose applies to people who are flying and have a Middle East look right now, of course it should be Saudi mostly as that where MOST of the tower takers came from but that’s a different rant)

Thing is if the Republicans really think there guy is the best for everyone why cheat?  Because if an entire T.V. network Campaigns for you and you still have a close race…the people might be realizing what nastiness has been done to them, there children, and there protectors. 

Hey there all.

Just something you should see

Monday, October 18th, 2004
Army Detains U.S. Reservists Who Refuse to Carry Out "Suicide Mission" In Iraq

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Army National Guard 1st Lt. Paul Rieckhoff discusses how the Bush administration has failed to adquately protect soldiers on the battlefield. Rieckhoff served in Iraq from April 2003 to February 2004. He is also the founder of the group Operation Truth.

19 members of a U.S. Army Reserve platoon were placed under arrest last week for refusing to obey orders to go on what they considered a "suicide mission."

Stationed at Tallil Air Base south of Nasiriyah, members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company were ordered to drive a fuel supply convoy up to Taji, north of Baghdad. The soldiers had previously only focused on local missions in safer parts of southern Iraq and had never driven through Baghdad more than 200 miles away, where U.S. forces regularly come under fire. One soldier later claimed that the chance of being attacked was "99 percent."

On average, American soldiers were attacked 87 times a day in August. Over 1,100 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war began.

The platoon refused the order considering their trucks to be extremely unsafe. They said the convoy tankers lacked bullet-resistant armor and were not able to travel faster than 40 miles an hour. Some of the supply trucks were in disrepair and prone to breakdown. And while the armed escort of Humvees and helicopters normally provided, was not available. One the soldiers later described the mission as a "death sentence."

The platoon's commanding general, Brig. Gen. James Chambers, admitted yesterday that the unit was one of those whose trucks are still unarmored. In addition, the Washington Post is now reporting that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, complained to the Pentagon last winter that the lack of key spare parts for gear vital to combat operations, was so poor that it threatened Army troops" ability to fight.

In addition to the high-risk nature of the mission, the objective itself has been called into question. The jet fuel that the platoon was ordered to transport may have been contaminated with diesel and wasn"t even usable - Some of the soldiers" claim the fuel had already been rejected by one base and would be rejected again at Taji.

After refusing the orders, the U.S. Army placed the men and women of the platoon under arrest. They were corralled in a tent and detained at gunpoint for nearly two days. During this time, some of them managed to phone their relatives back home. In Alabama, Teresa Hill woke-up to hear a recorded message on her answering machine from her daughter, Spc. Amber McClenny. On the tape McClenny says "I need you now, Mom. I need you so bad...please help me. They are holding us against our will. We are now prisoners."

According to the father of one of the soldiers, five members of the platoon were told they would be punished with a general discharge. Chambers said all 18 soldiers have returned to duty. The Army has begun an inquiry, and the soldiers could face disciplinary measures, including possible courts-martial.

This is NOT how you support your troops.

Al litle soneting ease to see

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2004/08/19/letters/doc412532f09fbbe438621096.txt