A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door.
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore. - Roger Waters, Pink Floyd - The Final Cut

I have mixed feelings about this day.

When a nation's military is sent into a sovereign nation for the express purpose of private (oil) interests, how much "thanks" am I supposed to give?

PBS ran a special on FDR yesterday, and revealed that even in the case of WWII, a president lied us into involvement. The citizens of this country, once again, did not want to wage war; the old white men running this nation (and England) did, however. I will admit that WWII, unlike today's occupation, had a nobler purpose.

The facts are out there, and if people volunteering for the military don't bother to educate themselves on what THIS administration is going to do with them, what honor is there in serving? What honor is there in killing or being killed, for the enrichment of the oil industry, Halliburton, and the likes of Blackwater?

Like I said: mixed feelings.

As Phil Donahue said:

"How many kids, coming home in a box, could have grown up to be a much better talk show host than I ever was"? Indeed. Stop this madness.

I hope each and every Republican in this country takes a few moments to reflect on the 4000 young men and women they sent to the slaughter for corporate profit.

I do not wish to seem difficult but I, as a Vietnam veteran, find absolutely nothing to be happy about on Memorial Day. This day [or May 30, what used to be the official Memorial Day] should be considered a day of reflection, of sorrow, of lamentation. It seems to be embedded in the psyches of Americans that Memorial Day should somehow be celebrated. Pray tell, what should be celebrated, that soldiers have arrived back in this country, especially during and after the Korean War, in coffins and become maimed and crippled for absolutely no justifiable reason whatsoever? As I have mentioned on other posts, soldiers should be considered not as heroes but as victims, to be grieved over for what they had to unnecessarily endure, instead of having parades held in their honor. It should be acknowledged by the media and Americans everywhere that they have been sacrificed on the altar of militarism in order to justify the lies that were given to them [and to me] because of an uncaring government. Instead, the media will continue to propagate the lie that American troops are fighting in order for Americans to maintain their freedoms. Again, the troops should be considered, not heroes, but as victims, of the United States government. But is is quite doubtful if that narrative will be seen and heard in the mainstream media, since the large corporations that own the media will hardly consent to portray the government as being willing to sacrifice the military for their own deceptive ends.

Thank you to all our veterans for their service in both war and peace. Words that can never be adequate to the service that they have given to our nation. A thank you from the heart. A thank you with the prayer that some day such sacrifice will never be needed again. Thank you.

Mark @ News Corpse @ 7:

I wish our soldiers and veterans well, and hope they can serve in peace.

But I withhold my well wishes from those who send us to war, and those who pray for their own glory through violence.

If you have never read Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" please do so.

Thank you for posting the link to that poem. I had never seen that. Hard to imagine that it was considered so inflammatory that it would not be published til after his death.
I guess the truth is hard to swallow for some people no matter what century we live in.
I'd like to send a copy of that to Bush...but I don't think he'd 'get' it.

I would like to thank all those who serve for having the strength and ability and desire to do so.

I also wish the media would stop trying to tell me that soldiers are currently keeping me "safe" and protecting my "freedom".
I was perfectly safe and free before shrub started his murder for oil program and would still be if he had just left well enough alone.
If one more person tries to tell me what's going on now is for my safety, for my freedom and for my sake I'm going to put my boot up their ass.

Sadly, today it's hard not to think mostly about those "futures lost."

Peace.

I fell bad that so many good men have died in all the wars that happened after WWII (which was the last Good War.) All the wars since have been political wars.

Here is Harry Shearers 935 Lies to Remind us why.

Janice @ 8:

I hope each and every Republican in this country takes a few moments to reflect on the 4000 young men and women they sent to the slaughter for corporate profit.

Many Democrats are complicit as well.
Too many skeptics cravenly voted in favor of going to war rather than face the political consequences about what would if the war went "well".

I look at the cartoon about futures lost and futures won, and I'm trying to think of someone -- other than Chalabi, Malawi and Al Sadr -- whose futures have been won.

Does Obama Need Hillary’s Supporters?
By: Jane Hamsher Monday May 26, 2008 12:22 pm

http://firedoglake.com/

"Krugman says yes" and so do I

I went with my 80 year old mother to several Hillary events in the run up to the primary in Ohio. My mother is a Hillary "devotee", she still has a "thank you Hillary for your message, but I have all ready voted for you" answering message on her home phone in Dayton Ohio and she is not planning on taking it off. My mother grew up working in factories next to men who were making a dollar more an hour than her (and she can still physically work harder than most men and women). She worked outside the home took care of all the cleaning of the home, yard work etc while raising four children. At these Hillary events around the Dayton region the stands were filled with women just like my mother ranging from 50-90 (talked to several woman in their 90's). I talked with many of these mostly white women and they were obviously Hillary "devotees" like my mother and they are not going to budge. These are women who have fought hard for everything they have, they have sacrificed, they have sacrificed did I all ready say they have sacrificed for their families for their nation (sending their children to wars) and many of them will not move from Hillary's side. They want a woman to become President or Vice President and they want it now. They have waited a long time and they want to see it before they die. They know Hillary has put in the time, has the intellect, the experience (Hillary fought hard for a National Health care system) and the where with all to be the leader of our nation. Many of them feel that Obama is a new comer on the block and has not put in the blood sweat and tears that Hillary has (and they can relate)

Obama needs them and he needs them soon. They will be pissed if Hillary is tossed to the sided! Really pissed! Do not let them drift towards McCain.

Obama has to Offer Hillary the VP spot or lose a good share of these hard working women.

And I know Obama knows that these hard working women are a substantial part of the backbone of our nation! Don't abandon them...give them Hillary!

[Deleted, Offensive. Not today! Site Monitor]

First of all, Thank you Veterans, of all wars.

However, I feel sorry for the families of the 4,000+ American soldiers who have died in vein. They did not die for "freedom" as President Retard says, they died because bush is an Arrogant bastard who thinks he can do anything he wants.

Fuck Dubya and Cheney. I'll see them in hell...

Thank you all to those that have given their lives for this country.
As the cartoon states, futures lost and futures won.

Each loss is our loss. It represents a future America that can never be.
What if Doctor Jonas Salk had been drafted to serve in Korea and killed. Would the polio vaccine have been delayed by 10-20 years? I look at the Vietnam Veterans memorial and I think of 56,000 futures cut short. What good could they have done for this country? Would there have already been an AIDS vaccine? A cure for cancer?

That is why we must always strive, before sending our youth into combat, to determine it is necessary and worth the sacrifice. And only go forward if and when that sacrifice is necessary.

To do anything less insults that sacrifice.

On this Memorial Day, I pause with reverence, love and respect for our soldiers (from all wars, even the misbegotten, illegal and immoral ones) and reflect with anger, sadness and incredulity that George "AWOL" Bush is a leering, smirking, strutting war criminal who should be tried, convicted and incarcerated (if not worse).

In a few months, I'll be back in Crawford with my feet propped up on the couch. GWB 2008.

Instead of thanking the troops, I wish to say that I'am sorry, sorry that your kids have to grow up with only one parent, sorry you parents have lost a child. To those who have been wounded so badly it changed your life forever, we are sorry. We are sorry we were to lazy to pay attention or dig out the truth of things being done and said. We are sorry that we ignored president Eisenhowers warnings about the military industrial complex, but that would have been supporting a "conspiracy theory". Sorry we ignored the past history of our country using false flag operations to fool us into attacking others for power and profit. We are sorry we became to stupid to to be able to tell when a weasel is a weasel and a liar is a liar. We apologize to the founders for allowing the very things they feared most to happen to our country. Our founding fathers warned us, history has warned us, what excuses can we give? We were busy, we were dumb, we were blind? No excuse will excuse us. And last but not least, we are sorry for the people who lost their lives on 911 and sorry that we have not had the guts,integrity, morality and indeed the intelligence to bring the real criminals to justice for their cold blooded murder. Sorry? Sorry just doesn't cut it!---CEO

CEO,citizens,eyes,open @ 36:

Instead of thanking the troops, I wish to say that I'am sorry, sorry that your kids have to grow up with only one parent, sorry you parents have lost a child. To those who have been wounded so badly it changed your life forever, we are sorry. We are sorry we were to lazy to pay attention or dig out the truth of things being done and said. We are sorry that we ignored president Eisenhowers warnings about the military industrial complex, but that would have been supporting a "conspiracy theory". Sorry we ignored the past history of our country using false flag operations to fool us into attacking others for power and profit. We are sorry we became to stupid to to be able to tell when a weasel is a weasel and a liar is a liar. We apologize to the founders for allowing the very things they feared most to happen to our country. Our founding fathers warned us, history has warned us, what excuses can we give? We were busy, we were dumb, we were blind? No excuse will excuse us. And last but not least, we are sorry for the people who lost their lives on 911 and sorry that we have not had the guts,integrity, morality and indeed the intelligence to bring the real criminals to justice for their cold blooded murder. Sorry? Sorry just doesn't cut it!---CEO

We are sorry! Sorry that so many lives have been used as cannon fodder for the Bush administrations illegal and immoral war. Many of us many Vets from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm) tried to stop it before the invasion!

Ron @ 34:

In a few months, I'll be back in Crawford with my feet propped up on the couch. GWB 2008.

after my round of gahf.

War Immemorial Day – No Peace for Militarized U.S.

by Bill Quigley

Memorial Day is not actually a day to pray for U.S. troops who died in action but rather a day set aside by Congress to pray for peace. The 1950 Joint Resolution of Congress which created Memorial Day says: “Requesting the President to issue a proclamation designating May 30, Memorial Day, as a day for a Nation-wide prayer for peace.” (64 Stat.158).
..
The U.S. has the most powerful and expensive military force in the world. The U.S. is the biggest arms merchant. And the U.S. has been the most aggressive in world-wide interventions. If Memorial Day in the U.S. is supposed to be about praying for peace, the U.S. has a lot of praying (and changing) to do.

odanny @ 1:

Thank You Veterans.

Much has been asked of you, repeatedly, and you have always answered the call.

Please, try and stay safe until saner people are in charge of this government

and beyond..............

CindyLouWho @ 14:

Mark @ News Corpse @ 7:

I wish our soldiers and veterans well, and hope they can serve in peace.

But I withhold my well wishes from those who send us to war, and those who pray for their own glory through violence.

If you have never read Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" please do so.

Thank you for posting the link to that poem. I had never seen that. Hard to imagine that it was considered so inflammatory that it would not be published til after his death.
I guess the truth is hard to swallow for some people no matter what century we live in.
I'd like to send a copy of that to Bush...but I don't think he'd 'get' it.

Could he read it? heh, heh, smirk

odanny @ 1:

Thank You Veterans.

Much has been asked of you, repeatedly, and you have always answered the call.

Please, try and stay safe until saner people are in charge of this government

your welcome!

Jeanne @ 23, thanks for your eloquent post. My grandfather was in Flanders Fields and my father was in WWII. Their service to their country left them both with permanent injuries that they had to deal with for the rest of their lives. At least they made it back to Canada to have a life.

Nine hundred thirty-five lies to get us into this mess, and now more than four thousand dead US soldiers ... For what? Lies. Many lies.

My heart goes out to the families of the brave men and women who served and died. Peace to all.

LIVE BREAKING REPORT, FROM THE FIELD: A C&L EXCLUSIVE 1ST 'STIMULUS CHECK'[ REPORT:

(This is a true unedited report.)

"How did I spend my stimulus check?
"Well, I took my $300.00 check and first bought some extra real food, because I'm hungry and have been living on beans and Top Ramen for years;
-I then bought a new suit to appear in court, because I had no money for an attorney so had nothing dignified to wear in court as I represented myself;
-and lastly, I bough a new watch, to tell me how much fu**ing time I have left before I lose every !@##$%%^^ mother fu*!@# thing I own'!

And that's what I did to stimulate all those who didn't need a stimulus check.

If you want a real laugh, HuffPost and Politico are running a really bogus story about the FEC and the media not being able to process the contribution data because the data set is too big to fit into Excel.

This is nothing more than yellow journalism, because spreadsheets are not designed for this sort of thing and the data is quite usable as is with more appropriate tools. I have it loaded up on my computer right now.

Anyone who has ever worked in data analysis would just laugh at the entire concept of using a spreadsheet to analyze a big data set.

What Future "is won" by the type of blind militarism that is seemingly glorified by the cartoon above? Were our service people in any way defending our shores or country I would have unlimited respect and appreciation for them. But:

While "martyrs" like that referred to above are created by a profit-driven (and often racist) military-industrial complex devoted to subduing the rest of the world for the benefit of a few soulless corporate overlords, I can spare no false reverence for "the troops" whose naivete or misplaced "patriotism" makes them pawns and victims to a hateful and fascistic agenda.

MarktheSpark @ 56:

What Future "is won" by the type of blind militarism that is seemingly glorified by the cartoon above? Were our service people in any way defending our shores or country I would have unlimited respect and appreciation for them. But:

While "martyrs" like that referred to above are created by a profit-driven (and often racist) military-industrial complex devoted to subduing the rest of the world for the benefit of a few soulless corporate overlords, I can spare no false reverence for "the troops" whose naivete or misplaced "patriotism" makes them pawns and victims to a hateful and fascistic agenda.

Very well said. I was ripped apart a few days ago for pointing out that the troops are not heroes but dupes, who have, for the most part, consented to become a part of an illegal occupation. As you correctly note in your opening paragraph, the soldiers are not defending this country from invading Iraqis or Afghanis, just as I was not defending the shores of New Jersey or Los Angeles from invading Vietnamese during the Vietnam conflict, who were hardly paddling ashore in their sampans to overthrow the U.S. government.

I want to thank all of the vets who joined for patriotism- fighting noble fights; as well as those who enlisted for the college money, and a brighter future (should they live to see it); for those whose controlling parents led them to believe enlistment was necessary to make them proud; for those who where bullshitted into enlistment by trained, lying recruiters; for those who have endured allergic reactions to all of the anthrax vaccinations they were given to keep from getting general, or dishonorable discharges; for those who refuse to make love to their wives in any other position than missionary- to avoid violating the uniform code of military justice; to those who haven't smoked a joint in YEARS because they're terrified of ending-up doing hard time in Leavenworth; for those who have suffered the pain of infidelity and torn families, because 'Temporary Duty' really means: Temporarily Divorced; for those who have had to run from Camel Spiders in the middle of the night to get to the latrine in their flip-flops; For those who have been red-lined, and have to endure longer tours of duty because of retention issues in the different military branches; for those who feel their government has let them down because they have heard generals come out and say that we are there to kill people and blow things up for oil- our most important national interest; for those who have gone to work with walking pneumonia, because there is no calling-in sick in the military; for those who are given 800 mg motrine for a sprain, or a fracture, or broken nose, and sent back to work; for those who voluntarily stayed in longer than their initial contracts read- despite knowing what a pain in the ass military-life could sometimes be; for those who have to sit behind a computer or radar screen all day as their primary job- yet have to stay proficient with their M-16 practice, because if the shit hits the fan- they will be on the fields right next to the grunts; for those who have to wear chemical warfare gear all day in the hot sun in the desert for the exercises necessary to 'maintain readiness'; for those, and ALL of those who have ever signed their names on that piece of paper- forfitting most of their rights, and putting their lives on the line to defend ours- NOMATTER WHAT their intentions for signing it were; and last but not least: for the soldiers fighting- not for your country, or for politics, but to protect and avenge the soldiers fighting by your side. Thank you and God bless you. Some of us really do understand the true meaning of this day.

God Bless You, Justin. You really do understand.

Our military is filled with many fine people from all segments of the population of this country. As different as they are, they are bound together by this creed:

The Soldier's Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

It sounds tough, but I have found over the years that military people usually have a very soft side. I have watched many soldiers cry when they received news that one of their buddies back in Iraq was killed. I have comforted parents far away from home waiting for news of their son's surgical outcome. One thing that I think was not stressed enough, although it was mentioned, was loyalty among soldiers. We will never forget.

One thing white Americans prefer not to remember on this memory-day is the whiteness of the bomb.

Angela @ 61:

Our family lost my husband's nephew on January 20, 2006 in Iraq. He was a talented, sensitive artist who was planning to go to graduate school in art and teach art when he finished his tour. He joined the Army in a patriotic gesture after 9/11 as so many fine, young people did. Now, Bush's stop/loss policy won't let them out of the military after their tours are over because they can't recruit people to fill their spots. Even though I am a retired veteran, I had never lost anyone in a war and did not realize the true meaning of Memorial Day until that horrible day. Since we lost my nephew, I will never again be able to celebrate this day with fun and BBQ's again. Today I have spent the day in quiet contemplation of him, those who died that day with him, and others who are so much like him that I never knew. I know so many people who are over there and who are under ORDERS to go there or to Afghanistan, and I wonder how many more tears I am going to have to shed before some sanity returns to our government. We military folk are a patriotic folk. We love our country, go where we are told to go, do what we are told to do, and pay the price that no one else will. That is now what Memorial Day means to me. I have seen the real thing from which the cartoon was drawn. I'm glad to see some part of the country notice that their fellow citizens are dying in far away places.

God Bless you and your family and your loved one who died. I also come from a military family and it was shocking how many people in the military opposed the invasion of Iraq. But as many of us who marched against the invasion we saw the MSM minimal and inaccurate coverage of who attended these anti invasion marches in the fall of 2002 in D.C and in Feb of 2003 in New York and across our country and across the world. In D.C. and New York there were tons and tons of WWII Vets, Korean, Vietnam and Desert Storm Vets. But the MSM would show footage of the 20 people there with hoods over their heads over and over again on the evening news. They did not interview the thousands of Vets, school teachers, Teamsters, students, soccer moms etc who attended those marches. The MSM fooled those at home that it was the kooks who attended these marches at that was complete horseshit.

I am deeply sorry for your loss and that there are people in the White House and in the Bush administration who have mis-used your family's and so many family's loyalty to our country.