“BAGHDAD (AFP) – The US death toll in Iraq reportedly hit 2,000 amid a sharp spike in violence that killed 14 Iraqis … with the deaths of two more soldiers. … (AFP) Thank you, Tehanu, for alerting us.
Bread and Circuses
Mired in heat and dust and sand
Gallant band of brothers true
Country’s service is their aim
Death and maiming is their due
In where angels fear to tread
Foolish, dreaded leaders rush
Bringing power’s fearsome groan
Leaving only graveyard’s hush
“By the pricking of my thumbs”
This way comes the wicked pawn
Drunk with drinking conquest’s draught
Juggernaut goes crushing on
Continued below:
In where angels fear to tread
Foolish, dreaded leaders rush
Bringing power’s fearsome groan
Leaving only graveyard’s hush
“By the pricking of my thumbs”
This way comes the wicked pawn
Drunk with drinking conquest’s draught
Juggernaut goes crushing on
Won with honest trifles’ lure
Still so sure in dwindling light
Now betrayed in consequence
Of the senseless, needless fight
Can this be the path they chose?
How can those who serve inquire?
Why has this rough beast come ’round
To be drowned and born in fire?
Stillborn monster, undead thing!
Still we sing your praises high.
They about to die salute
And saluting, fight and die.
Hear the crowd’s roar! Feel the heat
Of the meat now roasting slow.
Do they die for reasons known?
Or for only pomp and show?
Who has wavered; who stands fast
’Till the last good soul goes free?
Who says “he” and who says “she?”
Who but thee and who but me.
Michael Murry, “The Misfortune Teller,” Copyright 2004
From Patrick Lang’s blog, Sic Semper Tyrannis 2005
Thank you to Michael Murry for granting permission to reprint his poem.
Thank you to RubDMC for the candle image.
Light a candle friends. Watch for Cindy to chain herself to the WH fence today. That is what she said she would do when we reached this mark to the loss of American soldiers.
They just announced on CNN that Cindy is on her way to chain herself to the WH gate.
I wish we could all be together… my heart is breaking.
They hurt Cindy and I think we should all just get up, walk out of our lives and go to DC and not come back till this shit is stopped.
Oh Janet, if that were only possible, I would go in a heartbeat. Being single and manager of a 52 unit complex leaves me out but Gd I wish there was a way to stand with her. We must keep Cindy and all those able to stand with her in our hearts.
Stillborn monster, undead thing!
Still we sing your praises high.
They about to die salute
And saluting, fight and die.
That part breaks my heart as these kids, fresh out of high school and with trusting hearts, go off to die.
What a sad, unnecessary milestone.
Please, Patrick Fitzgerald. Please.
Sargeant Whatever from Army of One called for my friend’s 16 yr old son asking for him by his first name as if they were long time buddies. She asked who it was so she could give a message.
Momagainstthedraft answered and it was very upsetting for her to say the least.
They want more fodder for their war of greed and profit. They want our children.
A slap of cold reality amid Fitzmas cheer, for sure.
On the other hand, the fates seem to be brewing a perfect shitstorm for W, don’t they?
Copy the image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment.
Everytime my tears
Have ever fallen
I keep ’em in my pocket
For a rainy day
So when it’s pouring
I take them outside
I let the rain start washin’
My tears away
But on a bad day
When hearts are breaking
There’s not enough rain to carry
All the tears away
-Kasey Chambers
I lie awake
Rigid
Like a body stiffened by death
Staring
You knuckle your eyes and yawn
Are you all right?
Woman, do not ask me for my nightmares
To tender away
They slither from a black hole in my conscience
You cannot fill the hole with love
It is bottomless
I fumble for my mask
It is nothing
Sleep
Did you write that? It’s powerful.
I not only wrote it, I LIVED it.
I light this, times 2000+ all the rest who will be added to the list soon. I can not understand why America cal let this all go onward, like the politicians say. We must withdraw our troops to save them! I do not care now about logistics…I care about the lives lost and future losses. Not even discussing the injured and their injuries that the VA will just let go without treatment.
This is a REAL atrocity for all of us to deal with now!
Peace
I was going to go to San Jose to buy tickets for the Sharks game; I’ll make a detour by St. Joseph’s Cathedral, and I’m not even Catholic…
This misAdministration has a lot to answer for when they reach the Judgement Seat of the God they claim to honor…
.
~ Posted earlier in diary by RubDMC ::
Iraq War Grief Daily Witness (photo) Day 153 ~
What did Lt. Col. Steve Boylan mean by saying it’s not a moment of memory?
It’s unfortunate we have to account for our dead soldiers, our policy is set not to count Iraqi deaths, how tragic most incidents are.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, director of the force’s combined press center, described the number as an “artificial mark on the wall.”
“I ask that when you report on the events, take a moment to think about the effects on the families and those serving in Iraq,” Boylan said in an e-mail. “The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone.
It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.”
LEAVE Iraq to the Iraqis
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
You can participate in candlelight vigils and events in your area tomorrow. See the American Friends site for more information.
How incredibly sad.
A CNN report today actually tried to minimize these 2,000 deaths by comparing the casualty number to those in the Battle of the Bulge.
That is an incredibly sad reflection of the state of affairs as well. Every single death in Iraq is a travesty. Any comparisons to other wars is simply wrong.
May they all rest in peace and may the wounded find comfort.
That burns me up when reporters try to minimize the number: if it’s your family member, one is too many. Hell, if it’s a war based on lies, one should be too many no matter who you are.
Where I live, 2000 is more than the population of our local middle school and high schools added together.